V Rising Unveils the Secrets of Gloomrot this May 17th

Am I flipping out because we finally have news on the Gloomrot update? Yes, Yes I am.
With over a 100 hours of game time in V Rising, I’m excited to add more hours under my belt with this upcoming update. Now onto Gloomrot! We finally have a release date, which is May 17th! So what’s coming in this update?
The Darkness Welcomes Gloomrot

We enter a new massive zone which is said to have two unique areas which is a result of the pursuit of cruel science. You’ll get to navigate through polluted valleys and lightning-scorched highlands, and run into mutated experiments and mechanical wonders all from the twisted imaginations of the Trancendum.

Look how gloomy this looks! The aesthetics and detailing are impressive. I’m such a huge fan of the small village areas which allows you to channel your inner loot goblin. I’m especially excited about the PVP that will happen and how the abilities look in contrast to the environments.
A WHOLE NEW WORLD
The current biomes have been expanded and improved. A new vineyard has been added in Silverlight, which means romantic wine-drinking dates? Experience also a reimagined Cursed Forest. Dunley Farms will also host new points of interest. More farming places = more loot. We love that.

WEATHER HAZARDS
When I first played V Rising, I was surprised there were no weather changes, so I’m really happy to see it being added to this update. Misty forests and deadly lightning striking the hills of Gloomrot. Weather will bring Vardoran to life.

THE TRADING HUBS
Do you know what I find annoying? Having to travel around finding the tradesmen felt like it was too much effort and I’d end up with stashes of silver coins with nothing to spend on. Maybe I’m just lazy, but thank heavens unique trading hubs will now be all across Vardoran. So it’s time to start spending those coins but beware, not all of the people here are friendly to Vampires.

VAMPIRE CITY
The moment we’ve all been waiting for, IT’S ALMOST HERE. Multiple floors in castles. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! Stairs are no longer useless.

More quality of life improvements have been added to building customization. Players will now be able to lay claim to a land and build freely without having to claim it piece by piece!
This new expansion also comes with more new customizations. New stairways, expensive gardens, more colour variations and a whole lot more decorations! Instead of heading to Ikea to channel your inner interior designer, why not do it all here?

New crafting stations will also be coming in this new expansion, which means, a whole lot more grinding and farming to do. The Jewelcrafter’s Station, Legendary Forge, Fabricator and Leatherworking Station makes it’s debut.
ENEMIES

Over a dozen new Legendary V Bloods to drain between Gloomrot and updates all across Vardoran. Not just that, but the expansion brings in 30 new enemy types. This will include new factions, that are both monsters and men. There will be new eensy weensy spiders, elementals and undead abominations spread out all throughout the map. So get ready to dive into a whole new world of mutants, experiments, exterminators and technologists.

COMBAT
IMPROVED MAGIC

Every single spell has been reimagined and made more specialized. It’s time for you to be a necromancer, or perhaps a dangerous illusionist. Be entirely unique. The choice is all yours.

NEW SPELL SCHOOL: STORM

Harness the power of lightning and thunder to take down your foes. Crackle with electricity. Be one with electricity itself. Basically, you are now Storm from the X-Men!

BLOOD
If you’ve played V Rising, then you already know the master of blood is the innate power that resides in all vampires. The sanguine arts pulls the lifeforce from your enemies, and turns their blood and pain into your nourishment. These are the 6 different blood masteries.

CHAOS
The flames of the void cannot be quenched.  Their crackling energies incinerate your enemies and push you beyond your limits with surges of maddening void power.

ILLUSION
Enter the mind of your enemies, sowing confusion and haunting them with visions of spectres and apparitions. Those that don’t flee will still be too weak to fight back.

UNHOLY
The sacrilegious arts will erode and break those that resist you, turning them into faithful servants in death. Let plague and terror wash over your enemies while your army of the dead grows.

STORM
Harness lightning and thunder to lay waste to your foes. Become electricity itself, crackling between your enemies while you bring down the full fury of the storm.

FROST
Command the frigid winds of blizzards and hailstorms, slowly freezing your foes into frosted sculptures of horrid cold or impaling them on spikes of ice.

BLOOD
Mastery of blood is the innate power residing in all vampires. The sanguine arts pull the life force from your enemies, turning their blood and pain into your nourishment.

NEW WEAPON TYPES
Two brand new high-quality weapons join the ranks of the game. Slice your foes with the Greatsword or dive into the new age experiments with experimental black powder weapons with the Dual Pistols.

LEGENDARY WEAPONS
You’ll also be able to find a special kind of ancient weapon and restore them to its former glory. Randomized properties enhance your weapon abilities, as well as offer special on-hit effects to further expand your strategies.

NEW TOOLS FOR BATTLE
Craft Jewels to channel your spells. You’ll be able to modify them to your liking by doing this. One of my favourite features coming with this expansion is the ability to build your own spellbook, which means it will be completely unique to your peers.

A WHOLE NEW EXPERIENCE

NEW BLOOD HUNT
The New Blood Hunting update will include quality of life improvements which include an updated new animated UI and improvements to the blood tracking.

MOVEMENT AND INVENTORY

Travel and explore the world of Valdoran more quickly and smoothly with updates to travel shapeshifting forms. You will also be able to convert horses now! Something which I have been dying to do (heh heh). New teleporters that can be placed inside of your castle and improvements to the environmental flow will make movement much easier now. And to all the loot goblins, YES WE ARE GETTING BAGS!!! More looting to do! Rejoice!

VAMPIRE FASHONISTA

MORE COSMETICS. Who doesn’t like cosmetics? Express yourself with new styles including more hairstyle options! You can now be soakingly blood drenched or perfectly pristine. Make a fashion statement as you kill your foes on the battlefield.

IMPROVED SOUNDS AND MORE MUSIC

Enjoy a better balanced and improved sound experience as you explore the lands. Stunlock Studios have also added four new music tracks to properly indulge in the ambience of Gloomrot. If you already own the V Rising Soundtrack, you will receive these tracks for free!

Step into the future with the Sinister Evolution Pack DLC. Represent yourself as a beacon of progress with all the latest in vampire fashion and mad decor. Just because you’ve been asleep for centuries doesn’t mean you’re stuck in the past.
Check out the cinematic reveal of the expansion below!

And that’s what we know about the upcoming expansion folks. I’m excited to put in another hundred hours into the game building and being my own fashionista. You can buy V Rising on the Steam store here. So be sure to get it before the expansion comes!


Check Out These Zany Soulcalibur 6 Custom Characters

It’s still Soulcalibur week, believe it or not. Until some pro-level play and tutorial post-release surfaces online, you’ll have to contend with these custom characters thanks to Soulcalibur 6’s robust character creation tool.
First, I’ll start with my very own Santino. He’s a little calcified at the moment.

[wpvideo anawqysP]
Now let’s delve into the underbelly of the internet for the best(?) creations during launch. I’ll add new ones along the way since the game is a few days old.
The Netflix Castlevania fanfare transcend to Soulcalibur very well.

We need some Strider Hiryu in our lives.

Where are the 7 dwarves?Â
Does this come with a Happy Meal? (via Reddit)

Quack Pack represent…(via Dangaropreto)

This purple guy demands your attention. (via Reddit)

Eff He-Man. (via Reddit)

“I AM THE NIGHT!” Oh wait, wrong angsty superhero (via @_Yami_kami)

Early 2000 anime feels: on! (via @Momentai_Bro)

My angsty teenage years have returned! Created Sasuke on stream (while no one was watching ?) Liked how it turned out in motion, guess i gotta learn some taki now #SOULCALIBURVI #sasuke #soulcalibur pic.twitter.com/RhNlNWOBI6
— PWAR ? Ninja Vtuber! ? (@PWARGaming) October 23, 2018

You can’t stop this Overlord…(via @Hydropimping)

The Ultimate Showdown #354: Minecraft dude vs Creeper (viaÂ @HARESAME)

[wpvideo KASV7sjV]
Back in the 90s, I was in a very famous TV show…

PRAISE THE SUN (via Hydro-chan)

Futurama’s Zoidberg gets his day in the sun.

Magikarp vs Spider-Man: one night only. (viaÂ https://twitter.com/sunagimo_x)

[wpvideo SkkZhFty]
Persona fans can start sharing their love for underage dating here…
https://www.facebook.com/ThePhanSite/photos/a.292398161217010/573047756485381/?type=3&__xts__%5B0%5D=68.ARBFLyf1Cg8RvZnMgh5meD-ekWNh0eyfQkaGAI_U0MejB7-ysZnFg8OiMG8sgCwDTkmEPgrJaKWyy_VisvfM6M7QUP4eCyJDd4pVHJQyCfk51eWlDIxoICDbGdgkzcJNIE_X212VUmgDLYL11vD-XZMAH60RJmSPMdJuLPC-kJVLsNF2cS7Mw4jUtiNGHwfwO80dT72GusDTROBVIN1niIEgBFoc_9Y-DP5y2wGyzid6riTTKJEZYP66984&__tn__=H-R
Who needs Smash Bros when you can start making Fire Emblem characters in Soulcalibur 6? (via Okam 64)

Father Ray has commanded it and I will deliver. #SoulCalibur #Roy # FireEmblem pic.twitter.com/clvIosT3Wz
— Lino (@GenmuZero64) October 20, 2018

Want some Yang in your life, RWBY fans? (via MortonBmblb)

Don’t forget her sister too (via @bmsman816)

So my very first thing I did in #SOULCALIBUR was make Ruby Rose from #RWBY. Happy (for now) w/ the results #PS4share pic.twitter.com/0o3p8p75Zj
— TaoBMS (@bmsman816) October 19, 2018

I do love me some Ultraman (via k2batto).

???????????????????????#????????? #PS4share pic.twitter.com/p0e7oEr4ld
— ??????????????????????????????????????? (@k2batto) October 18, 2018

And I do love me some Bowsette (via @Espiownage). #ridingthehype

So I did a thing…#Bowsette #SoulCalibur6 #PS4share pic.twitter.com/G2caW8iYDH
— David Poole (@Espiownage) October 17, 2018

Bring in the JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, yo…

And so the Jojo charas begin  #PS4share #Sc6 #soulcalibur6 #jojo #Kars pic.twitter.com/QIWw2TJs8a
— Bizardon (@bizardon) October 18, 2018

Someone misses Mortal Kombat a lot…

My attempt to play MK 11 #soulcalibur6 pic.twitter.com/5lhdQBawk6
— MEGA|XRO HAMOU (@MohammadHamou1) October 17, 2018

Need more Soulcalibur 6? Read our piece on Ivy Valentine’s dress sense.Â


The 30 Best Games Of 2021: #30

Every day from this last December week to January 2022, we’ll be posting our top 30 games of 2021. Here’s number 30.
#30: Record of Lodoss War: Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth

Platforms: PC, Xbox Series, Xbox One, PS4, PS5
Call it a Metroidvania-lite, or whatever terms you use for search action games these days: this 2D action game based on the classic fantasy anime Record of Lodoss War is a helluva ride. Playing as magic sword lady Deedlit feels great, and the elemental-switching mechanic makes for awesome and challenging battles against goblins, griffins, mummies, sorcerers, and giant dragons both living and undead.
Its arcade and twitch-based roots aren’t surprising, given that developer Team Ladybug worked on the equally action-packed and tightly-paced Touhou Luna Nights. What they’ve done in that game, they’ve amplified it further here in Record of Lodoss War with glorious pixel art and animation that will put most games in 2021 with bigger budgets to shame. Now if it were only a few hours longer, it would be on the same echelons as Metroid Dread.
As it stands, this dreamscape is one title you don’t want to wake up from.


God Of War Gets PS5 Upgrade Tomorrow

Sony Santa Monica’s brilliant masterpiece God Of War (2018) is finally getting a free update for the PS5 to take advantage of the new next-gen console’s powerful hardware.
It’s the best time to replay one of the best games of the previous generation, as it is also already available for free via the PlayStation Plus Collection for PS5 players who are PS Plus subscribers.
On the PS4 Pro version of God Of War (2018), players have a choice between two graphics modes: one that favours performance and one that favours resolution.
The God Of War PS5 update coming on 2 February 2021 will be a free patch thatÂ replaces the current video graphics mode option with a new default setting that will offer the best ofÂ both performance and resolution to PS5 players.
ENHANCED PERFORMANCE EXPERIENCE GOD OF WAR PS5

Syncs to 60 FPS.
4K Checkerboard Resolution.
2160p.

However, PS5 players can also go back to the original PS4 â€˜Favor Resolutionâ€™ video graphics mode at any time by selecting Original Performance Experience, which will offer 4K Checkerboard Resolution synced to 30FPS instead.

The God of War (2018) Enhanced Performance Experience for the PS5 is coming tomorrow!
?? Syncs to 60 FPS ?? 4K Checkerboard Resolution ?? 2160p?? Free Update for PS5 Users
Check out our blog for more info ?https://t.co/CXTyfHFyvN pic.twitter.com/psSLo63ReF
— Santa Monica Studio – God of War Ragnarök (@SonySantaMonica) February 1, 2021


EVO Japan 2023: Full Schedule & Results

The biggest fighting game tournament in the world has a Japan offshoot, and is equally as big. With a new year in tow, so too comes another Japan version of EVO featuring the top players from all across Asia.

EVO Japan 2023 Info
Date: 31st March – 2nd April
Venue: Tokyo Big Sight, Koto City, Tokyo, Japan
Games: Guilty Gear Strive, Granblue Fantasy Versus, Street Fighter 5, KOF XV, Meltyblood Type Lumina, Tekken 7, Virtua Fighter 5: Ultimate Showdown
Prizes:
-1st place: US$7,531.54 (1,000,000 yen)
-2nd place: US$3,012.62 (400,000 yen)
-3rd place: US$1,506.31(200,000 yen)

Notable Players
CAG| Dogura, CAG| Go1, Kizzie Kay, Leffen, bc Lord Knight, Xiaohai, ApologyMan, ViolentKain, Moist| Hotashi, Kain Blueriver, Daru _I-No, Gobou, Summit, xyzzy, Book, Latif, Kazunoko, Punk, Zhen, EldingWalker, Xian, Bonchan, Oil King, Mister Crimson, Tokido, Zen, Bonchan, Fuudo, OilKing.

EVO Japan 2023 Schedule (GMT+8)

Friday 31st March
9am: Round 1 tournaments for all games
6pm: Granblue Fantasy Versus Finals

Saturday 1st April
8am: Round 2 tournaments for all games except GBVS
10pm: Melty Blood: Type Lumina Finals
1.30pm: Virtua Fighter 5 Ultimate Showdown Finals
5pm: KOF XV Finals

Sunday 2nd April
8.00am: Guilty Gear Strive Finals
11.30am: Tekken 7 Finals
3pm: Street Fighter 5 Finals

EVO Japan 2023 Livestream
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EVO Japan 2023 Results

Street Fighter 5
1.RB| Oil King (Rashid, Seth)
2. Saishunkan|Nemo (Gill, Urien)
3. GyoGun| Machabo (Necalli)
4. Victrix| Momochi (Cody)
5. Saishunkan| Higuchi (Guile)
5. RR| Mono (F.A.N.G)
7. Punk (Karin, Luke, Vega)
7. CG|Torimeshi (Dhalsim)

Tekken 8
1.GS| TM| RB | Arslan Ash (Zafina)
2.KDF| Meo-IL (Geese Howard)
3. Varrel| Rangchu (Julia, Panda)
4. Watanabe (Eliza)
5. Gken (Josie)
5. UYU| LowHigh (Shaheen, Steve)
7. Mulgold (Claudio, Fahkumram)
7. Saint (Jack-7)

Guilty Gear Strive
1. Gobou (Zato-1)
2. Lox (Giovanna)
3. MSA |Umaaman (Ramlethal, Baiken)
4. Daru_I-No (I-No)
5. Tyurara (Ky)
5. Poka (Happy Chaos)
7. TY (Giovanna, Chipp)
7. Sanakan (Happy Chaos)

The King of Fighters XV
1. Qanba|Xiaohai (B. Jenet, Kyo, Krohnen)
2. Brook|ZJZ (B. Jenet, Nakoruru, Isla | B. Jenet, Athena, Isla)
3. Leshar (K’, Ryo, Krohnen)
4. Sanwa|Laggia (Kyo, B. Jenet, Krohnen)
5. Dirty1m (Iori, Clark, Geese)
5. Brook|ET (Benimaru, B. Jenet, Krohnen)
7. Sanwa|M’ (K’, Luong, Krohnen)
7. KRone|Abao (B. Jenet, Chizuru, Heidern)

Virtua Fighter 5: Ultimate Showdown
1. Tonchan (Jacky)
2. Akani Shiwapo (Pai)
3. Virgo (Jean)
4. Yogo (Kage)
5. TetRoom|You (Sarah)
5. Yasokami (Lei-Fei)
7. Densetsu_SP (Jean)
7. Poroli (T-Arashi, Shun)

Melty Blood Type Lumina
1. Kjiro (Noel)
2. Yuika (Michael)
3. MateoKK (Aoko)
4. Jing (Hisui)
5. Kurobuchi (Vlov)
5. AGIT|Kashiyuka (Aoko)
7. UL (Shiki)
7. Teal (Akiha)

Granblue Fantasy Versus
1. GS|Gamera (Djeeta, Katalina, Zooey)
2. Tororo (Percival)
3. Emujima (Belial)
4. Potaku (Metera)
5. EGO|Framework (Djeeta)
5. PGW|Ren (Avatar Belial, Seox, Belial, Gran)
7. Kuniwo (Ferry)
7. KSI (Zooey)


Henry Cavill Is Now An Easter Egg Character In A Total War Game

We’ve already established that actor Henry Cavill of Superman and The Witcher fame is actually a pretty avid gamer and a geek in real life. He’s not only played The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt multiple times but also plays a lot of Total War, specifically the Warhammer ones.
How awesome is it then that Henry Cavill is now an easter egg character in Total War: Warhammer 2?
According to PCGamesN, the actor is now forever immortalised as a Loremaster of Hoeth literally named â€˜Cavillâ€™ in the new The Warden and The Paunch DLC for Total War: Warhammer 2.
What takes the cake is that this Cavill character has a unique trait called White Wolf, granting +3 untainted to the local province. That reference is clearly Creative Assembly’s nod towards Henry Cavill’s role as a particular monster slayer in a Netflix series.

Speaking with PCGamesN, Total War: Warhammer 2 game director Richard Aldridge said:

â€œFor me I love nothing more than bringing the world of Warhammer to life, and like many of our fans I get a buzz out of playing with a new character or painting one of my minis at home.
â€œSo when when I saw a certain Mr Cavill mentioned that he enjoys nothing more than firing up Total War: Warhammer or painting a few models in his spare time, I thought it would be fun to somehow inject him into the game, like we have with a number of developers over the years.
You might even spot me.
With the Warden and the Paunch coming up, it felt like a good time to include Henry, and what better way than having a mighty Loremaster of Hoeth by your side with a few personal special traits to play with when starting a campaign as Eltharion.â€

Total War: Warhammer 2 The Warden and The Paunch DLC launches today on 21 May 2020. In the meantime, check out the trailer below.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQM-h3M4BZc&w=560&h=315]


Star Wars Rogue Squadron Movie Delayed

Star Wars Rogue Squadron, the upcoming sci-fi show directed by Patty Jenkins that’s basically Top Gun but with Star Wars, is getting delayed.
The movie’s production schedule is now in limbo; previously it was scheduled for 2022. The show’s release date is still 22nd December 2023, but that’s most likely going to be pushed back.
Rogue Squadron was revealed in late 2020, with Jenkins saying the film serves as an inspiration from her father’s life as a fighter pilot. The film is intended to be an original film with great influence from the Rogue Squadron games and books.
“There’s a lot of things being acknowledged and understood about the greatness of all of those things.”
Hopefully, she doesn’t add in elements from her last film, which was Wonder Woman 1984. That was….a film that existed.


The Steam Halloween Sale Has Begun; Here Are The Best Deals

It’s alive. ALIVE!!!!
The Steam Halloween Sale is back from the dead. Again. Reanimated, if you will. And that means spooky savings on horror-based and horror-themed games. The sale will last from now until 1st November 10am PT.
While you won’t find a ginormous amount of games with half-off or more, you’ll at least find some spooky-themed titles getting some decent price cuts. Here are our recommendations.
Little Nightmares (RM24.75)

The Tim Burton-esque 2D/3D platformer puzzler is on the cheap. If you missed out on it before, now’s the best time to find out how quirky and chilling this game is.
Observer (RM14)

A nice cyberpunk horror game set in a world where your fears can be hacked.
Vampyr (RM64.26)

A vampire game that doesn’t suck. Heh. This DONTNOD venture is a decent RPG action title that’s going at a pretty good price.
The Evil Within 2 (RM78.20)

We can’t have a horror game list without expected sequels, right? After all, that’s how the Nightmare On Elm Street and Friday the 13th franchises got their notoriety. Now at 67% off, this sequel from Tango Gameworks (ie the studio of Shinji Mikami) features more scares, more deathtraps, and more oddities.
Dead Space 2 (RM9.50)

The second game to EA’s best survival horror action franchise, made during EA’s potential redemption arc, is on sale.
Resident Evil 2 REmake (RM69.50)

One of the best horror games of 2019, and a good indicator of Capcom’s ever-continuing redemption arc, is now 50% off. Find out why it’s the hot stuff here.
Onechanbara Z2: Chaos (RM26.25, 65% off)

We saved the “best” for last. Literally translated to “big sister swordfighting”, you control two pairs of weapon-brandishing vampires who have to kill hordes of zombies Devil May Cry-style. Also features questionable custom outfits of dubious nature and a TON of cheesecake factor.
Don’t judge.


Aluna: Sentinel of the Shards Is Textbook “You Get What You Paid For” Material

Platform: PC
Genre: Isometric Action RPGÂ
If there’s something I love about the Simple 2000 bargain bin games, it’s that you get what you pay for. Whether it’s a 3D action game or a zombie-slaying title featuring women in bikinis and cowboy hats, you can expect a nice brainless action game with the occasional jank or two, all for one-fourth of a normal game retail price.
Aluna: Sentinel of the Shard is exactly that: a cheap alternative to a polished isometric action RPG title that offers just enough thrills for a few days before you realize that you should be playing other meatier fares. For RM39, you’ll be getting 8 hours worth of killing a ton of cursed wildlife creatures, bandits, ghosts, and lizard people in 16th century Latin America.
Based on the World of Aluna comic book, the game puts you as the titular heroine Aluna who has to restore the amulet her goddess mother entrust to her, and fulfil her action RPG destiny to be the best melee/ranged/spellcasting warrior out there.
And that means killing a ton of monsters and creatures with mouse clicks ala Diablo; you can allocate skill points to either one of the three skill trees -Melee, Ranged, Magic- to gain special abilities like a Thorn shield that reflects enemy damage, an Ultimate skill that vortexes enemies close to you and you deal massive melee damage, and all sorts of spells that buff you and nerf foes. You have a good assortment of weapons and armour pieces you can mix and match; Aluna is pretty flexible with everything she wields and wears, so you can either go melee or go ranged depending on the situation. All you be doing is killing enemies to level up, get skill points, and advance the plot.
Incamental

Is the combat good? It’s serviceable, I guess. You’ll be playing this for about a couple of hours until you realize a number of things: this game isn’t balanced well, your skills don’t feel that unique and powerful, and both these elements will weigh down on you and eventually feel repetitive through and through. One moment you’re cruising through bad guys like butter. The next, enemies hit harder than a giant truck and can end you in seconds unless you respec your build or spend way too much on equipment at the merchant before those items get obsolete 30 minutes later. It doesn’t do anything particularly wrong, but it doesn’t do anything right either.
Sure, the game is a crime to look at, but let’s be fair: Aluna’s in-game 3D art style is reminiscent of a game made back in the mid-2000s but with some level of polish. It’s humble-looking and does the job in getting its generic action RPG visuals across. It’s also got some nice quality of life features like infinite potions (with significant cooldown time), free teleportation to anywhere you’ve visited, and free respeccing anywhere and anytime.
For RM39, you could do a whole lot worse than with Aluna’s competently average action RPG offerings. If you have nothing better to do and tapped out on other worthier action RPG fares, that is.
Final Score: 50/100


HBO’s The Last Of Us Episode 2 Breakdown & Easter Eggs

HBO’s The Last Of Us Episode 2 is now streaming on HBO and HBO GO (HBO Max in the US). Check out our breakdown of Episode 1 here.
The Last Of Us, based on the critically acclaimed video game of the same name developed by Naughty Dog exclusively for the PlayStation platforms, is written and executive produced by Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann. The series is a co-production with Sony Pictures Television and is executive produced by Carolyn Strauss, Evan Wells, Asad Qizilbash, Carter Swan, and Rose Lam. Production companies include PlayStation Productions, Word Games, The Mighty Mint, and Naughty Dog.
The Last Of Us takes place 20 years after modern civilization has been destroyed. Joel, a hardened survivor, is hired to smuggle Ellie, a 14-year-old girl, out of an oppressive quarantine zone. What starts as a small job soon becomes a brutal and heart-breaking journey as they both must traverse the U.S. and depend on each other for survival.
The cast includes Pedro Pascal as Joel, Bella Ramsey as Ellie, Gabriel Luna as Tommy, Anna Torv as Tess, Nico Parker as Sarah, Murray Bartlett as Frank, Nick Offerman as Bill, Melanie Lynskey as Kathleen, Storm Reid as Riley, Merle Dandridge as Marlene, Jeffrey Pierce as Perry, Lamar Johnson as Henry, Keivonn Woodard as Sam, Graham Greene as Marlon, and Elaine Miles as Florence. Ashley Johnson and Troy Baker also star.
Courtesy of HBO Asia, we were lucky enough to be the only Malaysian media to participate in interviews with Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann, Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey, Merle Dandridge and Gabriel Luna. You can also check out our spoiler-free review of the entire season by heading over here.
Spoilers ahead:

The Infection Originated In Jakarta, Indonesia

If you remember, Jakarta was mentioned via a radio broadcast in the first episode. Now, a flashback shows us what happened in Jakarta, Indonesia.
We meet Ratna, a Professor of Mycology at the University Of Jakarta. It turns out that the Cordyceps first mutated to survive in humans in Indonesia, which means that the infection originated in Indonesia.

Ellie Can’t Swim, Just Like In The Games

The HBO version of Ellie (Bella Ramsey) doesn’t know how to swim, just like in the games. In the game, she can’t swim, so every time Joel and Ellie have to get across a body of water, Joel (the player) will have to bring a wooden board to her.
The Same Line From The Game

Players will remember this line from the game when Joel and Ellie enter a hotel. However, it’s happening much earlier in the HBO series than it did in the game. I loved this dialogue interaction in the game, so it’s great to see it in the live-action series.

A Clicker Appears

A Clicker finally appears for the first time in the HBO series. They’re the most common Infected encountered in the games.
Another Iconic Scene Taken From The Game

This is another iconic scene taken from the game.
You can compare it to the one below:

Tess Is Infected And Chooses To Sacrifice Herself

Tess gets infected and just like in the game, she stays behind and sacrifices herself so that Ellie and Joel can move on and survive. The only difference is that in the game, she stays to fend off some human soldiers, while in the HBO series, she ignites a couple of oil barrels to kill a bunch of Infected in an explosion. In both scenarios, she dies.
Check out our comparison video on The Last Of Us’ second episode, where some of the key game scenes are recreated faithfully in live action form.

Until next week, excelsior!


Wargaming Expands In Europe With Two New Offices

Following Wargaming’s decision to withdraw from its businesses in Russia and Belarus, the company is announcing the next step in the process of its restructuring – the opening of two new studios in Belgrade, Serbia and Warsaw, Poland. Reinforcing the organization’s global operations, the new locations will become Wargaming’s 7th and 8th offices in Europe, joining Nicosia, Vilnius, Prague, Kyiv, Guildford, and Berlin, and will host up to 400 employees.
Wargaming Belgrade will house both international and local talent across development and publishing disciplines. Going forward, the office will also become an important relocation hub for Wargaming staff from multiple locations. The studio will focus on the World of Tanks and World of Warships franchises, providing key services and potential development of new products.

Wargaming Warsaw will initially house a small publishing team with further development plans for the location to be decided as Wargaming’s restructuring process continues.
“Warsaw and Belgrade were logical choices for these new locations, both are fast developing technology sectors with enormous potential. We look forward to working closely with both cities’ IT communities to build best-in-class game development and publishing units.” said Victor Kislyi, Wargaming CEO.
“Wargaming continues to move forward with big plans for the future. The Belgrade and Warsaw locations will be essential for accomplishing our goals”.
As part of the launch of the office in Belgrade, Wargaming will support the growth of local gaming talent by offering an immersive, local internship program – Wargaming Forge. This program will allow talented individuals (local students, graduates, junior professionals) to master skills under the guidance of the company’s experienced leaders and mentors.
For more information about the company, please visit wargaming.com.
Victor Kislyi, Wargaming CEO.


Riot Games Is Working On A League Of Legends MMO

Riot Games is currently developing a League Of Legends MMORPG, as confirmed from a tweet by Riot vice president of intellectual property and entertainment Greg Street.

I have news!My recent job at Riot has been to help develop the League universe, which we’re going to need!Because it is time. My new job is to kick off a big (some might say massive) game that many of you, and many Rioters, have been asking us to create.PS We’re hiring— Greg Street (@Ghostcrawler) December 18, 2020

Street tweeted that he is hiring for a new game that will develop the League Of Legends universe. When someone asked if it was an MMO, he confirmed it in a reply.

It is an MMO— Greg Street (@Ghostcrawler) December 18, 2020

This year alone, Riot has launched League Of Legends and digital card game Legends Of Runeterra, as well as new IP competitive shooterÂ Valorant.
The next League Of Legends spinoff will be Ruined King: A League of Legends Story, a single-player turn-based game for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, and PC.


The Top EVO 2019 Contenders For The Rest Of The Games

The world championship of fighting games, EVO 2019 is just around the corner. And with it comes the inevitable buzz, speculation and discussion of which players will be the ones to take home the fame and glory of becoming the EVO world championship in their respective games.
Now letâ€™s take some time to highlight some of the most noteworthy contenders competing in the other games of the official EVO tournament lineup!
Itâ€™s a shame that games which arenâ€™t named Street Fighter, Tekken, or Super Smash Brothers usually donâ€™t get as much attention since the tournaments tend to have fewer entrants and smaller prize pools. But make no mistake, the top players in these games are every bit as talented as top contenders for Street Fighter and Tekken – even if they arenâ€™t quite as famous due to their game having a smaller audience.
Here are our picks for the most noteworthy contenders for you to keep your eyes on for Soul Calibur VI, Mortal Kombat 11, Under Night In-Birth EXE:Late[st], Blazblue Cross Tag Battle, Dragonball FighterZ, Samurai Shodown, and Super Smash Bros Ultimate!
Soul Calibur VI – Shen Chan

For the earliest game in the EVO 2019 tournament schedule, we couldnâ€™t help but highlight one of our local Southeast Asian talents – Jovian Chen aka Shen Chan from Singapore.
While he doesnâ€™t have the same notoriety as that other professional Singaporean fighting game player, heâ€™s been producing even better results for himself in international tournaments – getting 3rd place at CEO and 2nd place at EVO Japan earlier this year and earning a sponsorship with Panda Global.

Shen Chan is a long-time devotee to the Soul Calibur series, and itâ€™s a little known fact that heâ€™s actually achieved 2nd place at EVO before when he competed in the SoulCalibur V tournament in 2012. Thanks to the release of Soul Calibur VI and the ongoing Soul Calibur Asia league, heâ€™s finally been getting more opportunities to showcase his talents on a global stage, and we can only hope that EVO 2019 will be his first major tournament victory.
Mortal Kombat 11 – Sonicfox

Honestly, thereâ€™s no way we couldâ€™ve put anyone else here in good conscience. Sonicfox is known for being the most dominant Mortal Kombat player in the modern FGC era and quite possibly the most dominant player of all time, and his performance in Mortal Kombat 11 since the gameâ€™s release earlier this year has lived up to expectations.
With Mortal Kombat missing from last yearâ€™s EVO lineup, Sonicfox had to settle for 3rd place in the Injustice 2 tournament, but that was only fair considering that he had been focusing most of his efforts on his Dragonball FighterZ campaign at EVO – a highly successful campaign considering that he managed to beat GO1 and win the first-ever EVO DBFZ title.

Now that a mainline Mortal Kombat game is back in the official EVO lineup, it appears that Sonicfox is back in business on the NRS side of things and just as focused as ever. Much like things were in the MKX days, Sonicfox is undoubtedly the favourite to win this tournament.
Under Night In-Birth EXE Late[st]/UNIST – Redblade

When it comes to â€œanimeâ€ games like UNIST, people usually assume that Japanese players would be the favourites to win any given tournament – however, this hasnâ€™t proven to be the case for competitive UNIST play since the game made a huge impact as a minor tournament at EVO last year.
While Japanese anime gods like GO1 are still fearsome competitors, the American players appear to be catching up. The potential of American UNIST was first proven to the world at EVO 2018 when the American player Squish defeated the Japanese Player Heiho in grand finals, and the American players have only been getting better, as Redblade most recently demolished GO1 3-0 in the grand finals of CEO.

Redbladeâ€™s impressive performance gave us flashbacks to a certain other American player featured in this list, and we canâ€™t wait to see him go up against the other top international players in a tournament thatâ€™s going to be five times the size of last yearâ€™s EVO UNIST tournament!
BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle – KojiKOG

Whether you first found out about him by watching his nutty T.Hawk play in the Street Fighter 4 days or if you know him from his performance in anime games like BBTAG, youâ€™ll know one thing about KojiKOG – his playstyle is crazy, and no one does it better than he does.
He was never considered to be one of the infamous Japanese gods of the FGC, but he certainly seems to have found his niche with BBTAG, as he currently holds the no.1 spot in the ARCREVO World Tour standings for BBTAG with more than twice the amount of points as the no.2 and no.3 ranked players combined.

Even though he wasnâ€™t able to distinguish himself with prestigious tournament victories back then, KojiKOG is one of our favourite players to watch and itâ€™s great to see him outplaying the competition in his element. Look forward to watching him go nuts on stream when the time comes for BB:TAG to be on the main stage.
Dragon Ball FighterZ – Wawa

The highlights of the competitive fighting game scene are often driven by the performances of top international players who travel to major tournaments around the world, but perhaps the true beauty of the FGC is in the rare occasion when a young unknown player just shows up and puts on a brilliant showing against the more established top players against all expectations.

Wawa is the most recent example of that beauty – an 18-year-old player from France who has the entire Dragonball FighterZ community buzzing after his performance at the DBFZ World Tour event at Versus Fighting where he fought in what could easily be some of the greatest DBFZ sets of all time.
In that tournament, Wawa was able to defeat Kazunoko and Fenritti but unfortunately came up short against Kazunoko in an intense match and was ultimately eliminated by Fenritti in a loserâ€™s finals match that went down to the wire.
With more experience under his belt, weâ€™re already getting goosebumps just thinking about the kind of show that Wawa could be putting on if he makes to the main stage at EVO.
Samurai Shodown – Infiltration

All allegations and controversy surrounding his personal life aside, everyone in the FGC knows that Infiltration will always be one of the greatest players ever to compete in the scene.
After a long hiatus, Infiltration has announced that he will be travelling to EVO this year to compete in Samurai Shodown, and that could very well mean fireworks.
Aside from his performance in tournaments, Infiltration is also known for being one of the hardest-working players in the world when it comes to rigorous training and studying games right down to the finest detail. With him being unable to compete in Street Fighter CPT tournaments and not spending any time travelling to international tournaments, we can only imagine how much obsessive preparation Infiltration has put in for Samurai Shodown so far.
With Samurai Shodown being such a new game and so many other notable players such as Kazunoko, Justin Wong and Poongko taking part in the tournament at EVO, itâ€™s going to be one hell of a show for this gameâ€™s EVO debut. Weâ€™ll definitely be keenly watching for Infiltrationâ€™s big return to the fighting game tournament scene.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate – MkLeo

Persona 5 Arena wasnâ€™t announced and Persona 4 Ultimax wonâ€™t ever be at EVO again, but you can thank Sakurai and MkLeo for the Persona action that youâ€™ll be receiving at EVO 2019.
Heâ€™s already been known as a top player since the Smash Wii U days, but ever since picking up Persona 5â€™s Joker as his main, MkLeoâ€™s play has been so gorgeous that one might even be inclined to describe it as â€œartâ€, winning 3 consecutive premiere smash events including CEO.

When MkLeo plays, the movement is beautiful, the sets are intense, and the hype is pumped out in spades. His dominance doesnâ€™t show any signs of slowing down, and with Smash Ultimate closing out EVO, weâ€™re looking forward to having our hearts and breaths stolen in a grand finals set for the ages.


OBS Is Now Available On Steam

Calling all streamers; OBS is now officially available on Steam. The Steam version of OBS will even carry over all your settings if you already have the normal version on your PC. However, there won’t be cloud saves.
As for everything else, they will work like the standard OBS. You can install plugins, and the Steam version doesn’t limit how many games you can run, so you can capture game footage the same way you can with the standard version of the software program.
In their FAQ, the developer stated:
Over the years, we have received requests to publish OBS on Steam as it provides a convenient way to install and update software. For many users, it is one of their primary sources for the programs on their machines.
In general, we want to offer OBS through various platforms to reach both our current and future users as easily as possible. This includes our presence on the Microsoft Store for Windows and our most recent expansion to Flathub on Linux. Steam is part of this endeavor.


MapleStory 2 Guide: How To Make Your MMO Life Pleasant

Disclaimer – This guide is under development; MapleStory 2 is an ever-changing MMO after all, so keep watching this space periodically for updates.
So MapleStory 2 is out in open beta form, and you have no idea what to do. Despite its colourful aesthetics and googly eyes, there’s a lot to take in once you’re knee deep in the game for a few hours.
Fortunately, Kakuchopurei is here to help! Our closed beta impressions only scratched the surface of this ever-expanding MMO. So we’ll be publishing general tips, class breakdowns, and other miscellaneous write-ups to help you out on your second MapleStory, er, story. Now in glorious next-gen 3D!
General Tips & Tricks

1. Create as many characters as you can to grab the names that you want. You will also want to finish the tutorial and then change your keybindings to what is comfortable for you. Aside: you can’t change them until you finish the tutorial and arrive at Lith Harbor).
2. Do your dailies before they reset. Any free loot you get from mundane tasks is better than no extra loot at all.
3. Play with friends, even with the ones you don’t know personally. Taking on most of the bosses in this game is impractical even if you’re just a level lower, so get out of your comfort zone and bring in random party members into your group. They’ll help.
4. As you level up, equip the pieces of equipment that are better than what you are currently using, and dismantle the old pieces. If you cannot dismantle the old pieces, sell them to an NPC. If you can’t sell them, just throw them away or put them in storage. Save the Onyx Crystals for when you hit level 50.
5. When you reach level 12, you will unlock home furbishing and ground mounts. When you reach level 17, you can start building your dream home. Best you get to levelling up quick if you want more out of your MapleStory options.
6. When you hit level 50, all of your daily and weekly dungeon clears will reset. This means that when you are around level 47-49, you have the option to go back and clear dungeons for rewards and completing trophies before you hit level 50. Check the AP/SP Acquisition page to see what trophies are attached to dungeon clears.
When you hit level 37, you will have 3 dungeon clears available for the day, assuming you have leveled from 1 to 37 before reset. You can use this opportunity to do the Watchtower Rampart dungeon 3 times for the Oska Body Pillow Mount (if you have any interest in that).
7. When you are level 50, you may go do all the level 50 dailies that are available to you.
8. When you want to start doing dungeons at 50, you have two options. First is to start doing the 1500 GS level 50 dungeons in order to get a chance at an Epic equipment drop. If you don’t have enough GS to do the 1500 GS dungeons, try using your +7 scrolls from levelling up on your gear that are less than level 50, or spend a few mesos and buy level 50 blue gear from the Black Market.
The second option is to go straight to the 2100 GS hard dungeons, but you will need at least one epic gear. The weapon and suit give the most GS, but are the most expensive, and you may also have to enchant a few items to meet the requirement. You can also try to buy a cheaper epic equipment (not Pyrros gloves since it barely gives GS), and then enchant your level 50 blue equipment to barely reach 2100 GS.
And One More Tiny Thing Regarding Crafting & Enchanting…
You will also need to make the decision of whether or not to finish the “No Such Thing as a Free Enchant” Maple Guide mission. This is the third part of the crafting and enchanting maple guide so you can complete the first two parts for the rewards. However, once you complete the “No Such Thing as a Free Enchant” mission, you will be unable to come back to the map and talk to the NPC to buy the Onyx Crystals.
After leaving the map, to go back, just open up the Maple Guide and click on the big “Begin Lesson” button. This trick may not be necessary depending on the price of Onyx Crystals, but it may be a good idea to have one character that does not complete this Maple Guide Mission so the maximum price you will ever have to pay for Onyx Crystals is 2000 Mesos.
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We Wouldn’t Be Getting The Upcoming Mario Movie Without The Virtual Console, FYI

Did you know that we wouldn’t be getting a bunch of Nintendo theme parks, Nintendo-branded mobile games, and even an upcoming Mario movie from Illumination were it not for one of Nintendo’s prized possessions?
According to Nintendo’s legendary game designer Shigeru Miyamoto, he talks about why his stance towards the Mario movie changed since the 1993 American travesty. Basically, he got the feels back when he worked on the Virtual Console back in the Wii days. He figured that combining 30 years of gaming history with video assets, they can be utilized together for longer periods of time and influence.
Full translated quote below (via Siliconera):

“We do not do something like separating our IP development strategy depending on the touchpoint. For example, regarding IP development into movies, I was originally against Nintendo expanding into video-making, but am currently involved personally in using our companyâ€™s IP in film production; and the background behind this change is because Nintendo has re-released many games via Virtual Console.
Our assets are our software, and even 30 years on, they are still active. However, unfortunately, when the original hardware compatible with the software is gone, we have no choice but to port it onto new hardware.
After experiencing this process of bringing older software onto new hardware many times, I began to consider that our content business would be able to develop even further if we were able to combine our long-beloved software with that of video assets, and utilize them together for extended periods.
Basically, itâ€™s not that â€˜I want to make aÂ Mario movieâ€™, but that I began to consider that â€˜we should bring more Nintendo content into the field of video-makingâ€™. With films, the amount of people who would contact our IP would widen, and increase the amount of people engaging with our IP. Then, weâ€™d be able to further increase the spread of our media via video.”


Star Wars Jedi Survivor Gets March 2023 Release Date

The next Star Wars game from Respawn Entertainment is close at hand.
According to its official Steam page, Star Wars Jedi Survivor will launch for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC via Steam on 16 March 2023. It is developed by Respawn Entertainment and published by EA.
However, in case the Steam page gets taken down, here’s proof via a screenshot:

The story of Cal Kestis continues in Star Wars Jedi Survivor, a third-person, galaxy-spanning, action-adventure game from Respawn Entertainment, developed in collaboration with Lucasfilm Games. This narratively driven, single-player title picks up 5 years after the events of Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order and follows Cal’s increasingly desperate fight as the galaxy descends further into darkness. Pushed to the edges of the galaxy by the Empire, Cal will find himself surrounded by threats new and familiar. As one of the last surviving Jedi Knights, Cal is driven to make a stand during the galaxy’s darkest times, but how far is he willing to go to protect himself, his crew, and the legacy of the Jedi Order?
The Steam page reveals that the combat system from 2019’s Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order returns with additional Force abilities and new lightsaber fighting styles.
Pre-Order Bonus

Pre-order Star Wars Jedi Survivor Standard Edition to outfit Cal with the Obi-Wan Kenobi-inspired “Jedi Survival” Cosmetic Pack:

“Hermit” Cosmetic
“Hermit” Lightsaber Set
“Combustion” Blaster Set

Deluxe Edition Content

Unlock exclusive cosmetic items inspired by Han Solo and Luke Skywalker, as seen in Star Wars: A New Hope, with Star Wars Jedi Survivor Deluxe Edition.
The “Galactic Hero” Cosmetic Pack includes:

“Scoundrel” Cosmetic
“Rugged” BD-1 Cosmetic
“DL-44” Blaster Set

The “New Hero” Cosmetic Pack includes:

“Rebel Hero” Cosmetic
“BD-Astro” BD-1 Cosmetic
“Rebel Hero” Lightsaber Set

Plus, receive the Obi-Wan Kenobi-inspired “Jedi Survival” Cosmetic Pack:

“Hermit” Cosmetic
“Hermit” Lightsaber Set
“Combustion” Blaster Set

Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order is available for PS4, Xbox One, and PC. Check out our full review of Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order here to find out why we named it one of the best games of 2019. Check out the key art below:


Doom 64 Rerelease Will Feature New Chapter

Not many Malaysians had the privilege of owning a Nintendo 64 because of the Sega Saturn and Sony PlayStation’s dominance in Southeast Asia. CD tech beats cartridges cost-wise, FYI. So hearing about Doom 64 being ported to the PC and current-gen consoles for the first time since 1997 is good news for old-school shooter fans.
The best part about all this is that the rerelease will feature a brand new chapter after players complete the original campaign. Nightdive Studios, the folks behind the rerelease, said on USgamer that persistent players will get the chance to unlock a new chapter which features the big bad’s sister.

“Since youâ€™ve been messing up Hell non-stop, she tries to get rid of you by sending you away. If you can make your way back and take revenge, youâ€™ll be rewarded with a bit of lore that fans of both series, new and classic, should enjoy.”

The rerelease will also feature a slew of improvements over the original, like the ability to run the game at 120 fps and beyond, and 60Hz monitor support.

“The way sprites are rendered is now more true to how the original game rendered them, so no more seeing the bottom of sprites being clipped by the floor or explosion sprites being partially clipped by walls. [We’ve] even employed a technique that was suggested by John Carmack in his release notes when the source code to DOOM was released back in 1997. These things are pretty subtle but [we are] definitely proud of it.”

Doom 64 will be out the same time as Doom Eternal: on 20th March. Getting the rerelease will unlock a free pre-order bonus for the latter.


Geek Fam Captain Says National Esports League Can Work If Managed Properly [Update]

Update: full video interview added.Â
The playoffs for the fourth season of the Mobile Legends Professional League (MPL) MY/SG is happening next weekend. But before all that, the best players from Malaysia and Singapore met at Battle Arena in KL today for an All-Star Match plus meet-and-greet session with fans.
The setup of the MPL MY/SG Season 4 All-Star Match at Battle Arena.
After the match, we got a chance to talk to Geek Fam’s captain Haqqani “Jep” Jaffar and ask him a few questions. Regarding the upcoming the playoffs, Jep says that his team is definitely ready to climb back up to the upper bracket. They’ll be starting off in the lower bracket facing off against XPAX X-Assins.
When asked about the Malaysian esports budget which was recently announced during the tabling of the 2020 Budget, Jep believes that the funding will definitely benefit the local esports industry but he hopes that those who are in charge of handling the funds will ensure that the money is used responsibly.

“I hope that parties involved ensure that there is no wastage in making use of the RM20 million ringgit funding. It should be channeled in a responsible and disciplined way so that we can more new talents joining esports in Malaysia.”
– Haqqani “Jep” Jaffar, Geek Fam captain.
After the All-Star Match, fans were given the chance to play with and against the pros.
There’s also the hot topic of the proposed national esports league which is planned to be organised next year. Jep believes that it’s a good idea and that it can be done to enhance the local esports scene. However, there is still the issue that a lot of skilled amateur players aren’t given the proper opportunities to showcase their abilities.

“I believe it’s a good idea. However, teams need to be properly managed so that they can balance their focus between playing for the country and for their respective teams. It could be a good platform to develop new talents because they need more opportunities to expose themselves to the professional settings.”
– Haqqani “Jep” Jaffar, Geek Fam Captain.
Team Singapore was the winner of this season’s All-Star Match but Team Malaysia definitely put up a good fight. After losing the first round, the Malaysian team made an amazing comeback with a quick 19-minute victory plus 10 kills ahead of Singapore. Unfortunately, Singapore gave them a taste of that medicine in the third and final round.

The teams and their players:
Malaysia

Xorn – Geek Fam
dominus – Geek Fam
Moonnnnnn – Todak
Soloz – Shopee Bosskur
Penjahat – Shopee Bosskur

Singapore

OhDeeBambi – EVOS Esports
JPL – EVOS Esports
Fenrir – Notorious Villains
Kolia – Notorious Villains
Aeon – Resurgence

The MPL MY/SG Season 4 Playoffs will be happening on 19 and 20 October 2019 at KL Live. If being able to watch the best Mobile Legends players from Malaysia and Singapore doesn’t sound great enough, you’ll also stand a chance to bring home a Black Shark 2 Pro gaming smartphone.

(Cover photo taken from Jep’s Facebook page.)


Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical Gets Console Versions & August Release Date

Narrative-driven adventure game Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical features Greek Gods living among people in modern times, with your main character Grace being given Muse powers after someone’s death.
The song-filled adventure title will be out for Xbox Series, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and PC this 3rd August. The game is published by Humble Games and developed by Summerfall Studios, and boasts a star-studded voice-over cast:

Laura Bailey
Mary Elizabeth McGlynn
Troy Baker
Rahul Kohli
Janina Gavankar
Khary Payton
Ashley Johnson
Felicia Day
Kimberly Brooks
Erika Ishii
Allegra Clark

If you’ve played games like Silent Hill 2 and a slew of Naughty Dog titles, you should at least recognize 2 or 3 of those names. Trailer & features list below:
Features
About
In a modern fantasy world where the Greek gods live hidden among us, Grace is granted the power of a Muse to draw others into musical numbers… power that she’ll need to find out the truth behind her predecessor’s death before time runs out. Unravel the mystery of the last Muse through your choices in a beautifully hand-illustrated roleplaying musical.
From the mind of David Gaider, lead writer and creator of the Dragon Age setting and one of the most celebrated scribes in games, comes Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical—a song-filled urban fantasy saga where your choices determine how the Fates guide you.
Adventure, love, and songs await!
Find Your Voice
A compelling story of hope, self-discovery, and forging your path. Strong-arm, charm or negotiate your way through a world of branching songs. Play through original, interactive musical numbers composed by Grammy-nominated musician Austin Wintory (Journey, Banner Saga), Scott Edgar, Steven Gates and Simon Hall of Tripod, and Jess Cerro (Montaigne), where your choices change the songs—and the outcomes.
Find Answers
Choice and consequence built from the DNA of RPGs. Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical is a tale of loss and taking charge of your fate to uncover the answers you seek. No two shows are the same! Multiple playthroughs will result in entirely different musical experiences. Be the star and stagehand—close the curtain on the story you want to tell.
Find Love?
Find friendship, love, or yourself. Delve into an unknown world of mythic Greek gods and monsters; get to know a cast of hilarious, enigmatic, and delightful characters; and find out what’s going on behind the scenes of this saga before it’s too late. Stoke the fires of romance if you so choose, and explore relationships with four potential paramours.
A Whole New World
A musical for video game lovers, and a video game for musical lovers. Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical is an irreverent and heartfelt reconception of Greek mythology combining what we love about contemporary musical theater (think Buffy: Once More With Feeling, Hadestown, and Wicked) with video games where character and story take center stage (think Dream Daddy, Life Is Strange, and Dragon Age). David Gaider’s vision is brought to life with performances by the likes of Laura Bailey (The Last of Us Part II, World of Warcraft), Mary Elizabeth McGlynn (Silent Hill 2, Steven Universe, Resident Evil) and additional cast members from across video games, television, and Broadway, to be revealed soon.


Kuroko’s Basketball Anime To Launch A 3D Mobile Game This 2023

A brand new basketball simulation mobile game titled “Kuroko’s Basketball Street Rivals” has been confirmed and will be adapted from the classic anime series, Kuroko no Basket.
The mobile version of the series seeks to provide the same experience as both anime and manga, including the characters and the stories too. In the game, players will be able to choose different characters such as Tetsuya Kuroko and Taiga Kagami, and play intense basketball matches. The 3D basketball mobile game is set to launch this 2023.
No other announcements were made as this was mostly just to confirm the existence of Street Rivals, but we do know what the story will be based on, and that we’ll see all of our favourite characters throughout the game.

??????? Street Rivals?????3D??????????
??????????????????????????——
???????https://t.co/kphDbQPmV1#?????? #???#???SR pic.twitter.com/Kyg9IC9TIb
— ????????????? Street Rivals (@KRBS_SR) June 21, 2023

Kuroko No Basket is one of the most iconic sports anime to date, being in the same standing as the legendary Slam Dunk. Most sports anime tend to focus more on action or the main story, but Kuroko’s Basketball has almost perfected and balanced both storylines and action scenes, leaving you hooked on the interesting characters and main plot. A lot of the love for the series comes down to the loveable nature of the characters and watching as they all form and grow throughout each episode. Interestingly, the “Generation of Miracles” consists of 6 basketball players who will bring forth their superpower called “The Zone” in order to win tournaments. It is a great anime series that is entertaining and wholesome.
So, whether you’re a fan of the anime series or of basketball, this is the game to watch out for. As of now, there is no pre-registration or anything of the sort, but you can check out the official Twitter account or stay tuned on Kakuchopurei for the next update!
In the meantime, check out Kuroko’s Basketball trailer below.


Doom Is Getting An Officially Licensed Bone Vodka

Fancy a drink that will give you a kick that’s just as strong as Hell’s forces? No? Well, we’ve seen weirder cross-promotional video games stuff.
The latest Bethesda PR stunt involves the upcoming Doom Eternal and this specially-licensed bone vodka, according to the recent Bethesda UK Twitter account.

We’ve teamed up with @rebeldistillers to create DOOM Bone Vodka – for more information click here https://t.co/EZMIJRFoO8 pic.twitter.com/fZ7zEhT4QA
— Bethesda UK (@Bethesda_UK) September 6, 2019

For those not in the know, bone vodka is vodka made out of marrow extracted from beef bones that have been roasted and smoked, and then macerated into neutral grain alcohol. The mixture is then distilled at a low temperature in a vacuum still, which results in a “dry, earthy start”, a “buttery feel on the tongue”, and a “finish that’s smoky and peppery”. Vodka-makers The Rebel Distillers said they’re making the “first vodkaÂ  using bones sourced from world-famous butchers The Ginger Pig”.
Here’s what the company’s co-founder Matt McGivern said:

“Weâ€™re tapping into one of the worldâ€™s favourite hobbies, video games, to offer a unique perspective in spirit production. Doom Eternal is a world of flames and demons, a barbecue pit with actionâ€”a smoked bone vodka is certainly a new take on spirit provenance.”

The 700ml bottles will go for US$55 each and are available for pre-order. Unfortunately for us Southeast Asians, they only ship in UK, EU, and Australia. The bottles will be shipped in stores near the end of September, just in time for the game’s release on 22nd November.
Let’s hope this Bethesda stunt turned out better than the Fallout 76 Nuka Dark Rum promotional alcohol stint. Get more information about the vodka here.


Here Are The Movie Soundtracks That Won The Grammy Awards 2022

The Grammy Awards 2022 played host to a bunch of big winners in the music industry. This also includes the hard-working folks who made music for films and TV shows.
From a pop culture standpoint, there were some highlights, like Pixar’s animated film Soul and Netflix miniseries The Queen’s Gambit winning best score soundtrack for visual media. The two beat out Hans Zimmer’s work on the 2021 sci-fi film Dune and Ludwig Goransson for his work on the Disney Star Wars series The Mandalorian (Season 2).
Other nominations worth mentioning include The Disney flick Cruella getting a nomination for Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media. This is warranted, considering the soundtrack is the only reason people cared about the Disney origin story cashgrab. It lost out to Andra Day’s compiled music for The United States vs. Billie Holiday alongside Jennifer Hudson’s work in the Aretha Franklin biopic Respect and Latino-centric musical In The Heights. And yes, that WandaVision song “Agatha All Along” got nominated for a Grammy Awards 2022, for you Marvel and comic book fans out there.

Here’s the full list:
Best song written for visual media

Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez Featuring Kathryn Hahn, Eric Bradley, Greg Whipple, Jasper Randall and Gerald White – Agatha All Along
Bo Burnham – All Eyes on Me – WINNER
P!nk – All I Know So Far
HER – Fight for You
Jennifer Hudson – Here I Am
Leslie Odom, Jr. – Speak Now
Best compilation soundtrack for visual media

Various Artists – Cruella
Various Artists – Dear Evan Hansen
Various Artists – In the Heights
Various Artists – One Night in Miami…
Jennifer Hudson – Respect
Various Artists – Schmigadoon! Episode 1
Andra Day – The United States vs. Billie Holiday – WINNER
Best score soundtrack for visual media

Kris Bowers – Bridgerton
Hans Zimmer – Dune
Ludwig Göransson – The Mandalorian: Season 2 – Vol. 2 (Chapters 13-16)
Carlos Rafael Rivera – The Queen’s Gambit – WINNER (TIE)
Jon Batiste, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross – Soul – WINNER (TIE)


Google’s GDC 2019 Gaming Panel Reveals Stadia, A New Streaming Platform For “Gathering Around”

This story is still in development…
Yep, you guessed right: Google will be releasing a gaming platform called Stadia. But it won’t be physical at all; it’ll be a digital platform that lets you play the latest games without any powerful hardware.
You’ll be checking the game out through your browsers, regardless of how powerful or weak your PC/laptop is. Or even on your phone for that matter.

Its tagline: “gather around”. That’s according to Google vice president Phil Harrison, who plans to turn Stadia into a hub, to bring developers, players, and creators together into one platform. To do this, it will be using its huge data centres to stream the data with little to no lag.
Stadia offers instant access to play a game; 5 seconds of playtime after viewing it on YouTube. That thing where people preview and hear their music via Spotify instantly? Well, Stadia is doing that with games. Or at least, give you a 5-second preview of a game, hands-on.

Not only that, Google will be releasing a Stadia controller which is wireless, can connect to whatever game you were testing and playing on your Chrome browser, and has buttons like Google Assistant to help players out (assuming the devs added that feature into the game’s programming). Think of the Google Assistant button as the one-stop FAQ and hint section, searching for the best ways to solve your in-game problem.

At launch, Stadia will stream games up to 4k with 60fps. In the future, it’ll stream up to 8k with 120+ fps. Stadia will be a bit more powerful than your current consoles, as shown here. This is mostly for developers when it comes to working and creating games. Google did not state what internet speeds are needed to run Stadia optimally.

Who Will Be Providing The Assist?
Here are the partners who will be helping out Stadia. These include Vulkan, Unity, AMD, Unity, and more.

Stadia also had id Software on board to test out Stadia. During the panel, id Software announced that Doom Eternal will be available on Stadia, streaming on 4K resolution with 60fps. No date for the game was announced.
Cross-platform play will also be possible with Stadia.Â Multiplayer-wise, stream connect will be a Stadia idea where players can play together on a couch with splitscreen view on any device they have. Google showed off a tech demo called Night Forest where multi-screen split-screen gaming is possible without sacrificing hardware and processing power.

In addition, Stadia will also have an option called Style Transfer. This lets artists take a gray box world and instantly apply an artistic style to it in the cloud, in real time. Yes, those styles include the vintage art of Pac-Man.
Q Games’ Dylan Cuthbert (who programmed Star Fox, Star Fox 2, and so forth) talks about working with Stadia and using State Share where players can share their best times and community stuff.
YouTube’s Ryan Wyatt said Stadia will bring YouTube content creators and the community together by letting creators create highlight reels directly from Stadia. The platform’s Crowd Play lets viewers join in a content creator’s live game on their browsers/phones/machines of choice.
And for you parents out there with kids, Google Stadia will also have parental control.

Google will also have its own first-party studio called Stadia Games and Entertainment, led by new head Jade Raymond. She used to be from Ubisoft and EA, FYI. And if you want to develop games for Stadia and under this exclusive umbrella, just head here to the newly-launched dev site.
Players will get to check out the platform in 2019 for US, Europe, UK, and Canada. No word on whether it’ll be available in Southeast Asia though. Also, no price point has been mentioned yet; we highly doubt this service will be completely free.
So Where Does That Leave Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo, & Twitch.tv?
It’s hard to predict the future so fresh right now, but as long as these three companies are still making top-quality exclusive games for their platforms, they won’t see Google Stadia as a threat.
However, Twitch.tv might be in a precarious state. Since Stadia promises to bring YouTube content creators and their respective communities closer with their Crowd Play and State Share features, be it for post-production vids or live streaming on YouTube, this may make Twitch.tv redundant in the very long run.
Long story short: hooray for game makers and developers, not-so-glorious for some third-party companies who complement gaming in other methods.


Remember How Awesome Sonic The Hedgehog’s Music Was?

That Sonic the Hedgehog movie is pretty damn popular, eh? Which reminds us: the game’s soundtrack was really, REALLY good.
Let us remind you with this Kakuchopurei SoundScape video.


ASUS ROG Announces New ROG Strix SCAR & Strix G Lineup For 2023

ASUS Republic of Gamers (ROG) has announced the new ROG Strix SCAR and Strix G lineup of gaming laptops. 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.
As ROG’s highest-performing laptops, the Strix series is powered by the latest and greatest chips from Intel, AMD, and NVIDIA. The Strix SCAR 16 and 18 feature up to an Intel Core i9-13980HX processor with 24 cores and 32 threads, alongside up to an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Laptop GPU capable of up to 175 watts, for a total system power of 240 W (with Dynamic Boost and Manual performance modes). A MUX Switch with NVIDIA Advanced Optimus intelligently ensures optimal framerates when plugged in, and better battery life when untethered, with no manual intervention needed. The Strix G16 and G18 are powered by up to an Intel Core i9-13980HX CPU and an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Laptop GPU with up to 175 W of power using Dynamic Boost and the same MUX Switch with Advanced Optimus.
ROG is also introducing refreshed versions of the Strix SCAR 17 and Strix G17. The 2023 Strix SCAR 17 contains up to an AMD Ryzen 9 Zen 4 processor, plus up to an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Laptop GPU, while the Strix G17 packs up to an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop GPU alongside the same processor. Both models contain the same MUX Switch powered by Advanced Optimus as the 16- and 18-inch models.
The redesigned 16- and 18-inch Strix laptops allow for an all-new Intelligent Cooling suite, featuring ROG’s Tri-Fan Technology first introduced on the 2022 Flow X16. In addition, we’ve taken the full-width heatsink from the Flow X16 and enlarged it for the 2023 Strix SCAR 16, Strix SCAR 18, Strix G16, and Strix G18. This larger heatsink increases surface area for heat dissipation by up to 92.23% compared with 2022 models, and paired with our new full-surround vents, ensures next-level airflow for the powerful components inside. Combined with Conductonaut Extreme liquid metal on both the CPU and GPU with 7 heat pipes, ROG’s new solution allows for higher-than-ever TGPs for this year’s next-gen CPUs and GPUs.
The 2023 Strix SCAR 17 and Strix G17 contain Conductonaut Extreme liquid metal on the CPU, while the SCAR 17 is paired with a custom vapor chamber for top-tier cooling performance.
2023’s new 16-inch and 18-inch Strix machines don’t just feature larger, 16:10 panels. Every model is also available with one of ROG’s groundbreaking Nebula displays, ensuring a fast, bright, vivid image that surpasses typical gaming laptops for a truly immersive experience. Nebula displays require high refresh rates with a response time of 3ms or less, at least 500 nits of brightness, and 100% coverage of the DCI-P3 color space, so users don’t have to wade through spec pages to know their display is top-notch. All 2023 ROG Strix machines are available with up to QHD 240 Hz displays.
The Strix SCAR 16, however, is also available with a beautiful Nebula HDR display — meeting those standards and more with a Mini LED panel containing 1,024 individual zones for unbelievable contrast. Combined with up to 1100 nits of peak brightness, this display provides extraordinary HDR picture quality in one of the year’s most powerful gaming laptops.
ROG Strix laptops were conceived for gamers that demand the absolute best in portable performance, alongside showstopping design with endless customization. Armoury Crate’s performance modes allow users to pick from silent, low-powered computing to turbo-charged gaming, or tweak voltage and fans manually for a completely fine-tuned experience. Plenty of RGB lighting adorns the chassis of each Strix machine, including an all-new full-width light bar along the vents on the back of the Strix SCAR 16 and 18. With Aura Sync, users can keep their laptop’s lighting coordinated with their peripherals, or even design their own complex lighting effects with Aura Creator.
Spacious keyboard layouts make for more comfortable gaming, alongside customizable hotkeys that control volume, microphone, or toggle performance modes for on-the-fly gaming. A larger glass touchpad gives more precision, and the chassis’ anti-fingerprint coating ensures a clean look no matter how active a user’s lifestyle. A semi-translucent keyboard deck on the Strix SCAR pulls the sporty design together, along with a new customizable Armor Cap design that allows users to flex their own style.
SPECIFICATIONS
ROG Strix SCAR 16 and SCAR 18 (2023)

Processor

Up to 13th Gen Intel® Core™ i9-13980HX Processor

Graphics

Up to NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 4090 Laptop GPU GDDR6 16 GB
TGP 150 W (175 W with Dynamic Boost)

Operating System

Windows 11

Display

SCAR 16

QHD (2560 x 1600) 240 Hz / 3 ms, 100% sRGB, IPS-level panel with G-SYNC® and Dolby Vision®, Pantone® Validated

QHD (2560 x 1600) 240 Hz / 3 ms, 100% DCI-P3, Mini LED panel with G-SYNC® and Dolby Vision®, Pantone® Validated
SCAR 18:
FHD (1920 x 1200) 165 Hz / 7 ms, 100% sRGB, IPS-level panel with G-SYNC and Dolby Vision®
QHD (2560 x 1600) 240 Hz / 3 ms, 100% DCI-P3, IPS-level panel with G-SYNC® and Dolby Vision®, Pantone® Validated

Memory

Up to 64 GB DDR5 4800 MHz

Storage

Up to 2 x 2 TB PCIe® 4.0 SSD

Keyboard

Backlit chiclet keyboard
Per key RGB with Aura Sync
NumberPad (16-inch model only)

Audio

4 x speakers, high-performance speaker support
Dolby Atmos®
Hi-Res Audio
Two-Way AI Noise Cancelation

WiFi / Bluetooth

Wi Fi 6E (802.11ax)
Bluetooth® v5.2

I/O Ports

2 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A
1 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C® with DisplayPort™ 1.4 and Power Delivery
1 x USB Type-C® with Thunderbolt™ 4
1 x RJ-45 (LAN 2.5 Gbps)
1 x HDMI® 2.1
1 x 3.5 mm combo Audio jack
1 x DC-in

Battery

90 Wh

Dimensions

SCAR 16: 354 x 264 x 22.6 ~ 30.4 mm
SCAR 18: 399 x 294 x 23.1 ~ 30.8 mm

Weight

SCAR 16: 2.5 kg
SCAR 18: 3.1 kg

ROG Strix G16 and G18 (2023)

Processor

Up to 13th Gen Intel® Core™ i9-13980HX Processor

Graphics

Up to NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 4080 Laptop GPU GDDR6 16 GB
TGP 150 W (175 W with Dynamic Boost)

Operating System

Windows 11

Display

G16

FHD (1920 x 1200) 165 Hz / 7 ms, 100% sRGB, IPS-level panel with G-SYNC® and Dolby Vision®
QHD (2560 x 1600) 240 Hz / 3 ms, 100% sRGB, IPS-level panel with G-SYNC® and Dolby Vision®, Pantone® Validated

G18:

FHD (1920 x 1200) 165 Hz / 7 ms, 100% sRGB, IPS-level panel with G-SYNC® and Dolby Vision®
QHD (2560 x 1600) 240 Hz / 3 ms, 100% DCI-P3, IPS-level panel with G-SYNC® and Dolby Vision®, Pantone® Validated

Memory

Up to 32 GB DDR5 4800 MHz

Storage

Up to 2 TB PCIe® 4.0 SSD

Keyboard

Backlit chiclet keyboard
4-Zone & Per key RGB with Aura Sync (varies according to region)
NumberPad (optional for 16-inch model only)

Audio

2x speakers, high-performance speaker support
Dolby Atmos®
Hi-Res Audio
Two-Way AI Noise Cancelation

WiFi / Bluetooth

WiFi 6E (802.11ax)
Bluetooth® v5.2

I/O Ports

2 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A
1 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C® with DisplayPort™ 1.4 and Power Delivery
1 x USB Type-C® with Thunderbolt™ 4
1 x RJ-45 (LAN 1 Gbps) (LAN 2.5 Gbps for RTX4080 GPU model only)
1 x HDMI® 2.1
1 x 3.5 mm combo Audio jack
1 x DC-in

Battery

90 Wh (RTX 40 series) / 64 Wh (RTX3050 6 GB)

Dimensions

G16: 354 x 264 x 22.6 ~ 30.4 mm
G18: 399 x 294 x 23.1 ~ 30.8 mm

Weight

G16: 2.5 kg
G18: 3.1 kg

ROG Strix SCAR 17 (2023)

Processor

Up to the latest AMD Ryzen™ 9 Zen 4 processor

Graphics

Up to NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 4090 Laptop GPU GDDR6 16 GB
TGP 175 W (with Dynamic Boost)

Operating System

Windows 11

Display

QHD 240 Hz / 3 ms, DCI-P3 100%, IPS-level panel with G-SYNC® and Dolby Vision® HDR

Memory

Up to 64 GB DDR5 4800 MHz

Storage

Up to 2 TB PCIe® 4.0 Performance SSD
Keyboard
Backlit chiclet keyboard
Per key RGB with Aura Sync

Audio

Smart Amp speakers
Dolby Atmos®
Hi-Res Audio
Two-Way AI Noise Cancelation

WiFi / Bluetooth

WiFi 6E (802.11ax)
Bluetooth® v5.2

I/O Ports

2 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A
1 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C® with DisplayPort™ 1.4, with G-SYNC® support, and Power Delivery 3.0
1 x USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-C® with DisplayPort™ 1.4 with G-SYNC support
1 x RJ-45 (LAN 2.5 Gbps)
1 x HDMI® 2.1
1 x 3.5 mm combo Audio jack
1 x DC-in

Battery

90 Wh

Dimensions

395 x 282 x 23.4 ~ 28.3 mm

Weight

3 kg

ROG Strix G17 (2023)

Processor

Up to the latest AMD Ryzen™ 9 Zen 4 processor

Graphics

Up to NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 4070 Laptop GPU GDDR6 8 GB
TGP 140 W (with Dynamic Boost)

Operating System

Windows 11

Display

QHD 240 Hz / 3 ms, DCI-P3 100%, IPS-level panel, G-SYNC ® and Dolby Vision® HDR
FHD (1920 x 1080), 144 Hz, Value IPS-level panel, G-SYNC®

Memory

Up to 32 GB DDR5 4800 MHz

Storage

Up to 2 TB PCIe® 4.0 SSD

Keyboard

Backlit chiclet keyboard
4-Zone & Per key RGB with Aura Sync (Vary according to regions)

Audio

Smart Amp speakers
Dolby Atmos®
Hi-Res Audio
Two-Way AI Noise Cancelation

WiFi / Bluetooth

WiFi 6E (802.11ax)
Bluetooth® v5.2

I/O Ports

2 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A
1 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C® with DisplayPort™ 1.4, with G-SYNC support, and Power Delivery 3.0
1 x USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-C® with DisplayPort™ 1.4 with G-SYNC support
1 x RJ-45 (LAN 1 Gbps)
1 x HDMI® 2.1
1 x 3.5 mm combo Audio jack
1 x DC-in

Battery

90 Wh

Dimensions

395 x 282 x 23.4 ~ 30.8 mm

Weight

2.8 kg


Metroid Dread Gets New Boss Rush, Dread Rush, & Survival Rush Modes

Nintendo is adding more tough challenges in its breakout search action hit game Metroid Dread.
A new update for the game is now available -version 2.1.0- and it adds the following three modes to test the mettle of hardcore 2D action fans:
Boss Rush

A mode where players fight 12 continuous boss battles, and aim for the best time.
Any damage received is carried-over into the next fight. Weapons are fully-restored between battles.
If Samus is defeated, players may select “Retry” to continue playing from the start of the battle they lost. There is, however, a time penalty for being defeated.
Bosses fought in Boss Rush can be fought one-on-one at any time by selecting “Practice”.
*Unlocked by clearing the main game a single time. (In the event that a player has completed the game before the update was released, they will be able to play Boss Rush immediately after updating).

Survival Rush

A mode where players see how many bosses they can defeat inside of the 5 minute time limit.
Any damage received, or weapons spent are carried-over into the next battle. Even if time remains on the clock, Samus being defeated will result in a game over.
Defeating a boss will add a fixed amount of time to the countdown clock. Defeat a boss without receiving any damage to receive an even bigger time bonus.
*Survival Rush is unlocked by completing either Boss Rush or Dread Rush.

Dread Rush

The basic rules are the same as in Boss Rush, but if Samus is hit by a boss, her energy drops to zero and she is defeated.
Bosses fought in Dread Rush can be fought one-on-one at any time by selecting “Practice”.
*Unlocked by clearing the main game using Dread Mode. (In the event that a player has completed Dread Mode before the update was released, they will be able to play Dread Rush immediately after updating).

Metroid Dread is available now for Nintendo Switch; you can check out our review here.


Penang Esports Festival: The Good, The Bad, And The Boring

When talking about big esports events in Malaysia, there’s no avoiding the fact that the best stuff always happens in Kuala Lumpur. However, the folks up north in Penang want to prove that there’s still great competitive fun to be had outside of KL and honestly, I think they pulled off something pretty good.
During the recent weekend, the first-ever Penang Esports Festival (PEF 2019) took place at the Setia SPICE Arena. Props to the organiser, SOZO, for hosting tournaments for a variety of mobile and console games including PUBG Mobile, FIFA 19, and fighting games such as Dragon Ball FighterZ, Tekken 7, Street Fighter V, Soulcalibur VI, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

The Good
Esports-centric Focus
When talking about an esports event, the focus should be aimed towards the ‘esports’ aspect of it. Fortunately, PEF 2019 treated its players with respect and gave the audience a good show.
No one ever felt lost as zones for specific games were clearly marked and shown in the pamphlet. Using light plastic chairs and not having anyone rearrange them from time to time, seating became a mess but there were tons of chairs so I always found somewhere to sit.

Quality Over Quantity
To say that the event felt a bit barren would be an understatement. There were only nine booths and only a third were related to video games. Good thing the PlayStation booth was there to let people play cool games like Beat Saber, No Straight Roads, Code Vein, and more.
TIME (the ISP company) also had a pretty good booth there. Wannabe racers used their racing cockpit setup for some F1 action. They also had a station for visitors to try out the Spider-Man: Far From Home VR Experience. They were probably using the latter to set up those “surf the web” jokes.

The Bad
A Crowd Clusterf***
Remember that part about seating being a mess? Well, it’s actually a lot worse in some sections of the event.
The award for worst seating space goes to the PUBG Mobile area where there were only enough seats to fit a primary school classroom. Unsurprisingly, PUBG Mobile attracted the biggest crowd and safe for a few people, pretty much everyone had to stand up and block walking paths.

For those who wanted to watch the FIFA 2019 and PES 2019 tournaments, they didn’t even get seats! Most people who were there to support their friends playing football games had to drag seats from other sections or risk standing up for every 90-minute match.
Far & Away From Food
Felt parched or wanted to get some snacks while you waited for the next match you’re interested in watching? The closest row of cafes and eateries were at least 10 minutes away on foot. I understand cleanliness is an issue but they could’ve hired a food truck or something nearby.
Finally, The Boring
That 3pm Industry Panel…
On the first day, there was a panel on how to get into the games industry. Nothing much came out of it except just telling the audience to “have passion and just ignore what people have to say”.
Definitely mind-blowing and totally unexpected information. Keep in mind that this is coming from folks who have been at this line of work for more than 6 years who shouldn’t be taking the safe route for these sort of things.

In Conclusion
PEF 2019 was a fun event that paints a hopeful future for the esports scene here in the northern side of Malaysia. Keep in mind that this is the first time Penang has ever hosted something of this scale.
I’m quite confident that the second time will be better after they take into consideration all the feedback, assuming there is a second time.


Modern Warfare II & Warzone 2.0 Season 2 Filled To The Brim With New Content

Season 2 of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II and Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0 is set to launch on 15 February and includes a new map to be featured in Resurgence and DMZ modes, Ranked Play with additional Multiplayer maps, and popular game modes such as Infected, Gun Game and Grind.
The season offers five new functional weapons for free, opportunities to showcase your skills in the Path of the Ronin Challenges, and the chance to become a dominant force with the new Operator, Ronin.

New Resurgence Map: Ashika Island

Season 2 sees the return of fan favourite alternate Warzone game mode Resurgence. Available for all squad sizes—Solos, Duos, Trios, and Quads—Resurgence allows for multiple respawns, as long as one squad member is still standing. If a squad member is eliminated while one or more squad members are still alive, a countdown will appear beside their name. When this countdown hits zero, they will redeploy to the Drop Zone.
This countdown can be shortened by your squadmates performing specific in-game actions such as eliminating enemies. This countdown grows longer with each circle collapse until the final few circles — where all redeploys, save for those bought through a Buy Station — are disabled. The last squad standing wins.
Ashika Island is a village that has been under attack by Shadow Company for centuries. Players can explore various locations on the island including an ancient shipwreck and ruins, a modern town centre, a beach club, a port, an organic farm, and a fortified castle. The island holds hidden secrets that will reward adventurous players. The various points of interest on Ashika Island include:

?ganikku Farms – The majority of the northwestern sector of Ashika Island is comprised of mixed agricultural, residential, and industrial use, along with old shoreline defences.
Town Center – Impressive sea wall defences, a Ferry Terminal, tourist facilities, a semi-circular City Hall structure and more highlight this point of interest.
Beach Club – Further southwest of the Town Center, and east of the Port is an aquarium and Beach Club and open-air swimming within the southwestern ocean beach.
Tsuki Castle – The higher ground in the centre of Ashika Island is dominated by an ancient castle with multiple fortifications, cherry blossoms in bloom, and a natural defensive hill along the southwestern side of the structure.
Port Ashika – The southwestern edge is dominated by rocky bluffs, and a port named after the island. Expect a variety of industrial warehouses, offices, a comms tower as you venture towards the ocean.
Residential – On the lower ground below the castle battlements to the north, and east of the Farms and allotments sits some residential housing between a couple of industrial structures.
Shipwreck – The inclement weather and hazardous shoreline spelt doom for two cargo tankers. Both vessels have run aground here, and the Shipment containers they were carrying have been mostly saved and stacked in a pleasing manner.

Exclusive features to Ashika Island

Restore Honor (Launch, Resurgence): Every Operator on Ashika Island will drop a dog tag upon death, which can either be picked up by a squadmate or themselves after redeploying. Doing so grants a small Cash reward and a single UAV ping that marks both enemy threats and nearby Supply Boxes.
Search and Seizure (In-Season, Resurgence): Reclaim a stolen vehicle from Shadow Company forces on the island. Operators must neutralize any guards near the vehicle, then grab the dropped key and get the vehicle to its designated drop-off point. Expect heavy resistance en route to your destination.
Data Heist (In-Season, Resurgence): A new Public Event, the Data Heist occurs during the second circle collapse, when three uplink stations come online around the map. Squads can hack into and remain near the uplink station to gain intel. Eliminate incoming Shadow Company forces to speed up the download process.
Enemy Operators can halt progress by contesting the station area directly or by using a DDoS Field Upgrade. Squads that successfully download the intel from two or three uplink stations will receive increased rewards, such as a random Killstreak or even an Advanced UAV.
Redeploy Drones (In-Season, Resurgence): Redeploy Drones are the high-risk, high-reward way to reposition around Ashika Island. Simply hook a cable up to the drone via interaction, then launch up and parachute to a distant location. Drones occasionally change position during the match and can be targeted by lock-on missiles.
New Rusher Combatant (In-Season, Resurgence): What they lack in defence, the Rusher makes up for in agility and a deadly short sword. This adversary also packs a pistol in case a target is unreachable for a melee attack, as well as mini smoke bombs for distraction and repositioning.

DMZ expands to Ashika Island
As part of the new season, Ashika Island will be a new Exclusion Zone accessible in DMZ. This new area continues the mode’s narrative and other new features like Boss Hideouts.

Ranked Play, Additional Maps & Modes
Ranked Play: Prove your skills in this feature-packed Multiplayer mode using Call of Duty League (CDL)-approved rules, restrictions, maps, and modes. Earn exclusive items and display your public skill rank with pride.
Ranked Play includes seven Skill Divisions — Bronze through the Top 250, where your name will be displayed on a special Top 250 leaderboard. Earn Skill Division Skins based on your highest rank for the Season, including rewards for finishing in the Gold Division or above for the first time, along with other unique rewards given out each season.
New Multiplayer maps at launch
Dome (Core Map): Located at the highest point in Al Mazrah, Dome is a recreation of one of Call of Duty’s most iconic Multiplayer maps. This small- to medium-sized map is built for fast-paced combat in and around its three main buildings, including the iconic domed structure.
Zaya Observatory (Battle Map): The Battle Map version of Dome expands to fit the entire mountaintop area.
Al Malik International (Battle Map): This modern airport located at the southern tip of Al Mazrah features traditional and modern architecture. Use the skills you’ve applied here in Battle Royale and DMZ to secure victory.
The other Core map launching at the start of Season 2 is Valderas Museum, returning after first appearing in the Modern Warfare II Beta.
New Multiplayer modes
Infected (Launch): Operators must avoid the chosen Infected player at all costs. Eliminated survivors join the Infected until none remain, or the timer runs out.
Gun Game (Launch): Each ranged elimination awards the next weapon, while melee eliminations put your opponent one weapon back on the 18-weapon rotation.
Grind (Launch): Kill Confirmed with a twist: Enemy dog tags are stackable and must be banked at one of two fixed locations. Bank multiple dog tags at once to maximize point gains.
Drop Zone (In-Season): A derivative of Hardpoint, Drop Zone sends a Care Package down into occupied zones every 15 seconds. Perfect for those looking to ramp up their Killstreak elimination numbers or who just love pure chaos.
All or Nothing (In-Season): Operators start the match with Throwing Knives and a pistol with no ammo, plus additional perks with each elimination starting with Scavenger, granting ammo after each elimination.
One in the Chamber (In-Season): Every Operator gets a handgun with one bullet in the chamber for this Free-for-All variant. Each elimination awards an additional bullet, and Operators have only three respawns.
Raid Episode 2 Coming Mid-Season
Atomgrad was just the beginning. Price, Farah, and Gaz will be back later in Season 2 with Episode 2 of the Raid, a continuation of the Modern Warfare II Campaign.
Path of the Ronin Season Challenges
The Path of the Ronin Event presents seven challenges to be completed in Warzone 2.0 or Modern Warfare II based on the themes of Integrity, Respect, Courage, Honor, Compassion, Sincerity, and Loyalty. Complete every challenge to unlock the new Crossbow functional weapon.
Five New Weapons at Launch
Get three of these new weapons through the Season 2 Battle Pass and the other two weapons through seasonal challenges:
ISO Hemlock Assault Rifle (Launch, Battle Pass): This powerful and enhanced rifle from Expedite Firearms is designed to take both 5.56 and subsonic .300 BLK ammunition, providing battlefield advantage in any situation.
KV Broadside Shotgun (Launch, Battle Pass): Bringing the power of 12 gauge to the Kastov Platform, the KV Broadside is the fastest-firing semi-auto firearm in the shotgun class. Destroys targets at close range with impunity.
Crossbow (Launch Window, Challenges): Silent and agile, this high-performance crossbow fires 20.0” bolts with exceptional lethality. Exclusive customization, distinct functionality, and unique ammunition types put this weapon in a class of its own. Standard 20.0” bolts are recoverable and are undetectable by Trophy Systems. Unlock this new functional weapon by completing The Path of the Ronin challenges.
Also coming to Season 2 is the Dual Kodachis Melee Weapon as part of the Battle Pass, as well as a new Marksman Rifle to be available at midseason.
New personal watercraft vehicle
Complementing the armoured Patrol Boat and the midsized RHIB, the Personal Watercraft (PWC) is a nimble seacraft capable of swiftly carrying up to two Operators through waterways.
New Operator
Daniel “Ronin” Shinoda (Launch): Returning from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019), Ronin is an ex–Special Forces fighter known for his mastery of multiple fighting styles. He is an accomplished saboteur who can pick apart defence systems like no other Operator can.


Silent Hill Creator Is Working On A New Horror Action-Adventure Game

Silent HillÂ and Gravity Rush creator Keiichiro Toyama has revealed a few details of the upcoming debut game from his newly-formed Bokeh Game Studio, which will be a horror-themed action-adventure, aiming for a 2023 release.
Speaking withÂ IGN Japan, Toyama said that he is currently working on “an action-adventure game that will appeal to fans of my previous work”. He added that the game will include â€œbattles and story elementsâ€.
However, it won’t be full-on horror like Silent Hill and Siren. Toyama described his new game:
“If anything, this will be more of a horror-oriented game. But we will focus on making this a broader entertainment experience, rather than a hardcore horror game.â€
This new game will be a multi-platform release.
â€œWe are developing with PC as the lead platform, but we hope to release the game on as many console platforms as possible.”
Bokeh Game Studio co-founder and producer Kazunobu Sato also explained that the game is still in the early stages of development, with an estimated target release date of 2023.
â€œWeâ€™re just entering prototype development, and development will probably take nearly three years. So we hope to get this game into your hands in about three years from now.â€


The Book Of Boba Fett Episode 2 Breakdown & Easter Eggs Explained

The second episode of The Book Of Boba FettÂ Season 1 is now streaming on Disney+ Hotstar Malaysia. Iâ€™ll be discussing heavy spoilers so if you havenâ€™t seen it or want to avoid spoilers, nowâ€™s your chance to stop reading.
The Book Of Boba FettÂ finds legendary bounty hunter Boba Fett and mercenary Fennec Shand navigating the galaxyâ€™s underworld when they return to the sands of Tatooine to stake their claim on the territory once ruled by Jabba the Hutt and his crime syndicate.
It stars Temuera Morrison and Ming-Na Wen. Jon Favreau, Dave Filoni, Robert Rodriguez, Kathleen Kennedy and Colin Wilson are the executive producers. Karen Gilchrist and Carrie Beck serve as co-executive producers, with John Bartnicki producing and John Hampian as co-producer. There will be seven episodes in the first season.
You can check out my previous breakdowns of The Book Of Boba Fett Episode 1 here.
In addition, you can check out my previous breakdowns ofÂ Marvelâ€™s What Ifâ€¦? Episode 1,Â Episode 2,Â Episode 3,Â Episode 4,Â Episode 5,Â Episode 6,Â Episode 7,Â Episode 8Â andÂ Episode 9 here.
If you havenâ€™t, you can check out my previous breakdowns and easter egg articles forÂ WandaVisionÂ Episode 1 and 2,Â Episode 3,Â Episode 4,Â Episode 5,Â Episode 6,Â Episode 7,Â Episode 8Â andÂ Episode 9.
ForÂ The Falcon And The Winter Soldier, you can check out my previous breakdowns forÂ Episode 1,Â Episode 2Â andÂ Episode 3,Â Episode 4,Â Episode 5Â andÂ Episode 6.
For previous breakdowns ofÂ LokiÂ episodes, check outÂ Episode 1 here,Â Episode 2 here,Â Episode 3 here,Â Episode 4 here,Â Episode 5 hereÂ andÂ Episode 6 here.

The Rancor Returns?

That was sneaky of the showrunners. Cue the groans of every Original Trilogy fan out there, as it was simply a trick when Fennec Shand threatened one of the assassins from the previous episode with the Rancor. It’s revealed that he was sent by the Mayor of Mos Espa to kill Boba Fett.
In case you don’t know why the Rancor would inspire such fear in the assassin, it’s a giant monster that was used by Jabba The Hutt in Star Wars Episode VI Return Of The Jedi to kill anyone that angered or annoyed him, including Twi’lek dancers and Jedi Knights. However, Luke Skywalker slew the Rancor when he came to save Princess Leia and Han Solo from Jabba The Hutt.

Who Is The Black Wookie? It’s Black Krrsantan

Oh my god, this is officially the first appearance of Black Krrsantan, who made his original debut in the canon Marvel Star Wars comics.

Black Krrsantan is a male Wookiee bounty hunter during the Galactic Civil War. Originally captured from his homeworld Kashyyyk and trained as a gladiator, Black Krrsantan later became a bounty hunter. He was regularly hired by the crime lord Jabba the Hutt and at one point, was even hired by Darth Vader to track down other characters like Doctor Aphra.
Perhaps more comic book characters will make their live-action debut soon. Doctor Aphra, maybe?

Jabba The Hutt’s Cousins

Those who only watch the movies might be surprised but the Star Wars lore beyond the movies have always established the Hutts as many crime lords throughout the galaxy. Jabba The Hutt was the leader of the Hutt Clan, but there are actually many other members of the family out there with their own bases and organizations.
However, it’s currently unknown who these two Hutts are, besides the fact that they’re Jabba’s cousins. It looks like they’re claiming Jabba’s throne and Boba will have to look out for them.
The Train Is Owned By The Pyke Syndicate

Boba Fett only refers to them as being from the “syndicate”, but they’re actually from the Pyke Syndicate, which is a major criminal organization in the Star Wars universe. They usually engage in the spice (read: Star Wars’ version of drugs) trade. They were especially powerful during the Clone Wars.
Boba Fett Became Part Of A Tusken Tribe & Forged His Own Gaderffii Stick (Or Gaffi Stick)

Yes, that’s not just a spiked polearm staff or spear. The Tusken’s signature weapon is called the Gaderffii Stick (or Gaffi Stick). Now that he’s part of the tribe, Boba Fett has earned his own.
Tusken Dance Is Similar To The Maori Haka

I previously mentioned in Episode 1’s breakdown how The Book Of Boba Fett adapts Japanese culture by using the word ‘Daimyo’ to refer to Boba’s new position as a crime lord. Now, the Tusken dance that Boba participates in at the end of Episode 2 looks very similar to the real-life Haka by the New Zealand indigenous Maori tribe.
Haka is usually performed by a group of Maori, and is accompanied by movements and even chanting. It is often performed to welcome guests, acknowledge great achievements and more. In the case of Boba Fett, he just got accepted as part of the Tusken tribe, which is probably why they’re performing the dance, as well as celebrating the defeat of the Pyke Syndicate spice train threat.
While this is mere speculation, it’s no surprise if it’s true, considering that Boba Fett actor Temuera Morrison himself is a Maori.

After this, we have five episodes to go. Until next time, excelsior!