Returnal Is The Biggest Winner At The 2022 BAFTA Games Awards

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts has announced the winners of the 2022 BAFTA Games Awards, with Sony Interactive Entertainment’s and Housemarque’s PS5 exclusive Returnal winning the most awards of the night.
The roguelike third-person shooter won in four categories, including Best Game, Best Performer In A Leading Role with Jane Perry as protagonist Selene Vassos, Best Audio Achiecement and Best Music. Meanwhile, Ratchet & Clank Rift Apart, It Takes Two and Unpacking won two awards each.
The BAFTA Games Awards also gave a special tribute to the late Mohammad Fahmi, an Indonesian game developer who recently passed away last month. He was best known creating hit Indonesian adventure game Coffee Talk, What Comes After, and the upcoming Afterlove EP.

There you are @fahmitsu – you’re at the @BAFTAGames ?? pic.twitter.com/OX4xU13XUU
— Hasnul Hadi ? (@mistahasnul) April 7, 2022

Check out the full list of 2022 BAFTA Games Awards winners below:
BEST GAME
Returnal, Housemarque/Sony Interactive Entertainment (WINNER)
Deathloop, Arkane Lyon/Bethesda Softworks
Forza Horizon 5, Playground Games/Xbox Game Studios
Inscryption, Daniel Mullins Games/Devolver Digital
It Takes Two, Hazelight Studios/Electronic Arts
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, Insomniac Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment
GAME DESIGN
Inscryption, Daniel Mullins Games/Devolver Digital (WINNER)
Deathloop, Arkane Lyon/Bethesda Softworks
Forza Horizon 5, Playground Games/Xbox Game Studios
It Takes Two, Hazelight Studios/Electronic Arts
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, Insomniac Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment
Returnal, Housemarque/Sony Interactive Entertainment
ARTISTIC ACHIEVEMENT
The Artful Escape, Beethoven & Dinosaur/Annapurna Interactive (WINNER)
It Takes Two, Hazelight Studios/Electronic Arts
Psychonauts 2, Double Fine Productions/Xbox Game Studios
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, Insomniac Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment
Resident Evil Village, Capcom/Capcom
Returnal, Housemarque/Sony Interactive Entertainment
BRITISH GAME
Forza Horizon 5, Playground Games/Xbox Game Studios (WINNER)
Alba: A Wildlife Adventure, ustwo games/ustwo games, Plug In Digital
Death’s Door, Acid Nerve/Devolver Digital
Fights In Tight Spaces, Ground Shatter/Mode7
Overboard!, Jon Ingold, Tom Kail, Joseph Humfrey – Inkle/ Inkle
Sable, Shedworks/Raw Fury
ANIMATION
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, Insomniac Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment (WINNER)
Call Of Duty: Vanguard, Sledgehammer Games/Activision Blizzard
It Takes Two, Hazelight Studios/Electronic Arts
Kena: Bridge Of Spirits, Hunter Schmidt – Ember Lab Llc/ Ember Lab Llc
Life Is Strange: True Colors, Square Enix, Deck Nine Games/Square Enix
Psychonauts 2, Double Fine Productions/Xbox Game Studios
AUDIO ACHIEVEMENT
Returnal, Housemarque/Sony Interactive Entertainment (WINNER)
The Artful Escape, Beethoven & Dinosaur/Annapurna Interactive
Call Of Duty: Vanguard, Sledgehammer Games/Activision Blizzard
Deathloop, Arkane Lyon/Bethesda Softworks
Halo Infinite, 343 Industries/Xbox Game Studios
Marvel’s Guardian’s Of The Galaxy, Eidos-Montréal/Square Enix
DEBUT GAME
Toem, Something We Made/ Something We Made (WINNER)
The Artful Escape, Beethoven & Dinosaur/Annapurna Interactive
Eastward, Pixpil/Chucklefish
The Forgotten City, Nick Pearce, Alexander Goss, John Eyre – Modern Storyteller/Dear Villagers
Genesis Noir, Evan Anthony, Jeremy Abel – Feral Cat Den/Fellow Traveller
Maquette, Graceful Decay/Annapurna Interactive
EVOLVING GAME
No Man’s Sky, Hello Games/Hello Games (WINNER)
Among Us, Innersloth/Innersloth
Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Nintendo Epd/Nintendo
Apex Legends, Respawn Entertainment/Electronic Arts
Disco Elysium – The Final Cut, Za/Um/Za/Um
Fortnite, Epic Games/Epic Games, People Can Fly
FAMILY
Chicory: A Colorful Tale, Greg Lobanov, A Shell In The Pit, Madeline Berger, Alexis Dean-Jones, Lena Raine/Finji (WINNER)
Alba: A Wildlife Adventure, ustwo games/ustwo games, Plug In Digital
Forza Horizon 5, Playground Games/Xbox Game Studios
Mario Party Superstars, Nintendo Epd/Nintendo
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, Insomniac Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment
Unpacking, Wren Brier, Tim Dawson, Jeff Van Dyck – Witch Beam/Humble Games
GAME BEYOND ENTERTAINMENT
Before Your Eyes, Goodbyeworld Games/Skybound Games (WINNER)
Alba: A Wildlife Adventure, ustwo games/ustwo games/Plug In Digital
Chicory: A Colorful Tale, Greg Lobanov, A Shell In The Pit, Madeline Berger, Alexis Dean-Jones, Lena Raine/Finji
Game Builder Garage, Nintendo Epd/Nintendo
It Takes Two, Hazelight Studios/Electronic Arts
Psychonauts 2, Double Fine Productions/Xbox Game Studios
MULTIPLAYER
It Takes Two, Hazelight Studios/Electronic Arts (WINNER)
Back 4 Blood, Turtle Rock Studios/Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
Call Of Duty: Vanguard, Sledgehammer Games/Activision Blizzard
Forza Horizon 5, Playground Games/Xbox Game Studios
Halo Infinite, 343 Industries/Xbox Game Studios
Hell Let Loose, Black Matter/Team17
MUSIC
Returnal, Bobby Krlic, Joe Thwaites, Harry Krueger – Housemarque/Sony Interactive Entertainment (WINNER)
Deathloop, Tom Salta, Erich Talaba, Ross Tregenza – Arkane Lyon/Bethesda Softworks
Far Cry 6, Ubisoft Toronto/Ubisoft
Halo Infinite, 343 Industries/Xbox Game Studios
Psychonauts 2, Peter Mcconnell – Double Fine Productions/Xbox Game Studios
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, Scott Hanau, Wataru Hokoyama, Mark Mothersbaugh – Insomniac Games/ Sony Interactive Entertainment
NARRATIVE
Unpacking, Wren Brier, Tim Dawson, Annie Vandermeer – Witch Beam/Humble Games (WINNER)
It Takes Two, Hazelight Studios/Electronic Arts
Life Is Strange: True Colors, Square Enix, Deck Nine Games/Square Enix
Marvel’s Guardians Of The Galaxy, Eidos-Montréal/Square Enix
Psychonauts 2, Tim Schafer – Double Fine Productions/Xbox Game Studios
Returnal, Housemarque/Sony Interactive Entertainment
ORIGINAL PROPERTY
It Takes Two, Hazelight Studios/Electronic Arts (WINNER)
Deathloop, Arkane Lyon/Bethesda Softworks
Death’s Door, Acid Nerve/Devolver Digital
Inscryption, Daniel Mullins Games/Devolver Digital
Returnal, Housemarque/Sony Interactive Entertainment
Unpacking, Wren Brier, Tim Dawson, Jeff Van Dyck – Witch Beam/Humble Games
TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, Insomniac Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment (WINNER)
Forza Horizon 5, Playground Games/Xbox Game Studios
Hitman 3, Io Interactive/Io Interactive
Psychonauts 2, Double Fine Productions/Xbox Game Studios
Resident Evil Village, Capcom/Capcom
Returnal, Housemarque/Sony Interactive Entertainment
EE GAME OF THE YEAR
Unpacking Witch Beam/Humble Games (WINNER)
Chicory: A Colorful Tale, Greg Lobanov, A Shell In The Pit, Madeline Berger, Alexis Dean-Jones, Lena Raine/Finji
Deathloop, Arkane Lyon/Bethesda Softworks
The Forgotten City, Modern Storyteller/Dear Villagers
It Takes Two, Hazelight Studios/Electronic Arts
Metroid Dread, Nintendo and Mercury Steam
PERFORMER IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Kimberly Brooks as Hollis Forsythe in Psychonauts 2 (WINNER)
Laura Bailey as Polina Petrova in Call of Duty: Vanguard
Jason Cavalier As Drax in Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy
Maggie Robertson As Lady Dimitrescu in Resident Evil Village
Han Soto as Gabe Chen in Life is Strange: True Colors
Alex Weiner as Rocket in Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy
PERFORMER IN A LEADING ROLE

Jane Perry as Selene Vassos in Returnal (WINNER)
Ozioma Akagha As Julianna Blake in Deathloop
Jason E Kelley as Colt Vahn “the Captain” in Deathloop
Jennifer Hale as Rivet in Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
Jon Mclaren As Star-Lord/Peter Quill in Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy
Erika Mori as Alex Chen in Life is Strange: True Colors
In the meantime, you can check out my review of Returnal here, or head on over here for a guide to surviving the game.


Witness The First & Biggest One Piece Exhibition In Malaysia This March

Ace Media Network Sdn. Bhd. (AMN) just announced The Great Era of Piracy Asia Tour Exhibition and it sounds like a blast! They’re calling it the first and largest anime-based experiential exhibition in Malaysia.

Get ready to explore the exhibition’s 21 thematic zones, which take up a massive 25,000 sq feet. You’ll get to see your favourite One Piece characters come to life in epic fights straight out of the anime series, all brought to the exhibition in amazing detail.
This is a chance to experience a one-of-a-kind, 45 to 90-minute tour that’s full of interactive exhibits, genuine pirate artifacts, and all sorts of multimedia displays. You won’t want to miss out on this unforgettable adventure!

Re-experience Luffy’s adventures with 21 unique thematic zones

This one-of-a-kind exhibition will feature exclusive life-size FRP sculptures of your favourite One Piece characters, including Luffy, Katakuri, Yamato, and many others. You won’t want to miss the 180-degree immersive interactive mini-theatre, either, which showcases Luffy’s 25 years of adventures with the Straw Hat Crew. This is the perfect opportunity to relive some of your favourite moments from the show!

But wait, there’s more! The exhibition will also feature the largest, brand-new 3D sculpture of the Onigashima raid, complete with stunning fights like the epic showdown between Luffy and Kaido. This amazing sculpture has only been unveiled once before, making it a rare treat for any true One Piece fan.
The Great Era of Piracy Asia Tour is running from 23 March to 8 May, and is open from 10:00 AM to 10:00 PM every day of the week. You can book your tickets in advance and choose your preferred time slots for the morning, noon, or evening to make sure you get the most out of your visit.

So what are you waiting for? Get your tickets now at https://www.ticket2u.com.my/event/30178 and join us for an adventure you won’t forget! For more information, visit the website at https://acemedia.network/event/onepieceasiatour.php.


Malaysia Digital Creativity Festival 2021 Kicks Off Next Month With Many Game-Related Activities

Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) will be holding the Malaysia Digital Creativity Festival (MYDCF) 2021 throughout the month of November 2021.Â
With the aim to strengthen and catalyse the creative industry, MYDCF will seek to elevate the interest of the public and push forth the nation’s digitalisation agenda.
MDEC CEO Mahadhir Aziz said:
â€œWith a global market worth US$432 billion in 2020, the digital creative industry plays an important role not just for post COVID-19 economic recovery in line with the Twelfth Malaysia Plan (12MP), but towards the development of the Malaysian digital economy as laid out by the Malaysia Digital Economy Blueprint (MyDIGITAL).Â
MYDCF is an extension of MDECâ€™s many key programmes to support the industry and encourage youth participation in this high growth sector.
We not only aim to further strengthen the digital creative ecosystem in Malaysia, but to promote collaborations across the region and to celebrate the best of what we have to offer. Malaysia has great aspirations to be the Heart of Digital ASEAN and a creative content hub â€“ MYDCF will be a significant step towards that.”
MDEC Chief Digital Industry Officer (CDIO) Gopi Ganesalingam added:
 â€œFurther to our mandate to advance a sustainable digital economy and enhancing the industry, MYDCF serves as a sandbox to cultivate sustainability, innovation and continuous support in the digital content space by stretching out the space for creators and consumers to connect and nurture each other.â€
Throughout November, MYDCF will feature various interactive and entertaining programmes, with seven main events helming the month-long experience. They include:Â

Career Fair

MYDCF will feature more than 200 advertised vacancies and over 50 hiring companies. Besides employment opportunities, ACESTAR will also be holding a career mentorship session with budding industry players who wish to grow with existing studios, while PlayStation Studios, Bandai Namco, Streamline, and Codemaster will be holding career talks.Â

SEA Games Awards

A celebration of indie game studios and budding game developers from the Southeast Asian region. In partnership with EGGNETWORK, this event is focused on highlighting the best of what the SEA regionâ€™s gaming industry has to offer.

Kre8tif! Awards

The Southeast Asia (SEA) Kre8tif! Awards is organised by MDEC to seek and recognise talented animation creators across the globe. It features submissions from 65 countries as far as Hungary, Sweden, the United States, and Brazil. Among the distinguished judges are Carlene Tan from Cartoon Network, Eka Chandra from Asosiasi Industri Animasi Indonesia, Nop Dharmavanich from Thai Animation and Computer Graphics Association, and Nohadznita Hj Mohammad Ilham from the Ministry of Communications and Multimedia Malaysia.Â

eSports Tournaments

These tournaments will be held together with eSports organisers such as Rev Media Group, ESDK Services, Gamesbond, Flash Vision, Kitamen, Malaysia Esports Arena and Axis Esports, featuring games that include PUBG Mobile, Mobile Legend Bang Bang (MLBB), Ejen Ali: Agents Arena, and more. Winners will bring home a total prize pool of RM70,000.00. There are also masterclasses on DoTA2, MLBB and eSports shoutcasting.

LEVEL UP KL Junior Shoutcasting Challenge 2021

A combination of workshops, mentoring sessions and a shoutcasting competition, the challenge will feature more than 200 school students as part of an effort to build and nurture talents in the creative industry. The winner will stand a chance to co-shoutcast with a professional at the LEVEL UP KL Junior Cup 2021 and MLBB Professional League MY 2022.Â

SIGGRAPH Asia @ MYDCF

MDEC has partnered with SIGGRAPH Asia to cross-promote the computer graphics technology research community. During the event, SIGGRAPH will present talks on the production of Raya and the Last Dragon, Baymax Dreams and the entertainment industryâ€™s latest technology currently used in box office films.Â

Academic Paper Presentation

Academia from partnering universities such as Tunku Abdul Rahman University College, Taylors University College, International Islamic University Malaysia and MMU Multimedia University will be presenting their research on the creative industry. These topics include stop motion 3D puppet armatures, non-fungible tokens (NFT), cybersickness in VR video, and avoiding glorifying suicide and self-harm in animation.Â

Comic Art Festival

The Comic Art Festival is a creator-focused event to celebrate the creativity and diversity behind the art of illustration, comic-making and related visual fields. Partnering with Comic Fiesta and Alliance Francaise de Kuala Lumpur, the festival serves as a space for participants to learn about comics, as well as a networking platform for artists and enthusiasts.Â
MYDCF 2021 will also witness the soft launch of the Malaysian Game Store, the first digital publishing platform for Malaysian-made games. The platform, developed in partnership with MDEC, aims to pave the way for Malaysian studios to expand their reach and business opportunities.Â
Additionally, Monsta Studio â€“ the award-winning animation studio incubated and supported by MDEC, and the creator of Boboiboy â€“ will be unveiling their latest ventures at the festival.Â
MYDCF 2021 will feature a gamified expo for public attendees. Through the web browser application, the public can virtually interact and communicate with exhibitors; watch virtual stage content; purchase products and services, and customise their own unique avatar.Â Attendees also stand a chance to win virtual goods and merchandise, including Sony PlayStation 5 consoles.
Mahadhir added:
â€œA progressive and inclusive digital creative content industry requires the support of all stakeholders. I would like to express my gratitude to our partners EGGNETWORK, ACESTAR, SIGGRAPH Asia, Comic Fiesta, Alliance Francaise de Kuala Lumpur, and participating universities for making MYDCF a success.”
You can participate in MYDCF 2021 by heading on over toÂ  https://mydcf.my/.


Among Us VR Will Let You Play The Game In First Person

Revealed as part of the Meta Quest Gaming Showcase, Among Us VR is officially coming sometime in holiday 2022 for the virtual reality platforms such as Meta Quest and Steam VR.
Among Us VR is a game of teamwork and betrayal for four to 10 players in space. Crewmates work together to complete tasks before one or more Impostors can kill everyone aboard. All of the same betrayal and deceit as the original game, but now in a virtual Skeld. This first-person, 3D experience places players in the heart of the Skeld, but with all the same core mechanics from the original game.


Persona Theory Games Receives Funding From Wings Interactive

Wings Interactive, the video games fund supporting titles made by developers from marginalised genders, has announced the funding of four new projects. This includes Subliminal Games’ Button City, Selva Interactive’s Illuminaria, Anomaly Games’ The Fermi Paradox and Kabaret, a new visual novel from Malaysian developer Persona Theory Games.
The news was confirmed by the official Persona Theory Games Twitter account earlier today as well:

We're gonna do it again because we just couldn't contain it. 😀
Super stoked to announce that #Kabaret is funded by @wingsfundme along with other awesome games by @FermiGame, @selvaint, and @ButtonCity! #indiegamedev #gamedev #IamPOCinPlay #IndieDevHour https://t.co/OrXG9EvCbD
— Persona Theory Games | Wishlist Kabaret! (@personatheorymy) March 11, 2021

According to the original announcement (via GamesIndustry.biz), only one percent of Venture Capital funds go to female founders, while there are 22 percent of game creators identifying as women. The company is currently funding projects up to US$500,000.
Wings’ co-founder Audrey Leprince said:
“We are proud to work with such talented developers who are bringing some truly unique games to the market, and we are excited to continue our mission to support creations by those typically overlooked for funding.”
Persona Theory Games’ next title, Kabaret, is a new visual novel featuring traditional Southeast Asian monsters of myth and folklore with a twist.
The synopsis reads:
â€œWelcome to the Kabaret â€“ where monsters from Southeast Asian myths and folklores dwell.
Decipher tea leaves, play traditional games, and question your humanity.
The truth is this, every monster you have ever met, was once a human being.
Cursed into a monster, Jebat journeys into a realm called the â€œAlamâ€.
Taken in by the charismatic owner of Kabaret, known only as The Caretaker, Jebat is tasked with providing tasseomancy services to the dwellers in an effort to gather information on how to break his curse.â€
You can wishlist Kabaret on Steam, and it’s slated to launch sometime in August 2021. If you can’t wait, you can even download the free demo and try out the game now.
In the meantime, check out my review of their 2020 visual novel, Fires At Midnight.


PS5 CMOS Cbomb Issue: All You Need To Know

The games industry have recently been rocked by the PlayStation 5 Cbomb issue. Have you heard of the CMOS issue? Well, here’s the lowdown, especially if you own a PS5 right now, or are planning to get one.
What Is The CMOS?
The CMOS battery is located inside the PS4 and PS5. Its purpose is to keep track of the console’s date and time when it’s not switched on. Consoles need the CMOS battery in order to verify the player’s access to digital content and for syncing when obtaining trophies.
So What’s The Big Deal?

According to a study by game preservationists Does It Play, the problem is that when the CMOS battery dies or malfunctions, you won’t be able to play games at all on the PS4 and that includes both physical and digital games.
Meanwhile, the PS5 is a different case. They ran the same test by removing the PS5’s CMOS battery and what happened was that the PS5 console went into safe mode upon first boot and began rebuilding the database. After that, they tested three different physical games with mixed results:

Mortal Kombat 11 would not install and crashed when it reached 97 percent installation.
Marvelâ€™s Spider-Man: Miles MoralesÂ booted and played without issue.
Call of Duty: Black Ops â€“ Cold War booted but was unplayable due to the game’s reliance on online servers.

How Long Does A CMOS Last?
CMOS batteries usually have a lifespan of between five to ten years. Once it dies, it can be replaced but it’s not that easy. It requires pretty much breaking apart the PS4 or PS5 and putting it back together again. It’s preferable that you seek professional help when replacing the CMOS.
How To Fix The CMOS Issue
According to Does It Play, the only way to fix the CMOS issue is by replacing the CMOS battery and connecting to PSN. The biggest problem with this is the possibility of Sony shutting down the PSN servers in the future, which almost happened with the PS3 and PS Vita before Sony recently overturned their decision.
If Sony does eventually shut down the servers for the PS4 or PS5 in the far future, even replacing your CMOS battery won’t help much, especially for the PS4 and the digital edition of the PS5. At least the standard edition of the PS5 will still be able to play certain physical games even if the CMOS dies, but most games will still not work properly.

This is all bad news for those who like to keep their old and retro consoles and keep playing them from time to time. Older consoles like the PS2 and SNES can still be played as long as the console works, but the way the CMOS battery works on the PS4 and PS5 means that they could be rendered unplayable if the servers went down.
It has also been suggested that Sony could simply patch the CMOS issue with an update, but it doesn’t look like the issue is on their priority list anytime soon.


Genshin Impact 2.3 Update Brings Our Heroes Back To Dragonspine

Mihoyo just announced a new 2.3 update for its hit online anime RPG Genshin Impact. It comes with a few new gacha characters, a new main quest that brings players back to the game’s snow-infested landscape, and a new side quest or two.
First up, we get a showcase of the new non-human character Arataki Itto, the claymore-wielding leader of the Arataki Gang. He’s a Geo elemental user and he hits hard. He can summon Ushii the bull as a support unit for his special elemental attack.
His elemental burst turns him into a super-powered Oni badass, making all his attacks Geo-laced and cannot be mitigated.

Gorou is the next new character. He’s a Geo bow user who can summon a dog-paw banner to buff the party up. The more Geo players in the field, the bigger the banner buff. Watch them in action on the video below:

Gorou’s Elemental Burst deals AoE damage and creates a field called General’s Glory. This field moves with the active character and summons damaging crystal over time.
The character banners for version 2.3 will not only feature Gorou and Arataki Itto, but also Albedo and Eula as returning gacha banners.

Next, we get a sneak peek at the next 2.3 update main story quest Shadows Amidst Snowstorms, where players go back to Dragonspine Mountain (the Mondstadt place with the snow and freeze ailment) to participate in a Winter Adventure Guild training event, as also to help alchemist Albedo out with a science-related problem. Also, Amber and Eula team up to build a snowman. The event will feature challenges like the Agility Training, where you collect as many insignias for points in a race course before reaching the end for the best high score.
This being a limited time event, there will be plenty of rewards for participating including:

A Cinnabar Spindle sword,
Alkahest ascension material,
Primogems (of course),
Snowman Components to build snowmen you can keep even after the event.

As you can see below, snowmen-building will be a thing in Genshin Impact.

Players will also get to fight a new boss called the Golden Wolflord. You’ll find this giant rifthound in Tsurumi Island and you’ll fight this big boy multiple times.

The 2.3 update will also introduce a new sidequest called Bantan Sango Case Files: The Warrior Dog. Players will need to search for missing animals and partake in a game of wits against warrior dogs. You don’t fight them outright; you have to play a stealth minigame to defeat them.

And that’s not all: the game will also introduce new hangout events for Gorou and Liyue’s ship captain Beidou. The 2.3 update will be out on 24th November.Â Oh, and here are the redemption codes from the livestream; you get 100 Primogems and a bunch of other stuff.

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Overwatch’s New SFX From TorbjÃ¶rn’s Molten Core May Be NSFW

We have a sneaking suspicion that Blizzard may be on to this, but we’re not judging. Early this week, Overwatch’sÂ TorbjÃ¶rn received a major overhaul at least in PTR mode. He can now chuck his turret and his Molten Core is an area denial Ultimate. He plays a lot different now.
The problem? It seems that most of the cast sound like they’re a bit too eager to get burned by the Molten Core. Don’t believe us? Check out this video below and you be the judge. Be sure to put on some earphones/headphones if you’re in a public place/at work.
https://www.facebook.com/kakuchopurei/videos/2213609238921273/
The Vivaldi background music was appropriate. Trust us on this. There’s currently no word on whether Blizzard will change the SFX and VO in the public server to make it like they’re in pain rather than being cuddled aggressively. Hear those boots? They be knocking!


Razer’s Existing Xbox Peripherals Will Support Series X & S

Razer has announced that existing Razer products designed for Xbox are compatible with the upcoming Xbox Series X/S when they launch this November.
These include:
Razer Nari Ultimate Designed for Xbox

The Nari Ultimate is the worldâ€™s first headset designed for Xbox with high-definition haptic feedback developed by Lofelt.
Ready for haptic feedback in the next generation with Xbox Series X|S, and powered by Razer HyperSense technology, the Nari Ultimate delivers a truly immersive gaming experience thanks to the high fidelity drivers providing crystal clear audio and vibration-based sensory feedback.
Razer Wolverine Ultimate

Winning multiple awards for its optimized ergonomics, interchangeable thumb sticks and d-pad adaptable for any playstyle, and lit by Razerâ€™s Chroma Lighting, the Razer Wolverine Ultimate is the supreme controller designed for Xbox.
Razer Atrox Arcade Stick

The Razer Atrox Arcade Stick designed for Xbox is a tournament-grade fighting machine built to enhance your gaming prowess. Using premium quality Sanwa components, with 8 highly responsive, programmable buttons and a precision 8-way joystick, fighting game enthusiasts can dominate the game with the Atrox.
The full list of Razer products compatible with Xbox Series X|S includes:
Razer Nari Ultimate Designed for XboxRazer Wolverine UltimateRazer Wolverine Tournament EditionRazer Atrox Designed for Xbox arcade stickRazer Thresher Designed for XboxRazer Turret Designed for Xbox


This Space Invaders Collection For The Switch Will Have Up To 11 Games

Do you remember the last time you played Space Invaders? Yeah, neither do I. The first game was released way back in June 1978. 42 years later, Taito is releasing a collection of the game and some of its sequels for the modern market.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8v8jkkmjSOs&w=560&h=315]
I present you Space Invaders: Invincible Collection. It will be released only for the Nintendo Switch on 26 March 2020 but that’s just for Japan. No word on an international release yet.
The game will be released in two editions, Standard and Special. The Standard Edition gets you eight games while the Special Edition adds another three on top of that. Here’s a full list:
Space Invaders: Invincible Collection Standard Edition games:

Space Invaders (1978, Arcade) â€“ Original Version
Space Invaders (1978, Arcade) â€“ Color Version
Space Invaders Part II (1979, Arcade)
Majestic Twelve: The Space Invaders Part IV (1990, Arcade)
Super Space Invaders â€™91 (1991, Arcade) â€“ Overseas Version of Majestic Twelve
Space Invaders Extreme (2018, PC)
Space Invaders Gigamax 4 SE (2018, Real Event) â€“ Supports Four-Player Co-op
Arkanoid vs. Space Invaders (2017, iOS / Android)

Space Invaders: Invincible Collection Special Edition games:

Space Invaders (1978, Arcade) â€“ Original Version
Space Invaders (1978, Arcade) â€“ Color Version
Space Invaders Part II (1979, Arcade)
Majestic Twelve: The Space Invaders Part IV (1990, Arcade)
Super Space Invaders â€™91 (1991, Arcade) â€“ Overseas Version of Majestic Twelve
Space Invaders Extreme (2018, PC)
Space Invaders Gigamax 4 SE (2018, Real Event) â€“ Supports Four-Player Co-op
Arkanoid vs. Space Invaders (2017, iOS / Android)
Space Invaders DX (1994, Arcade)
Space Cyclone (1980, Arcade)
Lunar Rescue (1979, Arcade)

The Standard Edition is priced at Â¥5,200 (~RM198) and the Special Edition is priced at Â¥16,800 (~RM640). Believe me, I’m as surprised as you are reading those price tags. I guess this is made for true hardcore fans of Space Invaders.
Thanks, Gematsu.


Batman Animated Series Batwheels Rolls Onto Cartoon Network & HBO GO This Sunday

Cartoon Network and HBO GO have announced today that Batwheels will officially zoom onto television screens beginning Sunday, 16 October 2022. The series will premiere on Cartoon Network’s Cartoonito preschool block (Astro Channel 615) on weekends at 9.00 am, and stream on the same day on the Cartoonito hub on HBO GO.
Produced by Warner Bros. Animation, Batwheels marks DC’s first-ever Batman preschool series, offering young viewers a high-speed, vibrant CGI-animated iteration of the Caped Crusader. Little ones and their families will ride along with an amazing team of super-vehicles—Bam (the Batmobile), Bibi (the Batgirl Cycle), Redbird (Robin’s racecar), Buff (the Bat-Truck), and Batwing (the Bat-plane)—as they help Batman, Batgirl, and Robin keep the streets of Gotham City safe. Whether it’s facing down the Legion of Zoom or one of Gotham City’s notorious Super-Villains, the Batwheels will use their incredible gadgets and creative teamwork to save the day.
The all-star voice cast includes Ethan Hawke (as Bruce Wayne/Batman), AJ Hudson (as Duke Thomas/Robin), Leah Lewis (as Cassandra Cain/Batgirl), Jacob Bertrand (as Bam), Jordan Reed (as Redbird), Madigan Kacmar (as Bibi), Noah Bentley (as Buff), Lilimar (as Batwing), Kimberly D. Brooks (as The Batcomputer), Mick Wingert (as Moe and The Joker), Xolo Maridueña (as Snowy) and Gina Rodriguez (as Catwoman). Based on characters from DC, Batwheels is produced by Warner Bros. Animation. Animation services provided by Superprod Studio.
In addition, children can enjoy an interactive Batwheels experience with the ‘Batwheels By You’ online game on the Cartoon Network Asia website. Engaging and encouraging creativity, ‘Batwheels By You’ gets the little ones busy colouring and creating their very own Batwheels team. The game is free to play.
Underneath the superhero adventures, Batwheels will teach children about what it means to be a hero through its unique “Hero” curriculum. The curriculum aligns with Cartoonito’s Humancentric Learning framework that encourages kids to become the best version of themselves. Every Batwheels episode will demonstrate a different character strength – self-awareness, concern for others, perseverance, and courage, among others – in overcoming personal and interpersonal challenges and will model how heroes contribute to the greater good.
Batwheels will also showcase the value of friendship and teamwork and illuminate the rewards of these skill sets. Moreover, the series will teach children that while each vehicle has super abilities, the more important capacities that fuel their heroism are rooted in their intrinsic character strengths, knowing how to be a good friend and the ability to work as a team. Parents can learn more about the Batwheels hero curriculum and access resources such as the pages here, to help extend the learning offscreen by visiting the Cartoonito Asia website.
For the latest updates on Batwheels, follow Cartoonito Asia on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube, as well as HBO Asia on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
You can subscribe to HBO GO online at https://www.hbogoasia.my/ or the mobile app via the App Store or Play Store for RM23.30/month. Or access HBO GO via Astro. HBO GO  is also available on Android TV, Apple TV, LG TV and Samsung Smart TV – and comes with AirPlay and Google Cast functionality.


Major Changes Coming to Overwatch League Next Season

As we head into the final week of Stage 1 for the second season of the Overwatch League which is currently plagued by the triple-tank-triple-healer meta a.k.a GOATS, a silver lining for viewers emerged in the form of how the league will operate come Season 3.
As confirmed by league Commisioner Nate Nanzer, teams will play matches in their home cities as opposed to playing out of the Blizzard Arena.

The @overwatchleague is coming home – and away! Starting in 2020, all Overwatch League teams will be playing in their home cities. Weâ€™re super excited to see our original vision brought to life. Thanks to all of our fans for your amazing support!
â€” Nate Nanzer (@natenanzer) March 15, 2019
Understandably, with Overwatch League teams based out of multiple cities scattered throughout the globe, a structure is being put in place to ensure optimal traveling which aims to ease jet lag and logistical issues.
This move also results in the league capping the number of participating teams in Season 3 to remain at the current 20.

.@natenanzer confirms that the @overwatchleague teams will move to and compete in their home markets in 2020, as reported by @ESPN last summer. #SXSW
Teams will play more within their conference than outside of it and will travel on a regional basis to ease jet lag. pic.twitter.com/5YdzUc6Mtv
â€” Jacob Wolf âœˆï¸ #SXSW (@JacobWolf) March 15, 2019
According to ESPN, one of the two Los Angeles-based teams, the LA Valiant were the first team to announce a permanent venue – the Microsoft Theater at LA Live in downtown Los Angeles. It would be an interesting yet gargantuan task for the league considering the planning and logistics required.
As for us viewers, we are excited for the opportunity of watching the Overwatch League live in venues such as in China and South Korea. We say bring it.


Here’s When The Next Cyberpunk 2077 Gameplay Stream Will Go Live

CD Projekt Red initially planned to showcase more gameplay of Cyberpunk 2077 this weekend at PAX West. Due to some logistical and creative reasons, they’ve decided to stream the footage from their home office in Warsaw, Poland instead.
The studio plans to show a condensed version of what was shown at Gamescom 2019, editing it down to just 15 minutes. After that, there will be an interview session with some of the developers who will share their thought process behind the creative decisions they made for Cyberpunk 2077.

Stream platforms:
CD Projekt Red’s official Twitch channel.
CD Projekt Red’s official Mixer channel.
Date and time:
30 August 2019 – 8PM CEST (In Malaysia, 31 August 2019 – 2AM)
To get more Cyberpunk 2077 news and features, stay tuned and follow Kakuchopurei on our social media accounts.


Avatar The Way Of Water Opens With A Tidal Wave Of US$435 Million

James Cameron’s Avatar The Way Of Water made a big splash in its opening weekend with a whopping US$434.5 million worldwide. Of that, over USS$300.5M comes from the international box office. That’s the third-highest global weekend posted by any Hollywood film during the post-pandemic era, behind Doctor Strange 2’s US$442 million and Spider-Man No Way Home’s US$587.2 million.
In the US, it made US$134 million at the domestic box office. Of the 52 territories outside of the US, China delivered the biggest start with US$57.1 million. Other top-earning markets include Korea with US$24.7 million, Germany with US$19.9 million, France with US$19.3 million, India with US$18.1 million, the United Kingdom with US$14.2 million and Mexico with US$12.9 million.
Will Avatar The Way Of Water be able to reach US$1 billion by the end of December 2022? We’ll have to wait and see.
In the meantime, check out our glowing review of Avatar The Way Of Water by heading over here and why you have to watch it in IMAX 3D.


Super Robot Wars 30 Expansion Pack & Free DLC Launch This April

Strategy game RPG and mecha crossover title Super Robot Wars 30 is getting bigger and badder.
Bandai Namco announced new free DLC and paid DLC/expansion pack for the recent SRW mecha-filled title. Let’s break it down:
Super Robot Wars 30: Free Update
The new update will bring in new story content and extra chapters. New mechas and pilots include:

Grungust and Irmgard Kazahara (CV: Kenyu Horiuchi)
Van Ein and co-pilors Asahi Inui (CV: Kenji Akabane) and Schatte Sudwesten (CV: Asami Seto)

The DLC will feature an extra chapter, two new Area Missions, and Limited Missions. This DLC will be available on 20th April.
Super Robot Wars 30 Paid Expansion Pack
The paid expansion adds in 20 Area Missions, 25 Onboard Missions, 10 new playable units, a Chain Area Mission, a new Super Expert Mode Plus difficulty, and 3 new Attacks. The following mecha IPs are included:

Armored Trooper VOTOMS
Dancouga: Super Beast Machine God
Majestic Prince: Genetic Awakening
Getter Robo Devolution: The Last 3 Minutes of the Universe
Super Robot Wars OG Series.

This Expansion Pack will be out on 13 April, with Set 2 of the Expansion Pack being available on 20 April. The paid expansion will cost you RM70. If you buy the SRW 30 Season Pass, you’ll instead pay RM119 along with the future bonuses and expansions that are included. Check out the free DLC and expansion gameplay trailer below.

Super Robot Wars 30 is out now for PS4, PC (Steam), and Nintendo Switch.


Top 10 Feel-Good Anime To Make You Happier

The slice of life genre is massive in the anime world. Easily identified by its depiction of the everyday life of normal individuals, the genre has built a number of unique shows over the years. Because of how widespread the genre is, it isnâ€™t uncommon to see the concept intertwine with other elements such as fantasy, sci-fi, or drama.
But even though thereâ€™s a certain beauty that comes with experiencing tales of romance, hardship, and successes through the lens of average folk, not everyone is so keen on heavy stories after a long day. A perfect remedy to the weary soul, then, would be light-hearted shows that donâ€™t necessarily follow a plot. The slice of life genre is also a treasure trove for relaxing shows, but it can be hard to find the best ones in such a vast pool.
Without further ado, weâ€™ve gathered several feel-good shows that have stood out as the perfect avenues to kick back and relax on.
#10. Laid-Back Camp

Nothing screams relaxation more than camping outdoors and enjoying all the sounds and sights that come with being at the heart of nature. Laid-Back Camp is all about that life, and follows a young girl named Nadeshiko as she discovers the joys of camping alongside the many new friends she makes at her school.
The best part about this show lies in how it takes you on a trip through beautiful scenery inspired by the backdrop of Mount Fuji. Meanwhile, the characters are enjoying their time setting up their tents, drinking hot coffee, and eating ramen under a starlit sky.
Few animes manage to be this atmospheric, and even fewer give you the chance to get completely sucked into their settings. Youâ€™ll even pick up a few tricks about camping in the process, so whatâ€™s there to not like?
#9. Tamako Market

“Everybody loves somebody”. So goes the line that encompasses Tamako Market. The show is about a high school girl named Tamako who, alongside her father, runs a mochi shop at a bustling shopping district.
One day, she stumbles upon a talking bird named Dera Mochizuki who is searching for a bride to his countryâ€™s prince. Incidentally, he announces Tamako as a suitable candidate, which sparks the entire district into a spree of emotions.
The appeal of Tamako Market comes from its easy-going outlook of life and relationships. Tamako is a friend to everyone in the neighbourhood and gets along with just about anyone. Through their conversations and activities together, the community comes to life and youâ€™ll enjoy seeing Tamako and the marketâ€™s unique residents get along.
#8. Azumanga Daioh

Azumanga Daioh is unique in that it doesnâ€™t have a story, but interestingly showcases the passage of time. Itâ€™s about a group of high school girls and showcases their ordinary lives, beginning from their first day in high school up until their graduation three years later.
The anime is great for those seeking out a comedy. Though the show is really only depicting ordinary situations, itâ€™s a show filled with many little skits and gags surrounding the six girls and their experiences.
With themes that range from cultural festivals to sports events and classes, youâ€™re bound to find something funny and relatable.
#7. Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid

Looking for something a little more fantastical? For this show, it all starts when a normal office worker named Kobayashi loses herself in a forest after a round of heavy drinking. In her drunken stupor, she inadvertently ends up saving the life a dragon named Tohru, who hails from a mystical medieval world.
To repay Kobayashiâ€™s kindness, Tohru swears eternal servitude to Kobayashi and decides to live alongside her in the form of a maid girl.

Some of the best parts of this anime involve watching Tohru struggle to get used to life as a modern Japanese citizen. Not only is she inhumanly strong, but she also attempts to clean laundry with her own saliva, and even at one point tries to feed Kobayashi meat from her own tail.

All sorts of hijinks ensue when more dragons also try to fold themselves into human society.
Beyond that, however, the show also pays close attention to Tohru and Kobayashiâ€™s relationship. Peppered between the comedy are wholesome moments thatâ€™ll have you rooting for Tohru to succeed at the new life sheâ€™s chosen.
#6. Daily Lives of High School Boys

An anime thatâ€™s bound to tickle the funny bone of any person who has been a young hormonal teenage boy.
Like many of our other recommendations, Daily Lives of High School Boys isnâ€™t particularly complex in terms of plot and characters. Tadakuni and his band of misfits are just trudging through high school, thinking about girls, and trying to make sense of their status as boys.
Pranks and awkward accidents are the names of the game as these kids try to satiate their endless boredom. The gags are hilariously on-point, capitalizing on the fact that boys really do try and pull off the silliest stunts whenever they can.
#5. Itâ€™s Difficult to Love an Otaku

A rare breed in anime is one that portrays about working adults. Anyone looking for a change of pace from the usual high school premise should definitely check out Itâ€™s Difficult to Love an Otaku.
The show follows a group of regular office workers that also happen to be hardcore otaku. The main character Narumi harbours a dark secret – sheâ€™s a huge fan of boys love stories and even fervently contributes to the art at an event called Comiket.
Meanwhile, her childhood friend and co-worker Hirotaka is also an otaku thatâ€™s into video games. The two eventually begin dating and also get along with another romantic pair of otaku at their office.
With each character sporting their own brand of closeted interests, it can be fun to see how each person complement the other. Youâ€™ll get to see them engage in their hobby, but also watch as they juggle a career, relationships, and their interests all at once through a light-hearted and comedic format.
#4. Sweetness and Lightning

Tragedy can befall any of us, but that doesnâ€™t mean life afterwards has to be depressing. Take for instance the Inuzuka family in Sweetness and Lightning.
Kouhei is a single parent who has to take care of his daughter Tsumugi after his wife passes away. He has a hectic job as a teacher and canâ€™t quite cook to save his life.
However, one of his students, Kotori, invites the pair to dine at her familyâ€™s restaurant, in which they eventually find themselves bonding over delicious meals. Tsumugi is a cute little munchkin to her fatherâ€™s kindness and limitless patience.
The show champions the value of spending time together with your loved ones, especially over a hearty meal. Those yearning for a relaxing anime with a warm message would do well to check this one out.
#3. Grand Blue

Get ready to drown in laughter with the absurdity that is Grand Blue. Iori is just your regular guy whoâ€™s about to begin college life, but quickly gets roped into the local scuba diving club called Grand Blue.
The anime cleverly attempts to introduce itself as an inspirational story about the passions of diving, but thatâ€™s really not what most of the show is. Soon, youâ€™ll see Iori and pals fawn over alcoholic drinks and get naked at inopportune moments. Itâ€™s a far cry from his ideal college life of chasing beautiful girls and bettering himself.
Many of the jokes are over-exaggerated, filled with dramatic facial expressions and loads of misunderstandings, which is perfect if you prefer that kind of raw humour. One thing for sure, though, is that itâ€™s a great portrayal of a phase that we all go through when hanging out with good friends.
#2. Nichijou â€“ My Ordinary Life

Nichijou is a Japanese word that roughly translates to, â€œMy Ordinary Life,â€ in English. Itâ€™s a fair description of the show in a nutshell, but doesnâ€™t quite prepare you for how bizarre, surreal, and hilarious it can be.
From the existential crisis of ordering coffee at a cafÃ© to watching oneâ€™s school principal wrestle a deer. Thereâ€™s no telling what to expect when diving into the wacky yet somehow ordinary life of Yuuko and her friends.
Expect hours upon hours of just the most absurd situations you can think of. Paired with that is incredible animation work that does complete justice to these incredulous everyday situations.
#1. Aria

Plucking from the late 2000s is an anime that, even over a decade, still manages to stand the test of time. Spanning three long seasons, Aria is a show without much of an overarching plot. Instead, it excels by transporting an audience to a world and time thatâ€™s more carefree and gets them acquainted with gentle and likeable characters.
Akari begins her new life in the distant future on a terraformed planet Mars thatâ€™s now called Aqua. Though a bit clumsy, she works hard as a trainee gondolier within Neo-Venezia, transporting people on a boat through the water canals of a city resembling Venice in all but name.
Tourists visit Neo-Venezia to take a break from the hectic life, in which Akari and friends happily oblige. They themselves are also enjoying life in this quiet city, experiencing new events and memories as they learn the ropes of gondoliering.
Trying to get into Aria is akin to experiencing a long vacation. There are no concrete goals to be met, only memories to be made. The animation isnâ€™t there to impress anyone, but an utterly fantastic musical score on top of its cosy and somewhat futuristic context may very well spirit you away.


Final Fantasy XIV Endwalker Delayed To Next Month

Final Fantasy XIV’s latest and biggest expansion is going to be pushed for a few weeks.
The MMORPG expansion, which was originally going to come out on 23rd November, will instead be out on 7th December. Producer/director/top Black Mage in his own game Naoki Yoshida said that the biggest factor for the delay was his “own selfishness” in making the game as perfect a launch as possible.
“[A]s we neared the end of development and I played through everythingâ€”from quests to battle content and the likeâ€”I just couldnâ€™t contain my desire to further improve Endwalkerâ€™s quality, specifically because this expansion pack marks the first major culmination of events in FFXIV so far.
Even as we look beyond Endwalker, the FFXIV story will continue for a long time and we hope to deliver many more enjoyable experiences in the game. However, it was precisely because Endwalker concludes the first major saga that I felt our team needed to push ourselves to the â€œlimitsâ€ that I envisioned.”
The game’s new release schedule alongside the Early Access mode is below in PST time:
Official Release: Tuesday, 7 December 2021
Start of Early Access: Friday, 3 December 2021
Patch 6.01 Scheduled Release: 21 December 21 2021
Patch 6.05 Scheduled Release: 4 January 2022


Riot Games Is Looking Into Harassment In Valorant After Female Dev Reveals Her Experience

Riot Games is currently looking into “long-term” solutions for in-game sexual harassment in their games like Valorant. This comes after League of Legends UX designer Riot Greenily recently posted a brief clip of her live stream, revealing the harassment she faced by male gamers while streaming Valorant on Twitch.

Today’sðŸµ: It’s like this MOST of the time on solo queue voice comms REGARDLESS of the game I’m playing. I usually don’t give in to this like in the video; I’m silent in an attempt to not incite more. Inevitably you get to a point where you have to mute them. More perspective: pic.twitter.com/7ruWcI78tL
â€” Tea! ðŸµ (@Evergreenily) April 24, 2020

Please don’t be this dude who shouted “OH MY GOD IT’S A GIRL” the moment I talked; who called me his “babe”/ acted like I was his girlfriend throughout the whole game. I had to heal this guy because I’m trying to win the game and that SUCKED.
â€” Tea! ðŸµ (@Evergreenily) April 24, 2020
Greenily’s post warranted a reply from none other than Valorant executive producer Anna ‘SuperCakes’ Donlon, who has promised that the development team is looking to create a safer environment for female gamers, including adding a solo queue feature sometime in the future.
Another female game developer, Valorant insights and strategy analyst Riot Aeneia, also revealed her own harassment experiences while playing. She temporarily solved the problem by simply muting her harasser, which she calls “strategic sabotage”.

This dude just wouldn’t let up. He kept calling me a liar, that I’m actually a dude. He told me to “save [my] ideas for the kitchen.” About half way through the match, he asked if I’m single. By the end of the match, he repeatedly asked if he could add me. He proposed to me.
â€” Riot aeneia (@aeneiaa) April 24, 2020

I didn’t lose it. I tried several tactics to discourage this dude’s behavior, but none worked. He just kept at it. (Muting can be strategic sabotage, so I try to avoid it.)
But you know, there were 3 other folks in comms with us. None of them said anything about it. Not a peep.
â€” Riot aeneia (@aeneiaa) April 24, 2020

Valorant is currently in closed beta, but is only available in selected countries for now. The multiplayer shooter game recently broke Twitchâ€™s single-day hours watched record in a single game category within its first few hours.


Veteran Caster MonteCristo Won’t Be Returning For OWL Season 3

We are now just a month away from the beginning of the Overwatch League Season 3. It will be the first time that the tournament will be played around the world instead of just in Lose Angeles. Unfortunately, someone very important won’t be returning for this season.
Overwatch League caster Christopher “MonteCristo” Mykles wearing the Team Ireland OW jersey.
Veteran Overwatch League caster Christoper “MonteCristo” Mykles announced that he won’t be renewing his contract with OWL for Season 3. Mykles has been an OWL caster since the tournament first started in late 2017.
According to a Twitter thread he made, Mykles cites “irreconcilable creative and philosophical differences” between himself and the league’s current leadership. These issues cropped up after the departure of former OWL commissioner Nate Nanzer.
Sadly, Mykles will also be suspending production of OverSight and stop creating other Overtwatch-focused analysis content. He says that it’s better for him to invest his energy elsewhere since demand for supplementary OWL content is low.
Mykles and fellow OWL veteran caster Erik “Doa” Lonqquist.
The hardest part about the transition, according to Mykles, is leaving his longtime casting partner Erik “Doa” Lonqquist. The two are known to have an amazing level of chemistry when co-casting and have been given duo names such as Rain Bros.
With OWL Season 3 just round the corner, OWL fans are definitely taken aback to receive this news. Mykles has played an extremely important role in bringing up Overwatch esports and he will be missed.
We wish him the best for his future endeavours and hope to see him bring more of his charm and expertise to the esports industry.
All photographs in this article was taken from Mykles’ personal Twitter page.


Mario Kart Tour Ad Shows Why Princess Peach Needs To Invest More In Workplace Safety

As a former aircraft maintenance personnel, it breaks my heart to watch the two new trailers of Mario Kart Tour. Both videos show many instances of hardworking toads getting affected by the hazards of setting up the game’s race courses in Tokyo and New York.
Take a look for yourself. Warning: This isn’t for the faint of heart.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aixSc5LxJkQ&w=560&h=315]
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMkwwTQlEaY&w=560&h=315]
That New York trailer in particular really makes me sick. How come nobody thought of putting barriers around that boost ramp after it was placed on the road? Now don’t you dare start blaming that toad. It’s very clear he was tired and just wanted to have a little rest. This implies that proper resting facilities were not provided. Shame!
Don’t even get me started on Tokyo. That lightning pick-up should never be passed around outside a safety bubble or any kind of non-conducive container. Heck, those toads weren’t even provided gloves!
Sure you can fix the “small” effect by just feeding them mushrooms but the injuries sustained during the shock and the overall cost of acquiring and distributing mushrooms will probably inflate expenses thus affecting the wages of the toads.
I’m so appalled by this lack of care towards workers but not appalled enough to stop myself from letting you guys know that Mario Kart Tour comes out on 25 September 2019 for iOS and Android devices.


San Francisco Shock Crowned 2020 Overwatch League Grand Finals Champion

The San Francisco Shock became the first team in Overwatch League history to win back-to-back championships, as the team defeated the Seoul Dynasty 4-2 to win the 2020 Overwatch League Grand Finals.
Last year, they also won the 2019 Grand Finals when they took down the Vancouver Titans.
Nam-joo â€œStrikerâ€ Kwon helped lead San Francisco to the title, thereby earning himself the 2020 Grand Finals MVP for his performance with heroes Tracer and Hanzo. He joins his teammate Hyo-bin “ChoiHyoBin” Choi, who was named Grand Finals MVP back in 2019.

The match was broadcast live on YouTube, Bilibili, Huya, Netease CC, and the official website OverwatchLeague.com, where millions of fans were treated to a special online broadcast showcased on a virtual stage.
Fans appeared on-broadcast cheering for both teams on the T-Mobile Skybox, and their voices were heard through a â€œCheer from Homeâ€ feature. Viewer rewards, including a special in-game Tracer skin and spray, were given to fans who linked their accounts while tuning in.
A special re-broadcast will air on YouTube and OverwatchLeague.com at 12pm PDT today (or 3am GMT+8 on Tuesday, 13 October 2020 for Southeast Asian fans). As an added incentive, viewer rewards will still be awarded to fans who watch the special re-broadcast.
Blizzard Entertainment Overwatch Esports Vice President Jon Spector said:
“I’m proud of the entire Overwatch League staff around the world who worked incredibly hard to put on a great show for our fans. Thank you to all four teams who competed this week as part of our 2020 Grand Finals, and congratulations to our winners, the San Francisco Shock. We steadily built momentum through a challenging 2020 season, and early results today are pointing to this event having the best viewership of the season. See you in 2021!”
While the 2020 Overwatch League season has come to an end, roster construction for 2021 will begin today on 12 October 2020. Other details on how player movement will work this offseason will be revealed later this month.
In the meantime, check out the highlights below:


Valorant Reveals New Cosmic-Powered Agent, Astra

Riot Games has announced a brand new agent for Valorant and her name is Astra. Astraâ€™s ability kit was revealed on Sunday, and she’s powered by cool cosmic powers called Stars; which are throwable projectiles with different effects.

Check out Astra’s abilities and skills below:

C: Gravity Well

ACTIVATE a Star to form a Gravity Well. Players in the area are pulled toward the centre before it explodes, making all players still trapped inside fragile.
Q: Nova Pulse
Activate a Star to detonate a Nova Pulse. The Nova Pulse charges briefly then strikes, concussing all players in its area.

E: Nebula
Activate a Star to transform it into a Nebula (smoke).
F: Dissipate
Use (F) on a Star to Dissipate it, returning the star to be placed in a new location after a delay. Dissipate briefly forms a fake Nebula at the Star’s location before returning.
X: Astral Form / Cosmic Divide
Activate to enter Astral Form where you can place Stars with primary fire. Stars can be reactivated later, transforming them into a Nova Pulse, Nebula, or Gravity Well.
When Cosmic Divide is charged, use secondary fire in Astral Form to begin aiming it, then primary fire to select two locations. An infinite Cosmic Divide connects the two points you select. Cosmic Divide blocks bullets and heavily dampens audio.

Astra is slated to join Valorant on 2 March 2021 with the start of ValorantÂ Episode 2, Act 2.
Riot Games also recently announced the ValorantÂ Champions Tour (VCT) Game Changers program, a new initiative that will supplement the competitive season by creating new opportunities and exposure for marginalized genders within the game.
In the meantime, check out the Astra trailer below:


Dying Light 2 New Game Plus To Add New Infected & More Later This Week

After teasing Dying Light 2 New Game Plus earlier this month, developer Techland has finally revealed more details about the upcoming mode in the open-world zombie game.
Update 1.3.0 is coming to Dying Light 2 on 27 April 2022, addressing myriad co-op issues and delivering completely new endgame content eagerly awaited by the community. Dying Light 2 New Game Plus will be available to every player that has finished the base game and allows survivors to revisit The City, relive the story, and make different narrative decisions, with new scaling, higher difficulty, and great bonuses.
In New Game Plus, players will keep the character progression of their initial adventure, but there will be new content like 30 new Inhibitors. Enemies will scale to Aiden’s level, but for those seeking more a challenging skirmish, Techland has prepared encounters with golden marks. There will also be new quests, like the “Something Big Has Been Here” quest.
Many of these new encounters will reward players with greater “Legendary” weapon rarity and valuable items. But for those who prefer to collect titles over the prizes, Techland added a new platinum medal for parkour challenges, with goal times based on the community’s best results.
However, players will have to collect the nightrunner tools all over again by replaying through the story, such as Aiden’s binoculars, paraglider, and UV flashlight. For more on Dying Light 2, check out our review and video walkthroughs.


Hearthstone Global Games Pacific Warm-Up Match Slated For Next Week

As we’ve reported before, the Southeast Asian representatives for the Hearthstone Global Games are picked and we’re going to see some hardcore card-flopping action mid-July. But if you want a sneak peek of the action, Blizzard has you sorted.
On 4 July and 5 July, Hearthstone teams from Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Thailand will show off their skills and top deck picks at 7pm (GMT+8) via livestream. The players involved will be tom60299 from Taiwan, Sequinox from Singapore, Disdal from Thailand, and blitzchung from Hong Kong. No word on why there isn’t a Malaysian player doing a warm-up match though.
Details & format rules are below:
Wednesday, July 4th
Taiwan V.S. Thailand: 7 p.m.
Singapore V.S. Thailand: 8 p.m.
Taiwan V.S. Hong Kong: 9 p.m.
Thursday, July 5th
Singapore V.S. Hong Kong:7 p.m.
Thailand V.S. Hong Kong: 8 p.m.
Taiwan V.S. Singapore: 9 p.m.
Broadcast Channels
Mandarin: https://www.twitch.tv/hearthstonezhtw
English: https://www.twitch.tv/hearthstonesea
Thai: https://www.twitch.tv/hearthstoneth
Cantonese: https://www.twitch.tv/XGamerEsports
Format

HGG Pacific Warm-Up Match will be playing in best-of-five Conquest format with nine decks (one hero per deck) and no ban.
Every player can only play one game per match. If two teams enter the fifth game, the fifth gameâ€™s player will be decided by the team.
Three classes will be chosen by the team for each match without repetition. For example, the first matchâ€™s classes cannot be chosen again for the future matches.


PlayStation Kicks Off The Holiday Season With Great Deals

Sony Interactive Entertainment Singapore Private Limited (SIES) has announced that there will be PlayStation Holiday limited time offer from today on 17 December 2021 to 2Â January 2022 to celebrate the holiday season.
There will be special offers for the purchase of PlayStation VR (PS VR) with PlayStation Camera (PS Camera), as well as selected PS5 and PS4 games. Offers are available at all PlayStation Authorized Dealers and Sony Stores while stock lasts.Â
Besides, customers who purchase selected PlayStation Store (PS Store) Gift Card can receive a premium bonus ID Badge Holder on a first-come, first-serve basis. You can head on over to the official website here for more details and information.
PlayStation Holiday Limited Time Offer Details:
From 17Â December 2021 to 2 January 2022, customers can enjoy various offers upon purchase of the products below. Details are as follows:

PS VR with PlayStation Camera

PS VR with PlayStationÂ®Camera will be available at special prices as followed:

Country

Special Price

Malaysia

RM979

Selected PS5 and PS4 Titles (Physical Blu-ray Disc version)

Selected PS5 and PS4 titles (Blu-ray Disc version) will be available at special prices as followed:

Platform

Software Title
Special Price

PS5

Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales

RM 149

PS5

Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart

RM 209

PS5

Demon’s Souls

RM 209

PS4

Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales

RM 149

PS4

Horizon Zero Dawn Complete Edition PlayStation Hits

RM 39

PS4

The Last of Us Part II

RM 79

PS4

Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time

RM 79

PS4

FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE STD Edition

RM 129

PS4

NieR Replicant ver 1.22474487139â€¦

RM 169

PS4
God of War PlayStation Hits

RM 39

PS Store Gift Card

Customers who purchase PS Store Physical Gift Card in select retailers (Denomination: Above MYR 200) can receive a premium bonus ID Badge Holder, while stocks last.
SIES will continue to further enhance the PlayStation platform to deliver entertainment experiences that are only possible on PlayStation.


The Fast & Furious 9 Official Title Is Simple But Epic

United International Pictures has revealed the official title for the upcoming ninth instalment of the long-running Fast & Furious franchise and it’s Fast & Furious 9: The Fast Saga. It looks like we finally have a name for the Fast & Furious cinematic universe.

 Fast & Furious 9: The Fast Saga will see the return of Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson, Chris â€œLudacrisâ€ Bridges, Nathalie Emmanuel, John Cena, Helen Mirren, and Charlize Theron, with new additions like Michael Rooker and even John Cena.
However, fan-favourites Dwayne â€˜The Rockâ€™ Johnson and Jason Statham wonâ€™t be reprising their roles as Hobbs and Shaw, since they had their spinoff movie released last year (check out our review ofÂ Hobbs and ShawÂ here).
[wpvideo Mlgh0zAa]
The first Fast & Furious 9: The Fast Saga trailer will debut at 12pm PT on Friday, 31 January 2020 or 4am GMT+8 on Saturday, 1 February 2020 for Southeast Asian countries like Malaysia.
In the meantime, check out the teaser trailer below.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHlAlN3z4ss&w=560&h=315]


Nope Super Bowl Trailer Teases More Creepy Shots

United International Pictures Malaysia has unveiled the Super Bowl TV spot for Jordan Peeleâ€™s new movie since 2019â€™s Us. Simply titled Nope, the mysterious new horror movie is slated to release on 21 July 2022 in Malaysia.
However, Peele has chosen not to reveal any plot points about the upcoming movie, just like his previous two movies. Both 2017â€™sÂ Get OutÂ and 2019â€™sÂ UsÂ relied on unexpected and surprising third-act plot twists viewers wonâ€™t see coming, which is similar to the style of M. Night Shyamalanâ€™s movies.
NopeÂ stars Daniel Kaluuya (Get Out,Â Judas And The Black Messiah), Keke Palmer (Hustlers,Â Alice), and Steven Yeun (Minari,Â Okja) as residents in a lonely gulch of inland California who bears witness to an uncanny and chilling discovery.
The movie also co-stars Michael Wincott (Hitchcock,Â Westworld) and Brandon Perea (The OA,Â American Insurrection).Â NopeÂ is written and directed by Jordan Peele and is produced by Ian Cooper (Us,Â Candyman) and Jordan Peele for Monkeypaw Productions. It will be released by Universal Pictures worldwide.
Check out the Super Bowl TV spot, as well as the full trailer, below:


Kingdom Hearts 3 ReMind DLC Announced

Square Enix hosted a specialÂ Kingdom HeartsÂ Orchestra: World of Tres concert in Tokyo, Japan last weekend, in which franchise creator Tetsuya Nomura made an appearance on stage. Was he there to perform the series’ iconic theme Simple And Clean? Nope. He was there to announce Kingdom Hearts 3 DLC (via Gematsu).
The paid DLC for the game is titled Kingdom Hearts 3 ReMind. It will feature:

An additional scenario called ReMind
A new Limited Episode and bosses
A new Secret Episode and secret boss
English language option for the Japanese version of the game

Nomura did not reveal a release date for the Kingdom Hearts 3 DLC, though he did confirm that other than Kingdom Hearts 3 ReMiND, players will also be getting more free DLC in the form of new Forms and Keyblades for Sora.
It’s very likely that more details and information for Kingdom Hearts 3 ReMind will be revealed at E3 2019, as Square Enix will be holding a presentation on 11 June 2019 (read the full story here).
In the meantime, check out our Kingdom Hearts 3 review here, or check out what I think the future of the franchise post-Kingdom Hearts 3 will be here.


Star Wars Visions Volume 2 Adds Global Variety Beyond Japanese Anime

Star Wars went anime in Star Wars Visions Volume 1 back in 2021, but now Star Wars Visions Volume 2 is adding more spice and flavour beyond Japan. The new shorts included in Star Wars Visions Volume 2 were created by the following international animation studios: El Guiri (Spain), Cartoon Saloon (Ireland), Punkrobot (Chile), Aardman (United Kingdom), Studio Mir (South Korea) Studio La Cachette (France), 88 Pictures (India), D’art Shtajio (Japan), and Triggerfish (South Africa). D’Art Shtajio’s short was created in collaboration with Lucasfilm Ltd. (United States). Suffice to say, it’s beyond what anyone anticipated flavour-wise.
Beyond Anime

If you were one of the few who didn’t like Star Wars Visions Volume 1 because of how “anime” it was, there’s definitely a lot more variety to the animation styles in Volume 2. This can be attributed to the lineup of studios for the second season, which hail from a diverse list of countries not limited to only Japan, but also Spain, Ireland, Chile, the UK, South Korea, France, India and South Africa.
While the majority of the first season featured mostly 2D animation and a clear Japanese style, Star Wars Visions Volume 2 features a mix of 3D, 2D, stop-motion and more. Each studio comes from a different country, which translates to a unique lineup that makes each animated short in Volume 2 a more distinctive voice, personality and style. These studios have managed to bring their unique and stylish flair to the franchise in a way that’s more than just anime.

With the studios hailing from so many parts of the world, they’ve also injected elements of their culture into their respective episodes. For instance, the episode ‘The Bandits Of Golak’ by India’s 88 Pictures features Indian characters and an Indian Jedi for the first time. Since the series isn’t canon, there’s no reason why Star Wars fans should question any of this, and it can be a chance for fun representation. Meanwhile, the UK’s Aardman was able to feature their iconic British humour and legendary stop-motion animation from Wallace & Gromit and Shaun The Sheep into their episode, ‘I Am Your Mother’.
Some episodes are balls-to-the-walls action from beginning to end, while others are slower in their pacing, focusing more on visuals and humour. However slow the episodes are, you can rest assured that every episode has at least one or two climactic action scenes to look forward to. While that may lend certain predictability to the episodes or seem formulaic, it works.
Still, each episode is visually different. For example, highlights include the ‘Screecher’s Reach’ episode by Cartoon Saloon (best known for Song Of The Sea, The Secret Of Kells, etc.) and the episode ‘Journey To The Dark Head’ by Korea’s Studio Mir, both for their phenomenal visuals.
IN A GALAXY FAR, FAR AWAY

There are fewer big stars in Star Wars Visions Volume 2, but that’s because the studios involved in the second season mostly opt for local voice actors from their respective regions, adding more authenticity to the cultural flavour of each episode. In terms of length, the episodes are still pretty short. On average, most are between 10 to 15 minutes, and that means a brisk pace that’s perfect for an anthology series like this.
As an avid Star Wars fan, I’ve always maintained that an essential part of what makes Star Wars, well, Star Wars, is the amazing music. The music and sound effects in Star Wars Visions are unmistakably Star Wars. The magic of the music and sound effects make it so that the franchise can work in any medium and that includes anime. Of course, the music is also unique for each episode. Obviously, the appeal of Star Wars Visions is getting to witness the signature animation style of each studio in each episode. This series proves even further that animation is a medium unto itself.

STAR WARS WILL NEVER BE THE SAME

Just like Volume 1, Star Wars Visions Volume 2 will probably be a gateway for casual viewers to the world of animation as a whole and that’s great.
In the words of acclaimed director Guillermo Del Toro, “Animation is cinema.”
Again, it’s worth reminding that none of this is canon but that’s the fun of an anthology series like this. The endless possibilities make it endlessly watchable.
FINAL SCORE: 80/100
We received an early access screener of Star Wars Visions Volume 2 courtesy of Disney+ Hotstar Malaysia. All nine episodes of the first season are slated to premiere on Disney+ Hotstar on 4 May 2023.


Starfield Finally Launches This September

Bethesda has announced that Starfield will launch for the Xbox Series X/S and PC on 6 September 2023.
In the reveal video, game director Todd Howard said:
“Hey everyone, from myself and everybody here at Bethesda, we are so excited to finally tell you when Starfield is coming out this year.
We have poured ourselves into this game and even I’m surprised how much we can pour—it is large. We’re playing the game all the time—shout-out over here to lead producer Tim Lamb. Old-school fans, you may remember him from the Oblivion Making-Of video where he’s sitting on a similar sofa doing similar things.
But also, this June we’re gonna bring you into the studio, and give you a deep dive in the game at our ‘Starfield Direct.’ There’s so much that we still have to show you. The game has many of the hallmarks that you’d expect from us, but it’s also a very unique experience.
And again, thank you all for all your excitement about the game—your support, your comments, we really do read it all. Look, we know you’ve waited a long time to play something new from us. Believe it or not, we’re kinda the same—we miss it and we really just can’t wait for you all to play it. So thanks, and we’ll see you soon.”
They also announced that more details and information will be revealed in the upcoming Starfield Direct on 11 June 2023.
Check out the trailer below:


Next PS5 Showcase Is Happening Next Week

Sony has just announced a new PS5 showcase, which is slated to take place at 4am GMT+8 on 17 September 2020 for Southeast Asian countries like Malaysia.
According to PlayStation Blog, the next PlayStation 5 showcase will us “one more look at some of the great games coming to PS5 at launch (and beyond!)”, as well as “updates on the latest titles from Worldwide Studios and our world-class development partners”.
The upcoming PS5 showcase will be around 40 minutes long and will be on the official PlayStation YouTube and Twitch pages.
Perhaps we’ll finally receive the official price and release date for the PS5, especially now that Microsoft has made the first move with their Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S.
The PS5 Showcase in June 2020 originally gave us our first look at what the PS5 console looks like and featured games like Ratchet & Clank Rift Apart, Marvel’s Spider-Man Miles Morales, and a lot more.

PlayStation 5 Showcase broadcasts live this Wednesday at 1pm Pacific Time: https://t.co/W4gkVp7pdv pic.twitter.com/Nn33RT0yki— PlayStation (@PlayStation) September 12, 2020


Tokyo Game No-Show This Year; Event Will Be Online Again

Last year, Tokyo Game Show 2020 was cancelled and was replaced with an online replacement. This year, it looks like the same deal.
Why? Because of pandemic issues, of course, which is wrecking every offline expo plan since early 2020. This year’s Tokyo Game Show online theme is “We’ll always have games”. The original text is “ãã‚Œã§ã‚‚ã€åƒ•ã‚‰ã«ã¯ã‚²ãƒ¼ãƒ ãŒã‚ã‚‹”. This year also marks the event’s 25th anniversary, so we can expect something big planned for this year.
The online event will start 30th September and will end on 3rd October. For more Tokyo Game Show vids & highlights, check out our previous game coverage below.


PlayStation Wants To Grow “By Making Xbox Smaller” Says Xbox Chief

The coals for the fire are still piling up. In the latest update and talk about the Activision Blizzard X Microsoft proposed acquisition, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer said that Sony’s plan for growth is to “make Xbox smaller”.
During a Second Request podcast session, Phil Spencer claims Sony was the “one major opposer” to the Microsoft-Activision Blizzard deal. After all, it seems that Sony and PlayStation are the ones bringing up counter-arguments to the US Federal Trade Commission and other parties across the world to stop the deal from happening.
“Sony is trying to protect its dominance on the console. The way they grow is by making Xbox smaller. [Sony] has a very different view of the industry than we do. They don’t ship their games day and date on PC, they do not put their games into their subscription when they launch their games.
Sony is leading the dialogue around why the deal shouldn’t go through to protect its dominant position on console, so the thing they grab onto is Call of Duty. The largest console maker in the world raising an objection about the one franchise that we’ve said will continue to ship on the platform. It’s a deal that benefits customers through choice and access.”


Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 Fires Its Lead Writer & Creative Director For…Something

Something’s up with Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2. Not only is it getting a delay from its release this year to 2021, but its developer Hardsuit Labs said that it’s going through “organisational changes” so that the game comes out on that new date.
Turns out that change involves the firing of the game’s lead writer Brian Mitsoda and its creative director Ka’ai Cluney. This was done based on a “joint decision made by the leadership of Hardsuit Labs and Paradox Interactive”. According to a Rock Paper Shotgun report, this firing came as a shock as Mitsoda was “suddenly terminated” on 16th July.
The fact that it was a shock “would be underselling it”, according to him. In fact, he wasn’t even aware of the reasons for the repeated delays. “I was not part of the conversations that led to the decision to delay production, and to my knowledge, there were no delays caused by the Bloodlines 2 narrative development”.
So who will be replacing Cluney? Game design consultant Alexandre Mandryka, who formerly did creative consultant work in the Assassin’s Creed and Far Cry franchise, will fill in the creative director role. The loss of two integral developers of the game may be a huge blow to Bloodlines 2, especially with the way they were let go. Time will tell if the game might pan out just fine despite these turmoils.


Peacemaker Episode 5 Breakdown & Easter Eggs Explained

The fifth episode of Peacemaker Season 1 is now streaming on HBO GO and HBO Max. Iâ€™ll be discussing heavy spoilers so if you havenâ€™t seen it or want to avoid spoilers, nowâ€™s your chance to stop reading.
The series will explore the origins of the character that Cena first portrayed in James Gunnâ€™s 2021 film,Â The Suicide Squad, which is already currently available on HBO GO.Â PeacemakerÂ isÂ a compellingly vainglorious man who believes in peace at any cost, no matter how many people he has to kill to get it.
The series also stars Danielle Brooks as Adebayo, Freddie Stroma as Vigilante, Jennifer Holland as Harcourt, Steve Agee as Economos, Chukwudi Iwuji as Murn, and Robert Patrick as Auggie Smith.
In the meantime, you can check out my breakdown of the ending and easter eggs in The Suicide SquadÂ byÂ heading over here.
You can also check out my previous breakdowns of Peacemaker Episode 1, 2 and 3 here, as well as Episode 4 here.

Peacemaker Mentions Superman

Not much of an easter egg, but yeah, he mentions Superman.
Charlie The Gorilla

The butterflies took over a gorilla from the zoo. Unfortunately, this isn’t any of the famous gorillas from the comics; Gorilla Grodd, Ultra-Humanite, or Monsieur Mallah. Peacemaker does mention having fought a gorilla at Burning Man that was far stronger. That one could be any of the previously mentioned.
Kite-Man Reference

This is a fun reference. Kite-Man is traditionally a Batman villain named Charles “Chuck” Brown. He doesn’t have powers but uses kite-based weapons and gadgets. He was recently a major character in the HBO Max Harley Quinn series as well. but has yet to receive a live-action version.

That’s it, folks. We have only three episodes left. Until then, excelsior.


Red Dead Online Adds New Legendary Bounty & Clothing In Latest Update

The latest Red Dead Online update is here, bringing a bunch of new content for you budding cowboys and outlaws out there, especially now that the game has been available for the PC since 5 November 2019.
Legendary Bounty: Red Ben Clempson

The biggest addition is a new Legendary Bounty named Red Ben Clempson, notorious sharpshooter and leader of the Red Ben Gang. He’s easily noticeable due to his penchant for wearing fancy tailored clothes, but he is still a very dangerous target.
New Clothing

Players can look forward to the Cardozo Vest for a limited time, as well as permanent new additions like The Dunaway Coat, the Purkiss and Pearrow Hats, Union Cap, Farley Shirt and Tillson Sweater.
There are also new colourways of the Ledbetter Hat, Fuentes Poncho and Killiman Vest, as well as new footwear options with the Parson Boots, Rowland Boots, Cerrada Boots and Cibola Boots.
Bonuses

The Wheeler, Rawson & Co. Club and The Outlaw Pass on Xbox One and PS4 will come to a close later this week on 18 November 2019. All exclusive Outlaw Pass rewards up to your current Club Rank unlocks instantly with the purchase of The Outlaw Pass and everything you unlock before 18 November stays with you permanently.
As an added bonus for players on Xbox One and PS4, Outlaw Pass holders who reach Club Rank 70 by the end of the week will also receive an all-white Cardozo Vest, free of charge, in addition to acquiring all the debonair stylings and professional benefits The Outlaw Pass delivers.
Collectors will be happy to hear that they are receiving 25 percent off the Pennington Field Shovel and 50 percent off all Collector Maps, and a 25 percent bonus on RDO$ payouts on all Collector Sets.
PlayStation Plus members can collect the Page of Pentacles, Knight of Pentacles, Queen of Pentacles and King of Pentacles Tarot Cards, simply by playing Red Dead Online any time before 18 November 2019.
Last but not least, players who connect their Social Club account with Twitch Prime will receive the Bounty Hunting License for free, as well as an additional 10 percent off the Field Shovel and Collector Maps above.
In the meantime, check out our review of Red Dead Redemption 2 here.


Overwatch League Season 1 Transfer Hub

The trade and transfer window for the Overwatch League is now open. From now until April 3rd, Overwatch League teams are allowed to beef up their ranks with pro players from any team pending approval from Blizzard. They were initiallyÂ Â able to sign free agents from Jan. 22, and were only able to acquire players from other teams after Stage 1 ended last week.
Keeping track of player movements can be a chore so we decided to compile all of them in one place.Â Our goal is to make this page serve as a one-stop hub for you to keep track of these moves.
Teams are arranged according from most to least active in the league so far. Teams that do not partake in any trade and/or transfers will not be included here.
*Pending League Approval
Shanghai Dragons
In:Â
KimÂ â€œGeguriâ€Â Se-yeon (KOR) – Tank – ROX Orcas
Eui-SeokÂ â€œFearlessâ€Â Lee (KOR) – Tank – SURGE
Ki-hyunÂ â€œAdoâ€Â Cheon (KOR) – DPS – MVP Space
HeÂ â€œSkyâ€Â Junjian (CHN) – Support – Miraculous Youngster
Out:
None
Florida Mayhem
In:Â
JoonasÂ â€œzappisâ€Â Alakurtti (FIN) – Flex – ENCE eSports/ Misfits
Ha â€œSayaplayerâ€ Jung Woo (KOR) – DPS – Meta Athena
Kim â€œaWesomeGuyâ€ Sung Hoon (KOR) -Â  Tank – Meta Athena
Hyun-jin â€œr2derâ€ Choi (KOR) – Coach – Meta Athena
Out:
None
Dallas Fuel (EnVyUs)
In:Â
*Dong-junÂ â€œRascalâ€Â Kim (KOR) – DPS – London Spitfire
DylanÂ “aKm”Â Bignet (FRA) – DPS – Rogue
Out:
None
London Gladiators
In:Â
*Chan-hyungÂ â€œFissureâ€Â Baek (KOR) – Tank – London Spitfire
Out:
None
New York Excelsior
In:Â
Tae-seongÂ â€œANAMOâ€Â Jeong (KOR) – Support – Ardeont
Out:
None
Seoul Dynasty
In:Â
Heo â€œGamblerâ€ Jin-woo (KOR) – Support – LW Blue
Out:
None
Houston Outlaws
In:
*RussellÂ â€œFCTFCTNâ€Â Campbell (USA) – Tank – FaZe Clan
Out:Â
None
London Spitfire
In:Â
None
Out:Â
*Dong-junÂ â€œRascalâ€Â Kim (KOR) – DPS – Dallas Fuel
*Chan-hyungÂ â€œFissureâ€Â Baek (KOR) – Tank – Los Angeles Gladiators

We will try our best to keep it as updated as possible and if you notice we miss out on any movement, do let us know in the comments section below.


E3 2019: Final Fantasy VII Remake Out Next March

Instead of waiting until their press conference tomorrow morning, Square Enix decided to jump the gun and announce the launch date for their upcoming Final Fantasy VII Remake at the Final Fantasy VII: A Symphonic Reunion Concert in Los Angeles.
Mark your calendars for 3 March, 2020. That’s when your fated remake will arrive. Here’s some key art to keep you hyped until next year.

Will it be a full game or will it be episodic starting next March? We’ll find out at Square Enix’s press conference tomorrow at 9am.


New Ghost Of Tsushima Update Adds New Lethal Difficulty & More

Later today, developer Sucker Punch Productions will release the version 1.05 update for Ghost of Tsushima, which will add a new â€œLethalâ€ difficulty mode and new accessibility options.
This patch includes the following new updates:
New Difficulty Level: Lethal

Enemy weapons are more deadly, but Jinâ€™s katana is also more deadly.
Enemies are more aggressive in combat.
Enemies detect you faster.
Tighter Parry and Dodge windows.

Lower Intensity Combat
Lower intensity mode is meant to maintain the heart and feel of Ghost of Tsushima combat while relaxing several timing-specific elements.
Combat is less intense, giving you more time to react. Stealth settings are more forgiving, and enemies take longer to detect you.

Most enemy attacks which are normally unblockable become blockable when Lower Intensity is enabled. Blocking with L1 will keep you safe from more attacks than standard combat, though some attacks must still be dodged.
Enemies break off their attack combos after damaging you, giving you a chance to recover before the next wave of attacks. In addition, your heavy attacks will interrupt attacks from Brutes, giving you another way to stop their combos.
Enemies will not attack you while youâ€™re using Resolve to heal.
Enemy awareness builds more slowly, giving you more time to recover after being spotted.

Text Changes

Large Text option: Increases text size of subtitles, mission objectives and interact prompts by 150% when enabled.
Added option to turn speaker name off when subtitles are enabled.
New subtitle text colour options in addition to white: Yellow, Blue, Red, Green.

Patch 1.05 also includes additional bug fixes.
Ghost Of Tsushima is out now for the PS4. Check out our review here.


Court Dismisses Riot Games’ Lawsuit Against Mobile Legends Developer MOONTON

The United States District Court Of California has dismissed Riot Games’ lawsuit against Mobile Legends developer and publisher MOONTON by ruling that the dispute between the two companies should be resolved in China.
The reason for this is because the court found that the dispute could adequately be heard in China and that Riot Games’ parent company, China-based Tencent, refused to join the case and provide crucial information. The ruling to dismiss the case was granted by the court after MOONTON filed for a forum non conveniens motion, which is to request to have the case moved to a more appropriate court.
The court ruling states:
“The question is whether circumstances have truly changed from those that existed in 2017 or whether Riot simply seeks a second bite at the apple, unhappy with the progress (or lack thereof) in the still on-going, parallel China litigation. The Court deems the latter to be the case.”
Ajay Krishnan, a partner at Moonton’s legal firm Keker, Van Nest & Peters, said:
“For years, the parties have been litigating highly related copyright claims in China that raise many of the same issues that Riot is now trying to re-raise in the US. It would have been duplicative, inefficient, and wholly unfair to proceed with this case in the U.S., where Moonton would lack access to key evidence and witnesses.”
In an email to PC Gamer, a Riot Games representative said:
“We strongly disagree with the court’s decision and especially its worrying conclusion that China is an ‘adequate alternative forum’ for a US company to pursue its claims of copyright infringement that occurred in the US. The idea of having US citizens apply for M5 visas to fly overseas in order to ask a Chinese court for relief concerning works that were both created and infringed in the US—defies common sense. On top of that, Moonton’s knock-off game isn’t even available in China. We are exploring all possible options, including an appeal.”


Halo Infinite Features The Option To Drop Weapons

During the Halo Infinite technical preview showcase, we not only get to see a full Halo Infinite match, but also a series’ first: the ability to drop your current weapon on the fly.
The folks at 343 Industries has added a “drop weapon” button and also a number of PC settings like key bindings and graphics options like an FOV slider and disabling speed lines when you’re sprinting. Here’s a quote from live operations producer Sam Hanshaw:
“It’s been quite fun to use, especially when you’re playing with some less experienced players, you can secure rockets for them and hand it over to them and they get to play around with a power weapon they might not normally have gotten.”
Community director Brian Jarrard also said the following:
“Dare we say this is maybe the end of betraying your teammates to take sniper? Possibly?”
Is there a practical application to dropping your weapon? Perhaps, as it can remove limitations like dropping your current weapon for an immediate one. So if you don’t want to get stuck with that shotgun, or if there’s no one to swap weapons with, just drop that shottie and take the sniper rifle next to you.
Halo Infinite will be out this Holiday 2021 for Xbox consoles and PC.


Cut To Bits’ Masao Kobayashi About Getting Into The Games Industry

Getting into the games industry as a developer can be extremely daunting – more often than not, we don’t know where to start, and we can easily get overwhelmed with the options and possibilities before even the actual work begins. A lot of fresh graduates have this set idea – like they’ll go indie first, then work their way into breaking into the AAA companies – or go indie the whole time they decide to remain within games, or sometimes even the reverse of that. But is that what really happens to people when they get into games?
Today, I discuss the games industry – from the perspective of indie and AAA, with Masao Kobayashi. A Japanese indie game producer and studio manager currently based in Montreal, Masao was working in AAA for 13 years until he and his friends co-founded Studio Cut to Bits in 2019 to create a worker-first studio centred around kindness and effective game development. He hopes to be a part of a more inclusive and diverse games industry by leading through example by proving you can make great games without toxic cultures and poor labour practices but instead by sound management, kindness, and trust.
Also, he’s part of TGA’s Future Class 2022! So, let’s get into it.

Can you tell us about your journey getting into the AAA gaming sphere, and what roles you have played in it?
I went to university for political science so when it came to getting a job I leaned into my experience as a Japanese translator/interpreter. After working a few temp jobs I ended up working for Ubisoft in their third-party publishing department as a localization specialist.
After that one thing led to another and I worked there for 13 years where I worked in social media, marketing, production management and a few others. Now I am a co-founder and producer at Studio Cut to Bits working on our first game since 2019.
Are there any major takeaways you have from working in a AAA, and how has that influenced your work style now in an indie company?
Pretty much everything we do is an extension of what we did in AAA or a reaction to it. There are a lot of good things about AAA, especially from an operational standpoint. There is sometimes a ‘AAA BAD indie GOOD’ attitude but honestly, there are great things to learn from both sides.
We try to take what we learned and do this in the best way we can.
In your opinion, is it better to go from AAA to indie, or vice versa? Or are there equal pros and cons to both?
The best place to start in the games industry is whoever will hire you.
It’s a notoriously difficult industry to break into and I think you need to do the best you can. I host a round table that covers breaking into the industry from different standpoints at Work with Indies so I recommend joining their Discord.
That being said, I think AAA or a larger indie studio is generally a better place for most people to start. I think what you need most when you are a junior is someone that can help you teach you how to do what you do. That is harder in a smaller studio because the likelihood of someone who’s a senior that can teach you your trade is a lot lower.
I think being good at one thing (which is more of a AAA thing) makes it easier to find jobs down the line. Also having a big company in your resume generally makes getting the next job easier for most people.
Do you see Studio Cut to Bits eventually making the jump to AAA development in the future?
No, we have no desire to grow to a larger studio. AAA is great but honestly, I think indie is more fun.
What advice do you have for newcomers about to enter the games industry?
Looking at social media you can get the impression it’s a really negative place but there are a lot of great employers and a lot of great people who work in it. It can be very difficult to break in but try not to be too hard on yourself.
Also, make friends, and participate in game jams and other events. No one games alone[,] knowing people can only help you in your career.


Dark And Darker New Demo Is Out; Here Is What’s New In The Latest Version

Dark and Darker is a new first-person dungeon adventure where teamwork matters and the softcore need not apply. It’s a throwback to the days of Eye of the Beholder and Ultima Underworld-style of 90s PC gaming, but made for 2023.
Developer Ironmace has released a new demo in time for Steam Next Fest for this quarter. Here are the Dark and Darker February 2023 PC version alpha playtest #4 patch notes and recent hotfixes; the beta will be available until 13 February (via the official Steam page).

Need help with Dark and Darker? Here’s a guide to sort you out!
New Features

Gathering Hall – “Hang out at the Gathering Hall and build the perfect dungeon party”
Karma System – “Rate your fellow allies after your adventure. Beware! Scoundrels and deviants are unable to participate”.
VoIP – “In-game voice chat to interact with other adventurers”
Experimental Goblin Caves – “For a solo adventurer experience”
Trading Channel QoL features
Report System – “To help us round up and punish the wicked”
Cosmetics
New Weapons – Short Sword, Quarterstaff
Some Unique Weapons have been greatly improved
Attack Animations: Attack animation improved for the War Maul, Double Axe & Battle Axe. Weapon attack animations now do more varying amounts of damage
 Armour for ‘Head’
 Cleric spell – Sanctuary
Ore
Craft Items
Valentine NPC
Goblin Merchant who sells “mysterious wares”
Bundled items at merchants
Improved Party Invite System
Flavour Text
Tokyo Region and preliminary Japanese localization – first draft

Hotfixes

Fixed an issue where the game could not be played in a virtual machine environment.
Fixed an issue where audio volume channels were mixed up.
Fixed an issue where the volume could change when turning on/off the VoIP feature.
Fixed an issue that could cause several crashes.
Fixed an inability to attack issue that could occur during ranged attacks.
Fixed an issue preventing some perks and skills from working properly.
Fixed an issue where the applied state was not displayed correctly when equipping an item.
Fixed an issue where the Death Beetle’s hitbox was not aligned with the model.
Fixed an issue where Goblin corpses could end up falling through the floor.
Fixed an issue where dungeons would not end normally.
Fixed a place where you could fall off the High Roller Dungeon into the void.
Fixed an Inferno module that had two overlapping doors.

Goblin Cave Changes

Goblin health reduced by 10%.
Goblin Warrior/Archer’s poison damage has been slightly reduced.
Goblin Archer’s slow effect has been removed.
Goblin Archer’s damage has been slightly reduced.
Goblin Mage’s projectile speed has been slightly reduced but it now gives a slow debuff when hit.
Cave Troll’s damage reduced by 10%.
Cave Troll now slowly regenerates health.
One more escape portal has been added to the Goblin Cave.
Improved the accessibility of the Goblin Town module in the Goblin Caves.

Miscellaneous Bug Fixes

Merchants now sell Potion of Protection in limited quantities.
The Goblin Merchant now sells mystery items for 75 gold instead of 100 gold.
Ore deposits have been added to more locales in the Crypt dungeons.
Added and corrected translations.
Reduced the wait time for the tavern to fill up for both Normal and High-Roller dungeons.


Only Murders In the Building Season 2 Drops On Disney+ Hotstar Malaysia Later This Month

The trailer for the highly-anticipated, upcoming second season of Original hit comedy Only Murders In The Building was released today. The new season returns on Tuesday, 28 June 2022 with two episodes exclusively on Disney+ Hotstar in Malaysia.
Following the shocking death of Arconia Board President Bunny Folger, Charles (Steve Martin), Oliver (Martin Short) & Mabel (Selena Gomez), race to unmask her killer. However, three (unfortunate) complications ensue – the trio is publicly implicated in Bunny’s homicide, they are now the subjects of a competing podcast, and they have to deal with a bunch of New York neighbors who all think they committed murder.
Only Murders in the Building hails from co-creators and writers Steve Martin and John Hoffman (“Grace & Frankie,” “Looking”). Martin and Hoffman executive produce along with Martin Short, Selena Gomez, “This Is Us” creator Dan Fogelman and Jess Rosenthal.
The entirety of Season 1 is now streaming on Disney+ Hotstar Malaysia.


Ubisoft To Showcase China-Exclusive Rabbids & More At ChinaJoy 2020

ChinaJoy 2020 will be the only major gaming event and convention to take place physically this year amidst the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. While larger companies like Sony and Microsoft will not be attending, Ubisoft will be participating.
At ChinaJoy 2020, Ubisoft plans to showcase China-exclusive Rabbids: Adventure Party for the Nintendo Switch, new Assassin’s Creed Project, Just Dance, Hyper Scape and more. ChinaJoy will take place in Shanghai from 31 July to 3 August 2020.
Rabbids: Adventure Party was announced at last year’s ChinaJoy 2019, and will be exclusive to China.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5qwbF45i7s&w=560&h=315]
This news was revealed via video games industry analyst Daniel Ahmad via Twitter.

Ubisoft will participate in ChinaJoy, the largest games conference in Asia, which will be held in Shanghai between July 31 – Aug 3.
China exclusive Rabbids: Adventure Party for Switch will be shown. New Assassin’s Creed Project + Just Dance + Hyper Scape + others will be shown. pic.twitter.com/PlTK8jFwNn
â€” Daniel Ahmad (@ZhugeEX) July 27, 2020