Disney’s The Creative Experience Exchange Program To Bolster Regional Creative Growth In Asia Pacific

The Walt Disney Company Asia Pacific has announced the debut of “The Creative Experience” (www.disneycreativeexperience.com), an invitation-only exchange program that connects leading APAC storytellers with top executives and creatives from Disney’s key brands and studios.
Created with the goal of sharing The Walt Disney Company’s almost 100 years of world-class storytelling experience with content creators from across the Asia Pacific region, “The Creative Experience” has given a select group of participants unprecedented access to some of the company’s most influential names through a series of exclusive live panels that provide invaluable insights into the creative processes of Marvel Studios, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Disney Live Action, 20th Century Studios, Searchlight Pictures, Pixar, Lucasfilm, National Geographic, Disney TV Studios, FX, ABC and more.
Carol Choi, Head of APAC Original Content Strategy, The Walt Disney Company, said:
“The Creative Experience aims to add further momentum to the creative growth in the region, as streaming continues to enhance local content production standards and storytelling excellence. The Asia Pacific region has world-class storytellers and talent with so much global potential, and we hope that this new program will become an invaluable part of creative development in the region, opening new doors of entertainment for the creative community.”
The program’s first live panel featured participation from:

Disney Live Action President Sean Bailey

20th Century Studios Senior Vice President Sarah Shepard

Searchlight Pictures President Matthew Greenfield
The program’s first live panel featured a discussion on live-action content development between some of Disney’s most high-profile executives, including Disney Live Action President Sean Bailey; Searchlight Pictures President Matthew Greenfield; and 20th Century Studios Senior Vice President Sarah Shepard.
The program’s second live panel featured participation from:

“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” Director and co-writer Ryan Coogler

Co-writer Joe Robert Cole

Producer and Marvel Studios executive Nate Moore
Timed with the global premiere of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, APAC creators attended an exclusive discussion last month on the making of the movie with Director and co-writer Ryan Coogler; Co-writer Joe Robert Cole; and producer and Marvel Studios executive Nate Moore. The sessions each had 200 content creators from across the region and were moderated by former Senior Editor of Rotten Tomatoes Grae Drake.
Additional live panels are planned through 2023.
A first-of-its-kind initiative, “The Creative Experience” is part of The Walt Disney Company’s continued commitment to the Asia Pacific region, as it continues to deepen its long-term collaborative relationships with the region’s creative community. Last year at its first APAC Content Showcase, the company announced its creative ambition to greenlight over 50 APAC originals by 2023 and has since launched a growing slate of local language titles from South Korea, Japan, Southeast Asia, ANZ and Greater China on its global streaming platform Disney+.
On 30 November 2022, the company will be hosting the much-anticipated Disney Content Showcase in Singapore, an exciting unveil of its theatrical and streaming slate for 2023, including a growing collection of APAC Originals on Disney+ and Disney+ Hotstar, told by some of the region’s best storytellers.


Capcom To Ban Anyone From Their Tournaments Who Played The Street Fighter 6 Beta Illegally

Capcom has finally addressed the Dhalsim stage elephant in the room: the fact that there are people out there who are playing the cracked version of the now-defunct Street Fighter 6 online beta.
For those who don’t know, the Street Fighter 6 open beta was open for a set few weekends for network testing purposes and also giving those who enter a taste of what’s to come in the upcoming 2D fighting game sequel. Since the beta came out on PC and is such a hot commodity, a few number of unsavoury folks took the opportunity to crack it and have it run outside of the intended select weekends.
Capcom has released a statement regarding this particular notorious tactic, stating that playing the cracked beta is a clear violation of the Closed Beta Test terms of service. Here’s the full statement the company made:
“It has come to our attention that some users have been accessing the Street Fighter 6 Closed Beta (CBT) software and playing the game outside of the designated period.
This is a violation of the CBT Terms of Service and can be seen as a violation of the Capcom Pro Tour code of conduct.
For the avoidance of doubt, from this point forward, any player who is shown with clear evidence to be accessing the CBT in an unauthorized way may be deemed ineligible for the upcoming Capcom Pro Tour and Street Fighter League seasons.”

pic.twitter.com/t4aQmwMhLY
— Capcom Fighters (@CapcomFighters) April 28, 2023

Better late than never, I suppose. This announcement is more or less a fair warning for anyone who played the beta beyond their intended active dates in its cracked form. Justify it all you want, but playing the cracked beta for the purpose of getting a leg up on everyone before the Street Fighter 6 launch period -2nd June- is basically cheating and also illegal since this is a form of piracy.
Besides, if you wanted to get some extra training in the legal way, just play the Street Fighter 6 demo that’s available right now for PC and consoles. You can set the computer AI to level 8 and just sort things out from there in the game’s versus mode.


Players Is An Esports Mockumentary With The Appropriate Amount Of Cringe

If you’re sick of seeing esports take itself seriously and rather watch a fictional team go through what actually happens behind the scenes while having a laugh, look no further than the upcoming mockumentary series called Players.
The mockumentary is about a fictional League of Legends team called Fugitive led by a player named Cream Cheese and their journey of winning the LoL championship (LCS), while also dealing with new teammate Organizm who is a 17-year old prodigy in the game. It’s directed and produced by the team behind the American Vandal series (Tony Yacenda, Dan Perrault), so you know there’s going to be potty humour, a huge level of purposefully-tailored cringe, and some commentary about the esports scene as a whole. Kind of like what Mythic Quest is doing with video game development and how painful it can be.
To add to the authenticity of the show, Riot Games will be involved, and even some real-life pro teams like Team Liquid and Evil Geniuses will be popping up to give Team Fugitive a run for their money in the show. Players will start streaming on Paramount+ on 16 July.


Check Out This New Metroid Dread Samus Aran Figma

Good Smile Company has announced that a new Metroid Dread Samus Aran figma is available for pre-order. It’s priced at ¥12,500, or roughly RM400.
Using the smooth yet posable joints of figma, you can create a variety of poses from the game due to the flexible plastic, which is used for important areas, allowing proportions to be kept without compromising possibility. In addition to Morph Ball and Omega Cannon parts, a Spider Magnet figure base that can be used to pose Samus sticking on walls is included.
In addition, a gripping hand part, open hand part and multi-purpose hand part are all included. The figure’s knee joints are made with specially designed double joint parts. Last but not least, an articulated figma stand is included to display the figma in a variety of poses.
In the meantime, check out our review of Metroid Dread here.


Earn More Overwatch Cosmetics (And A Switch) In Ashe’s Mardi Gras Challenge

Ashe’s Mari Gras Challenge is now available across PC, PS4, Xbox One, and Switch. Running from 26 February to 10 March 2020, the event offers the chance to earn in-game rewards, real-life gifts, and introduces a new Experimental mode.

Let’s start with the Experimental mode since that sounds like the most interesting of the bunch. Experimental mode allows the Overwatch team to try out “major gameplay changes”, but unlike the public test realm, this mode is available for players in the live game itself. Furthermore, you get to keep your progression from the Experimental mode.
Blizzard notes that the changes introduced in Experimental mode won’t necessarily make it into the live game, but it looks like a fun addition nevertheless. The current test is called Triple Damage. No, it doesn’t triple your weapon damage, but “defaults team roles to one tank, three damage, and two supports”.
The event period will also bring with it weekly challenges. Players will have get the highest number of wins in “designated game modes”, which are Quick Play, Competitive Play, and Arcade in this case. Gifts will be awarded to the top 10.
The player with the most wins gets themselves a Nintendo Switch, while the other nine gets a Blizzard Balance of US$50 each. That’s pretty neat!

Now, for the in-game rewards. They come in the form of the usual suspects, namely sprays, icons, and skins. Regardless of whether you earn your victory in Quick Play, Competitive, or Arcade, a total of three wins will nail you two player icons, while six wins will give you one new spray.
Finally, nine wins will give you an Epic skin for Ashe and Bob.
If new sprays are the main thing you want, you’re better off not playing the game. Instead, Blizzard suggests that you watch “Twitch streamers before, during or after matches”. Whenever you tune in to participating Twitch Streamers during the event period, you get Twitch drops that provide you with said sprays.
Watching for two hours will give you one spray, four hours gives you two sprays, and finally, six hours gives you three sprays.


Ys IX Doubles Down A Lot From The Last Game, But It’s Still A Jolly Good Time

Platform: PS4
Genre: Action RPG with some tower defense bits
Ys IX (pronounced “is-su”) is about a red-headed adventurer who gets out of a giant-ass prison city within an hour or so, and then goes through the motions of a city-wide conspiracy that requires him to break into said prison city again and again. Along the way, our red-headed hero Adol Christin is given Monstrum powers and Monstrum teammates to help progress through the many, many dungeons and corridors, killing bad guys and monstrous bosses. Oh, and partake in some tower defense and destroy-a-bunch-of-puzzlingly-arranged-red-crystals-within-a-time-limit shenanigans involving ghost monsters of different shapes and sizes.
Ys IX also feels like a title where its creators, Falcom, just decided to take ideas from the last great action RPG game they did (Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana) and just ran with it using a different setting. This begs the question: will you feel dÃ©jÃ  vu paying for this full price and playing it for 20+ hours? Perhaps. Is it still fun? You betcha.
Jail Break

Rather than getting stuck on an island like in the last game, Adol and his pal Dogi are stuck in a prison city because of magic reasons. No, really: when Adol was given Monstrum powers, he is trapped in the city. To open up these barriers keeping him and his Monstrum pals at bay, he needs to complete a plethora of sidequests within the city of Balduq, and slay a good number of ghost monsters all hiding in a bunch of pocket universes of their own, scattered throughout the city. Then once a certain number of missions are completed -indicated by the moon bar at the top left of the screen- you then have to do a tower defense main mission to continue the narrative’s progress. Here, you have to protect a pretty important crystal from being destroyed while you keep the nightmare ghost monsters at bay.
The progression here is easy to follow: complete quests, do the tower mission, continue the action RPG anime story a-going. There’s a few twists and turns thrown in to keep you entertained, especially a bit that involves a different part of a prison and channels the action beats and tone from the earlier Ys games when our main hero used to ride solo.
When you bring it all together, it’s awesome gameplay fun. Ys IX’s combat is fast, frenetic, and flexible. You have your regular attacks, your special attacks ranging from fast lunges to fancy combos, and your Flash evades and guards. The latter lets you slow down time for a short bit when you execute a perfect dodge and/or guard. And yes, you can activate both perks so that you get double the bullet time, meaning more potshots and critical hits on bad guys.
All of these techniques are cancelable to a point, meaning you can chain them with little effort and keep your combat momentum going. These systems hit a fine balance: they’re not too easy to spam and abuse, but lenient enough that it’ll come out just fine.
Your Monstrum pals have their own slew of attacks and specializations, be it the AoE-ground pound hammer-wielder to the speedy hit-and-run dodge-savvy combatant. They also come with their special Monstrum powers that let you run up walls, glide over chasms, and use a special sight to find hidden switches and triggers. Puzzle segments that involve these powers do come into play to spice up your traversing & exploration, but they don’t overwhelm the main fighting bits.
The fights themselves have a great difficulty curve: it starts off just fine, and then throws a good amount of creative speedbump fights that rely on you to be patient and master the Flash evade and guard system. My personal favourites include a two-headed dragon fight where you need to find platforms before it pulls off a temporary all-encompassing lava flow attack, and a monster centipede fight that requires you to ascend stairs lest you get engulfed in rising “electricity water”.

You’re not going to find a lot of complaints about the fighting and action setpieces here; Ys IX pulls off its action just fine and dandy.

You’re Under Arrest

You can, however, find a bit to bitch about in the game’s setting and level aethetics. Compared to Ys VIII, the combat arenas and corridors aren’t as gorgeous and varied. You’ll be traversing through underground mazes and caves. Granted, that’s the main crux of the plot: to find and uncover passages leading to the prison city, but a little variation and some change-ups in vistas and creative landscaping would be nice. And the less said about the frame rate chugging to lower than 30fps in the open-world city exploration bits outside of combat, the better. It chugs even worse when you trigger the pocket dimension ghost fights while in a commercial district of Balduq; this may not apply if you’re running the game on a PS5 though.
The narrative as a whole is also lacking in places. While Adol and his new Monstrum pals and associates are full of personality and are what you want out of an anime-style RPG (with some genuine chuckle-worthy moments), it does pale in comparison to the stakes at play in its prequel.
Its developer Falcom isn’t exactly a giant game-making house like Square Enix, so I get that the team is sticking to what they know best and doubling down on the goldmine they unearthed with Ys VIII. It’s just not doing a good job masking that using a more in-depth story and plot trapping. Ys VIII’s tower defense mode made more sense in that story’s survivors-on-an-island context than it does in Ys IX’s trapped-in-a-city-via-magic-means plot thread.
Still, there are worst ways to write around it; I am still a mite curious as to why the prison city is the way it is and how this Monstrum powers factor into the Ys canon. And to Ys IX’s credit, its English localization is a lot tidier.
Arrested Development
I’d still recommend Ys VIII over Ys IX, but that’s like me recommending a McCallan over a Glenfiddich. Or a Quarter Pounder over a Big Mac if you’re into junk food analogies instead. You’re still getting a great drink/meal out of it, regardless of your nitpicks & feelings of dÃ©jÃ  vu.
Despite having pretty big shoes to fill, Ys IX is a standout action RPG title with a decent plot, and features top-tier gameplay that’s challenging and addictive. Sometimes, that’s more than enough when you’re an RPG maker who has to be creative with a budget. Old Ys fans will get a kick out of the candid references & escalating action, while newer Ys fans will adore what’s on tap here. As far as standalone and easy-to-follow Falcom titles go, this one will do just fine.
Pros

Fun & tight action RPG gameplay.
Great main quest & sidequests to play through.
A colourful cast of characters to root for.
Great music.

Cons

Some disconnect between plot and gameplay.
Visual aesthetics get choppy during town segments (for previous-gen console)

Final Score: 80/100


Mario & Luigi Does The Super Show Rap In New Super Mario Bros. Super Bowl Teaser

During Super Bowl 2023, the Super Mario Bros. Movie unveiled a new teaser ad featuring the infamous Mario Rap from the Super Mario Bros. Super Show! It was a live-action animated hybrid TV series that originally aired back in 1989.
What’s funny is that the number for Super Mario Bros. Plumbing (that’s featured in the teaser) actually works if you call it (but only try it if you’re living in the US). You’ll hear Charlie Day as Luigi speaking.
There’s even a whole working website.

MY GIRLFRIEND @starchanto CALLED THE PHONE NUMBER, IT ACTUALLY WORKS HAHAHAHA https://t.co/IAc1uRd5yy pic.twitter.com/uLzlBLxgKN
— Boost ? (@Boos2fer) February 12, 2023

Check out the original rap below:

And compare that with the new animated one from Illumination Entertainment below:

The animated Super Mario Bros. movie premieres in cinemas on 6 April 2023. The upcoming animated movie will star Chris Pratt as Mario, Anya Taylor-Joy as Princess Peach, Charlie Day as Luigi, Jack Black as Bowser, Seth Rogen as Donkey Kong and Keegan-Michael Key as Toad.
In the meantime, head on over here to hear Seth Rogen as Donkey Kong, if you haven’t.


Nintendo Will Showcase Super Smash Bros. Ultimate’s Dragon Quest Hero Soon

Nintendo Versus has just announced that a video presentation for the upcoming Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (SSBU) DLC Fighter will be released on 30 July 2019 at 6am PT (2pm Malaysia time). The video will feature an in-depth look at the next DLC character for SSBU which is the brilliantly-named Hero from the Dragon Quest series. The release date for the DLC will also be revealed in the video.
Mind you, I’m not taking a jab at Square Enix for their naming ideas. As far as I know, most Dragon Quest protagonists don’t have an actual name so they’re just called Heroes by default. Also, this DLC will feature four Heroes from the Dragon Quest series, not just one of them.

Game director Masahiro Sakurai will be the one presenting in the video and as always, it’s a joy to see the man play and talk about his games. As you can see in the image uploaded by Nintendo Versus above, Sakurai has a big smile on his face. In the gaming industry, that smile is known as the “never ask anything from me again” smile.
I’m just kidding on that last one, don’t quote on me that.
In a reply to the tweet, Nintendo Versus also stated the next version of SSBU will be released soon. Version 4.0 will include fighter adjustments so replay data from previous versions will be incompatible. The tweet also explains how you to convert your replays:
To keep yourself up to date, make sure to follow Nintendo Versus on Twitter.


AMD Ryzen 5000 Series Release Date & Price Revealed

During a live stream earlier today, AMD has announced the Ryzen 9 5950X, Ryzen 9 5900X, Ryzen 7 5800X, and 5600X; all of which are built on the brand new Zen 3 architecture.
Offering up to 16 cores, 32 threads and 72 MB of cache in the top-of-the-line AMD Ryzen 9 5950X, the AMD Ryzen 5000 series processors dominate in heavily threaded workloads and power efficiency, while the AMD Ryzen 9 5900X processor offers up to a 26 percent generational uplift in gaming performance.
With extensive improvements throughout the core including a unified 8-core complex with direct access to 32MB L3 cache, the new AMD â€œZen 3â€ core architecture delivers a 19 percent generational increase in instructions per cycle (IPC), the largest since the introduction of â€œZenâ€ processors in 2017.

AMD Ryzen 5000 Series Desktop Processors

The top of the line 16 core AMD Ryzen 9 5950X offers:
The highest single-thread performance of any desktop gaming processor.The most multi-core performance of any desktop gaming processor and any desktop processor in a mainstream CPU socket.
The 12 core AMD Ryzen 9 5900X offers the best gaming experience by:
Average of 7 percent faster in 1080p gaming across select game titles than the competition.Average of 26 percent faster in 1080p gaming across select titles generationally.

AMD Ryzen 5000 Series Desktop Processor Line-up and Availability
MODELCORES/THREADSTDP(Watts)BOOST/BASE FREQ. (GHz)TOTAL CACHECOOLERSEP (USD)EXPECTED AVAILABILITYAMD Ryzenâ„¢ 9 5950X16C/32T105WUp to 4.9 / 3.472MBN/AUS$799November 5, 2020AMD Ryzenâ„¢ 9 5900X12C/24T105WUp to 4.8 / 3.770MBN/AUS$549November 5, 2020AMD Ryzenâ„¢ 7 5800X8C/16T105WUp to 4.7 / 3.836MBN/AUS$449November 5, 2020AMD Ryzenâ„¢ 5 5600X6C/12T65WUp to 4.6 / 3.735MBWraith StealthUS$299November 5, 2020
AMD 500 series motherboards are ready for AMD Ryzen 5000 Series desktop processors with a simple BIOS update. This broad ecosystem support and readiness include over 100 AMD 500 series motherboards from all major motherboard manufacturers.
AMD Ryzen 5000 Series desktop processors announced today are expected to be available for purchase globally on 5 November 2020.
AMD Ryzen Equipped to Win Game Bundle
The AMD Ryzen Equipped to Win game bundle program also returns with Ubisoft’s upcoming Far Cry 6.
Customers who purchase an AMD Ryzen 9 5950X, AMD Ryzen 9 5900X, or AMD Ryzen 7 5800X processor between 5 November 2020 and 31 December 2020 will receive a complimentary digital copy of Far Cry 6 Standard Edition.
Additionally, customers who purchase an AMD Ryzen 9 3950X, AMD Ryzen 9 3900XT, or AMD Ryzen 7 3800XT processor between 20 October 2020 and 31 December 2020 will also receive a free digital copy of Far Cry 6 Standard Edition.
Far Cry 6 is slated to release for the PS5, Xbox Series X, PS4, and Xbox One, as well as PC via the Epic Games Store, Uplay, and Stadia on 18 February 2021.

AMD Radeon RX 6000 Series

AMD also provided a sneak peek at the AMD Radeonâ„¢ RX 6000 series graphics cards. AMD CEO Dr. Lisa Su demonstrated Borderlands 3 running on the Ryzen 5900X processor and Radeon RX 6000 Series graphics card; delivering 61 frames-per-second in 4K resolution with beautiful image quality, alongside other previews.
More will be revealed about the new GPU on 29 October 2020 during the AMD â€œWhere Gaming Beginsâ€ event at 12am GMT+8.
In the meantime, you can check out the 25-minute presentation from earlier today below:


Covid-19 Causes Metronomik & CD Projekt Employees To Work From Home

The Covid-19 coronavirus has caused some companies to shift towards home-working. Now, local studio Metronomik and Cyberpunk 2077 developer CD Projekt Red are doing the same.
Both companies announced their decisions on Facebook yesterday, just several hours apart. Metronomik wrote that they had “adopted a work from home policy for the coming weeks ahead” while they finish up their upcoming debut title No Straight Roads.
“We hope that everyone out there can stay and look after their loved ones and others around them who may need support,” their post added.

Meanwhile, CD Projekt Red announced that after a week of “gradually rolling out” organization-wide preventive measures, they will now switch to “full remote work” for as long as necessary.
“We think this will grant every team member the highest level of personal health safety. And while this all is a bit new to everyone, we are rising to the challenge and showing no signs of stopping in our effort to bring you some kick-ass role-playing action in September,” they added.

It’s good to see these two video game companies showing concern for their staff, with Metronomik’s decision coinciding with the recent movement restriction announcement in Malaysia as well.
We just hope that no one crunches too hard, though. While Metronomik CEO Wan Hazmer isn’t fond of crunch, the Cyberpunk team found crunching to be inevitable despite their efforts and the game’s release date delay to September.


Here’s Why You Should Consider Poly Voyager Free 60+ UC As Your Next Set of Earbuds

This is a sponsored post brought to you by Poly.
Wireless earbuds have become ubiquitous in recent years, but most users often face challenges when trying to use them for work. If you have tried using conventional wireless earbuds to do voice calls or video calls, the call quality is often below that of dedicated headsets.
 And increasingly, people want to use lightweight and portable wireless earbuds for their hybrid work lives. True wireless earbuds offer a more discreet look versus bulkier headsets.
To meet the needs of professionals who want true wireless audio solution for their work and play, Poly has introduced the Voyager Free 60+ UC earbuds.
One Charging Case To Rule Them All

Instead of having to fumble with controls on your phone or earbud, the Voyager’s unique charging case is designed to be a one-stop control centre you can control the entire audio experience easily.  The case catches your attention immediately due to its unique OLED touchscreen display that lights up with colourful icons when you take the earbuds out or when you press the button that sits next to its USB-C charging port.  Using the touchscreen, you can quickly control music playback, activate active noise cancelling mode, switch devices, adjust the volume and check the battery levels.
 The touchscreen even displays a QR code if you need to download the Poly Lens app (for your phone, PC or Mac) or the product manual.  That is not all.

Inside the case is the additional BT700 USB Bluetooth adapter that lets you quickly connect the Voyager Free 60+ UC to a computer or laptop. This adapter provides a rock-solid wireless connection and a range of up to 30m. The adapter also lets you use the charging case as a mute switch during calls.
 The charging case also becomes Bluetooth transmitter when you use the included USB-C to 3.5mm cable to connect to other devices. This essentially allows you to add wireless connectivity to an inflight entertainment system and will also charge the case at the same time.
The case’s fast-charging capability gives you an extra hour of talk time every 15 minutes and will fully recharge your buds two times for up to 16.5 hours of active call use.
Light and Powerful Earbuds

To meet the modern demands of hybrid work, the Voyager earbuds each have a 3-microphone array that triangulates on your voice and minimizes surrounding noise so you always sound clear during conference calls. Adaptive hybrid active noise cancellation and wind-blocking technologies ensure that you are not distracted when making your business presentation.
The earbuds also offer sidetone technology which feeds your voice back to your ears so you can speak at low volumes instead of raising your voice unnecessarily during calls. The Voyager earbuds have been certified for use with platforms such as Microsoft Teams and Zoom, so you can be assured of a simple plug-and-play experience with every call.
When work is done, it is time for entertainment. Thanks to Poly’s long history in professional audio, the Voyager earbuds provide clear vocals and lifelike sound staging for music or movies. Using multiple devices? You can use the Voyager at the same time with two devices and pair them with up to 8 devices in total.
 In terms of ergonomics, the earbuds are lightweight at only 5.8g so you will often forget you are wearing them. They are also IP54 rated so you need not worry about using them in the rain or during sweat-filled gym sessions.  Finally, you can customize the earbuds by using the Poly Lens app, available on Android, iOS, PC and Mac platforms.
The Voyager Free 60+ UC wireless earbuds are available in Carbon Black and White Sand colours. It comes with a 2-year warranty and is retailing at a recommended retail price of RM1900. Visit here for more information.


Check Out The Anime Rhythm Stylings Of Indie Game Unbeatable

As far as demo tapes go, the music rhythm indie game Unbeatable’s got potential. I sure as heck want to find out how the full album/game sounds like.
Unbeatable sports a Studio Trigger-esque anime art style that’s energetic, accompanied with a rocking soundtrack from sample-heavy hip hop to pop rock you find at both an OP and ED of a shonen you like. That’s important, since Unbeatable is a rhythm game that plays like Muse Dash. You control a pink-haired musician named Beat and you hit an onslaught of rat monsters coming at you like notes on a Guitar Hero lane. Hitting either the D or F key will strike the monsters coming from either the top or bottom, which in turn will be in-sync with the music that’s playing.
[videopress ezMjrMPL]
The challenge is hitting enemies who come out in a frenetic pattern. The game’s camera also flips to either the left or right lane to ramp up the offensive. It gets pretty brutal on Hard and Unbeatable difficulty; the rat onslaught is akin to the highest setting for a 5-star(?) song in your Konami rhythm game of choice.
Thankfully the game has different accessibility options, from “no-fail” mode to toning down the note speed. Of course, if you want to get the best score and think you’re hot s*** in music rhythm games, you can forgo all that and jump straight to the thick of things.
The Unbeatable demo (on Steam right now) also teases the game’s adventure mode where your character Beat is having a late-night practice session with her bandmates Clef, Treble, and Quaver. The catch is the city she’s living in has outlawed music, so what they’re doing is illegal. Selecting the demo tracks in the game also reveals a bit of Beat’s past and life, where she used to fail in music and may have a hard time growing up.

Seems like the game’s adventure portion will have some drama to balance out the levity and hyperactivity of the rest of the game. Let’s hope it doesn’t go overboard with it since what we’re all here for is an eventual full version of an indie music game rhythm-savvy fiesta. For now, you can get the free Unbeatable White Label demo on either Steam or Itch.io.
As a bonus, the Unbeatable song “Worn Out Tapes” is out now on the PC rhythm game Rhythm Doctor as part of an indie game collaboration between D-Cell Games and 7th Beat. The next White Label episode will have the Rhythm Doctor song “Intimate” in its mix.

We're excited to announce the UNBEATABLE x Rhythm Doctor collab!
You can now play Worn Out Tapes in Rhythm Doctor! We had a blast putting this level together.
In the future, @dcellgames will be putting out Loner, their take on our song Intimate, into [white label] Episode 2! ? pic.twitter.com/mkbdbgTCK1
— Rhythm Doctor (@RhythmDrGame) May 7, 2021


Metroid Prime 4 Current Development Is Scrapped; Guess Who’s Fixing It? (Update)

In a move on-par with the company, Nintendo is going to start development on a much-anticipated title from scratch. That game is Metroid Prime 4, which was revealed during E3 2017 week on a special Nintendo Direct video.
According to a recent official video, senior managing executive officer Shinya Takahashi said the game’s current development state is currently below expectations. The developers behind the current build of the game is Bandai Namco Studios Japan and Singapore; the latter is helmed by a number of ex-Lucasart Singapore talent.

The solution? Nintendo will be getting the original guys who did the past Metroid Prime games to re-do the whole game. I’m talking about Retro Studios, the folks who have done stellar work with Nintendo franchises despite the company’s dubious origins.
Furthermore, Retro Studios will be doing a port of the previous Metroid Prime games in one Nintendo Switch package. According to Game Informer senior editor Imran Khan, it’s been long done and its initial announcement was supposed to be last month. He also shared some insider knowledge regarding Metroid Prime 4’s development.

Internal thinking was that it needs to be all under one roof to right the ship. Interestingly, Retro made the pitch for their involvement and put together a demo that Nintendo liked.
— Imran Khan – On Vacation, Don’t Email Me (@imranzomg) January 25, 2019

While it’s sad that the game will be pushed back indefinitely, the last thing we want is another Other M on our hands to stain the memory of Samus and her everlasting fight against outerworldly space pirates. For now, why not use Samus and Zero Suit Samus in that new Smash Bros game everyone’s playing right now?


Dawn Of The Monsters Is 2D Kaiju & Giant Robot Fighting Madness; Out Early 2022

There’s going to be another kaiju fisticuffs game that’s coming out alongside Gigabash, though this one’s a tad different genre-wise.
Publisher WayForward and developer 13AM Games announced a new upcoming 2D beat-em-up title called Dawn of the Monsters. It’s a co-op beat-em-up featuring mechas beating up kaijus and vice versa in a huge cityscape, with the destruction that entails such giant-sized endeavours.
“Players take control of powerful monsters in order to take on the evil Nephilimâ€”a horde of creatures that are hellbent on destroying the planet. Liberate four major metropolitan areas, from Toronto to Tokyo, in this epic action game.
Featuring beautiful 2.5D graphics inspired by the works of Mike Mignola, bone-crunching combat with the depth of a fighter, RPG upgrades, and fully destructible environments. Couch cooperative play is bigger and badder than ever before.”
I like the sound of “the works of Mike Mignola”. The game features four playable monsters: Megadon, Ganira, Aegis Prime, and Tempest Galahad, with designs from Godzilla character creator Shiji Nishikawa and Godzilla comic book artist Matt Frank. The game features 35 missions, two-player co-op, and a customize-your-kaiju mode. Basically, it’s SNK’s King of the Monsters but for 2022.
Dawn of the Monsters will be out in early 2022 for PS5, Xbox Series, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC (Steam). Check out the gameplay below (via IGN).


The Witcher Netflix Series Has Cast The Roles Of Dijkstra, Philippa, & More

Seven actors have officially joined the cast of Netflix’s Witcher show for its second season.
First on the list: Adjoa Andoh (Bridgerton’s Lady Danbury) will be playing Nenneke, who acts as a mother to Geralt in the books. This will be the first time Witcher game fans will get to see her in an adaptation.

Graham McTavish (The Hobbit) will be playing the role of Dijkstra the spymaster and Novigrad crimelord in Witcher 3.

Cassie Clare will be playing sorceress & Lodge of Sorceresses head Philippa Eilhart.

Chris Fulton (Bridgerton) will be playing Mage Rience, while Kevin Doyle (Downton Abbey) will be playing Ba’Lian (new OC).

Finally, Simon Callow and Liz Carr will be playing partners-in-crime Codringher and Fenn.

The second season of The Witcher will be aired in 2021. The show was delayed due to the global pandemic and Henry Cavill suffering a small injury.


House Of Gucci Is An Imbalanced But Entertaining Fall Of A Fashion Empire

Ridley Scott is best known for his science fiction (Alien, Blade Runner) and war epics (Gladiator, Kingdom Of Heaven), but he has done several outliers. House Of Gucci is one of them.
Is this really the Game Of Thrones or The Godfather of fashion? Well, not quite, but it’s not a bad movie either.
Fashion Empire

House Of Gucci is best when you go into the movie with little to no prior knowledge. It’s a compelling story of the family politics within a business dynasty, similar to that of other movies like 1987’s Wall Street. There’s a lot of family melodrama with backstabbing, betrayal, greed, and murder. However, the movie is a bit imbalanced in tone, as most of the first act of the movie is focused on introducing Patrizia Reggiani (Lady Gaga) and Maurizio Gucci (Adam Driver) in an almost rom-com sort of way. If you only watched the first hour or so of the movie, you’d think that the movie is a romantic one.
After they eventually get married, that’s when they get swept up in the squabbles of the Gucci family, including Rodolfo Gucci (Jeremy Irons), Aldo Gucci (Al Pacino), and Paolo Gucci (Jared Leto). Along the way, this sweet couple gets gradually changed for the worse from the corruption brought by the influence of money and power. Unfortunately, that change can feel a bit abrupt. Despite being more than 2 hours and 30 minutes long, the movie tends to linger on side characters and inconsequential parts for too long, so the characters’ development can still feel somewhat undeveloped.
The pacing isn’t too slow or too draggy, but the escalation of some of the characters’ actions can be unnatural and a bit unbelievable. Like I previously mentioned, it’s best to go into House Of Gucci with little to no knowledge of what happens (despite the movie being based on true events), so you can enjoy witnessing and learning how exactly the Gucci family fell apart.Â The movie ultimately switches between campy and serious all the time, so it’s a bit of clash of colours, to put it in fashion terms.
Gucci Gaga

The best performances in House Of Gucci can probably be attributed to Al Pacino, Adam Driver and Lady Gaga. Al Pacino is an experienced and legendary actor, and it shows. He knows when to ham it up. The same can’t be said for Jared Leto, who is comical that he looks like he wandered in from another movie set entirely. Sure, Jared Leto manages to once again delve into another role that makes him unrecognisable, but he tends to overact and becomes a distraction.
Adam Driver pulls off a calm and stoic performance, while Lady Gaga is unsurprisingly a highlight of the movie as well. She’s been one to look out for since A Star Is Born, and this is no exception. The same criticism can be applied to everyone in the movie though when it comes to their accents. While they’re not as bad as some critics would otherwise claim, they still sound inauthentic and forced, especially in regards to Jared Leto and Jeremy Irons. I’d reckon it would be doubly painful and cringe-worthy for native Italian speakers. Why couldn’t Ridley Scott hire real Italian actors and actresses? Well, he didn’t hire French ones either for his other 2021 movie, The Last Duel, but at least that movie didn’t have faux French accents.
Game Of Gucci

If you like family drama and the machinations of the fall of a modern rich dynasty, House Of Gucci is an entertaining 2 and a half or so hours. However, it falls short of being truly good, due to Ridley Scott falling prey to his worst tendencies and not making a tighter movie in terms of tone and balance.
Final Score: 60/100
We attended an early screener of House Of Gucci courtesy of UIP Malaysia. House Of Gucci is slated to premiere on 13 January 2022.
[videopress PdSqx2XR]


Hot Wheels Unleashed 2: Turbocharged Speeds Toward October Release Date

Toy company Mattel and developer Milestone will be releasing the sequel to its Hot Wheels tie-in miniature cars-filled racing game later in 2023.
Hot Wheels Unleashed 2: Turbocharged will be available on 19 October for PC, Xbox Series, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch. The upcoming sequel features all-new mechanics, vehicle styles, and game modes, with one of the modes being a new story-driven campaign mode. Also, here are the miniature vehicles they have in the game so far:

16 Angels
Canyon Carver
Drift King
HW Prototype 12
Maelstrom
MS-T Suzuka
Quad Rod
Splittin’ Image II
Street Stealth
Tiger Shark (Monster Truck)
Way 2 Fast

				Splittin’ Image II

				Quad Rod

				MS-T Suzuka

				Maelstrom

				HW Prototype 12

				Drift King

				Canyon Carver

				16 Angels

				Way 2 Fast

				Tiger Shark (Monster Truck)

This is clearly building atop the first game which earned rave reviews for its arcade racing action and custom track opportunities two years ago. Here is the game’s features list and announcement trailer.

New Tracks: Five distinct environments await players in Hot Wheels Unleashed™ 2 – Turbocharged, each with unique racing surfaces that impact vehicle performance for a more dynamic match experience. Vehicles will also interact with several objects both on and off the track, making races even more unpredictable.
New Abilities – Dash & Jump: Lateral dashing will allow for tactical impacts against opponents, obstacle dodging, and daring overturns until the finish line, while players will also be able to perform dramatic jumps anytime and anywhere. With the press of a button, drivers will have new opportunities to overtake rivals, uncover hidden shortcuts, and discover new track sections. These innovations, alongside the drift and boost features already present in the first game, ensure that each race offers a unique and thrilling experience while giving players more control over their fate.
New Game Modes & Online Features: Hot Wheels Unleashed™ 2 – Turbocharged will feature a variety of new game modes that add a fresh layer of fun and challenges both online and offline, including events that push drivers’ skills to the limit or teach them how to master the art of drifting and avoiding crashes with speed and precision. The fan-favorite, two-player split-screen mode is back to fuel exciting duels on the couch, while a number of improvements, including the ability to create a party with friends and the addition of cross-play*, will ignite the online multiplayer experience.
Enhanced Story-Driven Campaign: A story-driven career mode starring four original characters is another highlight addition to Hot Wheels Unleashed™ 2 – Turbocharged. Each character’s background and personality will be presented through animated cutscenes that will immerse players in a captivating narrative, making their journey into the world of Hot Wheels Unleashed™ 2 – Turbocharged truly unforgettable.
Power To The User:  The refined Track Editor will introduce new special modules and features that increase the diversity of player-generated tracks, whereas a Livery Editor update will introduce the Sticker Editor to create, save, and share original patterns and shapes. To ensure everyone can enjoy the creations of their fellow players, all user-generated content will be shareable cross-platform from Day One of Hot Wheels Unleashed™ 2 – Turbocharged.


[Report] Disney Plus Southeast Asia To Launch In 2021

Disney Plus is arguably the most highly-anticipated streaming service ever. It is slated to launch in selected countries this November (the United States, Canada, and the Netherlands on 12 November 2019, Australia and New Zealand on 19 November 2019). However, other regions will likely have to wait a lot longer for Disney Plus to officially arrive in their territories, especially Southeast Asia.
According to a report by consultancy and research house Media Partners Asia (via Variety), total online video revenue in Asia Pacific is projected to increase by 24 percent in 2019, reaching US$27 billion of advertising and subscription revenue.
The growth is attributed to various factors, including rising investment and competition, better broadband access and development of local content, as well as improving payment infrastructure and IP protection.
Disney Plus is reportedly launching in Japan sometime in 2020, while new entry markets in 2021 are predicted to include Southeast Asia, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan. Keep in mind that these are calculated projections by industry analysts and not meant to be actual launch dates provided by Disney.
In comparison, rivals Netflix launched in the US in 2007 before starting their international expansion with Canada in 2010, with Southeast Asia only receiving the streaming service in 2015/2016. Meanwhile, Apple TV Plus is slated to launch simultaneously worldwide (including Southeast Asia) on 1 November 2019.
Why Is Disney Plus Taking So Long To Launch In Southeast Asia?

It was a very different landscape and market when Netflix launched years ago, Although it took them many years for worldwide expansion, they had the luxury of taking it slow, due to the lack of competition and their dominance. Their late entry into Southeast Asia was excusable.
However, the situation has now changed. With competitors like Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV Plus and more, Disney Plus can’t exactly afford to delay their international expansion. Besides, if Apple TV Plus can launch worldwide simultaneously, why can’t Disney Plus (with all its resources) do the same thing?
I really hope that the projected 2021 launch for Disney Plus turns out to be proven wrong. Disney would benefit more from ensuring that Disney Plus is officially available in as many regions as possible, in order to lessen piracy and increase the chance of them making an impact in today’s crowded streaming market.
With upcoming shows like The Mandalorian and multiple Marvel Cinematic Universe spinoff series in development (not to mention all the other planned content not related to Star Wars or Marvel), there’s definitely enough exclusive and worthwhile content to attract subscribers.
In the end, accessibility and availability are vital for the long-term success of Disney Plus, especially if its hopes to come out on top against its fiercest rivals. A streaming war is coming, and Disney Plus can’t just rely on exclusive content alone to survive (or maybe it can), we’ll have to wait and see.


Demon Slayer The Hinokami Chronicles Post-Launch Update 3 Adds New Playable Demons

SEGA has announced that the Post-launch Update #3 for Demon Slayer Kimetsu No Yaiba The Hinokami Chronicles is now available.Â
In this update, the demons, Enmu and Yushiro & Tamayo, have been added as playable characters for Versus Mode. Enmuâ€™s attacks have a long reach due to the way he uses his hands, and he is also good at chasing people down with projectiles. Yushiro & Tamayo are both demons, but Yushiro is the main fighter for this special pair.Â
This update now adds a 60FPS setting for online battles with other players. New Online Missions, new Rewards, such as new Quotes and Profile Photos, as well as some minor bug fixes are also included.Â
[Post-launch Update #3 – New Playable Characters]Â
Enmu (Voiced by: Daisuke Hirakawa)Â

Lower One of the Twelve Kizuki who serve under Kibutsujiâ€™s direct command, Enmu has a twisted personality and savours the sight of people’s sorrow and grief. After being granted blood from Kibutsuji himself, he attacked Tanjiro and the other Demon Slayers who went aboard the Mugen Train.Â
Enmu is skilled at deploying long-range assaults as well as projectiles that can stop an opponent in their tracks.Â  His Light Attacks and Throw both have a considerable range, allowing him to fight while keeping his opponents at armâ€™s length.
When a Skill is used to obstruct an opponentâ€™s movement, repel an opponentâ€™s attack, hit the opponent, or even counter the opponentâ€™s defence, it becomes an opportunity to utilize a Demon Skill. There are two different ranges and activation times for these Demon Skills, but none can be blocked. They work best when employed to infiltrate your opponentâ€™s head.Â

Yushiro & TamayoÂ
(Voiced by: Daiki Yamashita, Maaya Sakamoto)Â

Tamayo researches demons with the hope of taking revenge on Kibutsuji, the man who turned her into one. Yushiro is a young man whose life was saved by Tamayo by turning him into a demon – her only successful attempt thus far in her research.Â
Yushiro and Tamayo act as a team, with Yushiro as the primary fighter. Yushiro has the ability to strike while dodging his opponentâ€™s attacks, as well as Skills that allow him to attack while warding them off, letting him to â€œleap-frogâ€ into the lead during encounters. Tamayo, who has her own demonic features, may also be summoned by utilizing a Demon Skill, which allows each character to maintain their feeling of individuality while battling as a team.

				Demon Slayer -Kimetsu No Yaiba- The Hinokami Chronicles (64-bit Development PCD3D_SM5)

				Demon Slayer -Kimetsu No Yaiba- The Hinokami Chronicles (64-bit Development PCD3D_SM5)

You can check out my review ofÂ Demon Slayer Kimetsu No Yaiba The Hinokami ChroniclesÂ byÂ heading over here. You could also check out gameplay footage of all the awesome Ultimate Arts (ultimate finishers and super moves) in our video below:


We Talk To Cars’ Larry The Cable Guy About His Favourite Moments Voicing Mater

Cars On The Road is an upcoming spinoff series set in Disney Pixar’s Cars franchise, which starts streaming on Disney+ Hotstar on 8 September 2022.
The series follows Lightning McQueen and his best friend Mater on a cross-country road trip across the United States as they journey eastward to attend a wedding for Mater’s sister. The episodes will depict the characters in various scenarios, for example, them being chased by dinosaur-like cars. It will be set in new locations with a multitude of new characters, including their new friend Ivy, a monster truck who travels with them, as well as feature returns of the already established characters from the franchise.
Owen Wilson and Larry The Cable Guy reprise their roles as Lightning McQueen and Mater, respectively. The executive producer is Pete Docter while Steve Purcell is the writer.
Courtesy of Disney+ Hotstar, we were given the opportunity to interview Larry The Cable Guy (the voice of Mater). This interview has been edited for clarity. Stay tuned for the review of the series.

How does it feel to have voiced an iconic character like Mater for close to/almost two decades now?
Larry The Cable Guy: It feels unbelievable but still not as good as being able to talk to Alleef (laughs).
No, but Alleef, it’s awesome, I pinch myself every day, I can’t believe it, I’m so excited they trusted me to voice the character and I’ll tell you what, the people love it, and it’s, man, I love doing it. And this last series that they’re gonna see on Disney Plus, Cars On The Road, it gets better and better. I mean, it is so good, and I am so happy to be a part of it.
In all these years, what would you say has been your favourite moment of voicing Mater in any of the three movies or even this series?
Larry The Cable Guy: Being able to talk to Alleef (laughs).
I gotta tell you, my favourite moment out of all of Cars, that would obviously be the one that started it all; the first, original Cars. It was so much fun. One of the coolest stories about that was the release was at Charlotte Motor Speedway in North Carolina, and we all went out to eat and I sat across from the awesome Paul Newman, and Paul Newman was a fan, and I talked to Paul Newman all night at the restaurant. He was awesome and that’s a memory I’ll never forget, but the first Cars movie was the one that started it all. It’s iconic, always will be my favourite.
(For Cars On The Road) You know, like I said, they get better and better and there’s just no exception. I knew it was going to be funny and good when I went in to do the read. It was even better than I thought. I laughed hard all through it. I mean, some of the things you laugh through and some of these, I literally bellied laugh at a lot of these scenes.
So, I think people are really going to love the humour in this and I can’t pick a favourite because they’re all good. I know some people like the haunted house and some people like the trucks. I like them all and they’re all equally well. I’m not going to pick a favourite, they’re all good. So you watch them and decide (laughs).
What is like having worked with Owen Wilson again?
Larry The Cable Guy: Owen’s a jerk, I don’t like working with him, I wish they hired somebody else. No, Owen’s awesome, man, he’s a lot of fun. He doesn’t do his own stunts though, like I do, so that’s different. Plus, I’m the only guy that puts on weight to do voiceovers. He doesn’t do that. But no, he’s fun to work with.
You know, I’ve only run into Owen Wilson in person four times but it’s almost like since we’ve been doing these characters together, it’s almost like we’ve known each other forever. He’s awesome. The cool thing about that is that when we hear each other’s voices, when we’re in doing our voices, when they read Owen’s lines for me to do my line, it’s pretty cool because I can already tell without even seeing Owen or hearing Owen what inflections that he’s using. I know which direction’s he’s going, so it makes it really easy to do my lines as well as probably easy for him to do his lines since he knows so much about how I do it. So that really helps a lot and makes it go quicker and makes for an even better read between the two of us.


Call Of Duty Modern Warfare Season 3 Brings Back Backlot And Alex

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Season Three is here, which means another bunch of free content for both the main game and Warzone.
Alongside the brand new content are some familiar sights. There are three new maps coming to Modern Warfare, and one of these is a remastered version of Call of Duty 4‘s Backlot called Talsik Backlot.
The Activision blog says, “for those who are playing this map for the first time, prepare for a great mix of close-quarters combat and long-range sniper duels”.
In addition, Alex from the Modern Warfare campaign is returning as an Operator. While he didn’t perish from his self-sacrifice in the campaign, the promotional image shows that he now has a prosthetic leg. However, it’s clear that he’s still able to serve, and he’ll be joining the battle in Verdansk.

For the other two maps, the three-laned Hovec Sawmill map will feature a mix of mid-range and long-range combat, while Aniyah Incursion is “based around the central palace” from Aniyah Palace, which was made for 10v10 and Ground War.
The blog advises players to look out for the map’s long sightlines and “small crawl spaces” that can be used for flanking and adds that aiming Killstreaks will be tricky here.
Modern Warfare will also see new modes like Demolition, Gun Game Reloaded, and variations of Gunfight are on the way. Meanwhile, Warzone‘s Battle Royale and Plunder modes will let players team up in squads of four in Quads. New modes and playlists that alter the loot pool are promised as well.
There’s also be new Battle Pass content, with weapons like the Renetti handgun and the SKS marksman rifle ready to be earned. You can see the full rundown at Activision’s blog.

I’ve never really understood the appeal of video game Seasons, but in Modern Warfare‘s case, seeing all these free additions in lieu of paid map packs makes me pleased, even though I don’t actually have the game. Maybe I ought to rectify that.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=laxOfJLBpm4&w=560&h=315]


All The Games From Nintendo Direct February 2021

Here it is, folks, the first proper full-length Nintendo Direct since September 2019. The presentation showcased a lot of exciting stuff for Nintendo Switch owners to look forward to.
Check out my full recap and roundup of the Nintendo Direct February 2021 showcase below:

Super Smash Bros Ultimate x Xenoblade Chronicles 2

Pyra and Mythra from Xenoblade Chronicles 2 will join the fighting game sometime in March 2021. They play as one character (two different stances), with her pal Rex joining in for her Final Smash attack.

Fall Guys

Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout is coming to Nintendo Switch sometime in summer 2021.

Outer Wilds

Outer Wilds is coming to Nintendo Switch sometime in summer 2021.

Famicom Detective Club

Famicon Detective Club The Missing Heir and Famicom Detective Club The Girl Who Stands Behind are coming to the Nintendo Switch on 14 May 2021.

Samurai Warriors 5

Koei Tecmo’s Samurai Warriors 5 is coming to the Nintendo Switch sometime in summer 2021.
Legend Of Mana

The remastered Legend Of Mana is coming to the Nintendo Switch on 24 June 2021.

Monster Hunter Rise

Monster Hunter Rise gets a brand new trailer showcasing new areas and monsters, including a creepy giant spider with web-based attacks and moves. It also looks like the shrine twins from earlier trailers can join you in battle as possible A.I companions.
It’s coming to the Nintendo Switch on 26 March 2021.

Mario Golf Super Rush

Mario Golf Super Rush is coming to the Nintendo Switch on 25 June 2021.

Capcom Arcade Stadium

Capcom Arcade Stadium is now available on the Nintendo Switch. Features 30 classic arcade games from Strider to Chiki Chiki Boys.

Tales From The Borderlands

Tales From The Borderlands is coming to the Nintendo Switch on 24 March 2021.

Stubbs The Zombie In Rebel Without A Pulse

Stubbs The Zombie In Rebel Without A Pulse is coming to the Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X and PC on 16 March 2021.

No More Heroes 3

No More Heroes 3 is coming to the Nintendo Switch on 27 August 2021. It looks just as zany as its predecessors; instead of Earth assassins, you have to fight aliens. To duel them, you need to work odd jobs to get the money needed to participate.

Neon White

Neon White is a lightning-fast first-person action game about exterminating demons in Heaven coming soon to Nintendo Switch and PC sometime in winter 2021.

DC Super Hero Girls Teen Power

DC Super Hero Girls Teen Power is coming to the Nintendo Switch on 4 June 2021.

Plants Vs Zombies Battle For Neighborville

Plants Vs Zombies Battle For Neighborville Complete Edition is coming to the Nintendo Switch on 19 March 2021.
Miitopia

Miitopia is coming to the Nintendo Switch on 21 May 2021.

Animal Crossing New Horizons Super Mario

Super Mario Bros. themed furniture and fashion items are coming to Animal Crossing New Horizons in a free update on 25 February 2021. The items will be available from 1 March 2021.

Project Triangle Strategy

Project Triangle Strategy is launching for Nintendo Switch sometime in 2022 and it continues Square Enix’s legacy of tactical RPGs featuring deep gameplay full of choices and consequences, strategically survey the battlefield to gain the upper hand. Basically it’s the Octopath team pulling off their version of Tactics Ogre.
The demo is now available on the Nintendo Switch.

Star Wars Hunters

Get ready for an all-new squad-based, free-to-play arena combat game when Star Wars Hunters comes to Nintendo Switch sometime in 2021.

Knockout City

Knockout City is a team-based multiplayer dodgeball game coming to the PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, PC, and Nintendo Switch on 21 May 2021.

World’s End Club

From the developers of the Danganropa franchise, World’s End Club is coming to the Nintendo Switch on 28 May 2021.

Hades Physical

Supermassive Games’ Hades is getting a physical version on the Nintendo Switch on 19 March 2021.
Ninja Gaiden Master Collection

Publisher Koei Tecmo and developer Team Ninja have announced Ninja Gaiden Master Collection for PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X and PC (Steam). It will launch on 10 June 2021.
Ninja Gaiden Master Collection includes remastered versions of Ninja Gaiden Sigma, Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2, and Ninja Gaiden 3 Razorâ€™s Edge, as well as most previously released DLC.

Hyrule Warriors Age Of Calamity

The Hyrule Warriors Age Of Calamity Expansion Pass will add new characters, stages, and more.

SaGa Frontier Remastered

SaGa Frontier Remastered will launch for PS4, Nintendo Switch, PC via Steam, iOS, and Android on 15 April 2021.
The Legend Of Zelda Skyward Sword HD

Nintendo has announced The Legend Of Zelda Skyward Sword HD for Nintendo Switch. It will launch on 16 July 2021.
Players will be able to wing their sword and angle their slashes to uncover and break through opponentsâ€™ defenses using intuitive motion controls. Link will match the angle of each strike you make with the Joy-Con controller, creating immersive swordplay that relies on strategy and accuracy.
Movements feel smoother and more immediate thanks to the Nintendo Switch systemâ€™s increased processing power and HD graphics. Take advantage of the newly-added button only control scheme; perfect for playing in handheld mode or on the Nintendo Switch Lite system.

Splatoon 3

Splatoon 3 arrives on Nintendo Switch sometime in 2022.
In the wake of chaos, enter the sun-scorched Splatlands and the new city, Splatsville, inhabited by battle-hardened Inklings and Octolings. New weapons, moves, and more await, so be sure to keep an eye out for updates in the future.

You can check out the full Nintendo Direct February 2021 showcase below


Final Fantasy XVI: Everything We Know So Far [Update]

Originally published on 18th September. Now with new video & new info from interviews & features published on 23/6/2022.
Kakuchopurei wouldn’t be what it is without me rambling on about a Final Fantasy game. And we have another major mothership one coming up soon thanks to the recent PS5 showcase. We kinda knew it was coming, but it’s nice to see an official announcement made coupled with gameplay.
Here’s what we know so far. Keep in mind that some of these may be speculative based on the history of the franchise.

It’s For PS5 & PC
In a move pulled off by Microsoft and Xbox eons ago, Square Enix and PlayStation announced on its early morning 4am PS5 showcase that the 16th mainline Final Fantasy title, Final Fantasy XVI, will be out exclusively for PS5, at first. It’ll be out for PC eventually (in very small text at the bottom).
Based on their past track record with FF games, the wait for the PC port will most likely be a year after its PlayStation exclusive release.
It’s Going Back To The Four Crystals Storyline Set By Past FF Games
After the steampunk and real-world mash-ups of parts XIII and XV, Square Enix believes it is time for the series to go back to its medieval and fantasy roots since the very first game on the Famicom and NES. The trailer seems to hint at crystals, the lifeblood of the game’s world. Elemental crystals were the macguffins that drive earlier FF games, so it’s not a stretch that FFXVI might head back to this story well. In other words, less machines, no mechas, and more fantasy ala parts 1, 2, 3, and 5.

As fun as Final Fantasy is when it’s doing steampunk and sci-fi, it’ll be nice to have its single-player games go back to its roots. Speaking of players, you’ll be controlling a Shield, a protector of a person with magical connections to beasties/Final Fantasy espers called Dominants. Your Dominant subject is a kid named Joshua, and he imparts some of his powers to you for fighting. More on combat later.
Based on the trailer, the game is also alluding to a timeskip; there’s a young and older grizzled version of the same Shield character. That should open up more possibilities in interesting narrative developments; something Final Fantasy games excel at.
The Game Will Portray Clive In Three Spans Of His Lifetime
FFXVI will follow the life of main character Clive in three stages: his teens, his 20s, and his 30s.
FFXVI Will Not Have Open World Gameplay
Rather, FFXVI will have large stages and areas that feature narrative quests to optional challenges, similar to games like Final Fantasy VII Remake. To quote, an “independent area-based game design that can give players a better feel of a truly ‘global’ scale”.
There Will Be Ton Of Callbacks
If FFXVI is going to be the “retro” entry like Final Fantasy IX, we may not only see the crystals come into play, but also some classic monsters and espers like malboros, coeurls, Shiva, Titan, and Ifrit making major appearances either as enemies you fight or major plot beats. The latter role seems to gravitate towards Ifrit and Phoenix, as Joshua can somehow transform into those espers.

The espers here are referred to as Eikons. Seems like each nation in this fantasy world has someone who can summon or transform into these god-like beings.

FFXIV’s Naoki Yoshida Will Be Producer

The man who resurrected Final Fantasy XIV from infamy will be working on FFXVI. Known affectionately online as “Yoshi-p”, he has a reputation for keeping the 2013 rebirth of FFXIV alive, kicking, and fresh. He and his team’s approach to rekindling FF nostalgia while turning some of the series’ tropes around is highly praised. No doubt he will do great things for FFXVI, hopefully in varying and controversial ways.
Don’t worry: part 16 will be a single-player RPG. Whether it’ll have online elements or some sort of “live service” shoved into its core gameplay, well, we will have to see if Square Enix’s Avengers game turns out well in the next 6 months.Â
The Guy Who Directed Last Remnant Will Direct This FF

Hiroshi Takai will be helming FFXVI as its director. If you don’t know who that is, here’s a quick refresher:

He was the battle director for Romancing Saga 3, the third in a series of JRPGs that look like a Final Fantasy game but is more unique than you think.
He was working under Naoki Yoshida in FFXIV: Stormblood.
He also worked on the following Square Enix titles: The Bouncer, Legend of Mana, and SaGa Frontier.

There’s also a lot of buzz going around that folks like artist Akihiko Yoshida will be involved, writer Kazutoyo Maehiro to helm the game’s scenario, or even composer Masayoshi Soken making the game’s score (predicted by streamer extraordinaire Riku). In any case, Final Fantasy XIV and Final Fantasy Tactics fans will be pleased with this.
It’ll Probably Use The Same Combat Mechanics As Final Fantasy XV & Final Fantasy VII Remake
[videopress JpXnJgWM]
Square Enix has already made it clear that it’s going the route of the action-RPG and focusing on real-time combat. Naturally, the 16th mothership FF game will stick to what worked in those iterations. And judging from the combat we’ve seen, we’re getting vibes from Devil May Cry and Dragon’s Dogma.
That’s a good thing, though we do hope FFXVI has some sort of AI party system and keep it up to four players. Or maybe have some optional multiplayer options that scale to your party.
Here’s All The New Info From June 2022
A bunch of major publications from GameSpot to IGN have secured exclusive interviews with Naoki Yoshida about the upcoming game. Here’s what we gathered:

Protagonist Clive has an arsenal of powerful attacks and abilities based on traditional Final Fantasy summons, which can be cycled through in real-time, enabling powerful combination attacks. After Clive claims an Eikon’s (summon’s) power, he will be able to unlock its abilities in an “ability tree” through points earned in battle.
There will be times where the player controls an Eikon in real-time, battling other Eikons. Each Eikon vs. Eikon battle is unique. One may be reminiscent of a 3D shooter, while another may be more like a pro wrestling match, while a third may transform the entire arena into a battle field. Each will have slight differences in user interface as well.
Clive will be accompanied by one or more companions for most of his journey, who will participate in battle, as well as banter with Clive. These party members will be AI-controlled.
The wolf-pup from the first trailer is named Torgal. As for whether Torgal will eventually play a role in combat, Yoshida said to “wait and see.”
Creative Business Unit III chose a medieval fantasy style theme for Final Fantasy XVI becasue much of its core members, including Yoshida, simply enjoyed that style the most.
The game uses an “independent area-based game design that can give players a better feel of a truly ‘global’ scale,” and is not open-world.
The game will be “a complete experience” at launch, and there are currently no plans for other tertiary content.
Players will follow the life of Clive through three stages: his teens, his 20s, and his 30s.
Final Fantasy XVI is currently fully playable from start to finish, but voice-overs in multiple languages still need to be recorded, and as it is a very action-oriented game, much play testing is required to fine-tune difficulty, put the final touches on cutscenes, and for full-scale debugging.
A third trailer is planned for release this fall, which will concentrate more on the world, lore, and storyline.

If you want to see my initial impressions, jump to 1:50 on the video below.


Assassin’s Creed Valhalla Story Trailer Teases Beginning Of An Epic Journey

Ubisoft revealed a little more of what to expect from the grand narrative of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla‘s story in a brand new trailer.
Little was revealed about the game’s story and premise before this (with the exception of what we learned from the leaked prequel comic). Now we that several more details about the game’s story.
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla protagonist Eivor has a brother named Sigurd, and they’re going to England to make a new home. However, many enemies lie in wait, including King Alfred of Wessex and even fellow Vikings in the form of the sons of the legendary Ragnar Lothbrok.
It also looks like Eivor and Sigurd will already have met the Hidden Ones (AKA Assassins) even before going to England. The story trailer looks incredible and it seems like a lot of it consists of in-game engine footage, which is impressive.
The synopsis reads:
Become Eivor, a fierce Viking warrior torn between their duty to their brother Sigurd and a personal quest for glory.Driven from Norway by endless wars and dwindling resources, Eivorâ€™s clan must secure a future among the broken kingdoms of England.During their journey, Eivor will come across the Hidden Ones, and face powerful figures including Saxon kings and the warmongering sons of Ragnar Lothbrok, as well as a mysterious, growing threat to Englandâ€™s destiny.
Assassinâ€™s Creed ValhallaÂ is slated to launch on 10 November 2020 for the Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, PS4, the Epic Games Store and Ubisoft Store on PC. However, it will only release for the PS5 on 12 November 2020.
Check out the epic new trailer below:


[Leak] Fall Guys Gets New Crossover With SNK’s Fatal Fury Icons

A leak has appeared on Twitter that Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout is back at it again with yet another crossover collaboration, this time with the Fatal Fury fighting game series from SNK.
Over the many years since the fighting game’s inception, Fatal Fury has collaborated with many different games, notably with Tekken and Super Smash Bros. in recent memory thanks to Geese Howard for the former and Terry Bogard for the latter.
That’s not to say that Fall Guys haven’t done a boat load of collaborations themselves. Crossover skins featured in Fall Guys include Halo’s Master Chief to Super Monkey Ball’s AiAi to Bugsnax’s Filbo Fiddlepie. So there’s surprise that either of these two IPs are collaborating.
The leak came out on 14 July via a video that was Tweeted from Fall Guys insider, @KrxnkyFG. The video showcases two of Fatal Fury’s most recognisable faces: Mai “Nippon Ichi!” Shiranui and Terry “Hungry Wolf” Bogard.

FALL GUYS X FATAL FURY IN-GAME!
– Mai Shiranui– Terry Bogard pic.twitter.com/nL8b5QRcGs
— ? Krxnky – Fall Guys Leaks (@KrxnkyFG) July 14, 2022

Fall Guys’ take on the two Fatal Fury fighters does differ slightly from the source material. Notably, the Mai skin is a lot less revealing than the original counterpart’s outfit which may trigger a vocal minority. The Terry skin has his signature buff arms (from all the Power Dunks and Power Waves), which I must say, looks hilarious on the Fall Guys bean body.
Fall Guys’ developer Mediatonic is yet to officially announce this collaboration. But another leak surfaced on Twitter revealing dates for an event celebrating the skins’ release from another Fall Guys insider, @FGPancake. The even is expected to be from 4 August until 8 August.

Terry & Mai Rumble In! (Fall Guys x Fatal Fury!)
Out NOW! Straight from the mean streets of South Town, Terry & Mai are hitting the Blunderdome with this costume combo! Available in the store for a limited time!– Available: 4th – 8th August pic.twitter.com/TyMZ3ulfVn
— ? Pancake – Fall Guys Leaks + Info ?? (@FGPancake) July 19, 2022

Based off of previous skin releases we can expect that the skins will cost around 1,200 Show Bucks apiece, and crossovers like this are often bundled together for a discounted 2,000 bucks. This wouldn’t leave a huge mark (Of The Wolves) on any fan’s wallets. I would ask if Mediatonic are OK like Terry would, but with the numbers they’re hitting ever since Fall Guys went free-to-play, I’m sure they are.


Man Arrested For Killing Overwatch Brazilian Voice Actress

Justice may have been found for Overwatch fans, particularly Brazillian players.
Christiane Louise de Paula da Silva, the Brazillian voice actress for Mercy, was killed last month (via Overwatch Reddit and Twitter). The Civil Police managed to find and arrest the suspect: an economist by the name of Pedro Paulo Goncalves Vasconcellos da Costa.
Pedro was reported to have killed her in her apartment with a broken chalice. The motive for the murder was that he was intending to keep the actress’ belongings and inheritance. Previously, he confessed to the crime for reasons of self-defense. Previously, they were friends and met in 2017 in a psychiatric clinic. He recently went through a crisis and was staying at her apartment in Ipanema.
Christiane Louise was also the Brazillian voice of Cortana in the Halo games and Sivir in League of Legends.


Remembering The Avengers In Video Games

It’s been 10 years since the very first Iron Man movie made headway. It was the first film that started the whole Marvel Cinematic Universe series that captivated movie-going audiences and made comic book movies serious business. And it’s good too, especially since these heroes, who ended up forming into the supergroup The Avengers, deserve their big break into the mainstream limelight.
Let’s not forget that before all of this, the Avengers were in different cartoon shows and video games, with most of them getting varying degrees of fanfare. And they’re mostly forgettable.
To celebrate the release of the final movie in the 10-year Marvel Cinematic Universe saga, let’s list down our favourite Avenger moments in video game history be it the arcades or the home consoles.
Read More: The Best Video Game Giants
That Time They Were In An Arcade Game

Thank you Data East for creating a simple yet fun beat-em-up featuring Captain America, Iron Man, Vision, and Hawkeye. In Captain America and the Avengers, you fight a bunch of robots and a lot of supervillains like Whirlwind(?), Red Skull, Ultron, The Mandarin, and Crossbones, who is somehow more powerful than half of the guys listed. More powerful than supervillains who have lasers and wind coming out of their fingertips. Video games, right?
Quicksilver gave you powerups to help you out. You get to go on flying 2D sidescroller shooting missions where Captain America and Hawkeye are the only ones on hoverbikes. We think they’re hoverbikes.
That Time When Capcom Took A Stab At Them

Marvel Super Heroes for the arcade might as well be called The Avengers, because half the roster is from that superhero stable. We have Captain America, Iron Man, and The Hulk, each of them with their own special moves and playing style.Â If you want to dig into your comic book lore, Spider-Man and Wolverine were Avengers once.
MSH takes place during the Infinity Gauntlet saga, meaning that they are Infinity Stones to power up your heroes during a fight, and you face off against Doctor Doom and Thanos as final bosses. There’s also a side-scroller on the SNES with the same name, also done up by Capcom. It also was a decent if standard game.
Still, great job with this, Capcom.
That Time They Were In A Four-Player Beat-Em-Up RPG

Marvel Ultimate Alliance, and its sequel that was more focused on a version of the comic’s Civil War saga, was a godsend for comic book fans. You have 23+ superheroes to play as, and a ton of supervillains to pummel as bosses. Best of all, you get to grind for loot to power up your favourite superheroes.
You can even form your own team; naturally, everyone just picked Captain America, Thor, Iron Man, and Hulk, and just rolled with it for the entire campaign.
That Time When They Were In Lego Form

With the Marvel Cinematic Universe being built up since 2008, it’s only a matter of time until the LEGO franchise ride that wave. After LEGO Batman, they got on board the Marvel train with LEGO Marvel Superheroes and a sequel.
Imagine seeing Captain America and Iron Man in LEGO form breaking apart supervillains while collecting bricks to build stuff. What’s really cool about these games is that they include not just the main Avengers, but also new, former members and obscure Marvel heroes like Captain Marvel, Ms. Marvel, Agent Venom, and Spider-Woman. It’s perfect for movie fans, game fans, comic book and pop culture fans of all ages.
That Time They Were In A Kinect Game

The less said about Avengers: Battle For Earth, the better. It was a shallow game that had a simple motion control scheme meant for waggling and for a party crowd. Perfect when drunk, not much for anything else.
That Time Capcom Took Another Stab At Them
10 years later, gamers got their 3v3 fighting game fix in the form of Marvel vs. Capcom 3. And this time, we have the fab four Avengers on the roster, finally. After all, this is the first game where Thor was a playable character in a 3v3 Capcom game. The game itself was awesome, thanks to its incredibly frenetic 3v3 gameplay and colourful roster, as well as an epic final boss battle featuring Galactus the World Eater.

Capcom also released a sequel to that game in 2017, Marvel vs Capcom Infinite, where they brought back the Infinity Stones mechanic and made it much better, as well as streamlined the fighting to a 2v2 fare with better controls and high levels of execution.
Too bad the aesthetics and game modes took a hit, to the point where the community couldn’t be bothered with the game months after the game was out. The fact that the roster did not feature X-Men characters didn’t help too.
That Time They Went Big On Mobile (And Still Are)

Marvel Puzzle Quest. Marvel Strike Force. Marvel Contest of Champions. The F2P gaming market is always booming, so why shouldn’t Marvel capitalize on the effectiveness of these games reaching the mass market? These games have lasted for a long time since their inception a few years back, with Marvel Strike Force being the latest. Odds are with its mechanics, it will last for a few more years.
Like it or not, this is basically the fate of the Avengers (and every other Marvel hero who was in that group) in the realm of video games: free-to-play titles with hero/gacha monetization.


Baiken Will Be The Next DLC Character In Guilty Gear Strive

Arc System Works made a number of fighting game headlines during this year’s CEO fighting game tournament.
First, it’s adding rollback netcode to Blazblue: Centralfiction and BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle next year, with the beta starting on 6th December (today). Then, it dropped this Guilty Gear Strive tease:

As you can tell from the feature picture and headline on this story, Baiken is making a comeback as the game’s DLC character in January 2022. No doubt she’ll have her same endowed look and Tatami Gaeshi defense-focused fighting style, streamlined for GG Strive no doubt. She’ll most likely be available as a separate DLC as well, apart from being in Season 1 pass.
For now, players can check out Happy Chaos who came out in GG Strive last week.


Witchfire Early Access Delayed To Early 2023; Here’s Why

The arena shooter Witchfire is supposed to host an early access mode later this year, but now that’s been delayed due to a redesign most beneficial.
Witchfire’s early access will instead be out in early 2023, due to an upgrade. Instead of the close-quarter shooting you saw in past trailers, the game is getting an open-world fighting type structure. Developer The Astronauts creative director Adrian Chmielarz shared more details on a blog post:

“The feature is now 95 percent implemented. It makes the game better. It is kind of hard for me to imagine the player did not have that freedom before. Sure, you can still be trapped by the witch in this or that spot, and some doors will be closed until you find a key, and it might be too dangerous to enter areas closer to the boss before you are ready—but the world is wide open for you to explore in almost any order, and you can both push forward and retreat as you please.”

The devs will share more details later this October.

“[E]xpect something nice in a week or two. Let’s call it Witchfire Halloween Week. It won’t be any gameplay footage or stream or such, but if you are interested in the story and the world and great 2D art, it’s going to be a treat.”

Check out the gameplay below, in case you need a refresher.


New Babylonâ€™s Fall Trailer Shows Off Combat and Weapon Types

Babylonâ€™s Fallâ€™s latest Combat 101 trailer gives us a close look at PlatinumGamesâ€™ latest action game, showcasing combat, weapon types and their loot system.
Published by Square Enix, Babylonâ€™s Fall latest trailer showed us a glimpse into how the combat plays out, with players taking control of Sentinels. Theyâ€™re equipped with a Gideon Coffin, a magical disk attached to the playerâ€™s back that allows them to utilize the God Thread, being able to control glowing red threads to manipulate weapons or used as a grappling hook.

The combat uses a four weapon system, with two weapons being wielded by your hands and two additional spectral weapons controlled by the God Thread & players are incentivized to combine them fluidly. The trailer showed off the weapons types available which are swords that you can combo with rapid slashes, hammers that charge for heavy, devastating swings, along with bows and rods for those who prefer a ranged approach. Rods seem to have different types such as blast rods and nova rods, which can be used to play a more supportive role using buffs and debuffs. We even get to use shields which uniquely seem to be its own specific weapon type that favours a defensive, parry focused playstyle.

We also get a look at the loot system, which seems to be more on the Diablo-esque side with weapon drops and chests to break open. The game will also include multiple seasons of content with the Season 1 roadmap giving us an overview:

Game modes

Skirmish: Side quests where you will encounter mighty â€œInfamous enemiesâ€.
Siege: Quests that change weekly and offer special rewards.
Duel: Quests focused on battles against powerful bosses.
Gauntlet: Quests where players compete to achieve the highest score on special stages.

Additional faction: Molzamite
Additional weapon type: Labrys
New story content, new bosses, armour, quests and more!

Square Enix also announced the NieR: Automata collaboration taking place in Babylonâ€™s Fall during Season 1. Featuring costumes, enemies, and a dungeon inspired by NieR: Automata, NieR fans wonâ€™t want to miss out on this limited-time event.
http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UdjHVUDPno
Those interested in trying out the game can download the demo now which is available on Playstation 5 and Playstation 4, and progress from it carries on to the full game when it launches on 3rd March.


Ghostbusters: Afterlife Relentlessly Bludgeons You With Nostalgia, And It Feels So Good

Making a sequel that’s better than the 2016 Ghostbusters “remake” is not exactly hard and is really a low bar for people to easily vault over. Just don’t retread the same plot point and make it charming plus funny. Or if you cannot make it a pure comedy, just change the tone a bit and make it an adventure with some throwbacks here and there.
Buying The Farm

Ghostbusters: Afterlife is basically the latter, but with a bit too many throwbacks to overload the back of a Cadillac with a custom siren.Â The story revolves around a family who inherits a farmhouse in a dead-ass town. The ghostbusting in the title refers to the fact that the town itself has supernatural nonsense brewing and that the family is related to a renowned member of the Ghostbusters crew and the New York incident in the 80s.
So it’s up to the kids Phoebe (Mckenna Grace) and Trevor (Finn Wolfhard) alongside Podcast (Logan Kim) and Lucky (Celeste O’Connor) to figure out the mystery and try to save the day from an impending ghost-related disaster. Except it’s mostly Phoebe and her super-smart brain and love for science doing the heavy lifting while the other kids and their roles fall into place for plot reasons. Still, the show would be unbearable without Mckenna Grace’s delivery and performance; she steals the scene and works well in being the catalyst to the title’s busting and spooky nonsense. The adults fare just as fine with Paul Rudd’s Mr. Grooberson as the teacher in the school the kids are in and Carrie Coon as Phoebe and Trevor’s mother Callie.
A quick glance at IMDB shows that the nostalgia and callbacks really strong in this one since this movie wouldn’t be what it is without the appearances of certain characters in the original Ghostbusters film. Tagline thrown in? Check. An exposition scene featuring one of the main cast of the old film? Check. The reunion that looks very awkward and arguably pathetic without the rose-tinted glasses and with a critical & cynical eye, along with no build-up and hinting to boot? Check.
But really, this film is made for the fans burnt by the 2016 Ghostbusters film and really eat up the old films, cartoons, and video game tie-ins like a religion of sorts. In that regard, the film succeeds on that count, especially with the emotionally-manipulative-but-still-heartfelt-tribute-laced climax. And the post-credits stuff holds some promise of seeing a Ghostbusting film future with possibly new storylines in that franchise
Who Ya Gonna Call?

Ghostbusters: Afterlife is a respectful and lovely fanservice-laden sequel that hits all the right notes and feels. Unless you haven’t seen the first two Ghostbusters films and aren’t in tune with the 80s cartoon series, then all of this is definitely lost on you. The “memberberries” and references can be incredibly heavy-handed to the point of choking the spirit out of you, but the film is meant to cater to that particular demographic who ejaculate in their pants the moment they hear the Ecto-1 siren. And for fans of Stranger Things by association because of Finn Wolfhard’s appearance. I want to say “casting”, but he really doesn’t have much of an arc.
Your enjoyment of the film is reliant on whether you don’t mind the throwbacks and recurring plot elements replacing the film’s second half. Still, I’ve seen worst methods of pandering towards manchildren who love certain sci-fi franchises that denounces change like it’s the devil. The heart of the show is definitely Mckenna Grace complemented by the rest of the cast like Carrie Coon and Paul Rudd, and the many, MANY references and nostalgia bits up to the emotional climax is handled with care. So it’s not all bad, at least to someone like me who can’t get the Ray Park Jr. song out of his custom Spotify playlists and rewatches the classic 1984 film on an annual basis.
Final Score: 70/100


This Week In Overwatch Esports News: 11 December

As of now, all teams are set for Overwatch League Season 2. Let’s recap what was revealed so far.
Washington is now Washington Justice with Full Rosters!
Washington decided to go with a very patriotic with the USA by announcing the team branding as Washington Justice with the colour red, blue, & white alongside their team colours.

Courage, honor, loyalty, sacrifice. But most important is justice ??
We're stoked to be a part of #OWL2019 and we can't wait to show you everything we've got! #JusticeIsServed pic.twitter.com/9I8OEo1xdd
— Washington Justice (@washjustice) December 3, 2018

The team is owned by Washington Esports Ventures, a sports organization founded by Mark Ein, owner of the Washington Kastles of World Team Tennis.
In a series of tweets, Washington also announced their full rosters which comprised of players from Korean Contenders, ex-Shanghai Dragons, ex-Seoul Dynasty, & North America Contenders. Here’s the full list of players:

Corey “Corey” Nigra – DPS (previously Gladiators Legion, NA Contenders)
Ethan “Stratus” Yankel – DPS (previously NRG Esports, NA Contenders)
Kim “SanSam” Hyang-ki – Off Tank (previously Meta Athena, KR Contenders)
Mun “Gido” Gi-do – Flex Support (previously Seoul Dynasty, OWL 2018)
Riley “Fahzix” Taylor – Support (previously NRG Esports, NA Contenders)
Cho “Hyeonu” Hyeon-woo – Support (previously WGS Armament, KR Contenders)
Cheon “Ado” Ky-Hyeon – DPS (previously Shanghai Dragons, OWL 2018)

Where there is unity, there is always victory ??#JusticeIsServed pic.twitter.com/5mmiYsiVbw
— Washington Justice (@washjustice) December 6, 2018

I’m just glad to see Ado is back in the OWL scene. Though Shanghai did not win a single map during OWL 2018, he was a really good DPS player.
Overwatch League Releases Opening Schedule During New Episode of Watchpoint
With all the teams having announced their team branding & rosters, the Overwatch League broadcasted a 2+ hour special of Watchpoint, a show to preview upcoming matches.
In this special Watchpoint episode, the casters and analyst of OWL which include Soe, Puckett, Bren & Sideshow made their own analysis of the team rosters & predictions of OWL 2019 outcome. They certainly did not mince their words.

There you have it. ?
These are your #OWL2019 opening week matchups!
Which one are you the most hyped for!? pic.twitter.com/vPUOZOW9vn
— Overwatch League (@overwatchleague) December 6, 2018

You can watch the whole recording of Watchpoint on Twitch here. During this episode, they worked with the V for Foundation of Cancer ResearchÂ to raise awareness and donation for cancer research. We thank the people in Overwatch League for including this foundation as part of the episode.
Malik also took the chance to interview Sleepy & Danteh who used to be teammates together but now are on different teams; as well as the Atlanta Reign CEO & President who told everyone that he main D.Va but was very bad at the game.
The show introduced significant format changes for OWL 2019 which will start 14 February. These include the following:

Four-day matches instead of three per week due to the increasing number of teams.
All-Stars now will be played at the end of Stage 2 instead of Grand Finals.
There will now be road games, where the teams will be playing at their home turf instead of Blizzard Arena 100%
The top 6 teams will move to the playoffs. The bottom six team will compete for the other 2 spots for playoffs.

Valentine’s Day next year can’t come soon enough!
Overwatch Won Best Esports Game in The Game Awards 2018
The Game Awards gave the “Best Esports Game” trophy to Overwatch, beating out other games in the category like CS:GO and Dota 2.

Best Esports Game goes to… @PlayOverwatch! #TheGameAwards
— The Game Awards (@thegameawards) December 7, 2018

Gamer’s Choice Awards – Profit, Monte, DOA & Goldenboy won Awards
As the year almost ends, more awards are being awarded and I’m glad to see more Overwatch players & casters getting the wins.
Named as the first ever network gaming and esports awards show, the Gamersâ€™ Choice Awards was announced earlier this week. Profit took home the award for Fan Favorite Esports Player of the Year, while Monte & DOA took home the Fan Favorite Esports Caster Duo of the Year!

Congrats to @MonteCristo & @ggDoA for winning the very first #gamerschoiceawards For Fan Favorite Esports Caster Duo of the Year! ?? pic.twitter.com/kbDSrqEnhu
— Gamers' Choice Awards (@gamerschoicetv) December 9, 2018

Congrats to @ProfitOW for winning the very first #gamerschoiceawards For Fan Favorite Esports Player (Overwatch) of the Year! ?? pic.twitter.com/tDNohzwWmR
— Gamers' Choice Awards (@gamerschoicetv) December 9, 2018

Goldenboy snagged another award for Fan Favorite Esports Host of the Year. Congratulations to everyone!

CONGRATULATIONS TO @GoldenboyFTW For Fan Favorite Esports Host!!#gamerschoiceawards pic.twitter.com/46S9mrnrRY
— Gamers' Choice Awards (@gamerschoicetv) December 9, 2018

Striker Gets Released By Boston Uprising, Gets Picked Up By San Francisco Shock
In a world where the GOATS tactic rule the meta, the Boston Uprising has released their star Tracer player, Striker.
This came as a surprise as it was for Striker & Mistakes -who was also released by Uprising- that brought the team to their amazing performance in Stage 3. Boston now has 2 DPS in their team, blase & Colourhex.

Today we bid farewell to @STRIKER_OW.
Thank you for your hard work and we wish you the best with @SFShock.
?: https://t.co/fO6NyQd29K pic.twitter.com/nd5UYedZOD
— Boston Uprising (@BostonUprising) December 3, 2018

Striker, being the amazing DPS as he is, has found a home with San Francisco Shock. This addition can be considered aÂ shock factor as San Francisco now have a total of 6 DPS users in their team.

Chef @ShockCrusty is cooking something special for Season 2 of @OverwatchLeague…
One ingredient was missing… Until now pic.twitter.com/dhO5Rq6tGx
— San Francisco Shock (@SFShock) December 3, 2018

I’m not sure what is Shock trying to achieve. Perhaps they have the answer to the current GOATS meta, but having 6 DPSes in a team is a bit much. We’ve seen Sinatraa being benched quite a lot last time during OWL 2018. Maybe we’ll see some sick plays from Shock next season, but this certainly raises questions among the community.
Boston Uprising Signed alemao
Alemao might be the first South America Contenders player to make it to the Overwatch League. Signed as the main support for Boston Uprising, alemao will fight alongside AimGod & Kellex who was the previous support duo.

Bem vindo, @alemao182!
We’re happy to have you as a part of #BostonUp. pic.twitter.com/dmD4tocNcY
— Boston Uprising (@BostonUprising) December 5, 2018

Alemao was previously with based tryouts, a team formerly known as Brasil Gaming House. The team had won both Season 1 & Season 2 of South America Contenders. I do hope more talented players from South America will make it to the league!
ZachaREEE Joined Dallas Fuel
In the latest addition for Dallas Fuel, we have ZachaREE who is now Dallas Fuel’s Flex DPS.

Give a warm welcome to our 10th player and new flex DPS, @zacklombardo! ?? pic.twitter.com/QUIAi9hahD
— Dallas Fuel (@DallasFuel) December 3, 2018

â€‹ZachaREE is only 17 years old, and at his age he has represented Team USA in the Overwatch World Cup 2018. He was also the DPS player for Fusion University, the team that won both Season 1 & Season 2 of North America Contenders.
ZachaREE’s name had been on the mouth of the community what’s with him being 17 and showing massive talent as DPS, particulary as Widowmaker. We have a lot of Widowmaker stars currently in the Overwatch League.
Dallas Fuel now have 4 DPS in their team; ZachaREE, Taimou, EFFECT & aKm. Though not as many DPS as San Francisco Shock, we wonder whether Dallas Fuel have also found an answer to the GOATS meta in the coming season.
Showmatch Between Seoul Dynasty & Guangzhou Charge
Seoul Dynasty announced a Pacific Challenge exhibition match between Seoul Dynasty & Guangzhou Charge.

ANNOUNCING THE PACIFIC CHALLENGE!
Are you ready to watch the #SeoulDynasty take on the @GZCharge?
Tickets go on sale today at 4PM KST! Check back on our SNS for the link later today!!
Come & watch your favorite players before they head off to @overwatchleague! pic.twitter.com/uh2qCORnXA
— Seoul Dynasty ? (@SeoulDynasty) December 11, 2018

This is not just an online challenge. In fact, this event sounds more like a fan meet than anything. The friendly showmatch will be held at the Incheon Paradise City Hotel on 29-December-2018, 5pm Malaysia time/ GMT+8. This will be the final event for the fans to meet their players before they the country for OWL 2019.
There will also be a private fan meet and performance by Kpop/HipHop group, Epik High. Another interesting tidbit to note is that not only the fans will be able to meet the players, they can also take photos with the players “styled in the latest trends”.
I wonder what will Ryujehong looked like in the latest trends what with his latest hair do. (Thank you to gatamchun for the translations)

Seoul Dynasty to hold a friendly showmatch with Guangzhou Charge https://t.co/FzzMUNGFGJ
— ??? (@gatamchun) December 11, 2018

It’ll be two more months to OWL 2019 in Los Angeles. You can bet there will be more news and updates during the off-season. Stay tuned to Kakuchopurei for that.


HBO’s His Dark Materials Season 2 Drops This November

HBO has unveiled the release date forÂ His Dark MaterialsÂ Season 2. Additional cast members joining the second season include legendary British actor Terence Stamp as Giacomo Paradisi, Jade Anouka as Ruta Skadi and Simone Kirby as Dr. Mary Malone.
It will be based on the second book of Phillip Pullmanâ€™s fantasy series;Â The Subtle Knife.

#NewWorldsAwait Season 2 begins November 16 on @HBOMax. pic.twitter.com/hs9Rcvx6C5— His Dark Materials (@daemonsanddust) October 12, 2020

His Dark MaterialsÂ Season 2 is slated to premiere sometime on 16 November 2020, though it has been shortened to only seven episodes when it was originally eight (due to filming being disrupted by COVID-19).
In the meantime, check out the trailer below:


Here Are Your Malaysian Overwatch World Cup Players

The Overwatch World Cup is just around the corner and Team Malaysia has announced its players! Take a look:

In line with the recently implemented Role Lock, the team members are categorised according to the roles they’ll be playing. With all team members chosen and the committee members working together, Team Malaysia will now be working hard to face the world.

“The players and coach are skilled and have good chemistry, I’d highly recommend other teams to watch out!”

– Sun “megikari” San, Malaysia’s Overwatch World Cup Community Manager.
If you want to follow each player and maybe even give them some supporting shout-outs, you can find them on social media through their respective accounts:

Andeh – @Andehyo
KRITZ – @kenji_tangkc
Play2Learn – @AsianSnackDino
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There’s Going To Be A Star Wars Hotel In Walt Disney World Modeled After A Starcruiser Interior

A lot of you Star Wars fans are aware of Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge, the new Star Wars-themed area at Disneyland in Anaheim, California. Unsurprisingly, the Walt Disney World park in Orlando, Florida, is getting its own space-immersive hotel too and it’s called Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser.
Announced during a D23 2019 press preview event, the starcruiser is actually called the Halcyon in Star Wars lore and it’s owned by a company called Chandrila Star Line. If Chandrila sounds familiar to you, it’s because that’s where Chancellor of the New Republic Mon Mothma is from. Here’s how the starcruiser looks like (via io9):

..and here’s how it looks like in the inside if there were Star Wars cosplayers guests in the hotel interiors:

We’ll be getting more details on the hotel’s opening date, costs, and more later on this week. For now, just salivate at the fact that you can dress up as Wookies or Storm Troopers to just relax in one of DisneyWorld’s lavishly-expensive theme hotels.