overcooked 2

Overcooked 2: Let’s Play

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An How To Kill An Hour favourite is BACK! Yes that’s right everyone’s favourite cooking game is returning, this is Overcooked 2! In this game the Onion Kingdom is once again in peril. Though it’s at the fault of the Onion King himself! By reading aloud from the fabled Necronomnomicon, he has cooked up a real problem. A problem in the form of a doughy and dangerous army of Undead Bread, named: The Unbread! The game requires players to chop, bake and fry their way to a set of brand new kitchens and tasks to defeat and save the kingdom!

Overcooked 2 is a co-op game that allows 1-4 players to help serve recipes to hungry customers in an series of unconventional kitchens. The game will follow players across kitchens located in hot air balloons, a magical school and even planets! Don’t forget to dodge the fires, collapsing floors or overbearing waiters!

Overcooked 2 New Features

What’s new:

  • Online multiplayer! For the first time you can cook up a storm with up to four players in both local and online multiplayer
  • Throwing! Throwing is now an official game mechanic, allowing you to toss ingredients to your fellow chefs or even straight into the pan/blender/onto the floor
  • New level mechanics! Overcooked 2 sees the introduction of new game mechanics including moving walkways, controllable platforms and even portals!
  • Dynamic levels! Throwing you from the frying pan and into the fire. Dynamic levels will change around you, offering a new challenge to overcome as the recipes and levels themselves change!
  • Interactive world map! As you drive, sail and soar your way around the map in the Onion King’s amphibious air bus you will open up new areas using hidden buttons around the world
  • Kitchens! From the neon lights of a sushi restaurant to the bubbling pots of a Wizard school kitchen, there are plenty of places to cook up a storm in Overcooked 2!
  • Recipes! From spaghetti to sushi and pancakes to pizza, recipes both old and new will need to be cooked to perfection (or at least not burnt to a crisp!) New recipes mean new ingredients and new equipment so even the most well-seasoned Overcooked players will be challenged.
  • Chefs! Overcooked 2 introduces a whole host of new of chefs to play in the kitchen including an eagle, mouse, beaver and what kitchen is complete without an octopus!

(Credit: Overcooked 2/Team 17 Press Release)

Listen to Marcus and Julia chatting about this on the show by clicking here!

Buy Overcooked 2 by clicking here!

cyberpunk 2077

Cyberpunk 2077

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Developer CD Projekt Red describe Cyberpunk 2077 as an ““an open world, narrative-driven role-playing game” so essentially this game, as beautiful as it looks, is a first person role playing game. A first person role playing game that is also open world and narrative driven. We are liking the sound of this already! Fallout fans listen up! As even though the game is in first person, the game is said to offer players, plenty of chances to see what your character looks like. Pointing out that the game is a First Person RPG and not an FPS.

We are liking the route that this game is taking, making sure to emphasise the fact that it’s not just a shooter and it seems like there is a HUGE focus on storytelling. That’s what we got from the trailer, the trailer looked very movie like and we cannot wait to get our hands on it!

Plot

Users are playing as “V”, who is a “hired gun on the rise” within the Cyberpunk violent metropolis, Night City. Judging from the trailer we are getting a Matrix/Ready Player One vibe to the game. Going more indepth on the character customization, CD Projekt Red promises a “robust character creator” which will allow platers to choose things such as gender, appearance class and even their characters backgrounds. However, choose wisely as the choices that you make now, will affect and influence how the game plays out.

Yet much like regular RPG’s players are encouraged to interact with the various residents of Night City. Users do this via a dialogue system, which in turn will navigate the Cyberpunk 2077 narrative. With CD Prokekt Red stating that “difficult decisions will ripple through the entire game” (Polygon)

Listen to Marcus and Julia discussing this on the show by clicking here!

Pre-Order Cyberpunk 2077 by clicking here!

We also covered this game in one of our E3 specials listen it by clicking here!

Episode 292 Julia Hardy

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Raylo: Music With A Cinematic Twist

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“Cinematic music….I have not heard anything like this before…give me more RAYLO!”

RAYLO are a brand new music group who mix melodic R&B vocals and UK Rap. Formed of singers/rappers, Reece Whyte and Teni Solomon, and producers George Renwick and Robin Reeve.

Their latest work ‘So Gone’ is available now via all streaming services and there’s also a music video for the lead single of the same name.

The EP is an eclectic mix of tracks that showcases their range and versatility. From down tempo tracks such as ‘Remember Me’ to up beat soundtrack to your summer productions on ‘Polaroid’. ‘So Gone’ is an EP to remember and they’ve definitely have announced their name in style!

Their lead track ‘So Gone’ is a melodic and thought provoking R&B heavy hitter, with Teni Solomon and Reece White laying down lyrics which demonstrate their road to success. The mix between silky smooth sultry R&B melody is a stark contrast to the smooth gritty flow that Reece Whyte lays down. Music with substance.

Our presenter Marcus Bronzy describes their latest single:

“Cinematic music….I have not heard anything like this before…give me more RAYLO!”

Listen to ‘So Gone’ here: Apple Music / Spotify

Follow RAYLO:

Twitter / Instagram / Facebook

 

NBA 2K19

NBA 2K19 – “Take The Crown” Trailer

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NBA celebrates 20 years of redefining what sports gaming can be, from best in class gameplay to ground breaking game modes and an immersive open-world “Neighborhood.” NBA 2K19 continues to push limits as it brings gaming one step closer to real-life basketball excitement and culture. (Amazon/2K)

Entitled “Take the Crown” and featuring music by Jay Rock (@jayrock), the trailer reminds all NBA 2K19 fans that to be the best, you have to take down the king. (2K)

To pre-Order please click here!

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Listen to our latest show here!

Red Dead Redemption 2

Red Dead Redemption 2: A giant returns.

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Rockstar games always knock it out of the park when it comes to games, Grand Theft Auto is what they are most known for, however when Red Dead Redemption came out in 2010, it changed the game! Everyone has always wanted to be a cow-boy and Rockstar made everyone’s dream come true! Now, 8 years later, Rockstar are revisiting the Red Dead universe. Introducing Red Dead Redemption 2. Due for release 26th October 2018.

Game Info

America, 1899. The end of the wild west era has begun as lawmen hunt down the last remaining outlaw gangs. Those who will not surrender or succumb are killed. 

After a robbery goes badly wrong in the western town of Blackwater, Arthur Morgan and the Van der Linde gang are forced to flee. With federal agents and the best bounty hunters in the nation massing on their heels, the gang must rob, steal and fight their way across the rugged heartland of America in order to survive. As deepening internal divisions threaten to tear the gang apart, Arthur must make a choice between his own ideals and loyalty to the gang who raised him.

From the creators of Grand Theft Auto V and Red Dead Redemption, Red Dead Redemption 2 is an epic tale of life in America at the dawn of the modern age. (Amazon/Rockstar)

We cannot wait for this one, it looks like so much fun! We had a blast playing the first one and really got invested with it. Rockstar know how to make games that are immersive and this version of the Red Dead universe looks no different.

Furthermore, don’t wait, check the latest gameplay trailer for this stellar game above!

Also, Pre-Order Red Dead Redemption 2 here!

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Apple's worth $1TRILLION

Apple’s worth $1TRILLION!

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So, Apple’s worth $1TRILLION, yes you read that right, Apple’s worth $1TRILLION!! (We have to say it $1TRILLION because even we can’t fathom how much money that is!)

Apple have become the world’s first company to hit the $1TN mark after it’s stock soared on theback of some excellent financial results. It wasn’t before a slight delay though as the stock app on Apple’s iPhone jumped the gun a little before it was officially announced that they had broken through the ceiling. For those wondering what $1TN looks like with lots of zeros, well it’s a lot. $1,000,000,000,000. That’s many many MANY zeros!

The impressive stock value was due to the biggest gain in over 18months for apple. Rising above the $207.04 a share threshold to tip them over the edge into Trillion dollar territory. This is a 5.89% rise from the close of $201.50 last Wednesday. The rise in stock is reportedly due to impressive sales of iPhone X’s, Macbook Pro’s and other expensive products on Apple’s product line.

Apple’s worth $1TRILLION is arguably down to the market changing iPhone. Which has been a decade since the fist one was released and now we can no longer imagine a non smart smartphone. Apple’s worth $1TRILLION marks the company’s shift from a small player in the computers market to a global electronics powerhouse. Selling a whole range of goods from smartwatches, hi-fi’s, phones and of course computers. All from a company that was started 42 years ago. Originally based in a small garage by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak too!

Before the boom

All this seems very impressive, but it was in 1997 when Apple were very close to bankruptcy with stock falling as low as $1. It wasn’t until the company hired back, (after firing) Steve Jobs as the interim CEO. The company then asked Microsoft for a $150million cash infusion to get Apple back on it’s feet. Then, the rest is history.

(Metro)

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Hot summer

Hot Summer, Hot Earth?

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Summer may be great but there could be doom ahead. It’s a hot summer of summer 2018. All across the world everyone is enjoying this glorious weather that we’re having. Though could there be something sinister approaching? It’s all our own fault too. 

Hothouse Earth

Scientists believe that we could be heading to an area that we cannot turn back from. A tippy point that triggers an area of global warming that would trigger a domino effect. Consequently affecting the future of mankind. This is deemed ‘Hothouse Earth’ a period. Which will pose ‘severe risks for health, economies, political stability, and ultimately, the habitability of the planet for humans.’ This was described by international scientists who wrote in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The study shows that long term, the planet would stabilise at a global average of 4C-65C above pre-industrial levels.

If this increase occurs, areas of the planet, LARGE areas of the planet around the equator would become uninhabitable. Sea levels are already at an all time high. Up to 60meters higher, as a result threatening coastal cities livelihoods.

Tipping points

The threshold for the tipping point will be reached when average global temperatures are 2C higher than they were pre-industrial era. We are already at a 1C increase and as summer 2018 shows we are still rising. Feedback mechanisms which will act like a ‘row of dominoes’ will spin the world as we know it into such a state of uncontrollable climate change. Even if we do things when it’s too late. It will be the absolute definition of too little too late. The research states that theere are 10 feedback processes that are predicted it kick in at 2C warming.  While the ‘tipping’ elements could turn natural carbon storage systems or sinks into hugely powerful greenhouse gas emitters.

Furthermore the dangers identified were thawing permafrost, release of methane trapped on the ocean floor, weakening lands, ocean carbon sinks, increased carbon dioxide production by ocean bacteria, Amazon rainforest die-back, coniferous forest die-back, reduced northern hemisphere snow cover, loss of Arctic summer sea ice, reduced Antarctic sea ice and melting polar ice sheets. That’s a lot of scary stuff! Which by the sounds of it, will only make the earth hotter!

Which is echoed by the scientists in the report:

‘Our analysis suggests that the Earth system may be approaching a planetary threshold that could lock in a continuing rapid pathway toward much hotter conditions – Hothouse Earth. This pathway would be propelled by strong, intrinsic, biogeophysical feedbacks difficult to influence by human actions, a pathway that could not be reversed, steered or substantially slowed. ‘Where such a threshold might be is uncertain, but it could be only decades ahead at a temperature rise of (around) 2C above pre-industrial.’

Avoiding it

So, how do we avoid this nightmare?

According to the research, it would require deep cuts in greenhouse gas emissions. Plus a very concerted effort to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. How do you do this? Well, the report highlights that it can be tackled by preserving natural carbon sinks and using technology. It is not a matter of scaring people anymore. The issues facing Earth are very real! .

‘In the context of the summer of 2018, this is definitely not a case of crying wolf, raising a false alarm. The wolves are now in sight.’ Dr Phil Williamson, from the University of East Anglia

Furthermore, Chris Rapley, professor of climate science at University College London said:

‘Previous research has shown that an increase in the mean global temperature of 11-12C would make more than half of the land area currently occupied by humans uninhabitable. So, a ‘runaway’ warming to a new and uncontrollable hot state would represent an existential threat to humanity and the majority of existing species.’

(Metro)

Well doesn’t this sound lovely?

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alien contact

Alien contact?

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Has there been some Alien contact??? Are we seeing (or rather hearing) our alien brothers and sisters? That’s what scientists think with this latest discovery!

A fast burst of audio

They have detected a rare deep space signal called a ‘fast radio burst’. While the source of the signal is as of yet unknown. Astronomers are claiming that the sound can be from an all manor of things. Such as exotic stars, exploding black holes or, as we all like to romanticise, alien civilisations! We may finally have Alien contact! The reason we have been able to pick up this sound is due to a Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME). It’s so powerful and so sensitive it was able to pick up the emission, which has the lowest frequency of any burst that we as human’s have been able to record.

As a result, whatever produced the sound has been named ‘‘FRB 180725A’ which in turn is allegedly said that it must have been very powerful. There have only ever been two dozen fast radio bursts, the first which was disovered in 2007. They’re deemed as being extremely unusual, consequently why the theory of alien lifeforms being put forward.

What could it be?

Metro are reporting that Christopher Conselice, a professor of astrophysics at the University of Nottingham, told MailOnline the discovery of the latest FRB is very helpful! As it could help to pave the way for a greater understanding of what causes FRBs:

‘We don’t know their origin, they could be caused by a number of things,’ he said. ‘The fact the lower frequency FRB has been detected provides hope that we can understand more about where they come from and what causes them. ‘They could be caused by exploding stars, supernova, exotic stars like pulsars, magnetars, neutron stars or massive black holes at the centre of distant galaxies. ‘It could even be some other physical mechanism that we don’t yet understand.’

Difficulties

While it can be argued that it is unlikely that it is of alien origin. As we are unable to identify what caused the FRB, we cannot rule out Alien contact. Speaking in 2011 Avi Loeb, of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics research institute, stated of FRB’s:

 ‘Fast radio bursts are exceedingly bright given their short duration and origin at great distances, and we haven’t identified a possible natural source with any confidence…An artificial origin is worth contemplating and checking.’

(Metro)

Could we be hearing Aliens?

What would actually happen if we did make contact with Aliens?

Also, would the government keep it a secret or let us all know? Would there be pandemonium in the streets?

What do Aliens look like? Furthermore, is there a possibility that Aliens could be other humans on another planet and we are all exactly the same but live on different planets?

So many questions!?! Let us know what you think by reaching out on our socials! @howtokillanhour on all platforms!

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Robots Takeover?

Robots takeover?!

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Robots takeover? People are afraid they’re losing their job to a robot!

Losing your job to a robot.

While robots are here to help make our lives easier and we’re grateful for that. Robots may be starting to get a little too helpful. Are we heading for robots takeover? Consequently that’s making a lot of people worried. According to a new piece of research published today a quarter of British workers are worried that robots are going to replace them. A YouGov survey of 1,000 Brits, analysts found that 7% of workers. That equates to 10Million people. Are worried that their job is going to change for the worse. While a much larger percentage (23%) are concerened that their job will become void. The research goes hand in hand with a 2 year commission on workers technology. Which will address the change and help workers re-skill if necessary.

Yvette Cooper MP, chair of the home affairs select committee stated:

‘The digital revolution means technology and jobs are changing faster than ever….. This survey of workers found that almost a quarter of workers are worried that their job will no longer be needed. And whilst it found that most people are optimistic that they will be able to change and update their skills, they also say they are not getting any help or support to train or adapt from the government, their employer or a trade union…..It is vital that action is taken now to ensure changing technology doesn’t widen inequality and to make sure all workers feel the benefits.’

Robot protection

While those that were surveyed were worried that their jobs would be taken, 9% took a different view. They asked the government if they are taking steps to prepare for new workplace technologies. (i.e. losing their job to a robot) The commission addresses these fears and are working to ensure that technological changes in the workplace will lead to good jobs. Furthermore, more allegedly seems to be done to help robots stay at bay. With the commission planning to bring the government, employers and trade unions in check regarding technological advancements and automation in the workplace.

‘Automation cannot simply be opposed, rather it should be made to work in the interests of working people. Our members are already dealing with the consequences of automation being managed badly. Government and business need to step up too, but trade unions have a central role to play,’  Roy Rickhuss, General Secretary of Community (A workers union)

(Metro)

So, Will it make more jobs in other sectors or will we be slaves to robot forever? Also, Will Robots takeover in 20years?

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