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Ashley Twomey
Nov/Dec Cover Model 20 questions with Ashley
Photography by Andrew Gates Makeup & hair by Alisha Baijounas
14 Pit Pass
Get In The Driver’s Seat Featured Event: Los Angeles Auto Show 2016 Los Angeles, CA
28 All Access
34 Coming Up
Models To Keep An Eye On Featured Models: Ashley Doris West Hartford, CT
The Latest Albums Reviewed Albums Reviewed:
38 Game On
A Tribe Called Quest We Got It From Here... Thank You 4 Your Service
Dead Rising 4
By Silas Valentino
Metallica Hardwired...To Self-Destruct By Silas Valentino
32 All Access Spotlight Artists/Bands Featured:
The Latest Games Reviewed Games Reviewed: By Jesse Seilhan
Dishonored 2
By Joshua David Anderson
42 Game On Spotlight Games Featured:
Bruno Mars, J. Cole, and Bob Marley
Nier: Automata, For Honor, and Yakuza O
On The Cover
On the Back Cover
By Samuel Wendel
Photo by Andrew Gates Make-up & hair by Alisha Baijounas
By Jesse Seilhan
Photo by Andrew Gates Make-up & hair by Nicolette Melland
This Page
Photo by Andrew Gates Make-up & hair by Alisha Baijounas
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EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Andrew Gates All Access Editor
Silas Valentino Games Editor
Jesse Seilhan Art Director
Andrew Gates All Access Contributors
Silas Valentino & Samuel Wendel Pit Pass Contributors
Andrew Gates Game On Contributors
Jesse Seilhan & Joshua David Anderson Contributing Photographers
Andrew Gates Social Media Guru
Rupa Begum Contributing Make-up Artists
Alisha Baijounas & Nicolette Melland Contributing Hair Stylists
Alisha Baijounas & Nicolette Melland Advertising
Andrew Gates
advertise@RUKUSmag.com Mailing Address
RUKUS MAGAZINE 11304 Chandler Blvd. #6131 North Hollywood, CA 91603
Copyright Š 2008-2016 RUKUS, LLC. All Rights Reserved! November/December 2016 issue, Volume 8, Number 6. ISSN 2161-4369 (print) ISSN 2161-4377 (online) Visit http://www.RUKUSmag.com for more images and content.
Ashley Twomey
A
Photography by Andrew Gates Make-up & hair by Alisha Baijounas
shley Twomey is originally from the small town of Victorville, California. She is a stunning mix of German, French, Latin, Irish, and Cherokee. Ashley has been modeling for more than nine years, but has recently been making her way around the film set, being featured in such hit TV shows as; Ray Donovan, Grandfathered, Wicked City, and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Twomey has also been featured in ad campaigns for a wide variety of big name brands such as; La Fashion Magazine, Seventeen Magazine, Adidas Original, Beats By Dre., Playboy, UrbanOG, Metal Mulisha, Young and Reckless, and Hot Topic. She can also be found on the cover of Hot Bike Magazine (Sept/Oct) issue and La Fashion Magazine (2015). Aside from modeling and acting, Twomey is a Los Angeles based make-up artist and hairstylist. This girl has a bright future, with a lot more to come, stay along for the ride.
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20 QUESTIONS
rent, housing and food, taxes, war, list goes on...
1.What’s your Ethnicity? German, French, Latin, Irish, and Cherokee.
11.What’s one of your personal goals? I want to become a fitness model, I hired a personal trainer and he’s going to get me on the right track, I want to always strive to be the best and healthiest.
2.What’s your zodiac sign? Aries. 3.Where are you from originally? A small town, Victorville, California. 4.What did you like most about growing up in Victorville? We used our imagination and creativity to have fun in our environment. 5.What kind of mischief did you get into while growing up? Tons...I was a rebel for sure. My dad still teases me about running away and being a wild child. [laughs] 6.If you could have a super power, what would it be and why? I wish I could fly so I can travel anywhere, or anyplace without the expense, I could pass rush hour, and I could remove myself instantly from any bad situation. 7.What’s your favorite hobby and why? My favorite hobby is to travel and explore. I get a rush out of hiking new locations, seeing new things, and being in new atmospheres. 8.What’s your guilty pleasure? Cheese and wine...Help. [laughs] 9.Who do you admire and why? Mothers, they have a handful. 10.If you could change one thing in the world what would it be and why? Animal cruelty, sex trading, price of www.RUKUSmag.com
12.What do guys compliment you on the most? My eyes. 13.What’s your favorite body part on yourself? My eyes, they are fun to make up, and my butt. [smile] 14.What do you look for in a guy? Someone who is very fit, positive, compassionate, loves animals, can cook, isn’t frugal, is very sensitive, loyal, funny, religious, motivated, career oriented, and has goals. 15.What’s the first thing you notice about a guy? His eyes and teeth. 16.What’s your ideal first date? A nice light dinner, and a glass of wine by the ocean. 17.What turns you on? A guy that I can laugh with all day, and a romantic guy. 18.What turns you off? Negativity and frugalness. [laughs] I hate when men talk about money and count their pennies. 19.What’s your biggest pet peeve? Loud breathing and bad teeth. 20.Who’s your celebrity crush? Ryan Reynolds. Nov/Dec 2016 • RUKUS
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I hate when men talk about money...
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STATS: Birthday:
April 6
Height:
5’7”
Weight:
108lb
Measurements:
32D-27-33
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LA Auto Show Photos by Rupa Begum Written by Andrew Gates
The Los Angeles Auto Show is always a great place to stay up to date on the new changes taking place in the automotive industry or just a great chance to see some new cars hitting the market. It’s a chance to take in some futuristic designs, and concept cars that could potentially hit the market in the future. It’s also a place to see some crazy builds with multiple engines or engine swaps you just wouldn’t imagine. If you’re wanting to go green, it’s also a place to see what is coming to market in the form of hybrids or electric. All-in-all, The LA Auto Show is a great place for just about everyone; from conservative consumers, to the muscle-car aficionado, and gear-heads alike. We took the time to check out the show and bring you a little for all walks of life as you’ll see in the images we’ve captured. Some of our favorites were the 3D printed car found on page seventeen, Kia Sorento Ski Gondola on page 18, and who wouldn’t be thrilled to see a TIE fighter replica standing 21-foot-tall just outside the Nissan booth as they celebrate the movie Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, and the Nissan Rogue compact crossover, It was definitely a sight to behold. If you didn’t have the pleasure of making it out to the show, well, we’ve got you covered…check out the images we snapped for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy!
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A New Quest Written by Silas Valentino
Musically speaking, 2016 will go down as the year the Grim Reaper wreaked havoc. The year began with the death of Bowie, soon after it was the Purple One Prince, Merle Haggard then reached his sunset, the last breath of Leonard Cohen’s became air this year and in March, in what was to be hip-hop’s most shocking death in recent memory, Phife Dawg passed the mic for his last time. Since Phife joined forces with Q-Tip, Jarobi and DJ Ali Shaheed Muhammad to form A Tribe Called Quest in early 1990, the group have perfected the balance: hip-hop beats that pump your shoulders to release bravado matched by lyrics that could curl your eyebrow as you considered the wordsmith poetry which unpacked, reshaped and then returned socio-political fodder into the streets as a light to guide peace. Tribe pulled this harmony off every time they gathered in the studio and their sixth and final studio LP, We got it from Here... Thank You 4 Your Service, proves that even posthumously, Tribe are able to successfully signal this message. Prior to Phife’s passing, the Queens-bred MC laid down vocals at Q-Tip’s studio in New Jersey. Even though he was gone, he left behind a trove of raw and introspective rhymes that forever cemented the Five Foot Assassin’s brilliance. Tip took these recordings– oozing with spirit from beyond the grave–and spent the next six months crafting the perfect eulogy. Phife Dawg may be dead but he helped create the best hip-hop album of the year. What To Pimp a Butterfly was to 2015, We got it from Here... is to 2016: conscious-laden rhymes and progressive beats that echo between the microphones of these linguistic overlords. So how does the year’s top hip-hop album break the silence? “The Space Program” begins with an audio clip from 1974 Blaxploitation film Willie Dynamite where the speaker yearns for dealing with the bigger insult: the heat. Which in 2016 terms continues to mean police brutality or political calamity but the message is that we’re forever stronger together. Soon Tip and Phife call the show into order: “It’s time to go left and not right” before later opining “Let’s make something happen.” Droopy electric keys build the beat as Tribe sound the alarm. To maximize captivation, Phife and Tip swing the microphone back and forth (“to make it”–“to make it”–“to make it”) and with ease, we the people are transported into to the honey-smooth flow from hip-hop’s slickest co. “Dis Generation” makes a party out of forum. Tip, Jacobi and Phife are in full form as they spit licks back and forth, creating a sensation akin to the cinematic twirls in Eric Forman’s basement à la That ‘70s Show. They synchronize together, rapping: “See, these written words are poetical science/Brain’s defiant, thoughts heavy, baby/They’re a major appliance.” Further down the line, Tip singles out the new class of hip-hop pioneers: Kendrick Lamar, Earl Sweatshirt, Joey Bada$$ and J. Cole. It’s Tribe’s last album and they appropriately pass the torch to a new generation of Americans. In the same vain as Metallica’s latest album, We got it from Here... enters our ears at a time of political and social upheaval. (Tribe’s record was released three days after the election.) The album’s final song is titled “The Donald” but in a twist of assumption, the song is not actually about the 45th President, rather, a nickname to Phife Dawg: Don Juice. Before we can begin to tackle the woes ahead we have to assess ourselves and confirm what to hold true. For Tribe, Phife was always a foundation and now that he’s passed, before moving ahead, a 5-minute requiem for a friend must resound aloud. The the last two words ever spoken on a Tribe album are “Phife Dawg” and that the first two words ever spoken–at the beginning of “Push It Along”, track one from their debut album 1990’s People’s Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm–are indeed “Q-Tip”. A Tribe Called Quest, 1990–2016, Brothers forever.
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Metal Magnates Written by Silas Valentino
Metallica’s latest notch in their ever-bulging belt is the double LP Hardwired…To Self-Destruct, the thrash band’s 10th album in a career that covers 33 years, metal mastery, success marred by public bickering and a reputation with the Internet so sour they should consider working with Al Gore on a one-off single just for self-deprecation purposes. It’s a silly scenario but it really couldn’t hurt. Their latest effort is immediately marked by their lengthy use of tradition (12 songs, 77 minutes); after all, the band hasn’t had a studio album that’s kept it under an hour since the late 1980s. The last time a new Metallica album was released–September 2008–the country was about to elect President Obama. Hardwired… arrives a mere nine days after the election of Donald Trump, a jolted stomp to whatever the last eight years meant. If it took the band this long to release a follow up (the eight-year difference is their longest break yet), Hardwired… must enter the books as a time capsule that captures metal’s biggest band during a bout of political progression. In the cohesive passages that comprise the album’s 12 numbers, steady subtleties are reflected (the seamless flow from song to song, the nonstop thrashing) suggesting that Metallica, it would appear, still have something to shout for. Produced by Greg Fidelman, a seasoned sound engineer who’s been producing each Metallica album since their 2011 collaboration with Lou Reed, the ill-fated Lulu, Hardwired… finds the aural sweet spot between overpowering head banging and crystal clarity. Glossy but commendable; Metallica have traveled far from their Sunset Strip upbringing. Opening with their shortest song in decades, “Hardwired” captures the political mood surrounding the album’s release date rather succinctly, and all within 3 minutes: “We’re so fucked/Shit out of luck,” James Hetfield roars, letting us know the time early and during the chorus. Lars Urlich gives a galloping drum-roll section that quickly joggles memory back to Metallica’s earlier and more concise thrash metal origins. Lyrically, Hetfield takes a shot at writing the most intense bedtime story used to explain climate change (“Once upon a planet burning/Once upon a flame”) while crunchy rock riffs fly out of Kirk Hammett’s lead ESP LTD guitar like a three-snakes-in-a-can practical prank. Brevity is seldom a word used to encapsulate Metallica but Hardwired…’s introductory track does in a few minutes what the next hour or so continues to bash over and over again: it fucking rocks. The record’s centerpiece is “Halo On Fire”, a melodic mid-tempo song whose girth is matched by its dominance in structure. The rhythmic guitar lick Hetfield plucks during the song’s verses is a smooth throwback to the band’s more pop-friendlier tendencies but in no way is this the Black Album 2.0; just as the band appears to be resting on their laurels by resorting to cheap, heavenly gimmicks, the thunderous crack of Urlich’s snare drum rips us back down to earth, or to the netherworld. Longtime fans may have qualms with Hardwired…’s two tribute tracks: “ManUNkind” and the penultimate track “Murder One.” A dexterous bass line begins “ManUNkind” courtesy of Metallica’s junior bassist Robert Trujillo who confirmed the groove was a “tip of the hat” to the band’s hugely influential bassist Cliff Burton who died on a fatal bus accident in 1986. Trujillo’s tribute is fitting and warm but the overlapping guitar notes from Hetfield cloud the homage and could have been cut and left on the floor. The other reverence was for Lemmy during “Murder One” but as one lifelong fan noted when privately asked when I wrote this review: “It sounds like Metallica hated Lemmy and never got to know him, but had to cash in on his death.” Sad but true. Metallica embodies metal and always have been. After listening to Hardwired… it’s safe to assume they’ll continue doing so until Hetfield and Urlich ultimately clash for the final time. After all, this album is practically only credited to their writing–Trujillo’s sole credit is “ManUNkind” and Hammett lost his iPhone in 2014 while in Copenhagen, effectively losing all of his 250 musical ideas for this project which rendered him relatively silent in Hardwired…’s creation). With this latest double LP, Metallica appear to say that they have plenty more to play.
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facebook.com/BrunoMars
Written by Samuel Wendel
Bruno Mars, 24K Magic
It’s safe to say that Bruno Mars is now a bonafide pop megastar, despite only having three studio albums under his belt. “Uptown Funk,” his 2014 smash hit single with producer Mark Ronson, made sure of that. Mars’ latest studio album, entitled 24K Magic, effectively serves as his followup to the aforementioned worldwide hit. Wisely, on 24K Magic, Mars sticks with the slick retro bounce that propelled that single up the charts. Although there isn’t another earworm of the same caliber as “Uptown Funk,” the album instead finds Mars discovering a consistent groove artistically for the first time. While his previous albums were scattershot affairs featuring plenty of great singles—and lots of competing ideas—on his newest album, Mars dials in and puts it all together in a cohesive way. Across nine tracks he cobbles together suave hooks around a smooth packaging of retro R&B, funk and soul. The bass is thick, the synths bubble pleasantly and at the center is Mars. His charisma has long been his greatest asset as an artist; here he finally finds a way for it to be weaponized and used consistently across an entire album. Standout tracks include “Perm,” “Calling All My Lovelies,” “That’s What I like” and “Too Good To Say Goodbye.”
J. Cole, 4 Your Eyez Only
facebook.com/JColeMusic
Crafting a worthy followup to 2014’s ambitious Forest Hills Drive should have been a tall order for J. Cole. The double-platinum album established J. Cole as a hip-hop artist willing to take risks and reshape his sound without fear of alienating his fan base. His follow up, entitled 4 Your Eyez Only, more than meets these expectations. It again finds J. Cole experimenting, turning away from easier paths to hip-hop stardom. Spanning 10 succinct tracks, the album is short and to the point—in stark contrast to the bloated, overwrought hip-hop opuses that have begun dominate the genre. As a lyricist, 4 Your Eyez Only establishes J. Cole not only as a more gifted MC, but seemingly a more mature one as well. His delivery has become rawer, and his subject matter more consequential. He comes at the listener from different angles, switching narrators as he weaves stories peppered with both autobiographical topics and universal themes. While he may not be in the same league as genre-changing talents like Kendrick Lamar, J. Cole has further established himself as an artist able to subvert the contemporary hip-hop formula while still aiming for a mainstream audience. Standout tracks include “Neighbors” and the title track.
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Bob Marley, The Legend Live: Santa Barbara County Bowl
Recorded less than two years before Bob Marley’s death in 1981, the live album The Legend Live: Santa Barbara County Bowl captures the reggae legend in his full glory during one of his last major tours. Playing alongside his equally legendary backing band The Wailers, the concert features many tunes off Marley’s then-most recent album, 1979’s Survival. But the set is peppered with plenty of his career-defining hits, such as “I Shot the Sheriff,” “Exodus,” “Stir It Up” and “Get Up, Stand Up.” The quality of the live recordings, while obviously rough in comparison to their studio counterparts, nonetheless capture the gritty power of Marley in his element—and to be perfectly honest, they sound as clean as some of his earlier studio recordings. Although already ailing from the cancer that would eventually kill him, the concert still finds Marley projecting his mysterious magnetism as a performer, wherein he could simultaneously be laid-back and intense with no apparent effort. For die-hard fans, The Legend Live: Santa Barbara County Bowl offers an alluring glimpse of Marley in the twilight of his life.
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Ashley Doris Photography by Andrew Gates Make-up by Nicolette Melland
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shley Doris in and American born actress and model living in Los Angeles, California. Ashley came to LA from West Hartford, Connecticut. Her modeling career actually started in Boston at the age of nineteen. While appearing in ads for Reebok, CVS, and Hasbro, she discovered her love of acting and decided to move to California. After moving to Los Angeles, she studied at the Margie Habor Studio, as well as Anthony Mindl’s Actor Workshop. Ashley rapidly rose to popularity after being discovered by Playboy and was featured as Miss March 2013. Since her relocation to Hollywood, Ashley has been featured in several major projects including commercials, movies, and music videos.
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THE STATS Birthday: November 1 Zodiac Sign: Scorpio Measurements: 32C-24-34 Height: 5’5” Weight: 110lb Ethnicity: Black and white. Hometown: West Hartford, CT Turn Ons: Chipotle. Turn Offs: Not having Chipotle. Ideal first date: I love food, so a good dinner at a nice restaurant is enough for me. Guilty Pleasure: My guilty pleasure is basically any time I eat food because I probably eat way too much of it to me an actual model. Pet Peeves: When people want to sing along to a song but don’t know the lyrics. Celebrity Pass: Margot Robbie. See more of Ashley at
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Dead and Bloated Written by Jesse Seilhan
Microsoft has a few pillars to rely on when it comes to Xbox software: AAA sure-things like Halo and Gears of War, the beloved Forza series, and a few oddball titles that help build character around the edges. Starting with the original title way back in 2006, the Dead Rising series has been one of the best examples of a weird third-party exclusive that is both charming and formidable, with each title more refined than the last. But with Dead Rising 4, the first since the Xbox One’s launch, the things that made this series great and sometimes controversial seem all but forgotten, replaced by collectibles and monotony. So should fans flock back to the zombie herd or maybe wait until Capcom figures it out and tries again? When cooking a Dead Rising game, there are a few key ingredients: zombies, wacky humor, timed missions, combo weapons & vehicles, and an overwhelming number of enemies onscreen. Dead Rising 4 scraps the time limits, but upgrades the actual gameplay mechanics, mapping melee, ranged, and thrown weapons onto face buttons as opposed to forcing the player to swap through them while being mauled by the living dead. But that abandonment of the timed missions removes one of the key driving themes of DR, forcing the player to choose between free roam and story missions. When balanced properly, it created a fun decision-making process and when abused, created unneeded strife. Capcom ditched it entirely and made the story progress as streamlined as can be, broken into story chapters with a marked beginning and end. While this makes the game much more accessible, it doesn’t make it much different than any other third-person action adventure game and it certainly doesn’t make it like any Dead Rising. The story focuses on the worst of DR lore, specifically involving scientists, armed forces, and idiot citizens. Frank West is back, as is the Willamette Mall, but gone is West’s hilarious dialogue and beaming personality. Instead, the beaten war photographer seems more over-the-hill than someone tasked with killing thousands of zombies should be. It feels like Capcom tried to walk the line between realistic survivor and a Bruce Campbell-type, but instead of hailing to the king we’re huffing and puffing from half-baked story beat to the next. Sadly, one of the series’ greatest assets, the hyperdifficult Psychopaths are gone, meaning no more interesting boss fights sprinkled throughout the game. There is the occasional fight that requires a little more firepower than the rest, but there aren’t any cutscenes or story moments tied to these. Dead Rising is a silly franchise, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be good. Prior iterations have balanced wacky characters with tense moments without losing the charm and quality the series is known for. But Dead Rising 4 feels more streamlined in a way that should definitely welcome new players to the series, but leaves fans missing the things that make the game so unique. Still, it does look and run great even with thousands of zombies surrounding you. The holiday theme adds an extra layer to the mall setting and the menu music plays some jazzy Christmas music while you’re upgrading your character or checking out the map. The Xbox is hurting for exclusives right now, with Scalebound being canceled and Lionhead Studios, makers of the Fable franchise, being shuttered. Microsoft needed Dead Rising to be a hit in order to sway more people back to their console while the PS4 is on a runaway train toward unreachable sales. Sadly, Dead Rising 4 is not that game and is instead another example of Microsoft making the wrong bet, as they did with ReCore and Quantum Break. Still, the series has plenty of life left in it if it just went back to its roots in more ways than just the main character and setting. A pinch more of humor, character development, and a renewed focus on the survival aspects would make for another successful Dead Rising. Sadly, this just is not that game.
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Return of Sneak King Written by Joshua David Anderson
The first Dishonored was a truly unique game, feeling like it fell out of a different era. Harkening back to the days of System Shock and Thief, the first game brought a style that looked like nothing at the time, and gameplay that tried to truly give players the ability to play any way they wanted. With Dishonored 2, Arkane Studios wanted to keep all of those elements in the game while giving players more freedom, more choices, and more story. The question is whether or not Dishonored 2 delivers on those promises. Dishonored 2 picks up fifteen years after the events of the first game, with the young Emily Kaldwin now the empress of Dunwall. When a visiting dignitary from the country of Serkonos arrives, Emily and her father, Corvo Attano, are surprised to see that the late empress had a presumed dead older sister Delilah who now claims the throne. This coup succeeds and Emily and Attano are deposed, ready to take their revenge. While the first game took place mainly in Dunwall, with its large city districts, rats, and power provided by whale oil, Dishonored 2 takes you to a different setting and allows the series to expand its lore. Emily and Corvo explore Karnaca, a coastal country to the south of the first game, with wind turbines powering most of the locales. The change of setting allows for more than just new visuals, as Karnaca is beset by dust storms, gangs, and a plague of giant flying insects called bloodflies. All of this, along with the different look of mining facilities and cities built into cliffs, gives Dishonored 2 a distinct look while still feeling like it fits in the established setting. Dishonored 2 also changes things up by letting you play as two different characters this time. Corvo, the main character from the first, is playable again although no longer a silent protagonist. However, players can also choose to explore and assassinate as Emily, daughter to Corvo and the rightful Empress of the world of Dunwall. With the two different characters comes not only a change in story perspective, but also new ways to play, as Emily and Corvo have different powers from each other. Corvo can use his teleport-like Blink ability to zip around the world, spawn a pile of rats to distract an enemy, and then stop time and line up bullets to fire off once time starts again. Emily, however, has some very different powers, with her ability to spawn a clone of herself, mesmerize her foes, and then link several enemies together so that the single arrow she fires at one of them hits them all. The different power sets lead to very different ways to combat each encounter. With all these diverse powers, it helps to have a good sandbox to use them in, and Dishonored 2 succeeds the best at its level design. Each area has a ton of complexity, with vertical areas to climb and explore, and many paths to the goal. This allows players to choose how they want to tackle the level. Do you stay in the shadows, never being seen, and avoid all enemies? Do you rush forward and use all the combat powers to simply brute force your way through? Or do you combine the two, sneaking in until you spring a trap on an unsuspecting guard? All of these ways of playing are encouraged and rewarded in Dishonored 2. There are plenty of things to collect for the explorer as well, with secrets and items hidden all over the levels, many of which will help you gain abilities or find a new way past an obstacle. And through all of this, Dishonored 2 tells a lot of story through its environments, so you feel like you are making narrative progress as you make actual progress. In all, Dishonored 2 is a worthy followup to the first game, improving on nearly everything from the original, and adding plenty of new tricks and treats for returning players. Levels are large and complex, with plenty of reason to revisit them, and the story allows for some major choices to be made, letting players guide some of the resolution at the end. Add to all of this the very open design of how you handle stealth and killing in the game, and you have a package that gives players a unique experience that is very different from other stealth games on the market.
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Written by Jesse Seilhan
Nier: Automata
Nier is another storied Japanese franchise that has not really found a Western audience but this entry may just do the trick. Developed by PlatinumGames and published by Square Enix, this spinoff of the Drakengard series puts you in the robot shoes of 2B, an android tasked with defending the world from attacking space invaders. It’s primarily an action RPG, with the fast and smooth gameplay Platinum is known for mixed with leveling up and character progression. The bosses are huge, the setting is bleak, and the demo was a ton of fun. Hopefully the full product is as enjoyable and makes for a worthwhile romp through the apocalypse.
For Honor
Ubisoft has been bold in the past few years, putting out new IPs like Steep and smaller titles that won’t break the bank but might impress. For Honor fits right in between those, with AAA graphics and production paired with simplistically deep gameplay that could make for an addicting new fighting genre. You choose from one of the historic warrior - Samurai ,Viking, or Knight - and battle a team for land domination as dozens of pawns run around, just asking to be crushed between big fights. The mechanics center on attacking and defending in one of three directions, deflecting blows and dispensing brutality. With online multiplayer and a path toward esports, this multi-platform slugfest is shaping up to be one bloody affair.
Yakuza 0
There are a few Japanese franchises that have yet to really break out in the West. as things like translation, cultural norms, and specific humor are barriers to entry for most Americans. But Yakuza 0 will break that mold, as the tale of two warriors fighting, gambling, and even bowling their way through 1980’s Japan has a stellar story and tons of side stories that will entertain just about any gamer. While this is a prequel, you won’t need to know any of the other games to appreciate this one but there are a few nods to established characters in the franchise. This PS4 exclusive should help bridge the gap across the Pacific with its crazy humor, memorable characters, and deep combat systems.
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