The Latest Borderlands 3 Hot Fix Buffs Zane, Nerfs Killavolt

Honestly, I never had an issue fighting one of the main bosses in Lectra City. Probably because I’m a bunny-hopping addict who has played 90s shooters filled with bullet sponge bosses. But a lot of you have problems with Killavolt. Ditto with Zane but for underpowered reasons.
The latest Borderlands 3 hot fix changes all that; it went live a few hours ago. Here are the highlights:

Zane gets a buff in Digi-Clone damage (38%) and SNTNL damage (50%). Cryo bullets damage penalty is removed, drone rocket damage is increased by 50%, and Almighty Ordnance Rockets damage increases by 75%.
Amara’s Guardian Angel health restoration is reduced from 100% to 50%, while Glamour damage penalty is reduced from 30% to 10%.
FL4K gets a nerf in his Guerillas in the Mists skill. Its duration is now 6 seconds and its critical damage bonus is now 25%.
Maliwan weapons now get a buff after being the laughing stock since the game’s launch. These guns will get a 25% damage boost and a 20% fire rate buff.
Killavolt’s Shield Storm attack is now a tad fair. Instead of hitting everyone on the floor with this particular attack, it now disables the tiles around Killavolt. Oops…

Going back to Borderlands 3 after seeing this? Don’t forget to check out our following guides too!
â€“Borderlands story recap
â€“Borderlands 3 Skill Tree & Vault Hunter builds to test out
-Borderlands 3 Complete Legendary Weapons list

Borderlands 3 now joins the ranks of other loot-and-shoot games with live services-style updates. No true player is asking for perfect balance in a Borderlands game, but at least Gearbox is keeping the game healthy and active for months to come.
The full list is below:
WEAPON HOTFIXES
Sniper Rifles
Sniper rifles deal high damage but felt a little cumbersome to use in certain scenarios. This change will increase their overall damage and increase usability in more combat engagements.

Critical Damage increased by 20%
Fire Rate increased by 15%
Time to Aim Down Sights (ADS) reduced by 15%
Time to Equip reduced by 20%

Pistols
Jakobs and Torgue Pistols were outperforming other manufacturers, dealing damage to groups of enemies at a much higher rate than other pistols. This change keeps their identity intact but reduces overall group control. TEDIORE, DAHL, and Children of the Vault Pistols have manufacturer penalties that affected their overall damage. Increasing their overall damage will overcome some of the penalties while retaining their unique gameplay style and feel.

Increased damage on all TEDIORE Pistols by 15%
Increased damage on all DAHL Pistols by 15%
Increased damage on all Children of the Vault Pistols by 20%
Reduced damage on Jakobs Pistols by 15%
Reduced damage on Torgue Pistols by 10%

Maliwan Manufacturer
Maliwan weapons had reduced overall damage because they applied elemental DoTs at a rate and damage greatly above other manufacturers. This effect was toned down before launch, but the overall damage was not sufficiently adjusted to compensate for the reduction in elemental DoTs. Weâ€™re adding back some of the overall damage and making the weapons faster so elemental builds can really take advantage of Maliwan weaponry.

All Maliwan Weapon Damage increased by 25%
All Maliwan Weapon Fire Rate increased by 20%

Atlas Manufacturer
Atlas weapons relied on a game loop that we felt gave players a greater advantage when used correctly. Turns out the loop is not used if the damage doesnâ€™t compensate for the time to set up. So now damage on Atlas weapons should facilitate players using them in general on top of feeling badass when they take advantage of Atlas technology.

All Atlas Weapon Damage increased by 25%

Miscellaneous Adjustments
The Jakobs Assault Rifle change was to differentiate the Assault Rifle from the pistol as more of a mid to long range powerhouse. Since the Assault Rifles have low mag sizes compared to other Assault Rifles, theyâ€™re getting a slight increase to overall damage to compensate. DAHL SMGs had their Fire Rates adjusted down before launch but their damage was never sufficiently increased so they should feel more appropriate compared to other SMGs. And the Vladof Heavy Weapon damage has been increased to share in the full Heavy Weapon treatment.

Jakobs Assault Rifles Damage increased by 20%
DAHL SMG Damage increased by 10%
Vladof Heavy Weapon Damage increased by 25%
E-Tech TEDIORE Shotgun Damage increased by 50%

Legendary Modifications
Weâ€™re going to be making a larger, comprehensive Legendary gear pass but we have included the following changes. Kingâ€™s and Queenâ€™s Call were modified to lower the fire rate. The weapon has a limited burst shot count so overall feel of the gun isnâ€™t dramatically affected.

Kingâ€™s and Queenâ€™s Call Fire Rate reduced by 50%
Firestorm and Storm base Charge Times were reduced to 1 second (down from 2)

GRAVEWARD
Gravewardâ€™s beam attacks did not properly scale based on level so at higher levels, the two beam attacks hardly phased players. Players will find his attacks to be more lethal now. In addition, Graveward is a very large enemy and is too easily susceptible to elemental damage unlike the other large bosses. Elemental damage on Graveward is now greatly reduced but to compensate, Gravewardâ€™s overall health was reduced.

Attacks of Graveward now scale based on level
Reduced overall health by 20%
Increased resistances to Elemental Damage
– Elemental Chance Resistance increased by 70%
– Elemental Resistances increased by 30%
– Elemental DoT Duration taken reduced by 30%

MISCELLANEOUS CHANGES

Hollow PointÂ Guardian Rank has been temporarily disabled. We plan on addressing this further in a future patch.
Vault Hunters should no longer scream when affected by a DoT while shields are active.
Vending Machines will now be restocked with higher quality â€œItems of the Dayâ€.
Adjusted a visual concern on Maliwan Shotguns with Cryo Element.
Legendary loot drops have been balanced throughout the game. Crew Challenge enemies will drop their intended specific loot, and some enemies like Troy and Rampager will be a bit more stingy and no longer drop Legendaries every kill.

VAULT HUNTER ADJUSTMENTS
Zane
Zaneâ€™s gadgets were great at providing additional utility but lacked impact as players leveled up. We increased the Digi-Clone damage with all equipped weapon so the skill can scale better with players as they get to higher levels and harder content. The Drone requires a lot of player involvement to take full advantage of its damage output and increasing the base damage as well as the augments will greatly increase the Droneâ€™s versatility and reward players even more for using it effectively.

Digi-Clone Damage Increased by 38%
Drone Damage increased by 50%
– Cryo BulletsÂ damage penalty removed
– Drone RocketÂ damage increased by 50%
– Almighty Ordnance RocketsÂ damage increased by 75%

Amara

Guardian AngelÂ health restoration reduced from 100% to 50%
GlamourÂ damage penalty reduced from -30% to -10%

FL4K
Guerillas in the Mistâ€™s bonuses greatly outweighed its penalty to the base skill. We donâ€™t want to remove the playstyle completely, but the overall damage output had to be slightly adjusted because it was outperforming other builds. Weâ€™re monitoring the changes and may make another change to the ammo return in a future patch.

Guerillas in the MistÂ duration reduced from 8 seconds to 6 seconds
Guerillas in the MistÂ Critical Damage Bonus reduced from 50% to 25%

Patch Fixes
Performance

[PC Only]Â Reduced the amount of texture streaming that was occurring when aiming down sights.
Addressed a reported concern where certain users with a lot of people in their friend’s list saw more frequent hitching.
Implementing General stability improvements.

General Fixes and Improvements

Addressed a reported issue where KillaVolt’s Shield Storm attack does not disable the tiles around KillaVolt, resulting in the entire floor being activated (oops).
Addressed a potential progression blocker in the mission “Footsteps of Giants”.
Addressed a reported issue where Guardian Rank had the potential to become non-functional and/or the player could potentially lose Guardian Rank tokens into the negatives.
Modified vending machines so it will now sort items by rarity.
Console FOV is now set to 75 by default. This will not affect players who have already started the game.
Special prompts for particle text (Tediore guns, “critical”, “immune”) are now properly localized.
Addressed a reported concern that certain players experienced where their vehicle’s boost could continue into the next map.
Addressed a reported concern with “Porcelain Pipe Bomb” where it set off multiple explosions when colliding with objects.

This grenade was never meant to explode multiple times. All enemies in the Borderlands universe are now safe from being instantly melted by radioactive poop.
UI

Adjusted the verbiage for “left stick” and “right stick” inside the Russian localized version of the control options screen.
Addressed a reported issue where certain users experienced a failure of the audio to play when spending skill points in the UI.
The text is now correctly marked “invalid” when you enter an invalid e-mail address on the SHiFT account creation page.
Addressed a reported issue where the item of the day item card would flash briefly before displaying on vending machines.
Addressed a reported concern that certain players were served an unread mail icon when they didn’t have mail to read.
Iron Bear button prompts will now correctly update if you re-bind your controls.
Modified various features and elements of Crazy Earl’s store.
Addressed a reported issue where subtitles wouldn’t display until after the initial cutscene.
Addressed an issue experienced by certain players that social notifications could become stuck on-screen.
Addressed a player concern that certain item preview images were failing to load inside the player bank.
[PC Only]Â Addressed an issue reported by certain PC players where the focus from the mouse’s last known location was sticking around even when playing with a gamepad.
Addressed an issue reported by certain players where the cursor would snap to an unintended location in the UI.

Splitscreen and Online Multiplayer

Addressed a concern reported by certain players that the dialogue volume faded too low before switching to ECHO audio during split-screen gameplay.
Addressed a concern reported by certain players that sounds were quiet or missing for the second split-screen player if they move too far from player one.
Addressed a concern reported by certain players that 3-player groups were having trouble matchmaking with an additional solo player.
Addressed a reported concerned experienced by certain players that in split-screen one player’s sprinting animation could be interrupted by the other player opening the ECHO menu.
Addressed a concern reported by certain players that in split-screen where one player’s aiming down sights could be interrupted by the other player opening the ECHO menu.
Addressed a handful of reported client replication issues:
– Addressed Tina’s pizza bomb so it displays correctly for clients.
– Modified certain audio elements that were reportedly looping for clients.
– Addressed a reported player concern so the Guardian Skill “Dead Man’s Hand” now functions properly.
Player icons are now pinned to the side of the mini-map when playing in any kind of multiplayer.


Mortal Kombat 12 Official Reveal Coming Soon According To New Teaser [Update]

Update [11 May 2023]: Turns out that Mortal Kombat 12 will officially be called Mortal Kombat 1 (via billbil-kun); this may suggest that the new entry is a(nother) reboot of the MK timeline. Guest characters may include Peacemaker (from The Suicide Squad) and Homelander (from The Boys).
The game will be out for PC, PS5, Xbox Series, and Nintendo Switch. The standard version is going for US$69.99, while the premium version is US$109.99. The Kollector’s edition will cost US$249.99; the contents for the premium and Kollector’s edition are unknown at this point in time.

EXCLUSIVE?UPCOMING RELEASE?
Next Mortal Kombat game from NetherRealm Studios / WB Games will be called:
? Mortal Kombat 1 ?
?PC, PS5, Xbox Series S|X, Nintendo Switch?Standard: 69.99$ (PS5, XB) / 59.99$ (SW)?Premium: 109.99$?Kollector's: 249.99$ (PS5, XB) pic.twitter.com/c5BCDg1Lec
— billbil-kun (@billbil_kun) May 11, 2023

Original story
Several months ago, Warner Bros. accidentally revealed that Mortal Kombat 12 would be launching sometime in 2023. Today on 11 May 2023, the official Mortal Kombat accounts are finally teasing an official reveal is coming soon for a new entry.
On social media, the official Mortal Kombat Twitter account and Mortal Kombat co-creator Ed Boon shared a video of a ticking clock counting up to the number 12, before pausing and skipping to number 1.
What does this mean? Will we be skipping Mortal Kombat 12 and getting a Mortal Kombat reboot or remake instead? Maybe a sort of “requel” or legacy sequel like 2022’s Scream? It’s possible, considering time travel exists in the Mortal Kombat franchise via characters like Kronika.
It looks like we won’t have to wait long for an official reveal, especially with the dawn of summer. The summer season usually coincides with the E3 season (despite there being no official E3 event this year), so we can look forward to major game reveals in the next month or so.
Stay tuned on Kakuchopurei for the latest news and updates. The last entry in the franchise, Mortal Kombat 11, was originally released in 2019 for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch and PC.


Black Panther Actor Chadwick Boseman Dies at 43

As if 2020 couldn’t get any worse, the world was shocked by the sudden passing of Black Panther actor, Chadwick Boseman. Announced via his official Twitter account just moments ago, the 43-year old South Carolina native passed away after a four years battle with colon cancer.

pic.twitter.com/aZ2JzDf5ai
â€” Chadwick Boseman (@chadwickboseman) August 29, 2020
Best known for his role as King T’Challa in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Boseman was last seen in Spike Lee’s Netflix exclusive, ‘Da 5 Bloods’, with is last work being in August Wilson’s ‘Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom’ which is currently in post-production. A private person whose life outside his movies aren’t talked much about, Boseman passed away surrounded by his wife and family.
Rest in peace, Chadwick. Thank you for the memories.
Wakanda Forever.


Here’s When The Razer Phone 2 Is Launching in Malaysia

Thanks to the good folks at Amanz, we now know that Razer will be launching its latest flagship Razer Phone 2 in Malaysia next week on 15 January 2019, which is also when the official launch event will be held.
Not much has been revealed by the company about the Razer Phone 2’s expected availability and pricing in Malaysia. We’ll have to wait for more details and information at the upcoming event. According to Soya Cincau, an imported Razer Phone 2 currently sells for approximately RM3298 or more.

The Razer Phone 2 is a behemoth of a device with a 5.72â€³ Quad HD+ 120Hz display and running on a Snapdragon 845 processor.Â With 8GB of LPDDR4X RAM and 64GB of UFS internal storage, it also comes with a custom vapor chamber cooling system. Though that seems a lot like overkill, I’m sure it would appeal to all the ‘hardcore’ gamers out there.
Stay tuned on Kakuchopurei for the official Razer Phone 2 details arriving next week!


Zack Snyder Is Making A Netflix Zombie Movie; Features More Colour Than His Recent Films

When he’s not busy making the DC Universe all doom-like and gloomy, he’s also finding time to make a zombie movie featuring his patented film-editing techniques.
That’s right: Zack Snyder is revisiting his horror roots in the upcoming zombie movie Army of the Dead, which unfortunately isn’t a remake of Army of Darkness. Still, it looks promising; remember how fun his Dawn of the Dead remake was?

This Netflix exclusive is about a group of mercenaries who venture into the zombie quarantine zone of Las Vegas to pull off an epic heist. Basically, expect blood, gore, and the undead. The film stars Dave Bautista, Ella Purnell, Omari Hardwick, Ana De La Reguera, Theo Rossi, Matthias SchweighÃ¶fer, Tig Notaro, and high colour saturation. That last one’s pretty significant.

I’m getting a lot of Dead Rising 2 vibes here, except this show will probably feature slightly less comedy and camp. Who knew that a post-apocalyptic zombie-filled movie features a way more vibrant look than a DC comic book movie? 2021 is still surprising us with left-field turns like these.
Army of the Dead will be out 21st May.


NieR Automata’s Final Secret Has Been Discovered After Four Years

NieR Automata‘s last secret or easter egg has finally been discovered after almost four years since the game’s original launch in 2017.
The game’s final secret is actually a cheat code that allows players to skip the entire game. Modder and dataminerÂ Lance McDonaldÂ discovered that this cheat code allowed him to go straight to the end of NieR Automata after only defeating the first boss.
NieR Automata actually has multiple endings, and it requires several playthroughs to reach the true ending. However, this newly-discovered cheat code allows players to head directly to that true ending.
In normal circumstances, after reaching Ending E, players must play through an arcade shooter sequence that is the game’s credits. At the very end, players are given the option to sacrifice their save data to assist others in that task. Accepting will actually delete your save file.
At the time of writing, McDonald has yet to fully reveal what the inputs are to activate the cheat code, but the video in his tweet below shows him doing so near some barrels after defeating the first boss in the game.
Following this discovery,Â NieR Automata‘s director and creator Yoko TaroÂ himself seemingly confirms McDonald’s discovery by tweeting this:

( NieR:Automata Spoilers )........3 years 10 months.?????RT: @manfightdragonI found a cheat code in NieR Automata (snip) https://t.co/2LeNlBguLi— yokotaro (@yokotaro) January 3, 2021

TheÂ official Japanese Twitter account for the NieR franchiseÂ also acknowledged the game’s last secret.

#???????? ?????????????????????????????????????SNS??????????— NieR??PR????? (@NieR_JPN) January 3, 2021

McDonald has confirmed that he will be releasing a full video of the NieR Automata cheat code soon, so stay tuned for that.

I found a cheat code in NieR Automata that allows you to skip to the last ending immediately after killing the first boss and unlock the bonus modes. I'll do a full video soon. It's not a glitch, it's an actual cheat code hard-coded into the engine. @yokotaro pic.twitter.com/FtuNPovq6F— Lance McDonald (@manfightdragon) January 3, 2021


Did Anyone Seriously Asked For A Vampire: The Masquerade Battle Royale?

Swedish developer Sharkmob has announced a new game entry in the tabletop RPG title Vampire: The Masquerade. Sounds good, right? Well, it’s a battle royale.
The upcoming game is based on the world of Vampire: The Masquerade, a mixture of the setting and game lore that seems to cater to both fans and non-fans. The trailer below showcases vampires firing their guns at each other and using their awesome vampiric powers to even the odds. Just before the end of the trailer, there’s a knight brandishing a shield with the series’ Second Inquisition mark, confirming the fact that this action game is based on a franchise renowned for its in-depth story, lore, and non-combat resolutions and politicking to a player’s campaign.

If this sounds like a bad idea, well, you’re not alone. Check out the likes/dislikes ratio of the trailer below:

Official description’s below, if you want to judge it for yourself. Though to be fair, Sharkmob is made up of ex-Hitman and The Division devs, so there’s some pedigree involved in this strange game genre choice.

“Experience the next thrilling evolution of Battle Royale multiplayer action games set in the cult classic Vampire: The Masquerade universe where vampire sects are at war across the streets and rooftops of Prague. Choose your playstyle, go solo or together, battling rivals and the hostile Entity whoâ€™s hellbent on exterminating all vampires. Use your supernatural powers, weapons and blood to become stronger in order to hunt, fight and survive the night.”


Valiant Force 2 Is Out Now In Southeast Asia

Singapore game studio XII Braves has launched its mobile strategy RPG Valiant Force 2 for iOS and Android via App Store & Google Play respectively.
The strategy game has over a million pre-registered players, with lucky early adopters able to recruit SR hero Lola Winters as their reward.
In addition, the game has a Valentine’s Day festival going on. Earn Valentine’s Boxes in-game with random contents like Gold and Summon Tickets. Exclusive skins for the limited event will be available.

Check out the game’s features and trailer below:
Overview
Valiant Force 2 is a Strategic Hero-Collection RPG where players battle their way through an intricate campaign filled with tactical turn-based combat. With the return of iconic gameplay features, such as the Job and Aura Link Systems, players can customise their heroes to give them an edge in battle. New features, like the Element System and Airship Battles, add spice to the award-winning franchise, creating new possibilities and challenges for new and returning players.

Recruit Numerous Heroes: 53 heroes are ready to join your roster, with plenty more waiting to be released. Use their jobs, unique skills, and Auras to defeat the fearsome creatures that dwell in previously unseen regions of the world.
First Narrative Video: The first narrative video released by XII Braves features the relationship between the protagonist of the original game, Leon Daracan, and the protagonist of Valiant Force 2, Elise Arkwright.
Free SSR Heroes for New Players: New players will be treated to one of three SSR Heroes when they progress in the game to help them get started. Choose between Victoria, Faye, or Altima to join your team!
Free Exclusive Costume: Get a free skin for SSR Hero, Jenny, as a reward for completing the tutorial missions. Gear skins will replace Jenny’s weapons with her signature spatula and frying pan.
Pre-Registration Rewards: Every player will get exclusive pre-registration rewards if they download the game now! Rewards include 3,000 gems, exclusive skins, and a pre-registration-only hero, Lola Winters!

Trailer


Disney+ Hawkeye Series Premieres This November

The next Disney+ Hotstar live-action series Hawkeye will premiere on 24 November 2021.
Jeremy Renner will reprise his role as Clint Barton and Hailee Steinfeld will portray his protege, Kate Bishop, who is set to become the next Hawkeye of the Young Avengers.

They will be joined by Florence Pugh who will be reprising her role as Yelena Belova from the upcomingÂ Black WidowÂ movie, as well as five others who will play brand new characters.
This includes the following:

Vera Farmiga â€“ Eleanor BishopÂ (the mother of Kate Bishop).
Fra Fee â€“ KaziÂ (also known as a supervillain named Clown).
Tony Dalton â€“ Jack DuquesneÂ (also known as The Swordsman, the anti-hero/villain/Avenger who trained Hawkeye in the comics).
Alaqua Cox â€“ Maya LopezÂ (also known as the hero named Echo).
Zahn McClarnon â€“ William Lopez.

To get ready for the upcoming series, you should probably read Matt Fraction and David Ajaâ€™s whole 2012 to 2015 run, whichÂ you can check out here.

#Hawkeye never misses ?, so don’t miss @JeremyRenner and @HaileeSteinfeld in this @EW exclusive first-look of Marvel Studios’ "Hawkeye"! The Original Series starts streaming Wednesday, November 24 on @DisneyPlus. pic.twitter.com/yV28dPUU9y
— Marvel Entertainment (@Marvel) July 29, 2021

Perhaps weâ€™ll learn more about what to expect from the Marvel Cinematic Universe as a whole when we finally get to watchÂ Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten RingsÂ in September,Â EternalsÂ in November, andÂ Spider-Man No Way Home in December.
In the meantime, you can check out my breakdowns of all theÂ LokiÂ Season 1 episodes here;Â Episode 1,Â Episode 2,Â Episode 3,Â Episode 4,Â Episode 5Â and Episode 6.
Courtesy of Disney+ Hotstar Malaysia, I was also lucky enough to be the only Malaysian media to participate in roundtable interviews withÂ LokiÂ Costume Designer Christine WadaÂ andÂ LokiÂ Production Designer Kasra Farahani.


Greak: Memories of Azur Guide & Walkthrough

Greak: Memories of Azur is out now, and will sate your Metroidvania 2D platforming puzzle jollies if you fancy a nice if janky take on The Lost Vikings.
In Greak: Memories of Azur, you play a trio of siblings each with their own skills. You have to control all three of them to play through all of the game’s stages and brain teasers. This guide will detail the later stages involving all three siblings, but we’ll start with some basics. We’ll be using Xbox controls from here on out.
Here’s A Breakdown Of Each Sibling
Greak

Has 4 hit points.
Attacks with melee sword swipe; short range.
Has a double jump.
Can swim, but cannot breathe underwater for too long.
Can crawl through tiny holes.
Can carry the most items among all the siblings, even after upgrades.

Adara

Has 4 hit points.
Has ranged attack with rapid-fire properties, but needs energy.
Can float temporarily while in the air either straight or upward, but needs energy.
Energy meter is shared between float and ranged attack. You cannot do either if the meter is empty. The meter regenerates after a second or less.
Can swim and can breathe underwater longer than Greak.
Cannot fit through tiny holes.

Raydel

Has 5 hit points.
Attacks with sword; medium range.
Can double jump.
Has a grappling hook to grab onto special hooks & hook-like objects.
Grappling hook can bring enemies to Raydel. The grappling hook can also initiate special interactions with certain enemies and bosses during combat.
Can use a shield to protect against projectiles and lasers, be it horizontally or vertically. Can still jump while holding a shield, but cannot double jump.
Cannot swim.
Cannot fit through tiny holes.
Can carry the least items among siblings.

Hold LT To Walk Together, Hold RT To Call Your Siblings To You

You can hold (or toggle) Left Trigger to have all playable siblings on-screen walk along with you, as well as jump and attack at the same time. You can also call your siblings to your position by holding RT; they will run to your position. Press the jump button to have them jump while they’re being lured to your spot.
You will need to master using these commands when fighting bosses in Greak: Memories of Azur. If any one of your siblings perishes, the game is over and you have to restart from the last checkpoint.
There Is No Autosave
You have to save manually; Greak: Memories of Azur is pretty old-school in this approach. So please save at every opportunity unless you want to lose a load of minutes of your progress.
Alright, here are the late game spoiler guides. You’ve been warned.

Viraane Ruins

Aldalar Tomb (Final Stage)


Riot Games Unveils Valorant Champions Tour 2023 Format

Riot Games has unveiled the highly anticipated format for the 2023 season of the VALORANT Champions Tour.
We’ve known for a while now that Riot has been interviewing esports organisations to partner with going into next season. Not necessarily franchising per se but more like how Halo’s doing it.
Recently it was announced how exactly Riot intends to continue support for the lower tiers of competitive play. The only question up in the air was how exactly would the format play out in the top tier of VALORANT. Now we have an answer.

The start of the new season will see every team selected for partnership be invited to Sao Paulo, Brazil for the “largest international tournament in VCT history”. The tournament will last three weeks and will give us fans a chance to get a first look at the new rosters and find out which team built the best squad during the offseason.
The Sao Paulo event is slated to start in February and crown a winner in early March. The team who hails victorious will automatically qualify for the first Masters of the year.
Following this will be the start of the first competitive split of the year will begin with weekly LAN competition in EMEA, PACIFIC, and the Americas. International League matches will take place in three cities: Berlin, Seoul, and Los Angeles. Each location will feature on-site talent providing coverage in multiple languages for fans around the world.
This split will begin in March, feature eight weeks of regular-season competition, and crown three league champions in May. While subsequent seasons will feature two International League splits, 2023 will supplement one split with the international tournament in order to provide teams with adequate time to set up in their respective hub locations.

“The VALORANT community’s passion inspired us to dream big and evolve the VALORANT Champions Tour to meet the overwhelming demand we’re seeing in every corner of the world,” said Whalen Rozelle, COO, Esports at Riot Games. “In 2023, we’re taking everything we’ve learned, adding in new ideas and forming partnerships that will help us realize our dreams for the next edition of the VCT.”
Masters will return in June and as usual, will feature the best teams from each international league. This event will reward top teams from each territory with direct qualification to Champions.
July will see the return of the Last Chance Qualifiers, where top-performing teams who have not yet qualified for Champions will get one last shot to earn an invitation to the most important event of the season. Each of the three LCQs will advance one team into Champions. The VCT season will conclude with Champions in August. After an inaugural season full of new changes and new events.
Riot Games also shared new details about the Challenger Circuit, which will take place concurrently alongside the VCT season, providing aspiring teams with a path to qualify for international competition for the 2024 season. Essentially, Riot is resetting the circuit, as if the 2023 season is the first ever competitive VALORANT season.
Two Challenger splits will begin in January and conclude with the Ascension tournaments in July. These tournaments will feature the best teams from more than twenty different Challenger leagues competing on LAN for regional pride and promotion into the international leagues.


THQ Nordic Buys Out Piranha Bytes, The Folks Responsible For Euro-RPG Jank

If you fancy your European RPGs with a bit of arbitrary toughness and ruthlessness, chances are you’re familiar with Pirahna Bytes. They are responsible for such “gaming darlings” such as the Gothic and Risen series. Some find joy in these games, others less so.
THQ Nordic recently acquired the European studio to increase their portfolio. The acquisition includes the dev studio and all intellectual property rights. Good news for Pirahna though; they will still be an independent game dev studio and will continue to focus on game dev and “full creative freedom”. Its CEO Michael Ruve and Head of Games Bjorn Pankratz will still run Pirahna.
Here’s a statement from Group-CEO of THQ Nordic AB Lars Wingefors.

“Piranha Bytes is one of the most iconic german game studios and the creators of RPGsÂ Gothic,Â RisenÂ and, more recently,Â Elex. The three strong IPs have proven successful and will be great additions to our portfolio.
We look forward bringing Piranha team into the family which has received legendary status across the RPG community as their fan base cherishes their current games and eagerly anticipates their new titles in the future.”

“Iconic” is a pretty generous term. Try “infamous”.


Dragon Ball Z Kakarot The 23rd World Tournament DLC Trailer Showcases New Gameplay

Bandai Namco and CyberConnect2 have released a new trailer for Dragon Ball Z Kakarot The 23rd World Tournament DLC showcasing the new stage “Ground Battle.”
However, the trailer did not reveal a release date or release window for the DLC.
Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot is available now for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch and PC.
In the meantime, check out our review of the game here.
Check out the trailer below:


25 Manga To Read While You Are In Lockdown

Article written by Fazri @tenoq.Â Follow him on Twitter.Â
Malaysian are now 6 days into this COVID-19 lockdown, and weâ€™re gonna need help passing the time. Japanese manga happens to be an excellent medium to alleviate boredom in the smartphone era. You can read them online, or use any manga app of your choice.
Instead of recommending Shonen Jump titles (One Piece, Kimetsu no Yaiba, My Hero Academia) which youâ€™re probably already reading anyway – weâ€™d like to introduce you to less popular titles that make excellent reading at home! This list is in no particular order but categorized by genre for your convenience.Â
Vanilla Genre
For when youâ€™re looking for some good old romantic comedy.
1) Bonnouji (Aki Eda)

Bonnouji is a very relaxed and easygoing romance between two apartment neighbours who fell in love and spend their free time doing random funny things.
2) Uzaki-chan wa Asobitae (TAKE)

Uzaki is an annoying little bitch who likes to hang out with her favorite senpai. She’s also stacked, and she plays it to her advantage. They spend their college days with her having lots of fun at the expense of her senpai. Itâ€™s getting a TV anime this year, so catch up on this gem while it’s still in mangaka form.Â
3) Osananajimi ni Najimitai (Araido Kagiri)

This started out as a silent (as in, zero dialogue) Twitter manga that gained a lot of traction that it eventually became serialized. Our protagonists are two childhood friends who got separated as children but are now reunited as college students. College romance hilarities abound.
4) Tonikaku Cawaii (Hata Kenjiro)

Fans of Hayate The Combat Butler are calling this Hinagiku True End. One protagonist meets a beautiful girl who saved him from being hit by a truck and instantly falls in love. She demands that if he wants to date her, he must first marry her.
And so they did – in chapter 1. Shenanigans ensue.
5) Yancha Gal no Anjou-san (Katou Yuuichi)

Anjou is a gyaru, a fashionable, rowdy and no-nonsense kind of girl. She regularly and constantly teases our hero, a shy, quiet nerd because awkward nerd reactions are highly entertaining.
As far as vanilla series goes, this has some incredible character development arcs. One of the best in its genre.
NEXT


Nintendo Blacklists PokÃ©mon Sword and Shield Leaker

Last November, we saw a series of leaks from PokÃ©mon Sword and Shield ranging from new Dynamax forms to the entire Pokedex revealed ahead of the game’s release date. Turns out that the organization is none other than Portuguese website called FNintendo, who are now blacklisted by the company.
The site explained that an early copy of the game was given to a freelancer to provide coverage. That freelancer leaked the info online; regardless, FNintendo made the call and have to take responsibility.

“We fully respect Nintendoâ€™s decision to cancel the confidentiality agreement between our companies as a result of this breach of trust and accept that we will no longer receive products from Nintendo, nor will we be invited to attend their events.
We want to apologise to Nintendo and The PokÃ©mon Company, and to our readers for letting them down.”

It really sucks that it takes one bad apple to ruin trust between publications and game publishers, but this sort of blacklisting is fair considering that NDAs are signed for these sorts of early access programs. I mean, no company in their right mind would blacklist a publication for other petty infractions (even a “soft-blacklist”, the kind that’s all hearsay & unwritten). Like, oh say for example,Â  giving a fair first impression of a product which leads to having the product’s parent company’s lead telling its associates to blacklist said publication because of the person’s incredibly fragile ego & pampered outlook.
I mean, nothing like this sort of opinion-curbing nonsense really happens in this corner of Malaysia and Singapore, right? RIGHT?


GTA IV: Complete Edition Comes To Steam Next Month, But It’s Missing Something

After being removed from Steam last month, Grand Theft Auto IV is making a comeback with the so-called GTA IV: Complete Edition. It will “replace both Grand Theft Auto IV and Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City wherever it is currently digitally available” on March 19, and will be available on the Rockstar Games Launcher as well.
Despite the name, however, GTA IV: Complete Edition is actually missing a pretty significant part of the original: multiplayer.
The loss of multiplayer is a consequence of Rockstar yanking Games for Windows Live out of GTA IV. A Rockstar spokesperson told USgamer that “Grand Theft Auto 4 was originally created for the Games For Windows Live platform”.

“With Microsoft no longer supporting Games For Windows Live, it is no longer possible to generate the additional keys needed to continue selling the current version of the game”.

Aside from losing multiplayer and leaderboards, some radio stations will be temporarily unavailable in the Complete Edition. These include RamJam FM, Self-Actualization FM, and Vice City FM.
Rockstar have also detailed how to update your copy of GTA IV or Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City to the Complete Edition. For Steam users, Episodes from Liberty City will be replaced with Complete Edition in the library, with the update size being 22GB.
GTA IV owners will receive Episodes from Liberty City’s content before having their game updated to Complete Edition, with the update size being 6GB
Meanwhile, those who still have your physical copies but haven’t activated it with Games for Windows Live can use the provided key to get access to the Complete Edition. If you did activate your copy with Games for Windows Live, you’ll have to link your Rockstar Social Club account. After that, the game will update to the Complete Edition. Have fun!


The Third Bill & Ted Movie Caps Off The Sci-fi Comedy Trilogy With Grace

I’m not sure who else apart from hardcore 80s/90s comedy and sci-fi aficionados asked for a follow-up to the Bill & Ted duo of films. While it has stood the test of time in some sense due to its premise, aesthetics, and chemistry between its leads Alex Winters and Keanu Reeves, I hardly doubt many Asians clamoured for a 2020 sequel that pits older versions of the duo going for one final time-travelling hurrah.Â I was also afraid that the third film was going to be a gritty and dark reinterpretation of the “late 80s California young dudes who are smarter than they let on do time-travelling” storyline and would lose that entire vibe.Thankfully that wasn’t the case, as Bill & Ted Face The Music is really the true sequel to the Bill & Ted tag team films.Â Be Excellent To Each Other…The premise is what you expect from a sequel of this magnitude and tone. Bill & Ted (played by Alex Winters and Keanu Reeves respectively) now grown-up and had their brush with rock fame, are still on their quest to crank out a hit song that “unites the world”. With their marriage to the first film’s princesses on the rocks (in a hilarious marriage counselling scene) and the world somehow having its historical and pop icon figures phasing in and out of time due to the hero’s past time-travelling shenanigans, they really need to get that world-uniting song to sort this all out.Â While Bill & Ted try out their idea of going forward in time assuming they’ve written the song in the future, their respective daughters Billie and Thea (Brigette Lundy-Paine and Samara Weaving) are helping them out by doing some time-travelling on their own. If you’ve watched a number of 80s and 90s sci-fi comedies & shows, you know darn well where half this plot is heading, especially how the music conundrum is solved.Still, it’s the journey that matters, not so much the destination. Without saying more than the previous paragraph, the film’s runtime is not wasted and is filled with lots of entertaining interactions and funny moments. The highlights include the band Billie and Thea are recruiting as well as Bill and Ted meeting themselves in the time-travelling sequences. William Sadler returns as Death once again to ham it up The Seventh Seal style, and is always a hoot to watch.Other notable inclusions include Kristen Schaal as Kelly, the daughter of future envoy Rufus from the previous films, and Hal London Jr. who returns as Ted’s dad Chief Logan. There are a few others, but I’ll be doing you a favour and not reveal them as it’s better to experience them for yourselves.Â All the backbone and foundation here wouldn’t work were it not for Alex Winters and Keanu Reeves channelling their late 80s personas in dad form, and suffice to say, they did it most excellently and most righteous. You will pay attention to how the duo work their way out of this misadventure, time-travelling and lesson-learning and all.Â While hard to follow up, Brigette Lundy-Paine and Samara Weaving do a great job being the duo’s daughters. At the same time, they portray the “kinda-dumb-on-the-outside, but-not-quite-on-the-inside” buddy formula with the plot. The best kind of “dumb” comedies require some semblance of smart setups and good writing to land its punchlines and arcs. This third Bill & Ted film sticks most of its jokes and story landings thanks to its original writer coming on board to wrap up the show -Ed Solomon and Chris Matheson- as well as Galaxy Quest director Dean Parisot pulling it off.Â …And Rock OnAs good the comedy is here, it only works if you watched the original two films.Â Bill & Ted Face The Music is unabashedly a made-for-fans movie: made for those who watched and quoted every bit of the past films (cartoon series including). As such, those expecting the film to recap the events in short-but-sweet fashion may not find much to grasp on here. As funny as it is to see Death in this film, context from Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey is required to find that scene side-splittingly hilarious.Â Still, that doesn’t discount the fact that Bill & Ted Face The Music is a sequel made with love and still delivers the laughs. It’s earnest, optimistic, charming, and shows hope that you don’t need too much slapstick to get your audiences’ attention. Good comedic timing, buddy duo chemistry, and elaborate yet easy-to-follow plotlines segmented with ease and great pacing is all you need to cap off your long-standing series. As long as you’re not expecting way more than that, you’re fine rocking on to this excellent follow-up.Â
Final Score: 80/100


Rainbow Six Quarantine Is Now Rainbow Six Extraction

Rainbow Six QuarantineÂ wasÂ originally announced back in E3 2019 to be a three-player co-op shooter with a horror/zombie twist. However, Ubisoft has officially revealed its new name, which will be Rainbow Six Extraction.
More details and information about Rainbow Six Extraction will be announced at the latest edition of Ubisoft Forward as part of E3 2021, which will be streamed live on 13 June 2021 at 3am GMT+8.
The original description for the game is as follows:
Tom Clancyâ€™s Rainbow Six QuarantineÂ is a 3-player squad-based survival FPS being developed by an entirely new team at Ubisoft Montreal.
The Rainbow Six operators will face off against a mysterious threat infecting human hosts and their surroundings.Â  Prepare to launch into tense, chaotic, and totally unpredictable missions as you and your squad risk everything every time you step into quarantine.


Monster Hunter World Brings In Raging & Furious Variant Monsters To Play With

As we’ve mentioned before, Monster Hunter World is getting a slew of post-Iceborne updates for everyone for free. So here’s a trailer for Title Update 3, featuring variant monsters Raging Brachydios and Furious Rajang.

The former is spewing lava everywhere it goes, while the latter seems to have a projectile and a fast area-of-effect attack. Both will pose quite a challenge for veterans, so gear up as this update will be available this March for PS4 and Xbox One users. PC users will only get it this April.
If you want to see how action-packed Monster Hunter World Iceborne is, do check out this highlight reel courtesy of EMNS.


Among Us, Spelunky & All Games From The Nintendo Indie World Showcase

The last Nintendo live stream took place in September 2020, but now weâ€™ve finally received a new one. The presentation showcased a lot of exciting new indie games for Nintendo Switch owners to look forward to.
Check out my full recap and roundup of the Nintendo Indie World Showcase December 2020 below:
Among Us

InnerSloth’s popular multiplayer game Among Us is now available on the Nintendo Switch.

Spelunky & Spelunky 2

Developer Mossmouth has announced that roguelike platformers Spelunky and Spelunky 2 are coming to the Nintendo Switch sometime in summer 2021.

Fisti-Fluffs

Fisti-Fluffs is an adorable physics-based party game where you tussle with other cats and destroy the environments in frenetic over-the-top battles.
It’s coming to the Nintendo Switch and PC sometime in early 2021.

Very Very Valet

Very Very Valet is a four-player party game where you park cars. It’s coming to the Nintendo Switch sometime in early 2021.

Tunche

Developed by Leap Game Studios, Tunche is a charming, hand-drawn beat-em-up hack and slash game with roguelike elements, co-op, and a pinch of shaman witchcraft.
It’s coming to the Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and PC in March 2021.

Cyber Shadow

Publisher Yacht Club Games (the studio behind Shovel Knight) and developer Mechanical Head Studios have announced that retro action platformer Cyber Shadow will launch for PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC via Steam on 26 January 2021.

Calico

Calico is a day-in-the-life community sim game where you are given an important and adorable task: rebuild the townâ€™s cat cafÃ© and fill it with cats.
It is now available on the Nintendo Switch.

Alba A Wildlife Adventure

Developed by Ustwo Games (the studio behind Monument Valley), join Alba’s adventure as she visits her grandparents on a Mediterranean island but finds that she has to save the island and the wildlife on it.
It’s coming to the Nintendo Switch sometime in Spring 2021.

Gnosia

Publisher Playism and developer Petit Depotto will release the Nintendo Switch version of Gnosia sometime in early 2021.

Happy Game

Amanita Design has announced that horror adventure game Happy Game for Nintendo Switch and PC (Steam) will launch sometime in spring 2021.

Super Meat Boy Forever

Developer Team Meat has announced that Super Meat Boy Forever will launch for the Nintendo Switch and PC via the Epic Games Store on 23 December 2020, followed by the PS4 and Xbox One in January 2021.

Grindstone

Developer Capybara Games has announced that puzzle game Grindstone is now available on the Nintendo Switch.

When The Past Was Around

Developed by Southeast Asian developer Mojiken and publisher Toge Productions, When The Past Was Around is an adventure point-and-click puzzle game about love, moving on, letting go, and the joy and pain of everything in between.
It is now available on the Nintendo Switch.

Kosmokrats

Kosmokrats is the People’s zero-gravity utopia building comedy adventure game., where you can pilot your drone solving dynamic constructions and build a mighty space fleet to colonize the stars, as well as shape your own narrative and assemble utopia or build a post-human technocracy.
It’s coming to the Nintendo Switch sometime in early 2021.

Hoa

Hoa is a beautiful puzzle-platforming game that features breathtaking hand-painted art, lovely music, and a peaceful, relaxing atmosphere.
It’s coming to PC and Nintendo Switch in April 2021.

Hazel Sky

Hazel Sky is a heartfelt adventure about a young engineer facing his destiny and his desires. Fix ramshackle flying machines and jump, climb, swing, and slide through a beautiful, mysterious world.
It’s coming to PC and Nintendo Switch in March 2021.

Trash Sailors

Trash Sailors is a hand-drawn sailing simulator with co-op up to 4 players. Create the trashiest sailing team in history, fight with monsters and trash your friendship.
It’s coming to PC and Nintendo Switch in spring 2021.

Finding Paradise

Finding Paradise is a story-driven adventure spanning a lifetime, following two doctors traversing through a dying man’s memories to fulfill his last wish.
It’s coming to the Nintendo Switch in spring 2021.

You can also watch the entire 15-minute Nintendo Indie World Showcase December 2020 below.


Idolm@ster Franchise Gets Concept Movie From Cloverworks & Studio Khara

During the Idolm@ster 16th-anniversary party livestream, the team announced a concept movie for the Japanese idol-filled musical game series.
The concept film will have Atsushi Nishigori as its director and character designer; fitting, since he’s responsible for the Idolm@ster TV anime and movie. The film’s production and animation will be done by Cloverworks and Studio Khara.
Here’s a teaser for the project, featuring the image song 2021 “Voyager”. The film will feature different pop idols from the Idolm@ster series performing this one song.

The concept films will be on sale next month on 4th August.


The Samsung Galaxy A32 5G Is Now Available At A Cheaper Price

It’s the end of the year, the time of sales and promotions galore. Samsung Malaysia is no exception. The Samsung Galaxy A32 5G is having a promotion where you can purchase it at RM100 off at a discounted price of RM1,099 (from its original price of RM1,199).
This awesome device is not one to ignore; it comes with many awesome features that will put a smile on any userâ€™s face and it also comes in four stylish colours: Awesome Violet, Awesome Blue, Awesome White and Awesome Black.
The device runs on an Octa-core processor with 8GB RAM that gives you fast and efficient performance even when you are multi-tasking. Besides 128GB of internal storage, you can still increase it with a microSD up to 1TB. The Galaxy A32 5G also comes with an advanced quad camera; a 48MP F1.8 main camera.
It also comes with a 5MP macro camera, 2MP depth camera and an 8MP ultra-wide camera.Â  With a powerful 5,000mAh battery, you donâ€™t have to worry about your device dying on you and if you are running low on battery, you can just use the adaptive 15W fast charger that will power you up in no time.
The rebate is available from 15Â November 2021 to 19 December 2021. In addition, until 31 December 2021, you can also save 20 percent off and get one year of Accidental & Liquid Breakage Plan at RM88 or 2 years Accidental & Liquid Breakage Plan at RM168.
For more details and information on the device, you can visit the official website here.


Malaysian ISP Seems to Be Blocking Apex Legends Players from Logging Into EA Servers

Update 2 17th Feb 9am: The ISP at the center of this issue, TM Unifi have responded via Twitter, denying that they’ve been blocking access to certain games.

Hello @kennleandre just to clarify, we do not block access to @EA servers or any other game servers for that matter. @gobindsinghdeo @SyedSaddiq
â€” unifi (@unifi) February 16, 2020
Their customer help account also added that they are aware that a number of players failed to connect due to ‘a number of game servers have been blocking a range of IP addresses due to bad logins’.

Hai @kennleandre. Just to clarify, we do not block access to @EA servers or any other games servers for that matter. What we are aware of is that a number of game servers have been blocking a range of IP addresses due to bad logins.
â€” help me unifi (@helpmeunifi) February 17, 2020

The question now is – which side caused the bad login? Is it the game server’s fault, or the ISP? Do note that players have no issues logging into EA servers on other games such as FIFA.

Update 1: Apparently, Monster Hunter: World players also face similar issues logging into the game where one hunt for behemoths and swing giant swords using their online waifu avatars.

@unifi @helpmeunifi â€œNAT Type: Failedâ€… Itâ€™s been about 12 hours now… Other PS4 users seem to be having the same issue too. The PSN services are up and running. Is the problem coming from your end ?? #NATtypeFailed #unifi pic.twitter.com/lV1Fb7ZAJd
â€” Fitra Qadari (@fqadari) February 16, 2020

If you are a Malaysian gamer and have issues logging into Apex Legends on the PS4 – you are not alone. We encountered this issue just a while ago as one of our squadmates who are on TM Unifi found himself unable to log into the game server. Thinking that it might be just your normal connection error (for Unifi users, that is), we troubleshoot to eliminate several potential causes.
Lo and behold – he is able to log into the Apex server when tethering via his phone which is on another telco service, Digi.
So guess the same issues where R6 players were unable to log into their game a while back has reached World’s Edge; Apex Legends players are forbidden from logging in to EA servers.
For control purposes, that friend of mine tried logging into another EA game, this time FIFA20 and guess what? He had no issues logging into the server.Â Â For the record, we are using TIME at home and have no issues logging into our games – so far.
The only workaround we’ve discovered so far is to change the DNS to either 1.1.1.1. or 8.8.8.8 – both with mixed results. While this method enables one to log into the EA servers, you may encounter issues getting into the queue. However, we’ve received reports where the method works without a hitch. Our verdict: it does not hurt to try.
The reason for the block is anyone’s guess but from what we are seeing, it’s clearly targeted towards games which some folks consider ‘violent’ or contain elements of ‘gambling’ – which is untrue for Apex Legends as players are able to purchase specific items available in their store.
We’ve contacted the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission to address this issue and will revert to you once we have anything on it.
Lastly, we’d really appreciate it if you’d do a quick check whether you are able to log into the Apex Legends EA servers and report back to us of your findings in the comments section below.
We would also certainly appreciate it if you’d tell us if you seem to face similar issues logging into the servers via PC.


Here’s Your PS Plus Asia November 2019 Lineup

Asian gamers will have two new games to look forward to in the PS Plus August 2019 lineup, and theyâ€™re arguably the most exciting games weâ€™re receiving in months. From 6 November to 3 December 2019, PS Plus Asia subscribers will be able to redeem Nioh and Outlast 2.
Nioh

It’s not a coincidence that Team Ninja’s Nioh will be part of the PS Plus Asia November 2019 lineup, especially in light of today’s announcement of Nioh 2‘s release date. Nioh is a visceral, action-driven adventure where players must hone their skills, upgrade their weapons and demonstrate perseverance in besting some of ancient Japanâ€™s fiercest demons.
The gameplay in Nioh will be familiar to fans of the Soulsbourne games, albeit with a more traditional Japanese cultural and geographical setting similar to Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice.
Outlast 2

Outlast 2 is a first-person survival horror video game developed and published by Red Barrels, where players can immerse themselves in a desperate fight for survival in an isolated rural community as they attempt to rescue their kidnapped wife from the clutches of a deranged cult.
Its creepy atmosphere and scary gameplay make for a scream-worthy good time. Just keep running and you’ll survive. Probably, or die many times attempting to, of course.
In the meantime, check out the trailer below courtesy of PlayStation Asia.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8B7asNJFPNQ&w=560&h=315]


PUBG Mobile Partners With Koenigsegg For New Limited-Time Mode

PUBG MOBILE has announced its partnership with Swedish hyper-car manufacturing company Koenigsegg, to bring their custom made, lightning-fast rides to the battlegrounds. The company mainly manufactures sports cars and has also broken various world records in terms of car speed. With this new partnership, PUBG MOBILE is giving players a unique in-game opportunity to get behind the wheels of some of the worldâ€™s most exclusive hyper-cars.
Starting from 1st of November until the 30th of November 2021, players can purchase the Jesko, a Koenigsegg mega car with a 5.0 litre twin-turbo V8 engine capable of producing up to 1600hp, or the Gemera, Koenigseggâ€™s first four-seater and the worldâ€™s first Mega GT. Both cars come in three different colours for players to choose from. Those looking to further enhance their Koenigsegg apparel can head to the Event Centre to complete missions that will provide exclusive rewards, such as graffiti, parachutes, pans and more.
Vincent Wang, Head of PUBG MOBILE Publishing, Tencent Games,Â said:
â€œKoenigsegg is a brand that brings an incredible amount of innovation to an already fast-moving industry. As innovators in our field, we are constantly seeking to provide new and improved experiences for our players, through partnerships, gameplay updates and more.
In partnering with the artisans of Koenigsegg, we are bringing the unique craftsmanship and boundary pushing speed of their supercars to the PUBG MOBILE battlefield, giving players a new and exhilarating way to experience the game.â€
PUBG MOBILE is available for free at theÂ App StoreÂ andÂ Google PlayÂ Store.


Apex Legends Reconnect Feature Is Coming Soon, Says Respawn Dev

The worst thing to happen when you’re playing a game of Apex Legends is to experience disconnect errors, which have plagued Respawn Entertainmentâ€™s battle royale game since launch. Players loathe getting the ‘code:leaf’ error and other similar net server issues, so the developer is working on fixing those issues.
How?
Respawn is currently working on introducing the Reconnect feature for Apex Legends. Pro player Mac â€˜Albralelieâ€™ Beckwith’s game froze while he was playing in a tournament, getting hit by ‘code:rock’ error. Former pro player Marcel â€˜Veinelessâ€™ Lehmann then replied by suggesting that a reconnect feature would solve all the issues.
Apex Legends developer Josh Medina swoops in and replied by confirming that the Reconnect feature is coming “real soon”.

Real soon
â€” josh medina (@lowkeydbjosh) April 18, 2020
A Reconnect feature would allow even players with unstable connections to play more smoothly and without experiencing game-breaking errors. With Season 5 on the way, Respawn would surely want to resolve all the current problems and issues beforehand.
The developer also recently changed how map rotation works after negative player feedback. The Old Ways event began on 7 April 2020, giving players a choice of queuing up for duos and trios, either on the Worlds Edge or Kingâ€™s Canyon maps.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0gXZS9XcBM&w=560&h=315]


Hot Toys Spares No Details In Recreating Batman Forever’s Batman & Robin

The folks at Hot Toys have unveiled several figures from 1995’s Batman Forever, including the Val Kilmer and Chris Oâ€™ Donnellâ€™s versions of the Dark Knight and Boy Wonder. Both ultra-realistic sixth-scale figures come with detailed accessories, and the Robin Hot Toy is so detailed that it even features the infamous bat-nipples protruding from its chest.
Both figures are slated to arrive sometime in Q2-Q3 2022. You can find out more about the Batman figure here, and the Robin figure here.


Here’s Your PS Plus Asia August Lineup

Asian gamers will have two new games to look forward to in theÂ PS Plus August 2019 lineup, and theyâ€™re arguably the most exciting games weâ€™re receiving in months. From 7 August to 3 September 2019, PS Plus Asia subscribers will be able to redeem WipEout Omega Collection and Chronicles of Teddy: Harmony of Exidus.
In comparison, PS Plus subscribers in the US will also be receiving WipEout Omega Collection, but Sniper Elite 4Â in place of Chronicles of Teddy: Harmony of Exidus.Â Asian gamers may be disappointed that they’re getting an indie platformer instead of Sniper Elite 4.
WipEout Omega Collection

WipEout Omega Collection was originally released in 2017. It includesÂ HD remasters of Wipeout 2048, andÂ Wipeout HDÂ (as well as its HD Fury expansion). It features online multiplayer for up to eight players and local two-player competitive racing, as well as being compatible with PlayStation VR.
Developed by XDev, Clever Beans and EPOS Game Studios, it’s a fun and fast-paced updated take on the classic WipEout racing games.
Chronicles of Teddy: Harmony of Exidus

Chronicles of Teddy: Harmony of Exidus is a 2015 action-adventure platform game created by French indie studio LookAtMyGame. The gameplay features traditional side-scrolling platforming sections with Metroidvania mechanics and nostalgic retro graphics
Players assume the role of aÂ young girl who enters a portal in her house, which leads into a fantasy world, in order to save her friend and the strange land from evil. This would be a great game for lovers of underrated indie gems.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HE035qNfB4&w=560&h=315]
More Free Content
In addition to these two games, PS Plus Asia subscribers will also receive aÂ PlayStation Plus Exclusive Toro And Friends Summer Dynamic Theme.
In the meantime, check out the trailer below courtesy of PlayStation Asia.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8Du6ELhjD8&w=560&h=315]


Xbox Live Gold Adds Injustice & More In June 2021

Microsoft has announced its lineup of free games for Xbox Live Gold subscribers in June 2021. On Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S, experience captivating, momentum-based gameplay inÂ The Kingâ€™s Bird,Â and choose to save the world or plunge it into disaster inÂ Shadows: Awakening. And for our classic lineupÂ via Backward Compatibility, play a fighting game filled with classic characters inÂ NeoGeo Battle Coliseum,Â and traditional lines between good and evil amongst your favourite superheroes are blurred in Injustice: Gods Among Us.
Xbox Live Gold members will have exclusive access to these games for a limited time as part ofÂ Games with Gold. So willÂ Xbox Game Pass UltimateÂ members, who receive all the fantastic benefits of Gold plus access to over 100 high-quality games with Xbox Game Pass.

The Kingâ€™s Bird (US$19.99 ERP): Available June 1 to 30 2021.
Shadows: Awakening (US$29.99 ERP): Available June 16 to July 15 2021.
NeoGeo Battle Coliseum (US$9.99 ERP): Available June 1 to 15 2021.
Injustice: Gods Among Us (US$19.99 ERP): Available June 16 to 30 2021.

The Kingâ€™s Bird
In this award-winning artistic title, enjoy a seamless platform adventure with physics-based movement. Escape into a world kept secret by a tyrant and discover the truth about your freedom.
Shadows: Awakening
Take control of a demon summoned from the Shadow Realm to consume the souls of long-dead heroes. With a gripping storyline and challenging gameplay, find out who is in chargeâ€¦ the demon or the souls that it has devoured?
NeoGeo Battle Coliseum
All the best fighters await you. With a host of original heroes and unique characters that transcend time, unleash this tag-team versus fighter with all your favourite NeoGeo warriors amassed under one roof.
Injustice: Gods Among Us
From the creators ofÂ Mortal Kombat, iconic characters from DC Comics such as Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, and more, clash together in epic battles. With a massive scale and a bold original storyline, see what happens when our greatest heroes became our greatest threat.
In the meantime, check out the trailer below:


Raid Shadow Legends Animated Series Is In The Works

A Raid Shadow Legends animated series titled Raid Call Of The Arbiter is in development, with ten five-minute-long animated shorts coming to YouTube that will premiere on 18 May 2023. It is being
Publisher Pixel United and developer Plarium announced that Rollman Entertainment CEO and former president of Marvel Television Eric Rollman will produce the series, while Lex + Otis CEO Jay Oliva will be the showrunner, and composer Jesper Kyd (who has worked on Assassin’s Creed and Borderlands) will create original music for the show.
Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, Michael Lang, the CEO of Plarium’s parent company Pixel United, said:
“There’s been a significant demand from the players who want to know more about the story, more about the characters, more about the experiences. [We were not] trying to follow all the other games companies that have had some success of late in terms of their IP. It was really more coming out of our players and wanting to extend the storyline of what this game represents.”
Raid: Shadow Legends is a freemium mobile role-playing game developed and published by Israeli game developer Plarium Games, a subsidiary of the gambling company Aristocrat Leisure. A port to PC was released on 21 January 2020.  It is best known for being a meme for its extensive ads and sponsorship segments, especially in YouTube videos.
This is all probably due to the success of recent video game animated series like Arcane and Cyberpunk Edgerunners on Netflix.
Check out the teaser below:


Facebook Has A New Name, And It’s Meta

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has announced that Facebook would be getting a name change soon. The new moniker? Meta.
Starting today, you’ll have to start calling Facebook “Meta”, complete with a new infinite pretzel logo. According to the announcement on Facebook, I mean Meta’s official page, Mark said that the new name reflects the growing influence of “the metaverse”, which is basically “a feeling of presence – like you are right there with another person or in another place”.

The names of the apps that we build—Facebook, Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp—will remain the same.
— Meta (@Meta) October 28, 2021

Here’s part of the spiel:
“In the metaverse, youâ€™ll be able to do almost anything you can imagineâ€”get together with friends and family, work, learn, play, shop, createâ€”as well as completely new experiences that donâ€™t really fit how we think about computers or phones today.
In this future, you will be able to teleport instantly as a hologram to be at the office without a commute, at a concert with friends, or in your parentsâ€™ living room to catch up. This will open up more opportunity no matter where you live. Youâ€™ll be able to spend more time on what matters to you, cut down time in traffic, and reduce your carbon footprint.
From now on, we will be metaverse-first, not Facebook-first. That means that over time you wonâ€™t need a Facebook account to use our other services. As our new brand starts showing up in our products, I hope people around the world come to know the Meta brand and the future we stand for.”
Long story short, the metaverse will not be under one company, but a cooperative effort between creators and developers that can help accelerate through the development of tech, social platforms, and other tools. Mark also said that there’s a need to support cryptocurrencies and NFTs, much to the chagrin of those who have strong feelings for the two new emerging technologies.
You can check out the new “Facebook” on meta.com. The Facebook name is still active at the moment.


Teamfight Tactics Currently Top Game On Twitch; Auto Chess Craze Going Full Swing

In case you haven’t heard, Auto Chess is a really popular thing. Imagine a turn-based game where you lay out your chess piece units onto the battlefield, position them for a good 30 seconds, then see them go to town against mobs and other player pieces. That’s the gist; you win by being the last person standing among 8 players for the whole fight. And to think the mod all started on Dota 2, which itself had humble beginnings as a mod.
Now it’s League of Legends‘ turn to have a mod ala Auto Chess; it’s called Teamfight Tactics and it’s now live on the game’s PBE servers. And already it’s on the top of the Twitch charts. The mod is at 127k viewers, beating out Fortnite, GTA V, and League of Legends.

While still a beta and riddled with bugs, the game is still quite a hoot to play for LoL fans and MOBA lovers who prefer the character designs from Riot Games. Keep in mind that LoL’s patch 9.13 will be out to hopefully iron out these problems.
With Dota Underlords out courtesy of Valve and a standalone Auto Chess game on Epic Games Store, the auto-battling genre (as I like to call it) is going full swing and will make these next few months interesting to watch. Teamfight Tactics will be out in full on 25 June, tentatively.
Sounds Exciting. How Do I Play Teamfight Tactics?
Simple. You need a PBE account on League of Legends. You need to acquire at least honor level three and a close-to-one-year account. Once you have those conditions sorted, you can go here to signup.
In other words, if you’ve been playing LoL for a long time, you’ll get into this no problem. Otherwise, you’ll have to wait until it’s out on live servers.


Apex Legends Season 5’s New Legend Is A Master Thief

Apex Legends will officially kick off Season 5: Fortune’s Favor on 12 May 2020, and introduce an exciting new Legend into the fray. A new teaser trailer reveals more about the latest Legend to join the battle royale game; a master thief named Loba Andrade.
From the trailer, it seems like Loba began her life of thievery from childhood. One day, Lobaâ€™s partner discovers “him”, who turns out to be none other than the cyborg assassin Revenant. It’s still unknown what Loba’s connection is with Revenant, though he might have to do with her mysterious past.

When everything was taken from her, Loba Andrade learned how to take from everyone else. The Apex Gamesâ€™ newest Legend is used to getting what she wantsâ€”no matter how well itâ€™s guarded.
ðŸ’Ž: https://t.co/rFSYoByiDC pic.twitter.com/vZIYFXsgI9
â€” Apex Legends (@PlayApex) April 30, 2020
Unfortunately, the trailer doesnâ€™t reveal anything about Lobaâ€™s abilities in the game might be when sheâ€™s added to the game, but it’s highly likely that she’ll be getting sneaky thievery skills. Whatever they are, it looks like she’s going to be an interesting addition to the roster, to say the least.
Besides new Legend Loba Andrade, Apex Legends Season 5 will also introduce Quests, Ranked Mode Series 4, and an all-new Battle Pass with over 100 exclusive items to look forward to. In the meantime, check out Loba’s trailer below.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RH3Rp80rbkQ&w=560&h=315]


Where Do You Pre-Order The PS5 In Malaysia? Let Us Help!

Pre-orders are now officially open for the PS5 in Malaysia. There are 27 confirmed authorized retailers and stores across Malaysia (12 of which are Sony Centres).
Most of them have yet to actually open pre-orders (at the time of writing), but we have inserted links to their Facebook pages for your convenience.
Check them out below (all of the information were correct at the time of writing, but we’ll update accordingly):
HG Time
HG Time Enterprise shops are located in Klang, Banting, and Central i-City Shah Alam.
Head on over to this link to pre-order now.

https://www.facebook.com/HGTIME1233/posts/3744785038899445

Gamers Hideout
Gamers Hideout shops are located at One Utama, Sunway Pyramid, Lot 10, and Central i-City Shah Alam.
After all the PS5 pre-order debacle involving the forced implementation of PWP (purchase-with-purchase), Gamers Hideout has since apologized for the issue.
According to sources close to KKP, they will be introducing a new and revised PS5 pre-order plan soon, as detailed below.
You can pre-order the PS5 standard edition at RM2299, but each customer will be limited to one console unit.
Most importantly, although the PWP is no more, you can still choose to buy games, PS5 accessories, or even special packs, as optional additional purchases.

Alfa Game Centre
Alfa Game Centre is located in Puchong, Selangor.
Stay tuned on their Facebook page.
CK Multimedia System
CK Multimedia System is located in Subang Jaya, Selangor.
Stay tuned on their Facebook page.
Gaming Gadgets
Gaming Gadgets is located at One Utama in Petaling Jaya, Selangor.

https://www.facebook.com/gamesterdirect1u/posts/1513961232129608

Stay tuned on their Facebook page.
HeavyArm Store
HeavyArm is located in Petaling Jaya, Selangor.

https://www.facebook.com/Heavyarm412/posts/3708147899228774

Stay tuned on their Facebook page.
Impulse Gaming
Impulse Gaming shops are located in Johor, Penang, and Sunway, Selangor.
Apparently, pre-orders are supposed to have already opened, but at the time of writing, there’s no way to pre-order yet.

https://www.facebook.com/ImpulseSunway/posts/3457886454303344

Stay tuned on their Facebook page.
Manopaniq
Manopaniq is located in Kelantan.
Stay tuned on their Facebook page.
Maxlink (M4G)
M4G is located at Mid Valley and One Utama.
Stay tuned on their Facebook page.
Micky Trading (HobbyGame2U)
HobbyGame2U is located in Malacca.

https://www.facebook.com/Maxlink4Gamers/posts/3474717505952820

Stay tuned on their Facebook page.
Mission World
Mission World is located at Mid Valley.

https://www.facebook.com/MissionWorld123/posts/3174630162640827

Stay tuned on their Facebook page.
TinyRobot
TinyRobot is located in Sabah.
Stay tuned on their Facebook page.
All IT Hypermarket
All IT Hypermarket is located in many locations across Kuala Lumpur and Selangor.
Stay tuned on their Facebook page.
Pineapple Computer Systems
Pineapple Shop is located in Kuala Lumpur.
Stay tuned on their Facebook page.
Sony Centres Across Malaysia
While the above were all brick and mortar shops, you can also pre-order the PS5 at Sony Centres and stores across Malaysia.
However, at the time of writing, the PS5 is already apparently sold out, according to the official website. It’s either that or pre-orders have yet to officially open as of now.
Check out the full list below:
Sony Store KLCCSony Store The CurveSony Centre ImagoSony Centre Mid Valley SouthkeySony Centre Sunway PyramidSony Centre Mid Valley MegamallSony Centre KaramunsingSony Centre IOI City MallSony Centre Low Yat PlazaSony Centre VivacitySony Centre Queenbay MallSony Centre Ipoh Parade
In the meantime, head on over here for all our coverage and news regarding the PS5.


Quantic Dream’s Star Wars Eclipse Game May Be Out In 2027

According to recent XFire reports, the upcoming David Cage Star Wars game may be out very late.
Quantic Dream is reportedly facing difficulties in hiring staff, hence the Star Wars Eclipse game from the company may be out in 2027. That’s 4 years away.
At this point in time, Quantic Dream has 67 jobs available and vacant in Paris.

Why is the company facing hiring issues? That’s due to Quantic Dream’s series of allegations surrounding workplace issues and toxic work culture that has been reported for quite a few years now. This makes the studio less attractive to work at.
If this keeps up, there’s a good chance Disney may need to find another company to work on Star Wars Eclipse, albeit in a future far, far away.


Next Apex Legends Patch Says Goodbye To Gibraltar’s Sticky Shield

What a beautiful weekend to receive some patch notes for our favourite battle royale, Apex Legends.Â This patch would see us receive quality of life updates, fixes on Intel CPU crashes, and Gibraltar’s sticky shield removed from the game.
Wait, what?Â This is an outrage! They’ve taken my only reason for playing Gibraltar;
Courtesy of Zenbeth on Reddit.
Yes, that’s the only reason for maining Gibby.

Other than canister jousting and Pathfinder slinging, the fun, albeit tactically useless, sticky shield will be omitted in the next patch. But hey, Arc Stars will no longer stick to the shield.
On the other hand, the Fortified Passive bug that causes Gibraltar and Caustic to take damage through their shields has been fixed.
Audio quality will also see an improvement. Here’s what Respawn said:

“We have also addressed some of the other mix issues with the game, including increasing the volume of close proximity enemy footsteps and lowering the overall volume of the game from the character select screen to the end of the drop sequence.
We will continue to monitor mix issues and address them as necessary.”

The crashes specific to Intel CPUs were also addressed. It had something to do with the CPU failing to properly execute a particular function, but I won’t bore you with the details. It will be fixed in the next patch.
Quality of life updates include;

Lowered the master volume of all sounds during the character select screen through the end of the drop sequence.
Lowered the volume of Wraith’s ambient kunai knife sound for those who are sensitive to the sound. If it is still bothersome we will remove it in a later patch.
Increased the volume of close proximity enemy footsteps for all Legends.
Increased the priority of enemy footsteps to ensure the sounds play even in heavy combat situations.
Slightly lowered the volume of Pathfinder footstep sounds heard from the first person view.
Fixed missing or quiet dryfire (out of ammo trigger click sound) and low ammo (the progressive change in sound that the gun makes as the magazine approaches empty) sounds for the R301, Hemlok, Flatline and RE45.
Increased the volume of the music that plays when winning a match.
Added more detailed audio to the Training mission.

Respawn also pointed out that they are working on fixing and improving hit detection with “some behind-the-scenes tracking of bullet damage logic”. This will potentially fix the weird rubberbanding effect present in-game, the one where you still get hit after ducking behind cover.
While there is no set date for this patch, we will expect to see the patch in the coming week.
For full patch notes, please head on to the patch notes here.


Fighting EX Layer Will Feature Free DLC Characters; More News At EVO 2018

It looks like Arika’s future for Fighting EX Layer is all set. According to the latest update from the company, FEXL will be releasing two new characters for free: Pullum Purna and Vulcano Ross.

Pullum Purna is Indian Cammy. Sorta. She is a rushdown character back in her Street Fighter EX and she’ll most likely play the same if most of Fighting EX Layer’s cast is of any indication. Her backstory is as follows:

After her fatherâ€™s disappearance, Purna rose up and governed her country in his stead. While trying to figure out a way to escape from the boredom of her daily life, Purna discovered a clue about her fatherâ€™s disappearance. After sharing this information with her people, Purna declared that she herself would go out in search for him. Noticing her attendant Darun was also missing, she resolved to search for him as well.

Vulcano Rosso was in Street Fighter EX 2 and 3; he uses fire-based attacks and a self-taught fighting style that combines kickboxing and jeet kune do. Here is Vulcano Rosso’s backstory:

After graduating from the Organization, Rosso began his new life as the “Narcissist Detective”. Although initially, he didn’t intend on taking a request from a certain rich princess, once he heard the target was Jack he changed his mind. Besides, he has to collect the money Jack owes him from their Poker games!

Both their release dates and trailers will be revealed at this year’s EVO 2018 fighting game tournament which takes place from 3th to 5th August.
Furthermore, Arika plans to add new features before the end of July, which includes:

The option to return to Training Mode after connecting to an Online Match (Return to Training/Continue Waiting for a Match)
An arcade mode. Finally.

Guess that SG70+ I spent on FEXL isn’t going into a trash void. Phew! For more FEXL goodness, check out our official Gougi guide.
https://www.facebook.com/kakuchopurei/videos/1481398168631260/


Panzer Dragoon: Remake Comes To PC Later This Year

At E3 2019, Nintendo announced that the Panzer Dragoon remake titled… Panzer Dragoon: Remake would be released as a Nintendo Switch exclusive in late 2019. Recent news from the developers has confirmed that the game is actually also coming to PC via Steam.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjCivsV8qwU&w=560&h=315]
The Panzer Dragoon: Remake official Twitter account tweeted that the game is “landing right into the Steam Store” and can now be added into your Steam wishlist. It’s stated on the game’s Steam page that it’s planned to be released at the same time as the Nintendo Switch version. The release date remains unspecified but both are planned to be released in winter 2019.
Co-developed by MegaPixel Studio SA and Forever Entertainment SA, the game will be a faithful remake of the first Panzer Dragoon game with improved graphics and controls. It was announced that the two studios are also remaking Panzer Dragoon II but no details have been unveiled yet.
Check out some screenshots of the remake:


Epic Announces Epic Games Publishing Label

Epic Games is now venturing into more than digital games distribution, as it has announced its new Epic Games Publishing label. They also revealed the label to be the one that Remedy signed two deals with recently.
Epic Games Publishing will be a multiplatform endeavour with a “developer-first approach”. They currently have deals with The Last Guardian‘s gen DESIGN, Limbo‘s Playdead, and of course, Remedy.

According to Epic, they will allow developers to “retain 100% of all intellectual property and full creative control of their work” and allow them to earn “at least” 50% of profits. They will also fully cover development costs, from “developer salaries to go-to-market expenses such as QA, localization, marketing, and all publishing costs”.
While I haven’t been a big fan of the Epic Games Store, I think Epic’s latest move is a pretty good developer-friendly initiative. This will likely result in more Epic Games Store exclusives and times exclusives though, so I can see some players being less enthusiastic.
More announcements will be coming later this year, so we’ll find out more about what Epic Games Publishing has in store a few months down the road.


Spider-Man No Way Home Is Not Tom Holland’s Last Film, Sony Confirms

Spider-Man No Way Home is only a few weeks away, but Sony Pictures producer Amy Pascal has confirmed that the upcoming movie won’t be Tom Holland’s last film as the friendly neighbourhood wall-crawler. In fact, they’re already planning the next trilogy of films starring Tom Holland as Spider-Man.
During an interview with Fandango, Pascal said:
“This is not the last movie that we are going to make with Marvel â€“ [this is not] the last Spider-Man movie.
We are getting ready to make the next Spider-Man movie with Tom Holland and Marvel. We’re thinking of this as three films, and now we’re going to go onto the next three. This is not the last of our MCU movies.”

She also somewhat teases that we might potentially see a live-action Miles Morales in the future. Pascal added:
â€œI would say thereâ€™s so many things that weâ€™re going to be able to explore, but what we always have to do before we decide who the villain is going to be, and what Spidey goes up against, is what is the story weâ€™re telling about? You know?
Whatâ€™s the Peter Parker story weâ€™re telling? Whatâ€™s the Miles Morales story that weâ€™re telling? But we always have to start with that. The good thing about these movies is as big as the canvas they take place on can be, they are always just stories about a kid.â€
Directed by Jon Watts (who also directed 2017â€™sÂ Spider-Man HomecomingÂ and 2019â€™sÂ Spider-Man Far From Home),Â Spider-Man No Way HomeÂ is slated to premiere on 16 December 2021.


Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising Seems Like A Fun 2D Side Quest

Since its Kickstarter years ago, the throwback RPG Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes has been generating quite a buzz among retro RPG fans from the 90s since it’s basically the revival of the Suikoden franchise, in all but name & licensing.
Of course, to start the journey proper, one needs an introductory game of sorts using bits and pieces of the game’s new lore but also a more accessible kind of title. Enter Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising, a spin-off game that’s meant to draw in newcomers.
Based on the two hours we’ve played so far, it’s doing a bang-up job at easing players into its rose-tinted throwback world. Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising is a 2D action platformer where your party members are mapped onto the attack buttons in real time. You walk around the game’s town hub and multitude of dungeons in 2D fashion, jumping, platforming, and killing beasts and monsters for resources and experience points. You need resources to upgrade your character’s skills and stats: buffing CJ’s gear means she can double jump while upgrading Garoo’s arsenal will allow him to parry enemy attacks. It’s simple and straightforward, but definitely fun thanks to the smooth 90s controls.
Check out our gameplay of the preview build below to see what we mean. Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising will be out in April 2022 for PC and consoles. Meanwhile, Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes is slated for 2023.


Xbox Is Looking To Buy More Studios, Says Phil Spencer

In September 2020, Xbox shocked the entire games industry when they announced that they have acquired ZeniMax Media, the parent company of Bethesda. What this means is that they now own franchises like Doom, The Elder Scrolls, Fallout and more.
In a video interview with Bloomberg, Xbox head Phil Spencer confirmed that the company would still be looking for more studios and developers to acquire in the future. However, he stopped short of naming any specific companies.
He said:
“Games are what gamers play. We build these platforms and services to deliver the best games to gamers everywhere, so we need a great supply of first-party teams. Bethesda nearly doubles the size of our first-party studios, meaning the studios that build games as part of Xbox, and we’re still out there looking for other teams. It’s important that we have a continued supply of great games for our gaming subscription and platforms.”
You can watch the whole video below:


7-Star Party: Brave Frontier Celebrates 5th Anniversary with Free Stuff

Gumi Inc has announced that Brave Frontier will be celebrating its 5th anniversary with gifts and special events galore, as a sign of gratitude to all players who have been playing the game for the past 5 years.
First things first, players can put their Brave Frontier knowledge to the test by participating in the Rizky and Shalyâ€™s 5th Anniversary Trivia dungeon, with exclusive prizes awaiting them at the end.
Veteran Brave Frontier players will be glad to learn that their total number of days spent playing the game since its initial launch will be rewarded with exclusive Anniversary Gifts, which includes different sets of Jubilee Tickets and Jubilee Chests. These chests will yield Elementum tomes, Amber Butterflies, elemental shards, as well as the chance to summon powerful units for free at the anniversary exclusive Jubilee Summon Gate.
Additionally, the Unit-of-Choice campaign makes its return. Players who log in for a total of 50 days between 12 October to 12 December 2018, will be able to grab rare heroes or heroines for free. Logging in every Friday will also grant players the opportunity of winning a free Anniversary ticket.
Throughout the 5th anniversary event, the Anniversary Omni Summon Gates will be constantly updated with featured units starting with Florence, Serin, and Nia. Last but not least, don’t forget to claim your free Gems by logging in on every date that ends with the number 5.
Brave Frontier is a free-to-play JRPG mobile game available for all Android, iOS, Amazon and Windows Phone devices. It boasts more than 10 million downloads on the Google Play Store alone.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81xaGX4jVoc&w=560&h=315]


Total Tank Simulator Is Ramming Its Way To Steam In 2020

505 Games has announced that they will be partnering with Polish indie developer Noobz From Poland to release the physics-based battle game Total Tank Simulator on Steam for PC in 2020. It is the debut project from the up-and-coming games development studio.
A physics-based tactical World War II battle game at heart, Total Tank Simulator
features more than 50 battle maps, as well as hundreds of historical or classified units and weapons. In the role of a military Commander, players will deploy massive armies and leverage their fleet of tanks, planes, cannons and infantry to fight tactically through intense battles.
Three game modes will challenge players to use strategic thinking and unleash creativity, including Sandbox Mode, Shadow Mode (survival mode) and Campaign Mode, with six different playable factions permitted in each game mode.
Players will battle through a carefully detailed and totally destructible experience across the burning sands of the Sahara Desert, the emerald green fields of Europe and the snowy plains of Russian Taiga, among other detailed environments ripe for total destruction.
Publisher 505 Games have launched a special pre-launch promotion on Steam for Total Tank Simulator. This will allow the community of players on Steam to collectively play a role in determining the launch price of the game by creating wishlist tiers that unlock special discounts and unique in-game items.

Tier 1: 50,000 wishlists = Secret Weapons or Special Tactics units will be available for each of the original factions. Â
Tier 2: 75,000 wishlists = Secret Weapons or Special Tactics units + Officer Units + 10 percent release discount for one week.
Tier 3: 150,000 wishlists = Secret Weapons or Special Tactics units + Officer Units + 25 percent release discount for one week.

Head on over to the official Steam page for the game here to wishlist it now. In the meantime, check out the trailer for Total Tank Simulator below.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmSr1akOpb0&w=560&h=315]


Geek Slate, Reverts Back To Geek Fam & Cuts Ties With Avium

About six months ago, Geek Fam decided to change its name to Geek Slate after reaching an agreement involving Geek Fam, Avant Talents, and Avium. However, Geek Fam and Avant Talents have now terminated the arrangement with Avium. The reason behind this decision is that the arrangement had become unfeasible and contrary to Geek Fam’s values and ambitions.
As a result, all Geek Slate branding will be reverted back to Geek Fam, and all our competitive esports teams will continue competing under the Geek Fam name. We are currently in the process of making arrangements with different esports organizers and game publishers regarding this transition.
Despite these unfortunate turn of events, Geek Fam managed to stay afloat and ensure that our esports players and staff could continue their work without any financial worries. In fact, our players have achieved remarkable success over the past six months. They have ranked among the top 10 teams in the world in PUBGM’s Global Championship, secured 1st and 3rd place in the PMPL Malaysia (Spring and Fall seasons respectively), qualified for the Dota 2 Lima Major, and emerged as champions of the 1XPLORE Dota 2 tournament.
We stay true to our motto, “Once a Geek, always a Fam,” as we believe in the importance of family taking care of one another.
Geek Fam and Avant Talents are fully committed to protecting and enforcing their rights following the termination of the arrangement.
Regarding this matter, Geek Fam will refrain from any further public discussion beyond this announcement.


Rockstar Was Going To Do A Bully Sequel, But Stopped Halfway

Rockstar Games fans clamour for a sequel to action-adventure school-based title Bully. Heck, a lot of them were convinced the company was working on it based on the many easter eggs and references found in Grand Theft Auto 5 and Red Dead Redemption 2.
Sadly, only a small slice of a sequel was created before it was canned. According to a VGC piece, the supposed sequel was being developed for 18 months. A concept for the sequel’s plot included having main character Jimmy from the first game reminiscing about his time at school or college.
At some point between May 2010 and the end of 2013, Rockstar New England apparently put together a “very small slice” of the sequel”, complete with simplistic open-world gameplay. It was built using the Rockstar Advanced Game Engine (RAGE), the same engine used for Grand Theft Auto 4 and 5, Max Payne 3, and both Red Dead Redemption games.
Unfortunately, that’s as far as the game went, and the team were moved to other projects.


Square Enix’s Guardians Of The Galaxy Game Will Feature Bangin’ 80s Tunes

Square Enix and Eidos Montreal have revealed the full licensed tracklist for its upcoming action game, Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy. If you’re a fan of 80s music, you are in heaven here.
The OST features 28 licensed songs from the 80s, as well as two original songs by fictional group Star-Lord Band. Here’s the playlist:

Never Gonna Give You Up – Rick Astley
Kickstart My Heart – Motley Crue
Turn Me Loose – Loverboy
Holding Out for a Hero – Bonnie Tyler
Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go – Wham!
(Donâ€™t Fear) The Reaper – Blue Oyster Cult
Turn up the Radio – Autograph
Donâ€™t Worry Be Happy – Bobby McFerrin
White Wedding – Pt.1 – Billy Idol
Hit Me With Your Best Shot – Pat Benatar
Everybody Have Fun Tonight – Wang Chung
Rock Rock (Till You Drop) – Def Leppard
Everybody Wants To Rule The World – Tears For Fears
Hanginâ€™ Tough – New Kids On The Block
Tainted Love – Soft Cell
I Ran (So Far Away) – A Flock Of Seagulls
Every 1â€™s a Winner – Hot Chocolate
Iâ€™ll Tumble 4 Ya – Culture Club
Weâ€™re Not Gonna Take It – Twisted Sister
I love It Loud – KISS
Take on Me – a-ha
Love Song – Simple Minds
Call Me – Blondie
Since You Been Gone – Rainbow
Relax – Frankie Goes To Hollywood
The Warrior – Scandal, Patty Smyth
We Built This City – Starship
The Final Countdown – Europe
Zero to Hero – Star-Lord Band
Space Riders with No Names – Star-Lord Band

If you plan on livestreaming the game on Twitch, you may want to turn off copyrighted songs on the menu to avoid copyright strikes.Â And here’s the animated music video of Star-Lord Band’s “Zero to Hero” song. Because why not?

Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy will be out on 26th October for PS5, PS4, Xbox Series, Xbox One, PC, and Nintendo Switch (via cloud gaming).


Our Favorite Shimada Gets A New Skin

Blizzard today unveiled one of the newest skin set to drop next week along with the Archives: Retribution event – Scion Hanzo. Looking a lot like an extra from the Yakuza games, it’s a fitting name for the heir to the Shimada throne.

Overwatch Archives file locatedâ€¦
Subject identified: SCION HANZO
File content available for download in t-minus: 4 days pic.twitter.com/1xDLqatVwF
â€” Overwatch (@PlayOverwatch) April 7, 2018
Part of the Overwatch lore series under the Archives umbrella, Retribution traces back to Blackwatch’s formation and will be available this 10th of April 2018. Along with the event are over 100 brand new items including skins, icons and emotes.


PUBG Sales Reach A Whopping 70 Million Units

Just over three years after it launched, PUBG has sold a whopping 70 million copies. What’s even more incredible is that the 70 million units don’t take the extremely popular PUBG Mobile version into account; only the PC, Xbox One and PS4 versions combined, according to GamesIndustry.biz.
PUBG achieved this sales milestone despite the fact that sales have actually significantly slowed since its Early Access debut in early 2017, considering that PUBG Corporation initially reported over 50 million sales in June 2018.
However, 20 million units over just two years is still an impressive feat, especially in this age dominated by other games like Apex Legends and Fortnite. In comparison, PUBG Mobile is doing even better, having amassed 400 million downloads and 50 million daily active users as of June 2019.
Recently, PUBG Corporation also announced that PUBG Season 8 will launch on 22 July 2020. It will feature a remastered Sanhok map and loot-filled trucks.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nElaLITj5Ug&w=560&h=315]


Homeworld Mobile Open Beta Is Now Live In Selected Countries

Starting from today, Android users in Canada will be among the first in the world to join the Homeworld Mobile Regional Open Beta. For those not in Canada, developer Stratosphere GamesÂ will announce additional regions and countries as they go live across the next year in the Homeworld Mobile newsletter, on the website, and on all social channels.
Those in Canada will be able to download the Homeworld Mobile Regional Open Beta starting from 3pm UTC on 21 July 2021 at the Google Play Store page here.
In this Homeworld-bound odyssey, players can recruit officers, upgrade their fleet, and experience true 3D real-time strategy on mobile like never before.
Over a century since the original exodus and rediscovery of their Homeworld, the Hiigaran people have overcome trials and galactic foes to finally bring forth an era of peace and prosperity. The Hiigarans now look beyond the Whirlpool Galaxy as they look to explore and settle an uncharted universe through the Hyperspace Gates.
Players can choose one of many factions of the Space Fleet belonging to the Hiigaran Navy as you embark upon missions to explore the outer reaches of the universe in search of resources and new friends or old foes. Compete against or form alliances with fellow settlers from different factions as you chase the trail of the Progenitors.
Will you search for archaic clues as a researcher of the S’jet, bring glory and prove your might as a proud member of the Soban, or find a place to call home as the outcast Kiithless?
In the meantime, check out the trailer below:


Capcom’s Mysterious Pragmata Has Been Delayed To 2023

No one really knows what Capcom’s mysterious game, Pragmata, is. It was originally announced back in June 2020 during the PS5 Digital Showcase with a cryptic and strange trailer that told us nothing about the game. Unsurprisingly, today Capcom has announced that Pragmata has been delayed to 2023.
The Japanese company announced Pragmata’s delay with yet another cryptic and bizarre trailer. It features the girl from the original trailer, who’s holding a sign that has ‘2022’ scribbled out and replaced with ‘2023’.
Capcom’s statement reads:
Our team is hard at work on the project, but to ensure this will be an unforgettable adventure, we’ve decided to shift the release window to 2023. In the meantime, we have a brand new artwork to share with you. Thank you for your patience.
All of this strange marketing just reminds me of Death Stranding‘s leading up to its release, and we all know how that game turned out. Very divisive, I mean.
Perhaps we’ll learn more about Pragmata in 2022, so fingers crossed for that. It’s slated to release for the PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC in 2023. In the meantime, feast your eyes on this new trailer.