Fully Charged: Star Wars: Episode VII set photos leak, Forza Horizon 2 revealed, and the amazing suitcase scooter

Star Wars: Episode VII set photos leak, plus new cast members confirmed

We’re certainly not going to be the ones to spoil anything from the new Star Wars if you’re looking to keep in the dark for the next year and a half. But if you can’t wait to see the familiar desert sands and other sights from the film franchise, TMZ has a stack of photos leaked from the set. There’s nothing we’d consider a likely serious spoiler in the bunch, but still—view at your own risk.

In more official news, two additional actresses have been announced for the large ensemble cast, and they’re both very noteworthy additions: Lupita Nyong’o—who just won Best Supporting Actress at the Academy Awards for 12 Years a Slave—and Game of Thrones star Gwendoline Christie.

Star Wars: Episode VII hits cinemas worldwide on 18 December 2015, of course, and is directed by J.J. Abrams with Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, and Mark Hamill all reprising their iconic roles.

[Sources: TMZ, Star Wars]

READ MORE: Star Wars: Episode VII cast revcaeled: Ford, Hamill, and Fisher flanked by newcomers

Forza Horizon 2 racing to Xbox One and Xbox 360

Last year, Forza Motorsport 5 was the standout Xbox One launch exclusive, and now spinoff series Forza Horizon looks to make it two for two with this autumn’s Forza Horizon 2.

Unlike the core entries, Horizon is an open-world racer with a bit more of an arcade-like appeal, and the sequel will take place in Southern Europe, reports IGN. It will also feature hundreds of licensed cars, and introduce a weather system for unpredictable terrain.

Original Horizon developer Playground Games is returning for the Xbox One iteration, while a separate Xbox 360 version will be handled by Sumo Digital. No word yet on differences between the releases, but we’re sure to find out more at E3 next week.

[Source: IGN]

READ MORE: Forza Horizon review

Introducing the suitcase scooter

Looking for a way to get around without shelling out for an expensive ride? Consider following the lead of Chinese man Hi Liangcai, a former farmer who spent a decade dreaming up and constructing this amazing suitcase-based scooter.

The side of the rolling luggage is used as the seat, and it can hold two people while running at 20 km/hour, with the battery allowing a distance of about 50 km/hour on a charge. Worth spending about a decade of brain power for? Yeah, we’d say so. Ride on, you brilliant man.

[Source: CRI Online via DesignBoom]

READ MORE: URB-E: the fold-up, ride-on electric scooter

Wii U update adds Quick Start menu

For a video game console, the Wii U sure takes its sweet time getting you into actual games. It’s improved a fair bit since the launch, when it would take ages just to move between menus, but it still takes some time to fire up the system and start playing. Luckily, Nintendo has cut down some of that sluggishness with the new 5.0.0 U system software update, which adds a Quick Start menu shown when the GamePad is first powered up.

The new menu screen lets you more quickly jump into recently played or installed software. Additionally, the update lets system updates install in the background when in standby mode, and allows Nintendo to send notifications to your GamePad when the Wii U itself is powered down. Just don’t ping us with GamePad spam and we’ll be OK, Nintendo.

[Source: Nintendo]

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