Month: November 2016

Some of the critters that may be coming to Nintendo Switch soon.

Even as Pokémon Sun and Moon hits the Nintendo 3DS today, Eurogamer is citing "multiple sources" in reporting that a hybrid game titled Pokémon Star will be coming to the Nintendo Switch.

Pokémon Star would follow the pattern Nintendo set nearly two decades ago, where the "split" initial release of two Pokémon games with slightly different monsters (i.e., Pokémon Red and Blue) is followed in the near future by a hybrid game that essentially remasters the previous two (i.e., Pokémon Yellow).

What would make Pokémon Star unique is the fact that it would be coming to a different console than the games combined within. Star would also be notable as the first "mainline" Pokémon RPG designed to be played on a TV—other home console Pokémon titles have been spin-offs, usually focused on battling monsters from previous releases. The Switch's hybrid nature as a TV-based console and a portable would help explain why a Pokémon RPG is finally coming "home."

Chrysler

Chrysler's regular new Pacifica, introduced earlier this year, uses a 3.6-liter V6 and a nine-speed automatic transmission planted in a new chassis making extensive use of lighter aluminum and magnesium, netting a chassis 250 pounds (113kg)  lighter than before. We've driven this iteration (the review is coming soon) and were fairly blown away by its total competence and convenience, plus the fact that small misbehaving children can be stowed under the floor where the "Stow 'n Go" center-row seats play hide-and-seek. The new Pacifica also looks quite svelte, cutting a far more dashing figure than the minivan it replaces.

At this year's LA Auto Show, Chrysler launched the Hybrid version, which also plugs in for charging and uses a 16-kWh lithium-ion battery pack netting a pure electric range of 30 miles (48km) (and a total of 260 hp/194kW), making it the world's first plug-in hybrid minivan. For families who seek the utility, space, and easy ingress/egress of a minivan in a hybrid package, it's a no-brainer.

Video shot/edited by Jennifer Hahn. (video link)

Huawei's smartphones only started arriving in the United States recently, but that's no reason to discount them. While the company still won't give us a price or a solid release date, its new Mate 9 will be a contender for any Android fan who wants a big smartphone as soon as it gets here. Huawei built upon the features of the P9 and the Honor 8 to make the Mate 9 slightly better in every way, including design, power, and efficiency.

While it hasn't been out long enough for us to truly test the long-term usefulness and intelligence of Huawei's Emotion UI and machine learning algorithms, we can assess how the €699 (~$740) Mate 9 performs straight out of the box. At this price tag, the conclusions are mixed: everything you can't see in the smartphone is impressive, but the things you do see and interact with regularly could be improved.