Disney Plus February 2020 Lineup Features Star Wars The Clone Wars, Avengers Anime & More

Disney Plus has announced library lineup and original titles which will be available to stream this month in February 2020.
The biggest highlight of the month is Star Wars The Clone Wars Season 7. The final season of the underrated and canon animated series will focus on the Siege Of Mandalore, one of the biggest and final conflicts of The Clone Wars.
The Jedi and Republic will attempt to liberate the Mandalorian home planet from the clutches of Darth Maul. In the meantime, head on over hereÂ for the chronological guide toÂ Star Wars The Clone WarsÂ and the best story arcs in the series to date.

Another interesting offering is Marvel Future Avengers, an anime version of Marvel’s Avengers produced by Madhouse and will be released internationally for the first time on Disney Plus.

Here is the complete list of titles as of 3 February 2020:
Saturday, 1 February 2020
Around the World in 80 Days
Big Business
The SandlotÂ (Returning Title)
Wicked TunaÂ (Seasons 1â€“2)
Sunday, 2 February 2020
Descendants 3
Wednesday, 5 February 2020
Toy Story 4
Friday, 7 February 2020
Diary of a Future PresidentÂ (Episode 104â€”â€œThe National Mallâ€)
Disney Family SundaysÂ (Episode 114â€”â€œToy Story: Toy Binsâ€)
Marvelâ€™s Hero ProjectÂ (Episode 114â€”â€œDynamic Danielleâ€)
One Day at DisneyÂ (Episode 110â€”â€œGrace Lee: Storybook Artistâ€)
Timmy Failure: Mistakes Were MadeÂ (Premiere)
Sunday, 9 February 2020
Old Dogs
Friday, 14 February 2020
My Dog, The Thief
Splash
Because of Winn-Dixie
Diary of a Future PresidentÂ (Episode 105â€”â€œWhistleblowerâ€)
Disneyâ€™s Fairy Tale WeddingsÂ (Episode 201â€”â€œMarching Down the Aisleâ€) (Premiere)
Disney Family SundaysÂ (Episode 115â€”â€œPrincess and the Frog: Lily Padsâ€)
Marvelâ€™s Hero ProjectÂ (Episode 115â€”â€œRoving Robbieâ€)
One Day at DisneyÂ (Episode 111â€”â€œKristina Dewberry: Imagineering Construction Managerâ€)
Sunday, 16 February 2020
Marvelâ€™s Iron Man & Hulk: Heroes United
Thursday, 20 February 2020
Marvel Rising: Operation Shuri
Marvel Rising: Playing with Fire
Friday, 21 February 2020
Unlikely Animal FriendsÂ (Season 1â€“2)
Diary of a Future PresidentÂ (Episode 106â€”â€œHabeas Corpusâ€)
Disneyâ€™s Fairy Tale WeddingsÂ (Episode 202â€”â€œAlaska to Marry Meâ€)
Disney Family SundaysÂ (Episode 116â€”â€œAristocats: Headbandsâ€)
Marvelâ€™s Hero ProjectÂ (Episode 116â€”â€œGenesis the Amazing Animal Allyâ€)
One Day at DisneyÂ (Episode 112â€”â€œVince Caro: Pixar Recording Engineerâ€)
Star Wars: The Clone WarsÂ (Episode 701â€”â€œThe Bad Batchâ€) (Premiere)
Thursday, 25 February 2020
Star Wars ResistanceÂ (Season 2)
Friday, 28 February 2020
I Captured the King of the Leprechauns
Imagination MoversÂ (Seasons 1â€“3)
Marvelâ€™s Future AvengersÂ (Season 1)
Phineas and Ferb: Star Wars
Diary of a Future PresidentÂ (Episode 107â€”â€œForeign Relationsâ€)
Disneyâ€™s Fairy Tale WeddingsÂ (Episode 203â€”â€œA Flashy Proposalâ€)
Disney Family SundaysÂ (Episode 117â€”â€œLion King: Paint Pour Artworkâ€)
Marvelâ€™s Hero ProjectÂ (Episode 117â€”â€œSuperior Salvadorâ€)
One Day at DisneyÂ (Episode 113â€”â€œLupe de Santiago: Seamtressâ€)
Shop ClassÂ (Episode 101â€”â€œHole-in-Wonâ€) (SeriesÂ Premiere)
Star Wars: The Clone WarsÂ (Episode 702â€”â€œA Distant Echoâ€)
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLgRwsQnk3Q&w=560&h=315]


Onmyoji The Card Game Launches In Singapore, Thailand & Phillippines Today

Developed by NetEase Games, Onmyoji: The Card Game is a new digital card game and a spinoff of RPG game Onmyoji. It launches today in Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines and Australia.
Onmyoji: The Card Game is a duel card game featuring the iconic Japanese style fantasy world view, where players step into Shinkiro, the exclusive land of Yokai and enjoy Hyakubun, the most popular card game there.
With each duel, players will be able to unlock fascinating stories about Yokai and encounter their favourite Shikigami from Onmyoji once again.

The game also features a card duel gameplay system which requires players to build a deck with 4 Shikigami and their exclusive cards. Each card has a unique function, affording the duels with card upgrade, transformation, and combination.
During the launch period, players can also look forward to tons of free content and activities, such as Launch Rally Bonus and Seven-day Sign-in Daily Rewards.

Activity 1: Launch Rally Bonus
After the game is officially launched, bonuses for all players will be unlocked according to the rally number. There are five target numbers of rallying, the more players participate the bigger the bonus goes: Gold6666 for reaching 20,000, Myth Scroll10 for reaching 100,000, Jikikaeru Ticket15 for reaching 250,000, Talisman200 for reaching 400,000, and the special title Joyful Gathering for reaching the final target number 600,000.
Activity 2: Seven-day Sign-in Daily Rewards
Upon launch, players can log-in and get rewards every day on the first 7 days, including Card Packs, the exclusive card of popular Shikigami; Evolved: Shuten Doji, a random SSR, and special card back; Gather Together.

You can download the game now on the Google Play Store or the Apple App Store. In the meantime, check out the trailer below:


Street Fighter 5 To Add Dan, Rose, Oro, & Rival School’s Akira

Capcom has announced the characters who will appear in Street Fighter 5 for its fifth and final season of the game. In case you didn’t see the headline, it’s Dan…

…Rose…

…Oro…

…and Rival School’s Akira. The last one’s quite a surprise for many of us.

There’s also a fifth and final character, but the team will be saving that announcement on a later date. Due to COVID-19, production on new content has been slow on Capcom’s side, so these characters will only start rolling out later on Winter 2020. Here’s a breakdown of Street Fighter 5’s Season V roadmap.
Winter 2020

New character: Dan
New Stage: Capcom Pro Tour 2021 stage
New costumes: Sporty x3, Nostalgia, CPT 2021 x2, Fan Design x2
New battle mechanic
New battle balance

Spring 2020

New character: Rose
New stage: Rose stage
New costume: Professional Costumes

Summer 2021

New characters: Oro, Akira Kazama
New Stage: Akira

Fall 2021

New character: ???
New Stage: CPT 2022
New costume: CPT 2022 x3

Two Alpha characters, one SFIII character, and a Capcom universe character from a long-forgotten fighting game. Don’t that beat all?

Top image credit: Virak


GRID Release Date Postponed To October

Codemasters‘ Community Manager Chris Groves announced that GRID will be released on 11 October 2019. The racing game was initially set to release on 13 September 2019.
Those who pre-ordered the Ultimate Edition will still be able to play the game 3 days earlier on 8 October 2019. The game will remain as one of Google Stadia‘s launch titles which will be launched in November this year.

In the blog post, Groves stated that “the change has been made to give added exposure to a game we’re hugely excited about,” or in simpler terms, to build more hype.
GRID is a reboot of the popular racing game franchise and will be playable on PS4, Xbox One, and PC.


Frostpunk Is Getting A Sequel

11 Bit Studios, the makers of Frostpunk, is making a sequel to its hit city-building survival game.
Unsurprisingly titled Frostpunk 2, the announcement trailer below shows that the world is still in an endless winter, set 30 years after the end of the first game’s campaign. Coal-burning is giving way to an important new resource, with the age of oil taking over.

Here’s the official description of the sequel:
“In Frostpunkâ€™s successor, players are once again tasked with playing as the leader of a resource-hungry metropolis where the expansion and search for new sources of power is an unavoidable reality. But the apocalyptic world has moved on. After the age of coal, conquering Frostland for the oil extraction industry is expected to be the new salvation of whatâ€™s left of humanity.”
No release date has been mentioned yet, but at least we know Frostpunk 2 will be out for PC via Steam, Epic Games, and GOG.com.


Assassin’s Creed Valhalla Had The Biggest Launch In Franchise History

Only about a week after its release on 10 November 2020, Ubisoft has announced that Assassin’s Creed Valhalla had the biggest launch in the history of the franchise, which spans more than a decade since 2007’s Assassin’s Creed.
According to the French developer/publisher, Assassinâ€™s Creed Valhalla has sold more units in its first week than any other Assassinâ€™s Creed game sold during the same period.
Assassinâ€™s Creed Valhalla has also broken the record for biggest PC launch for any Ubisoft game ever. For comparison, analyst Daniel Ahmad tweeted that 2012’s Assassin’s Creed 3 was previously the biggest launch in the franchise, selling 3.5 million units in its first week.
What this means is that Assassin’s Creed Valhalla must have sold even more than 3.5 million units in its first week, though we still don’t have any exact numbers.
Statistics provided by Ubisoft’s press release revealed that Assassin’s Creed Valhalla players have already collectively covered more than four million kilometres, built over 55 million buildings in their settlements and players over 3.5 million games of Orlog have been won so far. In addition, over 1.8 million players have won at least one drinking game since launch.
In the meantime, check out our full review of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla here, or head on over here for our guide on how to be the best Viking in the game.


Is There Still A Need For Dauntless, Now With Monster Hunter On PC?

Dauntless is a free PC game on Steam that fills in a niche that was sorely needed: an action RPG-like game focused on hunting big game that can trash you in a few hits. Unfortunately, that field may have been dominated early by the PC version of Capcom’s Monster Hunter entry.
But I digress; there’s still some room for something like Dauntless, and I’ll tell you why.
Creature Combateer
Playing through the most recent “final” version of the game, I felt that the game is meaty enough to warrant spending money on. Its character customization is surprisingly deep, its combat system is flexible to get into, and the fights tether on the line between fun and creative.
The latter point escalates especially when you’re fighting against bigger low-level enemies like the owlbear Shrike. It flings tornadoes, does a ground pound after leaping into the air, and can be a mother to beat unless you have three other hunters with you. The bulky lizard Skarn can have its rocky outer shell float around as a fighting move. Watch out when its rocks start snapping off of its body; it’ll unleash a whirlwind vortex-like move that will deal massive damage.

The fact that your weapons and skillset aren’t as animation-heavy as other big game hunting titles is a boon for players who want a slick action game with literal giant challenges to test against.

Due to its pacing, Dauntless is a quicker alternative where you get in, kill the beast(s), and then get out.
Giant Burdens
This is assuming the servers don’t konk out along the way, of course. And boy does that happen when you’re playing all the way in sunny Southeast Asia. When you’re playing by yourself, it can get a bit dicey. But when you’re looking for three other people, you can expect to wait longer than 5 minutes because its matchmaking needs a lot of fine-tuning.
And then we have to address the elephant in the room: the fact that Monster Hunter: World exists on PC. Dauntless is a free-to-play title that offers a lot in the action game genre, but because of Capcom’s brand, people are alright with forking over RM200 (or less) for a game you can play offline and online that offers plenty more.
As fun as Dauntless’ combat system is, it isn’t going to win when it comes to the risk/reward and the sheer complexity of MHW. MHW’s weapons require a lot of patience in learning their nuances; that’s why videos like players using the insect glaive and charge blade get more love than past Dauntless gameplay vids during beta.
The commitment levels in MHW is also noteworthy; it means that the game demands attention from its players and rewards them for it. It may not be a drive-by experience like Dauntless (which can be a boon for some), but it makes sure you enjoy the thrill ride of pursuing a beast of burden.

That’s not to say there isn’t any value in Dauntless; think of it as a basic MH-style game you can jump into a few weeks after all of its network bugs have been ironed out.

The game’s aesthetics are still brilliant, and just wailing on its giant bestiary with other people is a ton of fun and isn’t as time-consuming and attention-demanding as MH.
But once the initial few weeks of fun are over, and you want something a bit more substantial, you should be ready to plonk in US$60 for that copy of MHW.
It’s not an insult to shelve Dauntless as the beginner-level Monster Hunter clone. I feel that it’s impressive that it’s gotten this far from its beta days up until now where it has a year or so to prove itself.


Netflix’s Black Knight Is Like Mad Max Meets Death Stranding

While it may sound like a superhero, it’s not. Black Knight has nothing to do with the Dark Knight, but it’s a new Korean series by Netflix. It’s always interesting to see Asian perspectives on science fiction concepts in movies and TV series, so Netflix’s Black Knight is one of those with high production value to boot.
Mad Max
Black Knight / Netflix © 2023
The premise of Black Knight is this; In 2071, extreme air pollution has turned the majority of the Korean peninsula into a wasteland and wiped out all but 1% of its original population. The survivors are required to wear respirators and rely on the Knights, specialized delivery drivers, to provide them with the supplies (especially fresh oxygen) they need to stay alive. One day, a legendary knight called ‘5-8′ meets a boy named Sa-Wol, who wishes to become a Knight just like him, and decides to train him so that he can accomplish his dream in the dark and dangerous world that they live in.
Netflix’s Black Knight is set in a Mad Max-style post-apocalyptic wasteland. Instead of water, the most valuable resource is clean oxygen because of pollution. Therefore, the most elite job is that of a deliveryman or “Black Knight”. The Black Knight deliverymen remind me of Sam Porter Bridges from Kojima Productions’ Death Stranding video game, but instead of packages, they transport clean oxygen, food and other things via huge trucks.
Black Knight Kim Woo-bin as 5-8 in Black Knight Cr. Kim Jin-young/Netflix © 2023
However, unlike Mad Max or Death Stranding, the themes explored in Black Knight has more to do with social disparity and social inequality between different classes in society. The way that Black Knight covers this subject matter reminds me a lot of another post-apocalyptic series, Snowpiercer. It’s both hilarious and scary that in the world of Black Knight, people are segregated into different classes and each person is identified via a unique QR code on their skin.
There are quite a lot of action sequences in Black Knight, but they’re not that remarkable or impressive compared to other similar post-apocalyptic series or movies. One highlight is a massive car chase with lots of vehicles in one of the episodes, which is clearly another inspiration from Mad Max. As previously mentioned, Black Knight is more concerned with focusing on social issues and what it would be like in a society like this. There’s probably a good reason why many Korean shows and movies like Black Knight or the award-winning Parasite would cover social inequality, since it mirrors the real world where the problem is becoming more and more prevalent as society continues developing.
Black Knight (L to R) Esom as Seol-ah, Kim Woo-bin as 5-8 in Black Knight Cr. Kim Jin-young/Netflix © 2023
Death Stranding
Black Knight Kang You-seok as Sa-wol in Black Knight Cr. Kim Jin-young/Netflix © 2023
What’s great about Black Knight is that it doesn’t overstay its welcome. The first season is only 6 episodes long, and unlike other Korean dramas, each episode averages around 45 minutes, which makes this series perfect for a binge session. It feels more like watching a long sci-fi movie and that’s great. More Korean shows should follow Black Knight’s example, as it would welcome more casual viewers who don’t usually watch Korean shows because they’re too long.
If you like post-apocalyptic settings and concepts similar to Mad Max meets Death Stranding through a Korean lens, you should definitely give Black Knight a chance.
FINAL SCORE: 70/100
We received early screeners of Black Knight courtesy of Netflix Malaysia. Black Knight is slated to premiere exclusively on Netflix on 12 May 2023.


Here’s How You Can Design A Logo For Our National Overwatch Team

If you missed the news, Malaysia is joining the Overwatch World Cup roster! What’s a better way to celebrate it by having a logo design which is open to everyone?! The logo will be emblazoned on Malaysia’s official gear and attire, as well their social media page, which you can find here on Twitter.

LOGO DESIGN COMPETITION
Hey fellow Malaysians! ðŸ‡²ðŸ‡¾ðŸ‡²ðŸ‡¾ðŸ‡²ðŸ‡¾
In celebration of our participation in this yearâ€™s Overwatch World Cup, we are getting everyone in the community involved in the logo design competition! pic.twitter.com/R7ej5CdJrg
â€” Team Malaysia Overwatch (@malaysiaowwc) June 15, 2019
Logo Details
Here are all the requirements and details for Malaysia’s official logo:

The logo must include imagery of the tiger – Harimau Malaya – stylised, detailed or otherwise.
The inclusion of the Overwatch logo is encouraged.
The logo has to be the original work of the designer.
We strongly recommend the use of the following colours in the logo; yellow, red, black.
The logo should not consist of more than three colours
There is no limit for the size of the logo, but it has to be discernible when produced in smaller sizes and suitable for use as team badge and social media profile photos

What Else?
The top four designs will be shortlisted and the public gets to decide by voting which one is best alongside the committee members’ votes. The winning design will be announced shortly after. All other submitted designs which didn’t make the cut will not be utilised and returned to their respective designers.
If you’re interested, you can submit your queries or try your luck by submitting your entry to megikari@gmail.com. Be quick! TheÂ deadline is 30 June, which is in about two weeks time.
And here’s another interesting tidbit for you: the winning design gets RM300 as a token of appreciation of their creativity and hard work.


Behold, Overwatch 2’s Latest Hero

Overwatch 2’s next support hero for Season 4 has been revealed, and it’s none other than the highly anticipated Lifeweaver. According to the official Overwatch Twitter account, this new hero is going to be a game-changer, and we can’t wait to see what he has in store for us.
Blizzard teased Lifeweaver’s arrival by posting a flower emoji, so we can probably expect some flower-based abilities from this hero. And from the looks of it, Lifeweaver definitely lives up to the hype. The Overwatch Twitter account shared a photo of the new hero, and he looks absolutely fire.

Lifeweaver is about to blossom ?
Learn more tomorrow about the all new Support hero arriving in #Overwatch2 Season 4. pic.twitter.com/T39o93Ekz6
— Overwatch (@PlayOverwatch) April 3, 2023

In fact, Blizzard teased Lifeweaver as being “cute” in prior hints about the hero, which seems to line up with the image we’ve been given so far. We’re definitely excited to learn more about what Lifeweaver can do, and luckily, more information will be revealed on Tuesday/Wednesday.
Stay tuned to for all the latest updates on Lifeweaver and everything else Overwatch 2-related. We can’t wait to see what Blizzard has in store for us next!


Get Equipped: Mega Man 11 Out For Major Consoles October 2

Hey there, everyone who got burned by Mighty No. 9: Capcom has some good news for you. The 11th mothership Mega Man game will be out on October 2 for the Nintendo Switch, PS4, Xbox One, and PC.
Check out the trailer below featuring the aforementioned release date and new features.

Here’s what we gathered from the trailer:

Mega Man’s charged buster, slide, and Rush Assists (Rush Coil, Rush Jet) are back.
Eddie, Beat, and Auto are back, and they have the same functions as past games. To recap, Eddie gives you random items at stage intervals, Beat rescues you once when you fall into a pit, and Auto sells you stuff in exchange for bolts.
There’s a new mode called the Double Gear system. Mega Man can now slow down the flow of time and overcharge your buster shots, but at the cost of Mega Man’s systems being weakened temporarily after the gears are overclocked.
The new Robot Masters who are revealed so far are Fuse Man (electric-based), and Block Man (rock-based). Just like Mega Man, these Robot Masters have access to special Gears. Fuse Man can go lighting fast with the Speed Gear, while Block Man can become a giant golem using the Power Gear. Lame names, awesome gimmicks.

Check out the screenshots and the Nintendo Switch box art below.


Black Skylands Is A Steampunk Action Game Slated For This Summer

Black Skylands is shaping up to be a promising steampunk open-world action-adventure title in its current Early Access state. It’s a top-down action game ala Hotline Miami, you control a giant ship to deal with other sky pirates and rogues, and it’s full of secrets and treasure.
So it’s only a matter of time until it leaves its current state to be a full-fledged launch title. Publisher tinyBuild and developer Hungry Couch announced that Black Skylands will be out of Early Access from PC, as well as out for Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo Switch later this Summer 2023.
Check out the game’s features and console announcement trailer below:

Fight in the Skies and on Land – Combine aerial and ground fighting tactics by using dozens of upgradeable weapons from your arsenal.
Gather Resources and Upgrade Your Flying Base – Create powerful artifacts, tinker in the workshop, construct buildings, set up production, and farm the land.
Improve Your Ship – A maneuverable sloop, a spacious barge, or something in between—choose the airship that fits your playstyle.
Conquer New Territory – Liberate occupied lands, strengthen your influence, and unlock new opportunities for yourself.
Explore an Expansive Open-World – Travel through forests, farms, snowy lands, and ruins, and discover things no one has ever seen before.
Go on Raids to Test Yourself – Finished the main storyline? Take on tons of different challenges, destroy hordes of enemies, and get unique rewards.


The Lord Of The Rings: Gollum Game Has A New Launch Window

The previously-delayed-to-God-knows-when action-adventure title The Lord Of The Rings: Gollum has a new release window.
Co-publishers Nacon and Daedalic Entertainment have announced the game’s new schedule: during the six months ending in September 2023. This was confirmed in both companies’ financial report this week. This means the game will only be out between April and September 2023.
The Lord Of The Rings: Gollum takes place in events parallel to the first entry of the fantasy book series; you control the titular character Gollum as he embarks on a quest to retrieve the One Ring. The game was supposed to be out in 2021 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series before it was delayed indefinitely. The official statement is below:
“During the past several years, the team has been working hard to share our vision of a remarkable story, set in a breathtaking world, filled with magic and wonder. We are dedicated to meeting our community’s expectations and uncovering the untold story of Gollum in a way that honors the vision of J.R.R. Tolkien.
That being said, in order to deliver the best possible experience, we have decided to push the release of The Lord of the Rings: Gollum by a few months. We’ll update with an exact timing in the near future.”


River City Saga: Three Kingdoms Will Be Out In English This July

The pretty sweet-looking spin-off to the River City series of games will be out in English in a few months.
Publisher Arc System Works and developer APlus Games will release River City Saga: Three Kingdoms for PS4, Nintendo Switch, and PC on 21 July for US$29.99.
River City Saga: Three Kingdoms will have our beat-em-up heroes Kunio and Riki fighting in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms setting, participating in famous battles from the Yellow Turban Rebelliioin to the Battle of Red Cliffs. The game itself will be a 2D multiplayer beat-em-up up to four players.
Check out the Western version announcement trailer and gameplay videos below.


Indie-us Games Reveal ‘Boss rush’ Co-op Action Game “TrinityS” Coming This Fall

Japanese developer Indie-us Games and publisher Phoenixx will be releasing a new “boss rush” cooperative game named TrinityS this fall, for Playstation 4 and Playstation 5, with the PC version still being in early access on Steam as of April 27th 2022.
If you love MMO gameplay but hate the grind, TrinityS has you covered! The game aims to remove the repetitive grind for levels and gear that MMOs tend to have and focuses on giving the player the true endgame experience.
TrinityS has constant boss encounters that challenge the player’s skills with different elements of gameplay, focusing on movement and positioning during fights, challenging players while immersing them in an intense boss battle. Either take on the challenge alone or bring two other friends to control the unique characters in the game to fight these bosses together and learn the mechanics required to win each battle.
Check out the gameplay below.


World Of Warships & World Of Warships: Legends Get A Festive Facelift

World of Warships and World of Warships: Legends have launched two new content updates in anticipation of 2023 and in commemoration of their five-year anniversary on Steam.
The updates welcome 2023 with plenty of new year’s content including a free Container, a “Carol Clash” and New Year’s battles. For console players in World of Warships: Legends, the festivities kick off with a three-week Warships Advent-ure calendar, alongside the Double Impact campaign with two ships waiting at the end, and a number of ships and guises to be claimed in exchange for Legend’s Winter Shards.
Out with the old and in with the new
As 2023 quickly approaches, World of Warships brings players plenty of ways to celebrate the new year. Kicking off these celebrations a free Santa’s Gift Container in the Admiralty. With additional Santa’s Containers available in the Armory and Premium shop, these Containers are chock full of treats to beat those January blues. Packed with anything from doubloons and coal to one of 174 ships – some of which are rare – players can sail into the new year with ease.

Warships also see a Carol Clash kick off halfway through the month, where two teams will go head-to-head as Santa Clauses from the opposing poles to deliver gifts on time. Participate in the event to secure one of two themed commanders with unique voice lines, alongside one of two permanent camouflages, among many other prizes. Finally, five groups of combat missions, entitled “New Year’s Battle” offer players their choice of ships – Dido or Canarias – as a reward for completing these missions.
To celebrate five years on Steam, World of Warships is offering new players on this platform an easy way to earn $5 USD Steam Wallet credit, by earning the “Amateur” achievement by winning 10 random battles before 17 December. Those who are successful will see this credit added to their Steam Wallet within a week of completing the challenge.
Walking in a Warships wonderland

World of Warships: Legends welcomes the holiday season. As part of the festivities, Winter Shards are introduced and can be acquired anywhere from Windroses to Arena mode and purchasing bundles. Secure these shards, and players can unlock plenty of goodies, from winter ships to Commander guises – including the Legendary Japanese cruiser, Yoshino, that comes decked out in her own special holiday skin. A bunch of different crates are also making their way into the game, packed with their own surprises.
But the giving doesn’t stop there, in the classic five-week, 100-milestone format, Legends is welcoming the Double Impact Campaign. Waiting at the end as the prize? Not one, but two very capable Tier VIII ships were up for grabs with the Italian battleship Marco Polo and its British counterpart, Marlborough. These ships both have impressive guns, Marco Polo’s 16-inch guns aid with taking down enemies as its sturdy armour prevents damage, and Marlborough can do plenty of damage with 16 of its own 14-inch guns.
Finally, World of Warships: Legends gives players not 12, but 21 days of Christmas with its Adventure calendar. Packed full of daily tasks, yielding both daily and weekly prizes, players can work their way to the ultimate prize – a calendar-exclusive Commander Santa guise that can be used on almost every Commander within the game.


Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade’s Yuffie Mission Now Has A Name; Voice Cast Revealed

Square Enix unleashed a bunch of new screenshots and info on Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade’s Yuffie DLC, which is officially called Final Fantasy VII Remake INTERmission. Yes, the “inter” bit is all caps.
The company also revealed the new and returning cast members for this DLC. So it’s confirmed that Weiss from that Final Fantasy VII spin-off game Dirge of Cerberus is in this remake as an antagonist. The new characters are Billy Bob, Polk, and Nayo (the one with the Tetsuya Nomura-styled dress) who are all members of Avalanche. Also, the DLC will be 2 chapters long.Â

Here’s the full list of voice actors for the DLC:

Yuffie Kisaragi:Â Suzie Yeung (English), Yumi Kakazu (JP)
Sonon Kusakabe:Â Aleks Le (English), Yoshimasa Hosoya (JP)
Weiss:Â Daman Mills (English), Jouji Nakata (JP)
Zhijie:Â Griffin Puatu (English), Akira Igarashi (JP)
Nayo:Â Ashley Boettcher (English), Akane Fujita (JP)
Billy Bob:Â David Goldstein (English), Kenichi Hoshina (JP)
Polk:Â Daniel Amerman (English), Nobuyori Sagara (JP)

Check out the new screenshots below. The Final Fantasy VII Remake DLC will be out on 10th June for the PS5 for US$19.99. Oh, and you can get Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade too, but knowing most PlayStation users in Southeast Asia, they probably already have FFVII Remake for the PS4, meaning they get the Intergrade upgrade for free.


Theme Park Sim Park Beyond Opens Its Doors This June

Bandai Namco Entertainment Asia and Limbic Entertainment have announced that the imaginative theme park simulation game Park Beyond will open its doors on 16 June 2023. Pre-orders are now available, with different editions listed below. Each pre-order comes with a special bonus: the PAC-MAN™ Impossification Set, consisting of exclusive flat rides, shops, entertainers, and decorative items.
There will also be a Closed Beta Test, which will be held from 9 – 19 May 2023 on PC via STEAM. Players can register here. Participants in the Closed Beta Test who later purchase the game will unlock the golden skin for the omnicar, the vehicle used in Park Beyond’s rollercoasters.
Park Beyond is set to release on 16 June 2023, for PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC via STEAM.
Check out the trailer below:


All Four Seasons Of Telltale’s The Walking Dead Are Back On Steam

When it comes to episodic story-heavy games, almost no one can do it as good as Telltale Games. Unfortunately, the studio closed down in 2018 due to lack of funding and their games were removed from Steam shortly afterwards. Thankfully, they’re coming back.

Publisher Skybound Games has announced that all four seasons of Telltale Games’ The Walking Dead including DLCs are now available for purchase on Steam again. However, they’ll be sold separately instead of as a collection in the form of The Walking Dead: The Telltale Definitive Series.
Here are the prices of each game as listed on Steam:
The Walking Dead – RM32.00
The Walking Dead: Season Two – RM32.00
The Walking Dead: A New Frontier – RM32.00
The Walking Dead: The Final Season – RM39.00
The Walking Dead: Michonne – A Telltale Miniseries – RM31.00
The Walking Dead: 400 Days – RM12.00
This is definitely great news for Steam users who never got the chance to play the games and have been hearing about how great they are. However, I recommend checking out the entire collection being sold on the Epic Games Store for US$23.99 (~RM98). It’s a better deal.


Fantasy Life Mobile RPG CBT Slated For Malaysia

Boltrend Games will be releasing and localizing Level-5’s simulation RPG Fantasy Life Online in English worldwide.
The game will go through a closed beta test period from 28th October to 5th November for Android. Countries include Malaysia, Canada, Australia, Finland, Romania, and Argentina.
While all data will be erased after the CBT, money spent during the period will be refunded in double the amount. So if you spent US$5 on in-app purchases in the CBT, you’ll get back US$10.
Fantasy Life Online came out in Japan for iOS and Android platforms back in July 2018. The game is basically Animal Crossing meets a JRPG.


A Space For The Unbound: All The Indonesian & 90s Homages & References In The Game

The biggest indie game darling of the month, A Space For The Unbound, is set in rural 90s Indonesia. While the entire game is in English (and other localized languages), the game’s setting is knee-deep and authentic in its country’s culture and setting.
As an Asian-based games media site, we do recognize a lot of the game’s references and allusions. So let’s point out some of the things that are in the game.
Disclaimer: we’ll probably miss a few, so sound off on the comments or on our social media page if we missed one. There will be spoilers, but nothing too detailed, so here’s your warning in case
[Update 3/2/2022]: Added a few more. Special thanks to Arief Johan for the additions.

Yoman Bubblegum – This “5 letters hidden in each bubblegum pack” deal is based on the real Indonesian bubblegum brand Yosan back in the 90s. The collect-and-win game garnered a bit of controversy because no one has ever gathered a full set that spells “Yosan” for decades until mid-2019.

Streetside wedding – Early in the game, there’s a small tent enclosure where a wedding is held. Those who can’t afford fancy hotel weddings usually resort to a quick-but-efficient ceremony. This particular one in the game is blocking that stretch of the road; a clever way to lock off the area until the later stages.

Bakso Mee – Indonesian meatball noodle dish. Usually soup-based. Very delicious. There are numerous stalls serving nothing but Bakso Mee in the country.

General Store – The store that Erik’s father runs is exactly like how they look in Southeast Asia, right down to the sacks of rice on the floor.

Mana Hati? – Literally translated to “Where’s My Heart?”. This is on a romance movie poster in a cinema main characters Atma and Raya hang out. (Update: turns out that the poster is based on the film “Apa Ada Dengan Cinta?”)

Cyborg Raptor Returns – The poster is a homage to James Cameron’s The Terminator 2: Judgment Day.

Street Fighter clone – In the game’s arcade, you can play a title called Future Fighter which is clearly a tribute to the 1991 Capcom 2D fighting game pioneer. When space diving in the old man’s head, you’ll see him as Ryu and his boss as M.Bison (Dictator).

Instant noodles – In a spacediving puzzle involving food and scales, one of the food items is Lokamie. This is clearly a reference to Indomie, a renowned instant noodle brand in Indonesia.

Rojak – A type of fruit salad served with savoury sauce. An Indonesian favourite for many. Found at a spacedive section involving food and scales.

Black Forest Gateau – A cake from the game that’s part of the main quest line in Chapter 2, made in Ria Cafe. It’s a chocolate sponge cake with a rich cherry filling, based on the German dessert Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte. Lots of Southeast Asians love to order desserts from foreign countries because they’re perceived as sweet and classy; like you feel “rich” eating a colonizer’s food.
Also, “ria” means “happy”.

Ace Attorney tribute – In Chapter 3, you’ll spacedive in Lulu’s mind and eventually get to a section where you have to cross-examine the guilty party to prove who they really are. The whole section plays out like an Ace Attorney game but in 2D view form, where Atma has to gather evidence and then show said evidence to contradict statements.
Lulu’s mind palace also looks like how the Majapahit empire looked back in the 1200s.

Lulu’s Tiara – speaking of which, Lulu’s tiara in this spacedive session looks like part of a crown from the Majapahit era.

Barbershop – The sign says “potong rambut”, which means “cut hair”. Some literal translation humour there. “Loka Indah” is “local beauty”.

Internet Cafe – There were lots of these in Indonesia and Southeast Asia; internet cafes where they charge you hourly and also print out A4 copies of website screencaps and images for you. There’s a search tool that’s clearly a parody of Yahoo!

Even cat GIFs were popular back then. Just like they still are.

A Raven Monologue – There’s a cameo of the raven in A Raven Monologue, a Mojiken-developed adventure game, in one of the game’s spacediving segments featuring a musician.

When The Past Was Around – Another Mojiken game cameo! This time it’s When The Past Was Around’s The Owl, with a scribble of it on a music sheet in a space dive puzzle involving a musician.

Also, the musician in A Space For The Unbound looks a bit like Eda from When The Past Was Around.

And she also gets a mention in Chapter 5 on the radio.

She and the Light Bearer – There’s a book in the school library called She and the Light Bearer, which is a reference to an early Mojiken game.

Keroncong – A genre of music famous in Indonesia that uses a ukulele-like instrument. Mr. Setiawan sings a song in this style in the middle part of the game as part of a sidequest involving spacediving into musicians. Notable keroncong songs include “Bengawan Solo” by Hetty Koes Endang, “Jembatan Merah” by Gesang Martohartono (whom Mr. Setiawan is modeled after), and “Solo Diwaktu Malam” by Mus Mulyadi.
Mr. Setiawan – Turns out Mr Setiawan is based on Didi Kempot, a known singer of the campursari style of genre music. Setiawan’s ex-wife in this spacedive segment is based on the Didi Kempot song “Sri Minggat”.

Bootleg manga – In Chapter 4 during a “spacedive”, you will come across a guy selling bootleg manga, complete with different dialogue and an alternate publishing house. Children in the 90s in Southeast Asia couldn’t afford manga that was localized in English from the US, nor know how to find original Japanese manga, so they had to resort to bootlegs translated into the country’s native language (Malaysian example below).

Game Boy – In Chapter 4, you come across a guy who is trading the arcade machine store life in exchange for selling GameBots. The GameBot is basically the universe’s version of a Game Boy; the original 90s black-and-white-and-grey Game Boy.

Pic credit: Engadget
Bridge: This iconic A Space For The Unbound spot is actually a recreation of the bridge at Jalan Dr. Ir. H. Soekarno in Surabaya, East Java (thanks @snowkie)

If you ever wondered about the real-world location of A Space for the Unbound infamous bridge pic.twitter.com/L2UtlP5Zgo
— Eka // A Space for the Unbound – AVAILABLE NOW! (@snowkie) February 5, 2023

Mohammad Fahmi – You can find a tribute to the late Mohammad Fahmi (of Coffee Talk and Indonesia indie game fame) hanging out at Ria Cafe along with his cat Tofu (also based on his real cat Tofu). His name is also listed as a dedication in the game’s end credits.


It’s Streamer Vs Streamer As Ninja, Alinity & xQc Get Into Twitter Feud

Several famous streamers got into a heated argument on Twitter that laughably resulted in a lot of unnecessary drama and Ninja weirdly bringing up Alinity’s previous controversy of abusing her cats.
The very public feud began because of comments made by streamer xQc made on Twitch. According to him, some streamers on Twitch apparently get paid to do charity streams, despite the objective of these is to encourage people to donate to charity.
This prompted Dr. Lupo, a friend of Ninja’s and another top streamer on Twitch, to clarify that he has never been paid for any of his charity streams.

From an r/LivestreamFail post on Reddit regarding @xQc stating that a majority of streamers get paid to do charity streams – I’ve never been paid to raise money for @StJude. Just wanted to be sure that was clear. pic.twitter.com/n4Vbkl1NYf
â€” DrLupo (@DrLupo) June 30, 2020

Gotcha. All I saw was the clip, so that’s on me for not watching what was before/after.
â€” DrLupo (@DrLupo) June 30, 2020
Another person joined to add fuel to the fire, as Jessica Blevins, the wife of Tyler ‘Ninja’ Blevins, became defensive over what xQc said. This is when the feud sparks.

This guy always has some trash to say ðŸ™„ Iâ€™ve literally never heard of a single streamer getting paid to raise money, and per FTC rules if they WERE it would have to be easily known to the public. Keep doing amazing things!
â€” Jessica BlevinsðŸ™ðŸ¿ðŸ³ï¸â€ðŸŒˆ (@JessicaBlevins) June 30, 2020

This is fucking rich coming from you of all people, incredible you found the time to halfass listen to the clip and give your take no one asked about inbetween your virtue signaling posts.
â€” xQc (@xQc) June 30, 2020

Oooo. I was waiting for your response. Enjoy your day, QVC! Hope to see you doing a fundraiser in the future since you have so much to say about them ðŸ’œðŸ’œ
â€” Jessica BlevinsðŸ™ðŸ¿ðŸ³ï¸â€ðŸŒˆ (@JessicaBlevins) June 30, 2020

Of course I was going to answer sweetie, I was eating breakfast, fueling up for a productive day. Not very relatable I know! You should teach me a thing or 2 about fundraisers i’m sure you know a thing or two about raising funds. I mean, these gucci bags don’t pay for themselves.
â€” xQc (@xQc) June 30, 2020
After xQc used “sweetie” to refer to Jessica, she became upset and called him out for being sexist. Ninja himself then came in to defend his wife and called xQc a piece of shit.

You have 0 clue the amount of work Jess does for our family and our business, and when she wants to buy a Gucci bag she fucking can because she worked for it. We have donated millions to charity, and raised hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Stop being a piece of shit.
â€” Ninja (@Ninja) June 30, 2020

X-Itâ€™s very clear you donâ€™t respect women, or really anyone with again, the trash, Iâ€™ve heard you spew. If you want to be sexist and act like because Iâ€™m married to a successful man that it makes me a do-nothing mooching woman, thatâ€™s your choice to be that kind of person.
â€” Jessica BlevinsðŸ™ðŸ¿ðŸ³ï¸â€ðŸŒˆ (@JessicaBlevins) June 30, 2020

THE LACK OF SELF-AWARENESS IS INSANE. JESSICA, YOUR HUSBAND IS AN ICON OF OUR SPHERE. DOES THAT SINK IN? IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH YOU BEING A WOMEN. How dare you use the SEXISM card in such a trivial interaction, lumping in actual victims of sexism especially in gaming. yikes
â€” xQc (@xQc) June 30, 2020

Iâ€™m using the â€œsexism cardâ€ because I refused to be called sweetie and challenge a big gaming figure telling me I donâ€™t work or deserve what I have. This is whatâ€™s wrong with gaming and what women deal with ALL THE TIME. https://t.co/s1vFdo3lMm
â€” Jessica BlevinsðŸ™ðŸ¿ðŸ³ï¸â€ðŸŒˆ (@JessicaBlevins) June 30, 2020
After esports reporter/insider Rod ‘Slasher’ Breslau chimed in with a tweet of his own, another top streamer, Alinity,Â joined the conversation, making a joke about Ninja. Ninja responded harshly with, “Donâ€™t you have another cat to abuse?”
He was referring to the controversy from last year of Alinity seemingly abusing her cats last year during streams, throwing them around carelessly and even feeding them vodka.
The feud then ended with Alinity calling Ninja “the most toxic person in gaming”.

Wow, that’s a lot of drama, and in bad taste too, considering the cases of sexual misconduct and harassment currently sweeping the industry. Let’s hope these streamers act more professional next time, but what the heck, this is probably good publicity and fodder for their fans all the same.


Razer Pay Is Joining Forces With Visa

Razer is teaming up with Visa to further improve its Razer Pay e-wallet app. This new partnership will see Razer Fintech joining Visa’s fast-track program to develop a virtual Visa prepaid solution in Razer Pay, which will enable up to 60 million users to make payments wherever Visa is accepted at over 54 million merchants worldwide.
This will take the form of an exclusive Razer-branded Visa prepaid payment solution in Razer Pay via a mini-app, where it will complement the service’s other offerings as well as introduce interactive and straightforward financial planning capabilities with a Razer-gamified twist.
Razer CEO and co-founder Min-Liang Tan said:

â€œRazer Fintech is a core growth initiative for Razer as we continue to empower digital payments across emerging markets, starting from Southeast Asia.
We are incredibly excited with the opportunities that this innovative payment solution serves to millions of consumers, connecting them to an extensive network of merchants globally.
This partnership with Visa significantly extends Razer Fintechâ€™s position as the largest offline-to-online digital payment network in the region.â€

The new Razer Pay Visa prepaid payment solution will be rolled out gradually in selected countries throughout Southeast Asia in the coming months ahead, before being launched in the rest of the world.
In other related news, head on over here to find out how to win a special Razer-themed Proton Iriz car in a giveaway contest that will be ending soon on 30 June 2019.


NieR Automata Anime Officially Announced

The Nier Automata anime has now been officially confirmed. It will be based on the 2017 JRPG of the same name, which was developed by PlatinumGames, Yoko Taro and Square Enix.
A translation of its description states:
“The stage is a far future where humanity is defeated by the moon in front of the overwhelming force of ‘mechanical life forms’ that aliens carry out. ‘2B’ belonging to the newly organised Android unit ‘Yorha’ will throw himself into a fierce battle to recapture the earth”.
However, there are no other details about the NieR Automata project, including a release date or release window, or even what studio is actually working on it.
In the meantime, check out their official Twitter account here, and check out the teaser trailer below:


Call Of Duty Warzone Bans Over 13,000 Cheaters In One Day

Activision and Raven Software are going on a banning spree in Call Of Duty Warzone by taking aim at cheaters. How many? Well, they have now banned an additional 13,000 accounts from the popular battle royale game in a single day.
However, both companies did not specify or mention what exactly these cheaters did or what their specific offences were. We can be sure of one thing; they were all filthy cheaters and they needed to be eliminated to make the game better for everyone else.

Another #Warzone banwave today.
Over 13,000 accounts banned.?
Keeping them coming! https://t.co/whFNbYHlWb
— Raven Software (@RavenSoftware) March 23, 2021

More than 300,000 accounts have been banned since earlier this year alone. That might seems like a lot, but there are millions and millions of Call Of Duty Warzone players, so these cheaters are actually a huge problem.
Activision and Raven Software will continue to ban cheaters in Call Of Duty Warzone, as well as implement these features in the near future to improve the experience of the game:

Enhancements to internal anti-cheat software
Additional detection technology
Adding new resources dedicated to monitoring and enforcement
Regular communication updates on progress; more two-way dialogue
Zero tolerance for cheat providers
Consistent and timely bans

In other related news, Call Of Duty Black Ops Cold War andÂ WarzoneÂ Season 2 isÂ now live.


MPL MY/SG Season 4 Playoffs Start Tomorrow, Winners Qualify To World Championship

The Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Professional League MY/SG Season 4 Playoffs will start tomorrow 19 October and end on Sunday 20 October 2019. It’s happening at KL Live and local Mobile Legends fans should definitely come down and watch the best Malaysian and Singaporean Mobile Legends teams duke it out.
The eight teams who have made it to the playoffs are:

Malaysia

Todak
Geek Fam
Axis Esports
Shopee Bosskur
XPAX X-Assins

Singapore

Resurgence
Notorious Villains
EVOS Esports

What sets Season 4 apart from the previous seasons is that this time they’re not just competing for the prize money (RM211,000 prize pool) and the prestige. The top two Malaysian teams and the best Singaporean team will qualify to compete in the first ever Mobile Legends: Bang Bang M1 World Championship which will be happening next month in Kuala Lumpur. You can buy M1 tickets here.
It’s cool enough that we’ll get to see these top players compete yet again but the playoffs will also have activities that fans can take part in and walk away with some goodies. Tokens called Battle Points will be given out and they can be used to either spin the Magic Wheel or open a random box at the Battle Chest vending machine. You can get Battle Points by participating in activities held between matches.

The prizes that attendees can win from these activities include Mobile Legends stickers, t-shirts, codes for redeeming in-game items, and best of all, a Black Shark 2 Pro gaming smartphone. Black Shark is one of the tournament’s major sponsors and players in the tournament will each be playing on a Black Shark 2 Pro.
There will be limited goodie bags given away which contain two Battle Points, an MPL MY/SG t-shirt, and more awesome stuff inside. Only those who arrive early will be getting them. The venue will be open starting from 10am. Entry is free!
Again, the playoffs will be happening from 19 to 20 October 2019 at KL Live in Kuala Lumpur. See you guys there!
Let’s see who brings home the trophy this year.


MDEC Announces The MY Digital Creativity Festival

The Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) has announced the MY Digital Creativity Festival is a month-long event, brought to you by LEVEL UP KL and Kre8tif! to bring you the latest and greatest animation and games from the Southeast Asian region.
MY Digital Creativity Festival is a combined animation and game community based virtual festival to celebrate the digital creative content industry ecosystem in Malaysia and the rest of South-East Asia throughout the month of September 2021.
Both LEVEL UP KL and Kre8tif! both share the objectives of:

Driving business opportunities for our local games and animationÂ industry
Being a promotional platform for our local product and services to the public and potential investors & buyers (broadcasters/publishers)
Being a platform to invite local & regional companies to promote Malaysia digital creative industry for future investment opportunities;
To promote and educate the masses on the Digital Economy, specifically digital content careers and entrepreneurial opportunities

MY Digital Creativity Festival is for everyone. You can find more details and information by heading to the official website here.
In the meantime, you can also head on over here for the full schedule of the Level Up KL 2021 Industry Conference, which will take place on 21 and 22 September 2021.


You Can Choose Your Origin Story In Cyberpunk 2077

One of the greatest features of an RPG game is that it gives us the freedom of tailoring our own stories for our characters. Cyberpunk 2077 will give you that freedom and more.
Mateusz Tomaszkiewics, one of Cyberpunk 2077’s quest directors, explained that players will be able to choose a “life path” for their main character. The life path is basically an origin story that will affect gameplay in interesting ways. This will probably give you access to special dialogue options and even different ways of completing quests.

“We also have this thing call the life paths, which are the origins of our character that we choose at the beginning of the game, when we create a character. So for example, you might imagine that if you’re a street kid, you’ll have an easier time talking to different gangs, or if you’re a corporate, you might have an advantage over people from the corporations since you know how they think and how they operate.”

– Mateusz Tomaszkiewics, Cyberpunk 2077 quest director. From this video.
This is definitely something players will love because it gives us the ability to role-play a specific identity. It will also add a lot of replay value to a game that features a storyline that’s affected by the kind of character we create and play as.
Cyberpunk 2077 will be released on 16 April 2020 for the PS4, Xbox One, and PC. If you’re already hyped and simply love everything Cyberpunk 2077, there’s also going to be a prequel tabletop game and a lore book coming out.


PUBG Mobile 1.0 Update Adds Malay Language Option & More

The PUBG Mobile 1.0 update is now live, adding new features like a new Malay language option, a New Erangel map, new improvements for the Livik map, the introduction of new firearm M1014, and updates to Cheer Park, as well as improvements to the gameâ€™s graphics and user experience. There are also security enhancements and an upcoming mysterious surprise set to be revealed soon.
Additionally, PUBG Mobile is now available at 90 frames per second on all compatible devices. Rewards and surprises come with the New Erangel map, now in Bahasa Melayu. Players who prefer to have their interface in Bahasa Melayu can switch to the language in the settings option.

Special events and rewards also await players in Malaysia, including exciting awards which they can earn by logging in for seven consecutive days, or through playing in-app games.
Rewards also await those ranked in the top 5, top 10 and top 20. The new map also sports a new and improved overall landscape and terrain, while building changes and design of various details of the map have been optimised.
For example, the most iconic resource-points, such as military bases and Mansion have been renewed, and all new elements of trenches, wooden barricades, abandoned tanks and bunkers have also been added to the map, improving combat experience on Erangel and providing richer rural tactical options.

In addition to the New Erangel map, PUBG Mobileâ€™s much-loved small-scale high intensity newest battlefield Livik also got a facelift. The M1014 is an all-new semi-automatic shotgun that only appears in Livik on the Classic Battle Royale Map and Arena, along with other shotguns.
With up to 7 rounds that can be manually reloaded at a time, this new feature is an outstanding one for close-quarters combat. The M1014 supports shotgun muzzle and ammo belt attachments and is the most effective of the currently available shotguns. Livik also received various visual effects improvements, balance adjustments and bug fixes.
For improved training, each player now has access to their own private training ground to improve their target-shooting, throwing and more. Players can now join others in Cheer Park to enjoy combat or watch duels together, in the newly completed building to the left of the target range.
A romantic heart-shaped island has been added to the lake and the Hot Air Balloon has been relocated to near the island. The island will be decorated with romantic fixtures such as a two-seater swing and a romantic boat.

In order to improve player control and prioritise displaying features that players need most, the game lobby has been updated. A new Home Lobby features the most common functions, such as squad-forming and monetisation.
Invites and Friends have been combined, with new notes for friends. The Social Lobby is an upgrade from Personal Space, now showing playersâ€™ social connections and displays stats, titles, achievements, firearms and vehicles.
The Monetisation lobby features currently promoted resources for the player to browse and buy.
Additional Enhancements
Weaponry and Gear â€“ Classic weapons including the Tommy Gun, UMP45 and DBS receive balances, including damage rates, attachments, bullet speed and loot spawn.Combat and Operations â€“ Standing and crouching have been optimised, as well as jump following and Monster Truck control. Similarly, Med Kits can now be used while moving, and the Gyroscope is now throwable.Arena Mode â€“ Firing now removes invincibility and sliding actions have been improved so players can change the direction of motion depending on their trajectory when they begin the movement.Security Improvements – Improved and expanded the scope of spectators’ enemy visibility detection. Improved the impact of security monitoring on performance, and reduced power consumption and lag caused by security monitoring.
PUBG Mobile 1.0 update is available now for free on the Apple App Store and Google Play.


Peter Marrs Joins Dell As New Asia-Pacific President

Dell Technologies has announced that they’ve appointed Peter Marrs as the new president of their Asia Pacific & Japan region. He’s starting right away and will be taking over for Amit Midha, who’s decided to move on and pursue a new opportunity outside of the company.

He’s going to be leading the growth and development of the company’s technology portfolio in the Asia Pacific & Japan region. That includes countries like Australia, New Zealand, India, Japan, Korea, and Southeast Asia. He’ll be based in Singapore and reporting directly to John Byrne, who’s the President of Sales, Global Theaters, and Dell Technologies Select.
Marrs has a Master of Business Administration from Syracuse University and a Bachelor of Science in Business from Lemoyne College. He’s got the education and experience to drive the corporate strategy and sales in the region.

“I’m excited to have Peter lead our business in this very important region. He has more than a decade of experience across APJ, and a deep understanding and appreciation for Dell’s customers and partners in the region. With his strong track record on delivering results, I am confident that Peter will help shape the future of Dell in APJ,” said Byrne.
“The opportunities in APJ are immense, and I’m thrilled to lead Dell business in the region,” said Marrs. “We have a talented team, strong portfolio of solutions and a culture that fosters innovation. We are well placed to help our customers and partners in APJ succeed on their digital transformation journeys, and drive our growth in the region.”
Marrs has been in the game for over 30 years and has spent a huge chunk of that time at Dell Technologies. In fact, he’s been with the company for 23 years and has held a variety of senior management roles both globally and in the region.
He’s been involved in both the enterprise and client businesses and has a wealth of experience in leadership roles in the Asia Pacific & Japan region. Most recently, he was the senior vice president of Data Center Solutions for the International business. He also served as senior vice president of APJ Enterprise Solutions, senior vice president of APJ Client Solutions Group, vice president of APJ Solutions Sales, president & general manager of Dell Korea, and executive director of Solutions Sales for ASEAN. To top it off, Marrs has a Master of Business Administration from Syracuse University and a Bachelor of Science in Business from Lemoyne College.


We’re Getting New Street Fighter 5 Characters Hopefully Before The End Of 2019

A lot of Street Fighter 5 fans are probably having fun with the game’s latest additions like E.Honda and that Final Fight 3 chick. So it’s good to know that we may be getting new characters to fill up the rest of Season 4.
Here’s what Capcom Street Fighter producer Yoshinori Ono said during the Brazil Game Show (via Eventhubs):

“You wanna see new characters, right? You want new content too, I’m sure that’s what you’re all thinking.
Well, about that, we’re going to have new information to present to you in regards to that at the Capcom Cup North American Finals in November, and at Capcom Cup in December, so if you could please just stay patient until then.”

So yeah, stay tuned to the Capcom Cup North American Finals on 16-17 November and Capcom Cup on 13-15 December for more information and possible reveals. If it’s anything like the E.Honda/Poison/Lucia reveal, we may be getting the characters before 2019 ends.
Right now, Season 4 has four characters; there will be two more left to round up the season. And then there’s that rumour floating around that there will be a “Super SF5” update on the horizon, possibly as a way to bring in new players and rebrand itself for 2020 and beyond.


BlizzCon 2023 Is Happening This November

BlizzCon has been absent for the past three years, but the event is returning this year. Blizzard Entertainment has announced that BlizzCon 2023 will take place from 3 November to 4 November 2023 at Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California, in the US.
The official statement reads:
“Our players are at the heart of what makes BlizzCon great—a place where games are the common ground for connection and friendship. Whether you’re coming to hang out with friends you only ever get to see online, celebrating epic moments in the games we love, exploring what’s on offer in the convention center halls, or eager to learn what’s next for our universes, BlizzCon is being created for you. It’s the community that has always made this event so special, and we can’t wait to see you all again.”
Details about ticketing, cosplay, competitions, and more will be announced at a later date.
BlizzCon 2020, 2021, and 2022 were all cancelled because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
We’ll have to wait for more details from Blizzard down the line. Stay tuned on Kakuchopurei!


Here’s Why Fortnite Is Not On Microsoft Xbox Cloud Gaming

Fortnite is not available on Microsoft’s Xbox Cloud Gamings service, and that’s actually by choice. According to a new deposition made public as part of Epic Games’ ongoing court case against Apple, Epic Games regards Microsoftâ€™s xCloud service as competition to its own PC offerings, and that is the reason why.
In a statement given by Epic Games vice president of business development Joe Kreiner (via The Verge), he confirmed that it’s a deliberate choice on their part. He said:
â€œWe viewed Microsoftâ€™s efforts with xCloud to be competitive with our PC offerings.â€
This is probably the consequence of Microsoft siding with Apple last year. The war continues.
Epic Games worked with Nvidia last year to launch Fortnite on GeForce Now and has several of their games on the Nvidia cloud gaming service, where all revenue from the original gameâ€™s purchase or any in-app purchases goes back to Epic Games instead of Nvidia. This is probably the biggest reason why Epic Games views the Xbox Cloud Gaming service as a competitor and rival.


Hideo Kojima Announces Death Stranding World Tour

To the surprise of every Kojima fan, Kojima Productions has announced a Death Stranding World Tour, or Death Stranding World Strand Tour 2019. It will begin with Paris, France, on 30 October 2019, before heading to the following cities/countries:

London, England
Berlin, Germany
New York, USA
San Francisco, USA
Tokyo, Japan
Osaka, Japan
Singapore
Taipei, Taiwan
Seoul, South Korea

No details have been revealed about what exactly the Death Stranding World Tour will entail, though they will probably be announced in the next few weeks leading to the first event in Paris, France. Hideo Kojima himself will be attending all of these events, with the purpose of “connecting with all the fans”.

#DeathStranding World Tour. Starting from Paris on 10/30, we will have an event in London, Berlin, NY, SF, Tokyo, Osaka, Singapore, Taipei, and Seoul! Looking forward to connecting with all the fans, together with Hideo Kojima! (details will be announced later for the tour) pic.twitter.com/XoazMuYPcs
â€” Kojima Productions (@KojiPro2015_EN) October 9, 2019
It’s interesting that Kojima chose Singapore as one of the Death Stranding World Tour destinations. It’s the only Southeast Asian country on the list. Considering that the SEA region has a pretty significant population of Kojima fans, it’s great to see that they apparently recognise that.
Stay tuned on Kakuchopurei to find out more about what the Death Stranding World Tour will bring to Singapore, and the other countries as well. Death Stranding is slated to release exclusively for the PS4 on 8 November 2019.


SDCC 2020: Best Of Day 2

We’re already in Day Two of the San Diego Comic-Con 2020 (SDCC 2020), or rather, Comic-Con At Home 2020. Throughout the day, we’ll gradually update this article with more exciting reveals and announcements from a variety of panels as they come in.
Check them out below (or head on over here for the Best Of Day One):
G4 And X-Play Are Returning In 2021

During an IGN Live panel at Comic-Con At Home, a teaser video was released, which referenced running jokes from the networkâ€™s shows, including the Golden Mullet Award, Sesslerâ€™s Soapbox and Rot Gut. It ends on a game of Pong, before the surprise appearance of the G4 logo, a 2021 date, and a tagline; “We never stopped playing”.
While no details have been revealed, the video does tease the return of G4 and X-Play, either as a TV network again or as an online show (which seems more likely), in 2021.

We never stopped playing. pic.twitter.com/cBA6awUcRM
â€” X-Play (@xplay) July 24, 2020
G4 was a video games-focused TV network that ran from 2002 to 2014. One of its most popular programmings was X-Play, which ran from 1998 to 2013Â  and featured everything from game reviews to gaming-related skits.
The network also helped launch the careers of Geoff Keighley, Olivia Munn and other notable figures in the gaming coverage industry.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aegzuPD1DUc&w=560&h=315]
Vikings Season 6 (Part 2) Trailer

History has finally dropped the first trailer for the second half of Vikings Season 6 during its Comic-Con At Home panel. This will be the ending to the entire series and act as the final season, which is set to air later this year, though a premiere date has yet to be announced.
Vikings creator Michael Hirst said:

“The characters who we all have grown to love with all have their fates decided, whether they live or die is in the hands of the gods, but of course, I had a hand in it too.
I think the conclusion of the saga is deeply satisfying, a proper and meaningful ending.
I hope all of our fans will feel the same way.
I tried to do justice to all of my characters and I hope I succeeded.â€

Check out the awesome clip from Vikings Season 6 (Part 2) below, which teases a final confrontation between the Vikings and the Rus:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKf-nmEzecA&w=560&h=315]
Fear The Walking Dead Season 6 Release Date & Trailer

During its Comic-Con At Home panel, the Fear The Walking Dead cast dropped both a premiere date and a 1-minute teaser at the upcoming new season.
Fear The Walking Dead Season 6 is slated to premiere on 11 October 2020. In the meantime, check out the trailer below:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahdviaYBT78&w=560&h=315]
New Lovecraft Country Trailer

HBOâ€™s upcoming supernatural horror show Lovecraft Country has received a new trailer, featuring a cloer look at what seems to be none other than CthulhuÂ himself and other monsters.
Based on the novel of the same name by Matt Ruff (and not an actual work of H.P. Lovecraft), the series follows a Black family from Chicago as they investigate their family history and face a racist cult with Lovecraftian elements.
Impressively, the show’s executive producers include the likes of J.J. Abrams and Jordan Peele. It is slated to premiere on 16 August 2020.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvamPJp17Ds&w=560&h=315]
The Walking Dead Season 10 Finale Release Date

During The Walking Deadâ€™s Comic-Con At Home panel, AMC announced that The Walking Dead Season 10 Finale will air on 4 October 2020.
Series showrunner Angela Kang also confirmed that six additional episodes of Season 10 will be shot and aired in early 2021, bringing the season to 22 episodes in total.
Meanwhile, the new spin-off show The Walking Dead: World Beyond will debut on 4 October 2020 immediately after The Walking Dead Season 10 finale.
The first three-and-a-half minutes of the episode was also released via YouTube, which you can check out below:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jiXrVqpdctU&w=560&h=315]
Netflix To Finish The Dragon Prince Saga With Four More Seasons

Netflix has renewed The Dragon Prince for four more seasons at Netflix, with seasons 4, 5, 6 and 7 set to feature nine episodes each to close out the saga.
Created by Aaron Ehasz (Avatar: The Last Airbender) and Justin Richmond (Uncharted 3), The Dragon Prince season 3 recently concluded in November 2019, but now fans can be rest assured that the stories of Callum, Ezran and Rayla will continue.
However, though there’s no release date set for The Dragon Prince Season 4 as of yet, it is currently in pre-production.

It’s happening. #TheSagaIsComing #TheDragonPrince pic.twitter.com/kJtSlh9UYB
â€” The Dragon Prince (@thedragonprince) July 24, 2020
Marvel’s Helstrom Gets First Trailer & Release Date

Hulu has released a trailer for Marvel’s Helstrom, during its panel at Comic Con At Home. The show is based on the Marvel Comics character Daimon Hellstrom, originally known as the Son of Satan.
The show follows Daimon (Tom Austen) and Ana (Sydney Lemmon), adult children of a serial killer who now spend their time grown up into detectives that hunt killers and demons.
Helstrom will premiere on 16 October 2020 for a run of 10 episodes. For now, itâ€™s slated to be the last Marvel TV series in the works that’s not part of the Marvel Studios’ Disney Plus plans.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9XTA2DkHm4&w=560&h=315]
Archer Season 11 Trailer

During the panel at Comic At Home, producer Casey Willis announced that Archer Season 11 will premiere on 16 September 2020.
In the meantime, you can check out the trailer below.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u21MsmvxX-Y&w=560&h=315]
Hideo Kojima & Horror Mangaka Junji Ito May Collaborate In A Future Project
There aren’t many details on this just yet, but renowned Japanese horror mangaka Junji Ito said recently that Hideo Kojima contacted him about working together on a new horror game. During an interview at SDCC 2020 (via ComicBook), he has been in conversation with the director behind the Metal Gear series and that one futuristic postman game.

“I do know director Kojima and we have been in conversation that he may have a horror-based game that he may be doing, and so he has invited me to work on that, but there are no details on it yet.”

Kojima stated before that he wants to do a “revolutionary” horror game ever since the P.T. demo happened a while back, so it’s natural that his next project after Death Stranding is going to be a horror game.


All The Games From Nacon Connect 2020

The Nacon Connect 2020 live stream took place earlier today, revealing several new games, as well as more content from previously-announced games.
Check them out below:
1. Vampire: The Masquerade â€“ Swansong

Developed by Big Bad Wolf Studio, Vampire: The Masquerade â€“ Swansong will launch for PS5, Xbox Series X, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC via the Epic Games Store sometime in 2021.
The synopsis reads:

Hazel Iversen, the Swan, is the new Prince of the Boston Camarilla.
An iron hand in a velvet glove, she intends to assert her power and enforce the Masquerade, the vampiric law designed to ensure humans never learn about her kind.
However, the best-laid plans of mice and men are often torn asunder.
As rumours of betrayal, murder, and power struggles reach fever pitch, you must work in the shadows to protect your Sect in a frantic investigation as the city of Boston is plunged into Chaos.

In Vampire: The Masquerade â€“ Swansong, players assume the role of three vampires, each over a hundred years old. Each character has their own vampiric disciplines that can be upgraded to suit your preferred approach, as well as allocate attributes and different skills.
The choices that players make during the investigation and their social interactions with characters can have a lasting impact on the fate of the three protagonistsâ€™ lives and the fate of the Boston Camarilla.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7L7M0R8fzA&w=560&h=315]
2. RiMS Racing

Developed by Raceward Studio, RiMS Racing is a motorcycle racing game simulator. One of the unique features of the game is the ability to monitor the status of the bike in real-time. The game will also feature both online multiplayer and singleplayer career modes, as well as the modification of the mechanical aspects of the bikes.
RiMS Racing is slated to release sometime in summer 2021, but no platforms were specified.
3. Rogue Lords

Cyanide Studio and Leikir Studio have released the story trailer for their upcoming dark fantasy roguelike Rogue Lords. Featuring turn-based combat, players assume the role of the Devil himself and can form their own team of evil monsters like Dracula, the Headless Horseman or Bloody Mary.
Rogue Lords is slated to release for PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC via Steam sometime in 2021.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypTXni-fngs&w=560&h=315]
4. Nacon x Microsoft

Nacon has announced a new global licencing agreement with Microsoft for the creation of officially licensed accessories designed for Xbox One, Xbox Series X and PC. This is an exciting development for gaming peripherals heading into the next generation.

We are pleased to announce a new global licencing agreement with @Microsoft for the creation of officially licensed accessories designed for @Xbox One, #XboxSeriesX and #PC.
Stay tuned for more!#NaconConnect pic.twitter.com/f6WhbDWB0E
â€” Nacon (@Nacon) July 7, 2020
5. Steelrising

Developed by Spiders Studio (the same developer behind last year’s underrated RPG gem Greedfall), Steelrising is a new and original universe with a much more action-focused approach.
In Steelrising, players assume the role of Aegis, a robot in female form and serving as a bodyguard to Queen Marie Antoinette, whose objective is to put an end to the massacres carried out by the robot army of King Louis XVI, who seems to have gone mad while trying to suppress the French Revolution.
In the game’s version of Paris, players will find well-known monuments and others that donâ€™t exist anymore. Thes include the Grand Chatelet and the Tour du Temple. The game asks the simple question of:
What would have happened if Louis XVI had been a tyrant and could indulge his passion for machines and automatons to crack down on the revolution in its early stages?
There is also more verticality to exploration in Steelrising compared to previous titles like Greedfall, so players have access to more movement varieties, such as climbing up on a balcony and discovering a secret passage to another location.
Aegis has weapons integrated into her body because sheâ€™s a robot, so players can choose to make her more powerful, more mobile, and more durable. She will have access to more than seven families of weapons, each one with its own unique characteristics.
The weapons range from ones on Aegis’ arms for very light combat to alchemical rifles for long-range attacks and much heavier weapons that players can use to flatten your enemies with maximum force. Last but not least, the game will feature lots of side quests, so players can also find unique gear and items that tie into these quests.
Steelrising is slated to release on PS5, Xbox Series X and PC (via Steam), though a release date or window has not been announced.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDAaeBSp4ow&w=560&h=315]
6. Werewolf: The Apocalypse â€“ Earthblood

Developed by Cyanide Studio, Werewolf: The Apocalypse â€“ Earthblood is aÂ unique experience full of savage combat and mystical adventures, inspired by the famous role-playing game.
Players assume the role of Cahal, a powerful Garou (read: a freaking werewolf) who chose to go into exile after losing control of his destructive rage. He can transform into a wolf and a Crinos, a huge ferocious beast.
Players must master the three forms and powers of human, wolf and Crinos to punish those who defile Gaia, Mother Earth.Â Each form has its advantages: the wolf can sneak around undetected, Cahal as a human can interact with other people, and the Werewolf can unleash its rage to tear enemies apart.
On his quest for redemption and blood, Cahal plays a crucial role in the great war between the Garou and Endron, a powerful oil company that serves the Wyrm, a destructive spirit ravaging the planet.
Werewolf: The Apocalypse â€“ Earthblood is slated to release for PS5, Xbox Series X, PS4, Xbox One, and PC via the Epic Games Store on 4 February 2021.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJKHn2ugRNI&w=560&h=315]
7. Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown

Developed by KT Racing Studio, Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown is the long-anticipated return of the Test Drive franchise after 2011’s Test Drive Unlimited 2. The physics engine is based on their work with the WRC racing series. It will feature cars from Ferrari, Lamborghini, and Bugatti, as well as extensive customization options for the player’s avatar.
The developer has yet to reveal specific platforms and release dates or windows, with the exception of PC via Steam.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SyzEkJKx3zY&w=560&h=315]
8. Roguebook

Developed by Abrakam Studio, Roguebook is a deck-building game with crafting and roguelike elements. This is set within the same world as their previous game, Faeria, and many of the characters come from that game as well.
The biggest surprise is that the developer is working with the legendary Richard Garfield, creator of Magic: The Gathering, to help design this game.

9. Tennis World Tour 2

Tennis World Tour 2 features new animations, increases the pace of the game, and offers players more opportunities to express their skill and score points. Pair up and compete in doubles matches or opt-in for a short flurry of intense competition in Tie Break Tens.
Tennis World Tour 2 is slated to release for PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC sometime in September 2020.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UToV8wQoPS8&w=560&h=315]
10. Warhammer Chaosbane

Developed by Eko Software, players can either play solo or with up to four in local or online co-op, choose a hero from five character classes with unique and complementary skills, and prepare for epic battles wielding some of the most powerful artefacts of the Old World.
Warhammer: Chaosbane is coming to the PS5 and Xbox Series X.
11. WRC 9
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-X2Ym-hhgQc&w=560&h=315]
WRC 9 is slated to release for Xbox One, PS4, PC via Epic Games Store on 3 September 2020, and at a later unspecified date on Xbox Series X and PS5 and Nintendo Switch.

You can check out the entire 40-minute or so Nacon Connect 2020 live stream below.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IL8k55zQ924&w=560&h=315]


Overwatch League Reveals Overwatch 2 Revamps Of Sombra & Bastion

During the Overwatch League pre-show, Overwatch 2 lead hero designer Geoff Goodman showed off some new details about the series’ DPS characters Sombra and Bastion.
We got a peek at Sombra’s new outfit a few months ago, but now we get to see her new kit.
Sombra
The big goal for Sombra in part 2 is reducing her crowd control effects and increasing her potential damage. Her key ability, Hack, now lasts eight seconds and comes with a reduced three-second cooldown. However, it comes in two flavours: Hack takes away hero abilities for a full second, with the other seven seconds showing the target hero’s location for Sombra & her teams. They’re also vulnerable to 50 percent extra damage from Sombra. Plus, Sombra can hack while in Stealth mode.
Her EMP Ultimate will now deal damage to enemies equivalent to 40% of their current health and hack them. Enemy shields will not be removed though.

Sombra changes coming to Overwatch 2
? Reveal hacked targets thru walls??? Hack no longer removes stealth? Hack cooldown reduced? Deal more dmg to hacked targetsAnd more… pic.twitter.com/Ty3vJqAli9
— Overwatch (@PlayOverwatch) September 26, 2021

Boop!
All new ability updates for Sombra coming to Overwatch 2. pic.twitter.com/Z678niEUb5
— Overwatch (@PlayOverwatch) September 26, 2021

Bastion
Bastion’s Self-Repair skill is now removed. However, he has a new ability called Tactical Grenade, which is a projectile that bounces off walls and sticks to players to deal large amounts of damage. His primary weapon no longer has spread but has a reduced rate of fire; think burst-fire rifle.
How is his Sentry/Turret mode this time? Bastion can now slowly move around the map in this form instead of staying in one place. This mode has a cooldown now, though.
His new Ultimate is now called Artillery Strike and lets players select three areas on the map where rockets will rain down from above. Air Strike, basically.

Bastion changes coming to Overwatch 2
?  Move while in sentry form?  New ultimate: Artillery Strike?  New ability: Tactical Grenade?  Cap-tivating new lookAnd more… pic.twitter.com/Jp4NGom4JO
— Overwatch (@PlayOverwatch) September 26, 2021

When is Overwatch 2 coming out?
Goodman and game director Aaron Keller did not mention any release date or year, but stated that playtests were ongoing and doing well.


Here Are the Major Hero Adjustments In the Latest Overwatch Patch (28 Feb 2018)

The latest Overwatch patch just went live and along with it comes the changes seen on the PTR in recent weeks. Doomfist, Mei and Sombra kits all got reworks that will make Doomfist more versatile and less-reliant on his punching arm, Mei’s blaster receiving a minor buff and Sombra relying less on her ult to be effective in the battlefield.
Here are all the major changes coming to our heroes as listed in the patch notes.
Doomfist

Hand Cannon

Ammo recovery rate increased from 0.8 seconds to 0.65 seconds per bullet

Developer Comments:Â This change will help Doomfist more consistently be able to use his weapon as part of his combos.

Mei

Endothermic Blaster

Freeze (slow) duration increased from 1 second to 1.5 seconds
Weapon alternate fire ammo cost reduced from 25 to 20

Developer Comment:Â Increasing Meiâ€™s slow duration helps her freeze targets that are particularly elusive such as Genji or LÃºcio. Lowering her alternate fire ammo cost allows her to more safely use it without costing her the ability to freeze enemies.

Sombra

EMP

No longer blocked by small objects (e.g. sign posts)

Hack

No longer gains ultimate charge from health pack healing
Cast time reduced from 0.8 seconds to 0.65 seconds
Now disables the following abilities:

Genjiâ€”Cyber-agility
Hanzoâ€”Wall Climb
Pharahâ€”Hover Jets
LÃºcioâ€”Healing Boost and Speed Boost (turns off current song entirely), Wall Ride
Mercyâ€”Angelic Descent

Machine Pistol

Machine Pistol spread reduced from 3 to 2.7

Opportunist

Enemy health bars are now visible when health drops below 100% (formerly 50%)

Her ability to detect enemies through walls at 50% or less remains unchanged

Translocator

Duration increased from 15 seconds to 20 seconds

Developer Comment:Â The goal of these changes for Sombra is to remove the necessity for her teammates to take damage and heal themselves with her hacked heath packs to try to get her ultimate charged up quickly. Her ultimate will now come up less often, but there are more abilities that are disabled by Hack so it is more effective when used. Previously, Opportunist would only activate when an enemyâ€™s health bar dipped below 50% but now the passive will reveal all damaged enemies which should help Sombra identify targets in her line of sight to pick off. Overall these changes should make her more effective and less reliant on her ultimate.

The patch also fixes some in-game bugs as well as the health packs locations for Blizzard World. For full description of Patch 1.20.0.3, read it here.


LEGO Shows Off Life-Sized Version Of McLaren F1

At the 2022 Australian Grand Prix, LEGO unveiled a life-sized replica of the McLaren Formula 1 race car ahead of this weekend’s races (via Twitter). Designed in partnership with McLaren Racing, the life-sized LEGO McLaren F1 can even fit a real F1 driver in its cockpit and eight-time Grand Prix winner Daniel Ricciardo is the one behind the wheel for this one.
The LEGO McLaren F1 car was assembled by a team led by LEGO Masters Australia judge Ryan ‘Brickman’ McNaught, featuring a whopping 288,315 bricks and taking more than 1893 hours to fully build. It also includes a number of mechanical features, such as moving pistons for its engine, a locking differential, and steering activated from the cockpit.
It will be showcased at the Versor Tech Hub located near gate 10 at the Australian Grand Prix track. If you’re interested in getting one, you can settle for the new LEGO Technic McLaren F1, which is priced at RM239.90 at the local Toys “R” Us in Malaysia.
Check out the images below:


Hearthstone’s New Single-Player Campaign Rumble Run Launches Today

After the highly-anticipated release of Hearthstone expansion Rastakhan’s Rumble last week, Blizzard has launched the new single-player campaign, Rumble Run, earlier today.
Players will assume the role of Rikkar, a newbie troll gladiator who joins one of the nine teams in the tournament to earn the title of Azerothâ€™s mightiest troll. It is similar to Monster Hunt and Dungeon Run, where they will face opposing teams with increasing difficulty, gathering new cards and powers to build a deck as they make their way through the Rumble.
Rumble Run begins with the player selecting one of the Shrines, each of which represents a specific Loa. These Loa will start each game in play but when they’re destroyed, they will return to the field after three turns. Players can look forward to exploiting the extremely powerful passive effects of 27 possible Shrines.

For more details and information on Hearthstone‘s Rastakhan’s Rumble expansion, head on over here. In the meantime, check out the video below to learn more about Rumble Run with Hearthstone Mission Designer Paul Nguyen.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aclYUEUhaIg&w=560&h=315]


RealMe 3: Just Another Generic Smartphone In A Saturated Market?

The budget smartphone market is a saturated market with tons of options, and buyers will definitely be overwhelmed by the variety of choices. There’s Oppo, Vivo, Redmi, Samsung, and Huawei, and it seems like all the brands are just another smartphone on the market. Nothing outstanding from each other.
We have a new player in the market. It’s the RealMe 3 and it’s pretty impressive.
The phone is aimed at the younger crowd and with the younger crowd comes mobile gaming and everything revolving around social media.
I’ve had the phone for quite a while for a number of uses. It became my camera, my navigator, my Spotify machine and mainly, my portable gaming device. These activities require tons of juice, and you’ll be needing a powerful battery so that you won’t be constantly needing to fetch the chunky and cumbersome power bank everywhere you go.
Bear in mind that I’ll be focusing the phone on gaming since that’s our raison d’ÃªtreÂ and because I spent quite some time on gaming. The unit that we have here is the 4GB/64GB model.
The Body
The RealMe 3 smartphone features a 6.2-inch display, with an 88.30 per cent screen-to-body ratio. The display has a 19:9 aspect ratio and has a resolution of 1520 x 720 pixels. On top of the display sits a dewdrop notch.
While the bezels have been narrowed on the top and the sides of the phone, it still has a pretty prominent chin at the bottom end. The back of the phone sports its dual camera setup and a fingerprint reader. The bottom sports a downward firing speaker, a micro USB slot and a headphone jack.

The body features a unibody design, meaning it is one, single piece. RealMe has ditched the age-old sandwich-like structure formed by the screen + middle frame + back cover commonly adopted by other smartphone brands and has gone for a more elegant design.
To achieve this design language, RealMe 3 uses the injection moulded unibody that removes the middle frame and thus produces a much better feeling of grasp and visual effect.
Visually, the phone has only one seam between the screen and the body and that makes it look premium. The back cover reserves and extends the gradient effect to the maximum extent, ensuring a smooth lighting transition and a strong sense of wholeness.
Also, the use of injection moulding allows more flexible exterior design. The resultant introduction of the waistline makes the entire phone look smoother, lighter, and thinner. As there are no resultant seams from joining different materials, the phone boasts a sense of smooth touch and a perfect fit for the holding hand to give a tighter and more comfortable feel.
The phone has a great build, and it feels great in the hand. The contour and the texture are welcoming to the touch, and it looks great too.
The device I’m using features a Dynamic Black gradient colourway that’s visually striking and pleasing to the eye. It shimmers and has a pearly look.

Although it looks great and all, there’s one tiny little problem here. It attracts fingerprints and that is a huge problem for me. Fortunately, they have provided a clear case that avoids the fingerprint issue while still giving you the opportunity to show off that beautiful back.
It’s a fingerprint magnet.
The Camera
The phone sports a 13 MP + 2 MP camera setup at the rear, which features a PDAF fast focusing and f/1.8 aperture.
The camera has yellow accents, reflecting it’s brand language.
I’ll make it simple, it’s above decent at best. You won’t be shooting documentaries or making professional photos, but it’d be a great tool to boost your likes on social media accounts.
Despite the dual camera setup, the colours produced in the images by this phone are not as impressive as you see in phones in this price range. And it gets worse when you are shooting under the booth lighting with a yellow tint as the images tend to burn out, and look brown.
In general, the images from this phone have an inherent yellow tint in them. Besides that, the RealMe 3â€™s camera does not do a very good job of capturing the details when you shoot photographs in low light.
It’s a hit-and-miss for me. Some shots are great while others seem to be slightly off.
Here are some sample shots of the camera:

It’s true that it tends to highlight brownish tones, although certain shots like bright shots get the Chroma Boost treatment making the colourful shot more vibrant than it is.
 Using AI technologies, scenes in photos are recognized and optimized accordingly into a larger dynamic range, with more enriched details in highlighted parts and shadows, and more balanced exposure. Also, certain colours can be optimized based on scenes to look brighter and more appealing.

Details are seemingly lost in photos, even in brightly lit environments. Take a look at the photos below, and try to zoom on my cat’s luscious ginger coat.

You can see that the details on the fur are muddled up, although you can see that the colours are rich and saturated.
Here’s an example of the front shooter. It makes a decent selfie phone especially with the software bokeh effect and the beauty enhancements.

Gaming
As we are a gaming site, we’re definitely going to talk about games. So here’s the main discussion of the article.
The phone plays well in modern popular titles such as PUBG Mobile, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang. The RealMe 3 definitely aces casual games.
I’ve been casually gaming on the phone for a while now and I have to say it handles applications way better than what I’m rocking now; an Xperia Z5.
The Xperia Z5 plays games flawlessly thanks to its Snapdragon 810 but falters when it starts to overheat, and the Z5 does that a lot, and at one point the phone becomes too hot to the touch. Like literally too hot to hold and play games on.
Meanwhile, the RealMe 3 plays flawlessly from start to the end without cooking the users hands, maintaining temperature around 40 degrees, while pushing a steady 30 frames per second on PUBG Mobile while playing on a mix of medium and high settings.

We’ve tried pushing Mobile Legends: Bang Bang to its graphical limits, setting everything on Ultra, and the RealMe 3 manages to churn out 30 fps without any dips. The only tradeoff here is the reduced battery life.

Another game I’ve been playing on my free time is Real Racing 3, and as the name implies, it’s another racing sim with relatively proper physics and realistic graphics. In other words, it’s right up my alley.
The phone manages to run the game flawlessly well. I used a mixture of touch controls as well as motion controls and the phone responded gloriously, flinging my Ferrari LaFerrari through Monza’s double right-hander Lesmo turns. It’s an instantaneous phone.
Here’s a clip of me driving through Suzuka.
[wpvideo gGQJKxbr]
All this great gaming prowess, but the phone never gets hotter than 40 degrees Celcius, which is warm to the touch.
Game Space
Another feature poised for gamers. The feature automatically adds game apps into a category whenever a new game app is installed, it will be recognized and included in Game Space.

At the same time, relevant game optimization functions will be turned on, so as to facilitate game management for the user. Basically, it clears the phone of its precious RAM and focuses resources to the game so you can game better.
It also provides game optimization functions, such as the performance mode, do-not-disturb mode, brightness lock.
One thing to keep in mind is the speaker placement. Because of bottom firing speakers positioning, often more than not, I find the speakers covered by my own hands.
The Battery
No phone review is complete without the mention of its battery, and here I can proudly say that the RealMe 3 nests one hell of a beast.
I’ve used the phone to cover events such as the SEA Games Selection. The 4,230 mAh battery manages to handle all the tasks without draining itself too quickly.
I’ve also used the phone to catch up on Game of Thrones. To make matters interesting, I usually watch shows on the vibrant screen while connected to a Bluetooth speaker for a heightened experience. Streaming takes a huge toll on a phone’s battery, but the RealMe 3 handled the task with low drain. It’s such a magnificent phone.

I could finish two episodes at 15% battery and the phone still won’t die. Mind you, no spoilers, please!

With a full charge, it would last more than a day easily.
Conclusion
I’ve previously said in my mobile gaming article that the RealMe 3 is a good phone at this price point

The Realme 3 has enough features to qualify itself as a powerful phone. It might not be a Samsung Note 9 killer, but it is a viable option for budget-oriented buyers.

The 3GB RAM + 32GB ROM version is priced at RM599 while the 4GB RAM + 64GB ROM is RM699. Priced well below the thousand ringgit mark, it is a great option for buyers who are aiming for a decent phone at that price point, especially budget-conscious teens who like to play games with their phones or catch up with friends on social media.
This phone does it’s job so well that I would recommend it for socialites, especially in a market where choice is abundant.
Pros

Pretty design
Decent camera
Great gaming performance
Affordable
Long-lasting battery

Cons

Weak speaker
No 1080p playback
Fingerprint magnet

FINAL SCORE: 80/100


PSA: The New Overwatch Anniversary Legendary Skins Are Out Now

Itâ€™s the fourth anniversary of Overwatch since its initial launch back in 2016, and Blizzard Entertainment is celebrating the occasion by adding a plethora of new skins, highlight intros, emotes, sprays, and more. The three-week Overwatch Anniversary 2020 event will run from today on 19 May 2020 to next month on 9 June 2020.

In addition, all past seasonal brawls and items have been made available once again (except rewards from previous challenges). Players who log in during the event will also earn a Legendary Anniversary Loot Box containing at least one legendary item.
You can check out the schedule for the returning favourite modes from previous seasonal events and brawls on the official website here. Those who reach nine wins each week will unlock a new epic skin. For instance, week one brings the Carbon Fiber Sigma epic skin, while the Fleur de Lis Widowmaker andÂ  Masked Man McCree will be featured in week two and three, respectively.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-8huHHMeyc&w=560&h=315]
That’s not even mentioning the five new legendary skins, which includes Masquerade Reaper, Huitzilopochtli Zenyatta, Little Red Ashe, Submarine Wrecking Ball, and Dragoon Mercy. Feast your eyes on them: