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14 Nina Carla
May/June Cover Model 20 questions with Nina
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The Latest Albums Reviewed Albums Reviewed: Bone Thugs New Waves
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The Latest Games Reviewed Games Reviewed:
By Silas Valentino
Prey
Rise Against Wolves
Injustice 2
By Silas Valentino
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Artists/Bands Featured: Vince Staples, Benjamin Booker, and Roger Waters By Samuel Wendel On The Cover
Photo by Andrew Gates Make-up & hair by Nuen Nguyen Styling by Brooke Barnato
By Joshua David Anderson By Jesse Seilhan
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Exclusive Game Feature:
E3 2017 Exclusive, Los Angeles, CA
By Jesse Seilhan, and Joshua David Anderson On the Back Cover
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Copyright Š 2008-2017 RUKUS, LLC. All Rights Reserved! May/June 2017 issue, Volume 9, Number 3. ISSN 2161-4369 (print) ISSN 2161-4377 (online) Visit http://www.RUKUSmag.com for more images and content.
Still Thuggin’
Written by Silas Valentino
That’s no typo–gone be the Harmony. Only the Bone Thugs, or Krayzie Bone and Bizzy Bone, remain. The fivemember Bone Thugs-N-Harmony has been reduced to two members on New Waves, the Cleveland, Ohio act’s tenth studio album. This is the first release under the “Bone Thugs” moniker but the duo is in a good company of guest features who help guide the Midwest gangster rap veterans through a diverse and upbeat LP. New Waves begins with the leadoff single “Coming Home” that sports a Caribbean tan beat (airy and laidback) with one of the region’s kings, Stephen Marley, appearing to provide a catchy chorus hook. Bizzy Bone lets nostalgia in during his bars and manages to squeeze in three Bone Thugs-N-Harmony early-day hits into his opening rhymes: “From the first of the month till the ruggish bone/Every week that ‘Crossroads’ stayed on the billboard.” It’s a casual single that won’t garner many new fans but should appeal to those who’ve missed the bros since 2013’s The Art of War: World War III. R&B crooner Tank gives a glossy chorus on “If Heaven Had a Cellphone” where Krayzie Bone and Bizzy Bone trade lines about God, mortality and who they’d ring up if they could dial a dead friend. “If heaven had a cellphone/I would call up the Eazy like, ‘How you get in with an L pro? Hell No’/Tell em hey, don’t get in the car,” Bizzy Bone squawks in his signature high-pitch tone. Tank establishes his dominance in the song with his over-lapping vocals that blossoms with heartache. Quite possibly the most surprising guest on New Waves is Jonathan Davis of KORN. He hops into “Whatever Goes Up” but his addition is relatively muted compared to the other features. Actually, if you just listened to the song without any context, it’d be nearly impossible to tell that Davis was even on the track. There’s no gut grunts or spit balling like in KORN’s “Freak on a Leash.” For all we know, Davis just so happened to be in the studio that day and was in the recording booth but consciously decided not to utter a single word–securing his guest spot but with no audible contribution. Any who, at one point Krayzie Bone ponders the futility of success and openly admits that, “Sometimes it really sucks to be famous.” The sole tune on New Waves that’s one hundred percent Bone Thugs is the thumper “Bottleservice.” No features, just Krayzie Bone and Bizzy Bone harnessing the power of the club and converting it into 2:50 minutes of upbeat braggadocio. “We tryna stay high, rise way higher than most,” they plead during the chorus and considering the legacy Bone Thugs has established over the years (since the early 1990s), this new LP will be supplying their high for a few more years. In a surprising twist, the last song on the album, “Ruthless,” features Layzie Bone, Flesh-n-Bone and Eric Bellinger–which makes it the LP’s (mostly) official Bone Thugs-N-Harmony moment. (Wish Bone is nowhere to be heard.) In it, the group turns their attention to Eazy E and toast in his name and influence. Over a somber guitar-driven beat, the gang huddles for shout out to one of the genres founders. “Making sure that the whole world know you started this shit, we gon’ finish this,” Layzie Bone says. Bone Thugs-N-Harmony find each other in the end to top off their latest album by commemorating a fallen friend.
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Staying True
Written by Silas Valentino
Earlier this spring, Chicagoan melodic hardcore quartet Rise Against were set to shoot the music video for their new single “The Violence.” A song, as described by the band, about “whether violence is an inevitability of the human condition, or whether it’s a choice we make, and therefore, can reject.” The video was to be filmed in a field filled with presidential busts representing Roosevelt, Lincoln, Washington and so forth but the band was blocked from filming by the location’s owners and then labeled “antigovernment.” To question one’s government is the true test of patriotism and as exhibited in their newest LP Wolves, Rise Against are straight-A scholars. The band was looking for a theme to help with writing their new album following 2014’s The Black Market and they found it in the 2016 presidential election. Throughout Wolves’ 11 tracks are seething political disrupt with lyrical firepower and melodic hooks that guide their message smoothly into the ears of their dedicated fan base. Wolves wastes no time to let listeners know their intent with the new album. Opening the record is title track that begins with singer Tim McIlrath howling, “Light up the torches and wake up the King/The smoke you’ve ignored is a flame you can’t contain.” The song is swiftly carried by the thunderous cracklings of Brandon Barnes’ drumming and pretty soon the band’s trademark motif of crafting stirring and aggressive rock songs that don’t sacrifice catchy melodies is born. “Wolves” serves as the band’s rallying cry to drum up support in community. A political revolution can’t sustain on the backs of just one and Rise Against are summoning their army. Fears of World War III stroke the flames of “The Violence.” It begins with a crunchy guitar riff that thrusts and throttles like a cousin to a beastly Iron Maiden number. There’s a sense of urgency throughout Wolves but no other song quite encapsulates this mode like “The Violence.” The verses build as McIlrath warns of bombs closing in and war at the doorstep. Finally, the chorus rushes in like a flame retardant to silence such worries with head-banging queries (“Is the violence in our nature just the image of our maker?”) but the calamity fully subsides during the song’s bridge when Rise Against urge us to sidestep the shadows for the light. In a video interview leading up to last year’s election, McIlrath said that climate change denial was the most pressing issue of our times. He addressed this matter, its apathy and a call for action in the pulverizing “Parts Per Million.” Its title, after all, reflects a measurement of carbon dioxide. McIlrath begins to make the argument that it’s not that some people don’t believe in climate change, rather, that they don’t understand it. “Somewhere beyond the lives we burn/Lies the point of no return/Like the sand within an hourglass,” he warns. Amid a track of deathly uncertainty, McIlrath appears to find saving grace in the eyes of a loved one which pulls him together. The following track is “Mourning In Amerika” which was originally going to be the name of the album until the band decided against using such a melancholy foundation. Even though the title suggests grief, the chorus features a similar note-for-note callback to Neil Diamond’s “America.” You can’t be too bummed when the Diamonds coming through the speaker. Rise Against lighten up and ride it out the rest of Wolves on an optimistic note. Resisting political leaders isn’t a new look for Rise Against (they contributed to the ‘Rock Against Bush” compilations of the mid 2000s) but they’re veterans of dissidence and they wear it well.
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facebook.com/vincestaples
Written by Samuel Wendel
Vince Staples, Big Fish Theory
Following his breakout guest spot on the Earl Sweatshirt single “Hive” in 2013, Vince Staples was widely touted as one of the more promising young rappers around. With his latest album Big Fish Theory, Staples is probably ready to do away with the “promising” label. Simply put, he’s no longer a small fish in a big pond. Staples sets himself apart by rapping with a sense of urgency in short, clipped verses. He deals in blunt, detached observations that can have a chilling effect on the listener (although a sense of humor does shine through frequently). And it’s not just the delivery, but his ideas, too. He’s not afraid to explore difficult lyrical territory, from racial conflict to fame-induced emotional disconnection. From a sonic perspective Big Fish Theory is built on a foundation of pummeling bass, reminiscent of house music or techno. It’s a short album, running only a bit more than 30 minutes. It’s also a downbeat album, and one that challenges the listener—but in a good way. Standout tracks include the Kendrick Lamar-featured “Yeah Right,” “Party People” and the Ty Dolla $ign collaboration “Rain Come Down.”
Roger Waters, Is This the Life We Really Want?
facebook.com/rogerwaters
Roger Waters may be a few decades removed from his Pink Floyd heyday, but judging how pissed off he seems on his latest solo album he’s got plenty left in the tank. Take this lyric: “Picture a shithouse with no fucking drains/Picture a leader with no fucking brains.” That type of unsubtle energy courses through Is This the Life We Really Want? Not unsurprisingly, it’s a concept album with grand prog-rock ambitions. Befitting of Water’s expertise (and slick production from studio whiz Nigel Godrich) it’s got all the bells and whistles jammed into it that one would expect from Pink Floyd’s front man. Think swelling guitars and ticking clocks and bass lines that mimic heartbeats. That said, it doesn’t really bring anything new to the table from a sonic perspective. From a lyrical perspective, consider Is This the Life We Really Want? as Water’s grim (but still humorous) response to current events, from Trump to Brexit. For an old guy, Water’s pipes have aged well, adding a nice edge to his self-righteous rants. I expect Pink Floyd fans should be more than pleased.
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Benjamin Booker, Witness
Following in the pattern of other recent blues and soul revivalists (think Gary Clark Jr., Leon Bridges or The Black Keys), Benjamin Booker takes old sounds and gives them a modern tune up. His latest album Witness explores blues, soul and gospel sounds, but he imbues them all with a rawness that borders on punk rock at times. With that comes a lyrical edge; Booker explores topical content, such as a racial violence. It’s a welcome dose of urgency that keeps Witness from relying too heavily on nostalgic impulses—as other retro rockers often do. Fortunately, he mostly succeeds in steering clear of all that, instead creating something original enough to be endearing. Witness has a bit of everything, from euphoric anthems to mellow slow burners. With all the different sounds on display, it can border on being a little too busy for its own good at times, but Booker generally keeps things barreling ahead with his impassioned guitar playing. Standout tracks include “Believe,” “All Was Well,” “Right on You” and “Off the Ground.”
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Nina Carla
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Photography by Andrew Gates Make-up & hair by Nuen Nguyen Styling by Brooke Barnato
ina Carla is a curvaceous Filipina bikini and lingerie model from San Francisco, California. Her modeling career started in the hot rides and fast car industry of the import car scene where she was first discovered. Her curvaceous body and striking good looks landed her on the cover of Performance Auto & Sound Magazine. Since then, she has travelled around the globe to star in numerous car show events and promotional work as a model, host and spokesperson. She’s also made appearances in Curves Magazine, ShowGirlz Exclusive, and Maxim. You may also remember Nina from our February 2013 issue of RUKUS, where she was a featured girl...glad to have you back, Nina. Currently, Nina lives in Los Angeles, CA, and has been focused on traveling and shooting for print, lingerie, clothing companies, and still does quite a bit of spokesmodeling for multiple brands. Her future interests are to expand her spokesmodeling reach while expanding her network.
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20 QUESTIONS
I would make all humans provide less trash. We need to conserve mother earth.
1.What’s your Ethnicity? I am origianlly from the Philippines, but mixed with some Spanish and Japanese.
11.What’s one of your personal goals? One of my persoanl goals would be to retire in five years, travel the world, and achieve phase 5 of my real estate developing project.
2.What’s your zodiac sign? I am a Virgo, rising sign Aquarious. 3.Where are you from originally? I was born in the island of Philippines, and raised in San Francisco, CA. 4.What did you like most about growing up in Philippines? Being raised on a beautiful island living on the beach, swimming and fruits of the land. 5.What kind of mischief did you get into while growing up? I’ve always been a bit of an explorer. I lived outside, climbed in trees and swimming at the beach. 6.If you could have a super power, what would it be and why? I would want to fly, I don’t need wings, just the ability to fly. 7.What’s your favorite hobby and why? I love being outdoors. I enjoy hiking, and exploring earth from the water, sea, and the air. 8.What’s your guilty pleasure? My guilty pleasure is shopping for lingerie, and eating chocolates. 9.Who do you admire and why? I admire Elon Musk. I would like to see what goes on in the mind of the guy that founded Paypal, Tesla, and great outer space curiosity. 10.If you could change one thing in the world what would it be and why? If I could change one thing in the world; www.RUKUSmag.com
12.What do guys compliment you on the most? Guys compliment me most on the fact that I am smart. And that is the best compliment ever. 13.What’s your favorite body part on yourself? I like my hair, and my lips. 14.What do you look for in a guy? The guy must be passionate about life, his career, he must be an explorer, kind, driven, good family values, and have a good soul. 15.What’s the first thing you notice about a guy? He has to have kind eyes, a soft smile and confidence, not arrogance. 16.What’s your ideal first date? I would like to be taken somewhere I’ve never been; show me your world, and explore earth with me. 17.What turns you on? My biggest turn ons are when a person has drive, passion, intelligence, and madness. 18.What turns you off? Arrogance, lies, and cowardness. 19.What’s your biggest pet peeve? My biggest pet peeve is when people chew with their mouths open, it’s very distracting. 20.Who’s your celebrity crush? Charlize Theron. May/June 2017 • RUKUS
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...kind eyes, a soft smile, and confidence...
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STATS: Birthday:
September 8
Height:
5’3”
Weight:
100lb
Measurements:
34C-23-35
See more of Nina at instagram.com/Nina_Carla www.RUKUSmag.com
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Most Dangerous Game
Written by Joshua David Anderson
Some games take a very strange journey to get to your TV. They can travel a real rollercoaster ride of loops and dives during the development process and it can be a coin flip on how they are going to come out. Prey is one of those games. What started as a sequel to an older game, the Prey we got became a very different beast, with no ties to the existing property, and a different developer completely reimagining the game. So how did this coin flip turn out? With no ties to the original or the cancelled sequel, Prey’s story is all contained in this game. You play as Morgan Yu, a scientist working on the space station Talos 1, orbiting Earth’s moon. Prey takes place in an alternate timeline of Earth, one where John F. Kennedy survives his assassination attempt and the space race in the 60s is accelerated & thrives. The US eventually works with the Russians to get humans exploring space quicker, causing an alien species to take notice. Morgan Yu is one of the people studying the aliens, called the Typhon, and is interested in their unique properties. The setting of Talos 1 is unique in Prey and adds a lot of depth to the exploration in the game. Talos 1 is essentially a corporate office building with labs, filled with people who work both in a science capacity and in a functional one. There are tons of NPCs aboard Talos 1, and every single one has a name and personality. There are no generic characters and the station is laid out so that everyone has a place that they work and a place that they relax. You can find the stories of all these characters, by reading emails, searching their rooms, or finding stashes of their contraband in hidden places. This makes Talos 1 feel like a real place, a lived-in workspace filled with largely regular people. Prey is also somewhat unique in the role it places you in. Combat is not necessarily clunky, but feels a little stiff simply because you are a scientist, not a soldier or a trained fighter. There aren’t a multitude of guns and weapons on the station, simply because it is not a military building. However, you will still find pistols and shotguns, stun guns and wrenches, and even some experimental science tools that can be used as weapons. Additionally, you will have the chance to use alien-provided powers to augment your combat tools. Stealth also plays a huge part of the game as well, as enemies are tough and can kill you quickly. The game allows you to choose between engaging enemies or trying to avoid them completely. The enemies in Prey are really part of the special charm of the game. The lowest form of the Typhon alien is the Mimic, a small spider-like creature that can disguise itself like anything it sees. This happens in the game as a Mimic can look like any of the objects in Prey, everything from a coffee cup to a table. Sometimes when you enter a room, you may notice a roll of toilet paper rolling across the floor. Is it a Mimic? You may enter a room you were just in and ask yourself “were there two books on that table before?” You may even see a health kit or a ammo box ahead and rush towards it, only to be attacked by a Mimic tricking you. This sense of uncertainty in the environment really makes Prey feel special, and can ratchet the tension in the game up in a way most games simply can’t. Prey surprisingly works despite the tumultuous development that it had. The story has a surprising number of turns and twists, and the setting is fantastic and unique while still feeling believable. There is a fair amount of character depth you can find if you want to learn about the NPCs, or you can ignore all of that and just play the story, and the open nature of Talos 1 allows exploration to be rewarding. If you can ignore the weird story of how this game came about, you will find a great sci-fi story and a great action experience.
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Super Sequel Written by Jesse Seilhan
2017 is a landmark year for fighting games, as both the Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat franchises are celebrating big anniversaries, at 30 and 25 years, respectively. While SF definitely created the blueprint for how fighting games should feel, flow, and look, NetherRealm Studios has been right next door, offering a different perspective and taking way more risks. Branching away from MK was one of the biggest of those risks, adapting the DC Comics universe to its blend of over-the-top violence with a fleshed out story mode and interactable environments. The first Injustice game proved that the formula could work and it became a fan favorite by delivering the quality NRS was known for without having to rely on violent gimmicks. But, for the sequel, the developers went even further, introducing loot, new modes, and a crazy story. Starting with the story mode, you play a new character every chapter, usually one of the good guys and gals taking on a ton of villains. You’ll play as Batman, Cyborg, Firestorm, and Green Arrow while tackling Gorilla Grodd, Bane, Catwoman, and more, sometimes with the choice of you want to fight this particular battle. You’ll journey from the depths of the Batcave to Brainiac’s spaceship, with plenty of stages in between, most of which filled with things to throw or blow up during battle. Stage transitions are back, allowing you to knock your opponent through a wall and into the next portion of the stage, doing a ton of damage along the way. Super moves are more ridiculous than the first game, in a good way, as little montages play out in front of you before being wrecked in a way that would kill mere mortals. But the loot loop is really the distinct difference this time around. In Injustice 2, every character has their own leveling up system, which you improve by winning matches, completing challenges, joining guilds, and fighting online. After every match, you have a chance for a loot drop, ala Diablo or Destiny. It might not always be for your character, much in line with those other games. The game also doles out loot boxes for completing certain tasks, complete with their own rarities. So what’s in this loot? It’s actually kind of insane, as you get more than just cosmetic items. Aquaman can get a new lance that does way more damage, Harley Quinn might earn some armored up corsets, and every character has dozens of different colors and outfits, including legendary ones that can turn Captain Cold into Mr. Freeze. Even crazier is that fact that entirely new moves can appear in a loot box, and equipping them might make your Wonder Woman better than mine if you have this special move and I don’t. A game like this lives and dies by its roster and this one is stacked. Each handle uniquely and a few of the new people added to this sequel, such as Swamp Thing, Darkseid, and Scarecrow, feel unlike any character NRS has made before. You can even match up computer-controlled versions of these characters and watch them duke it out online, with the winning team getting some gold loot boxes to open. Join a guild in order to complete massive challenges, like toppling a series of buffed enemies, to earn shared rewards for the entire guild. While the S.T.A.R. labs mode from the first game is gone, the towers made famous in the MK series take their place. You face off against a number of baddies that have various stipulations, such as no jumping, half health, or random missiles that show up and home in on you. One of these towers is a mini-arcade story mode, complete with a 30-second semi-animated ending for each of the 28 characters. Honestly, this is a pretty easy game to recommend. It’s got some of the most iconic fictional characters of all time battling it out using NRS’ amazing fighting engine, filled in by tons of modes, a loot system, and smooth online netcode. The first Injustice was awesome, proving you didn’t need to rip someone’s spine out in order to enjoy this brand of fighting game. This Injustice improves on the formula in nearly every way possible, and with their new and highly-detailed facial animations, their 12+ hour story mode is even better than most DC movies these days.
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Exclusive Coverage Photos by Jesse Seilhan Written by Jesse Seilhan and Joshua David Anderson
The rumors of E3’s demise have been greatly exaggerated. This year, over 15,000 people were able to purchase tickets and check out the show that had been exclusively for media, exhibitors, and the games industry. Those extra people brought a much needed financial lifeblood to the show, but the show itself didn’t accommodate the massive increase in foot traffic, making narrow walkways even tighter and demo lines even longer. But we braved the long lines and blocked out the sweltering Los Angeles summer sun to bring you coverage of the biggest week of the year. We kicked things off at Microsoft’s press conference on Sunday and were blown away by Anthem, Metro Exodus, and the unveiling of the Xbox One X. Sony matched with new trailers for God of War and Uncharted: The Lost Legacy while Nintendo did their usual online stream and filled it with glimpses at new Yoshi, Kirby, and Fire Emblem games for the Switch. EA had sports, Bethesda had blood & guts, but Ubisoft may have stolen the show with the insane Mario/Rabbids game and the long-awaited first look at Beyond Good & Evil 2. We actually spent a ton of time this year wearing various virtual reality helmets, but had wildly different experiences in them. Fivefor’s Circle of Saviors gave us a glimpse at mixed reality, with one person in the headset swinging wildly at orcs and monsters, while another uses a crossbow to shoot enemies around them. But the twist is that this is all done in front of a green screen, and with a camera mounted on the end of the crossbow, onlookers can see exactly what the person wearing the headset sees, solving the problem of how to make VR fun even if you aren’t in it yourself. Seeking Dawn created a true co-op experience and introduced crafting into a massive first-person shooter world. Vindicta solves the motion problem by allowing you to run in place to create actual movement in the game, creating the feeling of being a badass in this fake world. Finally, Archangel was by far the most polished game we’ve played in VR, with a scale that felt massive while stomping around in a giant robot suit, shooting rockets at tanks and smashing bridges with our fists. We played dozens of games, from the ambitious and visceral Raiders of a Broken Planet to the isometric assassination game Seven: The Days Long Gone, with all the big budget games in the mix as well. We wanted to highlight a few that really stood out to us, from Mario’s newest foray into 3D platforming to an anime fighting game that just might change the landscape.
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Need For Speed Payback Racing games are a traditional genre for video games and one of the biggest franchises in racing games is the Need for Speed series. Taking a year off in 2016, developer Ghost Games spent that time making the new entry, Need for Speed Payback, a little different than what we have seen before and we played it on the new Xbox One X. Ghost Games are very inspired by the success of The Fast and The Furious film series, as Need for Speed Payback features a full story mode with three playable characters. The protagonists seem to be special agents or mercenaries that specialize in car antics, which translates to exciting and cinematic stunts that you will pull off in the game. For example, one mission has you chasing after a truck that is carrying an expensive sports car in it. As you get close enough to the truck, your AI partner jumps from your car to the truck, and then bursts out of the cargo trailer driving the supercar in an explosion that would make Vin Diesel happy. Control then switches to the supercar and you race it away. Expect more stunts and craziness like that in the full game. All of this would be wasted if the game didn’t control well or deliver a sense of speed. Thankfully, both of those things are on display immediately. Need for Speed Payback lives up to its name, giving you the feeling of incredible momentum, while still making the cars feel different from each other. Hitting another car feels weighty, and wrecking another vehicle provides a slowdown camera effect very reminiscent of the Burnout series, which just feels awesome. Control is tight and arcadey, making you feel like you are a much better driver than you maybe actually are. All this culminates in a racing package that feels exciting and different enough from the other car series coming out this fall.
Need for Speed Payback
Publisher: Electronic Arts Platform: PS4, Xbox One, PC Genre: Racing Release Date: November 10, 2017 www.RUKUSmag.com
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Super Mario Odyssey Nintendo’s chief mascot is back this fall and Mario is getting really weird! When you have a character that has been around for as long as Mario, the worry is that the character will get stale and there will be no more surprises. Thankfully, Nintendo has been incredibly brave with their main stars this year, with Link starring in an open world Zelda title and Mario even handling a gun in the upcoming Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle. Nintendo decided that wasn’t enough though, as Super Mario Odyssey looks to provide the classic platforming we love with some truly insane settings and worlds for their plumber to explore. Super Mario Odyssey looks to be a bit more open than previous Mario titles, eschewing the time limit and rigid level structure for a larger map with wider places to play. The goal is to find collectable Power Moons in the game and these can be found all over, from climbing a high tower to helping a mayor find musicians to put on a concert, even by possessing a man playing with an RC car. This game is not afraid to go places Mario hasn’t been before. Super Mario Odyssey also gets creative with settings. While you will still see fantastic locations like a desert world, or a ice world, Mario will also travel to “New Donk City” which essentially looks like New York. There are regular citizens walking around, minding their own business, along with buildings and streetlights and park benches. Seeing Mario jump off taxi cabs and climb fire escapes is really exciting, not only for the novelty itself, but hopefully for what it means for the rest of the game. Nintendo is not afraid to take risks with games this year, and it looks like those risks are really paying off.
Super Mario Odyssey
Publisher: Nintendo Platform: Nintendo Switch Genre: Platformer Release Date: October 27, 2017
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Far Cry 5 The Far Cry series has always dealt with the exotic. Previous games have placed you in places like the Himalayas, Africa, the Stone Age, or an unmarked Pacific island. Far Cry 5 presents a new territory for the game: Montana. It is the first game in the series set in the United States, and it seems the developers at Ubisoft Montreal are not afraid to delve into the extreme in the Land of the Free. The setting of Far Cry 5 has you play as a sheriff’s deputy sent to fictional Hope County, Montana, as you try to take down a doomsday cult leader who has taken over the small town with his gang of militaristic believers. The game will be open world, like the previous games, and will allow you to traverse the town and surrounding land a variety of ways, taking on side quests and wrestling outposts and resources away from the cult that has them. While you do this, you will rescue NPCs who will join your cause, helping you free the town. These new “Guns for Hire” make up some new features in the game. You can employ these characters you meet to help you in battles. You can hire a sniper to take shots for you from a vantage point, or you can have the local crop duster carpet bomb an area to help you take over an outpost. You can even have a dog fight for you and rip an enemy’s gun away from him and bring it to you! All of this is in addition to some classic Far Cry staples, like collectables, story missions, gun upgrades, and hunting. In all, Far Cry 5 looks to deliver a similar experience to the previous games, while potentially having a much more familiar setting and story than before.
Far Cry 5
Publisher: Ubisoft Platform: PS4, Xbox One, PC Genre: First-Person Shooter Release Date: February 27, 2018 www.RUKUSmag.com
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Middle-Earth: Shadow of War Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor was many people’s Game of the Year when it released in 2014. The combat further expanded upon the Arkham series, the open world contained plenty to do, and the unique Nemesis system revolutionized the way organic storytelling could be told. With their sequel, Warner Brothers and Monolith Productions are looking to reclaim the throne. They’ve amped up their insane orcmanagement system, added a ton of new environments, and increased the entire scope of the game with Fortress Assaults. If you’re familiar with the first game, you’ll remember the ability that allowed you to “flip” enemies to fight by your side. You could topple a nasty warchief by turning all of his underlings against him, sit back, and watch things take care of themselves. But now you can do that on a massive scale, as the Nemesis system in the menus now shows you your army, complete with captains and other badass monsters willing to fight with you. So if you spot a massive fortress ahead of you, filled with the worst orcs in Mordor, you can match them muscle for muscle, assigning your squad with their own unique powers to topple castle walls and rain hell from above. Much like the first game, no two people will experience the same game. Orcs are randomly generated, as are their strengths and weaknesses, so while I may need to bring a horde of spiders into battle to tackle an arachnophobic warlord, you might need to ensure everything is on fire to scare your enemies into submission. The demo we played let us tackle the epic battle any way we wanted, so we satisfyingly strung together teleportation assassinations, exploding barrels, and siege monsters to tackle our foes. And as a nice surprise from the sometimes too-easy first game, Shadow of War proved too tough for us and made us rethink our strategy. We can’t wait to get a hold of this come October.
Middle-Earth: Shadow of War Publisher: Warner Brothers Platform: PS4, Xbox One, PC Genre: Action-Adventure Release Date: October 10, 2017
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Dragon Ball FighterZ Anime fans, fighting game enthusiasts, and 90’s kids rejoice: Dragon Ball FighterZ is incredible. First, it’s entirely loyal to the manga and anime on which it’s based, with flawlessly smooth animation. From the intros to the insane combos and super moves, every inch of this game is faithful to your memory of what Dragonball Z is, was, and could be. Even if you never watched the show, you will be impressed by the fluidity of the engine as it looks better than almost any other fighting game on the market. But what’s a fighting game if it doesn’t control with some competence? Luckily, Arc System Works, the geniuses behind the Guilty Gear and BlazBlue franchises, are helming the project. They know a thing or two about complicated fighting games but this is way more streamlined than their previous efforts. Combos don’t take insane timing, super moves look and feel devastating, and the levels are works of art. Deflected spirit bombs and blasts hit buildings in the background, reducing them to smoldering ash. Round-ending supers destroy the environment, starting the next round off in the rubble left in their wake. All of this is occurring while running beautifully and without any hiccups. Fighting games are coming back in vogue, with Capcom pulling double duty in support of Street Fighter V and the soon-to-be-released Marvel vs Capcom: Infinite. Injustice 2 was awesome, Tekken 7 was a breathe of fresh air, and now Bandai Namco are showing that they won’t be ignored. They also aren’t releasing this until next year, which is perfect as no other marquee fighter will stand in its way. If you’re not into the anime, give the game a chance. If you are, well, this might be the best game you could have ever hoped for.
Dragon Ball FighterZ
Publisher: Bandai Namco Entertainment Platform: Xbox One, PS4, PC Genre: Fighting Release Date: 2018 www.RUKUSmag.com
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Crackdown 3 You may have heard that Microsoft is releasing a “new” console this fall. The Xbox One X is out on November 7th and if you’re so inclined, they’ve created a game just for you to pick up on launch day in Crackdown 3. A sequel to a beloved cult classic of the Xbox 360 era, Crackdown 3 is going for bigger, better, and bolder in almost every way. Oh, and you can play as actor Terry Crews. The demo showed off during Microsoft’s press conference was a bit underwhelming, super-cutting explosion after explosion. But explosions are a known quantity with this title and it providers more questions than answers, such as what makes this game different and how does it take advantage of the new console’s horsepower? We got to play the game and, while it was running on a high-end PC, we can safely say it is looking just fine. But your enjoyment will largely depend on your love for the old games, as they aren’t breaking any new ground here. Agents can still jump super high, run crazy fast, and chuck vehicles like they were peanut shells, all while hunting down the sparkly orbs that upgrade your various skill traits. The cel-shaded graphics don’t pop too much, but the incredible draw distance and lack of slowdown shows where the developers decided to make their graphical compromises. We were able to stomp around the open world for 10 minutes, shooting black holes into busy intersections and tossing dudes off of 80-story skyscrapers. While it may not be the revolution we were hoping for a few years ago, Crackdown’s DNA is inherently fun as hell and no other game has quite the same level of destruction and mayhem.
Crackdown 3
Publisher: Microsoft Platform: Xbox One, PC Genre: Action-Adventure Release Date: November 7, 2017
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