The Blue Nintendo Switch Lite Launches Next Month

A fresh blue colour variant will be added to the palette for theÂ Nintendo Switch Lite console on 7 May 2021 in Europe and 21 May 2021 in North America and Japan for US$199.99
All Nintendo Switch Lite models are designed specifically for handheld play, making it easy for players to bring a diverse collection of games with them wherever they go.
One of those titles is New PokÃ©mon Snap,Â which lets players explore lush scenery on unknown islands to snap in-game photos of PokÃ©mon. They can seek out PokÃ©mon in their native environments as they venture through diverse landscapes, including dense jungles and vast deserts, to uncover the mystery behind the Illumina Phenomenon.Â New PokÃ©mon Snap launches for the Nintendo Switch family of systems on 30 April 2021.
Another upcoming addition to Nintendoâ€™s software library is the humorous adventure Miitopia, which launches on 21 May 2021. In Miitopia, players can star in a hilarious adventure alongside their family and friends. Itâ€™s easy to cast anyone you choose on a comedy-filled quest to bring down the face-stealing Dark Lord. These games are just a taste of the adventures that await players on Nintendo Switch.
As a dedicated handheld gaming device, Nintendo Switch Lite has integrated controls and is smaller and lighter than Nintendo Switch, but can still play all the games in the robust Nintendo Switch library that support handheld mode.
You can find out more on the Nintendo Switch website.


DC Universe Announces Swamp Thing Leads

The DC Universe is gearing up for 2019, and now more details have arisen from deep in the swamps. The two lead actors for the upcoming Swamp Thing series have been announced for both the role of man and monster.
Derek Mears, who played Jason Vorhees in 2009’s Friday the 13th reboot, will be right at home portraying Swamp Thing. Andy Bean, who will be playing the adult Stanley in the upcoming It: Chapter Two, will be playing biologist Alec Holland.
In the comics, Alec Holland became the Swamp Thing when he survived an explosion thanks to a bio-restorative formula of his own creation. As the Swamp Thing, he’s one of the most powerful beings in the DC Universe, due to his connection to the Green. Think of the Green as the force connecting all plant life on Earth. Swamp Thing basically commands the power of mother earth herself, and that means he is virtually immortal as long as plant life exists.
Since the Swamp Thing comics have always had a horror and supernatural vibe, that’s probably what DC Universe series will be going for in terms of overall tone. Mears and Bean join a diverse cast that comprises of Crystal Reed as Abby Arcane, Maria Sten as Liz Tremayne, Jennifer Beals as Lucilla Cable, Jeryl Prescott as Madame Xanadu, Virginia Madsen as Maria Sunderland, and Will Patton as Andy Sunderland.
The DC Universe streaming service initially launched in September 2018. Titans began airing last month, with Doom Patrol, Stargirl, and Swamp Thing slated to follow suit sometime in 2019. It will also feature animated fare like the highly-anticipated season 3 of Young Justice and the R-rated Harley Quinn series.
Unfortunately, the DC Universe streaming service is currently unavailable for those living outside of the U.S. Fans will be glad to know that Netflix has picked up Titans for international viewers, so Southeast Asians will still be able to catch that particular series on Netflix Asia.
However, there has been no official confirmation as to when the DC Universe will be made available outside of the U.S., or even if Netflix will be picking up other shows like Swamp Thing and Doom Patrol in 2019. Stay tuned on Kakuchopurei for more news.
(Source: Variety)


New Wo Long Fallen Dynasty Demo Drops Later This Month

Koei Tecmo and Team Ninja have announced that a new Wo Long Fallen Dynasty demo will be available on 24 February 2023.
Save data from the demo can be carried over to the full game when it launches. In addition, those who play the demo will obtain the Crouching Dragon Helmet item to access in the full game.
It’s a new dark fantasy Three Kingdoms Souls-like game from Team NINJA, the developers of Nioh and Nioh 2 and the Ninja Gaiden games. It’s set in 184 AD, Later Han Dynasty China. The land is overcome by chaos and destruction. The imperial dynasty that prospered for many years is now about to collapse.
Wo Long Fallen Dynasty is a dramatic, action-packed story of a nameless militia soldier fighting for survival in a dark fantasy version of the Later Han Dynasty where demons plague the Three Kingdoms. Players fight off deadly creatures and enemy soldiers using swordplay based on Chinese martial arts, attempting to overcome the odds by awakening the true power from within.
Wo Long Fallen Dynasty will launch for the PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S and PC on 3 March 2023, as well as Xbox Game Pass.


Epic Games Acquires Fall Guys Developer Mediatonic

Epic Games has announced that they have acquired Tonic Games Group, the parent company of Fall Guys Ultimate Knockout developer Mediatonic.
How will this affect Fall Guys moving forward? According to a FAQ published by Mediatonic, the gameplay of Fall Guys isnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t changing and they will continue to expand each season of the game with new content, features, rounds, and costumes.
Don’t worry, the game is still slated to launch on Nintendo Switch and Xbox platforms in the future.
Fall Guys Ultimate Knockout will also remain purchasable on Steam and PlayStation. If you own the game on these platforms, youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ll still be able to play it from there and will receive future updates.
Besides that, the developer also revealed that they’re currently working on introducing account systems, cross-play, squad vs squad modes, and more into Fall Guys as well, especially now that they have more resources to work with.
Epic Games has also confirmed that Fall Guys will be coming to the Epic Game Store. However, there is no release date or window as of yet.
In a statement, Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney said:
Ã¢â‚¬Å“ItÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s no secret that Epic is invested in building the metaverse and Tonic Games shares this goal.


The Shenmue 3 Kickstarter Drama For PC Users May Be Resolved…

A lot can happen to a Kickstarted game using a renowned legacy franchise and developer between 14th June, 2015, and now, especially when you have two new distribution platforms vying for exclusivity. That’s pretty much Shenmue 3‘s case, with PC gamers coming to grips with the fact that the game is now an Epic Games Store exclusive.
This definitely irked a lot of them accustomed to playing their Kickstarted games on Steam. But fear not: developer Ys Net and publisher Deep Silver have posted an update on its Kickstarter page to address the issue.
Here’s a breakdown of it all:

Backers who requested for Steam keys will get them….a year later. It won’t be given to backers at launch. “Coordination with the sales policies of the involved companies was untenable,” said Ys Net, “and as a result, we are not able to make a day one distribution option for Steam keys available.”
However, PC gamers will still be able to get the game on PC; they will instead be given an Epic Games Store key or a physical disc of the game with a key. If they rather change it to a PS4 version (physical or PSN code), they have the option to do so. It’s just that a Steam version is a no-go for now.
Ys Net will accept refunds. Details on this will be on the next development update.

This seems pretty fair, all things considered. You still get to play the game on the PC, after all; just on an Epic-branded game store and platform. Unless you don’t mind waiting for a year, PC gamers should just suck it up.


Domino’s Malaysia Rewards National Esports Players With Free Pizza

Earlier today, Domino’s Pizza Malaysia held a special prize-giving ceremony to honour the national esports athletes who participated at the 2019 SEA Games, which took place from November to December 2019. Malaysia grabbed our first-ever esports Gold medal when Dr. Yew Weng Kean won first place in Hearthstone.
Domino’s will grant an entire decade’s worth of pizzas to Dr. Yew Weng Kean, as well as two years supply of pizza to the Malaysian Mobile Legends: Bang Bang team (who scored the Bronze medal), consisting of Ahmad Ali Huzaifi Abdullah, Abdul Wandi Abdul Kadir, Jamil Nurolla, Izme Haqeem Hamsjid, and Muhammad Hazeem Onn.
The other esports athletes who were also part of the national esports contingent for the 2019 SEA Games also attended Domino’s prize-giving ceremony, including the representatives for Dota 2, StarCraft 2, Tekken 7, and Arena Of Valor.

Domino’s Pizza Malaysia and Singapore Deputy President of Operations Shamsul Amree said:

“We are extremely proud to honour our national esports champions as they have achieved an outstanding performance and today we are more than happy to reward them for their excellent show of sportsmanship.
We appreciate and understand the hard work, determination and tenacity that esports players put into the competition.
This is very much in line with Domino’s spirit and purpose of delivering quality products and services as well as an enhanced experience to all.
We hope that our hot, tasty and delicious pizzas will keep the esports superstars going as they train for the upcoming tournaments.
We would like to wish those competing all the best, we are always rooting for you.”

Shamsul Amree, Deputy President Of Dominos Malaysia Malaysia And SIngapore Operations
After the prize-giving ceremony, a panel discussion was held to explore the esports landscape and its future in Malaysia (and the world at large). Domino’s Pizza Malaysia has been involved in esports since November 2018, with the aim of supporting and engaging with the esports community and games industry.
Folks from Domino’s Pizza Malaysia and ESM (Esports Malaysia).


Top Tier Tips To Get You Through Astral Chain’s Combat

This guide is still under development; we’ll add in more tips and tricks in the near future.
Astral Chain is out, and is sold out in physical retail all over Malaysia for good reason: it’s a pretty awesome thrill ride of an action-slash-adventure-slash-cop-simulator game. It has a few flaws, but nothing about those completely detract it from its hardcore action gameplay.
It’s also pretty tough in Platinum Standard mode, as enemy chimeras and enraged hobos can maul you quick if you’re not familiar with the game’s mechanics from the get-go.
Luckily, we’re here to help. Here’s how you can excel at the game’s combat and get to that S+ ranking.
Sync It Up

When your cop flashes blue after doing a specific melee combo, press ZL immediately to get your Legion to perform a Sync Attack. Do this often when you can; you’ll get a few thousand points by doing this numerous times and eventually get the Sync Master merit. Figure out your second-to-last and last hit of your attacks so that you can time your ZL presses better.
Try Not To Get Hit
Your cop can dodge, can do a Chain Counter (hold ZL and move the right analog stick so you can form a chain to trip fools), and use Sync Attacks that have invulnerable frames. While getting hit and losing a life does not add demerits to your ranking, you’ll lose valuable playtime and seconds to finish the fight fast.
Sure, you can get hit once or twice, but don’t dawdle. The game is purposely(?) made 30fps so that you can keep track of what’s going on and know what’s coming at you. Game director Taura Takahisa did tell us that the game’s frame rate and smooth action is balanced to dish out the best and most colourful effects you’ll see on a Switch action game, so get used to that frame rate.
Chain It Up
You can manually control your Legion to trap and stun multiple enemies by wrapping them in a chain. Subsequently, you can do a chain counter by tricking them into running into your chain when it’s active (hold ZL for that). You’ll not only do a pretty cool launch move, but you’ll stun them momentarily.
Change Up Your Weapons

You get three weapons to switch from: the fast melee baton, the ranged gun, and the slow-but-hard-hitting gladius. You can prioritize one over the other, but do switch between them when juggling enemies DMC style to get extra points for that S+ ranking.
Dance At The Centre Of The Stage
When you end up at the corner, both your Legion’s body and the game’s camera will obscure your view. A lot. Take it from us; with the two of you working in tandem, it’s best to just take the fight in the middle of the arena. But don’t stay there; do move around while keeping an enemy or two locked-on. You need a lot of room to maneuver especially if your Legion has your back covered.
Use The “Zipline” Move When You Can
Speaking of not getting hit, the “zipline” move -press ZL +ZR when your Legion is attacking someone/something at a distance- lets you go to where your pal is in a jiffy. It also makes you reach airborne enemies, letting you even do aerial combos.
Don’t Touch Items
Just don’t. They’ll dock your ranking. Instead, weaken chimeras and go for the final blow when the “Finish It Off” prompt appears. You’ll do a cool kill scene and get all your health back.
Unlock Perfect Calls For Each Legion

When you’re about to get hit when in mid-combos, you can press ZL instantly to call your Legion to parry that oncoming blow. Each Legion’s skill tree will have these, so unlock them.
Backstab & Go For Criticals….
…if you get your Legion to distract your opponents. The Sword and Arm Legion is best for this because they can withstand a bit of punishing.
Replay All The Stages Once You Get All Your Legions
Once you have all five Legions at your beck and call, replay all the stages again so that you can utilize all of them when fighting and also practice each battle segment to get to that S+ rank. PlatinumGames’ titles are meant to be replayed for bragging rights and in making you a better player.
So suck it up, play through the stages via logging onto your character’s PC, and pay a visit to those previous giant bosses who handed your ass when you’re learning the ins and outs of the game.


Ex-PlayStation Chief On Streamline And Rising Video Game Development Costs

Last we heard from Shawn Layden, ex-PlayStation boss, he is on the advisory board at company Streamline Media Group, a game services company that also runs the Malaysia-based game-making/art-outsourcing company Streamline Studios. His current plan for the video game industry? To prevent video game development from continuing down its unsustainable path.
A recent Bloomberg interview with Layden stated that game development is doubling in cost in every platform, with his budgets for big PlayStation 4 exclusive titles like Uncharted 4 and Ghost of Tsushima hitting US$100 million. He said that the only way to stop the cost curve from going up is to de-risk video game releases, predicting that PS5 games will cost US$200 million and will keep going up if nothing is ever done.
“If we canâ€™t stop the cost curve from going up, all we can do is try to de-risk it. That puts you in a place where youâ€™re incentivized toward sequels. What happens there is you end up with 3-4 silos of games or game types [from big companies like Activision and Epic Games] that continue to exist, and variety is squeezed out.
[While at PlayStation], I think I contributed a part into showing the world what amazing gameplay can look like.”
Layden hopes that by advising Streamline and shepherding its global strategy for video games and similar enterprises, he and the company can focus on helping facilitate game development around the world, leading to more diverse games.
“We are now the largest entertainment medium in the world, except on a social impact level we punch below our weight. My goal in the last act of my career is really to bring more people into gaming creation, more people from all over the world, [and] bring more people into the enjoyment of gaming.”


Anno 1800 Docklands DLC & Update 10 Goes Live; Free Weekend Incoming

There’s no doubt in my mind that Anno 1800 has done pretty well for Ubisoft. And frankly, it should since it’s an awesome city builder. Arguably one of the best in recent times.
We’re now in season 3 of DLC content for Anno 1800, with the newest one, Docklands, available right now. Docklands is all about building your very own warehouse district and fine-tuning trade for your cities; you can find out more on the full Frags of War piece here.


Red Notice: The Rock, Gal Gadot & Ryan Reynolds Talk Their Favourite Scene, Squid Game & More

Get ready to go on the ultimate globe-trotting heist with Dwayne Johnson, Ryan Reynolds, and Gal Gadot in the newly-released teaser for Red Notice, premieringÂ 12 November 2021Â on Netflix.
When an Interpol-issued Red Notice â€” the highest level warrant to hunt and capture the worldâ€™s most wantedâ€” goes out, the FBIâ€™s top profiler John Hartley (Dwayne Johnson) is on the case. His global pursuit finds him smack dab in the middle of a daring heist where heâ€™s forced to partner with the worldâ€™s greatest art thief Nolan Booth (Ryan Reynolds) in order to catch the worldâ€™s most wanted art thief, â€œThe Bishopâ€ (Gal Gadot).
Courtesy of Netflix Malaysia, we were lucky enough to participate in a press conference with the stars of the movie, including Ryan Reynolds, Dwayne Johnson and Gal Gadot. This interview has been edited for clarity.

You can also head on over here for our review of Red Notice.
What attracted you to starring in Red Notice?
Ryan Reynolds: Honestly, this is the cheapest answer. I was most interested in working with my friends. A lot of the movies that I do, I produced and write so there’s a lot more responsibility. For this one, I just got to kind of jump in the sandbox with some friends I’ve known for a long time and have fun. It’s not every day that you get to do that and sometimes you forget that this job is fun and I never forgot it for a second on the set of Red Notice.
Gal Gadot: To be honest, Rawson Marshall Thurber is a wonderful director and writer. When he first pitched me the idea of the movie, I was blown away by the ambition and how surprising the story is. I was also intrigued to be able to play a character than I usually use to do.
Dwayne Johnson: I echo the same thing my co-star (Gal Gadot) just said. I loved the idea of Gal being who Rawson had in mind. The moment he said her name, I said, “I love her. She’s one of my favourite human beings. She’d be amazing in this.” The idea that she plays the most wanted art thief in the world and that automatically is intriguing to me as a movie fan.
Gal Gadot: He did the movie because of me but to be fair, he was attached to the movie before I ever heard the pitch. (laughs) He has the vision. The man with the vision.
How did you prepare for your role?
Ryan Reynolds: You know, mostly stretching. That was kind of it. There wasn’t a ton to do in terms of deep-seated character work. What Netflix really wanted to put together was, Dwayne, Gal and I have an off-screen friendship and camaraderie that is the same exact thing you’re seeing on-screen. That’s what they were paying for; they wanted that on the big screen and they wanted that to transfer into Red Notice and to be a part of the DNA and fabric of the storytelling. If you come to dinner with Dwayne and I, you’d see that we quite literally talk to each other the way we talk to each other in Red Notice. It’s pretty funny to be around and it’s just kind of the way it’s always been for us. Putting that on the screen was a real pleasure.
Gal Gadot: We (Gal Gadot and Dwayne Johnson) had a dancing scene that was new for me, at least. We rehearsed for the dance and it was such a delightful thing to be able to work on with an amazing partner as DJ (Dwayne Johnson). I was a bit nervous at the beginning, for my poor feet.
Dwayne Johnson: She thought she’d be dancing with a velociraptor.
Gal Gadot: (laughs) It turns out that DJ is a ballerina with the lightest feet and it was amazing.
RED NOTICE – (L-R) Dwayne Johnson is the FBIâ€™s top profiler John Hartley, Ryan Reynolds is the worldâ€™s greatest art thief Nolan Booth, and Gal Gadot is the worldâ€™s most wanted art thief â€œThe Bishopâ€ in Netflix’s RED NOTICE. Directed and written by Rawson Marshall Thurber; RED NOTICE is releasing November 12, 2021. Cr: Frank Masi / Netflix Â© 2021
How was the experience of working with your co-stars?
Ryan Reynolds: It’s always interesting working with larger-than-life personalities like this and you never know how it’s going to go. Thankfully, we all knew each other so there wasn’t any of that concern. I’m also a fan of film and movie stars. People don’t realise that just because I work in this industry, where I’ve been for 30 years now, I still get excited and geeked out when Dwayne or Gal walks into the room. My first instinct isn’t “oh, there’s my buddy, Dwayne or Gal”, my first instinct is “oh my god, that’s Gal Gadot and Dwayne The Rock Johnson just walking into a room right now. So, I get a little starstruck just like everybody else.
Dwayne Johnson: We wanted to make a great movie and I think a lot of times with something like this, the content in the script dictates what the set is going to feel like and so, the movie is big. It’s fun, it’s ambitious, with some twists and turns and surprises. We had a great time and we also had to buckle down because we shot it during COVID-19. Everyone rallied together, including our crew, about a thousand crew members and we made the best movie we could.
What was your favourite scene in the movie?
Ryan Reynolds: There’s a sequence in a chapel in a prison where we meet Gal’s character, the Bishop, for the first time. And that, I would say, was the most interesting scene to shoot for me because it was the first time all three of us shot together in one room. That was exciting and a lot of fun for us. The whole kind of scene was like a chess game, everybody was sort of sizing each other up and Gal was so gifted at being so charming and funny and easy in the scene. I usually notice her, when we watch Wonder Woman or some of her other roles, she’s usually playing characters that are real authoritative, so to see her be kind of a Cary Grant in this moment was really fun for me.
Gal Gadot: There are so many delightful moments and scenes that we got to work on in the film. One of the most memorable ones for me was the first time I got to shoot with the boys, with DJ and Ryan. It was in the Russian prison and it was such a funny day. We were breaking so many takes. I have to say that I feel super grateful and lucky that I got to work with such an amazing talent like DJ and Ryan, and enjoy the process throughout, and I think it always shows throughout.
Dwayne Johnson: One scene in particular, without spoiling it for the audience, there’s a scene at the end where after this long crazy adventure around the world, we finally see Gal’s character and my character in the middle of the ocean on a beautiful yacht, and the scene starts off with Gal coming out of the ocean. It is a gorgeous, iconic and cinematic history shot because the boat is so (laughs).
RED NOTICE – (L-R) Dwayne Johnson is the FBIâ€™s top profiler John Hartley; Ryan Reynolds is the worldâ€™s greatest art thief Nolan Booth; and Gal Gadot is the worldâ€™s most wanted art thief â€œThe Bishopâ€ in Netflix’s RED NOTICE. Directed and written by Rawson Marshall Thurber; RED NOTICE is releasing November 12; 2021. Cr: Frank Masi / Netflix Â© 2021
If you were a real thief (like the characters in Red Notice), what would you like to steal and why?
Ryan Reynolds: One of the pieces of art I find the most beautiful, I wouldn’t want to steal it but if I had to steal it, it would be The Woman In Gold, the Gustav Klimt painting. I did a movie about that exact painting years ago with Helen Mirren called Woman In Gold. That’s a beautiful piece of art. If I had to steal one, even if I don’t believe in stealing, it’s already been stolen in the past. Thankfully, it was returned to its rightful owners.
Gal Gadot: If I could steal one thing from Dwayne Johnson, it would be his (laughs)…
Dwayne Johnson: Let me give this a shot. This isn’t an easy question. There’s so much to steal. I would steal Gal’s heart because it’s a heart of gold.
Gal Gadot: I’ll go cheesy as well. If I could steal anything, I would steal his smile.
How did you build your bond with each other?
Ryan Reynolds: Weirdly, Dwayne and I have a lot more in common than you’d imagine. Certainly not body mass, but we each have three daughters and we have extracurricular businesses that we care deeply about. We both feel very much in service of the audience and they’re the boss. We have very similar outlooks on everything, so the camaraderie you see on-screen is a very natural by=product of two guys who have known each other for a long time and have similar work ethics and outlooks on life.
RED NOTICE – (L-R) Dwayne Johnson is John Hartley and Ryan Reynolds is Nolan Booth in Netflix’s RED NOTICE. Directed and written by Rawson Marshall Thurber; RED NOTICE is releasing November 12, 2021. Cr: Frank Masi / Netflix Â© 2021
How similar are you to your on-screen personas in real life?
Ryan Reynolds: My off-screen persona is actually vastly different. As a kid and as an adult, I have struggled with anxiety and the fast-talking hyper-verbal ironic kind of personality that I’ve manufactured for film really started as a defence mechanism when I was younger to get through situations where I felt I was ill-equipped to deal with something, I would have my personality take over and kind of run the show for me. That’s something I’m grateful for but it’s also something at a young age I wish I didn’t need. The real me is much, much different than that. I’m a lot more sensitive, I probably listen a lot better than the characters I play as well.
Do you improvise your jokes or are most of them in the script?
Ryan Reynolds: I improvise a lot of the jokes, yeah. That’s kind of my job. I think it’s a little bit of a stretch to say improv or improvise because I write most of the jokes. I write 8 or 9 options for each joke and I leave it to the editor and the director to decide which ones are suitable for the movie. I like to give them a whole bunch of options, so yeah, a lot of them are throwaways that you kind of think of in the moment. Even right now, I don’t even know what joke you’re talking about. I can imagine I made a hair joke or two about Dwayne’s beautiful baldy locks.
RED NOTICE – Gal Gadot is the worldâ€™s most wanted art thief â€œThe Bishopâ€ in Netflix’s RED NOTICE. Directed and written by Rawson Marshall Thurber, RED NOTICE is releasing November 12, 2021. Cr: Frank Masi / Netflix Â© 2021
What was it like taking on a villainous role?
Gal Gadot: It’s actually a lot of fun. As an actor, you want to be able to explore different colours and different qualities in the characters that you play and this one certainly gave me this opportunity and I super enjoyed playing the Bishop.
Dwayne Johnson: Can we take a moment and talk about the evil queen in Snow White? Because that’s what she’s going to play next and how exciting that is.
Gal Gadot: Red Notice really opened up my appetite to play a villain. That’s the truth.
What do you think of Squid Game and Korean content in general?
Ryan Reynolds: Korean culture is one of the richest and deepest in the world. The contributions that Korea has made to the pop culture lexicon and so much of the entertainment that we enjoy from music to film to television as well and even some of the game shows. I mean, when I visited Korea years ago, I got to do the Masked Singer before it became a big thing here in the United States and it was so much fun and terrifying and interesting. I’m a huge fan of Korea and it’s always a stop I want to make on a global press tour. Unfortunately, this year our global press tour has changed to this digital format, but Korea will always be in my heart.
Gal Gadot: I never watched Squid Game, to be fair, so it’s hard for me to answer this question. However, 15 years ago, I don’t remember the title of the movie, but I watched an amazing Korean movie. I don’t remember the name but it was about a couple and they hardly spoke. It was like a super intense film with very little words, so I think that the content in Korea is very sophisticated and obviously universal and doing really well.
Dwayne Johnson: I always love when something hits the zeitgeist and hits pop culture and really disrupts it. With Squid Game, what a phenomenon to sit, watch and witness!
Gal Gadot: Did you watch it?
Dwayne Johnson: I haven’t. But it’s still amazing to see when you turn on your phone, it’s in everything. It’s crazy.
Gal Gadot: During Halloween, everyone was dressed like the characters from there. It’s crazy.
Dwayne Johnson: I guess LeBron James commented on Squid Game and it was the founder or the creator of Squid Game who clapped back at LeBron. That shit was so funny. As she was saying, there’s a lot of sophistication too to the material that’s come out of Korea and I’ve been there before.


Tales Of Arise Will Let You Beat Up Sword Art Online’s Annoying Protagonists

For those who want to vent their frustrations onto the long-running isekai anime series Sword Art Online, your wishes have been granted.
Bandai Namco announced during TGS 2021 that it will host an upcoming collaboration DLC between Tales of Arise and Sword Art Online: Alicization Lycoris. The DLC will cost players 1,760 yen/US$18+ and will be available worldwide. The DLC offers the following:

A boss fight with Sword Art Online main characters Kirito and Asuna.
New weapons, outfits and Mystic Artes based on the series. The outfits are for Alphen, Shionne, and Law.

The DLC will be out on 7th October. In the meantime, do check out our Tales of Arise review and guides.


[Rumour] Warner Bros May Have Passed On Rocksteady’s Superman

Rocksteady‘s next game has long been rumoured to be a Superman game for the past several years, especially since their last game was 2015’s Batman: Arkham Knight. Now leaked concept art for a supposed Rocksteady Superman game may have revealed that the game may have existed at some point.
However, a Twitter user discovered a piece of concept art of an unknown game from the portfolio on the personal website of artistÂ JoÃ«l Dos Reis Viegas, which strongly indicates that either Rocksteady or Warner Bros Montreal was working on a video game starring the Man of Steel himself, Superman.
The image in question depicts Superman swooping down and flying in the skies of what looks very much like a version of Metropolis, or perhaps even a New Gotham (Neo Gotham?) of some sort. Check it out below:

Hearing from multiple sources that Rocksteady pitched a Superman game to WB as a follow up to Arkham Knight, and WB passed on the project.
Judging how similar this feels to the â€œNew Gothamâ€ section of Arkham Knight, this could be for that. pic.twitter.com/RKIE6ugKSP
â€” James Sigfield (@Jsig212James) April 15, 2020
This leaked concept art of Rocksteady’s Superman game apparently comes from the same source who previously leaked the new Batman game and Warner Bros’ plans for E3. This same source claims that Warner Bros HQ ultimately passed on the Superman project, which didn’t go on into development.

The Batman: Arkham franchise has never featured an on-screen appearance from any other DC Comics superhero besides than members of the Bat-family like Nightwing and Red Robin, but they did feature several easter eggs towards a wider DC universe.
This ranged from Lex Luthor voice cameo in 2015’s Batman: Arkham Knight (found on Bruce Wayne’s answering machine in his office inside Wayne Tower) to an e-mail chain between members of the Birds of Prey noticeable on a computer monitor.
Surely it’s only a matter of time before Rocksteady or Warner Bros Montreal eventually unveil their next project, but to the frustration of many fans, we still have no idea what they could be.


How Will Bountie Arena Sustain Itself In An Expensive Country Like Singapore? We Ask Its Chief Gaming Officer

Singapore-based online gaming platform Bountie recently opened its first esports arena last week, aiming to cement its position and develop the local esports community. But does it really need one in the first place, especially with former cybercafes like Spout Arena/Alienware Arena and Oasis shutting down after being around for so long?
According toÂ Bountie Chief Gaming Officer Check Ho,Â he doesn’t think of these places as failures, but rather as an opportunity for the Bountie Arena to fill that massive void in the market in Singapore.

“What we saw in those arenas was an opportunity to do it bigger, better, and much more user-friendly with an emphasis on customer service.
There are currently no major spaces in Singapore specifically designed for esports competitions and tournaments. Nor are there i-cafes with the hardware and services that we are providing.
It’s not just the games that we want you to come and enjoy; we want to provide our audience with so many reasons and options than just PC gaming.”

According to Ho, the Bountie Arena features more than just PCs like a typical cyber gaming cafe. It offers a variety of arcade machines, darts, consoles, handhelds, mobile games, and of course, PCs which are supplied by ASUS ROG and NVidia. This means that gamers of all preferences can visit the new place, regardless of whether they are console players or PC master race folks.
How Will It Make Money?
The company aims to make the Bountie Arena the main venue of choice for small to medium-scale esports competitions, tournaments and events in Singapore. While this is an ambitious endeavour on their part, local esports fans will remember the likes of Spout Arena and Oasis attempting the same thing in the past, and ultimate closing down.
Ho plans to sustain the Bountie Arena with esports events, along with revenue from their partnerships, sponsors, gaming PC rentals, F&B sales, dart machines, and educational classes.
Image credit: Asia One
The Fast Track
Singapore is known for having some of the best Internet services (fast and stable) in the world. Which begs the question: why would locals want to go to an esports arena and needlessly spend more money when they already have the perfectly-adequate Internet to play online games at home?
Ho says that’s not always the case.

“We think that a venue like ours is definitely needed, given the lack of options available in Singapore for a fixed location for such events.
Singapore does indeed have a stable and fast internet infrastructure.
However, not every person is fortunate enough to have a very good gaming setup at home, which is something that we provide at the Arena along with a whole host of games to play!”

What About Its Cryptocurrency Plans?
Interestingly enough, the folks at Bountie have been tackling the cryptocurrency market with its Bountie coins since late 2017. Will this esports arena be deviating from that plan? Not likely, said Ho, as Bountie is split into three segments: the arena, the platform/store, and the cryptocurrency/ICO.
The cryptocurrency aspect won’t be implemented in the Bountie Arena just yet, according to Bountie CEO Lex Na.

“We will be launching the Arena without any cryptocurrencies at the moment. The reasons are because we would like to make sure daily operations and management are stabilised before thinking about adding additional complexity to the mix.
In the meantime, we are speaking to gamers, advisors and industry partners for the views on this topic. We will do what’s best for the community and industry instead of what’s best for Bountie.”

Located at One Fusionopolis Way #B1-06/07/08 (above one-north MRT), the Bountie Arena is open every day of the week from 11am to 12am midnight. It features 6600 square feet of space with a world-class esports stage, a gaming academy, over 112 high-spec computers, four private rooms, five darts machines, and a console corner.
Top image credit: Bountie


Remembering George Perez: His Legacy & Best Works

It’s a sad day for all comic book fans around the world as news broke over the weekend that the legendary George Perez has passed away at the age of 67 years old.
The late legend is one of the most iconic comic book artists of all time. And for good reason; his works include some of the most influential comics in the history of the industry.
While this feature won’t be a comprehensive list, in remembrance of George Perez, let’s recap his life, legacy, and memorable works. The ones that made superhero comic books epic as they should be.
The 70s
George Perez is of Puerto-Rican American descent and he was born in 1954 in the South Bronx, New York. While he was best known as primarily being a comic book artist, he was also a writer, penciler, colorist, inker and more. Therefore, I’ll be listing a lot of his works in this article, but not all of them were drawn by him. Some, he wrote, while others, he either coloured or inked.
Perez began his comics career in the 1970s, making his debut in August 1974 with Marvel Comics’ Astonishing Tales #25.
Marvel Comics’ Astonishing Tales #25.
That’s right, while George Perez is arguably best known for more of his DC Comics work, he actually started at Marvel Comics. He even co-created Marvel’s first Puerto Rican superhero, the White Tiger, with writer Bill Mantlo.
Peter Parker The Spectacular Spider-Man Volume 1 #9
The 80s
He went on to work on the Avengers, including part of the iconic Korvac Saga, and co-created Taskmaster with writer David Michelinie. You can tell his work becomes more and more detailed with each passing issue he’s worked on.
The Avengers #195 (May 1980).
After working with Marvel for several years, he went to DC Comics and launched what would be one of his most famous runs, The New Teen Titans with writer Marv Wolfman. They introduced the most popular incarnation of the team, which included Beast Boy, Cyborg, Starfire and Raven. It was during their run together that they made arguably the most iconic Teen Titans storyline of all time: The Judas Contract involving Deathstroke.
Oh, and yeah, George Perez also co-created both Deathstroke and Vigilante.
The New Teen Titans The Judas Contract.

The New Teen Titans wasn’t even Perez’s peak, because he would later work with Marv Wolfman on what is one of the most influential and defining comics in history; 1985’s Crisis On Infinite Earths. This comic solidified Perez’s place as an all-time greats in the pantheon of comic book creators and artists. His work on this is a perfect example of how Perez would become known for his extremely detailed artwork, especially when it comes to splash pages with a large crowds of characters in them.
Here’s a few of his best splash pages and iconic covers from Crisis On Infinite Earths:

After New Teen Titans and Crisis On Infinite Earths, Perez helped reboot Wonder Woman in 1987 with writer Greg Potter, which concluded with the epic War Of The Gods crossover event in 1991.

The 90s
In 1991, Perez worked on another comic that would become one of Marvel’s most iconic crossovers; The Infinity Gauntlet (which is what inspired the whole Infinity Saga with Thanos in the Marvel Cinematic Universe). However, he only worked on half of The Infinity Gauntlet, with the other half drawn by artist Ron Lim.

After working for indie publisher Malibu Comics, he went back to Marvel and DC, where he would work on another iconic run with the Avengers along with legendary writer Kurt Busiek.

He also wrote and drew Crimson Plague, a creator-owned science fiction story about an alien with ultra-toxic blood, published by Gorilla Comics. However, it ended up being too expensive to self-publish, so the series was cancelled.

The 2000s And Beyond
One of Perez’s last big projects was the JLA/Avengers comic crossover with Kurt Busiek in 2003. Up to 2022, that remains the final time that Marvel and DC would work together on an inter-company product.

After JLA/Avengers, Perez essentially slowed down a bit, focusing on smaller projects. These include four issues of CrossGen Chronicles and eight issues of Solus for the now-defunct CrossGen Comics.

Then, Perez went back to DC Comics in 2007 for The Brave And The Bold with writer Mark Waid, as well as being a fill-in artist for Infinite Crisis and cover artist for several comics.

In 2007, Perez proved he could still draw detailed and epic splash pages with the Final Crisis tie-in miniseries Final Crisis: Legion of Three Worlds with writer Geoff Johns.

In 2011, Perez wrote six issues of Superman as part of the New 52 reboot.

His last major work was writing and drawing the creator-owned Sirens miniseries for BOOM! Studios in 2014. It’s a science fiction miniseries dedicated to a group of women with extraordinary powers, who fight against evil across time and space.

Later, Perez was inducted into The Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame in 2017. He officially announced his formal retirement in 2019, and he announced that he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in November 2021. George Perez passed away in May 2022.
Rest in peace, late legend, we’ll miss you. Thank you for your work, and I speak on behalf on many comic book fans that we wouldn’t have grown up loving comics without you.
Let’s end this article with a fun fact to celebrate his life: George Perez and Marv Wolfman (both of them worked on The New Teen Titans together) cameo-ed in Teen Titans Go! Season 7 Episode 7 “Marv Wolfman and George Pérez”, which originally aired in May 2021. Check out a snippet of that below:


Malaysia Will Host The Offline Mobile Legends Bang Bang Southeast Asia Cup

The Mobile Legends Bang Bang Southeast Asia Cup (MSC) will be held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, for the very first time. Twelve teams will compete for Southeast Asia’s supreme squad’s title for a combined prize pool of US$300,000.
Held between 11 – 19 June 2022, this year’s tournament marks its return to an offline LAN competition, and Myanmar as one of the competing countries. Fans can look forward to the group draw held on 29 May 2022, where further details of the group stage format will be shared.
The full list of the twelve participating and qualifying Southeast Asian countries is as follows:
Country Qualifying – Representatives

Indonesia – S9 Champion, S9 Runner-up
Philippines – S9 Champion, S9 Runner-up
Malaysia – S9 Champion, S9 Runner-up
Singapore – S3 Champion, S3 Runner-up
Cambodia – 2022 Spring Split Champion, 2022 Spring Split Champion Runner-up
Myanmar – Champion (through qualifying tournament)
Laos – Champion (through qualifying tournament)
Vietnam – Champion (through qualifying tournament)
Thailand – Champion (through qualifying tournament)

Since 2017, the Mobile Legends Bang Bang Southeast Asia Cup was previously hosted offline in Jakarta (Indonesia) and Manila (Philippines). The tournament seeks to bring out the best of MLBB’s SEA teams to compete together at an offline venue in Kuala Lumpur. In 2021, the regional competition secured a peak-concurrent viewership of 2 284 012, along with a combined 32 711 776 hours watched, according to Esports Charts.
More details on live ticketing, location, and in-game campaigns will be announced at a later date.


Ni No Kuni Anime Movie Trailer Showcases Return To A Different Evermore

Warner Bros Japan has released the first trailer for the Ni No Kuni anime movie spinoff that’s slated to arrive sometime this summer in Japan. Here’s an official synopsis for the upcoming movie, courtesy of Gematsu:
“Ni no Kuniâ€”â€œanother worldâ€ completely different from, yet parallel to the real world. Following an incident involving their childhood friend Kotona, high school student Yuu and his best friend Haru will travel back and forth between the two worldsâ€¦
And as the lives of each worldâ€™s Kotona are simultaneously endangered, what will be the â€œultimate choiceâ€ surrounding the three friends and Ni no Kuni?”
While none of the characters from last year’s excellent JRPG Ni No Kuni 2: Revenant Kingdom will be appearing in the anime movie, we do know that the other world that the protagonists end up in (from the trailer) is none other than Evermore.
However, we still have no idea if this Evermore is the same one founded by Ni No Kuni 2 protagonist Evan, or if it’s an alternate universe version. If it is Evan’s Evermore, then it’s probably set in a future timeline, where there could be descendants of Evan and his friends.
The animation studio responsible for the Ni No Kuni anime movie is OLM, Inc., best known for producing almost all of the PokÃ©mon feature films and its ongoing anime series.
Watch the trailer below.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogu3x99khC4&w=560&h=315]


Avengers Endgame Hot Toys Rescue Armor Looks Badass In Blue

It’s been a month since Avengers Endgame debuted worldwide, with its global box office tally now at a whopping $2.626 billion to date (though that’s still not enough to topple Avatar‘s $2.788 billion).
Hot Toys has revealed a more detailed look at Pepper Potts’ Rescue armor in Avengers Endgame, with a new 1/6th scale figure that comes with all its bells and whistles as seen in the blockbuster movie.
The Hot Toys Rescue Sixth Scale Collectible Figure looks sleek with its metallic lavender blue sheen, as well as a removable mask and helmet with LED-light up function throughout various parts of the armor.
It even comes with the weapons seen in Avengers Endgame, including one long drone, one short drone, as well as the air flaps that form the coolest part of the armor complete with a repulsor fire effect.
Check out the Hot Toys Rescue Sixth Scale Collectible Figure below in all its magnificent glory.

It’s currently available for pre-order at a price of $407 on the official Sideshow website here. It is expected to ship sometime between January 2021 to March 2021.
For more onÂ Avengers Endgame, check out our spoiler-free review ofÂ Avengers: EndgameÂ here, our discussion for whatâ€™s next post-Avengers EndgameÂ here, or the upcoming movies you can look forward to in the MCU Phase Four (4) post-Avengers EndgameÂ here, or what the future holds for the MCU cast we all know and loveÂ here.
You can also check out the rest of theÂ Avengers EndgameÂ Hot ToysÂ here.


Here’s How Much Space You’ll Need For Halo Infinite

Publisher Microsoft and developer 343 Industries have revealed the install sizes for Halo Infinite. Players who have already downloaded the Halo Infinite Multiplayer will have a smaller download size.
If you have no existing Halo Infinite multiplayer installed:

Installing multiplayer only: 26.53GB
Installing both multiplayer and campaign: 48.42GB

If you Halo Infinite multiplayer installed:

Multiplayer update only: 3.97GB
Campaign installation: 25.86GB
Total of both downloads: 29.83GB

When the #HaloInfinite Campaign launches tomorrow at 10am PT, players who have downloaded the Multiplayer Beta will have a smaller download size. While download sizes may vary by platform, this guide will give you an idea of what to expect tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/Tg3SzFvlhl
— Halo Support (@HaloSupport) December 8, 2021

Halo InfiniteÂ will see a global simultaneous launch worldwide, starting at 10am PT on 8 December 2021.Â For those in Malaysia and the rest of Southeast Asia/Asia Pacific, that translates to 2am GMT+8 on 9 December 2021.
Check out the world map below to find out what time you can start playingÂ Halo InfiniteÂ in your region:

In the meantime, check out our review of the Halo Infinite multiplayer by heading over here.


[Report] Here’s The Full Mortal Kombat 11 Roster

Thanks to a leak on Reddit, we now know the full roster of Mortal Kombat 11, secret kharacters included. Since it’s possibly the full roster, I’ll put this pic in case you want to be surprised.

Kharacters who aren’t revealed yet include Cassie Cage, Kabal, Kung Lao, Erron (the Masters of the Universe cowboy guy), Liu Kang, Frost, Jacqui Briggs, Cetrion (a new kharacter), Jax, Noob Saibot, Kitana, and the Kollector (the last boss who is now konfirmed to be playable).
The already-deleted post also stated that the game will have three unlockable kharacters: Mileena, Shang Tsung, and Shinnok. Yes, I’ll stop using the “k”s now.

Image credit: ResetEra
The officially-announced characters are Johnny Cage, Jade, Skarlet, Kabal, Scorpion, Sub Zero, Raiden, D’vorrah, Geras, Baraka, Sonya Blade, and Kano.
Guess someone close to NetherRealms is going to get more than a stinkeye. Or this could be an inside job. In any case, I’m sure you’re happy/angry/sad with this list. Voice out your pleasure/outrage here or on our Facebook page.


Call Of Duty League Confirms Two More Teams: Los Angeles And Toronto

The COD League (CDL) 2020 teams roster continues to be unveiled. This week, two more teams have been officially announced: Optic Gaming Los Angeles and Toronto Ultra. Both of the teams are owned by organisations that are also well-known within the Overwatch League (OWL) community.
Optic Gaming Los Angeles is owned by Immortals Gaming Club, owner of OWL team Los Angeles Valiant. However, Optic Gaming has always been a name that’s popular within the Call of Duty esports scene, being involved in Call of Duty tournaments since 2009. Current founder and co-owner of 100 Thieves Matthew “Nadeshot” Haag was a former captain of Optic Gaming.
Optic Gaming Los Angeles’ newly announced main roster:

Thomas “Teej” Haly
Brandon “Dashy” Otell
Kenny “Kenny” Williams
Austin “SlasheR” Liddicoat
Jordan “JKAP” Kaplan

Toronto Ultra is a brand new team but competitors shouldn’t take them lightly as their roster is full of veterans hailing from great teams such as Splyce, UYU, and more. The team’s owner, OverActive Media also owns Splyce, Toronto Defiant, and Montreal Rebellion. The team is lead by General Manager Dominique “Wi5dom” Gelineau and Strategic Coach Mark “MarkyB” Bryceland.
Toronto Ultra’s full roster:

Main team:

Anthony “Methodz” Zinni
Carson “Brack” Newberry
Daniel “Loony” Loza
Alejandro “Lucky” LÃ³pez
Adrian “MeTTalZ” Serrano

Substitutes:

Tobias “CleanX” Juul JÃ¸nsson
Nicholas “Classic” DiCostanzo
Cameron “Cammy” McKilligan
Ben “Bance” Bance
Mehran “Mayhem” Anjomshoa

With five teams out of the way, only seven left confirmations left before we get a clear picture of all the teams that will take part in CDL 2020. Team Minnesota has finalised their roster and currently awaiting approval from CDL so there’s a good chance they’ll be the next to be confirmed.


Yes, There’s Going To Be A LEGO Star Wars Summer Vacation Special Featuring Darth Vader In Beach Wear

As if having a LEGO holiday special featuring Star Wars characters isn’t enough, Disney+ is going stream yet another one of these.
The streaming service announced the LEGO Star Wars Summer Vacation, a Star Wars-themed animated special that takes place after the events of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. The special features the voices of Weird Al Yankovic, Yvette Nicole Brown, Kelly Marie Tran, Anthony Daniels, and Billy Dee Williams (among others). There’s even a new song in the mix called Scarif Beach Party from Weird Al himself, because he’s a big Star Wars fan for sure.
Most importantly, Star Wars big bads Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader will be on a beach holiday too, swimming gear and Imperial-themed surfboard included. Heck, we’re even teased a lightsaber limbo challenge, only replace the limbo pole with a lightsaber.
If you’re going all out with this humorous LEGO cash-grab the Star Wars fans deserve, you might as well go all the way. Trailer’s below; the show will be out on 5th August.


Xbox Game Pass September 2021 Adds Phoenix Point, Aragami 2 & More

Microsoft has announced that 13 new titles are coming to Xbox Game Pass for Console and PC in September 2021.
Check them out below:

Coming Soon

Flynn: Son of CrimsonÂ (Cloud, Console, and PC)Â ID@XboxÂ â€“ September 15
Available on day one with Xbox Game Pass:Â Flynn: Son of CrimsonÂ is a handcrafted 2D action platformer that will take players on a journey of discovery and conflict. Join Flynn and his mythical companion Dex to save Rosantica from The Scourge. Discover and master the power of Crimson Energy to stop the evil overlord Zealock!

I Am FishÂ (Cloud, Console, and PC)Â ID@XboxÂ â€“ September 16
Available on day one with Xbox Game Pass:Â I Am Fish is a charming, physics-based adventure starring four intrepid fish friends, forcibly separated from their home in a pet shop fish tank. Swim, fly, roll and chomp your way to the open ocean in a bid for freedom and to reunite once again.
SkateBirdÂ (Cloud, Console, and PC)Â ID@XboxÂ â€“ September 16
Available on day one with Xbox Game Pass: Youâ€™re a lonely lilâ€™ skateboarding bird, and your Big Friend has hung up their board for good. Their job sucks, and lately, they are barely ever home to play with you. You are going to fix all that â€“ with the power of skateboarding! Above all else, skate birds try their best.

SuperliminalÂ (Cloud, Console, and PC)Â ID@XboxÂ â€“ September 16
Perception is reality. In this mind-bending first-person puzzler, you escape your own dream by tackling impossible puzzles based on perspective and optical illusions. Think outside the box and expect the unexpected.

Aragami 2Â (Cloud, Console, and PC)Â ID@XboxÂ â€“ September 17
Available on day one with Xbox Game Pass: The Aragami emerge as a clan to defend their own, utilizing the shadows to avail their cause.Â Aragami 2Â takes the franchise to new levels of stealth and skill-based combat in a gripping narrative that can be experienced in solo or with friends as a co-op stealth-action adventure.

Lost Words: Beyond the PageÂ (Cloud, Console, and PC) â€“ September 23
Winner of over a dozen awards,Â Lost WordsÂ is an atmospheric narrative adventure that takes place in the personal diary entries belonging to a young girl named Izzy. Unfold the pages and explore the fantasy land of Estoria, a place where words hold immense power.
SableÂ (Cloud, Console, and PC)Â ID@XboxÂ â€“ September 23
Available on day one with Xbox Game Pass: Embark on an unforgettable journey and guide Sablethrough her Gliding; a rite of passage that will take her across stunning deserts and ancient wonders. Explore a rich world by hoverbike, solve puzzles, climb great heights, and get to know the inhabitants. Discover who Sableis beneath the mask.

Subnautica: Below ZeroÂ (Cloud, Console, and PC)Â ID@XboxÂ â€“ September 23
Dive into a freezing underwater adventure on an alien planet. Set two years after the originalÂ Subnautica, return to Planet 4546B to uncover the truth behind a deadly cover-up. Survive by building habitats, crafting tools, and diving deeper into this captivating universe.
Tainted Grail: ConquestÂ (PC)Â ID@XboxÂ â€“ September 23
Explore the ever-changing maps, fight with deadly enemies, and learn what happened to the cursed island of Avalon in this unique, infinitely replayable, story-driven hybrid between a deck-building Roguelike and an RPG game. Create your own combos out of hundreds of cards and learn how to survive in a dark, unforgiving world shrouded by a mysterious, deadly force known as the wyrdness.
Lemnis GateÂ (Console and PC) â€“ September 28
Available on day one with Xbox Game Pass: Harness the abilities of powerful operatives in mind-bending 4D battles as you disrupt the past to change the future.Â Lemnis GateÂ liberates you from the constraints of time to offer a relentlessly inventive multiplayer experience deeply rooted in tactical FPS gameplay. Exploit the unlimited intricacies of time travel and forge your path to victory.

Astria AscendingÂ (Cloud, Console, and PC) â€“ September 30
Available on day one with Xbox Game Pass: Explore a vast world on the brink of chaos in a mature, emotional JRPG rendered in glorious 4K hand drawn visuals. Customize your characters with expansive customization, and lead the 8 Demigods of Orcanon to battle in rewarding, turn-based combat to protect the Harmony.
UnsightedÂ (Console and PC)Â ID@XboxÂ â€“ September 30
Available on day one with Xbox Game Pass: The few androids that remain are running out of Anima, the energy that gives all robots consciousness. Itâ€™s up to you, Alma, to save your friends from becoming Unsighted. Explore the vast ruins of Arcadia, using every tool you can find. Time is ticking. They need you.
Phoenix PointÂ (Console)Â ID@XboxÂ â€“ October 1
A mutating alien menace threatens the last remnants of mankind on an Earth ravaged by the Pandoravirus and itâ€™s up to the Phoenix Project to take the planet back for humanity. The turn-based strategy hitÂ Phoenix PointÂ includes optimizations and changes designed specifically for Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S.

In Case You Missed It

Crown TrickÂ (Cloud)Â ID@XboxÂ â€“ Available nowÂ
Welcome to The Nightmare Realm! Guide protagonist Elle on a perilous journey through procedurally generated dungeons, carefully navigating unique enemies and traps that only move when Elle does thanks toÂ Crown Trickâ€™s unique synchronous turn-based mechanic. Strategically plan each move to survive, master a combination of skills, Familiars, and weapons to escape the labyrinth.
Nuclear ThroneÂ (Cloud)Â ID@XboxÂ â€“ Available now
Nuclear ThroneÂ is a rogue-like, top-down shooter set in a post-apocalyptic world. Fight your way through the wastelands with powerful weaponry, collecting radiation to mutate new limbs and abilities. You could do all these things and more â€” if only you were good at this game. Can you reach the Nuclear Throne?
The Artful EscapeÂ (Cloud)Â ID@XboxÂ â€“ Available now
A teenage guitar prodigy sets out on a psychedelic, multidimensional journey to inspire his stage persona and confront the legacy of a dead folk legend. Starring voice performances by Michael Johnston, Caroline Kinley, Lena Headey, Jason Schwartzman, Mark Strong, and Carl Weathers.

DLC / Game Updates

Gears 5Â Operation 8 Drop 2 â€“ Available now
Hold the line inÂ Gears 5Â Operation 8. Operation 8 Drop 2 expands with four additional new characters and two multiplayer maps. The update is free to allÂ Gears 5Â owners and will be available starting today!
Dead by Daylight: Hellraiser Chapter â€“ Available now
Xbox Game Pass members save 10% off! Demon to some, angel to others, the new Killer is Pinhead: leader of an extra-dimensional group of beings known as the Cenobites. Devoted to exploring the furthest regions of experience through the limitless thrill of pleasure and pain, Pinhead uses hooks and chains to attack his victims, tearing their flesh and souls apart in the process.

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate Perks

We have a brand new Perk from the team at Bethesda to share with you!Â  Go claim now in the Perks gallery on your Xbox console, Windows 10 PC, or Xbox Game Pass mobile app.

Fallout 76Â â€“ Fallout 1stÂ (1 Month Free) â€“ Available now
With the Fallout 1st premium membership, Ultimate members get an enhancedÂ Fallout 76Â experience, with access to Private Adventure, Custom Worlds, utility, and cosmetic items, 1650 Atoms per month, and more.

Xbox Touch Controls Added to 11 More Games

Ultimate members can experience Xbox touch controls while playing 11 more games from the cloud starting today! Thatâ€™s 11 more touch-enabled games that you can now play on the Xbox app for Windows PCs, Xbox Game Pass mobile app on Android devices, orÂ xbox.com/playÂ on your Windows PCs and Apple phones & tablets, no controller needed. Look at the list of new games with touch controls below:

Blinx: The Time Sweeper
Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge
Cris Tales
Halo: Spartan Assault
Halo Wars: Definitive Edition
Halo Wars 2
Last Stop
Omno
Raji: An Ancient Epic
The Medium
Tropico 6

Xbox Game Pass Quests

New September Game Pass Quests are available for you to complete and claim! Redeem your completed Quests for points on your console in the Game Pass section on your console, PC, or on the Game Pass mobile app.
Here are some of the monthly Quests you can start today:

MinecraftÂ (75 points):Â Break 117 blocks
Black DesertÂ (75 points):Â Earn 5,000 Gifted Sellswords
State of Decay 2Â (75 points):Â Recruit 2 survivors
Forza Horizon 4Â (75 points):Â Earn 5,000 influence

Leaving September 30

Be sure to show these games some love before they go, I bet there are some achievements left for you to earn! This doesnâ€™t need to be a final goodbye, remember to use your membership discount to save up to 20% on your purchase of these games!

Drake HollowÂ (Cloud, Console, and PC)
IkenfellÂ (Cloud, Console, and PC)
Night in the WoodsÂ (Cloud, Console, and PC)
Kathy RainÂ (PC)
Warhammer Vermintide IIÂ (Cloud and Console)


Every Gun Revealed So Far for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare

Hot on the heels of the first glimpse at Call of Duty: Modern Warfare’s new 2v2 Gunfight mode reveal today is the list of guns which will be making its way to the game. According to the folks at PCGamesNÂ who recently had a go at the new 2v2 Gunfight mode during a closed test session, several long-time favorites and iconic weapons make up the list.

However, as PCGamesN clarified, this isn’t necessarily the final list of weapons as Infinity Ward is likely to hold back several other weapons which don’t suit the nature of a 2v2 scenario. Without further ado, here are some of the guns set to appear in the next CoD game:
First up are the assault rifles. Almost everyone will have to get used to guns from this category as they are the most versatile and commonly equipped and found weapons on the battlefield making them the go-to primary weapons for many. Sure you can lean on to your LMGs and the occasional Deagle but with most engagements happening mid-range, ARs are the smart pick for anyone chasing that decent KDR or that nth prestige.
FR556 a.k.a the Famas.
The burst-action weapon is a popular mainstay in CoD games and is surely a great pickup for casuals with average to poor recoil control.
M4A1
Vanilla. Gets the job done in a variety of scenarios but a master of none. Is this you go-to weapon? Then we are pretty sure you shop for most of your clothes at Uniqlo.
FAL Scout
Personally, we aren’t huge fans of the FAL but some players swear by its consistency.
While this initial list is nothing to shout about, it gives an indication of the weapons yet to be revealed. Easy calls would be that the AK-47 should return, so does the Steyr AUG as well as the FN SCAR.
Good news for players who prefer to laser down their opponents up close with high rates of fireÂ  as three SMGs have been confirmed so far with staple models in the MP7 and MP5 making their compulsory appearances. While unannounced as yet, we fully expect to see the UMP 45 join this list once the game drops.
Watch Modern Warfare 2v2 Gunfight Reveal & Full MP Universe Reveal (August 1st)! #COD_Partner from Syndicate on www.twitch.tv
So far, the iconicÂ Dragunov is joined by theÂ AX 50 in the sniper lineup. High damage but with low firing rates, sniper rifles should only be left to the pros who make quickscope kills their bread and butter.
Lastly, the most interesting addition to this tentative list surely is the return of the L86A1 which is pretty much a hybrid between your standard assault rifles and an LMG. Best used in holding down choke points while also remaining nimble enough to navigate around tight corners, the L86A1 could easily turn the tide of battle even in the hands of a mediocre gamer.
So which of these guns are you most excited to get your hands on, or is there any missing weapon you’d love to see included into Modern Warfare? As usual, comments section is right down below.
Developed by Infinity Ward, the 2019 Call of Duty: Modern Warfare releases October 25th 2019.
Source: PCGamesN


Catan Creator Klaus Teuber Dies At 70

Klaus Teuber has passed away on 1 April 2023 at the age of 70 years old.
The late Teuber was best known as a professional board game designer. Four of his games won the prestigious Spiel des Jahres (Game of the Year) award: Barbarossa (1988), Adel Verpflichtet (1990), Drunter und Drüber (1991) and The Settlers of Catan (1995).
The Settlers of Catan — later rebranded as Catan — was first published in Germany in 1995. Inspired by tales of Viking exploration, the non-violent experience gathers players together on a remote island, where they must use communication, negotiation, and even cunning to win. More than 40 million copies have been sold in more than 40 languages.
The statement on the official website reads:
The Teuber family announces with deep sorrow and a heavy heart that their beloved husband and father has passed away at the age of 70 on April 1, 2023, after a brief and severe illness.
At this time, the Teuber family respectfully requests the chance to bid farewell to their loved one in private and to be allowed the space they need to grieve.


Far Cry 6 Free Weekend Begins Tomorrow

Ubisoft has announced that Far Cry 6 will be available to play for free from 24 March to 27 March 2022 on Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PS5, PS4, as well as PC through the Epic Games Store and the Ubisoft Store.
New players can pre-load the game now and will have access to the full game, including all free downloadable content published to date – all playable together in co-op – when the Free Weekend starts on 24 March 2022. Players who want to continue exploring the island of Yara in Far Cry 6 will keep their game progression and enjoy discounts on the game and Season Pass:

Ubisoft Store: From now until the end of March: 40 percent off as part of the Spring Sale.
Xbox: As part of Xbox’s Deal of the Week, from March 24-28: 50 percent off all editions of the game, and 35 percent off the Season Pass.
PlayStation: As part of PlayStation Store’s Deal of the Week, from March 23-30: 50 percent off the Standard and Gold Editions of Far Cry 6, and 35 percent off the Season Pass.
Epic Games Store: As part of the Epic Spring Sale: 50 percent off all editions of the game, and 35 percent off the Season Pass. The Epic Games Store is also offering 35 percent off the Vaas: Insanity DLC, and 25 percent off the Pagan: Control DLC.

Since its worldwide launch on 7 October 2021, Far Cry 6 added new Special Operations, free Danny Trejo and Rambo crossover missions, as well as three major downloadable content episodes as part of the Season Pass: Vaas: Insanity, Pagan: Control, and Joseph: Collapse.
In the meantime, you can check out our review of Far Cry 6 by heading over here.


Grab This Free Sekiro PS4 Theme Now

The PlayStation Awards 2019 was held yesterday and we saw a lot of great developers bringing home trophies as proof of their great work. From Software was one of the winners as their latest game Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice was one of the Gold Prize winners.

To commemorate Sekiro winning the Gold Prize, PlayStation is releasing a free Sekiro PS4 theme. It can be downloaded right now and so far, there’s no indication of it being a limited-time offering. Still, you never know so hurry up and grab it while it’s available!
For those of you who haven’t tried the game yet or are looking forward to buying some of the titles that won at the PlayStation Awards 2019, there will be a PlayStation Awards 2019 Celebration Campaign sale happening from 6 December to 9 December 2019. Sekiro will definitely be one of the tiles on sale.


Overwatch League: The Purge Has Begun

It was a crazy day on the Overwatch League transfer newsfront as a number of players say goodbye to their respective teams. With teams aiming to improve on their first season performances, it didn’t come as a surprise how some teams opted to start afresh in a bid do better in Season 2.
So it didn’t come as a surprise to see the Shanghai Dragons release eight of their players after going 0-40 last season. As confirmed on Twitter, the Shanghai Dragons have released a bulk of their squad, only retaining three players heading into the Overwatch League free agent market.

The Shanghai Dragons has released Alteringï¼ŒFreefeelï¼ŒFivekingï¼ŒRoshanï¼ŒXushuï¼ŒAdoï¼ŒSky and Daemin from their contracts with the team.
The entire SHD crew thank you for your dedications and contributions throughout the first season of the Overwatch League.
â€” Shanghai Dragons #TeamPacific (@ShanghaiDragons) September 2, 2018
However, their decision to release Ado was a peculiar one, considering that he performed quite well throughout the season in spite of his squad’s results. Brought in mid-season alongside Geguri, Fearless andÂ Daemin (also released), we felt that the former DPS for RunAway was among the better performers in the Dragons squad. With that mass purge, the remaining Shanghai Dragons squad are Geguri, Fearless and Diya.
In other news, the Houston Outlaws released Winston main, Russel ‘FCTFCTN’ CampbellÂ in their bid to strengthen their overall squad depth. Deputizing for Muma throughout most of the season, the lack of playtime may have led toÂ FCTFCTN’s release or could just be that the Outlaws are looking for a more reliable tank backup.

Today we announce that we have parted ways with @FCTFCTN.
Thank you so much for your time here Russell. You were a great teammate and friend, and we wish you the best of luck moving forward. pic.twitter.com/yIocwwzMkI
â€” Houston Outlaws (@OutlawsOW) September 2, 2018
The biggest news of the day would be of the Philadelphia Fusion releasing DPS main, George “ShaDowBurn” Gushcha alongside two other teammates, Joemeister and DayFly.

The Fusion have released Georgii “ShaDowBurn” Gushcha, Joe “Joemeister” Gramano, and Jeong-Hwan “DayFly” Park.
Our success in the inaugural OWL season could not have been achieved without their dedication. They will always be part of the Fusion family and we wish them the best.
â€” Philadelphia Fusion (@Fusion) September 2, 2018
After being relegated to the subs bench (earning him the nickname ‘Shadowbench’) due to the rise of Eqo as Fusion’s preferred DPS to pair with Carpe, leaving the Fusion was probably the best move for Georgii’s professional career. We believe he’s definitely a starter material in other teams. As for Joemeister and DayFly, their departure will be less felt, having contributed minimally throughout Fusion’s Grand Finals run.

I experienced an amazing year playing for @Fusion and I wanted to thank my teammates, management and every Philly fan who was always supporting me and making me happy. Thank you so much! pic.twitter.com/L43CpRjeJq
â€” George Gushcha (@SDBurnOW) September 2, 2018
Overwatch League teams have up til September 8th to renew the contracts of their current players failing which, will see them become free agents – able to sign with any professional teams for the upcoming season. For the period of between the 9th of September til 7th of October, the two new expansion teams will have dibs to sign these ‘free agents’ before free-agent signing window opens for all teams on October 8th.
To stay updated on the transfer news and player movements in the Overwatch League, head over here where we curated all the confirmed deals.


Mobile Card-Based RPG Midgard Saga Pre-Registration Is Now Open

Yeeha Games is a US$50 million-funded gaming platform that is looking to shake up the playing field. Midgard Saga, the first of Yeeha Games’ game offerings, will be released in September. Midgard Saga is a casual card-based RPG that follows the adventures of a prince to save his fallen kingdom. The free-to-play game is now open for pre-registration to all users in Southeast Asia, Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan on Apple App Store and Google Play Store.
Also, there is an upcoming lucky draw event for all who pre-register for the game on the official website.
Choy Wai Cheong (Choy), co-founder and COO of Yeeha Games, said:
“Gamers are tired of play-to-win games with weak gameplay. Here at Yeeha Games, we’re all about the connections, the immersive experience, the exhilaration of knowing that there is always a way up, a way out, and a way into a whole new world of discovery. Where others create a normalized playing field, we connect gamers across global communities to build and experience their very own versions of a digital and virtual world. Whichever world you find yourself playing in, we invite you to level up in ours.”
Yeeha Games is building an ecosystem that not only offers high-quality games to gamers worldwide, but it also provides a platform for creators and gamers to come together to experience new ways of gaming — together. Yeeha Games has been working closely with multiple game studios to create quality games that are entertaining and fun to play to drive user engagement and retention.
“Traditionally, communication between gamers and game developers is not so straightforward; we want to break down barriers and build trust and transparency between the parties. Our platform empowers gamers with ownership in the games they love, allowing them to not just participate in gameplay, but also get involved in how the direction of each game unfolds,” added Choy.
When game studios release their games on Yeeha Games, they get to leverage the benefits of the ecosystem, including a network of gamers and support from experts in the industry.
Those who sign up for an account on the platform will enjoy priority access to all games within the Yeeha Games ecosystem. Also, while traditional games operate within themselves, meaning in-game assets are obsolete outside of the games, the platform allows users to transfer or exchange their assets and switch between games easily within the ecosystem. To put it simply, gamers have the freedom to experience a wide variety of games without worrying about sunk costs.


The vivo X90 Series Is Now Officially Available In Malaysia

vivo officially launches the company’s latest X series flagship smartphones, vivo X90 Series. Available in two variants, X90 and X90 Pro, the series delivers a whole new set of advanced camera features and all-around performance upgrades powered by a state-of-the-art dual flagship chip technology featuring a 1-inch main camera and vivo’s exclusive V2 chip, in addition to the company’s continuous collaboration with ZEISS in terms of imaging and camera system innovation, including optics, anti-reflective coating, software and system integrations.
Mike Xu, Chief Executive Officer of vivo Malaysia, said:
“The new vivo X90 Series combines our in-house innovation with some of the industry’s leading imaging technologies to bring consumers a smartphone line-up equipped to tackle some of the most challenging scenarios, such as night photography and videography. I’m proud of our progress towards making the flagship X series the industry’s go-to flagship line for all-around superb performance.”

The new generation of the vivo ZEISS co-engineered imaging system brings a combination of hardware upgrades and software breakthroughs. It boasts improved light sensitivity, aperture, natural colour processing and stabilisation for an easy and intuitive point-and-shoot camera experience. The vivo X90 Series features a triple rear camera system, each with certified compliance with ZEISS T Coating.?
vivo X90 Pro pushes the limits of smartphone imaging with a 50MP ZEISS 1-inch Main Camera, 50MP Portrait Camera with a Large Sensor and a 12MP Wide-Angle Camera. The main camera on the vivo X90 Pro uses a 1-inch IMX989 sensor, the industry’s largest to date. The 50MP Portrait Camera features an ultra-sensing portrait lens, with an IMX758 sensor that helps to achieve an aperture of f/1.6. With the support of the stabilisation system, an exclusive large-aperture lens and 4-in-1 sensor technology, vivo X90 Pro delivers subtly detailed portraits, even in low light.
vivo X90 Pro also introduces an independent optical image stabilisation (OIS) technology developed by vivo, allowing for more intelligent and precise stabilisation correction compared to standard OIS. It also supports Active Centring OIS System, significantly reducing smears between frames and motion blur.

As for the vivo X90, it boasts a 50MP VCS True Colour Main Camera, a 12MP Professional Portrait Camera and a 12MP Wide-Angle Camera. The VCS True Colour Main Camera optimises the sensor spectrum to achieve the target RGB colours better, improving native image colours, ensuring colour consistency and lowering the noise level.
The upgraded camera sensors, vivo’s exclusive V2 imaging chip, the in-house developed AI algorithms and ZEISS Optics with T* Coating work together to further enhance the capability of night photography and astrophotography, making the new vivo X90 Series the perfect stargazing companion. New tools for unique and professional-grade content creation are also introduced.

4K Ultra-Sensing Night Video is now made effortless with vivo’s Super Night Video 3.0 algorithm, supporting exceptional photosensitivity in extremely dark environments. What’s more, the V2 chip ensures clarity even at high ISO settings with its noise reduction algorithm.
ZEISS Natural Color 2.0 in the new vivo X90 Series has been further calibrated to present colours with more authenticity and accuracy, bringing captured images closer to what is seen with the naked eye.

For the first time, a new ZEISS Natural Color Display is now added to screen colour style settings, ensuring the captured colours are not affected by the display. Now every individual display of the vivo X90 and vivo X90 Pro gets calibrated to?guarantee that the colour rendition of the display is close to perfect.
The series also brings new creative effects jointly developed by vivo and ZEISS. The new ZEISS Cine-flare Portrait style simulates the flare effect seen in many classic films. Users can also capture unique miniature landscapes using the ZEISS Miniature Effect. This effect only keeps a small part of a landscape image sharp to generate the illusion of a miniature scene with no post-editing needed.
Powerful Device for All-Around Performance and Gaming
vivo X90 Series features powerful processing capabilities, a large battery, fast charging technology and a stunning display, ideal for work or gaming. The dual-chip setup of the new vivo X90 Series includes MediaTek Dimensity 9200 and vivo V2 Chip. With the Dimensity 9200, both the vivo X90 Pro and vivo X90 have achieved a high AnTuTu Benchmark scores of 1.26 million and 1.22 million, respectively, representing a massive leap in performance. The vivo X90 Series comes with LPDDR5X for vivo X90 Pro and Enhanced LPDDR5 for vivo X90, Extended RAM 3.0, which adds up to 8GB of extended memory, as well as UFS 4.0 + MCQ and UFS Deep Defragmentation, offering smooth processing and supporting more active apps.
The new vivo X90 Series supports 120W Dual-Cell FlashCharge technology, which improves the charging speed and battery life of the large 4870mAh battery on vivo X90 Pro and 4810mAh on the vivo X90 large battery. Additionally, vivo X90 Pro also supports 50W Wireless FlashCharge.

The new vivo X90 Series offers two charging modes: fast charging mode and balanced mode. In fast charging mode, the vivo X90 Pro can be charged up to 50% in 8 minutes and 10 seconds, while vivo X90 can be charged up to 50% in only 8 minutes. The balanced mode is ideal for everyday charging, requiring only 29 minutes for both vivo X90 and vivo X90 Pro to get the battery charged to 100%.1 Moreover, the devices have a 24-Dimension Security Protection and TÜV Rheinland Safe Fast-Charge System Certification for guaranteed charging safety.
The vivo X90 Pro has an Ultra Large Vapor Chamber Liquid Cooling System made with a 24-layer cooling structure, and the largest vapor chamber among the X Pro models covering an area of 4,002 mm², for more efficient heat dissipation and insulation. Additionally, an innovative frame design reduces the heat transfer from the CPU to the frame, thus allowing for key areas where the users’ hands touch the phone when held horizontally to remain up to 2? cooler during heavy load usage.

Both the vivo X90 and vivo X90 Pro have a 6.78-inch Ultra Vision Eye Protection Screen, bringing cinema-like display effects and professional-grade eye protection when viewing the display. The 3D curved screen features a larger viewing area, with 1.07 billion colours, and a 100% DCI-P3 wide colour gamut which deliver rich and natural colours for better viewing experience. The display also boasts HDR10+ and supports SGS low blue light, low motion blur, low flicker, AI low blue light certifications, as well as a refresh rate of up to 120 Hz, offering buttery smooth visuals ideal for gaming.
The vivo X90 Series smartphones offer chip-level Smart Eye Protection Mode, developed by vivo and MediaTek to intelligently monitor and control the proportion of blue light in real-time while balancing the colours for added eye care. The display is made of a new Q9 luminescent material, which also effectively reduces blue light. High-frequency Pulse-width modulation (PWM) at a high frequency of up to 2,160Hz is used to reduce screen flickering, while 16,000-level smooth dimming helps adjust the screen brightness based on the light conditions, ensuring eye comfort.
The X90 Series smartphones also boast a Dual Stereo Speaker and an X-Axis Linear Motor for a more immersive audio-visual experience and rich tactile feedback for top-notch mobile gaming. In the vivo X90 Pro, the Speaker Boost 4.0 algorithm expands the sound field and extends low-frequency range for a more immersive experience, while the X-Axis Linear Motor provides vibration feedback for over 200 different scenarios. It also supports 4D Game Vibration.
Drawing on the design of professional cameras, the new vivo X90 Series integrates the three rear cameras into one “Big Eye” to create an integrated overall look, representing the powerful camera system inside. Coated with Corning’s Gorilla Glass and an ultra-hard, anti-reflective coating on the surface, the overall hardness of the glass lens reaches 6 on the Mohs scale. It is tougher, resistant to drops and scratches and has higher light transmission. In addition, the Big Eye is enclosed within a decorative surgical-grade, stainless steel Halo Ring for lens protection.
The vivo X90 Pro comes in a timeless Legend Black colour. The back is covered with luxurious pebbled vegan leather, which is environmentally friendly, stain-resistant, and durable. vivo X90 Pro has an IP rating of IP682 for water and dust resistance. As for the vivo X90, it comes in Breeze Blue and Asteroid Black, both featuring an exquisite fluorite AG glass back, which is smooth to the touch, and keeps fingerprints and dirt away.
Pricing and Availability

The vivo X90 Pro is now available at RM4,999 and the vivo X90 is available at RM3,699. The latest vivo X90 Series line-up are available at all vivo concept stores, authorised dealers, vivo Malaysia’s official E-Store (X90) (X90 Pro), vivo Malaysia’s official flagship stores on Shopee (X90) (X90 Pro), Lazada (X90) (X90 Pro) and TikTok (X90) (X90 Pro).

From 4 February 2023, customers who purchase the vivo X90 series at vivo Concept Store will receive exclusive gifts worth up to RM1,300, including a 1+1 year warranty, 1 year screen protection and 1 year battery warranty. In addition, customers will receive a vivo TWS Air worth RM179 for purchasing the vivo X90, and a Joyoung Electric Baking Pan worth RM399 for purchasing the vivo X90 Pro.
For more information about vivo X90 Series, please visit vivo Malaysia’s official website.


Company Of Heroes 3 Shows Off New Destruction System

Get ready for an entirely new level of destruction in Company Of Heroes 3. In our latest look at the explosive RTS, Relic explores its brand new destruction system, which allows players to topple bell towers, shatter buildings, and dramatically alter the landscape of war on a scale never before seen in the genre.
“I have a feeling there will be many people who will end up playing, and they will press tactical pause just to turn the screen a little bit to take advantage of seeing all the destruction and all of its glory in that one frame,” says Jason Brackman, Principal Technical Artist at Relic.
Just how deep does environmental destruction go in Company Of Heroes 3? Falling debris and collapsing buildings can now actually spell doom for nearby units. However, toppled buildings can also provide new tactical advantages, allowing players to carve out a new piece of cover.
Players can even pre-destroy a map with tactical bombing runs, further altering your strategy and options on the battlefield. Company Of Heroes 3 is the ultimate package of action, tactics and strategy. Take charge in the heat of real-time battle, then command as a General, guiding the overall campaign where every decision matters.
Overwhelm your opponents with new and familiar factions, units, and international Battlegroups. Command ground, air and naval forces and build supply lines to crush enemy advances on the new Dynamic Campaign Map – no two playthroughs are ever alike.
Company Of Heroes 3 is slated to release for PC sometime in 2022.


Valorant’s Next Agent Is An Edgelord Pocket Monster Trainer; Sorta

Riot’s multiplayer shooter game Valorant has a new Agent coming into town for its Episode 4 Act 3 segment: a Turkish gunner named Fade.
Fade fights with shadow powers and controls a goopy substance that is basically “nightmare ink”. She uses said nightmare ink to scope out the area, limit their movement, and impair their vision. Here are her list of skills after the trailer below:

E – Haunt: Equip a nightmarish entity. Fire to throw the orb which will plummet to the ground after a set amount of time. Upon hitting the ground the orb will turn into a nightmarish entity that will reveal the location of enemies caught in its line of sight. Enemies can destroy this entity. Re-use the ability to drop the projectile early in flight.
Q – Seize: Equip an orb of nightmare ink. Fire to throw the orb which will plummet to the ground after a set amount of time. Upon hitting the ground, the ink will explode and create a zone in which enemies who are caught in it cannot escape the zone by normal means. Re-use the ability to drop the projectile early in-flight.
C – Prowler: Equip a Prowler. Fire will send the Prowler out, causing it to travel in a straight line. The Prowler will lock onto any enemies or trails in their frontal vision cone and chase them, near-sighting them if it reaches them. Hold the fire button to steer the Prowler in the direction of your crosshair.
X – Nightfall: Equip the power of Fear. Fire to send out a wave of nightmare energy that can traverse through walls. The energy creates a trail to the opponent as well as deafens and decays them.
She sounds like a fun kind of girl, if you’re into edgelords and gothic stuff. Gameplay-wise, she relies on being tactical with her shadow powers, funneling people to where she wants them and then striking them down when they least expect it. Fade will be playable starting next week.


Sega Explains What On Earth Phantasy Star Online 2: New Genesis Is

When the new Phantasy Star Online 2: New Genesis trailer popped up on the Xbox July showcase, a lot of folks were confused on whether it was an expansion or a brand new game.
Would you believe that it’s technically both? PSO2 New Genesis is a standalone game that works alongside the original PSO2 in terms of cosmetics you can transfer. PSO2 New Genesis is an open-world action-oriented rebirth of an MMO that uses a new graphics engine and a gameplay system that is similar to single-player RPGs like the Elder Scrolls and The Witcher titles. But with more bishies and anime-like foes like the giant Dolls.
Here are the things that you can carry from PSO2 to PSO2 New Genesis.

AC and SG
Weapons, Units, and Mags from PSO2. However, their functions in PSO2 New Genesis will be vastly different since it has a new game system.
Emotes and registered data from PSO2’s character creation system.

The following from PSO2 cannot be used in PSO2: New Genesis

Skill Rings
Consumable Items used for battle, growth, and enhancement
Boost Items
Materials
Furnishings

Long story short: longtime PSO2 fans will not be shortchanged at all. Newbies who want to wait for PSO2 until its 2021 release date can still wait, or just play bits of PSO2 right now if they wish. After all, PSO2 will also get the new graphics overhaul featured on the announcement.
Full video below:


You Can Now Play Skyrim For The Umpteenth Time With This Anniversary Edition

Bethesda just announced another new version of its 2011 hit RPG The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim during QuakeCon 2011, because it’s the series’ 10th anniversary. This time it’s called The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Anniversary Edition.
This Skyrim will include the Special Edition of the game (complete with the base game and its three expansions: Dragonborn, Dawnguard, Hearthfire) and over 500 unique Creation Club elements. If you own the Special Edition on your platform(s), you can upgrade to the Anniversary Edition for an unannounced cost to access the additional content.

Additionally, current and future owners of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition on any platform will receive access to three free pieces of Creation Club content: â€œFishing,â€ â€œSurvival Mode,: and new quests with â€œSaints and Seducers.â€ We’re not sure if you should do this if you’re a PC gamer and are used to Skyrim’s plethora of free mods.Â However, you can upgrade your PS4/Xbox One version of your Skyrim to the PS5/Xbox Series version for free.
This version of a game that has way too many ports will be available for PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series, PS4, and PS5 on 11th November; an appropriate date given that the original Skyrim came out on 11th November 2011.


Turn-Based Tactical RPG Stolen Realm Drops In Q2 2023

Burst2Flame has announced that their simultaneous turn-based tactical RPG, Stolen Realm, will be exiting its Early Access phase and releasing on PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S and Nintendo Switch sometime in Q2 2023. The studio today also released the new World Map Update, removing the transition between the map and battles and introducing three brand new areas to the game, along with a host of other additions and improvements.
Praised by the likes of Shroud and Sacriel for the flexibility of its class customisation and a design that avoids RPG bloat, Stolen Realm takes the deep tactical systems of RPGs like Divinity: Original Sin and gives it a unique twist. Simultaneous turns allow all members of the player and enemy team to take their actions at once, creating the kinds of fast-paced encounters you’d typically find in action RPGs, without sacrificing the strategic richness that turn-based RPG fans love.
Developer Jason Jolley said:
“We hope players enjoy the new content we’ve released today in the World Map Update and can’t wait for the full release of Stolen Realm on PC, Xbox and Switch in Q2 2023. Our goal with Stolen Realm is to focus on the core appeal of RPGs. We want to ensure players are always in combat, looting and making interesting choices, with the freedom to drop-in with friends whenever they want thanks to automatic scaling. It’s been a real pleasure to see how well that concept has connected with our community during the Early Access phase and we’re looking forward to more people being able to experience the game come release”.

Stolen Realm features a highly customisable class system that allows you to create traditional RPG classes or break the mould to forge a unique champion of your own. Make a spell-slinging assassin, a priest born of frost, or a shadow-infused knight as you draw from a pool of over 300 possible skills. With over 700 items to loot, each fully customisable with modifiers, there’s even more opportunity to change the way you play: wield Abbadon the Soul Crusher, a mythic mace that raises slain enemies as skeletal warriors to fight for you, or unsheath the Bloodletter, a cursed sword that grants additional power at the cost of your lifeblood. D&D-like special events where attribute-based rolls will have permanent effects on your character add yet another layer to building a character that is truly your own in a title that keeps a constant stream of compelling choices at the forefront of your experience.
With the release of the latest update, a world that changes with every expedition you undertake – either alone or with up to six players together via Stolen Realm’s friction-free drop-in/drop-out co-op system – gets even bigger. Delve deep into the forgotten ruins of the once great Dwarven Halls, adventure into the untamed wilds of the Emerald Jungle and uncover the mysteries of the Sunken Swamplands, facing all new foes like creeping spiders, giant scorpions and Great Wyrms along the way. The transition between the world map and battles is now gone – now you can take your fight directly to enemies on the world map.
A full list of the features added in the new World Map Update can be found here.
Check out the trailer below:


South Of Midnight Trailer Unveiled At Xbox Game Showcase

During Summer Games Fest 2023’s Xbox Games Showcase, Compulsion Games’ creators of We Happy Few unveiled their latest IP South of Midnight.
The trailer conveys a unique art style similar to League of Legends’ Arkane and a girl looking for a monster with ‘teeth like knives’.
No other information dropped regarding the game’s release date but we do know that it will be on Xbox Series X | S and Steam, and obviously the Xbox Game Pass.


Diablo 3 Season 25 Soul Shard Guide

Disclaimer: this Soul Shard guide is based on the PTR versions. Values and stats may change in the final Season build; we’ll be sure to update them by the end of this month.
Diablo 3 is still going strong and will be in its 25th online season.
Basically, a Season of this action RPG involves new Sets for the game’s classes, new weapons, and even limited-time OP items like Season 24’s Ethereal weapons. This upcoming Season that’s happening in the game’s Public Test Realm servers right now is introducing the Soul Shard.
These new gems exclusive to the Season can be socketed into either a weapon or helm, and they usually bestow more-than-stellar effects that match their respective Prime and Lesser Evils. In other words, you too can fight and freeze mobs like Duriel in Diablo 2, or cast random fire rings from your procs like all versions of the Lord of Terror, along with the added benefit of all 5 Flawless Royal gem effects.
Here’s the full list of Soul Shards and their respective effects (via Reddit’s gamingryan235).

Lesser Evils Shards (Belial, Andariel, Duriel, Azmodan)

Dregs of Lies (Weapon Soul Shard)

Reduce the damage of enemies hit by 33% for 5 seconds. Damage you deal is reduced by 50%.

1 of the following:

Double the damage reduction enemies receive when you critically strike them.

Each elite enemy slain with the damage reduction effect from this soul and also reduces all your active cooldown by 5 seconds.

On receiving fatal damage, spawn a shadow that prevents your death, restores your health to 35%, and grants +225 All Resist to all party members while it is active. The shadow only lasts 15 seconds.

All 5 effects of Flawless Royal [Diamond, Ruby, Topaz, Emerald, Amethyst].

Random stat

Essence of Anguish (Weapon Soul Shard)

Every time you deal poison damage to an enemy you increase your cooldown reduction, movement speed and damage received by 5% for 10 seconds. Max 10 stacks.

1 of the following:

Killing an enemy deals the damage done by the death blow to all enemies within 25 yards.

Your movement speed and cooldown reduction can be increased up to 15 times by dealing poison damage to an enemy.

When you deal poison damage to an enemy, they receive 50% increased poison damage from all sources for 10 seconds.

All 5 effects of Flawless Royal [Diamond, Ruby, Topaz, Emerald, Amethyst].

Random stat.

Remnant of Pain (Weapon Soul Shard)

Your Critical Hit Chance is reduced by 15%. Attacks against incapacitated enemies are automatically critical hits.

1 of the following:

When you critically hit an enemy, you increase the attack speed of all players by 5% for 5 seconds. Max 10 stacks.

Hitting enemies with cold damage has a 50% chance to freeze them. Cold skill damage is increased to frozen targets by 20%.

While your movement speed is 50% faster than normal, you gain passability. When you move through enemies you knock them back and stun them for 2 seconds.

All 5 effects of Flawless Royal [Diamond, Ruby, Topaz, Emerald, Amethyst].

Random stat.

Stain of Sin (Weapon Soul Shard)

You deal 25% less damage. When you kill an Elite enemy, you spawn a pool of blood that increases the damage non-elite enemies receive by 250% and lasts 7 seconds.

1 of:

The pool of blood now also freezes non-elite enemies.

The pool of blood now negates Elite affixes within its area.

The pool of blood now collects Rift Progress Orbs.

All 5 effects of Flawless Royal [Diamond, Ruby, Topaz, Emerald, Amethyst].

Random stat.

Prime Evils (Baal, Mephisto, Diablo)
Fragment of Destruction (Helm Soul Shard)

You move unhindered through enemies. Each enemy you pass through will be marked by destruction for 7 seconds. Each marked enemy that dies removes 1 second from one of your skills on cooldown. If the Mark of Destruction expires before the enemy dies, you lose 2% of your maximum health as damage. Marks are not applied if you are below 35% health.

1 of the following:

Increase the duration of the Mark of Destruction to 10 seconds.

You have a 25% chance to restore 5% health when an enemy dies with Mark of Destruction active.

You now leave a trail of fire in your wake that slays enemies with the Mark of Destruction that are below 10% health.

All 5 effects of Flawless Royal [Diamond, Ruby, Topaz, Emerald, Amethyst].

Random stat.

Shard of Hatred (Helm Soul Shard)

You deal 15% reduced damage while you have 3 or fewer enemies within 25 yards. If more than 3 enemies are within the same distance, you deal 10% increased damage per enemy (to a maximum of 100%).

1 of the following:

You now deal 15% for every enemy instead of 10% (to a maximum of 150%).

Your movement speed is increased by 50%. Each enemy within 25 yards reduces your movement speed by 10% up to 70%.

Killing an elite enemy pulls all enemies within 40 yards to where the elite died.

All 5 effects of Flawless Royal [Diamond, Ruby, Topaz, Emerald, Amethyst].

Random stat.

Sliver of Terror (Helm Soul Shard)

Your cooldowns are increased by 25%. For every skill on cooldown, you take 12.5% reduced damage and deal 75% increased damage.

1 of the following:

Your attack speed and critical hit chance are increased by 7% for each skill on cooldown.

You cast a devastating Ring of Fire after killing 50 enemies.

If three or more skills are on cooldown, your lightning and fire skill damage are increased by 50%.

All 5 effects of Flawless Royal [Diamond, Ruby, Topaz, Emerald, Amethyst].

Random stat.


Here’s A Quick Slice Of Dragon Ball FighterZ

Top image credit: Shonen Games
So yeah, we’re getting Android 21 as a playable character. She’s looking a lot more Buu now. #rule63
It’s going to be a week until Arc System Works’ latest Dragon Ball fighting game hits shelves in Southeast Asia for PS4, Xbox One, and PC. We heard that there’s going to be a tournament-slash-launch party for it next weekend too.
So we decided to push out this short little preview video of the game before our eventual review next week. Think of it as a Cliff’s Note preview that’s bite-sized and is a precursor to the feature we’re feverishly working on.

On that note, Kakuchopurei will be doing these quick slice videos of upcoming games and whatnot as time goes by. If you have any requests, do let us know here.