The Falcon And The Winter Soldier Episode 1 Breakdown & Easter Eggs Explained

The first episode of Marvelâ€™s The Falcon And The Winter Soldier is available now. The last time we saw Sam Wilson AKA the Falcon (Anthony Mackie) and Bucky Barnes AKA the Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan) was in 2019’s Avengers Endgame.
Back then, a much-older Steve Rogers gave away his shield and the Captain America mantle to Sam Wilson, but it’s never that easy to carry on a legacy like that. The Falcon And The Winter Soldier is here to explore that. Iâ€™ll be discussing heavy spoilers from the first episode of The Falcon And The Winter Soldier, so if you havenâ€™t seen it or want to avoid spoilers, nowâ€™s your chance to stop reading.
Also, if you havenâ€™t, you can check out my previous breakdown and easter egg articles for WandaVision Episode 1 and 2,Â Episode 3,Â Episode 4,Â Episode 5,Â Episode 6,Â Episode 7,Â Episode 8Â andÂ Episode 9.
If you want a non-spoiler guide to The Falcon And The Winter Soldier, you can head on over here.

The Return Of (Georges) Batroc The Leaper

Remember this guy? Actor Georges St-Pierre reprises his role as Batroc, who was first and last seen in 2014’s Captain America The Winter Soldier fighting Steve Rogers and later getting arrested by SHIELD. Now that SHIELD is gone, he’s somehow free and trying to kidnap a military guy named Captain Vasant for an organization called the LAF.
He puts up a mid-air fight against the Falcon before escaping once again in a helicopter as Sam successfully rescues his intended objective; Captain Vasant.
The Aim Of The Flag Smashers

Interesting. According to Lieutenant Torres (played by actor Danny Ramirez), the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s version of the Flag Smashers believes that the world was better during The Blip (when the Thanos Snap erased half of the population of the world at the end of 2018’s Avengers Infinity War but was later undone by the Avengers in 2019’s Avengers Endgame).
They also want a world without borders; just like every other anarchist terrorist organization out there.

Lieutenant Torres Might Be Joaquin Torres Who Is Also The Falcon In The Comics

We haven’t learnt Lieutenant Torres’ first name but he might very well turn out to be Joaquin Torres. In the comics, he was experimented on by supervillain Karl Malus from the Sons Of The Serpent and became a sort of a mutated human-bird hybrid. He then became the second person after Sam Wilson to take on the mantle of the Falcon. Notably, he did so when Sam Wilson was Captain America, so that might turn out to be important in The Falcon And The Winter Soldier down the line.
The Return Of James ‘Rhodey’ Rhodes AKA War Machine/Iron Patriot

We all knew that Don Cheadle would be reprising his role as James ‘Rhodey’ Rhodes AKA War Machine/Iron Patriot, but no one expected him in the very first episode. He attends a speech given by Sam Wilson at an event in Washington D.C, which…
The Event Is To Honor Steve’s Legacy, Who Is “Gone”

In his speech, Sam says that Steve Rogers is “gone”, but what does that really mean?
The look on Rhodey’s face does seem to imply that Steve really is “gone” (read: dead), but is Steve Rogers really definitively dead?

Sam Gives Captain America’s Shield Away To A Museum

Surprisingly, the true purpose of the event is that Sam is giving away and donating Captain America’s shield to the museum (presumably the Smithsonian in Washington D.C.). This is a shocking turn of events, but surely it won’t stay safe for long, especially in a place where any bad guy can attempt a break-in at any time.
The Winter Soldier Is Back And He’s Helping The Government Apprehend Former HYDRA Members

Bucky Barnes AKA The Winter Soldier is back at killing people and assassinating them? That’s not a good sign.
Nope, it’s just a dream/nightmare, folks.

What he’s really up to now is hunting down former HYDRA members who are still alive and out in the world for the government.

Lieutenant Torres Gets Beaten Up By A Super-Powered Flag-Smasher Member

We meet Lieutenant Torres as he tries to apprehend a member of the Flag-Smashers, but he gets beaten up instead. It turns out that the Flag-Smasher individual somehow has enhanced strength.

The Government Appoints A New Captain America Without Consulting Any Of The Avengers

The government blind-sided Sam and the Avengers by appointing a new ‘official’ Captain America. While his name isn’t explicitly mentioned in the episode, it’s clearly John F. Walker AKA US Agent (Wyatt Russell), who is a brand new character making his debut into the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
In the comics, John F. Walker was a super-soldier who started as a villain called the Super-Patriot, before replacing Steve Rogers as Captain America when the former refused to follow the orders of the government agency Commission On Superhuman Activities. However, he goes to blows against Steve Rogers for being too brutal and crossing the line while carrying the shield. After Steve Rogers reclaims the shield, John takes on the name US Agent and joins the West Coast Avengers (at the time consisting of the Scarlet Witch, Vision and more).
Heâ€™s not a full-on villain, but heâ€™s more like what the Punisher would be like if he takes on the shield. An overzealous and sometimes even psychotic anti-hero, if you will.
Conclusion

Overall, The Falcon And The Winter Soldier Episode 1 is a solemn episode of the personal ghosts and demons haunting both Sam and Bucky since the events of Avengers Endgame. Nothing much happens, but we get a glimpse at their lives; Sam spending time with his family and having to face issues like racism, as well as Bucky going on a date while dealing with his past trauma under HYDRA.
It’s more cinematic and grounded than WandaVision, and it definitely looks great so far. We still haven’t met Helmut Zemo AKA Baron Zemo (Daniel BrÃ¼hl) and Erin Kellyman’s Karli Morgenthau, so there’s a lot to look forward to.


Dragon Nest 2 Evolution Teases The Grand Dragon Hunt Raid

Dragon Nest 2 Evolution, the upcoming mobile MMORPG from Level Infinite, is currently open for pre-registrations, and now is the time to talk about the amazing adventures that players will embark on at launch.
A vital component of Dragon Nest 2: Evolution is the thrill of delving into dangerous dungeons, with the team focused on innovation, challenge, and honouring the series’ legacy for the player experience.
Each dungeon is broken up into multiple stages, delivering fresh gameplay scenarios as players progress deeper into the depths. There are puzzles to solve, mazes to navigate out of, and NPCs to interact with, the potential is endless no matter what kind of lair lies in wait. Overcome all of that, and a powerful and fearsome boss awaits.
Using the formidable Sea Dragon as an example, before players can take on this formidable foe in its boss lair, multiple other dungeons must be cleared, each transformed by different effects bestowed by the beast. With more Dragons arriving in subsequent updates, such progressive play will be something for players to get familiar with.
As part of the launch, Dragon Nest 2 Evolution will kick off The Grand Dragon Hunt world raiding event, with players representing their various regions and trying to bring down the daunting Sea Dragon. With leaderboards and incredible rewards to obtain, this will be a hunt for the ages, so stay tuned!
To learn more about Dragon Nest 2 Evolution and claim the in-game rewards for pre-registration, please visit the official website or keep up to date via the official channels below:

Facebook: https://bit.ly/DN2MYSGFB
Facebook Community Group: https://bit.ly/DN2MYSGFBGroup
Instagram: https://bit.ly/DN2MYSGIG
TikTok: https://bit.ly/DN2MYSGTT
Discord: https://bit.ly/DN2MYSGDiscord

The game will be available on Google Play Store, Apple Store, Samsung Galaxy Store, Huawei AppGallery, and OPPO Store. Pre-registrations now at:

Google Play Store: https://bit.ly/DN2GP
Samsung Galaxy Store: https://bit.ly/DN2Samsung
Huawei AppGallery: https://bit.ly/DN2Huawei
Oppo Store: Search the game and pre-register on OPPO Store now
Apple Store (IOS): https://bit.ly/DN2IOS


VTuber Site Hololive Signs Licensing Agreement With Capcom

Looks like we may be getting VTubers of the Street Fighter variety later this year.
Cover, the company that owns VTuber-making production house Hololive, has signed a licensing agreement with Capcom (via Famitsu). What does this mean with all vtubers associated with Hololive? They’ll be able to legally play Capcom games on stream without any fear of copyright claims or strikes.

???????????????????????????????????????https://t.co/NxlgnrYK9o
— ??????? (@cover_corp) March 19, 2021

This agreement is also extended to previous Capcom game streams from VTubers. With Hololive roster of 50 VTubers in Japan and worldwide, that’s a pretty significant deal that will benefit both companies. For English-speaking audiences, you can expect Gwar Gura and Mori Calliope to focus on upcoming Capcom games in the future.
The last time we talked about VTubers, Hololive’s popular JP streamers were featured as free DLC characters in Disgaea 6. These include Shirakami Fubuki, Uruha Rushia, Shiranui Flare, Tsunomaki Watame, and Omaru Polka.

Top image credit: Reddit


Here’s What You’ll Need To Run Resident Evil 3 Remake On PC

The Resident Evil 3 Remake is scheduled to be released on 3 April 2020. Similar to the Resident Evil 2 Remake, the game will be running on the RE Engine. PC gamers can expect to run the game using relatively tame hardware.

The Steam store page for Resident Evil 3 Remake has been updated with a list of the system requirements for the game. For now, there’s only information on the minimum requirements. The recommended specs will be updated in the future.
Here’s what you’ll need to at least be able to play Resident Evil 3 Remake on your PC:
OS: Windows 7, 8.1, 10 (64-bit required)
Processor: Intel Core i5-4460 or AMD FX-6300 or better
RAM: 8GB
GPU: Nvidia GeForce GTX 760 or AMD Radeon R7 260x with 2GB VRAM
DirectX: Version 11
Do keep in mind you’ll need a 64-bit processor and OS to play the game.
Judging by the trailers and gameplay footage shown thus far, it’s safe to assume that the game will perform just as well as Resident Evil 2 Remake. That’s great news because the RE Engine is really well optimised and won’t destroy most budget and mid-range setups.


Rainbow Six Siege Season 4 Will Add New Fortress Map in Morocco

Ubisoft has revealed new details of its upcoming Rainbow Six Siege Season 4: Operation Wind Bastion. It will not only feature new content inspired by the Kingdom of Morocco, but also a new Fortress map.
Players can look forward toÂ two new Operators, one Attacker, and one Defender as part of Operation Wind Bastion. The new Fortress map will be the first-ever map in Rainbow Six Siege to be heavily associated with an Operator.
The Fortress map will be unique, as it will feature a mudbrick Kasbah with authentic Southern Moroccan architecture. The new map will offerÂ two sections with open space and points of cover with clear lines of sight. Both close and long-range engagements will be viable strategies for players.
Rainbow Six Siege has grown and developed so much since it originally released in 2015. Before Morocco, the game has already taken players to other exotic locations like Brazil, Hong Kong, Spain, and Tuscany, Italy. The developer has supported the game with constant updates, with no signs of slowing down just yet.
More details and information forÂ Rainbow Six Siege Season 4 will be revealed on November 18, 2018, at theÂ Pro League Finals taking place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Until then, stay tuned on Kakuchopurei!


Henry Cavill Shows Off Geek Cred By Painting Warhammer Miniatures During COVID-19 Lockdown

So what’s a Hollywood actor to do when he’s not able to go out of his home during the COVID-19 lockdown that’s happening worldwide? He paints Warhammer miniatures, that’s what. When that actor turns out to be Henry Cavill, then people start noticing.
The star of the Witcher Netflix miniseries and Man of Steel seems to love showing off his nerdy hobbies. Being a big Witcher fan, a World of Warcraft player who nearly missed one of his major auditions because of a raid, and having played Total War: Warhammer 2 six times as six different races, you’d think this guy would be a shoe-in to endorse fantasy RPGs or miniature titles.
Check out the post below, complete with some word of thanks to the National Health Service in the UK.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Henry Cavill (@henrycavill)

There’s even a petition for him to star as the Emperor of Mankind in a big-budget Warhammer HBO series, which for the record isn’t happening. Yet.


Xbox Exec Addresses Halo Infinite Queries

In response to queries on the status of Halo Infinite, Xbox Exec, Aaron Greenberg took it to Twitter to explain to fans of the franchise that the Halo team are ‘working incredibly hard’ in delivering what should be the closing chapter for the legendary franchise.

Love it. Know that I meet with Halo team every week. They are working incredibly hard for their fans trust me. Just give us a little patience as everyone is WFH right now and dealing with a lot so everything is harder. But team is cooking up some ðŸ”¥ðŸ”¥ðŸ”¥
â€” Aaron Greenberg ðŸ™…ðŸ¼â€â™‚ï¸âŽ (@aarongreenberg) May 6, 2020
Understandably, fans of Halo have been anxiously anticipating for any form of news related to the game moreover with cancellations of E3 and Gamescom – two major international game events where latest info on the game are usually disseminated. The last major info drop for Halo Infinite was at E3 2019, with Microsoft promising this year’s E3 (E3 2020) to be ‘the big show’ for the game.
With the cancellation of both shows, joined by two more today where Paris Games Weekand Tokyo Game Show also confirmed their cancellation, the restlessness is totally warranted. However, there’s a beacon of hope that everything is still on track with Microsoft assuring that Halo Infinite is still on track to be released as a launch title for the Xbox One Series X at the end of the year despite Covid-19.
Not just that, apparently we are in for a treat in July as Microsoft plans to unveil some huge news as part of their monthly countdown event leading up to the release of the Xbox One Series X. While there’s no confirmation on Halo Infinite’s involvement, the fact that it is confirmed as one of the launch titles should get any Master Chief fan excited.


Nexus Mods Removes Marvel’s Spider-Man Anti-Pride Flag Mod

Nexus Mods has banned the person who removed the Pride flags in the PC version of Marvel’s Spider-Man with his mode which replaced them with US flags. The original mod was called “Non-Newtonian New York”, which replaces the Pride flags around the in-game version of New York with US flags.
According to a statement from Nexus Mods:
To address the banning, which is what a lot of people want to focus on, the mod was uploaded by a sock puppet account (i.e. a newly made account by someone who already has an account on the site) and uploaded under the name “Mike Hawk”. It was very clearly done deliberately to be a troll mod. The fact the user needed to make a sock puppet like a coward to upload the mod showed their intent to troll and that they knew it would not be allowed.
Had they not been a coward and had they used their main account instead, we would have simply removed the mod and told them that we did not want to host it, only banning them if they reuploaded it again after being fairly warned. The creation of the sock puppet removed any doubt and made it a very easy decision for us. Both the sock puppet account and the user’s main account have been banned.
To those who feel offended that the mod (and its modder) has been banned, here’s what Nexus Mods has to say:
We aren’t the authority on what users can and cannot mod. Us removing a mod only means it cannot be found at Nexus Mods, nothing more, nothing less. We also note that we are not the only site that has removed this mod from their platform. As a private business, we have a right to choose what content we do and do not want to host on our platform. Respect this right the same way you want respect for your rights.
If you feel something goes against our policy then please report it. However, we will be the adjudicators on what we do or do not think is appropriate for Nexus Mods. And that goes for everyone no matter where they stand; left, right, up or down.
We don’t want to and won’t argue this with you. We’ve now explained our stance and we won’t be providing a platform for you to distort our position in order to feed an irrational and paranoid narrative. You can do that elsewhere, where we won’t care enough to read it.
If this policy upsets you, if we’ve broken some moral code of conduct as a business that you can’t accept, then please, delete your account (bottom option) and move on, as we will.
In the meantime, check out our review of Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered on PC by heading over here.


Halo Infinite Lead Bids 343 Farewell For Riot

Halo Infinite lead narrative designer, Aaron Linde, has announced that he has left 343 Industries. Linde confirmed the news on Twitter. He will be joining the research and development team at Riot Games.
As a lead narrative designer at 343 Industries, Linde was responsible for a team of writers who worked on “all open-world narrative content” in the game, according to his LinkedIn page. Before Halo Infinite, Linde was the lead writer on Gearbox’s Battleborn before moving to ArenaNet and later to Bungie to become a senior writer on Destiny 2.
On his Twitter, Linde said:
“I want to thank my dear colleagues at 343 for making the best game I’ve ever worked on, our incredible voice cast for elevating our work in every single line delivery, and our players for joining us on this wild-ass journey.
You made 2021 an incredibly special year for me. I get squidgy talking about real sh** on this stupid website [Twitter] so I’ll leave it at that for now. But I can’t underscore enough how grateful I am and always will be. See you next mission.”

Bittersweet news to report: I'm departing 343 Industries to pursue a new opportunity in 2022. It was a terrifically difficult decision; Halo Infinite will remain one of the proudest achievements of my career for the rest of my life. I'm so grateful to have been a part of it.
— Aaron Linde (@aaronlinde) December 31, 2021

In the meantime, check out our review of theÂ Halo InfiniteÂ multiplayer byÂ heading over here.


Capcom’s Game Sales Are Mostly Digital & Rising

Guess going digital does pay off.
Capcom’s digital sales ratio on games is currently at 80% and is trending upwards, according to answers and inquiries on the company’s annual shareholders meeting.

“While it ultimately depends on how our customers behave going forward, for the time being we are promoting our digital strategy with an objective of 90%, since there are some customers who prefer to own discs.
We aim to continue expanding our business performance by maximizing the benefits of digital sales, which include being able to provide our content both for longer periods of time and throughout the world.”

Last year, its digital distribution made up 53.3% of its sales. So this is basically an awesome jump for the company. It may have a lot to do with people wanting to play a heckaton of Capcom games on PC (and other platforms) due to recent world events where we’re shuttered at home for a quarter of 2020, but it’s still a windfall for the company.
That, and Monster Hunter World and its Iceborne expansion.


The Rock Calls Out Fast & Furious’ Vin Diesel Over Social Media Post

At this point, who doesn’t know about the long and ongoing feud between former Fast & Furious co-stars Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson and Vin Diesel? Back in November 2021, Vin Diesel shocked the world when he posted on his Instagram, requesting The Rock to return for the upcoming Fast & Furious 10.Â  It’s been almost two months since then, but The Rock has finally responded to Vin Diesel’s post publicly for the first time.
Speaking with CNN, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson said that he was surprised by Vin Diesel’s post, but probably not for the reasons we would expect. He revealed that he had already had private talks with both Vin Diesel and the executives at Universal (who owns the Fast & Furious franchise) in June 2021, confirming that he would NOT be returning.
He also called out Vin Diesel’s post as being manipulative, because Diesel brought up his own children and even the last Paul Walker in the post in order to entice The Rock’s return.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Vin Diesel (@vindiesel)

Here’s what Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson said:
“I was very surprised by Vin’s recent post. This past June, when Vin and I actually connected not over social media, I told him directly – and privately – that I would not be returning to the franchise. I was firm yet cordial with my words and said that I would always be supportive of the cast and always root for the franchise to be successful, but that there was no chance I would return. I privately spoke with my partners at Universal as well, all of whom were very supportive as they understand the problem.
Vin’s recent public post was an example of his manipulation. I didn’t like that he brought up his children in the post, as well as Paul Walker’s death. Leave them out of it. We had spoken months ago about this and came to a clear understanding. My goal all along was to end my amazing journey with this incredible Fast & Furious franchise with gratitude and grace.
It’s unfortunate that this public dialogue has muddied the waters. Regardless, I’m confident in the ‘Fast’ universe and its ability to consistently deliver for the audience, and I truly wish my former co-stars and crew members the best of luck and success in the next chapter.”
Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson originally appeared in 2011’s Fast Five and his final appearance in the mainline franchise was 2017’s The Fate Of The Furious. Although in 2019, he did return for the spinoff movie, Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw (check out our review of that movie here).
Fast & Furious 10 is slated to release on 19 May 2023.


Legendary Composer Giorgio Moroder Joins Mecha Game Vengeance Is Mine

110 Industries has announced its collaboration with Oscar-award winning composer Georgio Moroder for the upcoming mech combat title, Vengeance Is Mine, currently in development for PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC. Working with actress/singer and Vengeance Is Mine Creative Director, Stefanie Joosten, Moroder has put his legendary talents to use to record the title song for the game.
Moroder is a pioneering figure in the musical world, credited for his innovative use of synthesizers and his huge influence on everything from disco to new wave, to techno. He has worked with scores of iconic artists, including Daft Punk, David Bowie and Donna Summer, and won three academy awards, scooping the Best Original Score Oscar for Midnight Express and two Best Song Oscars for his work on Flashdance and Top Gun. The Dance Music Hall of Fame inducteeâ€™s career also includes his work on the music for the acclaimed 1983 movie Scarface, four Golden Globes and four Grammy Awards.
Giorgio Moroder.
Stefanie Joosten, who sings on the track produced by Moroder is an actress, singer and Creative Director on Vengeance Is Mine. Stefanie is highly recognized in the videogame industry and has also appeared in a number of other games, films and TV shows. This song marks the first collaboration between Stefanie and Moroder.
Vengeance Is Mine is a third-person melee mech combat title with a unique time-manipulation mechanic that adds a fascinating twist to encounters. Thanks to the capabilities of the HYDRA mech suit, the player will have the ability to speed up time and blink towards unsuspecting enemies, or rewind time to readjust combos or evade death. HYDRA also comes packing an energy-based projectile weapon that allows you to take on foes at distance.
In Vengeance Is Mine, players will step into the shoes of Gabriel Jaeger, brutally executed by his brother in order to obtain an old piece of technology that will allow him to operate the Deacon – a derelict military installation buried under the streets of New Amsterdam. Charles Jaeger, now in full control of the Deacon, rallies his flock to meet their spiritual leader Robert Wright beyond the horizon of space and time. His only problem is Gabriel. Somehow making it out alive, Gabriel is in control of the prototype HYDRA mech suit and ready to wreak his revenge.
Stefanie Joosten.
Sergei Kolobashkin, Founder and Creative Director at 110 Industries, said:
â€œGeorgio is a bonafide legend in the music world and Iâ€™m a huge fan of his work on the likes of Scarface, Midnight Express and Top Gun. Getting someone of Gerogioâ€™s profile to work on music for Vengeance Is Mine shows you how committed we are to making this game something special and I canâ€™t wait to show you more. Putting Stefanie on the same track with him was a home run. We are incredibly proud of this collaboration.â€
In the meantime, check out the trailer below:


The Next Total War Saga Will Focus On Troy And The Trojan War

The cover of the latest issue of PC Gamer has revealed that the next Total War Saga game will be titled Troy: A Total War Saga. Reddit user Mavus shared the picture earlier today. It shows two bronze warriors battling each other on a backdrop that resembles a circular shield.

As you can see on the bottom of the cover, it reads “Epic battle in a world of gods and monsters” which denotes that the game might have elements of fantasy in it. With their experience in making Total War: Warhammer and its sequel, there’s no doubt Creative Assembly knows how to do a proper grand strategy fantasy game.
The game’s official reveal will go live tomorrow as shown by this webpage shared by Twitter user @Nibellion. Scheduled for 3PM BST on 19 September 2019, Malaysian fans can catch it at 10PM on the same day.

Troy: A Total War Saga will be revealed tomorrowhttps://t.co/PzwRev3GPF] pic.twitter.com/kAL3pbXg6z
â€” Nibel (@Nibellion) September 18, 2019


Here’s Your First Look At New AEW: Fight Forever Wrestling Gameplay & Its Wacky Minigames

THQ Nordic just showed off even more gameplay of its upcoming wrestling game AEW: Fight Forever, made by wrestling game experts Yuke’s who worked on the past WWE titles.
Apart from the usual All Elite Wrestling-style fighting and 1v1 mat-wrestling, we also get a snippet of the game’s wackier side including Simon Says-style minigames and even batting. We even get a skit with AEW/WCW commentator Tony Schiavone and AEW talent Britt Baker.
Here are the game’s highlighted features:

Combines nostalgic arcade wrestling feel with innovative All Elite Wrestling finishers and offensive moves.
Talent roster combines biggest legends to enter the ring pus brand new, high-flying AEW stars!
Single, tag-team, three-way, four-way, ladder, Casino Battle Royale, Falls Count Anywhere, Unsanctioned Lights Out, Exploding Barbed Wire Death, and online cooperative multiplayer matches!
Tag team matches feature a sequence of team manoeuvres performed with simple commands.

AEW Fight Forever has no release date at this point in time, but it will be out for PC (Steam) and consoles. So far, the wrestling looks great and it’s definitely coming from a quality-driven Yuke’s who isn’t pressured into churning out wrestling games annually and instead allowed to take their time making the best game with their talent.


Syed Saddiq Sheds Light On Esports Funding In Malaysia

Esports is still a very young industry in Malaysia. There’s still a long way to go for us in accepting esports as a legitimate industry and lifestyle. The withdrawal of Team Malaysia from the Overwatch World Cup 2019 is one of many examples that more needs to be done for our esports industry to thrive.
[wpvideo VVTW4e5s]
From a short clip taken from our exclusive interview with Kakuchopurei, Youth and Sports Minister Syed Saddiq explained how difficult it is to secure funding for national esports team. He specifically address the lack of funding faced by Team Malaysia Overwatch that ultimately led them to withdraw from the international tournament.

“We’ve never gone through this process before. It’s the first time. It took a little bit of time but we want to ensure next year, and thanks to you guys, at least now we know we need to come up with new SOP and come up with new ways of distributing funds. We need to inform audit that this is new and that it’s different.”
– Syed Saddiq
This is just a small portion of our interview with Saddiq to discuss the recently announced KBS Esports Blueprint for 2020 to 2025. Full video of the said interview is scheduled for 4th Dec 2019, which is tomorrow.
For more updates and news on esports in Malaysia, stay tuned on Kakuchopurei.


Microsoft Is Hiking The Price Of The Xbox Series X & Xbox Game Pass In Most Countries

Bad news for gamers, as Microsoft has announced that they are officially increasing the prices of the Xbox Series X and the Xbox GAme Pass subscription service in all countries except for the US, Japan, Chile, Brazil, and Colombia.
Speaking to The Verge, Xbox head of communications Kari Perez said:
“We’ve held on our prices for consoles for many years and have adjusted the prices to reflect the competitive conditions in each market.”
Starting from 1 August 2023, the Xbox Series X will be priced at £479.99 in the UK, €549.99 in the rest of Europe, CA$649.99 in Canada, and AU$799.99 in Australia. However, the Xbox Series S price will remain the same at US$249.99.
Meanwhile, the Xbox Game Pass price will increase starting on 6 July 2023. Xbox Game Pass Ultimate will move from US$14.99 per month to US$16.99. The base Xbox Game Pass for Xbox consoles price will also move from US$9.99 a month up to US$10.99.

However, Microsoft is not changing the price for the PC Game Pass. This is especially important for countries like Malaysia and others where the PC Game Pass is the only option. What this means is that the price will remain at only RM15 for Malaysian gamers.
Plus, the Xbox Series X and Xbox Game Pass for Consoles aren’t officially available in Malaysia anyways, so the price hike doesn’t really affect us much.

If you’re an existing Game Pass monthly subscriber, then these new recurring prices won’t take effect until 13 August 2023, or 13 September 2023 in Germany. New Xbox Game Pass members will see the new prices immediately on 6 July 2023. If you’re subscribed to Xbox Game Pass through a yearly code, the new pricing won’t take effect until you renew your subscription.
Most markets will be affected by the Xbox Game Pass price increases, with the exception of some countries such as Norway, Chile, Denmark, Switzerland, and Saudi Arabia.

New Xbox Game Pass Pricing

Country
Currency
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate current
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate new
Game Pass for Console current
Game Pass for Console new

Argentina
ARS
899
1449
599
1199

Australia
AUD
15.95
18.95
10.95
11.95

Austria
EUR
12.99
14.99
9.99
10.99

Belgium
EUR
12.99
14.99
9.99
10.99

Brazil
BRL
44.99
49.99
29.99
32.99

Canada
CAD
16.99
18.99
11.99
12.99

Chile
CLP
7990
8990
5990
5990

Colombia
COP
29900
33900
19900
21900

Czech Republic
CZK
339
389
259
269

Denmark
DKK
99
109
79
79

Finland
EUR
12.99
14.99
9.99
10.99

France
EUR
12.99
14.99
9.99
10.99

Germany
EUR
12.99
14.99
9.99
10.99

Greece
EUR
12.99
14.99
9.99
10.99

Hong Kong SAR
HKD
79
85
59
65

Hungary
HUF
4190
4790
3000
3190

India
INR
499
549
349
379

Ireland
EUR
12.99
14.99
9.99
10.99

Israel
ILS
39.99
44.99
27.99
30.99

Italy
EUR
12.99
14.99
9.99
10.99

Japan
JPY
1100
1210
850
935

Korea
KRW
11900
13500
7900
8500

Mexico
MXN
229
249
149
159

The Netherlands
EUR
12.99
14.99
9.99
10.99

New Zealand
NZD
19.95
21.95
12.95
13.95

Norway
NOK
125
139
99
99

Poland
PLN
54.99
62.99
40
42.99

Portugal
EEUR
12.99
14.99
9.99
10.99

Saudi Arabia
SAR
39.99
44.99
29.99
29.99

Singapore
SGD
13.99
15.9
9.99
10.9

Slovakia
EUR
12.99
14.99
9.99
10.99

South Africa
ZAR
119
129
79
85

Spain
EUR
12.99
14.99
9.99
10.99

Sweden
SEK
135
155
99
105

Switzerland
CHF
14.99
16.99
12
12

Taiwan
TWD
299
338
199
219

Turkey
TRY
44.99
120.99
29.99
79.99

UAE
USD
9.99
11.99
6.99
7.99

UK
GBP
10.99
12.99
7.99
8.99

US
USD
14.99
16.99
9.99
10.99

In other recent news, Sony also hiked up prices for the PS5 and changed the model of its PlayStation Plus services last year.


[Updated] 32nd SEA Games 2023 Cambodia: PUBG Mobile Team Division – Teams, Schedule & Results

The 2023 Southeast Asian Games is just around the corner, and we’re excited to share that PUBG Mobile will once again make an appearance at this year’s competition. This marks the second time that the popular mobile game will be featured at the Southeast Asian Games, and we can’t wait to see the intense battles and thrilling moments that are sure to ensue. Hosted by Cambodia for the first time, this year’s event will also see esports contested as a medal event for the third time in a multi-sport competition sanctioned by the International Olympic Committee. In this article, we’ll be taking a closer look at the Team Tournament category for PUBG Mobile. So, gear up and get ready to dive into the action-packed world of esports!
NOTE: All Times & Dates will be in (UTC+8)

Details

Date: 11–15 May
 Venue: The Olympia Mall, Monireth Blvd (217), Sangkat Veal Vong, Khan 7 Makara, Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Format
10 nations, each nation comprises of 2 representative teams.

Qualifier: 11 May

19 teams.
6 matches.
Top 16 teams advance to Finals.

Finals: 12–14 May

16 teams.
18 matches (6 per day).

Final Results

Place
Participant

1
Indonesia 2

2
Vietnam 1

3
Vietnam 2

4
Malaysia 1

5
Indonesia 1

6
Cambodia 2

7
Cambodia 1

8
Myanmar 2

9
Thailand 2

10
Laos 1

11
Malaysia 2

12
Laos 2

13
Philippines 2

14
Myanmar 1

15
Philippines 1

16
Timor-Leste 2

17
Brunei

18
Thailand 1

19
Timor-Leste 1

Teams

Cambodia 1
Cambodia 2
Indonesia 1
Indonesia 2
Laos 1
Laos 2
Malaysia 1
Malaysia 2
Myanmar 2
Philippines 1
Philippines 2
Timor-Leste 1
Timor-Leste 2
Thailand 1
Thailand 2
Vietnam 1
Vietnam 2
Brunei

RESULTS
QUALIFIER
11 May

QUALIFIER

Team

Total

Round 1
Round 2
Round 3
Round 4
Round 5
Round 6

P
K
P
K
P
K
P
K
P
K
P
K

1
PHI 1
79
3
8
10
2
14
1
9
4
1
20
1
19

2
VIE 2
65
1
11
1
9
10
8
6
2
2
6
18
1

3
INA 2
53
2
7
2
16
17
1
15
4
4
8
12
1

4
MAS 1
47
6
1
8
8
4
3
1
13
8
2
14
2

5
INA 1
40
11
6
19
0
1
12
18
0
18
3
8
8

6
CAM 2
38
4
5
18
1
3
6
14
3
7
1
3
7

7
MAS 2
35
16
1
14
1
5
6
3
8
11
3
6
6

8
LAO 1
32
19
1
16
1
2
6
13
1
5
10
7
3

9
THA 2
30
10
2
9
2
9
2
2
6
3
5
13
2

10
LAO 2
29
17
3
7
0
7
7
4
7
10
0
5
3

11
MYA 2
28
9
3
3
8
15
0
10
5
6
2
11
3

12
VIE 1
25
15
2
5
6
8
0
8
4
14
0
2
2

13
CAM 1
25
5
4
6
3
12
4
5
3
19
1
17
2

14
MYA 1
25
7
5
4
7
13
3
11
1
9
4
15
0

15
TLS 2
16
18
1
17
0
6
2
12
3
15
5
16
3

16
PHI 2
13
13
5
12
0
18
2
17
1
13
0
4
1

17
BRU
12
12
2
11
0
19
0
16
5
17
2
19
3

18
THA 1
9
8
0
15
3
16
1
7
1
12
1
10
1

19
TLS 1
5
14
0
13
1
11
2
19
0
16
0
9
2

FINALS
12 May

FINALS (ROUND 1 – 6)

Team

Total

Round 1
Round 2
Round 3
Round 4
Round 5
Round 6

P
K
P
K
P
K
P
K
P
K
P
K

1
VIE 1
53
11
2
11
8
5
8
4
11
9
2
4
11

2
INA 2
52
14
3
1
11
15
1
1
11
11
2
10
4

3
CAM 1
47
1
9
5
7
10
1
9
0
3
8
6
2

4
INA 1
47
6
3
13
2
12
4
11
2
4
8
1
12

5
VIE 2
43
13
4
9
0
16
2
2
6
2
8
2
5

6
CAM 2
41
3
6
6
2
4
5
12
3
5
9
9
2

7
LAO 1
39
5
3
10
1
2
4
16
1
1
11
16
0

8
MAS 1
39
9
4
12
1
3
13
14
0
13
4
5
9

9
THA 2
35
7
5
16
3
8
3
3
11
7
0
7
4

10
MYA 2
34
8
5
8
1
1
9
15
1
14
0
11
6

11
LAO 2
27
4
2
7
4
7
2
5
10
16
0
13
0

12
MAS 2
26
10
1
2
8
6
5
13
0
12
3
14
1

13
PHI 2
24
2
9
3
1
11
1
8
0
15
1
12
0

14
PHI 1
20
15
0
4
7
13
0
6
1
10
4
8
1

15
TLS 2
11
12
1
14
1
14
0
10
0
6
0
3
2

16
MYA 1
8
16
1
15
0
9
1
7
3
8
1
15
0

13 May

FINALS (ROUND 7 – 12)

Team

Total

Round 7
Round 8
Round 9
Round 10
Round 11
Round 12

P
K
P
K
P
K
P
K
P
K
P
K

1
INA 2
130
1
12
1
7
1
13
6
2
11
3
2
3

2
VIE 1
102
3
2
3
4
15
2
14
0
2
15
7
9

3
INA 1
95
8
5
15
0
10
2
4
12
7
1
1
12

4
MAS 1
94
4
7
2
8
16
0
2
6
1
8
15
0

5
VIE 2
83
13
1
8
0
2
15
11
5
3
6
13
1

6
CAM 1
77
10
4
9
0
5
3
13
2
5
7
4
4

7
MYA 2
75
12
2
10
3
7
10
1
9
15
4
6
0

8
LAO 1
66
9
1
5
7
4
1
3
1
14
1
10
4

9
CAM 2
61
16
0
11
0
6
0
5
2
12
1
3
7

10
MAS 2
60
2
7
4
9
14
0
12
1
10
6
8
0

11
THA 2
55
7
4
6
7
9
0
10
6
16
0
14
0

12
LAO 2
45
6
0
12
1
12
2
7
3
4
3
9
2

13
PHI 2
43
14
3
14
3
3
6
16
1
13
1
11
0

14
PHI 1
43
11
1
16
0
13
1
9
7
9
1
5
10

15
MYA 1
34
5
6
7
7
11
1
8
0
8
1
12
5

16
TLS 2
20
15
1
13
1
8
1
15
1
6
1
16
1

14 May

FINALS (ROUND 13 – 18)

Team

Total

Round 13
Round 14
Round 15
Round 16
Round 17
Round 18

P
K
P
K
P
K
P
K
P
K
P
K

1
INA 2
178
4
4
10
4
2
9
7
8
6
7
6
1

2
VIE 1
152
1
12
8
0
1
8
6
3
11
2
12
2

3
VIE 2
151
8
6
9
7
5
6
2
11
3
2
1
11

4
MAS 1
145
6
2
4
8
7
4
3
12
4
7
9
2

5
INA 1
124
15
3
13
0
8
1
15
3
5
5
5
10

6
CAM 2
112
2
0
1
9
3
8
10
0
9
1
3
7

7
CAM 1
102
13
1
12
0
4
7
5
2
13
5
10
3

8
MYA 2
98
10
4
14
0
15
1
11
1
1
6
13
1

9
THA 2
96
7
1
7
3
6
1
4
7
8
1
4
15

10
LAO 1
94
5
3
2
6
9
4
14
0
15
3
7
2

11
MAS 2
91
12
2
6
4
12
0
1
6
14
6
16
1

12
LAO 2
81
3
3
3
3
14
1
12
4
2
8
8
0

13
PHI 2
63
16
2
16
1
13
6
8
1
16
0
2
3

14
MYA 1
55
11
4
5
6
10
0
9
3
10
2
11
3

15
PHI 1
51
9
1
11
3
11
1
16
0
7
2
15
0

16
TLS 2
29
14
4
15
1
16
1
13
1
12
2
14
0

Where to Watch?
YouTube / Facebook / TikTok

32nd SEA Games 2023 Cambodia: MLBB Men’s Division – Teams, Schedule & Results
32nd SEA Games 2023 Cambodia: LoL Wild Rift – Teams, Schedule & Results


Travis Scott Is Giving Away Super Limited Edition PlayStation Shoes

Travis Scott is now in an official partnership with PlayStation, which apparently means a lot of things. One of those are official Sony PlayStation Nike Dunk Low Cactus Jack shoes.
However, they’re not available for sale. Instead, Travis Scott is holding a giveaway for the Sony PlayStation Nike Dunk Low Cactus Jack shoes, and all you need to do is to fill out the form on the website to stand a chance to win them.
Unfortunately, this giveaway is only eligible for US residents. Not only that, but only a grand total of five winners will ultimately be selected, which makes these shoes extremely limited.
Check out the NIKE DUNK LOW CACTUS JACK X PLAYSTATION shoes below:


Adult Animated Sci-Fi Scavengers Reign Coming To HBO Max Next Year

A new adult animated sci-fi drama series, Scavengers Reign, is slated to premiere on HBO Max sometime in 2023. Scavengers Reign is about the surviving crew of a damaged deep space freighter who are stranded on a beautiful yet unforgiving planet. They begin to learn the true nature of this planet as they try to survive long enough to escape or be rescued.
According to Deadline, the series is co-created and executive produced by animators, writers, and directors Joe Bennett and Charles Huettner. It’s from animation studio Titmouse and will be officially unveiled at the Annecy Animation Festival.
For the series, Benjy Brooke serves as supervising director, and it is executive produced by Chris Prynoski, Antonio Canobbio, Shannon Prynoski, and Ben Kalina for Titmouse. It will also be co-executive produced by Sean Buckelew and James Merrill for Green Street Pictures.


Netflix Renews The Witcher For A Second Season

About a month ahead of its slated first season premiere, Netflix has already announced the renewal for a second season of The Witcher. According to the streaming service, The Witcher Season 2 will begin production in early 2020 in London for a planned debut in 2021.
Henry Cavill (Geralt of Rivia), Anya Chalotra (Yennefer Of Vengerberg) and Freya Allan (Ciri) are confirmed to return for the second season, which will also consist of eight (8) episodes just like the first season.

Geralt’s adventure is only beginning….
The Witcher has been renewed for Season 2! pic.twitter.com/6iPrUFeujI
â€” Netflix US (@netflix) November 13, 2019
Hissrich has previously mentioned that she has plans for seven seasons of The Witcher, so this is a great step towards making that a reality.
The Witcher is slated to release on 20 December 2019.
The Witcher showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich said in a tweet:

“Iâ€™m so thrilled to announce: Geralt, Yennefer, and Ciri will be back for more adventures… in Season Two.
I could not be more proud of what the amazing cast and crew of The Witcher have accomplished, and canâ€™t wait for the world to dig in and enjoy these stories with us.”


QuakeCon Is Going Online This Year; Thanks COVID-19

Bad news: QuakeCon 2020 this year will not be held offline. Good news: it will be done online from 8th to 10th August GMT+8 starting at 0:00.
Dubbed QuakeCon At Home, the 25th iteration of the id Software-slash-Bethesda-slash-Quake-slash-Doom-related event will be the first time the convention will be hosted online. The livestream will be called QuakeCon Digital Welcome Global Super Stream (a mouthful, FYI) and will feature the following:

QuakeCon Twitch Team and the community playing games to raise money for COVID-19 relief efforts.
The Quake Pro League 2019-2020 finals, with 24 players fighting to get the huge share of the US$150,000 prize pool.
Exclusive swag for online purchasing, like these cute cat and dog t-shirts.

As a cat person, the one on the left speaks to me. Full schedules for QuakeCon will be revealed in the coming weeks. In the meantime,bookmark the website and Twitch pageso that you can tune in 8th August for the big show.


Call Of Duty Black Ops Cold War PC Specs Revealed

Publisher Activision and developers Treyarch and Raven Software have released a new trailer for the PC version of Call Of Duty Black Ops Cold War, including the game’s PC specifications.
Developer Beenox worked on the PC version of Call Of Duty Black Ops Cold War to bring the following features:
4K Graphics and Uncapped FramerateRTX Shadows and Ambient OcclusionNVIDIA DLSS and Reflex TechnologyUltrawide and Multi-Monitor SupportCrossplay with other platforms (PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S)
Check out the PC specs below:

Minimum Specifications
Here are the minimum specs needed to play Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War:
OS: Windows 7 64-Bit (SP1) or Windows 10 64-Bit (v.1803 or higher)
CPU: Intel Core i3-4340 or AMD FX-6300
RAM: 8GB RAM
HDD (at launch): 50GB (MP only), 175GB (all game modes)
Video: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670 / GeForce GTX 1650 or Radeon HD 7950
DirectX 12 compatible system Required
Broadband Internet Connection Required
Recommended Specifications
Here are recommended Specs to run at 60FPS in most situations with all options set to medium:
OS: Windows 10 64 Bit (latest update)
CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K or AMD Ryzen R5 1600X processor
RAM: 12GB RAM
HDD (at launch): 175GB HD space
Video: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 / GTX 1660 Super or Radeon R9 390 / AMD RX 580
DirectX 12 compatible system Required
Broadband Internet Connection Required
Recommended Specifications (Ray Tracing)
Here are the recommended specs for use with Ray Tracing enabled:
OS: Windows 10 64 Bit (latest update)
CPU: Intel i7-8700K or AMD Ryzen 1800X
RAM: 16GB RAM
HDD (at launch): 175GB HD space
Video: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070
DirectX 12 compatible system Required
Broadband Internet Connection Required
Competitive Specifications
Here are the competitive specs to run at a high FPS for use with a high refresh monitor:
OS: Windows 10 64 Bit (latest update)
CPU: Intel i7-8700K or AMD Ryzen 1800X
RAM: 16GB RAM
HDD (at launch): 175GB HD space
Video: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 / RTX 3070 or Radeon RX Vega64 Graphics
DirectX 12 compatible system Required
Broadband Internet Connection Required
Ultra RTX Specifications
Here are the Ultra RTX specs to run the game at a high FPS in 4K resolution with Ray Tracing enabled:
OS: Windows 10 64 Bit (latest Update)
CPU: Intel i9-9900K or AMD Ryzen 3700X
RAM: 16GB RAM
HDD (at launch): 250GB HD space
Video: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080
DirectX 12 compatible system Required
Broadband Internet Connection Required


Mortal Kombat 1 Lin Kuei Trailer Features Playable Smoke & Rain

The latest NetherRealm Studios livestream made a bunch of new reveals for the upcoming 2D fighting game Mortal Kombat 1.
The recent livestream showed off new ninja stars: Smoke and Rain. The two Mortal Kombat veterans will be playable in Mortal Kombat 1. In addition, robot ninjas Cyrax and Sektor, and female ice ninja Frost are revealed as new Kameo Fighters in the Kameo roster.
Smoke is clad in grey garments & still has his trademark smoke attacks (along with a bunch of ninja knives), but Rain looks like a completely different character. He now uses a magic staff to dish out his water moves; water-bending, if you will.
Kameo Fighter Cyrax has sawblades coming out of his chest and also explodes as a timed move, while Sektor has his patented teleport uppercut and rockets. Frost has ice moves as fast assists. You can check out all that and more in the new trailer below, along with one of Smoke’s Fatalities.

Mortal Kombat 1 will be out on 19 September for PC, Xbox Series, and PlayStation 5.


Here’s Everything That Was Announced In The PokÃ©mon Stream

The PokÃ©mon Company held a special PokÃ©mon Press Conference live stream earlier today, in which they announced various new PokÃ©mon-related content arriving in the near future. However, none of these new content is related to the upcoming PokÃ©mon Sword and Shield, as that is reserved for another Direct-style live stream next week on 5 June 2019.
Let’s take a look at what’s new for PokÃ©mon fans:
Detective Pikachu For The Nintendo Switch

The original Detective Pikachu initially launched for the Nintendo 3DS worldwide in 2018. It recently received a live-action Hollywood adaptation, which is now also the best-reviewed live-action video game movie of all time (check out our review of Detective Pikachu here).
The PokÃ©mon Company has announced that Detective Pikachu will be coming to the Nintendo Switch. However, no release date or details regarding improvements/differences in the Switch version have been revealed as of yet. More information will surely be coming soon.
PokÃ©mon Home

The first new major announcement during the PokÃ©mon live stream was PokÃ©mon Home, which is a cloud-based service allowing players to store and share their PokÃ©mon across platforms.
This new service will work with PokÃ©mon Go on mobile (Android and iOS), PokÃ©mon Let’s Go Eevee/Pikachu and PokÃ©mon Sword/Shield on the Nintendo Switch, and PokÃ©mon Bank on the Nintendo 3DS.
It will also feature social functionality by allowing players to also trade PokÃ©mon with other users around the world or in their immediate vicinity all from the comfort of their smartphones or devices.
It is expected to arrive sometime in early 2020. This announcement has massive ramifications for the PokÃ©mon brand, as it will provide players with an almost seamless experience of transferring their PokÃ©mon to any game and platform. This will be an absolute game-changer, to say the least.
PokÃ©mon Go Plus Plus

PokÃ©mon Go Plus Plus (yes, that’s really its official name) is a new device similar to that of the previously-released PokÃ©mon Go Plus, allowing players to connect to the PokÃ©mon Go mobile game, store PokÃ©mon inside (just like a PokÃ© Ball), earn candy as they walk, and alert them to nearby PokÃ© Stops /wild PokÃ©mon.
It is slated to launch sometime in 2020, with more details to be announced at a later date. Interestingly, the new device is made to work with a new mobile app called PokÃ©mon Sleep (more on that below).
PokÃ©mon Sleep

PokÃ©mon Sleep is well, a PokÃ©mon mobile app that essentially plays itself while you’re sleeping. According to the official description, it “aims to turn sleeping into entertainment by having a playerâ€™s time spent sleeping, and the time they wake up, affect the gameplay.”
That sounds like a bizarre concept, which sounds crazy enough to work. PokÃ©mon Sleep will also connect with the newly-announced PokÃ©mon Go Plus Plus as the new device will feature an embedded accelerometer to track a userâ€™s time sleeping and send this information to their smartphone via Bluetooth.
PokÃ©mon Sleep is expected to arrive sometime in 2020. More details will follow in the future, but right now The PokÃ©mon Company is celebrating this announcement by giving PokÃ©mon Go players the opportunity to capture a Snorlax that’s lying down in a deep sleep starting from today.
PokÃ©mon Masters

PokÃ©mon Masters is a new mobile game for Android and iOS devices coming later this year. It’s the closest thing yet to a mainline and traditional PokÃ©mon game for mobile platforms, as it will feature a collection of the seriesâ€™ trainers and their main signature PokÃ©mon.
All we know so far is that players will engage in 3v3 battles in PokÃ©mon Masters and that it is being developed by Japanese company DeNa. Details remain scarce as of now, but The PokÃ©mon Company promises more information about the new mobile game next month in June 2019.

That’s all the major announcements from the PokÃ©mon stream earlier today. All of this seems to be The PokÃ©mon Company’s massive act of expanding the brand’s potential on mobile platforms, three years after PokÃ©mon Go originally launched and took the world by storm in 2016.
The PokÃ©mon brand has arguably never been bigger than it is now, with multiple projects in development on various platforms, and even live-action movie adaptations. Before PokÃ©mon Go, this would all have seemed impossible, if not insane. It just goes to show the enormous global appeal and power of the PokÃ©mon brand.


Boba Fett Is Returning To Star Wars In The Mandalorian Season 2

Ever since The Mandalorian began streaming, many Star Wars fans have been wondering whether the legendary bounty hunter Boba Fett will be popping up on the Disney Plus exclusive series. That question has now been answered, as one of the most iconic characters in the franchise is officially set to return.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Boba Fett will appear in The Mandalorian Season 2, played by none other than actor Temuera Morrison, best known for portraying Jango Fett in 2002’s Star Wars Episode II: Attack Of The Clones.

Morrison is expected to play a minor role in The Mandalorian Season 2 as Boba Fett. Actor Jeremy Bulloch was the one who originally portrayed Boba Fett in the Original Trilogy films, but is now 75 years old and has since retired.

The character was initially teased in The Mandalorian Season 1 Episode 5 “The Gunslinger,” when a mysterious figure with Boba Fett’s iconic spurs approached the lifeless (or unconscious) Fennec Shand (played by Ming-Na Wen).
Star Wars fans will know that Temuera Morrison is the best person to play Boba Fett once again. In franchise lore, Boba Fett is a clone of bounty hunter Jango Fett, whom the latter adopted and raised as his son and successor.
Boba Fett has long been considered dead for much of Star Wars canon since his apparent demise at the tentacles of the Sarlacc in 1983’s Star Wars Episode VI: Return Of The Jedi. However, in the now non-canon novel Tales Of The Bounty Hunters from 1996, he managed to survive the Sarlacc after killing it with a thermal detonator and being nursed back to health by fellow bounty hunter Dengar.

It remains to be seen how Boba Fett managed to survive the Sarlacc in the new canon, but we’ll learn soon enough when The Mandalorian Season 2 debuts sometime in October 2020.
In the meantime, head on over here for my article on why the future of Star Wars belongs on TV.


Ghostrunner Gets A Hardcore Mode Update For You Tough Nuts Out There

If you feel that this year’s finest cyberpunk-themed first-person ninja parkour game Ghostrunner is too easy, and it isn’t by any stretch, you’ll appreciate this week’s update of the game.
Starting today, a free Hardcore Mode update is available right now for PC players along with a paid cosmetic download “Winter Pack” to keep with the December festivities. Hardcore Mode features altered levels and tougher/more enemies, so seasoned Ghostrunners should take a stab at it if they feel the base game is easy enough.
The Christmas pack includes the “Cold Snap Katana” and matching crimson “Cold Blood Glove” for US$1.99. Hardcore Mode will be available for PS4 and Xbox One on 17th December; it’ll be out on Nintendo Switch by 14th January 2021.


Battlefield 2042 Will Be Fixing Its Rubberbanding Issues Before Launch

EA and DICE will be patching up Battlefield 2042 before its official launch.
After seeing feedback during the game’s early access first week, the devs will be working on a patch to fix the game’s rubber-banding issues, especially when they’re happening in All-Out Warfare mode. It’s a problem as old as online multiplayer time in the late 90s to even now, where players snap between two positions back and forth (hence, rubberband) due to lag thanks to high latency and/or packet loss. Yes, even with a LAN cable connection, big PvP shooter games do tend to have these issues even with top-notch servers.
The patch will have server-side upgrades to reduce it, as well as sort out the stuttering issues during Breakaway.

We have spent our day investigating the reported instances of Rubber Banding that most commonly appear on All-Out Warfare
? This is an issue occurring on our side, and we're all over it
Thanks for helping report this to us. We'll keep you updated on our Known Issues page ?? https://t.co/TejNjR68HF pic.twitter.com/yFcAwvKRDW
— Battlefield Direct Communication (@BattlefieldComm) November 16, 2021

EA and DICE will be issuing two further updates within the next 30 days after launch, featuring more substantial fixes and improvements. Battlefield 2042 will officially launch on 19th November. Stay tuned for our review in the next few days, because it’s an online game and we’ll need time to play with lots of people on the field before giving our final judgment.


Monster Hunter Rise Guide: Basic and Advanced Wirebug Techniques

Monster Hunter Rise has made hunting dangerous wildlife even more exciting with anew core mechanic called the Wirebug. With the help of a tiny glowing insect that can apparently carry even the heaviest of humans, the Wirebug is a handy pseudo-grappling hook that can be used anywhere and anytime.
The Wirebug provides all kinds of tricks at your disposal. You can quickly recover from a fall, put some distance between yourself and a monster, or use it to close in and press the advantage. You can even use it to stun monsters. However, monsters have also become faster and deadlier than ever in Rise, meaning that youâ€™ll have to master all the intricacies of the Wirebug to come out on top.
The Wirebug requires a complex combination of buttons to pull off all its different actions. Weâ€™ll teach you the key components of the Wirebug so that youâ€™ll be able to take down the monsters of Kamura in style.
The Basics of Movement (Wiredashing)

Monster Hunter Rise pops the lid wide open when it comes to freedom of movement thanks to the Wirebug. To access the Wirebug, hold the ZL button while your weapon is unsheathed (press the Y button if a weapon is drawn). Youâ€™ll see a reticule appear onscreen, meaning that you now have access to the Wiredash feature.
ZL + ZR
If youâ€™ve played a modern shooter, youâ€™ll no doubt feel at home here. Like pulling the trigger on a gun, pressing ZR will throw the Wirebug where the reticule is pointed and hoist the Hunter in that direction. For most players, this is the recommended way for traversal since this it offers the greatest control over the verticality and horizontality of your movements. This can be used both on the ground and while airborne.
ZL + A
Monster Hunter already has a roll, but what if you wanted something more? Using ZL + A allows you to dash quickly in a horizontal direction and even further than you can with a roll. Given how many monsters have wide sweeping attacks, it always helps to be able to put that small extra distance between yourself and danger.
ZL + X
In a way, this is your jump button. Hitting ZL + X will have the Hunter pull themself into the air with the Wirebug. This airborne state is similar to if you were using ZL + ZR, but without the hassle of aiming your reticule.
Airborne Basics

So youâ€™ve used your Wirebug and are now in mid-air. What next, you might ask? A lot of things, actually! Whether youâ€™re playing it safe or trying to be aggressive, there are plenty of options to try out.
Direction + B
Other games have double jumps, but in Rise, we evade sideways for more air time. The direction of your evade can be controlled with the left analog stick. Besides using it to prolong your time in the air, you can also use it for better positioning or getting out of harmâ€™s way.
A
With the help of the Wirebug, you can stop yourself mid-air by hanging down from the little critter. You can use it to pause and survey your surroundings, or to give yourself some time to replenish your stamina. To exit this state, you can either press B to drop down/evade or hold ZL to perform a Wirebug command. Keep in mind that you cannot use this technique after an air evade.
X
Like any old Monster Hunter game, you can press X while airborne to deliver a powerful blow from above. What more do we need to say?
ZL + A
Being in the air can be fun, but it sometimes also leaves you wide open to attacks. By using ZL + A, the Hunter will toss the Wirebug towards the ground to quickly zip downwards. This is by far the best way for you to get back to solid land ASAP, especially compared to falling the usual way.
ZL + X
While airborne, using ZL + X will allow you to lunge forward horizontally. This is great for reaching longer distances in the air that a typical evade wonâ€™t cover.
ZL + B (after getting hit)
Getting swatted by a monsterâ€™s tail never feels great. Itâ€™s even scarier if your Hunter is still busy eating dirt when the monsterâ€™s already ready to get its second hit in. Well, if you have a Wirebug gauge, then you can use ZL + B to instantly recover from a hit and escape danger. This action will also automatically sheathe your weapon, giving you a head start with potions to recover your lost health.
Skillbind Arts

As we mentioned earlier, Wirebugs can also incapacitate monsters thanks to a technique called Skillbind. Skillbind techniques are attacks which combine weapons with the Wirebug to slowly coat a monster in its unique silk. Each weapon has its own set of Skillbind attacks which can only be performed when the weapon is drawn.
Once youâ€™ve accumulated enough Skillbind attacks on a monster, theyâ€™ll be incapacitated, giving you an opening to mount them (Wyvern Riding).
ZL + X or ZL + A (melee)
Depending on whether you use ZL + X or ZL + A, the type of attack that comes out may appear quite different. Pay attention to your Wirebug gauge while performing these commands, as they consume either one or two gauges. Naturally, the attack consuming more gauges will be more effective, but comes with a higher risk, and vice versa.
R + X or R + A (ranged)
If you have a ranged weapon drawn, the ZL button will be reserved for aiming down your weapon. Because of this, youâ€™ll have to hold the R button down instead to access the Wirebug functionality. R + X and R + A will both result in different Skillbind attacks, working similarly to the melee versions of the technique. This sudden change in control scheme can be awkward and confusing, but thankfully itâ€™s a small exception that can be overcome with a small bit of practice.
Wyvern Riding
After enough Skillbind attacks have been used on a monster, they’ll be momentarily downed. Interacting with the monster in this state will then activate the mounted state called Wyvern Riding. You will have complete control of the monster for a brief period, but once this duration ends, you’ll have to wait for an extended hidden cooldown before being able to mount the monster again.
Advanced Tricks

Wall Climbing Like a Ninja
Wall climbing is turning out to be one of the coolest traversal techniques in Monster Hunter Rise, so here’s how you can perform it properly.
To start climbing walls, initiate a Wiredash command (ZL + ZR or similar) while facing a surface. This uses up one Wirebug gauge, but you Hunter will automatically begin climbing after the command. Next, hold sprint (R button) to start running up the wall. You can use the left stick to control whether your Hunter runs upwards or sideways. This will continue for a fixed duration or until you run out of stamina.
But what if you wanted to keep going?
You can press B to hop off the wall, or keep sprinting until the Hunter jumps off automatically. Once youâ€™re airborne, you can execute a Wiredash to return to the wall and resume climbing. If youâ€™re running low on stamina, you can hang midair with the A button. This allows you to rest up for a bit before Wiredashing back to the wall. Since Monster Hunter Rise features biomes with lots of verticality, you’ll no doubt be using this trick quite often.
Look Out Below!

There isnâ€™t a Monster Hunter fan out there who doesnâ€™t know about Barrel Bombs and the satisfaction that comes from their explosions. If youâ€™re looking for more of that in Rise, you might be interested in this brand-new way of setting up Barrel Bombs.
After going airborne with the Wirebug, use a Barrel Bomb to have your Hunter toss one directly downward, after which itâ€™ll explode upon contact with the ground. Not only is this technique great for landing a hit on an unsuspecting monster, it also lets your Hunter to linger a little while longer in the air to replenish your Wirebug gauge.
Swing Like Spider-Man
Swinging is one other traversal technique that will no doubt see a lot of use in Monster Hunter Rise. There are a few different ways to swing, but the simplest way to swing without getting the controls mixed up is with the ZL + ZR command. Simply aim upwards and then execute a Wiredash. Next, use your directional stick + B to build more air time before Wiredashing again. By aiming your Wiredash upwards, you will be able to easily maintain your height. If you want to stop yourself mid-air, use the A button instead of direction + B.
The Different Ways to Mount Monsters

As you may have noticed, the old mount system of Monster Hunter has been replaced with a new system called Wyvern Riding. Before, you’d be able to perform aerial attacks on monsters and eventually mount them over several tries. However, this system has been replaced with Wyvern Riding, which places an emphasis on landing Skillbind arts instead to make monsters mountable.
Aerial attacks aren’t made completely useless. They can still put monsters in a mountable state when performed after a Wiredash. Having monsters fight each other, as well as interacting with endemic life such as Puppet Spiders will also put monsters in a mountable state.


Chocobo GP Will Feature 20+ Racers

During Square Enix’s Tokyo Game Show 2021 showcase of its upcoming racing game Chocobo GP (Mario Kart but Final Fantasy), game director Akihiko Maeda said that the game will feature 20 racers.
Maeda did not state specifically who will be in the game, but he did ask fans to chip in what Final Fantasy characters they’d like to see. Based on the trailer we’ve seen and the screenshots we have, the following characters in the roster are White Mage, Behemoth, Moogle, and Chocobo.
The racing game will also feature magic that you can level up (Fira to Firaga), and characters with specific abilities. A marker will show up on your screen when an opponent casts a spell, so that you’re given a heads up and can either get out of the way or counter with a spell like MBarrier.
Chocobo GP will be out for Nintendo Switch in 2022.


Is The World Ready For Death Stranding? Because It’s Gone Gold

Urination, babysitting, and delivery service simulator. If anyone asked me what Death Stranding is about, those are some of the words I would use to describe it. Now, I can also add “finished” to that list.
In one of Kojima Productions’ latest tweets, we can see Hideo Kojima and his team celebrating the completion of Death Stranding‘s development. Developers and other personnel from Sony and Guerilla were also thanked for their contributions in bringing to life Kojima’s weird game that will be undoubtedly praised by at least some of his loyal fans despite them not really understanding it.

DEATH STRANDING is complete and has gone gold!! Hideo Kojima, the Kojima Productions team, everyone at Sony and Guerrilla, cast members; all put their heart and soul into it. Thanks for your support, we canâ€™t wait to bring you a new â€œA HIDEO KOJIMA GAMEâ€. Play it on Nov 8th!! pic.twitter.com/Nj73oGG05p
â€” Kojima Productions (@KojiPro2015_EN) September 26, 2019

In case you forgot, the first Death Stranding trailer debuted at E3 2016. Judging by that, it’s safe to assume that the game began development sometime in 2015 after Kojima left (or was sacked by) Konami. Games usually go through a development cycle lasting 4 to 5 years so I’m quite surprised Kojima didn’t stretch it to 7 years due to how ambitious it looks.
Only a game made by Kojima can have the entire world still feeling confused even after showing almost one hour of gameplay footage. I’m not someone who can get excited about things I don’t understand, even if it’s coming from a creator I adore.
Death Stranding comes out 8 November 2019 exclusively for the PS4. There might be PC version in the future but that’s not confirmed.


Spider-Man PS4 Is Getting Post-Game DLC; Game’s Not Even Out Yet

Talk about a premature web ejection of business knowhow, eh Insomniac Games, PlayStation, and Marvel? Marvel’s Spider-Man for PS4 is not out yet until 7th September, and already we have announcements for post-game DLC content. Jeez Louise…
According to PlayStation’s latest tweet, the first Spider-Man DLC package is called “The City That Never Sleeps” and features three chapters worth of new story missions, challenges, enemies, and suits to unlock. It’ll also involve Spider-Man’s rival-slash-love-interest Black Cat/Felicia Hardy. If this is going to be an exact replica of the Catwoman bits in the Batman Arkham games, my eyes are going to roll to the back of my head so hard I’ll fold inside out from the force.

#SpiderManPS4’s first DLC drops October 23: https://t.co/WMsKI4RNXO Across three chapters, experience new story missions, challenges, enemies, and suits to unlock pic.twitter.com/ORZbRSrcHE
— PlayStation (@PlayStation) August 28, 2018

Here’s the chapter breakdown and their respective release dates.

October 23:Â Marvelâ€™s Spider-Man: The Heist
November 2018:Â Marvelâ€™s Spider-Man: Turf Wars
December 2018:Â Marvelâ€™s Spider-Man: Silver Lining

Is PlayStation and Marvel generous enough to offer this DLC free of charge even though you’ve paid full price for the full Spider-Man experience? Hell no: the bundle will cost you US$24.99. If you want it separately, that’s US$9.99 per chapter. And yes there’s a pre-order incentive where if you pay US$79.99 in advance for the Digital Deluxe Edition, you’ll get the full game plus all three installments, as well as some pre-order bonus content and a physical Spidey pin for your FOMO panic attack loyalty.
If you have any iota of sense, why not just wait and see if the full game is worth your time before spending an additional US$24.99 for a bunch of new stages that may not entice you if you’re just a casual Spider-Man fan? I’d be less peeved about this if they announced this at launch instead of jumping the gun and securing pre-order KPIs and monetary greed.
Anyway, check out more Kakuchopurei Spider-Man write-ups here.Â
https://www.facebook.com/kakuchopurei/videos/1519704324800644/


Does Far Cry 6 Put The Rev In Revolucion?

Platform(s): PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PC
Genre: FPS, Open-World
At this point, the Far Cry franchise has been running for almost two decades now, but the open-world FPS formula has pretty much stayed the same. The series arguably reached its peak with 2012’s Far Cry 3 (and its spinoff, Far Cry 3 Blood Dragon)Â and Ubisoft has been trying (and failing) to reach that same height ever since.
2014’s Far Cry 4 was forgettable, while 2018’s Far Cry 5 streamlined and polished the gameplay experience further but didn’t really take many risks and preferred to play it the same. The less said about Far Cry Primal and Far Cry New Dawn, the better.
This time, Far Cry 6 brings us to the fictional South American island of Yara ruled by a fascist dictator named Anton Castillo (portrayed by the amazing Giancarlo Esposito of Breaking Bad‘s Gus Fring and The Mandalorian‘s Moff Gideon fame). The setting of a revolution and uprising against a tyrannical ruler feels similar to Far Cry 4, but fortunately, Ubisoft has injected the game with a lot more personality and style in comparison.
Going Guerilla

One of the biggest criticisms about Far Cry 5 was its silent unnamed protagonist. It was terrible because not only did it limit the potential of the narrative by making a lot of the dialogue one-sided and awkward, but it also made for a bland protagonist with all the personality of cardboard. In Far Cry 6, I chose the female version of Dani Rojas (who is voiced by Nisa Gunduz), and she really reminds me a lot of Assassin’s Creed Odyssey‘s Kassandra.
Having a voiced protagonist with her own motivations and personality makes a huge difference in making the narrative more engaging for players, and a strong female character like Dani Rojas is definitely appreciated.
The game claims that male and female Dani are both canons. However, it’s clear from the game’s own marketing campaign and promotional material that the female Dani is given more of a spotlight.
It probably doesn’t help that the male version of Dani looks so generic and plain compared to the female Dani.
Still, I should warn you that Far Cry 6‘s plot and narrative aren’t much to talk about, despite the casting of Giancarlo Esposito as Anton Castillo and Pixar’s Coco actor Anthony Gonzales as his son, Diego Castillo, as well as the game’s politically-charged anti-establishment setting. It’s disappointing that Ubisoft chose to once again play it safe, with a rushed and abrupt ending towards the game’s climax.
It took me more than 35 hours to finish the game’s story, and for the bulk of that duration, I was busy spending most of my time going from region to region trying to recruit the game’s various rebel groups and getting to know a variety of characters who hail from these groups.

Admittedly, this cast of characters from different rebel groups can be memorable and great to spend time with, but some of them drag on way too long. As a result, you don’t really spend time with several important characters, including Giancarlo Esposito’s Anton Castillo and Anthony Gonzales’s Diego Castillo. With how much effort Ubisoft spends trying to promote them, it’s funny that you spend so little time with them. I only received a cutscene or two featuring these two characters every time I reached a certain point in a rebel group’s specific storyline.
The two Castillos don’t get as much development as one would expect, and the climax feels a lot more rushed as a result, despite the fact I spent more than 30 hours spreading the spirit of revolution throughout Yara. My advice? Lower your expectations if you want to buy Far Cry 6 for character development.
Both still make great use of what little time they have onscreen, especially, and unsurprisingly, Giancarlo Esposito’s Anton Castillo. At this point, it’s like this man was born to play incredible villains and antagonists, and his performance in this role is definitely another notch in his long career.
Guns And Chickens

I haven’t even touched on Far Cry 6‘s gameplay yet. As I previously mentioned above, Far Cry 5 did a lot to streamline and improve the franchise’s gameplay. Far Cry 6 took a lot from that game, alongside introducing its own many improvements. Firstly, the biggest gameplay change of all is the absence of any skill trees or unlockable perk mechanics whatsoever. No longer will you accumulate experience points just to unlock more skills or perks. Instead, Far Cry 6 puts a lot of emphasis on gear and weapons.
In actuality, players in Far Cry 6 do still gain experience points to increase their Rank levels. Each Rank level will unlock more weapons and gear, which can either be discovered or purchased at any of the game’s many NPC vendors. The progress mechanic relies a lot on the stats of your weapons (damage, accuracy, etc.) and the perks you get via armour pieces (which includes separate pieces for the head, chest, gloves, legs and wrists).
However, a majority of the perks activated via the armour pieces you wear are passive in nature, like the ability to endure more fire damage or to reduce movement noise for stealth. Only a few still offer useful manual abilities like enabling players to use an enemy’s sidearm immediately after a stealth takedown to chain it with a ranged takedown using that sidearm.
Previously, customization felt a bit redundant, due to the fact that you wonâ€™t see what you are wearing until your character dies onscreen. Now they serve a purpose since each of them now has a specific perk or trait, and that’s not all. Now that there are in-engine cinematic cutscenes in Far Cry 6, you can actually see your character this time in them, wearing whatever you’ve customized them with. It makes the game that much more immersive.
Weapons are now essential to making it out alive in Far Cry 6. In the entire franchise, Far Cry 6 felt like the most difficult one yet, as I died so much more in this game than in previous games. This is at the default normal difficulty, mind you. Combat is extremely intense and kept me on my toes.
Not only are the enemy AI the most aggressive they’ve ever been in a Far Cry game to date, you actually need to keep getting better weapons and strategize to excel in combat. Why? Because of some of its weapon & equipment system changes.

Far Cry 6 features a system with several types of damage categories. The simplest is fire damage, which is obviously the damage you get from getting burnt, but there are others. Blast damage is damage from explosions. Soft target damage is the damage you get from normal ammo, while armour piercing damage is what you get from armour piercing ammo.
You can mitigate the amount of damage from specific types of damage by wearing particular armour pieces. Vice versa, you also need armour piercing ammo to deal with enemies with thick armour and blast ammo to deal with tanks or vehicles. Using normal ammo against armoured enemies and vehicles will deal little to no damage. Thus, this encourages players to switch weapons often.
Plus, with different stats, you’ll need to keep obtaining better weapons. In previous Far Cry titles, I rarely had a reason to change weapons. This time, getting new weapons actually means something. Far Cry 6 also features a decently robust customization system for weapons. Each weapon (except unique ones) can be upgraded by modding them with scopes and different ammo types, as well as charms and skins. This is where the game’s resource system comes into play.
There are actually a lot of different resource types in Far Cry 6. So much so that it will feel confusing and overwhelming at first. What do I even need Gasolina and Medicine for? Metal and Parts? Well, some of them are used to improve weapons, others to build buildings with specific purposes and some to improve your Supremo. The game introduces a new Supremo mechanic, which is basically a backpack that comes with unique weapons and abilities. During combat, you’ll charge up your Supremo meter and once full, you can unleash your Supremo’s ability. The first Supremo in the game launches missiles into the air which lock onto enemies, while another Supremo will spew poison gas or allow you to unleash a berserker Machete mode.
You’ll gain these resources by taking over enemy outposts. Yes, outposts are still here because like I said, this is still the same old Far Cry game at heart. Thankfully though, outposts aren’t just the same generic repeated bases from previous titles. I mean, the smaller outposts in Far Cry 6 are called Checkpoints and they’re just toll booths you need to clear out.
FND Outposts are more like the traditional outposts with alarms and a bunch of enemies scattered around. While most FND Outposts were factories and the like, some had unique settings like a school or even a farm.
Animal Farm

The basic gameplay loop in Far Cry 6 is that there are three main regions of the Yara map. Each region features a certain rebel group that you’ll have to recruit by doing story missions. As you progress, the region’s Rank requirement will get higher, which means that you’ll have to do side stuff like FND Outposts, Checkpoints and side missions like Yara Stories to increase your Rank and get better weapons. That’s how the level-gating in the game works.
One of my favourite new mechanics in Far Cry 5 and Far Cry New Dawn was the Guns For Hire/Fangs For Hire companion system, which enables players to summon an NPC to help in combat. Far Cry 5 had a whopping 12 companions to choose from, which is why it’s a bit disappointing that Ubisoft has clearly downgraded the mechanic in Far Cry 6.
Far Cry 6 doesn’t have human companions at all. Instead, it only features half of the number of companions available in Far Cry 5, and all of them are animals now. Sure, animals make for the best companions to spice up the gameplay, but I miss the human companions, some of whom were actually great in combat. Far Cry 5 had a bear, a cougar, a dog and humans (one who will provide air support for the player and even deliver airstrikes from above while another is an expert marksman who uses her sniper rifle to pick off enemies from afar).

Far Cry 6 only has 6 companions (they’re called Amigos and all of them are animals), and three of them are dogs. One is a crocodile, one is a rooster chicken and another is a black jaguar. I was also disappointed to learn that this mechanic has been scaled back somewhat in Far Cry 6, as players are now only limited to one companion at a time.
What’s an open-world game without ridable vehicles? The usual ones are here, including cars, motorbikes, helicopters, planes, boats, and even tanks. However, what’s new in Far Cry 6 is the ability to ride horses in first-person mode. Honestly, it actually works much better than I expected, to the point that I would prefer to ride a horse to get to places if they’re not far away.
The horse-riding in Far Cry 6 even feels better than the ones in the new Assassin’s Creed games like Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. The AC teams could use some pointers in this regard from the FC teams.
As for other mechanics, fishing and time attack racing course both return in Far Cry 6. There’s also a cockfighting minigame that plays like an actual fighting game, where you choose a rooster and fighting other roosters in matches. If that’s not your cup of tea, you don’t have to worry because the game doesn’t force you to play these minigames (unlike, cough, Lost Judgment, cough). You can even go all the way from the beginning to the end of the game without participating in any of these minigames.
Cry Freedom

Simply put, if you like the previous Far Cry games, youâ€™ll like Far Cry 6. Iâ€™d say that people play Far Cry games for their gameplay and not for their story or narrative complexity. If you want more of Ubisoft’s trademark chaos-instilling and explosives-filled action, then Far Cry 6 is the game for you. In the grand Far Cry pantheon, I’ll put this slightly above Far Cry 5 since it reiterates and improves an already surefire open-world action game, adding in a much-needed new locale & flair.
Pros

Beautiful and lush visuals.
Satisfying shooting & first-person gameplay.
Unique and customizable weapons.
Colourful characters & antagonists, especially the protagonist.
Horse-riding feels great in the first person.

Cons

The story & narrative feel rushed & sparse, especially at the end.
Some gameplay changes & saving mechanics feel like downgrades.

Final Score: 80/100
Review copy provided by Ubisoft. Played on PS5.


Now Everyone Can Play As A Samurai In For Honor’s Free Weekend

Ubisoft has announced that For Honor will kick off a free weekend for the PS4, Xbox One and PC. Free Weekend players will have full access to the Standard Edition of For Honor, which includes the story mode, all multiplayer game modes, 26 heroes, and 30 maps.
Starting today, For Honor will be free to download and play until 28 July 2020 at 4am GMT+8 for PC on both Uplay and Steam. Meanwhile, those on the PS4 and Xbox One will be able to play for free until 27 July 2020 at 2.59pm GMT+8.
Players who want to keep battling after the weekend ends can carry on their progression and heroes to the full version of For Honor, which will be available to purchase for up to 80 percent off on Steam (until 27 July 2020), Uplay (until 30 July 2020), Xbox One
(until 3 August 2020) and PS4 (until 20 August 2020 at 12am GMT+8).
Additionally, For Honor just kicked off A Tyrantâ€™s Test, an evolution of the fan-favourite Test Your Metal PvE game mode that will unleash some of For Honorâ€™s darkest heroes. This event will lead into the release of a large Title Update on 6 August 2020, which will add the new Warmonger Hero.

Players will be able to unlock the new Hero either by purchasing it on the first-party store as part of a package including new Hero, 1 exclusive Ornament, 1 Elite Outfit, seven days of Champion Status or only the Hero with 15,000 steel on 20 August 2020.
Head on over here to start your For Honor free weekend now.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCV75kf2unw&w=560&h=315]


Check Out This Mock-Up Secondary Jersey For Overwatch World Cup Team Malaysia

Team Malaysia‘s preparations for the upcoming Overwatch World Cup are well underway as the first draft mock-up for the secondary jersey is now available. There are two variant color schemes for now, which includes orange/black and yellow/black.
At the moment, the Thundercats logo and Malaysian Airlines brand are just stand-ins for the to-be-confirmed official logo for the Overwatch World Cup Team Malaysia and brands. This is just as a proof-of-concept to show where their intended placements will be on the jersey’s design.
To clarify, these are not the finalized designs, but you can take part in a poll to choose color schemes of the secondary jersey you would prefer in the tweet below.

So assuming you get to customize it with your own gamertag (printed on the back) – which color combination would you prefer the shirt to be in?
â€” Kenn (@kennleandre) June 30, 2019
Check out the mock-up secondary jersey for the Overwatch World Cup Team Malaysia below.
Orange/Black
Yellow/Black
In the meantime, head on over to this link if you want to help design the official logo for Overwatch World Cup Team Malaysia. Or head here to find out how you can represent Malaysia at the Overwatch World Cup.


A Soulcalibur History Of Ivy Valentine’s Fashion Sense, Or Lack Thereof

In case you missed it, Bandai Namco has announced that Ivy Valentine and some guy in a white cloak will be in Soulcalibur VI. Here’s a trailer for you to check out:

If this is your first time seeing this lady in action, you’re probably thinking whether her dress sense has a place in 2018. Yeah, Ivy’s outfit does leave little to the imagination but to be fair, her fashion sense has seen its low points in the past series.
Plus, she wouldn’t be an iconic Soulcalibur character if she didn’t look like how she was and is now, snake sword and all. Even the fan wiki page stated so:
“Since her first appearance, she has become one of the most recognizable and iconic characters in the franchise, mainly due to her snake sword, large breasts, revealing clothing, and silver hair. “
To pay tribute to the return of Soulcalibur’s titular lady in purple, let’s take a look back at her outfits in past Soulcalibur games; from the late 90s until now. Set your cringe-o-meter to max, if you have to.
Soulcalibur (1998)

The first draft definitely felt drafty for her. The purple colour, the left arm pauldron; clearly she’s dressed for battle and protecting what counts.
Snide remarks aside, Bandai Namco kept true to her OG outfit for part VI. I personally dig the simplicity of this outfit that reflects the disturbed and broken nature of this character. Let’s also not forget her more classed-up 2P outfit.

So how did her ensemble (d)evolve over the years? Let’s go to exhibit B.
Soulcalibur II (2002)

It turns out that the 16th century did have a black market silicon implant operation, because almost all the women in this entry are stacked like Canadian pancake servings. Apart from that, not much has changed though the purple shadings are of a lighter colour.
Her 2P outfit still keeps it classy. She looks like she could perform Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 21 after she’s done kicking Cervantes’ deadbeat ass.

Soulcalibur III (2005)

Boob job technology in the 16th century has come a long way, at least in this universe. Now Ivy’s clad in white with some purple-ish stripes to go along with it. I think she murdered a dragon to get those edges for her left pauldron-gauntlet hybrid.
Her 2P outfit seems on point, if she plans on going to her opponent’s funeral after multiple stabbings. Hey, if you have to mourn, might as well go all out and steal the dead show.

Soulcalibur IV (2008)

Now this is just bloody ridiculous. That dragon she probably murdered in Soulcalibur III can probably make a nest in between her comically large bosom. The grey laces on her one piece “swimsuit” are gone so now she’s showing more pale skin that needed. Her 2P outfit looks like she came out of Beverly Hills; all that’s missing is an obnoxious giant frilly hat made out of panda fur.

One wonders if at this point the series has jumped the shark. After all, Soulcalibur IV featured Yoda and Darth Vader; a clear sign that there’s not much of a direction going on in the Project Soul team. Game’s still hype as heck though.
Soulcalibur V (2012)

After many complaints, the designers decided to actually make an effort to balance Ivy’s noble upbringing and risque fashion sense into one package. Soulcalibur V’s Ivy does look better in retrospect.
It has the purple motif down pat, the lacey outfit, and a covered top half with the coat bits and the gauntlet-pauldron combo. She got the nutjob alchemist noblewoman look down pat.
Her 2P outfit on the other hand is a little too nutjob-ey, though it pays tribute to glam rock. The late-but-great David Bowie would be proud.
Image credit: 1up.com
A pity the game didn’t get much love in the pro gaming scene.
Anyway, which Ivy outfit is your favourite or your least favourite? Should Bandai Namco make an effort to cover up to class up their female ensemble in this tale of souls eternally retold? Let us know either on this post or on our Facebook page. Or Twitter too.
Need help with Soulcalibur VI? Check out our ever-growing guide, our DLC character wishlist, and this feature on custom characters of the game.


Stop What You’re Doing & Watch This Samurai Shodown Reveal NOW

You heard right, fighting game fans and SNK enthusiasts. The one true weapons-based fighting game (sorry SoulCalibur/Soul Edge & Weaponlord) is making a comeback, baby!
Don’t believe me? Take a look:

Let’s Break It Down

Is it in 2D? Yes! The game is using the Unreal Engine 4 to make it look as watercolour-esque as possible.
Is the original cast making a comeback? Hella yes! We see Haohmaru, Nakoruru, Galford & his bestest dog Poppy, Earthquake, Jubei, Ukyo, Tam Tam, Kyoshiro, Hanzo Hattori, Ginjuro (a.k.a Samurai Iori), and Charlotte.
Just like in the original, weapons-clashing will be a thing. There’s no news on whether the referee with the flags or items will return.
Also, there’s going to be a lot of blood. That’s always a plus in a weapons-based fighting game.
The game will be out in 2019. This SS’s timeline is set at 1787, the 7th year of the Tenmei era.
I’m guessing, like KOF XIV, this game is slated for the PS4 and maybe the PC in the near future. Nothing’s official yet, but my hunch about this is pretty strong.
Are Samurai Shodown V Special fatalities making a comeback? Seems like it. Check out the images via Famitsu so you can get a taste.

Welcome back, Samurai Shodown. We’ve missed you.


Gearbox & 2K Games Confirms Borderlands 3’s 13 September Release Date; Also PC Epic Store Exclusive

It’s official: Borderlands 3 is coming out 13 September for PC, PS4, and Xbox One. We’ve already suspected it, given the copious amount of leaks yesterday. The PC version will be Epic Store-exclusive; it’ll be out in other storefronts on April 2020.
The release date trailer also confirmed the names and abilities of the new Vault Hunters. To refresh your memory, Moze is the bot-jock whomÂ TitanfallÂ fans will fall in love with.Â
She can pilot her mech called Iron Bear, which also has a turret on its head that players can use. She gets more dangerous when she has friends tagging along with her.

Fl4k (formerly Flak) the cyborg is the beastmaster/pet class. I wonder if he can use multiple pets at the same time though.

Amara’s the new siren, who seems more melee-focused than her Siren predecessors. She can summon multiple ethereal arms that can do ground pounds and a ton of melee moves. She’ll be the new brawler of the group.

…and Zane’s the saboteur stealth rich dude who happens to summon his own attack drone and can summon distracting holograms. How about that? I guessed mostly right in my last write-up about this.

Which Edition Should I Get?
Borderlands 3 will have four editions. In addition to Standard which is just the game itself, there’s the following:
Borderlands 3 deluxe edition â€“ US$80

Retro Cosmetic Pack: Vault Hunter head and skin, Echo Device skin, and weapon skin.
Neon Cosmetic Pack: Vault Hunter head and skin, Echo Device skin, and weapon trinket.
Gearbox Cosmetic Pack: Weapon skin, and weapon trinket.
Toy Box Weapon Pack: Two toy guns, toy grenade mod, and weapon trinket.
XP and loot drop boost mods.

Borderlands 3 super deluxe edition â€“ US$100

All digital deluxe content.

-The Borderlands 3Â season pass, which includes:

Four campaign DLC packs with new stories, missions, and challenges.
Butt Stallion weapon skin, weapon trinket, and grenade mod.

Borderlands 3 Diamond Loot Chest collectorâ€™s edition â€“ US$250

All digital super deluxe content.
Diamond Loot Chest Replica: Featuring a functional retractable lid, this chest is perfect for storing your real-world loot.
Ten Borderlands 3 character figurines: The four new Vault Hunters, the fanatical Calypso Twins, and some of your favourite characters from the Borderlands universe (approximately 3â€ tall.).
Sanctuary 3 snap model: Construct your very own Sanctuary 3 model ship (includes stand)
Four Vault Key keychains.
Cloth galaxy map: Typhon DeLeonâ€™s map of the Borderlands.
Five character art lithographs: Unique character prints starring the new Vault Hunters and fanatical Calypso Twins.
Borderlands 3 Steelbook case: A metal case for any collectorâ€™s shelf.

Anywho, 13 September’s the date where the original loot and shoot game may or may not prove itself. Who will you main first in this new Borderlands game? Let us know either on the comments below or on Facebook.


Overwatch 2 Roadmap For Upcoming Seasons Unveiled

Blizzard has finally revealed a roadmap for Overwatch 2’s upcoming seasons in 2023. The roadmap is not very descriptive, but gives out just enough information to the fans on what they can expect this year. All this was explained on a special developer stream today. The next three seasons of content will include the arrival of PvE story missions that have been promised since 2019.

SEASON 5 ROADMAP
The centerpiece of this season is the time-limited event, Questwatch, which promises an immersive experience within the world of fantasy. While details about the event remain undisclosed, its banner image showcases a fantastical map adorned with a majestic castle, towering mountains, and a menacing evil lair, among other intriguing elements. Additionally, Season 5 will introduce an endearing canine companion through a captivating new cinematic, bring back the beloved Overwatch Summer Games, offer a mini Competitive season featuring 5v5 matches, and present a Creator Workshop for creative minds.

New Map
Questwatch (New Limited Time Event)
Mischief and Magic
New Cinematic
Summer Games Return
5v5 mini Comp season and On Fire Returns
Creator Workshop Mode Returns

SEASON 6 ROADMAP
Season 6 brings about even more exciting content, including a new and improved firing range for fans. It will also feature exciting content commemorating the one-year anniversary of Overwatch 2. Most players are hyped to see what the new hero mastery and player progression system is and how it will work. Hopefully we get more details on it soon.

New Support Hero
New Mode (Flashpoint)
Hero Mastery Added
Firing Range Added
Player Progression system Added
Overwatch 2 Anniversary Event

SEASON 7 ROADMAP
Season 7 and beyond will be marked by the arrival of an exciting new Omnic Tank hero as its standout feature. Looking ahead, the game has ambitious plans, such as a comprehensive rework for Roadhog, the introduction of a Lore Codex to enrich the game’s lore, and a reimagining of Sombra’s abilities. Furthermore, fan-favorite modes, including Competitive Mystery Heroes, will make a return, offering thrilling gameplay experiences. A brand-new Control map will join the roster, alongside a highly anticipated collaboration event that is bound to excite the community. Notably, a winter seasonal event will bring festive cheer to the game. Alongside these updates, players can look forward to more captivating cinematic debuts and the introduction of multiplayer-focused Hero Master Missions, providing unique challenges for players to conquer together.

New Tank Hero
New Collaboration Event and Limited Time Mode
New Control Map
New Winter Event
New Hero Mastery Missions (Multiplayer)
Roadhog Rework
Fan Favorite Modes Return
Cinematic Debuts
Competitive Mystery Heroes Returns
Lore Codex
Sombra Rework

Overwatch 2 is currently in its fourth season which kicked off April 11th and will end mid-June. The season introduced the newest support hero to the roster, Lifeweaver.
You can watch the full dev stream on the latest updates which includes commentary from Executive Producer Jared Neuss and Game Director Aaron Keller below.


FFVII Remake Singapore Concert Delayed To Next Year

The Final Fantasy VII Remake Orchestra World Tour was previously announced to have two stops in Southeast Asia. The first is in Singapore on 4 July 2020 while the second is in Thailand on 7 and 8 November 2020. However, organizer Avex Asia had to cancel the Singapore concert due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic still at large.
Now, Avex Asia has finally confirmed a new date for the Final Fantasy VII Remake Orchestra World Tour in Singapore on their official Facebook page. It has been rescheduled to 23 January 2021. Their statement reads:

“Dear FINAL FANTASY fans,
We are excited to announce that the new date for FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE Orchestra World Tour has been rescheduled to 23 January 2021, Saturday.
Please stay tuned to this space for more details at a later time. We hope youâ€™ll continue to look forward to the concert!
In the mean time, please stay safe and stay home.”

While it may be disappointing to learn that fans will have to wait about half a year before the concert comes to Singapore, at least we now have a new confirmed date to look forward to. It’ll be a great start to 2021, that’s for sure.
The Final Fantasy VII Remake Orchestra World Tour will be conducted and directed by Distant Worldsâ€™ Arnie Roth, and will include the recently-released gameâ€™s new theme song â€œHollowâ€, alongside other iconic music from the game.
In the meantime, head on over here for our review of the Final Fantasy VII Remake, or check out our spoiler-cast discussion if you’ve already played the game.