FV Cup And MYDCF Team Up For 2022 Road To Evo Malaysia Fighting Game Tournament

If you’re free for some 2D and 3D fighting this weekend, why not jump on board this upcoming tournament from FV Cup.
The FV Cup group are teaming up with MYDCF for a FV Cup @ MYDCF 2022: Road To EVO (US) fighting game tournament featuring the latest iterations of fighting games like Street Fighter 5 and Guilty Gear Strive up for playing and contesting. The winner will earn a flight ticket and hotel stay for next year’s EVO fighting game tournament at Las Vegas, USA.
Here are the details.
Date & Time: 11am @ 10th-18th December 2022 (GMT+8)
Venue: Strand Mall, Kota Damansara
Tournament Games: Street Fighter 5, Tekken 7, Guilty Gear Strive, The King of Fighters XV
Registration: Link
Schedule:

10th December – Guilty Gear Strive (RM20 entrance fee)
11th December – The King of Fighters XV (RM20 entrance fee)
12th-16th- Free play and side activities
17th December – Street Fighter 5 (RM50 entrance fee)
18th December – Tekken 7 (RM50 entrance fee)


Diablo 2: Resurrected – The Best Builds To Start

Diablo 2: Resurrected is a heckuva remaster. Not only are the new 3D graphics well-made, the game’s controller mapping and inputs feel natural and spot-on, to the point where keyboard-and-mouse users may consider switching to an Xbox/PlayStation controller when braving through the action RPG. Blizzard has indeed outdone themselves in revving up the game for 2021 while still preserving the classic looting and potions-heavy gameplay.

As such, the game is obviously not as streamlined as its later peers like Path of Exile or even Diablo 3. So you may have to temper your expectations when entering this prequel. We’re here to help: these are the character builds we suggest (via MaxRoll.gg) to get the ball rolling in your action RPG from Normal to Hell difficulty. Keep in mind that you may need to respec your character once you reach level 30 onward.
Druid

For the Druid, arguably one of the top-tier classes next to Paladin and Sorceress, you will want to focus on the Elemental tree to set Sanctuary on fire. Literally.
Skill Tree Focus: Elemental
Firestorm: 13 Skill Points
Molten Bolder: 2 Skill Points
Fissure: 20 Skill Points
Skill Points Allocation Order
Level 2-5: Firestorm
Level 6-7: Molten Boulder
Level 8-11: Firestorm
Level 12-31: Fissure
Level 32-33: Firestorm
Extra points: Firestorm
Suggested Respec Options After Level 33
Go for a Tornado + Hurricane build, which is a pretty good Solo Druid build. Basically, you use your Grizzly as a tank and your Tornado and Hurricane to deal Physical and Cold damage to anyone foolish enough to stand in your way. Add 1 skill point each for your Oak Sage, Raven, Grizzly, and Spirit/Dire Wolf summons, then spend the majority of your points on Tornado.
Oak Sage – 1 Skill Point
Raven – 1 Skill Point
Summon Spirit Wolf – 1 Skill Point
Summon Dire Wolf – 1 Skill Point
Summon Grizzly – 1 Skill Point
Artic Blast -1 Skill Point
Cyclone Armor – 20 Skill Point
Twister – 20 Skill Point
Tornado – 20 Skill Point
Hurricane – 20 Skill Points

Sorceress

The Sorceress is spoilt for choice to have multiple effective skill tree options at the start, unlike the Druid. The Sorceress can either focus on Fire Ball (beginner-friendly), Nova (radius AoE damage), and Static Field Support (group play). We’ll just focus on the Fire Ball-to-Cold-Spells skill tree focus since it’s very beginner-friendly and damage-heavy.
Skill Tree Focus
Cold
Frost Nova: 1
Frozen Armor: 1
Lightning
Charged Bolt: 4
Static Field: 5
Telekinesis: 1
Teleport: 1
Fire
Fire Bolt: 1
Fire Ball: 13
Skill Points Allocation Order
Level 2-4: Charged Bolt
Level 6: Frost Nova and Static Field (save Level 5 skill point for this)
Level 7-8: Static Field
Level 9: Telekinesis
Level 10: Frozen Armor
Level 11: Fire Bolt
Level 12-17: Fire Ball
Level 18: Fire Ball + Teleport (save extra Radament quest Act 2 skill point here)
Level 19+: Fire Ball
Suggested Respec Options After Level 24
At Level 24, just respec to the Cold Skill tree; we’ll be using Blizzard as our main Damage skill, with all other skills complementing this style of play. Yes, Diablo himself and his minions are mostly susceptible to Cold, so it’s best to focus on this path.
Telekinesis: 4
Teleport: 4
Static Field: 8
Frozen Armor: 4
Ice Bolt: 4
Ice Blast: 23
Frost Nova: 4
Glacial Spike: 19
Blizzard: 23
Cold Mastery: 23
Attributes
Add points to Strength for gear-equipping requirement purposes. Allocate enough Dexterity to equip gear. Add 10 points to Energy. Then put remaining skill points into Vitality.

Paladin

The Paladin’s early level spree can be a tad complicating skill tree-wise. You need to put skill points into all 3 of his tabs to synergize all his available abilities.
Skill Tree Focus: All Of Them
Defensive Auras
Resist Fire: 3
Offensive Auras
Might: 1
Holy Fire: 12
Combat
Sacrifice: 1
Zeal: 1
Smite: 1
Charge: 1
Skill Points Allocation Order
Level 2: Might
Level 3: Sacrifice
Level 4-5: Resist Fire
Level 6-9: Holy Fire
Level 10: Smite
Level 11-12: Charge, Zeal
Level 13-18: Holy Fire
Level 19-20: Holy Fire
Extra Skill Point: Resist Fire
Suggested Respec Options After Level 20
If you want an easy Solo Paladin who can team up with a group, you should focus on Blessed Hammer and Concentration as your main damage dealing options.
Prayer: 1
Cleansing: 1
Defiance: 1
Vigor: 20
Might: 1
Blessed Aim: 20
Concentration: 20
Holy Bolt: 1
Blessed Hammer: 20
Smite: 1
Charge: 1
Holy Shield: 1
Attributes
Focus on Strength for gear equipping purposes and Vitality for all remaining skill points. Add points to Dexterity for gear-equipping purposes. You don’t need to allocate points into Energy.

Necromancer

As fun as it is to summon an army of skeletons, that kind of Necromancer build is meant for those familiar with the game. If you’re new and want to get through most of D2 with the Necromancer, we suggest using Teeth and Bone Spear in Normal mode before upgrading to a pet-focused playstyle. Throw in some Corpse Explosion and you’ll have a gay old AoE-damaging time!
Skill Tree Focus: All Of Them
Summoning
Clay Golem: 1
Poison And Bone
Teeth: 22
Corpse Explosion: 1
Bone Spear: 7
Curses
Amplify Damage: 1
Iron Maiden: 1
Skill Points Allocation Order
Level 2-5: Teeth
Level 6: Clay Golem
Level 7-10: Teeth
Level 11: Amplify Damage
Level 12: Iron Maiden
Level 13-16: Teeth
Level 17: Corpse Explosion
Level 18-24: Bone Spear
Suggested Respec Options After Level 24
Give your Necromancer a massive defensive boost by maxing out Corpse Explosion as much as possible. Also, Bone Armor gains more damage absorb from the other synergized abilities you put skill points in like Bone Wall and Bone Prison, so you only need to put in one point for Bone Armor.
Clay Golem: 2
Teeth: 3
Corpse Explosion: 24
Bone Spear: 24
Bone Armor: 2
Bone Wall: 21
Bone Prison: 21
Amplify Damage: 2
Iron Maiden: 2
Attributes
Put points in Strength and Dexterity for gear requirement needs. Then put 10 or so points into Energy.Â After that, just put all remaining points into Vitality.

Barbarian

Carry two weapons in each hand, and kill anything in your way: that’s the Barbarian’s problem-solving tactic. Here’s how you should allocate your skill tree for the Barbarian up to Level 15 before respeccing.
Skill Tree Focus: Combat Masteries & Combat
Combat Masteries
Mace: 2
Combat
Bash: 6
Leap: 1
Double Swing: 6
Skill Point Allocation Order
Level 2: Bash
Level 3-4: Mace Mastery
Den of Evil extra point: Bash
Level 5-6: Double Swing, Leap
Level 7-11: Double Swing
Level 12-15: Bash
Suggested Respec Options After Level 15
This one’s a little tricky: you’ll need to have your Barbarian have different Warcries for the onslaught of enemies regardless of Normal or Hell difficulty. Keep Battle Orders and Battle Command active at all times, then use War Cry to stop enemies.
Howl: 13
Taunt: 23
Battle Cry: 25
War Cry: 25
Shout:
Battle Orders: 13
Battle Command: 6
Mace Mastery: 6
Increased Stamina: 6
Increased Speed: 6
Iron Skin: 6
Natural Resistance: 6
Bash: 6
Leap: 6
Stun: 6
Leap Attack: 6
Concentrate: 6
Attributes
Add enough Strength points for gear requirements, while adding enough Dexterity to obtain 50% Chance To Block. Pour the rest into Vitality and ignore Energy.

Assassin

The starter build’s Assassin will focus on Fire Blast and Wake of Fire in Normal difficulty, then transitions into Lightning Sentry and Death Sentry for higher difficulties. Wake of Fire is the best “set and forget” trap that will deal loads of damage against single and multiple targets. Fire Blast serves as synergy to Wake of Fire.
Skill Tree Focus: Shadow Disciplines and Traps
Shadow Disciplines
Claw Mastery: 1
Burst of Speed: 5
Traps
Fire Blast: 13
Wake of Fire: 20
Skill Allocation Order
Levels 2-4: Fire Blast
Level 5: Claw Mastery
Level 6-7: Burst of Speed
Level 8: Fire Blast
Level 9-11: Burst of Speed
Level 12 onward: Wake of Fire, and 1 extra point into Fire Blast
Suggested Respec Options After Level 35
Like we mentioned, Lightning Sentries and Death Sentries are the go-to traps to use in Nightmare and Hell difficulties. You’ll also want to keep Burst of Speed up at all times. For max damage, stack up 5 Lightning Sentries in one spot.
Claw Mastery: 4
Burst of Speed: 9
Psychic Hammer: 4
Cloak of Shadow: 4
Mind Blast: 4
Fire Blast: 4
Shock Web: 23
Charged Bolt Sentry: 18
Lightning Sentry: 23
Death Sentry: 23
Attributes
Add Strength and Dexterity points for gear requirement purposes. Put 10 points into Energy until Level 12. When you respec, don’t put any points in Energy. Add remaining points into Vitality.

Amazon

The queen of ranged attacks may not be as strong as her contemporaries, but she can still pack a punch from afar. For this starter build, we’ll focus on Exploding Arrow and Fire Arrow until halfway in Nightmare difficulty. When you reach that point, you’ll need to respec to using Lightning Fury and Charged Strike.
Skill Tree Focus: Javelin & Spear, Bow and Crossbow
Javelin & Spear
Poison Javelin: 6
Bow & Crossbow
Magic Arrow: 1
Fire Arrow: 12
Multiple Shot: 1
Exploding Arrow: 20
Skill Allocation Order
Level 2-4: Fire Arrow
Den of Evil skill point reward: Magic Arrow
Level 5-6: Poison Javelin and Multiple Shot
Level 7-11: Poison Javelin
Level 12 Onward: Exploding Arrow
Extra points: Fire Arrow
Suggested Respec Options After Level 36
You should respec to a Lightning Fury build once you’ve reached Nightmare difficulty since no skill can rival this Amazon skill’s power. Combined with Pierce, Lightning Fury can ricochet within monster groups until no one is left standing. Charged Strike is used against single targets and bosses. Use Decoy and Valkyrie in case you get overwhelmed.
Jab: 2
Power Strike: 10
Charged Strike: 21
Poison Javelin: 2
Lightning Bolt: 21
Plague Javelin: 2
Lightning Fury: 21
Inner Sight: 2
Critical Strike: 2
Dodge: 2
Slow Missile: 2
Avoid: 2
Penetrate: 2
Decoy: 2
Evade: 2
Valkyrie: 2
Pierce: 6
Attributes
Allocate enough Strength and Dexterity points for gear requirements. Put 20 stat points into Energy. After that, put all remaining points into Vitality.


Bayonetta 3 Gets ESRB Rating, Suggesting A Release Date This Year

PlatinumGames’ long-awaited second sequel to its hit action game Bayonetta might be coming soon, in 2022 in fact.
According to the eagle eyes of Twitter user The_Marmolade, the Nintendo US website lists Bayonetta 3 as having been classified an M-rated game by the Entertainment Software Rating Board. The game also has an 18 rating by European classification board PEGI.
The game’s product page lists ESRB content descriptors to include violence, blood and gore, partial nudity, strong language, and (get this) in-game purchases. Not sure what’s going on with the last point, but the rest all check out. Bayonetta isn’t a game for kids, as you can tell from the main character’s Wicked Weave gameplay.
In any case, Bayonetta 3 is on track for its 2022 release window. If it’s anything like the past two games, expect Bayonetta to fight angels and demons in 3D hyper action gaming glory (ala Devil May Cry) to happy pop ballads and possibly a pop remix of classic 60s slow song. And outlandish locations like the top of a jet plane, crumbling building debris & rubble, and on a rocket.


PlayStation Now March 2021 Adds Ace Combat 7 & Infamous Second Son

Sony Interactive Entertainment has announced that PlayStation Now will add four new games starting from 2 March 2021; including World War Z, Infamous Second Son, Ace Combat 7 Skies Unknown and Superhot.
World War Z

As humanity stands on the brink of extinction, a hardened few bands together to defeat the undead masses threatening our way of life. Take on huge zombie swarms in story-driven campaigns set in the same world as the hit film,, fully playable in online co-op for up to four players. You can also choose to fight other players for survival in a range of intense Player vs Player vs Zombies game modes.
â—Â  Â Â Â Â Available on PlayStation Now until 6 September 2021.
Ace Combat 7 Skies Unknown

Strap yourself into the cockpit of some of the worldâ€™s most formidable fighter planes and skim through the clouds engaging in daring aerial stunts and nerve-shredding tactical dogfights. Immerse yourself in a unique alternate reality where real-world, current, and near-future military hardware meet.
Choose from an array of authentic modern and futuristic aircraft and load them up with an arsenal of cutting-edge super weapons as unfolding events drive you into ever more dangerous aerial face-offs. Ace Combat 7 also includes exclusive PS VR-compatible missions to create a new level of death-defying immersion.
We waited more than a decade forÂ Ace Combat 7 Skies UnknownÂ and it was totally worth it, turning out to beÂ one of the best games of 2019Â (check out my full review here).
â—Â  Â Â Â Â Available on PlayStation Now until 31 May 2021.
Infamous Second Son

From the creator of Ghost Of Tsushima comes a superpowered action-adventure set in modern-day America. Delsin Roweâ€™s superhuman power is in your hands. Push your awesome abilities to the limit and see how your choices affect the city of Seattle and the people around you: hijack the powers of other superhumans, soar across the Seattle skyline and choose how your own story plays out.
Superhot

Blurring the lines between cautious strategy and unbridled mayhem, Superhot is the FPS in which time moves only when you move. No regenerating health bars. No conveniently placed ammo drops. Itâ€™s just you, outnumbered and outgunned, grabbing the weapons of fallen enemies to shoot, slice, and manoeuvre through a hurricane of slow-motion bullets.


Dota 2 Players Tested Positive For COVID-19 A Week Before The International 2021

Just before The International 2021 (TI10) gets rolling in about a week or so, a number of pro players have tested positive for COVID-19.
Team Aster has announced on Weibo that three of its players -Du “Monet” Peng, Lin “Xxs” Jing, and Ye “BoBoKa” Zhibiao- along with coach Cheng “Mad” Han and a few staff members have all tested positive for COVID-19. Monet, Jing, and BoBoKa play Dota 2 carry, offlaner, and support roles respectively.
The esports team was staying in the same hotel as four other Chinese teams taking part in The International. The other members have not shown COVID-19 symptoms and are waiting for test results.
There’s currently no comment or word from organizers PGL on whether TI10 will continue or whether they will have strict measures taken in light of the outbreak. For now, we and fans from all over wish the infected team members and staff members from Team Aster a speedy recovery.


The Most Inspirational Female Characters In Video Game History [2021 Edition]

Happy International Women’s Day 2021, especially to the many who either play games, or create them, or both. They’re better at multi-tasking than us men, anyway.
To celebrate this auspicious day, let’s talk about our favourite fictional females who help inspire many of us to champion our hobby, or even go above and beyond to enrich it.
Lara Croft (Tomb Raider Series)

Let’s start with the most obvious poster girl. She’s wealthy and is pretty much an aristocrat. But instead of lollygagging like most rich folks, she goes exploring runes, discovering ancient (albeit made-up) civilizations, and take on syndicates when they get in her way. This is one heiress you do not want to piss off.

She’s also a survivalist if you’re talking about the recent Tomb Raider games written by Rhianna Pratchett. A damn good one; she goes from unsure to badass in a span of eight hours, dealing with murderous thugs and ancient samurai warriors. All while ziplining and jumping in style, and not even breaking a sweat when aiming her bow.
Whether it’s the original 1996 polygonal animal killer or the 2010 rebooted grave robber, we’ll always have Lara in our lives to inspire us to take a leap. As long as it’s not head-first.
Alyx (Half-Life Series)

Gordon Freeman’s ally in the Half-Life games can hold her own when it comes to dealing with the Combine and protecting her home. She’s so beloved by the PC gaming community, she even starred in her own game that’s exclusive to VR.
Lightning (Final Fantasy XIII)

Most Final Fantasy heroines are either (i) Healer/Support roles, (ii) supporting characters relegated to the sidelines or are the love interests for your Clouds and Squalls, or both. Lightning Farron eschews these conventions by headlining the FFXIII games as its main lead (for two games, at least) and being the driving force of its convoluted plot.
She also evolves from main damage dealer to, well, a one-person army who can switch outfits and battle tactics on the fly. Coupled with a no-nonsense attitude mixed with a big sister role she usually plays, she definitely goes beyond the “Cloud but female” typecast she unfairly gets labelled for. Simply put, Lightning herself justifies the messy existence of the Final Fantasy XIII story.
Cassandra (Dragon Age: Inquisition)

This Dragon Age inquisitor is both stubborn and unmovable, and fully supports the Chantry she believes in. While she comes off as one-note in Dragon Age 2, she’s fully fleshed-out in part 3. She doesn’t deny the decline of the Chantry throughout the game’s narrative, but she still upholds their ideals and rebuild from within.
Plus, she jump-starts the story and calls forth the Inquisition when everyone else is busy picking themselves up. She’s got her observing and calm demeanour, but it’s usually hidden in her torrent of initiative and “take no guff” attitude.
Bayonetta (Bayonetta)

We’re really not going to exclude this PlatinumGames ass-kicker, considering the site’s editor-in-chief loves most of the games from these Japanese folks. In any case, Bayonetta serves as a great role model for feminists. She purposely teases her enemies and juggles a bunch of innuendoes to make enemies drop their guard before she pummels them to high heaven.
Her Wicked Weaves are a result of her self-taught powers as an Umbra Witch in the game’s universe. She also can ride a bike at high speeds, flies a plane twice, slows down time to her whim, and summons a bunch of demons from hell to deliver the coup de grace.
She also took down a god AND rode on a unicorn from hell. What HASN’T she done in the realm of action gaming?
Haruka (Yakuza series)

Just because you’re not the same age as Sega’s action-adventure game leads, or don’t know a fighting style or two, doesn’t mean you don’t bring a lot to the table. From Yakuza 3 onwards, Haruka provides the soul, level-headedness, and humanity to lead Kiryu Kazuma.
She has to hold the fort running the Sunshine Orphanage in Okinawa while taking care of kids barely younger than her. She does play the damsel in distress, but at the same time, she holds her own and even tries breaking out into pop stardom at one point. Without Haruka, Kiryu would just be another “thug with a heart of gold” archetype.Â Â

NEXT


Honest Thoughts: Star Wars Battlefront II

Note: This opinion is solely based on the recent Star Wars Battlefront II Beta which we played on the PlayStation 4Â

My first experience with Battlefront II was at the Star Wars Celebration Day in Orlando earlier this year. Flown by EA to catch the world premiere and presentation of the game in Florida, the hype was real as we finally get a story mode for the game on top of what we soon come to know; a larger, more expansive multiplayer experience.
Let’s be honest. The first one (2015’s Battlefront) while it was a technological marvel with EA presenting aÂ  Star Wars to video game in the most spectacular manner graphically to date, was a complete disaster overall no thanks to its super slim offering, shitty post-release content and was severely overpriced. When the second one was revealed set to come with a story mode cannon to the Star Wars universe, many of us including those who are not hardcore Star Wars fans took note. Maybe this it’ll be different this time around. Maybe there’s … hope.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kae-JjbLsgA&w=560&h=315]
Nope.
A couple months back, during E3 if I’m not mistaken, EA dropped a bombshell – announcing that the game will come with a stat-affecting lootbox system. In other titles which utilizes the lootbox method like Overwatch and CS: GO, the drops in these games do not affect the abilities of the characters. These items only enhance the aesthetics of their characters and does not play any role in altering the balance of the game. You need to rack up XP to rank up and you receive lootboxes for each level you gain. Of course you can skip all this and purchase the lootboxes via the in-game store but ultimately, they do not make you invincible in the game.
Enter Battlefront II where everything go tits up. While details were sketchy the first time their lootbox system was revealed, little did we know then that it’s gonna blow like Alderaan in Episode IV once the Beta hits. It’s a convoluted clusterfuck of terms and methods and classes so allow us to summarize it for you here. (If we miss out details or got the terms wrong, do tell! Thanks!)
In essence, Battlefront II does not reward players based on skill. Instead, experience gained via matches (and other means) will be converted to credits which players then use to purchase lootboxes which in turn serve you star cards. The ranking system is so messed up from the start that being good at any class does not guarantee you will get better gear for them, unlike in say, CoD games.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_q51LZ2HpbE&w=560&h=315]
Some thought the inclusion of various classes will make the game more exciting. Sounds good on paper. But little did we know that it was a sly tactic to subtly force gullible folks to shell out more money. Put it this way. You have four classes of footsoldiers and each have four slots for star cards; three of which that modify or replace your base abilities, and one that provides an overall passive bonus. Heroes have two Star Cards slots that modify their standard abilities.Â These abilities can only be activated or powered up via star cards received through the lootboxes – which can only be obtained via grinding as mentioned above. Are you keeping count of the stats you have to keep track of? We lost count already.Â Oh yes. Don’t forget the vehicles too – as they are also upgradable.
OK. So far your standard FPS affair ala Battlefield with special, boosted characters. Passable maybe? Wait. Here comes the shit part.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-juTDqv6QA&w=560&h=315]
Your arsenal and power will only improve IF and WHEN you get THE RIGHT CARD which corresponds TO YOUR CLASS OR CHARACTER OR VEHICLE OF CHOICE. So if you play Heavy and you get an assault card, it will be deemed useless. Want a Rey card? Here. A Han Solo ability instead. It gets worse.
These cards come in tiers, each with incremental effects that will throw the balance right out the window. Say a card to make Boba Fett invincible during barrage. You want to focus on this but you only have a bronze card. No matter how hard you play and good you get, your chance of upgrading your Boba Barrage can only happen once you get a silver or better version of that card ability. Or crafting. We’ll discuss a little about crafting later.

Now multiply the grind with the insane amount of various heroes, vehicles and skins in the game. Let me remind you that you will get all three trilogies of Star Wars packed into the game – soldiers on both sides across nine Star Wars movies (including Rogue One). Imagine the chances of landing that specific care with that specific tier that you require. Add the fourteen heroes with three abilities each and if I’m not mistaken, more to come. Want a better card? Sure. Crafting solves it but you can only craft using crafting materials that drop via replicated drops, and these cost a ton of in-game crafting material.
Tiring isn’t it? Well. According to EA, you can do the quick way – take part in the microtransaction but that too, will not guarantee you getting that specific card you are after. Cuz don’t you know? Lootboxes are a lottery.
This stinks more than a tauntaun’s carcass.

BOTTOMLINE
To be frank, judging the game through its gameplay alone via the beta, is tons of fun. It felt exactly like how a Star Wars game should look and feel like. The weapons are punchier, the sound is spectacular and we love the way it is presented. This is current gen gaming. You know the folks who worked on the game put all their love and passion into making the game into what it is and I am pretty sure the story mode will kick ass. But the microtransactions and lootbox system will be the death of it.
Hopefully EA will take heed of all the complaints following the beta and shelve this approach once the final version of the game drops. Just allow players to allocate their earned XP to whichever class, character and vehicle of their liking, EA. If you want to still include a microtransaction and lootbox system, follow Blizzard’s approach with Overwatch. People will be much more forgiving and you will easily earn gamers’ trust in the long run.

Are you gonna get Battlefront II once it drops? What did you think of the recent beta?Â Feel free to agree or disagree and share your thoughts in the comments section below.


Wild Rift Devs Share Development Process, Optimisation & Racial Awareness

With this season of Wild Rift coming to a close, Riot Games held a roundtable dubbed Power Spike in commemoration of Wild Rift’s second anniversary.
Although this is Wild Rift’s second anniversary, Power Spike is Wild Rift’s first-ever anniversary event. To celebrate this, Patch 3.4 will have four running events where players can earn in-game rewards. To top this, Patch 3.4 will see the release of four highly anticipated champions that many will be familiar with from the game’s PC counterpart along with a bunch of Wild Rift-exclusive skins.
During the roundtable, the main point of discussion was in regards to the changes to come in Wild Rift’s Patch 3.4 along with a Q&A segment to close out the session. I’ll be going over the Q&A segment and sharing with you, what the devs said.
WE ALREADY COVERED PATCH 3.4 SO CHECK IT OUT

Roundtable Participants

Adnan Mirza – Producer at Riot Games
David Xu – Game Experience Product Lead of Wild Rift
Jared Berbach – Game Director of Wild Rift
Hanna Woo – Global Public Relations Lead of League of Legends & Wild Rift

How does the new patch differentiate Wild Rift from other MOBAs currently in the Market?
Berbach shared that most of his colleagues, including himself, play “those other games” and are fans of them. He goes on to say that Riot approaches Wild Rift with the primary motivation that they want to be the best competitive MOBA they can be. But alongside that, they always heavily take into consideration the principles of why people enjoy MOBAs like League of Legends in the first place. So when getting involved in the market, they try to utilise their knowledge of why their fans like their games and try to emphasise that towards newer players.
How much do you take the esport into consideration when balancing the game?
Riot told Kakuchopurei that their very careful and intentional when it comes to taking a specific group of the player base into consideration. Say at the highest level, if there were to be a champion who is completely unbalanced but does seem balanced at lower elos then that’s something that will obviously be something that needs changing.
Riot Games Produce, Adnan Mirza also added that Riot has a plethora of data that they have accumulated from all kinds of player bases. One example of this was from the Icons Global Championship, the dev team sent out a survey for the players to hear their input on the current state of the game and how they felt about the balancing of champions at that time.
What does the process of transferring champions from the PC version of the game to Wild Rift look like?
David Xu, the Game Experience Product Lead began by stating that they don’t directly port champions over one-for-one, they build them from scratch. Meaning not just aesthetically but also the skills and values that come with the champion. Although the intention is always to remain true to the original concept of the champion, sometimes some mechanics just don’t make sense on a mobile MOBA. A good example of this is Karma who plays differently from her PC counterpart and Riot believes that both sides of the spectrum of players from the PC version and players who started with Wild Rift enjoy the changes that were made.
Are there any plans to further optimise Wild Rift for lower-end phones?
Riot stated that performance optimisation is something that they take extremely seriously and is always at the top of their list when implementing new features. An example of this was when they introduced enemy health bars, many players had begun experiencing performance issues after its introduction. So as a solution, they added an option to disable enemy health bars to counteract that. They were extremely vocal about just how passionate they are about sharing the MOBA experience with people of all walks of life and are constantly working on ways to make the game more accessible to everyone.
Xu elaborates that the dev team has been looking into the initial in-game install. Ideally, they’d like to make it so that the in-game downloads are more segmented. An example that Riot provided is that players may have the option to download certain champions instead of the entire roster of champions all at once. In addition to this players who choose this option are limited to certain game modes, proving said player with the ability to still play the game without risking other players’ experience.
How does the dev team feel about the split between players that want Wild Rift to stay true to the original game and players that want Wild Rift to be its own entity?
Berbach told Kakuchopurei that they recognise that the majority of the audience are players who are familiar with League PC, so when developing Wild Rift’s identity, they proceed with caution. Riot mentions that it is likely that they will do more Wild Rift exclusive content that is friendlier to those who may be new to the franchise or have only played Wild Rift. So with that said Riot is looking to try its best to please both sides without favouring one or the other, but for now, they are focusing on the first group mentioned and with time, they’ll try to cater to the latter.
Both Mirza and Xu echoed a similar sentiment saying that although Wild Rift will eventually become an entity of its own, it’s still League of Legends at heart. They again brought up Karma who both groups have given Riot praise for modernising the champion and evolving her into something that isn’t too alienated but still new and fresh.
League has got the best track record when it comes to white-washing and ethnic awareness, does the dev team behind Wild Rift put more thought into these factors when introducing new champions and skins?
Riot recognises their mistakes in the past, the biggest example was Lucian, having been voiced by a white actor in the past, who was then recast to feature a voice actor of colour. Riot has voiced its passion for making sure a mistake like this doesn’t happen again. Furthermore, it was disclosed that when developing champions and skins, Riot consults with their many Riot Interest Groups (RIGs) which consist of people of a particular ethnicity that represent ethnic minorities.
To further remove any doubt, Mirza chimed in and spoke about his own experience as a person of South Asian origin and finds emphasises just how supportive Riot has been of other underrepresented ethnicities.
Does the dev team think that Wild Rift is still in need of large improvements or do they think that the player base is comfortable?
Xu started by prefacing that the dev team don’t want to make changes for the sake of making changes. Most changes applied are to help keep the game fresh for players so that they don’t burn out from playing the exact same game for years on end. With that said, Riot’s plan for 2023 is to strip away the consensus that every patch is of equal size and change.
Riot wants it to become more like how League PC is whereby during the active playing season, players should expect champion and item rebalancing along with bug fixes and new champions. During the middle of the season and at the end of the season, players can expect a bigger change whether it be introducing new objectives or points-of-interest just to name a couple of examples. Riot wants changes to feel more schedule and routine for the players so that they aren’t worrying whether or not the next patch will completely change how they play the game and instead give players amble time to mentally prepare for those said big changes.


Disney’s Live-Action Hercules Film Will Put A “Modern Spin” On Original Story

Disney’s Hercules was quite an animated film back in 1997. It had a Vegas-style avante grade art style inspired by English cartoonist Gerald Scarfe and Greek vase painting styles, had one of the best Disney villains of all time in the form of James Woods’ Hades, an interesting female lead in Susan Egan’s Megara, and not much else in terms of plot because it was a time when Disney’s golden renaissance animation period was seeing a bit of tarnish.
Just like every frackin’ Disney animated show, Hercules is getting a live-action remake. Producers Joe and Anthony Russo (of Community and MCU fame) said that the film will approach the tale from a more modern angle while honouring the original story and elevating some of its humour (via GamesRadar).
“It will certainly pay homage to the original with a more modern spin on it. What Anthony and I love about the original is how funny and subversive it is. I think we try to embrace that sense of humor in the remake.”
The show will not be a literal translation of the animated “hit”. The duo plan to tell a “different story” with new elements in the mix while also taking inspiration from the original movie.
I’ll say this: if there are any animated films from Disney’s stable that needs a remake for the sake of improving the source material, Hercules would be one of them. You can also add Aristocats, The Rescuers, and Pocahontos to the list, but that’s beside the point. The Hercules film will still make millions when it’s out because it’s probably going to use nostalgia-pandering tech that made the unnecessary Lion King remake worked.


Apex Legends Halloween 2020 Event Finally Adds Wall Running

Apex Legends’ Halloween events Fight Or Fright Event returns for a 2020 edition, and it brings many surprises, including the first official introduction of a Titanfall-like wall-running mechanic into the battle royale game.
Running from 22 October 2020 to 3 November 2020, this year’s Fight Or Fright event offers all-new reimaginings of last yearâ€™s skins like the Sweet Dreams Caustic and Wicked Harvest Bloodhound, as well as new skins for Loba and Revenant.
In addition, all 24 of last yearsâ€™ Fight or Fright items will be available through shop bundles or shop offers. The shop rotates weekly, so be sure to check back often for all the best deals. Players can also look forward to a prize track with all-new exclusive rewards.

The limited-time mode Shadow Royale is set in a spooky alternate dimension where Revenant runs the Apex games. Matches start like any other trios match, but when you die you will be raised from the dead in a powerful “Shadow Form” to exact vengeance on your killers and help carry your squad to victory.
Armed with a brutal melee attack, enhanced mobility and blistering speed, you will terrorize other squads and protect your own with infinite Shadow lives until your living teammates are eliminated or you emerge victorious as the last living squad.
The best thing about this Shadow Form is that it allows your Legend to wall-run. That’s right, folks, in order to actually wall-run, you’ll still need to die and respawn as a Shadow Legend.
Unfortunately, in normal circumstances (during normal matches), you still won’t be able to wall-run.


Overwatch 2 Celebrates Pride Month

Overwatch 2 is introducing a Pride event to celebrate diversity and inclusivity for the month of June. The game aims to create a world where everyone feels seen and celebrated. The development team wants players to connect with the game’s heroes and see themselves in the Overwatch universe which is why it was important for them to focus on inclusivity. The event will include Pride-themed cosmetics such as Player Icons and Name Cards, representing diverse identities. We’ve got a rainbow of cards ready for this Pride event! Tracer’s got a lesbian card, Soldier: 76 is rocking the gay card, Lifeweaver brings the pansexual vibes with their card, and Baptiste and Pharah are proudly sporting the bisexual and lesbian cards, respectively. Finally, the speculation about Baptiste and Pharah’s orientations can be put to rest! The Overwatch team has also released a a new short story that delves into the the player’s identities, their connection, and their journey of self-discovery. It’s a celebration of diversity and love, and honestly I am excited for everyone to dive in.

Watchpoint: Gibraltar will also see the addition of a new photo in the barracks of Tracer and her partner Emily (this is also included as a new spray that can be equipped for Tracer). There will be an updated Midtown map taking place shortly after a fantastic Pride parade in the whole month of June.  The Overwatch team plans to further explore character identities and relationships in the game’s lore as they continue to work on the game. Additionally, Blizzard will donate proceeds from Pride-themed merchandise sales to the National Center for Transgender Equality, supporting the LGBTQ+ community. The goal is to create a welcoming and accepting environment for all players.

NEW PRIDE COSMETICS
Starting from June 1, all Overwatch 2 players will receive the Pride-themed cosmetics automatically, and this will apply to future accounts as well. A special thanks goes to Daniel Quasar for collaborating with the team and helping to incorporate the Progress Pride Flag into the game.

PLAYER ICONS

NAME CARDS


Konami To Move Ahead With Its NFT Plans

Konami has announced that they will be moving ahead with their NFT (Non-Fungible Tokens) plans. According to the company’s latest official financial report, the reason why they will continue selling NFTs is for the purpose of preserving content.
The statement reads:
“We will also be selling NFTs in an effort to preserve content that has been loved by our customers as commemorative art.”
This decision is no surprise and is likely motivated by money more than anything. Why do we say that? Oh, Konami recently made a whopping US$162,000 from selling Castlevania NFTs. Yeah, instead of making new Metal Gear, Silent Hill, or Castlevania titles, the Japanese company would rather delve into NFTs.
Take that as you will.


Amazon’s Invincible Guide: What To Know & Why You Have To Watch It

What’s the big deal about Invincible? It’s just another animated superhero series releasing on Amazon Prime Video based on an existing comic book IP, right? Not exactly.
I’ve read a lot of comics, and Invincible is up there amongst the best of the best. I’m talking all-time classic here, and I’m here to explain why that is.
If you’re worried about spoilers, don’t. This is a spoiler-free article meant as a guide for anyone unfamiliar with the Invincible Image-published comics and its upcoming animated series adaptation.
Created by writer Robert Kirkman (the same writer behind The Walking Dead) and artist Cory Walker, Invincible debuted in 2003 with its very first issue and ended up running for a whopping 15 years, concluding with its 144th and final issue in 2018. It would also be remiss of me not to mention Ryan Ottley, who is actually the longest-serving artist on the comic book series, having drawn the majority of the issues beginning from issue #8 until the very end (with the exception of #127 to #132, which Walker temporarily returned for).
Who Is Invincible? And Who Is Mark Grayson?

Mark Grayson is the protagonist of Invincible and at first, he seems like just an average ordinary American teenager. He likes comics and is trying to get a girlfriend, but wait; he’s also the son of Omni-Man, this world’s equivalent of DC Comics’ Superman. When he finally gets his own powers at the age of 17, Mark wants to follow the footsteps and legacy of his father by taking on the mantle of Invincible.
Invincible is essentially a coming-of-age story for Mark Grayson, as the series follows his journey, including his tragedies and triumphs throughout his evolution from rookie superhero to one that still has flaws but attempts to do everything in his power to do what he thinks is “right”. He’s not perfect and he makes mistakes (trust me; he made some BIG ones throughout the series), which is why he’s such a compelling character and not just another Superboy wannabe.
How do I best describe Mark Grayson a.k.a Invincible? Well, he’s like Peter Parker/Spider-Man meets Clark Kent/Superman. At the same time, however, he comes off as a lot more relatable and realistic than those two iconic characters.
Invincible’s Powers And Abilities

Think Superman, but without any of his more outlandish powers like heat vision, frost breath, or x-ray vision.
Mark Grayson a.k.a. Invincible is half-human (from his human mother, Deborah “Debbie” Grayson) and half-Viltrumite (from his alien father, Nolan Grayson a.k.a. Omni-Man). As a result, he has very much the same powers that his father has; including super-strength, invulnerability, the power of flight, and accelerated healing (even if severely injured).
On that last note, he’s not on the same level as someone like Wolverine or Deadpool, but in the comics, Viltrumites exhibit the impressive ability to heal from near-fatal injuries that would normally kill a human being or non-Viltrumite. How strong is Invincible? Well, he doesn’t start off as strong as his father, but gradually gets stronger throughout the series, similar to how a character like Dragon Ball’s Goku would (or any other shonen manga/anime, really).
An adult Viltrumite like Mark’s father (Omni-Man) can pretty much annihilate an entire planet on his/her own. So yeah, they’re extremely powerful by sheer physical strength alone.
Why Is This Comic Series Such A Big Deal?

It’s not my job to sell or promote Invincible in any way, but I’ll do it anyway. Why? Because it’s just that great.
Just like Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’s Watchmen or Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson’s The Boys, Robert Kirkman cleverly subverts superhero and comic book tropes. It is a deconstruction of superhero comics books but with love and passion oozing for the genre (rather than the more cynical and grim tone of Watchmen or The Boys). If you’re an anime/manga fan, Invincible is probably comparable to what Puella Magi Madoka Magica did for the magical girl genre or what Neon Genesis Evangelion did for the mecha genre.
The comics don’t shy away from exploring complex and difficult questions regarding morality and other heavy subject matter. The world isn’t black and white; it’s grey with a shade of both. The characters and narrative in Invincible are just like that, and that’s refreshing from a superhero comic.
However, Invincible also wouldn’t have been as great as it was without the brilliant and incredible art of both Cory Walker and Ryan Ottley. They bring expression and bombastic action to the comics, in a way that’s both easy on the eyes and eye candy. With that creative team, the Invincible comics boast shocking Darth Vader-level twists, great character development, and perhaps most importantly of all; a level of bloody and gory violence that’s very rarely seen in a superhero series.
Limbs constantly get decapitated, heads often get crushed, and guts spilling out are a normal sight. Buckets of blood splatter the pages of the comics in violent fights between Invincible and his villains. It’s like Mortal Kombat without someone shouting fatality in the background. There’s quite a healthy dose of sex as well, so the verdict is this: Invincible is definitely not kids. Oh, and I’m happy to point out that it does all this without being too gratuitous or having to resort to inserting F-bombs in every sentence.
I’m not kidding. Almost every issue from #7 onwards blew my mind. The first six (6) issues are meant to lull readers into a sense of familiarization before the seventh issue hits with the series’ first major twist (which I won’t spoil; you can read this feature at your own discretion).

What made Invincible different from other long-running superhero comics is that every action has consequences in the Invincible universe. If you’re burned out from relaunches and having to return to the status quo every few years in conventional superhero comics (*cough* Marvel and DC Comics *cough*), Invincible is the perfect comic for you; to rekindle and reignite your passion and bring you out of superhero fatigue.
In the comics, you’re with Mark Grayson on this long journey which starts in his teen years and ends when he is a grown adult with a family of his own (a wife and kids). How many superheroes can boast that even after entire decades of stories and development?
It’s also worth pointing out that Invincible (2003) debuted way before The Boys (2006) and Mark Millar and Frank Quitely’s Jupiter’s Legacy (2013); both of which also subverts and deconstructs superhero comics.
Why should you watch Amazon Prime Video’s Invincible animated series? Well, you can expect a lot of what I’ve mentioned above, but trust me on this: you will not; I repeat, you will NOT be ready for the sheer awesomeness and unexpected twists that the story will make. I know I wasn’t when I read the comics and I did so with an O-face in every issue.
In an interview with SyFy Wire, Kirkman himself best described and summed up Invincible:
“It’s everything I’ve ever wanted out of a superhero book. But we zig where other superhero books zag.”
Important: Invincible Is Definitely Not For Kids
Sure, at first glance, Invincible still features superheroes in colourful costumes and tights. Some might even think that it’s suitable for kids since it’s just a “cartoon”. If it remains unclear after reading everything I’ve written above, let me clarify it even further.

Amazon Prime Video’s Invincible is R-rated and that means viewers should be at least 18 years old and above. It is an ADULT animated series, just like South Park or Rick And Morty. It features sexual content (even disturbing scenes featuring rape; more on that later today) and extremely gory violence. Just because it has superheroes and it’s animated doesn’t mean that it’s for children.
More Info On Amazon’s Invincible

Invincible will debut exclusively on Amazon Prime Video starting from 26 March 2021. The premiere will include the first three episodes, with a new episode released every Friday until the finale on 30 April 2021 for a total of eight episodes in its first season.
If you’re still not convinced to watch Invincible after all that, perhaps you will after seeing the unbelievable A-list voice cast for the series. You’ll probably recognise at least 10 or more of these names below:

Steven Yeun as Mark Grayson / Invincible.
J. K. Simmons as Nolan Grayson / Omni-Man.
Sandra Oh as Debbie Grayson.
Mark Hamill as Art Rosebaum.
Seth Rogen as Allen the Alien.
Gillian Jacobs as Samantha Eve Wilkins / Atom Eve.
Andrew Rannells as William Clockwell.
Zazie Beetz as Amber Bennett.
Walton Goggins as Cecil Stedman.
Jason Mantzoukas as Rex Sloan / Rex Splode.
Mae Whitman as Fightmaster & Dropkick.
Chris Diamantopoulos as Donald Ferguson, Doc Seismic.
Khary Payton as Black Samson.
Zachary Quinto as Rudy Conners / Robot.
Malese Jow as Kate Cha / Dupli-Kate.
Kevin Michael Richardson as Mauler Twins, Monster Girl.
Grey Griffin as Shrinking Ray, Amanda.
Max Burkholder as Oliver Grayson.
Lauren Cohan as War Woman.
Sonequa Martin-Green as Green Ghost.
Chad L. Coleman as Martian Man.
Michael Cudlitz as Red Rush.
Lennie James as Darkwing.
Ross Marquand as The Immortal, Aquarius.
Mahershala Ali as Titan.
Michael Dorn as Battle Beast.
Ezra Miller as D.A. Sinclair.
Clancy Brown as Damien Darkblood.
Nicole Byer as Vanessa & Fiona.
Jeffrey Donovan as Machine Head.
Jonathan Groff as Rick Sheridan.
Jon Hamm as Steve.
Djimon Hounsou as Martian Emperor.
Justin Roiland as Frat-Bro Douche & Punk Kid.

Last but not least, check out the official trailer below for a taste of what to expect:


Scarlet Nexus Guide: The Best Early Game Skills To Get From The Brain Map

This guide is still under development. We’ll be sure to fill this up as time goes by.
Just like most action RPGs out there, Scarlet Nexus has its own skill tree. To keep in theme with the psychic and telekinesis power themes, it’s referred to as a Brain Map. Before we get to the skills and each protagonist’s Brain Map, here are some short tips for your early and mid-game:

If you’re stumped as to who to play as first, go for Yuito first. Both Yuito and Kasane seem similar, but Yuito’s attacks hit a little harder & faster, while Kasane has a better mid-range and AoE fighting style. If you want a slightly better deep dive into the story with a bit of challenge, pick Kasane.
Don’t sell the data you collected in the game. After 5 hours or so, you’ll unlock the option to exchange items and gifts in the shopkeeper menu. You can exchange items, weapons, and exclusive gifts with the data you collected.
You can cash out your sidequests anywhere in the game. You don’t have to return to the quest-giver to confirm your quest completion. Just head to the Story tab in the menu and turn in the quest there.
If you’re having trouble with the game’s combat, just dodge and get the hang of your character’s invincibility frames when evading. The game gives you plenty of options for counterattacking enemies like SAS Clairvoyance/Teleport/Hypervelocity and the skills from the Brain Map.
Manually save whenever you can. Don’t trust the autosave too much; sometimes it can set you back a lot of minutes progress-wise.
Once you finish a character’s playthrough, you can replay the game via a New Game Plus mode. You can use that same data and character level progress for the other character’s side of the story to make your progress easier.

How To Unlock Skills
Brain Map features a number of skills that will help Yuito or Kasane in their quest to uphold peace on Earth as an Others Suppression Force soldier. These range from passive buffs to their stats to additional attacks in their respective combo strings and moves. To unlock skills further down the tree, you need to earn enough BP for that specific skill you need. Levelling up will net you a good amount of BP, so kill enemies and complete quests for random folks to get experience points to level up.
RPG grinding-wise, we suggest you play through the game until you reach and finish up the Kikuchiba area, then you can backtrack to previous areas to farm for levels and BP.
Here’s the list. All button maps are based on the Xbox version.
Yuito Brain Map

Best Early Skills For Yuito
Because Yuito’s attack speed and strength are pretty good, the skills he need are ones that make his enemy-killing abilities easier, especially his Brain Crush finishers.
Rebound (1BP) – A quick-rise move after getting knocked down is essential, especially with aggressive enemies in the game.
Overkill (3BP) – Attacking enemies with depleted crush gauge increases EXP bonus. Does not work on strong foes with depleted HP.
Auto-Heal (6BP) – Regenerate health outside of combat.
Power Up (3BP) – Increased damage for Psychokinesis Attacks by 5%.
Perfect Dodge Attack (2BP) – Use X right after a perfect dodge to perform a weapon attack. You will be playing defense quite a bit as enemies are pretty aggressive. This counterattack skill will help you in the early, mid, and late game.
Additional Plug-In Slot 1 (1BP) – Equipping lots of plug-ins will bolster Yuito’s stats & passive skills.
Attack Up 2 (3BP) – Increased damage for weapon attacks by 5%.
Brain Crush Change Expand (4BP) – Time enemies disabled due to crush gauge increased. Perfect if you want to drain crush gauge first.
Concurrent SAS Activation (4BP) – Allows up to 2 concurrent SAS activations. More SAS skills activated equals a powered-up Yuito.
Expand Tree
Rebound (1BP) – Use B to recover when knocked away and prevent being knocked down. Best to learn this early if you haven’t; quick get-ups after getting knocked down is great.
Charge Attack (2BP) – Hold Y to charge power and release Y to perform a powered-up weapon attack in a large area.
Item Attraction (2BP) – Automatically picks up nearby items.
Double Jump (3BP) – Can perform an additional jump by using A while mid-air.
Perfect Dodge Psychokinesis Restore (3BP) – Charge a small amount of psychokinesis gauge after a perfect dodge.
Perfect Dodge Attack (2BP) – Use X right after a perfect dodge to perform a weapon attack.
Aerial Dash (3BP) – Can perform an aerial dash by using B while mid-air.
Follow-Up Attack Expand 1 (3BP) – Can perform three consecutive psychokinesis follow-up attacks and rush follow-up attacks.
Perfect Dodge Psychokinesis Restore (3BP) – Charge a small amount of psychokinesis gauge after a perfect dodge.
Slam Attack (3BP) – Hold Y while mid-air to perform a downward weapon attack.
Enhance Tree
Attack Up 1 (1BP) – Attack +5%. Increases damage for weapon attacks.
Attack Up 2 (3BP) – Increases damage for weapon attacks by +5%.
Follow-Up Attack (2BP) – Increases damage dealt to enemies that are knocked down.
Max Psy. Gauge Boost (4BP) – Learning this skill will increase the psychokinesis gauge maximum by 50%; learning the second of the same name will increase it by 100%.
Revive Speed Up (3BP) – Increases speed at which allies are revived.
Support Tree
Additional Plug-in Equip Slot 1 (1BP) – Increases plug-in capacity at the equip screen by one.
Shorten Item Usage Cooldown (2BP) – Shortens cooldown after item usage.
Overkill (3BP) – Hitting enemies stunned by a depleted crush gauge increases the EXP bonus. However, this doesn’t work against strong foes whose HP has been depleted.
Brain Crush SAS Restore (3BP) – Defeating enemies with brain crush while SAS is active slightly restores the gauge of the SAS being used.
Concurrent SAS Activation (4BP) – Learning this skill will allow up to 2 concurrent SAS activations. Learning the second of the same name will allow up to 4. *SAS Electro and Pyrokinesis cannot be used concurrently.
Brain Drive Tree
Brain Drive Gauge Charge Rate Up (1BP) – Brain Drive Gauge Accumulation +20%. Specific actions like defeating enemies or receiving damage will increase the rate.
Brain Drive: Auto-Heal (3BP) – Health gradually recovers while brain drive is active.
Brain Drive: Status Up (3BP) – While Brain Drive is active, +10% to power, defense, and attack.
Brain Drive: SAS Gauge Restore (4BP) – Activating brain drive completely restores all SAS gauges.
Mid-Air Attack Charge Rate up (4BP) – Increases Psychokinesis Gauge charge rate from aerial attacks. Does not include A+X rising slash attack.
Brain Field Tree
Brain Field: Time Extension 1 (2BP) -Prolong brain field active time by five seconds.
Brain Field: Overkill (2BP) – While Brain Field is activated, hitting enemies with a depleted crush gauge increases the EXP bonus.
Brain Field: Launch Level Up 1 (2BP) – Increase the number of objects thrown with RT in X,X,RT or X,X,X,RT combos while you have Brain Field activated.
Brain Field: Charge Drop Level Up (2BP) – Increases the number of objects that are gathered when holding LT and the damage the dropped objects deal when brain field is active.
Brain Field: Swing Level Up (2BP) – Increases the number of objects that can be swung with X and expands teh area of effect when Brain Field is active.
Brain Field: Launch Level Up 2 (3BP) – Further increase the number of objects thrown with RT in X,X,X,RT while you have Brain Field active.
Brain Field: Reduce Damage (4BP) – While Brain Field is active, you will receive less damage. Learning the first reduce damage skill will halve damage; learning the second will negate it completely.
Brain Field: Time Extension 2 (4BP) – Prolong Brain Field active time by five seconds more.
Brain Field: Reduce Damage (5BP) – While Brain Field is active, you will receive less damage. Learning the first reduce damage skill will halve damage; learning the second will negate it completely.
Brain Field: Free Drive Charge (4BP) – If there is a Brain Field ready icon displayed, Brain Field can be activated without consuming a charge when activated during Brain Drive.
Kasane Brain Map

Best Early Skills For Kasane
She is slightly weaker than Yuito, so some survivability passives and skills will do her good early in the game.
Rebound (1BP) – A quick-rise move after getting knocked down is essential, especially with aggressive enemies in the game.
Auto-Heal (6BP) – Regenerate health outside of combat.
Brain Crush SAS Restore (3BP) – Using Brain Crush with SAS active restores SAS gauge.
Shorten Item Usage Cooldown (4BP) – Shorter cooldown when using items.
Brain Crush Money Bonus (4BP) – Using Brain Crush increases money rewards. Great for money farming.
Attack Up (3BP) – Increases weapon attacks by 5%.
Psychokinesis Crush Effect Up 1 (3BP) – Drains crush gauge when using Psychokinesis Attacks. Base increase by 5%.
Expand Tree
Double Jump (1BP) – Can perform an additional jump by using A while mid-air.
Rebound (2BP) – Use B to recover when knocked away and prevent being knocked down.
Psychokinesis Finish (3BP) – Use RT on a knocked-down enemy to perform a psychokinesis attack slam.
Aerial Follow-Up Attack (3BP) – Execute an aerial follow-up attack by using RT while performing an aerial weapon combo.
Perfect Dodge Psychokinesis Restore (3BP) – Charge a small amount of psychokinesis gauge after a perfect dodge.
Mid-Air Dash Attack (5BP) – Use X while aerial dashing to perform a forward weapon attack.
Aerial Follow-Up Attack Expand (6BP) – Can perform two consecutive aerial follow-up attacks.
Expand Back-step Attack (5BP) – Can perform the Back-step attack twice during a single combo.
Aerial Dash (Learned) – Can perform an aerial dash by using B while mid-air.
Mid-Air Attack Charge Rate Up – Increases Psychokinesis Gauge charge rate from aerial attacks.
Support Tree
Latent Power (1BP) – When health is 30% or below, increases damage dealt by 20% and reduces damage received by 20%.
Additional Plug-in Equip Slot 1 (2BP) – Increases plug-in capacity at the equip screen by one.
Shorter Item Usage Cooldown (4BP) – Shortens cooldown after item usage.
Brain Crush SAS Restore (3BP) – Defeating enemies with brain crush while SAS is active slightly restores the gauge of the SAS being used.
Concurrent SAS Activation (4BP) – Learning this skill will allow up to 2 concurrent activations. Learning the second skill of the same name will allow up to 4.
Additional Plug-In Equip Slot 2 (5BP) – Increases the plug-in capacity at the equip screen by one.
Concurrent SAS Activation (5BP) – Learning this skill will allow up to 2 concurrent activations. Learning the second skill of the same name will allow up to 4.
Overkill (4BP) – Hitting enemies stunned by a depleted crush gauge increases the EXP bonus.
Brain Crush Chance Expand (4BP) – After reducing an enemy’s crush gauge to 0, the time enemies are disabled is increased.
Brain Crush Money Bonus (4BP) – Defeating enemies with brain crush will increase the amount of money received after the battle.
Brain Crush EXP Bonus (4BP) – Defeating enemies with brain crush will increase EXP gained.
Auto-Heal (6BP) – Gradually recovers health outside of combat.
Enhance Tree
Attack Up 1 (1BP) – Attack +5%. Increases damage for weapon attacks.
Attack Up 2 (3BP) – Attack +5%; increase damage for weapon attacks.
Power Up (1BP) – Attack +5%. Increases damage for psychokinesis attacks.
Power Up 2 (5BP) – Attack +5%. Increases damage for psychokinesis attacks.
Weapon Crush Effect Up (5BP) – Weapon attacks can drain crush gauge by a great amount. Increase base by 5%.
Perfect Dodge Attack (3BP) – Use X right after a perfect dodge to perform a weapon attack.
Psychokinesis Crush Effect Up 1 (3BP) – Psychokinesis attacks can drain crush gauge by a great amount. Increase base by 5%.
Psychokinesis Crush Effect Up 2 (4BP) – Psychokinesis attacks can drain crush gauge by a great amount.
Revive Speed Up (5BP) – Increases speed at which allies are revived.
Follow-Up Attack (3BP) – Increases damage dealt to enemies that are knocked down.
Mid-Air Attack Charge Rate Up (3BP) – Increases Psychokinesis Gauge charge rate from aerial attacks.
Max Psy. Gauge Boost (3BP) – Increases the Psychokinesis Gauge by 50%.
Max Psy. Gauge Boost (5BP) – Increases the Psychokinesis Gauge by 50%.
Brain Drive Tree
Brain Drive Gauge Charge Rate Up (2BP) – Brain Drive Gauge accumulation +20%. Actions like defeating enemies or receiving damage will increase accumulation rate.
Brain Drive: Status Up (3BP) – While Brain Drive is active, +10% to power, defense, and attack.
Brain Drive: Restore Brain Drive 1 (3BP) – Defeating enemies with brain crush while brain drive is active slightly restores the brain drive gauge.
Brain Drive: Status Ailment Recovery (3BP) – Restores status ailments when brain drive is activated.
Brain Drive: Restore Brain Drive 1 (3BP) – Defeating enemies with brain crush while brain drive is active slightly restores the brain drive gauge.
Brain Drive: SAS Gauge Restore (4BP) – Activating brain drive completely restores all SAS gauges.
Brain Drive: Auto Heal (3BP) – Health gradually recovers while brain drive is active.
Brain Drive: Bonus Multiplier Up (3BP) – Increases the EXP bonus multiplier gain while brain drive is active.
Brain Drive: Consecutive Assault Vision (4BP) – Assault Visions will be consecutively activated while the Brain Drive is active. Assault Visions will be activated when the Bond Level increases.
Brain Drive: Restore Brain Drive 2 (5BP) – Defeating enemies with brain crush while Brain Drive is active slightly restores the Brain Drive gauge.
Brain Field Tree
Brain Field: Time Extension 1 (2BP) -Prolong brain field active time by five seconds.
Brain Field: Overkill (2BP) – While Brain Field is activated, hitting enemies with a depleted crush gauge increases the EXP bonus.
Brain Field: Launch Level Up 1 (2BP) – Increase the number of objects thrown with RT in X,X,RT or X,X,X,RT combos while you have Brain Field activated.
Brain Field: Charge Drop Level Up (2BP) – Increases the number of objects that are gathered when holding LT and the damage the dropped objects deal when brain field is active.
Brain Field: Swing Level Up (2BP) – Increases the number of objects that can be swung with X and expands teh area of effect when Brain Field is active.
Brain Field: Launch Level Up 2 (3BP) – Further increase the number of objects thrown with RT in X,X,X,RT while you have Brain Field active.
Brain Field: Reduce Damage (4BP) – While Brain Field is active, you will receive less damage. Learning the first reduce damage skill will halve damage; learning the second will negate it completely.
Brain Field: Time Extension 2 (4BP) – Prolong Brain Field active time by five seconds more.
Brain Field: Reduce Damage (5BP) – While Brain Field is active, you will receive less damage. Learning the first reduce damage skill will halve damage; learning the second will negate it completely.
Brain Field: Free Drive Charge (4BP) – If there is a Brain Field ready icon displayed, Brain Field can be activated without consuming a charge when activated during Brain Drive.


Fortnite’s Majestic Mega Mall, Now With Interdimensional Portals

If you play Fortnite, you’ll notice that recently there are these weird root-like doors around the Mega Mall area. Well those are actually inter-dimensional Gates which lead to a place called the Upside Down.

Yes, there’s a partnership going on between Fortnite and Stranger Things.
By the way, entering any of the Gates will simply transport you to another part of the mall. Kind of a bummer but then again, the idea of having an entirely different full-size battle royale map would be too big of a game-changer. It’d still be really cool though.
Perhaps Epic Games is showing that they’ve learnt their lesson when it comes to introducing disruptive mechanics in Fortnite. In the past, it was pretty common for the game to receive updates with unbalanced content such as the OP-as-heck Infinity Blade.

There was also that time where they introduced glider redeployment and it invited a lot of criticism especially from the competitive side of Fortnite. The icing on the cake is that both the Infinity Blade and this were introduced back when there was still no proper matchmaking.
New content, balanced or not, were unavoidable for competitive matches. Participants in non-Epic-sponsored tournaments basically had to learn a new meta in days, if not hours.
The Arena Mode, a ranked game mode with matchmaking, was released only a few months ago in Patch 8.20. Prior to this, pros who wanted to go against players of similar skill levels would simply gather in a Discord group, press Queue at the same time, and pray to the Fortnite gods. I wish I was joking.

The Fornite World Cup Finals will be happening at the end of this month starting from 26 July 2019 until 28 July 2019. Let’s hope that Epic Games are more prepared this time and won’t repeat the esports blunders they made in the past.


Uncharted’s PS5 Remasters Will Let Players Transfer PS4 Save Data & Trophies

Good news, Uncharted fans. You don’t have to play Uncharted: Legacy Of Thieves Collection all over again on your PS5 to get your past achievements and save data.
Players can choose to carry over progress from the PS4 versions of Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End and Uncharted: The Lost Legacy in the upcoming PS5 remasters. According to an FAQ, players can use PlayStation Plus cloud storage to sort that out seamlessly.

PSA: Yes, your Save Data and Trophies can be transferred from Uncharted 4: A Thief's End and Uncharted: The Lost Legacy to Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection. ? pic.twitter.com/JX8fuFpioc
— PlayStation UK (@PlayStationUK) January 24, 2022

The PS5 collection will also be available as a US$10 digital upgrade if you own the PS4 Uncharted: The Lost Legacy Digital Bundle. Owners of PS4 disc copies of the game will need to insert the original title into the PS5 (disc version, of course) each time they want to download or play the PS5 digital version. PS4 game disc owners who have the PS5 Digital Edition console won’t be able to get the PS5 version for the discounted price. The offer also isn’t open to PlayStation Plus members who got Uncharted 4 from the service.
The Uncharted: Legacy Of Thieves Collection will be out on 28 January for PC and PS5.


The Esports Community Reacts To Counter-Strike 2

After weeks of teasing and speculation, Valve has finally announced Counter-Strike 2 in an official capacity. The multiplayer shooter sequel will feature a bunch of much-needed changes and updates, while addressing longstanding complaints. And it seems like the esports community from all across the nation.
Ex CS-GO player said that the only thing he wants to see is how movement is in CSGO2.

I’m overly positive about the play-testing of CS2.
The only thing I’m scared of is the movement…
I personally LOVE CSGO movement, as it was a skill. A skill that raised the skill ceiling of the game and made a difference.
I didn’t feel that movement in CS2 tonight.
— Jacob “Pimp” Winneche (@PimpCS2) March 23, 2023

CSGO and Valorant player Shroud said that the sequel will blow Valorant away, stating the joke quote “Quit Valorant, it’s done. It’s f***ing over”.

Esports team FaZe Clan reacted to the CSGO 2 announcement. They seem to find the Smoke Grenade intriguing, to say the least.

OUR HONEST REACTION TO COUNTER-STRIKE 2 pic.twitter.com/o9eaz4V86v
— FaZe Clan (@FaZeClan) March 22, 2023

Fnatic’s response to the CSGO2 announcement is pretty simple:

the counter strike 2 hopium is real pic.twitter.com/7KjckDI3rZ
— FNATIC (@FNATIC) March 22, 2023

Malaysian esports caster Sir_Cloud has some thoughts about the game’s new smoke grenades.

Responsive smoke going to be a huge tactical game changer#CS2
— Sir_Cloud (@SirCloudMY) March 23, 2023

Even tech folks like Digital Foundry has some nice things to say about the game’s new GPU-using effects.

Counter Strike 2 has some seriously impressive gameplay driven GPU usage. This reminds me of the cool ambition in graphics we saw back in '05-11. Movable and deformable volumetrics ????? pic.twitter.com/k8KGa8ts10
— Alexander Battaglia (@Dachsjaeger) March 22, 2023

We’re still waiting for the rest of the Southeast Asian esports folks to react to this piece of news. Counter-Strike 2 will be out in Summer 2023 as a free update to CS:GO.


The State Of Fighting EX Layer: PC Version & Its Future

Arika recently posted about the fate of its sole fighting game of 2018, Fighting EX Layer. While it’s fun, the price tag at launch is too high to warrant a purchase. Luckily, Arika released an arcade mode and two extra characters for free.
So what is going on with FEXL? And will Arika still release the PC version?Â We’ll break the news down, Kakuchopurei style.

PS4 sales of Fighting EX Layer weren’t the best, but they were enough to justify releasing Vulcano Rosso and Pullum for free. This is all due to support from fans.
The PC/Steam version is Arika’s current priority right now. The arcade board runs on the same OS as Steam.
The next update, Ver 1.1.1, will have Gougi Deck changes. Arika is pushing themselves to have the PS4 version up to date with the Steam ver.
The game’s future content will be dependant on sales.Â
A PC beta is confirmed. However, it will be small and limited, and it will be focused on testing the network for Steam.
Here’s a kicker: crossplay is impossible because Arika does not have the development funds to support worldwide crossplay across two platforms.

The full Facebook post is below. All we can say is best of luck to Arika for going through with this retro-tastic release. But if they want to make crossplay work, they may have to resort to something like Kickstarter or IndieGogo.
Do check out our Fighting EX Layer Gougi guide while you’re at it.
https://www.facebook.com/ARIKAOfficial/posts/520553735074849?__xts__%5B0%5D=68.ARAPjiUWCCXHQ0GPl9NYMnz3Lo6Qp8it6KegiAqh-vKPivx8Yb4KtQbo3m2kKLX2-qsW8_P1N3hHImXsm7rjF3mx7cwB_bkp8m5KjmHtcjtIMJqru-jiRnOqShdw-ImwGarrgnU7GAi2h4A6gEiVBT1lyHWCOu1LUP8otcVwR0_WQYX2AcoG&__tn__=-R


TGS 2019: Here’s How One Punch Man’s OP-ness Is Sorted Gameplay-Wise

Everyone knows how Saitama, the hero of One Punch Man, can KO even the biggest threat on Earth in what seems to be a subversion of the shonen anime trope. But how does one pull that off in a game without making it boring for players.
Simple: just make sure his lackadaisical attitude puts his assigned team at a disadvantage, as evident in Bandai Namco’s upcoming fighting game.
One Punch Man: A Hero Nobody Knows is a 3D fighting game just like all of Bandai Namco’s anime fighters, but with a twist. See, players can select a hero like Saitama for their third slot but he cannot be switched out or used until he arrives 100 seconds later to the stage.
Basically, you’re stuck with only two fighters. The kicker is each fighter determines when he’ll show up. Pick two weak superheroes, and you’ll get him quicker compared to getting someone like Genos and Atomic Samurai (assuming they’re selectable). If you’re doing well in the fight, you can shave off seconds from the clock so that he arrives faster.

This seems like a neat twist to the usual 3v3 formula; your trump card depends on how well you perform during a fight. It’s hard to figure out if this will work in a player vs player setting, but at least it’ll be fun to recreate the manga and anime’s battles. Right down to the titular character being late.


Facebook Acquires Spyro 3 Reignited Dev Sanzaru Games

Facebook has announced that they have acquired games developer Sanzaru Games for an undisclosed amount in order to develop “rich, immersive, and original VR game content”. According to the Oculus blog post, Sanzaru Games will continue to operate as an independent studio but as part of Oculus Studios.
Sanzaru Games have created four titles for the Oculus Platform since 2016 including Ripcoil, VR Sports Challenge, Marvel Powers United VR, and most recently, 2019’s Asgard’s Wrath. However, they have also developed non-VR games in the past, including 2013’s Sly Cooper: Thieves In Time and the remastered version of Spyro: Year Of The Dragon in the Spyro Reignited Trilogy.
It looks like we’ll be seeing more VR titles for the Oculus platform in the future. Once a niche, the VR genre is finally picking up steam, especially with Valve’s upcoming Hal-Life: Alyx on the way.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5a4nWtbVyY&w=560&h=315]


Pixar’s Lightyear Hot Toys Goes Infinity & Beyond

Hot Toys has revealed the latest 1/6th scale Space Ranger Alpha Buzz Lightyear collectible figure inspired by Pixar’s Lightyear (via Facebook).
Meticulously crafted based on the appearance of Buzz Lightyear from the animation, the greatly detailed collectible figure features a newly developed head sculpt with separate rolling eyeballs features, beautiful recreation of the space ranger suit and badges with multiple layers of weathering effects, highly accurate weapons including laser gun, blade, blaster cannon, a pair of handcuffs and a dynamic figure stand.
The deluxe version exclusively includes Sox the robotic cat, Sox’s computer, also Buzz’s iconic wing pack and two styles of wings painted with metallic accent. However, the deluxe version will only be available in selected markets.
Since Lighyear isn’t coming out in Malaysian cinemas, maybe we can settle for the Hot Toys version (no price and release date yet at the time of writing).


Ninja Theory’s Next Exclusive Is A 4v4 Melee Game Called Bleeding Edge

Hellblade studio and now-owned-by-Microsoft subsidiary Ninja Theory will be making an upcoming 4v4 online melee game called Bleeding Edge.
The leaked trailer below (via Xboxer) shows off the game’s roster of odd fighters. And we mean really odd, not like your SFV Birdies and Guilty Gear Xrd‘s Bedman. It’s like they’re returning to their Kung Fu Chaos roots, but in their semi-serious kinda-goofy way while taking the lessons they’ve learned in DMC: Devil May Cry and Hellblade.
Here’s a description from the now taken-down site:

“Choose your fighter and join a team of super-charged renegades from the edges of society: burn rubber as bold and beautiful Buttercup with her detachable sawblade arms, tear it up as Black Metal rocker NiÄ‘hÃ¶ggr with his electrifying guitar solos, or slash up the streets as New Yorkâ€™s most wanted ninja, Daemon.”

Seriously, just take a look; it does look kinda wicked.
[wpvideo 6TNObPiM]
The game’s technical alpha will start on 27th June, if this is your cup of team-based fighting tea. We’ll find out more when Microsoft and Xbox reveals the goods this coming Monday at 4am, since they own Ninja Theory.


Relive Azeroth’s History With Warcraft 3: Reforged, Now Live

Fans of the franchise can now relive some of the most epic moments in Azerothâ€™s history with Warcraft 3: Reforged, a detailed reimagining of Blizzardâ€™s classic RTS game. Combining the original Warcraft 3: Reign of Chaos and its expansion The Frozen Throne, Warcraft 3: Reforged provides a new way of experiencing an important period in the Warcraft saga.
The Warcraft 3Â story in Reforged includes over 60 missions to experience from the perspective of four different factions; the mighty Orcs, the noble Humans, the ancient Night Elves, and the insidious Undead.

Players will also witness key moments in Azerothâ€™s long history, from the Burning Legionâ€™s invasion to the ascension of the Lich King, and learn the origins of iconic Warcraft characters like Thrall, Jaina Proudmoore, Sylvanas Windrunner, Illidan Stormrage, and others.
Blizzard Entertainment president J. Allen Brack said:

â€œWarcraft III is one of our proudest achievements as a company, and weâ€™re honored that so many players around the world still hold it up as a paragon of the RTS genre.
With Warcraft III: Reforged, our biggest goal was to modernize the game while retaining everything that players have loved about it, and we hope everyone agrees that weâ€™ve done it justice.â€

Here is a list of all the additions and upgrades in Warcraft 3: Reforged:

Complete Graphical Overhaul: Warcraft 3: Reforged brings the original game into the modern era with fully overhauled characters, structures, environments, animations, and graphical effects.
Multiplayer Between Versions: Players will be able to do battle with anyone who plays Warcraft III, regardless of whether theyâ€™re playing the original or Reforged.
Higher-Fidelity Audio: Warcraft 3â€™s audio has been remastered and improved for Reforged, including the gameâ€™s original voice-over recordings.
Rebuilt World Editor: Reforged features an all-new World Editor designed to empower the gameâ€™s longstanding creator community to reach new heights, with hundreds of new triggers, LUA scripting support, new tools for importing models, and more enhancements planned for the future.
Full Battle.net Implementation: Players will enjoy the full suite of Battle.net features to bolster their Warcraft 3Â experience, including text and voice chat, groups, and seamless installation and patching.

Players can purchase Warcraft 3: Reforged digitally from the Blizzard Shop. The standard edition is available for US$29.99 (or roughly RM122+).
Meanwhile, the Spoils of War Edition goes for US$39.99 (or roughly RM163+), which comes with unique hero skins for Arthas, Cenarius, Jaina, and Thrall, as well as a host of in-game bonuses for other Blizzard games, such as the gruesome Meat Wagon mount for World of Warcraft, the Third War card-back for Hearthstone, the Malâ€™ganis pet for Diablo 3, and more.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ww6S2XWhr7g&w=560&h=315]


Insane Game Director’s Studio To Work On Star Wars Game

Quantic Dream, a game-making studio created by David Cage who is known for his insane movie game titles and fostering a pretty crappy work environment, might be working on a Star Wars game.
According to rumours from YouTuber Gautoz, the Star Wars game will most likely be in the style of the developer’s adventure titles, Quick Time Event prompts included. Quantic Dream has finished its deal with Sony and has now signed a new one with Disney to work on a Star Wars game. Multiple sources from our end have confirmed this Star Wars deal to be real; one of them correctly predicted the Battlefield 2042 November delay.

pic.twitter.com/20A2QiZFbA
— Tom Henderson (@_Tom_Henderson_) September 18, 2021

Previously, David Cage has mentioned that 2021 would be “an exciting year” for the studio; we’re guessing Disney will be announcing the Star Wars game later this year. On a related note, Ubisoft is working on an open-world Star Wars game, while Knights of the Old Republic is getting a remake. Guess the sci-fi IP isn’t dead despite its best attempt at killing itself to placate its various fanbase.


Celcom’s XPAX Collegiate Esports Competition Returns With Semester 2

Media Prima Digital and Celcom Axiata Berhad have announced the second semester of the Celcom XPAX Kejohanan E-Sukan Kampus (KEK) collegiate esports competition, with a total prize pool of RM180,000.
Organised by MyGameOn and Kitamen, Celcom XPAX KEK Semester 2 will be held in five different zones in Malaysia, including the following:

Borneo – Wilayah Persekutuan Labuan, Sabah & Sarawak (Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, Kuching) 21-22 September 2019

Southern – Negeri Sembilan, Melaka & Johor (Paradigm Mall, Johor Bahru) 28-29 September 2019

Central – Kuala Lumpur, Selangor & Putrajaya (Universiti Teknologi Mara, Puncak Alam) 5-6 October 2019

Northern – Perak, Penang, Perlis & Kedah (Universiti Sains Malaysia, Pulau Pinang) 12-13 October 2019

East Coast – Pahang, Terengganu & Kelantan (Kuantan City Mall, Pahang) 26-27 October 2019

Grand Finale – (The Curve, Damansara) 23-24 November 2019

Two games will be contested, including Mobile Legends Bang Bang and PUBG Mobile. The event will begin with online qualifying rounds, where teams will fight for the coveted spots in the top 16.
The qualifying teams will then test their mettle in the final zones, which are stated above. The winners from each zone will finally compete in the grand finale at the end of November 2019.
In addition, the campus with the most points will receive a scholarship worth RM50,000, thanks to Celcom’s XPAX eSports empowerment initiative. Students who are interested in competing can register their team at the MyGameOn official website here.
Celcom XPAX KEK Semester 2 will also feature several new elements, including youth education through a series of esports forums with industry players, a KEK TRIAL where attendees can win prizes by competing and playing games themselves, as well as entertainment in the form of local artists like Hael Husaini, Indah Ruhaila, Ismail Izzani, Nabila Razali, and more.
Media Prima Digital CEO Rafiq Razali said:

“Looking at the esports crowd that keeps growing from time to time, #XPAXKEK is the platform to not just nurture our promising young talents but also tap on the grassroots participation all over Malaysia.
#XPAXKEK is not just a weekend event; it’s an event to educate, to entertain and also to help the local esports community to bloom into a high potential career opportunity in the future.”

In the meantime, check out pictures from the announcement event earlier today below.


Here’s How You Can Score This Overwatch LEGO-Themed Bastion Skin

Good news, LEGO and Overwatch fans. Blizzard has just launched a new limited-time event called Bastion’s Brick Challenge. It’ll last from 17th to 30th of this September, and you can earn in-game rewards from either winning games or just watch some other streamer play Overwatch better than you.
So how does this work? Let’s break it down:
Play

Win 3 Games | 2 New Player Icons
Win 6 Games | 2 New Sprays
Win 9 Games | New legendary skin: Brick Bastion

Watch

Watch 2 Hours | 1 New Spray
Watch 4 Hours | 2 New Player Icons
Watch 6 Hours | 2 New Player Icons, 2 New Sprays

Basically, it’s just a few hours of your time just to enjoy Overwatch in order to get the goods. Sounds like a pretty swell deal if you ask us. Check out more pics of this skin if you’re still not sold on it yet.


Netflix June 2021: Our Picks & Highlights

Since everyone is (still mostly) staying home because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Iâ€™m sure you wonâ€™t want to waste time sifting through Netflixâ€™s extensive catalogue of shows and movies just to decide on what to watch. The streaming giant updates its site every day, week, and month with new content, so Iâ€™m here to save your precious time.
Here are my personal recommendations and highlights for Netflix Malaysiaâ€™s June 2021 lineup and how to fill up your free time with worthwhile content at home:
Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Eternal The Movie (3 June 2021)

Studio Deen and Toei Animationâ€™sÂ Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Eternal The MovieÂ wasÂ originally supposed to release in 2020, but now itâ€™s officially going to premiere globally (outside of Japan) on Netflix on 3 June 2021.
Based on the â€˜Dream Arcâ€™ of the original hit manga series, the two-part movie is about the Sailor Guardiansâ€™ growth, both as teenage girls and as Sailor Guardians, as well as the faint first love of Chibi-Usa and Helios. As the new moon obscures the sun and gradually dims its light, Usagi and Chibi-Usa encounter a mysterious Pegasus named Helios, who is in search of the chosen Maiden who can break the seal of the Golden Crystal.
Meanwhile, a mysterious troupe called the Dead Moon Circus appears in town, hatching a nefarious plan to scatter the nightmare incarnations known as Lemures, seize the Legendary Silver Crystal, rule over the moon and the earth, and eventually dominate the entire universe.

Sweet Tooth (4 June 2021)
SWEET TOOTH (L to R) STEFANIA LAVIE OWEN as BECKY, CHRISTIAN CONVERY as GUS and NONSO ANOZIE as TOMMY JEPPERD in episode 105 of SWEET TOOTH Cr. COURTESY OF NETFLIX Â© 2021
Based on the DC Comic book series by Jeff Lemire,Â Sweet ToothÂ is set in a post-apocalyptic fairytale about a hybrid deer-boy and a wandering loner who embark on an extraordinary adventure.
From Executive Producers Robert Downey Jr., Susan Downey, Jim Mickle, Beth Schwartz, Amanda Burrell, and Linda Moran,Â Sweet ToothÂ tells the story of â€œThe Great Crumbleâ€ that wreaked havoc on the world a decade ago that lead to the mysterious emergence of hybrids â€” babies born part human, part animal.
Unsure if hybrids are the cause or result of the virus, many humans fear and hunt them. After a decade of living safely in his secluded forest home, a sheltered hybrid deer-boy named Gus (Christian Convery) unexpectedly befriends a wandering loner named Jepperd (Nonso Anozie). Together they set out on an extraordinary adventure across whatâ€™s left of America in search of answersâ€” about Gusâ€™ origins, Jepperdâ€™s past, and the true meaning of home. But their story is full of unexpected allies and enemies, and Gus quickly learns the lush, dangerous world outside the forest is more complex than he ever could have imagined.

Lupin Part 2 (11 June 2021)

Netflix has finally announced the release date forÂ LupinÂ Part 2, the highly-anticipated continuation of Assane Diopâ€™s tale.
The synopsis reads:
Assaneâ€™s quest for revenge against Hubert Pelligrini has torn his family to pieces.
With his back to the wall, he now has to think of a new plan, even if it means putting himself in danger.
Check out the details below:

Cast: Omar Sy, HervÃ© Pierre, Nicole Garcia, Clotilde Hesme, Ludivine Sagnier, Antoine Gouy, Shirine Boutella,Â Soufiane Guerrab.
Created byÂ George Kay in collaboration with FranÃ§ois Uzan.Â
Directed byÂ Ludovic BernardÂ (episodes 6 & 7),Â Hugo GÃ©lin (episodes 8, 9 & 10).
Produced byÂ Gaumont TÃ©lÃ©vision (Isabelle Degeorges, Nathan Franck).
LupinÂ Part 2 will be composed of five episodes.

Trese (11 June 2021)

Trese,Â the highly anticipated Netflix Original Anime series based on the Philippine graphic novel created by Budjette Tan and KaJO Baldisimo, premieres on Netflix on 11 June 2021.
Netflix also revealed the English language and Filipino language voice cast ofÂ Trese.Â Darren CrissÂ (The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story),Â Jon Jon BrionesÂ (Ratched),Â Nicole ScherzingerÂ (Moana),Â Manny JacintoÂ (The Good Place),Â Lou Diamond PhillipsÂ (La Bamba) andÂ Dante BascoÂ (Avatar: The Last Airbender) joinÂ Shay MitchellÂ (YOU, Pretty Little Liars), previously announced as the voice of Alexandra Trese in the English language version.
Filipino actressÂ Liza SoberanoÂ (My Ex and Whys,Â Alone/Together) will voice Alexandra Trese in the Filipino language version of the series, and will be joined by local professional voice talentsÂ Simon dela CruzÂ (as Crispin and Basilio),Â Apollo AbrahamÂ (Captain Guerrero),Â Christopher Carlo CalingÂ (Hank),Â Christian VelardeÂ (Nuno), andÂ Eugene AdaliaÂ (Anton Trese). Well-respected Filipino Language Voice Artist Director Rudolf Baldonado will direct the local voice talents.
English language voice cast:Â

Shay Mitchell â€“ Alexandra Trese
Griffin Puatu â€“ The Kambal (Crispin and Basilio), BantayÂ
Matt Yang King â€“ Captain Guerrero, Dominic
Jon Jon Briones â€“ Hank, Xa-Mul
Steve Blum â€“ Datu Talagbusao, Ibwa
Carlos Alazraqui â€“ Anton Trese, Santelmo
Manny Jacinto â€“ Maliksi
Eric Bauza â€“ Nuno the Snitch, Bagyon Lektro
Darren Criss â€“ Marco
Nicole Scherzinger â€“ Miranda Trese
Lou Diamond Phillips â€“ Mayor Sancho Santamaria
Dante Basco â€“ Bagyon Kulimlim
Rodney To â€“ Aswang market guard, Man in drag

Filipino language voice cast:Â

Liza Soberano â€“ Alexandra Trese
Simon dela Cruz â€“ The Kambal (Crispin and Basilio)
Apollo Abraham â€“ Captain Guerrero
Christopher Carlo Caling â€“ Hank
Eugene Adalia â€“ Anton Trese
Cheska Aguiluz â€“ Miranda Trese
Christian Velarde â€“ Nuno
Bryan Encarnacion â€“ Datu Talagbusao
Nica Rojo â€“ Ramona
Jo Anne Orobia-Chua â€“ Emissary
Jose Amado Santiago â€“ Marco
Steve dela Cruz â€“ Maliksi
Rene Tandoc â€“ Mayor Santamaria
Steffi Graf Bontogon-Mola â€“ Young, Teen Alexandra
RJ Celdran â€“ Santelmo, SeÃ±or Armanaz
Elyrey Martin â€“ Ibwa, Dominic
Steven Bontogon â€“ Jobert

The synopsis reads:
Set in a Manila where the mythical creatures of Philippine folklore live in hiding amongst humans, Alexandra Trese finds herself going head to head with a criminal underworld comprised of malevolent supernatural beings.
Director and Showrunner:Â Jay Oliva (Justice League Dark,Â The Legend of Korra)
Executive Producers:Â Jay Oliva; Shanty Harmayn and Tanya Yuson at BASE Entertainment, a studio based in Jakarta and Singapore
Written by:Â Tanya Yuson, Zig Marasigan, Mihk Vergara
Series Directors:Â David Hartman (Transformers: Prime), Mel Zwyer (Star Wars Rebels), Tim Divar (Young Justice)
Production Designer and Art Director:Â Jojo Aguilar (Tron Uprising)
Character Design:Â Will Nichols (Star Wars: The Clone Wars)
Editor:Â Christopher Lozinski (Batman: The Killing Joke)
English language casting and voice direction:Â Wes Gleason
Filipino language casting and voice direction:Â Rudolf Baldonado
Composers:Â Kevin Kiner, Sean Kiner, Dean KinerÂ (Star Wars: The Clone Wars)
Original song:Â â€œPAAGIâ€ by UDD, with lyrics by Armi Millare and Paul Yap
Format: 6 episodes, releasing all at once
Filipino band UDD, formerly known as Up Dharma Down, composed the official soundtrack forÂ Trese, titled â€œPAAGI,â€ with lyrics by Armi Millare and Paul Yap.

Black Summer Season 2 (17 June 2021)
BLACK SUMMER Episode 208 of BLACK SUMMER Cr. MICHELLE FAYE/NETFLIX Â© 2021
Winter comes with cold-blooded new challenges during the zombie apocalypse as frantic scavengers and violent militias battle the dead and desperate.

Record Of Ragnarok (17 June 2021)

This mega-popular manga series with over 6 million copies in print finally receives an anime adaptation. Representatives from throughout human history take on the worldâ€™s deities in 13 one-on-one battles â€” and the fate of humanity is at stake! Bringing this intense world to the screen is Graphinica, the animation studio behind Juni Taisen: Zodiac War and Hello World, who have depicted many fierce 3D CG battles in anime such as Blade Of The Immortal, Promare and Girls Und Panzer.

Rurouni Kenshin The Final/The Beginning (18 June 2021)

The Final is based on the final arc of the Rurouni Kenshin manga series by Nobuhiro Watsuki, but its story will differ from the original. The film focuses on the pacifist wanderer Himura Kenshin who is brought into a fight involving revenge by Yukishiro Enishi.
The Beginning is a prequel to the others and will depict how Himura Kenshin received his cross-shaped scar. It focuses on Kenshin’s past as the assassin Hitokiri BattÅsai during the final years of the Bakumatsu and will also explore his relationship with a woman named Yukishiro Tomoe played by Kasumi Arimura.
These are the fourth and fifth instalments in the Rurouni Kenshin film series, following Rurouni Kenshin The Legend Ends.
The synopsis reads:
When a terrifying enemy attacks Tokyo, the stage is set for a high-stakes battle that may expose some of Kenshinâ€™s biggest secrets.

Godzilla Singular Point (24 June 2021)

Godzilla Singular Point is an all-new animated TV series that marks the beginning of a new project for Godzilla, one of Japanâ€™s most iconic characters. This anime series unfolds over 13 episodes to tell a new and original story unlike anything seen in the Godzilla franchise before.

Those are just several selected highlights from next monthâ€™s offerings of new TV series and movies on Netflix. Now you can plan your Netflix binge-fest for June 2021.


Singaporean Singer JJ Lin Unveils Team SMG Valorant Esports Team

Singaporean singer and celebrity JJ Lin has officially entered the local gaming scene with a team signed to his esports organisation; Team SMG. They will compete in Riot Games’ new multiplayer FPS game, Valorant.
The all-Singaporean line-up of Team SMG consists of veterans who have experience in the professional esports arena for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. The ‘SMG’ for Team SMG stands for Still Moving Under Gunfire.

The seven-member Team SMG Valorant will be making its debut on 27 July 2020 against other Southeast Asian teams in the Rise of Legion: Valorant July 2020.

We are proud to announce the full Singaporean roster of our Team SMG #Valorant squad:@ZesBeeW
falfalfalsg@LEXYCSGO_
Kama@chunting_
Aeozora
Colbat
Catch the squad in action this 27 â€“ 31 July in The Rise of Legion : Valorant July 2020.#esports @playvalorant @riotgames pic.twitter.com/2h4suuy6FN
â€” Team SMG (@TeamSMGofficial) July 17, 2020
Speaking with Channel News Asia, Lin has big plans for Team SMG.
He said:

“This is a milestone in my e-sports journey, one that is very close to my heart.
I strive to nurture home-grown talent in this burgeoning e-sports scene.”

Lin originally founded Team SMG in 2017 with former Dota 2 player and coach, Kenchi Yap. They have since competed and won several esports tournaments, including the 2017 Arena of Valor World Championship with their Taiwan-based team. There is also a PUBG team based in Shanghai.
However, he only made his debut entry into the Southeast Asian gaming market earlier this year in February 2020 after acquiring Malaysia-based Mobile Legends: Bang Bang team, Makan Cendol.


Netflix Malaysia Introduces First Mobile Plan In Southeast Asia

During at event earlier today, Netflix Malaysia announced that Malaysia will be the first country in Southeast Asia to receive an exclusive mobile plan at only RM17 per month.
Not only is it the cheapest Netflix plan, but it caters to those who watch Netflix exclusively on mobile platforms like smartphones and tablets. It’s perfect for younger individuals or students who are looking for more economical packages.
According to statistics provided by Netflix, users in Malaysia already watch twice as much content on their phones as the average member.

The new Netflix Malaysia mobile plan will still have access to all Netflix movies and shows in standard definition (SD), as well as features like smart downloads and parental controls.Â Adaptive streaming will now allow users to watch over 6.5 hours of content on just 1GB of data, which is an impressive feat.

However, there are some restrictions, as mobile plan users won’t be able to stream Netflix on non-mobile platforms like gaming consoles (PS4, Xbox One), PCs (desktops, laptops) or TVs.
The new Netflix mobile plan at RM17 per month is already available starting today from 24 October 2019. Existing users (Basic, Standard, Premium) can also opt to downgrade their current plan to the new mobile plan.


New Monopoly Madness DLC Adds Dinosaurs

Ubisoft has announced that the Dino City DLC for MONOPOLY Madness is now available alongside a new demo for new players to get a taste of the mayhem.
In the new Dino City DLC, madness erupts in the jungle as players must battle each other to collect Money, Lava, and Bones to buy and upgrade properties. Players can open Community Chests to discover new power-ups, wreak mayhem by riding an ankylosaurus to crash into buildings, hurl carnivorous plants at their opponents, and more. Money-hungry moguls will need to keep an eye out, though! A Raptor or T-Rex could appear at any moment. Players can enjoy the Dino City streets either offline or online with their friends in all game modes.
In addition to the new arenas, Dino City introduces two new characters including the sweet Cave Kid and the adventurous Dodo. Two new exclusive hats for players to wear also come in the Dino City DLC.
Starting today, the MONOPOLY Madness demo offers new players a chance to prowl the streets of Monopoly City. Demo players will be able to play as one of ten playable characters (20 in the full version) and play the tutorial and story mode offline alongside other local or AI players in two of the full game’s four different environments.
MONOPOLY Madness is available on Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch and PC through the Ubisoft Store and the Epic Games Store.


Battlefield 2042 Loses A Huge Chunk Of Its Playerbase

Battlefield 2042 has had a disastrous launch. Less than a week after launch, the game is alreadyÂ one of the worst-review games on Steam, getting on the same list as games likeÂ Urielâ€™s ChasmÂ andÂ RollerCoaster Tycoon World.
According to data provided by Steam Charts, Battlefield 2042 peaked at 100,590 players but is currently already down to about 30,000 players daily. That’s around a massive 70 percent drop, which is massive for games that many gamers play for its online modes.

Many of the gameâ€™s negative reviews cite many bugs and technical problems. Players also complained about the game feeling like itâ€™s missing many features and a lot of content, including the lack of a traditional scoreboard and others. Thankfully, DICE has already plans for further major patches to fix the game.
Battlefield 2042Â is now available on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and PC.