World Of Warcraft Players Hold In-Game Protest Following Sexual Harassment Lawsuit

Yesterday, allegations of the horrible treatment of women and harmful “frat-boy culture” went viral as the California Department Of Fair Employment And Housing filed a lawsuit against Activision Blizzard. As a response, the World Of Warcraft social hub of Oribos was recently packed with players who are participating in an in-game protest against Activision Blizzard.
The protest was organized by Fence Macabre, a role-playing guild on the Wyrmrest Accord and Moon Guard servers. They are also running a fundraising campaign for the charity Black Girls Code, a non-profit organization dedicated to teaching young girls about computer programming and digital technology.

Thank you everyone who came out to the #OribosSitIn, we could not have anticipated the community response and have raised over 8000$ for @BlackGirlsCode. Our fundraiser, linked in replies, will remain open until Monday July 26th. Our full statement:https://t.co/LMPY3mom6h pic.twitter.com/FywNPjMTNZ
— Fence Macabre Caravan (@fencemacabre) July 23, 2021

One of the names included in the lawsuit is former World Of Warcraft senior creative director Alex Afrasiabi. He has since left the company, but there are several World Of Warcraft characters and items still named after him or as a tribute to him. These include an NPC in Stormwind City named Field Marshal Afrasiabi, and a quest called The Great Fras Siabi involving an NPC of the same name in Stratholme.
Field Marshal Afrasiabi in Stormwind City.
In a statement posted on Tumblr, Fence Macabre posted:
All of you, whether youâ€™ve been with us since this morning or for only a portion, you have made a powerful statement with your presence. We hope this protest forces Blizzard to look in the mirror and see that those who inflicted harmâ€”be it through direct action or by complacencyâ€”are held accountable.
Above all: We sit in solidarity for the victims and survivors of Blizzardâ€™s hostile work culture, be they those who were forced to leave, those who continue to endure the suffering as we speak, and most: those who are no longer with us.
Change doesnâ€™t happen overnight. We know this. But change starts with a spark, a humbleâ€”yet powerfulâ€”spark all of you have shone bright today. We hope from this spark, Activision-Blizzard can illuminate the rot plaguing their company and make transparent, lasting changes to better their organization and associated IPs.


Guilty Gear Strive Closed Beta Starter Guide

Arc System Works’ next entry in the Guilty Gear franchise is in closed beta and available to download for select folks on PS4. Fans can now see what the fuss is about, given the recent news about the game being less “combo-savvy” than usual.
The developers released a few videos on how to play the available characters in the game. These include Sol Badguy, Ky Kiske, May, Axl Low, Chipp Zanuff, and Potemkin. We’ll break it down for you.
Sol Badguy
If you want an aggressive shoto-like character to use, Sol is your top choice.

Ky Kiske
Ky Kiske’s moveset makes him the ideal beginner character for first-time Guilty Gear players.

May
This charge character has the best moves to get in close and pressure foes. She is offense-driven to the core.

Axl Low
Axl is a great fighter at long range. Use his Sickle Flash and his many, many follow ups to keep opponents guessing from a distance.

Chipp Zanuff
With so many options for combos and hit-and-run tactics, Chipp Zanuff is offense-driven to the core. If you so much as play defensively with him, you’re playing him wrong.

Potemkin
Prefer damage over fancy combos? Potemkin’s the best in dealing big damage up-close and also in mid-ranged footsies.


Persona Series Soundtracks Now On Spotify; Here Are Our Recommended Tracks

Twitter account AniPlaylist stated that official soundtracks for the Persona series (and Catherine the puzzle game about infidelity and sheep) are out on Spotify right now. This includes the following:

Persona 2 Sound Collection Vol. 1 & Vol. 2
Persona 3 & FES Original Soundtrack
Persona 4 & Golden Original Soundtrack
Persona 5 Original Soundtrack
Persona 4: Dancing All Night
Persona 4 Arena Ultimax
Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth
Persona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth
Never More -Reincarnation: Persona 4-
Persona 3 & Persona 4 Vocal Sound Selection

Persona Music Fes 2013

Persona Super Live 2015

If you’re using Spotify in Southeast Asia, you may need to type in the Japanese characters for Persona (which is “ãƒšãƒ«ã‚½ãƒŠ”) to get the desired results. Otherwise, you’ll be getting covers of famous Persona tracks.
The Best Tracks From The Persona Series To Stream On Spotify
Why stop at just writing about the existence of Persona songs on Spotify for the entire world? Here are my top picks when you’re cruising down the highways of Malaysia or the causeways of Singapore.
Signs of Love (Persona 4)

Heartbreak, Heartbreak (Persona 4)

Never More (Persona 4)

Wake Up, Get Up, Get Out There (Persona 5)

Beneath the Mask -rain- (Persona 5)

Baby baby baby Mass Destruction (Persona 3)

Brand New Days (Persona 3 Fes)

Memories of You (Persona 3)

On a related note, check out this SoundScape video that highlights the best of Persona & Catherine composer Shoji Meguro.


Our Earth Now Has A Satellite Named XCOM

That’s one way to shove in a gaming reference to help Earth out. The US Naval Research Laboratory has launched two new satellites into orbit around the Earth. One is called SPADE and the other…

what's XCOM?  https://t.co/wXzxNWKw3s  ??
— U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (@USNRL) May 8, 2019

…is XCOM, which is the same name as the turn-based sci-fi strategy title where you defend the Earth from alien invaders. Is there something the government is not telling the world?
Truth is, the satellite will not be detecting and mounting an offense against oncoming alien visitors and trespassers. Instead, it’ll be researching X-ray communications, which includes the kind that can pierce the hot plasma sheath that builds up as spacecraft hurdles through Earth’s atmosphere at hypersonic speeds. So basically a version of an Ion Cannon in those Command & Conquer games.
The naming of the satellite may be on purpose. XCOM lead designer Jake Solomon pointed out the logo similarities between the satellite XCOM and the in-game XCOM faction via Twitter:

And here is the official project badge, so yeah, they're going all in.  In actuality that's pretty cool. pic.twitter.com/7qaRtceVWO
— Jake Solomon (@SolomonJake) May 8, 2019

For comparison, here’s the XCOM logo from the game. Coincidence? We think not.


Get Equipped With This Mega Man 5-in-1 Collection Box

One of the best things about being a gamer is that every now and then, we get exactly what we want. Unfortunately, sometimes there are a few complications.
That’s the case with this upcoming Mega Man & Mega Man X 5 in 1 Special Box for the Nintendo Switch. It’s a dream come true for Mega Man fans but if you’re living outside of Japan, you’re going to have to jump through some hoops to get it because it’s a Japan-only release.

Here’s what you get in the box:

Mega Man 11 Booklet

30th Anniversary art Piece

Mega Man Legacy Collection 1 + 2

Mega Man X Legacy Collection 1 + 2

Mega Man 11

The pre-orders are open now on Amazon Japan. The limited box set will be launched on 19 December 2019.
Earlier on, we had news of the Fallout Legacy Collection only coming out in Germany and the UK. Let’s hope this won’t become a trend because everyone else around the world wants these collections too!
Thanks for the heads up, Destructoid.


Bandai Namco Announces A New Dragon Ball Z Asymmetrical Survival Game

Horror multiplayer survivor game Dead By Daylight sure has influenced a number of game companies to make their own asymmetrical online game. Bandai Namco seems to be affected as it announced a new Dragon Ball Z title that’s an online game similar in scope. Minus the blood and gore, of course.
Dragon Ball: The Breakers pits 7 players against 1 overpowered bad guy. As the Survivor Team, the 7 players need to co-operate and find the Super Time Machine to escape the map they’re on, using powerups they find on the map. The OP Raider? He/she just has to kill all players to win the game, gaining power/forms over the course of the match. So if you’re Perfect Cell, you should be winning games.
The Survivor characters include Bulma and Oolong, while the Raiders include super-powered killers Cell, Buu, and Frieza. Survivor characters can be customized, of course. So yeah, exactly like Dead By Daylight but with less horror and more shonen anime tropes.

Dragon Ball The Breakers will be out in 2022 for all major consoles and PC. A closed beta test is coming soon for PC.


Watch Dogs Legion Assassin’s Creed Content Is Now Live

Ubisoft has announced that Title Update 5.5 is now available in Watch Dogs Legion on Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5, the Epic Games Store and Ubisoft Store on PC.

Title Update 5.5 welcomes Assassinâ€™s Creed to Watch Dogs Legion with two free story missions – â€œEnter the Assassinsâ€ and â€œThe New Creedâ€ â€“ and two free world missions â€“ â€œTemplar Huntâ€ and â€œArtifact Hunt.â€ Players who have the Season Pass will be able to play as Darcy, a member of the Assassin Order from Assassinâ€™s Creed, in both single-player and online, with abilities including:

Hidden Blade: The iconic Assassin weapon. Improves melee and perform takedowns from any angle.
Eagle Drone: A scout drone that can self-destruct and can emit a short-range electromagnetic pulse.
AR Disguise: Players can assume the look of an enemy to get access to restricted locations. Also applies to nearby allies in multiplayer.

The update also includes other free content across the online mode of Watch Dogs Legion and single-player campaign:
Online mode:

Invasion PvP: This fan-favourite PvP mode gets the Play-as-Anyone treatment; Invaders will have access to tools of deception, including the ability to swap to other characters in the world to avoid detection. The Search team will use their weapons, abilities and tools from the environment to prevent the download from finishing.
Extraction PvP: A new mode where players will obtain the prized crypto drives and race across the city to upload data while being hunted down by opposing players.
New rewards such as the crown of wishes mask, timeless livery outfit and ornate nocturne outfit.

Single-player campaign:

Resistance mode: Players can step into a challenging new way to experience Watch Dogs Legionâ€™s campaign, where:

Permadeath is always on.
Tube station fast travel is disabled.
Most civilians start out by disliking DedSec.
Most abilities, hacks and gadgets have significantly longer cooldowns.
And more.

Additionally, Watch Dogs Legion of the Dead is now available on Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5, alongside the Epic Games Store and Ubisoft Store on PC. Watch Dogs Legion of the Dead delivers a rogue-lite experience where players will have to â€œSurvive-as-Anyoneâ€ against the looming threat of the undead and hostile living roaming the re-imagined fallen city of London.
In solo or up to four friends in co-op, players will need to strategize on how to reach the extraction point for each run and gather as many supplies as possible along the way. Players can use abilities such as the Bee Swarm to decimate enemies, the AR Cloak to escape threats, and a Combat Spider-Bot equipped with a turret for protection.

In Watch Dogs Legion, London is facing its downfall. Amidst the growing unrest of a restless London, an unknown entity named Zero-Day has framed secret underground resistance DedSec for coordinated bombings across London. In the aftermath, criminal opportunists from every corner of London took hold and filled the void left by a defeated government.
As a member of DedSec, players will go up against those criminal opportunists in Watch Dogs: Legion; sadists, mercenaries, cybercriminals, and more; theyâ€™ll have to be prepared for a variety of situations. Players must recruit members into their DedSec Resistance to take on these criminal opportunists, liberate London and uncover the identity of Zero-Day.


Chainsaw Man Is Coming To Netflix Malaysia This February

Netflix Malaysia has announced that Chainsaw Man is coming to Netflix in February 2023. Produced by Mappa, the Chainsaw Man anime is still ongoing right now and it originally premiered in October 2022 on Crunchyroll.
When his father died, Denji was stuck with a huge debt and had no way to pay it back. Thanks to a Devil dog he saved named Pochita, he’s able to survive through odd jobs and killing Devils for the Yakuza. Pochita’s chainsaw powers come in handy against these powerful demons. When the Yakuza betrays him and he’s killed by the Zombie Devil, Pochita sacrifices himself to save his former master. Now Denji has been reborn as some kind of weird Devil-Human hybrid. He is now a Chainsaw Man!

All Denji wants is a normal life. Instead, he becomes a hybrid who can transform his body parts into chainsaws ? #ChainsawMan is coming to Netflix, 1 Feb. pic.twitter.com/7b09HcH3uV
— Netflix Malaysia (@NetflixMY) December 5, 2022

You can head on over here for our article on all the film references in the anime’s opening, or watch the video below.


New Silent Hill Games Leak Ahead Of Planned Live Stream

Konami has launched the YouTube page (English, Japanese) for tomorrow’s Silent Hill Transmission, which will premiere at 5 am GMT+8 on 20 October 2022. However, the video accidentally reveals presumably leaked information about what games will be announced in the video description and in its video tags.
At the time of writing, these have since been removed, but here is the proof via screenshots from ResetEra:
The video description listed a Silent Hill 2 remake/remaster:

The video tags reveal the following keywords:

Ascension
Interview
KONAMI
PlayStation
Return to SILENT HILL
SILENT HILL
SILENT HILL 2
SILENT HILL Transmission
SILENT HILL f
SILENT HILL: Ascension
Steam
Teaser Trailer

Stay tuned for our coverage of the official reveal tomorrow morning. Excelsior!


Google Stadia Will Be Missing Key Features At Launch

With less than a week from launch day, it’s quite obvious that not many people are excited about the Google Stadia. It will be launching with only 12 games and the base free subscription plan won’t be available until next year. More news have surfaced and unfortunately, the launch just keeps sounding worse.

In a recent Reddit AMA with Stadia director of product Andrey Doronichev and product manager Beri Lee, participants asked them a lot of questions regarding the launch. In a way, that’s something to be happy about because it shows that people are still somewhat excited for Stadia. However, the answers to some of those questions might have killed the excitement.
One of the biggest promises that Google made was that the Stadia would be able to stream 4K gameplay on any device as long as you have the required internet speed and stability.Â  Looks like that won’t be the case at launch. 4K, HDR, and 5.1 Surround Sound won’t be available for PC Chrome gameplay on day one. In fact, it’s only expected to arrive sometime in 2020.
On day one, 4K, HDR, and 5.1 Surround Sound will only available if you’re streaming through Chromecast Ultra. According to the Google employees, feedback from Founders (those who were earliest to sign up for Stadia) told them that 4K TV was their top priority for launch.
Family Sharing, the function that would allow you to share games with family members using different devices on the same subscription plan, will also not be available at launch. So if you’re planning to play multiplayer with your children or spouse, tough luck. You will have to purchase the game again for the other person’s account. The feature is planned to be launched in early 2020.
My favourite part of the AMA is how they try to cushion the fact that even Achievements won’t really be ready on the first day. The employees said that the “games will be recording your achievements on Stadia on day one” but the platform UI for viewing your achievements and getting notifications for when you get an achievement will only come “shortly” after launch”.
The way they end the answer is embarrassingly sad despite the cheerful tone:

“I know, itâ€™s something you want. Just imagine the day the UI launches: youâ€™ll get a bunch of achievements all at once! MEGA OVER ACHIEVEMENT! :)”

In the end, everyone can see that the Google Stadia just isn’t ready for launch. There’s no doubt that it will be probably be functional and the 12 launch games will be playable but if it’s missing key features like letting you share games with your kids and playing in 4K on your own computer, then it’s safe to assume that it was never planned to be launched this early.
Thanks for the heads up, PC Gamer.


Rhythm Game Unbeatable Collabs With Malaysia’s No Straight Roads

D-CELL GAMES has announced the Unbeatable x No Straight Roads collaboration. Starting from today’s patch V1.0.8, Unbeatable players can play One Eye Closed’s Low, the ending theme of No Straight Roads. In addition, a new stage inspired by NSR’s “Vinyl City” is featured alongside the song in Unbeatable.

Unbeatable [white label] is a special episodic side-story set in the world of the upcoming rhythm-adventure game, Unbeatable. As a part of Unbeatable‘s crowdfunding campaign, every episode of [white label] will feature new story content and beatmaps, eventually finishing a complete stand-alone narrative.
You can download and play the game for free on Steam now.


Xbox Design Lab Returns; Lets You Personalize Your Own Xbox Series Controller

The Xbox One’s Xbox Design Lab from a gaming generation ago has returned. And this time, it’ll be focused on Xbox Series controllers.
The Xbox Design Lab lets you create an Xbox Series X and S controller with the colours of your choice as well as custom engraved text. You can pick your colour palette for the controller’s body, select buttons styles, engrave customized text, and then have it shipped for US$69.99.

It’s back.
Personalize your own next-gen controller with the revamped Xbox Design Lab: https://t.co/RdRSChsomr | #Xbox pic.twitter.com/O6JuFXhmol
— Xbox (@Xbox) June 17, 2021

The bad news? It’s only shipping these customized controllers to North America and European markets. Hopefully the Singapore market will be getting these so that the rest of Southeast Asia can start paralleling importing these bad boys.


GigaBash Co-Op Mayhem Mode Unveiled, Demo Coming Later This Month

Malaysian developer Passion Republic Games have released a new trailer for their Tokusatsu-inspired arena brawler GigaBash, showing off the monstrous multiplayer minigame madness of the gameâ€™s mayhem mode.
Theyâ€™re also inviting players to beat the bananas out of each other in a free demo thatâ€™s running as part of the Steam Next Fest, from 21 February to 28 February 2022.
In Mayhem Mode, up to four players can pick from a wacky collection of minigames via local play. Itâ€™s designed to be “easy to pick up, fun to watch, and more fun to play”, making it the perfect to bust out at a party or when you have a mix of seasoned players and first-timers at your house.
Mayhem Mode will be included in the free demo at the upcoming Steam Next Fest, alongside Online Mode where players can challenge each other in Free-For-All, Teamplay, or Duel, battling against AI, and Couch Play, which lets you thrash friends and family from the comfort of your own home.
The devs will also host two live streams on Steam during the Next Fest to showcase the game. You should expect lots of gameplay, shenanigans and even a developer tournament.

Day 1: Letâ€™s Hang Out with the Devs!

22 February 2022 (Tuesday)

1 pm GMT+8

Day 3: Tournament: Duel of Devs

24 February 2022 (Thursday)

1 pm GMT+8

The Demo will also be available on Epic Games Store on the same date. Players on both platforms will get to battle each other in Online Play via the technical sorcery of Cross-Play networking.
GigaBashÂ is slated to release for the PS4, PS5, and PC viaÂ SteamÂ andÂ Epic Games Store in 2022. For more details and information, you can check out the officialÂ GigaBashÂ Twitter account here.
Check out the trailer below:


Borderlands 3 Maurice Black Market Location â€“ Week 2

Just like Xur in Destiny 2, Maurice’s Black Market vending machine changes locations in Borderlands 3. Here is where you can find this elusive machine for the week of 15th to 22nd April 2021.
You can find this exclusive vending machine in Ascension Bluff in the Holy Broadcast Center, located on the planet Pandora.Â It’s going to be a trek.

The items on sale are:

Kaos Assault Rifle
Lyuda Sniper Rifle
MIRV Hex Grenade

To see how these weapons stack up in Borderlands 3’s 2021 Legendary weapons tier list, head here.


Vampire Survivors: Tides Of Foscari DLC Unlock Guide

Vampire Survivors’ new DLC, Tides of Foscari, is out right now. The new content for the roguelike bullet-hell WASD game features new stages and characters inspired by classic fantasy RPG tropes all taking place in a new enchanted forest map.
The DLC features 8 new characters and 13 new weapons. Here’s how you can unlock them.
Vampire Survivors: Tides Of Foscari – How To Unlock All New Characters

To get started with unlocking Tides of Foscari characters, you need to find Eleanor in a coffin on the new map, Lake Foscari. She’s usually marked as a “?” on the map and is on the northwest from your starting location. Go north, then when you reach a river, cross over the bridge. You’ll just have to go straight to Eleanor’s coffin.
Here’s the full list of characters and their unlocking requirements. The first four characters can be unlocked by playing in Lake Foscari. For the remaining characters, you need to break the Lake Foscari seal with Keitha (see below).

Eleanor: Find and open the coffin in Lake Foscari.
Maruto Cuts: Unite SpellString, SpellStream, and SpellStrike.
Keitha: Evolve the Eskizzibur.
Sammy: Defeat a total of 6,000 Sammies.
Luminaire Foscari: As Maruto, break the Seal of the Abyss.
Genevieve Gruyère: With Eleanor, break the Seal of the Banished.
Je-Ne-Viv: Defeat 100,000 enemies in a single run with Genevieve Gruyère.
Rottin’Ghoul: Defeat a total of 6,000 Rotting Ghouls.

Vampire Survivors: Tides Of Foscari – How To Unlock Second Version Of Lake Foscari

The new map Lake Foscari takes place in a magical forest with tons of multiple rivers and a giant lake at the top right corner. There are a couple different versions of the map; here’s how you unlock them.
-Hyper Lake Foscari: Defeat the Avatar of Gaea. It appears at the 25-minute mark.
-Abyss Foscari: Break the Seal of the Lake with Keitha. To do this, evolve Keitha’s starting weapon The Flash Arrow. You need to unlock this map to break the Seal of the Abyss and Seal of the Banished.

Vampire Survivors: Tides Of Foscari – How To Unlock New Weapons and Evolutions

There are 13 new weapons in the DLC, with 5 of them being evolutions of other weapons.

SpellString – Survive 15 minutes with Eleanor Uziron.
SpellStream – Get SpellStream to level 6.
SpellStrike – Get SpellStrike to level 6.
Eskizzibur – Survive 15 minutes with Maruto Cuts.
Flash Arrow – Survive 15 minutes with Keitha Muort.
Prismatic Missile – Survive 15 minutes with Luminaire Foscari.
Shadow Servant – Survive 15 minutes with Genevieve Gruyère.
Party Popper – Can be bought from the Merchant after unlocking Rottin’Ghoul.

Here are the evolution requirements. To evolve a weapon, you need to have both the weapon and the required items at max level. After that, you have a chance of getting the evolution whenever you pick up a chest dropped by an elite enemy.

Legionnaire – Evolved Eskizzibur with max-level Armor
SpellStrom – Evolved from having SpellString, SpellStream, and SpellStrike at max level
Millionaire – Evolved from Flash Arrow with max-level Clover and Bracer
Luminaire – Evolved from Prismatic Missile with max-level Crown
Ophion – Evolved from Shadow Servant with max-level Skull O’Maniac


How Three Decades of Final Fantasy Shaped VII Remake’s Combat [Part 2]

This is the second part of a two-parter Final Fantasy feature to cap off Moogle March. Read the first part here.Â
Previously, we’ve touched on the NES, SNES, and PlayStation One generation of Final Fantasy’s battle systems. Now let’s touch upon the 2001 era and beyond!
X-XII – Developing A Knack For Experimentation
Final Fantasy X

Not backing down from lofty goals, Final Fantasy’s debut on the PlayStation 2 would truly start the trend for the series as one of constant reinvention. With Final Fantasy X (2001), a new battle format was conceived by Toshiro Tsuchida in place of the tried-and-true ATB system. Dubbed as the Conditional Turn-Based Battle (CTB) system, it was a return to the turn-based formula, though somewhat different from its more traditional counterpart.
Turns in FFX were decided based on stats, determining which of allies or enemies could act first. Additionally, specific moves possessed either more or less delay, which affected how far back a character would be sent before they could act again. For instance, trivial actions such as using items had small enough delay that characters could sometimes act twice in a row, while powerful spells such as Ultima would set a character many turns back, making them a sitting duck.

If ATB rewarded being flexible and nimble in decisions, the CTB system encouraged thoughtfulness and properly considering risk vs reward.

Another unique addition was the ability to actively switch out allies. Without expending a turn, players could swap out a sword-based character such as Tidus mid-battle with, say, Lulu to take advantage of her expertise in black magic. This opened a slew of strategic opportunities and encouraged players to familiarize themselves with all of the cast and their abilities.

FFVIII’s original idea of shifting character progression away from leveling up came full circle with FFX. The Sphere Grid was a complex skill tree consisting of nodes that characters slowly unlocked, filled with stat boosts and abilities. Depending on how players preferred to raise their characters, they could focus on paths that championed specific playstyles. Leveling the Sphere Grid was done by using AP obtained through battles, as well as Spheres.
There were many different types of Spheres capable of customizing characters’ stats or unlocking specific nodes. In essence, players needed a healthy supply of both AP and Spheres to strengthen their characters, but since this could be done by grinding battles the old-fashioned way, the format was nowhere as controversial as FFVIII’s systems.
Final Fantasy XI

Medieval fantasy and job switching made its return once more, though not in the way many fans expected. Final Fantasy XI (2003) became the first Final Fantasy to be developed as an MMORPG. Unlike previous games which were singleplayer experiences, multiplayer was at the forefront of experience in this title. Players could enjoy many aspects of Final Fantasy, like exploring dungeons and battling epic bosses, but they were expected to do so with a friend.

An important thing to note about FFXI was its shift away from random encounters. Since players inhabited a world and were meant to work together to fight monsters, it was important that Square Enix create a world where sharing experiences with friends was seamless.

The Real Time Battle (RTB) system designed by Akihiko Matsui was made such that enemies now freely roamed the land, which was a first for Final Fantasy. As such, players could choose whether to confront these monsters or evade them while exploring. In previous Final Fantasy games, battles took place in a separate battle area. However, FFXI’s battles were seamless, occurring on the same landscape that players explored.
To match this, battles also occurred in real time. While characters and enemies attacked each other automatically, players could also input commands via a menu, similar to classic Final Fantasy games. Many of these abilities had inherent cooldowns, which was reminiscent of the ATB system in some sense, but ultimately different due to having to keep track of multiple timers rather than just one.
The game also introduced a threat mechanic, which determined how enemies would target players in a battle. This worked similar to many other MMOs, in which certain abilities, as well as relative strength, helped divert enemy attention towards a specific person.
Final Fantasy XII

It wasn’t long after that the series returned to singleplayer with Final Fantasy XII (2006). Taking some aspects from FFXI, it was a game that also featured seamless transitioning between battle and exploration. With the Active Dimension Battle (ADB) system, designed by Hiroyuki Ito, FFXII became something of a single-player MMORPG. Similar to Final Fantasy XI and other games in the MMO genre, players explored a world already filled with roaming creatures, some of which were too powerful for them to battle at the time.
In battle, players could execute commands through a menu. Standard stuff, and a legitimate way of playing the game all things considered. However, to help ease the need to micromanage a battle lineup of three characters in a real-time environment, the game also introduced the unique Gambit system.

The Gambit system, in a nutshell, allowed players to program the AI of party members so they could fight and use abilities automatically. Players could collect Gambits throughout the world, which were essentially conditions that could be set to characters. An example of a Gambit would be to use Cure on a party member with health below 70%.

There were offensive and defensive Gambits alike, with a large number of open slots for players to set them to as characters levelled up.

With this in mind, the beauty of FFXII’s combat came from being able to customize your Gambits in such a way that battles happened without you having to lift a finger.
NEXT PAGE: Final Fantasy XIII onwards


Crystal Dynamics Now Owns Tomb Raider & Legacy Of Kain

American games developer Crystal Dynamics have announced that they have taken control of fan favourite IPs such as Tomb Raider and Legacy of Kain.
On 9 September, Crystal Dynamics published a blog post stating that they have taken control of several game franchises, naming the aforementioned specifically.
“We are excited to inform you that Crystal Dynamics has taken control of several game franchises—including TOMB RAIDER and Legacy of Kain—from the games’ previous owner, Square Enix Limited.”
This is great news for both the IPs, especially for the Legacy of Kain franchise as it’s high time we got a new instalment of the game. The last entry to the series we had was Nosgoth in 2014, which was a spin-off of the Legacy of Kain franchise.
Crystal Dynamics also have a storied history with the Tomb Raider franchise as the main developer from 2006 with Tomb Raider: Legend all the way to Rise of the Tomb Raider in 2015. Now that they have the rights to both IPs, I’m sure we are in store for some great projects to come.


Final Fantasy Brave Exvius Is Crossing Over With Another Classic JRPG Series

After collaborating with other popular Square Enix JRPG franchises like Kingdom Hearts and Star Ocean, Final Fantasy Brave Exvius is now crossing over with another beloved and classic JRPG series, Xenogears.
The Final Fantasy Brave Exvius Xenogears crossover began on 29 March 2019 and will last until 5 April 2019. Players of the mobile game can look forward to obtaining five new characters through a new banner and one from a raid summon.
What’s interesting is that the five Featured Summon characters include the likes of several of Xenogears‘ most iconic characters. This includes Fei, Elly, Bart, and Rico, while the raid summon is Chu-Chu. During the crossover, players also receive a free daily Lapis summon.

Other perks of the crossover include login bonuses and a Desert Despair trial, which players can complete to obtain certain rewards.
Final Fantasy Brave Exvius is a free-to-play mobile game for Android and iOS devices. Meanwhile, Xenogears initially launched on the original PlayStation more than 20 years ago in 1998. It was controversial due to its heavy religious themes, which made it a difficult game to localize.
In the meantime, check out the Final Fantasy Brave Exvius Xenogears trailer below.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lC6zjPBBXA&w=560&h=315]


The Many Highs and Lows of E3

From 2005’s Xbox & Nintendo spectacles to 2015’s PlayStation megaton bombs, we look back at the many lows & highs of this auspicious expo. Three weeks to go folks!
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Video credits:Â IGN, Gamespy, Longocony, RobinGaming, ChuckieJGaming, GTAVideos


What The Heck Is This New Nintendo Switch Peripheral

Nintendo just dropped a promo video out of nowhere and this time, it’s about… Well, it’s um…
You know what, see it for yourself:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdoVBbZ0Z9o&w=560&h=315]
Are you getting those Wii Fit flashbacks yet?
It seems
There’s a lot of speculation going on and for me, I think it’s probably going to be an accessory that’s used for a spiritual successor of the Wii Fit. Observing that little thigh-strap, it’s obvious that this is meant to simulate full body movement through the Joy-Cons motion controls.
Some fans are theorising that this might be a teaser for a new WarioWare game or maybe even a sequel to Super Mario Party. I’m thinking the latter is a bit unlikely because it was only released about a year ago. It’s still really popular too.
Looks like we’ll have to wait for the announcement to drop on 12 September 2019, which is also the first day of the Tokyo Game Show 2019.


[Updated] Call Of Duty Challengers Finals 2022 – Teams, Schedule & Results

The Call of Duty League 2022 Championship is just around this corner but this also means that the Call of Duty Challengers Finals is happening too. So to help shed some light on the Challengers scene, I’m going to let you all know of the teams participating, dates, schedule, bracket and where to watch.
WE ALSO DID A FULL SCHEDULE FOR CDL CHAMPS
RESULTS

PLACE
PRIZE
PRIZE (%)
TEAM

1
US$100,000
40%
Iron Blood Gaming

2
US$60,000
24%
Ultra Academy NA

3
US$40,000
16%
Team WaR

4
US$20,000
8%
AYM Esports

5-6

US$10,000

4%

Ultra Academy EU

Team Xposed

7-8

US$5,000

2%

PointBlank

D1 Gaming

TEAMS

Ultra Academy NA – North America
Ultra Academy EU – Europe
Team WaR – Europe
Iron Blood Gaming – North America
Team Xposed – North America
AYM Esports – Europe
D1 Gaming – Latin America
PointBlank – Asia-Pacific

DATE & SCHEDULE

Date: 5–6 August / 6–7 August (GMT+8)
Venue: Galen Center, 3400 S Figueroa St, Los Angeles, CA 90089, United States
Prize Pool: US$250,000
SCHEDULE
NOTE: ALL TIMES ARE IN SINGAPORE TIME (GMT+8)
DAY 1 – 6 August
1:30 AM – Ultra Acad. NA [3] vs. [0] PointBlank (Upper Bracket Quarterfinal)
1:30 AM – Iron Blood Gaming [3] vs. [2] AYM Esports (Upper Bracket Quarterfinal)
3:00 AM – Team WaR [3] vs. [0] D1 Gaming (Upper Bracket Quarterfinal)
3:00 AM – Ultra Acad. EU [3] vs. [0] Team Xposed (Upper Bracket Quarterfinal)
4:30 AM – PointBlank [0] vs. [3] AYM Esports (Lower Bracket Round 1)
4:30 AM – D1 Gaming [1] vs. [3] Team Xposed (Lower Bracket Round 1)
6:00 AM – Ultra Acad. NA [3] vs. [0] Iron Blood Gaming (Upper Bracket Semifinal)
7:30 AM – Team WaR [3] vs. [0] Ultra Acad. EU (Upper Bracket Semifinal)
9:00 AM – Ultra Acad. EU [0] vs. [3] AYM Esports (Lower Bracket Quarterfinal)
9:30 AM – Iron Blood Gaming [3] vs. [1] Team Xposed (Lower Bracket Quarterfinal)

DAY 2 – 7 August
1:00 AM – AYM Esports [0] vs. [3] Iron Blood Gaming (Lower Bracket Semifinal)
2:30 AM – Ultra Acad. NA [3] vs. [0] Team WaR (Upper Bracket Final)
4:00 AM – Team WaR [1] vs. [3] Iron Blood Gaming (Lower Bracket Final)
5:30 PM – Ultra Acad. NA [2] vs. [3] Iron Blood Gaming (Grand Final)
7:00 PM – Ultra Acad. NA [1] vs. [3] Iron Blood Gaming (Grand Final – Reset)

WHERE TO WATCH?
Stream: YouTube


The Haunting Of Bly Manor Is Horror With Love & Tragedy At Its Heart

Netflix’s The Haunting Of Bly Manor comes from Mike Flanagan, the same showrunner behind 2018’s The Haunting Of Hill House. It also features much of the same cast, though with the addition of several worthy newcomers as well. Though it’s technically a follow-up, there are no connections between The Haunting Of Bly Manor and The Haunting Of Hill House.
They’re both loosely adapted from different source material. In the case of The Haunting Of Bly Manor, Flanagan used the 1898 horror novella The Turn Of The Screw by Henry James as the basis, though he updated it with somewhat modern trappings. The question now is whether it’s worth watching, especially for fans of the horror genre.
Not Your Usual Haunted House

There’s a good reason why most iconic horror comes from movies and not TV. The genre is usually best in smaller and more digestible chunks. They often save their biggest scares for the climax or gradually build up tension before exploding into all-out terror. However, that doesn’t work as well on TV as it does in movies.
Horror movies are generally about one and a half hours long, but a TV series stretches that into many more hours (nine hour-long episodes for The Haunting Of Bly Manor). At first, it may seem absurd that a simple haunted house story can be nine or ten hours long, but The Haunting Of Bly Manor proves that it can be done, albeit not without some sacrifices.
The Haunting Of Bly Manor‘s very first episode is already great, capable of capturing our attention and curiosity by introducing viewers to the characters and setting of the series. From the beginning, it already feels like there’s so much more to the plot than just another haunted house with ghosts and ghouls.

After an au pairâ€™s tragic death, Henry Wingrave (Henry Thomas) hires a young American nanny, Dani Clayton (Victoria Pedretti), to care for his orphaned niece Flora (Amelie Bea Smith) and nephew Miles (Benjamin Evan Ainsworth) who reside at Bly Manor with the estateâ€™s chef Owen (Rahul Kohli), groundskeeper Jamie (Amelia Eve) and housekeeper Mrs Grose (Tâ€™Nia Miller).
As you can guess, creepy and weird stuff happens as soon as Dani reaches the house, which isn’t surprising. What makes the tale and story in The Haunting Of Bly Manor is that the protagonist and several other characters are haunted by the ghosts of their past and inner demons as much as the literal ghosts of Bly Manor.
The series relies on many flashbacks that flesh out the characters, peeling back the layers and motivations behind their issues. Some of these involve processing survivor’s guilt from the deaths of those closest to them, and how that same guilt can manifest as ghosts that haunt these characters.

Don’t worry, there are both literal ghosts and figurative ones in The Haunting Of Bly Manor, but the focus is ultimately more on the lingering pain and guilt that summons those ghosts in the first place.
As you learn more and more about these characters, discovering buried and hidden secrets, you’ll grow to care about them and realize that at the root of all the gloom and doom, lies a tragic love story and the fear of being forgotten.
Rest assured, I won’t be forgetting about any of the characters. The entire cast delivers incredible performances; even (surprisingly) the kid actors. The highlights include Kohli’s loveable Owen (who brings the laughs and comedic relief with emotional depth), Pedretti’s Dani and Ainsworth’s Miles. It’s rare enough that a child actor could stand out, but this one is noteworthy.

Every flashback also effectively adds to the plot, as every little revelation shines more light on previous events and gives viewers a different perspective on scenes that they’ve already seen. The attention to detail here is remarkable, and it’s a testament to Flanagan’s talent.
That attention to detail can be evident in many scenes where the camera lingers around in a room for a few seconds after the person leaves. I’m sure that, just like the hidden ghosts that were in 2018’s The Haunting Of Hill House, there are many more well-hidden easter eggs and details that are just waiting to be discovered in this one as well.
Not So Scary

That said, amidst all the complex secrets and emotional drama, the biggest problem with The Haunting Of Bly Manor is that it just isn’t scary. I consider myself to be a fan of the horror genre in general, and it’s quite disappointing how tame this series is in terms of spooks and scares.
For a series about a haunted house, seeing the same ghost over and over again isn’t scary, especially when that same ghost didn’t inspire much fear in the first place. It’s also even more frustrating when the series relies on cheap jump scares, especially considering that the chilling atmosphere alone would have sufficed.

The great performances and story of The Haunting Of Bly Manor are actually enough for viewers to warrant it a watch, but if you’re looking for a truly scary and terrifying experience, I’d suggest that you look elsewhere.
Still, I never realized how much I cared for these characters until the very last episode, with a bittersweet ending that made me shed tears. A horror story that tugs at your heartstrings? Why, yes, those do exist, and The Haunting Of Bly Manor is one of them.
In the meantime, you can also check out my interview with The Haunting Of Bly Manor cast members Victoria Pedretti and Henry Thomas here, in which they spill the beans about a lot of topics.
Final Score: 80/100
The Haunting Of Bly Manor is slated to premiere on Netflix on on 9 October 2020.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=tykS7QfTWMQ


Bruce Willis Is Stepping Down From Acting Due To Health Issues

The renowned action star Bruce Willis is stepping down from acting due to his health problems.
According to his ex-wife and close friend Demi Moore via Instagram, she said that he has recently been diagnosed with aphasia, which is a brain disorder that affects his cognitive abilities. Ergo, he’s taking an early retirement from films.
To Bruce’s amazing supporters, as a family we wanted to share that our beloved Bruce has been experiencing some health issues and has recently been diagnosed with aphasia, which is impacting his cognitive abilities. As a result of this and with much consideration Bruce is stepping away from the career that has meant so much to him.
This is a really challenging time for our family and we are so appreciative of your continued love, compassion and support. We are moving through this as a strong family unit, and wanted to bring his fans in because we know how much he means to you, as you do to him.
As Bruce always says, “Live it up” and together we plan to do just that.
Bruce Willis is renowned for acting in classic films such as Blind Date, Moonlighting, Pulp Fiction, The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, and the Die Hard series where he plays iconic action hero John McClane. His acting career as of late has been rocky as he starred in a bunch of questionable direct-to-video action films like Cosmic Sin, Apex, and Gasoline Alley. Despite this setback, he is still a highly-regarded actor for his past action, drama, and comedy roles.


New Death Stranding Patch Adds Cyberpunk 2077 Themed Content

Kojima Productions has announced that the latest patch for Death Stranding has arrived. Best of all, the new update adds Cyberpunk 2077 DLC content like a Cyberpunk 2077 bike and Johnny Silverhand’s bionic arm.
Exclusive to the PC version from publisher 505 Games, Death Stranding players can now access new missions featuring characters and lore from Cyberpunk 2077, in Game Version 1.05.
Several unlockable, aesthetic and equipment items are also joining Sam Bridgesâ€™ arsenal, including:
Cyberpunk 2077 themed Reverse Trike vehicleÂ .â€œJohnny Armâ€ modelled after Johnny Silverhandâ€™s robotic arm that can be equipped and used in-game.New holograms and a â€œTrauma Teamâ€ floating vehicle hologram for certain constructions.Several fashion items including Johnny Silverhandâ€™s sunglasses.
In the trailer for the Death Stranding Cyberpunk 2077 collaboration, Death Stranding protagonist Sam Porter Bridges can be seen riding the Cyberpunk 2077 bike while equipped with Johnny Silverhand’s bionic left arm.

Death Stranding is currently 50 percent off on Steam and Epic Games Store.


Street Fighter 6: World Tour Mode All Masters Location

In Street Fighter 6’s massive World Tour mode, you play as your own avatar in the Street Fighter universe, able to adopt fancy street fighter moves from blue projectiles to even Spinning Pile Drivers.
How does one get all these lovely toys to play with? Simple: by learning them from the many Masters in Street Fighter 6. In the game’s main missions, you can learn from a handful of them like Chun-Li and Luke, the latter whom you start off with the moment your avatar/Cronenberg freak of nature is created. During your time in Metro City and while you’re jetsetting, you’ll find many quests and side missions that will lead you to a few others.
You can only adopt each Masters’ specific fighting style one at a time, but you can mix and match special moves to your character’s repertoire as long as you have enough space in your move list, and as long as the moves don’t share the same input. For instance, you cannot equip both Hadouken and Gladius as they have the same input, but you can equip a Hadouken and Sonic Boom. Essentially, you can have a Zangief fighting style but equip a Sonic Boom and Flash Kick to be a defensive powerhouse, or have a Cammy fighting style and just have a Screw Pile Driver to add more dangerous mixups. The possibilities are endless!
This guide will tell you who you can find and all the Masters list.

Street Fighter 6 World Tour: How To Find And Unlock All Masters In Street Fighter 6

Luke
You start off with him at the beginning of World Tour mode.
Noteworthy Moves: Rising Uppercut, Heat Knuckle, Sand Blaster. You can only get the latter if you raise your Luke style level high enough; do this

Chun-Li
Chun-Li is the second Master you can unlock. Just keep playing through World Tour mode until you reach Chapter 2-1 where you can explore Chinatown. You can’t miss her and her thighs.
She is available in the day in Chinatown at Metro City.
Noteworthy Moves: Kikouken, Spinning Bird Kick, Lightning Legs, Tenshouken (anti-air with unique input). Her fighting style gives you access to good footsie tools and a neutral jumping HK attack that hits both sides of the screen. The only other character who has this is Juri and you can only get her late in the World Tour, so if you want a useful attack that hits both sides, you should adopt Chun-Li’s fighting style early on.

Marisa
You find her in Chapter 3-3, where the game teaches you about using Flight Tickets & collecting Miles to earn free Flight Tickets. She is located in Colosseo in Italy.
Noteworthy Moves: Gladius, Phalanx. She has moves with one hit of armour, which is useful for many situations where you’re getting ganged up on by enemies.

Lily

One of the many “missable” Masters, she is only accessible if you do a sidequest in Metro City. The one you’re looking for is “Spirit Guide” when you reach Chapter 4-1. Complete it, and you’ll unlock a new location: Thunderfoot Settlement in Mexico.
Noteworthy Moves: Mexican Typhoon. Her fighting style gives you access to good footsie and poking tools. Levelling her Master level up will give you access to an awesome command grab, so it’s worth sticking with her.

Blanka
You’ll get to access Blanka as a Master when you’re given the option to travel to Brazil during Chapter 6-1; it’s during a mission where Luke asks for some souvenirs and have you travelling as a life lesson.
Talk to Blanka to get him to be your Master. Also, you’ll score a Blanka Chan suit that can help boost your stats.
Noteworthy Moves: Rolling Attack, Electric Thunder. His Rolling Attack is very useful and is hard to punish. It’s arguably better than having a fireball.

Dee Jay
You can access him as a Master in Chapter 6-1 when you gain access to go to Bather’s Beach in Jamaica. Just talk to Dee Jay and you’ll get his moves & fighting style.
Noteworthy Moves: Air Slasher. It’ll take a while until you access Guile and level up his Master Level to get his Sonic Boom. Dee Jay’s Air Slasher is a good alternative.

Cammy
To access Cammy as a Master, you need to search for a sidequest called “Special Unit Del-?” in Chapter 7-1, located in Metro City’s subway. Doing so will enable an encounter with Cammy in King’s Street, England.
Noteworthy Moves: Spiral Arrow, Cannon Strike. Cammy’s dive kick is accessible from the get-go when you enlist her as your Master. Just add it to your aerial special move slot; it’s useful as a way to break your fall and to also get extra hits in if you aim for your opponent’s lower-half.

Manon

The ballet judo model fighter is accessible as a Master if you finish the sidequest “Extra” when you hit Chapter 7-3. Talk to the manager in Metro City, then buy the upper body and lower body Gi attire and equip both of them. You’ll end up as an extra for a shoot in France, where you meet Manon and get her to be your Master.
Noteworthy Moves: Command Grab. Adopting her fighting style means you get access to good footsie tools and the Medal level system; command grab your opponent with Manon’s moves and your grabs will get more powerful.

Ken
You’ll get to access him as a Master as part of the main mission in Chapter 8-3. To pass this quest, you need to buy a Construction Helmet from the shop with the vans nearby the Stadium, and then enter the construction site while equipped with the helmet.
Noteworthy Moves: Shoryuken. Ken has a good anti-air that has multiple hits if you use the EX/OD version. Also, he’s good with combos so do adopt his fighting style if you like using some rushdown tactics.

Edmond Honda
Get a picture of E.Honda during the main quest “Big In Japan” in Chapter 8-4.
Noteworthy Moves: Hundred Hand Slap, Sumo Headbutt. You get two awesome moves to use and abuse when you enlist E.Honda as a Master from the start. Using a fighting style with a good crouching MK poke and fast moves (like Cammy’s or Chun-Li’s), then cancel to Hundred Hand Slap. Rinse and repeat, but do mix it up and bait your opponent; you’d be surprised at how the AI falls for this half the time.

Ryu
Once you complete E.Honda’s photo mission, you can gain access to Genbu Temple in Japan to then meet with Ryu. Just talk to him to get him to be your Master. Do at least level up his fighting style so you can unlock his adventure with text messaging on the phone, which is all kinds of hilarious.
Noteworthy Moves: Hadouken. A good fireball to add to your repertoire.

Jamie
Once you unlock his cutscene in the main quest, you can recruit Jamie as your Master. He is located up on the roof in the Chinatown area, past the right side of the alley, only at night.

Kimberly
Once you meet her in a main mission cutscene during Chapter 8-7, you can find her on a roof right above your Hangout. It’s the one with the “superhero” Watcher on it, but at the far back left once you climb the second ladder behind him.

Guile
Guile becomes available during Chapter 8-7 via a sidequest you can unlock by talking to an NPC near the construction site (where Ken is). Wear your SiRN lab coat, then talk to the NPC; you’ll be given a task to check out the Carrier Byron Tylor at the Grace Marina port. Once you beat up some cleaning drones, you’ll eventually meet Guile and he’ll become your Master.
Noteworthy Moves: Flash Kick, Sonic Boom. You’ll need to level up his Master Level if you wish to earn the best projectile in the game, but at least his best anti-air is available from the start.

Dhalsim
You can find Dhalsim by finishing a quest called “Yoga Statue” located in Metro City; it unlocks around Chapter 9. Buy the item from the scam artist in the day for 7,000 zenny, then meet the same guy at night to beat him up and teach him a lesson. He’ll give you 5,000, a free air ticket, and the Dhalsimer Temple location. Talk to Dhalsim in the temple and he’ll be your Master.
Noteworthy Moves: Yoga Teleport. Very useful to have especially if you’re using a grappler style.

Zangief

You can access the sidequest leading to Zangief during Chapter 9. Just find the “Hither and Tither” side mission at Night nearby the Stadium. Fight the wrestler, and they’ll give you the location to Zangief’s ring in Russia.
Noteworthy Moves: Screw Piledriver, Double Lariat. One move’s the best command grab in the game, while the other is a good anti-air/combo-ender with only two easy inputs. Both moves are great to add to your avatar’s arsenal.

Juri
You can access Juri as a Master during Chapter 12 via a sidequest called “A Hardboiled Adventure”. Once that quest is over, you can encounter Juri in Nayshall and ask her to teach you her moves. You will need to select the right answers to her questions though; just make sure you portray yourself as someone with a spine.
Notable Moves: Divekick, Spinning Wheel. Her fighting style is fast and has a neutral jumping HK that hits both sides. Pretty useful overall.

JP
To access JP as a Master, you need to finish World Tour mode. Then head back to Old Nayshall in Nighttime. Head up to Mount Vayshal and the Suval’hal Arena Entrance. JP will be on the stairs near the back of that area; talk to him and after a bunch of story cutscenes, he’ll be your Master.
Notable Moves: Triglav, Torbalan. What’s better than a grappler with hard-hitting moves? A grappler with projectiles that can combo after one another. Conversely, a rushdown character with Triglav means you can control the zone to your liking from any distance.


Twitch Is Apparently Inaccessible In Russia

Russian government have blocked all access to popular streaming service website, Twitch. As first reported by Dotesports,Â users in Russia have been unable to access Twitch following the country’s blanket ban on any services hosted by its parent company, U.S. tech giant Amazon.

Following Russia’s move to block Google and Amazon IPs in a bid to stem the use of Telegram, reports are rife on the site’s subreddit claiming issues in accessing the streaming site. While some users did report that they were still able to access Twitch, it’s more of isolated cases and due to varying IP-providers. This development is massive considering Twitch has the second-highest user database on Twitch according to market intelligence tool, SimilarWeb.
This move also affected popular games including Vainglory and Guild Wars 2. In an email to Dot Esports,Â CEO ofÂ VaingloryÂ developer Super Evil Megacorp, Kristian Segerstrale saidÂ “We can confirm we are seeing a degradation in our service in Russia as a result of sudden, broad restrictions on network connectivity there,”
“Many players have found work-arounds by using VPN software and appear to be sharing successful solutions. Our engineers are working to identify further ways that we can help our players connect.”
Source: Dot Esports


Football Manager 2023 Early Access Beta Is Now Available

The Football Manager 2023 Early Access Beta is now live on Steam and the Epic Games Store. Early Access on the Microsoft Store is expected to follow in the coming days.
Anyone who has pre-purchased Football Manager 2023 from a SEGA-approved digital retailer can log in to Steam or Epic and launch the game directly from their library, right now. If you’ve not already pre-purchased, it’s not too late to get involved – anyone who pre-purchases Football Manager 2023 on PC and Mac from a participating digital retailer between now and the game’s full release on 8 November 2022 will net Early Access and 20% off.
The Early Access Beta is a near complete (but not quite final) version of the game, so players may encounter some bugs and issues during play. These can be reported directly to the Sports Interactive team via the ‘Report Bug’ button on the in-game sidebar. Online play is also enabled, but there will be no access to the Steam Workshop or either the pre-game or in-game editors until the game’s full release on 8 November 2022.
FM23 provides new, intelligent ways for managers to make their mark and take their teams to higher levels this season. Managers will see their skills pushed to the limit by the most realistic AI managers yet, with an overhaul of their decision-making making them more intelligent, responsive and reflective of their real-life counterparts.
New player animations and role improvements combine to deliver the most authentic on-pitch action in series’ history, backed up by tweaks to tactical instructions that mirror the terminology used in contemporary football. The new Squad Planner and Experience Matrix are at the heart of a Recruitment revamp that gives players more tools to make title-winning scouting and transfer decisions in every window.

The importance of fans to the modern game is reflected in the new Supporter Confidence system, which shows a breakdown of every club’s fanbase and the short, medium and long-term expectations of those supporters. Keeping both fans and the board happy will be essential to ensuring a bright future in the digital dugout.
Licensing of the UEFA Club Competitions for the first time gives managers a greater sense of occasion, while those successes will now be more shareable thanks to the introduction of the Dynamic Manager Timeline. Single-player careers started on the FM23 Early Access Beta can be carried across to the full game.
Football Manager 2023 is set to fully launch on PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS5, Nintendo Switch, Android and iOS on 8 November 2022.


CEO 2023 Fighting Game Championships Will Be The First Major To Run Street Fighter 6

Big news for fighting game fans & tournament players itching to prove themselves in 2023. CEO Gaming has announced that registrations for its 2023 fighting game tournament is live right now.
CEO Gaming 2023 will be the first major to run Street Fighter 6. The Capcom 2d fighting game will be out in 2nd June for consoles and PC. CEO 2023 founder Alex Jebailey said on Twitter that he plans to make sure everything goes right on the first go for the first-ever Street Fighter 6 major.
“We will do our best to welcome a new generation of players and run things the best way we physically can.”
Here are the details:
Date: 23-25 June
Venue: Ocean Center, Daytona Beach, Florida, USA.
Registration Link: https://t.co/cx8OL9yGjB
Games: Street Fighter 6, Guilty Gear Strive, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Tekken 7, KOF XV, Super Smash Bros Melee, DNF Duel, Dragonball FighterZ, MK11 Ultimate, Melty Blood Type Lumina, Under Night In-Birth EXE: Late CL-R, Guilty Gear Xrd Rev 2, Granblue Fantasy Versus, Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3, Super SF2 Turbo, SF3: Third Strike, CvS2, Def Jam: Fight For NY, Breakers Revenge
Stream Link: twitch.tv/ceogaming

#CEO2023 Fighting Game Championships Event Registration is now LIVE!
Taking place June 23-25 at the Ocean Center.
Event Info: https://t.co/Q1W3vJWk7RRegister right now: https://t.co/cx8OL9yGjB Hotel & Travel: https://t.co/2AMZ1DJuHu
More important links in this thread below! pic.twitter.com/LXlW2jrr8U
— CEO Gaming (@CEOGaming) January 29, 2023


Talking Next Gen Feat. KKP & Reimaru Files

Kakuchopurei’s Jonathan Leo teams up with Reimaru Files founder Chad Ting Ramos from The Philippines for some good old fashioned next-gen talk. This first part will focus on the PlayStation 5.
Stay tuned for the final entry in this trilogy later this week!
Part 1: PS5

Part 2: Xbox Series X

Part 3: PS5 vs Xbox Series X

SUBSCRIBE to us for more awesome game & pop culture videos. We post new features every Wednesday & Friday!
SUPPORT US; HELP KEEP THE LIGHTS ON @ paypal.me/thekkp


Genshin Impact To Get Finger-Lickin’ Good Crossover In China

First, it’s the KFC console that acts as an air fryer. Now, the chicken-frying corporation is going to assimilate into gacha games.
Turns out Mihoyo, the folks behind Genshin Impact, will be teaming up with KFC for a chicken bucket promotion in China (via Twitter’s Zeniet). Yep, that’s how big Genshin Impact is in the region.

KFC collaborating with Genshin Impact. Offering limited time KFC Diluc Bucket and Wing skin. pic.twitter.com/QXK3NvWJra
— Zeniet (@Zeniiet) February 22, 2021

As you can see on the promotion above, Genshin Impact characters Noelle and Diluc are in KFC-themed outfits and feature a limited-time Genshin Impact-branded bucket featuring two cups of Pepsi, lotsa fried chicken, a chicken sandwich(?), and some extras. If you get this, you’ll receive a code that will gift you an in-game set of KFC coloured glider wings: red and white just like the corporation’s colours. The promotion starts 8th March.
This would be a damn fine promotion to have in Malaysia, because our KFC chicken is top-tier when compared to the rest of the SEA region’s KFCs. Change my mind.


Android Users Can Now Share Netflix Shows & Movies On Instagram Stories

Earlier this year, iOS users received the capability to share their favorite Netflix shows and movies on Instagram Stories directly from the Netflix app. It remained exclusively for iOS devices, that is, until now.
Netflix has announced that Android users have now finally received the same feature on their devices.
How does the new feature work? Users can simply go to their Netflix app, select which show they want to share by tapping the ‘Share’ button, and add it to their Instagram story or even send it through a direct message to friends and followers.
They can personalize the default art for the Netflix show or movie by adding captions, stickers, and more. The Instagram story will then be visible for 24 hours, providing a â€˜Watch on Netflixâ€™ link that redirects anyone who clicks on it to the showâ€™s page on the Netflix app.
This new feature is a great spoiler-free way for Netflix users to share what theyâ€™re watching with friends and family, without having to post it manually on Twitter or Facebook. Watching Lucifer Season 4? Share it on Instagram Stories.


Souls-Like Platformer Salt And Sacrifice Unveils New Epic Gameplay

Salt And Sacrifice, the next instalment in the million-plus selling souls-like platformer Salt And Sanctuary series from Ska Studios and Devoured Studios, begins the hunt for Mages on PS4, PS5 and PC sometime in Q1 2022.
In the Alterstone Kingdom, captured criminals face two choices for their punishment: death or service. Most opt for execution, but a brave few choose to live life in penance as Marked Inquisitors. These wandering wrongdoers hunt wicked Mages, devouring their hearts to prevent them from terrorizing the Kingdom any further.Â
Players can customize a Marked Inquisitorâ€™s crime, look, and class. You can choose from one of eight starting classes â€” Highblade, Paladin, Assassin, Cleric, Dualist, Fighter, Ranger, or Sage â€” then partake in the Magebane Rite. Imbibe the sacred drink, speak the words, and come away from the rite Spellmarked, in a flux state between life and death. Free from mortal fears, the Inquisitors vow to spill the blood of Mages to put an end to their cruelty.Â

Prepare for each excursion at Pardonerâ€™s Vale, a hub filled with friendly Inquisitors. Set out and roam eerie villages, tomb temples, and swamp kingdoms in single-player or drop-in drop-out online co-op. Find clues and track down more than 20 types of Mages, including scorching Pyromancers, toxic Venomancers, and abominable Corpumancers. Wield grappling hooks and pursue them, then slay them in brawler-style side-scrolling combat.Â
Pillage the remains of Mages to craft new equipment with Runic Arts, granting Inquisitors unprecedented new abilities. Search every decrepit corner across multiple maps for powerful melee weapons, deadly ranged weapons, and protective armour and charms. Join multiplayer factions, including the cooperation-focused Dawnlight Order and the player-killing Shroud Alliance.
Ska Studios brings back its signature hand-drawn look, providing each candlelit cave and foggy forest with a personal feel. The expansive Bestiary features more than 100 monsters, many inspired by Scandinavian folklore. James Silvaâ€™s haunting score injects a sense of foreboding throughout the entire journey.
Ska Studios founder James Silva said:
â€œSeeing the multiplayer aspects of Salt and Sacrifice come to life has been really cool. There are so many interesting things we can do with our different factionsâ€™ goals within this perilous Mage-wracked world.â€
Salt And Sacrifice will be available for PS4, PS5 and PC for US$19.99 sometime in Q1 2022 in English, French, Italian, German, Spanish and Portuguese.
To learn more, please follow @SkaStudios on Twitter, like Ska Studiosâ€™ official Facebook page, and check out Skaâ€™s Twitch stream.


Tokyo Game Show: Capcom Will Stream Two Presentations

Capcom come out and announced that they will have two presentations being streamed during Tokyo Game Show 2022.
The initial presentation, dubbed Capcom Online Program, will take place on 15 September at 10:00 AM (ET) / 10:00 PM (GMT+8). This will be a pre-recorded presentation and will feature the latest in Capcom news.
The second presentation — and the most important one — will be solely dedicated to Street Fighter 6 and will take place on 16 September at 11:00 AM (ET) / 11:00 PM (GMT+8).

Capcom has not yet announced what exactly will be unveiled during the first presentation, simply stating: “What will be revealed? Details to follow.”

However, it points out that Exoprimal, Street Fighter 6 and Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection will be playable on the show floor at Tokyo Game Show.
Tokyo Game Show is one of a number of notable industry events returning to physical. This year’s iteration will be a public physical event for the first time since 2019.
TGS 2022 will be held for four days from Thursday, 15 September through to Sunday, 18 September at its traditional venue of the Makuhari Messe in Chiba City, with business and general visitors able to attend.

For the past two years, TGS has been a digital-only event, with last year’s show allowing some domestic journalists and influencers to attend a behind-closed-doors section via special invitation.
The 2022 show will continue the live broadcast portion first introduced in 2020, with “most” programs planning to stream in both Japanese and English.


Find Out Which Category Of Battle Royale Players You Belong To

Battle royale games have been here for a couple of years now and with it, popular titles like PUBG, Fortnite, and Apex Legends played by millions of gamers worldwide. In fact, Newzoo statistics show that around 41 percent of all gamers in the U.S. play battle royale games.
Of that number, the majority (59 percent) of battle royale players are loyal to just one franchise or title in the genre, the most popular of which is Fortnite. More than half of these players claim to exclusively play the Epic Games title.

Moreover, it turns out that over 16 percent of battle royale gamers play all three of the biggest key franchises; namely PUBG, Fortnite, and Apex Legends. Despite all three titles belonging to the same genre, they are very different in how they actually play (which ardent battle royale gamers will attest to).
Apex Legends is essentially what happens when you infuse Overwatch‘s hero shooter mechanics into a fast-paced battle royale setting. PUBG is meant to be more realistic and survival-based (but surely it was never meant to be full of bugs), while Fortnite features more colorful kid-friendly gameplay with its emotes and focus on social elements.
According to Newzoo statistics, if you play any of these three battle royale games, you belong to a group demographic sharing certain distinct characteristics (fromÂ research conducted amongst players in the U.S., China, and Germany):
Fortnite

, those who choose to play the Fortnite:

Tend to value in-game social activity
Prefer to play on consoles
Likely also plays Call Of Duty games
Favorite peripheral brand is Logitech

PUBG

Those who choose to play PUBG:

Tend to enjoy teamwork and cooperation between teammates during gameplay
Prefer to play on mobile
Likely also plays Battlefield games
Favorite peripheral brand is Razer

Apex Legends

Those who choose to play Apex Legends:

Tend to appreciate extremely fast-paced action
Prefer to play on PC
Likely also plays Overwatch
Favorite peripheral brand is Turtle Beach

Before you folks prepare to bombard us with your angry comments saying that you completely disagree with the characteristics listed above, keep in mind that these are based on statistics provided by Newzoo, and does not reflect our general opinions here at KKP.

What do you think? Do you share these characteristics? Let us know in the comments below.
(Image Credits: Zeus Column)


Space Engineers Beta Coming To PS5 & PS4 This May

Build your way through space with the upcoming beta launch of Space Engineers on PS5 and PS4 on 11 May, according to an announcement from developer Keen Software House.
The standard edition will cost you US$28.49, while the Ultimate Edition, which includes over 150 new blocks, 20 skins, 20 emotes and more, will be available for $88.49.
If you pre-order either version, you’ll get the downloadable content called “Automatrons” as a bonus. What’s even cooler is that the PlayStation versions will support cross-play with the existing Xbox Series X | S, Xbox One, and PC (Steam) versions at launch.

So, what’s the game about, you ask? Well, in Space Engineers, you can build anything your heart desires. You can create your own spaceships, space stations, planetary outposts, and even wheeled vehicles. There are no limits to what you can build or explore. You can choose to play in creative or survival mode, and the game can be played alone or with others.
One of the coolest things about Space Engineers is its realistic, volumetric-based physics engine. Everything in the game behaves like real objects with mass, velocity, and inertia, and can be assembled, disassembled, damaged, and destroyed. Structures are made up of block-like modules that interlock in a grid, and each module has its own storage capacity and volume.
Space Engineers is inspired by modern-day NASA technology and strives to follow the laws of physics. You won’t find any futuristic technologies here that wouldn’t be feasible in the near future. While the game does have survival shooter elements, the focus is on construction and exploration. The idea is to use your creativity and engineering skills to build the ultimate machinery to survive and thrive in space and on planets. It’s not about the troops, it’s about the machines you create.


E3 2019: Deathloop Is The Next Game From Dishonored Devs

Arkane (Lyon) Studios, best known for developing the Dishonored franchise and rebooting Prey in 2017, unveiled one of the few interesting original games during Bethesda’s E3 2019 press conference, Deathloop.
Deathloop is a first-person action adventure game that takes place on a frozen island called Black Reef, featuring an eternal struggle between two assassins with extraordinary abilities. It also boasts stunning environments and meticulously-designed levels in an immersive gameplay experience that lets players approach every situation any way they like.
The two protagonists, Julianna and Colt, have different goals. One is trying to break the time loop/cycle while the other is trying to preserve it at any cost. It’s not entirely clear which role the player will take, or if they will receive a choice.

While the trailer for Deathloop doesn’t feature any gameplay footage, the action beats do seem reminiscent to those seen in the Dishonored titles, especially protagonist Julianna’s ability to ‘blink’ from place to place.
No release date has been revealed for Deathloop, but it is slated to launch on the PS4, Xbox One, and PC. In the meantime, check out the trailer below.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXv5IDp8y74&w=560&h=315]


Bandai Namco Summer Showcase To Reveal New Games At This Year’s Anime Expo

Anime and Bandai Namco always go hand-in-hand, so it’s not quite a shock for the latter game publisher to announce new games in an upcoming major anime convention.
Bandai Namco announced that it will be sharing “exciting announcements and game reveals” during its upcoming Bandai Namco Summer Showcase at this year’s Anime Expo 2023. The showcase will be on 2nd July from 7.30am GMT+8 to 9am GMT+8.
“The Bandai Namco Summer Showcase panel returns this year, once again bringing together top anime game makers from Japan to deliver a barrage of news and reveals. The panel will feature exciting developments for hotly anticipated games based on Naruto, SAND LAND, Sword Art Online, Baten Kaitos, and more.”
We covered Sand Land earlier this month; check it out here.


[Report] Nintendo Will Release Two New Switch Models

Late last year, we reported on the rumour that a new generation of Nintendo Switch would be coming out in 2019, and now it looks like it might be true after all. According to a report by the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), Nintendo is currently working on not one, but two new models of their hybrid console.

The first of the two new reported Nintendo Switch variants is described as having “enhanced features targeted at avid videogamers, although it wonâ€™t be as powerful as Sony Corp.â€™s PlayStation 4 Pro or Microsoft Corp.â€™s Xbox One X.â€

This sounds like it would be a significantly more powerful Switch, with possible advantages like increased framerate and higher resolutions. However, it probably won’t be much of a massive generational or technological leap, considering the original Nintendo Switch is barely two years old as of 2019.

The second of the two new reported Nintendo Switch variants is described as “a cheaper option for casual gamers that Nintendo sees as a successor to its aging hand-held 3DS device.”

What this means is that Nintendo will probably be removing several more “luxurious” features on the console to cut costs, similar to how the Nintendo 2DS was a variant of the Nintendo 3DS sans 3D capabilities.
The WSJ further reports that both new models of the Nintendo Switch will likely be announced at the upcoming E3 2019, and quite possibly released a few months later during Christmas (or the holiday season).
If the report turns out to be true, Nintendo will be stealing the limelight from both Sony PlayStation and Microsoft Xbox this year (that is, if both of those companies don’t announce their own new consoles, which isn’t likely to happen).
What’s Next For The Big N?
Sales of the original Nintendo Switch console will probably be negatively affected if Nintendo confirms the report too early. However, it would also bolster and extend the momentum set by the Switch, as well as bring in more gamers, especially those who have been skeptical of the original and undecided on whether to purchase a Switch.
What do you think of the report (especially those who already owns a Nintendo Switch)? Let us know in the comments below or on Facebook.


Yoko Taro Joins Forces With SEGA For New Mobile Game

SEGA and Yoko Taro have announced 404 Game Re:Set for mobile devices, including iOS and Android (via Gematsu). It features character designs by Yuugen and is slated to launch sometime in 2023 in Japan.
Pre-registration is available now via App Store and Google Play.
The game is described as:
“Video games turned everything upside down.
This is a world by SEGA, for SEGA.
From infrastructure to entertainment, SEGA reigns supreme in all areas. The player, who lives in this world, one day encounters a mysterious being called “X.”
“The world you live in is not as it should be.”
The player, who learned that this world has been warped by SEGA, must throw themselves into a battle with SEGA in order restore the world to its true form.”
So, yeah, typical Yoko Taro, we would say.
The game will feature characters named after SEGA games, including:

Out Run (1986) (voiced by Ai Kakuma)
After Burner (1987) (voiced by Akari Kitou)

Virtua Fighter (1993) (voiced by Fairouz Ai)

Virtua Cop (1994) (voiced by Aoi Yuuki)

You can head to the official website here.
Check out the trailer below:


Watch: Overwatch League Season 1 Stage 1 Recap

With Stage 2 of Season 1 of the Overwatch League starting this weekend, we made a quick recap highlighting the best and most memorable plays from the best players in the world. Whether it’s a well-timed nade or a crazy flickshot – we have it all. Bonus – wall-climbing Torbjorn!
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6B58PxwubwI&w=560&h=315]
Stage 2 of this season’s Overwatch League starts this 23rd February.


[Report] Apex Legends Players May Be Getting A New SMG Soon

It looks like Apex Legends players can look forward to a brand new SMG weapon soon, in addition to the three SMGs already available in the battle royale game, including the R-99, Alternator, and Prowler.
Prominent data miner @That1MiningGuy revealed the leak via his Twitter account, which suggests that Respawn Entertainment is currently testing kick patterns for a new SMG.

SMG wise we currently have (please correct me if I’m wrong) – the R99 and The Alternator only, right? Not sure if this is for the CAR or the VOLT (hoping VOLT personally, but know some of you love the CAR) but does look like some kick patterns for a new SMG are being tested. pic.twitter.com/q4hqEc9Ig2
â€” That1MiningGuy (@That1MiningGuy) November 14, 2019

For those unfamiliar, the CAR and Volt weapons he refers to in the tweet are both from Titanfall 2, a game that Respawn developed in the past. Apex Legends is said to be in the same shared universe, especially since we’ve seen several crossovers between both games in the past, such as the introduction of Titanfall 2‘s L-STAR assault rifle in Apex Legends Season 2.
In Titanfall 2, the CAR is a full-automatic SMG that boasts great accuracy, while the VOLT is an energy-based SMG that fires shots with blue lines that trace its path. The last weapon to be added in Apex Legends was the Charge Rifle, an anti-Titan weapon from Titanfall and Titanfall 2, at the beginning of Season 3.
It remains to be seen if the leaks will turn out to be true. Stay tuned on Kakuchopurei for more news and updates on Apex Legends.


Ace Racer Rushes Past One Million Pre-Registered Users Ahead Of Launch Next Week

NetEase Games has announced that Ace Racer has over one million pre-registered users, ahead of its launch on Android and iOS devices on 16 March 2023. All of those players will be the first to hit the track upon launch, receiving special items that will help them deck out their ride and make their player character the best-looking racer on the track.
Ace Racer is a racing game that brings high-speed action to mobile devices, allowing players to live out their driving fantasies on the go, including ensuring that the vehicle and the driver look the part. The release of Ace Racer is just one week away, but there’s still time to nab some in-game goodies. If you pre-register on the App Store or Google Store, you will receive British campus-style fashion, helmets, and Aston Martin DB11 Paint.

Ace Racer is a game about “Ultimate Skill,” an in-game concept that lets drivers unleash special abilities with their cars to gain an advantage. These Ultimate Skills can make the vehicle dash, fly, or even transform into different machines, letting players enhance their racing experience with high-tech gadgets. The Ultimate Skill mechanic adds a wild card into the races, but driving expertise and nerves of steel are required to come out on top, so you’ll need to put your skills to the test to beat the competition.
The Ultimate Skills add a futuristic edge to Ace Racer, but that doesn’t mean the game is rooted in fiction. On the contrary, Ace Racer lets players drive luxury cars with visuals true to real-life vehicles, including the Porsche 911 GT2 RS, NISSAN GT-R, and Aston Martin DB 11. If you have ever dreamed of owning a garage full of the world’s most elite racing vehicles, you’ll love Ace Racer, as these cars and more can all be part of your collection.

The luxury vehicles aren’t the only part of Ace Racer that is true to life, as numerous tracks are based on real-world places, including California, Nevada, Shanghai, and Tokyo. So not only can you race on these majestic stages, but you can use the Photo Trip mode to explore them at your leisure. This will allow you to drive around the track and search for the most scenic spots to take gorgeous photos.
Being a racing icon isn’t just about your driving abilities; you also have to look the part. To this end, Ace Racer provides numerous customization options for your character and cars. These let you dress your player in all kinds of cool, cute, and sexy outfits and offer all sorts of fashionable accessories to adorn your vehicles. This means that you can not only blow away the competition and come out on top, but you can look damn good while doing so.

At its core, Ace Racer is all about showing off your skills against other players. The pre-registration period has already drawn in many competitors from around the world, ensuring that there will be lots of people to challenge when the game launches on March 16th. The time to rev up your engines is almost near, so make sure to pre-register your interest in Ace Racer soon, as the most exciting racing experience of your life is about to begin.


[Report] Seoul Dynasty’s Fleta Transferring To Shanghai Dragons

ESPN Esports has reported that Overwatch League teams Shanghai Dragons and Seoul Dynasty have verbally agreed to transfer Kim “Fleta” Byung-sun to the Dragons’ roster. However, this is only based on ESPN’s own sources and not yet confirmed by either of the teams.
According to ESPN’s source, the deal is pending contract finalisation but “terms were reached on Thursday”. Prior to this, Seoul Dynasty was already making deals to acquire other players. On 18 October 2019, Dynasty bought out contracts for Hong “Gesture” Jae-hee and Park “Profit” Joon-yeong.

It seems that Fleta himself has expressed interest in moving to the Dragons, according to ESPN’s source.

Starting in February 2020, the Overwatch League is going global. Matches will be played throughout the world at countries where the teams originate from. This gives freedom to players from teams hailing from Asian countries such as South Korea and China to move around within the league since they’re no longer bounded to the Los Angeles area.
Cover image taken from the Seoul Dynasty Twitter page.


ASUS TUF Gaming F15 2022 Will Fulfill Your Gaming Needs

While the ASUS ROG laptops are a gaming league of their own, we should not count out the company’s TUF Gaming brand that’s also making headway with its tough exterior to match its beefy interior.
If you’re looking for a decent gaming laptop that’s not too entry-level or too expensive, the ASUS TUF Gaming F15 2022 is a great choice. Let’s talk about why, starting with the outside.
Armoured Core

One of the best things about the ASUS TUF Gaming F15 2022 right out of the box is the design of the laptop itself. It looks like the laptop equivalent of an armoured tank, and yet it doesn’t look or feel chunky at all. It looks pretty sleek despite its armoured aesthetics.
Best of all, one would expect something armoured to be heavy but the ASUS TUF Gaming F15 2022 is light (2.2kg). I could even confidently carry it with one hand if I wanted to, which I can’t say for many other gaming laptops out there (which weigh a ton). This checks the portability aspect, making it easy to carry around.
After booting it up for the first time, the ASUS TUF Gaming F15 2022 feels fast and responsive. It didn’t take me long to install everything I needed, and thankfully there wasn’t much bloatware that I needed to uninstall either. Two unique and exclusive pre-installed ASUS apps include the ARMOURY CRATE and MyASUS.
The ARMOURY CRATE app helps monitor the laptop’s internal temperature, how fast the fans are running, and all that stuff. You could tweak everything manually if you want to, but the Balanced setting was actually good enough as it is. Meanwhile, the MyASUS helps keep the laptop’s systems up-to-date and maintained, including BIOS updates and more. Both of these apps are also where you can register your ASUS product.
ARMOURY CRATE app.
MyASUS app.
What’s under the boot? Well, the ASUS TUF Gaming F15 2022 boasts an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 6GB GDDR6 and an Intel Core i7-12700H, as well as 16GB of dual-channel DDR5-4800MHz RAM. With all that power under its durable frame, I could run demanding games quite easily at High and Ultra settings. These include multiple Total War games, Halo Infinite, Doom Eternal, Forze Horizon 5, XEL (check out my review here), and more. I like to test new laptops with Total War games because they usually require not only a powerful GPU but also an equally powerful CPU.
Fortunately, the ASUS TUF Gaming F15 2022 can run Total War games smoothly, including a late-game campaign Total War Rome 2 at Extreme graphical settings. Why do I emphasize that it’s a late-game campaign? A Total War game can easily get “heavier” as the machine will have to render more assets as players get deeper into the game. I’m surprised by how well the ASUS TUF Gaming F15 2022 could run it all.
The caveat is that the temperatures can get really high when you game heavily, upwards to even 80 to 90 degrees Celcius. However, what impresses me is how fast the ASUS TUF Gaming F15 2022 is able to cool back down to around an average 60 degrees after reaching those high temperatures. The fans are surprisingly quiet too, and only gets really loud during intensive gaming sessions. Kudos to ASUS for making my gaming experience a pleasant one.

All that said, the ASUS TUF Gaming F15 2022 isn’t perfect (obviously). When I first started using the laptop, the keyboard is almost impossible to see when ithe RGB lights are off. Also, the brightness settings of the RGB lights on the keyboard is set too low by default as well, but this could be remedied simply by increasing the brightness myself.
Compared to my previous gaming laptop, I find it frustrating that I need to have the RGB brightness at full settings at all times to be able to type normally. If not, I literally can’t see shit (pardon the French). It’s also annoying that the keyboard fonts have this weird design and lighting effect that it takes some getting used to before I could recover my usual typing pace. So, yeah, not a big fan of the keyboard at all. To add tp all that, the mousepad doesn’t feel very responsive either, especially when left or right clicking, so I immediately connected a mouse.
I might be a little old-school in this regard, but the ASUS TUF Gaming F15 2022 could definitely benefit from having more Type-A USB ports. There are only TWO, and I’m used to at least three in my previous laptops. Thankfully, more and more of my other devices are Bluetooth-friendly, so this isn’t that big of an issue. Still, more modern users will probably be happy with two Type-C ports, one of which is Thunderbolt 4; the latest generation of said technology. The lack of normal Type-A USB ports may be a deal-breaker for some users.
Here’s a full list of the available ports:
Left Side:

1 x 3.5mm Audio Combo Jack
1 x HDMI 2.0b
1 x Thunderbolt™4 with DisplayPort™ 1.4
1 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C (dGPU DP1.4,
external G-sync)
1 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A
1 x RJ45 LAN
1 x DC Jack

Left Side.
Right Side

1 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A
1 x Kensington Lock

Right Side.
My last issue with the ASUS TUF Gaming F15 2022 is likely its storage size. The base storage size is only around 453GB of usable storage space, which is pathetically little when you put games into account. Forza Horizon 5 alone is more than 100GB and Halo Infinite is around half of that, which means I could fit less games than I wanted to at any single time. This problem can actually be remedied easily as the ASUS TUF Gaming F15 2022 comes with expandable storage (two NVMe PCIe 4.0 SSD slots). You’d need to fork out even more money to actually increase the storage space of this laptop.
As for other aspects, the ASUS TUF Gaming F15 2022 comes with a 1080p 15.6-inch screen with support for 144Hz and Adaptive-Sync. I have no complains here, as the display looks as good as it should when playing games or watching videos/movies/TV series. Everything else also works great, and it’s all an impressive enough gaming laptop package if you have enough cash to spare (this review model costs RM6499).
FINAL SCORE: 80/100
A review unit of the ASUS TUF Gaming F15 2022 was sent to us for review. Test unit specifications; FX507Z-MHN071W with the RRP of RM6499. You can buy it now on the official website here.
ASUS TUF Gaming F15 2022 Specs

Colour Scheme: Mecha Gray
CPU: Intel Core i7-12700H
OS: Windows 11 Home
Display: 15.6″ FHD / IPS Panel / 144Hz / 62.5% sRGB / Adaptive-Sync
GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 6GB GDDR6
RAM: 16GB DDR5 4800 8G
Storage: 512GB M.2 NVMe PCIe 3.0 SSD
Networking: Wi-Fi 6(802.11ax)+Bluetooth 5.2 (Dual band) 2*2
Warranty: 2 Years Global With 1st Year Perfect Warranty
Weight: 2.2kg
Additional Items: TUF Gaming Backpack


EA Comes Back To Steam, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order First Title Featured

Ever wished you could buy The Sims 4 on Steam? Maybe also play Apex Legends? I’ve got good news for everyone: EA is bringing those titles and more to Steam!
After a few days of teasing the announcement, EA has officially revealed that they will be coming back to selling their games on Steam. There’s no full list of titles yet but The Sims 4, Unravel Two, Apex Legends, FIFA 20, and Battlefield V are some of the games that have been confirmed. The partnership will also introduce EA Access, the first and only gaming subscription on Steam. It’ll probably be similar to Origin Access.
What a refreshing sight.
The first EA title to debut from this partnership is none other than the upcoming Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. Steam users can start pre-ordering the game today. It’s scheduled to launch on 15 November 2019.
For games with multiplayer such as Apex Legends, FIFA 20, and Battlefield V, it’s stated that players on both Steam and Origin will be able to play with each other. This will definitely expand the player base for those games which is super helpful for live service games like Apex Legends.
For those of you who loathe using the Origin launcher (like me), this is great news. EA’s reluctance to localise and convert the prices of games for Malaysia on Origin is super off-putting. Here’s hoping that more future EA titles will come straight to Steam so that I don’t have to use Origin. Unless EA decides to improve Origin, of course.
Read the full announcement here.