News

XCMG debuts new, fully autonomous electric terminal tractor [video]

Mon, 26 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0530

The new XCMG SDA411 concept terminal truck is fully electric, has no cabin, and an L4 autonomous tech stack that’s purpose-built for unmanned logistics – and, if XCMG get their way, it looks like the future of drayage truck operations. more…

Journalistic Attribution: Reported via Electrek (EVs & Green Tech) for public informational purposes under Fair Use. Read the original primary report →

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Phantom Blade Zero’s Combat Is So Good, You Won’t Care The Story Makes No Sense

Mon, 26 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0530

S-Game, the Chinese studio behind Phantom Blade Zero, clearly understands the core tenets of character-action games. If your melee combat isn't tight, responsive, and oozing cool, then what's the point? Some games might have better combat, but few can match Phantom Blade Zero's style. Every moment feels like you're in the middle of a Chinese martial-arts movie, pulling off moves that shouldn't be feasible--moves that go against what we expect from third-person action games--yet are baked into the mechanics. The game is not without issues, and they do hold it back from reaching the genre's upper echelons, but the highs are stratospheric. Character-action games aren't typically known for telling riveting stories, and Phantom Blade Zero is no different. You play as Soul, a stoic assassin who dies in the game's opening moments when a sword tears through his heart. Soon after, a mysterious figure gives him a chance to come back from the dead, forcing him to choose between two artificial hearts. One will allow him to live but strip away all of his emotions, while the other will let him retain those emotions but only give him 66 days left on this mortal coil. Soul chooses the latter, setting up a 66-day quest to find a cure, unravel a conspiracy, and prove that he was framed for his master's murder. It's a fairly ridiculous opening, but one that doesn't reflect the rest of the game. Much of Phantom Blade Zero's narrative unfolds through background machinations: in clandestine conversations, hidden notes, and secondhand information. Multiple organizations, people, and malicious schemes are in play, but it doesn't do a particularly good job of filling you in, so I found it tough to keep track of who's who and what's what. Some aspects eventually come into sharper focus toward the end of the game, but this feels like too little, too late. You're essentially dropped into an established world where even the protagonist knows more than you do, referencing past events and showing familiarity with characters new to you. All you can do is attempt to piece together some kind of understanding through the notes and loading-screen tooltips, but even then you'll still be in the dark for a good chunk of the game's dialogue. There are some cool storytelling moments here and there, such as the way it uses hand-drawn watercolor animation whenever it flashes back to Soul's childhood. One sequence also features traditional Chinese shadow puppets (or Piyingxi) to explore a character's backstory. Repeating or explaining plot points during loading screens feels like a concession to its failures elsewhere, though, and ultimately, I found it difficult to latch onto anything that would make me care about the story. Unsurprisingly, combat is Phantom Blade Zero's bread and butter. It's also unlike anything else I've played, essentially translating the choreographed action of films like Hero and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon to a playable medium. Both movies are known as Wuxia, a Chinese genre of fiction and low fantasy that blends martial arts with fantastical elements. Wuxia fight scenes are known to be incredibly fluid and dynamic: half combat, half choreographed dance, with both sides attacking and defending at the same time, creating a calculated but frenetic spectacle of clashing steel. Phantom Blade Zero The choreography isn't something you can replicate in video games without resorting to quick-time events, but Phantom Blade Zero still makes it look and feel like you're engaged in a cinematic, free-flowing dance to the death. You have light and heavy attacks at your disposal, with combos alternating between the two. The key is that these attacks require no commitment. There's never a point where an attack begins and locks you into an animation until it ends. Switching to defense--either to block or parry--is instantaneous, even if you're mid-combo. Some attacks will even deflect incoming strikes automatically, recreating the back-and-forth, simultaneous attack-and-defend action Wuxia is known for. The whole thing is antithetical to the call-and-response philosophy of so many other action games, but it works when enemies test your abilities. Sometimes, particularly during boss battles, you still need to focus strictly on offense or defense--maybe because you've created an opening to counterattack or need to lock in and parry multiple strikes in quick succession--but the delineation isn't as common as it is elsewhere. Most combat encounters achieve this satisfying flow through speed, aggression, and how combos and parries gracefully intersect. Sure, you could sit back and wait for your opponent to attack, or you could rush in and deal damage while still watching for their attack cues. Every action you take is fast and responsive, and even the biggest, heaviest weapons are swung at a rapid pace. Much of this fluidity comes from the game's excellent motion capture, which showcases each movement with the smoothness and intent you'd expect from seasoned martial artists. It's also complemented by an eclectic soundtrack that infuses the action with everything from Chinese rap, metal, and pop to somber piano pieces and electronic beats. There's mechanical depth beyond the surface panache, too. These mechanics are more par for the course, but familiarity is important when trying something new. Sha-Chi, for instance, is Phantom Blade Zero's stamina system. The meter drains when you hold down the block button or perform heavy attacks, but successful parries will severely deplete your opponent's Sha-Chi instead, gradually breaking their guard and leaving them vulnerable to a flurry of offense. Blue and red flash attacks also denote special, telegraphed moves you need to either parry or dodge, with both tightening up the window for you to react. Failing to do so will eat into your health bar, but depleting your Sha-Chi meter also takes you out of action for a few seconds. To counteract this, switching weapons quickly replenishes your Sha-Chi, letting you maintain the initiative with a different armament. You can equip two primary weapons to alternate between, which not only helps you manage your Sha-Chi, but also gives you more combat options when you consider how varied Phantom Blade Zero's plethora of swords, axes, and spears are. Each one feels unique when executing your standard light and heavy attacks, and they all have various intricacies that unlock as you level them up. For a good chunk of the game, I used a sword called the Outlaw Warblade. With this two-handed weapon, heavy attacks deal increased damage by eating into your health, which switching to standard attacks then restores. It can be a risky but effective weapon to use, but one I wasn't afraid to equip knowing I could quickly switch to another weapon. Whether it's a broken blade that transforms into a ranged weapon after drinking--while also making you move like Jackie Chan in Drunken Master--or a pair of swords that summon the power of both wind and thunder, the weapons on offer are incredibly fun to use. They're flexible, too, with an upgrade system that lets you refund and recover the materials you've spent, so you never feel locked into using a particular weapon just because you've spent time upgrading it. You're free to experiment and jump from one completely different arsenal to the next, which is a more than welcome choice. Each weapon also has a secondary attack that breaks the non-committal rule. Landing heavy attacks builds Sha-Chi Essence, which you can then spend on weapon-specific techniques called Power Surges. While some of these might enhance your offense for a short time, others unleash devastating combos that you can't cancel out of, forcing you to consider when the opportune time to utilize them is. Phantom Blade Zero The same is true of Phantom Edges: secondary weapons you can use a limited number of times before needing to replenish their stock. These range from heavy axes that can break through shields and armor to ranged weapons, chained sickles, flying guillotines, and a magical bell that can summon puppets to fight by your side. Both Power Surges and Phantom Edges add another layer to Phantom Blade Zero's flashy combat, upping the ante in desperate situations or providing that extra oomph you need to finish off a boss. Boss battles are where the game's combat truly sings: where spectacle and cinematic action are pushed to the forefront, with free-flowing and thrilling mechanics to back it all up. Whether it's a Lion Dancer that breathes fire and hops between wooden plinths, or a three-faced puppet summoning giant paper snakes from the earth, the bosses are distinct and built on spectacle. It's no surprise that these conflicts represent Phantom Blade Zero at its most challenging. It might not be a soulslike, but From Software's influence is felt here and elsewhere. The world, which blends a traditional kung-fu aesthetic with steampunk machinery and body modification, is all S-Game. The studio calls this style "kungfupunk," and it's an accurate descriptor, melding pagodas with industrial iron and billowing smoke. There's variety within this conceit, too. At one point, you traverse a once-verdant forest that's now crimson, stained red after a brutal battle, "as though the forest itself were weeping blood." Another area sees you using a steam-powered boat to navigate a vast lake dotted with islands, while you'll also venture into a town whose denizens have been transformed into wooden puppets, and a winding valley with waterfalls and cliffs overlooking its crystal-clear streams. It's a strongly realized world, but the level design is distinctly soulslike, with circuitous areas full of branching paths and looping shortcuts. It's one of the strongest examples of this type of level design, making each locale a treat to explore, though it doesn't always feel entirely necessary. Soulslike checkpoints let you replenish health and upgrade weapons and items, but crucially, they don't respawn enemies as you would expect. It's an odd choice, especially since enemies stay dead even after you die. This changes the dynamic of enemy encounters, essentially letting you whittle down a group of enemies even if they get the better of you. This speaks to Phantom Blade Zero's overall leniency, though. Many of its boss battles contain multiple phases, but if you reach the second phase and die, you don't have to repeat the first. I'm a fan of this decision, because if I've already demonstrated I can beat the first phase, forcing me to do so again can be frustrating. There are also three difficulty levels to choose from. You can swap between them at any time, which is something I took advantage of to make some of the regular enemy encounters more interesting. This is Phantom Blade Zero's biggest flaw, as even on the hardest difficulty, it's too easy to simply button-mash your way to victory against most enemy types. Groups still gave me trouble on occasion, especially since switching lock-on targets in these instances is overly cumbersome, but as I mentioned earlier, taking out a few enemies is beneficial even if you die. As someone who plays these kinds of games a lot, this might not be the same experience for everyone. Yet the bosses still posed enough of a challenge that I had to bump the difficulty back down to medium, so it feels more like a wildly unbalanced swing than anything else. It's disappointing because, under the right circumstances, Phantom Blade Zero's combat is spectacular. Its Wuxia-inspired action nails the free-flowing, back-and-forth nature of its kinetic influences with aplomb. Being able to cleave through dozens of enemies who barely put up a fight isn't a fatal flaw, but tedium, and the fact you know how thrilling combat can be makes it a more glaring issue. It's this misstep that holds Phantom Blade Zero back, but it's still a fantastic game that any action aficionado should lap up.

Journalistic Attribution: Reported via GameSpot News for public informational purposes under Fair Use. Read the original primary report →

Phantom Blade Zero’s Combat Is So Good, You Won’t Care The Story Makes No Sense | Review

Mon, 26 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0530

S-Game's Wuxia-inspired combat puts you in the middle of a Chinese action movie.

Journalistic Attribution: Reported via GameSpot News for public informational purposes under Fair Use. Read the original primary report →

Phantom Blade Zero Review

Mon, 26 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0530

Memorable boss fights, compelling combat, and limitless swagger.

Journalistic Attribution: Reported via IGN Gaming Reviews & News for public informational purposes under Fair Use. Read the original primary report →

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Mass Effect's Commander Shepard Actors, Destiny Community Help #SaveMassEffect Petition Cross 200,000 Signatures

Mon, 26 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0530

The #SaveMassEffect movement has picked up even more steam after videos from both Commander Shepard actors – and even posts from the Destiny community – helped its petition reach 200,000 signatures.

Journalistic Attribution: Reported via IGN Gaming Reviews & News for public informational purposes under Fair Use. Read the original primary report →

Copyright of original reporting belongs to IGN Gaming Reviews & News. Contact support@cubiqinfotech.com for DMCA inquiries.

Elon Musk issues a warning for 'AI neoclouds' as SpaceX borrows $40 billion for chips

Mon, 26 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0530

SpaceX has raised $40 billion in debt to buy GPUs, while Musk predicts a major shakeout among smaller AI cloud providers.

Journalistic Attribution: Reported via CoinDesk (Crypto & Web3) for public informational purposes under Fair Use. Read the original primary report →

Copyright of original reporting belongs to CoinDesk (Crypto & Web3). Contact support@cubiqinfotech.com for DMCA inquiries.

United States Grand Prix | Race highlights

Mon, 26 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0530

Highlights from the 2026 United States Grand Prix.

Journalistic Attribution: Reported via Sky Sports News for public informational purposes under Fair Use. Read the original primary report →

Smith beats Schindler in Dortmund thriller after Littler's QF exit

Mon, 26 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0530

Ross Smith has won the Machineseeker European Championship for a second time after overcoming a late Martin Schindler fightback to claim an 11-8 victory in Dortmund.

Journalistic Attribution: Reported via Sky Sports News for public informational purposes under Fair Use. Read the original primary report →

Thunder guard Williams stretchered off after suffering significant leg injury

Mon, 26 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0530

There was no immediate diagnosis from the Thunder on Jalen Williams' injury, with coach Mark Daigneault saying the team would be briefed Monday morning.

Journalistic Attribution: Reported via ESPN Global Headlines for public informational purposes under Fair Use. Read the original primary report →

Suffocating defense, JSN lift Seahawks to victory

Mon, 26 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0530

Seattle's bread-and-butter from its Super Bowl championship season -- JSN and defense -- was too much for the Chiefs.

Journalistic Attribution: Reported via ESPN Global Headlines for public informational purposes under Fair Use. Read the original primary report →

Antonelli delivers 'the race of a champion who isn't the champion yet'

Mon, 26 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0530

Kimi Antonelli's Austin win was "the best he has delivered", according to Mercedes boss Toto Wolff, even if it wasn't quite enough to give him the title.

Journalistic Attribution: Reported via BBC Sport for public informational purposes under Fair Use. Read the original primary report →

End approaching for Carrick but Man Utd fans make clear who they blame

Mon, 26 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0530

Manchester United's fans sang their support for Michael Carrick during the 3-0 home defeat by Bournemouth, but voiced their opposition to virtually everything else.

Journalistic Attribution: Reported via BBC Sport for public informational purposes under Fair Use. Read the original primary report →

Eric Bauza, Emmy Award-Winning Looney Tunes Voice Actor, Dies at 46

Mon, 26 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0530

Eric Bauza, the Emmy Award-winning voice actor behind Looney Tunes characters like Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck, died Sunday at his home as a result of hypertensive cardiovascular disease, according to Los Angeles County Medical Examiner records. He was 46. Bauza’s death was announced by his family, who shared a statement to the actor’s Instagram […]

Journalistic Attribution: Reported via Variety - Hollywood & Pop Culture for public informational purposes under Fair Use. Read the original primary report →

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Korea Box Office: Anime Phenomenon ‘Chiikawa’ Remains Unstoppable as Yeon Sang-ho Thriller ‘Paradise Lost’ Debuts

Mon, 26 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0530

Japanese animated sensation “Chiikawa the Movie: The Secret of the Mermaid Island” maintained a commanding grip on the South Korean box office over the weekend of Oct. 23–25, capturing nearly 45% of nationwide ticket revenue in its fourth frame. According to data from KOBIS, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council, the Toho-distributed […]

Journalistic Attribution: Reported via Variety - Hollywood & Pop Culture for public informational purposes under Fair Use. Read the original primary report →

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Sharon Osbourne: 'I visit Ozzy's grave every day'

Mon, 26 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0530

The TV presenter says she can see Ozzy's burial site from her window, and regularly talks to him.

Journalistic Attribution: Reported via BBC Entertainment & Arts for public informational purposes under Fair Use. Read the original primary report →

Copyright of original reporting belongs to BBC Entertainment & Arts. Contact support@cubiqinfotech.com for DMCA inquiries.

Is 'ferritin face' a real thing - and can you really spot low iron from looks?

Mon, 26 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0530

Videos in which people claim to spot the signs of low iron have attracted millions of views online.

Reported via BBC Health & Science. Read original report.

Data centre debate heats up ahead of US midterms - here's what you need to know

Mon, 26 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0530

Data centres are the lifeblood of our digital world, but there are growing concerns about their environmental impact. The BBC explores their rise in charts.

Reported via BBC Business News. Read original report.

Healey's Budget needs to sustain the stronger economy through gathering clouds

Mon, 26 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0530

The economic is positive now but come January things could become trickier for the Labour government

Reported via BBC Business News. Read original report.

A YouTuber dissected an iPhone Duo and thinks he found the cause of crackgate

Mon, 26 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0530

Social media and the iPhone Duo subreddit are filled with reports of Apple's foldable failing quickly and in spectacular fashion. Some users report having the phone for only a few hours before the hinge seems to catch on something, then audibly crack and break the screen. Tellingly, the cracks all seem to happen in the […]

Reported via The Verge. Read original report.

Scott Walker’s The Drift will get under your skin

Mon, 26 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0530

In my mind, Spooky Season music comes in two distinct flavors. There are the fun, occasionally goofy songs like "The Monster Mash" and John Carpenter's "Halloween Theme." Then there is the genuinely terrifying: Throbbing Gristle, The Body, or Scott Walker's The Drift. This 2006 album from the singer-songwriter is truly upsetting. On it, Walker explores […]

Reported via The Verge. Read original report.

iFixit’s look inside the iPhone Duo may explain those broken screens and hinges

Mon, 26 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0530

As is tradition, iFixit has torn open the latest iPhone and laid its parts bare on a table. It found some interesting details about how Apple might be hiding the crease on the Duo's folding screen and gave it a 5/10 repairability score. That might not seem particularly high, but it's the best score the […]

Reported via The Verge. Read original report.

Seoul ‘fabricated” landmine blast, North Korea tells UN in letter

Mon, 26 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0530

South Korea blames Pyongyang for September landmine blast, but North Korea says incident a 'sinister obstructive move'.

Reported via Al Jazeera English. Read original report.

Brazil election results 2026: Key takeaways from Lula’s historic win

Mon, 26 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0530

Lula wins a fourth term after a dramatic run-off marred by voting confusion and allegations of interference.

Reported via Al Jazeera English. Read original report.

Lula thanks Brazil’s youth for historic election win

Mon, 26 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0530

Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has won an unprecedented fourth term.

Reported via Al Jazeera English. Read original report.

U.S. measles cases more than double what they were last year as outbreak spreads

Mon, 26 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0530

Pennsylvania is the worst hit state, with at least 1,338 cases of measles confirmed in 44 counties so far this year, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health.

Reported via NPR Global News. Read original report.

Brazil's left-wing President Lula elected for fourth term

Mon, 26 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0530

Brazil's 80-year-old left-wing leader President Lula defeats Flávio Bolsonaro in a bitterly contested runoff.

Reported via NPR Global News. Read original report.

‘Cyberselfish’ author takes aim at techno-libertarianism as her book returns from the dead

Mon, 26 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0530

"That's a 12-year-old view of the world."

Reported via TechCrunch. Read original report.

Grok releases the first seven minutes of its AI-generated ‘Odyssey’

Mon, 26 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0530

The footage looks okay, as long as you're not seeking artistry, inspiration, or human interest.

Reported via TechCrunch. Read original report.

The best apps for tracking your reading and discovering new books

Mon, 26 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0530

There are numerous apps on the market that promise to do just that, so we’ve compiled a list of some of the best ones to help you pick the right one for you.

Reported via TechCrunch. Read original report.

Venezuelan opposition leader María Machado returns after months in exile

Mon, 26 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0530

Machado had left the country just a month before the US government seized Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

Reported via BBC World News. Read original report.