Title: Horizon Zero Dawn: Frozen Wilds DLC
Type of Game: Action Role-Playing Game (RPG)
Developer: Guerrilla Games
Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment
Released: November 7, 2017
Platforms Available: PlayStation 4, PC Game
Platform Reviewed: PlayStation 4
Level of Maturity: Teen (T) – ESRB
Reading Time: 9 minutes

Horizon Zero Dawn was one of the top-rated games of 2017 and instantly became one of the best PlayStation 4 exclusives ever. If you liked the first Horizon, definitely don’t hesitate with this DLC. When I played the Frozen Wilds expansion for the first playthrough a few years ago I asked myself many times: Are these really the same developers from Guerilla Games? Is it really the same studio responsible for the Killzone FPS series? Have new writers come on board? Did the management change? Did Sony help? Or have they taken inspiration from The Last of Us in the Netherlands? Because if I had to sum up the qualities of Frozen Wilds in one single term, it would be obvious: emotions.

Into the Heart of the Wilds

You start discovering new adventures by heading to a newly added area in the northern part of the map in the base game. Just make sure your character is at least level 30 beforehand, otherwise, it’ll be an express ticket to hell for Aloy. Smoke is rising from the top of Thunder’s Drum Mountain, and particularly aggressive types of robotic beasts have begun to hunt in the local valley. A recent expedition into the heart of the mountain ended in disaster, and the leaders of the Banuk tribe are unable to agree on how to proceed. The story of the main storyline is good, though fairly predictable until the very end. On the other hand, the game never ceased to impress me with its perfectly portrayed characters. The credit for this goes not only to the often very touching dialogues but also to the convincing facial animations, which cannot be matched by most game productions of its time. The expansions are directly filled with a diverse range of well-developed characters, each with their own worries, doubts, insecurities, or passions. All of this is dominated by the latest queen of all virtual redheads, the likable protagonist Aloy.

Rich Characters and Heartfelt Tales

In the game, she meets, for example, a cheerful guy who is desperately looking for the telescope his mother once showed him in the premises of an abandoned dam. Another time, a self-confident huntress pleads with her in desperation to save her friend, who stubbornly refuses any help. Whatever it is, Aloy is always willing to lend a helping hand, and her empathy and compassion seem to know no bounds. But unlike everyone else, Aloy is neither naive nor superstitious. She’s simply a great hero who you’ll be happy to spend the fifteen to twenty hours it takes to complete all the activities and quests. Of course, this all works because the side quests maintain a very high quality throughout the game. Don’t expect any running for ten logs of wood here. There aren’t a lot of side missions, but they are meaningful, fun, and usually quite long. In addition to these, the developers have prepared one new hunting ground with three challenges, a bandit camp to clear, and of course, Tallneck, who you’ll have to repair before the classic climb on his disc-shaped head, which adds a certain amount of extra variety.

Skills and Thrills: Expanding the Arsenal

The max level has been bumped up to sixty and with that comes new abilities. Some you’ll use, some you probably won’t, and others you won’t have time to open. In Frozen Wilds, I did complete almost all the quests and challenges, but it still wasn’t enough for level 60. Sure, I could grind, and there’s New Game Plus, but still, the authors could have balanced it out a bit better. The new skills, such as the ability to collect resources while riding a tamed robo-animal, the ability to convert some excess resources into in-game currency, or the increase in inventory, are particularly pleasing. You’ll also be able to get new suits, upgraded versions of bows, and, most importantly, use a trio of new weapons. And if you complete the necessary side quests, you’ll upgrade your new arsenal to an even more powerful form. There’s definitely a motivation to complete most of the side content. New additions include the flamethrower or its ice and lightning versions. Do you find it boring and uninteresting? I thought so too at first. However, the aforementioned weapons differ significantly in their control and firing methods, and they are definitely not just simple variations.

Formidable Foes and Fierce Battles

While it is possible to finish the game without picking up the new weapons, once you upgrade and learn how to use them, they become your best friends. You just have to take good care of them, as they consume a huge amount of ammo. And that’s what you’ll really need because Frozen Wilds isn’t one of those expansions that you’ll run through with a properly upgraded character with your hands behind your back. I was a little disappointed that there were only two new enemy types. On the other hand, these are extremely tough opponents.

The fiery scorcher can cover incredibly long distances in one jump and, in addition to its infernal agility, it has a number of attacks that are not easily avoided. Even worse is Frostclaw, who I’ve continued to nickname my own “strong bastard” as he can take a lot of hits, you have no chance at all at close range, and at a distance, he can kill you with millimeter accuracy either with a thrown piece of rock or chunks of ice shooting out of the ground. Not to mention the more powerful fire version, which is the real hell you’re about to experience. My desperation was quite unbearable at times because in some situations you even have to fight two such beasts. However, with time I managed to find an effective way to deal with them quickly and easily, and eventually managed to defeat them in record time in the hunting challenge.

AI Quirks and Combat Challenges

Unfortunately, it’s during the fights that perhaps the game’s biggest problem becomes apparent. The noticeable problem is with the AI. Enemies are strong; they often chase you for long periods of time, and their attacks hurt. But each battle with a tough opponent seems to consist of both fighting itself and subconsciously searching for a way to overcome the AI’s limits. This was probably best seen in a fight with a very powerful version of Snapmaw. The fight took place on land near a lake, and this crocodile, suffering from an unexplained phobia of water, refused to follow me. It’s an extreme case, but sometimes opponents don’t go after you enough like this for some reason. They prefer to snipe you from a distance, even though you successfully dodge their attacks. Other times, you chase each other around a natural obstacle over and over again. It would be far more effective for the beast to jump the obstacle and keep you in its sights at all times. The problem isn’t that the robotic beast can’t get to such elevated terrain. It’s just that its weaker intelligence won’t allow it to unless you climb up first.

Human Companions and Stunning Visuals

In the game, you are sometimes helped by human companions. It’s 50/50 with them in similar situations. Sometimes they’re very helpful, other times they’re totally useless. I’ve even had them stop moving during a hugely tense fight due to a bug. That’s not good. In the case of Horizon, I probably don’t need to go into the graphics too much. The game still remains beautiful, and I spent some time with the excellent Photo Mod. So once again you marvel at the beautiful open world with its unique remnants of our lost civilization, once again you’re treated to beautiful panoramic views of the snowy landscape or the breathtaking aforementioned conversations where the characters come to life with fantastic detail, and convincing facial animations. The game perfectly combines artistic and imaginative elements with cutting-edge technology. Related to the snowy terrain is the fact that deep snow makes it harder to move around, and blizzards reduce visibility quite a bit. There are also parts in the bunkers and interiors that are reminiscent of our “lost world.”

Immersive Landscapes and Lost Civilizations

I’m still a little disappointed in Horizon that the filmmakers are relying on narration through audio recordings and journal entries in these moments, instead of trying to add some human element to places like this. So you keep running into the same monitors, metal cabinets, and desks. Despite this, I have to admit that in the final phase of the story, you will look into interiors that you will stare at with your mouth wide open. The graphic designers have played around with them a lot, and the giant futuristic machines at work here are of incredible quality.

Conclusion

Frozen Wilds is, by and large, a quality expansion. It’s not a cash grab recycling old ideas, instead, it offers plenty of interesting characters and stories, none of which should be missed. The game offers a tougher difficulty, but the joy of winning is a bigger reward.

Where To Buy The Game

Steam (PC): Available for $59.99 in the Horizon complete edition. You can purchase it directly from Steam.
PlayStation Store (PS4): Standalone DLC available for $14.99. You can find it on the PlayStation Store.

Official Page: Visit the official Horizon Zero Dawn page for more information.
Subreddit: Join the discussion on the Horizon Zero Dawn Subreddit.

The post Horizon Zero Dawn: Frozen Wilds DLC – From The Meridian’s Sun-Soaked Plains To Frozen Northern Mountains appeared first on WePlayGames.net: Home for Top Gamers.

The Dark Horizon se vrací do N’Erudu tváří v tvář „bizarnímu jevu“ a slibuje být „dosud nejrozsáhlejším DLC“.

Bylo oznámeno poslední placené DLC pro hru Remnant 2, The Dark Horizon. Vyjde v září 2024, tedy o něco déle, než bylo plánováno, a hráči se v něm vrátí do N’Erudu, kde došlo k „bizarnímu jevu“.

Společnost Gunfire Games prozradí více podrobností blíže k vydání, ale The Dark Horizon slibuje, že půjde o dosud „nejrozsáhlejší DLC“ pro tento titul. Důvodem posunutí vydání je zajištění více času na dodání „nejlepšího možného zážitku, který si zasloužíte„.

Vedle DLC pracuje vývojář také na novém herním režimu, který bude pro všechny hráče zdarma. Pracuje se také na novém systému postupu. Ačkoli je The Dark Horizon posledním placeným DLC, není potvrzeno, zda znamená konec podpory kooperativní střílečky. Zatím zůstaňte naladěni na další podrobnosti.

Remnant 2 je k dispozici pro konzole Xbox Series X/S, PS5 a PC.

Článek Remnant 2: The Dark Horizon DLC vychází v září, chystá se i nový bezplatný herní režim se nejdříve objevil na GAME PRESS.

Ještě nedávno by bylo nemožné si představit, že by tak významná série pro PlayStation, jako je Horizon, by vyšla pro konzoli Nintendo, ale na začátku tohoto měsíce společnost Sony tato očekávání vyvrátila oznámením hry LEGO Horizon Adventures.

Po jeho oznámení jsme se nyní dočkali dalšího pohledu na hru v podobě nového traileru.

Trailer, který se objevil na nedávné prezentaci Nintendo Direct, nabízí pohled na to, jak bude akční adventura na Switchi vypadat. LEGO Horizon Adventures si samozřejmě neklade za cíl takovou vizuální věrnost, jakou se vyznačují hry z hlavní řady Horizon, ale i tak hra vypadá z vizuálního hlediska i na Switchi docela působivě. Podívejte se na trailer níže.

LEGO Horizon Adventures vyjde o letošních prázdninách pro PS5, Nintendo Switch a PC. Společnost Sony zatím neoznámila konkrétní datum vydání hry. Hra bude mít přibližně 7-8 hodin a bude obsahovat kooperaci, ale cross-play nebude podporován.

Článek Trailer na dobrodružství LEGO Horizon ukazuje hraní na Switchi se nejdříve objevil na GAME PRESS.

Několik posledních dní se na oficiálním Meta Horizon Store objevují aplikace a hry, které byly dostupné pouze skrze App Lab. Jednou z takových je i WeldVR, které uživatele nepřekvapí jen svým zaměřením, ale především svou cenovkou, která se pohybuje okolo 23000 Kč.

WeldVR je tak nejdražší aplikací, kterou na oficiálním obchodě můžete najít. Do této chvíle byla nejdražší apkou Fetal Heart VR, která sloužila pro trénink mediků.

$1000 je také nové maximum, které lze v obchodě objevit. Dražší hry Meta prostě nedovoluje. Jak ale možná tušíte, tak zcela jiné podmínky platí u společnosti Apple. Ta ve svém App Store dovoluje hry a aplikace s cenovkou až $10 000.

Co tedy WeldVR nabízí? Jedná se o program, jenž slouží k výuce základů svařování. Je cílena na uživatele, jenž si nemohou dovolit pořízení drahých svařovacích souprav, na kterých by se toto „umění“ naučili. Ačkoliv se tak může cenovka zdát přepálená, mohlo by se jednat o vskutku užitečnou aplikace s vypovídající hodnotou pro koncové uživatele.

K dispozici jsou tréninkové programy pro MIG, TIG a CO2. Trénovat lze v různých pozicích a situacích. Uživatelům jsou následně nabídnuty bohaté statistiky a reporty, díky kterým se pak mohou virtuální svářeči snadněji zlepšovat. Samotná aplikace stojí $1000, ale zájemcům mohou vývojáři ze studia Cythero nabídnout také kompletní balíček, ve kt.erém je kromě WeldVR také Meta Quest headset, pouzdro a další bonusy včetně online poradenství. Takové kombo vyjde na $6000.

Pokud se vám z takové cenovky zatočila hlava, tak nezoufejte. Na Meta Horizon Store naleznete Trial verzi, díky které si můžete svařovat bezplatně celých 20 minut. 

Článek VR aplikace za $1000 vás naučí svařovat se nejdříve objevil na GAME PRESS.

By Dana Neustadter (Synopsys), Ruud Derwig (Synopsys), and Martin Rösner (G+D)

IoT expansion requires secure and efficient connectivity between machines. Integrated SIM technology and remote SIM provisioning can make this possible.

Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) cards have been around for a long time, with Giesecke+Devrient (G+D) developing and delivering the first commercial SIM cards in 1991. If you have a cell phone, you will be familiar with these small security anchors that protect phones, networks, and data from fraud and misuse. They also enable phones to securely authenticate and communicate within a mobile network infrastructure managed by carriers. With deployment starting over the last few years, iSIM, also called an integrated Universal Integrated Circuit Card (iUICC), is the newest SIM kid on the block. iSIMs are embedded directly into a system on chip (SoC) as a tamper-resistant secure element, bringing trust and enabling secure connectivity and control, while saving cost and space, simplifying the system development process, and overall offering a significant ease-of-use improvement in the way IoT device connectivity is activated and secured. In addition to the functional advantages, the iSIM also offers sustainability benefits such as reduced CO₂ emissions.

Enabling iSIM to support remote SIM provisioning (RSP) calls for an integrated solution that brings together secure services and a secure SIM operating system (OS) with secure hardware. This is the type of challenge that has led to a collaboration between G+D, which continues to lead the way in SIM innovation, and Synopsys, with its expertise in trusted hardware. Putting their heads together, the two companies have come up with an innovative integrated, secure iSIM solution. In a nutshell, Synopsys tRoot Hardware Secure Modules (HSMs) provide silicon-proven, self-contained security IP solutions with root of trust. The HSMs are combined with G+D’s secure SIM OS to enable tamper-resistant elements which are usable within an SoC and serve as an isolated hardware component. G+D’s award-winning RSP services provide seamless management of the SIM profiles. Figure 1 depicts the secure iSIM solution.

“Offering the promise of seamless secure management of SIM profiles, iSIMs help accelerate the broad scaling of the IoT by providing high flexibility to choose the preferred cellular networks throughout the lifetime of devices,” said Andreas Morawietz, global head of Digital Connectivity Portfolio Strategy at G+D. “Our standards-compliant remote SIM provisioning service together with the secure SIM OS integrated with Synopsys’ tRoot Hardware Secure Modules provide an integrated iSIM secure solution at the start of the IoT value chain, delivering benefits to downstream IoT players.”

Fig. 1: Integrated, secure iSIM solution featuring Synopsys and G+D technologies. 

Evolution of SIM technology charts course for the IoT

The breadth of the IoT has become expansive thanks to the prevalence of cellular networks, sensors, cloud computing, AI, and other technologies that enable connectivity and intelligence. Consider, as one example, all the devices and systems that can bring a smart city to life. From traffic signals and streetlights to meters and energy grids, each of these systems must be able to collect and share data that leads to better decision-making and outcomes, as well as more efficient and effective processes. With the integration of AI capabilities, these devices would also be able to act autonomously. SIM technology acts as a trust anchor for secure identification, authentication, and communication. Over the years as new devices enter the IoT realm, users have expectations of increasingly seamless connectivity, simple remote management, and the ability to select their preferred carriers. This has seen removable physical SIMs giving way to embedded SIMs (eSIM) which are soldered onto devices.

As the newest entry in this evolution, iSIMs are anticipated to grow in popularity, answering the call for more optimized, flexible, and secure solutions to allow more things to be connected and controlled. Because it isn’t a disparate chipset, an iSIM provides cost, power, and area efficiency, ideal for small, battery-powered IoT devices, particularly those that operate in low-power wide area networks (LPWANs) through narrowband IoT (NB-IoT) or long-term evolution for machines (LTE-M) technologies. iSIMs also work well in larger industrial systems such as smart meters or even vehicles. In such systems, the SIM technology could be located in hard-to-reach places, making remote management an ideal approach.

While iSIM and remote provisioning are opening up a new ecosystem, these capabilities are only appealing if they’re backed by rock-solid security. Fortunately, there’s quite a lot of technology available to secure network connections and authenticate communicating partners. iSIMs must be developed to offer the same level of security as traditional SIM solutions. For network operators to trust iSIMs, security certification of iSIMs is essential. This is especially important since the network operators don’t control the SIM hardware and software, as it comes with the IoT device and can originate from any number of vendors.

Complete, integrated IoT security solution

The Synopsys and G+D collaboration has been successfully deployed in the field and acknowledged by Tier1 operators for several years. Our efforts bring together complementary technologies that form a complete iSIM security solution for integration into a baseband SoC.

Synopsys’ tRoot HSMs are ideal for SoCs supporting a variety of applications in addition to the IoT, including industrial control, networking, automotive, media, and mobile devices. A hardware root of trust allows chip manufacturers and their OEM customers to create a strong cryptographic device identity for a unique device instance and provides a secure environment for protecting sensitive data and operations. In addition to the secure SIM OS, G+D also provides remote provisioning and device management secure services. The resulting iSIM solution comes with a small footprint and low power consumption and allows for more efficient production, faster time to market and, without extra housing or plastic, greater sustainability. With encrypted loading of chip-unique data (the SIM BLOB, or binary large object), the iSIM can be installed on a chipset without certification of the production facility.

As smart, connected devices become more ubiquitous, ensuring trust that the devices and their data will remain safe from security threats will remain a top priority. Secure remote SIM provisioning helps to streamline device connections and controls in a safe manner. Through our collaboration, Synopsys and G+D are providing mobile network operators and semiconductor manufacturers with a complete security solution for all-in-one connectivity that can nurture the continued expansion of the IoT.

For more information, see Synopsys tRoot Hardware Secure Modules (HSMs).

Ruud Derwig is a principal software engineer for Security IP Solutions at Synopsys.

Martin Rösner is the director for the Digital Connectivity Portfolio Strategy at G+D.

The post Navigating IoT Security appeared first on Semiconductor Engineering.