Chainsaw Man October Release Date Revealed

MAPPA has announced that the first episode of Chainsaw Man will premiere on 11 October 2022.
The main cast members include Tomori Kusunoki as Makima, Kikunosuke Toya as Denji, Shogo Sakata as Aki, and Fairouz Ai as Power. Crunchyroll previously confirmed that they will simulcast the Chainsaw Man anime.
The ongoing Chainsaw Man manga originally debuted in 2018; which is written and illustrated by Tatsuki Fujimoto.
The staff for the anime includes Ryuu Nakayama (Gamers! opening director and storyboarder et al., Macross Delta main animator, The Ryuo’s Work Is Never Done! opening director and storyboarder, etc.) as director, Kazutaka Sugiyama (Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation) as character designer, Tatsuya Yoshihara (Black Clover director) as an action director, and Hiroshi Seko (Attack on Titan: The Final Season series composer) as a scriptwriter, Makoto Nakazono (A3! assistant director) as chief episode director, Kiyotaka Oshiyama (Deca-Dence cyborg designer, DEVILMAN crybaby devil designer) as devil designer, Yusuke Takeda (Vivy -Fluorite Eye’s Song-) as art director, Naomi Nakano (Kemono Jihen) as colour designer, Youhei Miyahara (Fate/Grand Order – Absolute Demonic Front: Babylonia technical director) as screen designer, and Kensuke Ushio (Japan Sinks: 2020) as music composer.
Check out the latest trailer below:


Money Heist Part 5 Images Teases Intense War & Climax

Netflix has today unveiled the first images of the final season of La Casa De Papel / Money Heist. The heist keeps going, the war is approaching and the leader of the Gang has lost control. The end of this Original series created by Ãlex Pina is getting closer.
These first images of the final season reveal the chaos both inside and outside of the Bank of Spain; with the Professor caught off guard after Sierra finds his hideout and with Lisbon now safely inside the bank. The war begins and we see how The Gang must bring out its toughest side to survive, fuelled by anguish, more weapons and the desperation of not having a plan.Â
Netflix previously announced that Money Heist Part 5Â is coming this year with two instalments of five episodes each â€“Â Volume 1 will be released on 3 September 2021, whileÂ Volume 2 will be released on 3 December 2021.
The synopsis reads:

The gang has been shut in the Bank of Spain for over 100 hours.
They have managed to rescue Lisbon, but their darkest moment is upon them after losing one of their own.
The Professor has been captured by Sierra and, for the first time, doesnâ€™t have an escape plan.
Just when it seems like nothing else could go wrong, an enemy comes on the scene that is much more powerful than any theyâ€™ve faced: the army.
The end of the greatest heist in history is approaching, and what began as a robbery will turn into a war.

In the meantime, check out the new first-look images and teaser below:

				LA CASA DE PAPEL (L to R) ÃLVARO MORTE as PROFESOR, NAJWA NIMRI as ALICIA SIERRA in episode 01 of LA CASA DE PAPEL. Cr. MANOLO PAVÃ“N/NETFLIX Â© 2020

				LA CASA DE PAPEL (L to R) RODRIGO DE LA SERNA as PALERMO, ITZIAR ITUÃ‘O as LISBOA, JAIME LORENTE as DENVER, BELÃ‰N CUESTA as MANILA in episode 02 of LA CASA DE PAPEL. Cr. TAMARA ARRANZ/NETFLIX Â© 2020

				LA CASA DE PAPEL (L to R) ESTHER ACEBO as ESTOCOLMO in episode 02 of LA CASA DE PAPEL. Cr. TAMARA ARRANZ/NETFLIX Â© 2020

				LA CASA DE PAPEL (L to R) HOVIK KEUCHKERIAN as BOGOTÃ, ÃšRSULA CORBERÃ“ as TOKIO, RODRIGO DE LA SERNA as PALERMO, ITZIAR ITUÃ‘O as LISBOA, MIGUEL HERRÃN as RÃO, JAIME LORENTE as DENVER in episode 02 of LA CASA DE PAPEL. Cr. TAMARA ARRANZ/NETFLIX Â© 2020

				LA CASA DE PAPEL (L to R) JAIME LORENTE as DENVER, BELÃ‰N CUESTA as MANILA, ÃšRSULA CORBERÃ“ as TOKIO in episode 04 of LA CASA DE PAPEL. Cr. TAMARA ARRANZ/NETFLIX Â© 2020

				LA CASA DE PAPEL (L to R) ÃšRSULA CORBERÃ“ as TOKIO in episode 04 of LA CASA DE PAPEL. Cr. TAMARA ARRANZ/NETFLIX Â© 2020


Hades, An Epic Store Exclusive Action RPG, Is Coming To Steam Later This Year

Hades is a pretty cool, artsy-looking, and fun Greek mythology-themed action RPG from Supergiant, the folks who did Transistor and Bastion. Much to the disappointment of PC Steam users, it’s an Epic Games Store exclusive.
At least until 10th December, because that’s when the Steam version will be out. The game will still be in Early Access mode despite being developed on for a year. Once it’s out on December, the game will undergo massive updates within eight-week intervals, with some small ones in-between to make sure the cogs of Hell run well.
Supergiant said the following on its recently-published Steam Early Access FAQ:

“We designed Hades as an Early Access game from the ground up. Our foremost goal was to see if we could create something great in partnership with our community — a game that was true to our values about design, worldbuilding, and storytelling, and could naturally evolve based on the feedback we’d get along the way. Every aspect of the game, from its modular structure to its approach to narrative, flow from this idea.”
By the time Hades launches in Early Access here on Steam, the game structure will be mostly complete, so you’ll be able to battle all the way from the lowest reaches of the Underworld up to the surface.”

This makes Hades the first-ever noteworthy Epic Store game to get out of its exclusivity period. We’re interested to see how this will impact the game’s sales given the year-long “Epic Store boycotts” we’ve been hearing online and offline for (mostly) valid reasons. You can add Hades on your wishlist now; it’ll most likely cost you US$25 like its Epic Store counterpart.


Google Stadia Will Launch This November; No Southeast Asia Date Yet

During a Google Pixel 4 reveal event today in the US, the “not just a search engine” company casually announced the release date of its new game streaming service.
The Google Stadia will launch on 19th November. But hold your horses: this is for the US market, and for the first wave of early adopters who spent US$130 for the Founder’s Edition package. We have no idea when the service will be available for the Asia Pacific apart from the usual “coming soon” message.
If you still are adamant on using the service using some VPN of sorts, you might as well know what games you get to play:

Baldur’s Gate III
Cyberpunk 2077
Destiny 2
Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2
Doom Eternal
Doom (2016)
Rage 2
The Elder Scrolls Online
Wolfenstein: Youngblood
Get Packed (Stadia exclusive)
GRID
Metro Exodus
Windjammers 2
Thumper
Farming Simulator 19
Kine
Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid
Orcs Must Die! 3
Red Dead Redemption 2
Football Manager 2020
Samurai Shodown
Final Fantasy XV
Marvel’s Avengers
Tomb Raider Definitive Edition
Rise of the Tomb Raider
Shadow of the Tomb Raider
Superhot Mind Control Delete
NBA 2K20
Borderlands 3
Gylt (Stadia exclusive)
MK11
Darksiders Genesis
Destroy All Humans
AC Odyssey
Gods and Monsters
Just Dance
Ghost Recon Breakpoint
The Division 2
Trials Rising
The Crew 2
Watch Dog LegionÂ

For more on Google Stadia, head here.Â


Three People Made This Fun Indie Metroidvania Platformer

Platform: PC
Genre: Metroidvania with 2D pixel art
Imagine a post-apocalyptic search action game with Celeste-style platforming. That’s Kandria, an indie passion project made by just less than 5 people who make up Shirakumo Games. And based on how it moves, sounds, and plays, it certainly shows that its makers really love their Nier Automatas.
It Came From The Desert

You control an android named Stranger who has been awakened by a bunch of nomads, specifically an engineer named Catherine. As you grow acclimatized to your wasteland surroundings, you end up being a gopher-bot for the game’s few factions underground, helping them out with menial tasks as you spelunk your way down and forward the story about survival in a post-apocalyptic universe.
Stranger the android plays and controls really well in Kandria: she can run fast, climb walls (but with a stamina meter; goddamn Breath of the Wild mechanic), air dash in any direction, and has light and heavy sword/axe attacks all available from the get-go. You’re given free reign on how you tackle missions and which areas you explore: nothing is gated from the start. If you want to check out what’s east and underground, you can do so.
Just be prepared to work a little harder if you’re planning to climb back up. A number of pitfalls and platforming bits in Kandria can get tough; it’s about the same level as Celeste in terms of difficulty. It can take you a while to figure it out, but they’re solvable once you figure out how some platforming mechanics work. You have wind gusts that blow you in one direction further than usual, “crystal” bits that refills your air dash so you can dash again, and platforms that can launch you upward if you jump at the right time. You’ll have a blast jumping and dashing all across Kandria’s underground ruins and landscapes.

What you arguably won’t enjoy is the combat, provided you’re looking for a challenge that’s equal to the traversing. Don’t get me wrong: the attacks and combat controls are fine and seamless. Apart from the light and heavy attacks, you also have launchers, air attacks, and even a dodge-and-counterattack animation move that’s pretty strong.
Unfortunately, the enemies you fight are pushovers since the first and third hit of your forward light attacks will knock them down on their feet without fail, making them susceptible to your follow-up combos. You will fight big mechas later in the game, but those are few and far between, and they’re also pushovers once you figured out their attack patterns in a minute or two. Perhaps a future update for Kandria means better combat trials and enemies that can withstand certain hits to a point, as well as a few complex strings and patterns.
A Nice Start
Other than that, it’s hard to fault an ambitious search action game where all your traversal and platforming tools are unlocked from the get-go, cutting out all tedious backtracking. One that’s made with less than 5 people to boot! Do give Kandria a shot if you want a pretty-looking pixel-art Metroidvania-like title.
Final Score: 70/100


[Report] Borderlands 3 To Be Epic Store Exclusive, Release Date & Cover Leaked

It’s barely been a week since Gearbox Software officially announced Borderlands 3 at PAX East, but we might already know when it’ll be coming out. Recent tweets posted by the official Borderlands Twitter account may have leaked the game’s release date prematurely, though the original post has since been deleted.
Thanks to Twitter user Wario64, here’s a look at the deleted tweet that revealed the supposed release date for Borderlands 3:
13 September 2019.

Through a now deleted tweet, Borderlands 3 release date is September 13th https://t.co/BMX7q1kXbghttps://t.co/uqRYyRwAND pic.twitter.com/wJ7wC3Tkkw
â€” Wario64 (@Wario64) April 1, 2019
Besides that, a Twitter ad video (which has also been removed) indicates that Borderlands 3 will be an Epic Games Store exclusive. An Epic Games Store logo can clearly be seen at the bottom-left corner of the brief teaser below.

Borderlands 3 releasing on Epic Games Store (from a Twitter ad video that is now deleted) pic.twitter.com/d4v17GapWZ
â€” Wario64 (@Wario64) April 1, 2019
Further fueling the reported rumor are Gearbox head Randy Pitchford‘s response to the leaks on Twitter. They not-so-subtly hint that Borderlands 3 might turn out to be a timed Epic Games Store exclusive for about six (6) months. However, his posts were vague enough to be neither a confirmation or denial of the leaks.

For what itâ€™s worth, 2Kâ€™s decisions aside, myself and the team at Gearbox have a very keen interest in cross-platform play. We believe multi-platform support is a pre-requisite and Epicâ€™s leadership with cross platform support is helpful to our interests there. 3/3
â€” Randy Pitchford (@DuvalMagic) April 1, 2019
As a bonus, the game’s cover has also been leaked. It looks great, though it’s a bit odd the mascot psycho isn’t doing the “shoot himself in the head” finger motion.

Borderlands 3 box art + Deluxe Edition + Super Deluxe Edition + Diamond Loot Chest Collector's Edition pic.twitter.com/sCOKV5dDGc
— Wario64 (@Wario64) April 3, 2019

Fortunately, fans can rest easy, since Gearbox has already promised that more details and information regarding Borderlands 3 will be revealed on 3 April 2019, which is also when Borderlands Game Of The Year Edition will be releasing. Until then, all of this remains speculation for now.


This Cyberpunk: Edgerunner Music Video Tells A Heart-Wrenching Story In 4 Minutes

CD Projekt Red and Netflix have released the ending theme for its upcoming anime series Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, which is based on the sci-fi RPG.
The song is called “Let You Down” and it’s performed by Dawid Podsiad?o. The song itself is pretty mellow and fits as a bookend song for a sci-fi show about the crime-savvy Night City and the adventures within. The music video, however, is definitely something worth talking about.
It’s a beautifully animated tale about a hacker girl named Sasha who gets to serve justice to a corporation with her Edgerunner gang. In just a short span of time, we find out the girl’s backstory and her fate after doing a sting of a lifetime. And if you’re curious about who animated it, it’s directed by Ilya Kuvshinov and produced by Studio Massket.

Cyberpunk: Edgerunners will be out on Netflix later today, 13th September.


[Rumour] These Are The Free Epic Games You’ll Get For Christmas

As part of its ongoing yearly Epic Holiday Sale, the Epic Game Store is giving away one free game per day. These are the games you may be getting based on a leak by New ‘n’ Tasty (via jovanmunja on Twitter).

Cities: Skylines
Oddworld: New n Tasty
The Long Dark
Defense Grid 1
Alien: Isolation
Metro 2033 Redux
Tropico 5
Inside
Darkest Dungeon
My Time In Portia
Night in the Woods
Stranded Deep
Solitairica
Torchlight II
Jurassic World Evolution

Previously, games such as Grand Theft Auto 5 and Civilization 6 were given away in this year’s Epic Mega Sale; the reveal was leaked prior to the announcement on the platform. Guess we’ll find out in 24 hours whether the aforementioned leak is true or not.


Malaysia’s Streamline Expands Into Japan

Malaysia-based Streamline Media Group (Streamline), a video games and digital asset developer and services company, has announced its expansion into Japan. Former Third Party Relations VP of Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) Japan Asia, Kenji Kajiwara, is now the General Manager, Head of Japan for Streamline’s new office.
Kenji Kajiwara is a well-known global business leader in the video games industry with more than 20 years experience managing international human relations, software sales, and business expansions for Japan and Asia markets. During his tenure at SIE, Kenji Kajiwara initiated and contributed to many expansion and development initiatives, including handling numerous global partnerships with Japan Asia base partners like Sony’s China Hero Project and the launch of the PS4 in China. At Streamline, Kenji Kajiwara will continue to support Streamline’s Japan partners, develop new relationships, and build a locally based development team in Tokyo, Japan to solidify Streamline’s services in the region.
Streamline has a long history of working with Japan and has fostered solid partnerships with leading games industry developers and publishers, including Capcom, Square Enix, Soleil Games, Kojima Productions, and From Software. In addition, the company’s multi-year art collaboration on the iconic fighting franchise, Street Fighter V, and co-development for the cult-classic series, Final Fantasy XV, are critical partnerships that set the groundwork for Streamline’s expansion into Japan.
Alexander Fernandez, CEO & Co-Founder of Streamline Media Group, said:
“Japan has been an incredible source of opportunity and inspiration for Streamline. We’ve learned so much from our partners there. Investing into Japan’s games industry ecosystem was the next step in cementing our commitment to the region. Kenji’s experience and proven leadership will benefit Streamline and our relationships across Asia by matching world-class delivery with world-class talent.”
Streamline Media Group is an independent company specializing in creative and technical R&D solutions for video games, media, entertainment, and enterprise. Established in 2001, the 20-year-old company offers five service and development business divisions that provide a unified end-to-end production pipeline for creative digital projects.
You can visit Streamline’s new website, available in English and Japanese, for more information about the company and its growing talented senior leadership team.


Frozen 2 Breaks Record For Biggest Animated Opening Of All Time

Despite receiving less than stellar reviews, with many critics saying that it doesn’t reach the heights of its still-popular 2013 predecessor, Frozen 2 has managed to break records in its opening weekend debut. The highly-anticipated movie has raked in US$127 million domestic in the US and US$223 million internationally, resulting in a grand total of a record-breaking US$350.2 million.
Frozen 2 can boast of not only having the biggest animated opening weekend of all time but also the second-biggest opening weekend for a movie in the history, beaten only by Avengers Endgame‘s US$357,115,007.
According to Deadline, Disney President of Distribution and Franchise management Cathleen Taff said:

“I think the marketing teams are geniuses and with all the talent travelling all over and the incredible music they launched with the incredible songs, it was Disneyâ€™s marketing department doing what they do best which is unique and magnificent.”

I personally found Frozen 2 to be pretty disappointing compared to the phenomenal first movie, lacking focus in its messy second half and memorable songs, but it’s ultimately fine overall. Check out our full review of the movie by Mr Toffee here.
In the meantime, you can also check out this live-action performance of Frozen by the movie’s cast themselves.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZeHmnpnlhY&w=560&h=315]


Malaysian’s visual novel future is up to these up-and-coming developers

Meet Persona Theory, a Malaysian game company who has a knack for mature story-telling. Find out what makes the founders Saqina Latif and Buddy Anwardi tick in this Kakuchopurei exclusive.

Fires at Midnight will be out this November, while Kabaret is slated for 2020.


Relive Your Dream High School Years In The Sims 4 Expansion This July

It’s time to reminiscence your high school years as class is in session for your teen Sims this July 28th!
The expansion introduces a new world, Copperdale, and new gameplay features. You know, the crazy things you do as a teen? Pranking, sneaking out, prom night, being the socially awkward romantic; all that stuff. Oh, and attending classes of course. Embody the high school trope you want to be or be the trendsetter teen.

EA also announces that if you pre-order or purchase through September 8th, you will receive the Vibing Streamer Gear Digital Content. Yes, you read that right, you can also be your own streamer (or should I say “Simfluencer”?) with these goodies.

Groove Tube Wireless Speaker

Spine Reticulating Gamer Chair

Tri Hard LED Panels

Get ready to stroll down the hallway (no running!) and swoon other teen sims, or get into trouble and to detention, you go!
You can pre-order the expansion pack from EA’s store here.
Check out the trailer to the upcoming The Sims 4 expansion pack High School Years below!

Groove Tube Wireless Speaker

Spine Reticulating Gamer Chair

Tri Hard LED Panels

Get ready to stroll down the hallway (no running!) and swoon other teen sims, or get into trouble and to detention, you go!

You can pre-order the expansion pack from EA’s store here.

Check out the trailer to the upcoming The Sims 4 expansion pack High School Years below!


The Official Version Of Toss A Coin To Your Witcher Is Now On Spotify

Admit it. Ever since you heard Jaskier’s Toss A Coin To Your Witcher, you couldn’t get it out of your head. You couldn’t resist humming it or singing it out loud. All that time, you probably also wondered “Why the heck isn’t this song on Spotify?”
Well, I’ve got some good news for you, my friend.

The official song has finally been uploaded to Spotify and iTunes by the show’s soundtrack producers. Composers Giona Ostinelli and Sonya Belousova are credited as the artists behind the track. Unfortunately, that’s the only song they uploaded so we’ll have to keep waiting for the full soundtrack.
On the bright side, it’s confirmed that the full soundtrack is ready for release. Belousova showed on her Instagram account that it’s “ready to go” but there’s no ETA at the moment when it comes to its release.
This is definitely a good move by Netflix, not just because we’ve been waiting for it but because YouTube, Spotify, and iTunes have been saturated with covers of the song as well as illegitimate uploads of varying quality. Just look at what pops up when you search the song on Spotify:

With news of a Witcher anime film being in the works and the second season scheduled to premiere in 2021, it’s going to be long wait for Witcher fans. Thankfully, we’ll have Jaskier’s voice to fill our heads and hearts until then.


Five Games that Could Use the Battle Royale Treatment

Everyone’s hopping into the battle royale scene nowadays with the most recent one being Boss Key’s poor imitation of Fortnite – Radical Heights. While they attempted a unique gameshow feel to the game, it does not have any lasting appeal to go the distance compared to the big two ruling the scene; PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds and Fortnite: Battle Royale.
While we always welcome new titles to the scene, we believe that there tons of released games that are perfect for this mode and just waiting for their chance to shine, while at the same time allowing them a second lease at life. The introduction of the battle royale modes to these next six games will not only reignite their dwindling player base, but also adds more variety in the scene.
Call of Duty: WW2
The concept of parachuting into a battlefield equipped with nothing but your wits and ability to scrounge isn’t a 2017 thing. This concept was the base of the paratroopers which was most apparent during World War 2.
During the Normandy landings on D-Day, 6th of June 1944, over 13,100 American paratroopersÂ of theÂ 82ndÂ andÂ 101st Airborne DivisionsÂ made nightÂ parachute drops as the opening maneuver ofÂ Operation NeptuneÂ (the assault operation for Overlord) to disrupt defenses and secure critical points behind German lines.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9ITIaKzG3A&w=560&h=315]
Activision’s CoD: WW2 provide the perfect backdrop to reenact but with different rules to accommodate the battle royale mode, of course. Players will have to scrounge for gear, weapons and secure positions – perhaps reunite with their platoon mates as part of this game’s unique objective. They can have several maps as well, with a French countryside to replicate Normandy and another Dutch inland map to replicate Operation Market Garden which was the largest airborne operation up to that point in World War II.
Star Wars Battlefront 2Â
Imagine this scenario – an orbital drop onto Hoth went wrong and you find yourself frantically in search of gear before other players (e.g Bounty Hunters) cap you off with a blaster or worse – coming across a hungry wampa.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNGWh_-R1VE&w=560&h=315]
More than just an asset flip, Battlefront II’s battle royale mode is littered with under-utilised Star Wars assets, allowing players to mix and match their gear with both Imperial and Rebel gear. This unlimited customisation potential presents a very appealing premise don’t you think? Battlefront 2 – in spite of its lootbox-led faults – is a very well polished game aesthetically so it would be a shame to let all these go to waste.
The huge selection of vehicles will definitely change the battle conditions almost instantly and just imagine the potential of a large-scale free-for-all with AT-STs and speeder-bikes.
Borderlands 2Â
Borderlands 2 was a game ahead of its time and is one of the titles that remain fresh even in 2018. The variety of characters, locales and weapons provide a solid foundation for a wacky, out-of-this-world battle royale experience is hard to rival which makes the return to Pandora even worthwhile.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5TW0wJTFLiw&w=560&h=315]
Some may be put off by the bright color scheme but come on – look at Fornite. Both games are almost undistinguishable from one another when it comes to color palettes. We loved the solid lootdrop and shooting mechanics in Borderlands games don’t see any issues in porting these features to a battle royale mode either.Â  The high customisation potential amongst the character classes adds layers to how a Borderlands Battle Royale would play as well.
For Honor
Skip the guns and go old school with melee weapons; cap off the final two players in a gladiator arena-style showdown for the ultimate fight to the death. How about that? By removing ranged weapons and solely sticking to swords, axes, spears and daggers, the game puts players’ raw melee fighting abilities to the forefront, rewarding pure skill as opposed to one’s ability to stay prone for the longest possible period.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1SAfO76YCM&w=560&h=315]
Ubisoft recently implemented dedicated servers for the game so this might be the perfect mode to test its limit.
Metal Gear Solid VÂ
Huge open world? Check. Polished weapons and sneaking gameplay? Check. Character and weapons customizations? Check. Check. We honestly believe if Konami decided to run a battle royale game utilizing their Metal Gear Solid V assets instead of the ‘poke zombies with a stick game’ in that dud of a game in Metal Gear Survive, they would be swimming in cash right about now. Love or loathe them – rest assured that everyone would be making a beeline for a battle royale game running on the Fox engine the second Konami confirms it.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rY1XP5YNrQI&w=560&h=315]
We know they have the capability to host the game in vast environments as seen in both MGS V and Survive so we feel this is the most logical move for Konami. But you know … IT IS Konami we are talking about here.

What other games you think would work well with the battle royale mode? As usual, the comments section is right down below.


The Valorant ESL Community Clash Is Now Open To Teams In SEA

Esports giants ESL have announced the ESL Community Clash; an online Valorant Community tournament for Southeast Asia players happening throughout October and November 2020.
The tournament will feature two monthly finals, which will culminate in the ESL Community Clash Grand Finals from 27 to 29 November 2020.
Eight teams will compete for a US$10,000 prize pool and the title of being the best Valorant team in Southeast Asia.
In each of the two monthly finals, eight teams will compete in a double-elimination bracket where the top four teams will advance themselves to the grand finals. Teams have two opportunities to qualify themselves for each of the monthly finals through the open qualifiers.
The tournament is open to all teams in Southeast Asia with the exception of Vietnam and interested teams can sign up for the qualifiers here.
October Qualifier #1 – 10 October 2020October Qualifier #2 – 17 October 2020October Finals – 24 and 25 October 2020
November Qualifier #1 – 7 November 2020November Qualifier #2 – 14 November 2020November Finals – 21 and 22 November 2020
The ESL Community Clash Grand Finals will feature an eight-team double-elimination playoff and all matches, including the monthly finals, will be broadcast live on ESL Asiaâ€™s Twitch, Facebook & YouTube.

In addition, ESL will also be running a series of community cups over the next three months in each of the following countries: Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam and Malaysia/Singapore.
Each month will consist of four weekly cups and monthly finals where teams compete for a prize pool of SG$500 per month per country. The game titles for each month will rotate to cater to the different game communities in each country and all cups will be held on the ESL Play platform.


The Limited Edition God of War PlayStation 4 Pro Bundle Will Make Your Wallet Weep

PlayStation Asia (via Singapore office, SIES) today confirmed that theÂ Limited Edition PlayStation 4 Pro for God of War is set to drop in April at a whooping price of MYR1999 (USD513).
Sporting a motifÂ inspired by Kratos’ in-game weapon, the Leviathan Axe, the special edition comes with a 1TB PS4 Pro console, one DualShock 4 controller, the Digital Deluxe DLC voucher code which include Deathâ€™s Vow Armor Set, Exileâ€™s Guardian Shield, digital comic and art book, a Dynamic Theme, 3 months subscription of the PS+ and of course, a copy of the game along with its premium digital content DLCs as well.

Official retail prices for copies of the game have also been released, with the standard digital copy going for RM209 while the physical copy starts from RM229. The Digital Deluxe edition, which comes with the aforementioned DLCs will retail at RM249.Â  If you have some extra cash lying around, then you’d probably want to consider the RM549 Collector’s Edition that comes with tons of physical and digital goodies including a 9-inch tall Kratos and Atreus statue.

The PlayStation 4 exclusive God of War drops April 20th 2018 and you can pre-order all of the above at any Sony Centre or game shops near you.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0u_kAWLJOA&w=560&h=315]


The Last Of Us Part 2 Merch Includes Clothes, Guitars & Insane Price Tags

The Last Of Us Part 2 is finally out and with it, a slew of ridiculously-priced official merchandise that fans will lap up anyways. They have everything from guitars, backpacks, t-shirts, hoodies, mugs, and leather journals.
The standouts of The Last Of Us Part 2 merchandise lineup are the two guitars. The first comes in at a whopping US$2,299 (or roughly RM9,800+), The Last of Us Part 2 Replica Taylor 314ce guitar is a 1:1 recreation of the musical instrument that Ellie uses in the game. It’s likely for the most die-hard fans.

Meanwhile, the much more affordable The Last of Us Part 2 GS Mini Guitar comes in at US$699 (or roughly RM2,900+). This one features Ellie’s iconic tattoo, with pre-orders for both pieces opening up today on the PlayStation Gear website. They will both ship sometime in August 2020.

Fans can also pick up Ellie’s Outerwear Workman’s Jacket for US$149.95 (or roughly RM640+), while a standard t-shirt in blue comes in at US$22.95 (or roughly RM98+). The Last of Us Part 2 Ruston Camper Mug costs US$24.95 (or roughly RM106+), while the Ruston Cork Mug is US$14.95 (or roughly RM64+).
There’s also a faux leather journal with the game’s logo on the front and a grey backpack, both of which will set you back US$19.95 (or roughly RM85+) and US$54.95 (or roughly RM235+), respectively.

Last but not least, there’s even a (sigh) Funko Pop of Ellie. Feast your eyes on the monstrosity below. It costs US$11.99, or roughly RM51+. The Nendoroid Ellie looks far superior.

The Last Of Us Part 2Â is out now for the PS4. In the meantime,Â check out my full spoiler-free review of the game here, orÂ head on over here for a guide and tips for the game.


No Straight Roads Is A Few Steps Short To Action Gaming Greatness…

Review originally published on 25th August, 2020. It’s bumped up due to the Steam version that’s out right now.
Platform(s): PC (Epic Games & Steam), PS4, Xbox One Nintendo Switch
Genre: Uniquely Malaysian music-rhythm action mash-up
Readers on this site may notice my affinity to hyper-stylized action games like the Bayonetta games and recent fares like the really-hard-to-get-to Astral Chain.
And as a Malaysian-made site with Southeast Asian reach, we at Kakuchopurei relish great games that happen to be made in Malaysia, and not being the butt of some white writer’s punchline. Having said that, we’ll still go hard on games & pieces of entertainment that don’t meet our standards, regardless of where they’re from.
Many folks are elated that Malaysian company Metronomik is making an action game that combines music rhythm game mechanics for a smooth blend that presumably tastes as good as your roadside stall rojak. The fact that two video game industry veterans, Wan Hazmer and Daim Dziauddin, are spearheading the project means a ton of pressure from everyone watching and waiting. I do not envy the studio in this regard.
So is No Straight Roads all that? Is it really just a puff piece of a game that’s hiding beneath its veneer of “Malaysia Boleh” championing from government bodies putting stakes on it? Is it the saviour of our industry that’s only profiteering from asset-creation for bigger US and Japan triple-A titles? Or is it really a gem in a rough that in time can inspire everyone to press on forward, as well as being the first-ever music-rhythm action game that doesn’t use conventional “conveyor belt & button press” methods of gameplay?
The more hours I’ve put in, especially past the 5-hour mark post-credits, I’m leaning towards the latter. Despite some quirks, NSRÂ is a uniquely awesome action title that deserves its slew of action-savvy audiences, be it locally or worldwide.
Radio Ga-Ga

NSR’s plot is as simple and as old-aged as they come: rock music duo Mayday and Zuke are on a quest to bring relevance to the genre in Vinyl City, ruled by a power company called NSR that uses EDM as an energy source. Music powers up populations, and thus begins the battle between two genres. From start to finish, you’ll spot the obvious plot twists, cliches, and revelations coming a mile away if you’ve at least seen a few films in your life.
However, its presentation and charisma make it a helluva ride to experience. One obvious thing you’ll notice upon going through the first few minutes is how uniquely Malaysian the game looks and feels. Or if you’re outside the SEA region, you’ll experience a refreshing new take on a music-laced game with humanoids and robots of different shapes, body proportions, and colour.
This is all thanks to the art style and its eclectic voice-casting, from leads Su Ling Chan and Steven Bones who voice our protagonists Mayday & Zuke respectively, to Malaysian media legends like Joanna “Kopitiam” Bessey (Eve) and Priscilla “Rakita Traffic” Patrick (Tatiana). These folks breathe life to a solid-if-familiar tale, from Mayday’s energy to Zuke’s chillax take on life and his dilemmas. There’s even a couple of segments involving Bahasa Melayu that sounds natural and adds to the already-unique flavour to the title.

NSR is proud of where it’s coming from and also languishes in being unlike any other action game in style and flair. It pulls this off with aplomb, bombastic-ness, and grace of an early 90s Guns N’ Roses live performance, sans the drama.

Bang Bang (To The Beat Of The Drum)

As for gameplay? This part’s slightly complicated because the game opens up its true form once you’re done with the main campaign.
Some preamble: No Straight Roads’ gaming gimmick is fusing music rhythm game mechanics with action. You attack enemies on-screen while dodging their attacks, but whatever your adversary does is in-sync with the music. Which means that evading enemy attacks is not just recognizing telegraphs & cues, but also doing it to the beat of the tune that’s playing.
The music influences don’t stop there: your dynamic duo Mayday and Zuke (guitarist and drummer respectively) can not only parry pink projectiles and attacks (to the beat of the tunes), but can also rock out and transform specific objects to either attack enemies or protect them. They can also fire music note projectiles to hit hard-to-reach foes; you get these by either killing enemies that drop them or parry attacks perfectly.
Both our leads fight differently. Mayday has reach with her swings and hits hard, while Zuke has quick combo attacks that power up his finisher, and has an easier time cancelling to an evade. These differences may seem slight, but they get more nuanced when you get enough fans for the necessary upgrades in NSR’s skill tree.
You can also power up Mayday and Zuke with stickers, mods, and Ultimate Duo attacks. Stickers are temporary multi-use items that add boosts when you fight bosses, be it a simple attack buff to widening parry radius and damage. Mods are special abilities you can activate using either the left or right trigger and some of your power meter, while Ultimate Duo attacks make you perform a game-changing special that uses up both Mayday and Zuke’s power meter.
Later on, you’ll figure out that Mayday is better at creating offensive turrets via transformation, but takes a while to set it up. Zuke deals less damage, but can cap off his 8-hit combo attack with an AoE that shoots out projectiles. Both characters are pretty fun to switch between once they slowly have their best skills opening up for use.
To get fans, you need to fight and complete boss fights via hijacking their concerts. NSR features six major boss battles, each of them starting off with a simple linear room-clearing and/or platforming section. After that, you have to duel with them, figure out their attacks and level gimmick(s), and then beat them at their own game. This is NSR’s other selling point, and it delivers for the most part.

The boss fights are memorable, fun, challenging, and comes with catchy EDM-slash-rock background mixes that blend in seamlessly depending on the stages of the fight. My personal standouts include DJ Subatomic Supernova, Sayu (above), and Eve, with the latter forcing you to conserve both Mayday and Zuke’s health and endure being separated in the battle. I won’t say more, but this particular fight highlights the importance of switching, dodging, and persevering through the intentionally-messy graphics.
Every fight in NSR requires you not to pay attention to patterns and telltale signs, but also music cues. Your dodge and parries have invincibility frames, but if you don’t time it right to the music, you will get hit really hard. Once you get the hang of it after repeated deaths, you’ll start having fun as you crack each boss.
If you can’t get the hang of a particular tussle, or wish to get a better rating for more fans, NSR’s got you covered. In fact, the whole game offers a good amount of replayability; part and parcel of an action game with seemingly obtuse mechanics. Even after you’re done with the 5-hour main campaign, you can unlock Hard, Crazy, and Parry mode for all the major boss fights that open up new attacks, stage hazards, and parry opportunities.
Hard and Crazy are self-explanatory (new attacks, more hit points for the baddies), but Parry Mode adds a whole new level of fighting. You can’t generate ammo via conventional means, which means you have to rely mostly on your well-timed parries (and skill tree perks) to damage the boss.

Suddenly, the fights against DJ Subatomic Supernova and Sayu just got 10 times more interesting and challenging. NSR’s mechanics are more fleshed out and opened up for better play and a jamming experience, so to speak. You will need to find the right stickers, mods, and Duo attacks to make through these battles, as if the regular versions aren’t a handful for some.

Perfect Parry Mode is essentially the game’s equivalent of “Dante must Die”, “Hell and Hell”, and “Revengeance” mode. You die in one hit and must be on-point with your parries to make it to the end. And you have to restart the fight if you bite the dust. All I can say is I look forward to the many, MANY attempts on stream for this in the next few weeks.
Bad Company

Why did I say “for the most part” earlier? Because the game has a few technical issues. They don’t crash the game or corrupt your save file thankfully, but they crop up and show the imperfections within the seams. Some fights will have enemy death cries peaking loud momentarily, while some declare “game over” when you get your life reduced to zero right when a cutscene signifying the enemy’s next form hits.
And then there are some hit detection issues in the harder modes, especially in Crazy, Parry, and Perfect Parry Mode. Here, you swear you were dodging something but the game doesn’t recognize it. These aren’t huge deal-breakers, but you’ll need to remember that this is a hack-and-slash action game trying new things and is made by a modestly-sized company.
You will face some level of jank on occasions that may test your patience. And it arguably makes Perfect Parry mode nigh-on impossible except to the most dedicated of action game fans. You know, the kind who ploughs through Bayonetta’s post-game Rodin fights with one hand.

Think on the levels of the No More Heroes series where you know the game is made on a particular budget. Or even those HD-era action games from 2007 onwards like Bullet Witch or X-Blades. But obviously on a superior product.

Oh, and whoever thought it was a good idea to have your characters run back and forth on the Vinyl City hubworld collecting power-up stickers and heading to replayable fight locations, instead of saving time and making all this menu-based, should be horsewhipped.
For Those About To Rock, We Salute You…

No Straight Roads is a culmination of great ideas and good intentions that mostly succeeds. I’ll be up-front: it ain’t perfect and it’s got a little bit of that 3rd party jank in common action games back in the tumultuous era where everyone’s trying to make their own God of WarÂ orÂ Devil May Cry clones.
Odd hitboxes, getting hit when you know you’ve dodged; camera issues that mess with your perspective time and again. It’ll take some time getting used to the game’s action beats and flow. It’s far from terrible, but it’s no Capcom 2001-era wunderkind.
However, its earnest charm & plot, brilliantly unique aesthetics, and innovative music-slash-combat hybrid are too hard to put down and ignore. Balance-wise, it’s generally great for casual action fans as well as seasoned pros who love them their Devil May Cry titles.Â With a little more polish & tweaking in its basic combat mechanics, it’ll be a platinum for sure.
For now, No Straight Roads is now the gold standard in Malaysian game development, and arguably Southeast Asia game-making as a whole. Action gaming fans & aficionados who aim for nothing but S-Ranks can do well to get the hang of its fighting and then have a ball with its tougher modes. Newbies and casuals can enjoy the main story and what it offers aesthetics-wise for its 5-hour runtime.
In short, No Straight Roads is not at the top of the stairway to heaven, but they’re three-quarters there. That still counts for a lot these days.
Pros

Unique art style, music, and presentation.
Lovely combat mechanics based around rhythm.
Gets better with Hard, Crazy, and Parry mode.
Memorable boss fights.

Cons

Occasional jank, glitches, and hitbox issues in gameplay.
Going back and forth collecting stickers & replaying fights can be a pain.

FINAL SCORE: 80/100
Review copy provided by Metronomik and Souled Out.


The 50 Worst Pokemon In Existence

The PokÃ©mon community seems to only bother talking about the coolest Pokemon or the most badass PokÃ©mon or the cutest PokÃ©mon. Well, Iâ€™m here to hit you across the face with the cold, hard truth. There are PokÃ©mon that exist purely to be trash, metaphorically and literally.
Some of them exist purely to troll people and some are just the result of lazy design. But of course, these are just my personal thoughts and opinions of the TOP 50 Worst PokÃ©mon Ever. Please @ meâ€¦*psst* @kaekaemon on Twitter *ahem*
LET US BEGIN THE COUNTDOWN!
1. Delibird

RNG is a fun and interactive game mechanic. I beg to differ. Delibirdâ€™s signature move, â€˜Presentâ€™ is the definition of RNG trash. Whenever the move â€˜Presentâ€™ is used, it has a chance to either damage or heal its opponent.
Imagine being so close to finishing off your opponent then Delibird decides to flip a coin and heal your opponent. Then you might ask me, why use Delibird in the first place? To that, I say, get out of here with your common sense and logic.
2. Slowbro

Bro. BROOOOO!
Slowbro walks around with a Shellder parasite attached to its tail, allow me to quote the Bulbapedia, “Shellder developed its spiral form in an effort to suck more sweetness out of Slowbro’s tail”. I guess Shellder should be the villain here but Iâ€™m blaming Slowbro for not doing anything about it.
3. Muk

Well, what more can I say about this absolute unit of a PokÃ©mon? Muk is actually just a moving pile of toxicity, reminds me of a certain social media platform with a bird logo.
4. Lickitung

PokÃ©mon Company: Alright team! We need a new Pokemon, GO!
Unpaid Intern: I like licking things.
PokÃ©mon Company: WE LOVE IT! Letâ€™s get a PokÃ©mon that licks things! Cool. Thank you, next!
5. Slakoth

Oh boy, I remember spending roughly 30 minutes running around Petalburg Woods specifically looking for this guy. Was it worth it? Absolutely not.
Let me read from the PokÃ©mon Sapphire Pokedex entry: “Slakoth’s heart beats just once a minute. Whatever happens, it is content to loaf around motionless. It is rare to see this PokÃ©mon in motion”.
Good god, can I be reborn as a Slakoth? Thank you very much in advance.
6. Spoink

Imagine just dying if you stop jumping? Well, Spoink doesnâ€™t have to imagine. If a Spoink for whatever reason stops jumping, its heart stops and commits unalive. What a cursed existence.
7. Tropius

I guess someone at the Pokemon Company office mustâ€™ve really wanted to see a banana tree fly for whatever reason. Does it make sense? No. Is Tropius at least a cool looking Pokemon? Debatable.
8. Male Combee

Similar to bees in real life, male Combees purely exist to serve their queen bee, Vespiquen. If you ever wanted to get yourself a Vespiquen, good luck cuz youâ€™ll be collecting male Combees all day and all night.
9. Probopass

Probopass nose nothing but the nose and only nose the nose. Probopass will nose his way into your business until he nose all, Probopass nose no bounds. Too many nose puns? Only Probopass nose.
10. Trubbish

Remember how I said some Pokemon are literal trash? Well, this is it. Trubbish. Wait until you meet his older brother; heâ€™s garbage.
NEXT


The PS5 Has More Than 25 Games In Development Under PlayStation Studios

It’s super hard to get a PS5 even more than six months after its original launch, but at least you’ll rest assured that more exclusives are still on their way.
In an interview with Wired, PlayStation Studios head Herman Hulst confirmed that they currently have more than 25 titles in development for the PS5 and that almost half of them will be brand new IP.
He said:
â€œThereâ€™s an incredible amount of variety originating from different regions.
Big, small, different genres.â€
These include:

A mysterious game from Jade Raymond’s Haven Studios.
An unannounced multiplayer title from Firewalk Studios.
Ember Lab’s Kena Bridge Of Spirits.
An unannounced game from Ember Lab.

The same report by Wired also confirmed that Guerilla Games’ Horizon Forbidden West is still coming to both PS4 and PS5 sometime in 2021.
The most recent first-party PS5 exclusive was Housemarque’s Returnal; an excellent third-person roguelike action bullet hell game (you can check out my review here). The next closest first-party title will be Insomniac Games’ Ratchet & Clank Rift Apart, which will release exclusively for the PS5 on 11 June 2021.
In the meantime, you can check outÂ my in-depth and no-holds-barred thoughts on the PS5Â after having it for more than a month. However, if youâ€™re looking for a more straightforward review, you shouldÂ head on over here instead.


Terraria Mobile Sales Surpass One Million Units In China

505 Games has announced that after its recent commercial release, Terraria sold over 1 million units in China on mobile platforms and soared to the top of local charts on TapTap and the iOS App Store in both the premium and sandbox game categories in the country.
Terraria, developed by Re-Logic, ported to mobile platforms by 505â€™s affiliate DR Studios and published by 505 Games globally on mobile and console platforms, is a side-scrolling action-adventure sandbox game that focuses on crafting unique items, exploring vast worlds and battling various enemies. It blends a traditional 2D combat system with expansive crafting mechanics and randomly generated pixel worlds.
In China, 505 Games partnered for Greater China territories with the leading mobile premium game publisher, XD Inc. After the successful launch in Mainland China, 505 Games and XD Inc. are looking forward to next yearsâ€™ release in the rest of Greater China.
Raffi Galante, 505 Games Co-CEO and Co-Founder, said:
â€œThese preliminary results illustrate once again how Terraria truly is a timeless masterpiece in our industry, bringing joy to gamers in Beijing and Shanghai just like in New York and London. This is a remarkable achievement for Terraria and our company; this confirms once again the importance of a local approach to strategy, publishing operations and game development in China and Asia.”
XD CEO Dash Huang said:
â€œThe release of Terraria has once again given us a glance into immense potential of the mobile games community, especially with Terraria garnering over 32,000 reviews on TapTap in just a few weeks.”
In order to appeal to gamers in Mainland China and stand out in the hyper-competitiveÂ  local market XD Inc. dedicated considerable production resources to officially bring the highly anticipated 1.4 update to Chinese gamers, by enhancing localization, adding territory-specific social features and tweaking some key art to match local tastes and preferences.
XD Inc. is also the publisher of other 505 Games mobile hits, including Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons and Human: Fall Flat.


The King of Fighters XV Roadmap Revealed; Team Garou & South Town DLC Will Arrive First

SNK just published its future plans for its upcoming hit 3v3 fighting game The King of Fighters XV, and it’s looking prosperous just like the Lunar New Year.
There will be an additional 12 fighters added to the base KOF XV roster in 2022 post-launch. Here’s the full list of fighters:
Team Garou (March 2022)
Rock Howard, Gato, B.Jenet. These characters will most likely play like their previous iterations save a few new moves.
Team South Town (May 2022)
Geese Howard, Billy Kane, Ryuji Yamazaki. These characters will most likely play like their previous iterations save a few new moves.
Team 3 (Summer 2022)
TBA.
Team 4 (Fall 2022)
TBA.

And in case you’re wondering: yes, B.Jenet still has her Super DM where she takes off her heels and beats you up with it.

#KOFXV pic.twitter.com/NHmUTcntuW
— HiFight(??????) (@HiFightTH) February 1, 2022

KOF XV will be out for PC, Xbox Series, Xbox One, PS5, and PS4 this 17 February. For more on the game’s ever-growing roster, head here. If you want an educated guess on who will be DLC 3 and DLC 4, head here.


The Most Popular Elden Ring Characters & Bosses According To Japan

A new Elden Ring survey and its results have popped up, which is what you would expect from a hit RPG series featuring a plethora of colourful characters in a world dead-set on curbstomping your face in.
The survey was done by Japan’s Weekly Famitsu (via Frontline Japan), with about 1,700 people answering it. We’ll break it down:

The most popular character in Elden Ring is Ranni the Witch (unsurprisingly), with Alexander at second place and Blaidd the half-man half-wolf Guts stand-in at third place.
The most popular boss in Elden Ring are Starscourge Radahn at first place, Malenia at second place, and Margit the Fell Omen (both fights) at third place. These three bosses have awesome set pieces and battle stages, so this is really not a shock.
The locations that left an impression on players include Caelid, Lilmgrave, and Leyndell at the top three spot respectively.
The best class in Elden Ring is the Vagabond, with Samurai and Prisoner close behind. The third choice was probably Berserk-related.
The best weapon in the game is the katana, probably because of the multitude of Bleed builds you can find. Katanas are the only weapons that can inflict Bleed on default.

The full top 10 list is below. In any case, the Elden Ring hype is still ongoing. And justifiably so; we gave it a glowing review.
Best Elden Ring Character/NPC

Ranni the Witch: 918
Iron Fist Alexander: 579
Blaidd: 335
Millicent: 266
Melina: 260
Patches: 242
Sorceress Sellen: 204
Rya: 164
Blackguard Big Boggart: 95
Smithing Master Hewg: 94

Best Elden Ring Boss

Starscourge Radahn: 687
Malenia, Blade of Miquella: 658
Margit, the Fell Omen: 443
Tree Sentinel: 216
Maliketh, the Black Blade: 206
Elden Beast: 188
Godrick the Grafted: 176
Crucible Knight: 158
Radagon of the Golden Order: 149
Hoarah Loux, Warrior: 137

Best Class In Elden Ring

Vagabond: 427
Samurai: 424
Prisoner: 153
Confessor: 127
Astrologer: 126
Wretch: 108
Hero: 101
Warrior: 92
Bandit: 75
Prophet: 53

Best Weapons In Elden Ring

Katanas: 841
Greatswords: 641
Medium shields: 504
Staves: 411
Curved swords: 389
Colossal swords: 385
Sacred seals: 333
Bows: 324
Greatshields: 281
Straight swords: 280

Best Weapon Skills/Ashes of War

Bloodhound Step: 589
Transient Moonlight: 228
Parry: 192
Rivers of Blood: 190
Hoarfrost Stomp: 189
Flame of the Redmanes: 170
Bloody Slash: 120
Sword Dance: 115
Seppuku: 101
Golden parry: 92

Best Spirit Ashes/Summons

Mimic Tear Ashes: 721
Black Knife Tiche: 586
Spirit Jellyfish Ashes: 308
Latenna the Albinauric: 164
Lone Wolf Ashes: 137
Greatshield Soldier Ashes: 128
Skeletal Militamen Ashes: 124
Lhutel the Headless: 106
Banished Knight Oleg Ashes: 99
Redmane Knight Ogha: 68

Best Spells/Sorceries/Incantations

Comet Azur: 240
Golden Vow: 190
Adula’s Moonblade: 163
Rock Sling: 152
Flame, Cleanse Me: 137
Glintstone Pebble: 134
Loretta’s Greatbow: 116
Flame, Grant Me Strength: 115
Meteorite of Aster: 94
Lightning Spear/Ranni’s Dark Moon: 86 (Tie)

Image credit: Isacchili (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook)


Here’s How Gear & Cosmetics Work In Marvel’s Avengers

With Square Enix and Crystal Dynamics’ Avengers game coming this September, the publisher just released a guide to talk about the game’s economy in great detail. The post may make your head spin, so we’ll do our best to pass you the Cliff’s Notes version.
The only takeaway here is that most of these are optional and are mostly earned in-game. The Marketplace items cost real money.
Cosmetics In Marvel’s Avengers
The colourful stuff you put on your Avenger of choice. These come in four different varieties:

Outfits: Outfits are aesthetic only â€“ they do not influence gameplay. This was an intentional decision to avoid pay-to-win play scenarios.
Emotes: Character-specific Emotes bring out the personality of each Super Hero, and let you express yourself to your teammates â€“ AI or otherwise!
Takedowns: Takedowns are flashy finishers that show off each heroâ€™s signature style on the battlefield!
Nameplates: Nameplates show off your heroâ€™s stats and are drawn from iconic art in Marvel history.

How To Get Them
You can either earn them through mission completion rewards, craft them, or buy them. Here’s a detailed look at the stuff you need to get cosmetics and gear.
Resources
Resources come in Common (ex: Fragments), Rare (ex: Plasma), and Exotic varieties (ex: Uru) â€“ and are traded with Vendors or used to upgrade gear. Resources can be found in Resource Crates, dropped by enemies, gained through dismantling Artifacts, received as Faction assignment rewards, and via Hero Challenge Cards.
The latter requires you to do cool things and achievements to earn rewards specific to that challenge. More on that below.
Patterns
Patterns are earned through high-level crates, activities, Faction Missions, and increasing your Faction level. They can be used at Fabrication Machines to create an Outfit or Nameplate.
Units
Units are the game’s soft-currency â€“ in-game digital currency with no real-world value â€“ which can be spent with Vendors. Units can be found in strongboxes or earned as rewards for increasing your Faction Level.
Vendors
Vendors in the game (usually at Avengers HQ) sell cosmetics, gear, and rare resources in exchange for Units and common Resources.

Gear Vendors will sell you character-specific Gear and Resources in exchange for Fragments gained through play. Collecting and dismantling Gear will fill you full of Fragments and other resources, which is why it is worth picking everything up and dismantling unneeded items for resources to exchange or reinvest.

Cosmetic Vendors accept Units gained through play to purchase Outfits, Emotes, and Nameplates. Legendary Outfits rotate weekly, while Nameplates, Emotes, and Epic & Rare Outfits rotate daily.
You can also get stuff in the game’s Marketplace, which is at the front of the game’s menu screen and is outside the game’s narrative.
Microtransaction

Here’s where the game pulls out its microtransaction hat. All of the cosmetic items in the Marketplace can only be bought with credits.
Credits are in-game currency that uses real money. 500 credits are worth US$5, while 10,000 credits are US$100. Credits come in packs of:

500
2,000
5,000
10,000

Bigger packs come with bonus free credits. One other point to note: the Marketplace deals only in cosmetics. Post-launch heroes like Hawkeye are free for all Marvel’s Avengers players.
Hero Challenge Cards
Remember when we brought up Hero Challenge Cards briefly? Basically, you earn cool rewards by doing challenges.
Each Hero Challenge Card has 40 tiers of free and premium rewards. Rewards are earned via Challenge Points by completing daily and weekly challenges.
Hero Challenge Card rewards include:

Rare Resource Bundle: Nanotubes, Nanites, Plasma, Catalyst
Resource Bundle: Fragments & Upgrade Modules
Upgrade Module Bundles: Upgrade Modules
Exotic Resource Bundle: Polychoron & Uru
Units
Credits
Hero Nameplates
Team Nameplates
Emotes
Takedowns
Outfits

Square Enix and Crystal Dynamics activated the premium Hero Challenge Card rewards for all 6 starting heroes at launch. This means you can earn and enjoy all content across the 40 tiers for free. Best of all, they don’t rotate and won’t be retired. So take your time completing these.


Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines 2 Delayed To 2021

Publisher Paradox Interactive and developer Hardsuit Labs have announced that Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines 2 has been delayed to sometime in 2021.
This is the second time the game has been postponed, as it was initially planned to launch sometime in late 2020 before its initial delay.
In a message posted toÂ Twitter, the developer said that they needed “more time” to “ensure the best player experience possible”.

Today we have an important announcement in regards to the release date of Bloodlines 2. ðŸ¦‡ pic.twitter.com/M3xR5qOOpN
â€” Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 (@VtM_Bloodlines) August 11, 2020
This is an expected decision on the publisher and developer’s part, considering how packed the Holiday 2020 season will be with not only the launch of next-gen consoles like the PS5 and Xbox Series X, but also the launch of similar rival immersive sim RPGs that serve as competition, such as CD Projekt Red’s Cyberpunk 2077 in November 2020.
Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines 2 is slated to release for the PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and PC sometime in 2021. In the meantime, check out the latest trailer below.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6dTGZ11v7U&w=560&h=315]


Call of Duty Modern Warfare & Warzone Season Three Hits This April

Load up, soldiers. Call of Duty Modern Warfare’s next season will be gunning down your way soon.
Activision recently announced Season Three of its current Call of Duty shooter; no, not the mobile one! This update will go live on 8th April, next week. So what’s new? We don’t know yet, but we’re guessing new maps, guns, and skins for CoD fans.

Season 3.4.8.20.#Warzone #ModernWarfare pic.twitter.com/UdjN4HjP5y
— Call of Duty (@CallofDuty) April 3, 2020

Our guess? We might be getting old maps like Modern Warfare 3’s Village and Call of Duty 4’s Backlot, now remastered for Modern Warfare 2019’s new game engine.


Tales Of Arise Has Been Delayed Indefinitely

Bandai Namco initially announced the latest entry in the long-running JRPG Tales Of franchise, Tales Of Arise, during E3 2019. There’s been little news about the game since then (besides a new trailer every now and again), and now the developer has confirmed that the game has been delayed indefinitely.
Tales Of Arise was initially supposed to release for the PS4, Xbox One, and PC sometime in 2020, but it looks like that won’t be happening anymore. Bandai Namco attributes the delay to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which has affected and slowed development as they had to adapt to new working situations.
The developer is looking to “provide a familiar but innovative gameplay experience to fans of the series while pushing the technical envelope to deliver a high level of graphical quality”, so it’s no wonder that the game is being delayed from its original launch window.
Bandai Namco has promised to reveal a new release window for Tales Of Arise in the future. Until then, check out the newly-released image and the most recent trailer below.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vl11Gzfiqig&w=560&h=315]


Twisted Metal TV Series Unveils First Look At Sweet Tooth In Action

During Summer Game Fest 2023, Peacock reveals a new look at Sweet Tooth in action. Sweet Tooth is voiced by Will Arnett.
The Twisted Metal series will premiere on Peacock on 27  July 2023 with 10 episodes in its first season.
The synopsis reads:
Twisted Metal, a half-hour live-action TV series based on the classic PlayStation game series, is a high-octane action comedy, based on an original take by Rhett Reese & Paul Wernick and written by Michael Jonathan Smith, about a motor-mouthed outsider offered a chance at a better life, but only if he can successfully deliver a mysterious package across a post-apocalyptic wasteland. With the help of a badass axe-wielding car thief, he’ll face savage marauders driving vehicles of destruction and other dangers of the open road, including a deranged clown who drives an all too familiar ice cream truck.
Check out the clip below:

The first clip from ‘TWISTED METAL’, starring Anthony Mackie and Will Arnett, has been released.
The series premieres on July 27 on Peacock. pic.twitter.com/LKJ3GVVPqD
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) June 8, 2023


2D Side Scroller Saga Of Sins Will Be Out This March

The 2D action game fixes from indie companies just keep on coming. Here’s another one for the books: Saga of Sins.
Saga of Sins is a side-scrolling action-adventure game where the game’s aesthetics are based on the stained glass artworks of Hieronymus Bosch, with a story where you tackle the seven deadly sins as the cleric Cecil. He can enter people’s minds and turn into one of the four unique demons, each with their own superpowers and skills.
Check out the story arcade gameplay below. Saga of Sins is slated for 30 March for PC, Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo Switch platforms. A demo is out now for PC (Steam).


Manga Hit Chainsaw Man Is Getting An Anime Adaptation

Need a demon realm manga fix featuring stunning and sharp psychotic artwork? Then you should check out Chainsaw Man the manga, created by Tatsuki Fujimoto. Or better yet, stay tuned to the eventual anime adaptation.
A recent announcement on Twitter confirms that the manga is getting the anime treatment courtesy of studio Mappa. The studio is known for adapting Dorohedoro and God of High School, so you can except high caliber animation.
https://twitter.com/MangaMogura/status/1336585644034940929
Manga fans sure can’t wait for the old ultraviolence to crop up, but right now there’s no confirmed release window for the adaptation. For those who aren’t familiar with Chainsaw Man, it’s set in a world where demons run rampant and are literally weaponized. A special task force dedicated to protect humanity is set to even taming their own demons to counter this ever-growing threat, with our titular Chainsaw Man in the middle of it all.


Sonic The Hedgehog 2 Movie Now Has A Release Date (Update)

(Updated on 10 February 2021)
Paramount Pictures has officially announced the title for the upcoming sequel to 2020’s Sonic The Hedgehog movie and it’s actually just… Sonic The Hedgehog 2.
A new brief teaser reveals the new official logo and title for the movie, which is still slated to premiere on 8 April 2022.
Check out the teaser below:

Paramount and its related celebrities recently tweeted the release date and year of the sequel to this year’s most successful video game movie adaptation, which isn’t saying much given the state of the world.
That’s right: Sonic The Hedgehog 2 will be speeding onto the big screens on 8th April 2022.

SONIC 2 IS OFFICIALLY COMING 2 THEATERS 4/8/22!!! pic.twitter.com/Xpci0HzK5d
— Ben Schwartz (@rejectedjokes) July 24, 2020

There are no plot details right now, but we’re guessing it will be picking up from the last movie’s ending. Actors Ben Schwartz, Jim Carrey, and James Marsden will be returning.
Spoiler warning for those who haven’t seen or don’t want to hear the ending to this all-ages film yet.

At the end of Sonic The Hedgehog, the good guys win. Dr. Robotnik is stranded on a mushroom-covered planet and now looks like his video game self. Tails arrives on Earth in a post-credit scene and is on a quest to search for Sonic. Knuckles might pop up in the sequel, given the fact that the invading tribe in the first 10 minutes of the first film are of the Echidna race.
In any case, Paramount and Sega are going to ride this blue streak until people say “no more”. After all, Sonic The Hedgehog made US$306 million worldwide total since its 14th February debut.


Fight Against Viking Armies In This Week’s Free Epic Games Store Offering

Defend your home from Viking armies that seek to burn down your houses and kill your people as they ambush your island from every corner. Every island is procedurally generated so you’re always on your toes, always having to plan where to place your troops. This is Bad North.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-hOvifHkW0&w=560&h=315]
Initially released in 2018, Bad North is a real time tactics game with roguelite systems and mechanics. The Epic Game Store is giving away the game for free and it comes in the Jotunn Edition which includes a huge content update with new items, commanders, hero traits, and enemy type. There’s also a bunch of quality of life improvements so you’re getting the best version of the game.
As you can observe in the trailer above, you won’t need a powerful gaming rig to run the game as it uses simple but still very pleasant-looking visuals. The soundtrack is also something to be praised with its beautiful Scandinavian vibes. The game is being sold for RM32 on Steam so make sure to get this free offering and keep it forever in your EGS library.


Incredibles 2 Review: An Incredible Sequel

Review originally posted on 12 June.
It took Pixar a whopping 14 years to release the sequel to one of its most iconic animated movies of all time. The Incredibles remains unique in Pixar’s now-extensive library, featuring superheroes with familiar themes such as family and complex themes like the relevance of superheroes. Incredibles 2 continues in that grand tradition, offering more of the same story beats with some twists but improving on almost everything else including the visuals and family dynamic. Is Incredibles 2 a worthy follow-up to the first movie? Yes, it certainly is.
Incredibles 2 begins almost immediately following the aftermath of the Underminer’s attack from the first movie. I was slightly disappointed when Pixar went this route instead implementing narrative elements like time-skipping at least a few years into the future where the Parr kids would be older and the so-called Supers (what superheroes are called in-universe) would be widespread again. However, it’s clear there’s still a lot more story left to tell with this version of the Parr family.
Empowering Strong Flexible Women
Incredibles 2 basically explores the same familial and superhero themes from the first, but it’s not simply a retread as this time Pixar finds ways to expand them further. For example, it was Mr. Incredible who was the main focus of the first movie whereas this time around it’s Elastigirl in that very same position. The roles are essentially reversed, as Elastigirl gets to perform the all the action and conventional superhero stuff while Mr. Incredible has to stay behind and take care of the family. Elastigirl can do everything Mr. Incredible can do, and sometimes she can do it even better. That’s what Incredibles 2 tries to prove and it succeeds.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5qOzqD9Rms&w=560&h=315]
“Done properly, parenting is a heroic act.”
It’s a great take on reversing gender roles in families. Mr. Incredible has always been the breadwinner and the best at what he does (superhero stuff). However, this time he has to leave all that to his wife and instead take care of the kids. He learns to become a better dad throughout the course of this movie and like Edna says in the movie, “Done properly, parenting is a heroic act.” I’ve heard that great men don’t necessarily make great fathers, but like Mr. Incredible proves in this movie, they can be both. Being a good father isn’t any less heroic than taking down villains and saving the world.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AkTdM-wggBo&w=560&h=315]
As for the kids, I’d say that baby Jack-Jack received the most screentime. Dash fans would be slightly disappointed as more attention is given to his sister Violet in Incredibles 2. We see a lot more of Jack-Jack’s myriad abilities in action, as Bob Parr / Mr. Incredible attempts to keep them in check. Most of the jokes are centered around Jack-Jack’s incredibly unpredictable powers, which when combined with Jack-Jack’s infant cuteness, makes him the highlight of the movie.
Watchmen-Lite
Just like its predecessor, Incredibles 2 evoke Watchmen-like themes. Supers have been made illegal and the world is deemed to be a better world without them. The first movie explores those themes in a family-friendly way and it succeeds. “Are superheroes still relevant in a peaceful world?” You could argue that Mr. Incredible was trying too hard to become a superhero again, that it was an unhealthy obsession which led to him becoming negligent towards his family. But that’s another issue entirely.
This time around the movie explores a slightly different take on the issue, which has to do with the villain’s motivations. However, I can’t reveal it without spoiling the movie’s villain, so you’ll have to watch the movie when it releases. I can tell you that the story is a bit derivative and the main plot twist can be seen from a mile away. Still, I don’t expect anything too complex or intricate in an animated movie geared towards all ages.
Imagine Action Scenes From Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol Being In Animated Form
It’s a Pixar animated movie, so I don’t have to tell you that Incredibles 2 is an extremely beautiful and visually-striking movie. 14 years of technological progress definitely shows in the movie from the way. Additionally, I do have something I’d like to highlight. Ever since the first Incredibles movie, director Brad Bird has tried his hand at directing live action movies like the phenomenal Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol and the less-phenomenal Tomorrowland.
I’m sure that Bird took everything he learned as a live-action director and incorporated them in the development of Incredibles 2. Remember how good the action scenes were in Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol? Now imagine them in lush animation. The action scenes and choreography in Incredibles 2 are as intense as any live-action movie out there.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBpdL9hSac4&w=560&h=315]
Another huge improvement I would like to highlight is the camera work or cinematography. The way the action scenes flow into each frame doesn’t feel like an animated movie at all. The action scenes are shot like the very best live-action movies. What else can I say about them? They’re some of the best I’ve seen in an American animated movie. It’s not often that someone praises the action in a Pixar animated movie.
Will it be as iconic as the first Incredibles movie? Probably not, but only time will tell. All in all, this is probably the best sequel Pixar has ever done after Toy Story 2 and 3. If the upcoming Toy Story 4 is anything like this, it’ll probably be worth the wait too. Incredibles 2 is a more than a worthy follow-up to the first movie, and fans will love a movie that, while it doesn’t break new ground, improves on its predecessor in many ways.
Excellent Animated Short “Bao”
If you’re watching Incredibles 2 in cinemas, the animated short playing before the movie starts is excellent. It’s titled “Bao,” and it explores familial themes as well. It’s quite the tearjerker too, so be prepared to get hit right in the feels.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VK2QbXssjJ0&w=560&h=315]
Pros

Expands on the themes explored in the first movie, with the roles reversed
Features a strong female lead character without abandoning the family element
Phenomenal live-action-worthy action scenes
An improvement over the first movie in almost every way

Cons

Doesn’t break new ground, explores the same themes
A slightly derivative story, plot twist can be seen a mile away

Final Score: 80/100
Incredibles 2 opens in Malaysian cinemas on 14th June 2018. We caught the movie on MBO Cinemas Big Screen via press screening, courtesy of The Walt Disney Company (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd.


Check Out These Gorgeous Ghost of Tsushima Artworks From PlayStation Devs

Just like with The Last of Us Part 2, PlayStation and its merry band of third-party developers are celebrating the release of the gorgeous & action-packed adventure title Ghost of Tsushima the best way possible. With lovely artwork.
Companies like Pixelopus (Concrete Genie), Insomniac (Spider-Man, Ratchet & Clank), and Naughty Dog (the incel darling TLOU2) are showering congratulations to Sucker Punch Productions with their depiction of the game’s protagonist Jin Sakai alongside the company’s associated mascot and main character. Check them out below; they’re definitely wallpaper-worthy.
Pixelopus

Congratulations to our super talented friends @SuckerPunchProd for launching the thrilling, and breathtakingly beautiful #GhostofTsushima!!
We are so happy for you, and canâ€™t wait to get lost in this incredible world! ?????? pic.twitter.com/S6UOhbodhu
— PixelOpus (@Pixelopus) July 17, 2020

Sony Santa Monica

SIE Bend Studio

Naughty Dog

Congratulations to our wonderful friends at @SuckerPunchProd on launching #GhostofTsushima! We're all so excited to play and experience the story and stunning world you've created.
Art by Hyoung T. Nam. pic.twitter.com/Ml0abOvzDo
— Naughty Dog (@Naughty_Dog) July 17, 2020

Insomniac

CONGRATULATIONS to our friends at @SuckerPunchProd on the launch of #GhostOfTsushima! Now our weekend is going to go by so quick! pic.twitter.com/pi9MCxjKp5
— Insomniac Games (@insomniacgames) July 17, 2020

We’ll be sure to put in more if any other artwork crop up. For now, have fun with these. If you still need convincing on buying the last-ever PS4 exclusive, read our review now.Ã‚Â


PokÃ©mon Legends Arceus Reveals New Characters & Clans

The Pokemon Company and developer Game Freak have released new details for PokÃ©mon Legends Arceus, introducing the gameâ€™s Diamond Clan, Pearl Clan, Ginkgo Guild Merchants, and Darkrai.
The Hisui Regionâ€™s Two Clans: The Diamond Clan and the Pearl Clan

In addition to being home to the Galaxy Expedition Team, two other groups reside in the Hisui region: the Diamond Clan and the Pearl Clan.
The people of the Diamond Clan often speak of the importance of cherishing the present and living in the moment with oneâ€™s allies. On the other hand, members of the Pearl Clan frequently advocate the importance of valuing the vast, spacious land shared with others.â€‹
Although the Diamond Clan and Pearl Clan disagree on many of their beliefs, they seem to nevertheless share many similarities. Both clans don clothing designed to resemble certainÂ Pokemon, and both pay respects to special Pokemon they call lords and ladiesâ€”or collectively, noble Pokemon.â€‹ Moreover, both clans have wardens who serve these special Pokemon.
â–  The Young Leaders in Charge of the Diamond and Pearl Clansâ€‹
Adamanâ€‹

Adaman serves as the leader of the Diamond Clan and has Leafeon as his partner Pokemon.â€‹
This daring young man hates to see time go to waste and likes to rush forward without worrying too much about particulars.
â€‹
Iridaâ€‹

Irida serves as the leader of the Pearl Clan, and her partner Pokemon is Glaceon.â€‹
As a leader, she feels it is important to have the courage to face the vast Hisui region. Though she is suspicious when first meeting people, she will slowly come to trust the player thanks to the help they provide in quelling the noble Pokemon.â€‹
â–  Introducing the Ginkgo Guild Merchants
â€‹A group of merchants known as the Ginkgo Guild also operates in the Hisui region. Not native to Hisui, members of the Ginkgo Guild travel around the various locations of the region, selling the wares they have gathered.â€‹

â–  Add the Mythical Pokemon Darkrai to Your Team inÂ Pokemon Legends: Arceus
Players with play records from theÂ Pokemon Brilliant DiamondÂ orÂ Pokemon Shining PearlÂ games will be able to take on a research request inÂ Pokemon Legends: ArceusÂ that will lead to an encounter with the Mythical Pokemon Darkrai. They will also be able to claim the Modern Team Galactic Set.

Darkraiâ€‹

Itâ€™s said this Pokemon is active during nights of the newÂ moonÂ and that it can lull people to sleep and make them have nightmares.â€‹

Category:Â Pitch-Black Pokemon
Type:Â Dark
Height:Â 4â€² 11â€³ (1.5m)

Weight:Â 111.3 lbs. (50.5 kg)

Pokemon Legends Arceus is slated to release for the Nintendo Switch on 28 January 2022 worldwide.


Missing Link Is A Charming Adventure With Gorgeous Visuals But Middling Story

Laika may not be a household name like Disney, Pixar or even Dreamworks but it has always been unique amongst all those other studios by championing one of the most difficult animation techniques: stop-motion. That alone would make Laika’s animated movies worth the price of admission, though they’re often so much more than their visuals.
2009’s Coraline and 2012’s Paranorman were notable for being horror animated movies that were creepy even for adults, while 2014’s Boxtrolls and 2016’s Kubo And The Two Strings were fantasy movies, the latter of which was Laika’s most grand and ambitious movie yet.
How does 2019’s Missing Link compare to all that?
Average And Predictable Story

It’s hard to tell who Missing Link is catering to. It is so different in tone and atmosphere in comparison with all of Laika’s previous efforts. All the past movies were dark, intense, and scary (but still enjoyable) for both children and adults. Missing Link shifts Laika’s usual tone to something more colorful and relaxing, akin to that of Disney or Pixar animated movies.
At its heart, Missing Link is an exciting adventure movie, where the characters travel and visit exotic locales and locations in search of a MacGuffin (insert plot device) while being chased by someone (insert antagonistic villains), evoking movies like Indiana Jones, Around The World In 80 Days, or National Treasure.
The movie follows adventurer and investigator of myths, Sir Lionel Frost, who sets off on an adventure to find the elusive creature known as the Sasquatch in order to gain acceptance by his elitist peers. Little did he know that the Sasquatch (whose name is Mr. Link) was the one who called out to him in the first place, asking him to help search for his other relatives on the other side of the world.
That’s how the adventure begins in the movie, and I was honestly expecting Missing Link to be more fantastical and epic in nature considering its narrative setting. However, I was a bit disappointed to find out that Laika decided to play it safe and go for a predictable route instead.
While the plot in Missing Link might not be as engrossing or fascinating as other Laika movies, it is still every bit as immersive. The visuals and characters more than compensate for any shortcomings of the plot. Still, casual viewers may find the story too dull if they don’t really care much for the graphics and characters.
Charming Cast Of Characters

Laika’s animated movies have never lacked in star power, and Missing Link is no different. The two main protagonists, Hugh Jackman’s Sir Lionel Frost and Zach Galifianakis’ Mr. Link/Susan, are the highlight of the movie, providing much of the movie’s charm and comedy.
This isn’t Jackman’s first rodeo in voicing an animated character, but it might be his best yet. He is perfectly cast in the role of Sir Lionel Frost, an adventurer and investigator of myths who simply oozes charm and confidence in everything he does.
Meanwhile, Zach Galifianakis is funny as the fish-out-of-water sasquatch Mr. Link/Susan, whom the younger members of the audience will most definitely love. His innocence and literal nature (think Guardians of the Galaxy‘s Drax) make for some great banter and dialogue with Sir Lionel Frost’s cocky bravado.
It’s funny that I mentioned Guardians of the Galaxy because Zoe Saldana (who plays Gamora) is also in Missing Link, portraying the character Adelina Fortnight. She’s feisty and free-spirited, much like the common stereotypical angry Latina girl in any movie you’ve seen before. The rest of the cast is well-rounded as well, boasting the likes of Emma Thompson, Stephen Fry, Timothy Olyphant, and more.
Breathtaking Visuals

As is always the case, the stop-motion animation in Missing Link is a sight to behold. Every scene, character movement and background setting of the movie has been painstakingly crafted by the blood, sweat, and many (many) man-hours of the people who work at Laika.
The results are nothing short of breathtaking, and animation enthusiasts will have plenty to appreciate. I do have one small nitpick. Kubo And The Two Strings featured some of the best and most fluid stop-motion animation I’ve ever seen. While Missing Link is still considered a graphical powerhouse, it doesn’t hold a candle to Kubo.
I don’t claim to be an expert on animation but weirdly enough, Missing Link looks like it was animated using CG instead of stop-motion. I liked watching the crickety puppet-like movements of the characters in previous movies, and while that’s still present in Missing Link, it doesn’t look as apparent as it once did. The stop-motion animation blends almost seamlessly with what little CG Laika (I assume) actually used to make this movie.
Laika Does It Again

Missing Link may not reach the heights of Coraline or Kubo And The Two Strings, but it remains another must-watch movie by the folks at Laika. The charming characters and beautiful animations manage to cover up the average-at-best plot. I’m sure that Missing Link will still appeal to viewers of all ages, be they children or adults.
FINAL SCORE: 70/100
Missing Link opens in Malaysian cinemas on 11 April 2018. We caught the movie on GSC Cinemas Onyx Hall via press screening, courtesy of The Walt Disney Company (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd.


Uniqlo And Nintendo Unveils New Super Mario-Themed Shirts

It’s-a Me, Mario!
Uniqlo and Nintendo have partnered up to bring you a collection of Super Mario-themed shirts. Dubbed the ‘Nintendo Super Mario Family Museum‘, They will be available for purchase online at the official website here and in select Uniqlo stores starting from 1 April 2019. No, this is not an April’s Fool joke.
Each of the adult/women shirts will set you back $14.90/RM60+/SGD20+, while the ones for kids will be priced at $9.90/RM40+/SGD13+. Check out some of the amazing designs below, including some that feature Super Mario franchise villain Bowser, and Mario’s dinosaur ally Yoshi.

As for the women’s attire, this is the only Princess Peach-themed shirt in the entire collection.

This shirt with Toad on it is a definite highlight of the kids’ attire section of the Uniqlo Nintendo collection.

Nintendo is not the only gaming company that Uniqlo has worked with. Recently, they worked with Capcom to introduce a line of awesome Street Fighter and Monster Hunter-themed shirts. Read the full story here.


NetEase To Launch First Official PokÃ©mon Game In China

China-based games and tech companyÂ NetEase has announced (via The New York Times) that it will be working together with The PokÃ©mon CompanyÂ and Game Freak to release the first-ever official mobile PokÃ©mon game in China.
What game is it? It’s going to be a version of PokÃ©mon Quest, which originally launched for the Nintendo Switch, Android, and iOS platforms in 2018.
NetEase VP Ethan Wang said:

“The PokÃ©mon Quest partnership is a new start and highly anticipated.”

PokÃ©mon Quest is a free-to-play game that features cute Minecraft-like visuals, as well as gameplay mechanics like simple base management and combat. However, NetEase has yet to announce a release date for the game in China, but it’s likely to be soon since the company is currently aggressively expanding its gaming reach.
In other recent news, NetEase will also be working with Marvel to create new original content that includes not only video games but TV shows and comics as well (read the full story here). In the meantime, check out our list of best PokÃ©mon of all time here.


This Limited Edition Persona 5 Notebook Has Definitely Stolen Our Hearts

Persona 5 was released two years ago but the world is far from escaping the strong grip of the Phantom Thieves. With Persona 5 Royal and Scramble coming out next year, the hunger for more Persona 5 will need to be sated somehow. That’s where the awesome merch comes in.

Atlus is partnering with video game art specialist Cook and Becker to sell limited edition Persona 5 Notebooks. These aren’t just limited in stock, they’re time-limited as well. Once they sell out, they won’t be reprinted anymore. You can pre-order them now and they’ll be shipped in February 2020. There’s also a 5% discount for those of you purchasing it this week.
As you can see in the picture above, you’ll be getting more than just a notebook. Here’s a full list of what you’ll get when buying the limited edition Person 5 Notebook plus details:

Price: US$24.75
1 Officially licensed notebook with a black cotton cover and Shujin Academy patch
13 W x 21 H cm | 5.1 x 8.3 inch
Hard cover with rounded corners
Timed limited edition
Subtly lined, pearl colored 80 gsm paper
192 pages
A signature C&B design feature: features one section of 16 pages of blank paper in the back to invite drawing
16 pages printed with original concept art and sketches
Elastic closure and bookmark
Expandable inner pocket in the back
Wrapped in paper and sealed with a sticker/label
Includes a Tarot Card

Hold up! If you’re a really big fan of Persona 5 and you want to get something truly worthy of a Phantom Thief, you should get the Collector’s Edition instead. That’s right, there’s a collector’s edition Persona 5 Notebook and it comes with more cool stuff than the limited edition set.
Here’s a detailed list of what you’ll get for buying the Collector’s Edition Persona 5 Notebook:

Price: US$55.95
2 Officially licensed notebooks
13 W x 21 H cm | 5.1 x 8.3 inch
Two hard cover notebooks with rounded corners
Limited to 1.500 copies only
Subtly lined, pearl colored 80 gsm paper
192 pages
A signature C&B design feature: each notebook features one section of 16 pages of blank paper in the back to invite drawing.
16 pages printed with concept art and sketches
Elastic closure + bookmark
Expandable inner pocket in the back
Comes with an official giclee print of original concept art Size 30 x 22 cm
Wrapped in paper and sealed with a sticker/label
Includes stickers, a pen, Tarot card, Calling Card and art
print
Packed in a luxury Collector’s Box

Even though I’m not that big of a Persona 5 fan, I gotta admit that the Collector’s Edition set looks pretty darn enticing. I suppose this is what it feels like to have the Phantom Thieves stealing your heart huh.
You can head over to the Cook and Becker online store to purchase the notebook.


Ms. Marvel Episode 2 Breakdown & Easter Eggs

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

Kingo Mention

Kamran mentions that his mother is a fan of Kingo Senior. In The Eternals, Kumail Nanjiani’s Kingo explained that he settled in India to become a famous Bollywood movie star, dancer and director, known professionally as Raj Kingo Deva. To hide his immortality, he claimed throughout the years that he belonged to a single lineage of actors.

When Did The DODC Get An Upgrade?

A post-credits scene from the first episode of Ms. Marvel revealed that Arian Moayed reprises his role as Agent Cleary from Spider-Man No Way Home, while Alysia Reiner plays Agent Sadie Deever. Both of them work for the DODC (Department Of Damage Control), which is a government agency set up with the aid of Stark Industries in order to clean up superhuman disasters after the Battle Of New York (they first appeared in Spider-Man Homecoming.
However, the DODC is now something different, as they had the power to apprehend Peter Parker and interrogate his aunt and friends after his identity as Spider-Man was made public in Spider-Man No Way Home. Now they’re suddenly hunting superhumans for some reason?
Not only that, but they have guns that shoot either sound waves or energy waves of some kind. That’s pretty advanced. Did someone new take over the DODC? Are they no longer just ‘Damage Control’?
who Is Kamala’s Great Grandmother?

When Kamala uses her powers, it seems like her great grandmother, Aisha, is reaching out to her. However, we still don’t know her real backstory, and can only speculate. The only thing we know about her is that she disappeared one night when Sana, Kamala’s grandmother, was still a little child. Perhaps she’s part Kree or part alien? That’s the most probably reason why all this cosmic stuff is happening to Kamala.
The bangle that gives Ms. Marvel her hard light construct powers were passed down from her great grandmother. That’s all we know about the bangle so far. However, I have some theories.
In the comics, Kamala is an Inhuman, which is how she gets her powers to embiggen and alter her body mass to stretch and change her physical form. However, the MCU version is clearly different.
Plus, her powers now look like they’re closer to DC Comics’ Green Lantern. She can seemingly create blue hard light constructs.
Let’s see who in the comics can use hard light constructs or use bracelets to draw their power.
There is one Marvel hero who uses hard light constructs like these and his/her name is Quasar. In the comics, Quasar is an individual given cosmic powers via the Quantum Bands (which are bracelets) by an entity named Eon. There have been multiple Quasars, including Wendell Vaughn and others.

Another bracelet-wielding hero was the original Captain Marvel in the comics, the Kree hero named Mar-Vell. The Nega Bands gave him his powers. However, the MCU version of Mar-Vell already appeared and he’s different, though the Nega Bands can still potentially appear in the MCU.

We have four episodes left and things are heating up. Until next week, excelsior!


These Ex-Blizzard Developers Are Making The Games Blizzard No Longer Wants To Create

Ever since Activision-Blizzard was made official, nay, back even to when Diablo III came out with its auction house nonsense, Blizzard hasn’t been the same since. Many developers in the company back in 2010 onward felt this, which is why many of them have left to create their own studios, with their own freedoms and autonomy that isn’t available in the current Blizzard regime.
According to a Bloomberg report, most of these ex-Blizzard folks have formed game studios in Irvine California, the same state where Blizzard and its HQ campus is. This group is dubbed Blizzard 2.0 by the gaming community because they’re making the games Blizzard doesn’t want to make anymore.
One standout is last year’s Frost Giant Studios, founded by veteran producer Tim Morten. The team is making a real-time strategy game; the kind that Blizzard used to make and promote with StarCraft 2. Initially, Morten pitched the idea to Blizzard, but it was rejected because the genre doesn’t make “orders of magnitude” like with its other IPs.
But is Frost Giant Studios in a good place, financially speaking? Well, the company has raised nearly US$10 million thanks to BITKRAFT Ventures, along with other investors like Kona Venture Partners.
Of course, Frost Giant Studios isn’t the only company made up of ex-Blizzard folks. Former Blizzard chief creative officer Rob Pardo raised US$25 million from venture capital fund Andreessen Horowitz and Riot Games to start Bonfire Studios. Hearthstone director Ben Brode left Blizzard in 2018 to form an independent game studio called Second Dinner. He managed to raise US$30 million from Chinese company Netease.

Perhaps the one big group that’s tying Blizzard 2.0 together is ex-Blizzard co-founder Mike Morhaime, who left in 2018 and formed his own company Dreamhaven in 2020 with his wife Amy and two dozen other Blizzard veterans. They’re operating two internal game studios and are partnering with other ex-Blizzard companies, forming a network of alumni who often collaborate. Dreamhaven is consulting for Frost Giant Studios, while Second Dinner invites ex-Blizzard folks and studios to playtest upcoming games. To quote Brode:
“We’re all super friendly with each other. We’re all trying to stay afloat, trying to do our best, help each other get there.”


Apex Legends’ Latest Hero Newcastle Shows Off His Shield In New Trailer

In a new trailer, Apex Legends shows off its newest Legend, Newcastle, who comes with a shield as his weapon of choice. The cinematic trailer gives us a glimpse of Newcastle’s skills and some nice teamwork with other Legends.
Newcastle was previously revealed to be Jackson, Bangalore’s brother, in an earlier Stories From The Outlands trailer. His skills are focused on shields, so it’s like that he’ll be more of a defensive nature instead of going on the offensive. However, his full kit and abilities have yet to be fully unveiled by Respawn Entertainment.
Apex Legends Savior (Season 13) is slated to launch on 28 April 2022.


Take-Two CEO Says GTA Trilogy: Definitive Edition Is Doing Great Despite “Glitches”

Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition has performed “great” since its November release; at least, according to Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick.
The CEO of Rockstar’s parent company may be downplaying the major issues of the remaster at launch during a recent CNBC interview.
“With regards to the GTA trilogy, that was actually not a new title. That was a remaster of pre-existing titles. We did have a glitch in the beginning, that glitch was resolved. And the title of [sic] has done just great for the company.”
See, the GTA remaster was released with significant technical issues and retains documents within the old games like the unlicensed music, dev notes, and even the infamous Hot Coffee sex minigame code.Â Since then, Rockstar has apologized and has promised upcoming updates to improve the title.
Zelnick has also talked about the market’s negative reaction towards Take-Two’s plans to acquire Zynga in a US$12.7 billion deal. The GTA comments in the interview were done to most likely placate shareholders who have reacted poorly to this piece of news. Talk about mastering the art of PR spinning at a CEO level.