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I probably shouldn't have told Dominic West that he plays punchable characters incredibly well when I interviewed him a few weeks ago, but it's painfully true. From The Affair to his Nationwide adverts (sorry, but that guy needs a slap), West has the sub-genre ingeniously sewn up.

As of October 2, we can add War to the list. Streaming on Sky TV (UK) and HBO Max (internationally), we follow the high-profile divorce of British celebrities Morgan (West) and Carla (Sienna Miller) after Carla sets up a honeytrap to expose Morgan's infidelity throughout their marriage.

They're not the only two who have beef, though. Morgan's law firm, Cathcarts, is a stalwart of the legal world, with Carla's firm, Taylor & Byrne, co-founded by an old Cathcarts employee who was refused partnership. Think old money meets nouveau riche, if this was a reality TV show.

What we're left with is the kind of delicious legal drama that only the unique complexities of British culture could pull off this well. The legal system, our consumption of popular celebrity culture and our continued fascination with people's private lives are eviscerated at every turn, and I frankly love being reminded that collectively, we're getting so much wrong.

But nobody is real here, so we can happily get stuck into berating them — and by God, do they give us a lot of ammunition. From Carla and Morgan's sneaky manoeuvres behind closed doors to new legal assistant Johnny (Archie Renaux), who thinks he's outwitting everyone around him when he's really ten steps behind, there's something for every armchair gossip.

War is the ultimate game of celebrity tennis — with no winners

Not only is the above trailer possibly one of the strongest of the year, but it aptly sets the scene for our modern Shakespeare tragedy without giving too much away. Unsurprisingly, Miller and West are our focal points, and as punchable as West makes Morgan, I'm actually floored by how much the pair is able to give these roles.

When you take a step back, the level of public scrutiny both Carla and Morgan receive is incredibly true to life. Both are mercilessly hounded by the press through relentless front-page tabloid articles, uncomfortable questions at events, and even lawyer-up red carpet premieres. It's a situation that I can vividly remember both actors being in before, and I applaud their remarkable level of personal and professional separation.

If it were me, I'd have had a major chip on my shoulder having to fictionally revisit the things that made me the most miserable over the last few decades of my life. But that's the beauty of good actors — being willing to put themselves on the line to allow viewers to engage as critically as possible. Trust me... I think you'll learn a lot from its premise.

The structure, overall, has one fatal flaw. From War's opening seconds, we're booted into the trenches of doomed marriage with such severity that we could collectively get a headache. But fast-forward seven episodes and the stakes are exactly the same. Think of the eight-episode season as a flatlining heart monitor... It's not a good result for a patient on The Pitt, and not entirely successful for us, either.

Celia Imrie and Nina Sosanya, take a bow

(Image credit: HBO Max/Sky TV)

But when things are good, they're golden (with the exception of the very underwhelming theme song). Biting, cutting, and scheming at every turn, War is a British legal drama at its best. None of this is possible without a cracking ensemble cast, of course, and there are two standouts in particular.

The first, which shouldn't be surprising, is Celia Imrie. From the trailer, you'd have guessed that she plays the High Court Judge overseeing the trial, but she's actually "freelance lawyer" Budgie working under Taylor & Byrne. I'm wording that generously, seeing as the minute she enters the room, all decisions pay deference to her presence. That's exactly how it should be, and if anyone was going to represent me in court, I'd want it to be Imrie.

After her epically infamous fart on The Celebrity Traitors season 1, I'm glad that Imrie's back on the international stage, proving that she's always been a world-class esteemed performer, don't you know. Seth Rogen's reference to her at the 2026 TV BAFTAs annoyed me endlessly... Calendar Girls was my favorite film at eight years old for good reason, man.

Then there's Nina Sosanya, a woman I have been parasocially in love with for decades. I can guarantee that you'll recognise her immediately thanks to her quiet commitment to making TV shows and movies infinitely better just by turning up in them. As head Cathcart's lawyer Bea, she's the Miranda Priestly of the British legal world, and her razor-sharp tongue provides lashings of delectable dialogue. Let's get her on Celebrity Traitors season 3, BBC.

With shortcomings so small, you'd be a fool to miss out on War next month. Even better: it's an anthology series, so expect a gripping defamation case to hit our screens in the future.

Fall — or spring, if you live in the southern hemisphere — has arrived. And, while that means the nights are about to get longer or shorter for you, some things will stay the same — including the release of new movies and TV shows on the world's best streaming services.

After last week's top-heavy TV series round-up, its follow-up has done a complete 180 and delivered a bonanza of new films to enjoy, including two of the biggest hits of 2026 on Disney+ and HBO Max. So, what are you waiting for? Scroll on to find out more. — Tom Power, senior entertainment reporter

Toy Story 5 (Disney+)

I'm going to be frank: Toy Story 5 doesn't have a friend in mine. Indeed, as I said in my Toy Story 5 review, it's not terrible, but it's certainly a "a few Lightyears away from the Disney film series' best entries".

Still, if you're a sucker for a new Toy Story project, or any Pixar film for the matter, you can check out the multi-billion dollar-spinning movie franchise's latest outing on Disney's primary streamer. This time around, Woody, Buzz, Jessie, and company have to contend with the prospect of being replaced by high-tech toys and devices, so it's a timely albeit predictable fifth outing for the fan-favorite toys. — TP

• Watch Toy Story 5 on Disney+

Backrooms (HBO Max)

Did you know Backrooms filmmaker Kane Parsons was only 20 years old when he made his feature film directorial debut? It's all that most outlets could talk about before his much-anticipated adaptation of the viral internet phenomenon hit theaters.

Well, nobody's talking about his age now, because Backrooms, which has arrived on HBO Max, was a major hit for A24 earlier this year. I enjoyed it up to its final act (I don't think it stuck the landing), but my colleague Lucy Buglass ended her Backrooms review by giving it five out of five stars, so it comes highly recommended from one of us!

I could tell you about its plot, but the less you know about this one, the better, believe me. — TP

• Watch Backrooms on HBO Max

Unabomber (Netflix)

What happened to that tiny little boy from Room? Well, he grew up to play domestic terrorist Ted Kaczynski for a Netflix movie, that's what.

Jacob Tremblay stars as the self-titled Unabomber, who was behind a series of mail bombs that killed its recipients in 1994. However, instead of following the man as each fatal moment unfolds, Unabomber takes us back to his Harvard days in 1958 and examines what led him to becoming the infamous domestic terrorist.

It's really answering the question that we're endlessly dying to know: what makes someone kill another? In this case, it's a mix of bullying and becoming the subject of severe psychological experiments. Oof. — Jasmine Valentine, entertainment reporter

• Watch Unabomber on Netflix

Brothers (Apple TV)

What would you do if you took a long-standing rumor and decided to run with it? If you're Apple, you fully lean into the fact that Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson are related, and create a TV show titled Brothers.

The famously close friends, who some observers believe are half-brothers, play fictionalized versions of themselves in this new Apple TV comedy series that — yep, you guessed it — plays along with the fact that they may be blood relatives.

Obviously, the whole thing is played for laughs, but I suspect Brothers will do little to dispel the gossip that the A-listers might be closer than everyone, including themselves, initially thought. Will we ever find out for sure? If an incredibly reluctant McConaughey ever takes a DNA test, sure, but don't gets your hopes up... — TP

• Watch Brothers on Apple TV

The Love Hypothesis (Prime Video)

Prime Video isn't loosening its grip on young adult romantic drama just yet. The Love Hypothesis , which is based on Ali Hazelwood's book namesake, is the latest in line of its banging 2026 genre content.

In a nutshell, Olive (Lili Reinhart) is a third-year biology PhD candidate at Stanford researching early pancreatic cancer detection. In order to convince her best friend Anh (Rachel Marsh) that she has completely moved on from a crush, Olive impulsively grabs and kisses Adam (Tom Bateman) in the lab hallway.

The two make a mutually beneficial agreement to fake date each other... though that fakeness doesn't last for long. Personally, I think the strongest love story here is between the two besties, but the new movie ticks all of the rom-com boxes that it needs to. — JV

• Watch The Love Hypothesis on Prime Video

Jackass: Best and Last (Paramount+)

How many times can you put explosives in your butt, dangle on a wire over a pool of alligators, or get slapped to the ground by a giant mechanical hand? 11, if you count all the movies, which sign off with Jackass: Best and Last.

Expect more of the same idiotic vibes with a touch more sentimentality. Johnny Knoxville, Steve-O, and the rest of the gang return for more outrageous and hilarious stunts, and my jaw is still on the floor after all of these years.

What you really won't expect is how strangely moving the whole thing is. Do I really believe this is the end? No. Surely these guys will be the Cher of final farewell tours, but what do I know? Well, apart from the fact it's out on Paramount+... — JV

• Watch Jackass: Best and Last on Paramount+

A Different World (Netflix)

This 10-episode series feels worth watching purely because one of its main characters is called Dwayne Wayne. Hilarious names aside, A Different World is Netflix's revival of the hits 1990s sitcom of the same name, and follows a freshman and her ride-or-die crew juggling school, romantic drama, and family legacy at a historically Black college.

Can the 2026 version live up to the huge shoes it has to fill? Time will tell. But, with multiple original cast members returning to the new show, I'm more than willing to give it a shot. — JV

• Watch A Different World on Netflix

Ace Combat 8, the latest installment in Project Aces' long-running arcade flight sim series, is here. Packed inside this game's cargo hold is a medley of melodrama, mission types, and a beautiful new look, but it's somewhat over capacity when it comes to cutscenes.

Review info

Platform reviewed: PC
Available on: PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC
Release date: October 2, 2026

You'll discover this right from the off: Ace Combat 8 is the first game in the series where its cutscenes are entirely from a first-person perspective.

You step into the shoes of Rex, a pilot in service with the navy of the Federation of Central Usea (FCU). Sotoa, a nation of former nomads, has decided to emulate the Mongols of our reality and has conquest in mind, with the FCU already almost completely subjugated at the start of the game. Said shoes are likely very damp, with events kicking off on a life raft after the helicopter you were in went down.

Soon, you're back in the sky as a navigator for Jan "Rex" Cope, the original Rex, who is the mythical Wings of Theve of the game's subtitle. This strongly evokes the Ghost of Kyiv, a mythical pilot heavily propagandized early in the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian War, but Cope soon comes a cropper and gets killed, forcing you to take over his role.

A huge part of the game's narrative is about propaganda and the role that social media plays in modern warfare. Wings, as a pilot, can't be allowed to die, so you need to fill in and lead his Joker Flight unit. The former Rex, however, doesn't disappear; his spirit serves as a near-omniscient narrator for the rest of the game's escapades.

Flying without wings

(Image credit: Bandai Namco Entertainment)

What escapades they are, too. Over the course of the game, which is significantly longer than Ace Combat 7 (with my playthrough clocking in at around 18 hours to complete all 30 missions), you'll do almost everything you could reasonably expect a pilot to do. Dogfights, close air support, attacks on enemy ships, and more.

Best bit

(Image credit: Bandai Namco Entertainment)

Engaging the afterburners, breaking through the clouds, and shaking off an enemy missile never loses its charm.

Joker Flight will accompany you through most of it, and happily, every member has a well-fleshed-out personality. There's Ellington "Professor" Baxter, an easy-going and ever-professional former university lecturer; Tasha Severskaya, an ex-stunt pilot; and William "Noise" Coster, a taciturn musician who provides soundtracks to some of your battles.

While this lineup gets chopped and changed as you progress through the story, it's these three at your side for the vast majority of the game. They're great, and they make the entire squadron feel cohesive, and the stakes feel real when one of them gets in trouble.

The same can't be said for the wider crew of the Carrier Endurance, your home away from home. Your commander and D.D., a propaganda officer of the shadowy Enso Order corporation, are broadly cliched, and spending time with them feels tedious.

Unfortunately, you'll be watching a series of lengthy cutscenes before you're actually flying a plane, and the prologue mission is effectively another cutscene as you escape the vexatious aim of The Shadows, Sotoa's elite pilots.

(Image credit: Bandai Namco Entertainment)

There's occasionally mild participation encouraged of you, such as standing up at attention or shaking someone's hand by pressing a button. I'm genuinely somewhat surprised that the series is bold enough to give us QTEs again, after the infamous tragicomedy of the "press triangle to fist pump" moment in Ace Combat: Assault Horizon.

You're not out of the woods when you're done with the first mission, though. Scattered throughout the game like little narrative landmines are cutscenes that go on for far too long and rarely give you a payoff worth your time. It feels like an Ace Combat game that was co-developed by Hideo Kojima at several points. But for all of this opera, the ending feels remarkably flat.

Without spoiling anything, the game spends hours building up a foe who then crumbles within a few minutes of dogfighting. Then it does it again! It makes the stakes feel wasted.

Cloudy with a chance of missiles

(Image credit: Bandai Namco Entertainment)

None of that matters, though, when you throttle up, break the sound barrier, and punch through the clouds in pursuit of an enemy, or dive, shrieking, towards a tank that you're about to remind about the superiority of being able to move in three dimensions. What clouds, too.

If I may digress for a moment, Ace Combat 8 has by far the best-looking clouds in any game I've played. They rely on proprietary software called Cloudly, and it leads to them feeling far more lifelike than ever before. Beautiful and light on the outside, dense in the middle, like an inverse cookie, they look and feel absolutely stupendous.

Ace Combat has always had a knack for making you feel like an ace, and this new entry is no exception. Wheeling around the sky like Maverick, pulling off impossible maneuvers in a plane like an A-10 Thunderbolt, and pulling up from a collision course at the last possible moment all fulfil the fantasy that the title promises.

Here, you are the greatest pilot to ever live. Difficulty is very well-balanced, too, with the Shadows feeling noticeably tougher, harking back to the days of facing off against enemy aces in F-22 Interceptor on the Mega Drive, if you're as old as I am.

(Image credit: Bandai Namco Entertainment)

The problem is, spectacular clouds aside, there doesn't seem to be all that much that separates this game from Ace Combat 7. It harkens back to Ace Combat 5 in a lot of ways: for instance, you can give wingmen commands again and pick their aircraft, but it doesn't seem to make a ton of difference in-game.

Missions are broadly successful or unsuccessful regardless of how you command your wingmen, while loadouts only really matter to the extent of picking roughly the right aircraft for the mission. This leads to the issue of wondering why you'd choose to play this game rather than Ace Combat 7, other than the clouds looking nicer, especially as you can buy it with all DLC for a fraction of the price.

I'm realising how negative a lot of this sounds, and that really does just come down to how cumbersomely crowbarred in a lot of the story is. Once you've been through it and are willing to skip cutscenes, you're left with a brisk, exciting, fun game. It is perhaps emblematic of both the best and worst aspects of the Ace Combat series, with a narrative that feels it has earned plaudits that it doesn't deserve, while the meat of the game is absolutely fantastic.

One key measure of this is that I've been going back to it since I beat it, unlocking new aircraft from the large Aircraft Tree and replaying missions with different loadouts. I'll likely lose a lot of hours to the multiplayer, too, because, once again, it lacks a lot of what there is to dislike.

It's a game that is infuriating in its bloviation, but when you soar above the clouds and take down enemy jets, hearing their cries of confusion over the radio, you won't care anymore. A great, gorgeous game, but one that likes the sound of its own voice just a little too much.

Should you play Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve?Play it if…

You're jonesing for a new arcade flight sim
There’s really nothing else quite like a new Ace Combat game, and it’s well worth getting if you want an exciting, more arcade-like flying experience.

You want to live out all your Top Gun fantasies
There’s no official Top Gun crossover like the Ace Combat 7 DLC, but that doesn’t mean the game doesn’t deliver the same high-octane excitement as the film series.

You want to see the prettiest clouds in gaming
The Cloudly tech behind Ace Combat 8’s fluffy clouds is the real deal. They’re beautiful, realistic, and honestly the best I’ve ever seen in a game.

Don't play it if…

You're not a fan of melodrama worthy of a Telenovela
The storytelling here is easily the weakest part of the package. It sets up a lot that doesn’t land and is told through overly long, melodramatic cutscenes.

Accessibility features

Accessibility settings are limited, but are present. The game features a colorblind mode that changes the green HUD to violet. There are also text-to-speech settings present.

In addition to these, you can also choose between two flight models: one that gives you more granular control over your aircraft and one that makes the game handle much more simply, making it more like After Burner.

How I reviewed Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve

To review Ace Combat 8, I finished the entire main storyline and then went back to play several missions in Free Mission mode.

I ran the game at high graphics settings on my Nvidia RTX 4070-powered gaming PC and had a generally solid 60 fps that only dipped during particularly hectic moments. I’m yet to go online, but I'm looking forward to trying it out once the servers are populated.

I played the game using a standard Xbox Wireless Controller, which worked perfectly throughout.

TechRadar Crossword

Missed a previous puzzle? You can browse the archive and play all TechRadar Crosswords right here.

I'm technically on holiday today, but the crossword cannot stop for anything, so here's another entry in our weekly puzzler.

Don't worry, it's all been prepped ahead of time, so I'm not spending my break coming up with clues. Expect another mix of recent news and general tech trivia in this week's puzzle, which I hope will add a brief bit of fun to your Friday as you challenge for the top of the leaderboard.

Right, I'm off to the coast to enjoy this last bit of sun we're likely to get here in the UK before autumn/fall truly sets in. I'll probably end up doing a crossword or two!

I probably shouldn't have told Dominic West that he plays punchable characters incredibly well when I interviewed him a few weeks ago, but it's painfully true. From The Affair to his Nationwide adverts (sorry, but that guy needs a slap), West has the sub-genre ingeniously sewn up.

As of October 2, we can add War to the list. Streaming on Sky TV (UK) and HBO Max (internationally), we follow the high-profile divorce of British celebrities Morgan (West) and Carla (Sienna Miller) after Carla sets up a honeytrap to expose Morgan's infidelity throughout their marriage.

They're not the only two who have beef, though. Morgan's law firm, Cathcarts, is a stalwart of the legal world, with Carla's firm, Taylor & Byrne, co-founded by an old Cathcarts employee who was refused partnership. Think old money meets nouveau riche, if this was a reality TV show.

What we're left with is the kind of delicious legal drama that only the unique complexities of British culture could pull off this well. The legal system, our consumption of popular celebrity culture and our continued fascination with people's private lives are eviscerated at every turn, and I frankly love being reminded that collectively, we're getting so much wrong.

But nobody is real here, so we can happily get stuck into berating them — and by God, do they give us a lot of ammunition. From Carla and Morgan's sneaky manoeuvres behind closed doors to new legal assistant Johnny (Archie Renaux), who thinks he's outwitting everyone around him when he's really ten steps behind, there's something for every armchair gossip.

War is the ultimate game of celebrity tennis — with no winners

Not only is the above trailer possibly one of the strongest of the year, but it aptly sets the scene for our modern Shakespeare tragedy without giving too much away. Unsurprisingly, Miller and West are our focal points, and as punchable as West makes Morgan, I'm actually floored by how much the pair is able to give these roles.

When you take a step back, the level of public scrutiny both Carla and Morgan receive is incredibly true to life. Both are mercilessly hounded by the press through relentless front-page tabloid articles, uncomfortable questions at events, and even lawyer-up red carpet premieres. It's a situation that I can vividly remember both actors being in before, and I applaud their remarkable level of personal and professional separation.

If it were me, I'd have had a major chip on my shoulder having to fictionally revisit the things that made me the most miserable over the last few decades of my life. But that's the beauty of good actors — being willing to put themselves on the line to allow viewers to engage as critically as possible. Trust me... I think you'll learn a lot from its premise.

The structure, overall, has one fatal flaw. From War's opening seconds, we're booted into the trenches of doomed marriage with such severity that we could collectively get a headache. But fast-forward seven episodes and the stakes are exactly the same. Think of the eight-episode season as a flatlining heart monitor... It's not a good result for a patient on The Pitt, and not entirely successful for us, either.

Celia Imrie and Nina Sosanya, take a bow

(Image credit: HBO Max/Sky TV)

But when things are good, they're golden (with the exception of the very underwhelming theme song). Biting, cutting, and scheming at every turn, War is a British legal drama at its best. None of this is possible without a cracking ensemble cast, of course, and there are two standouts in particular.

The first, which shouldn't be surprising, is Celia Imrie. From the trailer, you'd have guessed that she plays the High Court Judge overseeing the trial, but she's actually "freelance lawyer" Budgie working under Taylor & Byrne. I'm wording that generously, seeing as the minute she enters the room, all decisions pay deference to her presence. That's exactly how it should be, and if anyone was going to represent me in court, I'd want it to be Imrie.

After her epically infamous fart on The Celebrity Traitors season 1, I'm glad that Imrie's back on the international stage, proving that she's always been a world-class esteemed performer, don't you know. Seth Rogen's reference to her at the 2026 TV BAFTAs annoyed me endlessly... Calendar Girls was my favorite film at eight years old for good reason, man.

Then there's Nina Sosanya, a woman I have been parasocially in love with for decades. I can guarantee that you'll recognise her immediately thanks to her quiet commitment to making TV shows and movies infinitely better just by turning up in them. As head Cathcart's lawyer Bea, she's the Miranda Priestly of the British legal world, and her razor-sharp tongue provides lashings of delectable dialogue. Let's get her on Celebrity Traitors season 3, BBC.

With shortcomings so small, you'd be a fool to miss out on War next month. Even better: it's an anthology series, so expect a gripping defamation case to hit our screens in the future.

Ace Combat 8, the latest installment in Project Aces' long-running arcade flight sim series, is here. Packed inside this game's cargo hold is a medley of melodrama, mission types, and a beautiful new look, but it's somewhat over capacity when it comes to cutscenes.

Review info

Platform reviewed: PC
Available on: PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC
Release date: October 2, 2026

You'll discover this right from the off: Ace Combat 8 is the first game in the series where its cutscenes are entirely from a first-person perspective.

You step into the shoes of Rex, a pilot in service with the navy of the Federation of Central Usea (FCU). Sotoa, a nation of former nomads, has decided to emulate the Mongols of our reality and has conquest in mind, with the FCU already almost completely subjugated at the start of the game. Said shoes are likely very damp, with events kicking off on a life raft after the helicopter you were in went down.

Soon, you're back in the sky as a navigator for Jan "Rex" Cope, the original Rex, who is the mythical Wings of Theve of the game's subtitle. This strongly evokes the Ghost of Kyiv, a mythical pilot heavily propagandized early in the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian War, but Cope soon comes a cropper and gets killed, forcing you to take over his role.

A huge part of the game's narrative is about propaganda and the role that social media plays in modern warfare. Wings, as a pilot, can't be allowed to die, so you need to fill in and lead his Joker Flight unit. The former Rex, however, doesn't disappear; his spirit serves as a near-omniscient narrator for the rest of the game's escapades.

Flying without wings

(Image credit: Bandai Namco Entertainment)

What escapades they are, too. Over the course of the game, which is significantly longer than Ace Combat 7 (with my playthrough clocking in at around 18 hours to complete all 30 missions), you'll do almost everything you could reasonably expect a pilot to do. Dogfights, close air support, attacks on enemy ships, and more.

Best bit

(Image credit: Bandai Namco Entertainment)

Engaging the afterburners, breaking through the clouds, and shaking off an enemy missile never loses its charm.

Joker Flight will accompany you through most of it, and happily, every member has a well-fleshed-out personality. There's Ellington "Professor" Baxter, an easy-going and ever-professional former university lecturer; Tasha Severskaya, an ex-stunt pilot; and William "Noise" Coster, a taciturn musician who provides soundtracks to some of your battles.

While this lineup gets chopped and changed as you progress through the story, it's these three at your side for the vast majority of the game. They're great, and they make the entire squadron feel cohesive, and the stakes feel real when one of them gets in trouble.

The same can't be said for the wider crew of the Carrier Endurance, your home away from home. Your commander and D.D., a propaganda officer of the shadowy Enso Order corporation, are broadly cliched, and spending time with them feels tedious.

Unfortunately, you'll be watching a series of lengthy cutscenes before you're actually flying a plane, and the prologue mission is effectively another cutscene as you escape the vexatious aim of The Shadows, Sotoa's elite pilots.

(Image credit: Bandai Namco Entertainment)

There's occasionally mild participation encouraged of you, such as standing up at attention or shaking someone's hand by pressing a button. I'm genuinely somewhat surprised that the series is bold enough to give us QTEs again, after the infamous tragicomedy of the "press triangle to fist pump" moment in Ace Combat: Assault Horizon.

You're not out of the woods when you're done with the first mission, though. Scattered throughout the game like little narrative landmines are cutscenes that go on for far too long and rarely give you a payoff worth your time. It feels like an Ace Combat game that was co-developed by Hideo Kojima at several points. But for all of this opera, the ending feels remarkably flat.

Without spoiling anything, the game spends hours building up a foe who then crumbles within a few minutes of dogfighting. Then it does it again! It makes the stakes feel wasted.

Cloudy with a chance of missiles

(Image credit: Bandai Namco Entertainment)

None of that matters, though, when you throttle up, break the sound barrier, and punch through the clouds in pursuit of an enemy, or dive, shrieking, towards a tank that you're about to remind about the superiority of being able to move in three dimensions. What clouds, too.

If I may digress for a moment, Ace Combat 8 has by far the best-looking clouds in any game I've played. They rely on proprietary software called Cloudly, and it leads to them feeling far more lifelike than ever before. Beautiful and light on the outside, dense in the middle, like an inverse cookie, they look and feel absolutely stupendous.

Ace Combat has always had a knack for making you feel like an ace, and this new entry is no exception. Wheeling around the sky like Maverick, pulling off impossible maneuvers in a plane like an A-10 Thunderbolt, and pulling up from a collision course at the last possible moment all fulfil the fantasy that the title promises.

Here, you are the greatest pilot to ever live. Difficulty is very well-balanced, too, with the Shadows feeling noticeably tougher, harking back to the days of facing off against enemy aces in F-22 Interceptor on the Mega Drive, if you're as old as I am.

(Image credit: Bandai Namco Entertainment)

The problem is, spectacular clouds aside, there doesn't seem to be all that much that separates this game from Ace Combat 7. It harkens back to Ace Combat 5 in a lot of ways: for instance, you can give wingmen commands again and pick their aircraft, but it doesn't seem to make a ton of difference in-game.

Missions are broadly successful or unsuccessful regardless of how you command your wingmen, while loadouts only really matter to the extent of picking roughly the right aircraft for the mission. This leads to the issue of wondering why you'd choose to play this game rather than Ace Combat 7, other than the clouds looking nicer, especially as you can buy it with all DLC for a fraction of the price.

I'm realising how negative a lot of this sounds, and that really does just come down to how cumbersomely crowbarred in a lot of the story is. Once you've been through it and are willing to skip cutscenes, you're left with a brisk, exciting, fun game. It is perhaps emblematic of both the best and worst aspects of the Ace Combat series, with a narrative that feels it has earned plaudits that it doesn't deserve, while the meat of the game is absolutely fantastic.

One key measure of this is that I've been going back to it since I beat it, unlocking new aircraft from the large Aircraft Tree and replaying missions with different loadouts. I'll likely lose a lot of hours to the multiplayer, too, because, once again, it lacks a lot of what there is to dislike.

It's a game that is infuriating in its bloviation, but when you soar above the clouds and take down enemy jets, hearing their cries of confusion over the radio, you won't care anymore. A great, gorgeous game, but one that likes the sound of its own voice just a little too much.

Should you play Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve?Play it if…

You're jonesing for a new arcade flight sim
There’s really nothing else quite like a new Ace Combat game, and it’s well worth getting if you want an exciting, more arcade-like flying experience.

You want to live out all your Top Gun fantasies
There’s no official Top Gun crossover like the Ace Combat 7 DLC, but that doesn’t mean the game doesn’t deliver the same high-octane excitement as the film series.

You want to see the prettiest clouds in gaming
The Cloudly tech behind Ace Combat 8’s fluffy clouds is the real deal. They’re beautiful, realistic, and honestly the best I’ve ever seen in a game.

Don't play it if…

You're not a fan of melodrama worthy of a Telenovela
The storytelling here is easily the weakest part of the package. It sets up a lot that doesn’t land and is told through overly long, melodramatic cutscenes.

Accessibility features

Accessibility settings are limited, but are present. The game features a colorblind mode that changes the green HUD to violet. There are also text-to-speech settings present.

In addition to these, you can also choose between two flight models: one that gives you more granular control over your aircraft and one that makes the game handle much more simply, making it more like After Burner.

How I reviewed Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve

To review Ace Combat 8, I finished the entire main storyline and then went back to play several missions in Free Mission mode.

I ran the game at high graphics settings on my Nvidia RTX 4070-powered gaming PC and had a generally solid 60 fps that only dipped during particularly hectic moments. I’m yet to go online, but I'm looking forward to trying it out once the servers are populated.

I played the game using a standard Xbox Wireless Controller, which worked perfectly throughout.

• A developer says Claude Code just deleted 48,000 of their vital files
• The incident occurred in just 103 seconds after the AI agent was set to work
• It’s a serious warning over the damage an AI agent can do

There’s been a lot of recent discussion around artificial intelligence (AI) agents going off the rails and hacking other companies’ websites in a potentially dangerous orgy of subterfuge and destruction. But what if the damage was much closer to home and involved an agent going rogue on your own files? Sadly, that’s exactly what Claude Code just did to one hapless developer.

In a now-deleted post on Reddit, a shocked developer said that Claude Code had just deleted 48,218 files that they had been working on in a live project tree. And all it took was 103 seconds for the AI to wreak its agentic havoc. “This can’t be real” was the coder’s stunned refrain.

The user had tasked Claude Code with rebuilding a mirror of their ongoing project. Unfortunately, the agent discovered that the build_mirror.py script could not refresh the mirror in place, leading to it deciding the best course of action was to create its own cleanup script based on an older copy of the project. This previous project contained 7,332 files.

Although the script used certain safeguards to prevent it deleting linked directories, an oversight meant that only junction-level folders were protected — any nested directories below these folders were apparently seen as fair game by the script. It promptly removed 55,550 files that, when accounting for the 7,332 files successfully copied from the old project mirror, meant that a huge 48,218 files were obliterated in just over a minute and a half.

And because the damage extended to the .git project’s ‘objects,’ ‘refs’ and ‘logs’ folders, there was no way to recover the files and undo the catastrophe. The files were just gone in a puff of smoke.

Somewhat amusingly, the agent posted a message reading “Craig — stop and read this. I broke something,” before detailing its path of destruction. But it probably didn’t seem very funny for the unlucky developer who lost all their work at the push of a button.

Poor code hygiene

(Image credit: Generated with Gemini )

Although it can be tempting to set an AI agent to work on tedious and laborious tasks, doing so is not without its risks, as this case demonstrates. All it takes is one mistake and a huge amount of work can be undone in seconds.

Part of the blame lies with the original poster, who said in an archived copy of the post that “I was not properly using GitHub or another method for immediate corrections, even though it should have been branching.” Had they been uploading their commits to GitHub or a similar site, their work might have been backed up and salvageable after Claude Code’s reign of terror ended. As one Redditor put it, “Been using GitHub as a save button since before you youngins knew what an AI even was.”

Other commenters pointed out that the developer ran an AI agent — which is known for its tendency to go off-piste — on a live database containing precious data that they couldn’t afford to lose. Good code hygiene, that is not.

And while one person argued that the simplest advice is “Do not let programs run commands on your machine,” even avoiding AI agents altogether would not remedy the poor practices that led to major changes being made on a live production environment without a proper backup.

This incident is a neat reminder of the inherent risks of assigning sensitive or risky work to an AI agent. As we’ve seen in the numerous hacks perpetuated by AI agents, these bots are often laser-focused on their tasks and are willing to take any measures necessary to accomplish them. If that means deleting 48,000 or your files or exfiltrating data from another firm’s website, so be it.

• Graz University researchers found decades‑old flaws in file‑notification subsystems across Linux, Windows, macOS, and Android
• Side‑channel attacks can infer keystrokes, visited websites, or even steal credentials via unprivileged access
• Linux shipped partial mitigations (CVE‑2025‑68788); Microsoft and Apple acknowledged but did not patch, demo expected at ACM CCS 2026

Researchers have found a vulnerability in all major operating systems which could, in certain scenarios, allow threat actors to steal login credentials, or track which websites the target is visiting. OS makers, on the other hand, don’t seem all too phased about it.

The bug is described as a side-channel attack - a type of attack in which threat actors simply observe how the system operates and extract valuable secrets through indirect clues. For example, by monitoring how much power the chip takes at any given moment in time, attackers can observe and extract passwords.

It was discovered by security researchers from Austria’s Graz University of Technology: Sudheendra Raghav Neela, Xufan Zhao, Jeanette Angelika Wultsch, Hannes Weissteiner, Florian Draschbacher, Stefan Gast, and Daniel Gruss.

Notifying the system

This particular side-channel vulnerability was found in the file-notification subsystem running in pretty much every OS in existence today. The subsystem is built to notify applications when files on a system change. Not what has changed, just that a change occurred. The bug is allegedly quite old, too.

"We found decades-old bugs on [these operating systems], all rooted in the file-notification subsystems that every modern OS ships to inform applications when files change," said Sudheendra Raghav Neela, a doctoral student at TU Graz, in an email to The Register.

On Linux, the subsystem is called inotify and it’s been affected since 2005. On Android it’s FileObserver (affected since 2008), and on Windows - ReadDirectoryChangesW - flawed since the year 2000. On MacOS, it’s called FSEvents, vulnerable since 2007.

In the paper, the researchers claim file event information can help attackers conclude what other users on a computer are doing. They can launch an inter-keystroke-timing attack, inferring what users are inputting (both locally and remotely), reveal which websites they visit, and possibly even steal login credentials through UI redress.

The problem stems from the fact that unprivileged users are allowed to access the file notification subsystem. This primarily relates to files that can be read by multiple users, but apparently, there are quite a few files on a system that fall into that category.

No patch

"On Linux, watching a readable directory leaks events on files inside it you cannot even read: watching /dev/input gives a notification on every keystroke, which we turn into a local inter-keystroke timing attack with a 93.1–100% [keystroke accuracy] score across seven users and a remote (SSH) one at 100%,” Neela said.

The percentage range means the attack won’t work in all cases, which is more-or-less standard with side-channel attacks. They are notoriously difficult to pull off, which is also likely why most OS makers barely flinched at the news.

All of them were notified of the findings roughly a year ago, and most of them never bothered to address it. Linux introduced some mitigations, including CVE-2025-68788, which prevents inotify from generating certain “access” and “modify” events for special files. The fix was shipped to multiple kernels and Linux distros, but it addresses only part of the broader attack techniques that the researchers described.

Microsoft and Apple apparently acknowledged the findings, but apart from that - did very little. Microsoft told the researchers the behavior of ReadDirectoryChangesW was "by-design", although the feature is undocumented. They believe the ability to monitor file paths across users is not a vulnerability worthy of a patch. The report does not mention Apple doing anything about it, either.

Combatting mould and controlling moisture in your home doesn’t have to be an expensive investment; at least that’s what Robert Dyas is proving with its budget-friendly dehumidifier.

The home and electrical retailer is currently listing the Daewoo 700ml dehumidifier for £34.99, built for tackling humidity levels in smaller spaces. It’s also worth noting that it’s not available on the flagship Daewoo online store, so not only is it the cheapest we’ve seen, but it’s unclear whether it’ll be restocked on the Robert Dyas store if it were to sell out.

Cheap alternatives to pricier tech brands are somewhat of a rising craze, especially among users who aren’t fussed about devices with all the bells and whistles. Earlier this week, Lidl announced the return of its £80 dehumidifier, but it’s more than double the price of Daewoo’s own. While it’s a lot cheaper, it’s also a lot smaller.

Daewoo’s dehumidifier is a lot smaller than other cheap models we’ve seen recently, with dimensions of H:11.0 x W:16.0 x D:11.0 cm and a water tank with a 700ml capacity. While this requires frequent emptying, it’s an ideal fit for smaller spaces in your home (rooms sized up to 12m² to be exact), meaning it’s lightweight and easily portable.

Functionality-wise, Daewoo’s mini dehumidifier doesn't sound too dissimilar to what other budget rivals have to offer. To prevent overspilling, the appliance is fitted with an alarm system, which alerts you when it detects a full water tank. Its product listing also states that the dehumidifier can extract up to 300ml of moisture per day.

One of the biggest concerns with dehumidifiers is the noise level, because there’s nothing worse than running one overnight and having it disturb your sleep with its raucous operational sounds. Luckily, Daewoo’s dehumidifier functions at a low noise level, making it a great fit for bedroom spaces while you’re getting your beauty sleep.

Compared to other models out there, Daewoo’s dehumidifier is one of the smallest options we’ve seen. But in spite of its compact size and basic features, if you’re sticking to a certain budget and don’t need a massive appliance, this option gives you the best of both worlds.

If you're unsure which type of dehumidifier best suits your needs, you can check out our guide to desiccant and compressor dehumidifiers.

China reportedly probes DeepSeek and Moonshot after Anthropic alleged user requests reached Claude. Here’s what the data-routing claims mean for AI customers.

The post China Reportedly Probes DeepSeek, Moonshot Over Claude Data Routing appeared first on TechRepublic.

The food processor and blender attachments are handy, while other elements feel like overkill.

Spoilers for MobLand season 2 episode 2 ahead.

Start talking, copper. That's the delicious line we were left on last week, as MobLand season 2 episode 1 gave us our first look at the new villain, Frankie (Johnny Flynn).

He's been picked by Colin (Toby) as a "knight in shining armor" to ride into battle on behalf of Kat McAllister (Janet McTeer), allowing her to take control of London from the Harrigans without ever being directly involved herself.

At the moment, Conrad (Pierce Brosnan) is too busy fighting with Kevin (Paddy Considine) and paying no attention to Harry (Tom Hardy) to be able to fully recognize this. Even Kevin doesn't understand what's coming, with Harry describing Kat as "Her mob has eight trillion in cash and the world's biggest nuclear arsenal."

This week, they're in for a nasty wake-up call. MobLand season 2 episode 2 is now on Paramount+, so let's dig a little deeper into what's actually happened.

Jan has a suspicious car accident while Conrad's health worsens

We start episode 2 following Gina (Teddie Allen) and Eddie (Anson Boon) as they party the early hours away and arrive back at their flat with their bodyguards, with Harry watching them from a car further down the road.

Jan (Joanne Froggatt), meanwhile, is at a spin class, ignoring Harry's "urgent" calls as she begins to drive back home. Before she gets there, her bumper is hit from behind by another car, with the American driver incredibly apologetic. Jan, infuriated, is having none of it, and the pair exchange numbers before she angrily drives away.

At the same time, Colin visits his local library only to get a call from Kat as he's checking a book out (see, even gangsters think it's cool to utilise public services). She gives him the go-ahead to spring Frankie into action, telling Colin to "show her what he's got."

We've really got a lot of plates spinning at once, as Conrad goes to see a doctor. The doctor tells him that Conrad is showing signs of focal atrophy, meaning that his sense of instinct, strategy, and restraint is diminishing to allow any natural sense of anger and aggression to take over, unchecked. Conrad tells him to forget that the appointment ever happened, adding, "I'm f**ing fine."

Outside, Conrad threatens a parking ticket officer with a gun when a fine is left on his car window. Maeve (Helen Mirren) calls from home, suggesting that they should invite Seraphina (Mandeep Dhillon) out to dinner to "bury the hatchet." Zosia (Jasmine Jobson) is revealed to have been tailing Conrad the entire time at Harry's request.

Kavanagh works out a mole is in the force

(Image credit: Paramount+)

At the police station, DCI Kavanagh (Ophelia Lovibond) assembles the few officers she feels she can trust to run through the events of episode 1. With the waiter witness recanting his statement after being threatened by Harry, Kavanagh is convinced that there's a mole in the force leaking information to him.

Not only is she right, of course, but she's also correct in assuming that Finch (Warren Brown) is among the potential suspects, leaving him out of the meeting. Her plan? Feed the rest of the team false information to make Harry think that the Harrigans are in the clear before they pounce.

The American driver, who we now know is called Jamie, calls Jan and offers to give her £5,000 directly, as his insurance company is saying they'll take months to process the claim. Jan barters for £6,000, to which Jamie agrees. He tries to take her out to dinner to do the handover, but Jan pushes back by suggesting a morning coffee instead.

Harry phones and Jan finally picks up, telling her that he's found Gina. The pair meet in a local park, where Harry tells her about Gina's YouTube shakedown scheme and that she's living with Eddie. Harry remains convinced that he can pull her back from the brink of being involved in organised crime, but Jan thinks the moment has passed. "You see yourself as the antidote, but you're the poison," she tells him.

At the Harrigan's house, Maeve tries to get Conrad's dogs put down, for no appropriate reason, without telling him. Paul (Emmett J. Scanlan) refuses to phone the vets without Conrad's knowledge, so Maeve organises a home visit. The doctor confirms that both dogs are in good health, leaving Maeve to unsubtly find out how to do the job herself (spoiler: with antifreeze).

Frankie is told about the Harrigan's as Seraphina squeals to Kat

(Image credit: Paramount+)

Colin arranges to meet Frankie in a nail salon, where the latter is already getting a pedicure. Colin begins to tell him about the Harrigan's empire, and how the drugs and other criminal enterprises are "there for the taking" because the family itself is spiralling into chaos. The way to get to them, obviously, is through Harry.

In an unnerving power move, Frankie decides to give Colin a pedicure himself. He asks what would happen if he was to say no to "f**king Harry up," with Colin responding that he's got enough evidence on Frankie to "get him locked up for the rest of his life." Frankie responds with a thinly-veiled threat concerning Colin's wife.

We get another history lesson from Colin when Frankie asks about the best way to get to Harry, this time about the French Catholic who assassinated King Henry IV of France in 1610, François Ravaillac. Ravaillac's execution was to be tied to four horses who each pulled his limbs in different directions, implying that the Harrigan's have four horses that would have the same metaphorical impact on Harry.

Conrad invites Seraphina to dinner, who is immediately suspicious of Maeve's intentions. She reluctantly agrees, but immediately phones the number Kat gave her in episode 1 to reveal Conrad's plans. The voice on the other end of the phone is revealed to be Jamie, Jan's car accident stranger.

Gina and Jan meet, with Gina laying on the success of her YouTube shakedowns thick. Jan tells her about the divorce, with Gina trying (badly) to hide how much her family's dysfunction has been affecting her. Eddie arrives to meet Gina, immediately getting feisty with Jan, who mildly threatens him in return.

Colin correctly guesses that Bella will be the best way to get to Harry

(Image credit: Paramount+)

While Colin is at home watching TV with his wife, Frankie rings to ask who Harry's four horses might be. Colin lists off the Harrigan's who are most likely to crack, while also telling him about Jan and Gina. However, he guesses that Kevin's wife Bella (Lara Pulvey) will be the best bet... and he's right.

As luck would have it, Harry makes his way to see Bella to discuss what Gina and Eddie have been up to together. They have a stilted conversation about parenthood, with Harry opening up about Jan asking for a divorce. Bella thinks that Kevin would feel insecure if he were to know that Harry was there with her alone, despite nothing going on between them.

As he leaves, we see Jamie and Jan meet up for coffee. Jamie gives her £7,000 in a white envelope, which is even more than she asked for. Jamie tries to get to know her and ask about her life, but Jan immediately leaves once she's got the money.

We also see Eddie take a call from Maeve to ask if he's got rid of Gina, which was her request in episode 1. Eddie says that he doesn't want to, claiming that the pair work well together as a team.

Frankie leaves Bella for dead — and makes sure Conrad knows it

(Image credit: Paramount+)

Jamie rings Seraphina as she gets ready to meet Maeve and Conrad, and tells her not to go to the restaurant. He doesn't say why, but claims it's important... and she obliges.

Then, a lot of things happen at once. We see Maeve and Conrad arrive at the restaurant, with Maeve remarking that Seraphina is "rude" for being so late. As more time passes, Conrad is inclined to agree, but he's then called away when a waiter says there's a call for him on the main phone. He's confused as to how anyone would know he's there, but we know it's not Seraphina — she's tried calling Conrad's phone, which Maeve declines.

At the same time, Paul and Fergus (Jack Archer) go for a drink outside a nearby pub. As Fergus admits that he's worried about his family's safety now that he's working in organised crime, Paul heads in to get another drink at the bar. While he does, a man in a van arrives as asks Fergus for directions to the nearest A-road. As Fergus approaches, the van door opens and a masked man shoots Fergus point-blank in the head.

Also at the same time, Harry tries to leave Jan a voicemail about moving abroad for a fresh start as Kevin calls Bella to check on her. Harry is sitting outside Gina's flat, shooting a bunch of masked men arriving nearby. He checks that the pair aren't hurt before leaving.

Bella, meanwhile, isn't so lucky. Masked man shoot down the outside security before storming the house, leaving Bella to make a run for the basement while still on the phone to Kevin. Kevin says that he's on his way, but it's too late... Frankie, who appears once the rest of the men have gone in, gets to her first.

As Conrad reaches the restaurant phone, Frankie finds Bella cowering in a downstairs bathroom, pointing a gun with a silencer directly at her. Conrad answers the phone, as Frankie picks up his to say just one word: "Bang."

Elon Musk says a 200-mph Hyperloop could connect Austin and San Antonio in under 30 minutes. Here’s what we know about the Texas proposal.

The post Elon Musk Wants a 200-MPH Hyperloop: 2.5-Hour Trip Could Take 30 Minutes appeared first on TechRepublic.

Google Chrome 154 fixes 108 security vulnerabilities, including 11 Critical flaws. Here’s what users and IT teams should do now.

The post Google Chrome 154 Fixes 108 Security Flaws: 11 Are Rated Critical appeared first on TechRepublic.

This 10th generation iPad handles video calls, note-taking, and field work without the cost of a new one.

The post This 256GB iPad Built for Work, Refurbished & Available for $299.99 appeared first on TechRepublic.

• Microsoft pledges $10 billion to support the Middle East's technological ambitions
• A $400m subsea cable expansion is also in the works
• The company stressed push for its educational support schemes

Microsoft has revealed plans to spend more than $10 billion in the Middle East between now and 2030, spread across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait.

Although the company already has substantial infrastructure already rooted in the region, including cloud regions for the UAE, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, it hopes that further investment will help increase regional access to its cloud and AI tools.

Microsoft President Brad Smith noted the region's ongoing digital transformation, appearing to also acknowledge the impacts of geopolitical conflicts. "We will build on the work we have done to stand by these countries’ governments and people through a period of significant challenges," Smith wrote in a blog post.

Microsoft invests $10bn to support Middle East technological transformation

The company also announced a series of initiatives that will fall under the $10 billion plans, including expanding cloud and AI infrastructure, improving local digital resilience, strengthening cybersecurity and backing educational schemes.

"Our responsibility is not only to invest in the technology that enables that progress, but to help provide the digital resilience, security and continuity it depends on," Smith added in another post.

Naturally, clean energy generation and a close eye on both water consumption and replenishment are core to the company's upcoming projects.

On the resilience front, Microsoft plans to invest a further $400 million in subsea and terrestrial cables by the end of the decade, building on top of its existing SeaMeWe-6 subsea cable which has points in Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Microsoft is just one of the 16 companies that look after the cable, which stretches from Singapore to France.

In a bid to pacify job concerns, Microsoft also asserted that it will upskill more than 4.2 million people across the Middle East by 2030 – around 8% of the four countries' combined populations (but a bigger percentage if you only consider working citizens).

Hackers are actively exploiting CVE-2026-87902, a critical WordPress flaw that can lead to remote code execution. Here’s what admins should do.

The post WordPress Flaw Under Active Attack: Hackers Target CVE-2026-87902 for Code Execution appeared first on TechRepublic.

Vonder is making camera-free smart glasses that can differentiate between personal voice memos and conversations. I tried on some of the frames ahead of their November launch.