Technologies

Bounty Star Review: Saddle Up for Desert Mech Action on the Frontier

The new game from Annapurna Interactive is about picking yourself up and finding meaning in life again — with a big mech suit, naturally.

Video games that feature mechs — pilotable robots meant for battle — have always been rare. Most of them, from 2023’s Armored Core 6 to 2016’s Titanfall 2 to the Mechwarrior games of old, are fast-paced combat simulators. Bounty Star, a new mech game that’s out now on PC and consoles, slows down the action with a story about starting life anew on the frontier.

Bounty Star, developed by studio Dinogod, still has its share of real-time combat encounters that make up the bulk of the gameplay. But filling the time between all that action are calmer moments, maintaining a desert ranch, from gardening and tending livestock to tuning up a mech. It’s in these more mundane stretches that the game’s setting sings, with the twanging guitar soundtrack echoing around a dusty barn plopped in the middle of anywhere and nowhere under a seemingly endless sky.

It’s the perfect place for Clementine, a rugged former sheriff looking to escape mistakes in her past. Covered in tattoos and burn scars, she’s an ace pilot of the mechs (called Raptors) that protect the settlements of a world patching itself back together after a couple of apocalypses. Clem is a salty survivor getting back on her feet, fixing up the dilapidated waystation she’s been given by her bounty handler as she cleans up the desert of bandits and dinosaurs gnawing at the edges of civilized life in the frontier.

Cowboys and mechs, what could be better? There’s a lot of heart in Bounty Star, earning its place in boutique publisher Annapurna Games’ release calendar. The cartoony style softens the game’s somber themes of people eking out an existence on the edge of society, but its combat is well-tuned. Clem ventures out on bounty missions in her trusty Raptor, which can be tweaked to fit the mission. Most of the time, you’ll be gunning down or capturing bandits on foot or in mechs of their own.

Over time, you’ll acquire an arsenal of guns, explosive launchers, swords and hammers to clean out the sands and canyons around your ranch. You’ll have to be careful what you pack into your kit, as weapons can raise or lower the heat of your mech. Swing too widely one way or another, and you’ll force a shutdown, leaving you vulnerable. However, you can switch modular systems in and out, like a chilling coil that keeps your mech at a cooler baseline, which is great for heading out in the hot afternoon but not the cooler evening. Juggling kit pieces and time of day for a mission is part of the balancing act that keeps you switching things up.

I’m about 10 hours into the game and have unlocked some of the elements of the farm: a set of plant beds, a couple of electrolyzing tanks for mech fuel and a hive for a bug friend I can bring on missions. All need tending in the mornings, after which I can cook up a meal for bonus stats for the day’s combat. Then I take on bounties, some of which can only be attempted at certain times — like one in the evening that had me clear out a floodlit baseball field.

While the days are spent knocking bandit heads amid the desert rock and sand, the night landscapes are lit up by phosphorescent purple trees — potentially the effect of the devastating wars of years gone by, but a lovely environmental effect regardless. Rising above the neon violet flora are the stars, and like anywhere not spoiled by the light pollution of a city, the specks of white blanket the night.

I’m not far into the game, and haven’t hit too many story beats. But whenever I complete enough bounties to cross a milestone, I’m treated to a scene of Clem sitting atop her Raptor, filling out a journal, talking about the slow progress of gaining trust from the oddballs she’s met and the Syndicate that assigns her bounties meant to bring law to the land.

Few though they are, most other mech games are action-packed bonanzas against the backdrop of global (Armored Core 6) or galactic politics (Battletech). Bounty Star shrinks the scale down to a jaded woman and the land she’s helping bring back to order and productivity, one way or another. Helping others helps bring her peace. As anyone who knows the desert can tell you, look past the barren emptiness long enough and you’ll find wonder in natural beauty and purpose in making a living in the harsh frontier.

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Bounty Star is out now on PC (via Steam

and Epic), Xbox Series X and S, and PlayStation 5, for $22.49.

Technologies

Ford fends off Hyundai to retain No. 3 U.S. sales position in third quarter

Ford on Friday reported a year-over-year sales decline of 6.6% during the third quarter to 507,395 light-duty vehicles.

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Technologies

A Brexit reversal is on the table 10 years on from the vote that changed Britain. Here’s what’s at stake

Britain voted to leave the European Union in 2016.

U.K. Prime Minister Andy Burnham suggested this week that British voters could be given the chance to reverse Brexit, the country’s highly contentious departure from the European Union a decade ago.

Burnham, who became prime minister over the summer, told the BBC on Wednesday it was “possible” a referendum on rejoining the EU could be included in a future election manifesto.

A U.K. general election is not currently expected before 2029. Prime ministers are able to trigger an early snap election with the backing of parliament, but Burnham — who replaced predecessor Keir Starmer without a public vote — has ruled out such a move.

In his interview with the BBC, the prime minister said a referendum “wouldn’t be the right thing to do right now,” but added that the U.K. must “consider the options” for its relationship with the EU, arguing that “where we are isn’t good enough.”

Asked whether an in-out referendum in a future election manifesto was a possibility, Burnham said: “yes, things are possible.”

During the previous general election — which saw Starmer lead the governing Labour party to a landslide victory and end 14 years of Conservative rule — Burnham was serving as Mayor of Manchester. As he prepared to challenge Starmer’s leadership, Burnham pledged not to “re-run” arguments over Brexit.

In a separate interview with the BBC’s Today program, Burnham said he wanted to “look at the options” for resetting U.K.-EU relations.

“We could stay as we are. That’s definitely an option, if people think this is the right place to stay,” he said, when asked if he wanted Britain to rejoin the union. “We could look at what [former finance minister] George Osborne has said about a customs union, we could look at… the single market or we could go all the way.”

The interviews came after Burnham’s speech at the governing Labour party’s annual conference on Tuesday, in which he said “Brexit hasn’t given us control.”

The 2016 Brexit campaign promised to “take back control” of immigration, free up more money for the country’s health service, and forge trade deals with the rest of the world.

While the value of U.K. goods and services exports has grown significantly in the last decade, according to government figures, immigration and NHS funding pressures are more contentious than ever.

“Later this year, there will be a U.K.-EU summit,” Burnham said at the conference on Tuesday.

“We will not give Britain the clear path we need into the rest of the century until we decide on a long-term relationship with what is still our largest market. I cannot say to you truthfully that where we are is good enough. Brexit has done more harm than good [and] we need to restore a higher level of growth and prosperity for Britain.”

A decade of Brexit

On June 23, 2016, Britons headed to the polls to vote on whether to stay in the European Union. A shock result emerged that night: the electorate had voted to leave the bloc by 52% to 48%.

As the result sank in, the British pound tanked, and London’s FTSE 100 tumbled. Then-Prime Minister David Cameron — who had called the referendum and led the campaign for the Remain vote — resigned.

Britain did not officially leave the EU until 2020. In the interim years, the country’s looming exit from the bloc remained a contentious issue, with so-called “Remainers” staging huge protests against the decision and some political parties putting a reversal of the vote at the heart of their election campaigns.

The U.K. economy has largely failed to experience a post-Brexit boost after upending ties with its largest trading partner, and sterling never returned to its pre-referendum level. The country has also seen a quick succession of prime ministers, with some of the past decade’s seven leaders ousted over the way they handled Brexit and the post-referendum economy.

James Smith, developed markets economist at ING, told CNBC that while Burnham’s statement is politically significant, unlocking tangible economic upside relies on concrete changes to the trading relationship, which could take years.

“Though the PM has opened the door to full EU membership, the reality is that he faces the same constraints that have hemmed in previous leaders,” he said in an email. “The public may agree that Brexit hasn’t gone well, but it’s not clear there is a majority in favor of rejoining. It’s also not at all clear how willing the EU will be to give ground in negotiations, given the recent volatility of U.K. politics and the possibility of a Reform-led government in the future.”

Smith noted that it had taken more than five years to go from referendum to new economic relationship with the EU.

“I suspect it will take much longer for Britain to settle on and implement a new form of relationship now that [Brexit] has dropped down the list of political priorities among voters,” he said.

Steve Nolan, a senior lecturer in economics at Britain’s Liverpool John Moores University, told CNBC on Thursday that some estimates suggest U.K. gross domestic product was 5% to 8% smaller than it would have been without the vote to leave the EU.

“This hasn’t been a surprise to economists — standard models in trade say that if you put up barriers to trade with your nearest trading partner then this will cause problems,” he said. “So there are definite benefits to be reaped by rejoining, but the road towards that outcome could be rocky.”

Any new referendum would increase uncertainty and turmoil, he added.

“The U.K. would also be asking to be let back into the club from a weakened bargaining position and may have to accept many conditions — [such as] euro membership and free movement of labor — that may cause economic and political difficulties. So, there are opportunities to grabbed, but they won’t come without a cost.”

However, Nigel Green, CEO of London-based financial consultancy DeVere Group, said that while closer ties with Europe would make Britain richer, it would also make it easier for capital to leave the country.

“Sterling stands to gain from a steadier relationship with the U.K.’s biggest trading partner, and U.K.-focused equities, priced at a discount for a decade, could start to close the gap,” he said.

But he cautioned that “an open door works both ways,” with entrepreneurs, and senior professionals increasingly telling deVere they were considering leaving the U.K. to avoid the high tax burden.

“The EU reset needs a domestic twin: competitive taxes, faster planning and policy stability that lets businesses look beyond the next Budget,” he said. “Get both right and the U.K. becomes a magnet for capital in Europe. Get only one right and Britain becomes a more convenient place to leave.”

Technologies

South Korean President Lee Threatens ‘Additional Measures’ to Ukraine Over POW Disclosure

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has threatened further actions against Ukraine following its disclosure of North Korean POW transfers to Seoul, demanding an apology over the alleged breach of a confidentiality agreement.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung on Friday criticized Ukraine after its announcement that North Korean prisoners of war were handed over to Seoul, insisting on a public apology and warning of “further actions” against Kyiv.

In a post on X, Lee stated that Kyiv disclosed the transfer of certain captured North Korean soldiers unilaterally, despite requesting confidentiality and later asserting no secrecy pact existed, which made the Korean leader appear as a “liar.”

“As this is a matter concerning the honor of the Republic of Korea’s people and nation, we cannot overlook it,” he said in Korean, translated by Google.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha reportedly characterized the dispute on Thursday as a “diplomatic misunderstanding,” which his nation expects to resolve. Seoul remains a significant partner for Kyiv, Sybiha added.

Alleged Secrecy Pact

During the United Nations General Assembly last week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that Kyiv had delivered two captured North Korean soldiers to South Korea.

This prompted South Korea to accuse Ukraine of violating a nondisclosure agreement regarding the transfer and to summon Ukraine’s chargé d’affaires for clarification. Seoul also noted that Ukraine requested the transfer remain confidential, as it could adversely affect prisoner exchanges with Russia.

“When we demanded acknowledgement of the agreement and an apology, they instead spoke of an imminent military clash between North and South, praying for the outbreak of war on the Korean Peninsula—we express grave regret toward Ukraine,” Lee said on Friday.

The remarks follow an interview with Ukrainian presidential chief of staff Kyrylo Budanov last week, in which he claimed North Korea’s involvement in the Ukraine-Russia conflict was intended to prepare for combat on the Korean Peninsula.

“The situation is escalating every day. And it is only a matter of time before a trigger event occurs that will lead to uncontrolled consequences,” he added, according to a Google translation of his Telegram post in Ukrainian.

While Kyiv has offered no explanation for why Zelenskyy made the announcement at the UNGA, South Korea’s National Intelligence Service reportedly informed lawmakers he may have done so to rally support in Seoul for supplying Kyiv with weapons and other aid.

In August, Zelenskyy asked South Korea to back Ukraine by providing air defense systems, something Seoul has not supported even as it has offered humanitarian aid to Ukraine.