Why You Should Watch DC’s Titans

Titans aired from October 2018 to December 2018 on the DC Universe streaming app exclusively in the US. Thanks to Netflix, international audiences can now stream all 11 episodes of the first season starting today on 11 January 2019.
However, after a disastrous marketing campaign with a trailer that left a bad DCEU-like taste for many, the question here is whether the new DC Universe’s Titans is worth watching.
I’m here to tell you, as a massive comic book fan, that the show is definitely worth watching, despite the presence of a few flaws (which I will address as well).
It Can Sometimes Be Too Dark But It Never Forgets To Be Fun At Times

The first impression a lot of people had with the first Titans trailer was that this show is going to be just as grimdark and edgy as the DCEU. After watching the entire season of Titans myself, I can confirm that the show often relies too much on extreme violence and swearing, especially during the first few episodes.
However, Titans does gradually improve throughout the season, as it settles for a mature tone that is still gritty and moody but also fun and eccentric at the same time. The tone isn’t quite balanced, but it’s certainly not as bad as the promotional trailers made it out to be. Even that infamous “F*** Batman” line isn’t as cringe-worthy when seen within the context of the scene, I promise.
It’s The Most Fully-Realized Live-Action Adaptation of the DC Comics Universe Yet
Hawk and Dove
Consider this: after decades of live-action DC movies, we still haven’t received a single live-action version of an adult Dick Grayson (Batman and Robin doesn’t count) or a teenage Jason Todd, let alone any of the Teen Titans or the Doom Patrol. The Titans show manages to feature many historic live-action debuts of DC Comics characters that we’ve never even seen outside of the comics or animation.
Not only that, unlike the CW Network’s Arrowverse or Warner Bros’ DCEU, the world in which Titans takes place in is not one where heroes or metahumans have just recently appeared. Instead, Titans’ DC Universe is lived-in and pre-established, where there is a Justice League and the existence of metahumans are sort of recognized by the world at large. It’s also refreshing to watch a live-action adaptation where the characters don’t have to pretend like Batman is simply a myth or legend (*cough BvS cough*).
Where can you see obscure characters like the Doom Patrol, Hawk and Dove, and the Titans themselves in live-action? That’s right, only on Titans, folks.
Members of the Doom Patrol
Confirmed Plans For Expansion With More Future Shows In The DC Universe

The first season of Titans is a weird one, in which the pacing of the plot is sacrificed with episodes that seem to divert focus from any of the core Titans. For example, one episode is dedicated to the introduction of the members of the Doom Patrol while another explores the origin of crimefighting couple and duo Hawk and Dove. These distractions actually serve the purpose of being backdoor pilots for these characters.
Soon the DC Universe will include many more shows, with the Doom Patrol, Stargirl, and Swamp Thing all slated to release in 2019. These will all take place in the same shared universe Ã  la the Arrowverse. Since Titans is the first series to kickstart this new DC Universe, fans shouldn’t miss the show that started it all.
It’s Already Renewed For A Second Season

Titans Season 1 may be rough, but most first seasons of shows like these aren’t (of course there are exceptions to the rule). Try to remember the first seasons of Arrow and Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Were they as good as their subsequent seasons? I don’t believe so. Many shows had to experience a rocky first season before churning out some excellent seasons later on. You should try giving Titans the same benefit of the doubt, and enjoy the show.
The DC Universe still has room to grow, and Titans has the potential to be even better next season. It’s already officially renewed for a second season, so you don’t have to worry about the series being prematurely cancelled and realizing you’ve just wasted 11 hours of your life (you won’t, trust me).
All 11 episodes of the first season of Titans is now available to stream on Netflix, including Netflix Asia (which applies to those in Malaysia and the rest of Southeast Asia).


ASUS ROG Announce New 2023 ROG Strix SCAR & Strix G In Malaysia

ASUS ROG Malaysia just announced the new ROG Strix SCAR and ROG Strix G gaming laptops.
They come in different sizes and have a fresh design, plus improved components for the 17-inch models. These laptops are packed with features like the ROG Nebula and Nebula HDR displays, and a smart cooling system, making them perfect for both serious gamers and esports pros. Brand-new designs come to the Strix SCAR 16, Strix SCAR 18, Strix G16, and Strix G18, with updated internals for the Strix SCAR 17 and Strix G17.
The new ROG Strix gaming laptops are packed with the latest and greatest technology from Intel, AMD, and NVIDIA. The Strix SCAR 16 and 18 have a powerful 24-core processor and a supercharged GPU, making them the top-performing laptops from ROG. The laptop automatically switches between performance and battery life modes, so you don’t have to worry about adjusting it yourself. The Strix G16 and G18 also have a powerful processor and GPU, just like the SCAR models.
ROG is also updating their 17-inch models, the Strix SCAR 17 and Strix G17, with even more powerful components. The SCAR 17 has a top-notch processor from AMD and a high-performing GPU from NVIDIA, while the G17 has a similar processor but a slightly different GPU. Both models have the same advanced technology that makes it easy to switch between performance and battery life.
The new ROG Strix gaming laptops, in 16-inch and 18-inch sizes, have a smart cooling system. This new technology, called Tri-Fan, was first introduced in the Flow X16. The laptops also have a larger heatsink, which helps dissipate heat better, and better vents for better airflow. With liquid metal on both the CPU and GPU and 7 heat pipes, these laptops can handle the most powerful components available.
The 17-inch models, the Strix SCAR 17 and Strix G17, also have liquid metal on the CPU for top-notch cooling performance. The SCAR 17 has an extra special touch—a custom vapour chamber for even better cooling.
The new Strix laptops in 16-inch and 18-inch sizes come with an amazing new display – the ROG Nebula. This display is super fast, bright, and vibrant, providing a truly immersive experience that beats other gaming laptops. The Nebula display has high refresh rates, quick response time, high brightness, and covers a wide range of colours, so you know you’re getting the best. These laptops come with a QHD display that refreshes 240 times per second.
The Strix SCAR 16 is even better – it has a Nebula HDR display with even more zones for contrast. This display has even more brightness and provides incredible HDR picture quality.
Below you can find the availablity and pricing of the ROG STRIX SCAR 2023 gaming laptop series.

Model Name

Main Specifications Comparison

SRP

ROG STRIX SCAR 18
G834J-YN6068W

CPU: 13th Gen Intel® Core™ i9-13980HX
GPU: NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 4090 16GB GDDR6 (175W)Display: ROG Nebula Display 18″ IPS QHD+ (2560 x 1600) 16:10 240Hz
RAM: 64GB DDR5-4800 (Dual-channel)
Storage: 1TB + 1TB PCIe® 4.0 NVMe™ M.2 SSD (RAID 0)
Webcam: 720P HD camera
Power Supply: 90WHrs Battery / 330W AC Adapter
Bundle: ROG Backpack, ROG Fusion II 300 Headset, ROG Gladius III Mouse, ROG Armor Cap
RM18,999
Availability Mid Feb

ROG STRIX SCAR 16
G634J-ZNM023WH
CPU: 13th Gen Intel® Core™ i9-13980HX
GPU: NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 4080 12GB GDDR6 (175W)Display: ROG Nebula HDR Display 16″ Mini LED QHD+ (2560 x 1600) 16:10 240Hz
RAM: 32GB DDR5-4800 (Dual-channel)
Storage: 1TB + 1TB PCIe® 4.0 NVMe™ M.2 SSD (RAID 0)
Webcam: 720P HD camera
Power Supply: 90WHrs Battery / 330W AC Adapter
Bundle: ROG Backpack, ROG Gladius III Mouse, ROG Armor Cap, 100W TYPE-C AC Adapter

RM13,999
Availability Mid Feb

ROG STRIX SCAR 17
G733P-YLL009W

CPU: AMD Ryzen™ 9 7945HX
GPU: NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 4090 16GB GDDR6 (175W)Display: 17.3″ IPS WQHD (2560 x 1440) 16:9 240Hz
RAM: 32GB DDR5-4800 (Dual-channel)
Storage: 1TB PCIe® 4.0 NVMe™ M.2 SSD
Webcam: 720P HD camera
Power Supply: 90WHrs Battery / 330W AC Adapter
Bundle: ROG Backpack, ROG Fusion II 300 Headset, ROG Gladius III Mouse
Price to be updated.
Availability end Feb

ROG STRIX SCAR 17
G733P-ZLL011W
CPU: AMD Ryzen™ 9 7945HX
GPU: NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 4080 12GB GDDR6 (175W)Display: 17.3″ IPS WQHD (2560 x 1440) 16:9 240Hz
RAM: 32GB DDR5-4800 (Dual-channel)
Storage: 1TB PCIe® 4.0 NVMe™ M.2 SSD
Webcam: 720P HD camera
Power Supply: 90WHrs Battery / 330W AC Adapter
Bundle: ROG Backpack, ROG Fusion II 300 Headset, ROG Gladius III Mouse

Price to be updated.
Availability end Feb

Below you can find the availablity and pricing of the ROG STRIX G 2023 gaming laptop series.

Model Name

Main Specifications Comparison
SRP

ROG STRIX G18
G814J-IN6068W
CPU: 13th Gen Intel® Core™ i9-13980HX
GPU: NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 4070 8GB GDDR6 (140W)Display: ROG Nebula Display 18″ IPS QHD+ (2560 x 1600) 16:10 240Hz
RAM: 32GB DDR5-4800 (Dual-channel)
Storage: 1TB PCIe® 4.0 NVMe™ M.2 SSD
Webcam: 720P HD camera
Power Supply: 90WHrs Battery / 280W AC Adapter
Bundle: ROG Backpack, ROG Impact Gaming Mouse

RM10,499
Availability End Feb

ROG STRIX G16
G614J-UN3113W

CPU: 13th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-13650HX
GPU: NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 4050 6GB GDDR6 (140W)Display: 16″ IPS FHD+ (1920 x 1200) 16:10 165Hz
RAM: 16GB DDR5-4800 (Dual-channel)
Storage: 512GB PCIe® 4.0 NVMe™ M.2 SSD
Webcam: 720P HD camera
Power Supply: 90WHrs Battery / 280W AC Adapter
Bundle: ROG Backpack
RM6,699
Availability End Feb

ROG STRIX G16
G614J-JN3030W
CPU: 13th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-13650HX
GPU: NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 3050 6GB GDDR6 (95W)Display: 16″ IPS FHD+ (1920 x 1200) 16:10 165Hz
RAM: 16GB DDR5-4800 (Dual-channel)
Storage: 512GB PCIe® 4.0 NVMe™ M.2 SSD
Webcam: 720P HD camera
Power Supply: 64WHrs Battery / 240W AC Adapter
Bundle: ROG Backpack

RM5,999
Availability End Feb

ROG STRIX G17
G713P-ILL021W

CPU: AMD Ryzen™ 9 7945HX
GPU: NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 4070 8GB GDDR6 (140W)Display: 17.3″ IPS WQHD (2560 x 1440) 16:9 240Hz
RAM: 32GB DDR5-4800 (Dual-channel)
Storage: 1TB PCIe® 4.0 NVMe™ M.2 SSD
Webcam: 720P HD camera
Power Supply: 90WHrs Battery / 280W AC Adapter
Bundle: ROG Backpack, ROG Impact Gaming Mouse

Price to be updated.
Availability April onwards

Pre-Order Promotion
You can now pre-order the ROG Strix SCAR 18 and ROG Zephyrus M16 starting from 8 to 21 February on the official ASUS store or select ASUS exclusive stores. But hurry, there’s limited stock.
And the best part? The first 5 customers who pre-order the ROG Strix SCAR 18 will get a ROG Chariot Core Gaming Chair worth RM1,888 for free. The first 15 customers who pre-order the ROG Zephyrus M16 will receive a ROG SLASH Hip Bag and ROG Cetra True Wireless worth RM1,029 as a bonus.


Perfect Dark Reboot Development Is Going Really Well, According To Crystal Dynamics

The Embracer Group-owned game developer Crystal Dynamics is hard at work with numerous projects, like with a new Tomb Raider and Guardians of The Galaxy game. But it’s also co-developing the next Perfect Dark entry alongside Xbox.
According to the game developer’s CEO Phil Rogers, the development of the Perfect Dark reboot is going “extremely well” when giving an update on the project during an Embracer Group earnings call this week.
“We’re working on the iconic Perfect Dark game and the project is going extremely well. What’s been so promising internally is seeing how our team took on this opportunity, a new way of working. If we think about the future of how we work, collaboration across studios, across time zones, across geographies, across different companies, will all become more common, so it is great to see the team at The Initiative and our team across Crystal studios working so well together.”
Apart from those games, Crystal Dynamics also shared that they have received an overwhelming response to a recent Legacy of Kain series survey, which is meant to gauge interest in a potential revival.


Regrading: Overwatch League Teams Grades & Season Prospects Post Pre-Season

Now that we’ve seen the teams perform at the Overwatch League pre-season matches, we have a better understanding of the teams and how they compare against other teams in the pack. This is a follow up to an earlier pre-pre-season grading article where we discussed about the teams’ lineups and prospects solely based on past performances. Without further ado, here’s the updated grades (previous grades inÂ parentheses)

Grade:Â SSÂ â€“ Favorites to Win the League and Overall Title
Team: Seoul Dynasty (Unchanged)

As expected, the Seoul Dynasty showed their class and capabilities overcoming Shanghai, Houston and Excelsior for a combined score of 9-2 over three games.Â  Of the two maps dropped, one is on Junkertown, a map notorious for its potency of producing shock results. In their final pre-season game, Seoul went down early to New York Excelsior – one of the two teams that know them well from their days competing at the OGN APEX circuit – before pulling off a reverse sweep to win it 3-1. The most balanced and stable team in the Overwatch League, folks in the audience were lucky to be able to watch the Overwatch masters in action three times over the course of three days and we feel what was shown were just the tip of the iceberg. Expect some radical plays from these guys once the full season starts.
Grade:Â SÂ â€“ League Top 4, Division Winners Favorites & Play-Off Contenders
Teams: Dallas Fuel, London Spitfire, New York Excelsior (all unchanged)
Â Â
Dallas Fuel went unbeaten in two games with a combined score of 6-3 and the only real issue we notice with the-team-formerly-known-as-EnVyUs from the pre-season was the integration of its new players to the core roster. Of the three, only Seagull seemed comfortable assimilating with the team while Custa appears to be on the right track in gelling with the rest. xQc appears to be the one least coordinated with his new teammates but expect the situation to improve once the season kicks off. Dallas looked shaky at times in their match against Houston Outlaws especially when Taimou’s shots weren’t connecting and the rest of the squad appeared to be taking too long to adapt to their opponent’s strategy.
The experimental London Spitfire lineup was shocked 2-3 by the Los Angeles Gladiators in their opening pre-season match, mostly due to Surefour’s heroics but you cannot keep a good team down for long. Responding in the best way possible, they showed what they are capable of to defeat the highly stacked San Francisco Shock 4-0 and close their pre-season with a 1-1 record with a combined score of 6-3. The full roster which is a combination of Cloud9 KongDoo and GC Busan appear to still lack the chemistry to really challenge Seoul Dynasty but still, are more capable to overcome at least eight other teams in the league.
New York Excelsior burst out of the gates all guns blazing, beating Boston Uprising 3-1 in the opening match before being brought down to Earth by tournament favorites Seoul Dynasty, losing 1-3 in the second game. Their biggest strength is their DPS players in the form of Saebyeolbe and the yet-eligibleÂ Fl0w3R who both shined at the Overwatch World Cup so if you’re solely watching for highlight reels, this is a team worth investing your attention. Able to outgun any team on their best day, NYXL may face issues against teams with strong backline support such as Los Angeles Valiant (Verbo, KariV, uNKOE), London Spitfire (HaGoPeun & Closer) and as seen on Sunday, Seoul Dynasty (Ryujehong, Tobi) – who are experts in prolonging team fights to flip the fight to their favor.
Grade:Â AÂ â€“Â Dark Horses and Top-6 Spots in Overall Standings
Teams: Los Angeles Valiant (unchanged), Houston Outlaws (B)
Â
Los Angeles Valiant‘s first 3-2 win was clouded by the notion that San Francisco Shock were fatigued following their earlier match against Florida Mayhem.Â Their second win, however, the first of many ‘Battle of Los Angeles’ saw them convincingly sweep aside Los Angeles Gladiators 3-1. A morale boosting win of course and while some may again downplay the win as being an exhibition match result, take nothing from the Valiant as they exhibited great team cohesion and the emergence of a new DPS star in the form of ‘silkthread’. Also worth mentioning that this isn’t the final form of the team as Agilities wasn’t eligible to compete for the pre-season.
Despite losing both their pre-season matches, Houston Outlaws upgraded from a B-tier team to A following very impressive outings; pushing Dallas Fuel to the limit before losing 2-3 and repeating their impressive form against the heavily favored Seoul Dynasty which was capped with a 3-3 tie on Numbani. They may struggle against the likes of London Spitfire and NYXL but rest assure, should sweep other teams below their tier with relative ease. Special mention for the ever-reliable JAKE and LiNkzr who outplayed Taimou on Widowmaker when they last met.
Grade:Â BÂ â€“Â Rank-Outsiders â€“ Middle of the PackÂ
Â Â Â
Teams: Los Angeles Gladiators, Florida Mayhem(unchanged), Shanghai Dragons (A), Boston Uprising (C), San Francisco Shock (A)
All five teams have tons of areas to work on before warranting a tier upgrade; Los Angeles Gladiators will have to stop solely relying on Surefour if they are to improve their results while Shanghai Dragons need to regroup as their players appear to be directionless once their initial push or strategy fails. The Chinese team which received an A-tier grade prior to pre-season showed flashes of brilliance against Seoul but were unable to sustain it long enough to benefit from it.
The San Francisco Shock and Florida Mayhem have very limited depth in their squad and once caught, have very little room to change their approach. Both teams are very predictable coming into the pre-season and unless they add more talent to the roster, may find themselves at the foot of the table come end of the season. Boston Uprising were a pleasant surprise coming out of the pre-season as they defied the odds and showed grit and determination against fancier opponents. While they predictably lost to NYXL in their opening match, showed promise of a very formidable squad in years to come.
Ungraded:Â
Team: Philadelphia Fusion (B)

A team which spectacularly managed to direct all negative attention their way even before they start competing in the inaugural season. The suspension of SADO threw a spanner into the works and the misery was compounded by the failure of the organization to cobble up a team to feature in the pre-season exhibition matches. Philly have enough talent to give A-tier teams a run for their money and if we had to call it, rank at least amongst the top-6 in the league.

The Overwatch League starts 12th January 2018. We will be bringing you all the news, analysis, features and of course coverage of the Overwatch League. Follow us onÂ TwitterÂ andÂ FacebookÂ to stay updated on all the news from Kakuchopurei.com


Register For Mobile Legends MPL Malaysia S10 Qualifiers Now

Following the MLBB Southeast Asia Cup held in Malaysia for the very first time, Malaysia no welcomes it’s tenth season of MPL with the opening of registration for the Season 10 qualifiers.
From 23 June onwards, registration is open for any and all teams who think they got what it takes to take on the best in Malaysia. So if you’re looking to go pro, or know someone who wants to then now’s the chance. Registrations for the qualifiers will end on 3 July, and the qualifiers will be held between 7–9 July, with the final rounds, broadcasted live on MPL Malaysia’s social media.
MPL Malaysia is the pioneering esports league in the country that saw a peak-concurrent viewership of 143,783 audiences, according to Esports Charts. The last season saw the uprising of TODAK, a veteran MLBB team that broke the runner-up curse to acquire their S9 championship title.

Both the Regular Season and Playoffs were held offline, with live audiences cheering their favourite teamsduring the Playoffs. The MPLMY teams will once again be tested to fight for a combined prize pool, with eight invited teams who will be fending off the two qualifying squads in the Regular Season — with the top eight advancing to the Playoffs stage. More details on partners and offline activations will be announced soon.
To register for a chance to become one of Malaysia’s top MLBB squads, sign up here or click the links below and be sure to join their Discord so officials can get in contact with you:

Form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSevb6js65X-EhsnYP44glRIjLmvESi-LxOfy4hXEhF4LKFndA/viewform
Discord: https://discord.com/invite/JANzSQRkB

You can also scan this QR code below to sign up:


Is The New Guilty Gear Entry A Detriment To Its Striving Fanbase? [Update]

Update (17/11/2021): After a balance patch, a few character additions, and the game’s network being more than stable, we’ve decided to tweak the game’s score & review to reflect the effort Arc System Works has put to maintain the game. Plus, there aren’t any noteworthy fighting games to add to our GOTY list this year, so this will have to do.Â
Platform(s): PS4, PS5, PC
Genre: Really pretty-looking 2D fighting game
I do not claim to be a grandmaster in fighting games, far from it. But I do pay attention to the genre’s history and (mostly convoluted) lore even before the likes of Street Fighter 2 came into the picture. As far as I can remember, the PS1 Guilty Gear was born out of love for the genre, and its sequels & “tournament editions” dominated the fighting game scene by establishing its own rules and niche.
“Niche” is the keyword here, because the Guilty Gear fandom and its players are a dedicated bunch despite its size. And in the grand scheme of competitive gaming things, fighting games, unfortunately, make up a small fraction if you compare it to your MOBAs and team-based shooters. Yeah, it’s pretty small when you put things into perspective.
So if a renowned game developer -Arc System Works- wants to attract more players to its treasured firstborn, it will have to make a few concessions and major changes. But at the same time, it’ll need to do some attentive PR to make sure the inevitable changes do not piss off its current fanbase. Much.
Are these changes worth the hassle? In Guilty Gear Strive’s case, I’m personally down with it and I do feel it needs to have its established mechanics “streamlined” to get more people on board. Even with a gimped single player option, everything else about the game is worthy of putting this fighter in a prime space.
Killer Queen

We can’t start talking about Guilty Gear Strive without bringing up how frickin’ gorgeous it looks. The 2D/3D art style here is arguably the best ASW has done since Guilty Gear Xrd and its plethora of updates.
While some may argue that the combo counter text can get obnoxiously big if you’re racking up the hits, as well as the counter-hit prompt can get intrusive and jarring, they personally did not deter the 2D fighting experience in the slightest. In a major effort to stand out while being aesthetically pleasing, ASW really did due diligence in integrating the stats & design well into a full-motion match.
Speaking of countering and punishing moves, Guilty Gear Strive‘s gameplay has been reworked here. As stated by series director Daisuke Ishiwatari years ago during the game’s production, this is not a revved-up version of its prequels. Rather, this game preserves the core of an anime fighting game but by making the characters feel a little heavier. Fighters can still air block and air dash, though the latter feels weightier and slower for most of the cast.
Compared to past Guilty Gear games, damage output is incredibly high and more impactful, especially if you land counter-hits. Don’t be too shocked if matches end fast because of a few strikes and from just a few mistakes.
The feeling you get from landing a counter-hit with a mid-ranged character like Ramlethal just feels really, really good.
Contributing to the heavy hits are Wall Breaks, a new mechanic in Guilty Gear. If you keep hitting your opponent at either the left or right wall, you can eventually put him/her in a wall splat state. Here, you can land an additional few hits and send them flying, leading to a cool stage transition and extra damage onto your fallen foe.
Some characters can benefit from dishing out Wall Breaks and using mixups and set plays to push enemies to the corner. However, that also means attentive players will learn not to back themselves into a corner, as well as use the patented Guilty Gear Burst to push opponents away.

Guilty Gear Strive also relies on neutral play a lot. There will be many instances where two players will start throwing out footsies and moves to get a poke in. Rushdown tactics are still viable (see Chipp and Millia who have faster airdashes than the rest of the cast), but if you drop your combos, you will die before the clock even goes past 20 seconds.
The Guilty Gear staple Roman Cancels (cancels from your moves so that you can be at neutral instantly) are back, but they’re done in a more streamlined fashion. Now they cost half your Tension meter, and can make you drift forward in some instances and inputs. There’s even normal Roman Cancels and fast Roman Cancels to factor in, along with different-coloured Roman Cancels that can either put you on the defensive or slow down your opponent. If you want to pull off a long combo using Roman Cancels, you can do that.
If your incredibly-unsafe move is blocked, you can Roman Cancel out of it so you can be at an advantageous position. Another GG staple, Dust Attacks, are now mapped to an exclusive button: use this attack to punish and launch foes who crouch-block too much, as well as style with your air combo of choice.
Perhaps the most divisive change here is the reworking of the game’s chain combo/target combo system, or Gatling in this context. Most of the character’s easier Gatlings are removed in this iteration, meaning that both newbies and veterans will not have a reliable weak-to-strong chain combo to rely on once they land a confirmed hit. You’ll need to head to the game’s training mode to practice and remember individual Gatlings.
Still, with the Roman Cancels, Bursts, and heavier damage output, the more technical-minded will find a way around this. And based on the online matches I’ve lost in, Roman Cancels are definitely the most important things to incorporate into your GG Strive play.
Somebod(ies) To Love

You can’t have great fighting game mechanics without a decent roster. And the 15 characters offered here hit all the fighter archetypes. Your balanced “shotos” Ky Kiske and Sol Badguy will have the best tools for you to get into the game if you’re brand new.
Expert level rushdown characters like Millia and I-No have their own skills that differentiate themselves from the cast like the former’s instant air dash and the latter’s “blink and you’ll die” Super Command Grab and air dash.
My personal favourites are the counter-savvy Anji Mito and the extreme grappler Potemkin. There’s just something so satisfying about keeping your opponent guessing with Fuujin mixups with the former character. Or baiting someone to just jump once at you and then surprising them with a Heavenly Potemkin Buster with the latter character.
New characters like Giovanna (rushdown) and Nagoriyuki have their own unique skillsets to separate themselves from the rest, with the latter possessing a unique Blood Gauge mechanic. The Nightless samurai has moves that cancel from each other and are intuitive in that sense, but he loses life fast if his Blood Gauge is maxed out. He relies on a command grab to lessen his Blood Gauge flow, but to do that players will need to find ways to mix opponents up to get that vampiric taste.
As far as unique characters go, Nagoriyuki’s one to look out for.

Guily Gear Strive is slower than past games, but it’s manageable and still retains its in-depth fighting game mechanics. The fact that online play uses rollback netcode for mostly smooth matches all across the world helps immensely. I had matches in Japan, Australia, and South Korea from Malaysia and they’re mostly good, with a few stutters here and there coming in.
Playing against US and Europe players may bring about a bad connection, but out of the 10 times I fought online, only one of them ended up being unplayable.
The online lobby system relies on a “Habbo Hotel” style avatar system where you control your custom blockhead character and move it around to initiate matches. If that’s too much of a hassle for you, you can just play training mode while searching for matches, or just park yourself onto one of the many terminals in the room you’re in and wait. Easy peasy!
Another One Bites The Dust
With the good comes the bad: for all of its new offerings for competitive play and its supposed method of enticing new players to the fold, there are not that many extras and content for players looking into the casual and semi-serious single-player experiences.Â  There’s a Mission Mode that can train you to be good at the game, to prep you for the network experience.
Arcade Mode lets you fight eight opponents consecutively, contains some on-screen banter between some characters, and no special scenes & endings. There’s also the standard survival mode; if you’ve played one in a fighting game, you’ve played them all.
And there’s Story Mode and its huge-as-heck Guilty Gear compendium. Story Mode is basically just a 4-hour cutscene of how the Guilty Gear story ends. It involves a new character named Happy Chaos, Sol Badguy being in the middle of all this nonsense, and a White House Down scenario but in anime form.

If you’re into the Guilty Gear lore & like stylistic cinematic scenes with the occasional janky movement and facial poses, you’ll find a lot to like here. But honestly, ASW could have at least added in more gameplay elements here to break the monotony ala the Injustice and Mortal Kombat single-player campaigns. Hell, ASW’s own BlazBlue and Persona Arena games at least had branching paths with some fights and interactivity tossed in.
I also find it perplexing that for a title aimed to get more non-Guilty Gear fans on board, the game’s Story Mode focuses on the climax of an existing character in the franchise and thus is catered for hardcore fans who religiously followed the story. It’s a weird design choice to add something like this in.
Still, it’s a huge step up from Street Fighter V’s forced story campaign mode. The compendium and relationship chart in the game is a lovely codex option for anyone interested. And you can also save at any point in the story, and then load at that exact same spot and dialogue you stopped at. It is what it is: a bunch of talking heads laying out exposition for an anime story meant to appease its niche fans. Slim pickings, in other words.
I Want It All

I’m pretty torn with Guilty Gear Strive. On one hand, I appreciate that Arc System Works is taking a huge risk in streamlining the past game’s mechanics and create something kinda new but kinda familiar for both fighting game newbies and fans. I’m a firm believer in change if it means getting new blood into your game, and this kind is welcome.
For US$70+/RM300, you’re getting an amazing-looking 2D fighting game that’s easy to learn but definitely difficult to master. Yes, I know the standard game costs RM200 or so, but you’ll want the game’s Season 1 Pass for the additional 5 characters if you want to prolong your enjoyment of the title during the rest of 2021. If you’re a lover of anime fighting games and all things Guilty Gear, you probably bought the Ultimate version of the game.
If you’re new and interested in getting into fighting games competitively 24/7, this may be the title for you as the game has all the tools to make you understand how to get into Guilty Gear. So go ahead and add an extra 20 points to the score and fight away.
But for new players who want to get into fighting games and occasionally want to play competitively? That price tag is a bit too steep for that kind of player. If you’re like me and want the best of everything in both quality and quantity, the price tag and lack of additional content beyond a solid versus game may not be ideal for your wallet. Just wait for a discount or something.
I do acknowledge that GG Strive has great fighting game mechanics and a stable netcode. I do get the feeling that ASW is going to add in more content post-release. But if we’re judging on what we have currently and based on ASW’s past output, then we have a solid game and foundation that’s missing a few key things that put it above the likes of a complete package like a Netherrealms or Bandai Namco fighting game. For an apt comparison, a multiplayer competitive-centric game like Overwatch costs US$40/RM160-ish.

Keep in mind: this is from a development team and publisher that has been making fighting games since the past few gaming generations. ASW is not fresh off the boat; surely we can expect better & more from them than just pretty visuals and a reworked fighting game engine, right? Until Guilty Gear Strive becomes a more fleshed-out content-packed game like Street Fighter 5 in its Season 5 state, this ASW fightfest will just have to settle for the bronze medal. However, over the past few months since release, ASW has been updating the game and adding in new and fresh characters with diverse playstyles to bump up the roster count, while also proving that its rollback netcode infrastructure is truly the gold standard for online fighting.
Even if the game’s full package is still missing a few things, you can’t go wrong with this generation’s new anime fighting game title. If you’re new to fighting games, Guilty Gear Strive is a must-play.
Pros

Phenomenal art style & rocking music.
The most accessible Guilty Gear entry in fighting game history.
A helpful Mission Mode that teaches you the game’s ins and outs.
Amazing netcode & lobby system for competitive play.
Diverse and balanced roster.

Cons

Pretty standard single-player & extra content.
Story mode is just cutscenes; not playable & interactive.

Final Score: 70/100


Here Are April’s Xbox And PC Game Pass Titles

A report on XGP has revealed April’s Xbox Game Pass offerings ahead of the company’s official announcement.
While the report did not state when the games will be available on Xbox’s subscription service this month, the games themselves are an eclectic list. These range from the Singapore-focused indie adventure game Chinatown Detective Agency to last year’s adventure game Life Is Strange: True Colors. If you love adventure games and some EA blockbusters, this April’s offering may be worth it.
Here’s the full list of games for April’s Xbox Game Pass (now made official):

Dragon Age 2 (Cloud) 7 April
Plants Vs Zombies: Garden Warfare (Cloud) – 7 April
Star Wars Squadrons (Cloud) – 7 April
Cricket 22 (Cloud, Console) – Out now
MLB The Show 22 (Cloud, Console) – Out now
Chinatown Detective Agency (Cloud, Console, PC) – 7 April
Life is Strange: True Colors (Cloud, Console, PC) – 12 April
Lost in Random (Cloud, Console, PC) – 14 April
Panzercorps 2 (PC) – 12 April
The Dungeon Of Naheulbeuk: The Amulet Of Chaos (PC) – 12 April

In a near-future universe, you're playing these games. you are very happy playing these gameshttps://t.co/0fJP8sgwXY pic.twitter.com/Noed2lcKUC
— Xbox Game Pass (@XboxGamePass) April 5, 2022

On a related note, Xbox has opened up PC Game Pass access for Malaysian and Filipino users, as well as other Southeast Asian regions. Also, an Xbox Game Pass “Family Plan” is coming soon.


FC Copenhagen’s Mo Daramy Wins FIFA 20 Stay And Play Cup

Last week, EA and FIFA announced the EA SPORTS FIFA 20 Stay And Play Cup, where professional football athletes would go head-to-head with each other, bringing together 20 of the most famous and historic clubs in Europe as they play FIFA 20 in an esports tournament from 16 to 20 April 2020.
The tournament is now over, and we have the champion. Surprisingly, it’s not a player from Liverpool, Chelsea, or any of the ‘bigger’ clubs amongst the twenty who participated. Instead, FC Copenhagen’s Mohamed Daramy emerged victorious in the grand final against DjurgÃ¥rden’s Jesper Karlstrom, beating him 2-1.

2âƒ£0âƒ£ Clubs
5âƒ£ Days of competition
1âƒ£ Winner
Mo Daramy (@FCKobenhavn) is the #stayandplay Cup ðŸ† Champion! pic.twitter.com/J9OzJAxaOu
â€” EA SPORTS FIFA Competitive Gaming #stayandplay (@EAFIFAesports) April 19, 2020
To reach the grand final, Mo Daramy had to defeat HJK Helsinkiâ€™s Nikolai Alho in his first-round matchup, Ajaxâ€™s Sergino Dest in the Round of 16, and FC Portoâ€™s Fabio Silva in the quarter-final, before beating AIKâ€™s Nabil Bahoui in the semi-final.
It’s worth pointing out that Mo Daramy is currently only below 65 OVR in FIFA 20 FUT (FIFA Ultimate Team). Perhaps he’ll receive a rating or stat boost after having won an entire tournament (even though it’s esports and not the real thing).

HE’S DONE IT!
Mo Daramy (@FCKobenhavn) scores a golden goal ðŸ¥‡âš½ï¸ and becomes the #stayandplay Cup Champion! ðŸ™Œ pic.twitter.com/Tuuc41RvwJ
â€” EA SPORTS FIFA #stayandplay (@EASPORTSFIFA) April 19, 2020
The FIFA 20 Stay and Play Cup helped raise money for Global Givingâ€™s Coronavirus Relief Fund, with EA alone having donated US$1 million to the organization. Recently, the NBA 2K Players Tournament also took place, with Phoenix Suns’ Devin Booker becoming the champion of the esports competition between pro basketball players.


Fallout 76 Gets A Proper Roadmap After 100 Days

It’s been a 100 days since Fallout 76 saw daylight, and Bethesda has announced the game’s roadmap for 2019.
Let’s be frank, the game had an appalling release, but Bethesda has been busy listening to community feedback. Bethesda also said that ‘they are keeping scores of changes under the hood that aren’t visible’.
Bethesda even reports that game and server stability has increased over 300% since launch, and players are playing an average of four hours!
The studio also announced some of the new free content they have been working on for the game this year through this very convinient roadmap.

Check down below for the breakdown of each update.

Wild Appalachia
Release: Spring 2019

Wild AppalachiaÂ features new quests, events, crafting systems, and more starting on 12 March and would arrive over several weeks. This update includes:
New quests:

Shear Terror! -Â Uncover the â€˜encryptidâ€™ secrets of Appalachia in a new series of quests and encounters to separate monsters from myths.
Ever Upwards -Â Journey to the deepest reaches of the woods with new stories for the legendary Pioneer Scouts. Earn merit badges, climb the ranks, and earn a customizable backpack for increased utility.

New features:

Legendary Vendor and ScrappingÂ â€“ Locate the mysterious Purveyor to exchange and scrap your unwanted legendary items for new legendary gear. For every star rating on a legendary item you scrap, increase your chances to get the legendary weapon or armour of your dreams.
C.A.M.P. Decorating, Player Vending, Functional CameraÂ â€“ Use items from your stash to decorate your C.A.M.P. Build vending machines and flag items for sale. Simply set your prices and walk away to continue your adventures in Appalachia, being sure to capture all your favourite memories using the new functional camera. The vending machines do all the work, you just need to count the caps.
Brewing and DistillingÂ â€“ Go on a new quest to discover the secrets of the forbidden brew Nukashine and bring the party back to your C.A.M.P with new brewing and distilling systems and recipes.

A new seasonal event:

Fasnacht ParadeÂ â€“ Chase away Old Man Winter and quicken the coming of spring with the ancient festival of Fasnacht! Join the celebration and complete this new limited-time event to earn unique rewards in the form of festive Fasnacht Masks.

A new game mode:

SurvivalÂ â€“ This all-new game mode brings a higher-stakes PvP experience with fewer restrictions, increased rewards, and new challenges plus all the original content of Adventure Mode.

Nuclear Winter
Release: Summer 2019
This release duringÂ summer marks an entirely new way to play that changes the rules of the wasteland by introducing:
A new game mode:

Nuclear WinterÂ â€“ An entirely new way to play Fallout 76, completely changing the rules of the Wasteland.

New Vault Raids:

Vaults 96 and 94 OpeningÂ â€“ For our most seasoned players, test your strength in all new high-level group Vault Raids.

A new feature:

Legendary PlayersÂ â€“ An all-new prestige system will allow players above level 50 to become Legendary, resetting their characters with all new more powerful abilities.

Wastelanders
Release: Fall 2019
The last update on the roadmap featuresÂ a tale with true choice and consequences inÂ WastelandersÂ â€“ Bethesda’s biggest and most ambitious update for Fallout 76.Â WastelandersÂ will include a new main questline, new factions, new events, new features and even more surprises.

With Fallout 76 having a bad start, this means the game can only get better with each content update, but knowing how they… screwed up, let’s just hope for the best.
Full notes can be seen here.


Kingdom Hearts 3 ReMIND To Add A Photo Mode, Trailer Coming This Month

The â€œKingdom Hearts Orchestra: World of Tresâ€ concert took place over the weekend in Osaka, Japan, where game director Tetsuya Nomura revealed more details about the upcoming Kingdom Hearts 3 ReMIND DLC and when to expect a new trailer.
According to Gematsu, the Kingdom Hearts 3 ReMIND DLC will add the following:

Data Creating â€“ A photo mode where players can freely position and pose their favourite characters to take photos, as well as configure object placements and effects/filters.
Slideshow â€“ The ability to create a slideshow of the photos players have taken, with choices of frames and background music.
Premium Menu (Change And Tweak Difficulty Settings)

Fast Pass â€“ Makes enemies weaker and lets players essentially one-shot kill enemies, with at least seven attractions/spells stacked up above the combat menu.
Black Code â€“ Tweak difficulty to make gameplay more challenging by choosing how much health you have, without items or Cure, etc.

However, Nomura has yet to announce the official release date for the Kingdom Hearts 3 ReMIND DLC. He reportedly said that “people would get mad at him” if he were to do so, which could indicate that it has been delayed further than players expected.
Nevertheless, a new trailer will be unveiled sometime this month, so perhaps we’ll learn more about it then. In the meantime, check out my review of Kingdom Hearts 3Â hereÂ orÂ check out my detailed discussion of the franchiseâ€™s past, present, and future here (spoilers ahead).


Diablo 4’s Repetitive Dungeon Designs Are Apparently Intentional

Players have been voicing their complaints about the lack of dungeon variety in the Diablo 4 beta, but according to the game’s lead developers, this is just a beta problem. In the beta, dungeons have been criticized for having the same layouts on repeated runs, which is unusual for a series that typically randomizes them. This has led to players calling the dungeons repetitive and linear.
 Im gonna say it, dungeons are not fun from      diablo4

However, in an interview with NME, game director Joe Shely explained that the beta is limited to one area in the open-world game and that there are over 100 dungeons in the full game. He expects players to be adventuring through many different dungeons rather than doing the same one repeatedly as they level up their characters.
Shely went on to say that Diablo 4’s dungeons aren’t always about slaying demons and that some require you to complete tasks such as placing objects on altars or completing events. He emphasized that players are only seeing a fraction of the game’s dungeons in the beta.
General manager Rod Fergusson also spoke with NME about Diablo 4’s dungeons, saying that they will have a “sense of place” compared to the randomly-generated Greater Rifts in the previous game. He reassured players that Blizzard will continue to work on dungeons and other features after the game launches.
Fans have expressed dissatisfaction with the comments from the developers and have voiced their worries that nothing will change before Diablo 4’s release in June. One user who claims to have played the endgame beta said that the dungeons were not very different.
In a separate interview with Eurogamer, Shely and Fergusson explained that the Fractured Peaks region in the beta only takes up about 20% of the game’s overworld and that the dungeons are intentionally similar to tie them to their location in the world.
Diablo 4’s next beta, which will be open to everyone, starts this Friday.


Star Wars The Clone Wars Trailer Teases Siege Of Mandalore & Ahsoka-Maul Showdown

Star Wars Celebration 2019 closed out with what might be the best reveal of the entire event so far, even compared to the likes of Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, and The Mandalorian.
Let’s begin with the fact that it should be considered a miracle that Disney and Lucasfilm decided to revive the most beloved (canon) Star Wars property (besides the original saga) in the first place.
According to director Dave Filoni, Star Wars The Clone Wars Season 7 will consist of 12 episodes, comprising of three main story arcs. The first will focus on the elite Clonetrooper squadron called ‘Bad Batch’.
The second major story arc will revolve heavily around Ahsoka Tano herself, bridging the previously untold gap between the end of Star Wars The Clone Wars Season 5 (in which she was last seen leaving the Jedi Order and her master Anakin) and her later appearances in Star Wars Rebels. We’ll learn more about Ahsoka Tano’s transition and development into the wiser and older Ahsoka Tano in Star Wars Rebels.
In this story arc, Ahsoka will be hiding in the depths of Coruscant, where she meets two sisters named Trace and Araba. Filoni said that part of this storyline will take place on Level 1313, the infamous seedy sector filled with the galaxy’s worst scum that was supposed to be featured in the canceled Star Wars 1313 game.
The third and final arc of Star Wars The Clone Wars Season 7 will culminate in the epic and massic Siege of Mandalore. In Star Wars lore, the Siege of Mandalore was one of the final battles in the Clone Wars, to liberate the planet from the control of Darth Maul.
Ahsoka will reunite with Anakin in the Siege of Mandalore, along with Captain Rex and his clone troopers. Darth Maul and Bo Katan (wielder of the Darksaber) will also be featured in this story arc. The end of the trailer teases a showdown between Ahsoka Tano and Darth Maul.
Fans will be delighted to hear that Star Wars The Clone Wars Season 7 will feature some of the most elaborate and complex lightsaber battles in Star Wars history, as Filoni confirmed that actor Ray Park was brought in to perform motion capture for the lightsaber sequences.
Star Wars The Clone Wars Season 7 currently doesn’t have an official release date. However, it will be exclusively available on the Disney Plus streaming service so the earliest possible release window would be sometime in November 2019.
In the meantime, watch the Star Wars The Clone Wars Season 7 trailer from the panel yesterday. The trailer has not been officially released at the time of writing, but we’ll update here when it does.
[wpvideo oUn1OBKF]


Ranking The Dead or Alive Waifus From Hot To Scoville-Breaking Smokin’

Fighting game ladies; perhaps one of video gamesâ€™ most divided contribution to the medium since microtransactions.
On one hand, theyâ€™re cool and confident females capable of kicking ass with the best of them.

On the other, their dress sense leaves a lot to be desired. Itâ€™s hard to take them seriously most of the time if they’re integral in the fighting game plot for some single-player arcade mode campaign.
And then there’s the Dead or Alive series that pushes the envelope to the extreme (volleyball). The brainchild of eccentric game developer Tomonobu Itagaki upped the femme fatale factor in fighting game culture. In addition to introducing the world to fast-paced counter-heavy combo-savvy combat and destructible environments, the game infamously popularized jiggle physics and relish in the fact that itâ€™s ok for the female cast members to take a break from fighting game tournaments to play volleyball in a family-friendly manner.
They’re ballsy enough to showcase their female cast’s strengths through their own side-games; Capcom could learn a thing or two.

And we wouldnâ€™t want it any other way.Â Because if weâ€™re okay with having a dudeâ€™s faces being ripped off from their heads in a 1v1 fighting game, Iâ€™m sure a little “something something” like this isnâ€™t going to bring down our core values, right?
To celebrate the release of Dead or Alive 6, letâ€™s rank our favourite ladies of the game in order of ass-kicking, style, and story relevance: stuff that makes them the best waifus for gamers out there, male and female. We won’t be counting DoA Volleyball/Xtreme-exclusive characters (sorry Tamaki and Fiona fans, all three of you). We’d rather celebrate the ladies who actually do the fighting in the mothership titles.Â
Onwards!

Disclaimer: this is a nonsensical list that doesn’t really hold much weight since we’re talking about make-believe women in a video game.Â
#14. Mila

Probably the least-interesting woman in the current cast, Mila kicks ass, dresses adequately for the fight, and doesn’t do much else. Even Vanessa from Virtua Fighter is like “girl, stop stealing my schtick”. All she does is be the “hot-blooded fighter who dares to dream.” Isn’t that the entire female cast’s motive in addition to the other assassin and science experiment bullcrap that they have to get through? Talk about redundant and being lazy.
If this is Tecmo Koei’s way of being progressive with their cast, they kinda failed. The girls from the first and second game already did that with their badass moves and their methods of flaunting it in a crowd of rugged men and ninjas.
In other words, perfect for the guys and the girls who fancy some butch in their meat.
#13. Marie Rose

Even servants need some love now and then. Helena’s aide made her debut in Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate Arcade and has that goth loli look down. Her title is “Wicked Lil’ Servant” for cryin’ out loud.
She ranks low on the list because she’s just loli fanservice added in the game with not much thought put into her design ala Lucky Chloe in Tekken 7 and Amy in the SoulCalibur series. She pretty much is a checklist character to fill up the DoA 5 roster: short-tempered drama queen? Check. Shortest in the group? Check. Deals the lowest damage in the last game she’s in? Check.
To her credit, she may get a backstory or some sort of involvement with DoA’s batshit insane storyline in the sixth game. Until that’s out, consider her pigtails and airport-level stature benched together with Mila.
#12. Honoka

While she’s also the next new not-so-interesting schoolgirl addition for the recent game, she at least gets bumped up the ranks because she’s going to be a key figure in the DoA 6 storyline.
Apparently, she’s the love child of Raidou and Ayame (Ayane’s mom). She gets to pair up with her half-sister in possible kick-ass tag team fights. Until that’s fleshed out & canon, we’re stuck with an Asian schoolgirl who knows a few kicks or two. We already have better DoA characters higher on the list to cater to that general fetish. Maybe next time, Honoka.
#11. Kokoro

Speaking of which, this sweet and polite baji quan prodigy caters to many folks who like demure-looking ass-kickers. Her gi getup and her recent frilly purple-and-white combination that’s part tradition and part girl power makes her dress sense all the more fabulous and practical.
Story-wise, she’s the half-sister of DoA mainstay Helena Douglas but she’s clueless about these corporate and science lab shenanigans because she just wants to be the best baji quan practitioner ever.

Typical to her archetype, she loves tea, piano, and the colour orange. You can’t get more waifu than with this docile-looking sweetheart.

#10. Nyotengu

Some of us fantasize about making love to a human-bird hybrid, right? Right?! No? Really?! Ok, so it’s just Mr Toffee then.
Regardless, her literal flight of fancy means that you can participate in the mile high club with her without an airplane. That should at least be noteworthy to be placed high on this list despite being a newcomer. Be glad she ditched the tengu mask to let loose her long flowing black hair that goes with her traditional outfit.

For fans of princesses, this bird lady doesn’t need rescuing so that’s a bonus. And she’s a 1,000-year-old who looks like she’s in her 20s. So technically she should be a hit among MILFs/GMILFs.

#9. Hitomi

She replaces Ein in the third game; can’t complain about that since having a doe-eyed anime girl in karate gi is easy on the eyes. She puts on some tomboy jeans and pulls off a biker-esque look, and very well we might add. She even tries to pull off a tanktop plus pink hairband look to portray that girl next door vibe. The kind that’ll whoop your ass if you look at her funny.
She even has a solid rivalry going on with one of our legacy participants high up the list, though it’s more comedic than significant. Still, the fact that all of us forgot Ein was in the game -until we mentioned his name again- is proof she’s needed in the Dead or Alive stable.
Also, did you NOT see the earlier picture of Hitomi’s love for strawberries? Let us refresh your memory.

Talk about one of the few images that made gamers of 2003 feel a little tingly for CG women.
#8. La Mariposa/Lisa Hamilton

We need some representation on this list, so how about a coloured wrestler who got her start in the Dead or Alive Volleyball series? La Mariposa/Lisa is a great example of a strong lass climbing out from the dredges of a fanservice game to a mothership fighting title, showing the world she can Lucha Libre while looking fabulous.
As awesome as King is in the Tekken series, we’d rather see La Mariposa pull off her moves with grace and extra curves. She also was a key figure in maintaining Zack Island during the Dead or Alive Extreme side story which is sorta canon, we think.

If anything, any sane person would put a smart woman in charge of book-keeping instead of someone like Zack.

#7. NiCO

Talk about an awesome debut! NiCO is arguably one of the standouts of the series: she’s a scientist who can kick ninja butt with her Pencak Silat style, she has the most sensible dress sense in her first-ever appearance, and adheres to the “bitch scientist” stereotype that makes people want her to be their waifus more than ever.
After all, her sole creation was meant to cater to the Japanese and Asian market, so she’s built that way, we guess.
6. Christie

Everybody likes the bad girls, and Christie is no exception. She’s an assassin and usually the antagonist/anti-heroine in most DoA games.
Her she quan style looks damn good in motion, with fast strikes and her snake fist moves as pokes. And if looks could kill, she could just murder the entire dancefloor crowd with just her low-cut assassin outfits. Our inner tsundere radars are tingling whenever we see Christie in action.
We ranked her pretty high because lately, her trademark white hair goes well with every black or dark outfit she’s been wearing. And her recent outfit (sleeveless black top) looks really, really great on white.

We do wonder if the carpet matches the drapes, but she’s highly-skilled enough to kill us before we can find out.

5. Ayane

Purple goes well with this red-eyed cold ninja with the babyface that will make loli haters even feel warm in their hearts (and their pants too). She’s also important in the game’s plot, since she’s Kasumi’s cousin. And let’s not forget those awesome cameos in the Ninja Gaiden games where she kicks just as much ass as Ryu Hayabusa.
But really, she’s just a Terminator archetype who’s dressed to kill and comes attached with a literal child-like demeanour. That’s not going to win awards in the personality department.

She’s grown-up now in part 6, but it’s hard not to unsee her previous incarnations with the skimpiest kunoichi outfits made for Japan strip clubs. Makes you want to take a shower sometimes.

4. Helena Douglas

This lovely French heiress of DOATEC is the centre of the game’s mind-numbing plot and somehow gets close to winning the DoA tournament but usually gives it to the person who helped her out in each entry like Ayane and DoA punchline Zack.
She basically knows what’s up in the plot, and dresses up for the occasion in her many frilly and shape-defining French garments.Â  So anyone with the Alice in Wonderland fetish can relive it with this character. Or anyone who likes a sugar mommy since she’s super-loaded and doesn’t mind wearing the pants in a relationship.

She gets an Aerosmith ballad for one of her more definitive endings. How can you not love this long-haired mistress? God bless Tomonobu Itagaki for his choice in great music.

3. Kasumi

You can’t think of Dead or Alive without seeing this lass in her blue fighting garb and her long-flowing locks. And she’s clearly important in the game’s story: no DoA story will move forward unless this ninja is out kicking clone and science experiment abomination ass.
But apart from her defined outfit and ninja skills, she doesn’t have much of a personality apart from “I’m going to take out the bad guys because I’m the main female lead”. That’s a goal, not a character trait.
Still, her iconic status and her being a mascot that isn’t a furry’s wet dream places her pretty high up on the list. And you gotta love a girl who has a sweet tooth for cafe au lait and strawberry mille-feuille.
2. Tina

Dearest daughter to Hulk Hogan facsimile Bass Armstrong, this all-American girl is flashy in her entrances. She has dreams of being in Hollywood, but usually has to fight daddy dearest since going superstar throws all her wrestling aspirations away.

Her moves and fighting style are in-your-face and graceful. Imagine Tekken’s King but with a svelte figure that somehow hits hard like a mac truck.

And to say nothing of her stage outfits ranging from her cowboy getup complete with “Stars and Stripes” bra and boots, to her recent jacket-and-buckles-filled ensemble in the latest game. She got filled out over time, so amen to that.
But most importantly, she’s top tier on this ranking because of her Southern accent. You can’t beat that sweet dulcet country voice; it makes the powerbombs and suplexes all the less painful.
1. Leifang

Ayane and Kasumi might be the de facto mascots of Dead or Alive, but Leifang is the underdog who somehow keeps making it in every entry and adds pizzazz to the already-stellar cast. She rocks that cheongsam and short leather one-piece skirt when she’s out fighting.
And she even rocks a sexy tribute to Bruce Lee’s jumpsuit. Her clothing ensembles totally match her fierce T’ai Chi Quan fighting style to a tee. In terms of pulling off her looks at her veteran age, she basically trounces every single 18-year old in the DoA circuit.
Story-wise, she just wants to be better than her peer Jann while also balancing rivalries between Tina and Hitomi. You know you’ve got it made in the fighting game world when you’re front and center in the game’s story with strong rivals with different martial arts philosophies.
Plus, she totally murdered a middle-aged salaryman for accidentally touching her boobs. Talk about having a killer instinct and some SJW values in your sexy fighting lass, eh?

Tell us who YOUR favourite DoA waifu is, either on this feature orÂ on Facebook.Â


Six Days In Fallujah Gameplay Looks Like A Hyper-Realistic CoD Game

The previously-cancelled first-person shooter Six Days in Fallujah is now coming back in 2021, and is still garnering as much controversy as before. This is because the game takes place during the Second Battle of Fallujah, which many people have deemed a “war crime”. The title itself seems to be framed as a propaganda jingoistic-style game based on what people have been seeing.
Here is more gameplay on Six Days in Fallujah (via IGN) and it’s looking like any other military shooter, if we’re being honest. Creator Peter Tamte seems to be saying that the shooter will “challenge outdated stereotypes about what videogames can be”. The trailer seems to be focused on the dangers of what lies behind a door when with a fireteam during a tumultuous time in Iraq.

If all this gameplay looks familiar, that’s because it looks like the “hyper-realistic” version of the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019) “Clean House” mission where your team had to find terrorists in the blackest of night, opening doors and checking corners in houses mixed with enemy combatants and civilians. The major difference is that Six Days’ villages and buildings will be procedurally generated, so no two experiences are the same. The aim here is to recreate the feeling that you’re a real Marine bursting into unfamiliar territory and have to plan like in real life.
Still A Controversial Title
If you are curious to find out why the game is controversial, game designer Rami Ismail has made a video about the latest gameplay trailer.

I watched the Six Days in Fallujah gameplay trailer so nobody else has to.
Here's a quick video with live thoughts as I watched it, and more written out thoughts continue below: pic.twitter.com/wXqctB0LoL
— Rami Ismail (????) (@tha_rami) March 23, 2021

Other industry folks have chimed in that the game is a shallow attempt at explaining the cost of the Iraq war while recruiting people in the army.

Just FYI. It sounds like there is going to be 'glowing previews' of the game next month where people try to tell you the game is good actually and not just a shallow attempt at explaining away the illegal Iraq war and trying to recruit people to the army.
— Daniel Ahmad (@ZhugeEX) February 11, 2021

Six Days in Fallujah is scheduled to be out before 2021 ends. It is developed by Highwire Games and published by Victura, a company founded by creator Peter Tamte.


Indonesia-Made Game A Space For The Unbound Will Be Out In 2021

Indonesian companies Toge Productions and Mojiken announced that it will be releasing its upcoming adventure game A Space For The Unbound next year, in the third quarter of 2021.
The title will be out for PC, Nintendo Switch, PS4, and Xbox One. It’s a title set in 90s rural Indonesia where a boy named Atma can enter people’ minds and find out secrets. He’ll need to use this power and team up with a girl named Raya to deal with otherworldly threats in their town. And also adolescent life. Because the whole “slice of life” anime trope is not going to die off anytime soon.
If you need a taste of the game in its 2D pixelated glory, the Steam demo is out now: get it here.


Adventure Game Season Is Delayed To Early 2023

Season was an adventure game that was announced during The Game Awards 2020 that got a lot of people talking because of its aesthetics and its protagonist. It was slated for late 2022, but no more.
The upcoming adventure game for PS4, PS5, and PC (Epic Games Store) will be out in Q1 2023 instead. The delay is due to push for the game’s quality without affecting the wellbeing of the team. Here’s the full message:
“We have an important update on the status of SEASON: A letter to the future. We are fortunate to have such a passionate and talented group of you following the game. Seeing your lovely fan art, reading conversations about your personal adventures in Discord, and viewing your reactions to our trailer have warmed our hearts, and we thank you for the support.
With this in mind, we have made the difficult decision to delay the release window to Q1 2023. We want to ensure that we are able to push for quality without it affecting the well-being of our team. SEASON has always been a labour of love for the team and this additional time will let us polish and refine the game to make it the special experience we set out for it to be.
We look forward to bringing you the world of SEASON: A letter to the future, and appreciate your patience while we continue to work hard on it.”
In the meantime, check out the announcement trailer below.


Spider-Man PS4 Sequel Coming In Comic Book Form Later This Month

Insomniac’s Marvel’s Spider-Man for the PS4 featured a unique take on the friendly neighborhood wall-crawler, with a heartbreaking ending that reduced many Spidey fans to tears. Those looking for more of this version of the web-swinging hero will be glad to learn that his story will soon continue in the pages of a comic book later this month.
Announced by the official Marvel website, Marvel’s Spider-Man: Velocity Issue #1 is slated to release on 28 August 2019. It will be the first original story in the Marvel Gamerverse, continuing where players left Peter Parker in Marvel’s Spider-Man.

Marvel’s Spider-Man: Velocity will explore how and why Peter Parker builds the Velocity Suit, which is actually already available in the game. Spider-Man will go up against the Nazi villain Swarm (who can control bees), while Mary Jane Watson teams up with fellow Daily Bugle reporter Ben Urich for an investigation.
In the synopsis, our heroes are said to come face-to-face with a “poltergeist”. While this poltergeist has yet to be officially revealed, it’s likely the deposed NYPD captain Yuri Watanabe who has returned as the vigilante Wraith. Those who completed the side quests in the Marvel’s Spider-Man DLC: The City That Never Sleeps (or have read the comics) will understand how this could happen.

The new story will be written by Dennis “Hopeless” Hallum, with art from Emilio Laiso (Star Wars: Doctor Aphra), colors by Rachelle Rosenberg and covers by Skan. Check out the preview pages of the upcoming comic below.

Insomniac Games has yet to announce a proper sequel to Marvel’s Spider-Man, though the overwhelming success of the game essentially guarantees an official follow-up.


Is Malaysia Esports Completely F***ed Because Of COVID-19? Not Quite!

To answer that burning question on the headline: not quite. But it’s not sunshine and rainbows either.
COVID-19 has put a huge damper on some esport organization’s physical plans. But it’s not like they’re left completely helpless: online tournaments do help in keeping the grassroots competitive scene going.
In order to shed more light on whether esports is doing good or not in Malaysia, Kakuchopurei talks to one of Malaysia’s prominent Dota 2/esports player and Battle Arena’s Head of Marketing & PR Tiffani “Babyoling” Lim. Being one of the few experts who knows what’s up, we asked her about the competitive gaming scene during such tumultuous times.

How is esports doing in Southeast Asia through your own perspective?
So far so good amid the new landscape that’s been shaped by the recent COVID situation. However, it’ll be a long while before we can return to the roots of esports where the industry started. I’m referring to LAN events in stadium or arena settings, cybercafe gaming sessions with friends, etc.
Knowing gamers, I believe they prefer this new norm of online events and content delivered to the comforts of their own home too; at least for now.
Many sponsors and advertisers are also jumping at the opportunity to get into esports now that it’s one of the main channels through which they can reach the gaming demographic. While stuck at home, people are playing games now more than ever.
I’ve had so many friends who haven’t played games in a long time since they’ve entered corporates or started working 9-5. But lately, they’ve all been online and gaming the nights away, perhaps sleeping through their conference calls the following day as a result. Now they’re all caught up with the latest tournaments, the meta, and so on.
I’ve even had old friends call me up out of the blue asking about potentially entering the esports industry. So, all in all, I would say not bad at all.
What are good ways for esports teams, internet cafes that focus on esports titles, and esports event organizers to adjust to the “new normal”?
For esports teams, there’s not much of a difference since they continue training daily as per normal, just that they would be participating in more online tournaments than offline ones. Any hardware or software that reduces ping or latency issues are more important now than before, thus it would be a good time to invest in VPNs, providers with a stable internet connection service, and other utility software.
For internet cafes, some of them have started renting out PCs to maintain some sort of income for this period of time. So that’s one way to do it until they are allowed to operate again, and even then there should be stringent health protocols in place to ensure the safety and health of their customers.
As for organizers, it would be wise for them to start stepping up their online production capabilities in order to bring more value to their viewers, sponsors, and clients.
What is Battle Arena doing on their side to keep afloat during the COVID-19 period and MCO?

The MCO is tough on bricks-and-mortar businesses, but our CEO has made a swift decision to restructure the organization and shift our company direction quite early into the crisis. So the impact isn’t that bad when you think about it.

Online events were only a minor part of our business before, but now while working from home we’re focusing largely on those for revenue. Other than that, we’re also taking the chance to try out content creation and giving everyone in the company a chance to display their creativity by creating gaming content.

Our CEO also set aside some subsidies and incentives to help us develop our skills and reward productivity, and kept advising us to take the opportunity to read up or learn some new skills outside of working hours since the market will look vastly different when the economic depression hits.
Thanks to his insights and judgement of the situation, not only were we able to keep our jobs amid the crisis, I believe we have been able to make the best out of this whole situation. Personally, I’ve also learnt a lot from how the company deals with crises and (hopefully) averts them.
How will the esports field cope in the next few months leading to the end of 2020?
Coping implies a bit of a struggle, no? I think esports and gaming are thriving amid the crisis though. The status quo -having and maintaining online tournaments to entertain viewers and answer to sponsors- has been working well as a solution for the industry.
As countries gradually reopen, the active gamer base might take a hit but the new esports and gaming fans would remain, and people’s preference and pattern in the consumption of content has changed fundamentally and will remain that way from now on. Esports is already largely online-based with no need for contact or for participants to be physically in the same space.
So as the community changes to embrace this new type of lifestyle, esports would eventually grow to edge out some traditional spectator sports with more limitations and are more difficult to produce.
What games will thrive in the second half of 2020? Especially the competitive esports-savvy ones?

It’s hard to say. But in Malaysia so far, Animal Crossing has been all the rage earlier.
The new Riot titles look really promising too, namely Valorant and Wild Rift. I got into Legends of Runeterra too; it’s pretty well-designed and fast-paced as collectible card games go.
During this MCO the number of mobile gamers has increased considerably as well, so existing popular titles like Mobile Legends and PUBG Mobile can only continue to grow and thrive. PC games-wise, Valve has also just released their new Battle Pass so some older, first-generation Dota 2 players are returning as well. If the triple-A titles like Cyberpunk 2077 and AC Valhalla can be completed in time this would be an optimal time to take the gaming market by storm.
These are uncertain and chaotic times. We’ve lost an alarming number of people in the short span of 6 months, mostly to the pandemic, but also to uprisings and other tragic complications. Esports is something that’s meant to entertain and provide enjoyment to the audience, and it can be a helpful coping mechanism or perhaps a temporary restoration of a sense of normalcy amid this drastic shift in the landscape.

As such, I only wish that everyone can gain some joy from these esports content that we create for the community.
As long as everyone plays their part well and we keep up the efforts on the public health and hygiene front, I believe we can brave the storm and survive this gruelling test to our generation and humanity.


Horizon Forbidden West Burning Shores DLC Drops In April 2023

During The Game Awards 2022, Guerilla Games announced the release date for the upcoming Horizon Forbidden West Burning Shores DLC.
Horizon Forbidden West Burning Shores sees Aloy pursue a sinister threat in the untamed wilds of Los Angeles, now a treacherous volcanic archipelago.
Horizon Forbidden West Burning Shores is coming to PS5 on 19 April 2023.
Check out the trailer below:


You Can Pre-Load Genshin Impact This Weekend

Last yearâ€™s ChinaJoy 2019 revealed Genshin Impact by Chinese developer miHoYo, which incurred the wrath of gamers who considered the game to be a shameless ripoff of the Nintendo Switchâ€™s The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild.
Genshin Impact is slated to release for the PS4, PC, Android and iOS on 28 September 2020. However, players can already pre-load the upcoming free-to-play RPG game.
The specific pre-load times for each platform are as follows:
PC
From 26 September 2020 at 10am GMT+8.
Android & iOS
From 27 September 2020 at 2pm GMT+8.
PS4
For those who pre-ordered: From 26 September 2020 at 12am GMT+8. Everyone else: From 28 September 2020 at 12am GMT+8.


Is The Hate For The Last Of Us Part 2 Truly Justified?

Naughty Dog has finally launched perhaps its most highly-anticipated game in history with The Last Of Us Part 2, the sequel to the legendary 2013’s The Last Of Us. It released exclusively for the PS4 on 19 June 2020 worldwide… to mixed reactions.
I actually predicted this would happen in my 4000-word review for The Last Of Us Part 2; that this game would be extremely divisive among gamers.
Unfortunately, I was restricted from discussing some of the best (or worst, depending on your opinion) parts of the game in that initial review (in-depth though it may be). Most of this is regarding the game’s plot, but there were also important gameplay shakeups that I couldn’t write about, as they were intrinsically tied to the story that to do so would potentially spoil the game.
At the time of writing, The Last Of Us Part 2 is currently boasting an impressive total score of 95 on the Metacritic critics side, but the user score (at an atrocious 3.7 out of 10 from more than a whopping 40 thousand users) tells a decidedly different story. Other mediums of entertainment like recent movies have also experienced such a disconnect between critics and users, such as 2017’s Star Wars: The Last Jedi.
In this article, I will discuss these more spoilerific parts of The Last Of Us Part 2, so beware for full-on and no-holds-barred spoilers from the game. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

First, let’s address the elephant in the room. Why are gamers in general so mad about the game, so much so that they would review-bomb The Last Of Us Part 2 on Metacritic in a futile effort to discredit the game, when it’s so clear that most of these gamers couldn’t possibly have defeated the game in time to post valid reviews for the game just one or two days after launch?
I’m serious; the game took me around 25+ hours to complete. How could all these gamers have finished the game so fast? The answer; they didn’t.
They’re judging the game based on whatever spoilers and videos they’ve read and seen online, instead of experiencing the game for themselves. It’s a toxic trait, but that’s always been a widespread problem in the gaming community.
Perhaps the single most offensive thing in The Last Of Us Part 2 for gamers is the death of Joel; one of two returning main protagonists (alongside Ellie) from 2013’s The Last Of Us. The Last Of Us Part 2 lets players control him at the very beginning of the game on horseback, before quickly switching to Ellie. Within the first two hours of the game, he dies in a horrific incident; murdered violently and unceremoniously by a bunch of nobodies in front of Ellie.

Gamers are upset that game director Neil Druckmann (who co-wrote the game’s story) and Naughty Dog have seemingly done their beloved character a disservice, treating Joel like he means nothing as well as giving him an undeserving and arbitrary death just for the sake of spurring Ellie on a revenge quest.
Well, to this I say; that is bullshit. If you had bothered to play the game until the end, rest assured that the narrative explains why Joel died. It’s not senseless at all, or just violence for the sake of violence.

Of course, it’s undeniable that Joel died a very unsavoury death; by getting shot in the leg and pummeled to death with a golf club. However, that’s part of the game’s themes of hate and the cycle of violence.

Every action has consequences; for every action, there is a reaction; cause and effect. If they’re bad, then the result will (usually) also be bad. This then leads to a domino effect; where one event leads to another, eventually building a chain of events. Why am I rambling about all this? The characters in both The Last Of Us games are complex characters, who gamers forget, are meant to be flawed human beings living in a less than ideal situation (read: a very, very bad post-apocalyptic world where it’s kill or be killed).
It’s important to understand the above, and the idea that a protagonist doesn’t have to be “good” or “righteous”; the very definition of the word only means “the leading character or one of the major characters in a play, film, novel, etc”. The Last Of Us Part 2 seeks to show this; how pain and trauma breaks people. People often say; “the things we do for love”, but there’s another saying that goes hand-in-hand; “love and hate are two sides of the same coin”.
Ellie And Abby Are Mirrors Of Each Other

Bear with me. The Last Of Us Part 2 begins with a girl named Abby and a group of former Fireflies (and current members of the militia group Washington Liberation Front, or the WLF) killing Joel, for reasons that arenâ€™t made immediately clear to the player. It’s crucial that you understand that, especially as this happens in the first two hours of a 26-hour game.
This tragic incident prompts Ellie to go on a quest to avenge Joel’s death. Ellie goes to Seattle with her lover Dina, finding and killing members of the group that killed Joel one-by-one. Throughout the game, you learn more and more about the WLF, and what exactly transpired over the five years gap from 2013’s The Last Of Us and 2020’s The Last Of Us Part 2 though multiple flashbacks.
We learn that three years before the events of The Last Of Us Part 2, Joel brought Ellie to an old museum for her birthday. It’s a beautiful flashback where the two characters spend time together, but inside one of the exhibits, Ellie stumbles upon some creepy evidence left behind by former Fireflies that made her question what exactly happened to the organization.
One year later (and two years before the events of The Last Of Us Part 2), Ellie finally confronts Joel, asking him what exactly happened with the Fireflies. Joel stood by his initial story; that Ellie is one of many people immune to the Cordyceps virus, and that the Fireflies couldn’t find a cure.
Ellie’s doubt grew, and she went to the abandoned Fireflies hospital/HQ herself, which led to her finally learning the truth. Understandably, she was upset and angry with Joel, causing them to have a strained relationship that continued until the events in the beginning of The Last Of Us Part 2.

However, the final moments of the game’s ending revealed that only one night before Joel died at the hands of Abby, Ellie finally made up with Joel, as she promised that she will start trying to forgive Joel for what he did. It made for a bittersweet ending, making Joel’s death even more tragic and heartbreaking than it already is.
Again, I reinstate how important it is to know all this context before judging the story, which some gamers don’t have because they didn’t play the game. Since they didn’t, it goes without saying that they wouldn’t know that halfway through The Last Of Us Part 2, the game is hit by a paradigm shift as players switch to playing as Abby for the second half of the game.
This was a risky and shocking move on Naughty Dog’s part, as it could have backfired and ruined the game. Fortunately, it turned out to be a stroke of genius. Hey, I’ll be the first to admit that I was sort of upset and even a bit angry that the game suddenly forced me to play as the game’s supposed “antagonist”; the very person who killed Joel with a freaking golf club of all things.
A New Perspective
To make things worse, this abrupt shift happens during the climax of the game, as Ellie finally encountered and confronted Abby (or rather, it was actually Abby who found Ellie). She was holding Tommy (Joel’s brother) hostage, having just killed Jesse, thus putting Ellie in a very precarious situation. While all this was happening, the game yanks me to a flashback featuring a younger Abby.
I was livid at first when I discovered that I had to play as Abby not just for a brief flashback, but to replay all three days in Seattle (which I had already experienced as Ellie over the past 12 or so hours), but this time through the perspective of Abby instead. I felt disgusted, cheated even, but I would now slap my past self for feeling that way if I could, considering it turned out to be for the better in the long run.
We start the second half of The Last Of Us Part 2 from Abby’s perspective by learning that the head scientist of the Fireflies (who was the only one capable of finding a cure to the Cordyceps virus) was the same one killed by Joel during his attempt to “save” Ellie from being operated on at the end of 2013’s The Last Of Us.

Not only did Joel’s actions of killing the head scientist rob Abby of her father, it had the decidedly bigger impact/consequence of resulting in the eventual disbanding of the Fireflies. That domino effect led to Abby and several of her former Firefly colleagues to later join the WLF, but even then, she never gave up on wanting to avenge her father’s death.
Just like we gradually learn about Ellie’s growing relationships with Dina and Jesse, we also learn about Abby’s past and present companions, including her now ex-boyfriend Owen. As we experience the three days in Seattle from Abby’s side of the story, it’s clear how much she mirrors Ellie in a lot of ways.
As a result of playing as Abby, we now learn that she has as much of a justified reason to seek revenge as Ellie did for Joel’s death. In her case, it was her father’s death at the hands of Joel. Oh, and I haven’t even mentioned Abby’s whole story arc with several former members of the Seraphites or Scars; basically a cult who is at odds with the WLF for control of Seattle.
Playing as Abby, I learn that she and her father are both normal human beings with hopes and dreams. Her dad didn’t want to operate on Ellie and kill her; it just had to be done to find a cure. We can see that he felt hesitant and guilty before the procedure, just like any normal sane person would. None of these people are psychopaths or evil. None of them are cannibals or bandits.
I can go on and on, but let me just say that Abby’s redemption arc with her helping Yara and Lev -those two aforementioned former Seraphites- was what finally convinced me that Abby is no diabolical villain. She’s the protagonist of her own story, while Joel and Ellie are the antagonists in hers. Now that I understand her motivations and character more than I did when I only knew her as Joel’s killer, I actually started to enjoy my time playing as her.

This might sound controversial, but I ended up enjoying playing as Abby more than I did with Ellie. Hear me out; Abby plays very differently from Ellie, and she even gets different unique weapons, craftable items and skills/abilities. Her playstyle is more suited to melee and close-quarters combat, while Ellie’s tends to favour stealth and long-range combat.
I mean, Abby literally has the strength to snap the necks of humans and Infected alike during stealth kills, as well as punching and kickingÂ them to death during melee (instead of using a switchblade or knife like Ellie). Melee-ing enemies as Abby feels more satisfying, which is probably why she gets the only unique infected boss fight in the entire game (the Rat King) and several exclusively melee fights against large sub-boss human enemies.

On that note, I would like to clarify that the rumours and claims that Abby is trans are not true. There was nothing in the game that confirmed or even hinted at this. As far as I know (after almost three playthroughs of The Last Of Us Part 2), Abby is female, despite her slightly-masculine face and almost cartoonishly-muscular arms.

Yes, that’s Abby, umm…

Tough Enough
Another plus point for Abby is that she gains access to (arguably) better and superior weapons than Ellie. She has a crossbow (to Ellie’s bow and arrow), a semi-auto rifle that’s essentially an assault rifle (to Ellie’s bolt-action rifle), and a freaking flamethrower for good measure. Of course, she ultimately fights stronger enemies (like the Rat King and at one point, even two Bloaters at once), but that’s besides the point.
By the time Ellie does receive a silenced SMG near the end of the game, it’s too late to use it to its full potential, though it’s worth pointing out that you gain access to every weapon (including the aforementioned silenced SMG) from the very beginning in New Game Plus.
My point is that (while it may be a gaming sin for me to say this, and I might get chewed out) Abby is better gameplay-wise than Ellie. GASP, I know right. I was surprised by this as well, though I do admit it’s just my personal preference. Some gamers might still like to play as Ellie more.
It may sound like Abby is an overpowered super-soldier by the way I’m describing her, but she does have (at least) one major weakness compared to Ellie; Abby needs to craft shivs to kill Clickers, just like Joel and Ellie did in 2013’s The Last Of Us. Ellie no longer needs shivs to kill Clickers through stealth in the sequel.
Naughty Dog realizes this in some way, as it probably partly contributed to their decision to have players assume the role of Abby in the climactic fight against Ellie. While gamers and fans of Ellie may cry foul over that decision, there’s just no realistic way that Ellie would win against Abby in a fair fight.

Turning Point
There’s also the fact that at that point in the game, Ellie has lived long enough to see herself becoming the villain; to quote a certain iconic line from a famous movie. She killed every single friend of Abby’s just to get a stab at revenge against her, when all Abby did was kill Joel.
Remember, Abby and her friends did ultimately spare both Tommy and Ellie when they could just as easily tied up loose ends by killing them as well.

Sure, you could argue that Abby’s friend were just as guilty as her and were complicit in killing Joel. However, let’s not forget that they were directly affected by Joel’s actions as well (the downfall of the Fireflies), not to mention the possibility that their friends could have been ‘collateral damage’.
As a result, we return to the idea of hate and the cycle of violence tying everything together. Pain and hate was what drove Abby to kill Joel, and later for Ellie to kill Abby and her friends. When pain and hate is all that drives one’s motivations and actions, nothing awaits but more pain and hate.

Back to the idea of Abby and Ellie being mirrors of each other, both of their revenge quests started from the death of their loved ones. The toxicity of pain and hate affected their lives, causing them to push away their living loved ones and lose them in the process.

For instance, Ellie had an almost-perfect life with Dina and her baby, but she chose to leave all that behind to go after Abby again. Meanwhile, Abby did the same thing with Owen years ago, as she neglected their relationship (which led to their breakup) by remaining fixated on getting revenge on Joel.
Joel trained Ellie in her hunting and survival skills, so did Abby’s father. Both Ellie and Abby are avid collectors of novelty items (Ellie with her comics and Abby with vintage coins). They’re a lot more alike in other ways as well, which is likely intentional on the writers’ part.
Don’t Forget The Happy Moments

As grim and bleak as The Last Of Us Part 2 is, it’s not all gloom and doom all the way through. The developers have included many light and happy moments in the game, fleeting as they often just are (just like in real life). To prove this, here are some of my favourite parts of the game that don’t involve any violence or bloodshed whatsoever.
Earlier in the game (before Joel’s death), Ellie and Dina find a deceased friend’s secret hideout while on patrol. Initially thinking it was a “sex den”, it turns out to be a homegrown marijuana farm of some sort. Ellie and Dina find some joints (perhaps the last ever weed in the history of mankind), so they take a break to get high and even participate in a makeout session.

Another highlight of The Last Of Us Part 2 comes quite early in the game as well, when players first reach the massive semi-open Seattle hub. This beautiful sequence is surprisingly missable, which I think is a wasted opportunity for those who don’t take the time to explore the game and find hidden gems like this.
The moment I’m talking about is when Ellie and Dina finds an abandoned music shop. Ellie finds a guitar in mint condition, and proceeds to serenade Dina with a heartwarming and sweet rendition of A-Ha’s iconic Take On Me. Unexpected moments like these are the reasons why I love singleplayer games with strong narratives.

However, there’s one long playable flashback sequence; an entire chapter at that, in the game where there is no combat and no violence at all. This is perhaps my favourite in the game; it’s clearly meant to be a treat for fans of 2013’s The Last Of Us. I kid you not, this chapter actually made me cry.
Taking place three years before The Last Of Us Part 2 (and before Ellie discovered the truth about the Fireflies), Joel surprises Ellie with a visit to a museum for her birthday. It’s incredible how much detail to attention and painstaking hard work must have gone into recreating this museum flashback.
As Ellie, you can interact with almost every exhibit, which will result in fun banter and dialogue between Ellie and Joel. It’s a great gift for fans of the original game, as you learn that Ellie really loves dinosaurs and dreams of becoming an astronaut. Oh, and she also loves comics; so that means she’s a geek like the rest of us.
In this chapter, you can see how hard Joel is trying to be a father to Ellie. It’s tearjerkingly sad but you can’t help but be happy to learn that before all eventual darkness, Ellie and Joel did have happy moments together after the events of 2013’s The Last Of Us.

After seeing all this, can you still say that Druckmann and Naughty Dog don’t have hearts, or don’t care about Joel?I don’t think so.

Look at how Joel looks at Ellie in the picture below. It speaks volumes more about the relationship between Joel and Ellie without a single spoken word. Joel loves Ellie, so much so that he would kill and let humanity die without a cure.
Does that make Joel a villain or evil? No, he did for love. It doesn’t make it okay, but like I previously mentioned; “love and hate are two sides of the same coin.” Think of that what you will.

Breaking The Cycle Of Violence

Ultimately though, the most important theme in The Last Of Us Part 2 isn’t just the exploration of hate and the cycle of violence. If gamers had bothered to experience the game in its entirety and complete the story to the end, they would know that The Last Of Part 2 is about BREAKING the cycle of violence and overcoming hate.
This is encapsulated by the fact that Ellie ultimately spares Abby in their second “final” confrontation (where players play as Ellie and not Abby). It’s interesting to note that their final fight is depicted as pathetic and messy, instead of the usually glorious light or epic final confrontations usually are in other games.

It’s similar to the personal final fight in Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End between Nathan Drake and the antagonist, which had them brawling and swordfighting in close combat. Imagine the same thing but without much fanfare, and just the feeling of pity permeating the atmosphere. There’s nothing to be celebrated here. You can’t even cheer for Ellie at this point.
Instead of two characters at their prime, these are two characters at their worst form. Both Ellie and Abby look malnourished and somewhat deformed; nothing like they were throughout most of the game. Their pain and hate have transformed their physical forms as well, turning them into ugly monsters who would rather give in to hate and pain, instead of overcoming them.
Abby actually realizes this earlier than Ellie, as she refuses to fight Ellie again but only does so when Ellie threatens to kill a barely-conscious Lev. Ellie starts the fight with several advantages; she has a knife (Abby doesn’t) while Abby just got out of being crucified for days on end. Like I said before, even Naughty Dog must have realized that Ellie would never have won in a fair fight.

Ellie almost delivers the killing blow, but she relents after remembering her final night with Joel; when she promised to try and forgive Joel for his actions. She finally realizes that forgiveness is required to not only overcome pain and hate, but to break the long-drawn cycle of violence.

Of course, you could argue that Neil Druckmann and Naughty Dog were somewhat needlessly cruel in the climax and final act of The Last Of Us Part 2. Abby and Lev almost find the surviving Fireflies before getting kidnapped by a group called the Rattlers and being crucified (which is a not-so-subtle way to show that Abby is being punished for her sins of killing Joel, though I don’t see why Lev had to suffer the same fate), while Ellie loses her newfound family life on the farm with Dina and the baby.
They learn the lesson too late; that it’s better to let go of the pain and hate, and embrace forgiveness, or at least, try to. That’s what I find is the most poignant point of the game; forgiveness isn’t for the person you’re forgiving, but it’s actually a necessary step for the one who is forgiving in letting go of the pain and hate (and finally getting peace).
However, learning the lesson too late is better than not learning it at all. While they might have lost everything else (loved ones, etc.) in the process, they were still alive at the end of The Last Of Us Part 2. Broken, battered, and bruised, but finally healing, and sometimes that’s the best we can do in life.

The Last Of Us Part 2 will make you sad, angry, frustrated, and upset, but does that really make it a bad game? Nope. It’s a game that must be played, experienced and completed to be understood.

I’ve probably only scratched the surface of discussing the various meanings and themes contained in this game, but I hope that more gamers opt for a broader and more open perspective when it comes to The Last Of Us Part 2. It deserves that much, at least. Wouldn’t you agree?


Shin Megami Tensei 5 Day One DLC Announced; Features Cleopatra, Fiends, & Mitamas

Atlus will be releasing day one DLC for its upcoming JRPG opus Shin Megami Tensei 5.
The DLC will feature a few new quests and the demons involved whom you can recruit after fulfilling the quest’s requirements. We’ll list them down:
Return of the True Demon: Get the Menorah of Knowledge, fight the series’ popular Fiends (from SMT3), then recruit them after you’ve done their challenges. Fighting these guys won’t be easy, naturally. The DLC costs 980 yen/US$10.
A Goddess In Training: Help out goddess Artemis in finding a training partner. You can unlock her for demon fusion later. The DLC costs 450 yen/US$5.
The Rage of a Queen: Fight Egyptian goddess Cleopatra, then unlock her for demon fusion later. The DLC costs 400 yen/US$4.50.
The Doctor’s Last Wish: Help out a researcher, then fight off Tyrant Mephisto. You can unlock him in demon fusion later. The DLC costs 400 yen/US$4.50.
The DLC bundle costs 2,952 yen/US$30. If you wish to buy the full game and the DLC bundle together, that will cost you 12,830 yen.
Pay To Win?
A potentially controversial DLC in that bundle contains the Mitama Dance of Wealth/EXP/Miracles buffs. Basically, these buffs will make the rare Saki Mitamas, cash-giving Mitamas, and Glory Mitamas pop up on the overworld field more often; kill them to gain loads of experience, Macca, and Glory (for Miracle powers) respectively. Each of these buffs will cost you 350 yen/US$4.
Check out the DLC video below.


There’s A New Jedi: Fallen Order Skin For Pathfinder; Here’s How To Get It

There are at least three things that Apex Legends and Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order have in common. They’re both made by Respawn Entertainment, published by EA, and feature a robot that can play the role of a very helpful sidekick or teammate. So a collaboration is a no-brainer.

PS4 players are in luck because Respawn is actually release a free skin for Pathfinder based on BD-1’s default colours. For those of who haven’t played Fallen Order, BD-1 is that droid sidekick you often see hanging onto the main character Cal Kestis’ back. The free skin is redeemable up until 14 January 2020.
This was initially announced by PlayStation through a tweet on their official Twitter page but for some reason, the Tweet was deleted. This means that even if you can’t redeem it right now, it will be possible to get the skin in the future. Thankfully, the folks over at Dexerto managed to save the image (shown above) that PlayStation tweeted.
What’s unfortunate here is that it’s exclusively made for PS4 players. There isn’t any indication of the skin coming to Xbox One or PC but let’s hope that that changes because Fallen Order also came out on those platforms.
It’s honestly really cool to see Respawn keep up the trend of making cross-game content for its games. Apex Legends is known for having tons of weapons from the Titanfall series and now we have a connection between Apex Legends and Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. The Force is strong with this studio.