Rayman Legends is now available for free on the Epic Games Store as their latest weekly giveaway. Due to the Thanksgiving holiday this will be free through next Friday. This will overlap with their next freebie, as the Jotun: Valhalla Edition will be available for nothing starting on Thursday. Here are some details on the action/platformer gameplay of Rayman Legends:

Run, jump & smack your way through 100+ maps

Connect with your friends through a variety of challenges that will test your skill and speed. Check the leaderboards to see where you rank around the world.

Jump to the rhythm and rock the party to beat the crazy musical levels

A tweet from Petroglyph Games from a couple of weeks ago reveals plans for Earthbreakers, an upcoming game that combines their favored real-time strategy genre with first-person shooter action (thanks DSOGaming). A Teaser Trailer shows off gameplay and what look like cel shaded graphics. The game's Steam Listing is online showing a 2020 release date and offering some details, saying, "Earthbreakers is a team-based PvP multiplayer game which combines the most enjoyable elements of FPS and RTS! You and your team battle for territory and harvest rare resources, while building and customizing your team’s base. Choose an infantry combat class, defend your base and supply lines, construct and pilot powerful military vehicles, and ultimately annihilate the enemy's HQ!" Here's more:

The year was 2045. In a time of global unrest, riots and civil war, scientists discover a new form of matter, Vilothyte, that can be used both to create any element or used directly as a power source. Considered a cure for the Earth's resource crisis, a system of satellites was placed in orbit which would scan for the materials needed to create the material and fire conversion bombs. Designated the “Earthbreaker Project”, It was said to be safe and would never target populated or endangered areas.

Continue here to read the full story.

Neon Noodles - Cyberpunk Kitchen Automation is now in Early Access on Steam for Windows and Linux. This offers the chance to run your own futuristic noodle counter, a favored eatery of characters like Rick Deckard, Korben Dallas, and Spike Spiegel. Here's the previously released Announcement Trailer with a look, and here are some details on the game, which is expected to graduate from Early Access next year:

From the developer of the award-winning puzzler Semispheres, comes Neon Noodles, an award-winning futuristic puzzle programming game, whereby the player creates an automation machine that creates food dishes. Inspired by the open-ended machine building puzzle games of Zachtronics such as Opus Magnum, players use a combination of robots, ingredient stations, process stations, and programming commands to create a well oiled machine that churns out dish after dish. Puzzles have multiple solutions as players customize their process to be as complicated or streamlined as they want.

Program your robots to make ramen, guacamole, bibimbap, spaetzle, paella, and all manner of delectable cuisines from around the world! Neon Noodles features over 100 recipes consisting of 200 ingredients. Craft your kitchen’s code through a very intuitive record-and-replay system where you control the robot that creates the program, then edit it later if needed. Travel the world and master the art of cooking through technological advancement in a cyberpunk setting filled with mysteries.

Continue here to read the full story.

A tweet from Rocket League has a PSA for players of this vehicular sports game, warning that some microtransactions and other features will be disabled next week to pave the way for the game's Blueprint Update:

PSA: The following will be disabled on December 3 at 9 a.m. PST (5 p.m. UTC) to prepare for the Blueprint Update:

- Key purchasing
- DLC purchasing
- player-to-player trading
- trade-ins
- Crate interactions

Plan accordingly!

• Bioshock designer remakes Doom's iconic E1M1 in No Man's Sky.
• Steam Client Update Released.

• Phoenix Point Official Launch Trailer. Thanks Gematsu.
• Phantom: Covert Ops - Oculus Quest Teaser Trailer.
• The History of Beyond Good and Evil - GVMERS.
• DOOM on a Digital Camera from 1998. Thanks DSOGaming.
• Hurstone Ep 6 'O.T.K.' (Thrall vs Malfurrian). Thanks Ant.
• I beat Halo 3 Legendary with a GUITAR HERO CONTROLLER! Thanks VG247.

• Fortnite - Power-leveling weekend is back ⚡ Be sure to login Saturday and Sunday to unlock Supercharged XP.
• It's the last weekend of #RocketPass4! What Tier are you on? Enjoy the 2XP for an extra boost!

• This Week on Xbox: November 29, 2019.
• The Drop: New PlayStation Games for December 3, 2019.

• Spectrum Preparing to Turn Cable Modems-Routers Into Public Wi-Fi Hotspots. Thanks Ant.
• Apple Watch Siri Interrupts Live Weather Broadcast to Contradict Presenter.

• Prime Mover: How Amazon Wove Itself Into the Life of an American City. Thanks j.c.f.
• Kone monetizes connected elevators with Alexa, Spotify, and digital displays.
• Sham news sites make big bucks from fake views.

• AMD 3rd Gen Ryzen & Threadripper CPUs demolish Intel at all price points.
• The Golden Age Of Ever-Changing Computer Architecture. Thanks Ant.
• Underwater fiber-optic cables have spotted unknown faults in the ocean floor. Thanks Max.
• Apple to take 'deeper look' at disputed borders.

• SMS Replacement is Exposing Users to Text, Call Interception Thanks to Sloppy Telecos. Thanks Slashdot via Ant.
• New Chrome Password Stealer Sends Stolen Data to a MongoDB Database.
• Google attempts to protect users from sketchy stem cell clinics.

• Facebook bows to Singapore's 'fake news' law with post 'correction.'
• Starting in 2020, China will require videos created using AI or VR to be clearly marked.

• Corsair Carbide 678C Mid-Tower Chassis - TweakTown.
• NZXT H210i Case - APH Networks.
• Silicon Power P34A60GB M.2 Review - Real Hardware Reviews.
• ZOTAC GAMING GeForce GTX 1650 SUPER Twin Fan Graphics Card - Wccftech.

From the no good deed goes unpunished file, I hurt my back today dealing with some of the boxes that are still hanging around after our move. I've had a few different varieties of back pain over the years. This is the nostalgic kind, as it's a mid-back strain that I last suffered from over 20 years ago when I got my first Aeron chair. I think this should go away with a little rest, so that's my excuse to leave those boxes where they are for a while. Once I'm back in action I will be much more careful about lifting things properly. Ouch.

Obituary: William Ruckelshaus, Who Defied Nixon In 'Saturday Night Massacre,' Dies At 87. Thanks RedEye9.

Achy Breaky Links:	Thanks Ant.
Links:	'The Wall' cemented Pink Floyd's fame – but destroyed the band. Thanks Acleacius.
Stories:	Newspaper Accidentally Runs Ad For ‘Pictures With Satan’ At Christmas Fair. "John Wick 4" Has A "Matrix 4" Problem?
Science:	How NASA is evolving through partnerships with private space companies. Underwater loudspeakers could help restore damaged coral reefs.
Media:	DYSFUNCTIONAL FAMILY THANKSGIVING. Is Twice Boiled Water Really Bad for You and Potentially a Carcinogen? Tumbleweed.