We teamed up with RESPAWN Products to give away three of their Respawn-205 series gaming chairs, with the winners’ choice of Blue, Green, Red, or Gray. (List Price: $224.99, scroll down below to enter.)
Competition ends Monday, February 19 at 11:00AM PT. Three (3) winners will be chosen. Entry is open to USA residents only. No purchase necessary.
Enter below (the additional entries are OPTIONAL to increase your chances of winning):
The RESPAWN-205 series is a reclining gaming chair defined by its innovative mesh-backing, which provides a comfortably flexible yet supportive experience. With an adjustable headrest and lumbar support, this chair provides top tier comfort whether used during intense scrims or MMO marathons. Crafted for ergonomics and priced affordably, RESPAWN lets you game longer, game better, and game without compromise.
If you haven’t had a chance to jump in on Blizzard’s team shooter Overwatch, now might be the perfect time to do so. This weekend, Overwatch is free to play on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
To make the deal even sweeter, the base title and the game of the year edition are 50% off on Steam, the PlayStation Store, and Xbox. The sale also includes retail and will last until February 26.
Overwatch’s Lunar New Year event, Year of the Dog, is currently underway until March 5. This year’s event includes new skins, emotes, and more for the game’s loot boxes, as well as changes to the Capture the Flag mode, a new competitive mode, and a new map called Ayutthaya.
Rainbow Six Siege‘s third year of DLC is about to kick off, introducing a new, limited-time co-op event and two new Operators. We’ll have more on Outbreak–the elaborate co-operative missions set during an extraterrestrial invasion–soon, but for now, let’s look at how Siege’s new characters will change the way you play its traditional PvP mode.
Operation Chimera, as this first new season of content is called, introduces a new Russian Operator, Finka, and an additional French character, Lion. The former is essentially an attacking form of Doc: she comes equipped with a stim pen that applies a 20 HP boost to both herself and every teammate for 20 seconds, and it even revives any downed allies, wherever they are on the map. In addition, each of the three adrenal surges grants the team a movement and reload speed buff for the same period, as well as a reduction in recoil and resistance to stun effects. Be warned, however: the health boost–like Doc’s–slowly depletes back to your normal HP level, and if you get hit while buffed to below 20 HP, you will be immediately downed when the buff ends.
Finka’s gadget is clearly capable, but I fear it will–again, like Doc’s–go underused. It takes considerable organization to be used to its fullest: it doesn’t last long, so it’s best triggered when you and a group of allies are about to breach and clear an objective room together. But these situations are infrequent, and despite some attempts to the contrary, Siege has since launch become more about individual talent than moments of coordination. And, like Doc’s med pistol, it’s rare you actually have chance to revive a fallen teammate before they get finished off; with Finka you stand more of a chance since you don’t need to be next to the injured player. However, it’s still unlikely you’ll have time to activate your stim and come to your friend’s aid, and even if you do, they won’t have much health left once the temporary buff subsides.
Perhaps the gadget is Ubisoft’s attempt to pull Siege back to its core of coordinated, timed attacks, and Finka will usher in a return to that style of offense as teams utilize her gadget’s effects to storm a room together. On the other hand, it could encourage attackers to roam further away from their teammates, since they can be revived from across the map at the click of a button.
Regardless of how her gadget is received, Finka could be a popular choice thanks to her weapon. While she can pack the ASG-12 shotgun or 6P41 LMG, it’s her Spear assault rifle which could propel her to similar high pickrates as Operation Blood Orchid’s Ela. It has very little recoil and decent damage, and it’s sure to be a go-to choice for those wanting to try out the Russian operative.
Lion–another two-speed, two-armor attacker–shakes things up in a rather more dramatic way. His gadget is the EE-One-D drone, and it can be used up to three times per round to scout out the positions of every moving member of the opposing team. Activating it not only supplies HUD markers showing you and your team which Operators opposing players have picked, along with their locations, but your squad will also see those players’ exact outlines for four seconds. This let me pop a headshot through a wall on more than one occasion, and it proved a powerful tool in both racking up kills and discovering which areas of the map enemies were hiding.
The counter is that both teams receive a three second countdown after the drone is triggered but before its x-ray vision comes into effect. This allows the defending team a moment to stop what they’re doing, lie still, and wait for the drone’s scan to pass, meaning they’ll remain undetected. On the other hand, this forces the defending team to stop what they’re doing, lie still, and wait for the drone’s scan to pass, so even if this happens and you don’t get their outlines, you can still gain an advantage by exploiting their lack of movement. For example, three members of my team got wiped out by enemies who used Lion’s ability immediately before Fuzing the objective room–the enemies already knew there would likely be at least one of us in that room, so Lion’s ability was used purely to make them stay still while Fuze worked his explosive magic. If my teammates had tried to escape, the enemies would know exactly who had gone where.
Conversely, a poor Lion player could rely on the Frenchman’s drone too much, assuming the coast is clear when no enemy is detected, when in fact one lies in wait around the next corner. The Operator’s effects on the Siege meta are widespread: spawnpeeking is discouraged, since an early drone sweep will see you detected close to the enemy attack force or standing still in an open window, vulnerable to headshots. Roaming is also riskier, since Lion could take away your element of surprise and easily flank you. And, like Finka, Lion is useful during a final, last-minute push to the objective, when strategy goes out the broken-down barricade in favor of sheer panic. At this stage, defenders are more likely to be scrambling around, trying to cover multiple entry points, so a well-timed drone scan can be a massive advantage. Similarly, Finka’s health boost and stun resistance is a huge help to any attacking team that doesn’t have the precious seconds to check for Kapkan and Ela traps when dashing into the objective room, though her adrenaline does make every ally breathe faster and thereby take more damage from Smoke’s beauties.
[Lion’s] effects on the Siege meta are widespread … spawnpeeking is discouraged [and] roaming is also riskier
For those thinking Lion is simply a better Dokkaebi, think again. Dokkaebi’s phone hijack cannot be countered by simply keeping still, and Lion cannot hack into enemy cameras, so the Korean will still be required to help counter the increasing ubiquity of Valkyrie cams. The two are simply interesting twists on each other, and I feel at least one of those and Jackal are needed in any good attacking lineup to stop roamers from tearing an advancing attacking team apart.
When Operation Chimera launches on March 6, it will be another step towards countering roaming, pushing defending players back into the objective room just like how we all played on Siege’s launch. It’s interesting, then, that Ubisoft hasn’t introduced another Operator to counter the current trap meta, especially after Twitch’s recent nerf. Nevertheless, the two new Operators are worthy additions to Siege’s roster, with Lion in particular serving as a major shakeup that I’m eager to see in the wild.
The quirky crossover costumes continue in Monster Hunter: World, but unlike the previous Horizon Zero Dawn armor–which was an understandable fit for Monster Hunter–this new Street Fighter V set is a bit of a surprise. Have you always wanted to hunt monsters as Ryu? Your wish has been granted. The quest to unlock the Ryu gear is relatively simple, but if you’re curious about how the process works, we’ve outlined the timing and quests below to access the extras. It’s worth noting that the Street Fighter V gear is only available on PS4 currently for people with a Street Fighter V save on their system, and will be available on for others on PS4 and Xbox One later.
Ryu is the first of two Street Fighter V armor skins available now for the game; Sakura is the second and will be available at a later date. Like the Aloy gear, you’ll have to wear the entire Ryu set together–you can’t just wear the pants or chest alone. And the set will also alter your appearance so that your character looks like the legendary wandering shotokan fighter.
To unlock the Ryu armor, you must complete a quest called “Down the Dark, Muddy Path,” which you can find at the Arena Quest Board in the Gathering Hub. The quest is a three-star mission that requires a Hunter Rank of 3 or higher. You only have access to the following loadouts: Greatsword, Dual Blades, Hammer, Gunlance, and Heavy Bowgun. It’s also important to note that the quest is only available for a limited time, until March 1.
The quest objective is to slay a Barroth. When you complete the quest, you earn a Street Fighter V Ticket, a special currency used to unlock the Street Fighter costumes. However, you need to defeat Barroth seven separate times in order to earn enough Street Fighter V Tickets to unlock the Ryu gear.
Since the quest battle is in an arena, slaying Barroth has been scaled up to fit the space. As a result, its hit boxes are much larger, so make sure to dodge accordingly. In addition, avoid hitting its head, as that’s where its armor is the thickest. Once you’ve defeated Barroth seven times, simply take all the Street Fighter V tickets you’ve earned to the Smithy to craft the Ryu gear. Check out the screens above for a more visual break-down of where to find everything.
Monster Hunter World’s second Horizon event begins on February 28. Like the previous quest, it will be exclusive to PS4 players. The mission this time around will be to hunt a giant Anjanath, and the reward will be materials to craft Aloy’s bow and armor. Equipping the armor will change your appearance to look like Aloy, regardless of your hunter’s gender.
As the first stage of Overwatch League drew to a close, it represented a major milestone for Blizzard’s big gamble on esports. The London Spitfire faced some setbacks during the final day of Stage 1, but after coming back from an earlier defeat against their rivals the New York Excelsior, they were able to secure victory and earn $100,000 in prize money. During a chat with Overwatch League commissioner Nate Nanzer at the finals, he spoke about how event organizers plan to refine their approach to the competition, while also reflecting on how things have transpired so far.
“I think we’re off to a good start,” said the commissioner. “There’s tons of things we want to continue to iterate on and improve, but right now we’re just really focused on figuring out how to continue to evolve and improve the show throughout the year, and have all of that culminate in the awesome finals event. That’s the focus right now, and it’s really awesome that people are happy with it. Nothing is broken, so right now we’re just focusing on making it better.”
With Stage 2 set to begin on February 21, there’s already some notable changes coming up that could potentially alter the dynamic for the 12 teams. In addition to ongoing gameplay balances and tweaks for the base game, which included some notable changes to one of the most useful healer characters in Mercy, the league will also see an influx of new talent coming in to shake up the current roster.
The Stage 1 finals, while engaging and dramatic, ended up being a perfect storm of scheduling and scoring issues that resulted in many players feeling the heat after extended periods of play–and the organizers agreed. Taking place over the course of 12 hours–making the show itself somewhat exhausting to sit through–it forced the London Spitfire into playing several consecutive matches during the semi-finals and finals. While the London Spitfire were able to secure the win for the finals after a total of 14 games during the day–a testament to their team coordination and composure–this still made for a rather exhausting experience for all involved.
For the teams that had a hard time during the month, Stage 2 represents a clean slate for many players, allowing them to change the narrative surrounding their group. The Shanghai Dragons, featuring some of China’s top esports talent, have struggled throughout their games in Stage 1. While they had some successful matches, they ultimately placed last. However, things could be be looking up for the Dragons. Three new players are set to join the Shanghai Dragons in Stage 2, which includes Lee Eui-Seok from Element Mystic, MVP Space flex Cheon “Ado” Ki-hyun, and Kim “Geguri” Se-yeon–who will be the first female player for Overwatch League.
As one of the top Zarya players in the world, Geguri could prove to be an effective player to round out a team that’s in need of stronger defensive and support play. Many fans of competitive Overwatch have been clamoring for Geguri to have a spot in the League, and her placement on the roster could just be the shot in the arm that a team like the Dragons need to make it out of the bottom tier.
One thing that’s common for an online game is for the developers to roll out gradual updates and tweaks for the game. Recently, both Junkrat and Mercy, two of the most used characters in the League, received some tweaks that toned down some key abilities that the developers felt could be easily exploited by players. Mercy became the go-to healer for teams thanks to her ability to resurrect dead players, along with her speed and healing range. However, the upcoming nerf will make the time to revive players last a bit longer, lower the speed boost from her Guardian Angel buff by 50%, and remove the bonus buff from her Resurrect skill. In addition to Mercy, Junkrat–a popular character for quick offensive strikes thanks to his Ultimate ability–will also see a nerf for one of his support abilities.
During a post-game press conference after losing to the London Spitfire, Jacob “JAKE” Lyon of the Houston Outlaws spoke about the changes to Junkrat, who is his signature character.
“I think it’s interesting, actually,” said the Houston Outlaw’s top assault player. “The character is way weaker against dive, because the 120 AoE was really especially powerful against characters like Genji and Tracer–dodging Genji’s reflect and still doing 120 and obviously one-shotting Tracer with damage boost is still a very powerful ability–but I think you’ll still see the character a ton if people are running Reinhardt because he’s still the faster shield-breaker in the game. Junkrat’s RipTire is still the best ultimate in the game, so I think we’ll still see Junkrat as viable, but it will be more situational. And it’ll be more map dependent.”
While Stage 2 will still largely keep the same flow and dynamic of its previous phases, the organizers are already looking to the future of the league given its immediate success. Overwatch League has kept a steady audience over the last month, and with the finals earning solid viewership, the organizers are confident that their audience will only grow from here. During a recent Activision-Blizzard investor call, the company already confirmed that the League was a solid success, and that the buy-in cost for new sponsors for Season 2 will increase–which is expected to add new teams and additional players. For now, Stage 2 is already looking to show more growth for the league, and what players can expect for Blizzard’s rapid increase in esports.
This is for true Star Wars geeks only. The first teaser trailer for the next Star Wars spin-off movie, Solo: A Star Wars Story, was unveiled earlier this month. One fan named Daz Tibbles (follow him @daztibbles) decided to turn the trailer into an anime and start developing an anime series based on the Solo footage. He made this anime teaser in only four days time, which is very impressive. The tiny bit of footage we do get here seems to be inspired by a scene in the official teaser, but it looks like this could become its own anime series separate from the movie anyway. That is, if it were official, but it just seems to be a fan project. Still a cool tease, and something I would watch more of, for sure. Check out the trailer and follow Daz for updates. ›››
Meanwhile, back in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, director Ryan Coogler is schooling everyone on how it’s supposed to be done. The Oakland-born filmmaker made waves, huge waves, right out of the gate with his feature debut, Fruitvale Station (2013), and then again with the Rocky spin-off, Creed (2015). There’s a natural apprehension anytime an up-and-coming filmmaker steps in to take on a blockbuster project, but Black Panther, Coogler’s first endeavor into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, defiantly puts any doubts to rest. The film successfully sets a new bar for not only comic book movies, but also action movies as a whole. Smart, stylish, and with a ton at work under the surface, Black Panther is an exhilarating addition to the MCU and one more indication that Coogler is a filmmaker worth taking note of. ›››
“No one here tells the truth.” Arrow Films has released an official UK trailer for The Third Murder, the latest film from acclaimed Japanese filmmaker Hirokazu Kore-eda, who last brought us After the Storm just last year. The Third Murder premiered at the Venice and Toronto Film Festivals last fall, and still doesn’t have a US release set yet. The film’s story is about a court case involving a murder-robbery suspect named Misumi, played by Kôji Yakusho, who has confessed to the crimes. However, his defense attorney, played by Masaharu Fukuyama, has other ideas about this case, which could mean the difference between life and death for Misumi. The cast also includes Hirose Suzu. This received some solid reviews out of festivals last year, and it looks like a seriously compelling legal drama that brings up intriguing questions. See below. ›››
Dogs rule! There’s really nothing else like a Wes Anderson-directed stop-motion animated film. That is especially true for Isle of Dogs, the latest one-of-a-kind stop-motion animated creation from the mind of this master filmmaker. Isle of Dogs is a very Japanese film, set entirely in a retro-future Japan where dogs have been outlawed by cat-loving government villains. It’s endlessly imaginative, unlike anything I’ve ever seen before, with incredible detail in every single frame. So much so, that it’s almost hard to keep up with all of it – I want to pause and study each frame/set/scene before continuing. The film is amusing and funky, sometimes a bit clunky, with plenty of Anderson’s typical quirky humor and wacky characters galore. It’s so funky that some may not connect, but there’s an undeniable charm that definitely won me over by the end. ›››
Pokemon Go’s second Community Day is quickly approaching, and like the inaugural event held last month, it’ll give players a brief chance to capture a rare Pokemon with an exclusive move. Developer Niantic had previously revealed that the Pokemon in question this time will be Dratini, and now the studio has shared details about what its exclusive move will be and how players can learn it.
The rare Dragon Pokemon will spawn much more frequently for the duration of the Community Day. If players manage to evolve its evolution, Dragonair, into a Dragonite during the event, it’ll learn the ultra-powerful Dragon-type move Draco Meteor. This applies to all Dragonair you own, even ones that were obtained prior to the Community Day. However, Dragonite will only learn Draco Meteor if it is evolved during the event hours, giving you a very brief window of time to get one with the exclusive attack.
The Community Day takes place worldwide on February 24 and runs for three hours, although the starting times will differ depending on your region. The event kicks off in the US at 11 AM PT / 2 PM ET, while Europe’s Community Day begins at 10 AM GMT. In addition to the increased Dratini spawns, players will earn triple the normal amount of Stardust for any Pokemon they catch during the event, and Lure Modules will last for three hours.
Community Days are a new series of events that Niantic plans to hold once a month for Pokemon Go. Each event will feature a Pokemon that knows a move it cannot typically learn in the game. During the first Pokemon Go Community Day in January, players could find and catch a Pikachu that could use Surf, just like the one you get in the classic Pokemon Yellow version.
Before the next Community Day event begins, Pokemon Go players still have a chance to take part in the game’s Lunar New Year event. From now until February 17, you’ll earn triple Stardust for catching certain dog-like Pokemon such as Poochyena, Growlithe, Snubble, Eevee, or Electrike. Players can also encounter the latest Legendary Pokemon, Rayquaza, in Raid Battles until March 16.
