Valentine’s Day Sexy Time: Best & Worst Love Scenes

This story was originally published on 14th February, 2020.
Love is in the air.
Yes, it’s that time of the year again when couples go out for a romantic night while singles spend some quality with their hands (by playing games, what else would I be talking about?). Romance and love/sex scenes have been in gaming for decades, especially since the advent of more realistic 3D and cinematic graphics.
In commemoration of the thirstiest time of year, I’ve compiled a list of the best and worst love/sex scenes in gaming. It’s important that this article is all in good fun, so let’s all enjoy Valentine’s Day.
Best Love/Sex Scenes
5. Dragon Age: Inquisition

Despite being widely regarded as the worst game in the franchise, Dragon Age Inquisition continues to offer the ability to have sex with a diverse cast of characters, including a literal bull-man and more. Throughout the game, you get to form relationships, with sex scenes waiting as your reward at the end of it all.
Not all of them are heavy and self-serious, as the culmination of your romance with Sera is a cute and funny sex scene that’s not refreshing from those in other games.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWBcAanttWc&w=560&h=315]
4. Wolfenstein: The New Order

A straightforward and conventional FPS like Wolfenstein: The New Order wouldn’t feature sex scenes, but there’s one in this. The whole game has a very cinematic retro vibe to it, but most of the game is filled with bleak tones and bloody gore. A sex scene is exactly what’s needed to perk up the mood.
In the game, protagonist B.J. Blazkowicz encounters a nurse named Anya, and the two hits it off almost immediately. The sex scene is pretty sensitive and tasteful in nature, which is made even more surprising in a game whose main objective is to explore the extreme spectrum of violence in killing Nazis.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOkElYi883Y&w=560&h=315]
3. Assassin’s Creed Odyssey

Assassin’s Creed Origins started a trend which incorporated RPG elements from franchises like Mass Effect or The Witcher, and that included the dialogue options and all the romance that comes with it. Despite having no aliens or elves to have sex with, there are a surprising amount of weird encounters throughout the 100-hour game, from old ladies to Amazon women and androgynous men.

https://kakuchopureicom.files.wordpress.com/2018/10/assassins-creedc2ae-odyssey_20181003044155.mp4
My personal favourite of the game is during a particular sidequest storyline on the Greek island of Naxos, which had me participating in a local rebellion movement against their governing oppressors. It felt like a Star Wars homage, with the female rebel leader Kyra even turning out to be the oppressive government leaderâ€™s daughter (*cough Darth Vader and Princess Leia cough*).
The relationship I developed with Kyra was unexpectedly moving, later blooming into romance. This turned out to be the most touching romance option in the game, albeit being a totally missable side quest if you don’t take time to visit the many Greek islands.
https://kakuchopureicom.files.wordpress.com/2018/10/assassins-creedc2ae-odyssey_20181006021405.mp4
2. Mass Effect 3

The Mass Effect trilogy is Bioware’s magnum opus; a space opera sci-fi epic on a scale never seen before. Oh, and you can also bang almost every companion or party member that you meet in the games, be they male, female, or alien. Just like Kassandra/Alexios from Assassin’s Creed Odyssey above, Commander Shepard is essentially Captain Kirk (the original Shatner version) of video games.
You can choose from the fan-favourite blue-coloured tentacled Liara T’Soni to one of my personal favourite waifus of all time, the adorable and cute Quarian badass Tali’Zorah Vas Normandy. The humans are no slouch either, from the bodacious Miranda Lawson (portrayed by Yvonne Strahovski of Chuck and The Handmaid’s Tale fame) to the attractive tattooed biotic Jack. Oh, and let’s not forget the male companions, including the great Garrus Vakarian (who made me sexually confused in a good way).
It takes time and effort to build relationships with these characters, and they culminate in sex scenes that are both ‘dirty’ and sweet, but not too gratuitous. For example, you’d bang Jack on a table right there and then in the game, but Tali finally letting you see her face was a moment I’ve been waiting for since the very first game.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klGn0wbstb4&w=560&h=315]
1. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

Geralt Of Rivia is one of the most promiscuous male protagonists in all of gaming. I don’t blame him, though, especially with so many beautiful babes in the games including the likes of Yennefer Of Vengerberg, Triss Merigold, and more.
Arguably the most iconic and infamous sex scene from The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is the one involving a stuffed unicorn. Throughout the game, Geralt often runs into Yennefer, but this scene surprisingly comes out of nowhere when they meet again in Skellige. Banging on top of a pink stuffed unicorn might sound like an awkward situation for any normal couple, but Geralt and Yennefer is anything but when rekindling their old flame.
This scene is far from the only sex scene in the entire game, though it’s certainly one of the most original sex scenes I’ve ever seen in a video game to date, which is what makes it so memorable even in a game filled with so many unforgettable moments.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvn0IrkJn6E&w=560&h=315]
NEXT: We’ve seen the tasteful. How about the smuttiest?


Final Fantasy XIV TV Series Coming Soon By Netflix’s The Witcher Studio

Sony Pictures Television and Hivemind Entertainment have announced that they will be working with Square Enix to develop a Final Fantasy XIV TV series, which will be the first-ever live-action adaptation of any title in the long-running and iconic JRPG game franchise.
Hivemind Entertainment is best known for producing Amazon’s brilliant The Expanse (one of the best modern sci-fi TV series out there) and the upcoming Netflix’s The Witcher TV series starring Henry Cavill of DCEU Superman fame.
According to the series overview (via Gematsu),Â the Final Fantasy XIV TV series will “tell an original story set in the fantastic world of Eorzea”, where it will “explore the struggle between magic and technology in a quest to bring peace to a land in conflict”.
The press release also mentions that the Final Fantasy XIV TV series will feature series hallmarks like magitek and beastmen, airships and chocobos, as well as the live-action debut of Cid, a character who has appeared in almost every Final Fantasy game to date.
It’s still in early development stages, so none of the cast members or official release date/window have been announced. We don’t even know which network or streaming service the Final Fantasy XIV TV series will even be premiering on.
Final Fantasy fans will know that there’s already been one live-action series featuring the franchise in the past, though it wasn’t an adaptation of an existing game. The Final Fantasy XIV: Dad of Light TV series premiered in 2017, where aÂ father and son rekindle their bond through playing the MMORPG together and it’s supposedly based on a true story.
The entire first season of Final Fantasy XIV: Dad of Light is currently available on Netflix right now. Check out the trailer for that below.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEGhcziE5gM&w=560&h=315]


Latest NVIDIA Driver to Activate Battlefield 5’s DXR Ray Tracing Goodness

NVIDIA has released its latest Game Ready Driver earlier today to provide the best gaming experience for the recently-released games like Hitman 2 and upcoming titles like Fallout 76.
Most importantly for PC gamers, the latest NVIDIA Game Ready Driver is optimized for DXR Ray Tracing support in Battlefield 5. DXR Ray Tracing is an extension to the DirectX 12 API to support GPU-based DXR Ray Tracing.
To the uninitiated, DXR Ray Tracing essentially brings real-time game graphics to the next generation with improved life-like lighting effects. Details like subtle shadows, authentic reflections of shiny surfaces, and more can be produced by this new technology.
However, the full potential of DXR Ray Tracing will take a while to be realized, as it is predicted that not even next-generation consoles or any single powerful GPU can be expected to run ray tracing technology.
Battlefield 5 is slated to release for the PS4, Xbox One, and PC on November 20, 2018. However, those who pre-order the Deluxe Edition of the game will be granted early access to the game on November 15, 2018, while Origin Access Premium subscribers on PC have already had access to the game since November 9, 2018.
For more details and information on DXR Ray Tracing, check out what the tech experts at Digital Foundry have said about the new technology in the video below.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=moKV5_BpxjM&w=560&h=315]


[Rumour] We Might Be Getting Streets of Rage 4 DLC Soon…

The awesome 2019 beat-em-up Streets of Rage 4 will be getting some DLC, if a newly-spotted Steam listing is of any indication.
The new page refers to an unreleased piece of DLC. It doesn’t reveal much, but its title is quite a spoiler for Streets of Rage/Bare Knuckle fans. So here’s your warning:

The new page is dubbed Streets of Rage 4 – Mr. X Nightmare (via Steamdb and Reddit). This is a reference to the Streets of Rage series main antagonist Mr. X. If you played Streets of Rage 3, it turns out that he’s a brain in a jar who pilots a mecha. You defeated him in his big-as-heck lab and left him for dead thanks to the explosions. I do wonder how he will make his appearance in part 4.


Mission Impossible Dead Reckoning Part One Trailer Teases Ethan Hunt’s Most Dangerous Mission Yet

United International Pictures Malaysia has released a new trailer for Mission Impossible Dead Reckoning Part One.
In Mission Impossible Dead Reckoning Part One, Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and his IMF team embark on their most dangerous mission yet: To track down a terrifying new weapon that threatens all of humanity before it falls into the wrong hands. With control of the future and the fate of the world at stake, and dark forces from Ethan’s past closing in, a deadly race around the globe begins. Confronted by a mysterious, all-powerful enemy, Ethan is forced to consider that nothing can matter more than his mission – not even the lives of those he cares about most.
Mission Impossible Dead Reckoning Part One premieres in Malaysian cinemas on 13 July 2023.
Check out the trailer below:


New PS4 Software Update Improves Party And Enhances Smartphone Compatibilty

The latest PS4 software update will definitely be great for those of you who’ve always wished you could include more people in your party chat and also for people who use Remote Play on their smartphones or tablets.
Update version 7.00 will increase the maximum number of Party users from 8 to 16. On top of that, Sony also claims that they’ve improved network connectivity and audio quality. Chat Transcription has also been added and it will allow users to convert voice to text and vice versa through the PS4 Second Screen app on mobile devices.
The Remote Play app can now be used on devices running Android 5.0 or higher. For iPhone or iPad users, the Remote Play app now allows to constantly display the controller and also lock the screen orientation.
One noteworthy enhancement to Remote Play is that Dualshock 4 controllers can now be wirelessly connected to Android, iPhone, iPad, and Mac devices via Bluetooth. However, your device will need to run on Android 10, iOS 13, iPad OS 13, or macOS Catalina.
PS4 Software Update version 7.00 launches this week worldwide. Read the PlayStation blog announcement here.


Malaysia’s SpaceSheep Studio Launches Family-Friendly Mecha Animated Series

Malaysian animated company, SpaceSheep Studio, launched the first episode of their Iron Punch animated series on 12 January 2021. IronÂ  Punch is a family-friendly animated series and a comedic take on the heroic rangers piloting a Super Robot to fight monsterâ€™s trope. Think of it as Power Rangers in cute animated form targeted to younger viewers and the entire family.

Produced by SpaceSheep Studio, Iron Punch follows Red and Blue, two Fulltime Rangers employed by the EDF (Earth Defence Force) to protect Ultra-City One from monstrous threats like the Kaiju withÂ the help of the powerful Super Robot, Rock5.
[videopress yGUUEXi4]
Both of them are in their early twenties but Red is hard-headed and aims to be a hero while pudgy Blue chooses to defend Ultra City One all for the sake of free food. This clash of both personality traits complement one another, providing humour and entertainment for the audience.Â
Meanwhile, Super Robot Rock5 is only a year old and enjoys reading and sunbathing, with cleanliness being integral to it. Initially a breakthrough creation of the EDF Science Department, it is equipped with signature â€˜Rocket Fistsâ€™ and reaches supersonic speed with its built-in Rocket Boosters. While stoic and serious at times,Â  Rock5 loves to have fun as well.Â
Rock5 fights Iron Punchâ€™s key villain, Kaiju, a 45-year-old monster who hails from aÂ  distant planet come to invade Earth. Kaiju character is chaotic, dirty and likes Durians but dislikes showers and coriander; a polar opposite of Rock5.
The series will focus on slapstick comedy, viewers should expect stuff like their favourite heroes taking a tea break during an intense battle, or a KaijuÂ  wreaking havoc on your city just to get a better spot for suntanning
SpaceSheep Studio director and founder Goh Chee Seng said:
â€œWe here at SpaceSheep Studio have been anxiously awaiting the release of IronÂ  Punch.
I am very proud of our team of storytellers and animators for the successfulÂ  launch of this series, and Iâ€™m looking forward to our audience growing to love Iron Punch as we continue to release more episodes via YouTube.
It has been a challenging yet excitingÂ  journey getting the Iron Punch characters on-screen, and Iâ€™m hoping this will open many doors for our studioâ€™s prospects.â€
For those interested, you can stay tuned on Iron Punchâ€™s official YouTube channel for a new episode of Iron Punch every fortnight. In the meantime, check out the first episode below:


HBO GO December 2022: Our Picks & Highlights

I’m sure you won’t want to waste time sifting through HBO GO’s extensive catalogue of shows and movies just to decide on what to watch. The streaming site updates its site every day, week, and month with new content, so I’m here to save your precious time.
Here are my personal recommendations and highlights for HBO GO December 2022 lineup and how to fill up your free time with worthwhile content at home:
Gossip Girl Season 2 (1 December 2022)

It’s the second semester of Junior year, and Gossip Girl is leaving no stone unturned in her effort to control the scandalous lives/spin the scandalous lies of Manhattan’s elite. She’s learned a thing or two from her first go-round – namely what her audience wants, they shall get. Stars Jordan Alexander, Eli Brown, Thomas Doherty, Tavi Gevinson, Emily Alyn Lind, Evan Mock, Zion Moreno, Whitney Peak, Savannah Lee Smith and Grace Duah. Michelle Trachtenberg guest stars.
Premieres Thursday, December 1 on HBO GO.

His Dark Materials Season 3 (6 December 2022)

Based on The Amber Spyglass, the final novel in Philip Pullman’s award-winning trilogy, Lyra the prophesied child, and Will, the bearer of The Subtle Knife, must journey to a dark place from which no one has ever returned. As her father’s great war against the Authority edges closer, they will learn that saving the worlds comes at a terrible price. Stars Dafne Keen, Amir Wilson, Ruth Wilson, James McAvoy, Simone Kirby, Will Keen, Jade Anouka, Ruta Gedminstas, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Jamie Ward, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, Simon Harrison, Chipo Chung and Amber Fitzgerald-Woolfe.
Premieres Tuesday, December 6 on HBO GO.

Doom Patrol Season 4 (8 December 2022)

Season 4 opens with the team unexpectedly traveling to the future to find an unwelcome surprise. Faced with their imminent demise, the Doom Patrol must decide once and for all which is more important: their own happiness or the fate of the world? Stars Brendan Fraser, Matt Bomer, Diane Guerrero, April Bowlby, Joivan Wade, and Michelle Gomez.
Premieres Thursday, December 8 on HBO GO.

Complete Fast & Furious Collection (16 December 2022)

Stream the complete Fast & Furious collection, from The Fast and the Furious (2001) to the latest instalment, F9: The Fast Saga (2021). The franchise features high-speed car chases, daring heists and family conflict. Cast includes Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson, Dwayne Johnson, Jason Statham and more.
Stream from Friday, December 16 on HBO GO.
Sonic The Hedgehog 2 (17 December 2022)
Sonic (Ben Schwartz) in Sonic The Hedgehog 2 from Paramount Pictures and Sega.
In this action-packed sequel, Sonic teams up with his sidekick, Tails, and they embark on a globe-trotting journey to find the emerald that has the power to destroy civilizations before Dr Robotnik who returns this time with a new partner, Knuckles. Stars James Marsden, Ben Schwartz, Tika Sumpter, Natasha Rothwell, Adam Pally, Jim Carrey, Shemar Moore, Idris Elba and Colleen O’Shaughnessey.
Premieres Saturday, December 17 at 9pm on HBO (Astro Ch 411) and HBO GO

Ambulance (31 December 2022)

Will Sharp, desperate for money to cover his wife’s medical bills, turns to his adoptive brother Danny for help. A career criminal, Danny instead offers him a huge score: the biggest bank heist in Los Angeles history. When their heist goes awry, the desperate brothers hijack an ambulance with a wounded cop and EMT on board. Will and Danny must evade a city-wide law enforcement response, keep their hostages alive, and somehow try not to kill each other, all while executing the most insane escape LA has ever seen. Stars Yahya Abdul Mateen II, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Eiza González. Directed and produced by decorated veteran, Michael Bay.
Premieres Saturday, December 31 at 9pm on HBO (Astro Ch 411) and HBO GO.


Philippines’ Team Liyab Is All Set For League Of Legends SEA National Qualifiers

Team Liyab is the official esports team of Globe Telecom and Mineski, and they’re all set to compete for a shot at representing the Philippines at League Of Legends SEA Tour Finals in Vietnam next month.
In order to do that, they will be competing with three other local teams at the League of Legends SEA National Minor in a best-of-3, single elimination bracket tournament. So far, Team Liyab has been undefeated in the National Qualifiers.
Other recent Team Liyab victories include the Mogul Silver Slam that took place in February 2019, in which they were champions and took home P80,000 in cash, and dominating the group stages Philippine Pro Gaming League (PPGL), beating other teams like Imperium Pro Team, ISC, and Arkangel.
If they win in the upcoming League of Legends SEA National Minor, Team Liyab will advance to National Major and compete against League of Legends teams from Singapore/Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand.

In other related news, Globe Telecom recently opened its first esports center in the Philippines, with the goal of continuing to support the development of esports in the country, as well as hone the skills of future esports athletes. Read the full story here.


Rich Brian Returns In The PUBG Mobile Summer Rich Event

The PUBG MobileÂ event,Â Summer Rich,Â continues to bring a spectacular time for players by launching their latest collaboration with Rich Brian in the form of an exclusive outfit, the Rich Brian Aerial Air Max Set.
The Rich Brian Aerial Air Max Set will be available now to all players until 29 July 2021. With the latest set, the gameâ€™s character will turn into Brian and will be able to perform some of his iconic dance moves.
The Summer Rich event started with the Best Partner event where a total of US$200,000 phone credits will continue to be rewarded until 5 August 2021. Now, the Summer Rich event is expected to turn even hotter with the latest â€œCatch Me If You Canâ€ event.

To take part in this event, players can enter the PUBG Mobile game, complete the various missions given and get the “Note” after completing four missions. If players successfully unlock six missions, they can also get various rewards such as permanent outfits and Supply Crate Coupon Scrap.
â€œNoteâ€ is divided into three colours, blue, purple and gold notes, where players can collect as many as possible to unlock the rewards. The â€œCatch Me If You Canâ€ event has started running now and will be available till 2 August 2021.
Along with the launch of Rich Brianâ€™s Aerial Air Max Set as part of the event, PUBG Mobile offers various rewards in the form of exclusive skins and outfits such as Rap Style permanent outfits and other permanent or exclusive items including outfits, weapons and parachutes.

By exchanging 60 UC, players can unlock Rich Brian Crate which contains various PUBG Mobile x Rich Brian in-game items consisting of:

Rich Brian Aerial Air Max Set.
Rich Brian Aerial Kar98K weapon skin.
Rich Brian Aerial Punk Pan parachute skin.
Rich Brian Aerial Punk Parachute.
Rich Brian Aerial Punk Plane skin plane.
Rich Brian Voice Pack.

PUBG Mobile Marketing Manager SEA Jenny Zhuang said:

â€œWeâ€™ve partnered with international musician Rich Brian before and weâ€™re excited to work with him again to create new and exciting ways for both Brianâ€™s fans and loyal PUBG Mobile players to enjoy the game.
We hope to expand the PUBG Mobile community in a unique and entertaining way by bringing together the game world with other elements such as music.”

This collaboration with Rich Brian is not the first as the rapper from Indonesia has often collaborated to enliven PUBG Mobile tournament events and stages. Even the launch of his latest song, Sydney, has been dedicated as the theme song for PUBG Mobile Pro League (PMPL) 2021.


Sonic Prime Trailer Thrusts Our Favourite Hedgehog Into The Shatter-Verse

Netflix has unveiled a new trailer for the upcoming Sonic Prime animated series, which will premiere on Netflix on 15 December 2022.
The official synopsis reads:
The adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog go into overdrive when a run-in with Dr. Eggman results in a literal universe-shattering event. Sonic races through the Shatter-verse, discovering strange worlds and enlisting new friends in the epic adventure of a lifetime!

The Sonic Prime cast includes Deven Mack as Sonic, Brian Drummond as Eggman, Ashleigh Ball as Tails, Shannon Chan-Kent as Amy Rose, Adam Nurada as Knuckles, and Ian Hanlin as Shadow & Big the Cat.
In the meantime, check out my review of Sonic’s latest game, Sonic Frontiers, by heading over here.
Check out the new Sonic Prime trailer below:


Disney Plus’ WandaVision Gets Bizarre First Trailer

Disney Plus has revealed the first official trailer for their upcoming WandaVision, which will be the first Marvel Cinematic Universe TV series o debut on the streaming service.
WandaVision reunites Wanda Maximoff AKA the Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) and Vision (Paul Bettany). The show will take place after the events of 2019’s Avengers Endgame, so it’s possible that it will be inspired by the House Of M events from the comics, in which Wanda warps reality.

The trailer teases Wanda and Vision living in what looks like a 1950s sitcom, where they are living the roles of a husband and wife. There is even a scene where it’s clear that Wanda is warping reality around her.

During the trailer, we also see people flying through portals and the authorities getting involved, as well as another shot of both the Scarlet Witch and Vision in their comics-accurate costumes.

The events of WandaVision will apparently set up and lead into the upcoming Doctor Strange And The Multiverse Of Madness (which will feature Elizabeth Olsen’s Wanda Maximoff in a co-starring role).
We also get a glimpse of an older Monica Rambeau played by Teyonah Parris. She was last seen as the daughter of Lashana Lynch’s Maria Rambeau, Carol Danvers AKA Captain Marvel’s best friend.

The cast also includes Kat Dennings reprising her role of Darcy Lewis from the Thor movies, and Randall Park as Jimmy Woo, who appeared as an FBI agent in Ant-Man And The Wasp.
WandaVision still doesn’t have a release date, but according to a recent September announcement from Disney, the series will premiere before the end of 2020.
In the meantime, check out the trailer below.


Here Are 2017’s Best Games According to SEA Games Media

We somehow managed to corral several prominent names in the Southeast Asian video games media scene to talk about their favorite video game titles of 2017. Persona 5? Nier? Breath of the Wild? Here’s what each and one of them had to say when asked – what’s their 2017 Game of the Year? Also we included our own pick at the end of it all.

My GOTY is Horizon Zero Dawn. It is the best open world game on the PS4 and no one saw it coming. Excellent combination of combat mechanics, storytelling, world building and visuals makes it my GOTY. Even this Ubisoft shill recognize excellence and wont GOTY Origins pal! -Â Effi Saharudin – @1obefiend;Â Head of Content at @AmanzÂ  @MyAksizÂ Â
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzx96gYA8ek&w=560&h=315]
Persona 5 is my 2017 GOTY.Â Its not afraid to explore controversial social issues like sexual harassment and its fallout as well as political corruption and victims of plagiarism. The art style perfectly evokes its theme of youthful rebellion with its radically unique and intricate designs. Add the addicting fusion turn-based JRPG and dating/life sim gameplay, you won’t even realise you’re a 100 hours in rolling with the Phantom Thieves. – Alleef Ashaari – @comicslord; video games & comics enthusiast, games writer & reviewer for Kakuchopurei.comÂ
Horizon Zero Dawn – Guerrilla Games created a compelling, interesting open world that’s fun to explore with sound game mechanics. Couple in an interesting story, topnotch audio-video work, and you’ve got a winner. – Alex Co – @excaliburps;Â EIC of @MPFirst, GM of @PixelEnemy! Former EIC of @PSLifeStyleÂ
Nier Automata – Few games, if any, not only touch on the concept of humanity, but also put in a kickass combat system mixed in with some hacking and shmup action to boot. The fact that NieR Automata succeeds in mixing all of this is a testament to Platinum Gamesâ€™ uncompromising vision and action game knowhow, led by the zany director Yoko â€œMoonfaceâ€ Taro. And yeah, you will get the feels for 9S, A2, Pascal, and 2B once their stories are wrapped up. – Jon Leo Toyad – @MrToffee; FormerÂ Head of Content for @spout360 & Ex-Gamespot Asia Editor, Co-host of @lastkingpodcastÂ
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJxNhJ8fjFk&w=560&h=315]
Horizon Zero Dawn – First exploration RPG that makes sense on the PS4. Great art, good story, good main character. Cool game mechanic and also good twists in the story. – Sharil Abdul Rahman – @memeranglaut ; Former Editor of Chip & Stuff Magazines (Malaysia) and written for various tech outlets in MalaysiaÂ
Persona 5 is the epitome of a well made game from an experienced team of developers. Sure, it isn’t pushing new boundaries or take big risks, but it does everything I expect a proper JRPG would do and it does so with style. At a time where publishers want to make us pay more than we should with loot boxes and games-as-a-service initiatives, Persona 5 reminds me what a good old single-player video game should be: everything is great right out of the box.- Amirul Ashraf – @meckronos ; Writer, @GamerMalayaMy & Gamermatters.comÂ Â
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QnDzJ9KzuV4&w=560&h=315]
Persona 5. Visually is so unique with great UI design and impressive soundtrack.Â  Storywise, epic JRPG aspect as well as great character progression. I love how they take on current world issues like corruption, families issue, affair, etc and weave it into the game. Dungeon exploring is so much fun with several good puzzle solving. There are many contents with great replaybility. A great start to anyone who want to try JRPG. – Najmi Abd Rahman – @najmi; Games writer at @myaksizÂ Â & YouTuber and Founder of The Kampung NerdÂ Â
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is our 2017 Game of the Year. While not a huge fanboy of the Zelda franchise, BotW blew us away. The sheer size of it, the gameplay mechanics, the amount of things you get to do in the game and various ways the devs allow players to muck about puts the title ahead of other notable entries in our books. Dare we say that the Switch is worth buying just for the experience of playing BotW itself! – Kenn Leandre – @kennleandre ; Founder, Editor-in-Chief of Kakuchopurei.com ; former IGN SEA Editor-in-ChiefÂ
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zw47_q9wbBE&w=560&h=315]

The folks above are prominent names and personal friends of ours here at Kakuchopurei.com. Each and every one of them are experienced in the video games and tech media industry. In short, they know their stuff.Â Do you agree with the games mentioned above or do you have your own 2017 Game of the Year pick? Tell us in the comments section below!


Islanders Is The Stress-Free City-Building Sim I’ve Always Wanted

Want a carefree game with none of the intricacies of city-building? Then Islanders is your jam. Or mine, since I have quite a “stressful” day job of managing content and playing/watching pop culture stuff on a daily basis.
But I digress; turning your hobby into a job can get hectic and crazy, so why not get something you can faff about with all day that isn’t completely brain-dead like a clicker game?
We’ll be playin’ & havin’ fun…

Your objective in Islanders is to max out the required points needed to advance to the next section. You earn said points by building and placing stuff on your map. Depending on where you place them, you can either get more points or get a fraction of it docked.
For example, building a sawmill next to a patch of trees will earn you more points than putting it far away at the edge on an island. Certain buildings will have a negative influence over others, so you’ll end up losing points if you place a cluster of buildings in the same spot. It’ll be unwise place circuses close to mansions or residential buildings.
The game’s pacing eases you to bigger and better plots of land as you progress. The challenge is essentially taking your sweet time figuring out which part of the island should have buildings. Racking up triple points mean you have to be creative with your building placements. The more thresholds you break, the more advanced buildings you get to unlock like breweries and taverns. The higher your score, the more advanced your civilization becomes, which means more islands to place your creations onto.
We’ll never feel bad anymore…

The best part? The game doesn’t rush you. You get to enjoy the serene aesthetics, the simple-yet-pleasant eye candy that is the fledging and growing island populated with your own man-made creations.

The serene sandbox nature of Islanders makes its entire gameplay routine seem more like meditation than actual gaming. Kudos to GrizzlyGames for taking out the fuss in most city-management games.

Will Islanders make you feel so fine it’ll melt your brain? It will. The game doesn’t force you to advance unless you want to. In which case, you just move on to the next plot of land. By ditching resource management, Islanders ends up becoming a more serene if less-than-challenging affair. It may not be for every gamer, but it’s the perfect antidote for many wanting to take a break from titles like Sekiro and Devil May Cry 5.
Pros

Very chillax atmosphere & theme.
A pleasant city sim title; a rarity these days.
Pleasing aesthetics & music.

Cons

Not that challenging in the long run.

Final Score: 70/100


Netflix’s Blood Of Zeus Renewed For Season 2

Blood Of Zeus premiered its first season on Netflix on 27 October 2020, and it’s already getting a confirmed renewal. Netflix has renewed Powerhouse Animation Studios’ Blood Of Zeus for Season 2 via a tweet earlier today.
We even included it in ourÂ Netflix October 2020 lineup highlights. Powerhouse Animation Studios is the same studio behind Netflix’s Castlevania and Seis Manos animated series, all of which are geared towards adults.

The Fates have news! Heron's adventures will continue in season 2 of Blood of Zeus. @powerhouseanim pic.twitter.com/RJXvhIJJkr— Netflix Geeked @ SDCC #NetflixSDCC (@NetflixGeeked) December 3, 2020

The synopsis reads:
In a brewing war between the gods of Olympus and the titans, Heron, a commoner living on the outskirts of ancient Greece, becomes mankindâ€™s best hope of surviving an evil demon army, when he discovers the secrets of his past and his true heritage as a son of Zeus.
Supergiant Gamesâ€™ Hades has been taking the world by storm since it recently left Early Access on Steam (check out our review here). Perhaps this series will scratch more of that Greek mythology itch for fans.
In the meantime, check out the trailer below:


Create Your Own Fantasy Map With Wonderdraft

Have you ever wanted to be a cartographer and create your map? Don’t have the required degree, tools or time to travel and map the world? Well, worry not, as you now can create your own fantasy world with Wonderdraft.
Wonderdraft is a wonderful tool for creating Game of Thrones-esque world maps. Check it out in action below.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RqEuUZDAIQ]
The tool features realistic landmass generators with coastline brushes. Rivers can be drawn with a few clicks. Map symbols can also be painted effortlessly. Other features include;

Artistically curated default map themes
Create aesthetic labels using presets
Map dimensions anywhere from 512 pixels to 8192 pixels
DRM-free software and royalty-free user-made content
Surface Pro 4, Wacom and digital pen support

You don’t need a high-end PC to run this, requiring only an Intel HD 5000 or equivalent to run it, although it is a treat if you do have one.
The tool also offers a fantasy building DLC priced at USD12 (RM50). Check out the designs below;

It’s available for Windows 64-bit, Linux and MacOSX for only US$29.99 (RM124) and you can pick your DRM-free copy up at their official website here.


Sony Predicts Selling Less PS5 Consoles Due To Ongoing Chip Shortage

Even after one whole year since the PS5â€™s initial launch, the PS5 is still extremely difficult to find and buy. Most places are still out of stock and even when they get new ones, these PS5s get snapped up in a heartbeat. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but itâ€™s more likely to get even harder to get your hands on a PS5.
According to Bloomberg, Sony has reduced its PS5 production outlook for this fiscal year due to component and logistics constraints. They had previously targeted more than 16 million units assembled in the year ending on March 2022, but the company has now reduced that number down to about 15 million, which is about one million less than expected.
This is because logistics issues and parts shortages have grown worse, according to Sony Chief Financial Officer Hiroki Totoki who told investors on a conference call late last month. Despite the PS5 becoming the fastest Sony console to reach 10 million units sold in July 2021, it has already fallen behind the sales pace of the PS4 since then due to lack of supply.
The chips in shot supply include unremarkable but essential gear like power management chips. Chipmakers like Toshiba and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing have warned that the problem will continue into 2022. Many are frustrated by the lack of PS5 supply, including game developers and publishers.
An unnamed executive told Bloomberg thatÂ players who used to buy PlayStation versions of their games are now gradually shifting to the PC version instead. PS5 games have also failed to make much of an impact on Japanese sales charts, which are dominated by Nintendo Switch games.
According to the same report, the PS5 will remain in tight supply through 2022 and it will be challenging for the company to produce enough units in order to achieve Sony’s target of 22.6 million sales in the next fiscal year.


This Bot Turns Reddit Arguments Into Ace Attorney Debates

Arguments between two Redditors, especially heated and lengthy ones, are a thing of beauty to watch while you’re munching on popcorn. So what happens if there’s a particular algorithm and program that turns these Reddit thread debates into Ace Attorney style courtroom battles? Something magical, that’s what.
Programmer Micah Price has created a bot that does such a thing (via Mashable). Obviously inspired by various meme videos and a fan of the Ace Attorney series by Capcom, this bot will scan the selected Reddit thread and automatically convert it into an Ace Attorney debate. All you have to do is add the command “!objectionbot” in a Reddit thread, then the action begins.
The bot only works with a selection of Reddit threads, but it does keep track of which comments have a negative score. Check it out in action below!


Here’s Why You Should Reconsider Buying The PS5

I’m sure a lot of gamers out there are already saving money and preparing for the imminent arrival of Sony’s next-gen successor to the PS4, which may or may not be called the PS5. With all signs pointing to a likely holiday 2020 release date/window, we don’t have long until the PS5 comes along.
However, perhaps you folks should reconsider buying the PS5 and just stick with the PS4 for now. Here’s why:
According to the Wall Street Journal (via GamesIndustry.biz), Sony chief executive Kenichiro Yoshida recently described the PS5 as a “niche product aimed at hardcore players” during a company strategy briefing.
What this means is that Sony’s next-gen console will prioritize high-quality AAA exclusives with Ultra-HD 4K-resolution from internal studios (first-party developers like Sony Santa Monica, Naughty Dog, and more) and large publishers like Ubisoft, EA, and others.
The company will no longer be targeting smaller developers and indie titles due to limited resources. This strategy can already be seen being implemented at this year’s Tokyo Game Show 2019, as Sony won’t be showcasing any indie titles at all, unlike previous years.
Sony officials are said to believe that gamers will buy the PS5 for its high-quality exclusives rather than smaller indie games already available on other platforms like PC and Nintendo Switch.
However, they also believe that indie devs will still release their games on the PS5, despite the lack of support from Sony. This is because the projected popularity of the PS5 will mean that they can’t afford to miss out on such a key market of the games industry.
The sources claim that Sony will still be concentrating on Microsoft as its main rivals while rising streaming services like Google Stadia will remain regarded as only a medium-to-high potential threat in the near future.
PS4 sales figures are nearing 100 million units worldwide, and that means Sony is clearly enjoying a strong headstart for the next gaming generation. Early adopters (those who buy the consoles at launch) are usually hardcore gamers anyways, so the company’s strategy is a sound one.
There are plenty of gamers out there who just play casual mainstream games like FIFA and Call Of Duty or mindless battle royale titles like Fortnite and Apex Legends. With the PS5 aiming for hardcore gamers from the outset, maybe you folks would be better off remaining on the PS4 or just play mobile games on your smartphones.


The Legend Of Heroes Anime Trailer Teases Snow & Wars Aplenty

Falcom previously announced that it’s teaming up with animation studio Tatsunoko Production to create a Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel anime that depicts the much-described Northern War. Now, you get a teaser displaying all bits and pieces of that story bit in animated glory below.
The show stars Lavi, a soldier who is part of the Northern Jaegers and is tasked with a dangerous undercover mission in the Erebonian Empire with a motley crew.

The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel – Northern War anime will be out in 2023. In the meantime, check out the sweet poster below:


Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare II PC Version To Feature 500+ Customization Options

The new PC-focused Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II promises a lot of features for the master race.
The PC version will feature 4K graphics and ultrawide support, as well as over 500 customization options. Right now, the game is available to pre-order on both Battle.net and Steam. This marks the return of the game on Steam platforms as the last entry was 2017’s Call of Duty: WWII.

The game comes out on 28 October, but players who pre-order the PC digital version will get early access to the game’s campaign on 20th October. As for the game’s multiplayer, the only new update is that players are required to have a phone number to play Modern Warfare II; phone numbers with pre-paid plans will not work.


Square Enix’s Newest Game Is Basically Their Version Of Rune Factory & Harvest Moon

Square Enix is most likely done with making new versions of Final Fantasy games and remastering ports of their classics, so it decides to announce a new game for Nintendo Switch called Harvestella. Which kinda looks familiar if you have been playing Japanese-made farm sims or their hybrids.
What’s the game about? You play as an adventurer who has to do farm work, cooking, and maintaining your plot of land and homestead. You also have to venture out of your town to look for materials, killing monsters and earning money called Ein. The game also has the usual four seasons (Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter) along with one that’s labelled “death”. Well, it’s called Quietus and it’s the game’s main plot point where your character has to figure out why it’s killing crops and how you can fix it through the course of the story.

We suspect we have to kill a ton of giant fantasy monsters to solve that conundrum. Gameplay trailer’s below.

Square Enix’s version of Rune Factory and Story of Seasons will be out on 4 November for Nintendo Switch and PC. Now if you can somehow date and marry any of the townsfolk there, then you can say it’s a complete imitation.


These Are The Winners Of The Gamescom 2019 Awards Show

A few hours ago, Gamescom 2019 paraded on with a Gamescom Award winners announcement. These awards are meant for the best previews and titles at the show floor, and totally not for the biggest unspoken sponsor and future benefactors for organizersÂ game â€“ Verband der deutschen Games-Branche-slash-Koelnmesse. No siree bob.
It seems that Sony are the top dogs in winning hype awards, as their upcoming creation sim Dreams won multiple awards, specifically for the most original game and best PS4 game.
Ubisoft also won a couple; one for Roller Champions (best sports game) and Ghost Recon: Breakpoint (best PC game).
Here is your full list of award winners, which further proves that this awards show is more for hype-building than anything. And when you think about it, it’s really not helping much to keep this sad part of gaming culture in check, managing expectations and all.
Ah well…on with the awards!

Best Action-Adventure Game:Â Blacksad: Under the Skin (Astragon Entertainment)
Best Action Game:Â DOOM Eternal (ZeniMax Germany)

Best Family Game:Â Concrete Genie (Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Best Racing Game:Â Grid (Codemasters)
Best Role-Playing Game:Â Wasteland 3 (Koch Media)
Best Simulation Game:Â Planet Zoo (Frontier)

Best Sports Game:Â Roller Champions (Ubisoft)
Best Strategy Game:Â Desperados III (THQ Nordic)
Most Original Game:Â Dreams (Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Best PlayStation 4 Game:Â Dreams (Sony Interactive Entertainment)

Best Xbox One Game: Gears 5 (Microsoft)
Best Nintendo Switch Game: The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening (Nintendo)
Best Mobile Game: Nightwar: Mobile Edition (HandyGames)
Best PC Game: Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Breakpoint (Ubisoft)

At the very least, the smaller companies will get a nice trophy for a job well done slaving over the preview build of their game in crunch time that’s 40% not indicative of their full-blown project. Splendid work!


Ghostrunner Demo Is Out Now; Here’s What I Think So Far

Good news, speedrunning and Mirror’s Edge first-person parkour fans. The trio dev/publisher team of OML Games, Slipgate Iron, and 3D Realms (yes, the Duke Nukem/Shadow Warrior folks) have released a demo of the slick-looking first-person cyber ninja title Ghostrunner.

G?h?o?s?t?r?u?n?n?e?r? ?d?e?m?o? ?s?u?c?c?e?s?s?f?u?l?l?y? ?u?p?l?o?a?d?e?d?!?
R?e?a?d?y ??o? c?o?nne?c????Yo?u? a?r?e? Gh?o?s???r?u?nne?r?.
G?e?t? ?G?h?o?s?t?r?u?n?n?e?r? ?D?e?m?o? ?o?n? ?S?t?e?a?m?:? https://t.co/lc4sMM2XZZ pic.twitter.com/hxn8XvWQ4e
— Ghostrunner (@GhostrunnerGame) May 6, 2020

You can download it here via Steam. I’ve played a bit of it; about 10 minutes’ worth and so far it’s a pretty bold take on the first-person action game genre. Like Mirror’s Edge, you can parkour your way from point A to B; your ninja can wall-run, dash, air dash and slide. The cool thing about the dashes here is that when you hold the key, you slow time down to a crawl and can strafe either left or right while mid-air (shown at 4:09 on the video below).

This is crucial because you die in one hit here. Suddenly the game becomes segmented into “kill a bunch of dudes in a giant room” slew of objectives and you need to use the environment and your dodging to your advantage. This doesn’t need mentioning, but do look out for eventual speedrun videos for the demo that will be 1/6th the length of this video.
Apart from some kills needing a bit more “cinematic slowdown” and some touching-up, the demo shows a lot of promise. Just give us a ton of creative levels and an arcade mode, and we’re golden.
Ghostrunner will be out in 2020 for PC.


Diablo IV Plans To Reclaim The Isometric RPG Throne With Old & New Tricks

Dank corridors with the virtual smell of death surrounding barbarians, sorceresses, and shapeshifting druids. Crimson rivers spiralling within randomly-generated dungeons and pitfalls. Innocents sacrificed for a greater evil that started the Diablo mythos. Large bosses falling apart in R-rated violent chunks.
That’s the Diablo IV experience in BlizzCon 2019, and it’s a much-lauded return to form for fans of Diablo and Diablo II, at least from a gameplay and aesthetics perspective.
Class Act
The demo featured three playable characters: the melee-focused Barbarian who still has his/her trademark Leap back, the magic-savvy Sorceress, and the shapeshifting Druid. The trio’s set of skills illicit a huge sense of gratification regardless of what you’re interacting with: every move will make you feel like you’re kicking ass but at the same time demons and fiends will overwhelm and challenge you by the droves. The developers took the core combat of Diablo III and everything else -tone and challenge- from Diablo II to give the impression that they’re delivering an uncompromised vision of a Diablo sequel.

Playing through one of the dungeons, Garan Hold, evokes that sense of claustrophobia and dread, knowing that there’s probably a game-ending elite or boss waiting for you in its randomly-generated corner. Fortunately, you have a bunch of tools at your disposal. The Barbarian needs to equip four weapons for his loadout so that you can make full use of all of his moves. The Sorceress can just kite and lure enemies to a tight spot for her lightning and ice elemental AoEs, as well as literally bolt away/through enemies by transforming into a ball of sparkling electricity.
The Druid can not only summon AoE storm magic to soften foes, but also insta-shapeshift as either a bear or wolf for specific lunging attacks. One may argue that some semblance of strategy may be lost if there’s no mechanic that commits you to a shape, but to do that may sacrifice the punchy and fast-paced combat of this action RPG iteration. For the sake of introducing a new Diablo experience for fresh players, this is a welcome change.

The core experience also gets a boost: for example, Elites will hunt you down during your dungeon trekking. Whether you’re just walking around or fighting a Drowned boss, they will interrupt your progress.
Elites have enhanced affixes. Basically, buffs to make your life hell. Some like the Skeleton Ballistas can fire three shots in different directions instead of just one.
Bosses like Tomb Lord and the Drowned fat lady can be a handful to deal with; the former can resurrect skeleton warriors and create exploding bone walls, while the latter has wide AoE attacks.

World bosses like Ashava have stun meters that make them stagger if it’s full. You can break parts and segments of a boss if that happens, weakening them as you fight them further.
Endgame dungeon running also gives opportunities for players to use special dungeon keys that amp up the challenge and improve loot quality. That same Garan’s Hold dungeon can be modified to feature deadly traps like the Lightning Pulse; once activated, this thing will chase you around until you complete a specific dungeon objective. While still an idea knee-deep in development, this can be seen as an evolution of Diablo III’s Nephilim Rifts.

And if all of that isn’t enough, avid Diablo fans will be happy to know that the game will have Hardcore mode -basically a one-life only run with your character.
Shared Space

Now comes the bit that may throw people off the loop: in keeping up with live games, Diablo IV’s hub and overworld will be a shared online space not unlike the Destiny series. The world of Sanctuary itself is open and not a bunch of instances like Diablo III.
There’s a lot to explore and discover like cliffsides with hidden treasure, sidequests from passerbys and NPCs, surprise enemy mob encounters, and the aforementioned world bosses that require more than a 4-person party to kill. That latter bit with Ashava means loads of colourful spells and effects filling up the screen as the mob tries to kill the demon off before it overwhelms the party.
Open world concepts like this mean that you can not only team up with random players, but also trade with them and, for would-be griefers, fight and kill them. Of course, the developers will make sure that the PvP aspects will be sorted out and not devolve around a “one-shot from overpowered gankers”Â  scenario for players who just want to take their time.
Besides, Diablo IV will still let you play solo; the game just needs to be online. This isn’t entirely unreasonable in this day and age where people play mobile games by themselves and need to still stay online.
It’s good to know that Blizzard took heed of the lessons and ideas laid out by other isometric action RPGs post-Diablo III’s launch in 2012, because it’s really going all-out in reclaiming its rightful seat with the fourth game. This demo proves that the balance of pleasing players and bringing back the spirit of Diablo II -from its atmosphere to its competitive setting- is beneficial in making the most out of this long-running monster mash.
More Diablo is always a good thing, especially with the promise of legendary and mythical loot like these:

Diablo IV has no release date, but it’s confirmed to be out on PC, PS4, and Xbox One. Our guess? Based on Diablo III’s release schedule and possible publisher pressure, it may be out less than 5 years from now.


Fantasy MMO Chimeraland Is Now Open For Pre-Registration

Under Tencent’s new Level Infinite publishing brand, ChimeralandÂ is a new open-world massively multiplayer online (MMO) game, which is now open for Malaysian mobile and PC gamers to pre-register their interest. Gamers who pre-register atÂ www.chimeraland.com from 16 December 2021 onwards, can ensure they are fully informed of game developments and have the first glimpse of Chimeraland once the game is officially launched in early 2022.
UNIQUE FEATURES CHIMERALAND HAS TO OFFER

One of the key features of the game is the focus on â€˜Easternâ€™ mythology, which is inspired by the â€˜Classic of Mountains and Seasâ€™, a renowned Chinese work of literature famous for its ancient mythical beasts.
Players in the game will have the opportunity to explore the huge world and, in the process, encounter many fascinating beasts and monsters which they can admire, battle, tame, thereby evolving new â€˜Chimerasâ€™ with individual characteristics, shapes and abilities. As a result of this system, the combination of potential creatures that could be encountered in the game is practically unlimited and provides players with endless opportunities for experimentation and imagination.
The world of Chimeraland is also unique in that it is spherical, just like the real world. This means that players will never encounter invisible walls and will be able to enjoy true adventures across an over 4000 square kilometres map, which includes four continents, explorable seas and oceans. Players will also be able to go off-world through the unique â€˜Night Skyâ€™ feature, which will provide them with new places to visit and explore as they develop their capabilities.
Phyllis, Producer at Level Infinite said:
â€œWe think that Chimeraland will strike a real chord with Malaysian gamers and want to encourage them to pre-register so they donâ€™t miss out on any developments before the game launches in early 2022. Chimeraland defies standard definitions or explanations and really needs to be played to be appreciated.
We have had great feedback from our beta-testers who are all really excited for the game to officially launch and we will be revealing more information about that soon. Based on our testing we know that Chimeraland will provide a fantastically open-ended and rewarding gaming experience that both mobile and PC gamers can really immerse themselves in.â€
HIGHLY CUSTOMISABLE

The game offers players huge amounts of freedom and a good example of this is a highly developed base/home building feature. This will give players the capability to build their own personalised homes in any corner of the game (including under the sea) with thousands of modules and styles to choose from, letting players really stretch their imaginations and creative capabilities.
Another evolutionary highlight of the game is raising your own unique Chimera Pets using an â€œalien systemâ€ of â€œdevouringâ€ or â€œevolvingâ€ which gives your pets unique shapes and powerful abilities. From a bunny to a ten-thousand-year-old behemoth, all monsters can be captured as pets.
Players have the ability to choose from dozens of different races, with huge character customization and tweaking options. By design, all characters have access to the same race and occupational capabilities, so players are free to create any outlandish character they want with no limitations or penalties based on their aesthetic choices.
GET READY FOR THE LAUNCH & GRAB YOUR REWARDS

Chimeraland will offer both challenging Player versus Environment (PvE) and Player versus Player (PvP) action. The largest beasts and monsters will take teamwork, skill and the right equipment to overcome. Players will be able to choose from multiple weapons and can freely switch between them during fights, creating limitless tactical and strategic choices (especially when collaborating with other players) which will ensure combat is both fun and engaging.
Malaysian gamers who pre-register on the official website will be eligible for various in-game rewards like Cowries, Legendary Pills and Pet Eggs. Additional starter gifts will also be unlocked based on the number of players who pre-register and gifts will include HP Essence, Intelligence Pill, Lv. 2 Mount Skill Book and other luxury rewards, valued up to US$40.
In addition, the official community will also hold a series of reservation-based activities, participation in the activities will allow players to collect useful in-game virtual treasures for travellers.


AMD Ryzen 5000 Mobile Processors Announced At CES 2021

Today, AMD has announced the AMD Ryzen 5000 Series Mobile Processors, bringing the highly-efficient and extremely powerful â€œZen 3â€ core architecture to the laptop market. New AMD Ryzen 5000 Series Mobile Processors provide unprecedented levels of performance and incredible battery life for gamers, creators, and professionals.
New laptops powered by Ryzen 5000 Series Mobile processors will be available from major PC manufacturers including ASUS, HP and Lenovo, starting in Q1 2021.
Expanding its leadership client computing product portfolio featuring the â€œZen 3â€ core, AMD also announced the AMD Ryzen PRO 5000 Series Mobile Processors, delivering enterprise-grade security and seamless manageability to commercial users. Throughout the course of 2021, AMD expects a broad portfolio of more than 150 consumer and commercial notebooks based on the Ryzen 5000 Series Mobile Processors.Â

Building upon the previous generation of leadership mobile processors, the Ryzen 5000 Series includes high-performance H- and ultra-mobile U-Series processors. At the top of the product stack, AMD Ryzen 5000 H-Series Mobile Processors deliver impressive gaming experiences by combining unmatched performance with outstanding battery life, featuring up to 8 cores and 16 threads and built on the new AMD â€œZen 3â€ architecture.Â
Topping out the mobile processor offering, the HX Series processors provide gamers and creators with elite-level performance while HS processors bring the power of H-Series in thinner and lighter form factors. The new AMD Ryzen 9 5980HX processor is capable of up to 23 percent increased single-threaded performance and up to 17 percent faster multi-threaded performance over the previous generation making it the ideal solution for gaming and creator notebooks.
For mainstream consumers looking for performance on-the-go, the AMD Ryzen 5000 U-Series Mobile Processors offer the perfect blend of performance and efficiency. The new AMD Ryzen 7 5800U processor offers:Â

Up to 16 percent more single-threaded performance and up to 14 percent faster multi-threaded performance over the previous generation
Up to an incredible 17.5 hours of general usage battery life and up to 21 hours of movie playback on a single chargeÂ

Product Specification: AMD Ryzen 5000 Series Mobile ProcessorsÂ

Model
Cores/Threads
Boost/Base Frequency (GHz)
Cache (MB)
TDP (Watts)
Architecture

AMD Ryzen 9 5980HX
8C/16T
Up to 4.8 / 3.3 GHz
20
45+
â€œZen 3â€

AMD Ryzen 9 5980HS
8C/16T
Up to 4.8 / 3.0 GHz
20
35
â€œZen 3â€

AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX
8C/16T
Up to 4.6 / 3.3 GHz
20
45+
â€œZen 3â€

AMD Ryzen 9 5900HS
8C/16T
Up to 4.6 / 3.0 GHz
20
35
â€œZen 3â€

AMD Ryzen 7 5800H
8C/16T
Up to 4.4 / 3.2 GHz
20
45
â€œZen 3â€

AMD Ryzen 7 5800HS
8C/16T
Up to 4.4 / 2.8 GHz
20
35
â€œZen 3â€

AMD Ryzen 5 5600H
6C/12T
Up to 4.2 / 3.3 GHz
19
45
â€œZen 3â€

AMD Ryzen 5 5600HS
6C/12T
Up to 4.2 / 3.0 GHz
19
35
â€œZen 3â€

AMD Ryzen 7 5800U
8C/16T
Up to 4.4 / 1.9 GHz
20
15
â€œZen 3â€

AMD Ryzen 7 5700U
8C/16T
Up to 4.3 /1.8 GHz
8
15
â€œZen 2â€

AMD Ryzen 5 5600U
6C/12T
Up to 4.2 / 2.3 GHz
19
15
â€œZen 3â€

AMD Ryzen 5 5500U
6C/12T
Up to 4.0 / 2.1G Hz
8
15
â€œZen 2â€

AMD Ryzen 3 5300U
4C/8T
Up to 3.8 / 2.6 GHz
6
15
â€œZen 2â€

Available in the first half of 2021, the Ryzen PRO 5000 Series Mobile Processors provide new levels of productivity and collaboration along with seamless manageability to meet the ever-shifting demands of modern work environments. The Ryzen PRO 5000 Series Mobile Processors also offer enterprise-level security features with innovative layers of defence at the silicon, OS and platform levels, giving IT teams confidence their PCs have protection, no matter where their workforce is stationed.
AMD Ryzen Desktop Processors
AMD is also announcing reduced-TDP alternatives to the award-winning AMD Ryzen 9 5900X and AMD Ryzen 7 5800X desktop processors, coming to pre-built OEM systems only. Powered by the new â€œZen 3â€ core architecture and with a lower 65W TDP, the Ryzen 9 5900 desktop processor offers an average of 24 percent faster 1080p gaming across select titles compared to the prior generation.Â
Product Specification: AMD Ryzen 5000 Series Desktop Processors

Model
Cores/Threads
Boost5
/Base6 Frequency (GHz)
Cache (MB)
TDP (Watts)

AMD Ryzen 9 5900
12C/24T
Up to 4.7 / 3.0 GHz
70
65

AMD Ryzen 7 5800
8C/16T
Up to 4.6 / 3.4 GHz
36
65

Additionally, AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO Processors will now be directly available to consumers through participating global retailers, e-tailers and system integrators with on-shelf availability expected in March 2021. Ryzen Threadripper PRO Processors offer an unmatched feature set to workstation customers with up to 64 cores, 8 channels of memory, RDIMM and LRDIMM support, 128 PCIeÂ® Gen 4 lanes, and AMD PRO security technologies.Â
Product Specification: AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO

Model
Cores/ Threads
Boost5
/Base6 Frequency (GHz)
Total Cache (MB)
TDP (Watts)

AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 3995WX
64C/128T
Up to 4.2 / 2.7 GHz
288
280

AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 3975WX
32C/64T
Up to 4.2 / 3.5 GHz
144
280

AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 3955WX
16C/32T
Up to 4.3 / 3.9 GHz
72
280

You can check out the full AMD CES 2021 presentation below:


Ranking All The Numbered Final Fantasy Games From Bad To Great (Video)

Welp, Final Fantasy XV is coming out for PC, finally. To celebrate, we’ve compiled all the main mothership Final Fantasy titles and ranked them all in one video.
Check out our video below, accompanied by appropriate jazz covers of classic Final Fantasy themes.

I’m sure you have your thoughts about it. Why not voice it out on our Twitter and Facebook page?


Disney Unveils New The Little Mermaid Trailer During The Oscars 2023

At the Oscars 2o23, Disney unveiled a new trailer for the upcoming live-action The Little Mermaid movie. We get our first glimpse at Sebastian, Ariel turning into a human and more.
The Little Mermaid is the beloved story of Ariel, a beautiful and spirited young mermaid with a thirst for adventure. The youngest of King Triton’s daughters and the most defiant, Ariel longs to find out more about the world beyond the sea, and while visiting the surface, falls for the dashing Prince Eric. While mermaids are forbidden to interact with humans, Ariel must follow her heart. She makes a deal with the evil sea witch, Ursula, which gives her a chance to experience life on land, but ultimately places her life – and her father’s crown – in jeopardy.
The film stars singer and actress Halle Bailey (“grown-ish”) as Ariel; winner Daveed Diggs (“Hamilton,” “Snowpiercer”) as the voice of Sebastian; Jacob Tremblay (“Luca,” “Room”) as the voice of Flounder; Awkwafina (“Raya and the Last Dragon”) as the voice of Scuttle; Jonah Hauer-King (“A Dog’s Way Home”) as Prince Eric; Art Malik (“Homeland”) as Sir Grimsby; Noma Dumezweni (“Mary Poppins Returns”) as Queen Selina; with Javier Bardem (“No Country for Old Men,” “Being the Ricardos”) as King Triton; and Melissa McCarthy (“Can You Ever Forgive Me?” “Bridesmaids”) as Ursula.
“The Little Mermaid” is directed by Rob Marshall (“Chicago,” “Mary Poppins Returns”), and written by David Magee (“Life of Pi,” “Finding Neverland”), with a live-action story adaptation by David Magee, Rob Marshall, and John DeLuca (“Tony Bennett: An American Classic”), based on the short story by Hans Christian Andersen, and the Disney animated film by Ron Clements and John Musker.
The film is produced by Marc Platt (“Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert,” “Grease Live!”), Lin-Manuel Miranda (“Hamilton,” “In the Heights”), Rob Marshall, and John DeLuca, with Jeffrey Silver (“The Lion King”) serving as executive producer. The score is by Alan Menken (“Beauty and the Beast,” “Aladdin”), who won two Oscars for the music in the animated version of “The Little Mermaid,” with music supervised and produced by Mike Higham (“Mary Poppins Returns,” “Into the Woods”). Music is by Alan Menken, lyrics are by Howard Ashman and new lyrics are by Lin-Manuel Miranda.
Disney’s The Little Mermaid is releasing in cinemas on 26 May 2023.
Check out the new trailer below:


Explore Ancient Egypt In Assassin’s Creed Origins’ Free Weekend

For the next three days (starting from tomorrow on 19 June to 21 June 2020), Assassin’s Creed Origins is free to play for PC. The links for the free weekend can be accessed on theÂ official website here.
Set in Ancient Egypt, Assassinâ€™s Creed Origins takes place during a mysterious and crucial period that shapes civilization. Playing as Bayek, protector of Egypt and one of the first Assassins, players will plunge into a living, systemic open world and discover secrets behind the Great Pyramids, forgotten myths, the last pharaohs and â€“ engraved in long-lost hieroglyphics â€“ the origin story of the Assassinâ€™s Brotherhood.
In the meantime, check out my review of Assassin’s Creed Origins here.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xN3M3t44Dkk&w=560&h=315]


[Rumour] Horizon Forbidden West DLC Burning Shores Slated For April 2023

If you want more Aloy and robot animal-killing action on a PlayStation console, you’re going to get more DLC next year.
Prominent leaker “The Snitch” has teased an announcement that could be alluding towards a Horizon Forbidden West DLC/expansion called Burning Shores. The DLC will take place in the south of Spinebreak and a “place of flames and brine”, always being mentioned in passing during the game’s story and sidequests. The DLC will be out in April 2023, and will also feature the VO work of Lance Reddick, the man who plays Sylens in the Horizon titles.

pic.twitter.com/VwbkSl4A7D
— The Snitch (@insider_wtf) December 6, 2022

There’s a good chance the announcement will be made during this week’s The Game Awards 2022, but again: take all of this with a  grain of salt until something official is announced.


These Warner Bros.-Distributed Movies Will Be Showing In Malaysia From September Onward

Thanks to Malaysian cinemas opening later this month, Warner Bros. Malaysia has revealed its confirmed movie schedule.
Here is the release status of their films:
Malignant – 23rd September

Horror movie from James Wan that feels like a throwback to Dario Argento’s horror thriller films.
The Suicide Squad – 30th September

The sequel reboot to the “Academy Award-winning” s***fest DC film. Unlike the original, this one’s really good and done with love and care for the comic book medium. We wonder if the violence will be heavily censored in the Malaysian version though.
Dune – 14th October

The sci-fi classic novel series gets a major epic film adaptation made by Denis Villeneuve.
King Richard – 18th November

The film follows the journey of Richard Williams, an undeterred father instrumental in raising two of the most extraordinarily gifted athletes of all time, who will end up changing the sport of tennis forever. Those athletes are Serena and Venus Williams.
The Matrix Resurrections – 22nd December

It wouldn’t be a major film distribution company without at least one old-ass franchise rising from the grave. One-half of the Wachowski sisters return to direct this canon sequel.


Streets of Rage 4: Mr X Nightmare Survival Mode Guide

Streets of Rage 4’s DLC, Mr X Nightmare, is out now and it features a new game option named Survival Mode. Basically, you fight through an infinite number of randomly generated levels. If you complete a level, you get a choice between two to three perks. You gain stars with points.
And most importantly, you only have one life. Thankfully, you can play co-op in this mode.
Here are some advice, tidbits, and pro tips on how to survive as long as possible in Streets of Rage 4’s latest mode.
This Is The Only Mode Where You Can Earn Additional Moves
Playing through lots of Survival Mode stages with a character will give that character experience points to learn new replacement moves that you can use in any mode. The more stages you complete, the more XP. In fact, some of these moves can help you with Survival Mode especially if combined with elemental powerups.

For instance, Axel’s new Dragon Roll move has decent recovery, meaning you can roll left and right damaging enemies if it’s laced with Electric, Fire, and Poison. So if you have a favourite character or two, it’s best to replay Survival mode to unlock additional moves for them, so that you can mix and match the perfect Blitz and Special move combinations for the occasion.
Certain Weapons Are Only Available In This Mode (Initially)
The new DLC adds in new weapons that are exclusive to this mode, at first. These include:

Gladiator pole – great reach and usually found in the modern gladiator stage.
Buster sword – big-ass sword with long reach and big damage.
Durian – Yep, Malaysia’s king fruit is a weapon in the game.
Umbrella – Multi-hit weapon that doesn’t knock down.
Trident – Long-ranged weapon that pulls enemies with the first hit, then knocks them back with the second.
Flash grenade – stuns enemies for a considerable amount of time, even in mid-air.

As you get to higher levels in Survival mode, you get to unlock rewards that add in special weapons in the main game. To unlock all of them, just reach Survival Mode Level 30 and beyond.
Pick The Elemental Powerups For Your Last Combo Hits & Blitz Attacks
Whether it’s fire, electricity, or toxic, having elemental buffs on your attacks is always a plus. You can stack them up if given the chance, so your regular fourth or fifth basic combo move can electrocute, poison, and set baddies aflame and anyone around them. Ditto for Blitz moves; since you need to preserve your life, you’ll need to rely on basic attacks, jump attacks, and Blitzes more than Specials. The latter will sap your life, though you can get it back by hitting enemies to refill the green bar. This gets riskier as enemies get faster past the level 20 mark.
Get The Powerup That Multiplies Your Score
Getting past a score threshold nets you a star, which lets you do a screen clear of sorts to kill off enemies. Having more will help prolong your survivability. So if you have the opportunity to get the score multiplier powerup (Reach For The Stars), get it.

Use Your Star Moves For The Later Stages
Don’t hoard them. Stars you keep won’t affect your score. If you feel like you’re in a bind because of enemies ganging up on you, just use a Star move. The going gets tough and numerous in Stage 20 and beyond, so at this point in time, you should be able to amass more than 3 stars up to this point. Just use them if there are too many enemies to handle.
Get The Bloodlust Powerup, But…
…Only get it if it’s offered to you after Level 20 onward. If you get this early, you have less enemies to hit and sap life from. Remember: you can only sap life with this powerup from your own hits and Star Moves, not from environmental hazards like wrecking balls and bottomless pits.
If you’re ballsy and confident, get this powerup early.
Figure Out The Lay of the Land
Here’s the breakdown of each stage with screencaps.
Ruins Stage

This stage type will have triggers that can launch either crushing traps, darts, or a health item. You can kite enemies to your location and then launch these traps to hurt foes. These triggers activate once, unless they shoot out darts in which case you can use it multiple times.
Underground Lava Stage

This stage type will either have lava traps that spits lava from the ground, falling meteors, or both. The lava traps are usually arranged in a pattern so there will be safe spots for you to wait at.
Watch out for telegraphs and indicators, though it’s easier said than done since the game will throw a ton of enemies in the later stages.
Modern Gladiator Stage

This stage type will be filled with wrecking balls that can knock enemies (and yourself) off the stage with a little momentum. The stage also has electric fences and a pit in the middle (sometimes). If you play your cards right, you can have the wrecking balls do the work for you.
Occasionally, you may come across flamethrowers that shoots out fire that covers a good portion of the stage. Just memorize how each of them activates in order, then navigate the stage accordingly.
Air Field Stage

Two things can happen in this stage type: either the wind current will blow to the left, or there will be random lightning strikes. The former will alter your jump and air movement. The latter hazard is telegraphed with glowing light before the strike happens, so move out of the way before it hits.
Factory Stage

This stage type features conveyer belts where timed exploding barrels can drop, or a crushing block appears in the centre. Sometimes, there will be a button that lets you manually control the block. At times, the block crushes at timed intervals.
Retro Stage

This stage is usually filled with containers and barrels. Apart from the unique backdrops and retro enemies, there isn’t much else.
Notable retro enemies include:

Mona and Lisa: The SoR 3 female twins. Fast, have jump kicks, jump around a lot, can grapple you, and can shoot out a ground projectile. Annoying as hell.
Blue ninjas: The SoR 2 blue ninjas come out in full force. They have the same moves from the Megadrive games, but they do not have that shadow move that evades jump attacks, thank goodness.
Kung Fu guys: The SoR 2 versions have jump kicks and have power palm strikes that have one hit of armour, so just avoid them. The SoR 3 version (orange hair, black pants) has a slide attack and a jump kick attack.
Abadede: The SoR 1 version can do a charging clothesline and can do a powerful grab move. You can avoid the latter by moving out of the way when it telegraphs the move.
Mr X: The SoR 1 version can fire his gun and do a quick knockdown rifle butt attack.
Robot Mr X: The SoR 3 robots can fire either machine gun bullets or a rocket. They do not have melee attacks.
Root Bear: The SoR 2 boxers (bald guy, big nose) have super quick punches and a butt slam jump attack like in the last game. Fortunately your Blitz and Supers have better priority than their attacks.
Souther: The SoR 1 overall-wearing giant with the claws has long-reaching slash attacks.

How To Reach Level 30 & Beyond
Just some additional protips:

Check a Blitz move that you can spam. Examples include Axel’s Blitz 2 and Shiva’s Blitz 2.
Collect all the elemental power-ups for your Blitz move.
Collect the Bloodlust powerup. Later in the game, health powerups can get sparse, so having the ability to gain health through hits is essential in Level 20 and beyond.
Find an Offensive Special that synergizes with your Blitz. Along with Bloodlust, you’ll gain back the health you lost in no time flat.
Hoard your Star Moves, at least until you reach Level 30. If you’re going to KO, at least spend it past Level 30.
Combining your Star Moves with Bloodlust and Tactical Support equals a big health refill. Just make sure the Star Move you select keeps enemies in the same spot and do not push them away from where the extra rockets will land. Good examples include Blaze’s Star Move 1 and Floyd’s Star Move 2.
Replay the Weekly Survival Mode stages. These weekly stages have set powerups and enemy placements, so you can plan ahead and eventually break past Level 30 and beyond.

NEXT: Survival Mode Perks List


Mobile Legends’ Biggest Southeast Asian Tournament Starts Late October

Itching for more online MOBA esports fun? In case the current League of Legends World Championship 2020 isn’t doing it for you, how about the Mobile Legends equivalent?
You’re in luck because the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Professional League (MPL) Malaysia & Singapore tournament is coming to a close with its Season 6 playoffs. The tournament will go on from 23rd to 25th October and will be streamed on its Facebook page.

The teams who will be competing for the top spot are:

Todak
Resurgence
EVOS SG MY
Red Esports
Orange Esports
Team SMG
Geek Fam
Team Bosskurr

The top teams right now are Todak, Resurgence, and EVOS SG MY, with each of them winning 9, 7, and 6 matches with minimal losses respectively. This should be a blast, especially if you’re into high-level mobile MOBAs screen-tapping and ganks.


PlayStation CEO Made Abortion Rights Comments, Allegedly Upsets Staff

Things in PlayStation may not be looking so grand right now.
A Bloomberg report stated that PlayStation CEO Jim Ryan has urged staff to “respect differences of opinion” on abortion rights via an email. Said email addresses the recent leak of a draft of the US Supreme Court opinion to overturn Roe vs. Wade, which legalizes abortion in the United States.
He stated that the company is “multi-faceted and diverse, holding many different points of view.
“[We] owe it to each other and to PlayStation’s millions of users to respect differences of opinion among everyone in our internal and external communities. Respect does not equal agreement. But it is fundamental to who we are as a company and as a valued global brand.”
Here’s where it gets allegedly iffy: the statement, which does not take a stance on the abortion issue, was followed by “five detailed paragraphs” about his two cat’s birthday, their habits, and his desire to get a dog. This is followed by an excerpt declaring “that dogs really are man’s best friend, they know their place, and perform useful functions like biting burglars and chasing balls that you throw for them”. I don’t know about you, but this seems like textbook passive aggressiveness; something a Southeast Asian taskmaster boss would say to keep their workers and employees in line.
Some employees in PlayStation are expressing dissatisfaction and are upset at the tone of the email, with some of them feeling their rights were “disrespected or trivialized”. Below are a number of Twitter comments by prominent content creators and folks of the video game industry; you be the judge about it.

I've been telling people ever since Jim Ryan took over there is something super off about PS. The bad decisions PlayStation makes, horrible PR (like literally anyone can do a better job bruh), 10 live service games in the making etc..
Jim Ryan era of PlayStation = not good news. https://t.co/oQkn5h3wwe
— Pyo 5?? (@mrpyo1) May 12, 2022

 pic.twitter.com/NQqkMdlSle
— danny o'dwyer (@dannyodwyer) May 12, 2022

I mean, Jim, this isn't that fucking difficult, buddy. You just show empathy and support for your female employees and their families and decry this grotesque and blatant infringement on their bodily rights. Look, I did it in a tweet. Didn't even need a full memo.
— Ryan McCaffrey (@DMC_Ryan) May 12, 2022

He's literally saying "I love dogs, they know their place," and people STILL aren't seeing what's wrong with this email. pic.twitter.com/wBQa4qx9XS
— Some Rando (@RandomBSAccoun1) May 12, 2022


Kakuchopurei Best 30 Games Of 2022: #19

For the rest of the list, head here. For #20, head here.
#19. Stray (PS5, PS4, PC)

“Everybody wants to be a cat”. That’s an iconic line from an iconic song from the 1970 Disney animated movie, Aristocats. It’s true, a lot of people love cats, so why hasn’t there been a game where you play as a cat? The folks at BlueTwelve Studio finally turned that into reality with Stray, which is probably the best cat simulator ever made to date.
All you can do in Stray is what a normal cat can do. Jumping around on ledges and tables, scratching stuff, and more, but what the game does best is with the world and atmosphere it features. Being a cat in this world, solving puzzles and more is simply endearing and so, so fun. The game is a bit on the short side, being only a few hours long, but that’s expected for an indie title anyways, and it’s the memorable experience that counts in the end.
If you’re a lover of all things feline, do yourselves a favour and check out this love letter to all kitty lovers. Again, everybody wants to be a cat and Stray lets you do just that.


Sucker Punch’s Ghost of Tsushima Bookends The PS4 In Style

Review originally posted on 14th July.
Platform: PS4
Genre: Sucker Punch’s ultimate tribute to jidaigeki
After making their mark with crime caper stories with furries and superhero comics with grit and incredibly obvious moral choices, Western developer Sucker Punch opt to do the impossible: create a game set in Japan without coming off as unintentionally disingenuous and trying too hard, while basing it off the team’s love for its cinematic and genre influences. In this context, the jidaigeki samurai drama piece genre from the 1950s and onward.
The team is given the unenviable task of being not just the last exclusive game on the PS4 most people would give two hoots about, but to also go beyond the comfort zone of doing super-powered hero-starring action-adventure games. As fun as the InFamous series was, it got stale in InFamous: Second Son.
With that intention and promise comes Ghost of Tsushima, which is not just the company’s most-focused and finest action-adventure game yet, but a very good argument for video games being a masterclass blend of gameplay and story.
The Way The Wind Blows (é¢¨ãŒå¹ãã¨ã“ã‚)

Set in the 1200s during the Mongolian invasion of Japan, Ghost of Tsushima is about a samurai named Jin who mounts a comeback against the Mongol army led by Khotun Khan after he and his uncle’s army (island regent Lord Shimura) gets wiped out in the initial assault. Along the way in his quest to free Tsushima Island, he gets a life lesson in what the words “honour” and “family” truly mean in a scenario where his enemies do not play by their code of conduct. You get to experience what it’s like gaining a reputation of a vigilante not shackled by the samurai’s code of bushido, and deal with the oncoming ramifications.
Or you can do all of that narrative nonsense later after the first 40 minutes, as Ghost of Tsushima lets you take your time exploring every corner of the island with your horse. Right from the get-go after the first hour of sorting out your controls and basic mechanics, you’re given free rein over where to go and what to do. You can either sort out Jin’s mission for justice, or complete one of the multitudes of side missions for extra experience points (called “Reputation” here) and uncover interesting backstories from your motley crew like the stubborn Sensei Ishikawa and prone-to-rage recent widow Lady Masako.
Or just head down to a nearby creek and compose a haiku to score a free headband. No pressure.

As someone who loves samurai drama films and “jidaigeki” period pieces like Zatoichi, Lady Snowblood, and Akira Kurosawa’s version of King Lear,Â Sucker Punch’s visual stylings and audio work not only captured my attention but also made me rewatch the aforementioned shows. All for the sake of just spotting which parts of Japan’s cinematic history did the team get their influences from.
I can assure you that it’s not an outright cut-copy-paste job that’s solely on flair; there’s a lot of the team’s trademark open-world design elements from the later Sly Cooper games and InFamous titles that made their way here, but in a 1200-era context. For all of its beautiful vistas, landscapes, and multi-coloured tree leaves signifying different moments in time of the plot, there’s a lot of ugliness and brutality in a war-torn Tsushima courtesy of the Mongols.

Random dead bodies filled with arrows, conquered and burnt villages, savage animals being taunted by random Mongol patrols; all of this placed alongside in huge contrast to the landscape and changing seasons either in the deep bamboo entrenchments or seaside caves.
Just seeing all of this as I’m riding within the countryside of 1200s Tsushima island makes me appreciate the team’s deft balancing act. Coupled with a sweeping score from Ilan Eshkeri and Shigeru Umebayashi, renowned music makers in cinema, your eyes, ears, and soul are in for a stellar treat.

One major thing to note: Sucker Punch went for the “minimal HUD” approach so that its important information doesn’t get in the way of their literal vision. They succeeded.
Ghost of Tsushima conveys its information with as little clutter as possible. Not only is this easy on the eyes, but it’s incredibly intuitive. If you’re lost, just swipe the PS4 controller’s touchpad upwards to let the on-screen wind guide you to your next destination.
Your life bar, mission objectives, and other important icons are usually at the four corners of the screen and are minimal in design and look, yet distinguishable for you to spot and take note. It’s like as if the entire design team in the Sucker Punch had a huge board filled with screencaps of open-world games with cluttered UIs and tags -basically most Ubisoft games- with the top reading “Don’t Do This Or You’re Fired”.
Outside of the rare instance of the “searching needles in haystacks” type mission, most of the main and side missions (that involves a character’s personal tale of vengeance and retribution) are well-designed and comes with their own gameplay hooks. Some of them solely more on fights and standoffs, while others rely on platforming and stealth.
Great examples include a treasure-hunting mission where your clues involve either blue or white flowers and stealth missions where you can’t kill anyone and have to find creative pathways high and low to get ahead. There are a few rote and by-the-numbers tasks, but they do not taint the entire Tsushima Island liberation experience.
Samurai Blue (ã‚µãƒ ãƒ©ã‚¤é’ã„)

Throughout the journey, Jin gets stronger and acquires more tools to become the titular ghost. His playstyle in the game is a hybrid of a warrior and a ninja; not only can he swordfight enemies out in the open, but he can also infiltrate encampments stealthily and use grappling hooks to ambush them from above. Whether you swing one way or the other, or just mix it up, the game will tailor to either style without blocking off the other.
As you earn more Reputation and acquire Technique points for skills, you have a choice to either focus more on melee combat or assassination skills. All of them are useful, be it to give you more attack options when evading or making your Guiding Wind track more than just mission objectives.

You can also equip charms to give you passive boosts or even unlock new buffs. These include dealing more damage when at low health, to gaining additional Resolve (the game’s equivalent of mana for skills & on-the-fly healing) when fighting. Higher-level “gold” charms from major story and character missions can even modify your equipment, so they’re always worth the trouble if you fancy a certain playstyle.
There’s even a number of platforming and “parkour” sections that are weaved in organically here; these are the Sly Cooper and InFamous bits I alluded to earlier. While not as thorough, it’s a nice break from the fighting you’ll be doing most of the time as you’ll be figuring out the best paths to take without plunging to your death.
And yes, you can challenge foes to a samurai film-esque standoff. This comes in a form of a “mini-game” where you unsheathe your sword (by holding and releasing the triangle button at the right time), and then one-hit-kill the challenger for a first strike advantage. Winning this will net you a Resolve meter boost and one less enemy to deal with; moreso if you get the right upgrades on the Technique menu.
After a few hours, you’ll have to learn more about Jin’s parrying abilities, sword style switching, and ghost tools to get ahead. If you just block an enemy’s attack at the last possible second, you can follow-up with a harder-hitting one-hit-kill slash. Enemies will be blocking and guarding a lot, so you need to use the correct sword style to break that particular foe’s guard faster: Stone stance breaks down swordsmen faster, Moon stance breaks down brutes’ defences quicker, and so forth.
Your ghost tools let you infiltrate enemy encampments better or just give you a quick combat leg-up. Smoke bombs for distractions & escaping, wind chimes to distract enemies from afar while in stealth, bow and arrows for long-ranged kills, and hallucinogenic darts to cause a ruckus; you’re given a lot to work with. There’s even a mid-game mechanic that lets you build a “super meter” to pull off a “super move”, with the main caveat being that you lose said meter if you get hit once.

While it may not be the same as how Sucker Punch handles its skill tree via its narrative-driven duality “good or evil” system in the Infamous titles, I do welcome this flexibility in switching up playstyles.
You’re not locked out of the good stuff and there’s no need for you to restart a playthrough from scratch to see what you missed out on.

If you think this abundance of skills will make the game easier, you are sorely mistaken. Ghost of Tsushima removes the kid gloves after the first five hours or so. Remember when I said there was a power-up that loses its stock if you get hit even once? The game’s difficulty is tailored so that you learn when to dodge and when to block-slash-parry.
More enemies will overwhelm Jin if he lingers too long at an encampment. Other anomalies like Mongol attack dogs and falcons will start making you plan way in advance if you’re going stealth. Brutes will start waylaying you with large area-of-effect and unblockable attacks, forcing you to invest your technique points to more evasive options.
That, along with the fact that Jin has less health than most protagonists in triple-A titles (even with certain charm buffs), means that Ghost of Tsushima is no easy feat to complete. Even with all these tools and techniques at your disposal, the game is challenging in the first 10 hours and beyond as you acclimatize to the controls and the combat. It still maintains its difficulty even in the main story’s endgame, where a hero usually has enough tools to make these kinds of games a cakewalk. It’s not Nioh 2 or Sekiro levels of difficulty -due to its abundance of checkpoints- but it’s still a steep snow-covered mountain to climb.
Ghost of Tsushima requires you to do your sandbox gaming diligence and also master its samurai-slash-ninja hybrid gameplay if you want to make it to the end. Even so, there’s a ton of aforementioned distractions to make you forget about the main plot, from tailing foxes to secret shrines for charm slot upgrades to getting specific resources to upgrade your specialized armour for “ghosting”.
And I’m not even done with the entirety of the game, considering that it took me 25 hours to finish the main campaign, barring a distraction or two that is required to stand a fighting chance against the late-game Mongol obstructions.
Tsushima Island is a bountiful place indeed. You’ll have a lot to collect and amass -Mongolian artifacts, samurai army banners, shrine locations, and so forth- if you aim to 100 percent this game, which will amount to a lot more man-hours if you love to OCD your open-world games ala Skyrim and the last Batman Arkham title. Probably 40 hours or more, tops.

Not everything on this island adventure is completely tranquil though. Some graphical and gameplay foibles do crop up. Sometimes when I’m taking the stealth route, the assassination prompts do not pop up when needed, meaning I may accidentally “love tap” an enemy with my katana strikes instead of pulling off a backstab. Chain assassinations -the act of killing two to three enemies in a row without alerting anyone- also require a different input. Barring a special circumstance or two, I don’t see why having two different buttons to achieve the same stealth-induced result is needed in the long run.
Just like any packed open-world game, random things can happen and obstruct your path and viewpoint. When Ghost of Tsushima is left to its own devices during the free-roaming bits, silly things do occur and can break immersion quite a bit.
I find these oddities memorable though; it’s not every day you see the man of the people getting flung around by a black bear like a ragdoll, comically landing in a pile of mud on your face. Or see some stealth kills not being aligned, resulting in some David Cronenberg-type screencaps that gamers will be putting up days after launch. Or losing a killstreak from a standoff because you can’t tell where the next assailant is coming from due to the previous victim’s kill animation blocking your view.
Again, these are just nitpicks on my end. Your mileage and tolerance may vary, but these aren’t enough to downplay the magnitude of this virtual historic tour.
Blade Of The Not-Quite-Mortal (ç„¡é™ã®ä½äºº)

Ghost of Tsushima is arguably the worst game to review under a deadline. No matter how much leeway you have, be it a few weeks or just up to three days, rushing to the end would be doing the game’s lush world and its many secrets a huge disservice. There are way too many lovely distractions that will make you lose sight of your main goal.
That’s the hallmark of a successful open-world game made with a lot of attention to detail and care; there is just a lot to discover, to see, to take in, to fight, and to just faff about. It improves upon certain open-world tropes and doesn’t relish in its own technical excesses like certain Rockstar Games involving horses and the dying Wild West.
Even when Ghost of Tsushima is spinning its serious yarn, it still remembers that it’s a video game first and foremost. In fact, the last time I had this much fun exploring a version of feudal Japan in interactive form was in 2006’s Okami. While not as bizarre and outlandish, Sucker Punch’s latest is just as epic and fantastical.
What I’m trying to get at is that Ghost of Tsushima does enough and then some to elevate it beyond just a high-budget piece of work. This is all thanks to its “free Japan from oppressors back in the 1200s” main plotline and open-ended gameplay interweaved together with solid combat mechanics, a good challenge, and its new approaches and quality-of-life improvements to sandbox gaming UI & gaming feels.
The latter includes, and is not limited to:

asking you whether you want to save your last checkpoint before you load up a separate save,
the slowdown that occurs when switching stances,
and a prompt that lets you know you’re going to a point of no return in the game’s main story.

There’s a lot more to list down, but my point stands: this ronin rumble is a gaming masterpiece for the second half of 2020, and the perfect PlayStation 4 capstone title. Ghost of Tsushima is as close as you can get to the perfect Kurosawa tribute in modern interactive form.

Pros

Remarkable aesthetics.
Tsushima Island features a ton to explore & discover.
Solid & challenging combat system.
A well-told tale of honour & family.
Pays proper homage to Kurosawa influences.

Cons

Very minor open-world bugs & glitches.
Rare input issues.

FINAL SCORE: 100/100
Review copy provided by PlayStation Asia. Played mostly on a regular PS4.


Suicide Squad Kill The Justice League Delayed Following Fan Backlash

Warner Bros. has once again delayed Suicide Squad Kill The Justice League following fan backlash after the gameplay reveal at last month’s PlayStation State Of Play. Many players criticized the game’s blatant microtransactions and exploitative live-service game model.
According to the report by Bloomberg, Suicide Squad Kill The Justice League will now launch for the PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC sometime later this year on an unspecified date. It will no longer be released on the previous release date of 26 May 2023.
However, at the time of writing, keep in mind that no official reason has been provided by Rocksteady or WB Games on why the game has been delayed again. This is the second time the game will be delayed; the title was supposed to be out last year prior to the Spring 2023 release date.
During The Game Awards 2022 last year, Rocksteady Games revealed our first look at an evil Batman in their upcoming Suicide Squad Kill The Justice League. The late Kevin Conroy will be voicing the game’s version of Bruce Wayne AKA Batman.
In the meantime, re-watch the reason why many fans are mad in the previously-released trailer below:


[Rumour] Here Is The Current Street Fighter 6 Roster So Far, Featuring Old Favourites Returning

Hours after the new Street Fighter 6 came out, along comes a 4chan post from an anonymous user who uploads the majority of the roster for the game.
The mix of names from the leaked images on 4chan and on Twitter (via @zero_setsu) feature a number of returning characters and new fighters in the sixth mothership game. These include a new version of Ken without the banana hair, but still the black top and red pants ensemble, a Zangief with long wrestling pants, Dee Jay with a more green-inspired look to match his flag of Jamaica, a short-haired Cammy dressed up as a civilian but still has her trademark long braided rope hair, and a Rashid who looks more hip.

On the new fighters side, we have a giant red-haired MMA lady named Mari Za (above), a French lady fighter named Mimi, a tiny Mexican girl named Lili who fights with two traditional war clubs, a white-haired older gentleman named JP who has a stick, and a Chinese assassin with sharp claws named A.K.I. There’s no image of Li-Fen here, and we doubt that this leak is the full roster. We’re pretty sure there are more characters on the way.

apparently some designs got leaked and…
did i- did i just predict short hair Cammy? https://t.co/Wt4X0HfuYa pic.twitter.com/nKrXY5IHdT
— Setsu™ (@zero_setsu) June 3, 2022

Here’s the full roster with the leaked cast included.

Ryu (revealed in the trailer)
Chun-Li (revealed in the trailer)
Luke (revealed in the trailer)
Jamie (revealed in the trailer)
Li-Fen (in the trailer; maybe a playable character)
Damnd (Final Fight guy in the trailer; maybe a playable character)
Kimberly (at the end of the trailer)
Mari Za (billboard poster at the start of the trailer)
Ken
Cammy
Zangief
Dhalsim
E.Honda
Blanka
Guile
Dee Jay
Rashid
Juri
Ed
Akuma
Lili/Lily
JP
A.K.I
Mimi

https://twitter.com/FGC_Daily/status/1532627351515066369
That’s a whopping 23 characters so far. And these designs look really awesome, like as if the core developers and artists got back the Golden Age touch that was from the mid-90s. Street Fighter 6 will be out in 2023 for PlayStation 5, PS4, Xbox Series, Xbox One, and PC. No word on whether the game will be multiplatform or not.


Bake â€˜N Switch Is Getting A Free Halloween & Singleplayer Campaign Update

During a press conference for Level Up KL 2020 earlier today, Streamline Studios COO Stefan M. Baier revealed that the Malaysian-made game co-op game Bake ‘N Switch will be getting a free major update sometime in October 2020.
The free update will introduce a Halloween-themed event called Shroomageddon, which will add the following:
14 new maps.50 new maps for singleplayer.1 miniboss.6 new fluorescent costumes.The ability to select any bun as your avatar in the roadmap.
In addition, the free update will also add a brand new singleplayer campaign with a pun-tastic name to boot; Bun Solo.

Bake ‘N Switch is currently available for the PC (via Steam) and Nintendo Switch, but it’s coming soon to the PS4 in the future as well. In the meantime, check out the trailer below: