Tuesday, 29 January 2013
Dishonored: PC Review
Borrowing from Dishonored’s tagline, “revenge solves everything”, my first impression was of hatred, uncompromising violence, and the satisfaction from blood spilled. But once I ventured into the dark, steam punk settings of Dunwall city, my initial ideas became doubtful. Dishonored is a game primarily based on you on a path of revenge, but revenge itself can be achieved in many ways. It’s not always about the spilling of blood, the evil laughs, or the cunning taste of victory. There’s another side to revenge as well, the good side, the more socially-justified side, and that’s who you will be playing as. A good guy.
You are Corvo Attano, Lord Protector to the Empress but in the opening sequences has helplessly failed to prevent her assassination. If guilt and self-blame wasn’t enough, the brains behind the dethroning has framed you for her murder, throwing you into the cells fated for execution.
Like all stories, movies and games, the protagonist in such situations always somehow, somewhat gets a “mysterious friend” to help him out. You get a key for your only opportunity to escape and it is during that first sequence that you are introduced to a glimpse into the city of Dunwall, the uniquely-artsy texture of its graphics, the general gameplay you will be facing, and how its all about the freedom, the kills, and the rats.
No Dualshock controllers in next-gen PS4?
Since its introduction in 1997 with the first PlayStation, the Dualshock controllers have become synonymous with the console's brand, while some would also say its design had arguably inspired the Xbox controllers we have today.
While these two-handed controllers has somewhat become a representative of modern console gaming, recent reports as received by CVG have suggested that next-gen consoles, and more specifically the PS4, may not sport a similar Dualshock design anymore.
This in particular is supposedly due to a more, advanced, and in some way, quite creepily, the use of biometric sensors for future consoles. For those unfamiliar, biometric sensors actually read your pulse rate and say maybe, your thumbprints and even eye movement. The PS4 reportedly also sports an LCD screen, along with the touchscreen capabilities of the PS Vita which if it indeed turns into a reality, will make the experience entirely fresh.
What do you reckon? Are you a sticker to the Dualshock, or are you willing to embrace this next generation of controls, whatever it might be?
Saturday, 26 January 2013
Troll Warlord rages onto Dota 2
All hail the king of trolls, or so they said.
Troll Warlord, another classic and one of the more popular heroes from the original DotA has finally been added to DOTA 2 in the latest patch update (24th January).
For those unfamiliar, though very unlikely, Troll Wardlord is a strong carry capable enough to be one very formidable foe. It excels both in range and melee, and with a tunelling attack speed stack on a single target, it will be difficult to deal with in individual fights. While during team fights, Troll's ultimate can be the determining factor with a global attack speed increase for all allies.
Some complain it's imbalance, but we simply reckon its a great hero to play with, and an obviously good choice to trick your enemies into believing they stand a chance when you are in fact fighting with an increasingly-formidable speed. Oh, and that ulti, its a tower breaker.
If you are relatively still new, learn about Troll Warlord at dota2.com/hero/Troll_Warlord
Friday, 25 January 2013
Neolution Orange reformed with new 2013 DOTA 2 team roster
After a series of rumours, transfers and in particularly seeing the move of Yamateh to Team Zenith, Orange eSports seemed quite lackluster, much to their fan's dismay. But contrary to a few believes on Orange's not-so-bright future and some words of worries, the management team has came out with a surprise reformation on the team.
For a start, after very recently gaining an invaluable platinum sponsorship by Neolution eSports, what used to be know as Orange eSports will now be officially known as Neolution Orange. With a whole new name and ultimately a new brand and a fresh image, the team will see (for most ways) a new lineup, and a formidable one too.
Chan "Winter" Litt-Binn and Chua "Ice" Chee Cai have officially left Orange, while Neolution Orange will see both Lim ‘Net’ Wai Pern and Mushi's profoundly-known disciple Khoo ‘Ohaiyo’ Chong Xin completing its 2013's DOTA 2 roster along with Mushi, Xtinct (captain) and Ky.xY. Hopefully, this will be a finalised, stable one.
Official words of its reformation, welcomes and thankyous by Orange:
Orange Esports extends our welcome to Lim ‘Net’ Wai Pern and Khoo ‘Ohaiyo’ Chong Xin who will be completing our 2013 DotA team roster. On the other hand, we parted ways with Chan "Winter" Litt-Binn and Chua "Ice" Chee Cai. Like Yamateh, Winter and Ice are also top quality DotA players and accomplished a great deal during their service with Orange Esports. We wish them best of luck in their next stage of DotA career and they will be missed by many of us.
We also take this opportunity to announce our new partnership with Neolution E-Sport who will come in as Orange Esports Platinum Sponsor for 2013. We like to thank the CEO of Neolution Group, Mr. Satean Boonmanant for his generous supports. The sponsorship will complete the new pay package for our Professional DotA players like never seen before in South East Asia. In recognition of their sponsorship, Orange Esports DotA team will be known as “Neolution Orange” in 2013.
Here's to hoping that this will continue to be Neolution Orange's roster for the rest of 2013, and bring even greater success for pride of our local eSports scene! *cross fingers*
Tuesday, 22 January 2013
Possible PlayStation 4 announcement confirmed for E3 2013, "or even earlier, in May"
It has been close to 8 years since Sony first unveiled the PlayStation 3 and if anything, its about time a next-gen console gets announced. Rumours and various 'close sources' online have strongly suggested that we will definitely hear the announcements of next-gen consoles this year, and would most probably be in June during this year's E3.
This is comforting news, of course, but what's even better is that the very date of the announcement may arrive even sooner, as we have recently learned. Speaking to Chilean website Emol, Sony's vice president of home entertainment Hiroshi Sakamoto revealed some news confirming a PlayStation announcement in May.
This came about when Emol asked about the possibility of us seeing a new home console by Sony in the next few months. “That's still a big secret, but our friends [in the certain division] are preparing [a new] Sony PlayStation,” commented Sakamoto. “I can only say that we are focused on the E3 gaming event, scheduled for June. [An] announcement may be [made at that time] or even earlier, in May.”
While the odds of this 'new PlayStation' being a next-gen console is high and would possibly be named the PlayStation 4, Sakamoto did not reveal anything about it. But what we now know is that an announcement will be made this May, will it really be the next-gen console we have waited long, or could it merely just be a toned-down PlayStation like Nintendo's Wii Mini....well we certainly hope it isn't the latter.
Monday, 21 January 2013
Yamateh departs from Orange eSports and joins Team Zenith
In a shocking turn of events, Orange eSports has officially announced that Yamateh (2nd from left), arguably one of its star player has recently departed to join Singapore's Team Zenith. You see, rumours were actually saying that (instead of Yamateh) Mushi was the one who had plans to move to Zenith. This came across when news of Yee Fung 'Mushi' Chai and Wei Poong 'Yamateh' Ng wasn't getting along in Orange eSports.
DOTA 2 being a team game and what not, any disagreement between team members would definitely hurt their overall performance. While Orange eSports had their own conflicts internally, Team Zenith, on the other hand, were critically having difficulties in setting up a stable roster after being down to a 3-man team - Yamateh's move will now add it to 4.
Official statement from Orange eSports:
We like to announce the official departure of Yamateh from Orange Esports DotA team. He will be joining the Zenith team as you may see in their GosuCup Asia IV lineup. We thank him for his dedications and contributions to the team in 2012 and wish him much success. Orange Esports DotA team is still working on our 2013 roster aim to be among the Top 3 DotA2 teams in Asia. Thank you to our fans for their continuous support!
We personally feel that it's a real disappointment on how both these 'big' teams are constantly having changes in their rosters and struggling to stabilise internally. Though, we would still definitely wish Yamateh all the best at Zenith, and his huge contribution to Orange before.
Sunday, 20 January 2013
Interviewing Kevin of Machinima's
How to Annoy People
Machinima's highly-popular series How to Annoy People is recently back with Season 3 after about a 2 year hiatus. The weekly episodes show how its creator, Kevin deliberately annoys other gamers who weren't playing seriously, found it funny or those who are really not so friendly. We recently had the chance to interview him on the comeback of Season 3.TSG: Hi Kevin, could you start by sharing with us about yourself? For example how did you first get into gaming and what drove you to upload them on youtube?
Kevin: Well, I started gaming when I was a kid but never got into online gaming until 3 or 4 years ago. I started gaming online around the time Call of Duty 4 came out and I managed to get myself an Xbox 360. I got really stuck into Call of Duty for a while, then my friend started posting a few clips of his gameplay online and I thought it would be a bit of fun so off to the store I went, got my first capture card and recorded a very very very average video, it got a few views and a few likes, I'm talking low double digits here. I was delighted. I guess it just snowballed from there really.
TSG: We understand that How to Annoy People isn't how you usually play or do, but have you met anyone that you just had to troll them?
Kevin: Haha, haven't we all? I think there's always someone you run into that is just making a fool of themselves or picking on someone who isn't retaliating and just thought "I'm going to mess with his head so bad, he will never want to play this game again". I mean it's hard not to troll someone when they are getting angry like that without a rational reason. I would like to say I'm a vigilante giving angry gamers some payback, but that's not true at all, I just find it hilarious.
TSG: What is one thing you yourself get most annoyed at?
Kevin: People who get angry at other people and give them abuse when they did nothing to deserve it, it just gives all gamers a bad reputation and discourages new people from playing online. It just gets under my skin and it doesn't accomplish anything, if they are on your team they will play worse because of the abuse they are getting and if they are against you, you'll just look like an idiot. I'm all for annoying people that deserve it, but leave people that are just there to play a game alone, that’s my opinion on it.
TSG: The last episode/season of How to Annoy People was about 2 years ago, why the break in between and what inspired you to continue the series?
Kevin: Honestly by the end of season 2, I needed a break. Season 1 and 2 were very close together and it was too much of the same thing over and over again. I knew I was getting bored and I really wanted it to end on a high note rather than going for another season and letting the name down. I would have came back after a few months to do it but despite trying on numerous occasions, I couldn't. There was always one person in the lobby "It's Kevin! Kevin from How To Annoy!", I guess the popularity of the series was it's own downfall really.
TSG: You mentioned in one of your personal videos that Season 3 is going to be more polished, what else can we expect this time around?
Kevin: I'm happy with how the other two seasons were in terms of comedy and stuff but looking back on it, audio and video quality was not up to scratch. The new season is way better in sound and video as well as having an outro graphic linking out to previous episodes. It's not a huge difference but all the little things mean a lot now when it comes to videos.
TSG: How to Annoy People has been based on Call of Duty titles, what are your thoughts on, if you tried it in other games you play? For example, Team Fortress 2 or League of Legends, how do you think the community or the mechanics of annoying them could be different?
Kevin: I would LOVE to do an episode on League of Legends but it's just text communication and I don't think that would turn out as good. I think the voice chat is a big part of the series and why people seem to like it so much. There's always a possibility of trying different games with voice chat but I'll be staying on Call of Duty for the time being.
TSG: What's your biggest worry or do you face any difficulties when filming the episodes?
Kevin: Getting recognized by someone, it used to happen quite a lot. It's why there was such a break from season 2 to 3 but now it doesn't happen as often. It's just that my series works off me being some random new guy and it doesn't work out so good if someone starts shouting, "It's Kevin! From How to Annoy on YouTube!". A lot of times, It's not meant to hinder my recording, it's just someone getting happy which is great, it can just be a bit of trouble when I'm trying to get a new episode made and everyone in the lobby is alerted to what I'm doing and I have to leave.
TSG: Lastly, do you have anything else to say to your fans?
Kevin: I'd just like to thank everyone for watching the series and giving me such excellent feedback, I'm not lying when I say it really makes my day. I'm very privileged to have the opportunity to make content on YouTube and I won't forget how lucky I am to have people support my videos.
If you're a long-time fan of Kevin and his How to Annoy episodes, or even if you're new to his series, you will be glad to hear that Season 3 has recently premiered on Machinima Respawn and following episodes will continue to be published every Sunday (US time).
Note: A huge thank you to Kevin for taking the time on this interview and the folks at Machinima for the opportunity.
Friday, 18 January 2013
ADGSA 2013 - Malaysia
If you're based in Malaysia and would like to give a shot at it, up to 64 teams will be given the chance start the 25th of January in the first Malaysian qualifier.
Malaysian Qualifier #1·Venue: Online tournament
·Date: 25th, 26th and 27th January 2013
·Team limit: 64
·Tournament format: For 64 team slots, first and second stage will be single elimination and the top 16 will be double elimination.
·Top 4 teams qualify to the National Final
Malaysian Qualifier #2
· Venue: FTZ ASIA.NET internet café (Jalan SS 15/8a, SS 15, 47500 Subang Jaya, Selangor)
· Date: 1st, 2nd and 3rd February 2013
· Team limit: 32
· Tournament format: For 32 team slots, first stage will be single elimination and top 16 will be double elimination.
· Top 2 teams qualify to the National Final
Malaysian GRAND FINAL
· Venue: The Summit, Subang USJ
· Date: 22nd – 24th February 2013
Register your team at armaggeddon.net/adgsa-2013-registration/
Stand a chance to be sponsored by Armaggeddon at DOTA 2 Grand Slam Asia 2013
If the rather recent DOTA 2 The Asia wasn't itself a feast for our eyes on our regional DOTA 2 eSports scene, you will be glad to hear that even more action will be taking place as up and coming gaming gear manufacturers Armaggeddon will be organising a huge tournament regionally, or in their own words, a 'DOTA 2 Grand Slam'.
At first glance, what will catch your eye would probably be its prize pool of up to $20,000 for its Grand Slam finals in Singapore (and the RM10,000 allocated for the Malaysian Grand Finals). Though well this is not the biggest amount an eSports tournament has offered before, it is ultimately still a large sum of money and would forseeably attract some of our top talents, regionally and locally.
But what is more interesting, and definitely worth a shot, is Armaggeddon's offer for an exclusive sponsorship contract with them and their 'corporate alliance' with some of the top brands in the industry like AMD, Asus and Valve.
Quite obviously, Armaggeddon is scouting for an up and coming DOTA 2 team to fully-sponsor, support, and nurture while bringing their company's brand up as well. With that, they have opened the Grand Slam tournament around Asia for the usual SEA countries and even extending to Sri Lanka, though noticeably missing out huge countries like India and China.
The Grand Slam finals which will determine who the company will ultimately sponsor is set on the 9th of March at Singapore, Marina Bay Sands. But meanwhile, Armaggeddon has opened up registrations for its very first sets of qualifier in Malaysia and Singapore which will begin as early as (at the point of writing this) exactly next week - 25th January.
Interested? Get to know its tournament FAQs here at Armaggeddon.net
Wednesday, 16 January 2013
XXF joins KL Hunters returning to the League of Legends scene
After championing Malaysia's National HON Championships and taking home with his last team Orange eSports the biggest cash prize in Malaysia's competitive gaming history, Yin 'XXF' Fong has decided that it was time he made a return to the LoL scene with his buddies KL Hunters.
For those who isn't aware, XXF used to play competitively in LoL before moving into HoN and Orange eSports. In an interview with GosuGamers, he explained that his decision to return wasn't certain yet as of during the HoN championships, but it was only after winning the biggest prize pool that he felt that he had achieved a "personal goal of his own and it was time to return back to LoL and prove [himself] there as well", adding that "Kuala Lumpur Hunters were my friends before and I decided to go back to them as they were a great team".
As per returning to Kuala Lumpur Hunters, XXF is going to play a supposedly significant role as an AD carry to boost the team's (as of yet) rather-disappointing performance in the ongoing GPL 2013. With his previous experiences and past success, here's hoping that his return will bring our hunters up once again!
Top 5 PC-exclusive games releasing in 2013
2013 is a year highly-anticipated for the release of some major next-gen consoles. While make no mistake we are still very much thrilled for finally, their arrival (assuming so), we are equally as excited for the PC platform and its exclusive games set to release this year. As with most PC-exclusives, our top 5 are mostly online based and feature multiplayers of MMOs, RPGs and a MOBA (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena) no gamer could never have heard before. But save the introduction, in no particular order, here's our 5 most anticipated PC-only titles ready for 2013:
The Elder Scrolls Online
Release: Mid-2012
The Elder Scrolls series have been known for its vast land of endless adventure and deep exploring. With the announcement of an MMO based on its franchise, unless you haven’t played one of its titles before, you can’t say you aren’t a little excited about it.
But there’s another side of a story to this. Skyrim, Morrowind, and the past few Elder Scrolls titles have been a true icon of what RPG adventure games should all be about, but with a MMO in sight, some have argued for fear that it will not represent the franchise itself, but instead eroding its core qualities of freedom and exploration and focusing instead on the usual MMO gimmicks - endless, multiple quests, guild wars, trading, and ultimately shouting the loudest in the world chat system. As a huge Skyrim dragonborn and the love for exploration inked in us, the only question left is: to which alliance should i be loyal to. The Daggerfall Covenant, the Aldmeri Dominion, or the Ebonheart Pact?
Starcraft 2: Heart of the Swarms
Release: March 12
Starcraft 2 is undeniably a force of its own already. A division itself in the global eSports scene, it has gained a massive following around the world and in particularly, Korea. Following after Wings of Liberty, Starcraft 2: Heart of the Swarm (HoTS) will see the first expansion in the series and a focused, in-depth campaign on the Zergs. Thus the title, bringing you back to the core of all zergs, the ‘heart’ of the swarm. Starcraft 2: HoTS will feature a few multiplayer changes though first beta testers have reportedly mentioned that there were very slight and could not really feel a differential impact. But what remains a mystery and the tingling sense of unknown delight, is its campaign as we probe further into the protagonist Sarah Kerrigan.
Company of Heroes 2
Release: Early 2013
7 years later and the then highly-popular 2006 game is back in World War 2 with a fresh new front – the Soviet side. Company Heroes 2 will see you leading the Soviet army into the battles mainly against the German invasion.
With a whole new faction brings along an entirely new perspective on how a communist country operates in battles, and with the extreme weather and sheer coldness of the Soviet territory, it will be interesting to see how many more possibilities the new environment can be employed. And of course, the Battle of Berlin, the one very fight that made all the difference in today's world, the one moment in history that mattered significantly - simply said, it can't be missed.
World of Warplanes
Release: Currently in closed beta
World of Tanks exploded into the online gaming and even the eSports scene last year. And this year, it looks like creators Wargaming.net will be expanding its franchise into the horizon with a World of Warplanes. Though still in closed beta, Wargaming.net has been marketing it quite heavily in major events and press abroad. It could only mean that it's opening up soon, and we're going all in on this.
Fly the air, control the skies, and call it a win. Upgrade your planes, unlock the exclusives, and in the heat of war brave yourself to bring the rest of players down in the multiplayer arena. And for the record this is going to be a very community-focused game where you battle and interact with other players while for its storyline, is quite basically, inessential. But if you loved War of Tanks, and has a crush on planes, it's gonna be a hell of a ride!
DOTA 2
This is one game no PC gamers need an introduction to. Whether you follow this, its other MOBA counterparts, or just an ordinary gamer, you would surely have in some point have heard about it and seen it in action. This is a game with arguably the biggest following around the world, but while it remains in beta its take-up rate is like no other, and it's certainly going to boom in thousands once it open for all.
Now before you start questioning me on its release, let me be clear that no exact dates have actually been given, so a release in 2013 may not even happen. However, we here believe that after 2 years in closed/open beta and its demand ever-increasingly strong, Valve should certainly come to a point soon (this year) to officially announce its release. Another possibility, we believe would be when all the original DOTA heroes have been ported over.
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and that's our 5 games we definitely will get our hands on when it releases on PC. What's yours?
Monday, 14 January 2013
Garena unveils plans for Malaysian League of Legends Tournament in 2013
League of Legends exploded globally into the eSports scene last year, and with 2013, it sure looks like the rising phenomenon is not slowing down anytime soon. GPL 2013 has recently began merely in days into the new year, and as the official host/publisher of League of Legends (LoL) in Asia, Garena has announced yet another initiative to bring the game up another notch.
In conjunction with LoL Season 3, Garena has began planning on one of the biggest Malaysian League of Legends tournaments this year around, particularly with up to a total of RM100,000 worth of prize pool. The tournaments will be broken down into two progressive seasons, first the Spring then the Summer (though Malaysia only has rain and sun lol), and finally leading to the Malaysian LoL Grand Finals. Plus, the winner of the Spring Season will additionally get a chance to immediately proceed into the LoL Season 3 regional qualifiers.
The Spring Season will also be divided into two categories depending on how much guts or skills you have. Judge and consider yoruself a rookie, or as part of the 'King of the Hills'. Each game will be critical as you and your team will face a single elimination match format. But as you get excited about this, start forming your team if you don't have one yet, and get ready as the tournaments are set to commence in February.
and here's a detailed tournament format sneak peeked by Garena.
Friday, 11 January 2013
How to Annoy People Season 3 finally returns January 13 on Machinima Respawn
Team-based gaming can be extremely irritating, especially when you meet certain individuals who just can't seem to work along and co-operate, or, if you meet someone like Kevin.
Acting like a total noob who randomly fires at every single corner and every single teammate, being completely ignorant about what anyone says, and sealing the deal by ultimately rambling on and on in-game about absolutely nonsensical stuff, you can say having someone like Kevin on a team is simply a pain to game.
But it's all just for the fun, isn't it? and that's what makes How to Annoy People with Kevin so hilariously epic. It's weekly-episodes shows how while playing titles from the Call of Duty series, he deliberately annoys other gamers who weren't playing seriously, found it funny or, well, some people who became really not so friendly. But being the ignorant Kevin, he continues to ramble on and on and literally following them everywhere you simply just cant stop laughing . Sometimes also known at an IGN of TeamLeader1811, you'll learn that the easiest way of annoying people is trapping them, of course. "So much for a team leader, eh?".
Garnering over 62.4 million views over the past 2 season already, and having more than a million views for about each videos from the series, How to Annoy People is evidently popular with its strong fan base. And even after about 2 years on since the last season, its following remains consistent as Machinima has recently announced with a trailer that How to Annoy People will be back with a Season 3 on Machinima Respawn, starting 13th of January!
Here's to the start of a whole new season!
Thursday, 10 January 2013
'The most powerful tablet' Razer Edge (Pro) announced - a gaming tablet, PC and console
But the Razer Edge (Pro) isn't merely a tablet by itself.
In fact, this whole idea of a gaming tablet started off a year ago at the very same event CES 2012 as Project Fiona - a portable gaming tablet with handle/controllers at the sides. After a year's development and progress, including crowdsourcing ideas from fans on their facebook page, what started off as a concept idea has now became a reality with improved versatility and embeds the very specs Razer fans has voted for.
As how Razer puts it, "It's a tablet. It’s a PC. It’s a console". Ultimately following the trend, the Razer Edge is similar to a Windows 8 convertible having 4 different 'modes'.
Priced at $999 for the slate itself, it is like any Windows 8 tablet with full-compatibility with any other softwares and touchscreen-based games.
Wednesday, 9 January 2013
[Event] Garena Carnival Malaysia 2013
For all gamers in Malaysia, 2013 started with a bang as many came together from the 4th to 6th January at Midvalley Megamall to witness and experience Garena Carnival 2013.
Garena has been the official regional publisher of some of the biggest and most popular eSports games, namely League of Legends (LoL), Heroes of Newerth (HoN) and Blackshot.
Now in its 3rd year, the Garena Carnival was naturally all about celebrating its best games and gathering our nation's tightest community in one arena as fans of Heroes of Newerth, Blackshot and not to forget League of Legends gathered on the particular days to put their strength and love for these games to test.
Adding on to that, gamers had the rare opportunity to participate live on stage to battle with similarly talented opponents as both the HoN National Championship and the Blackshot National League were held on the days. With such a huge tournament alive on stage centrally located in MidValley, you can surely expect a large audience as fans and passer-bys alike spectated and supported their favourite teams.
The audiences were also given the chance to put in bets in form of lucky draw tickets and after each game, whoever who played bets on the winning team will then have a chance to get their tickets drawn.
If some of you were there, you would know that the first game of the 3-day carnival was League of Legends - one of the most well-known MOBA (multiplayer online battle arena) that exploded into the eSports scene last year, not to mention it is one of the few games which actually require solid teamwork from the whole team throughout the whole game.
One of the highlights on Day 1 was the battle between Nothing to Lose and Team Secret. After an intense period of some serious gaming and strategies, it was ultimately Team Secret who achieved the top and had the rare chance to go against our national LoL team, KL Hunters who at the time we're writing this, are also representing us at the GPL 2013.
Though Team Secret won all their previous matches, they were still no match for our national representatives KL Hunters, being wiped out in under 25 minutes without doing any major damage. Even so, both teams managed to brought their courage and true sportsmanship together, congratulating each other on a good game.
Unfortunately, we couldn't spend the whole of 3 days there but that's our experience at this year's Garena Carnival. And you bet we sure are looking forward to the next!
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by Marcus Heng / Malaysian Representative
Graduating in Mass Communication, Marcus is a diehard Call of Duty fan. A young journalist, he's passion in both video games and producing videos have developed him into an aspiring Youtuber, not for the fame or partnership, but on a mission to inspire the way he was very inspired. Connect with him at his twitter account.
New Pokemons X/Y! Froakie, Chespin and Fennekin.
In the first official presentation by Nintendo this year, the focus was on their all-time favourites, ever-so-cute, very legendary Pokemons. I've got to be honest that the last I played was Pokemon Black and White, and since they decided to milk the franchise with Black 2 and White 2, i honestly thought that was it for our childhood-favourites.
But fortunately, they preserved. With the new Pokemon X/Y, the first of titles which are not related to anything in the colour palette, you can see that Nintendo has brought quite some major changes to the franchise, good changes.
From its launch trailer (below), Pokemon X/Y will be a little more 'active' featuring a 3D, stereoscopic world with some redesigned environment and even adding dynamic battles. First impressions of Pokemons looking like they are actually battling is, to say the least, amazing.
And as always, keeping with the tradition, Pokemon X/Y will similarly start with 3 types of Pokemons. Froakie the water type, Chespin the leaf type and Fennekin the fire type. And oh my do they all look extremely cute, and cuddly! I'm personally going for Froakie though, what about you?
So now you must be wondering when the Pokemon X and Y be available, and here's one major change in how Nintendo will start publishing them. In past titles, a launch in Japan and North America (any other country in the world) has always been separated, by months and even years.
But for the first time ever, Pokemon X and Y will be launching globally, on the same day, somewhere in October. This news specifically came about as Nintendo also announced that Pokemon X/Y will be capable of connecting every players around the world together to trade, battle, or whatever they have now. Unfortunately it will only be available on Nintendo's 3DS and not the Wii U.
Tuesday, 8 January 2013
Monster unveils the MVP Carbon - its first gaming headphones partnered with EA Sports
Named as the MVP Carbon, it isn't exactly the fanciest nor catchiest name of all besides the fact that well, it's an MVP. And with such a high prestige and a huge collaboration between two giants of their respective industries, this MVP sure looks comfy and presents a premium feel in it. With the EA Sports logo on its sides, it will come in both black and white and retails at $269.95.
Monster and its Beats headphones have already built a strong brand for themselves in the music industry, but with this venture it is important to note that gaming headphones, though they look pretty much similar, serves an entirely different purpose as they actually provide detailed layers of each and every action in-game. For some that exaggerates, that could make or break the game.
But that's another story, for another time.
As with EA Sports and its games' availability on almost all of the major platforms today, the MVP Carbon is fully-compatible with PCs, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii and the Wii U. You can get your hands on them as soon as this February, but meanwhile, you may reserve yours at monstercable.com/headphones/eamvp.
SteelSeries announces Apex and Apex [RAW] - one of the most beautiful keyboard yet
Also dubbed as the 'world's fastest gaming keyboards', SteelSeries certainly gave an impression during the recent CES 2013, but what catches the eye I believe, is the fancy-looking, brightly-illuminated keys on this beautiful device.
Boasting 5 independent zones for 16.8 million colour illuminations each, with 8 levels of intensities, combined with an extremely sleek design and low-profile keys, you can pretty obviously see how much effort SteelSeries has put in for the Apex.
But within this beauty, lies a foundation of varied features for the most optimized and 'fastest' experience. The biggest of all, you will notice, is the number of additional macro keys it boast - a whopping total of 22 on the left and at the top. And if that isn't enough, each of the 22 macro keys feature up to 4 layers of different functions potentially summing to 88!
That's a whole lot of macro keys and to add it up another notch, the Apex feature additional media keys and even arrow keys for some 'extra directional convenience'. What's also interesting is in the midst of the number of keys basically flooding the keyboard, SteelSeries bumped its W key up a little to add a sense of recognition to retreat back to WASD keys without the need to find them. This slight but important detail they put in really do show how much a beast and possibly a flagship keyboard SteelSeries intends the Apex to be.
For the Apex [RAW], though how it kinda sounds much cooler, is actually a lower-end model. Carrying a similar sleek design, the Apex [RAW] however only consist of white backlit keys and 17 macro keys with 2 layer of programmable functions.
Both the SteelSeries Apex and Apex [RAW] are set for a second quarter release and will be priced at $100 and $70 each. Visit steelseries.com/apex and steelseries.com/apexraw for more information.
Monday, 7 January 2013
Nvidia unveils Project Shield - Android handheld gaming console capable of PC games
Nvidia, profoundly known in the gaming industry for their graphic cards and processors, have recently announced its very own handheld gaming console. Yes, an actual, working, for-the-markets handheld gaming console.
How this idea of entering the handheld console scene came about to Nvidia really surprises me. After all, handheld consoles aren't really doing at its best now isn't it? When was the last time you bought a handheld, or even seen a friend playing one?
But Project Shield has loads to offer, and I can't say I'm not a little bit impressed about it. It runs on a pure Android operating system and what 'pure' means would be like the Nexus 4 and not a Galaxy S3, giving a simpler, more original feel which I personally believe is way sleeker.
Naturally, Nvidia is going to use its very own Tegra 4 processor which presumably gives it the capability to power 'PC quality' games. Another determining factor on portable handhelds and mobile devices would be its battery life and with the Project Shield, Nvidia had said that its internal batteries will last for 10 hours of gaming and 24 hours of HD video playback.
But what's even more interesting is its ability to stream games from a home Windows PC powered by a GeForce GTX 650 (or higher) onto the handheld console via Wi-Fi. This feature could in particularly be used with the Steam library and with the recently announced Steam Big Picture, this could work brilliantly.
Nvidia hasn't announced its price yet, but did say that its heading to the United States and Canada in the second quarter of the year. For more details on its specs, you can visit their official site at shield.nvidia.com
Orange eSports wins Malaysia's HON Championships
With RM300,000, the biggest prize ever in Malaysian eSports history in sight for the champions, you can surely bet it attracted the best and the top talents of Malaysia's HON players. Knowing that many would certainly fight it all out and flip a coin on their luck, organisers Garena has planned hard and long touring around Malaysia extensively to reach out and lure even more aspiring HON teams we have.
Well if you have been following the global eSports scene, you can guess that HON naturally isn't doing quite well in the industry, and that may quite be the reason why Garena has forked out such a high cash pool to attract and 'convert' gamers from playing a certain MOBA (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena). But nevertheless it's wonderful for our aspiring national players who gathered at the hub of all Garena fanfare, the Garena Carnival.
Also dubbed as the 'Battle of Titans', a total of 8 teams battled it all up on stage to gain the edge over the others. Some stood out, but some, had ultimately fallen. Among the teams, you can say Orange eSports have been the dominating force throughout the 3-day-long tournament, securing wins after wins and presenting a solid performance from day 1 to day 3, it would take a miracle to bring the formidable force down.
I would at the same time say that MUFC had quite been the fan favourites for the game, but their usual standards were somehow lacking and though they manage to crawl out from the losers bracket, they ended up 3rd after succumbing to HON Portal.
But nevertheless a huge congrats to the top 3 winners of Garena's HON championship!
But nevertheless a huge congrats to the top 3 winners of Garena's HON championship!
Malaysia's HON champions (RM300,000) - Orange eSports.
2nd place (RM30,000) - HON Portal
Saturday, 5 January 2013
Another reason why you should buy a second-hand Wii U - get previously purchased games for free
In what seems to be a new discovery of one of the many 'features' in Nintendo's Wii U, reports are suggesting that any used Wii U with previously bought games will be able to be redownloaded by second-hand owners, even after the console has been reformatted and all old accounts wiped off the system.
This piece of information came about when a member on NeoGAF claimed that after picking up the console, he found himself with entirely free access to some previously-bought games Trine 2 and Nano Assault Neo.
While he certainly is lucky, how this actually worked is presumably due to the Nintendo Network ID tie-in with the console itself. Any purchased games with the Network ID will then also be linked with the console, and for the record this is normal. But what's mind-boggling here is how even after any old Nintendo Network ID has been wiped off, and new IDs used on the reformatted console, previous purchased games somehow seem to have remain in the system's registers.
Friday, 4 January 2013
Overcoming Stress With Online Gaming and Videos
In the modern age, many people suffer from stress, whether it is related to their job, their family or their social life and there are numerous ways to help combat this. Although it may seem simplistic, the escapism of cartoons and TV can be very helpful, whatever your age or background.
Many people who suffer from stress struggle to find a solution that helps them deal with it. Part of the problem is the sheer variety of causes of stress that are present in the modern environment. Some are severe, such as moving house or having a divorce, but others are smaller but cumulative, as in the small stresses that occur in the working environment or in relationships with other people. The former type usually requires a much more serious form of treatment, such as therapy or counselling, but the latter can be combatted by simply making smaller and gradual changes to your lifestyle until you have alleviated your stress and feel healthier and more relaxed.
Identifying Stress
Stress is a notoriously difficult condition to recognise and identify, as it can affect people in many different ways. Some people will experience it biologically, through loss of hair or headaches, while others will suffer in a more psychological sense, such as apathy or feeling distant and disconnected. One of the most successful ways of identifying stress is to assess your lifestyle and see if there are certain aspects that could be responsible for stress. Each individual will be affected by different things, but common causes include an excessive workload, lack of relationship fulfilment or money worries. If these are a part of your life and you feel unhealthy in a non-specific way, it is quite possible that stress is the issue at hand. Thankfully, activities as simple as sitting down to, say, watch Scooby Doo online, can make a positive difference.Online Videos
The Internet is a vast resource and can provide answers to a number of questions and complaints. It can even provide an aid to good health through sources of advice or through the sheer volume of distracting material available. Although it is important to directly engage with the stress-causing problems in your life, a short-term solution can come from escaping the unpleasantness of day-to-day life and immersing yourself in uplifting videos. Choosing to watch Scooby Doo online, even for only half an hour a day, could be enough to lift your spirits and help to counter the damaging moods brought on by stress.Online Gaming
Gaming offers a similar degree of escapism as online videos but has addition benefits too. For instance, gaming has goals and setbacks, in a way that very simplistically mirrors real life. Achieving goals in a game can be a very uplifting experience and can therefore serve to positively improve your general outlook. Games, as well as videos, also provide a brief recourse to childhood simplicity, which can be very beneficial for sufferers of stress, both severe and everyday.Overall, the benefits of online videos and gaming should not be underestimated in helping to adjust your daily stressed life. Escaping from the concerns of your life is important now and again, although this should not replace the importance of facing the issues themselves. The internet is a marvellous resource for such escapism. Whatever you choose, make sure to select a game or video that is generally uplifting with achievable goals and/or a realistically positive conclusion.
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About the Author:
CJ writes regularly on online video and gaming experiences for Cartoon Network. She spent many years working in therapy and came to understand the very real benefits of certain television programming on stress relief.
DOTA 2 Australian Servers are finally live
With the latest 3rd of January patch update, Valve has finally installed a local Australian server on DOTA 2. Based somewhere in Sydney, the installment of the server would undoubtedly benefit local players in the land down under
For a start, unnecessary other-continental pings will be dropped bringing an overall smoother gameplay and definitely minimising every gamers' bane - lag and connection spikes.
But together in this addition will also bring all the Aussies on one platform ultimately tightening up the community and encouraging further friendly competition, instilling interest and bringing up the Australian DOTA 2 scene.
Since moving to Melbourne for studies, I have been playing on the SEA server considering that well it's the closest we can get right. Occasional lags have been a recurring thing so with this update we'll get back on whether it is actually smoother in-game.
Thursday, 3 January 2013
GPL League of Legends 2013 is back
The League of Legends scene in Asia has been nothing but growing in 2012 and this could not be more possible without Garena entering the scene and taking over as Asia's main publisher. With this, the rapid growth in how LoL plays out in the eSports scene is also credited when Garena decided to host the largest and first professional LoL tournament in the region featuring some of the best talents of the game, from all around Asia, in the Garena Premiere League (GPL).
2012's GPL saw Taipei Assassins clinching the top prize of $10,000 after battling all out with 5 other professional teams of their representative country. With such a huge success last year rallying a tremendous amount of fan base for each teams, it was pretty certain GPL League of Legends is gonna be back and, well well, you bet it sure is.
In fact, GPL Season 2 will start as soon as, at the time of writing this, tommorow! That's the 4th of January and also in conjunction with Garena Carnival 2013 at Kuala Lumpur. This time around, 2 teams, ahq e-Sports Club and Fantastic Five have been added expanding the tournament to a total of 8 teams.
 Kuala Lumpur Hunters |  Taipei Assassins |
 Manila Eagles |  Saigon Jokers |
 Singapore Sentinels | ahq e-Sports Club |
| Fantastic Five |  Bangkok Titans |
Wednesday, 2 January 2013
Ubisoft planning for Ghost Recon movie
Ubisoft has a track record of some amazing, long-running video game franchises, but the internationally-based company has far more ambitious plans with them to venture into the all-that-fame-and-glory Hollywood. Both Assassin's Creed and Splinter Cell have reportedly been put in development for huge Hollywood releases, and with yet another largely-popular series Ghost Recon, Ubisoft plans again to storm the Hollywood front.
This came when LA Times recently reported that chief executive of Ubisoft's Motion Pictures Jean-Julien Baronnet has in fact been putting together a pitch for its Ghost Recon franchise, hoping for a Hollywood production company to take up the challenge.
The thing about the Ghost Recon series is that there really isn't one significant or iconic character, but instead is all about the technological military, stealth, and basically fights and booms. So it's going to be pretty interesting how an actual storyline would work out.
But then again, storylines don't really matter in the Hollywood industry isn't it? It's the action, adrenaline and explosions that works it up the chart.
But for some idea on how maybe, just maybe a Hollywood Ghost Recon movie would be like, here's a 24 minutes film by Ubisoft released for its Ghost Recon Future Soldier.
Thanks, Polygon!
Jetpack Joyride launches on PlayStation for free
Halfbrick Studios' Jetpack Joyride have been nothing but a hit in 2012, and just before the year ended, plans to bring the game onto consoles have been finally realised. In partnership with Big Ant studios, a HD version of the game has been passed on for approval on the PlayStation Network.
In addition to its release on both the PS3 and the PS Vita, the console-version of the game would also feature a new multiplayer mode. Though we haven't seen any footages about that yet, we think that it's simply gonna pitch you and the other player in an endless competition of launching to the furthest.
Commenting about the company's latest achievement, CMO of Halfbrick Phil Larsen expressed that “(they're) thrilled to bring it to PS3 and Vita, with the expertise of Big Ant and the huge player base on the Sony Entertainment Network, Barry Steakfries is reaching bigger heights and caps off the year in fine form.”
So since the game is free, there's no harm in downloading it on your PlayStation devices isn't it? After all, it might just be way cooler on the big screen (well, unless its on your PS Vita...)
Thanks, MCV Pacific!
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