Technologies

GoldenEye 007 Hits Nintendo Switch, Xbox: How to Play, Fix Switch Controls

The 1997 Nintendo 64 first-person shooter brings classic James Bond action to Nintendo Switch Online and Xbox Game Pass.

Load up your silenced PP7s and prime those remote mines: GoldenEye 007 is available to play via the Nintendo Switch Online and Xbox Game Pass subscription services. The beloved James Bond first-person shooter originally hit the N64 in 1997, and this is the game’s first rerelease since then.

Playing GoldenEye 007 on Nintendo Switch

You’ll need to be subscribed to Switch Online’s $50-a-year Expansion Pack tier to access GoldenEye and other N64 games. Online multiplayer is exclusive to the Switch release, the official 007 website noted, but this version is otherwise the same as the N64 original.

The default control scheme will likely feel a little weird, but Reddit user Cuesport77 suggested changes that’ll bring it in line with modern shooters. I tested this, and it works beautifully (though I opted to use the left analog stick to move around, right for aiming).

1. Go to System Settings > Controllers and Sensors > Change Button Assignments.

2. Create a control profile for GoldenEye.

3. Remap the left analog stick to function as right analog.

4. Remap the right analog stick to function as left analog.

5. Remap ZR button to function as ZL, so you can fire with ZR.

6. Remap ZL to function as L, so you can manual aim with ZL.

7. (Optional) Remap L to function as B, so you can activate things with L.

8. (Optional) Remap R to function as A, so you can switch weapons with R.

(You will now have to navigate using the right analog stick and either A/B or L/R, depending on whether you followed steps 6 and 7.)

9. Launch GoldenEye and begin a mission, navigating menus with the right analog stick.

10. Pause, and go over to Controls.

11. Switch from 1.1 Honey to 1.2 Solitaire.

12. Go over to Settings, and turn the Look Up/Down setting to Upright.

Playing GoldenEye 007 on Xbox

The Game Pass version is playable on Xbox One and Xbox Series X and S. A subscription costs $10 a month, though people who own a digital copy of Rare Replay, the 30-game compilation of classics that came out in 2015, can also get access to GoldenEye for free. That doesn’t apply to physical copies of Rare Replay, and the game isn’t available to purchase separately.

«The game now offers modern control options (including support for dual analog sticks) and a consistent refresh rate, running at a native 16:9 resolution up to 4K Ultra HD (where supported),» Craig Duncan, head of Microsoft-owned developer Rare, said in a blog post marking the game’s release. «There’s also a full roster of Xbox achievements to strive for, some of which are sure to test the mettle of proficient 00 Agents.»

So it offers more modern bells and whistles than the Switch release, but lacks online multiplayer (you’ll still have local splitscreen).

What’s the big deal about GoldenEye 007?

GoldenEye’s return was revealed in a Nintendo Direct livestream last September.

As a licensed tie-in to the 1995 movie that introduced actor Pierce Brosnan as the legendary British secret agent, the game won critical acclaim for its fun single-player campaign and epic split-screen competitive multiplayer. It became the N64’s third bestselling title, with 8.09 million units sold — it was only topped by Super Mario 64 and Mario Kart 64, which sold 11.91 million and 9.87 million copies, respectively.

Rare also developed GoldenEye followup Perfect Dark for the N64 in 2000, before Microsoft acquired the company in 2002.

Fans have been expecting a remaster for Microsoft’s Xbox Series X and S to be revealed for months, since achievements for it have leaked multiple times. It was reportedly planned for release on Xbox 360 in the late 2010s, and an apparent extended gameplay video appeared in 2016. At the time, Xbox boss Phil Spencer said the game’s licensing rights complicated efforts to get it on the console. The versions that came to Switch and Xbox aren’t remasters, but upscaled versions of the original game.

Original developer David Doak, whose face was famously used for in-game Bond ally Dr. Doak, expressed both his delight and discontent in a statement to CNET.

«It is heartwarming and very special to see the outpouring of love and nostalgia for the game, it is amazing to have been part of the team that created something that has touched so many people in a positive way,» he wrote. «Disappointing that none of the parties involved in this re-release have made any attempt to involve that original team in any way. Feels shabby and disingenuous.»

Doak regularly tweets about the game and engages with fans. Last September, he posted a shot of himselef dressed like his in-game counterpart, and joked that players shouldn’t «come crying» to him if they have trouble unlocking the infamous Invincibility cheat. That’s one of the game’s most difficult challenges — you have to beat the Facility level in under 2 minutes, 5 seconds to get it. He’s spoken at length about the game’s development over the years, and tweeted a 1997 shot of the original development team on Wednesday.

This year marks the 70th anniversary of Bond’s first appearance, in author Ian Fleming’s novel Casino Royale. Last year was the 60th anniversary of the Bond movie franchise — with latest film No Time to Die now available to stream on Amazon Prime Video — but the series is in a state of flux as fans await the announcement of Daniel Craig’s successor in the role. Hitman developer IO Interactive is also working on its own Bond game.

Technologies

How Much Energy Do Your AI Prompts Consume? Google Just Shared Its Gemini Numbers

Current measurements of AI’s impact aren’t telling the full story. Google has offered a new method it hopes to standardize.

The explosion of AI tools worldwide is increasing exponentially, but the companies that make these tools often don’t express their environmental impact in detail.

Google has just released a technical paper detailing measurements for energy, emissions and water use of its Gemini AI prompts. The impact of a single prompt is, it says, minuscule. According to its methodology for measuring AI’s impact, a single prompt’s energy consumption is about the equivalent of watching TV for less than 9 seconds.

That’s quite in a single serving, except when you consider the variety of chatbots being used, with billions of prompts easily sent every day.

On the more positive side of progress, the technology behind these prompts has become more efficient. Over the past 12 months, the energy of a single Gemini text prompt has been reduced by 33x, and the total carbon footprint has been reduced by 44x, Google says. According to the tech giant, that’s not unsubstantial, and it’s a momentum that will need to be maintained going forward.

Google did not immediately respond to CNET’s request for further comment.

Google’s calculation method considers much more

The typical calculation for the energy cost of an AI prompt ends at the active machine it’s been run on, which shows a much smaller per-prompt footprint. But Google’s method for measuring the impact of a prompt purportedly spans a much wider range of factors that paint a clearer picture, including full-system dynamic power, idle machines, data center overhead, water consumption and more.

For comparison, it’s estimated that only using the active TPU and GPU consumption, a single Gemini prompt uses 0.10 watt-hours of energy, 0.12 milliliters of water and emits 0.02 grams of carbon dioxide equivalent. This is a promising number, but Google’s wider methodology tells a different story. With more considerations in place, a Gemini text prompt uses 0.24Wh of energy, 0.26mL of water and emits 0.03 gCO2e — around double across the board.

Will new efficiencies keep up with AI use?

Through a multilayered series of efficiencies, Google is continually working on ways to make AI’s impact less burdensome, from more efficient model architectures and data centers to custom hardware.

With smarter models, use cases and tools emerging daily, those efficiencies will be critical as we immerse ourselves deeper in this AI reality.

For more, you should stop using ChatGPT for these things.

Technologies

Vivo Launches Mixed-Reality Headset, an Apple Vision Pro Competitor

Vivo Vision has many of the same design elements as Apple’s VR/AR, but is only available in China, for now.

Look-alikes of Apple products often pop up in China, and mixed-reality headsets have now joined the party. Chinese smartphone maker Vivo has introduced the Vivo Vision, a headset mixing both AR and VR, and it bears many similarities to the Apple Vision Pro.

The company announced the Vivo Vision Discovery Edition at its 30th anniversary celebration in Dongguan, China, saying it’s «the first MR product developed by a smartphone manufacturer in China, positioning Vivo as the first Chinese company to operate within both the smartphone and MR product sectors.»

The Vivo Vision, currently only an in-store experience in mainland China, has a curved glass visor, an aluminum external battery pack and downward-pointing cameras like the Vision Pro. But it also has some differences — an 180-degree panoramic field of view and a much lighter weight at 398 grams (versus the Vision Pro’s 650 grams).

CNET asked Vivo if it plans to sell the Vivo Vision to non-China markets, but the company did not immediately respond.

The Vivo Vision runs on OriginOS Vision, Vivo’s mixed-reality operating system. It supports 3D video recording, spatial photos and audio, and a 120-foot cinematic screen experience.

The starting cost in China will be $1,395 (converted to US dollars), compared to the Vision Pro at $3,500.

Even if the Vivo Vision came to the consumer market in the US, it might not matter much to Apple’s bottom line. The Vision Pro hasn’t been a big seller, likely because of the price tag. Still, the headset market is expected to grow quickly over the next several years, and Apple is already working on new versions of the Vision Pro, including one that’s more affordable than the original.

Jon Rettinger, a tech influencer with more than 1.65 million YouTube subscribers, says he’s not overly enthusiastic about VR/AR just yet. «It’s heavy, invasive and without a must-have use case,» Rettinger told CNET. «If the technology can go from goggles to glasses, I think we’ll see a significant rise. But if the current form factors stay, it will always be niche.

The YouTuber loves that the technology exists, but still doesn’t use it. «The honeymoon wore off. Aside from some gaming and content viewing, it’s still cumbersome, and I tend to go back to my laptop,» he said.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for Aug. 22 #537

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle for Aug. 22, No. 537.

Looking for the most recent Strands answer? Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s NYT Strands puzzle has a fun theme, especially if you have ever read Agatha Christie books or played a few rounds of the board game Clue. If you need hints and answers, read on.

I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: Whodunit?

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: Solve the crime

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

REST, POEM, SOUR, SOURS, DIAL, HOLE, VOLE, ROLE, ROLES, VOLES, HOLES, DEEM, GAIT, SAME

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers:

HEIR, LOVER, RIVAL, SPOUSE, STRANGER, DETECTIVE

Today’s Strands spangram

Today’s Strands spangram is ITSAMYSTERY, with all the answers being characters common to mystery novels. To find it, look for the I that’s the farthest left letter on the top row, and wind down.