For the past 40 years, we’ve played through dozens upon dozens of awesome Star Wars games. Spanning across every genre imaginable, they’ve allowed us to live the fantasy of going on adventures in a galaxy far, far away. Here are some of the moments from Star Wars video games that we’ll never forget.
Oh, and as you can imagine, spoilers ahead.
Bioware’s Knights of the Old Republic has no shortage of incredible moments. But none is quite as memorable as finding out that your character is, in fact, Darth Revan. The reveal that you’ve been the Sith Lord you’ve been pursuing the entire time adds an immense gravity to the story, and puts all of the previous events in a new perspective.
It’s official. After spy shots, speculation, and leaks, the 2019 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 formally breaks cover here in Dubai, home of the fast, rich, and fabulous.
Yes, this latest iteration shares much of the bones of the Z06 but adds more power, refinement, a giant optional rear wing, and a pledge that this really fast car is for everyone. Even though the new ZR1 has a top speed of more than 210 mph, the Z06 and Camaro ZL1 1LE still corner the market on crazy.
General Motors chose Dubai for the global premiere of the last celebration of the C7 generation Corvette and the return of the ZR1 crown that was applied to the third-generation Corvette in 1979, C4 in 1990, and C6 in 2009. “We don’t do a ZR1 every generation,” said chief engineer Tadge Juechter. “It’s not an automatic.”
The private unveiling was held a few days before the Dubai auto show. Corvette continues to grow in popularity in the fast-growing Middle East, making Dubai a good choice for the global debut, said Tom Peters, director of exterior design for GM performance vehicles.
The car goes on sale this spring, and GM expects to make 2,000-3,000 of them at the plant in Bowling Green, Kentucky, but production will not be limited.
Pricing has not been announced but could easily exceed $130,000. The 2009 ZR1 started at $105,000; a carbon fiber package alone added $15,000. The 2018 base Stingray coupe starts at $56,490 and the Z06 starts at $80,490. Juechter said the ZR1 won’t be double the price of the Stingray.
Many of the suspected details were confirmed. The new coupe continues with GM’s 6.2-liter pushrod small block V-8, but the automaker calls this updated version of the supercharged engine the LT5. It’s confusing because the expectation is LT5 would refer to a switch to a DOHC V-8. The ZR1 sticks with Corvette’s traditional overhead valve, two valves per cylinder.
And just when you thought that engine couldn’t squeeze out any more power, GM tells us it’s rated at 755 horsepower and 715 lb-ft of torque. “After driving this around for a while the Z06 feels really sluggish,” said Juechter. It’s a nice exclamation point in the dying embers of C7 before C8 goes mid-engine and DOHC.
“I’ve never driven a Corvette like this before, and nobody else has either, because there’s never been one like this before,” said Mark Reuss, executive vice president, Global Product Development, Purchasing and Supply Chain. “Its unprecedented performance puts all other global supercars on notice that the ZR1 is back.”
A major difference: This is not the supercharger of the 2009 ZR1 or the 2015 Z06. The Eaton supercharger is 2.9 inches taller with a more efficient intercooled system that Chevy says has 52 percent more displacement than the Z06’s LT4 supercharger. Cooling has always been a Corvette bugaboo. The heavier supercharger changed the weight distribution so Chevy made the front wheels a half-inch wider for more cornering stiffness.
Another big difference: GM’s first dual fuel-injection system. It has primary direct injection and supplemental port injection. A cool by-product: It is said to shoot flames from the exhaust.
The Corvette keeps the seven-speed manual, but buyers can also choose an automatic for the first time in a ZR1 with GM’s eight-speed with paddle-shift. There was speculation the model could receive GM’s new 10-speed co-developed with Ford, but Juechter said that unit doesn’t fit the Corvette architecture and was never designed to. Instead, they updated the eight-speed to shift faster.
The ZR1 has the carbon ceramic brakes of the Z06—not the stellar non-ceramic Brembo brakes in the Camaro ZL1 1LE that are among the best on the planet, as we discovered in Motor Trend’s Best Driver’s Car testing.
The look of the most powerful Corvette to date reveals the efforts Chevy has gone to for greater performance. The strip of carbon fiber down the middle of the hood is the cover for the bulging engine that Peters did not want to be any taller so the driver can still sit low in the seat and see over the hood. It was a craftsmanship challenge to match the weave of the many pieces of carbon fiber that had to come together.
The front clip is all new and the new front fascia has four new radiators which means 13 heat exchangers in total. “The front end has almost no fascia; it is almost all openings,” Juechter said.
And the crankshaft has been strengthened. These changes, and the larger supercharger, add about 60 pounds of weight to the car. Curb weight is 3,560 pounds for a car with the most carbon fiber to date.
The latest king is designed to perform better on the track with the option to forego the regular low wing for a crazy high wing that produces an estimated 950 pounds of downforce for the track. The adjustable high wing is part of the ZTK Performance package and is attached right to the chassis. It can be adjusted about five degrees but it’s not an automatic adjustment; it requires changing the bolts. Even the low wing generates up to 70 percent more downforce than the Z06’s base aero package, and it’s much easier to get at your gear in the back.
This is the first Vette to get a front underwing to assist with downforce. Historically GM would use front splitters to push the nose down, but balancing the big wing would result in a front that too easily scrapes the ground. Borrowing some race tech, incorporating underwing creates low pressure to keep the car down, said Peters.
The ZTK package includes a front splitter with carbon-fiber end caps, Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 summer-only tires, and tuning of the chassis and Magnetic Ride Control for better cornering grip—another area where Corvette needed improvement.
And if you like orange, the Sebring Orange Design package is, you guessed it, Sebring Orange with matching brake calipers, rocker and splitter accent stripes, seatbelts, stitching, and bronze aluminum interior trim. There was a strong customer pull for orange, Juechter said. “We’ll see if they show up with their money.”
The ZR1 has leather-trimmed seats with a suede-like microfiber and an option to make them heated and cooled. Or you can opt for a sport seats and a carbon-fiber rimmed steering wheel.
Based on all the spy shots out there, the new coupe with a removable hardtop will be quickly followed by a convertible ZR1 with a soft top.
We doubt it’s a top priority, but the estimated fuel economy is 15/22 mpg in city/highway driving with the manual and 13/23 mpg with the automatic.
GM has been getting ready for the 2019 ZR1 as well as the mid-engine Corvette in the works. Production of the 2018 model at the plant in Bowling Green, Kentucky, stopped for three months to retool for future products.
The 2019 Corvette ZR1 will be on display later this month at the Los Angeles auto show.
I've been seeing Keo play COD WWII. I guess he likes it. I thought it was a pretty neat game from what little time I played the Beta. Infinate warfare seemed a little far fetched for the COD franchise.
Call of Duty: WWII has sold twice as many units in its first three days of release than last year's entry, Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare did in the same period.
Activision revealed that Sledgehammer Games' new first-person shooter earned over $500 million in sell-though globally within its first three days on the market. According to the publisher's estimates, Call of Duty: WWII sales topped the three-day openings of Thor: Ragnarok and Wonder Woman combined.
The franchise's return to WWII also saw the highest total connected users on current-generation consoles and PC in franchise history, and is now the best-selling digital full game on PlayStation 4 on its launch day.
*This game does not look cool.* *This game does not look cool.* *This game does not look cool.* *This game does not look cool.*
Battlefront 2 is a deep dive back into the Star Wars universe, taking inspiration from every major era. From maps to new modes, here’s what’s new.
Players of the first Battlefront lamented the lack of a single-player campaign, and its sequel seeks to remedy that.
In a story spanning 30 years, Battlefront 2 flips the coin and follows the Dark Side - specifically Iden Versio, commander of the imperial army’s black ops team, Inferno Squad.
Insane. They built all of this for 1939/1940 world's fair. It looks like most of it is gone.
The famous theme of the 1939 New York World's Fair was "The World of Tomorrow.” One part of that world, another theme showcased throughout the fair, was “electrification”— the growing use of electricity to light and power not only factories and businesses, but also homes and public spaces. Photographer Peter Campbell captured many scenes from the fair in full color, both during the day and at night—when bright and colorful lighting washed over the pavilions, fountains, and sculptures throughout the fairgrounds. Be sure to also see earlier photo coverage here of the 1939 New York World's Fair.
People visit the Trylon and Perisphere at the 1939 New York World's Fair. Inside the Perisphere was a diorama of a futuristic utopian city named Democracity. After viewing, visitors would leave by descending a long spiral walkway named the Helicline.
(Peter Campbell / Corbis via Getty)
Back in 2012, Shelby American showed off a tuned Mustang it called the Shelby 1000. In street-legal form and running on pump gas, the car made at least 950 hp. If you ordered the track version and filled it with race gas, though, it made an insane 1100 hp. Five years later, the Shelby 1000 is back, but this time there’s no street-legal version. Instead, Shelby American built this car to be a dedicated track star.
Based on the pre-refreshed S550 Mustang GT, the Shelby 1000 makes a claimed 1,000 hp from a Whipple-supercharged 5.2-liter Aluminator V-8. The internal components have been swapped out, with a new 90-degree crank and modified cylinder heads from the GT350. It also gets other additions like a high flow fuel system, a new intercooler, upgraded transmission, and a modified ECU to help the engine handle that extra power.
Don’t think the Shelby 1000 is just about adding more power, though. The company says it’s modified the rest of the car to make sure it can corner just as well as it can accelerate. “We do far more than just add horsepower and cosmetics to the Shelby 1000,” said Vince LaViolette, Shelby American’s head of development. “We replace every major component to create the ultimate track machine. The result is a car that will slice through corners and blast down straights with amazing ease.”
Appearance-wise, it gets a redesigned front end, a new hood, modified fenders, and new rear-quarter panels. The car has also been widened in both the front and rear, not simply for looks but also for handling. Shelby also added an adjustable coil-over suspension, larger Brembo brakes, a diffuser and sports exhaust, and wider wheels and tires.
“The 2012 through 2014 model year Shelby 1000 was based on the 5.8L Ford Shelby GT500, and while we significantly altered the suspension, it was best suited for the drag strip,” said Gary Patterson, head of Shelby American. “The new Shelby 1000 is an entirely different car designed to be the ultimate road course warrior.”
“Since Ford dropped the solid axle rear end, we had to take an entirely new approach,” said LaViolette. “Not only did we build strength into the car with components like heavy-duty half-shafts and CV joints, we revised the entire suspension by using tubular adjustable upper and lower control arms, as well as fully adjustable coilovers. We then added 10- and 12-inch [wide] forged wheels with sticky 20-inch rubber to maximize traction with this high level of power.”
Considering how much work goes into turning a Mustang GT into a Shelby 1000, it shouldn’t be a huge surprise that they will be built in relatively limited numbers. But according to Shelby, it will be super limited, with only 50 being built per model year. The Shelby 1000 also costs a whopping $169,995, and that doesn’t include the cost of the Mustang GT you also have to buy to do the conversion. If you’re interested in ordering one, though, head to the company’s website for more information.
Are you friends with your friends for the sake of your friends? Or are you friends with your friends for the sake of yourself? I suspect you don’t really know while you derive some clear benefit from the relationship. As long as the relationship is gain, not loss, as long as it enhances your reputation instead of diminishes it, you probably don’t really know.
A friend and I were recently considering some mutual acquaintances who had fallen on hard times. They had sinned or been sinned against, their lives and legacies called into question, their qualifications and reputations under attack. We noticed a difference between the two. One was deserted by his friends while one was supported. One saw his friends abandon him while the other saw his friends stay by his side. All other things being equal, both men learned something about their friendships. One learned that his friends will distance themselves when that friendship becomes a liability. The other learned that his friends will stand by him even when there is personal cost. One learned he had true friends while one learned he really had no friends at all.
I fear that, judged by this standard, many of our friendships are self-centered. In the final analysis, we are friends with our friends for the sake of ourselves. When there is benefit to be gained by our associations we gladly proclaim people our friends. But when that association threatens to bring us shame, we quickly deny them. Why? Because our love for our friends is less than our love for ourselves. The “friendships” last only as long as they are beneficial to us.
I am grateful to have entered into a number of friendships that I am convinced would endure such challenges. But even more so, I am glad to have entered into the greatest of all friendships with the greatest of all Friends. At a million times and in a million ways I’ve already given this Friend every reason to bail, every reason to walk away, every reason to flee the shame of association. But he remains. He perseveres. He refuses to run. He risks his reputation every day. Yet he remains the nearest and dearest of friends. As the old sage says, “A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.”
Nintendo has announced a new The Legend of Zelda-themed 2DS. The “Link Edition” console is green with yellow buttons and includes a copy of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D pre-installed. It will be available for $79.99 on Black Friday, which is November 24.
Alongside the Link Edition Nintendo 2DS system, Nintendo will also be releasing a new bundle for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
Want to make almost the same power as a Hellcat in your Ford Mustang? Ford has you covered with a new Roush supercharger for the 5.0-liter V-8. The kit, available through Ford Performance, fits either the 2018 Mustang GT or the V-8-powered 2018 F-150. Better yet, the supercharger does not void the engine’s warranty and the kit comes with its own warranty when installed by Ford.
The Roush supercharger kit is designed to work with the 5.0’s new port and direct injection fuel system and is rated at 700 hp and 610 lb-ft of torque for the Mustang GT and 640 hp and 600 lb-ft for the F-150. That is with 93 octane and 12 psi of boost. On the Mustang, the kit can be installed on either the 10-speed automatic or six-speed manual transmission.
“Our teams collaborated to create the most highly engineered, tested and performing supercharger kit on the market,” said Jack Roush, chairman of the board of directors at Roush Performance, in a release. “The combination of the 2018 5.0-liter engine and our all-new, fully integrated 2650 supercharger system yields simply incredible, no-compromise performance.”
From the factory, the 5.0-liter V-8 in the Mustang GT produces 460 hp and 420 lb-ft. The kit adds to that an impressive 240 hp and 190 lb-ft of torque. The 5.0 in the F-150 produces 395 hp and 400 lb-ft from the factory, and pumps out an additional 245 hp and 200 lb-ft with the supercharger installed.
The Roush supercharger kit includes all the required installation hardware and an exclusive performance calibration. Expect to see the kit available in early 2018 at Ford dealers, Ford Performance Warehouse Distributors, and Roush dealers. For additional information you can visit Ford Performance Parts.
This is not the first supercharger kit developed by Roush for Ford’s 5.0-liter V-8. In 2015, we saw a Roush Stage 3 supercharger kit developing 670 hp and 545 lb-ft and in 2014 a supercharger kit was said to produce more than 600 hp.
I'm going to get a set of these one day. $31 isn't a bad price.
This unique tool provides instant adjustment, memory retention of jaw opening, and single-handed, self-gripping operation with a grip that won’t let go. The Knipex jaws really grip. You can literally hang from the handles and they will not slip. The upper and lower jaws are notched. This allows the user to grip a hex nut on the corner and the flat side so as not to round off the nut. They have a flat nose where the jaws meet that allows you to do some pretty fine work. The jaws are very tough. The Cobra is designed to eliminate “knuckle-busting” and the “burring” of nuts, bolts, and fittings. Its thin profile and lightweight ensure ease of operation.
At first glance, they look like the classic Channel Locks (on the right in the picture below). But the Channel Lock handles actually touch together in the extreme “wide” position. This can and has led to pinched hands and fingers if you slip off the workpiece. The Knipex handles do not touch, which leaves you with that little bit of saving grace if you slip off the workpiece. Also, the Channel Lock has 5 jaw positions that slip/slide into place, while the Knipex has 12 jaw positions and, each position is spring-pin locked into place. For example, you are working in a blind, tight space and drop the Knipex: the jaw will still be set to the position you started with and you suffer no aggravation except that due to your own clumsiness. Not so with Channel locks. You will have to fiddle around with them to get them back where you want them, and if you bump or roll them around the work while trying to get a bite, the jaws will slip back out of position.
I have used this tool almost every day for the past 18 years working with elevator and escalator system installations, repairs, servicing, and maintenance. It is always the first tool I grab to take with me to do a job at home or at work.
Revology debuted its latest reproduction of the 1967 Shelby GT500 at the SEMA Show this week. The retro Mustang features an upgraded engine and a more modern interior, but it’ll cost you around $219,000.
The reproduction sits on Revology’s M58 platform for front-engine, rear-wheel-drive models. Under the hood, the Revology Shelby GT500 packs a supercharged 5.0-liter V-8 engine from Roush Performance. Based on the DOHC Ti-VCT “Coyote” in the Mustang GT, this all-aluminum unit produces 600 hp and 475 lb-ft of torque. To achieve that power, changes had to be made to the driveline, electrical unit, cooling system, suspension, and even the car’s body. Each engine comes with a two-year manufacturer’s warranty.
Expect plenty of creature comforts on this special GT500. Air conditioning, remote keyless entry, remote trunk release, leather seats, Bluetooth, and power windows and door locks are some of the standard features. Also look for power four-wheel disc brakes with 330mm slotted and ventilated rotors as well as six-piston calipers in front and four-piston calipers in the rear. Revology is licensed by both Ford and Shelby to reproduce the classic GT500 and other iconic Mustangs of the era.
Last year, Revology debuted a 1967 Shelby GT500 that made 1.7 times more power than the Shelby GT500’s original 7.0-liter V-8 and was 550 pounds lighter than the Mustang GT. At the last SEMA Show, Revology brought out a reengineered 1966 Shelby GT350.
Currently, the UAW does not represent workers at the Tesla plant.
Earlier this month, we reported that Tesla had fired more than 400 employees under suspicious circumstances. The electric car startup said the firings were performance-related, but several of those fired claimed they’d never received a bad review. But the situation got even more complicated this week when the United Automobile Workers union filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board accusing Tesla of unfair labor practices.
Automotive News reports that the UAW’s complaint claims that Tesla has illegally worked to prevent employees from unionizing. It says employees have been intimidated, punished for wearing clothing that displays union logos, and even fired for supporting unionization.
“Tesla, which recently fired hundreds of employees for ‘performance issues,’ swept up many pro-union employees in the terminations. Several pro-union employees have come forward with copies of their performance reports, which show no areas of concern,” said the union in a statement.
In response to the unfair labor practices complaint, Tesla released a statement dismissing it altogether. “No one at Tesla has ever or will ever have any action taken against them based on their feelings on unionization,” said Tesla. “It’s worth remembering that each year, roughly 20,000 ULPs are filed with the NLRB by unions like the UAW as an organizing tactic.”
It’s now up to the NLRB to review the complaint and determine whether or not there’s enough evidence to launch a formal investigation.
The folks at The FJ Company brought this fully restored 1981 Toyota FJ Land Cruiser to SEMA to show off what it can do. The latest project in its refurbished lineup is called the Signature edition. It began with a full frame-off restoration of an original 1981 FJ43. Once it was brought back to like-new condition it was painted in Toyota’s Dune Beige with a matte finish.
Up front, the trusty Land Cruiser gets a Warn 8274 winch mounted on a 40-series bumper and Baja Designs LED fog lights. Then, the FJ received accessories like an aluminum fuel cap cover and side mirrors painted in Gunmetal Gray.
Under the hood, there’s a new Toyota 1GR-FE 4.0-liter V-6 that offers 240 hp, the same engine used in the 4Runner and formerly found in the Tacoma and FJ Cruiser. The engine is mated to a six-speed manual transmission. Stopping power has been updated with Toyota 4Runner four-wheel disc brakes. A performance-tuned suspension system adds Fox shocks and Old Man Emu leaf springs.
Inside are Recaro seats, custom-designed window levers, door handles, pedals, shifters, and pull knobs—also in Gunmetal Gray. There’s a canvas sunroof and windows when you get tired of the retrofitted air conditioning system. Plus, there’s an iPad mounted to the center console for your iTunes.
The company says that 24 Signature builds are planned for production in 2018 and prices start at $200,000.
This stuff is flippin awesome. I've used it to bundle wires together, or to insulate a splice. It doesn't get all sticky and degrade overtime like electrical tape does.
Of all the things I have in my electronics toolbox, nothing gets my kid more excited than seeing me use heatshrink. The stuff is honestly magic, plus there’s usually fire involved – so bonus.
If you’re unfamiliar, these are plastic tubes you slip over connections that shrink tight when heat is applied. It’s a pro way to keep wires and components from shorting into each other. It’s a real life saver when you’re splicing two wires together and you want that splice to be sealed up like the rest of the wire. You just cut the length you need, slip it on before you solder, and then heat it in place when you’re done, either with a heat gun, a mini butane torch, or even a lighter or soldering iron if you’re in a pinch.
Heat shrink is one of those tools that I totally take for granted until I show it to someone who’s never seen it before and it blows their mind. This 200-piece multipack is a great introduction, through it doesn’t include the really fat 1.5” tubes needed for that Pi enclosure. It works on an Adafruit Trinket though, and for basic wiring you can’t beat the price. I’d pay that much just for the case it comes in.
I've wanted to try this stuff for years. I didn't realize it's $200 a bottle though. I'll stick with some good scotch if i'm going to pay that much per bottle.
The recommended serving of this 28% ABV brew is just 1 oz. at a time.
I’ve had the iFixit Essential Electronics Toolkit for around a year now, and it’s especially great for opening up and repairing or hacking my kid’s toys, or any electronics with small screws. When a toy breaks, especially an RC car, this is my one-stop triage kit.
It comes in a hard plastic shell with magnetic corners, and the lid is designed with this raised grid inside that works for grouping together screws and washers as you go — which just that right there shows you the kind of attention that went onto this kit.
Inside you’ll find a great set of tools for separating the layers of delicate electronics like smartphones or tablets. If you’re lucky, you’ll never have to use it for that, but I’ve done an iPod Touch screen repair with these same tools.
You also get a pair of precision tweezers and a metal jimmy tool that’s good for gently prying things apart without cutting yourself.
Mostly though, I keep coming back to this kit for the screwdriver. This is like the Maserati of precision screwdrivers. It’s a magnetized metal handle that comes with 16 bits that run from Philips and flat, to exotic pentalobes and security bits.
It’s a great price for what it is and you’ll feel like a pro every time you use it. If you’ve suffered through using these cheap jewelers screwdrivers that chew up your fingers, then you’ve earned this upgrade.
