Overwatch’s Anniversary Remix Event Begins Today, Brings Back Old Skins

Overwatch begins its first Anniversary Remix event today which brings back many previous event skins, now with white as their new primary color.
With Overwatch 2’s closed beta just around the corner, Activision Blizzard will be launching three Anniversary Remix events to keep players busy as we close in on the sequel’s release. Anniversary Remix Vol. 1 launches today, bringing back several skins from past events but now with a white colour palette.
The skins unlockable in this event are Witch Mercy, Oni Genji, Black Cat D.Va, Cultist Zenyatta, Nevermore Reaper, and Blackhardt Reinhardt, but with a new coat of paint. Additionally, skins that were only available through limited time events like Bastet Ana, Combat Medic Baptiste, and Nano D.Va will also make a return as weekly challenges that require playing several games to earn.

Anniversary Remix Vol. 1 will be live up to April 26, the same day as the closed beta for Overwatch 2. The other two “volumes” will happen between then and August, with more reworked skins for players to grab. The event will also see the return of popular game modes like the PvE Archives missions, the Rocket League-inspired Lucio Ball, and Mei’s Snowball Challenge, with other returning modes rotated in every week. Blizzard said these events will replace the Archives, standard Anniversary, and Summer Games events that usually happen throughout the year. This will be the first time in five years that Overwatch’s normal schedule has been interrupted.
Andy Belford, community manager released a statement on the Blizzard forums:
“This three-part anniversary event enables our team to allocate more time and attention to the upcoming PvP beta, while simultaneously providing the community with the chance to earn unique variants of your favorite Legendary skins.”
Belford went on to reiterate that all previously earned cosmetics will carry over into Overwatch 2, so legacy players have nothing to worry about.
The Overwatch 2 closed beta begins on April 26. Looking for more Overwatch news? Check out the latest concept art released which shows off the possible new features for the sequel.


Dragon Ball FighterZ DLC Android 21 In A Lab Coat Will Be Out This February

Dragon Ball FighterZ’s latest DLC character will be out soon.
Bandai Namco and Arc System Works announced that Android 21 (Lab Coat) will be out on 24 February. She plays differently than Android 21 with a bunch of new moves and Super attacks that’s sure to light up the place she’s in red with energy and pyrotechnics.
Check out her gameplay and teaser stuff below. Dragon Ball FighterZ is out now for PC, Xbox consoles, and PlayStation consoles.


Metro Exodus DLC Brings The Series To Its Underground Horror Roots

4A Games has announced that the first Metro Exodus story DLC, titled The Two Colonels, is now out for all players starting today on 21 August 2019. The Two Colonels returns to the claustrophobic underground tunnel setting of the first two games, instead of the open-world currently featured in Metro Exodus.
Metro Exodus The Two Colonels is set in the tunnels under the abandoned city of Novosibirsk, where Colonel Khlebnikov has travelled to visit his son, Kirill. However, radiation is growing worse, and mutant attacks are on the rise. One year later, Colonel Miller will follow in Khlebnikov’s footsteps, retracing his journey and the experiences.
It will also offer a brand new weapon in the form of a flamethrower. It is available for purchase separately or with the Expansion Pass at a price of US$24.99 or roughly RM104+. In the meantime, check out the trailer below.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iU-wPC6aKBQ&w=560&h=315]


Aliens Fireteam Is A New Co-Op Shooter With Xenomorph Hordes

Cold Iron Studios has announced cooperative third-person survival shooter Aliens Fireteam for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC (Steam). It is slated to launch sometime in summer 2021.
Originally announced back in 2018, Aliens Fireteam is a cooperative third-person survival shooter that drops your fireteam of hardened marines into a desperate fight to contain the Xenomorph threat and will take place over a multi-mission story campaign, similar in structure to the Left 4 Dead franchise.
According to Cold Iron Studios co-founder Craig Zinkievich, the game is inspired more by 1986’s action-oriented Aliens by James Cameron than 1979’s Alien by Ridley Scott.

Aliens Fireteam is set in 2202, 23 years after the original Alien movie trilogy (and yes, that includes 1992’s Alien 3). At this point in the timeline, Xenomorph outbreaks are rare but the aliens are widely-known. The Colonial Protection Act of 2187 commissioned warships to patrol the universe and protect colonists from Xenomorph outbreaks. You play a new soldier aboard the USS Endeavor and you end up orbiting Katanga after a distress call.
There will be over 20 enemy types, including 11 different Xenomorphs along the evolutionary scale from Facehuggers to Praetorians, each designed with their own intelligence to ambush, outsmart and eviscerate vulnerable marines. Players will be able to choose from five unique classes; Gunner, Demolisher, Technician, Doc and Recon, as well as an extensive arsenal of more than 30 weapons and 70 mods/attachments.
In the meantime, check out the trailer below:


Apex Legends Devs Calls Out Leakers Of Season 4 Twist

Apex Legends is gearing up for Season 4 as the battle royale game nears its one-year anniversary on 4 February 2020. However, leakers have spoiled the big surprise plot twist of the upcoming new season, which has incurred the wrath of the game’s developers.
Data miners prematurely leaked an interaction between Apex Legends characters Forge and Revenant, which reveals that Revenant will be replacing Forge as the next playable character in the game.
Respawn Entertainment have since officially released the leaked trailer, which features Forge speaking with a talk show host in a televised interview before the assassin android Revenant appears and apparently kills him. You can check it out below.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmmNYDmvS2k&w=560&h=315]
In response, Respawn Entertainment Project Lead Drew McCoy said in a tweet posted earlier today:

Since it keeps popping up:
Leaks are the absolute worst. I’ve never worked on a single project where it was purposeful or wanted.
We spend insane amounts of time and energy to create cool surprises. Really sucks when someone wants internet points bad enough to ruin that.
â€” Drew McCoy (@DKo5) January 27, 2020
Meanwhile, Respawn Entertainment Senior Animator Moy Parra also voiced disapproval over the leak in a tweet but confesses that there’s still a “silver lining” to the leaks.

So relieved this is piece is finally out! Not gonna sugar coat it, it wasn’t fun seen so many leaks go wild online just for some easy clicks. It was shitty! But the silver line, people seem excited about the developing story, and we’re only getting started
Weekend: ðŸ˜ðŸ˜³ðŸ˜°ðŸ˜¤ðŸ¤¬ðŸ˜Œ
â€” Moy Parra (@_moyparra) January 27, 2020
Nonetheless, Apex Legends players will still be looking forward to the next season of the game, regardless of whether it has been leaked or not. Leaks often build more hype and anticipation for the game, though I’m sure that the developers have their own plans and schedule to follow, which must make it frustrating.


DreamHack Postpones Its Festivals To 2021

Europe’s biggest video game convention and LAN party is having all of its remaining 2020 events postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Here are the postponed events; they will be joining the previously shelved-for-2021 DreamHack Dallas, DreamHack Summer, and DreamHack Montreal:

DreamHack Rotterdamâ€”originally scheduled for October 16-18, 2020
DreamHack Hyderabadâ€”originally scheduled for October 31-November 1, 2020
DreamHack Atlantaâ€”originally scheduled for November 13-15, 2020
DreamHack Winterâ€”originally scheduled for November 27-29, 2020
DreamHack Madridâ€”originally scheduled for December 11-13, 2020

Here’s the official word from co-CEO Marcus Lindmark:
“[T]he goal for all of us at DreamHack is to provide great experiences at our events, which thrive by bringing communities together for these shared and beloved festival weekends all around the globe. We have never had to postpone events like this beforeâ€”but these are extraordinary times, and the safety of our attendees and staff has never been more important than now.”
The revised dates for the show will be posted on the website on a later date this year. Fret not, as there will be a bunch of DreamHack online events to satiate your gaming jollies, including DreamHack Open Featuring Fortnite and DreamHack Open Summer.


E3 2019: It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia Creator To Make A Comedy About MMO Devs

Were you expecting a TV show announcement in Ubisoft’s E3 press conference? Yeah, us either, yet here we are.
Rob McElhenney, known for his directing and acting in the long-running comedy series It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, will be making a new show called Mythic Quest: Raven’s Banquet. It’s about a bunch of devs who are making an expansion for a successful MMO called Mythic Quest (obviously a fake game), and the turmoils that follow.

Rob will be playing big-headed director Ian Grimm, who has an ego the size of a freight train ever since his MMO is bigger than other titles such as Gothic Kings and DQD4: The Roscoe Chronicles (also fake games). We will expect a lot of jabs at the games industry, narcissism from Grimm’s side, and a lot of cynical-slash-weird humour cocktails if it’s anything like Rob’s previous show.
I’ll have to admit, his over-the-top portrayal of a less-than-humble creative director is arguably spot-on, considering I’ve met a few “center of the universe” archetypes like Grimm during my 10 years in the games industry. Check out the clip here, which also features familiar faces like Danny Pudi from Community & DuckTales.


Verdansk Is Getting A Huge Makeover In Call Of Duty Warzone Season 5

We’re still in the midst of Call Of Duty Modern Warfare and Warzone Season 4, but that hasn’t stopped leaks and claims from being published online. According to VGC, Call Of Duty Warzone Season 5 will revamp the gameâ€™s current Verdansk map in various ways.
Apparently, players will soon be able to access the interior of the â€˜Stadiumâ€™ situated in the middle of the Verdansk map, with the addition of a loot-filled train continuously circling the map.
Players might also be able to look forward to new in-game items brought into rotation and a greater focus on the narrative story that Infinity Ward has been developing since opening the bunkers for players to explore. In addition, the developer might be adding more experimental modes too, similar to the Juggernaut Suit and Realism modes which were recently introduced in Season 4.
Besides that, Call Of Duty Modern Warfare Season 5 could potentially add new weapons, if data miners are to be believed, including the M200, SPAS-12, or AN-94, which was discovered in the game files for Season 4.
Players should also expect new operators. We received Captain Price in Season 4. To top that, the developer is said to be considering none other than the original Call Of Duty Modern Warfare‘s Soap MacTavish in the upcoming Season 5.

However, none of this has actually been confirmed by Infinity Ward at this point in time, though sources are claiming that Season 5 will reportedly arrive sometime in early August 2020 (perhaps even 4 August 2020).


God Of War Ragnarok Launches This November

Sony Santa Monica has announced that God Of War Ragnarok will launch for the PS4 and PS5 on 9 November 2022.
Check out all the editions of the game below:
God of War Ragnarok – Launch Edition Items

When you purchase God of War Ragnarök before launch, you will receive the Kratos Risen Snow Armor and the Atreus Risen Snow Tunic (cosmetic).
God of War Ragnarok – Standard Edition
The God of War Ragnarök Standard Edition (digital and physical) comes with the full game for either PS4 or PS5.
If you purchase the God of War Ragnarök standard edition for PlayStation 4, you can upgrade to the PlayStation 5 version for US$10 USD (or currency equivalent).
God of War Ragnarok – Digital Deluxe Edition

Included in the God of War Ragnarök Digital Deluxe Edition, you will receive:

Full God of War Ragnarök game on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 consoles.
Kratos Darkdale Armor**
Atreus Darkdale Attire (cosmetic) **
Darkdale Blades Handles for the Blades of Chaos**
Darkdale Axe Grip for the Leviathan Axe**
Official God of War Ragnarök Digital Soundtrack
Dark Horse Digital Mini Artbook
Avatar Set
PlayStation 4 Theme

**Unlock in-game items via story progression.
God of War Ragnarok – Collector’s Edition

As you’ve seen in the above video, the God of War Ragnarök Collector’s Edition comes housed in a beautiful box representing the Knowledge Keeper’s Shrine. This shrine was of the triptychs that Kratos and Atreus came across in God of War (2018), depicting the tale of a powerful seer, the Giant Sorceress called Gróa, who was the first to have a vision of Ragnarök.
Opening the Shrine, you’ll find the following:

Printed voucher code for the full God of War Ragnarök game on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 consoles.*
A Steelbook Display Case (no game disc included) – The God of War Ragnarök Steelbook Display Case depicts renditions of the Bear and the Wolf.
2” Vanir Twins Carvings – In the same style as Atreus’ wooden toy carvings of the Huldra Brothers from the God of War (2018) Collector’s Edition, the God of War Ragnarök Collector’s Edition completes the set with carvings of the Vanir Twins.
Dwarven Dice Set – This set comes with a set of dice with a quality wood-like finish in a dice bag with a symbol of Yggdrasil on the outside.
16” Mjölnir Replica – A highly detailed replica of Thor’s signature weapon from God of War Ragnarök.

Also included in the Collector’s Edition are the following digital items*:

Kratos Darkdale Armor**
Atreus Darkdale Attire (cosmetic) **
Darkdale Blades Handles for the Blades of Chaos**
Darkdale Axe Grip for the Leviathan Axe**
Official God of War Ragnarök Digital Soundtrack
Dark Horse Digital Mini Artbook
Avatar Set
PlayStation 4 Theme

*Account for PlayStation Network and internet connection required for code redemption.
**Unlock in-game items via story progression.
God of War Ragnarok – Jötnar Edition

The God of War Ragnarök Jötnar Edition is a premium selection of items designed with care by our team here at Santa Monica Studio to be a collector’s set worthy of our amazing fans. You’ve seen it unboxed in the video above, but we’ll also run you through its contents here.
Inside the Knowledge Keeper’s Shrine, you’ll receive:

Printed voucher code for the full God of War Ragnarök game on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 consoles.*
7-Inch Vinyl Record with music by Bear McCreary – This includes two tracks from composer Bear McCreary.
The Falcon, Bear, and Wolf Pin Set – Representing Faye, Kratos, and Atreus respectively, this pin set symbolizes our heroes’ family.
The Legendary Draupnir Ring – A ring from Norse Mythology, the Legendary Draupnir Ring comes in a red cloth bag.
Brok’s Dice Set – This dice set comes with a metallic silver finish with blue detailing. The dice bag features the Huldra Brothers’ brand.
Yggdrasil Cloth Map – This cloth map shows each of the Nine Realms within the branches and roots of Yggdrasil.
A Steelbook Display Case (no game disc included)
2” Vanir Twins Carvings
16” Mjölnir Replica

Also included in the Jötnar Edition are the following digital items*:

Kratos Darkdale Armor**
Atreus Darkdale Attire (cosmetic) **
Darkdale Blades Handles for the Blades of Chaos**
Darkdale Axe Grip for the Leviathan Axe**
Official God of War Ragnarök Digital Soundtrack
Dark Horse Digital Mini Artbook
Avatar Set
PlayStation 4 Theme

In the trailer, we can see that Kratos and Atreus will have to fight Fenrir, one of the harbingers of Ragnarok in Norse mythology. Just like the Jormungandr, he is supposed to be the son of Loki. The 2018 game already established that Atreus will grow up to be Loki, so Fenrir (like Jormungandr) is actually Kratos’ grandson and Atreus’ son. Weird, I know.
In the meantime, check out the trailer below:


Animal Crossing-Like Sim Hokko Life Is Now In Early Access

Team17 and Wonderscope Games have announced the launch of cosy community sim Hokko Life into Steam Early Access, which will be available from midnight at 12am GMT+8 on 3 June 2021.

Hokko Life gives players the freedom to design each aspect of their charming new home, customising everything from the wallpaper and floor designs to the size, shape, and angle of a chair cushion, players will be able to create their perfect laid-back life in Hokko.

Every aspect of life in Hokko can be tailored to picturesque perfection.Â Hokko Life gives players the freedom and creative space to alter shapes, materials, and colours to design everything from the clothes they wear to the furniture in the houses, all of which can be shared with friends. Players wanting to take a break from the workshop and put down their paintbrush can amble around town collecting bugs & critters, spend time interacting with the friendly locals, and truly enjoy integrating themselves into the Hokko lifestyle.

Hokko LifeÂ Key Features:

Get Creative:Â The workshop awaits as players take control over every aspect of Hokko, with the 3D design tool, every aspect of a playerâ€™s creation can be tailored to perfection
Dare to Design:Â No detail is too small, everything from the colour, fabric, and angle of the pillow on a chair can be edited
Sharing is Caring:Â Players will be able to share their meticulously crafted designs with friends and other players around the world
Back of the Net:Â A lazy afternoon in Hokko can be spent with a net or pole in hand, catching and collecting the critters crawling around town
Meet the Neighbours:Â Hokkoâ€™s townsfolk offer a warm welcome, and with varying personalities, they all make for fantastic friends.

Players can wishlist Hokko Life on Steam now. You can follow the latest updates on the game on their social media accounts likeÂ Facebook, Twitter and Discord.
Hokko Life will be available for US$19.99 on Steam.


Super Mario Bros Movie Hits High Score Box Office Numbers Of US$377 Million In Just A Few Days

Mama mia!
Nintendo and Illumination’s first film adaptation of the Super Mario Bros. franchise since 1993 has raked in US$203 million for the past 5 days in US markets (US$146+ for the first three days, another US$57 million as of right now). The film came out on 6th April. The movie’s overall overseas box office sales are at US$173 million (excluding Malaysia and Japan, sadly) which makes the movie’s box office worldwide total currently at US$377 million and rising (via Deadline and Box Office Mojo).
Here’s a PR quip from Universal in regard to the current windfall of the new 3D movie featuring plumbers and turtles.
“The incredible partnership of Nintendo and Shigeru Miyamoto’s iconic characters, with Illumination and Chris Meledandri’s unbeatable filmmaking and storytelling prowess, has led to this combustible moment at the worldwide box office. Audiences of all ages and backgrounds have flocked to theatres to revel in this extraordinary big-screen celebration.”
As of right now, the film’s weekend sales beat that of John Wick: Chapter 4 (US$14.6 million), Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (US$14.5 million), and Air (US$14.5 million). It remains to be seen if the Mario movie has staying power like the aforementioned heavy hitters.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie is out now in parts of Asia and the rest of the world. Malaysia will be getting their Nintendo fix on 20th April. If you want a non-spoiler review of what we thought, head here.


Kaiju Beat-Em-Up Dawn Of The Monsters Will Be Out This March

2022 looks like a good day to be a kaiju and tokusatsu fan, with titles like GigaBash and this newsworthy one on the horizon.
WayForward and 13AM Games announced the release date of its upcoming 2D beat-em-up title Dawn of the Monsters: March 2022. It’ll be out for PC, Xbox Series, Xbox One, PS5, PS4, and Nintendo Switch. The game features two-player local co-op, 35+ missions, and four gargantuan guardians to choose from: Megadon, Ganira, Aegis Prime, and Tempest Galahad. The later two are humanoid and mecha respectively.
The game features artwork and aesthetics from renowned kaiju designers and artists like Shinji Nishikawa (Godzilla, SSSS.Gridman), Matt Frank (Godzilla from IDW), Yuji Kaida, Zander Cannon, EJ Su, Kim Jacinto, DJ Crumrine, Zedd, Robo7, Caroline “Luka” Bromley, Ninsai Kato, and Powerhouse Animation. This is definitely an all-star cast!
Check out the latest Story trailer below, detailing the Dawn organization and the monster predicament they’re in.


Company of Heroes 3 Hits Shores This November

Strategy gamers and war history buffs rejoice: the third Company of Heroes title is coming out in a few months’ time.
Company of Heroes 3 is coming to PC via Steam on 18th November. Best of all, if you want an early taste of the real-time strategy title, the demo for the game’s North African Operation (one story-based skirmish) is out now for free; just head to the website to check it out.
Company of Heroes 3 will release two unique single-player campaigns: the Italian Dynamic campaign and North African Operation. Factions-wise, you have four to play with: the US forces, the British forces, the German Wehrmacht, and the Afrika Korps (Deutches Afrikakorps or DAK). Here are more details about the game’s North African campaign via the presser we got a while ago:
“The North African Operation is a more classically designed, narrative-led single-player experience. A wealth of new mechanics has drastically changed the battlefield in North Africa, where tank-riding enables coordinated rapid-strike assaults
that overwhelm the enemy. Powerful Italian units can be called upon in Mission Alpha, such as the Guastatori combat engineers and the L6/40 Light Tank. Players can also enjoy new core gameplay innovations like side armour, enemy
vehicle recovery and vehicle-towing, which lets you reposition your hard-hitting artillery like the German Flak 36 and British 17-Pounder.”
In addition, you can sign up for Relic’s community feedback program called COH-Development (on the COH website) to gain access to a new mission in the North African Operation where you can play as the aforementioned DAK where the group favours light and heavy vehicles over infantry.
Just like any new triple-A game, Company of Heroes 3 has pre-order offers. If you order the game early, you’ll receive the Devils’ Brigade DLC pack which contains a lot of cosmetics based on the first elite commando units of World War 2.

If you order the Digital Premium edition, you’ll get that DLC, a bunch of premium tank cosmetics, and access to the game’s first expansion which is slated for 2023.

In the meantime, check out our full-blown hands-on preview of the game here.


VALORANT Champions 2023 Will Take Place In Los Angeles

The 2023 VALORANT Champions Tour (VCT) is going down in Los Angeles, which is home to the newest VALORANT agent, Gekko.

Check out our breakdown of Gekko!
This is the ultimate event for the VALORANT community, where the top players, creators, and fans come together to witness the crowning of the VALORANT World Champion. Last year, LOUD took home the victory against Optic Gaming in a nail-biting 3-1 match that was watched by over 1.5 million fans.
Now, with new teams and leagues popping up all over the globe, it’s anyone’s guess who will take home the title of World Champion. Qualification for the tournament is no easy feat, with teams from North America, Brazil, Latin America, EMEA, and Asia competing for one of the 16 qualification slots. After LOCK//IN, VCT teams will head to their respective regional competitions in the Americas, Pacific, and EMEA leagues, where they will earn the chance to qualify for Masters Tokyo and Champions Los Angeles.
The best part? We’re bringing the first-ever international VALORANT tournament to North America! The Shrine Auditorium will host the opening rounds from 6–20 August, narrowing down the field of competitors from 16 to the top 4. And the tournament will conclude in front of the largest capacity venue in the history of VALORANT esports at the iconic KIA Forum.

For three days, the tournament will narrow down the remaining four teams and culminate with the Final on 26 August. Keep an eye out for info on how to grab your tickets and more event details in the months to come. It’s gonna be a wild ride, folks!


Twitch Prime Day 2019 To Give Away Apex Legends & EA Sports Content

Twitch Prime Day 2019 is fast approaching and this time it’s coming with plenty of goodies, including in-game content for Apex Legends and selected EA Sports titles, as well as bringing together celebrities, top streamers, and Amazon Prime members together for the Twitch Prime Crown Cup with tournaments in London and Vegas.
Kicking off on 3 July 2019, Amazon Prime members can obtain an exclusive Legend skin and weapon skin for Apex Legends, as well as three more skins from the battle royale game and content from EA Sports titles throughout the months of July and August 2019.
In addition to the free content giveaways, Twitch Prime will hold two massive events, which includes Twitch Prime Crown Cup tournaments featuring a top EA SPORTS game in London and Apex Legends in Las Vegas.
World-class athletes will be participating in the London event, including the likes of Olympic gold medalist runner Sir Mo Farah, legendary footballer Thierry Henry, and five-time X Games gold medalist street skateboarder Leticia Bufoni.
The second is in Las Vegas, where musicians and other celebrities will test their skills on the battle arena in Apex Legends, including multi-platinum music producer Murda Beatz, global platinum-selling DJ Dillon Francis, and other stars.
These events will be streamed live on Twitch Prime at 1am (GMT+8) on 14 July 2019.
Twitch Prime Day 2019 will actually begin at midnight on 15 July 2019, where members can look forward to 48 hours of the best deals for everything from electronics (headphones, speakers), baby, kitchen and home appliances (stand mixers, vacuum cleaners, etc), toys, and everyday essentials.
Twitch Prime Day 2019 will be celebrated in the following countries:

US
UK
Spain
Singapore
Netherlands
Mexico
Luxembourg
Japan
Italy
India
Germany
France
China
Canada
 Belgium
Austria
Australia
United Arab Emirates

In the meantime, here’s the current list of deals available on Twitch Prime.


Dragon Ball Z Kakarot Is A Middling JRPG, But Fans Will Still Love It

Platforms: PS4, Xbox One, PC
Genre: RPG version of the Dragon Ball Z saga for 2020
For a lot of people who only vaguely familiar with Dragon Ball, the franchise is synonymous with overly-muscular characters screaming and fighting. On the other hand, fans would understand that at the heart of Dragon Ball lies a sense of adventure, which is how it actually started with the original Dragon Ball.
Most Dragon Ball games tend to focus on fighting, and thus are usually fighting games like 2018’s Dragon Ball FighterZ, the older Tenkaichi Budokai games or the countless minor titles over the years. It has only dabbled in other genres once or twice.
You would think that Dragon Ball would make for great action-adventure or RPG titles, but the most memorable series to date remains Dragon Ball Z: The Legacy Of Goku for the Game Boy Advance (I know there were others like Dragon Ball Sagas for the PS2, but they aren’t even worth mentioning).
Now, Dragon Ball Z Kakarot comes along, boasting to be the first AAA non-fighting Dragon Ball video game ever. Does it succeed?
Dragon Ball Z Mini

Dragon Ball Z Kakarot is essentially a recreation of the entire iconic Dragon Ball Z anime, starting from the Raditz Saga until the end of the Buu Saga. In fact, it’s probably the most ambitious and painstakingly-detailed retelling of the anime in video game form. While most Dragon Ball games would take players perhaps a few hours at best to reach the Frieza Saga, Dragon Ball Z Kakarot took me around 10 hours to reach the same point.
However, the game does brush over some of the filler from the anime while adding some of its own. That was the appeal of the game when it was announced; that Dragon Ball Z Kakarot would fill in the blanks of the anime and add more insight into your beloved characters through its many, many side quests.

While some of these side quests do indeed develop the characters we all know and love, the majority of them simply involve tedious fetch quests and the occasional fight or two. They’re merely there for the fans to appreciate, as they are neither rewarding nor fulfilling.

Sure, one side quest revealed that Puar impersonated Yamcha while he was dead to preserve his multiple relationships with women while in another one, I discovered that Chiaotzu was already planning to sacrifice himself to defeat the invading Saiyans (Vegeta and Nappa) way ahead of time. Another one played on the popular Yamcha death pose meme, which (if nothing else) was definitely amusing as heck.

Still, fans of the franchise would have already seen most of everything before, as it offers nothing new except bits and pieces of easter eggs and fanservice. Despite boasting a whole JRPG open world for players to explore, it feels more like I was roaming around a Dragon Ball theme park instead of an actual world. There’s not much incentive for you to explore every nook and cranny of the world.

The problem with all this is that it would all be wasted on non-fans. Dragon Ball Z Kakarot will likely not be making any new fans from those who play the game, as it obviously wasn’t made with them in mind. The target demographic is clearly geared exclusively towards fans who are already familiar with the source material.

As someone who is familiar with both the original Japanese and Funimation English dub, it’s quite jarring to have different voice actors for even iconic characters like Frieza, amongst others. These new voice actors do a decent job, but it’s still hard not to notice that Frieza suddenly has the voice of an old British lady.
It’s (Not) Over 9000!

Dragon Ball Z Kakarot is still a Dragon Ball game, so the meat of the title is still solely the fighting. If you’ve seen the trailers, you’d maybe realise that the gameplay looks suspiciously like Dragon Ball Xenoverse, and you’d be correct. The combat utilizes simple controls and flashy attacks to make it just satisfying enough to be fun, but it still won’t be enough for the fighting enthusiasts out there.

Personally, I feel like the combat does pack enough punch, but it could have used more depth, especially considering that this is a JRPG we’re talking about. Unlike most JRPGs, there’s no point to grinding much in Dragon Ball Z Kakarot, even though you’ll be encountering a lot of enemies in the open world while flying from place to place.

Why is that? Because the amount of EXP that you gain from random battles is ridiculously-insignificant compared to the massive amount you’ll receive for doing side quests or advancing the story. That’s not to say that the game is particularly unbalanced, but you should expect several difficulty curves throughout the game.
It’s like the game wants to be a JRPG but still wants to stick mostly to its fighting game roots without alienating fans of both. The RPG elements in the game include fishing, cooking, collecting Z Orbs/D Medals to learn new skills/obtain new abilities and using the Community board. Like in any other JRPG, you can largely ignore both cooking and fishing, unless they’re relevant for quests.

However, collecting Z Orbs/D Medals and using the Community Board are both important as they are the means of which you make your characters stronger (other than levelling them up). This is a JRPG, of course. Z Orbs are used to upgrade existing skills while D Medals are used to obtain new abilities.
Meanwhile, the Community Board provide stat bonuses and works like a board game. Players obtain Soul Emblems, pieces representing different characters, and stack them up on the multiple boards.
For instance, the Goku board represents the Z Fighters aspect, which provides stat bonuses during combat like additional attack, while the King Kai board represents the Training aspect, providing stat bonuses relating to additional EXP and the like.

The way you specifically stack your Soul Emblem pieces on the boards will yield even more bonuses. This would benefit fans of the franchise the most, as you need to have a working knowledge of the characters to take advantage of this. For example, stacking Goku, Krilin and Yamcha together would unlock the Turtle School bonus, but this would only be immediately clear to fans who’ve watched or read the original Dragon Ball (don’t worry though as there is a list of specific combinations for everyone to refer to as well).

Dragon Ball Z Kakarot doesn’t exactly explain all of this very well in its rushed tutorial at the beginning of the game, so you’ll have to play for a few hours before getting the hang of all the different mechanics.

Surprisingly, I only found out about the existence of the game’s equivalent of skill trees by delving deep into the menu, which is a terrible oversight on the developer’s part.
The most enjoyable bits of the game’s combat is during the one-on-one boss battles, like Goku versus Vegeta or Goku versus Frieza. Dragon Ball Z Kakarot does feature battles involving allies and multiple enemies in real-time, but these suffer from issues like the choppy camera not being quick intuitive enough to follow the frantic action. I especially hate the enemies ganging up on me while my own party members do nothing to actively help me due to the horrible friendly AI.
Cell-Shaded Glory

One aspect that I do need to praise Dragon Ball Z Kakarot is how beautiful the game looks. During pivotal scenes adapted from the anime, the game’s pre-rendered cutscenes look even better than the anime, with particle and lighting effects only possible on current-gen hardware.
Having said that, there’s another less pretty side to the graphics. The cutscenes rendered using the games engine look lifeless and uninspired in comparison, especially at times when all the character do are stand around and shrug while talking to each other.
I understand we can’t always have intricately-animated pre-rendered cutscenes, but I would have appreciated more effort being put into the game’s visuals outside of combat and pre-rendered cutscenes. They definitely need more polishing up.
Cha-La Head Cha-La

In the end, Dragon Ball Z Kakarot feels like it doesnâ€™t know what it really wants to be. It’s great as a love letter to all things Dragon Ball but fails to impress in any way as an action-adventure JRPG. The game might just be enough to satisfy fans, but it certainly won’t be enough to entice or attract JRPG fans or gamers (who aren’t Dragon Ball fans) in general.

Having said that, as a massive Dragon Ball fan who has watched every episode of every Dragon Ball anime (and read the manga, if you’re a stickler for that), I still enjoyed Dragon Ball Z Kakarot for what it is: A loving but flawed ode to Akira Toriyama’s Dragon Ball.

Pros

The most ambitious and detailed recreation of the Dragon Ball Z anime to date.
Fills in the blanks and adds to franchise lore.
Simple and fun combat.
Looks absolutely beautiful…

Cons

…and ugly at times.
Feels more like exploring a theme park instead of an actual open world.
Middling and sometimes pointless JRPG elements.
Won’t satisfy those looking for more in-depth combat.

Final Score: 50/100


Batman Arkham Makers Rocksteady Now Has Own Alleged Sex Harassment Problems [Update]

Update: Rocksteady released an official statement saying they’re doing their best to commit to inclusion and getting feedback. We’ve updated the story to reflect this.
Guess Ubisoft isn’t the only big company with its own sex allegation problems. Batman Arkham series creators Rocksteady are also facing a bit of hot water.
According to a recent Guardian report, more than half of the women employed at the London-based video game company signed a letter to bosses accusing the studio of failing to prevent sexual harassment and inappropriate behaviour in the office. This letter was made two years ago, in 2018 by the by.
These transgressions include:

Â â€œslurs regarding the transgendered communityâ€,
â€œdiscussing a woman in a derogatory or sexual manner with other colleaguesâ€,
sexual harassment â€œin the form of unwanted advances, leering at parts of a womanâ€™s body, and inappropriate comments in the officeâ€.

While Rocksteady allegedly held a training seminar to curb this sort of behaviour, nothing else was done and the company did not do much else prior to that. There is also a video from former Rocksteady writer Kim MacAskill where she details the abuse on video.

Rocksteady responded with the following statement where they received the following unsolicited letter. With the 2-year-old letter out in the open via the Guardian report, it seems like all bets might be off lawsuit-wise.

While working on our response to the recent news, we received the following unsolicited letter. pic.twitter.com/sozmsp6u3C
— Rocksteady Studios (@RocksteadyGames) August 19, 2020

The comments on this tweet are blocked. The story is still developing, though this isn’t putting companies like Rocksteady in a good light, considering their big game reveal is happening this coming Sunday.
This is then followed by Rocksteady’s official statement. Basically, they’re listening and doing something about it.

Here is our statement: pic.twitter.com/ssyzNWfyhB
— Rocksteady Studios (@RocksteadyGames) August 21, 2020


Here’s A Trailer Of Brie ‘Captain Marvel’ Larson’s Directorial Debut

Netflix has released the trailer for Unicorn Store, the first ever movie to be directed and produced by Captain Marvel star Brie Larson. The upcoming movie reunites her and Captain Marvel co-star Samuel L. Jackson in a heartfelt adult comedy romp.
Unicorn Store was initially screened at the 2017 Toronto International Screen Festival but it was only earlier in 2019 that Netflix announced that it has picked up distribution rights. Thanks to the major success of Captain Marvel, this new movie will definitely be garnering significantly more attention.

Here’s what the movie is about according to the official description on Netflix:

“After falling out of art school and taking a humdrum office job, a whimsical painter gets a chance to fulfill her lifelong dream of adopting a unicorn.”

I believe the “unicorn” is meant to be a metaphor for something else (sorry, no actual unicorns are featured in the movie), but we’ll have to find out when Unicorn Store starts streaming on Netflix on 5 April 2019.
The movie also stars Joan Cusack, Bradley Whitford, Karan Soni, Mamoudou Athie, Mary Holland, and Hamish Linklater. In the meantime, check out the trailer for Unicorn Store below.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_51UsTDBAE&w=560&h=315]


Sega Is Making A Yakuza Movie

Sega, 1212 Entertainment, and Wild Sheep Content are currently developing a live-action movie based on theÂ popular YakuzaÂ franchise.
According to Variety, Erik Barmack, Roberto Grande and Joshua Long will produce, but they are currently looking for a scriptwriter.
The mainline Yakuza games follow Kazuma Kiryu, a lifelong member of the Japanese Yakuza. The game has been widely praised for its story and character-driven plot, as well as its exhilarating and exciting brawler combat.
Based on a quote by a representative from 1212, we know that the Yakuza movie will star Kiryu as the protagonist.
â€œYakuza offers us a new playground in which to set compelling stories with complex characters in a unique environment that audiences have rarely seen before.The saga of Kazuma Kiryu has a built-in cinematic appeal â€“ a mix of kinetic action with bursts of comedy, multiple converging storylines, and a gripping journey towards redemption.â€
The next entry in the game franchise is Yakuza Like A Dragon, which is slated to release for the PS4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S and PC on 13 November 2020.


Top 10 Frustrating Secret Superbosses That You Completely Missed

The classic video game boss is a dwindling idea. At a time when open-world and online games have flourished, thereâ€™s little way for an imposing entity to hinder progress, especially when player choice is paramount.
Bosses do offer something unique, however. For some players, the challenge is part of the fun. To make use of every tool the game has to offer and come out on top can be a satisfying feeling. It’s no surprise, then, that there’s been a resurgence of difficult bosses recently.
The renewed thrill of challenging bosses that began with FromSoftwareâ€™s Demonâ€™s Souls expanded into its own unique genre, inspiring other companies to develop games the likes of Nioh and Code Vein.
But tough video game bosses have always been around. In fact, there even exists a whole breed of bosses that, rather than stand in the way of your next objective, act solely as an optional challenge for players that have mastered the game.

Called superbosses, you can see these enemies as finishing lines or stamps of approval that, yes, youâ€™re pretty good at the game.

Most of these superbosses are stronger than even your final bosses, with attacks that make your strut through the story seem like a cakewalk. Theyâ€™re ordinarily hidden and difficult to get to without first fulfilling several tall conditions. The rewards are also paltry â€“ after all, what else could you possibly get for beating the hardest content the game has to offer?
That goes for most of these 10 bosses, which have served as reminders to passionate gamers of their achievements, or what they have yet to achieve. These bosses are the final tests that have remained in peopleâ€™s minds, whether for their sheer impossibility, their significance to the gameâ€™s lore, or their influence on gaming as a whole.
#10. Yuki-Onna and Oda Nobunaga from Nioh

Like the popular Souls series, Team Ninjaâ€™s Nioh prides itself as a game where you will die. Part of the enjoyment of the game comes from studying enemy attacks and, through failure, learning how to overcome them.
But sometimes thereâ€™s a limit to how far you can go, and many gamers felt this when they attempted the A Meeting on the Other Shore sub-mission. The mission is, quite simply, to battle the bosses Oda Nobunaga and Yuki-Onna at the same time.
Thereâ€™s some validity to the missionâ€™s premise in that Yuki-Onna is the incarnation of Oda Nobunagaâ€™s dead wife, Nohime. That they have paired up in a heartfelt reunion is sweet but if youâ€™ve ever fought these bosses individually, you may start to see how this is a problem.
Whilst Yuki-Onna fires several painful projectiles your way, Nobunaga will close the gap with speedy attacks. You donâ€™t want to get pinned by either of them which is, of course, easier said than done.
The key to winning this battle is to focus one of them down and take them out of the equation as soon as possible. Until then, youâ€™ll simply have to pray that you find some room for even a single attack.
#9. Rodin, The Infinite One from Bayonetta

PlatinumGames is a developer thatâ€™s built its success on over-the-top action and challenging bosses. One of its first few games, Bayonetta, instantly became a classic in the hack and slash genre for its bombastic action and creative set-pieces.
Though the series has offered its fair share of challenges, none can match up to Rodin. First introduced as a bartender and weapons dealer to support Bayonetta, heâ€™s secretly also a fallen-angel-turned-demon thatâ€™s canonically one of the most powerful entities in the series.
As such, he acts as the superboss of the series, whom youâ€™ll have to earn your right to even challenge. At first gameâ€™s shop, youâ€™ll have to purchase a ticket costing 999,999 Halos to fight him, a cost that ramps up to 9,999,999 Halos in the second game.
In the first game, he battles you in his angelic form, assailing you with swift attacks and projectiles. Evading many of these attacks are a rough time in that they do not activate Witch Time (Bayonettaâ€™s innate ability to slow downtime).
The second Bayonetta pits his demonic form against you, and this time heâ€™s more of an aggressive brawler, throwing brutal punches and giving you little time to breathe. For many players, immaculate execution is key to success against Rodin, as well as a keen understanding of their various weaponsâ€™ movesets and accessories.
#8. Warmech from Final Fantasy

Warmech holds a special place as the first superboss in the Final Fantasy franchise, which kicked off the series tradition of always including a nigh-impossible boss in each of its mainline titles.
Weâ€™ve held off from mentioning the franchiseâ€™s many superbosses since there are just far too many good ones. FFIXâ€™s Ozma, FFXâ€™s Penance, or FFXIIâ€™s Yiazmat, are all worthy mentions. However, Warmech is undoubtedly symbolic in that it paved the way so that these fan-favourites could come to fruition.
Whether players would encounter Warmech in a regular playthrough boils down to straight luck. Youâ€™ll have to walk around the Flying Fortress, on the bridge leading to Tiamat, if youâ€™re keen on challenging this dangerous foe. Thereâ€™s a 3 in 64 chance of this happening, which isnâ€™t at all high, but could set an unlucky playerâ€™s progress back by quite a lot.
As for the Warmech fight itself, itâ€™ll usually begin with a preemptive strike that immediately forces players on the defensive. On top of a devastating Atomize attack, it can be tricky to keep your allies alive. But good defence is only partly successful in this fight, as Warmech will also regenerate 5% of its health per turn.
#7. Lingering Will fromÂ Kingdom Hearts 2.5 Remix

Kingdom Hearts is no stranger to difficult hidden bosses, and is also another franchise that hasnâ€™t strayed from that concept. While many might point to Sephiroth as being Kingdom Hearts IIâ€™s biggest superboss, Lingering Will stands as one boss thatâ€™s often underlooked, and forÂ  plenty of good reasons.
If you wanted to fight Lingering Will, you would need to own specific editions of the game. For the longest time, Lingering Will could only be challenged as an added boss in Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix, which was a Japan-only 2007 release. Unless you went out of your way, Sephiroth remained as the strongest superboss for much of the international audience.
Cue Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 Remix, an English remaster arriving in 2014 that included all of Final Mixâ€™s bonus content. Finally, fans could take on this boss, which has been considered the most challenging in the game and franchise.
To unlock Lingering Will, players have to complete all of the worlds in the game, and then beat the game once more. Once thatâ€™s done, a portal will open at Disney Castle to present players with their final challenge.
Lingering Will is no slouch as he bombards Sora with sweeping attacks all across the wide arena. He can combo you to death and boasts an attack that renders him invulnerable until it ends. On top of magical abilities that can seal your ability to attack or use magic, players will have to be ready to execute the right solutions to any of his actions and to attack only when the situation is right.
#6. Trainer Red from PokÃ©monÂ Gold and Silver

The PokÃ©mon series is a largely successful franchise that has long held the tradition of feeding the same gameplay of exploring the world, collecting Pokemon, and battling against other trainers. Youâ€™re always playing as a different protagonist in each iteration, but sometimes itâ€™s nice to relive past memories by meeting old faces.
The Pokemon Red and Blue games represent the first-ever PokÃ©mon titles ever made, and feature the character Red as the original trainer that fans could control.
In PokÃ©monÂ Gold and Silver, those that conquer all 16 Gyms would be treated to duel against him atop the summit of Mt. Silver. For fans of the original games, or even just Gen 1 Pokemon, itâ€™s a great nostalgia trip.
Red commands a complete set of evolved Gen 1 PokÃ©mon, including Charizard, Venasaur, Blastoise, Espeon, and Snorlax. He even has his trusty Pikachu join in on the fight. To successfully defeat him, youâ€™ll need to build your own team thatâ€™s adequately levelled and capable of countering his own roster of classic pocket monsters.
What better way to become the very best like no one ever was than to beat the person that started it all?
SHOW ME THE REMAINING 5…


World of Tanks: Mercenaries Is Getting an RTS Mode and New Tanks Designed by a Comics Legend

Wargaming has announced that a new RTS mode and brand new tanks will be arriving in World of Tanks: Mercenaries.
The World of Tanks: Mercenaries RTS Mode is designated as Commander Mode in-game, where players can take command of nine tanks with a strategic, birds-eye view of the battlefield. Similar to other real-time-strategy games, you can give direct orders to single tanks or a whole battalion at once.
In an interesting twist, players can also assume the role of Tanker in opposition to the Commander. Tankers roll in with a team of five other players to take down a Commander. It sounds like a 5v1 setting, where the Tankers will employ classic World of Tanks controls against the lone Commander’s RTS supremacy.
It will be fascinating to see how RTS gameplay will be implemented in World of Tanks: Mercenaries, considering that the game is on the PS4 and Xbox One. Console games usually don’t translate RTS gameplay well, as the genre has always naturally worked best on the PC with mouse and keyboard controls.
Commander Mode
Additionally, players can look forward to a new trio of Mercenaries called the Outcasts. Designed by comic book legend Brett Parson (best known for classics like Tank Girl and New Romancer), the Outcasts Mega collection includes the Banana Buster, the Beach Party, and the T.A.N.K.
The Outcasts Mega collection is available together or individually from now until December 11, 2018.
Banana Buster
Beach Party
T.A.N.K.
Besides that, France will be getting a new Hero tank, which will arrive on November 27, 2018. The Audace AMX Canon dâ€™assaut 105 is described as a speed demon, with stealth, ferocious firepower and swift aim time to boot.
Audace AMX Canon dâ€™assaut 105
In the meantime, check out Brett Parson’s Outcasts in action in the trailer below.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPGJekVgQ1E&w=560&h=315]


JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean Anime Final Part Launches This December

There’s actually a third and final part to the adventure of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure’s jailbird Jolyne Kujo, and it’s coming out sooner than you think.
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean’s third part will be out in 1st December on Netflix. This third part will consist of episodes 25 to 38 and concludes the Stone Ocean book.
David Production is still doing the series, with Kenichi Suzuki as chief director and Toshiyuki Kato as director. Masanori Shino is the character designer. Yugo Kanno will be the composer.
Here’s the synopsis for those catching up:

“Florida, U.S.A, 2011 After an accident while on a drive with her sweetheart, Jolyne Cujoh falls into a trap and is sentenced to fifteen years. She is sent to the state-run maximum-security correctional facility Green Dolphin Street Prison—AKA “the Aquarium.” On the verge of despair, she receives a pendant from her father that causes a mysterious power to awaken inside of her. “There are things in this world that are more terrifying than death, and what’s happening in this prison is definitely one of them.” A message from a mysterious boy who appears before Jolyne, inexplicable events that occur one after another, the horrifying truth told to her by her father when he comes to visit, and the name DIO… Will Jolyne ultimately be set free from this stone ocean they call a prison? The final battle to end century-long fateful confrontations between the Joestar family and DIO begins!”

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure STONE OCEAN Episodes 25-38 The Final Episodes hit Netflix on Dec 1! pic.twitter.com/QplKGDD2uU
— Netflix Anime (@NetflixAnime) October 7, 2022

The first part of Stone Ocean came out in December 2021, while the second came out on 1st September 2022.


Hideo Kojima Opens Up Movie And Music Studio

Hideo Kojima and Kojima Productions, the folks responsible for the phenomenon(?) that is Death Stranding, has established a new business division focused on music, TV, and film.
According to a GamesIndustry.biz report, the studio will be in Los Angeles and is intended to take its current and future games into the movie and music field. It’s essentially a long time coming, as Kojima fans hope to see the game auteur create films since he’s basically talking about them non-stop on Twitter and spaces before Twitter even existed. Heck, his Metal Gear games were inspired by a mix of John Carpenter and James Cameron sci-fi films, right down to the archetypes.

We are still experimenting within Kojima Productions. pic.twitter.com/EjkqnOz6ds
— HIDEO_KOJIMA (@HIDEO_KOJIMA_EN) November 18, 2021

The new studio will be led by PlayStation veteran Riley Russell, stating that the new division will be working with creative and talented professionals in the film and music industry.
Â “The team has as its charter, the goal of expanding the reach and awareness of the properties now under development at Kojima Productions, and to make them even more a part of our popular culture.”
Kojima Productions’ Yoshiko Fukuda also said that the new division will open up new avenues for the company.
“Finding new ways to entertain, engage and offer value to our fans is essential in a fast-moving, ever-changing storytelling world. Our new division will take the studio into even more areas that present our creative narratives beyond videogames and to open up ways for our fans to communicate and immerse themselves in these spaces.”
Living the dream, I guess. At least Kojima and company have folks like Guillermo del Toro, Mads Mikkelsen, Norman Reedus, and their respective pals/executives/funders so the studio won’t be out of talent and quality.


Netflix’s Squid Game Is Returning For Season 2

It’s official — Squid Game will be returning to our screens for Season 2, only on Netflix.
Director, writer, and executive producer Hwang Dong-hyuk, who made the announcement at the grand finale of the Netflix FYSEE event in Los Angeles last night, 12 June 2022, also penned a letter teasing the potential return of Gi-hun, the Front Man, and “the man in the suit with ddakji”, as well as the introduction of a new character.

Squid Game is a 9-episode series starring Lee Jung-Jae (New World, Assassination) and Park Hae-Soo (Time to Hunt, Prison Playbook). You can watch Season 1 on Netflix right now.
A mysterious invitation to join the game is sent to people at risk who are in dire need of money. 456 participants from all walks of life are locked into a secret location where they play games in order to win 45.6 billion won. Every game is a Korean traditional children’s game such as Red Light, Green Light, but the consequence of losing is death. Who will be the winner, and what is the purpose behind this game?
Check out the letter from Squid Game Director, writer, and executive producer Hwang Dong-hyuk below:


Belle Is Mamoru Hosoda’s Finest Take On VTuber & Online Culture

2022 is starting off really strong if film masterpieces like Mamoru Hosoda’s Belle are of any indication.
From the director and writer who brought you heartfelt anime films like The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Mirae, and Wolf Children comes Belle, which is part Beauty of the Beast (both the 1756 French tale & the peerless Disney animated musical), part The Matrix, and part insert-your-favourite-coming-of-age-school-drama but in contemporary Japan. Even with those comparisons and combinations, the film is a unique beast of its own.
Not Quite Old As Time

The premise is simple: after going through a traumatic experience that scarred her childhood years, 17-year old Suzu retreats to a popular virtual world called U (ie: a Metaverse that works) and finds solace in being a very popular virtual singer. She adores music and writing songs, but due to said trauma, she cannot do so in real life and instead does it behind an avatar named Belle. In the course of the film, one of her performances was inadvertently sabotaged by an avatar named The Dragon (the “Beast” in the French tale allegory), who is on the hunt by online vigilantes for “disrupting the peace”.
While telling its story and without being too on-the-nose on its delivery and message, Mamoru Hosoda and Studio Chizu did an amazing job in explaining its intricacies without too much techno-babble. Belle’s narrative also addresses the power of online anonymity, the price of fame, and the lessons of helping others out of your comfort zone & convenience. Incredibly observant filmgoers can probably see the twist and revelation coming, but its delivery is masterfully done.
Song As Old As Rhyme

The cast is charming, ranging from the likeable but closed-off Suzu/Belle to her best friend Hiro-chan who not only helps her with her Belle “VTuber” work but also acts as Suzu’s moral support through and through. The relationship between Suzu/Belle and the Dragon gradually builds into a heartwarming endeavour especially with the songs performed and composed for the show. Even in its native Japan language, the music and its lyrics are stellar and will hit the feels really hard, particularly the one big song number in the film’s third act. You can thank the combined efforts of Ludvig Forssell, Yuta Bandoh, Taisei Iwasaki, and Miho Sakai for Belle’s luscious sounds.
And then once the plot reveals its trump card in the third act, it goes for broke with a feast for the eyes and ears, and for the heart as it comes full circle. Studio Chizu showcases its talent in blending traditional 2D anime with 3D graphics seamlessly; while the real world and the cyberspace of U are very distinct in terms of colours and tone, the transitions and back-and-forth bits work well without jarring consequences.
The fact that all this gorgeous and vivid east-meets-west animation comes with a plot that walks that tightrope between charmingly funny and heartfelt serious is a testament to Mamoru Hosoda and Studio Chizu’s talent. It may be too soon to declare a film in early January a 2022 masterclass in film and animation, especially if the playing field is pretty bare at the moment. At the very least, Belle has pushed that bar incredibly high for other films of its magnitude and scale.
Final Score: 90/100


We Talk To Gannibal Director & Actor About The New Japanese Horror Thriller

Gannibal is set in the fictional Japanese village of Kuge Village and sees newly hired police officer Daigo Agawa arrive a broken man. While things start off promisingly for the new arrival, a series of alarming events begin to unfold that will lead Daigo to the horrifying realization that something is deeply wrong with the village and those who live there. Thrown into a hostile environment with suspense around every corner, will the latest police officer to roam the streets of Kuge-mura be able to bring those responsible to justice before it’s too late?
It is set to premiere on 28 December 2022 on Disney+ Hotstar.
Starring award-winning actors Yuya Yagira (HOKUSAI, Asakusa Kid), Show Kasamatsu (Tokyo Vice, Love You as the World Ends), and Riho Yoshioka (Haken Anime!, The Romance Manga Artist), Gannibal features a unique storyline brought to life exclusively on Disney+ Hotstar by some of the biggest names in the Japanese creative industry. Produced by Teruhisa Yamamoto, producer of this year’s Academy Award-winning Drive My Car and Tatsuya Iwakura, Gannibal is directed by Shinzo Katayama (Siblings on the Cape) and adapted for the screen by Best Adapted Screenplay Academy Award-nominee Takamasa Oe, who most recently wrote the screenplay for the Academy Award-winning Drive My Car.
Courtesy of Disney+ Hotstar, we were lucky enough to interview Gannibal director Shinzo Katayama and lead actor Yuya Yagira. This interview has been edited for clarity.
How do you balance the story between adapting the manga faithful and using your own ideas?
Shinzo Katayama: It’s based on a manga, the comic book called Gannibal. I read the manga and I wanted to capture the essence of it but at the same time, we have to make it into live-action. We need more reality because real human beings play them. We have to have a really subtle nuance inside it, so that’s something I wanted to convey. But as a story, the flow is almost the same as the manga.
What is the message of the series that you want to convey to the audience?
Shinzo Katayama: We still haven’t finalized because we still haven’t finished the series yet. But it’s about the conflict between the old conviction and the new value system coming in. The new policeman has the power to change things, and when the old and the new clash, I can really portray the details about what’s right and what’s wrong.
I think it’s really important details to depict what’s right and what’s wrong. We can depict that through family and human relationships, and I think the audience has to face that issue through this drama and I think that’s the most important thing I had in mind when making this series.
Why do you think that Japanese horror content is some of the best and most popular in the world?
Yuya Yagira: I think it’s the pause-based silence that when people aren’t speaking during the silence, I think that’s when you get more nervous because you get lost without the words. This pause or silence is one of the charms.
I love the fact that Gannibal is fast-paced for a horror series like this, especially since the monster appears in the first episode and the episodes aren’t very long at less than an hour each. Was this the plan from the beginning?
Shinzo Katayama: Well, yes, it was part of our original plan because I wanted this series to have a very speedy and a lot of speed because audiences nowadays needs that. Otherwise, they will get bored. Rather than following the character or see the character development, if you just ignore the characters, later on people just lose the story.
It’s a very difficult balance to have this character development and fast speed but in general I think that this is a very fast-paced and very modern series.
How have you grown as an actor?
Yuya Yagira: At the age of 12 or 13, I was lucky enough to be invited to the festivals outside of Japan, but at that time, I really didn’t know what was happening, I was almost lost. I wasn’t too sure about my career, I don’t want to say this but maybe I should say it, I wasn’t confident enough and I knew I had to try harder.
But now that I’m 32 years old and now I’m with people like you guys, I feel like I have the career that I have worked towards until now and I am moving forward since then. I’m more confident now and I have my career as my background.


Animal Farm Is Getting A PC Game Adaptation This December

The classic 1945 George Orwell literature piece Animal Farm is getting a PC game on Steam later on 10th December.
Developed by game studio Nerial, the title plays around with the source material in a narrative-driven format, but with management aspects thrown in because you’re still dealing with a farm here. Assigning tasks, choosing laws, honing Animalist propaganda; the usual stuff in an Orwellian fantasy-made-possibly-real right now.
While familiar characters and situations will arise, the game will work within a 2020 context. Oh, and it has lovely hand-drawn art. Trailer below:

You can wishlist the game on Steam here.


[Report] The Last of Us Part 2 Is Definitely Maybe Set For February 2020

The further post-apocalyptic adventures of Joel and Ellie may be slated for a next February release according to various sources.
Ellie’s voice actress Ashley Johnson, during a Critical Role segment, sounded like she wanted to reply with “February” when asked about The Last of Us Part 2’s release date. However, she was interrupted by the interviewer as she’s mouthing the first syllable of what could be the second month of the year.

Nope, it’s definitely not Febtember, or Fepril for that matter. This does coincide with a recent The Last of Us Part 2 tidbit we heardÂ during the major Death Stranding reveal we published about a few weeks back.

Looks like Death Stranding is about to get announced for a November release. The Last of Us 2 was also planned for fall 2019 but I actually just heard it got bumped to early 2020, possibly February? Either way, wild final year for PS4 https://t.co/wh6kimA73b
— Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier) May 29, 2019

This is also backed up by claims from video game analyst Daniel Ahmad who said that the current internal date at Naughty Dog was February 2020 (via ResetEra). Then again, this isn’t a concrete date since this sort of thing can be changed depending on the game’s production and what’s scheduled for the following year.
Regardless, PlayStation fans are in an exciting period of their lives as they have a bunch of exclusives coming their way from this year until 2020. They have the Hideo Kojima-made insanity that is Death Stranding, the Final Fantasy VII Remake, the full version of Media Molecule’s Dreams, Sucker Punch’s Ghost of Tsushima, and the aforementioned TLOU Part 2. And then there’s also the PlayStation 5 that may be out in late 2020 or beyond. Fun times!


For good, too though, in consequence

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WWE 2K22 Hit List Reveals New Modes & Game Improvements

Today, 2K and Visual Concepts have revealed the WWE 2K22 Hit List, an early look at the top-10 features that will make WWE 2K22 hit different from previous WWE games. These include foundational improvements, fan-favourite inclusions, and all-new game modes.
TheÂ WWE 2KÂ Hit List promises sensational new additions, including:

Redesigned Gameplay Engine:Â The most important change inÂ WWE 2K22Â is in the engine itself. Visual Concepts redesigned the gameplay and animation engine from the ground up to make every dive, kickout, and finisher feel as real as if players were sitting ringside at WrestleMania. As soon as players pick up the controller, theyâ€™ll feel the difference;
New Controls:Â The updated and incredibly intuitive control scheme hits different this year. Configured to ensure that players have more control over every move, in every situation,Â WWE 2K22Â is easy to pick up and play, while still allowing for high-skill expression;
Stunning Graphics:Â Simply put,Â WWE 2K22Â boasts the best-ever graphics of theÂ WWE 2KÂ Scanning and animations are executed using the same industry-leading process as Visual Conceptsâ€™Â NBA 2KÂ franchise and the team overhauled lighting and relit the game from the ground up;
Immersive Presentation:Â The most dynamic entry in the series to date will take players out of the crowd and into the ring, creating an authentic WWE feeling throughout the game;
NewÂ WWE 2KÂ Showcase:Â Players can take a walk down memory lane and relive a legendary WWE Superstarâ€™s most iconic matches and moments;
MyGM:Â Players will draft superstars, book matches, manage contracts, and prove they have what it takes to run the most successful brand in sports entertainment;
MyFACTION:Â In a franchise-first, the all-new MyFACTION puts players in control of building a legendary faction that rivals the iconic nWo. Players will collect, manage, and upgrade Superstars, with weekly events and regular updates;
MyRISE:Â An opportunity for players to experience the journey of a WWE Superstar from the humble beginnings of a Rookie, followed by the fanfare as a Superstar, and then immortalized as a Legend. New storylines will be available for both male and female MyPLAYERs;
Universe Mode:Â Universe Mode returns, offering players more control than ever before over brands, PPVs, match results, rivalries, and much more;
Creation Suite:Â The Creation Suite is back and better than ever. Players can be themselves or someone/something entirely different, with all sorts of wild options and fantasy elements, then step into the ring at anytime and anywhere in the world.

WWE 2K22 was originally announced during Wrestlemania 37Â earlier this year. This marks the second year in a row that a game in theÂ WWE 2KÂ franchise (previously known asÂ WWF/WWE SmackDown!Â when it was under THQ) will not receive an annual entry since it originally began with 2000â€™sÂ WWF SmackDown!.
2019â€™sÂ WWE 2K20Â was universally derided by gamers and reviewers alike, as the game is broken and littered with glitches and bugs to the point of near-unplayability. This was possibly due to the last-minute split between publisher 2K and long-time WWE 2K developer Yukeâ€™s.
WWE 2K22 is slated to release for unspecified platforms in March 2022. More news and additional details will be revealed in January 2022.


Marvel’s Spider-Man Miles Morales Adds New Advanced Tech Suit

In a new surprise free update available right now, Insomniac Games has added a brand new Advanced Tech suit in Marvel’s Spider-Man Miles Morales for the PS4 and PS5. This was announced via their official Twitter account.
According to the same tweet, they have also added realistic muscle deformation on select suits. However, this visual enhancement is exclusive to the PS5 version of the game.

Rolling out today, our new #MilesMoralesPS4 #MilesMoralesPS5 update adds the Advanced Tech Suit and includes various fixes. Additionally on PS5 only, the update adds realistic muscle deformation on select suits. pic.twitter.com/1nnSvgJB2P
— Insomniac Games (@insomniacgames) March 30, 2021

Marvel’s Spider-Man Miles Morales has sold more than 4.1 million copies as of February 2021. You can head on over hereÂ to check out our full review ofÂ Marvelâ€™s Spider-Man Miles Morales.
In the meantime, check out the new Advanced Tech suit in all its glory below:


Tiny Tina’s Borderlands 2 DLC Is Now Available As A Standalone Game

Gearbox has released a standalone version of Tiny Tinaâ€™s Assault On Dragon Keep, which was originally released in 2013 as Borderlands 2 DLC. The story is set within the world of a fantasy-themed tabletop role-playing game known as Bunkers and Badasses.
It’s perhaps the best time for this, especially with Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands slated to release on 25 March 2022. That upcoming game is essentially the successor to Tiny Tinaâ€™s Assault On Dragon Keep.
Tiny Tinaâ€™s Assault On Dragon Keep: A Wonderlands One-Shot Adventure is out now on PS5, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X and PC via Steam and Epic Games Store. It costs around US$9.99 (RM40+).
However, you can grab it for free through the Epic Games Store from now until 16 November 2021. In Tiny Tinaâ€™s Assault On Dragon Keep: A Wonderlands One-Shot Adventure, you can choose your character from a roster of six unique Vault Hunters, each with their own signature abilities and powerful builds, and jump into chaotic fantasy battles right away in solo or co-op.


NVIDIA Announces Battlefield 2042 Bundles & Game Enhancements At Gamescom 2021

NVIDIA has made the virtual trek to Cologne, Germany and is once again the driving force behind much of the PC gaming news coming out of Gamescom 2021.
Marvelâ€™s Guardians of the GalaxyÂ Launching with NVIDIA DLSS and Ray Tracing

NVIDIA announced that whenÂ Marvelâ€™s Guardians of the GalaxyÂ launches on October 26, the PC version will launch with ray-traced reflections and NVIDIA DLSS, giving GeForce RTX gamers the definitive PC experience.
â€œMarvelâ€™s Guardians of the GalaxyÂ combines original storytelling and electrifying single-player gameplay with an edgy aesthetic. With the addition of ray tracing and NVIDIA DLSS, PC players will enjoy this stunning universeâ€™s visuals with even higher performance.â€ – Olivier Proulx, Senior Producer, Eidos-MontrÃ©al
Dying Light 2 Stay HumanÂ Gets NVIDIA DLSS and Ray Tracing

Dying Light 2 Stay Human is coming in December and will include NVIDIA DLSS, as well as ray-traced reflections, global illumination, and shadows.
â€œOur partnership with NVIDIA has helped us create an immersive, visceral experience for Dying Light 2 players. Ray tracing enhances the realism of our unforgiving, infected world while NVIDIA DLSS provides a massive performance boost without sacrificing image quality, so youâ€™ll never miss a beat traversing the landscape.â€Â  -Â Tomasz SzaÅ‚kowski, Rendering Director, Techland
Battlefield 2042Â Bundled With GeForce RTX Desktops and Laptops

In June it was announced that NVIDIA was the official graphics partner forÂ Battlefield 2042, and the game would support NVIDIA DLSS and NVIDIA Reflex.Â Battlefield 2042Â is loaded with GeForce RTX technologies, ensuring a brilliantÂ Battlefield 2042Â experience for GeForce RTX gamers.
At Gamescom, it was revealed that Battlefield 2042Â will be bundledÂ with select GeForce RTX desktops and laptops for a limited time. For all the details, head on over to our bundle announcement article. Learn more inÂ this trailerÂ or visitÂ our website.
â€œWith NVIDIA’s game-changing suite of technologies, we’re able to make Battlefield 2042 the most technologically advanced Battlefield ever. NVIDIA DLSS and NVIDIA Reflex provide maximum performance, image quality, and the lowest latency for the ultimate competitive experience. Weâ€™re really excited to be partnering with NVIDIA as our official PC Graphics Platform Partner, to help showcase iconic all-out warfare, unprecedented scale, and dynamically-changing battlegrounds.â€ -Â Seth Christie, Head of Technology for EA Studios Europe
Escape from TarkovÂ andÂ RustÂ Get Reflex Optimisations, Now Even More Responsive!
NVIDIA just released an update to NVIDIA Reflex that includes optimisations for Unity Engine-based games and enhancements to Boost Mode. The first two games to get updated areÂ RustÂ andÂ Escape From Tarkov, two extremely popular multiplayer titles built with the Unity engine.Â Escape from TarkovÂ saw latency reduced from 38% to 58%, whileÂ RustÂ went from 38% to 51%.
More Gamescom 2021 Gaming News from NVIDIA
Other exciting announcements at Gamescom 2021 include:

MystÂ launches August 26Â with NVIDIA DLSS and ray traced reflections. Enabling NVIDIA DLSS can more than double performance inÂ Myst

MystÂ also integrates DLSS into its VR mode, making it possible to play the classic puzzle game at a stunning 4864 x 2448 resolution while maintaining 90 fps for a smooth and immersive experience.

Myst VR on Oculus QuestÂ 2 @ 4864 x 2448, Max settings – RTX 3080

DLSS Off
DLSS Quality

Average Delivered FPS
59
90

â€œThe responsibility you take on when you remaster a classic like Myst is to take the visual fidelity of this classic game to the next level. Ray tracing allows players to experience their favourite Myst moments in a whole new light and NVIDIA DLSS ensures smooth performance as a new generation of players journey to the ages.â€ -Â Hannah Gamiel, Development Director, Cyan Worlds

GRITÂ is a new battle royale based in the wild west that launches September 1 into Early Access with NVIDIA DLSS. DLSS will boost performance by up to 60% at 4K in GRIT.Â See it in action in a new DLSS comparison video.

â€œTo win over the Wild West, you always want the best weapons at your side. NVIDIA DLSS is a gamerâ€™s best weapon, because it gives you maximum performance and image quality so you can saddle up and take down any gunslingers in your way.â€Â Jon Mavor, Team GRITÂ

SYNCED: Off PlanetÂ will launch with NVIDIA DLSS and ray traced reflections and shadows. NVIDIA DLSS will boost performance without sacrificing image quality. With ray tracing and NVIDIA DLSS in the mix, GeForce RTX gamers will have aÂ SYNCED: Off PlanetÂ experience that is second to none! See all the tech in theÂ new gameplay trailer.
Bright Memory: InfiniteÂ launches late 2021 with NVIDIA DLSS and ray traced reflections, shadows, caustics, and RTX Global Illumination. See all the tech in theÂ new gameplay trailer.
LoopmancerÂ will be launching with NVIDIA DLSS and ray traced reflections, shadows, and global illumination. See theÂ new gameplay trailer.
Chivalry 2Â is getting a DLSS performance boost.

â€œIn Chivalry 2 we wanted to throw our players into massive battles with clashing swords, flaming arrows, and sprawling castle sieges. NVIDIA DLSS guarantees that as the battle rages on, our players will always get maximum performance and visual fidelity.â€Â -Â Brian Etheridge, Publishing Director, Tripwire Interactive

Faraday ProtocolÂ launched with DLSS, boosting performance by up to 75% performance at 4K.

Recently, NVIDIAÂ launched support for NVIDIA DLSS in Proton, enabling Linux gamers to play Vulkan API games with NVIDIA DLSS, includingÂ DOOM Eternal,Â No Manâ€™s Sky, andÂ Wolfenstein: Youngblood. Next month, support extends to dozens of DirectX 11 and DirectX 12 games, includingÂ Control, Cyberpunk 2077, Death Stranding, F1 2020, Mechwarrior 5: Mercenaries,Â andÂ Necromunda: Hired Gun.
Eight new mice have been tested and certified as Reflex-compatible.Â Plugging a NVIDIA Reflex-compatible mouse into aÂ monitorÂ with NVIDIA Reflex Latency Analyser technology yields click-to-display system latency measurement.


Six Stack: Six Questions Heading into Stage 2, Week 4 OWL Matches

We are back again with this week’s questions that need answering. Let’s get straight to it. But before that, let’s have a quick look at this week’s round of matches:

Will Seoul Survive the Korean Gauntlet?
They have back-to-back matches against all-Korean teams – NYXL and Spitfire – this week and the two only good things from these two matches are the fact that they have two days rest in between the games and will have to prepare for only six maps this week, considering both Hanamura and Gibraltar will be played in both matches. Having lost to both teams in Stage 1, the Dynasty will be keen to set the record straight starting with the NYXL who are arguably the most complete team in the Overwatch League. However, they are not without flaws.
The key for a Seoul Dynasty victory over the NYXL is to catch their opponents off-guard with a false sense of invulnerability as they tend to lose focus when victory seems certain. Both NYXL’s losses against the Spitfire came from a winning position as they were reverse-swept despite having a 2-0 lead. In their loss against Philadelphia Fusion in Stage 1, the NYXL were leading the series 2-1 before crumbling the second Fusion mounted a comeback to tie the score 2-2, forcing a tie-breaker map. Most teams tend to attempt in out-duelling the best Tracer in the league, Saebyeolbe but we feel that in order to maintain a perfect record and denting the NYXL playoff hopes, the Dynasty will have to shut down the Support duo in Jjonak and Ark.
Their match against the Spitfire is more of a straight battle of mechanical skill as both teams are similar in style. The match may lack the rich backstory as previous engagements as most of the former KongDoo Panthera players are no longer with the team but make no mistake about it; this match still carry significant value as of which team occupies the more favorable spot in the stage playoffs.
Who Will Start As Fuel’s Main Tank?
Just when everyone thought that the weekly Overwatch League drama which is the Dallas Fuel has finally concluded with the removal of Felix ‘xQc’ Lengyel, another issue crops up relating to their new acquisition,Â Min-seok “OGE” Son. Signed as a solution to the main tank issue plaguing the Fuel, he may not even get to play for his new team even once if the accusations against him turns out to be true. Rod ‘ Slasher’ Breslau tweeted earlier today about an accusation against OGE that he’s been taking part in account-boosting activities in Korea, an offense that may land him a 30-match ban, effectively making him ineligible for the whole of Season 1. This story comes right following rumors (also leaked by Slasher) that the Fuel are looking to offload two of its players who play as main tanks, Cocco and more recently Taimou.
This leaves only Mickie the sole tank player who fills the off-tank slot and Seagull, whom many believe have been training on D.va. It certainly is muddy on the Dallas side of things and we can’t see them digging themselves out of this hole any time soon. They play against highly coordinated and aggressive sides in Boston and Philadelphia this week and it’s hard to see them come out victorious in both of these matches.
Will Gladiators March On?Â
No one expected them to come out of Week 3 with two big wins and here they are – two wins on the trot and third in the Stage standings. The Gladiators next face the floundering Outlaws and the recovering Mayhem; both which appears to be favorable matchups that lean to the Gladiators’ favor.
The Gladiators’ hyper aggressive approaches will be too much for Outlaws to handle and they can bank on Fissure to lead them to roll over the Mayhem. Expect Hydration who have been on fire these few weeks to continue his impressive form against the Outlaws who have been a pale shade of themselves since the start of Stage 2. The Gladiators are looking much more efficient since the addition of main tank Fissure, who gelled so well with the Korean-speaking players such as Asher and Bischu.Â We are calling it – a 3-1 win for the Gladiators here who will, for the second week running chalk up a 2-0 record.
How Will the Shock Shape Up?
Mention the San Francisco Shock and everyone’s focused on the impending arrivals of Jay ‘Sinatraa‘ Won and Matthew ‘Super‘ Delisi but based on the recent performances by Danteh and BabyBay – is Sinatraa guaranteed a starting slot on Tracer? Danteh have been very impressive of late and his partnership with BabyBay is starting to look like among the most synchronized duos in the league.
Also, with the addition of three new players lately, the Shock are finally starting to take shape and we expect to see a totally different team not just personnel-wise, but team philosophy altogether soon. Will the new players feature this week? Only time will tell but we would cast special attention on current mainstay Danteh who’s been lighting up the league in recent weeks. He’s fighting to secure his starting spot and we trust him to not give it away that easily.
Will the Outlaws Still Play Tracer?
Of all the teams who performed relatively well in Stage 1, no team other than the Houston Outlaws transitioned to the post-Mercy meta in such miserable manner. Unlike their near-impenetrable sextet in Stage 1, the Outlaws in Stage 2 looked like half the team they were as other similar-strength teams decimated the boys from Texas. Most of the blame have been attributed to the team’s absence of a Tracer as the team looked toothless on the DPS front.
Unlike when on Junkrat in Stage 1, JAKE isn’t as effective and his performances on Tracer is almost comical when compared to Tracer players from other teams. According to Winston’s Lab, he’s ranked 25th out of 29 players on Tracer, as opposed to ninth when on Junkrat. The Outlaws have til the first week of April to remedy this issue by bringing in a Tracer specialist and guess what? The team has gone one slot left for that.
Is the Worst Over for Boston Uprising?
Compared to where they were in Stage 1, the Uprising’s fortunes in Stage 2 are nowhere near. Maybe it’s a case of peaking too early, the meta just doesn’t suit the team well or even internal turmoil involving the likes of main tank and shot-caller, Gamsu and their coach, HuK.
Whatever it is, this week should be the rebound week for the talented Uprising squad as they face the out-of-sorts Dallas Fuel and the inconsistent Los Angeles Valiant. They may not be pushing for a Stage playoff berth this time around but we are expecting the young team to rally and finish Stage 2 on a high, starting with this week’s winnable matches.


League of Legends Now Has 8 Million Concurrent Users

League of Legends is going to be 10 years old next month and is showing no signs of slowing down. After all, this is a game that got away with a K-pop video featuring its popular female cast.
How big is it now? Riot Games recently announced the game’s massive player count milestone: a daily peak of 8 million concurrent players. Basically, 8 million people are regularly playing this game every. Single. Day.

“Every day we see about 8 million peak concurrent players in League.” Riot Games state that this number covers players all across Riot, Tencent, and Garena’s regions. It also said that these numbers are “bigger than the top ten games on Steam combined”.

Most triple-A games wished it had those numbers. Except for Epic though; Fortnite is still at 10.8 million concurrent daily players at the moment. And China’s CrossFire: that game has 8 million concurrent players as we speak.
Riot Games is planning something special on 15th October. Will the company be announcing a side project, like oh say a card game or a fighting game? We’ll find out soon enough.


LTTP: Timespinner

The indie game onslaught of 2018 continues, now with this incredibly on-the-nose tribute to PlayStation 1’s revered Castlevania classic, Symphony Of The Night.
Timespinner (PC, PS4)
The premise: You play Lunais, a Time Messenger who is tasked with defending her tribe against the Lachiem Empire. You see, Time Messengers can use the Timespinner, a machine which allows them to go back in time to send a warning to be a few steps ahead of the empire. You start the game off in the past, right after a violent ambush which killed Lunais’ mother.
Why I missed it last year: I didn’t even know about this game until a couple of game-making friends of mine told me. It’s also the same year that a particular Metroidvania game caught my eye by being a little different than your “uncover map, get special item, backtrack” gameplay: Dead Cells.

Why you shouldn’t: Because it’s a game that revels in its influence and inspiration while offering something different. In Timespinner, your character Lunais can stop time temporarily. This means you can use enemies as stepping stones or avoid potentially painful obstacles and pitfalls. She can also equip orbs which gives her attacks like mid-ranged crystal orbs or short-ranged flame attacks, as well as cast spells like a chargeable bolt of plasma or a giant arcing sword swing.
You’ll be using your skills to explore castles, forests, lakeside areas, and even a bio lab, unlocking Metroidvania traversal skills to open up hidden and locked portions of the map. The similarities between Timespinner and SOTN are so blatant, to the point where the following tracks from the game are hugely influenced by certain Castlevania tracks like “Wood-Carved Partitia”. And it plays in a Library level!

Still, developer Lunar Ray Games wears its “I love Symphony of the Night”-tailored sleeve proud and makes a great 2D game out of it. I also have to give props to the art style; it’s like a 32-bit Amiga game revved up for 2018, from the extra bits of animation to how natural the colour palettes look and feel.
If you love all things Metroidvania and need a new fix, you should buy Timespinners. It’s only RM38 and it’ll only take a few hours of diligent gaming to love it and finish it.