Kojima, Sony, & Others Pull Out From GDC 2020 [Update]

Update #1: Microsoft announced on 28th February at 2:52am (which is probably the late morning in the US) that it will no longer be attending this year’s GDC due to growing health risks posed by the Coronavirus.
The company will be hosting livestreamed versions of most of its planned GDC panels as reparations, including its Xbox Series X hardware showcase and Project xCloud streaming.Â
Update #2: Unity, a renowned game engine maker that currently helps a heckaton of indie devs, will be pulling out of this year’s GDC due to health concerns. Again, this begs the question: without one of the world’s biggest game engine maker, are people still interested in going to GDC 2020 anymore?Â
Original story
Hideo Kojima’s Kojima Productions and several companies have announced that they will be missing this year’s Game Developers Conference (GDC) 2020 due to Covid-19 fears.
As PC Gamer reported, Kojima Productions, Sony, Facebook, and EA have decided to pull out from the event, which is to take place between 16 March and 20 March 2020.
A statement on the Kojima Productions website reads:

“Kojima Productions has made the difficult decision to cancel our participation at the 2020 Game Developers Conference due to increasing concerns related to novel coronavirus.
Although much-anticipated, unfortunately this cancellation also includes Hideo Kojimaâ€™s session on the 19th and Eric Johnsonâ€™s session on the 16th.”

Sony told GamesIndustry.biz that:

“We have made the difficult decision to cancel our participation in Game Developers Conference due to increasing concerns related to COVID-19 (also known as coronavirus).
We are disappointed to cancel our participation, but the health and safety of our global workforce is our highest concern.
We look forward to participating in GDC in the future.”

Facebook gave a similar statement to the site,Â  saying that “out of concern for the health and safety of our employees, our dev partners, and the GDC community, Facebook will not be attending this year’s Game Developer Conference due to the evolving public health risks related to COVID-19”.
Although they won’t be present at GDC 2020, Facebook also told GamesIndustry.biz that they “still plan to share the exciting announcements we had planned for the show through videos, online Q&As, and more, and will plan to host GDC partner meetings remotely in the coming weeks”.
Meanwhile, EA told PC Gamer that due to the recent rise of Covid-19 cases, they are cancelling “official participation at GDC and limiting attendance to other events”.
“We are continuing to monitor the situation and will adjust guidelines to our employees as we feel is appropriate,” they added.


Street Fighter 6 Super Arts VS Previous Versions: Ken, Guile, Blanka, Dhalsim, E.Honda, & Juri

Capcom unveiled a ton of gameplay and new announcements during Tokyo Game Show 2022, like the entire 18-character launch roster for Street Fighter 6. Not only that, but we get to see a lot more gameplay for recurring characters Ken, E.Honda, Dhalsim, and Blanka.
Here’s a video of the four newly-revealed character’s Super Arts with their previous versions from Ken’s flaming dragon punch super to E.Honda’s Killer Head Ram. We also added in Guile and Juri for good measure because they look so good this time around. Check it out!

Street Fighter 6 will be out for PC, Xbox Series, Xbox One, PS5, and PS4 in 2023.


MPL Malaysia Season 11 Registration Opens 28 November

MPL Malaysia welcomes its 11th season on 28 November as that marks the date that registration opens to all.
Sign up with your squad of five to qualify for the biggest mobile esports tournament in the nation and stand to walk away with USD 100,000 and the chance to participate in the upcoming Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Southeast Asia Cup 2023.
Here are the key dates you need to know:

Registration Commencement: 28 November
Closing of Registration: 11 December
Qualifiers: 16 – 18 December

The matches will be restreamed on YouTube and Facebook. Follow the MPL Malaysia Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok platform for more updates on the registration link that will be shared on 28 November.
Last season, MPL Malaysia saw Team HAQ dethroning Todak in an epic 4-2 series, and showcasing their very own #IniGayaKita. The team fulfilled their very own Cinderella story during the grand finale of MPLMY S10, which saw a peak-concurrent viewership increase of 232,500 and over 3,000 offline audiences catching the intense action live.
Previously hailing from Orange Esports, Team HAQ emerged from the qualifier rounds and worked their way up to the finals, earning the trust of their fans and supporters along the way with their incredible team chemistry and spirit.
“It was a long journey for us to reach to the top in MPLMY S10 to become the Malaysian representatives for the M4 World Championship, but I am very glad for the support of our fans and families. We hope for our story to inspire others and encourage budding players to sign up and face Team Haq in MPLMY S11.”
– Muhammad “Garyy” Syaflzan, Jungler for Team HAQ


Final Fantasy XIV Endwalker Marks The End & A Series’ Triumph

How does one bring an end to an 11-year old saga? It’s not something most people get to think about, let alone seriously consider. But for the Final Fantasy XIV team, this was an ever-encroaching conundrum that they could not ignore.
Final Fantasy XIV’s story has been a monumental piece of work in the making, what with its droves of unique characters, a wealth of game content, multiple exciting story arcs, and loads of dialogue upon dialogue. But along with these aspects, trends change, opinions change, and key people in development come and go over the long course of a decade.
If so, how does one make sure all the pieces are wrapped in a neat little bow come to the end? Can the finale to Final Fantasy XIV really meet the unrealistic expectations held by players with a decades’ worth of experiences in their hearts?
Rising To The Occasion

Endwalker is, as its title implies, the answer to the question. It is the fourth story expansion to the MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV, as well as the epic conclusion to its overarching story arc, dubbed as the Hydaelyn and Zodiark saga. Even so, for players who have been with the game since the beginning, this journey to Endwalker has been anything but a steady road.
By the point of this expansion, Final Fantasy XIV has already seen its fair share of peaks and valleys. The notably disastrous launch of FFXIV 1.0, caused a massive developmental shift that eventually led to the relaunch of the game under the name A Realm Reborn. For many newer players, A Realm Reborn is where they begin their journeys as fledgling adventurers, yet it is still admittedly the lowest point of modern FFXIV.
But with each new expansion, players have also seen the game improve considerably. From improved battle design to better writing and an ever-increasing amount of content. In many respects, Endwalker is the culmination of this progression – of a team that bathed itself in the lowest of lows, learned from mistakes, and has come out all the better through a honing of their craft.
Hanging In The Balance

The premise of Endwalker is a simple one. The Final Days, or the apocalypse, looms on the horizon, and so the Warrior of Light and their trusted allies from the Scions of the Seventh Dawn set out in an effort to stop it. From the get-go, the thematic weight of the story is keenly focused on the “end”. The end of the story, the end of your journey, the end of the world, the end of everything.
For many, this might create a sense of foreboding. Yet, paradoxically, the beginning of this game is a far cry from the promised doom and gloom. Rather, you’re transforming into tiny toads for eavesdropping, eating meals with friends as you discuss hopes and dreams, and even hurling alongside them from some good old travel sickness.
Though the story doesn’t pull any punches when it comes to its serious moments, levity is also rarely out of reach. It’s a grim story, but also goofy and adorable when it counts. It’s an unexpected but refreshing change in tone after Shadowbringers. In many ways, this balance in storytelling also feels fairly reminiscent of the classic Final Fantasy games, in which heavy and emotional scenes often came hand-in-hand with cartoonish comedy. What more could be asked from a game that has painstakingly devoted itself to cherishing the rich history of the series?
Precious Time Shared And Cherished

As you climb the Tower of Zot, Endwalker’s first dungeon, a new rendition of the same dungeon theme from FFIV plays, leading up to a showdown against the Magus Sisters. Not only do the sisters perform their iconic Delta Attack, but you’ll also have to be wary of who among the sisters you decide to defeat first – exactly like how the fight worked in older games.
Such care and attention to Final Fantasy IV are abundant, just as references to other Final Fantasies have also been a mainstay in the broader game. From travelling to the moon, to running into the Loporrits for the first time, it all feels like a thoughtful love letter that truly gets FF IV.
But even this much care just somehow pales in comparison to some of Endwalker’s own original content. With Endwalker being the end of Final Fantasy XIV’s story as we know it, the development team has made a conscious effort to pull from as many threads as possible from across the game’s history. That one NPC who appeared in your White Mage questline from way back when in A Realm Reborn? Well, he’s here to play a role in one of the expansion’s major plot beats.

Likewise, more callbacks to Heavensward, Stormblood, and Shadowbringers are also present aplenty. NPCs from old stories – even ones you may have forgotten about – return in all their lively and quirky ways. Fan favourite quotes like, “Little sun,” or “To ignore the plight of those one might conceivably save is not wisdomâ€”it is indolence,” return to the forefront, reanalyzed once again to remind you just how fun and meaningful these characters are.
Yet, even if these characters aren’t playing exceptionally massive roles, Endwalker finds a way to give them their time in the spotlight, either through brief conversations or actions. They hardly overstay their welcome but are given an acknowledgement that fans can appreciate.
With all the effort put into highlighting the characters and cultures we’ve met along the way, one can’t help but feel as though there’s a living and breathing world here – one that we’ve journeyed through and explored thoroughly. Hearts whom we have touched and have been touched by in return. And they’re all here as the end of the world comes, all playing their role, however big or small.
As NPCs and their stories are addressed one by one, ringing the bells of finality, so is your journey with the Scions of the Seventh Dawn. Endwalker very appropriately touches on the core cast’s motivations, recontextualizing their personal journeys through various expansions and showcasing their preparedness to fight tooth and nail alongside you. For any JRPG fan, it’s the makings of a great cast, and you couldn’t ask for better friends to hop along on this one last ride together.
Slipped Through The Cracks

With so many characters being used this time to carry a cohesive story, Square Enix has introduced a new, albeit simple, feature to help push the narrative immersion. While undergoing quests, NPCs will sometimes become temporary companions and follow you around as you head to your next destination.
Taking these companions to optional highlighted spots will offer some flavour text, in which your companion comments on certain sceneries or situations. Or you can just ignore the optional dialogue and head straight for your destination.
This is a cute addition in theory, and who wouldn’t want to explore Alphinaud and Alisae’s hometown of Sharlayan with the two, for instance? However, its execution still leaves much to be desired. Dialogue does not happen organically as you walk, instead of requiring you to pause at highlighted circles to scavenge any dialogue from your companion.
Disappointingly, this leaves the feature to be just about indistinguishable from your regular questing, with the biggest differences merely being the optional dialogue, aesthetics of having a moving companion, and the added tedium of babysitting the AI in the event their path gets obstructed.
Further questionable additions include stealth segments in which you’re tasked with trailing NPCs while staying out of their range of sight. These aren’t particularly difficult but offer no narrative or gameplay significance. Failure will also often set you back minutes as you are forced to replay these instances from the very beginning.

In terms of structure, there’s an argument to be made that Endwalker’s MSQ follows an all-too-predictable flow of content. Like previous expansions, we have the usual six zones to explore, six MSQ dungeons, three trials, and so on. Solo instances sporting some cinematic flair are sprinkled throughout, but for the most part you’ll just be running across big maps to experience the next part of the story, with little excitement happening in between.
These aren’t spoilers – it’s just how the expansions have always worked, like or not. Though the logistics and challenges of breaking this formula are understandable, it was somewhat disappointing to not see a change in flow of some kind for what was to be the game’s major finale.
Make no mistake, though, Endwalker is still an incredible journey to behold. The team has done an exceptional job at crafting a story that’s thoroughly unpredictable despite this limited template, what with its beefier cutscenes, increased amount of voice-acting, and all-around more story content.
In fact, the amount of story to experience in this game is immense compared to its contemporaries – a freedom that is afforded thanks to FFXIV’s cost-effective and visual-novel-like approach to scenes.
In an industry that has become infatuated with cinematics and expensive visuals, titles like this remind us of the potential that gets lost in that chase for complexity.
The Hero at Journey’s End

Endwalker is a narrative triumph, not just as a satisfying conclusion to Final Fantasy XIV, but also as among the best stories that Final Fantasy has to offer. In spite of all expectations and impossibility, this is a tale that skillfully melds the themes we’ve come to know and love from the franchise – of adventure, heroism, camaraderie, and more. It is the culmination of a decade’s worth of experiences, filled with emotion and heart, all the while asking the question of where we stand at the journey’s end.
Where many endings can leave us feeling hollow and empty, Endwalker’s is one that uplifts and fills the heart to the brim. Few pieces of media, let alone in video games, can boast a long-running story that isn’t met with increased scrutiny and apathy through the test of time, especially towards the end.
Yet Endwalker lands its story beats so well, expertly balancing character intimacy and fanservice against the wider, cosmic scope of a universe on the brink of ruin. Words here are no substitute for how hard this finale goes, and how genuinely it cements Final Fantasy XIV as one of the all-time greats.
And once all is said and done, there’s a pretty dang cool MMO to enjoy too, with new adventures to come even as the core tale of the game has concluded. All good things must come to an end, but with new ends come new beginnings, and Final Fantasy XIV seems all set to continue thriving.
Final Score: 90/100


Ex-PlatinumGames Director Teases New Project

If you’ve been following PlatinumGames like Mr Toffee has, you’ll recognize Yusuke Hashimoto’s name. He’s the producer of the first Bayonetta and the director of the Bayonetta 2. He recently left the company this February and after months of silence, he put this up on hisÂ  Twitter account.

Concept art for an original project?Art by Tatsuya Yoshikawa) pic.twitter.com/lFaWhyqsTC
— ???? Yusuke Hashimoto (@yusuke8shimoto) September 24, 2019

If you’re getting Breath of Fire vibes from this art, that’s because it’s from Tatsuya Yoshikawa who did the character design and in-game graphics for the Capcom RPG series that really needs a revival of sorts.
Beyond that, not much is known about Hashimoto’s latest. Will it be an action game? Will it be an RPG? We’ll never know until later, so savour this artwork in the meantime.


Halo Infinite Campaign Co-op Beta Test Drops Next Month

3343 Industries has announced that Halo Infinite will receive campaign co-op as part of a beta in July 2022. You can join the Halo Insider program here, but you’ll have to be selected in order to get the beta.
The developer says that the invites for the campaign co-op flights will start rolling out in July 2022, with the full release of network-based co-op coming sometime “later this year”. It’s already been seven months since the launch of Halo Infinite, and campaign co-op was originally supposed to be available at launch back in November 2021.
Halo Infinite Season 2 Lone Wolves recently launched last month on 3 May 2022.


My Picks From PlayStation Store’s New Season Sale

Sony Interactive Entertainment Singapore Private Limited (SIES) has announced the New Season Sale on the PlayStation Store (PS Store), offering discounts of up to 85 percent on selected games, which will run from 21 January till 3 February 2020.
This also includes a 25 percent discount on PlayStation Plus (PS Plus) 12-Month Membership and an extra 4-month membership when purchasing PS Plus 12-Month Membership cards from PlayStation Authorised Dealers, Sony Store, and Select Convenience Stores.
Here are my three fave deals from the PS Store New Season Sale, amongst the hundreds of other games you might be interested in:
1. Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order (RM171.60 after 35%)

Despite only releasing two months ago in November 2019, Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order is already getting a decent discount. It’s the best Star Wars game in years, providing an epic single-player experience with easter eggs galore that fans would appreciate.
The gameplay is Soulsborne-like but definitely much easier and more accessible, while everything in the game’s plot is actually considered canon. It’s also a great game to rekindle your Star Wars fandom flame after the terribly-disappointing Star Wars The Rise Of Skywalker last month.
Check out my full review of Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order here.
2. God Of War (RM47.40 after 40%)

That’s less than RM50 for a game that many dubbed Game Of The Year in 2018. Itâ€™s one of the few games that actually deserves a 10/10 rating. I was awed by the gameâ€™s narrative and phenomenal visuals from the beginning to the very end of the game. The game is a masterpiece in all aspects: story, gameplay, and music.
The fact that Cory Barlog and the folks at the Sony Santa Monica managed to reinvent this tired franchise into something like this is a godly feat in itself. The relationship between Kratos and Atreus is an unexpected emotional rollercoaster ride.
I struggle to even find flaws in God of War, thatâ€™s just how good the game is. If you told me ten years ago that a God of War game would make me cry, Iâ€™d say you were crazy but apparently, miracles do happen. If you have a PS4, then God Of War is simply a must-play game.
3. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Game Of The Year Edition (RM60 after 70%)

With all the hype surrounding The Witcher right now with the release of Netflix’s adaptation, it’s a good time as any to play (or replay) CD Projekt Red’s masterpiece, and one of the best games of the current gaming generation. It’s probably the cheapest it’s ever been at just RM60, after originally launching in 2015.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt contains some of the best writing and most memorable side quests in RPG history, as they are more than just simply middling fetch quests. The open-world is immersive and detailed, despite perhaps featuring too many question marks that are simply monster nests.
While many have been turned off by the way Geralt moves in combat and during free-roam, it actually gets better throughout the game and you’ll soon be brewing potions, oils, and bombs with the best of them.
This game is an epic odyssey that has to be experienced to be believed, just like games like the Mass Effect trilogy or the aforementioned God Of War above. Toss a coin to your Witcher, O valley of plenty…


Dragalia Lost Gets A Persona 5 Crossover Event

Nintendo and Cygames’ collaboration mobile RPG is getting a surprise visit from the Phantom Thieves.
Dragalia Lost will be hosting a Persona 5 Strikers event. The Halidom heroes will be teaming up with the Phantom Thieves to get rid of monsters in a mind palace of sorts like in Persona 5.Â In addition, Joker will be a new character in the game, most likely a 5-star gacha whom you must spend wyrmite or paid currency for.

The event will be available late January 2021. Check out the trailer below to see it in action; you’ll have enough time to reinstall and catch up with Dragalia Lost until the event starts anyway!


Dead Space Remake Tips & Guide: Surviving The Ishimura

The Dead Space Remake has arrived to make players scream in terror again after 15 years since the original game in 2008. In our review, we pointed out how similar the two games are, but we’re sure that there are a lot of new players who are looking to play the game. Even returning players of the original will probably need a refresher after such a long time.
Check out some spoiler-free general tips and guides for the Dead Space Remake below:
Upgrade Your Rig First, Followed By Plasma Cutter (Or Vice Versa)

Obviously, it’s up to players how they want to upgrade Isaac’s equipment. However, based on my experience of playing the original and 30 hours of the Dead Space Remake, I recommend that you upgrade your armour, or RIG, first before anything else. On what specific nodes to upgrade on your RIG, you should prioritize Health upgrades.
Keep Your Money For New Armour Or Weapon Schematics

After you get new RIG or weapon schematics, you still need to actually buy them, so conserve your money for these occasions. This is especially true for RIG schematics because they’re the most expensive items in the game. That being said, if you’re in desperate need for ammo, by all means, buy a few rounds you need to survive.
Don’t Forget To Sell Off Certain Items Like Semiconductors

You Only Need One Stasis Item In Inventory, Keep Extra In Storage

Your inventory storage space is limited but for some reason, the game will give you a lot of stasis refill items. At Medium difficulty, you probably won’t need to utilize much of your Stasis ability, especially since there are Stasis Recharge stations all around. If you do always use Stasis in combat, you might need more of these items. However, you should probably conserve that inventory space for all the ammo you’ll need to actually kill Necromorphs.
Keep Using Kinesis

Kinesis AKA picking stuff up with your artificial gravity telekinesis tech doesn’t require any resources, unlike Stasis. Therefore, you should always use it in two ways.
Firstly, use Kinesis to pull items towards you, including ammo and almost anything else. That’s how you reach far way items or items that seem to be unreachable.
Secondly, use Kinesis in combat. How? Use Kinesis to pick up those glowing explosive tanks and throw them at enemies (by pressing RT). You can also kill enemies by picking up those broken ventilation fans or even the metal stakes (sometimes these can be found, you even get an achievement for your first kill using this method).
Any Necromorph On The Ground That You Didn’t Kill Yourself Is Probably Still Alive

If you see a Necromorph on the ground and it looks like it’s dead but it wasn’t there before or if you weren’t the one who killed it, be prepared for a jump scare because it will suddenly attack you if go near it.
Keep Unequipped Weapons In Storage So You Get More Ammo For Equipped Weapons

You’ll eventually get more weapons after the Plasma Cutter, but after you have your own personal favourite choice of four weapons equipped, keep the rest in storage instead of leaving them in your inventory. Why? One, you’ll save inventory space that way. Two, the way that the game generates ammo that you find is based on what weapons you have in your inventory. If you have all 8 weapons in your inventory, it’s a waste of potential resources to be getting ammo for weapons you’re not using. Optimally, you want to be only getting the ammo for the four weapons you have equipped. What’s the point of getting ammo for a weapon you’re not using?
Don’t Ignore Side Quests

Something new in the Dead Space Remake is the introduction of side quests. Once you get a side quest, you should definitely drop the main objective and go complete the side quest as soon as possible. Not only do you get more narrative details, you also get to explore parts of the Ishimura that you might not have explored otherwise and missed some crucial items.
You Don’t Have To Keep Spare Power Nodes Anymore

Power Nodes are used to upgrade your RIG and weapons. However, in the original game, they were also used to open optional locked doors with resources in them. In the Dead Space Remake, that’s all gone, so you can devote 100 percent of your Power Nodes to your upgrades without worrying if you have to keep a spare one to unlock doors.
But there are actually still locked doors in the Dead Space Remake… (see below)
You Will Gain Security Clearance Upgrades Via The Story

Certain containers and areas of the Ishimura behind locked doors in the Dead Space Remake are now restricted by security clearance. Isaac attains higher clearance as the story continues, which means return trips to previously visited areas can yield surprising new rewards.
Dead Space Remake Boss Fight Guide


Monster Hunter Stories 2 Gets Fourth Trailer & New Monstie Enhancement Features

Capcom has unveiled more gameplay footage of its upcoming Monster Hunter spinoff titled Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin.
The new trailer showcases the game’s plot macguffin: rage lights that shine out of craters and make the Monsties in the game go berserk. There’s also story bits that connects the main protagonist with Razewing Ratha, the titular Monstie you control who may destroy the world and lead it to chaos. You know, JRPG anime stuff. We also get a peek at the main character’s Battle Buddy Avinia and her Monstie Frostfang.
The Monster Hunter Stories 2 showcase also talks about Monstie eggs, Monster Dens, and the Rite of Channeling. Here’s a video that talks about it in great detail. Basically, you can customize your Monstie powers for better elemental effects by mixing its unique genes with one another.

Monster Hunter Stories 2 will be out for Nintendo Switch and PC via Steam on 9th July.


What To Know Before Watching Ant-Man And The Wasp Quantumania

Ant-Man And The Wasp Quantumania is the next Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) film. It is slated to premiere in Malaysian cinemas on 16 February 2023.
Tickets for Ant-Man And The Wasp Quantumania are already on sale right now, so you can head over to this link to book yours now at any TGV Cinemas branch nearest to you. It’s slated to premiere on 16 February 2023, but with early screenings on Wednesday night (midnight on 16 February 2023).
It Will Kick Off The Marvel Cinematic Universe Phase 5

MCU Phase Four was divisive and considered by many fans to be the most unbalanced phase yet since the MCU began in 2008. However, that was a time of experimentation for Marvel Studios, as they delved into interconnected movies and TV series (on Disney Plus) for the first time. Sure, it’s a mixed bag, but they could always improve.
With Phase Five, they have that opportunity. Ant-Man And The Wasp Quantumania will kick off Phase Five, so the quality of this movie will be a huge indication of what to expect from Marvel Studios in the next few years in terms of content. Let’s hope that it’s a good one.
The Ant-Man Family

Ant-Man has grown from being an individual superhero in 2015’s Ant-Man to having a whole family. The concept of legacy and superhero families are common in the comics, so it’s nice to see the MCU embrace that with Scott Lang’s Ant-Man, Hope’s the Wasp, and his daughter, Cassie Lang, who is soon to be her own superhero. That’s not even mentioning former Ant-Man, Hank Pym, and former Wasp, Janet Vane Dyne, who will both be playing bigger roles in the movie.
For more on what to expect from the Ant-Man family and miscellaneous related characters, head on over here as I delve into more detail.
Kang The Conqueror

Kang The Conqueror is set to be the next Big Bad of the MCU after Thanos perished in 2019’s Avengers Endgame. However, he’s easily one of the most complex villains in Marvel Comics, with a convoluted history that would confuse even the biggest comic book fans and readers. However, I’ve tried simplifying that into a single article, which you can check out by heading over here.
Watch Loki Season 1

If you don’t have the time or energy to rewatch previous MCU movies, it should be fine. However, if there’s one thing you should try to do to prepare for Ant-Man And The Wasp Quantumania, it’s finishing Loki Season 1 on Disney Plus. There are only six episodes, and if you’re really to busy to watch the whole season, I recommend at least watching the sixth and final episode of the first season.
Why? Because it introduces a character named He Who Remains, who is actually a variant (an alternate version from another universe) of Kang The Conqueror. Technically, that’s the debut appearance of Jonathan Majors in the MCU. While the Kang The Conqueror from Ant-Man And The Wasp Quantumania will be a different person and individual, part of his origin and that of the many Kang variants, are explored in the season 1 finale of Loki.
Loki Season 1 also explains terms like variants (alternate versions of a person from another universe) and the Time Variance Authority or the TVA (an organization that keeps an eye on the timeline and the multiverse).
Basically, in the Loki Season 1 finale, He Who Remains reveals that he’s a Kang Variant and that Kang variants have met with each other. He also reveals that the Council Of Kangs caused the Multiversal War that supposedly necessitated the creation of the TVA in the first place. Each Kang wanted to ensure that his reality was supreme.
He Who Remains gets killed by Sylvie (a variant of Loki), which causes the Sacred Timeline to branch out, which means the multiverse is now open again, paving the way for other versions of Kang variants to break into other timelines. This is probably what paves the way for the arrival of MCU’s version of Kang The Conqueror in Ant-Man And The Wasp Quantumania.
There you have it, folks. In the meantime, check out the trailer below:


Here Are Your The Game Awards 2022 Winners, God Of War Ragnarok Grabs The Most Awards

The Game Awards 2022 took place on 9 December 2022. God Of War Ragnarok was the biggest winner with six awards, followed by Elden Ring with four awards. However, it was Elden Ring who won Game Of The Year.
Check out the full The Game Awards 2022 winners below:

GAME OF THE YEAR

A Plague Tale: Requiem (Asobo Studio/Focus Entertainment)
Elden Ring (FromSoftware/Bandai Namco) – WINNER
God of War Ragnarök (Sony Santa Monica/SIE)
Horizon Forbidden West (Guerrilla Games/SIE)
Stray (BlueTwelve Studio/Annapurna)
Xenoblade Chronicles 3 (Monolith Soft/Nintendo)

BEST GAME DIRECTION

Elden Ring (FromSoftware/Bandai Namco) – WINNER
God of War Ragnarök (Sony Santa Monica/SIE)
Horizon Forbidden West (Guerrilla Games/SIE)
Immortality (Half Mermaid)
Stray (BlueTwelve Studio/Annapurna)

BEST NARRATIVE

A Plague Tale: Requiem (Asobo Studio/Focus Entertainment)
Elden Ring (FromSoftware/Bandai Namco)
God of War Ragnarök (Sony Santa Monica/SIE) – WINNER
Horizon Forbidden West (Guerrilla Games/SIE)
Immortality (Half Mermaid)

BEST ART DIRECTION

Elden Ring (FromSoftware/Bandai Namco) – WINNER
God of War Ragnarök (Sony Santa Monica/SIE)
Horizon Forbidden West (Guerrilla Games/SIE)
Scorn (Ebb Software/Kepler Interactive)
Stray (BlueTwelve Studio/Annapurna)

BEST SCORE AND MUSIC

Olivier Deriviere, A Plague Tale: Requiem
Tsukasa Saitoh, Elden Ring
Bear McCreary, God of War Ragnarök – WINNER
Two Feathers, Metal: Hellsinger
Yasunori Mitsuda, Xenoblade Chronicles 3

BEST AUDIO DESIGN

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II (Infinity Ward/Activision)
Elden Ring (FromSoftware/Bandai Namco)
God of War Ragnarök (Sony Santa Monica/SIE) – WINNER
Gran Turismo 7 (Polyphony/SIE)
Horizon Forbidden West (Guerrilla Games/SIE)

BEST PERFORMANCE

Ashly Burch, Horizon Forbidden West
Charlotte McBurney, A Plague Tale: Requiem
Christopher Judge, God of War Ragnarök – WINNER
Manon Gage, Immortality
Sunny Suljic, God of War Ragnarök

GAMES FOR IMPACT

A Memoir Blue (Cloisters Interactive/Annapurna)
As Dusk Falls (Interior Night/Xbox Game Studios) – WINNER
Citizen Sleeper (Jump Over The Age/Fellow Traveller)
Endling – Extinction is Forever (Herobeat Studios/HandyGames)
Hindsight (Team Hindsight/Annapurna)
I Was a Teenage Exocolonist (Northway Games/Finji)

BEST ONGOING GAME

Apex Legends (Respawn/EA)
Destiny 2 (Bungie)
FINAL FANTASY XIV (Square Enix) – WINNER
Fortnite (Epic Games)
Genshin Impact (HoYoverse)

BEST INDIE

Cult of the Lamb (Massive Monster / Devolver Digital)
Neon White (Angel Matrix/Annapurna)
Sifu (Sloclap)
Stray (BlueTwelve Studio/Annapurna) – WINNER
TUNIC (TUNIC Team/Finji)

BEST DEBUT INDIE

Neon White (Angel Matrix/Annapurna Interactive)
NORCO (Geography of Robots/Raw Fury)
Stray (BlueTwelve Studio/Annapurna) – WINNER
TUNIC (TUNIC Team/Finji)
Vampire Survivors (poncle)

BEST COMMUNITY SUPPORT

Apex Legends (Respawn/EA)
Destiny 2 (Bungie)
FINAL FANTASY XIV (Square Enix) – WINNER
Fortnite (Epic Games)
No Man’s Sky (Hello Games)

BEST MOBILE

Apex Legends Mobile (Lightspeed & Quantum/Respawn/EA)
Diablo Immortal (Blizzard/NetEase)
Genshin Impact (HoYovese)
MARVEL SNAP (Second Dinner Studios/Nuverse) – WINNER
Tower of Fantasy (Hotta Studio/Perfect World/Level Infinite)

BEST VR/AR

After the Fall (Vertigo Games)
Among Us VR (Schell Games/InnerSloth)
BONELAB (Stress Level Zero)
Moss: Book II (Polyarc) – WINNER
Red Matter 2 (Vertical Robot)

BEST ACTION

Bayonetta 3 (Platinum Games/Nintendo) – WINNER
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II (Infinity Ward/Activision)
Neon White (Angel Matrix/Annapurna)
Sifu (Sloclap)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge (Tribute Games/Dotemu)

BEST ACTION/ADVENTURE

A Plague Tale: Requiem (Asobo Studio/Focus Entertainment)
God of War Ragnarök (Sony Santa Monica/SIE) – WINNER
Horizon Forbidden West (Guerrilla Games/SIE)
Stray (BlueTwelve Studio/Annapurna)
TUNIC (TUNIC Team/Finji)

BEST ROLE PLAYING

Elden Ring (FromSoftware/Bandai Namco) – WINNER
Live a Live (Square Enix/Nintendo)
Pokémon Legends: Arceus (Game Freak/Nintendo/TPCI)
Triangle Strategy (Artdink/Square Enix)
Xenoblade Chronicles 3 (Monolith Soft/Nintendo)

BEST FIGHTING

DNF Duel (Arc System Works/EIGHTING/NEOPLE/NEXON)
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: All Star Battle R (CyberConnect 2 Co. Ltd/Bandai Namco)
The King of Fighters XV (SNK/Plaion)
MultiVersus (Player First Games/WB Games) – WINNER
Sifu (Sloclap)

BEST FAMILY

Kirby and the Forgotten Land (HAL Laboratory / Nintendo) – WINNER
LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga (Traveller’s Tales/WB Games)
Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope (Ubisoft Milan/Paris/Ubisoft)
Nintendo Switch Sports (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)
Splatoon 3 (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)

BEST SIM/STRATEGY

Dune: Spice Wars (Shiro Games/Funcom)
Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope (Ubisoft Milan/Paris/Ubisoft) – WINNER
Total War: WARHAMMER III (Creative Assembly/Sega)
Two Point Campus (Two Point Studios/Sega)
Victoria 3 (Paradox Development Studio/Paradox Interactive)

BEST SPORTS/RACING

F1 22 (Codemasters/EA Sports)
FIFA 23 (EA Vancouver/Romania/EA Sports)
NBA 2K23 (Visual Concepts/2K Sports)
Gran Turismo 7 (Polyphony Digital/SIE) – WINNER
OlliOlli World (Roll 7/Private Division)

BEST MULTIPLAYER

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II (Infinity Ward/Activision)
MultiVersus (Player First Games/WB Games)
Overwatch 2 (Blizzard)
Splatoon 3 (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo) – WINNER
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge (Tribute Games/Dotemu)

MOST ANTICIPATED

FINAL FANTASY XVI (Square Enix)
Hogwarts Legacy (Avalanche Software/WB Games)
Resident Evil 4 (Capcom)
Starfield (Bethesda Game Studios/Bethesda)
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo) – WINNER

CONTENT CREATOR OF THE YEAR

Karl Jacobs
Ludwig – WINNER
Nibellion
Nobru
QTCinderella

BEST ADAPTATION

Arcane: League of Legends (Fortiche/Riot Games/Netflix) – WINNER
Cyberpunk: Edgerunners (Studio Trigger/CD Projekt, Netflix)
The Cuphead Show! (Studio MDHR/King Features Syndicate/Netflix)
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Sega Sammy Group/Paramount Pictures)
Uncharted (PlayStation Productions/Sony Pictures)

INNOVATION IN ACCESSIBILITY

As Dusk Falls (Interior Night/Xbox Game Studios)
God of War Ragnarök (Sony Santa Monica/SIE) – WINNER
Return to Monkey Island (Terrible Toybox/Devolver Digital)
The Last Of Us Part I (Naughty Dog/SIE)
The Quarry (Supermassive Games/2K)

BEST ESPORTS GAME

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (Valve)
DOTA 2 (Valve)
League of Legends (Riot Games)
Rocket League (Psyonix)
VALORANT (Riot Games) – WINNER

BEST ESPORTS ATHLETE

Jeong “Chovy” Ji-hoon (Gen.G, LOL)
Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok (T1, LOL)
Finn “karrigan” Andersen ( (FaZe Clan – CS:GO)
Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev (Natus Vincere, CS:GO)
Jacob “Yay” Whiteaker (Cloud9, Valorant) – WINNER

BEST ESPORTS TEAM

DarkZero Esports (Apex Legends)
FaZe Clan (CS:GO)
Gen.G (League of Legends)
LA Thieves (Call of Duty)
LOUD (Valorant) –  WINNER

BEST ESPORTS COACH

Andrii “B1ad3” Horodenskyi (Natus Vincere, CS:GO)
Matheus “bzkA” Tarasconi (LOUD, VALORANT) – WINNER
Erik “d00mbr0s” Sandgren (FPX, VALORANT)
Robert “RobbaN” Dahlström (FaZe Clan, CS:GO)
Go “Score” Dong-bin (Gen.G, LOL)

BEST ESPORTS EVENT

EVO 2022
2022 League of Legends World Championship – WINNER
PGL Major Antwerp 2022
The 2022 Mid-Season Invitational
VALORANT Champions 2022


Horizon Zero Dawn’s Aloy Is Coming To Monster Hunter World Iceborne

Monster Hunter World: Iceborne is set to be the game’s final but also biggest DLC expansion. It will feature a whole new snow-filled map and a host of new monsters to hunt and capture. Seeing as how Horizon Zero Dawn also got itself a winter-themed expansion in the past, it only makes sense that the two games would collaborate again.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VhjEZDMJ31U&w=560&h=315]
That’s right, this isn’t the first time Aloy finds herself in the beautiful and dangerous locales of Monster Hunter World. One of the first few crossover events that Monster Hunter World had was also with Horizon Zero Dawn. It gave players the chance to acquire armor sets for both the player character and their Palico.
This time, Aloy returns with thicker armor fit for the freezing temperatures of the expansion’s new map Hoarfrost Reach. It seems that she’ll also be bringing a unique light bowgun that’s based on the design of her weapons in Horizon Zero Dawn: The Frozen Wilds.

There’s no details yet when this PS4-exclusive content will drop but based on what we’ve seen in the past, it’s probably going to be a free update that comes out a week or two after Iceborne is released.
Monster Hunter World: Iceborne will be released on 6 September 2019 for the PS4 and Xbox One while the PC version comes out later in January 2020.


Reggie Fils-AimÃ© Is Leaving Gamestop Board After Just One Year

Former Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-AimÃ© is already stepping down from GameStopâ€™s board of directors after just about one year. According to VGC, the news was confirmed in a filing GameStop made to the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
The filing lists Fils-AimÃ© as one of eight directors who is expected to retire from the board at its upcoming 2021 Annual Meeting in June 2021.
It states:
â€œTurnover among our Board may disrupt our operations, our strategic focus or our ability to drive stockholder value.
If we fail to attract and retain new skilled personnel for our Board, our business and growth prospects could disrupt our operations and have a material adverse effect on our operations and business.â€
Fils-AimÃ© originally joined the GameStop board in April 2020, alongside former CEO of Walmart US William Simon and PetSmart president James Symancyk, both of whomÂ are also expected to leave the board at the same time as Fils-AimÃ©.
Earlier this year, the world was rocked by the Wall Street Gamestop fiasco (which you can read all about here).


Filipino Parents Named Baby Boy After World’s Biggest Gaming Peripheral Company

I had to double-check my calendar and made sure it wasn’t the 1st of April when I heard this tidbit: some loving couple from the Philippines are naming their baby boy after their favourite gaming brand: Razer.
https://www.facebook.com/minliangtan/photos/a.116842955040162/2148912341833203/?type=3&__xts__%5B0%5D=68.ARDbWbpOX4H-Vw4CtXYvU6_r1riTNq1uNI0wL78uoFScFp8IN9Wk1rmk1_ai79pV0sEs62znZEnhGU9LhC_e-IpnM7NUJY8hAZpEnfcbJNS5PAhvz0dCAuS9IMMUimXBaVq2t9PZOpIC_FDMSGNMsolnn-Q-ZuYFY0bCOiwCEa4WEY3T0AC4kj2x5_1lrbo-xbcrwzgY0H69ellc9A7HadiCKMKEJDcdfnW8QQ6nRGfdq5rQy9sOYAeAGReQ2q3rUbD1QwaenOyT-ipOQsFkWrFgE1JBGAHsLV3ZDM1kIkqjOqL4hN9BeKb0TY8MvFDm5FfNA7XDF3HdwGQgUcmz3lHkBg&__tn__=-R
Clearly, they’re fans of gaming. I do have some pressing questions:

Apart from the free Razer Phone 2 they’re getting, are the family getting any other lifetime benefits? Discounts? Naming your child after a company is quite a commitment.
If he has siblings, will they be named RGBT, Chroma, or DeathAdder? That would be sweet.
If he grows up to emulate his namesake, will he start charging triple for simple freelancing assignments?

Truth be told, there are worse names than Razer; he can be the next “Raz” or something. Besides, if the parents really wanted to make their child’s life a living hell or denounce him as a troglodyte, they would have named him Armaggeddon.


Morbius Sweep: Our Favourite Morbius Memes & Tweets Across The Internet

Morbius the Sony Pictures superhero film came out last month and was universally panned for its dull plot and action. And yet somehow, it’s getting infamy when the digital and stream version of the film came out this month.
The phenomenon that grew since the film came out in April was dubbed the Morbius Sweep, and it’s basically internet trolls and users making fun of the film by stating how great and transcendent it is in an obvious mocking tone. Fans of this phenomenon are called Morbheads and some of them are even going so far to spread the “good word” by streaming the entire film on Twitch. These were taken down of course, but the new channels keep popping up. Long story short, the Morbius Sweep has gone into overdrive the past week and even up to now.
Why are they doing this? Well, it’s a combination of the film’ dubious quality, the serious tone of the film, and Jared Leto’s obnoxious method acting. This gave Morbius a sense of irony not unlike Tommy Wiseau’s The Room, and there’s a chance the film could be a cult classic.
Here are our favourite Morbius posts and tweets that celebrate the iconic superhero in the most ironic of ways, with most of them being video game sh**posts.

Morbius prequel lookin’ good pic.twitter.com/rPU3KSsZR8
— Stop Skeletons From Fighting | ??? (@stopskeletons) May 26, 2022

morbin time pic.twitter.com/SxUyyZ1CvJ
— KFC (@KFC_ES) May 25, 2022

Someone has been streaming the entirety of Morbius on twitch for the past 12 hours and there's currently over 2000 people watching it live. I'm losing my mind pic.twitter.com/u8qcqHMFY9
— Radstads (@Radstads) May 26, 2022

"It's morbin time" just might be the most iconic line from a movie that isn't in the movie pic.twitter.com/3eY607zOCJ
— kinoparker (@kinoparker8823) May 25, 2022

What if Morbius took the gauntlet, snapped, and said "It's Morbin time" https://t.co/Qx0AAVJha9
— Underscore "Trilla Apologist" Zeus (@UnderscoreZeus) May 17, 2022

Smash announcer voice: DR MICHAEL MORBIUS
*crappy wii remote speaker* – It’s morbin time
— lyn ? (@SEPHIROTHTlTS) May 23, 2022

Super Smash Morbers
featuring dr michael morbius from the hollywood blockbuster film Morbius, starring Mor Bius pic.twitter.com/z0Ulrd6ELX
— Michael Simp-chez? (@aLengthyUsernam) May 24, 2022

Leaked scene of Morbius 2! #MorbiusSweep pic.twitter.com/9PpJP3Qc7v
— Dizzle (@Og1Dizzle) May 28, 2022

I was cleaning up my room and found some NDS and 3DS games, who else remembers this absolute classic????#MorbiusSweep #Morbius #MORBIUSARMY pic.twitter.com/wjs0PkFYE4
— SeBa (comms closed) (@BlackakSeBa) May 25, 2022

Best thing that happened in doctor strange, everyone watching started clapping and crying #morbiussweep pic.twitter.com/88N37a9muw
— Memo (@babykillamemo) May 8, 2022

Leak: #Morbius 2 will officially be titled "Morbius & vulture days of mobius past" set tp release February 30th 2025#MorbiusSweep
— MickNix (@MickNix_) May 16, 2022

morbiusbut make it wii shovelware pic.twitter.com/23aWpnpp8a
— Memory Card (@MemCardShow) May 26, 2022

Given the film’s sudden popularity, there’s a good chance Sony Pictures might just greenlight a sequel despite the film being ironically praised.


VCT 2022: Stage 2 Masters Copenhagen – FPX Get Revenge On Fnatic

FunPlus Phoenix have gotten their revenge over Fnatic, knocking them out as they begin their lower bracket run on their way to the grand final.
CHECK OUT OUR SCHEDULE STAGE 2 MASTERS SCHEDULE
Unfortunate for Fnatic as one of the favourites to win the tournament, after knocking their fellow Europeans into the lower bracket, they were unable to overcome them during their second meeting.

CLOSE BUT NO CIGAR
Map 1, Split was a nail-biting map going all the way to overtime, with Fnatic scraping the win 15–13. From the scoreline alone it’s hard to tell that FunPlus Phoenix were able to obtain a relatively comfortable lead going into the second half at 8–4. But it was then when Fnatic awoke, amounting to the same number of round wins as FPX in the first half, dragging the map into overtime. After the first two rounds going both ways, Fnatic were able to close out the series moving onto their map pick of Bind.
FNATIC SHUTDOWN
Although being Fnatic’s pick, FPX dominated both halves maintaining a comfortable lead over Fnatic for the entire map. The half ended with FPX up by two rounds and were able to keep that momentum going in the second half, sending the match to a decisive Map 3, Fracture.
NO FINAL FOR FNATIC
FunPlus Phoenix, dominated the deciding map’s first half in convincing fashion, concluding the half at 9–3. Fnatic seemed to regain momentum as they won the first two rounds. But that hope was short-lived after as FPX would close out the map by winning the next four rounds, ending the game at 13–5 and taking their revenge on Fnatic.

this is turning into a @Shaolele only account pic.twitter.com/r4puUw9BiO
— VALORANT Champions Tour EMEA (@valesports_emea) July 22, 2022

FPX can now finish no lower than third place at Masters Copenhagen, a fantastic result after failing to qualify for any international LAN in 2021 and travel restrictions prevented them from competing at Masters Reykjavik. They will go on to face OpTic Gaming in the lower bracket final where they’ll compete for a spot in the grand final. The match between FPX and OpTic is set to take place on 23 July at 11:00 PM (GMT+8) so don’t miss out
For more VCT 2022 action, head over to our full schedule and livestream feature page.


Katana Zero’s Next DLC Is Larger Than We Thought

Last time we heard from the deep and dark samurai platformer, Katana Zero, the developers added a very important feature; to be able to pet the cat, alongside hard mode and speedrun mode for true Ronins. Oh, and it’s also one of our top 30 games of 2019.Â
Recently, developers askiisoft have already announced on Twitter that their upcoming DLC is still under works, but will definitely be free of charge!

Hey everyone, long time no see! Here are some updates.
-I'm getting close to wrapping up the mobile game I'm making, @PocketSquirrel.-The Katana ZERO DLC is 3x the original planned size, but is still in development and will still be free. Thank you for your patience with this.
— Justin (@askiisoft) February 14, 2020

According to the tweet, the DLC will be three times larger than originally expected. The “delay” is justified and expected thanks to the pristine quality of the game, at least from our point of view.
The developer also touched upon the game’s vinyl in the following tweet. It’s still in development as the developers are trying their best to nail the perfect audio. Frankly, Katana Zero‘s audio and the soundtrack are one of the best in recent times.

-The Katana ZERO vinyl is still in the works. We're working hard to get the audio perfect.-I'll be doing a talk at GDC on motion and combat design in my games.-Also happy Valentine's Day, and remember to stay hydrated!
— Justin (@askiisoft) February 14, 2020

Anyhow, there is no release date yet for both the DLC and the vinyl, but this is one DLC that we are looking forward to. If you’re having doubts about how great the game is, read our review on Katana Zero; hopefully, we’ll be able to change your mind.


Civilization 6 Great Builders Pack Adds A New Korean Leader & More

2K and Firaxis have announced that the next DLC pack for Civilization 6 Leader Pass – Great Builders Pack – is now available. It adds Theodora (Byzantines), Sejong (Korea) and Ludwig II (Germany).
Check out the specific details about the Leaders below:
Theodora (Byzantines)

Theodora was an actress when she caught the eye of the Byzantine emperor-to-be Justinian. Because there was a law explicitly banning high-ranking men from marrying actresses, Justinian changed the laws and, two years later, he had ascended to the throne and she became Empress. In her position, Theodora expanded womens’ rights and was instrumental in religious policy, bolstering the branch of Christianity that became dominant in Ethiopia, Syria, and Egypt. Along with Justinian, she’s revered as a saint by multiple Orthodox churches to this day. In-game, Theodora places an emphasis on Culture.
New Ability: Restorer of Icons
Holy Sites provide Culture equal to their adjacency bonus.
Farms provide a Faith adjacency to Hippodromes and Holy Sites.
Sejong (Korea)

Widely regarded as one of the greatest leaders in Korean history, Sejong of Joseon promoted sciences, supported military advancements, and produced a book to help farmers learn new techniques from different regions. He is also credited with creating the Hangul alphabet, which replaced the Chinese characters previously used to write Korean words and is still used today. A lover of both science and music, Sejong dislikes any Civilizations that are ahead of Korea in Science and Culture.
New Ability: Hangul
When you complete your first Technology from a new Era, you receive double your Science per turn as Culture.
Ludwig II (Germany)

Born into Bavarian royalty, the “Mad King” Ludwig ascended to the throne when he was only 19 years old. It was during his reign that Bavaria lost its independence to Germany, but Ludwig is best remembered for his love of architecture. He personally funded the construction of elaborate castles that, despite ruining him financially and contributing to the abrupt end of his rule, are now among Bavaria’s most important tourist attractions. Ludwig’s Eternal Enigma agenda as a Civilization leader results in him preferring Civilizations that do not keep the maximum number of districts in each city.
New Ability: Swan King
Wonders, even if not finished, receive +2 Culture for each adjacent District.
All Culture adjacencies provide Tourism after discovering Castles.


Call Of Duty Mobile: The Cinderella Story Of Smart Omega

Smart Omega takes back their crown as the Kings of Southeast Asia in Call of Duty Mobile’s esports circuit, officially dethroning Blacklist Ultimate who were inches away from being a dynasty.
With the second season of Call of Duty: Mobile’s Garena Masters having concluded, I felt like giving you all a rundown of what went down, the storylines that took place, & why this could have been the start of a dynasty.
So there are a couple of things we need to talk about, firstly the event itself. Unlike North America and Europe, we here in Southeast Asia haven’t had many cash prize leagues or tournaments in recent years.
The community is unsure exactly as to why this is but it’s speculated that Activision isn’t so kind to 3rd party tournament organisers in Southeast Asia. Personally, I believe it’s due to a lack of support from Garena & them failing to see how beneficial a tournament-style league, like the Call of Duty League would benefit not just the game, but the mobile gaming industry as a whole.

But that’s not to say we Southeast Asians have been completely neglected. No, quite the opposite, in fact, in 2022 alone we’ve already had 3 top-tier tournaments in Southeast Asia, all with pretty big prize pools.
Which brings me to my next point, this tournament could have been the start of a truly dominating dynasty by none other than Filipino multi-title esports powerhouse Blacklist International, otherwise known as Blacklist Ultimate. For those who aren’t as familiar or haven’t been in touch with the competitive Call of Duty: Mobile scene for a minute, before this tournament Blacklist were considered to be the uncontested best Call of Duty: Mobile team in the Eastern hemisphere–emphasis on the past tense.
Blacklist have been the absolute favourites going into all 3 tournaments this year. And it’s understandable as to why.
HUMBLE BEGINNINGS

Originally known as Ultimate E-Pro, the roster secured the No 1. Filipino seed going into the  2021 Garena Finals which was the first major step to the World Championship
A month before the Garena Finals the roster was signed by Filipino esports organisation Blacklist International who are most famous for their World Championship-winning Mobile Legends team.
They ended up placing 3rd which still meant that they qualified for the Eastern Finals where they compete against the best teams from China, Japan & India for the grand prize of $300k–which when you convert it, is a lot of pesos. And the road was not easy, they managed to secure the 2nd seed after dropping a series to fellow Southeast Asians, ALMGHTY who were the fan favourites to win.
They would get their revenge on ALMGHTY though, sending them down to the loser’s bracket in the winner’s finals in a nail-biting Bo5 series, winning Game 5, Round 11 on Standoff. But ALMGHTY weren’t having it & managed to claw their way back to the Grand Finals to face off against Blacklist for the 3rd time this tournament. Which ended with the exact same scoreline, still in favour of Blacklist International.
And that’s how they become the Kings of Asia.

With all that said & done, Blacklist continued that dominance going into this tournament, finishing top of their group, only dropping 1 out of 18 maps.
And on their way to the grand final, winning 9 out of 11 maps. So it seemed like Blacklist had this in the bag. Or so we all thought…
Now I’ve purposely left out this part until now because, well, it makes for a better narrative but let me tell you about the cinderella story that is Smart Omega.
Previously known as NRX Jeremiah 29:11, not only are they the former kings of the Philippines but at some point, were in contention for the title of the best team in the world.
And to not beat around the bush, they were the only team who looked like they could take Blacklist all the way.
A TRULY CINDERELLA STORY
Now the last time we saw them, they weren’t doing too hot, placing 6-13th the literal worse possible placing at the Garena Invitational. But even before that, they haven’t looked too great for the past 6 months. Resulting in the departure of long-time rusher CRUSH and the acquisition of Rage.
The team’s roster now consisted of Woopiiee, iDra, KenDy, Kevs & Rage with former IGL, Jayzee becoming their sub. But since there weren’t any tournaments between then and now, no one had a clue as to what to expect.

With the commencement of Garena Masters, Omega came out of the gates swinging, topping their group with a 16-2 record and securing themselves the top seed going into the bracket stage. After taking down Huntsmen, from Malaysia in the Upper Bracket Quarterfinals in a convincing 3-0, Omega would go on to face their hardest opponent yet.
 ALMGHTY, home to none other than household names in CODM, Heaven & Sh4d4p. But let’s not forget, Omega has Woopiiee, arguably the smartest and most mechanically gifted snipers the game has ever seen. And well, ALMGHTY got absolutely dismantled 3-1. Credit where credit’s due, ALMGHTY did put up a good fight. Managing to take a map off a bloodthirsty Omega.
But many fail to see how impactful this match would be for Omega. If they were able to take down ALMGHTY here then that would mean that they had the ability to take on Blacklist as they are just the perfected form of ALMGHTY. And we wouldn’t have to wait too long to see that as Blacklist would be their next opponent in the Upper Bracket Final.
Although the match took place the day after the ALMGHTY game, Omega were able to maintain their momentum going into the first map, winning Raid Hardpoint with a nail-biting score of 150-132.

Now for those of you who aren’t as familiar with competitive Call of Duty, having momentum in Game 1 means very little going into Game 2. That’s because Game 2 is Search and Destroy (S&D). Hardpoint is indeed an extremely fast-paced game mode, but in S&D you’re forced to slow down even if you try to play fast. And this is where Omega began to falter as they went back and forth with Blacklist bringing the game close, but no cigar, as they lost 4-6 on Summit.
Game 3 was Domination on Standoff. Now Domination is a bit of a coin toss if both teams are extremely good and it really depends on the map & which side you start on. In the case of Omega, they got the short end of the stick, losing 72-150.
They went on to lose the next Hardpoint on Takeoff, in a close 125-150, sending Omega down into Loser’s Final where they would face ALMGHTY once again.
Against The Almighty

Now usually these kinds of situations go one of two ways. The team is sent down into the Loser’s Bracket either “tilts” or loses their footing, resulting in a slow start. In other cases, teams may be the exact opposite and are hungry for revenge as they come out of the gates guns blazing. And in this case, Omega came out guns blazing swiftly taking Game 1, Firing Range, 150-43.
But in typical ALMGHTY style, the Singaporean-Indonesian roster dominated Game 2’s Summit S&D fantastically, winning 6-3 to ALMGHTY.
Game 3 would take place on Raid, and knowing Domination alongside the momentum reset in this back and forth series, whoever won this game would regain the series advantage. There really isn’t much to say about this game other than Omega dominating the offensive attacks and preventing ALMGHTY from attaining an advantage. The map ended with a final score of 150-108.
Now in the Grand Final, Omega had put on an amazing run so far, but the journey was far from over as now they would have to once again face Blacklist Ultimate. For both the teams, the stakes were higher than ever. Blacklist were trying to retain their crown, whereas Omega were trying to reclaim it. But Blacklist had the advantage, since they hadn’t lost a series yet, Omega would need to beat them in a Best of 5 twice, once in order to reset the bracket, another to take it all.
So we expected this entire series to be a nail-biter. And a nail-biter it was with Game 1 on Takeoff being only a 6-point game in favour of Blacklist. With the scoreline being only 150-144, you can imagine that Omega were still in high hopes, but to spectators, those hopes dwindled in Game 2, Standoff.
Blacklist would go on to take Game 2, 6-3, and for most, this could have been the end for Smart Omega’s cinderella story, and the start of the Blacklist dynasty. But in a game like Call of Duty, these kinds of situations are like omens for reverse sweeps. And if you can’t tell already, yes indeed Omega do go on to reverse sweep Blacklist. By no means was the reverse sweep easy, but Omega managed to prevail winning Game 3, Domination on Firing Range, 150-110, Game 4, Summit Hardpoint, 150-114 and Game 5, winning the in Round 10, on Raid S&D, 6-4.

Now the real challenge starts. With the map rotations remaining the same from the previous series, Omega use the momentum from the first Best of 5 to continue their consistent play going into both Game 1 and Game 2, winning both 150-76 and 6-3 respectively.
Blacklist manage to bite back in Game 3 as Omega lose 132-150, but as I’ve mentioned before, Game 3 is always a coin toss and the best teams in the world know this. So a team like Omega wouldn’t let something like this get to them going into Game 4. If Blacklist won this, then the series would be tied up 2-2, but if they lost then it would be all over and Omega will be considered, once again, the Kings of Southeast Asia.
Game 4 started pretty even, with both teams neck and neck. Blacklist managed a 30-point lead at the end of the first set of rotations, but going into the second, Omega managed to bounce back gaining a 50-point lead. With the score like 120-80, in favour of Omega, Blacklist fought as hard as they could, managing to reach triple digits, but Omega was on top of their game. Having managed to rotate and set up for each hill before Blacklist and winning important 1v1s, Omega eventually claimed victory over Blacklist with a final score of 150-101 and now were crowned the Kings of Southeast Asia and for some, are considered the best team in Asia.
Get Smart

So what exactly does this mean going forward? Are Blacklist in need of a roster change if they want to take back the crown? Not necessarily, I give credit to Omega, they were overall the better team, having lost to Blacklist earlier in the tournament, they managed to adapt and overcome. That in itself is a vital trait to have as a team, and that’s exactly what Blacklist has been missing. Blacklist needed this, a taste of defeat, a wake-up call, to show themselves that they aren’t invincible and to bring them back down to Earth. Now they know this, they can reset, and work on a different approach to reclaim their former title.
As for Omega, this is big, especially for Woopiiee, iDra and Jayzee. As former Kings of Garena, having fallen from grace and now climbed all the way back, this stamps a significant chapter in what will be their legacy. With the possibility of offline tournaments this year, I look forward to seeing the return of Smar Omega’s possible dominance like back in the NRX Jeremiah 29:11 days.
Omega still have a lot to work on. But with the veterans in the aforementioned three, and the new bloods in Kevs and Rage, the future does indeed look bright for Smart Omega.


Charity Speedrunning Stream Gig Breaks US$3 Million In Fundraising

Summer Games Done Quick 2019 recently concluded in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S. It successfully raised a whopping US$3 million for the international humanitarian aid organization Doctors Without Borders, which sets a record-breaking haul for the annual speedrunning event.
The Twitch live broadcast of the event also peaked at 150,000 concurrent viewers with some great moments of speedrunning greatness. The games in Summer Games Done Quick 2019 included classic titles like Chrono Trigger, The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time, and Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Legend as well as new games like Mega Man 11, Octopath Traveler, and Kingdom Hearts 3.
For more speedruns on many games, head on over to their official YouTube page here, or check out the Summer Games Done Quick 2019 Finale video below.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3lwmbwysnA&w=560&h=315]
The next major Games Done Quick event will be the Awesome Games Done Quick in Orlando from 5 to 12 January 2020, while the next Summer Games Done Quick will be held Bloomington from 18 to 21 June 2020.


DeLight Is A Malaysian Narrative-Driven Game Featuring A Blind Girl & Her Doggo

There were many games with relatively-big local Malaysian studios like Passion Republic’s GigaBash, Streamline Studios’ Bake ‘N Switch, and more at Level Up KL 2019.
However, a smaller, less flashy game caught my eye and hooked me into its story. A game titled DeLight, by DreamTree Games.
DeLight is a narrative-driven adventure game about a blind girl named Sammy who embarks on a solitary journey to reunite with her parents in time of war. Her only companion is a stray dog named Deli.
Throughout this journey, the duo will explore a war-torn city in search of a way out and reach Sammy’s parents. Together, they will face many challenges: sneaking through danger zones, learning about new characters, and facing tough dilemmas.

The catch is that Sammy didn’t actually start her journey blind.

I had the opportunity of playing the entire first episode of DeLight, which lasted around 30 minutes long. I assumed control of Sammy on a normal day, playing a game of hide and seek with her friends, which I discovered was actually a clever tutorial in disguise. Sammy wears a blindfold in the game of hide and seek, foreshadowing the fact that she will later lose her sight.

In DeLight, you have to navigate Sammy through the levels guided by her dog while avoiding rubble and soldiers. Your visibility is just as impaired as Sammy is blind, which means that the player’s visibility is limited to a small circle of the area around her. That’s where her dog comes in, to guide the players to where they have to go.
The game also features certain dialogue choices and actions with consequences. In fact, the narrative-driven mechanics seem inspired by the likes of Telltale’s The Walking Dead, down to the emotional tone it brings.

I’m not kidding, as the ending of the first episode left me emotionally-devastated.

The overall atmosphere and incredible music of the games further bolster the emotions conveyed by the characters, though unfortunately, the game doesn’t feature any voice acting. However, the fact that the game could make me feel all kinds of emotions through the use of storytelling and music alone.
That’s probably why it won Best Storytelling at the SEA Game Awards 2019 yesterday. This is a game to look out for from the folks at DreamTree Games. It is slated to release for the PC and iOS sometime in early 2020, with its first two episodes to be available at launch.
In the meantime, check out the teaser trailer for DeLight below.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6yyTvLHI8I&w=560&h=315]


Marvel Releases Death Checklist For Avengers Endgame

Just about a month before the release of Avengers Endgame, Marvel Studios have unveiled the posters for (almost) all the heroes, confirming their current status in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Now we know who lived and died in Avengers Infinity War.
All of these new hero posters look similar, with one small difference. Those who survived Thanos’ snap (the Decimation, as it’s officially known within the MCU) are featured in posters with color while those who perished in the Decimation are in black and white.
Let’s take a look, shall we?
Living Avengers (16)

				Tony Stark (Iron Man)

				Steve Rogers (Captain America)

				Natasha Romanoff (Black Widow)

				Thor (Asgardian)

				Bruce Banner (Hulk)

				Clint Barton (Hawkeye/Ronin)

				Carol Danvers (Captain Marvel)

				Scott Lang (Ant-Man)

				Nebula (Daughter of Thanos)

				Okoye (Dora-Milaje)

				James Rhodes (War Machine/Iron Patriot)

				Pepper Potts (Rescue)

				Valkyrie (Asgardian)

				Rocket Raccoon (Last Surviving Guardian)

				Wong (Strange’s Assistant)

				Happy Hogan (Tony’s Friend)

Though we saw most of these Avengers alive by the end of Avengers Infinity War, there are still some pleasant surprises here. Now it’s also confirmed that Pepper Potts, Valkyrie, Wong, and Happy Hogan survived the Decimation. Presumably, Marvel has plans for them in Avengers Endgame.
Deceased Avengers (16)

				T’challa (Black Panther)

				Peter Quill (Star-Lord)

				Gamora

				Stephen Strange (Doctor Strange)

				Peter Parker (Spider-Man)

				Wanda Maximoff (Scarlet Witch)

				Vision

				Nick Fury

				Loki

				Shuri

				Groot

				Janet Van Dyne (The Wasp)

				Sam Wilson (Falcon)

				Bucky Barnes (Winter Soldier/White Wolf)

				Mantis

				Drax

Most of these Avengers perished on-screen, with the only exception being Shuri. Some fans might find it offensive that T’challa’s brilliant sister died off-screen, but there’s nothing we can do about that now.
Avengers Endgame releases on 24 April 2019 in Malaysia, two days earlier than in the US. In the meantime, check out my breakdown of the most recent Avengers Endgame trailer here.


[Rumour] Bloodborne & Other PS4 Games Are Heading To PC

It all started with Horizon Zero Dawn on PC last year, but Sony recently promised that more PlayStation games would be coming to PC, starting with Days Gone next.
According to Twitter user @CrazyLeaksTrain, Bloodborne, Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection, Ghost Of Tsushima, and 2018’s God Of War will be the next PlayStation games to release on PC.

that slate of Sony games for pc will be fun
Bloodborne
uncharted collection
ghost of Tsushima
god of war
— CrazyLeaksOnATrain (@CrazyLeaksTrain) March 4, 2021

This leaker apparently has a great track record, having previously predicted the Ninja Gaiden Master Collection, the Nioh 2 PC port and Kingdom Hearts coming to PC via Epic Games Store. Plus, he hasn’t posted a new prediction in half a year.
Since this comes from a leaker, we should all take this with a grain of salt for now. Sony has yet to confirm any other games for PC, except for Days Gone. We’ll have to wait and see if there’s any truth to this leak.


Star Wars Ahsoka Series Confirmed To Feature Star Wars Rebels Characters

During Star Wars Celebration Ahsoka panel, the first teaser trailer for the upcoming Ahsoka Disney+ series was shown to those in attendance. While the teaser has yet to be released online, it confirms that several Star Wars Rebels characters will make their live-action debut in the upcoming series.
According to a description by IGN, the teaser shows Ahsoka (Rosario Dawson) on the bridge of the Ghost (the ship of the Star Wars Rebels crew) and she is joined by Hera Syndulla. However, we only see her from the back, so we have no idea who will be playing the character. Maybe it’s Mary Elizabeth Winstead, who was confirmed to have joined the Ahsoka cast earlier this year.

The teaser also shows a live-action recreation of the final scene from the final episode of Star Wars Rebels (Season 4 Episodes 15 and 16 ‘Family Reunion and Farewell), where Sabine Wren (Natasha Liu Bordizzo) is looking at a mural of the Star Wars Rebels crew, which includes Ezra Bridger.
This one…

Sabine Wren looks over the painting featured at the end of Rebels! AHHHHHHHHH!!!#Ahsoka #StarWarsCelebration pic.twitter.com/hW92LRGs40
— Star Wars Stuff (@starwarstufff) May 28, 2022

We’ll have to wait for the official Ahsoka teaser to drop for the public to speculate more, but this is a good day for fans of Star Wars who kept up with the franchise by watching the animated shows like The Clone Wars and Rebels. In the meantime, you can watch the leaked teaser of Ahsoka by heading over here (while it hasn’t been taken down).
Ahsoka is slated to premiere sometime in 2023, probably after The Mandalorian Season 3 (which premieres in February 2023). At the time of writing, Ahsoka is only several weeks into production.
Stay tuned on Kakuchopurei as we cover the latest news and updates, If you haven’t, check out our interview with Hayden Christensen ahead of the premiere of Obi-Wan Kenobi on 27 May 2022:


Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands Will Feature Endgame Content Called Chaos Chambers

Gearbox and 2K Games have listened to many Borderlands 3’s players regarding endgame content or lack thereof back in 2019. So they’re planning to remedy that with Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands’ -its upcoming looter shooter title- latest feature: Chaos Chambers.
Basically, when you’re done with the first-person shooter’s main campaign, you and your co-op pals can check out an endgame dungeon called Chaos Chamber. The endgame dungeon is an “endlessly replayable core endgame experience”.
Players enter a portal and are teleported to randomized dungeons with exclusive new loot and buffed-up enemies. The structure is like this: you and your team fight in three dungeon rooms, fight a mid-boss, play through another three dungeon rooms, then take out the big boss in the final room. The rooms also feature Crystals that give players rewards that you feed to rabbit statures for extra gear, Blessings that give you buffs for the dungeon run, and Curses that debuff you in that same run which you should avoid.
The Chaos Chamber features over 60 level layouts that are mixed and matched throughout a dungeon run, according to lead game designer Kent Rochefort.
“On top of that, all the many types of enemies from the game can show up, with up to three different kinds of armies in one room. There are also explosive barrels and traps that populate based on the room. Some are smaller, and some are bigger; our level designers went with what felt appropriate for each particular combat arena.”
Check out the, well, Chaos below. Warning: some bits of streamers “acting and reacting”, unless you like that sort of thing in which case we’re not judging.

Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands will be out on 25 March for PC, Xbox Series, Xbox One, PS4, and PS5.


Horizon Forbidden West Has 30+ Of Its Bugs Fixed

Guerilla Games has released a massive patch for its hit action RPG open world title Horizon Forbidden West.
The game’s new 1.09 update will be fixing 30 in-game bugs, including fixes for players spawning outside of Cauldron Kappa and issues with the Black Boxes. The devs are also handling the game’s visual shimmering; there seems to be a lot of that for some reason.
Guerilla also advice players to change their TV settings to “Game Mode” if possible while also not tweaking Contrast, Vibrancy, and Saturation options (to default Game Mode settings) to avoid further visual problems. Anyway, here’s the list.
Horizon Forbidden West Update 1.09
KNOWN ISSUES
We are currently looking into several issues reported by the community. Please note that these issues are not yet fixed in this patch, but our teams are aware of them and they’re being investigated.

The team continues to make tweaks to the game’s content with the goal to reduce visual shimmering.
During Side Quest ‘Blood Choke’, Atekka does not use the ballista.
The ‘Upgraded Every Pouch Type’ Trophy does not unlock for some players after upgrading each Pouch type – please note, for this trophy you will need to have the Food Pouch which is collected after purchasing food from a chef.
Certain Firegleam and Metal Flower Icons remain after being found/used.

FIXES AND IMPROVEMENTS
Main Quests

Fixed an issue in Main Quest “The Dying Lands” where machines would stay stuck behind an energy shield.
Fixed an issue in Main Quest “The Broken Sky” where the player could get stuck in invisible collision.
Fixed an issue in Main Quest “The Broken Sky” where Dekka would be standing behind the throne and cannot be interacted with.

Side Quests

Fixed an issue in Side Quest “The Second Verse” where Zo would not be in Plainsong after completing all Main Quests.
Fixed an issue in Side Quest “Drowned Hopes” where the player could “pry open” rocks from the wrong side, breaking progression.
Fixed an issue in Side Quest “The Deluge” where Aloy could become stuck in the ground under water after igniting firegleam.
Fixed an issue in Side Quest “The Deluge” where Snapmaws could become stuck inside a wall, out of Aloy’s reach.
Fixed an issue in Side Quest “Thirst for the Hunt” where the quest did not update after killing the Thunderjaw.
Fixed an issue in Side Quest “Lofty Ambitions” where Morlund could conveniently get stuck in a rock, leaving Aloy to take on the Stormbird on her own while he cheered her on from safety.
Fixed an issue in Side Quest “In the Fog” where the memorial marker could not be found in Scrap Piles.
Fixed an issue where alternating between Side Quest “What was lost” and Errand Quest “First to Fly” would cause Kotallo to be unable to be interacted with.
Fixed an issue in Errand Quest “Supply Drop” where Littay would become stuck underneath the terrain.
Fixed an issue in Errand Quest “Shining Example” where the player could block progression by destroying the metal flower’s vines before the “Destroy the Metal
Flower’s Vines” mission objective shows up.
Fixed an issue in Errand Quest “Sons of Prometheus Data” where the ambushers took the term ‘ghosted’ to a new level and are no longer present after dying.

World Activities

Fixed an issue in Cauldron “Kappa” where the player could respawn in an out of bounds area.
Fixed an issue in Rebel Camp “First Forge” where reloading a specific save game would spawn the player underneath the terrain.
Fixed an issue in Salvage Contract “Colleague and Key” where the player would get stuck in an “Examine the Disc Launcher” animation.
Fixed an issue in Relic Ruin “The Dry Yearn” where the railroad cart could get stuck behind a piece of rubble.
Fixed an issue in Relic Ruin “The Long Coast” where a pullable crate can get stuck in the water.
Fixed an issue where the Black Boxes could not be picked up.
Fixed an issue where the Black Boxes could not be handed in with Untalla.

UI/UX

Fixed issues when remapping specific button actions.

Graphics

Further improvements related to shimmering/sharpness.

Performance and Stability

Loading screen reductions.
Crash fixes.
Localization and spelling fixes.

Other

Fixed several issues that prevented 100% completion in the Notebook. Completionists rejoice!
Fixed several issues where the player could escape from a boss fight with a mount.
Fixed an issue where customizations to the Hunter’s Kit would not persist after restarting save.
Rebalanced several combat mechanics.
Fixed multiple Music issues.

For more Horizon Forbidden West, check out our review and guide.


New Star Wars Series, The Acolyte, Set To Be The Second Series Hitting Disney+ In 2024

During Star Wars Celebration 2023 in London, The Acolyte showrunner Leslye Headland confirmed that the upcoming TV series will premiere on Disney+ Hotstar sometime in 2024.

Just announced at #StarWarsCelebration:
The Acolyte, an upcoming Original Star Wars series from Lucasfilm coming to @DisneyPlus in 2024. pic.twitter.com/ZgLlo8LsjG
— Star Wars (@starwars) April 7, 2023

The Acolyte stars Amandla Stenberg (Bodies Bodies Bodies), Lee Jung-jae (Squid Game), Manny Jacinto (Nine Perfect Strangers), Dafne Keen (Logan), Jodie Turner-Smith (Queen & Slim), Rebecca Henderson (Inventing Anna), Charlie Barnett (Russian Doll), Dean-Charles Chapman (1917), and Carrie-Anne Moss (The Matrix).
It’s confirmed that Joonas Suotamo will play a Wookie Jedi, while Lee Jung-jae will play a Jedi Master. Other details were not revealed.
The Acolyte is a mystery-thriller that will take viewers into a galaxy of shadowy secrets and emerging dark-side powers in the final days of the High Republic era. A former Padawan reunites with her Jedi Master to investigate a series of crimes, but the forces they confront are more sinister than they ever anticipated.
The High Republic saw the Jedi Order at its prime, centuries prior to the events of Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. You can learn more about this era at StarWars.com’s official hub for all things High Republic.
Alongside The Acolyte, Andor Season 2 is also set to premiere in 2024.


Disgaea 6: Playable Characters & Skills Revealed So Far

Nippon Ichi Software just revealed a lot more about Disgaea 6: Defiance of Destiny’s characters, special skills, and gameplay systems. Here’s a breakdown of some of them in this upcoming strategy JRPG.
Disgaea Staples
In Disgaea 6, combat is turn-based. You can fight in zany ways, like lifting and throwing party members AND enemies, as well as use team attacks.
Just like past games, you can also host a Dark Assembly where you can adjust in-game factors and conditions. Say if you want the game to have enemies drop more gold or have less health, you have to get a majority support to have that “bill” be approved.

New Disgaea 6-Exclusive Features
The game’s visuals are now in 3D. Part 6 also includes auto-battle mode and a 2x speed mode for “ease of play”. The game’s UI and menus are also streamlined so that it’s more convenient when either fighting in turn-based combat or managing your facilities and underworld HQ.

Juice Bar
Yes, you can build a healthy juice bar in your new Underworld base. This allows you to distribute experience points to allies that didn’t participate in combat. You can also distribute Mana, which you need to build facilities in your HQ. You can also use the bar to increase your character’s stats.
D-Merit Points
You can earn these points to strengthen your characters. All you need to do is complete pre-determined objectives in a battle.
New Generic Characters To Recruit
New to the Disgaea franchise are the Evil Eye and Clawed Shell. One’s a furry cow done Disgaea style who has high jumping power and high attack stats.

The other is a giant humanoid crab. Because of their hard shell and power, they have high defense and can obstruct enemy movements.

Other new generic recruitable characters include the Psychic and Armored Valkyrie.

The following generic characters will be returning in Disgaea 6: Prinnies, Zombies, Sea Angels, Dragons, Succubi, Horsemen, Winged Warriors, Warrior, Witch, Clergy, Martial Artist, Thief, Archer, Gunner, Magic Knight, Armor Knight, Lady Samurai, and Ninja.

Evilities & Special Skills
Evilities are powerful abilities that are character-specific. They remain in effect as long as certain conditions are met. There are two types of Evilities:

Unique Evilities: specific to a character.
Common Evilities: they can be swapped in and out. You can have as many of them as long as it doesn’t exceed your character’s skill cost.

â€œSpecial Skillsâ€ consist of various skills such as attack and recovery that require you to spend SP in battle. Special Skills include character-specific skills that can only be used by a specific character, as well as magic that can be used by anyone.

Special Skill Spell Example: â€œFireâ€Â â€“ The first stage of fire-type magic that can deal damage with the power of fire. Special Skills can be upgraded at the Skill Shop (higher power, less SP cost, etc.), as can the range of magic-only skills.
Common Evility Example: â€œFire Bodyâ€Â â€“ Increases fire resistance by 25 percent and strengthens fire-based attacks. This is a low-cost Common Evility that anyone can learn.
Common Evility Example: â€œZombie Revivalâ€Â â€“ Resurrects character on the Base Panel after death. (Can only be used once per stage.) While this is a Common Evility that only Zed can learn naturally, other characters can learn it by creating a Book of Secrets at the Skill Shop.

Character Evilities & Special Skills

Zed

The main character. Zombie protagonist. Has the “Super Reincarnation” ability.

Unique Evility: â€œSuper Reincarnation Qualifiedâ€Â â€“ Increases damage +1 percent for every Super Reincarnation. (Maximum 200 percent increase.)
Common Evility: â€œZombie Revivalâ€Â â€“ Resurrects on the Base Panel after death. (Can only be used once per stage.)
Special Skill: â€œThunder Rushâ€Â â€“ A wind-type Special Skill that creates lightning and knocks back the enemy. The knockback effect pushes the attacked enemy back.

Overlord Ivar

Self-proclaimed strongest and mightiest Overlord in the universe. Quite the fool.

Unique Evility: â€œOverlordâ€™s Dominanceâ€Â â€“ Increases damage by 10 percent for each enemy unit on the map below your level.
Common Evility: â€œAbsolute Rulerâ€Â â€“ Increases all stats by 20 percent for each ally demon unit on the map.
Special Skill: â€œNegative Burstâ€Â â€“ The Overlordâ€™s Special Skill that condenses and explodes despair. It can attack several targets a few spaces in front of him.

Chusendol

King of the Human World. As the richest man in the world, he believes anything is possible with the power of money.

Unique Evility: â€œNew Money Kingâ€Â â€“ Increases all stats by 5 percent for the total number of digits that make up the money in your possession.
Common Evility: â€œKingâ€™s Knowledgeâ€Â â€“ Increases all stats by 2 percent for each unit in the same squad.
Special Skill: â€œKing Cannonâ€Â â€“ A Special Skill that shoots and smashes gold bars at the enemy. It has a long range that can reach distant enemies.

Melodia

Princess of Musical Land. Loves to sing whenever she cans. Well-endowed.

Unique Evility: â€œHeroine Spiritâ€Â â€“ Increases damage dealt by ally male characters on the map by 20 percent.
Common Evility: â€œMagical Stepâ€Â â€“ Reduces SP cost for Special Skills by 10 percent for each adjacent ally unit.
Special Skill: â€œFrozen Stepâ€Â â€“ A water-type special skill in which she attacks the enemy while singing and dancing. It can attack multiple spaces in front of her.

Piyori

Leader of the Rainbow Squadron Prism Rangers in Television World. Chipper and enthusiastic as all hell.

Unique Evility: â€œHero Knowledgeâ€Â â€“ Every 1 percent HP reduction increases damage dealt by 2 percent.
Common Evility: â€œCritical Chargeâ€Â â€“ Increases critical rate by 5 percent for each space moved on that turn.
Special Skill: â€œPrism Dynamiteâ€Â â€“ A Special Skill in which she becomes the five Prism Rangers and bombs the enemy. Attacks all enemies in front of her at once.

Magileine

A grand sorcerer and headmaster of the magic academy.

Unique Evility: â€œMagical Girlâ€Â â€“ Increases single target attack power by 50 percent when equipped with a staff.
Common Evility: â€œLamp of Lifeâ€Â â€“ If you do not have enough SP to use a Special Skill, you can spend HP instead.
Special Skill: â€œPretty Spldnerâ€Â â€“ Magical Girl Magileine arrives to strengthen all stats for three turns.

Disgaea 6: Defiance of Destiny will be out 28th January 2021 in Japan for PS4 and Nintendo Switch. The game will be out in Summer 2021 for Nintendo Switch in English. There is no word on an English version for the PS4 version as of now.


Gimme Shelter: My History With The Fallout Series (Part One)

1997: a year where an awesome bunch of PlayStation videogames pop up. Also it was a glorious age for CRPGs what with Baldur’s Gate and all these D&D games coming out. Oh and also a tiny Blizzard game called Diablo making its mark.
Me? I love all of them in their own special ways, but Interplay’s Fallout was the one that decided to forgo the swords & sorcery motifs and go straight for the post-apocalyptic setting.
And it did in a big way. With so many morality choices that affected the game’s endings and a turn-based combat system ( or the semi-action V.A.T.S system for the later entries) as well as an engaging setting, it’s no surprise that Fallout is a blast to play.
What I’m going to do is basically the same thing we’ve done for our “Rank The Best Games In The Series”, but in chronological order before deciding which ones are the top dog(meat). So Happy Reclamation Day; let’s celebrate the release of Fallout 76 by looking back at the best and worst of the series.
Fallout (1997)

The story here is simple: find the water chip before the Vault you’re from dies from dehydration. After fixing that problem, you then have a supermutant crisis that needs to be solved within a few hundred days lest they conquer the wasteland. What you do in-between is the best part of the first game: there are many side stories and side quests to keep you busy while you’re out saving the world.
The time limit is pretty generous to be frank; you’ll definitely get your share of awesome missions like liberating a town from an army called the Regulators or sorting out a town’s power struggle between a sheriff and a rich casino owner.
The beauty of CRPGs like these back in the day is that they can delve into any topic in such detailed text, be it politics or even ethical dilemmas. Fallout started hammering the point where your decisions in shaping the wasteland matters. I mean sure you can go around and kill things in the wasteland and not worry about linearity.
But here in the first game, it’s non-linear in the sense that all your problems have multiple solutions and all your skills that are determined at the start of the game are useful in some shape or form. Different playstyles should be possible, though the decisions you make will have some ramifications down the road.
That’s why a lot of fans love the early games: there were a lot of those situations that have no right answer.Â If you choose to deal with slavers in a town, the place will prosper but not without some consequence of sort. If you decide to take a water chip from a town and not repair their water system, you’ll doom that town to dehydration. So many moral choices, so little time.

What also set this first entry apart from other CRPGs is that once you’ve decided on your stats via the SPECIAL mechanic, you’re stuck with them. You cannot choose to be a gun-slinging endurance-heavy warrior at the start and then morph to a smooth-talking silent assassin; it’s either one or the other all the way through.
Of course, the other key feature that sells the game is its art deco aesthetics meshed up with the post-apocalyptic. Your Mr Handy robots are as retro as they can get, and the “war never changes” speech by Ron Perlman is harrowing and sets the stage and history of the Fallout game you’re playing. That’s been the key feature of each series, and seeing it for the first time in the first game is a sight to behold.
My only gripe? While the turn-based combat is fine and all, there are times when you have to lead an army and it’ll take a while until everyone’s done with their actions and turns. Managing your NPCs is also a pain since they don’t have a separate stat bar of their own. Oh, and the graphics might be a turn-off for some millennials, though personally it’s aged pretty well since it’s pretty detailed from the in-game animation to the UI.
Other than that, Fallout is a great starting point for bigger and better things. It earns its place in history as one of the most important RPGs in gaming culture history next to Ultima IV, Final Fantasy VI, and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic.
Fallout 2 (1998)

A year later, PC gamers get to play the sequel. Fallout 2 bigger and better, and also took out the mandatory time limit. This means more freedom for you to find what you’re looking for -the GECKO chip-, and get a bunch of side-stories and sidequests done. Speaking of which, the scope of your quests are bigger than ever, with each major town you visit having multiple optional quests that interconnect with one another.
The game is a little sillier with pop culture nods and even some dark comedy bits, but nothing too jarring that ruins the experience. Just like the first game, the main plot is cool and all but the side stories and multiple quests make up the meat of the game. You get to side with one of the four criminal families in New Reno, rebuild old America by working with the New California Republic (formerly Shady Sands from the first game), and even sort out the elitism of Vault City.
What Black Isle Studios lacked in new graphics and interfaces, it made it up with a messload of narrative, memorable characters like Marcus the friendly super mutant and Myron the kid who made Jet, and even a ton of random encounters too bizarre to describe while you’re wandering the wasteland.
My favourite bit was being berated by a drill sergeant when you had to go undercover as an Enclave soldier near the end of the game.

Fun times. Another cool thing? If you’re dilligent enough, you can finish a sidequest which earns you a nuclear-powered car that will lessen travel time between locations and features a trunk that stores your loot and weapons.
Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel (2001)

I didn’t play much of this, but I’ve heard mixed reviews about it. Combat in Fallout 1 and 2 isn’t entirely spectacular, so why make a full-fledged Fallout spinoff focused on that and featuring a rather lenient Brotherhood of Steel faction? And also make it a linear game in the process?
It had the best of intentions, but really you’ll play it and then forget about it the next day.
Fallout Brotherhood of Steel (2004)

Talk about going off the rails with a spin-off. While Fallout Tactics at least tries to adhere to the setting of Fallout 1 and 2, this PS2 action RPG game just fudges with it. The moody atmospheric music is replaced by 00s rock, the graphics are just plain ugly, and the gameplay is braindead to the point where you can just power through the game without any thought put into your actions.
Essentially it’s a reskin of Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance and even then that game was kinda decent. There’s no thought or love put into this cash-in. For shame.
Stay tuned for part 2 tomorrow. We’ll tackle Fallout 3 onwards.Â


Magic: Legends Is Shutting Down After 3 Months

Magic: Legends, an action RPG take on the legendary collectible card game Magic; The Gathering, is shutting down after a few months of being in open beta.
The PC game came out in its current state on 23rd March; it will shut down on 31st October. Players will get full refunds ahead of the shutdown; the game will be inaccessible after that date. Here’s an official statement:
“Our vision for Magic: Legends missed the mark, but we are proud of what we achieved.
Thanks to Wizards of the Coast, we got to bring the expansive Magic: The Gathering Multiverse to a wide audience and explore new angles within the established ARPG genre. We learned several valuable lessons along the way, and we will use them to improve Crypticâ€™s future development efforts.”
We played Magic: Legends for a day or two. We couldn’t jive with the game because it was laggy and bug-riddled, its gameplay was lacking, and it just didn’t feel rewarding to play as. The game’s monetisation was pretty aggressive even for a F2P game.
With a bit more time and actual thought, as well as a better monetisation plan, the game could have gone places. Alas, that isn’t to be.


RazerCon 2021 Confirmed; Here’s When You Can Watch It

RazerCon, a gaming peripheral livestream event hosted by Razer, is set for a second showing this 21st October.
The digital event will be livestreamed on Twitch, YouTube, Facebook, and TikTok. Here’s what gamers can expect from the company that popularized black-and-green colour schemes and gamer mark-up price tags.

A major keynote by Razer CEO and Co-founder Min-Liang Tan, packed with exciting announcements and special guest appearances.
An introduction of groundbreaking new categories from the growing Razer ecosystem.
Exclusive sneak peaks of unannounced Razer products in panels by product leads.
Announcements about industry-disrupting sustainability initiatives from Razer and updates from #GoGreenWithRazer.
Highly anticipated content highlights and thrilling reveals from partners such as Norton Gaming, Intel, Seagate Gaming, and Microsoft.
Exciting previews and gaming showcases from gaming studios like Larian Studios, Prime Matter,Â 24 Entertainment, Saber Interactive,Â ArtCraft Entertainment, NEOWIZ, and Capcom.
Finally, it wouldnâ€™t be a celebration without some exhilarating live entertainment, and celebrity sightings from Razerâ€™s wide network of friends.

The event is also bragging about being a completely carbon neutral experience, with the company committing to offset all carbon emissions using Verified Carbon Standard for a guilt-free streaming experience. Should be fun to watch in case the other video game livestream shows and last week’s Nintendo Direct didn’t satisfy you for some reason.


Singtel To Sponsor Singapore SEA Games Esports Team

Singtel has announced a significant move forward in the progress towards a better future for esports in Southeast Asia by revealing that they will be officially providing sponsorship for the Singapore’s SEA Games 2019 esports team.
In a deal with the Singapore Esports Association (SGEA), the sponsorship includes funding for training, competition and player stipends, as well as a scholarship component for educational opportunities.
Local pioneer esports player and teams like RZR Xian, Resurgence, and Asterisk* have been designated as Singtel PVP Ambassadors, who will work to engage the community and even be present at future Singtel PVP gaming events for fans to meet.
Besides the sponsorship, Singtel has also announced two new PVP Community leagues: PVP Campus and PVP Corporate. The goal of these new esports leagues is for amateur gamers to participate in friendly competitions.
The PVP Campus League will be open to tertiary students from all over Singapore who will compete in Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, while the PVP Corporate League will be a regional league for working professionals and feature both Mobile Legends: Bang Bang and Dota 2.
The culmination of both leagues will be held in a finale event slated to happen sometime in the second half of 2019. Brands like Huawei, Great Eastern, and SecretLab will be joining Singtel in supporting the growth of esports in the region, along with Razer (who is also the official esports partner for the upcoming SEA Games 2019).
In other related news, Singtel recently announced their partnership with South Korean telecommunications giant SK Telecom to further boost the development of esports in Asia. Head on over here for the full story.
Taking place from 30 November to 10 December 2019 in the Philippines, the 2019 SEA Games will feature six esports titles: two on PC (Dota 2 and Starcraft 2), two on mobile (Arena of Valor and Mobile Legends), and two on console (Tekken 7 and an as-of-yet unspecified game).
It will be the first international sports event in history to feature esports as a medal sport.
RZR Xian, Resurgence and Asterisk* as PVP Singtel Ambassadors.