No E3 2020 Digital Replacement Event, ESA Confirms

Sorry, folks, it looks like E3 2020 is officially dead in the water, as organizer Entertainment Software Association (ESA) has confirmed that there won’t be a digital version of the highly-anticipated annual event.
Last month, after announcing that E3 2020 has been cancelled, the ESA stated that they were initially â€œexploring options with our members to coordinate an online experience to showcase industry announcements and news in June 2020.â€ However, it seems like things didn’t go as planned.
In a statement to IGN, the ESA said:

“Given the disruption brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, we will not be presenting an online E3 2020 event in June.
Instead, we will be working with exhibitors to promote and showcase individual company announcements, including on www.E3expo.com, in the coming months.
We look forward to bringing our industry and community together in 2021 to present a reimagined E3 that will highlight new offerings and thrill our audiences.”

There could have been a lot of factors that brought to this decision, including the fact that many developers and publishers have either opted to organize their own special events (like Microsoft Xbox) or forego any kind of event at all (like Bethesda).
Meanwhile, IGN will be holding their own Summer Of Gaming digital event in June 2020. They have managed to grab the support of major companies like 2K, Square Enix, SEGA, Bandai Namco, Amazon, Google Stadia, Twitter, Devolver Digital, and THQ Nordic.
My spider-sense is tingling, but I think that IGN blindsiding the ESA is highly-likely a large contributor to why there won’t be an E3 2020 digital event. Oh, well, we still have a “reimagined” E3 2021 to look forward to next year.


Kakuchopurei Best 30 Games Of 2022: #23

Head here for #24.
#23: Neon White

This indie game’s premise is simple: go through the many levels of Heaven as fast as you can, killing all the demons in the way using various parkour and platforming power-ups available. The kicker? You need to at least get Gold or Platinum rankings for each level to progress further into the game.
This means you have to find ways to game the system and sort out the fastest way possible through practice and perseverance. What makes this first-person running game stand out is that it takes the Mirror’s Edge formula and multiplies the speed and shortcut-taking gameplay tenfold. You have different powerups disguised as weapon cards -from auto rifles to sniper rifles- you can trade off to do double jumps, air dashes, and explosions that double as springboards.
As you replay the same levels for that elusive high ranking, you discover better shortcuts and routes that cut down your time. Even if you just earned Gold, you’re tempted to just do one more run and outshine your previous performance. Neon White does a bang-up job in slowly instilling that mindset so that you become better at tackling its many challenges, with the experience being accentuated with tight controls, a simple-but-lush art style, and a banging soundtrack.
Cringeworthy dialogue and grating story aside, Neon White makes you feel like a speedrunning game-cracking badass once you’ve fully earned it from your due diligence.


Channing Tatum’s Charm Is The Highlight Of The Lost City

For the past few years, streaming services like Netflix have dominated the romantic comedy genre. However, The Lost City is one of the rare ones to actually come out in cinemas, and it promises a familiar but fun time at the movies, especially if you’re tired of all the bombastic superhero blockbusters.
Charming Channing Comedy
Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum star in Paramount Pictures’ “THE LOST CITY.”
The Lost City feels a bit like the 1999’s The Mummy, as it combines romantic comedy with a bit of adventure. Instead of the deserts of Egypt with Brandan Fraser and Rachel Weisz, we have Channing Tatum and Sandra Bullock on an island jungle. The plot and story is formulaic and predictable, but the highlight of the film is the chemistry between Channing Tatum’s Alan and Sandra Bullock’s Loretta Sage. It’s refreshing to see an older actress with a younger actor, when it’s almost always the other way around in movies like these.
Channing Tatum may have started with movies like Step Up and G.I. Joe, but it is this writer’s opinion that he’s also great in charming and goofy comedic roles like 21 Jump Street and now The Lost City. This is his first major role (besides 2022’s Dog) since 2017’s Kingsman The Golden Circle, so it’s nice to see that he hasn’t changed much from before. Fans of the actor definitely won’t be disappointed, and did I mention that he goes shirtless multiple times throughout the movie?
L-r, Brad Pitt, Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum star in Paramount Pictures’ “THE LOST CITY.”
The supporting characters in The Lost City do a decent job as well, but the highlight is certainly Brad Pitt’s role. Without spoiling anything, he only appears briefly in the movie, but he stands out as one of its best parts. In addition, I was looking forward to seeing Oscar Nunez (yes, the one and only Oscar Martinez from The Office) in The Lost City, but he doesn’t really get much to do. I wish the movie used him more meaningfully.
As for Daniel Radcliffe’s turn as the antagonist, he feels a bit by-the-numbers here. If you want to see the Harry Potter actor breaking bad, sure, but don’t expect anything remarkable. The movie is ultimately fine as a whole, but don’t expect any big surprises or deconstruction of the genre or anything. This is straightforward as they come, and that can be good or bad, depending on your preferences.
Rom-Com Romp
L-r Daniel Radcliff (Standing), Channing Tatum and Sandra Bullock (seated) star in Paramount Pictures’ “THE LOST CITY.”
The Lost City can be fun a times, but not all of the jokes land that well. Despite that, the charm and chemistry between Channing Tatum and Sandra Bullock makes up for it.The movie is sort of overlong at 112 minutes, and can feel draggy, especially due to the somewhat formulaic plot.
Catch The Lost City at the cinemas if you’re looking for an inoffensive but enjoyable adventure rom-com to spend with your significant other, friends or family.
FINAL SCORE: 70/100
We attended a press screening of The Lost City courtesy of United International Pictures Malaysia. The Lost City premieres in Malaysian cinemas on 7 April 2022.


Apex Legends Anti-Cheat System Updated To Great Results

Drew McCoy, Apex Legends‘ project lead, updated us players last week with a reassuring message, and part of it is about combatting the rampant hacking that has plagued the battle royale. And as promised last week, Respawn has updated us with their progress on the battle against hackers.

McCoy said that they have been working closely with key experts across EA, including EA Security and Fraud, the Origin teams, and fellow developers at DICE, FIFA, and Capital Games, in addition to Easy-Anti-Cheat. A few updates have been rolled out, while other updates will take some time before it is implemented.
McCoy also reminded that they couldn’t disclose in more detail as to avoid giving a heads up to the cheat makers, but McCoy assured us that they are tackling this issue from every angle; from improvements in detecting cheaters, to bolstering resources and tools, to improving processes and other sneaky things to combat sellers and cheaters.
Here are some high-level stats for our legends out there;

The recently added in-game reporting tool has had a big impact on discovering new cheats, including previously undetectable cheats that are now being found automatically via EAC
Total bans are now at 770K players
We have blocked over 300K account creations
We have banned over 4,000 cheat seller accounts (spammers) in the last 20 days
Total matches on PC impacted by cheaters or spammers have been reduced by over half in the last month due to recent efforts.

Respawn takes hacking seriously, and have a large number of resources tackling it from a variety of angles. It is a constant war with the cheat makers that they will continue to fight.


Diablo 4 Altars Of Lilith Guide: How To Find All Of Them In Act 1

Diablo 4 features a number of altars that grant you power for your Account/World: The Altars of Lilith.
These altars will grant you permanent buffs and Renown points for not just your current character, but for all characters under your Account/World. You will come across some of them throughout your journey, but most of them are well-hidden and out of plain sight unless you check every nook and cranny in all of Sanctuary. You’ll want to find all of them in this Early Access/Open Beta so that all your characters will start off strong from Level 1 onward.
To find all of them in Act 1’s Fractured Peaks, check out the guide below. For more on the game’s loot, head here.
For more Altar of Lilith locations, head to the following links:
Diablo 4 Altar of Lilith Locations: Act 2
Diablo 4 Altar of Lilith Locations: Act 3
Diablo 4 Altar of Lilith Locations: Act 4
Diablo 4 Altar of Lilith Locations: Act 5

Diablo 4 Altars Of Lilith All Location At Fractured Peaks
Check out the Altars Of Lilith in the Fractured Peaks below:


Ranking The Capcom Beat Em Up Bundle Games From Worst To Best

Capcom released a beat-em-up collection called the Capcom Beat Em Up Bundle, which is also called Capcom Belt Action in Southeast Asia. Naming oddity notwithstanding, it’s a collection of Capcom’s finest beat-em-ups that aren’t licensed fares; no Aliens vs Predator, no Cadillacs & Dinosaurs, and no Punisher. It’s sad, but what we ended up are some ingenious additions that should be on every retro gamer’s shelf.
To celebrate its recent release, let’s rank each of these 7 beat-em-ups based on their importance in the company’s legacy of close-ranged pugilism.Â I won’t go into a tirade about how repetitive beat em ups are because that’s just part and parcel of the genre. Rather, it’ll be interesting to analyze what these games did to set themselves apart from the rest.
Whether they had good and interesting gimmicks or whether they have an interesting theme going on, these 7 titles will be ranked on these merits and their contribution to the beat em up ecosystem back in the day.
Disclaimer: I only tried out Online mode for each game once and it’s not good. You’re better off playing this offline with three other pals in the same room. You know, like in the old days.Â
Let’s do a roundup of each game:
#7. Final Fight

Let’s start with the first-ever beat-em-up Capcom did that pushed its arcade boards and graphical capabilities to the limit. With awesome sound, awesome feedback, three distinct meatheads to control who ended up in Capcom’s main fighting games, and a lovely bunch of action and stages, Final Fight is definitely a genre-starter for Capcom.
Unfortunately, if you’re comparing it with Capcom’s other fares, this game barely outshines them in retrospect. Naturally, its sequel Final Fight 3 is the superior title due to its expansion from the first game’s basic template. It’s great and all that Capcom included Final Fight in its lineage-filled collection, but its basicness sticks out like a sore thumb.
#6. Captain Commando

Let’s not mince words: Captain Commando is a reskinned Final Fight clone with superheroes. Sure, you have mechas to ride on and you have ranged weapons, and the cast you play as is kinda bizarre. You have your titular Captain Commando, your ninja, your mummy with knives, and a baby piloting a giant tanky robot.
Beyond its absurd premise, there really isn’t much separating this from other beat-em-ups at its time. There’s nothing new that this game adds to Capcom’s beat-em-up legacy; it’s only on this collection to fill up space.
#5. King of Dragons

This three-player beat em up is a great stab at four-player co-op fantasy beat-em-up until the Dungeons & Dragons game came in. This was during a time when Capcom was bitten by the fantasy bug with Black Tiger and Magic Sword being their other 2D fares during that funky early 90s stint. With five different classes with varying playstyles to pick from and 11 short-but-sweet stages to plough through, alongside a Yoko Shimomura-composed score (she was a Capcom employee back in the day), King of Dragons help scratch that fantasy itch in the 90s. It also helped that you can cast magic and also level up to extend your health and attack points.
Unlike other beat-em-ups, most of your attacks can kill enemies with a single hit not unlike the aforementioned Black Tiger and Magic Sword games; the bosses like the ogres and dragons are the ones you need to keep watch for. Even if many consider this to be the weaker co-op game when compared with the Capcom D&D games, you shouldn’t overlook what this game brought to the table.
The trademark Capcom quality and polish is all there, especially when you’re fighting the bigger bosses and a bigger orc-laden crowd. King of Dragons was important in making sure that a D&D-branded beat-em-up was viable.
#4. Warriors of Fate

If you want a simple beat-em-up with huge crowds to fight off, you can’t go wrong with this precursor to Koei Tecmo’s Dynasty Warriors. Yep, you can thank Capcom’s Warriors of Fate for inspiring that factory assembly line game-churning company for making us sick of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms saga.
Jesting aside, Warriors of Fate is a great first impression for Asian gamers because of its colourful depiction of the Three Kingdoms story, but with that Capcom beat-em-up flair. With big bushy-bearded protagonists with slightly expansive movesets than the boys in Final Fight, you’ll need all your moves to deal with the mega-sized army that’s thrown in your face. The big crowd action never lets up at all, which is fine for this genre.
#3. Knights of the Round

Damn, that clashing sound when you do your screen-clearing attack and when you slash through a bad guy’s armour is memorable.
What this beat-em-up introduces is the ability to block. Unlike in King of Dragons, you can at least perform this without having god-like reflexes; it’s sorely needed since the many enemies here hit really, REALLY hard. I mean they have swords and all.
Beyond that, the cosmetic level-up system and the ability to ride horses while fighting the many different knights and ninja jesters are icing on the already-solid beat-em-up cake.
#2. Armored Warriors

Robots and beat em ups: mechas in video game pugilism always mix well together. Capcom did it with Armored Warriors, a three-player beat em up ahead of its time. The game’s big gimmick is interchangeable parts: you can pick up spare parts from destroyed robots and use them as your own. You can change your melee attack, your jumping commands, and even your weapons.
There are no limitations to what you can combine with, so you can create an amount of combos that suit your playstyle on the fly. Want to just barrel through foes with tank wheels and a missile cannon for your weaponry? Go right ahead and tear up that sumbitch for yourself. Want to Voltron it up with your two other pals? You can do that if you can coordinate this.
Other than that awesome gimmick, the gameplay, controls, and aesthetics are all great. From the little soldiers you can squash while traipsing around as a mecha to the explosions that litter the screen, it’s really strange why this awesome beat-em-up didn’t get a port prior to this collection. In fact, I’d heartily recommend this collection just for this game and our number one spot game, which is…
#1.Battle Circuit

All of Capcom’s lessons from past beat em ups culminates to this gem of a title, which is basically the company’s last contribution to the aged genre. And it certainly went out with a huge bang. This Japanese love letter to 1950s sci-fi pits you as either a bounty hunter, a feline supermodel, a man-eating plant, an extending ice man person, and a pink ostrich. This motley crew have to fight off Elvis impersonators and mad scientists with giant craniums. Ah, to be a late 90s beat-em-up without a care in the world for suspension of disbelief.
Don’t let the absurd cast throw you off; this is one solid beat-em-up with tons of movesets and some throwbacks to past classic beat-em-ups. If you missed the juggling antics of Alien vs. Predator, they’re back in full form in Battle Circuit. If you want to grapple downed opponents and shoot out projectiles, this game has that in spades. Pulling off your crowd control and anti-air moves is as easy as pressing Down, Up, and Attack. There are no weapons to pick up here, but with these attacks on hand, you really don’t need them.
Battle Circuit also features an upgrade system where you can improve your default moves, change them up completely, or just extend your health and power-up stocks. Again, why wasn’t this gem ported outside of this collection back then? At the very least, the world now gets to see the insanity streak that is Battle Circuit.
A Quick Summary…
I’ll be real with you: if this collection only had the top two games on the list, I’d still pay money for it rather than pay for the remaining 5 other games. The rest of the games are strictly products of their time and even though the 3-player option is welcome, I’d still pick Armored Warriors and Battle Circuit any day of the week.
Why? Because Capcom refined their beat-em-up formula and design knowhow to full effect in these two games. Good job with the collection, Capcom. It does serve as a reminder how far we’ve come with beat-em-ups and why they’re fun times while they lasted.


Studio Colorido’s Next Film Is About Kids Stuck In An Apartment Complex Afloat At Sea

Studio Colorido’s third feature anime film will be called Drifting Home.
The anime film will be about two kids, Kosuke and Natsume, who were playing with their group of friends in an abandoned apartment they used to live in. Suddenly, the entire complex gets teleported into the ocean. As a result, the entire complex drifts aimlessly in a vast ocean, like a ship with no set navigation.

The building, filled with the two’s many memories, start aimlessly drifting. It’s up to the group to figure out how to get out of this conundrum and get home. The film is dubbed as an “adventure fantasy as summer ends”.

Hiroyasu Ishida will be directing the anime and also penning its script; he previous did Studio Colorido’s first feature film Penguin Highway.
Drifting Home will be out on Netflix in 2022. Trailer and poster are just below.


Two Point Campus Hands-On Preview: Higher Learning

Ever looked at your local college and campuses and go “hey, I can do a better job at managing this place than those deans can”? Well, Two Point Studios (ex-Bullfrog/Lionhead devs who made Theme Hospital and Fable) is giving us a chance to put money where our mouthes are with its upcoming comedy-laced simulation Two Point Campus.
After 8 hours with the preview build, the game came to one conclusion: I can’t keep my campuses clean and pristine to save my life, but I can at least turn a profit.
Dangerous Minds

To call Two Point Campus a reskin of its previous game Two Point Hospital is doing this new game injustice. While it has some familiar elements, there are some key differences. Visually, you’re handling a campus ground with tons of different classes and colourful students ranging from knights to clowns from actual clown colleges.
Each of the four levels we’re given in the preview build has its own problems for you to sort out as the new owner of the campus organization in the game, from the easiest to the toughest. The first level is the tutorial, where you’re given a generous amount of funds to get the hang of campus management. You learn the ins and outs of the game: bring in students with your classes, keep them happy, they fork out more money and probably ace their classes, you get more money for high passing grade rates and bigger selection of classes. More classes, more dough.

The second level lets you deal with chefs and culinary arts learners in the Piazza Lanatra campus, where you have Gastronomy courses available with their own subsection of classes. You also get to use Student Events and Clubs as ways to keep student happiness at an all-time high, provided you have the funds and time to schedule them.You quickly learn from this segment and the previous stage that happy students who aren’t tired as heck are more willing to spend money for their education. So it becomes a balance of entertaining students while also motivating them to pass their courses. This is the part in the game where I went hog-wild with the park benches, water coolers, and special “car seats” to get students to socialize with each other.
The third level, the Knight campus, has invaders. You need to hire special janitors with the “Security” skill to fend them off otherwise they’ll vandalize and trash your place, effectively lowering the attractiveness of your school. Speaking of which, this is the stage I struggled with the most because while I’m making bank with the increased campus syllabus and classes, the constant earthquakes had me overworking my janitors while also figuring out the best way to beautify each room. It got tedious with the micromanaging, but them’s the breaks if you want to ace the stage’s 80% attractiveness rating. After an hour or two, I conquered this with a literal army of janitors and makeshift decoration skills for each single room I crafted, from the jousting arena to the clown college I shoved in for sh**s and giggles.
The Magic school Spiffinmoore has hexes and invasions aplenty, making this stage the toughest among the 4 here for regular players. You also need to draw out a loan and repay it in full, while also making sure the campus is adequately warmed up with radiators since the school grounds are in a god-forsaken freezing hole. At the very least, I didn’t have to make half the school super-attractive so I save money on outdoor decorations and can rely on less janitors than the last stage.
Once you get at least 1 star in each of the four levels, you open up the meat of the game: Sandbox Mode. Here, you can create the campus you want without any specific goal in mind except for “get high passing grades from students” and “don’t go bankrupt”. Personally, I’m fine with this sort of gatekeeping of the good stuff because it allows new players to learn the ins and outs of Two Point Campus’ gameplay and systems.
Accepted

While Two Point Campus might seem similar to Two Point Hospital based on the interface & game structure -build successful thing, make sure to profit, don’t lose customers- it’s the aesthetics, settings, and quality of life changes that sets this one apart; possibly higher. Yes, the UI is still a work-in-progress as stated by the devs, but it’s still pretty darn clean, intuitive, and easy for me to place buildings, structures, and amenities without major issues whatsoever. I also appreciate the fact that you can stop time and edit/adjust your school to your heart’s content. Most importantly, it’s fun to see your sandbox play out with knight students jousting, partaking in mock fights, getting chatty with significant others at the relaxation areas you’ve set up, or even taking a nap at the dormitory. Just watching them doing their classes is also a hoot, though it might wear thin after the 30th time you’re possibly doing this in the final game.
We’ve only played four levels (out of 12 or possibly more if there’s post-DLC) of this campus simulation title, but it’s shaping up to be a magical time indeed. Maybe not so much the students who had to muck through the grimey school I created because I’m too cheap to hire more janitors, but still fun when you’re overseing everything and amassing a large income from providing education. This sure as hell will not translate to real life campus management skills, but the spectacle of seeing your school grounds grow to newer heights is a joy to watch so far; let’s hope the final build of the game pushes that further with its remaining 8 levels and sandbox additions.
Two Point Campus will be out this 9th August for PC and consoles. Preview code is provided by Sega.


Celebrate PokÃ©mon Day By Voting For Your Favourite PokÃ©mon On Google

It’s time to make your voices heard, PokÃ©mon fans.
To celebrate the upcoming PokÃ©mon Day, The PokÃ©mon Company and Google have partnered up to create a poll for players and fans to vote for their favourite pocket monsters. The voting period will last from today until 14th February at 9:59pm GMT+8.
All you have to do is:

Search for “Pokemon vote” on Google because 99 per cent of you aren’t going to type in the accent in “PokÃ©mon”.
The voting screen will be displayed in your search results. Select the category you want to vote on from the eight choices.

Then select one PokÃ©mon from the list (sorted by National PokÃ©dex number) and click the vote button.
When you’re signed in to your Google account, you can cast one vote per category for a maximum of eight votes daily.

You can vote only once in each category per day, but you can vote each day during the voting period.
Votes will be counted based on the PokÃ©mon’s National PokÃ©dex number, even for PokÃ©mon that have multiple forms, including regional forms.

The results will be posted on 27th February since that is already PokÃ©mon Day.
There are 900 of these big and small creatures, so it’s going to be quite an online bloodbath. Speaking of which, the PokÃ©mon subreddit has been pretty busy with election campaigns and topics. These include calls to action for Eevee, Raichu, Snom, and Chewtle. The latter is referred to as Albert for some reason and seems to be on a roll with posters that are a callback to the Obama presidential campaign and Rosie the Riveter artwork.

The correct choice is obviously Raichu because his asshole devolved form has been hogging the spotlight.


Netflix July 2021: Our Picks & Highlights

Since everyone is (still mostly) staying home because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Iâ€™m sure you wonâ€™t want to waste time sifting through Netflixâ€™s extensive catalogue of shows and movies just to decide on what to watch. The streaming giant updates its site every day, week, and month with new content, so Iâ€™m here to save your precious time.
Here are my personal recommendations and highlights for Netflix Malaysiaâ€™s July 2021 lineup and how to fill up your free time with worthwhile content at home:
Dynasty Warriors (1 July 2021)

Based on Koei Tecmo’s popular Musou game franchise, the Dynasty Warriors movie adaptation synopsis reads:
The Yellow Turban Rebellion breaks out in the late Eastern Han Dynasty. With the help of his trusted right-hand men Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, militia leader Liu Pei successfully suppresses the revolt. The calculating warlord Dong Zhuo takes advantage of the situation and takes control of the court, stirring further unrest.

Mobile Suit Gundam Hathaway (1 July 2021)

Mobile Suit Gundam Hathaway is an anime film that takes place twelve years after the events of 1988’s Mobile Suit Gundam: Char’s Counterattack. It is the first in a trilogy of films, based on the Mobile Suit Gundam: Hathaway’s Flash novel. It is part of the UC NexT 0100 project.
The synopsis reads:
After Charâ€™s rebellion, Hathaway Noa leads an insurgency against Earth Federation, but meeting an enemy officer and a mysterious woman alters his fate.

Fear Street Part 1: 1994 (2 July 2021)
FEAR STREET PART 1: 1994 – (Pictured) MAYA HAWKE as HEATHER. Cr: Netflix Â© 2021
If you grew up reading R.L. Stineâ€™s spine-chilling stories, get ready to relive the screams and terror of Fear Street. In a first for Netflix and for the horror film genre, the upcoming Fear Street Trilogy will be released as an epic summer movie event over three consecutive weeks this July.
The first movie’s synopsis reads:
In 1994, a group of teenagers find out that the terrifying events that have occurred in their town of Shadyside, Ohio, may be connected to each other, and that they may be the next targets.

Resident Evil Infinite Darkness (8 July 2021)

The series takes place in 2006, two years after the events of Resident Evil 4.
Six years ago (2000), the helicopter belonging to the U.S. special forces who were intervening in the Penamstan civil war fell from the sky. The U.S. Army Mad Dogs, who were in the same battleground, refused orders from the command centre to stand their ground and instead went to save survivors of the crash.
However, the special forces were already annihilated. The Mad Dogs, led by their captain Jason, was also forced to escape in order to survive. However, in that place, Jason and his unit saw the supposedly dead special forces moving in strange waysâ€¦
In the present (2006), a hacking incident occurs on a top-secret White House file. Four agents, including Leon S. Kennedy and Jason, the â€œHero of Penamstan,â€ are invited to the White House to investigate this incident. However, when the lights suddenly go out, they are forced to take down a horde of mysterious zombies alongside the SWAT team.
Afterwards, the top-secret file is found to be related to a biology laboratory in Shanghai, which Leon and the other three agents decide to investigate for clues. As they head to Shanghai in a cutting-edge submarine, a swarm of rat-like Bio Organic Weapons (B.O.W.) suddenly attacks, pushing them into a life-or-death situation.
Meanwhile, while staying in Penamstan to provide support for refugees, Terra Save staff member Claire Redfield encounters a strange image drawn by a nonverbal boy. Haunted by this drawing, which appears to depict a victim of a viral infection, Claire starts her own investigation.
She eventually finds a terrifying experiment that was conducted during the Penamstan civil war. Leon and Claire draw closer to an unimaginable truth that all began in Penamstan. They also discover that a terror that can shatter peace is slowly approachingâ€¦

Fear Street Part 2: 1978 (9 July 2021)
FEAR STREET PART 2: 1978 – Cr: Netflix Â© 2021
If you grew up reading R.L. Stineâ€™s spine-chilling stories, get ready to relive the screams and terror of Fear Street. In a first for Netflix and for the horror film genre, the upcoming Fear Street Trilogy will be released as an epic summer movie event over three consecutive weeks this July.
The second movie’s synopsis reads:
In 1978, Camp Nightwing is divided by the campers and counselors who hail from the prosperous town of Sunnyvale and the campers and maintenance staffers from the downtrodden town of Shadyside, but when horrors from their towns shared history come alive, they must band together to solve a terrifying mystery before it’s too late.

Fear Street Part 3: 1666 (16 July 2021)
FEAR STREET – Cr: Netflix Â© 2021
If you grew up reading R.L. Stineâ€™s spine-chilling stories, get ready to relive the screams and terror of Fear Street. In a first for Netflix and for the horror film genre, the upcoming Fear Street Trilogy will be released as an epic summer movie event over three consecutive weeks this July.
The third movie’s synopsis reads:
In 1666, a colony is gripped by a hysterical witch-hunt that has deadly consequences for centuries to come. Meanwhile, the teenagers in 1994 and 1978 try to finally put an end to the town’s curse, before it is too late.

Kingdom Ashin Of The North (23 July 2021)

The special episode reveals the origins of the resurrection plant that triggered a tragic blood bath across Joseon and the woman abandoned by all â€” Ashin.
Young Ashin (Kim Si-a) discovers the powers of a strange plant that can bring a dead person back to life. Concerned about Ashin, her father warns against searching for it; however, the young girl was dissuaded given her motherâ€™s serious illness. Ashin returns to the forest in search of a resurrection plant when she hears the echoes of screams.
Ashin wishes for â€œthem to shed tears of bloodâ€, foreshadowing an exciting tale of vengeance.
Kim Sia plays the young Ashin, and Gianna Jun plays the older character in unfolding the backstory of the woman who appeared at the end of Kingdom Season 2 shrouded in mystery and subject to much conjecture. Park Byung-eun reprises his role as Min Chi-rok, a young man who encounters Ashin in the freezing cold northern regions.
His character later becomes the Head of the Royal Commandery Division who helps Crown Prince Lee Chang fight against the conspiracy to seize the throne and the infected from overtaking the royal palace. Director Kim Seong-hun and writer Kim Eun-hee, the duo leading the Kingdom series, team up again for this special episode for fans around the world eagerly waiting for the tale of Ashin.
The epic story of Kingdom: Ashin of the North delves into the very origins of the resurrection plant and the infected that have turned Joseon into a bloodbath.

Masters Of The Universe Revelation (23 July 2021)
MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE: REVELATION (L to R) BATTLE CAT and CHRIS WOOD as HE-MAN in episode 101 of MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE: REVELATION Cr. COURTESY OF NETFLIX Â© 2021
Five episodes are planned for Part 1 of the series, with production duties by Powerhouse Animation (the same team who did the Castlevania animated series). It picks up where the 80â€™s series left off and brings the power of Grayskull back to the world.
The show boasts the following voices and actors for the show:

Mark Hamill as Skeletor.
Lena Headey as Evil-Lyn.
Chris Wood as Prince Adam/He-Man.
Sarah Michelle Gellar as Teela.
Liam Cunningham as Man-At-Arms.
Stephen Root as Cringer.
Henry Rollins as Tri-Klops.
Alicia Silverstone as Queen Marlena.
Jason Mewes (Jay) as Stinkor.

Transformers War For Cybertron Kingdom (29 July 2021)

The final instalment of the Transformers: War for Cybertron trilogy, KINGDOM, is coming. Beast Wars, folks!

Those are just several selected highlights from next monthâ€™s offerings of new TV series and movies on Netflix. Now you can plan your Netflix binge-fest for July 2021.


Uncharted Movie Review: Did Greatness Come From This Small Beginning?

The Uncharted movie was supposed to be the one. If any video game is movie material, then the Uncharted franchise is probably the one most ripe for an adaptation. The six Uncharted games (yeah, we’re not forgetting the Vita one) are cinematic and relatively grounded compared to most other game franchises like Resident Evil or Sonic The Hedgehog.
Alas, we’re still waiting for that great video game movie. Uncharted plays it too safe and it’s too generic to be anything else than a forgettable film. What’s good about the Uncharted movie, then? Read on to find out.
Bland Raider
Tom Holland and Sophia Taylor Ali star in Columbia Pictures’ UNCHARTED. Photo by: Clay Enos
The Uncharted movie is sort of like an origin story for Nathan Drake and also acts as a sort of prequel to the games (but not really). That said, it’s not a direct adaptation of any of the six games, but director Ruben Fleischer does take certain setpieces and elements from particular titles. I won’t spoil them, but one of them has already been featured in the promotional trailers; the dangling by the aeroplane setpiece taken from Uncharted 3 Drake’s Deception.
The movie doesn’t take too long to introduce viewers to Tom Holland’s Nathan Drake and Mark Wahlberg’s Victor ‘Sully’ Sullivan. All you need to know prior to watching this movie is that Sully wants to recruit Nathan for a heist and that this is the first time that they’re meeting. This movie is like an origin movie of sorts for Nathan Drake, but it changes the storyline and lore from the games, so it’s not exactly a prequel to the games.
Mark Wahlberg and Tom Holland star in Columbia Pictures’ UNCHARTED.
They still took setpieces and elements from them, so I don’t understand why they didn’t just go ahead with an adult Nathan Drake and a more direct adaptation of the games. What’s weird is that this results in a story that’s original but not nearly as interesting as other heist movies. The MacGuffin isn’t all that fascinating and the pacing of the movie is a bit plodding when it should be more thrilling and hectic. It feels like the energy is mostly missing from this flick.
As a fan of the games myself, I appreciated the easter eggs and references scattered throughout the movie. There’s one cameo related to the Uncharted franchise that will have you smiling, with a snippet of the Uncharted theme playing during this particular scene for a few seconds. That’s also another gripe with this movie. Ramin Djawadi already had great music from the games to work with but all we get here is a generic original score. The Uncharted theme only really plays in full when the credits start rolling, which is a shame.
Antonio Banderas in Columbia Pictures’ UNCHARTED. Photo by: Clay Enos
If you thought that Tom Holland and Mark Walhberg were miscast as Nathan Drake and Sully, the movie doesn’t do much to dissuade that notion. Both of them are basically playing themselves. Maybe that’s a bit harsh; they do have charisma and a little bit of charm, but not much chemistry between them. There’s nothing much that distinguishes Tom Holland’s Nathan Drake from his role as Peter Parker, except that he exudes more confidence.
The rest of the supporting cast is unremarkable, such as the antagonists, Antonio Banderas’ Santiago Moncada and Tati Gabrielle’s Jo Braddock, who you’ll probably forget as typical villains after this movie. The one supporting character that stood out for me was Sophia Ali’s Chloe Frazer, who livens up the banter even more between her and the two main protagonists (Nathan and Sully). I hope to see more of her in future sequels, especially if they’re planning to introduce Elena Fisher into the mix.
Charted Waters
Map in Columbia Pictures’ UNCHARTED.
Overall, the Uncharted movie isn’t bad, but it’s not good either. It’s a passable action and heist movie with fun moments sprinkled throughout its runtime. There are two post-credits scenes after the movie ends, so wait around for those, as they tease potential sequels.
Nathan Drake never really needed an origin story, and this movie is further proof of that. Besides easter eggs and references, this movie doesn’t have much going for it. Perhaps a sequel will be able to feature more Uncharted elements that make the live-action version closer to the games.
There’s still hope. Sic Parvis Magna, remember? Greatness from small beginnings.
Final Score: 50/100
We attended an early screener of Uncharted courtesy of Sony Pictures Malaysia. Uncharted premieres in Malaysian cinemas on 17 February 2022.


Overwatch League Season 3 Kicks Off With Mixed Results

The third season of the Overwatch League kicked off last weekend with Dallas Fuel and New York Excel respectively playing hosts in their home arenas. In New York, the Excelsior welcomed Toronto Defiant, Paris Eternal, London Spitfire and Boston Uprising while in Dallas, the Fuel saw all three California-based teams – LA Valiant, LA Gladiators and reigning OWL Champions San Francisco Shock participate alongside the new and improved Vancouver Titans.

A remote analysts desk, new shout-casting crew and a host of changes gave this season’s OWL a new look which would take a lot of getting used to. With the likes of Chris Puckett, Christopher “MonteCristo” Mykles and Erik “DoA” Lonnquist all absent from the broadcast team this year, the production value of the OWL seemed to have dipped considerably yet the same can’t be said for the fan support garnered in both venues which hosted four matches each.
The matches are much more fun to watch as well, as DPS heroes make their comeback and teams have moved on from the tactically sound but non-viewer-friendly meta (a.k.a GOATs). Genji’s back. So is Widowmaker. If this carries on, OWL S3 may be the much-needed turnaround that Blizzard so desperately needs leading up to the release of Overwatch 2.

As expected, the powerhouses in the Atlantic (NYXL) and Pacific (SF Shock and Vancouver Titans) won all of their matches while the revamped Season 1 winners, London Spitfire were pale reflections of who they used to be, even losing 0-3 to Paris Eternal. Despite putting up a valiant effort in front of their boisterous home crowd, the Fuel lost 1-3 in both of their matches and a serious shakeup is required if they intend to bring back the glory days of the legendary EnVy team.
The OWL Season 3 continues next week as Philadelphia Fusion welcome the Houston Outlaws, Florida Mayhem and Washington Justice to The Met arena. The second set of matches which was supposed to take place in Shanghai has been cancelled due to the 2019 nCoV outbreak in China.

Stay tuned to thekkp.com for more Overwatch League news and updates.


Ms. Marvel Episode 6 Finale Breakdown & Easter Eggs

The sixth and final episode of Ms. Marvel is now streaming on Disney+ Hotstar Malaysia. l’ll be discussing heavy spoilers so if you haven’t seen it or want to avoid spoilers, now’s your chance to stop reading.
Marvel Studios’ “Ms. Marvel” is a new, original series that introduces Kamala Khan, a Muslim American teenager growing up in Jersey City. An avid gamer and a voracious fan-fiction scribe, Kamala is a Super Hero megafan with an oversized imagination, particularly when it comes to Captain Marvel. Yet? Kamala feels like she doesn’t fit in at school and sometimes even at home, that is, until she gets superpowers like the heroes she’s always looked up to. Life gets better with superpowers, right?
Check out my breakdown of Ms. Marvel Episode 1, Episode 2, Episode 3, Episode 4 and Episode 5 here.
Also, check out my breakdowns of Moon Knight Episode 1, Episode 2, Episode 3, Episode 4, Episode 5 and Episode 6 here.
You can check out my previous breakdowns of Hawkeye Episodes 1 and 2 here, Episode 3 here, Episode 4 here and Episode 5. and Episode 6 here.
In addition, you can check out my previous breakdowns of Marvel’s What If? Episode 1, Episode 2, Episode 3, Episode 4, Episode 5, Episode 6, Episode 7, Episode 8 and Episode 9 here.
If you haven’t, you can check out my previous breakdowns and easter egg articles for WandaVision Episode 1 and 2, Episode 3, Episode 4, Episode 5, Episode 6, Episode 7, Episode 8 and Episode 9.
For The Falcon And The Winter Soldier, you can check out my previous breakdowns for Episode 1, Episode 2 and Episode 3, Episode 4, Episode 5 and Episode 6.
For previous breakdowns of Loki episodes, check out Episode 1 here, Episode 2 here, Episode 3 here, Episode 4 here, Episode 5 here and Episode 6 here.

Bruno & Kamran Survived

Bruno and Kamran both survived the explosion in Episode 5 (which is not unexpected, of course).
Ms. Marvel Suits Up Her Full Costume For The First Time In The MCU

For the first time in the MCU, Kamala gets her full costume as Ms. Marvel. However, the promotional material for this series has already spoiled the design, which is comics-accurate, so it’s not exactly a surprise to see her finally suiting up. Still, it’s awesome to see.

Ms. Marvel Uses Embiggen For The First Time

Kamala finally embiggens for the first time.
In the comics, one of Kamala’s iconic abilities is to Embiggen, increasing her body mass, particularly that of her fists and feet. However, she could also embiggen her entire body, and become as big as Ant-Man/Giant-Man.

In the MCU, it looks like she embiggens by increasing the size of her hard-light Noor constructs. It seems she’s also even more powerful than her comics counterpart, since she can also deflect bullets by encasing her whole body in the hard-light Noor constructs.
That’s G. Willow Wilson, The Co-Creator Of Kamala Khan AKA Ms. Marvel

G. Willow Wilson makes a cameo near the end of the episode during a TikTok montage. She is responsible for c-creating Kamala Khan’s character as she was the first writer to work on Kamala Khan. Her name also appears on a plague in front of Kamala’s school back in Episode 1.

Kamala Gets Her Superhero Name From The Meaning Of Her Name In Urdu

Kamala’s dad tells her the meaning of her name, which translates to “wonder” or “marvel” in Urdu. He’s also the first one to coin the name “Ms. Marvel” since there was never a Ms. Marvel in the MCU. In the comics, Carol Danvers was Ms. Marvel for many years before she became Captain Marvel.
Ms. Marvel Is A Mutant In The MCU

Just before the episode ends, Bruno drops the bombshell that the reason why Kamala can use the Noor is not just because she’s a Djinn or Clandestine, but also because she has a unique MUTATION.
THAT’S RIGHT, KAMALA IS A MUTANT. THE FIRST CONFIRMED MUTANT IN THE MCU.
To bring more credence to this claim, when Bruno drops the bombshell, the iconic X-Men animated series theme can be heard playing in the background for a few seconds, similar to how it also played when Sir Patrick Stewart’s Charles Xavier appeared in Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness.
In the comics, Kamala has always been an Inhuman, but it looks like the MCU is retconning that and making her a mutant instead.
Post-Credits Scene: Captain Marvel Cameo

In a post-credits scene, we see that Kamala’s bangle glows before she suddenly disappears and Carol Danvers AKA Captain Marvel appears in her place.
This basically confirms the rumour that the bangles are the MCU’s version of the Nega Bands from the comics.
The original Captain Marvel in the comics was the Kree hero named Mar-Vell and the Nega Bands allowed him to switch places with another person who’s already wearing the Nega Bands (in the comics, it was Rick Jones). In the MCU, for some reason, it made Kamala switch places with Carol Danvers, which means it’s probably the Nega Bands.
The post-credits scene also confirms that Kamala will next appear in The Marvels.

Until the next one, excelsior!


The Philippines’ TNC Predator Won WESG 2018-2019 Dota 2 Tournament

It’s a glorious day for Southeast Asia and The Philippines; TNC Predator won the Dota 2 tournament in WESG 2018-2019.
The Filipino team had to fight White Off, veterans Virtus.Pro, and China’s Keen Gaming to win the top spot and that US$500,000 prize money. TNC Predator’s aggressive strategy and combos like their Chen-Venomancer offlane dominance was more than enough to make their opponents feel outdrafted and demoralized.

This marks TNC Predator’s second WESG trophy in a row. Congratulations to the Philippines’ top tier team.

The Philippines is your #WESG2018 Dota 2 World Champions!
It is known that our group had encountered challenges outside the game way back last year, and we are thankful for those who stuck with us through thick and thin. pic.twitter.com/gLkYofATEJ
— TNC Predator ?? (@TNCPredator) March 10, 2019

Not All Sunshine Down In China
The tournament wasn’t without its fair share of hiccups.
Firstly, one of TNC Predator’s players, Kuku, was banned by Chongqing ministries from attending the finals due to him using racist comments like “Ching Chong” when playing in public server games. The player had his share of controversies in the past; he was banned by Valve from attending the Dota 2 Chongqing Major for racist comments.
Plus, Dota 2’s Chinese distributor Perfect World has explicitly stated that racist comments during their hosted events or anything leading up to that will net players and even teams a ban.
Secondly, The Dota 2 division of WESG is branded as a “mad scientist” tournament according to veteran Dota 2 analyst and shoutcaster Redeye. He said on the Luckbox Podcast that the tournament’s rules of having 5 players from the same nationality to form a team is a strict requirement.
An excerpt from the podcast, if you will:

“OK, you want to be different, I get it right. So do your nations thing. No what you’ve done instead is you’ve gone for some sort of mad-scientist hybrid version, which is you can play as a team but only if you’ve got five players from the same nation.
So basically screw you to every team in Dota outside of China, because they don’t play with five nationalities from one country.”

He also went on about the teams who can form a full team and consist of 5 national players. Of which there are few:
“Very few. The Final Tribal are in here with five Swedes. OK, great, well done.

“EHOME… well Chinese team. Aster… Chinese team. Keen Gaming… Chinese team. Team Team… Okay well sort of but they haven’t because they’re five US players now so they’ve got none of the Canadians and that’s OK, fine.
“And then outside of that you’ve then got all the teams that’ve got to hybrid themselves into a brand new team which means you’ve then got to have players that you don’t want to have playing with other players forming teams.
“No, no, no, no, no. You don’t want to be forming other teams – the teams that own their contracts hate that sh**.”

That might be all well and good for Chinese Dota 2 teams, but for other teams like Virtus.Pro who have players from different countries, this means they have to reshuffle the roster to fit the criteria. In other words, the Virtus.Pro playing in WESG is not the same team that dominated last year’s Dota 2 tournaments.

“If it’s a national team, OK, no problem. But these aren’t these are having to literally form hybrid teams. Virtus.pro can’t play as Virtus.pro. Why? Because they’ve got one Ukrainian so you don’t get Virtus.pro the brand, which you want at the event.”

The worst part is that this may encourage players to leave teams they’ve loved dearly are are forced out to fit this minor flaw in the system.

“They’ve had to split and go off and make new teams. That’s insane. You’re encouraging players to leave their teams.
Why? And why aren’t you tapping into the fact that you could have had Na’Vi there, you could have had Virtus.pro there, you could have had a Team Secret there, you could have had Team Liquid there.”

WESG 2018/2019 was held in Chongqing, China.


Mobile Legends’ First Talent Hunt Happening In Malaysia

The eCurve Gaming Championship (EGC) 2019, organised by Geek Events, is happening from 23 March to 31 March. The DiGi-sponsored event features a PUBG Mobile tournament and Malaysia’s first-ever Mobile Legends Talent Hunt. Professional esports players will also be there, offering mentorship to new, aspiring gamers stepping into the competition.

The organiser, Geek Events, has previously organised events such as Geek Out Zone at Influencer Festival 2018, and the PUBG MY/SG Championship 2018, an official PUBG Corp tournament featuring a RM40,000 prize pool which was also the biggest PUBG tournament
ever held in Malaysia.
The event, while catering towards younger players, also contains a unique twist in the form of the ‘Geek Draft’. The Geek Draft is the solo qualifier segment for the Mobile Legends Tournament, where registered players will â€œauditionâ€ for the chance to play in the same team as a professional player from Geek Fam Mobile Legends. The team is a full time professional Mobile Legends team that is one of the highly ranked teams in Season 3 of the Mobile Legends Pro League (MPL).
Join In The Fun!
Those who are interested are welcome to come to eCurve or by joining the qualifier online. They will then be placed into randomly selected teams to play against each other while the professional players watch the match and judge the performance of the players. Once the judging is complete, each of the professional players will then select 4 amateur players to join their team, somewhat like The Voice.
The selection will take place from 25 March to 29 March, and the tournament will commence on 30 March to 31 March, in which players will go against amateur teams that have qualified for the finals through the separate team qualifiers that will have also been held earlier in the week.
Another noteworthy addition is Team Bosskurr who willÂ be present at the event. This team is one of the prominent professional esports teams in Malaysia Malaysia that is also currently competing in MPL Season 3.
Their second team will be entering the Mobile Legends tournament at EGC 2019. Team manager, Daddy Hood, will be in charge as one of the judges alongside the pro players from Geek Fam Mobile Legends.


[Update] PlayStation 5 Reveal Slated For Early June; Here Are Its 38 Games

Story originally published 19th May. It’s now updated with new info via Forbes & PlayStation. The story is edited to reflect these changes.
It’s official. PlayStation announced that it will reveal details on PlayStation 5 next week on 5th June at 4am GMT+8. We may be seeing PS5 exclusives and more about the next-gen console on that day itself.
The showcase will be on PlayStation’s YouTube and Twitch pages.

Previously on a Forbes new report (via Jason Schreier), the PlayStation 5 conference would be held as early as next week, possibly on 3rd June (next Wednesday US time, Thursday SEA time). Sony will not reveal every essential detail on the console in its first presentation.

Scoop with @6d6f636869 – Sony is planning a PlayStation 5 game reveal event for next Wednesday, June 3.
Gotta include the now-standard caveat that plans can change abruptly during a pandemic, but this date is more firm than previous rumors https://t.co/imptQiw5Kp
— Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier) May 27, 2020

In addition, an Official PlayStation Magazine leak (via PlayStation Lifestyle) revealed 38 confirmed games for the next-gen system. However, the titles here aren’t from first party developers. Full list below.

A Ratâ€™s Quest: The Way Back Home
-ETA: 2021 (12+ months)
-Publisher:Â Handy Games
-Developer:Â The Dreamerians
Assassinâ€™s Creed Valhalla
-ETA: 2020 (Launch Window)
-Publisher:Â Ubisoft
-Developer:Â Ubisoft Montreal
Battlefield 6
-ETA: 2021 (12+ months)
-Publisher:Â EA
-Developer:Â DICE
Chorus
-ETA: 2021 (6-12 months)
-Publisher:Â Deep Silver
-Developer:Â Fish Labs
Cygni All Guns Blazing
-ETA: TBA (6-12 months)
-Publisher:Â Keelworks
-Developer:Â Keelworks
Dauntless
-ETA: TBA (6-12 months)
-Publisher:Â Epic Games
-Developer:Â Phoenix Labs
DiRT 5
-ETA: 2020 (Launch window)
-Publisher:Â Codemasters
-Developer:Â Codemasters
Dragon Age 4
-ETA: TBA (12+ months)
-Publisher:Â EA
-Developer:Â BioWare
Dying Light 2
-ETA: TBA (6-12 months)
-Publisher:Â Techland
-Developer:Â Techland
FIFA 21
-ETA: 2020 (Launch window)
-Publisher:Â EA
-Developer:Â EA Vancouver
Godfall
-ETA: TBA (Launch window)
-Publisher:Â Gearbox
-Developer:Â Counterplay Games
Gods & Monsters
-ETA: TBA (6-12 months)
-Publisher: Ubisoft
-Developer:Â Ubisoft Quebec
Gothic Remake
-ETA:Â TBA (12+ months)
-Publisher: THQ Nordic
-Developer:Â Piranha Bytes
Madden 21
-ETA:Â 2020 (Launch window)
-Publisher: EA Sports
-Developer:Â EA Tiburon
Moonray
-ETA:Â Summer 2021 (6-12 months)
-Publisher: Everything is Full of Gods
-Developer:Â Everything is Full of Gods
MicroMan
-ETA:Â TBA (6-12 months)
-Publisher: Glob Games
-Developer:Â Glob Games
NHL 21
-ETA:Â 2020 (Launch window)
-Publisher: EA Sports
-Developer:Â EA Vancouver
Nthâ€™O Infinity Reborn
-ETA:Â Feb 2021
-Publisher: Kitatus
-Developer:Â Kitatus
Observer System Redux
-ETA:Â 2020 (Launch window)
-Publisher: Bloober Team
-Developer:Â Bloober Team
Outriders
-ETA:Â 2020 (Launch window)
-Publisher: Square Enix
-Developer:Â People Can Fly
Path of Exile 2
-ETA:Â 2020 (6-12 months)
-Publisher: Grinding Gear Games
-Developer:Â Grinding Gear Games
PsyHotel
-ETA:Â TBA (12+ months)
-Publisher: Ultimate Games
-Developer:Â Rig Crew
Quantum Error
-ETA:Â 2020 (Launch window)
-Publisher: Teamkill Media
-Developer:Â Teamkill Media
Rainbow Six Quarantine
-ETA:Â TBA (6-12 months)
-Publisher: Ubisoft
-Developer:Â Ubisoft Montreal
Rainbow Six Siege
-ETA:Â TBA (Launch window)
-Publisher: Ubisoft
-Developer:Â Ubisoft Montreal
Redo! Enhanced Edition
-ETA:Â 2020 (Launch window)
-Publisher: Robson Paiva
-Developer:Â Robson Paiva
Scarlet Nexus
-ETA:Â TBA (6-12 months)
-Publisher: Bandai Namco
-Developer:Â Bandai Namco
Sniper Elite 5
-ETA:Â TBA (12+ months)
-Publisher: Rebellion
-Developer:Â Rebellion
Soulborn
-ETA:Â Late 2021 (12+ months)
-Publisher: Pixelmad Studios
-Developer:Â Pixelmad Studios
Starfield
-ETA:Â TBA (12+ months)
-Publisher: Bethesda
-Developer:Â Bethesda
The Elder Scrolls 6
-ETA:Â TBA (12+months)
-Publisher: Bethesda
-Developer:Â Bethesda
The Lord of the Rings: Gollum
-ETA:Â 2021 (6-12 months)
-Publisher: Daedalic Entertainment
-Developer:Â Daedalic Entertainment
The Sims 5
-ETA:Â TBA (12+ months)
-Publisher: EA
-Developer:Â Maxis, The Sims Studio
Ultimate Fishing Simulator 2
-ETA:Â 2020 (Launch window)
-Publisher: Ultimate Games
-Developer:Â Mastercode
Vampire: The Masquerade â€“ Bloodlines 2
-ETA:Â TBA (6-12 months)
-Publisher: Paradox
-Developer:Â Hardsuit Labs
Warframe
-ETA:Â TBA (Launch window)
-Publisher: Digital Extremes
-Developer:Â Digital Extremes
Watch Dogs Legion
-ETA:Â TBA (6-12 months)
-Publisher: Ubisoft
-Developer:Â Ubisoft Toronto
WRC 9
-ETA:Â 2020 (Launch window)
-Publisher: Nacon
-Developer:Â Kylotonn
Original Story
Take this one with a pinch of salt, given the lead-up situation for next-gen consoles so far.
According to sources close to VentureBeat, Sony Interactive Entertainment plans to launch a “couple of events” to provide a closer look at the PlayStation 5 console and its slew of games. The first of these will start early June.
Furthermore, there will be a State of Play presentation planned for early August, which will highlight PS5 and PS4 titles. Since 2020 has 7 more months left, and the fact Microsoft already confirmed showcasing new info every month leading up to the console’s launch, Sony plans to do the same via its PlayStation Blog and social channels.
For more PS5 news, head on over here.Â


Jeff Kaplan Leaves Blizzard And Overwatch

Talk about a major changing of the guard. Jeff Kaplan, the game director of Blizzard’s team-based shooter Overwatch and beloved face of the game, is leaving Blizzard.
Here’s his parting message:
iÂ am leaving Blizzard Entertainment after 19 amazing years.
it was truly the honor of a lifetime to have the opportunity to create worlds and heroes for such a passionate audience.Â iÂ want to express my deep appreciation to everyone at blizzard who supported our games, our game teams and our players. butÂ iÂ want to say a special thanks to the wonderful game developers that shared in the journey of creation with me.Â
never accept the world as it appears to be. always dare to see it for what it could be.Â iÂ hope you do the same.
gg,
jeffreyÂ kaplan
His replacement will be Blizzard veteran and Overwatch founding member Aaron Keller. Here’s his opening statement:
Greetings, Overwatch Community,Â
Jeffâ€™s beenÂ a great leader, mentor,Â and friend,Â andÂ he knows how muchÂ weâ€™reÂ going to miss him.Â Iâ€™ve been lucky to work alongside him andÂ theÂ rest of theÂ Overwatch teamÂ for many yearsÂ inÂ buildingÂ something that continues to inspireÂ peopleÂ allÂ around the world, andÂ Iâ€™m honored to carry the torch forward.Â
I love Overwatch.Â From our first pieces of concept art,Â to the firstÂ mapsÂ we built, to the first time I was able to run aroundÂ asÂ TracerÂ (who at that early pointÂ shotÂ laser beams out of her eyes),Â this game hasÂ justÂ clicked with me. I love itsÂ inspiring, hopeful, beautifulÂ world worth fighting for. I love its charactersâ€”larger than life,Â colorful,Â powerful, andÂ global. And most of all,Â I love theÂ fast, fluidÂ gameplay requiring teamwork, situational awareness,Â andÂ quickÂ decision making.Â
I also recognize that making games at BlizzardÂ hasÂ always beenÂ aÂ groupÂ effortÂ and never about just oneÂ point of view. Together withÂ the rest of the team I feel fortunateÂ thatÂ we have a deep bench of development and creative leaders,Â numerous veteran Blizzard artists and designers,Â and some extremely talented new blood as wellâ€”along withÂ tons of supportÂ throughout the companyÂ forÂ theÂ live gameÂ andÂ forÂ Overwatch 2.Â
Speaking of Overwatch 2, developmentÂ isÂ continuing at a good pace. We have an exceptional vision weâ€™re executingÂ on, the reactionÂ from many of youÂ to the updates we shared atÂ BlizzConlineÂ thrilled us, and we have exciting reveals planned for this year and beyond as we ramp to launch.Â Weâ€™ll be sharingÂ more frequentÂ updates aboutÂ Overwatch 2 progress andÂ new features in the live gameÂ with you all very soon.Â
While I have no pretenses about filling Jeffâ€™s shoes,Â Iâ€™m excited toÂ step into the game director role and continue toÂ be part of a team thatâ€™sÂ puttingÂ all ofÂ itsÂ heart, talent,Â and focusÂ into the next iteration of Overwatch, andÂ Iâ€™m honored to continue serving this incredible community.
Will this be truly the end of an era? Or will it be a brand new beginning for Overwatch’s multiplayer, competitive scene, and eventual sequel? Time will tell. Until then, here’s a video of Jeff Kaplan sitting near a fireplace for 8 hours.


Bloodstained’s Music Could Be Better; This SoundScape Video Will Show You Why

As fun as it is to listen to Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night’s music, I’ve heard better. Why? Because Michiru Yamane has been in this business since the 80s.
To better understand her works, here’s a video I did that showcases her humble Konami beginnings to the peak of her career when she was making a heckaton of Castlevania Metroidvania soundtracks. Check it out!


All The Games From Nintendo Direct February 2022

Here it is, folks, the first proper full-length Nintendo Direct since September 2021. The presentation showcased a lot of exciting stuff for Nintendo Switch owners to look forward to.
Check out my full recap and roundup of the Nintendo Direct February 2022 showcase below:
Fire Emblem Warriors Three Hopes

Publisher Nintendo and developer Omega Force have announced Fire Emblem Warriors Three Hopes for Nintendo Switch. It’s a Musou game set in the same universe as Fire Emblem Three Houses.
It will launch on 24 June 2022.

Advance Wars 1+2 Re-Boot Camp

Advance Wars 1+2 Re-Boot Camp will launch for Switch on 8 April 2022, publisher Nintendo and developer Intelligent Systems announced.
Command an army in strategic, turn-based combat as a tactical adviser for the Orange Star Army. This remake features two campaigns that cover the events of Advance Wars and Advance Wars 2: Black Hole Rising.

No Man’s Sky

Embark on an epic voyage across the galaxy as you scavenge for resources, craft tools, and fight to survive in an infinite procedurally generated universe when No Man’s Sky lands on Nintendo Switch this summer.

Mario Strikers Battle League

Nintendo has announced Mario Strikers Battle League for Switch. It will launch on 10 June 2022.

Splatoon 3 Next Wave

The next wave of Salmon Runâ€™s co-op action returns in Splatoon 3. But with this mysterious new giant Salmonid in the picture, it might be a tougher challenge than swimming upstream.
It drops in summer 2022.

Front Mission 1st & Front Mission 2

Prepare for battle when FRONT MISSION 1st: Remake launches on Nintendo Switch this summer.
FRONT MISSION 2 Remake will also launch on Nintendo Switch in the future.

Disney Speedstorm

Get set for a high-octane free-to-play Disney and Pixar combat racer when Disney Speedstorm races onto Nintendo Switch this summer with cross-play, split-screen, and online multiplayer modes.

Get set for a high-octane free-to-play Disney and Pixar combat racer when #DisneySpeedstorm races onto #NintendoSwitch this summer with cross-play, split screen, and online multiplayer modes! #NintendoDirect @SpeedstormGame pic.twitter.com/mhEZiSv0FI
— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) February 9, 2022

Star Wars The Force Unleashed

Star Wars The Force Unleashed is coming to Switch on 20 April 2022.
Assassin’s Creed The Ezio Collection

Assassin’s Creed The Ezio Collection is coming to Switch on 17 February 2022.
SD Gundam Battle Alliance

SD Gundam Battle Alliance is coming to Switch sometime this year.

Pilot Mobile Suits into dynamic action-RPG battles across the GUNDAM universe when SD GUNDAM BATTLE ALLIANCE launches on #NintendoSwitch in 2022! #NintendoDirect pic.twitter.com/JYngtvkG2A
— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) February 9, 2022

Chrono Cross The Radical Dreamers Edition

Two worlds cross in an HD remaster of the acclaimed RPG Chrono Cross and the origin story, Radical Dreamers.
CHRONO CROSS: THE RADICAL DREAMERS EDITION dashes and slashes its way onto Nintendo Switch on 7 April 2022.

Kirby And The Forgotten Land

Kirby And The Forgotten Land reveals Mouthful Mode, coming to Switch on 25 March 2022.
With the new Mouthful Mode, Kirby can inhale real-world objects & use moves different from copy abilities. Make a stop at Waddle Deeâ€™s Weapons Shop, where copy abilities can be evolved! Evolving copy abilities will expand his range of attacks, change his appearance, and make him more powerful.

MLB The Show 22

MLB The Show 22 is coming to the Nintendo Switch.
Kingdom Hearts Integrum Masterpiece

KINGDOM HEARTS INTEGRUM MASTERPIECE includes:

KINGDOM HEARTS HD 1.5 + 2.5 ReMIX
KINGDOM HEARTS HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue
KINGDOM HEARTS III + Re Mind (DLC)

Coming to Switch on 10 February 2022.
Klonoa Phantasy Reverie Series

Bandai Namco has announced KLONOA Phantasy Reverie Series for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC (Steam). It will launch first for Switch on 8 July 2022, followed by the other platforms at a later date.

Portal Companion Collection

Both Portal games in one collection, coming to Switch sometime this year.

Live A Live

Square Enix has announced a remake of the 1994 Super Famicom title LIVE A LIVE for Switch. It will launch on 22 July 2022 worldwide.
Play seven stories featuring a variety of protagonists, time periods, and gameplay styles in any order you choose, now with newly remastered HD-2D graphics and voice acting.

Nintendo Switch Sports

Introducing a new iteration of the Wii Sports series, Nintendo Switch Sports. Play sports such as Bowling, Tennis, & Chambara as well as three new additional sports including Soccer, Badminton, and Volleyball.
It launches on 29 April 2022.
A free update will arrive in the summer, expanding the Leg Strap accessory compatibility to Soccer matches. Additionally, a second free update planned to arrive in the Fall will add Golf to the playable sports!.

Taiko No Tatsujin Rhythm Festival

Become a Taiko drumming master and put your rhythm to the test with 76 boppin’ beats, including MEGALOVANIA, when Taiko no Tatsujin: Rhythm Festival comes to Nintendo Switch in 2022.

Become a Taiko drumming master and put your rhythm to the test with 76 boppin' beats, including MEGALOVANIA, when Taiko no Tatsujin: Rhythm Festival comes to #NintendoSwitch in 2022. #NintendoDirect pic.twitter.com/KgAsNJO7jH
— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) February 9, 2022

Triangle Strategy

A new demo of chapters 1-3 is available now on Nintendo eShop. Download today & transfer your save data when the game releases on 4 March 2022.

Cuphead The Delicious Last Course

Cuphead The Delicious Last Course is coming to Switch.
Metroid Dread Update

A free update lands in Metroid Dread.
In the brutal Dread Mode difficulty, all it takes is one hit to cause a game over. Are you ready for the challenge?
For players new to the series, Rookie Mode allows for increased recovery and less damage from bosses. The free update is available now.
Additionally, look forward to a second free update arriving in April 2022, which will add Boss Rush mode, where you can take on bosses continuously, one at a time until youâ€™re defeated.

Earthbound & Earthbound Beginnings

Earthbound and Earthbound Beginnings is now available via Nintendo Switch Online.

Zombie Army 4 Dead War

Coming to the Switch on 26 April 2022.
GetsuFumaDen Undying Moon

Now available on Switch.
Demon Slayer Kimetsu No Yaiba The Hinokami Chronicles

Coming on 10 June 2022.
Lego Brawls

Coming in June 2022.
Two Point Campus

Coming on 17 May 2022.
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Course Pass

Featuring 48 remastered courses from throughout the Mario Kart series to be released over six waves, burn rubber with the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe – Booster Course Pass paid DLC.
The first wave arrives on 18 March 2022, and pre-orders are available today.
The Mario Kart 8 Deluxe – Booster Course Pass will be available at no additional cost for players with a Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack membership, or as an individual purchase.

Xenoblade Chronicles 3

With a brand-new story that ties together the futures of the worlds depicted in Xenoblade Chronicles and Xenoblade Chronicles 2, Xenoblade Chronicles 3 will launch for Nintendo Switch this September. Looks like we’ll be dealing with the culmination of races & successors from past Xenoblade games; we’re already seeing descendants of Melia and Nia from past games.

Here’s a brief overview from executive director Tetsuya Takahashi:
“Players will step into the roles of protagonists Noah and Mio amid turmoil between the hostile nations of Keves and Agnus. Six characters hailing from those nations will take part in a grand tale with â€œlifeâ€ as its central theme.
The key visual features a broken great sword of Mechonis and the body of the Urayan Titan with a gaping wound.
The game music was also handled by artists whoâ€™ve contributed to the series in the past. The music forÂ Xenoblade Chronicles 3Â was composed by Yasunori Mitsuda, Manami Kiyota, ACE (TOMOri Kudo, CHiCO), Kenji Hiramatsu and Mariam Abounnasr.
The music in this game maintains the uniqueÂ Xenoblade Chronicles touch while also taking on a new challenge, namely that of integrating a flute-based melody as its motif. The flute is actually one of the key themes in this game. A variety of other elements and themes are hidden in the trailer and weâ€™ll be revealing the details a bit at a time going forward.”
You can watch the entire live stream below:


Princess Peach Joins LEGO Super Mario

LEGO reveals LEGO Peach, the newest of Mario’s gang to join the LEGO Super Mario universe.
Peach is a new interactive figure, who will release with her own Adventures with Peach Starter Course set, arriving in August 2022. This set will launch alongside some new Super Mario Expansion Sets: Peach’s Castle, Cat Peach Suit and Frozen Tower, Big Spike’s Cloudtop Challenge, Fuzzy Flippers, Goomba’s Shoe, and Yoshi’s Gift House. Watch the LEGO Super Mario LEGO Peach trailer to get a look at the new LEGO Mario sets.


VCT 2022: Stage 2 Masters Copenhagen – Fnatic Claw Their Way Into Top 4

Fnatic have secured Top 4 after eliminating Leviatán in a nail-bitingly close 2–1 series.
Don’t miss a thing with OUR STAGE 2 MASTERS SCHEDULE
After falling short against Paper Rex in the upper bracket semi-finals, Fnatic, the top-seeded team from Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), was sent down into the lower bracket where they were set to face the top seed from Latin America (LATAM), Leviatán.
Although the EMEA side took the win, that’s not to say that Leviatán didn’t put up a fight. In fact, this entire series could have gone either way and although the Chilean squad will be going home, they can hold their heads high as they look towards VCT Champions later this year.

Clashing of Playstyles
To start the series, Fnatic picked Fracture as Map 1 and one thing that was to be considered was that in this iteration Leviatán had no tournament experience on Fracture. With Fnatic’s tactical and strategic prowess pitted against Leviatán’s fast-paced and chaotic playstyle, you would have assumed that this map would have been one-sided. But this series as a whole is anything but.

.@LeviatanGG takes the pistol! #VALORANTMasters pic.twitter.com/m2bLrevw2d
— VALORANT Champions Tour ?? (@ValorantEsports) July 18, 2022

Regardless of the lack of tournament experience on this particular map, Leviatán came out gun-ablaze as they forcefully took the first four rounds. Going into the half, Leviatán had secured themselves a lead at 7–5, but all that was about to change in the second half as Emir Ali “Alfajer“ Beder began to reveal his regional-level Raze prowess.
On defence, Fnatic were finally able to find their footing as they began to take the lead. But Leviatán answered back thanks to Francisco “kiNgg“ Aravena showcasing aggressive utility usage on Neon. Round 24 was do or die for the Chilean side, but Fnatic were able to wait out the clock forcing the map into overtime.
Going into overtime, Fnatic managed to secure the two rounds needed, taking the map 14–12.
A CHANGE IN STRATEGY PERHAPS?
Map 2 was Leviatán’s pick of Ascent and Fnatic thought it be best to change strategies and put Alfajer on Sage rather than a duelist as they would start on defence. With this composition, Fnatic were hoping that the change in agents would help with their defensive strategies but unfortunately for them, they still lost the first four rounds.
Fnatic did manage to pick off a couple more rounds following this, and managed to secure themselves an extra four rounds for themselves, leaving the score 6–6 going into the half.
With the second half underway, Leviatán were on a roll winning five out of the first six rounds of the half. Fnatic were able to hit back by securing three rounds consecutively, but unfortunately it just wasn’t enough asthe LATAM team managed to reset their momentum and close out the series 13–10.

ONE MORE ROUND!@LeviatanGG | #VALORANTMasters pic.twitter.com/7fXmmASmrf
— VALORANT Champions Tour ?? (@ValorantEsports) July 18, 2022

ALL OR NOTHING
With Top 4 on the line, both teams were fighting tooth and nail to secure their spot. Map 3, the decider was to be played on Bind. With Leviatán starting on defence this time, they planned on sticking to their trusty aggressive playstyle throughout the first half, securing themselves the lead at the half at 7–5.
Fnatic refused to let the LATAM team have their way and in round 13, Fnatic executed an extremely aggressive push down B site to catch the Leviatán players off guard and pick them off one-by-one, leaving Leviatán’s Marco “Melser“ Amaro in a 1v4. In the end Fnatic took the round using this as the foundation of their momentum going forward.
After finally securing the lead, Fnatic were able to maintain said lead until round 24, where Boaster narrowly missed the spike defuse, sending both teams into another overtime.
Bind’s overtime stretched a lot longer than Map 1’s with a constant back and forth between the two powerhouses. In round 29, Fnatic were able to secure advantage point thanks to their captain, Jake “Boaster“ Howlett obtaining an Operator and getting a 4k.

.@OfficialBoaster IS MAKING PLAYS. #VALORANTMasters pic.twitter.com/yMm9nRXFiB
— VALORANT Champions Tour ?? (@ValorantEsports) July 18, 2022

Leviatán bounced back but their optimism was short lived as they lost the following round. Fnatic’s Enzo “Enzo“ Mestari pulled off the final clutch of the match in round 31, making Bind the longest overtime map so far at Masters Copenhagen.
Unfortunately for Leviatán this is the end of the road for them in Copenhagen, but as I mentioned before, they definitely gave Fnatic a run for their money and going into VCT Champions later this year, we should expect to see big things from the LATAM team.
As for Fnatic, they will have a rematch with their EMEA brethren in FunPlus Phoenix on 23 July at 2:00 AM (GMT+8) in front of a live crowd no less. So look forward to that.
For more VCT 2022 action, head over to our full schedule and livestream feature page.


Assassin’s Creed Valhalla Will Run At 4K & 30 FPS On Xbox Series X

Ubisoft recently revealed Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, the latest entry in the long-running franchise. However, their recent gameplay reveal didn’t show much actual gameplay, which disappointed many fans. Thanks to a clarification from Ubisoft, we now know more about how the game will run on next-gen consoles.
In a statement to the Portuguese brand of Eurogamer, Ubisoft confirmed that Assassin’s Creed Valhalla will run at least 30 FPS on the Xbox Series X, though it will feature “faster loading times” and “improved graphics” at 4K resolution.
This might disappoint fans even further, but the truth is that it’s pretty difficult for even the more powerful PCs out there to run the latest Assassin’s Creed titles like 2018’s Assassin’s Creed Odyssey at 60 FPS.
The full statement reads:

Ubisoft has always been committed to exploring new technologies, taking advantage of the capabilities of new consoles to deliver the most immersive experience possible, which is why we are excited to be collaborating with Microsoft to bring Assassin’s Creed Valhalla to the Xbox Series X.
Currently, we can guarantee that Assassin’s Creed Valhalla will run at least 30 FPS.
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla will benefit from faster loading times, allowing players to immerse themselves in history and the world without friction.
Finally, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla will benefit from improved graphics made possible by the Xbox Series X, and we can’t wait to see the beautiful world we’re creating in stunning 4K resolution.
We will have a lot more to show you about Assassin’s Creed Valhalla in the near future, so stay tuned for more information soon.

It’s ultimately better to have a stable framerate, even if it’s just 30 FPS. It is likely that Assassin’s Creed Valhalla will support 60 FPS on next-gen consoles, but probably not at the same time as 4K resolution. It might be potentially possible for the game to run at 60 FPS at a lower 1080p graphics setting.
We’ll only know more as we get closer to launch, when Assassinâ€™s Creed Valhalla launches sometime at the end of 2020 during the Holiday Season for the PS5, Xbox Series X, PS4, Xbox One, PC, and Google Stadia.
In other related news, it’s been revealed that three composers will be making the music for the upcoming game, including original Assassin’s Creed composer Jesper Kyd and Nordic band Wardruna frontman Einar Selvik.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qloV1QSgi7g&w=560&h=315]


Rogue-Like Deck-Building Card Game Pixelverse Is Now On Android

Loongcheer Game is a China-based game developer and publisher. Their latest game is an indie roguelike deck-building game titled Pixelverse Deck Heroes on the Google Play beta track as an early access game.
Fans of the genre will be happy to know that the game features 15 careers and 1000 cards. The hero of each career uses different card sets, which adds variety to the gameplay. The premise of the game’s setting is basically having to guard a peaceful village from monsters. The gameplay loop involves rebuilding the village to unlock your partners and get basic resources.

Pixelverse‘s gameplay is to enter the dungeon and choose your route from various choices, and finally find out and defeat the stage boss. The events in the game are quite rich, including but not limited to battles, finding new cards, card upgrade chance, artifact choice, and healing events.
The game also features an arena system with a PvP system featuring rankings and seasonal rewards. You can download the game now by heading to the Google Play Store page here.
https://www.facebook.com/150005037216182/videos/4363063210483628


Changing The Game & Beyond With Artist Jaime Lau

Art is sometimes described as the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination; a medium that transcends various experiences and senses, ultimately coming together to make something transformative in some shape, way, or form. Jaime Lau is one such transformative artist, a concept artist by trade, but an artistic dynamo of an art director majority of the time.
Known for working on distinctively Southeast Asian works, often created with a variety of styles, we had the opportunity to interview Jaime on the realities of freelance artist work in the current digital landscape, and on his most recent achievement – being a part of the winning team for YSEALI Game Changers.
Tell us about your journey as an artist.

Surely, no different from the norm! Doodling self-indulgent comics in tattered exercise books when I should’ve been doing my homework, end up developing no other profitable hobbies or interests, be thankful for parents who let me professionally pursue that hobby as marketable labour, and now making the best out of an industry that is notorious for financial instability and work-life imbalance!
In all seriousness, I’ve always believed that the art of entertainment plays an essential role in humanity’s continued survival—and I know in my heart that if nothing else, I love to entertain. Had it not been art, it could’ve been theatre, film, literature, music, sketch comedy, and more!
All these forms of art are precious to my growth as a person, and in spite of it all I know I couldn’t see myself doing anything else. Even if I was slaving away in an office cubicle to generate profits for CEO Daddy BigBucks, I’d still use whatever pittance Daddy CEO doles out to pursue art in some form.
Have you always wanted to do concept art for games? How did you get to this role?

When you think of “concept art”, your mind thinks about beautiful, rich worldbuilding illustrations and detailed character concept sheets printed in high-value artbooks sold at Kinokuniya for high fidelity AAA games like “Final Fantasy”, “The Last of Us” and such. In a lot of ways, this is the height of aspiration for a concept artist.
So, I’ve always thought that concept art would be a cool trajectory for my artist career, but honestly I also just kinda fell into the role. The breadth of my expertise is also specific to a concept artist who has worked more with smaller teams, and is incomparable to one that works in big studios—not just the obvious gulf in technical skill, but also types of workload.
For example, I end up doing a lot more UI/UX concept art than expected (compared to illustrative or design work), because in a smaller team you have to do jobs for a lot of different roles. A game doesn’t need many character concepts if you don’t have enough character modellers on staff, but all games need an attractive and accessible user interface (UI). And most laymen (in my experience) don’t associate UI with the work of a concept artist! Surely unexpected, but it is a boon to be able to oversee multiple creative directions of the game in pre-production, because that’s the development phase where you have the strongest creative input.
That’s part of why I like doing concept art. A lot of concept art is done during pre-production, because this phase is all about asking and answering questions about your game—and ultimately, your ability to create interesting concepts is oriented around your innate curiosity about the world. One of my favourite go-to inspirations for concept art is people-watching, fashion and art movements (both historical and modern), because I sincerely believe that familiarising oneself more about the living, breathing stories walking around us on Earth is integral to being a well-rounded creative person who will never run aground of interesting ideas.
What’s it like being a freelance concept artist in Malaysia?

I’ve had a smattering of art gigs in corporate where my job was just: do the thing that your client asks you to do, no questions asked. So far as a freelancer, I am happy to be drawn to projects with a smaller team that are open to more creative input. Asking high-level questions about the story, the world, the marketing plan, the product output and all that… It may be an arduous process that many (understandably) don’t want to go through for a simple paycheck, but to me, it’s ever so rewarding to learn more about the whole process and use that knowledge to craft a richer experience—whether it is in a comic, game, cartoon, etc.—for the creator and the consumer.
The irregularity of my income is a source of anxiety, but I daresay it has been a creatively gratifying and enriching experience so far. I don’t believe it is sustainable long-term in Malaysia, but I will admit that I am privileged enough to be in a position that allows me to be “freelance” in the first place.
That being said, a nefarious scourge that haunts me as a freelancer is having one’s career presence be directly linked to the capricious whims of the Social Media Content Creator Generation Cycle Algorithm. To my fellow freelancers—you are not alone. Far be it from me to provide comfort in this area, but I hope this interview gives you some piddling hope that it’s possible to make something of your career without 10k followers on Twitter.
And even so, some people would tell you 10k followers doesn’t amount to much for job prospects. I believe them.
What are some projects you’re especially proud of?

I’m genuinely proud of my recent accomplishments as Art Director and Lead Artist on both “Burnt Out Capital” and “Suku Suku Separuh”, but I think ultimately I’m still especially proud—and fond—of my work as a character designer on BabblegumSam’s TTRPG “Capitalites”. (Now available on itch.io!)
“Capitalites” has the substantive honour of being my first proper experience as a working professional artist, let alone a commercial project that bore my name as one of its main credited collaborators. (Shout out to Maria, the layout designer whose immaculate work can be seen in the playbook!)
I was specifically sought out by BabblegumSam to work with them after seeing one of my card games developed for school, so it’s hard to forget the anxiety of feeling unprepared for that level of responsibility! Here I am, a fledgling student with a pitiful online presence, being recruited to have my character designs on the front cover of your game! Are you sure about that?
Nevertheless, my contributions on “Capitalites” as a collaborator were taken seriously—not just in technical skill, but also my penchant for narrative and character writing. In the process of conceptualising 22 character playbooks (count it: 22 character designs!) for “Capitalites”, Sam and I (and their other collaborators) shared so much about our lived experiences as Malaysian urbanites, and used those collective anecdotes to flesh out character archetypes that—with love—earnestly portray contemptuous idiosyncrasies of contemporary Southeast Asian people.
(Another way of saying that is we just complained a lot. Again, with love!)
Suffice to say, we bore our hearts and minds raw into a game that is undeniably Southeast Asian in metropolitan flavour and substance. I couldn’t have asked for a better launching pad, and I’m immensely grateful to Sam and the project. (Also, I got to do an awful “Capitalites” roleplay live on Twitch! Isn’t that a rare opportunity?)
What’s your dream project to work on? Can you describe it?
I have a range of personal projects that I would love to see realised. It would also be a dream to be a meaningful contributor in every artistic medium, like leading my own game project, writing my own comics and novels and scripts, running my own show, acting in a thing, voice acting in a thing, emceeing in a thing… Hopefully someday!
I do also have a half-joke answer: my dream project(s) would be a long-running game franchise where my work has such a trademark appeal for the franchise that they have to hire me back for every new entry just to placate the fans. Think Tetsuya Nomura, Shigenori Soejima, Nobuo Uematsu… they created their own job security! Wish that were me.
You were recently part of one of the winning teams for YSEALI Game Changers. How was the experience?

My team and I prototyped and pitched “Jelly Shop”: a simple click-and-drag game playable on web and mobile where you navigate a hostile e-commerce platform deliberately tricking you into buying the item you didn’t want to buy. Now that we’re responsible for this much money, there certainly are big shoes to fill. I personally hope I don’t let anyone down!
I wrote a commemorative post on my LinkedIn after the workshop, and my feelings of humility still ring intensely true even after a month has passed. I do not take for granted that my modest application was approved in a gruelling selection process for 200+ applications, and I forever am indebted to the organisers at Biji-biji Initiative for bestowing me this opportunity, but I will not mince words: I felt like a terribly unqualified and uneducated simpleton next to the rest of the participants flown over from ASEAN, among whom are honest-to-god activists, government workers and all-in-all worldlier folk who are here making waves in the world with their diverse life experiences in tow.
It was a perennial reminder to always surround yourself with people who are “better” than you, people who inspire you to do better, no matter how intimidating they seem. I learned a lot just by being in the same room with them.
I would also be remiss to highlight the unparalleled professional conduct from the individual organisers, mentors, coaches and partners in the U.S. Embassy Kuala Lumpur, YSEALI, Biji-biji Initiative and Synapze—at its second iteration, this has consistently been the most well-organised game jam I’ve ever attended. They’ve concentrated all their efforts on inviting not just underrepresented developers and activists, but also underprivileged laymen interested in social impact as a whole. Not only that, you’re invited to seize priceless knowledge from international experts and utilise their undivided attention during a jam-packed 4 days to make a game, all with provided lodging, transportation and catering with nary a dime spent. The sizable mentorship grant is a fantastic incentive too, but I emphasise that the 4 days spent at this workshop gathering knowledge and jamming with new friends is already such an extraordinary time.
I’d encourage everyone who is interested in making a difference through the world of games to participate! 10/10, would recommend and play again.
You were also previously part of last year’s Games Bagus programme as well. How different was that experience versus the recent YSEALI one?
To clarify further: I was not part of any winning team during the last programme. My team and I prototyped and pitched “praSANGKA”, and I still am proud of what we put out. I was then offered an artist position by the team behind “Wicked Wok” literally right after the workshop ended, because they apparently had noted my performance throughout the workshop and were eager to see what I could bring to their table. We went through the mentorship programme to develop the pitched prototype for 3 months, and thus launched the revised “Burnt Out Capital” alongside the other winning teams at Level Up KL 2022 to—I daresay—buzzing reception.
Many attendees noted our game’s striking promo visual—depicting our burned out candle characters with anguished faces—as the main reason for approaching our booth, and their attention was retained when we explained our game was about crunch culture and burnout in the local game development industry. Our playtest slots were almost always full, and some players would not leave until they finished all the levels in the game.
I was humbled to know that so many people cared about this issue, as the issue of normalising crunch in the name of passion is a deeply personal topic to me as an artist.
All in all, the Games Bagus workshop foundation was already very strong. The aspects retained from Games Bagus stayed about the same for the YSEALI workshop, but was made better with YSEALI’s involvement with the programme. More prolific speakers and experts, additional cultural nights and mingling events typically associated with YSEALI programmes, and of course the added benefit of becoming YSEALI alumni.
In essence, I already gave immense praise for Games Bagus during my participation, and YSEALI Game Changers managed to take that airtight formula and polish it further, which was a delight to experience twofold. I guess now I’ll be experiencing the mentorship programme twice as well!
What’s next for Jaime Lau?
I’ve got projects under my belt till the end of the year and I am looking forward to minuscule profits and a nap after they’re done. After the year ends, who knows?
Any final thoughts?

I go by “JLicious” on pretty much all social media platforms.
In addition, I encourage everyone to say “I love you” more to each other—platonically, romantically, etc.—without reservation. Meritocracy is a lie. In this terrifying world, all we have are the connections that we make. Thank you for interviewing me. I love you.
–
Follow Jaime on Twitter, Instagram, and ArtStation!


UFC 3 Open Beta Available for Download Now + ANOTHER Pay-to-Win Issue?

You can now try out the open beta for EA’s UFC 3. Earlier available to the select few who received the closed beta code, it is now playable to everyone on the PS4 and Xbox One. Just head over to the marketplace and download the beta. Cool news, right? Not so fast.

Join the fight. Download the #EAUFC3 Open Beta now.
Play on Xbox One ðŸ‘‰ https://t.co/JCis0uikg5
Play on PS4 ðŸ‘‰ https://t.co/PuYqyibnPh pic.twitter.com/PzqnLT3g0K
â€” EA SPORTS UFC (@EASPORTSUFC) December 1, 2017
In a not so surprising development, there seems to be complaints and accusations about the prevalence of pay-to-win issues within the game which when put in plain terms, you can make your fighter stronger than the next competitor simply by spending more money on the system.
As Astutegaming.com puts it – “Every single technique, ability, fighter, and stat roll, is entirely acquired and upgraded through the loot box system. A brand-new player fresh out of the tutorials, can dump $1,000 into the game, acquire the rarest loot drops and immediately jump into online competition with a beastly custom fighter that has an exceedingly large health pool, vastly improved endurance, and substantially stronger strikes than the average player who simply pays the $60 price of admission.”
As if that isn’t enough, they added – “Microtransactions are also the only means of acquiring perks and boosts. Perks are powerful abilities that can be equipped for a small number of fights before expiring. They can range from a low-level stamina improvement during a certain phase, whether that be striking, grappling or ground game, to a significant hit point increase during pivotal health events, wherein your opponent has damaged you enough to potentially end the fight. Boosts on the other hand are similarly temporary enhancements that offer endurance boosts and durability bonuses. It is clear to see that in combination with technique enhancements and overall stat increases, EA has taken every single aspect of genuine competition and buried it.”
A damning move by EA if this proves to be true.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AiwpUtdmW-0&w=560&h=315]
Responding to this, EA, in a letter to IGN explained that this feature is restricted to the Ultimate Team mode and (aim)Â “to prevent uneven matchups as much as possible.”
“Our matchmaking logic takes fighter attributes, moves, boosts, and perks into account and prioritizes matching players with similarly upgraded fighters in addition to player skill,”.
“The goal is to prevent uneven matchups as much as possible. Furthermore, the game features Online Ranked Championships and unranked Online Quick Match for competitive and casual head-to-head online play.” they added.
EA’s statement to IGN ended with “The beta is very helpful in tuning all aspects of our game, including Ultimate Team. We welcome constructive feedback, and thank everyone playing the beta for providing us with vital information to make the game as fun and engaging as possible for our fans,”.
Right. It’s a case of he said, (s)he said here – so let us be the judge and give the game a shot yes? The beta runs til December 4th so this weekend would be a good time to give it a go and decide for ourselves if it’s worth shelling out our hard earned cash for it. Wait. It’s by EA.
UFC 3Â will beÂ available worldwide on February 2, 2018Â for Xbox One and PS4.


Marvel Assembles Its Hot Toys Collection At NYCC 2019

The festive celebration of all things geek-related at the New York Comic Con 2019 won’t be complete without showcasing the collectibles and merchandise of our favourite characters and properties. Toy manufacturer Sideshow has a booth at the event, with some of the latest statues and sixth scale figures from both them and Hot Toys.
These include the 6th scale figure Hot Toys of:

Neon Tech War Machine
Avengers Endgame Black Widow
Avengers Endgame Iron Man Mark LXXXV
Avengers Endgame Rescue
Avengers Endgame Captain America (holding Mjolnir)
Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2 Stan Lee (from his cameo speaking with the Watchers)
Spider-Man Far From Home Stealth Suit
Spider-Man Far From Home Upgraded Suit
Spider-Man Far From Home Mysterio
Spider-Man Homecoming Homemade Suit

All of these can be seen in the video below:

https://buffer-media-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/5c65f99252750b164e3f8523/5d97d01ec9b4e031655e66e4/output/1b0ba468f084e720e2a21a7acbff45a8.original.mp4
That’s not all the toys and merchandise Sideshow featured at NYCC 2019, as there were also a bunch of others from different beloved fandoms like DC Comics, Star Wars, It: Chapter Two, and more. Head on over to the official website here for the full list of every single toy and merch that was showcased.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zujWO8vzDg&w=560&h=315]


A New Godzilla Movie Is Coming From Toho In 2023

Today is the official Godzilla Day celebration and Toho has announced a new Godzilla movie which will premiere on 3 November 2023. No other details or information have been revealed with the exception of some official key art and that Takashi Yamazaki (Lupin III: The First) is directing the new movie, which will be the 30th live-action Godzilla film in the franchise (the original Japanese franchise).
The last Japanese Toho Godzilla film was Shin Godzilla back in 2016. It’s currently unclear if this new Godzilla movie will be related to that.
Check out the announcement (via Twitter) below:

11.3.23 pic.twitter.com/H2uJo3gwHm
— GODZILLA.OFFICIAL (@Godzilla_Toho) November 3, 2022


The UNO Valhalla DLC Is Now Live On PC & Consoles

Mattel and Ubisoft have announced that Eivor arrives in the UNO Valhalla DLC, available globally today. Inspired by the mythical Viking world of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, UNO players will have to explore the board to collect resources and battle against other players to win. In UNO Valhalla DLC, only true Vikings can take it all.
To be perfectly clear, it’s UNO with an Assassin’s Creed Valhalla theme. That’s all. It costs RM16 on the Ubisoft Store.

For the first time in UNO, the board is part of the gameplay. Players can discard their cards wisely to travel across the board and collect precious cargos to unlock exclusive perks. Thanks to this new resource, players can engage in card fights with opponents to slow them down or unlock the longboat passive effect to discard many cards at once. Throughout their exploration, players can also encounter random events that will switch up gameplay such as Glory Regained where players take cargo to match the player with the highest cargo and Raid where a player steals two cargo from the target player. The DLC also introduces the brand new Eivor’s Raven card, which allows players to travel to the area of their choice and claim their rightful rewards.
The Valhalla DLC is now available to purchase individually on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, and PC exclusively on the Ubisoft Store.
In the meantime, check out our full review ofÂ Assassin’s Creed Valhalla here, or head on over here for our guide on how to be the best Viking in the game.