We’re Getting A Remastered Mafia: Trilogy Collection & A Mafia Remake [Update]

Fans of 1930s gangster films and period movies featuring organized crimes of the highest order can look forward to 2K Games’ latest compilation. Well, a teaser of it anyway.
2K Games announced the Mafia: Trilogy, which based on the video below, is going to be a compilation of all three Mafia games – a remake of the 2004 title Mafia, Mafia II, and Mafia III. The remastered collection will be out for PC (Steam & Epic Games), Xbox One, and PS4; no confirmed date yet though. More news about the game will pop up on 20th May.
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Also, the Microsoft Xbox store (update: now taken down) revealed that there will be a remake of the first Mafia. Check out the screenshots here; they look pretty dang good.The remakeÂ will be out 28th August.

So why are these games a big deal? Well, the one-two punch of 1940s gangland era storytelling plus Grand Theft Auto-esque gameplay (with some caveats) is a huge selling point.Â The first Mafia was set during the prohibition years of the 1930s. There weren’t many action-adventure games set during that time period, so that game was a breath of fresh air in terms of gameplay and narrative. The fact that it’s getting a remake from Hangar 13 is good news!
Mafia II, which came out in 2010, was set in the 1940s and 50s. It basically upped the ante in terms of production values, setpiece action beats, story beats, and open-world shenanigans. I felt it ended way too abrupt, but everything else was golden. Also, the game was banned in Singapore for Playboy content. Yeah, there was a bit where Playboy covers are collectables all over Empire City.
Mafia III was an unfortunate case of “great story beats & development; shame about the rest of the game”, a problem all too common with triple-A games that still persists today. Still, the 1960s New Bordeaux setting and era of music that came with it softened the pain. But barely.
Stick around next week on 20th May for more Mafia-related news on Kakuchopurei.


MCU’s Spider-Man Finally Grows Into His Own In Far From Home

Spider-Man Far From Home officially marks the end of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s (MCU) Phase Three, as well as the first movie to explore the aftermath of a post-Avengers Endgame world. That’s a lot of baggage for a movie to release with.
Thankfully, I’m glad to say that this movie swings with flying colours in my books.
We’re Going On A Road Trip

After the devastating events of Avengers Endgame, the world is still recuperating from the Snap. All Peter Parker wants to do is go on vacation with his friends like a normal teenager should be able to do. But “with great power comes great responsibility”, so resting was never an option, as another threat pops up while they’re in Europe.
That’s the basic premise of Spider-Man Far From Home. Like Spider-Man Homecoming before it, it still feels very much like a teen rom-com romp, albeit with a fun road trip schtick this time around.
Most of the supporting characters (Peter’s friends and family) are essentially just there for laughs and gags (a Spider-Man sitcom in the making), with the exception of Jacob Batalon’s Ned and Zendaya’s MJ. The latter especially shines in Far From Home, as she’s given much more to do with compared to when she was inÂ Homecoming.

Speaking of MJ, I was originally apprehensive of the way Marvel Studios just slapped the MJ name on this supposedly new character, who (at first glance) seemed to be nothing like the Mary Jane in the comics. However, it turns out that she’s exactly like Mary Jane, in all the ways that do count.
Despite not being a supermodel (…yet. She’s still a teenager, remember?), she’s as strong, smart and capable as the woman Peter loves and (at one point) married in the comics. She has the potential to grow into the Mary Jane from the comics, in time (although her name is Michelle and that’s still weird).
Mesmerizing Mysterio

Jake Gyllenhaal’s Quentin Beck AKA Mysterio is one of the definite highlights in Spider-Man Far From Home, if not, the entire MCU. That’s as far as I can say about the character, without spoiling any of the twists and turns featured in the movie, but I can say this: They have updated and modernized Mysterio’s set of abilities in a way that perfectly suits the current state of the world.
Rest assured that you can expect trippy visuals of Mysterio’s illusions and smokes just like they were depicted in a Stan Lee/Steve Ditko Spider-Man comic from the 60s, which made the Spider-Man fanboy in me extremely happy. Both of those late legends would’ve loved this movie (may they rest in peace).
MCU’s First Legacy Hero

Ever since the MCU’s version of Spider-Man first appeared in 2016’s Captain America: Civil War, I’ve sort of hated him for several reasons, the biggest of which is his over-reliance on Tony Stark. He was a stark (pun intended) contrast from the hero in the comics, embodying little of the traits (selfless, responsible, resourceful, intelligent) of the Peter Parker we know and love.
Simply put, he didn’t deserve to be Spider-Man from the comics but perhaps, he was never meant to be in the first place. Spider-Man is someone who tries to help or save everyone, even when it hurts him or at his own expense.
Despite his amazing powers, he makes mistakes and fails, but he gets back up every time and never stops trying. He inspires every average person out there to do their best every day, because that’s what he does, every single day.
With Spider-Man Far From Home, I can see now what Marvel Studios had (probably) planned for the character from the very beginning. The MCU Spider-Man is a different Spidey, but that doesn’t mean that he’s a bad or worse Spider-Man.
He is actually the MCU’s first true legacy hero.

In the comics, legacy heroes are often sidekicks/partners or even random people inspired by their heroes who inherits/adopts the name/mantle/responsibility of an existing or deceased hero.
Examples include Nightwing and Batman, Superman and Superboy, Hal Jordan and the various Green Lanterns after him, or even Miles Morales and Peter Parker as seen in the brilliant 2018 animated movie Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse.
While it may be unconventional for a legacy character to not pick up their predecessor’s mantle, Marvel Studios makes it work with the MCU’s Spider-Man and Iron Man. In fact, the MCU’s Spider-Man may be one of the best examples of a great legacy character.
The best legacy heroes pick up certain attributes of their predecessor but ultimately grows into a hero in their own right, with feats and accomplishments that make them unique and special in their own way.
That’s what Marvel Studios has managed to do for their version of Spider-Man throughout the course of multiple movies, culminating in the events in Spider-Man Far From Home.
Good Old Spidey Action

One of the things that 2017’s Spider-Man Homecoming did right was the dynamic action scenes, and how the wall-crawler frantically yet gracefully moved around in them (jumping, leaping, and web-shooting). Spider-Man Far From Home continues that with even more great setpieces featuring Spider-Man.
A popular fan complaint from Spider-Man Homecoming has also been addressed, and that was the lack of the character’s iconic Spider-Sense ability. It was never explicitly mentioned in that movie, but I’m glad to confirm that it is featured in Spider-Man Far Frome Home. One particular scene which features Spider-Sense is now one of my favourite Spider-Man action sequences of all time.
This Is The Movie Homecoming Should’ve Been

I went into Spider-Man Far From Home with low expectations but came out marvelling at what I just witnessed.
Is it the best Spider-Man movie? Not by a long shot (I still think that distinction goes to 2004’s Spider-Man 2).Â Does it have the best depiction of Spider-Man? The answer is relative (I still stand by my choice of Andrew Garfield’s portrayal in 2014’s The Amazing Spider-Man 2).
But what Spider-Man Far From Home does best is finally letting Tom Holland’s Spider-Man grow up and develop into his own, stepping out of the shadows of his mentor (Tony Stark) and into the limelight. The Spider-Boy has become a Spider-Man. This is the movie that Spider-Man Homecoming should’ve been but was not yet ready to be.
This movie made me realize that the MCU’s Spider-Man doesn’t have to be the same character from the comics (and from me, that means a lot). He simply had a lot to prove, and while I previously thought him undeserving of being the friendly neighbourhood hero, he has proven me wrong. I hope future movies with this Spider-Man will continue to do so in future instalments.
FINAL SCORE: 80/100
Spider-Man Far From Home is now showing in Malaysian cinemas.


Here’s What We Know About Phantasy Star Online 2: New Genesis So Far

Sega just unveiled a crapton of info and new gameplay of its upcoming JRPG rebirth-slash-update to its free-to-play MMORPG Phantasy Star Online 2, that’s going under the full moniker Phantasy Star Online 2: New Genesis.Â
Here’s a quick recap:
-The game features new actions on the field like dash, double-jumping, and gliding, which helps in making traversal fun.
-The game’s healing system has changed; you can find healing nodes out in the field to keep your health restored while you’re on the move.
-In New Genesis, you can move between areas seamlessly and not via stage transitions. The game features an open field and a dynamic weather system that changes and probably affects enemies, areas, and player characters.
–New Genesis features three classes so far: Hunter, Ranger, and Force user. Combat-wise, most classes have 5-combo attacks, with the 5th attack being as powerful as a Photon Art.
Check out the gameplay walkthrough below, especially the incredibly epic party battle and boss fight at 14:14. English recording via HDKirin.

Phantasy Star Online 2: New Genesis will be out for PC and Xbox Series X in 2021.


Dragon’s Dogma Anime Debuts On Netflix This September

Oh hell yes.
Capcom’s most underrated action RPG, Dragon’s Dogma, is getting an anime adaptation on Netflix. It will be out 17th September according to a recent Netflix Twitter announcement.

Only the Arisen can face the Dragon and defeat the apocalypse. Here's your first look at the anime series adaptation of Capcom's action fantasy classic Dragon's Dogma, arriving September 17th. pic.twitter.com/UxJMcUrsdp
— Netflix Geeked (@NetflixGeeked) July 14, 2020

The show’s official landing page describes the show as thus:

“Ethan sets out to vanquish the Dragon that took his heart. But with every demon he battles, the more he loses his humanity.”

This sounds more like a straight-up recap of the game’s original plot. Just make sure there’s more giant monster climbing-and-stabbing action, and less sidekicks telling me ad nauseam about “the large tree” that’s in plain sight. In the meantime, enjoy the game’s main themes below because I can’t get enough of it.


Honor Play Review – Fine China

We at Kakuchopurei.com are very selective on what we review but one device which recently came into the market piqued our interest: the Huawei Honor Play.
Is it all that? Is this THE phone to get to solidify one’s gaming cred? Will it increase my chances of winning more chicken dinners in PUBG? Am I getting value for money? Does it matter that it looks like another brand’s flagship model?
Read on and find out, readers!
For Honor?
For the uninitiated, Honor is a sub-brand of Shenzen-based telecommunications equipment and services company Huawei. Generally formed to serve the ‘online-only’ market space, this method greatly reduce the phone’s production cost and ultimately, its price tag. While at a glance you cannot help but notice its stark similarity to the iPhoneX, the Honor Play caters to a totally different segment of the market and is a very interesting proposition for those looking for an Android device between the MYR1,000 – MYR 1,500 range.
Before we go any further, here are the basic tech details of the phone.

6.3″ LCD Screen
Huawei Kirin 970 CPU
4GB RAM
64GB
3750mAh battery
16MPÂ f/2.2, PDAF / 2 MP, f/2.4, depth sensor

Build:

157.9 x 74.3 x 7.5 mm (6.22 x 2.93 x 0.30 in)
176g
IP Rating: Not rated. While we feel it would survive a short run in the rain, we highly do not recommend taking it out into the pool nor subjecting it to dunking tests. Thanks to little knowledge gained from watching JerryRigEverything videos, we know that the absence of the rubber seal near the sim tray is a dead giveaway for this.

Our Thoughts: Daily Driver
Let’s not beat around the bush here. At a glance, the Honor Play resembles Apple’s iPhone X sans the colour. But then again, which Chinese-based phone model doesn’t nowadays. In contrast though, unlike the fragile-feeling iPhone X, the Honor Play feels surprisingly sturdy in hand despite being a few rungs lower on price point.
The brushed finish looks upscale despite its plasticky feel. It doesn’t slide around as much as we expected and size-wise fits right in the hand like an iPhone 6S Plus would. The dimensions of the phone chassis help a lot when gaming in landscape mode, as you wouldn’t have to scrunch up your fingers like you do on other models.
It’s got a wide, bright screen that functions decently outdoors but the glossy, reflective screen is an odd inclusion considering it can be distracting for gamers. I found myself adjusting my positions frequently to negate any reflection from nearby light sources when playing on the Play (heh).
Not being a huge fan of phone notches as well, I found it to be annoyingly distracting especially having been used to an interrupted, full-screen experience throughout the years.Â However, internal settings allow you to negate the notch with an artificial frame.
Master Of Unlocking
The bright side in all this? The face unlocking feature works pretty well on the Play, unlocking almost instantly although it would be relatively faster to just rely on the fingerprint sensor considering where you place your index finger whenever you pick up the device.
Thankfully so, the fingerprint sensor is placed in the middle at the back of the phone. Unlocking the Honor Play after switching from my daily driver, the Pixel 2XL felt natural, with the sensor unlocking the device without much fuss and in our experience, opting for this feature is more convenient in the long run.
Despite boasting better specs than the Pixel 2XL in almost every important areas, the Honor Play gets sluggish once we have about five apps running in the background. But don’t be alarmed as this lag is more on the slight millisecond the phone takes to open or switch between them.
Snappy Snap
This device isn’t marketed for its photo-taking ability so we will keep it brief. While Honor does deliver when it comes to images thanks to the 16-megapixel rear camera, they appear to be overexposed and brighter regardless of lighting condition. Below are some photos taken on the Honor Play and compared to the ones taken on the Pixel 2XL.
DVa – Google Pixel2XL
DVa – Honor Play
Order 1886 – Pixel 2XL
Order 1886 – Honor Play
Tomatoes – Pixel 2XL
Tomatoes – Honor Play
Bell peppers – Pixel 2XL
Bell peppers – Honor Play
Stage – Pixel 2XL
Stage – Honor Play
Lobby – Pixel 2XL
Lobby – Honor Play
Airport – Pixel 2XL
Airport – Honor Play
We thought the pictures from the Honor Play came out alright and while most of them do not stick true to the actual colour, does give a more vibrant vibe at the end. Preference is subjective anyway and while we much prefer the true-to-colour results via the Pixel 2XL, we don’t have many issues with the quality of the pictures coming from the Honor Play.
Do You Even Game, Bro?
Where the phone works best is as advertised – gaming. We had a blast playing on the Honor Play, experiencing little to no disruption when it comes to booting up games, as well as during playtime. While it does pale in comparison to recently released mid-tier models – even the ones released almost a year back – you gotta realize that we are talking about a phone that’s sub MYR1500 here.
The speakers leave a lot to be desired but that can be instantly remedied with headphones. Speaking of which, there’s a 3.5mm headphone jack on the Honor Play so you’ll be able to play and use headsets while charging the phone simultaneously.
Huawei clearly had the mobile gaming crowd in mind when developing the phone as they plonked in intuitive features including built-in screen recording and the ability to cancel out any notifications from popping up on screen during gameplay. The days of having your game sessions interrupted by untimely WhatsApp messages is finally over.
The phone does have the tendency to get hot after a prolonged period of gaming (but hey – which phone does not, right!) and you may end up having to reboot the app after a few rounds of PUBG, assuming you make it to the final 10 of each match as we spot some noticeable sluggishness from continuous play.
Pros
– Surprisingly solid build for its price tag
– Comes with a headphone jack (yay!)
– Great deal at its pricepoint
– Gamer-centric, intuitive software for those heavy mobile gamers
– Decent battery life
Cons
– Mediocre speakers
– Photos tend to appear overexposed in most lighting conditions
– Back panel can feel a tad plasticky
– Surprisingly highly reflective screen which may put off some
Is the Honor Play the best phone at its price range? It is still up for debate but for those looking for a solid and reliable device that’ll fulfil their gaming needs while remaining within budget, it’s a good pick. We’d highly recommend it if you’re in search for a phone within the RM1000 to RM1,500 range and don’t mind the form factor of the iPhone X.
Final Score: 70/100
The Honor Play is now available for purchase via their official site here. Available in two colors, ‘Ultraviolet’ and ‘Navy Blue’, the special color editions of the device -Black and Red – were recently unveiled and should hit our shores soon.

We reviewed the Honor Play via a review unit courtesy ofÂ Hill+Knowlton Strategies Malaysia.


How To Create Your Own E3 Fake News

No doubt you’ve seen the recent Nintendo and PlayStation E3 press conference games list piece of paper that’s been making the Internet rounds, right? Do you want to be in on the action too and claim your 15 minutes of internet fame? As an old sage in Tristram once said, stay awhile and listen.
These things are honestly easy to forge, truth be told. You may be too late for E3 2018, but there’s always next year. To prepare you for E3 2019, here are some steps on how to create your own fake E3 leaks and news.
All you need are the following:

A printer. If you don’t have one, head down to your local printing press shop run by some auntie and uncle duo. They’re common in Petaling Street (in KL) and Sunshine Plaza (in Singapore).
Microsoft Word. Or Google Doc. Both work fine, as long as it’s a digital word processor you’re comfortable with.
A phone camera.
Some technical writing know-how. This is important for Step 1 for this guide.
Photoshop, Paint.net, or some other graphic manipulation tool of your choice

Step 1: Content
The most important thing about a fake news leak or announcement leak is the content. You have to make it believable yet throw in some outlandish predictions that will resonate with gaming fanboys.
Use your creativity here, but don’t go overboard. For example, mention a new F-Zero or Star Fox or even a Conker remake for the next year, but don’t bring in outlandish predictions like a new version of the Switch or an add-on for it.
Remember: moderation is key. The best example is the Nintendo Direct leak below that was circulating on the interwebs a few weeks ago. It’s a fake, but it was legit-looking enough to make people accept its authenticity if only for a brief moment.
For the record, I would totally play Yoshi’s Flipping Island.

Step 2: Layout
Now comes the finishing touch. With the help of Google’s patented search engine, you can do a quick search for company logos. Just make sure it’s in PNG or SVG format so that you don’t have to worry too much about backdrop cleaning & erasing.
Don’t make it too official-looking; that will definitely have people crying out “fake” earlier than usual. Keep it simple with regular Word Document text layout and use a traditional font like Arial or Verdana, or anything else with a Times New Roman Sarif feel to it. Then slap on the company logo at the top.
Whatever you do, do not put up your screencap of Notepad, Evernote, or some other word document on Facebook. It just doesn’t look authentic and “official”. Like these posts below.

Step 3: Photograph & Tweet
Now comes the final step: putting it out in the wild. This is where your phone camera comes in because you have to make the photo look like as if it’s leaked out in a hurry.
But where do you publish it? Simple: social media and hardcore forums like NeoGAF or ResetEra. However, do not ever publish it under your name. Instead, ask a friend or two to make a smurf email or forum account and have them share the news and publish it.
That way, it gives the impression that the source is considered anonymous yet can still make people second-guess that it may have been from a publisher. Easy, right?
That’s all we have for our pre-E3 guide on how to make fake news up for the next E3. We hope this guide has been useful. And of course, if all of this came true, you can mock us either here or on our Facebook page.Â


NVIDIA Announces RTX 3060 At CES 2021

During CES 2021, Nvidia announced the GeForce RTX 3060, which comes with 12GB of G6 memory with 13 Shader-TFlops, 25 RT-TFlops, and 101 Tensor-TFlops. It also offers the latest Ampere architecture.

The GeForce RTX 3060 will launch in late February for US$329, or roughly RM1333+.
You can check out the video presentation below:


Minion Mania Continues With Minions The Rise Of Gru

There’s no denying how much of a commercial juggernaut the Despicable Me or Minions franchise is. Both 2015’s Minions and 2017’s Despicable Me 3 garnered more than US$1 billion worldwide during their respective releases.
With the new Minions The Rise Of Gru, it’s pretty much what you’d expect from another installment in the series: a fun ride for viewers of all ages. Nothing more, nothing less.
The True Despicable Me Prequel?

First off, Minions The Rise Of Gru feels more of a prequel to the Despicable Me movies than 2015’s Minions was. It’s set in the 70s when Gru (the protagonist of the Despicable Me movies) was still a little kid who aspires to be a supervillain. After learning that supervillain team Vicious 6 is looking for a new member following the death of one of their own, Gru applies for the position.
However, things go wrong and Gru will need the help of his minions to survive. Without spoiling anything, the plot is expectedly straightforward and simple, but fans will appreciate several easter eggs and cameos that directly references what will happen in the Despicable Me movies.
Since the movie is set in the 70s, there are also many era-specific easter eggs and references that film buffs in general will enjoy. These include Gru and his minions watching Steven Spielberg’s Jaws at the cinema and more. For instance, Michelle Yeoh lends her voice to a character named Master Chow, a stereotype who’s essentially inspired by classic Hollywood kung fu movies like 1973’s Enter The Dragon.
Minions The Rise Of Gru is also deriving elements from Blaxploitation, which can be seen with characters like Taraji P. Henson’s Belle Bottom from her exaggerated name, afro hairstyle and the way she speaks (“Can you dig it?” is an actual line).

Of course, this is still a Despicable Me/Minions movie, and the main target audience (namely; children and/or younger viewers) won’t care about most of what I’ve mentioned above. They’ll still watch Minions The Rise Of Gru in droves, as long as the same kind of humour is there, and the movie definitely delivers.
Expect adorable and wacky minions of all shapes and sizes in this movie, including the return of Kevin, Stuart and Bob from 2015’s Minions, as well as a new minion named Mel. They’re all wacky, cute and adorable as usual. Malaysian viewers can also look forward to the minions once again speaking a few choice Malay words, if you can catch them.
Overall, I definitely enjoyed Minions The Rise Of Gru more than 2015’s Minions, due to the aforementioned easter eggs, and the presence of Gru. Having Gru in this movie and Steve Carrell reprising his role makes this movie better than the first Minions movie, because he’s a human character from this franchise that viewers will actually care about. I’m sure no one can even remember the names of the human characters from 2015’s Minions without checking them up online.
Minion Mania Continues

Ultimately, Minions The Rise Of Gru is more of the same formulaic humour the franchise is famous for, and that’s probably enough for most kids and families looking for a fun time at the cinemas. If you’re not the target demographic, it depends on how you feel about the hyper-active little yellow tater tots and the franchise as a whole.
No one watches a Minions movie for its plot or characters anyways, but at least it’s still a enjoyable experience.
FINAL SCORE: 60/100
We attended a press screening of Minions The Rise Of Gru courtesy of United International Pictures (UIP) Malaysia. Minions The Rise Of Gru premieres in Malaysian cinemas on 30 June 2022.


Fire Emblem: Three Houses Shows Who The New Head Of The JRPG Class Is

In another timeline, a game like Fire Emblem: Three Houses would have never existed. Ask any avid fan and youâ€™ll learn that, once upon a time, Nintendo wanted to axe Fire Emblem for good.
But we all know thatâ€™s not how the story goes. As the series sunk to its lowest point ever, Intelligent Systems created Fire Emblem: Awakening for the 3DS in a last-ditch effort to save the series. To everyoneâ€™s surprise, the game would launch to overwhelming success, bringing an influx of new fans into series and setting Fire Emblem on a path of resurgence.

But what do you do with a success like Awakening? The sequel, Fire Emblem Fates, adopted many of Awakeningâ€™s unique elements such as a Pair Up system, in-game marriage, and recruitable children. Though the title went on to perform well, there was always some division amongst fans on whether these elements were appropriate to the seriesâ€™ core identity.
Now Three Houses has come along for the latest Nintendo Switch platform and even signifies Fire Emblemâ€™s long-awaited return to home consoles. The series is bigger than ever, but it seems that rather than work iteratively on the features that made Awakening so successful, Intelligent Systems have once again opted to reinvent the wheel. And honestly, it slaps.
A Tactical Thrill

The easiest way to describe Three Housesâ€™ gameplay flow is that it handles very similarly to the modern Persona titles. But to say they are exactly the same does a disservice to the unique things that Three Houses tries to achieve within the same scope.
Letâ€™s start with the basics first. At its heart, Fire Emblem is a tactics game that thrives on its isometric, grid-based combat. None of that has changed in this game. Youâ€™ll still see characters level up and youâ€™ll still deploy them on a wide variety of maps designed to challenge your wit.
A new addition to the series are battalions, which comprise of a group of soldiers that your unit leads. These can be equipped on units to confer stat boosts, similar to accessories. More importantly, you can use battalions to attack enemies freely without facing retaliation yourself. Certain battalions also come with special effects that limit enemy movements, hit different tiles in a unique shape, heal your allies, and so on, bringing a new facet of tactical gameplay to the traditional formula.
But where Fire Emblem games are typically a gauntlet of maps with some story and dialogue peppered in between, Three Houses shakes things up big time by introducing a hub area to spend the vast amount of your time in.
You are a professor at Garreg Mach Monastery, an interesting place that doubles as both a religious church and military school. Set directly in the middle of three great nations, the academy serves as a diplomatic ground for the corresponding three houses of students: The Black Eagles, The Blue Lions, and the Golden Deer.

Besides getting these students ready for ruling their own respective nations, you will also lead them in battle, send them on assignments, and even get to know them better. Yet these activities can only be done a limited amount of times.

Youâ€™ll strictly have to adhere to a calendar system throughout the school term. On most days, youâ€™ll be instructing students throughout the week, where youâ€™ll make decisions on the skills you want your students to improve in. On the weekend, youâ€™re eating lunch together, learning about their antics, or assigning them some extra-curricular training. And at the end of each month awaits a big battle that will apply all that youâ€™ve taught your students.
Given the limited capacity of what you can do in any given day, the game drives a certain feeling of commitment thatâ€™s hard to come by in a lot of modern games. More importantly, it feels right at home in Fire Emblem, where beloved characters could die permanently at even the slightest mistake on the battlefield.
Every choice in the monastery counts, whether you’re working on recruiting new students, or on new skills you want them to learn before the next battle. The calendar system naturally synergizes with the seriesâ€™ value of making choices under pressure.

Rather than just being worried about your choices on battlefield, you’ll also have to worry about what you do outside of combat as well. Itâ€™s an interesting and welcome evolution to the seriesâ€™ core gameplay.

Toy Box For Young And Old Dogs
The sheer amount of in-game social elements added to the game can feel a bit alienating to veterans of the series, but fret not. Despite the massive content at its disposal, Three Houses wonâ€™t force you through the monastery segments if you donâ€™t have the heart for it.
At the beginning of every week is an option to simply automate every conceivable choice until the end of the month. You donâ€™t lose out on any crucial story elements here, as the monastery segments will largely focus on characters and world-building.
You will miss out on the intricacies of customizing your units, but rest assured that the game still prioritizes units’ growths based on their specialties. Itâ€™s a well thought-out inclusion perfectly suited for those who prefer the map-to-map experience that classic Fire Emblem games were known for.
Yet, the monastery segments really are half the fun in this game. A point of endearment with the franchise has always been its vast cast of unique characters, and this is firmly expanded upon within school grounds.
Taking a leaf out of the Trails series, characters and NPCs will constantly have interesting things to say, their dialogue changing and evolving each time the story progresses. Sometimes theyâ€™ll comment on current events, or simply regale a funny tale that shares bigger insight into their personality.
Itâ€™s easily the largest undertaking that Fire Emblem has taken in terms of writing, yet also a cut above many modern games that have been in this line of work for much longer. Donâ€™t expect dialogue to exist solely to impose side quests on you: Three Houses has none of that. Any existing side quests youâ€™ll find are merely adjacent to the creative freedom on display in these heartfelt conversations.
And the best part? Everything is fully-voice acted, with the team pulling out all the stops in assembling a talented voice cast for both English and Japanese.
Wrapped Neatly Like A Bow

Itâ€™s an achievement on Intelligent Systemsâ€™ part that the monastery activities mesh so well with the classic Fire Emblem gameplay. It doesnâ€™t take long for the game to acclimate you into preparing for upcoming battles and then seeing the fruits of labor as you decimate the enemy.

Surrounding this gameplay cycle is the main story wrapped in an engrossing mystery. Unlike most Fire Emblem stories where the motivation behind world events are a little more on the nose, Three Houses introduce morsels of intrigue that left me eager for more.

Expect plenty of plot twists and broken friendships. In a series thatâ€™s been known to focus around war, Three Houses successfully captures the anxieties in these youths as they grow up and are faced with the political ramifications of having to lead their nation. But also in line with Fire Emblem, you may want to look out for bigger things at play in the shadows.
How the story unfolds and ends will differ depending on which house you choose to lead at the very beginning of the game. The characters you run with will also be wholly different, hosting their own unique stats and abilities for you to play around with. And since just one path may take up to 60 hours to complete, you wonâ€™t be short of replayability and have every opportunity to craft a journey thatâ€™s uniquely yours.
Class Act

Even an excellent game like Three Houses isnâ€™t without its flaws. For one, the game isnâ€™t visually stunning and in fact, faces a lot of terrible aliasing. Youâ€™ll see frame rate hiccups occasionally (which may annoy but is otherwise serviceable for a turn-based game), low-quality textures, and small draw distances on character models. Perhaps the biggest saving grace in this respect is the gameâ€™s solid art style.
Another hit to the game is its underwhelming difficulty. Despite providing a wealth of customizability and options in battle, the game remains lenient on big mistakes and never quite pushes you out of your comfort zone, even on Hard difficulty.
Despite all this, Fire Emblem: Three Houses manages to instil plenty of lovely features that make the experience worthwhile. Itâ€™s one of the most robust strategy JRPGs Iâ€™ve played in a long time, with mechanics and limited resources that encourage you to strategize to the fullest. It has a sweeping orchestral soundtrack that dynamically shifts as you go in and out of combat, leading to some engrossing battles. Plus, the narrative and characters are some of the strongest showings the series has seen to date.
With how bold and different Three Houses is compared to its predecessors, itâ€™s hard to see where Fire Emblem will go from here. Will Intelligent Systems craft a new game that revamps our expectations of the series yet again? Or will they stick to their tried and true formula and let us enjoy Fire Emblem in Hogwarts-like environments for the foreseeable future?

If one thing is for certain, itâ€™s that Fire Emblem: Three Houses is a good game. An incredible one, in fact, that quite simply peaks as far as JRPG lineups go on the Nintendo Switch.

Although Fire Emblem: Awakening was the viral success that saved Fire Emblem, Intelligent Systems are here to prove that nothing about that was ever a fluke.
Pros

Exciting tactical combat complemented by an immersive soundtrack.
Lovely characters and an engaging story.
Deep RPG elements with lots of customization.
Long gameplay hours and lots of replayability.

Cons

Unimpressive and sometimes jarring visuals.
Difficulty may be too easy for the more hardcore audience.

Final Score: 90/100


Stalker 2 Devs Announces NFT Plans, Then Cancels Them After A Day Of Backlash

Earlier this week, Stalker 2/S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 developers GSC Game World announced it would be selling off NFTs/non-fungible tokens/expensive receipts that grants it owners a presence in the game. A day later, they’ve cancelled those plans.
Here is GSC Game World’s official statement:
“Dear Stalkers,Â
We hear you.Â
Based on the feedback we received, we’ve made a decision to cancel anything NFT-related in S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2. The interest of our fans and players are the top priority for the team. We’re making this game for you to enjoyâ€”whatever the cost is. If you care, we care too.Â
With love,
GSC Game World Team.”

pic.twitter.com/mffnmpiQiw
— S.T.A.L.K.E.R. OFFICIAL (@stalker_thegame) December 16, 2021

The Stalker 2 NFT promo material was talking about how FOMO people would be “the first metahumans” in the “S.T.A.L.K.E.R. metaverse”, using a “metaversial bridge”. Long story short, it’s basically the devs using face-scanning tech to have its fans be NPCs in an upcoming game, with customers paying a lot for the privilege. In spite of all this, GSC Game World said that Stalker 2 isn’t a “blockchain-based game” and that the NFT purchase was optional.
Lots of people called the developer out for this elaborate attempt at advertising, though some of them are OK with the idea. In fact, Gearbox Software CEO Randy Pitchford mention that GSC Game World do not need to use NFTs or blockchain to do this.

Hey bro – you don’t need NFT’s or blockchain to pre-sell unique customized stuff in your game. I’m not into that sort of thing because it’s, like, kind of a shittier version of ad placement. But it’s been done for years and you don’t need NFT’s to do it. Anyway – Love your work! https://t.co/QyKrsGE4oh
— Randy Pitchford (@DuvalMagic) December 16, 2021


Sega Wants To Hear About Your Virtua Fighter Netcode Thoughts

Virtua Fighter 5: Ultimate Showdown marks the first new entry in the 3D fighting granddaddy, but it has received quite a mixed reception due to its online play.
That might change. Sega recently released a new survey for owners of the game with questions on their thoughts on the updated port (via Eventhubs). The questionnaire goes through the usual gaming demographics checklist, but one bit that should be of interest is the online play section.
One of the questions ask if players are aware of what type of netcode Virtua Fighter 5: Ultimate Showdown uses, or if they even know what netcode is in the first place. The next question also asks how much lag players have experienced online in the game and if it impacts their desire to play the game more.
Perhaps Sega is serious about extending VF5’s longevity, and may even upgrade the game or even a future Virtua Fighter title with rollback netcode in the future. In the meantime, you should make yourself heard by filling up the survey.
Virtua Fighter 5: Ultimate Showdown is out right now and I highly recommend you play it if you’re into 3D fighting games that don’t play like Tekken. Do mind the current netcode of the game though. If you rather just watch some sweet high-level VF5 play, the official VF channel on YouTube will sort you out.


Capcom’s Upcoming Games Will Use The RE Engine

Capcom’s redemption arc has been a thrill-ride to experience, thanks to theÂ Resident Evil 2Â REmake and Devil May Cry 5 earlier this year. Of course, none of it would be possible without the RE Engine it made when it debuted in Resident Evil 7. So it’s only logical it keeps using its propriety engine for their next upcoming titles.
According to a Q&A session following the company’s latest financial results, Capcom said that while it was unable to comment on the specific number of titles or release windows, most of its new titles will be developed internally with the RE Engine.

“[F]rom the early stages of building this engine, we kept the ability to augment it for next-generation development in mind; as such, we view the RE Engine as one of our strengths that will contribute to next-generation game creation.”

So far, the only one we know and that’s confirmed is Monster Hunter World: Iceborne. As for the rest, we’ll have to wait and see until E3 2019 this June. My personal guess? Maybe that Dragon’s Dogma sequel or another Breath of Fire game. I’m just throwing darts in the wind here.


Team Malaysia Overwatch Jersey Finalised, Get Yours Soon!

Just last month, it was announced that Malaysia qualified for the Overwatch World Cup (OWWC) and our very own Kenn “Beagull” Leandre was chosen as the team’s general manager.
As how the team was elected through votes, the jersey designs were decided the same way. For the past few weeks, several polls were done on Twitter to decide the jersey’s colour scheme, official logo, and other details.
Feast your eyes on the final result:

Credits to Naim “shujiokishima” Ahmad for the overall design and Umar ‘Umarory‘ Mirzan for designing the logo.

The sample you’re looking at is the ‘naked’, no-sponsors version of the shirt and limited amounts will be up for sale soon! Be sure to follow Team Malaysia OWWC‘s Twitter account so you can be notified ASAP.
The team is still looking for sponsors and partners so if you’re interested or know someone who would be, you can contact any of the committee members. The OWWC will be watched by millions of people around the world, so now’s as good a time as any to put yourself out there!
The OWWC will be happening in Anaheim, USA on 1 November 2019 to 2 November 2019. Player selection is open until 14 July 2019 so if you think you’ve got what it takes to make Malaysia proud, apply!

Working alongside Kenn, we have community manager Sun “megikari” San and team Coach Jack “RAGONSEA” Teoh. Don’t hesitate to reach out to them if you’re interested in joining or sponsoring the team!


Hitman 2 Free Halloween Update Goes Live Tomorrow

The folks at IO Interactive have been hard at work.
The Another Escalation Contract for Hitman 2 is coming our way and this time, it’s set to take us back to Hawkes Bay but with a Halloween twist to it all. Check out the trailer:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHUk-e0eRoc&w=560&h=315]
IOI Community Developer Clemens E. Koch said that the Halloween Escalation Contract will bring us the “weirdest and probably scariest contract” in Hitman 2. It will be a permanent addition to the game and those who complete the contracts will be rewarded with the Tactical Wetsuit and Bat Shuriken.
The free update goes live tomorrow for all players.


Kena: Bridge of Spirits Combat & Skills Guide

While Kena: Bridge of Spirits has a lovely and cheerful aesthetic, it masks a fun combat system. Kena can use her staff for melee attacks and her bow-and-arrow for ranged combat.
The game can initially be easy, but later boss fights can be a tad challenging. Here are some tips on what skills to get first once you acquire your cache of spirit shards. Controls and inputs are following Xbox/PC controller inputs.
Get The Rot Hammer Skill ASAP

Your early spirit shards should be invested in this powerful attack. To perform it, hold your Heavy Attack button, then press X while letting go of the attack. You’ll do a cool slow-motion heavy AoE hammer attack that deals a lot of damage. You’ll need this to deal with all boss (or boss-type enemies) later on, when they have an opening. And they usually will have an opening after a frenzied attack or anything similar.
Your Melee Staff Has A Decent Sweep Arc
Your Light Attack has a pretty decent range and arc, making it easy to knock back weaker enemies and interrupt their attacks. Abuse this when clearing weaker mobs so that you can put your focus on the big bads and Sprout Commanders.
Even At The Weakest Charge, Your Heavy Attack Still Delivers
We charged our Heavy Attack for barely a second, and yet somehow it can break enemy shields and deal a decent amount of damage. Keep that in mind if you’re dealing with shielded enemies.
Your Arrow Shot Hitboxes Are Pretty Generous

Due to Kena’s more forgiving combat mechanics and the fact that it feels like a “baby version” of Dark Souls combat in most parts, your spirit arrow’s hitboxes are very generous. Shots that would normally miss in other difficult games will land and hit in Kena: Bridge of Spirits. And it’s not like you’ll be running out of arrows if you’re a really terrible shot. So fire away!
Your Parry Window Is Not As Generous
You need to be precise with your parries in Kena: Bridge of Spirits. One wrong move and you’ll either eat a hit which will cost you a lot of health, or have your shield drained exponentially. It’s usually worth it to die a few times in a boss fight before getting their parry windows right; Kena’s checkpoint system is pretty forgiving.
Jumping + Left Trigger = Slow Motion

By pressing the aim button while in the air, you slow down time until you land. This means you can aim with your bow properly while this is happening. It’s very useful and incredibly abuseable.
Get These Other Skills First

Shield Health+: You might be defending a lot or messing up your parry. This extra shield powerup can help add more chances to your mistake.
Rot Infused Arrow: A super spirit arrow that pierces through enemies. Very handy during combat when you need to let go of your charge ASAP.
Air Slam: This melee attack and all previous melee skills leading to it can help keep weaker enemies away.
Arrows +: Get the abilities that let you fire up to 5 (or 6) arrows instead of the default 4. This extra ammunition is handy not just for fights, but for archery challenges you’ll find in Kena: Bridge of Spirits.

Kena: Bridge of Spirits Boss Fights Walkthrough (Video)


Here’s More Sonic Frontiers Gameplay Than You Can Handle

Sega just released new gameplay footage of Sonic Frontiers, detailing the open-world environment and the place Sonic the Hedgehog is stuck on.
Apparently, he’s trapped on an ancient island with unusual creatures, though at least he can still speed across the island in high-velocity, open-zone platforming goodness. Hopefully, this 3D Sonic plus open-world sandbox freedom-filled gameplay is the kickstart the franchise needs so that it’s at least as successful as his movie career.
Check out the overview trailer & press release notes below:

Key Features

Experience All-New Open Zone Platforming – Race across the Starfall Islands, brimming with dense forests, overflowing waterfalls and sizzling desert landscapes, each with their own unique action-platforming challenges and hidden secrets to uncover.
Unparalleled High-Speed Freedom – See what each island has to offer at the speed only Sonic can deliver. Players can blaze a trail as they see fit and discover side quests, solve puzzles, scale enormous structures, go fishing and encounter a friendly face or two along the way.
Challenge Yourself in Cyber Space – Discover portals scattered across the islands and race through every Cyber Space level, featuring signature 3D platforming at Sonic speeds and many challenges to put your skills to the test.
Cyber-Powered Combat – Players can use the all-new battle system and skill tree upgrades to fight strategically, combining moves such as dodges, parries, counters, combos and the new Cyloop ability to take down mysterious foes and colossal titans.
A New Adventure Full of Mystery and Intrigue – Become Sonic and uncover the mysteries behind the remains of an ancient civilization plagued by robotic hordes. With nothing but a handful of questions and a disembodied voice to guide him, Sonic sets out to save his friends and the enigmatic inhabitants of the Starfall Islands from a colossal, mechanized threat.


Crytek Announces Crysis 4

Crytek has officially announced Crysis 4 with a mysterious new teaser trailer. However, the brief teaser doesn’t really reveal any details about the upcoming game.
No specific platforms have been announced either. This announcement comes only several months after the release of the Crysis Remastered Trilogy in October 2021.
We’ll probably have to wait a while before we get any new information.


The Top 8 Things You Won’t Forget About World of Warcraft Classic

Blizzard has released World of Warcraft Classic onto the adoring public, giving both new and old players an opportunity to return to the good old days when the company could do no wrong. When WoW was the biggest thing on the planet that even made its way to pop culture like in an entire South Park episode or a How I Met Your Mother gag.
For some, it’ll be a new experience to experience a base title before all of this Dungeon Finder and quest instructions nonsense. For veterans, it’ll be a lovely blast to the past, warts and all. And with that, here’s a list of what WoW players miss. Or don’t miss. It’s all subjective, but still nostalgic. Rose-tinted glasses and all, right?
Think of this as a guide to gauge whether you want to plunge into a game made in late 2004.
The Queue

An obvious place to start. At its peak, youâ€™d load World of Warcraft, pop in your details, then eat dinner, paint a bridge, or grow a full-length beard while waiting to enter the game. It could take hours. The only consolation is that you could listen to the excellent menu theme over and over and overâ€”and it never got better than the one in vanilla WoWâ€”and imagine all the cool things youâ€™d be doing it you were actually playing.
And the authentic-but-irritating news is that WoW Classic has recreated this with stunning accuracy because there arenâ€™t enough servers to accommodate demand. Great work!
The Walking

This sounds like a weird one, because yes, you can technically still run everywhere in modern World of Warcraft. You just donâ€™t need to. Current WoW players get their mounts at level minus-20, three months before theyâ€™ve made the decision to start playing the game, and theyâ€™re basically free. But in Vanilla WoW, youâ€™d spend levels 1-40 running everywhere like a peasant, driven by the tenebrous hope that one day you too would be able to afford a basic white goat like the other, better dwarves.
If you were lucky, a class skill like Ghost Wolf would help you traverse vanillaâ€™s vast expanses slightly quicker. Still, it was excruciatingly slow.
The Fact That You Have To Be Thrifty…

..or poor, if you want to put it in a less PC way.
Just like real life, there were players who were absurdly rich and had all the best gear, and there were others whoâ€™d scrape a living selling vendor trash just so they could scrape up a bit of digital copper.
For many players, making money was a grind. Everything was costly. Even training your skills came at a price, diverting funds away from that precious mount you were saving for.
Making money involved repeated trips back to traders to sell your grey junk, and many vanilla players saved time by inventing their own get-rich-quick schemes. Others would spend days angling for Deviate Fish in Lushwater Oasis, or murdering turtles in Hillsbrad in the hope theyâ€™d drop pearls.
Everyone had a business plan, and most of them were awful. Being poor in WoW sucked. But hey, it did open up a new and lucrative job market in China.
Alt-Tabbing Your Screen To Check Out The Wikis

Learning to play WoW now is a streamlined experience. Yes, youâ€™ll still need to supplement your knowledge with websites, but you can learn most of what you need in-game.
In the early days of vanilla WoW, however, your entire existence was split between actually playing the game and tabbing in and out of your browser in an attempt to work out what the hell you were supposed to be doing. The in-game tutorials were essentially non-existent, and that meant relying on sites like WoWhead and WoWwiki.
To have a hope of knowing what you were doing you had to actuallyÂ readÂ the quest logs, and even that wasnâ€™t foolproof. Your first ten levels in WoW were like trying to assemble IKEA furniture while buried alive.
It was often so confusing that players would resort to adding third-party add-ons such as Quest Helper just to get some sense of purpose of direction. That, or just flip through the official magazine for some offline guidance. Remember those?

The Grind

If you currently play WoW, you think you know grinding. Youâ€™ve spent an evening or two killing the repetitive mobs in a dull area. Youâ€™ve paid your dues. But mention the â€˜gâ€™ word to a WoW veteran and youâ€™ll see the thousand-yard stare of a special forces veteran.
Can you really call it grinding unless you spent three literal weeks -we kid you not- killing plainstriders and zhevra charger in The Barrens?
The problem was acute in the famously sprawling Kalimdor zone, but the grind was present everywhere. It was compounded by the lack of quests and the limited ways to gain XP. You didnâ€™t get XP from PvP or professions, and without Dungeon Finder, running an instance wasnâ€™t always worth the time it took to assemble a group.
However hard you tried to avoid it, youâ€™d have to spend a few evenings killing mobs. Actually, make that weeks.
The Skill-Training Experience

As well as being permanently lost and confused, training new skills was a challenge for vanilla WoW players. Nowhere is this more obvious than with Pet Skills.
Your petâ€™s offensive abilities all had ranks, which you had to learn using aÂ different petÂ before you could apply them to your main.
So if you wanted a skill outside the ones your main pet came with, youâ€™d have to stop using them. Of course, the game never told you this, so many Hunters were running around with the basic skills their pet came with. And then there were weapon skills, which were removed in Cataclysm.
Youâ€™d pick up a sweet new weapon, go to attack a mob, and spend the next hour swinging, missing, and causing Glancing Blows as you level up your skill in it. Sure, it made sense, but it wasn’t fun at all.
The PvP Titles

Vanilla WoW had an old-school honour system that was removed in Patch 2.0.1 when Burning Crusade arrived. This lets you unlock military titles and gear, and made world PvP somehow more exhilarating.
You can lose honour by accidentally killing civilians from opposite factions. You can pretend to be a highwayman, ganking rivals when you feel like it. You can even participate in Battlegrounds via the 1.5 patch if you just want to rank up your PvP faster.
Bottom line: players who felt like they were part of the Alliance vs Horde struggle really experienced the brunt of it in its PvP. Many veterans satiated their bloodlust with this and had their achievements to show for it in vanilla WoW.
Installing From Discs

This is an entry thatâ€™s true of every old game, but there was something prestige about the boxed copies of WoW, even if the thought of installing an online game from discs now feels like an exercise in madness.
From the vague boxed instructions that could only hint at the levels of depth within the game, to the gorgeous artwork and satisfying velcro tab that kept the box closed, everything about the vanilla WoW box feels delightfully antiquated.
Thereâ€™s also something special about knowing that the version that comes on the disc is a venerable, unpatched mess, exactly as Blizzard itself intended. A true relic of the age, in physical and displayable form.
Also, cloth maps. Gotta love those.
Tell us your vanilla WoW moments on our website or on our Facebook page.


Dead By Daylight To Add Resident Evil’s Leon, Jill & Nemesis

Back in April 2021, it was previously announced that in partnership with Capcom, developer Behaviour Interactive’s Dead By Daylight will introduce a Resident Evil Chapter in June 2021.
TheÂ Dead By DaylightÂ â€œResident Evil Chapterâ€ will launch on 15 June 2021 for US$11.99. Users who purchase the chapter will also receive an exclusive free â€œUmbrella Corporationâ€ charm.
Here is an overview of the content, via Behaviour Interactive:
Five Years of Horror
Dead by DaylightÂ began as a passion project with the simple goal of letting gamers play as the villain in a horror movie. Five years later, and the game has been downloaded over 36 million times worldwide across all platforms. Launched in 2016 by Canadaâ€™s largest independent gaming studio, Behaviour Interactive,Â Dead by DaylightÂ now features 20 chapters, 36 maps as well as 27 Survivors and 24 Killers, both original and licensed.
Everything You Need to Know About the Resident EvilÂ Chapter
One of the most anticipated chapters to be released forÂ Dead by Daylight, theÂ Resident EvilÂ Chapter welcomes two new Survivors in the Fog: Leon S. Kennedy and Jill Valentine. A highly acclaimed character from the renowned franchise, Leon S. Kennedy dedicated his life to protecting civilians from the Umbrella Corporationâ€™s calamities and will now spend his days fighting for survival. Equally as esteemed by fans, Jill Valentine is a brilliant S.T.A.R.S. officer who managed to survive the Mansion Incident in addition to make it out of the Raccoon City collapse alive before she was taken by The Entity.
Each Survivor will come with three perks that fans will be thrilled to enjoy. Flashbang, one of Leonâ€™s perks, marks a first by enabling players to spawn an entirely new item. Upon reaching a certain rate of repair progress on generators, Leon will be able to hide in a locker and craft a flash grenade, which can then be used to distract or blind the Killer temporarily.
Those who prefer to play as Killer will have their share of excitement too as they will get to embodyÂ Resident Evilâ€˜s very own Nemesis, known in-game as The Tyrant. This monstrous character can infect Survivors with his powerful tentacle attacks. The more he infects them, the more power he gains as his tentacleâ€™s reach increases. To counter his harmful strikes, Survivors can rely on vaccines peppered throughout the maps. Available in limited quantities, the shots will help relieve the Survivorsâ€™ infection and allow them to continue on their mission to fix generators, open the gates, and save their lives.
Beware of the Zombies
For the first time inÂ Dead by Daylightâ€˜s history, theÂ Resident EvilÂ Chapter will feature an AI-assisted Killer. On top of avoiding deadly attacks by Nemesis, Survivors will also need to be careful of lurking zombies waiting to take a bite out of them. These AI-controlled monsters will bring a new dynamic to the already tense hide-and-seek gameplay and will require Survivors to adapt and develop new strategies.
Escape Raccoon City Police Station
In addition to stepping into the shoes of these famed characters, players will also get the quintessentialÂ Resident EvilÂ experience by exploring a new map: the Raccoon City Police Station, a now decrepit relic of what was once a beacon of justice and one of the cityâ€™s emblematic landmarks.
Dead by Daylight is available now for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC via SteamÂ and theÂ Microsoft Store, and Stadia.
In the meantime, check out the trailer below:


A Brief History Of Gaming’s Best Shotguns Thanks To Rage 2’s Recent Contribution

Earlier on our Rage 2 review, Mr Toffee talked about how awesome the weapons are in making your assaults on bandits and sci-fi bad guys all the more colourful and explosive. Smart Rocket Launcher, your Ranger powers, the Grav-Dart Launcher that reminds us of a more souped-up version of Crackdown 3‘s gravity-based weapon.
But if you want straight-up stopping power at close range coupled with a mid-range knockback “airbending” wind blast, nothing comes close to Rage 2‘s Combat Shotgun. Nothing.

It’s so magical and awesome, it’ll make even the most-jaded first-person shooter fan wet with delight at its buckshot-unloading prowess. In honour of this latest shell-unloading splendour where aiming is a suggestion, we decided to list down our favourite close-ranged boomsticks in video gaming’s violent history.
Doom’s Shotgun

What better way to start this auspicious list than with the game that made this retrospective possible?
This classic brown-and-black vintage buckshot shooter gets the job done and comes equipped with a satisfying gunshot sound to kill imps and possessed humans. With its decent fire rate, that gun-cocking animation, and not to mention great damage output, gaming’s first-ever shotgun set the standard for close-ranged death by gunfire in an iconic fashion.
Doom 2’s Super Shotgun

I am fine with a weapon having a terrible firing rate if it means I can deliver a loud booming shot of death at anything standing in front of me. All hail the thunderous roar of the black-clad super shotgun, slayer of Arch-Viles and the majority of Hell’s denizens in Doom 2.
Marathon’s Dual Shotgun

Two hands. Two pump action shotgunning action. No questions needed; just body bags.
Gears of War’s Gnasher

The Gnasher is a simple yet practical tool, especially when you’re playing a third-person shooter that revolves around you strategically taking cover and finding ways to roadie run for height/positional advantage.
Multiplayer-wise, anyone who wants to win will grab this baby shotgun and go up close for the one-hit kill and win. Suddenly, everyone’s playing “recover quickly from that dodging animation” to see who melees and shoots first.
Halo’s M90 CAWS/M45 Tactical

True to Bungie’s standard for making gunplay feel great, Halo’s classic combat shotgun is the perfect antidote for Flood and close-ranged threats.
The sound, the kickback, the melee attack that follows after if the victim is still alive: the M90 CAWS (or M45 for all you Halo: Reach fans out there) is the only reason Master Chief can finish the fight, then start it again in future sequels.
Bulletstorm’s Boneduster

Do you want a four-barreled shotgun that literally splits enemies into half with every shot it makes? And said shot is actually all four barrels unloading its shells at once in a horizontal spread that even breaks through cover? Of course you do.

That’s why games like Bulletstorm should be played; so that you can mix your shooting tendencies with some creativity. Line up your foes and whip them up into the air, then blast them with the Boneduster’s be-all-end-all shot.
Unreal Tournament’s Flak Cannon

This classic multiplayer weapon is not only good up-close, it also has shells that bounces off walls. You can get creative with it by firing at a corner to see what it hits. Its alternate fire also doubles the weapon as a grenade launcher that explodes flak fire from all directions.
Wolfenstein’s Akimbo Shotgun

It’s rather obvious that developer MachineGames was inspired by Bungie’s double shotgunning efforts in Marathon. All the better too; this was the only way to deal with most armoured Nazis in dystopian corridors. Let’s hope BJ Blazkowicz’s daughters have the same kind of firepower in their upcoming Wolfenstein title.
Doom 2016’s Super Shotgun

As if having Doomguy cock his shotgun in sync with the Doom theme intro isn’t enough, we have the joy of using this version of the Super Shotgun halfway in the game. It’s safe to say that this one nails all the criteria of a great gaming shotgun especially in a playground ripe with fleshy squishy demons.
Big damage with big thundering shot sounds for that lovely feedback. A decent reloading animation to compensate for its stopping power. And the fact that it complements the speedy nature of Doomguy who would rather just get up close and personal with Hell’s denizens. This is black beauty in close-ranged boomstick form.
Until Borderlands 3 shows us its shotgun collection, it’s safe to say that Id Software and Avalanche Studios take top honours for 2019’s best boomstick so far. What say you, virtual gun fan?


Spider-Man Spider-Verse Sequel Teaser Reveals A Futuristic Spidey

In a surprising move, Sony Pictures has unveiled our first look at the upcoming sequel to 2018’s Spider-Man Into The Spider-Verse. The movie will be officially titled Spider-Man Across The Spider-Verse Part One, which is slated to premiere in October 2022.
The Spider-Man Across The Spider-Verse Part One teaser trailer shows Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) in his dorm room and Gwen Stacy (Hailee Steinfeld) jumping from her reality to meet him. We see Miles jumping across the Spider-Verse and entering the world of none other than Spider-Man 2099, who was originally teased in the Spider-Man Into The Spider-Verse post-credits scene and will be played by Oscar Isaac.

The sequence with Miles Morales and Spider-Man 2099 also teases a possible art style change for the upcoming movie. However, we still don’t know if the other Spider-Men from the previous will be reprising their roles, including Spider-Ham (John Mulaney), Spider-Man Noir (Nicolas Cage), Peni Parker (Kimiko Glenn), and Peter B. Parker (Jake Johnson).
Spider-Man Across The Spider-Verse Part One is written by Phil Lord, Chris Miller, and Dave Callaham (Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings). The movie will be directed by the trio of Joaquim Dos Santos (The Legend Of Korra), Justin K. Thompson (a production designer on the original movie), and Kemp Powers (Pixar’s Soul).
In the meantime, check out my review of Spider-Man Into The Spider-Verse here and watch the trailer for Spider-Man Across The Spider-Verse Part One below:


Soulcalibur 6 Guide: How To Kick Butt In Bandai Namco’s Latest [Update]

Update [24/12/18]: 2B added.Â
This guide is still under development. We’ll start filling it up with more characters as we go along.Â
The tale of swords and souls, eternally retold for 2018. That’s right: Soulcalibur 6 is back and is awesome stuff. It also can be daunting for beginners who don’t know how to play 3D fighting games.
Fortunately, we’re here to help. We’ll teach you the basics from moves to characters. This is more a beginner & intermediate guide than an expert-level macro tutorial.
General Tips & Tricks

-There’s a Block button in this game. It’s called the G button. No, you can’t hold back to block like in Tekken 7. You have to press and hold it ala Mortal Kombat. Condition yourself to do that when fighting, and you’ll do fine.
-Also,Â you can do a parry called a Guard Impact(GI) which is pulled off by pressing forward + G (or 6G). Time it to your opponent’s strings and you can leave them wide open for your counterattack.
-Some characters like Sophitia and Seong Mi-na have auto GIs in some of their moves. Use them when playing the mixup game. These are perfect against foes who use vertical attacks a lot like your Siegfrieds and Nightmares.
-Sidestep, sidestep, sidestep. Soulcalibur’s 8-Way Run movement system is unique because everyone moves pretty quick and can cover most areas. Sidesteps, dodges, evasive maneuvers: everyone in the cast has this more or less. Practice getting used to the game’s speed and movement system.
-Use Reversal Edges & Soul Charges as part of your game plan. Soulcalibur 6’s new mechanics are anything but one-time gimmicks; they help add more to your defensive and offensive plan.
–Reversal Edges are the best moves to guard crush opponents when fully-charged while also acting as damage-absorbing attacks. True, they can be sidestepped if you see it coming a mile away and can be broken with Break Moves. So be smart when using them.
See a player who uses one button too often? RE them and then attack them with the corresponding input. Notice a Taki or Talim user coming in close and is going to press any button? Just press the RE input when you see the first hit coming and let go to play some fighting game RPS.
Conversely, if you see opponents abusing REs, just use your Break Attacks against them. All characters have Break Attacks; just press AB together.
These are the options you have when you use RE:

Horizontal Attack
Vertical Attack
Kick
Sidestep (background or foreground)
Forward crouch
Backstep
Guard
Guard Impact

You have 3 offensive options and 5 defensive options. Generally, it’s B>A>K>B (hence the Rock, Paper, Scissor comparison). If you win an RE, you’ll be in a dominant position whether you pull off combos or be in a neutral position. Heck, even some REs can push opponents off the edge of the map.
Here’s a handy guide to sort you out.

-You can counter REs with Break attacks. Every character has them; use them if you think your opponent is going on the defensive with REs. Just like any fighting game, you have to learn to punish habits when you see them done more than once.
-Soul Charges amplifies a character’s trademark moveset while also pushes back enemies who are up-close; this is perfect for zoners like Seong Mi-Na to get breathing room from mixup-heavy close-ranged combatants like Talim and Maxi.

Once you Soul Charges, the current Soul bar drains until it empties. This means when you push back your opponent, just make sure you have a game plan ready. Soul Charges opens up a lot of tactics and extra moves: Groh becomes a faster multi-hitting killing machine up-close while Sophitia’s regular B,B,B combo has an extra fast attack with Break properties.
-When in doubt, jump. Press G, then hold Up/8 to do a quick hop if you see opponents going for low-hitting attacks. Most jump attacks can catch opponents off-guard in a game where 80% of your fighting is done on the ground and sidestepping.
-Find out the moves that have Guard Impact properties. When fighting against beginners and intermediate players who consistently attack, it helps to have a parrying move on your side. Every character in the game has them. Folks like Geralt and Sophitia have these in their simple single-button combos. Use them if you think your opponent loves to snuff your moves with quick attacks.
-Join your local Soulcalibur community. We usually go to the SoulSingapore Discord channel and Facebook page to find matches and even get along with the Soulcalibur community.
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[Rumour] Assassin’s Creed Ragnarok Details Leaked, Include Returning Hidden Blade

The last entry in Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed franchise was 2018’s Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, which the developer actually supported with updates and DLC expansion for almost a year after launch.
Since late 2019, speculations have been rife that the next instalment is going to be a Vikings-themed Assassin’s Creed Ragnarok, and a source has apparently revealed more details about the upcoming (as-of-yet unannounced) game.
According to French streamer @xj0nathan on Twitter, he claims to have some information on the rumoured Assassin’s Creed Ragnarok:

The official title is Assassin’s Creed Vikings; not Ragnarok or Kingdoms.
The Hidden Blade will return, after being absent in Assassin’s Creed Odyssey.
Shields will also return, which was last seen in 2017’s Assassin’s Creed Origins.
Players can choose the gender of their protagonist, just like in Assassin’s Creed Odyssey.
However, the canon choice is still female, just like Assassin’s Creed Odyssey‘s Kassandra.
The protagonist’s name is not Jora.
Scandinavia will not be the only territory or map featured in the game.
It will feature even more RPG elements than Assassin’s Creed Odyssey.
It will feature a lot of ‘supernatural’ content, such as those related to the lore of the First Civilization.
There will be no co-op mechanic.
It is still planned to be released sometime near the end of 2020.

Last but not least, he also claims that this Assassin’s Creed Vikings will be officially revealed soon, likely in late April or sometime in May 2020. What this means is that Ubisoft must have originally planned to reveal the game at E3 2020, which has been cancelleddue to the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, let’s take everything here with a grain of salt for now, at least. Ubisoft has yet to confirm any of the details revealed by the French streamer, so it’s safer to wait for any official announcements down the line.


This New Gran Turismo Lamborghini Vision Is An Iron Man Suit In Car Form

Tony Stark probably has a custom Laborghini of his own. Heck, he probably a few of them, all decked in different colours mirroring his various Iron Man suits. One of the Gran Turismo‘s upcoming Vision cars will give us a good idea of what one of those Lambos looks like.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Me9eqhZyrE&w=560&h=315]
Introducing the Lamborghini Vision GT, a concept car that will only exist digitally in Gran Turismo Sport. It will be coming in a free update scheduled to be released sometime in spring 2020. Folks who attended the Gran Turismo Championship World Finals happening in Monaco were treated with a physical unveiling of the car.
Similar to other futuristic Vision cars released in Gran Turismo Sport, the Lamborghini Vision GT will be a single seater. What truly makes it worthy of being called an Iron Man suit equivalent of a car is that information such as your speedometer, lap time, and so on will be displayed holographically around the driver’s head. Now that’s pretty darn cool.
While waiting for the update to arrive, treat yourself to these illustrations of the car taken from the official Lamborghini website:


Answer Your Call of Duty With the Modern Warfare Beta This Weekend

Beta for the upcoming Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is now live for all PS4 players out there. As confirmed by the game’s official Twitter account, players of all regions should be able to download the beta version of the game as of now.
“What about other platforms?” you ask? Well nothing confirmed as yet but the Twitter account pointed out ‘other platforms to follow’. Our guess is as good as yours, but we’d expect it to be next week.Â

Early access to the #ModernWarfare Beta is live!
Download and play all weekend long, exclusively on PS4. pic.twitter.com/PgGfmnLkTu
â€” Call of Duty (@CallofDuty) S4eptember 12, 2019
With almost 39GB of data in total, we highly recommend you start your download process right now if you plan to start your upcoming long weekend mucking about with Soap McTarvish & Co.

Azhir Cave, Uzikstan. Zone hot.
Unearth the secrets of Azhir Cave in the #ModernWarfare Beta. Available now on PS4, other platforms to follow. pic.twitter.com/d9Dk3j7I2U
â€” Call of Duty (@CallofDuty) September 12, 2019


You Can Start Pre-Loading Red Dead Redemption 2 On PC

Believe it or not, we are only a week away from the PC release of Red Dead Redemption 2. This means that cowboys and cowgirls who pre-purchased the game should get ready by making some space in their hard drives or SSDs.
A newly released image of the game from Nvidia.
Those of you who pre-purchased the game via the Rockstar Games Launcher can now start pre-loading the game. It’s going to take up roughly 110GB of space so make sure you’ve got that settled. You’ll actually need to ensure that you’ve got more than that because the minimum requirements say you’re going to need at least 150GB of space.
The PC version of Red Dead Redemption 2 is scheduled to launch on 5 November 2019, primarily via the Rockstar Games Launcher but it will also be released on the same day through the Epic Games Store. Steam users will have to wait until December 2019.
Everyone’s definitely excited to jump back into the boots of Arthur Morgan and get into more dumb plans hatched by Dutch van der Linde. Some players who already experienced the game on consoles are also planning to re-embark on that journey but also hoping to see the game become a bit different thanks to mods.


KKP Best Of 2020: Game #24

For the rest of the revealed Best Games of 2020 so far, here they are:
#30, #29, #28, #27, #26, #25
#24: Ghostrunner (PC, PS4, Xbox One, Switch)

The GIF above is one of the few tense & exhilarating moments of this first-person parkour ninja title. While the problem of depth perception isn’t fully solved when it comes to one-hit kill melee combat, Ghostrunner makes up for it with its tight controls, techniques, and powerups for you to use to the fullest.
Plus, a game like Ghostrunner thrives on replayability and challenging yourself to the shortest times for each meticulously-crafted level. Whether it’s through the neon skies of the game’s dystopian cityscape or in cyberspace where the puzzles give you a slight breather from all the sprinting and slashing, the folks over at 3D Realms, Slipgate, and One More Level know how to walk the fine line between frustration and challenge.
Sure, you’ll die a thousand deaths getting through a particular shield enemies-heavy gauntlet in a maze, but the game demands some semblance of perfection from you. There are many alternate paths and available powerups, not to mention some choice defensive options, to help you solve your cyber-conundrum. It’s up to you to buck up, is all.


Valve Announces Where 2023’s The International Will Take Place

Valve has announced that The International (TI), the world’s largest Dota 2 tournament, will be held in Seattle, United States, this year. This is the 12th edition of the event, and it’s going down at the Climate Pledge Arena, which can hold up to 18,000 people.
The tournament will run from 27–29 October 2023, with the group stage and playoffs combined under the title, The Road to the International. The group stage starts on 14 October, and Valve promises to share more details about The Road to the International soon.
If you’re a Dota 2 fan in the Americas, you’ll be pumped to hear that this is the first time in six years that the tournament will be held in Seattle. The last time was in 2017 when Team Liquid won the grand championship by defeating Newbee.
So far, only Team Liquid has been confirmed to compete at TI12, and other teams will be selected gradually as the Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) 2023 progresses. Unfortunately, there probably won’t be a last-chance qualifier this year, like there was in 2022, due to pandemic-related travel concerns.
Last year, the pandemic caused trouble for many teams participating in DPC events, but Valve hosted a last-chance qualifier to help them out. At the last TI in Singapore in 2022, Tundra Esports dominated and defeated Team Secret 3-0 in the grand final to claim the championship title and the biggest slice of the US$18,930,775 USD prize money.


Sons Of The Forest: How To Get The Shovel Guide

In a survival game like Sons of the Forest, the sequel to the 2018 survival game The Forest, tools are very important in prolonging your lifespan and crafting/building. The Shovel is one of those important tools in the game if you want to progress further in the survival sandbox campaign filled with cannibals.
How To Get The Shovel In Sons Of The Forest
First things first: you need the following items before you start your search:
-Flashlight: Light up dark areas; better than UV Lighter.
-Rope Gun: Let you use ziplines.
-Rebreather: Lets you dive underwater and see your surroundings.
-Weapons, grenades, and medicine: Crafted Spear, grenades, and medicine would be ideal as you’ll be fighting packs of mutants in the cave the Shovel is in.
We’ll go through the methods step-by-step.
-When you’re ready, head to the cave where the Slingshot was earlier. It’s the cave that is closest to the helicopter crash site.
-When you see wooden barricades at the cave, just destroy them with the Crafted Spear. Enter the place.
-When you see the zipline, use the Rope Gun to cross the gap. Then dive into the water and follow the underwater tunnel. The Rebreather should sort you out.
-Once you’re through, you’ll see a bunch of mutants. Use your weapons to deal with them, then make your way up the sloping path.
-You’ll come across a little nook that contains an Oxygen Tank and Wetsuit. You can use them.
-Keep going forward; you’ll eventually slip and fall into a pit. You have to follow glowing lamps through the dark path in this section. You may want to be cautious as there are mutants patrolling the area.
-When you reach the end of the area, you’ll see a corpse that’s holding a Shovel. Kill off all remaining enemies in the area. Pick it up after dealing with them.

-To leave the area, go back the way you came. You’ll see a Sluggy emerge from a wall; blow it up to pass through.
-Head forward until you reach the exit. Past that, you can enter the maintenance tunnels using the Shovel; you can score the Maintenance Keycard which should help you in the main story further.
Hope that helps! We’ll be putting up more Sons Of The Forest guides as time goes by. The game just came out and is in Early Access form; bear with us.


[Rumour] Assassin’s Creed Valhalla’s Next DLC Will Be Its Biggest

Ubisoft may not be done with the latest Assassin’s Creed title.
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is getting new DLC and will be bigger than the previous two DLCs. According to a Chinese web store leak (via Reddit), the DLC will be called Dawn of Ragnarok and will be out on 10 March 2022. It will take place within the Nine Realms of Norse Cosmology.
The DLC will introduce a range of new abilities and weapons for our hero/heroine Eivor, which includes invisibility, crow metamorphosis, teleportation arrows, a chainmail-piercing spear, ice powers, and the power to revive enemies to your side. Here’s the supposed DLC description:
“The world of mythology, shouldering the urgent task of saving children, unleashing the brand-new supernatural power of the thunderbolt. After this shocking Viking legend, save your own flesh and blood before the gods are swallowed by the catastrophe.”
This reveal may be planned for 13th December, which is when Ubisoft will have its special livestream. AC Valhalla will be receiving a second year of expansions for 2022, so this rumour may be concrete.


Scathe Is A Bullet Hell First-Person Shooter Slated For 2022

Can’t play bullet hell third-person shooter Returnal since it’s tough to secure a PS5 these days? Here’s the possible next best thing.
Publisher Kwalee and developer Damage State has just announced a new “bullet hell” first person shooter title called Scathe. It’s coming out in 2022 for PC and Xbox/PlayStation consoles in 2022, and it’s looking pretty old-school in a way, what with the shooting and enemy hordes.

Here’s the official description:
“Scathe is an intense, classic first-person shooter with big guns and even bigger demons. You are Scathe, Enforcer of the Legions of Hell, forged from the earth by the Divine Creator himself. And you, like your fallen kin before you, must prove your worth by navigating a deviously crafted maze, entangled with demonic evil at every twist and turn. So, grab your Hell Hammer and get ready to unleash your almighty fury!”

The game’s key features are as such:

Escape the MazeÂ â€“ Your task is simple; collect the Hellstones and escape the maze. Choose your own path by navigating expertly handcrafted zones â€“ each filled with danger around every corner. Collect runes, uncover secrets, and smite all that stand in your way.
Bullet HellÂ â€“Â ScatheÂ is no ordinary first-person shooterâ€¦ Take on relentless bullet Hell-fueled combat, with deadly projectiles and countless demons at every turn. Utilize Scatheâ€™s incredible speed to smash through your enemies and incoming fire.
Lock â€˜n UnloadÂ â€“ Rip through your enemies with Scatheâ€™s insanely powerful arsenal of weapons, each equipped with a devastating secondary fire. Spew hellfire with the Hot Hatch or slice through endless evil with the Bow Blade.
Drop-In / Drop-Out OnlineÂ MultiplayerÂ â€“Â ScatheÂ will support full cross-play online multiplayer where players can drop-in and drop-out at any time. Already lost deep within the labyrinth? Call upon up to three friends to join the fight. But choose your kin wisely, because inÂ Scathe, everyone shares the same pool of lives.

Looks hella chaotic; just the way I like it. Full trailer’s below (via IGN):


Red Dead Redemption 2 Special Editions Listed

We finally get an early look of what Red Dead Redemption 2’s special editions are going to be like. Revealed earlier today, there will be three different versions to choose from, with the costliest of the three not having a copy of the game included.
The first and cheapest of the three, the ‘Special Edition’ is basically the standard game with extra downloadable content including additional missions, in-game equipment, outfit, free weapons, gameplay boosts, cash and discounts and a jacked-up horse possibly on steroids. (we kid, we kid). They will also thrown in a physical map of theÂ  game’s world map if you purchase the physical copy of the game. At $79.90, the Special Edition will cost $20 more than the standard version ($59.90).

The second version a.k.a ‘the one they expect you to buy’ is called the ‘Ultimate Edition’ which lumps in the same DLCs and the physical world map mentioned earlier, along with several extras such as extra outfits, rank bonuses, free access to more weapons and an EVEN MORE jacked-up horse than the one mentioned before. All these extra in-game stuff will cost you another $20.

The third of the lot which also happens to be the most expensive, hardcore-targeted version is RDR2’s own take of the Collector’s Edition called the ‘Collector’s Box’. Considering that there will NOT be any game copy lumped in here, we have a feeling the word ‘Collect’ here refers to its propensity to collect dust.Â  The list of knick-knacks in the Collector’s Box which will set you back $99.90 are listed below and can be pre-ordered at Rockstar Warehouse or any game shop worth its salt near you.

As bonus for those who pre-order the game, Rockstar will add another jacked-up horse to your stable, although not as ripped as the ones mentioned prior.
Set for release on October 26th 2018 for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, we compiled everything we know so far about the game in one easy to read article here.

Thanks to the guys at Aksiz.comÂ Â for the news heads-up. For your video games news fix in Malay, head on over to the one and only trusted source for Malay gaming content in Malaysia. Them Aksiz.com guys are pretty swell.


[Report] T-Mobile Calls An End To Sponsorship For Overwatch League & CoD League

T-Mobile was one of the biggest sponsors of the Overwatch League and Call Of Duty League. According to CharlieIntel, the companyâ€™s logo has apparently been removed from the sponsorship section of the websites for both esports leagues. You can check for yourselves at the official websites for the Overwatch League and Call Of Duty League.
Another indication that T-Mobile might have ended their sponsorship of the league is the sudden cancellation of their 5G Weekly Drop activation, where viewers could text a code to a number to enter for a chance to win bonus items such as free controllers, phones, headsets, and even a trip to CDL Champs.
It’s speculated that the removal of the sponsorship is due to Blizzard being under fire recently for sexual harassment and other problems. Amidst the companyâ€™s most tumultuous times, Blizzard president J. Allen Brack has also announced that he is officially stepping down and leaving the company.


Black Desert Online 2020 Roadmap Reveals New Classes, Region & More

Developer Pearl Abyss has announced the first half of the Black Desert Online 2020 roadmap. A lot of exciting new content will be awaiting players, including a bunch of new classes and more.
The first new class, dubbed the Guardian, will be available on 22 January 2020. She wields a huge axe and shield as weapons, as well as looking like kawaii female Viking of sorts.
That’s not all, as several new classes (including the Guardian, Witch, Wizard, Striker, Mystic and Lahn) will be able to benefit from the new Succession system. For example, players reaching a particular level will be given the option to choose Awakening, granting them a new weapon and a suite of abilities to use, or choose Succession instead, thereby keeping their current weapons and abilities but with enhanced powers.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9jA5kjDg-4&w=560&h=315]
In addition, players from the Shai class will also soon be able to create and play their own music, while other players can look forward to a new region Papua Crinea (where two adorable races are locked in a thousand-year war) and a story expansion where “the tale of the goddess Sylvia will finally be revealed”.
Head on over to the official website here for the full Black Desert Online 2020 roadmap here.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBFVuhK90Lg&w=560&h=315]


Floodland May Be The Perfect Gateway Settlement Builder

Platform(s): PC (version reviewed)
Genre: Settlement Building, Survival, Strategy
According to its Steam page, Floodland is “a society survival game set in a world destroyed by climate change.” Developed by Vile Monarch and published by Ravenscourt, the aim of the game is to survive. In this post-apocalyptic world, you act as the leader of a group of nomads looking for a place to call home. Your job is to direct your people to explore, scavenge and build settlements to unite the clans. Conflicting cultures and limited resources mean you need to make some tough choices. And boy, there’s a lot.
Welcome to the Floodlands

In the beta I played, there were four clans that you could pick from, each with its own pros and cons to suit your play style. This feature encourages replayability so that you can try out different ways to build your settlement.
The gameplay mechanics are quite in-depth and the features really help with the immersion so that you get invested. You start the game with the bare minimum required to begin foraging and building and over time, you find ways to improve and expand your settlement. You can earn points that you can invest in a tree that allows you to develop more and more sufficient and effective facilities to help your clan.
Just like any survival game, you’re going to need to collect materials which you can do by dividing up your people and tasking them to do what you need. At the start, it’s pretty manageable as you begin with 10 workers, and as you progress you will find more and more people to welcome into your clan. To help with efficiency there are particular facilities you can build in order to collect more materials while using fewer workers. For example, if you need to collect wood, you can place a logging hut that allows you to farm wood from the forest, instead of having to send an individual worker to chop down one specific tree.
Most of the resources do replenish, but at some point, your clan will grow too big to sustain. In order to counter this, there’s an exploration mechanic that allows you to send your workers to designated areas of the map where they will uncloud the mist that surrounds the said area. By building storage facilities, you gain access to reach outside of the maximum range and by doing so, you will be able to uncover new areas and resources for your clan to utilise.

The soundtrack and overall design aesthetic help with the immersion. The main theme of the game creates an ambience that makes you feel like you are actually in a post-apocalyptic world with its almost Wild West feel to it. It creates a feeling that you’re in a world where there are no rules. As for the design, it’s easy on the eyes. It’s not too desaturated, making the world feel lifeless, but it’s not the opposite either. It’s a perfect balance between the two, making the tone of the game feel as if there’s a chance at life and survival.
You’ll encounter other bands of survivors on these travels, add them to your growing community, and the focus will shift from survival to political and social issues. You’ll need to maintain the peace between differing factions, choosing your values and passing laws in accordance with them. You’ll also have to deal with those who may not share your vision for the future.
Noob Friendly?
As someone who hasn’t got much experience with settlement-building strategy games, I was concerned that I was going to have some trouble just playing the game. Although I had the tutorial set to “On”, I found certain instructions hard to follow due to my lack of expertise in the genre.

The gameplay mechanics become intuitive after around 30 minutes of playtime, allowing you to work more and more efficiently. One massive thing that helped keep me from getting bored was the fast-forward feature. The way time works in this game is that roughly every second or two counts as 15 in-game minutes. Once it reaches 9:00 PM the workers head back to their tents or shacks and all work halts until 6:00 AM the next day. Instead of having to waste your time waiting, you can simply fast-forward to 6:00 AM. As an impatient gamer, I thoroughly enjoyed this feature as whenever something was taking too long, say constructing a building or foraging for food, I could simply skip to when I received a notification saying that the task is complete.
The controls are pretty simple yet extremely effective. At no point did the camera movement fail to succeed at what I needed to do. With a simple scroll of the wheel, I’m zoomed in. If I want to rotate the camera, I hold the right click and move my mouse. If I want to move my camera to an entirely different location, WASD allows me to pan across the map with ease.
The game does punish you however when it comes to utilising your materials. At the start of the game, you need to strategise how to use your materials efficiently otherwise you won’t have enough for the necessities. You don’t want to be going around in circles wasting materials, otherwise, it could cost you your clan.

Final Verdict
As much as I try, I can’t seem to find any real faults with the game itself, but I guess that comes with the genre. The existing features work pretty much flawlessly and the game is a pleasure to play, and yes, there are improvements to be made but only by implementing new features. My only gripe is that it the tutorial could be a little bit easier to follow.
As someone who doesn’t have much interest or experience with the genre, I’m happy to say that I enjoyed my time playing. Unfortunately, there’s only so much I was allowed to play during the beta, making me replay the game a couple of times. I found that with every playthrough, I became so immersed in the gameplay and tasks that I lost track of time. The way I see it, the fact that a game of a genre I have little interest in, managed to make me lose track of time while playing, and made me replay it multiple times, tells me that this would be a perfect gateway game for those looking to get into settlement builders.
But for those passionate and experienced with games such as this, then there is the option to take it seriously and micromanage every little aspect of the game efficiently. Personally, I’m keen on purchasing the game for myself and I think you should too.
Final(?) Score: 80/100


E3 2019: Lego Star Wars The Skywalker Saga To Include All Nine Movies In One Game

With the upcoming Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise Of SkywalkerÂ set to end a 42-year era, the ultimate package is on its way. Announced during Microsoft’s Xbox E3 2019 press conference, Lego Star Wars The Skywalker Saga is set to include all nine Star Wars movies in one single game.
The Lego Star Wars The Skywalker Saga trailer showed the following iconic moments from several Star Wars movies:

Millennium Falcon in a dogfight with TIE Fighters
A young Obi-Wan Kenobi and his master Qui-Gon Jinn fighting against Darth Maul (Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace)
Luke Skywalker losing his hand against Darth Vader (Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back)
Rey’s duel with Kylo Ren (Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens)

The last TT Games-developed Lego Star Wars game was 2016’s Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
Lego Star Wars The Skywalker Saga is slated to release for the PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC sometime in 2020.
Check out the Lego Star Wars The Skywalker Saga trailer below.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGtc5f0C3-4&w=560&h=315]