RUKUS Sept/Oct 2015 by RUKUS MAGAZINE

Jessica Melody Sept/Oct Cover Model 20 questions with Jessica

Photography by Andrew Gates Makeup & hair by Alisha Baijounas

14 Pit Pass

Get In The Driver’s Seat Featured Event: Formula Drift, Round 7 Irwindale, CA

28 All Access

The Latest Albums Reviewed Albums Reviewed: Shinedown Threat to Survival

34 Coming Up

Models To Keep An Eye On Featured Models: Rebecca Abbitt Virginia Beach, VA

38 Game On

The Latest Games Reviewed Games Reviewed:

By Silas Valentino

Guitar Hero Live

The Game The Documentary 2

By Jesse Seilhan

Fallout 4

32 All Access Spotlight

42 Game On Spotlight

Coheed and Cambria, Pop Evil, and Foals

Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2, Hitman, and Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam By Jesse Seilhan

By Silas Valentino

Artists/Bands Featured:

By Samuel Wendel

On The Cover

Photo by Andrew Gates Make-up & hair by Alisha Baijounas

www.RUKUSmag.com

By Joshua David Anderson

Games Featured:

This Page

Photo by Andrew Gates Make-up & hair by Alisha Baijounas

Sept/Oct 2015 • RUKUS

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 & Rupa Begum Game On Contributors

Jesse Seilhan & Joshua David Anderson Contributing Photographers

Andrew Gates & Rupa Begum Contributing Videographers

Nate Olson

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 © 2008-2015 RUKUS MAGAZINE & RUKUSmag.com. All Rights Reserved! Sept/Oct 2015 issue, Volume 7, Number 9. ISSN 2161-4369 (print) ISSN 2161-4377 (online) Visit http://www.RUKUSmag.com for more images and content.

Jessica

Melody Photography by Andrew Gates Make-up & hair by Alisha Baijounas

essica Melody is a true California girl from a town called Pismo Beach, although, she’s currently living in Los Angeles. She got her start in modeling when she posed for Playboy. Since then she has been featured in a variety of magazines, and was a world finalist in the Tropic Beauty pageant. Recently, Jessica has been dabbling in music creating some unique sounds that have captured the attention of some very important people. Her music has also given her the opportunity to travel around the USA. She was fortunate enough to participate in the prestigious Mr Pink Summer Soiree. With her musical talents helping her get noticed, you’ll be able to see Jessica as she plays various festivals in 2016, such as; Symbiosis Gathering, Tomorrow World, Art Basel Sundance Film Festival with more to be announced. Keep your eyes and ears open for this beautiful siren as she makes waves through the troposphere.

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20 QUESTIONS 1.What’s your Ethnicity? I am half English and half Italian. 2.What’s your zodiac sign? I was born March 25, so Aries baby. I’m an energetic, optimistic, and fun loving fire sign. 3.Where are you from originally? Originally from Pismo Beach, California. Being a beach girl at heart I ventured to Santa Barbara for a few years before moving to Los Angeles to pursue my dreams. 4.What did you like most about growing up in Pismo Beach? I loved the small town where I grew up, a big city would have been too much to handle. I lived between a beach and a lake so I was very adventurous and loved nature. 5.What kind of mischief did you get into while growing up? Growing up I was always out exploring new places, meeting new people, staying out late crashing parties, and causing trouble. [laugh] 6.If you could have a super power, what would it be and why? My super power would be to make all the sad people in the world happy. 7.What’s your favorite hobby and why? Anything artistic such as singing, dancing, and writing. I love to be creative and I have a wild imagination. It’s a way for me to channel all my thoughts and energy into something beautiful. Music is the only thing that can keep me focused and put me in a really good mood in a world full of chaos. 8.What’s your guilty pleasure? Chocolate, I have such a sweet tooth. 9.Who do you admire and why? Any band or artist who has brought people together during a time of need or any time for that matter, by inspiring them through love and unity and all things wonderful. www.RUKUSmag.com

Spreading the word through their music because it’s their passion. Bands such as The Beatles, Bob Marley, and The Black Eyed Peas. 10.If you could change one thing in the world what would it be and why? I would make it so there’s no more war, so all the nations would join together instead of trying to conquer each other, people just need to chill. 11.What’s one of your personal goals? To be sublimely happy, fall in love, and have my passion be my career. 12.What do guys compliment you on the most? My bubbly personality and of course my boobs. [laugh] 13.What’s your favorite body part on yourself? My stomach, it’s always tan and toned. Also, my eyes, because only the top 2 percent of people have green eyes. 14.What do you look for in a guy? Successful, good looking, creative, and someone who can show me things I’ve never seen before. 15.What’s the first thing you notice about a guy? I notice the way he carries himself, if he is confident or not. 16.What’s your ideal first date? Take me somewhere I’ve never been before, dinner and a movie are overrated. 17.What turns you on? People who know what they want and aren’t afraid to go out there and get it. People who are driven, intelligent, and smell good. [smile] 18.What turns you off? People that talk when you’re talking, and people that honk; incredibly rude. [laugh] 19.What’s your biggest pet peeve? When people chew with their mouth open. 20.Who’s your celebrity crush? Channing Tatum, he is hot and he can dance. RM Sept/Oct 2015 • RUKUS

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...show me things I’ve never seen before.

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STATS: Birthday:

March 25

Height:

5’4”

Weight:

115lb

Measurements:

34D-23-33

See more of Jessica at instagram.com/JessicaMelodyXO www.RUKUSmag.com

Sept/Oct 2015 • RUKUS

Round 7

Irwindale 2015

Photos by Andrew Gates and Rupa Begum Written by Andrew Gates

The stage was set for some intense battles for the final round of Formula Drift in Irwindale, California. The House of Drift was the must attend event for fans from around the world, since it was the last USA event out of the seven throughout the year. It was also where they crowned the Pro 1 and Pro 2 Champions. This year they also used the event to crown the 2015 World Champion since the final event for the World Championship had to be cancelled due to unforseen circumstances.

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The battles at round seven were pretty insane since the Chamionship could have went a few different ways, but in the end it went to “The Norwegian Hammer,” Fredric Aasbo. Although, Fredric secured the victory early in the competition, that did not stop him from putting forth his best effort and laying down some spectacular runs. In the end he beat out Kenshiro Gushi to take first place. Second place went to Ken Gushi and third to Forrest Wang. Not only did Fredric take first at the event he also secured the Pro 1 Championship and he took home the 2015 World Championship. Irwindale Speedway was also the venue where they crowned the Pro 2 Champion which went to Alex Heilbrunn. Alex actually had the Pro 2 Chamionship locked up after round 3, but still came out swinging for round 4, although, Alex did not place for Pro 2 round 4, first place went to Juha Rintanen with second place going to Cameron Moore, and third place went to Kevin Lawrence. Walking around the vendor areas and seeing the new car builds, seeing all the old and new faces really made me smile to see how far Formula Drift, and drifting in general, have come. The sport of drifting has definitely made a name for itself and keeps growing year after year with more spectators, more drivers, more coverage, and of course, more horsepower. 2016 is sure to more of the same. This event was not only a huge deal because it was the last event for the season, it was also the last time Formula Drift will be held under the lights at Irwindale Speedway, since the sale of the venue seems imminent. It is a sad day when a venue like Irwindale sees the last event come to a close. We love you House of Drift and you will be missed.

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Staying Strong Photo by Colt Coan Written by Silas Valentino

The irony within the title of Shinedown’s fifth release, Threat to Survival, is that the Jacksonville, Florida rock band’s existence is somehow in question. They’re one of the few bands left to produce the accessible radio rock once blasted alongside Puddle of Mud, Seether and Hinder. Fourteen years in and millions of sales later, Shinedown and their dedicated fanbase remain. You might recall back in 2009 when their single “Second Chance” broke the band and propelled them onto bigger stages and into wider acclaim. With its mighty chorus – strong enough to pounce any Nickelback number – and singer Brent Smith’s coordinated wail, “Second Chance” is Shinedown’s calling card hit. But through the tenacity and clout of Threat to Survival, Shinedown seem more focused on crafting well-rounded rock records than raising their benchmark. This is a matured band (Smith has exchanged his long hair for a more distinguished cut) and a majority of the 41 minutes in Threat to Survival is spent convincing us of this growth. No time is wasted to get us started. The first foot forward, “Asking For It,” provides a satisfying and crunchy guitar riff that meets up with Smith’s signature vocals before launching into an arena-ready chorus. This is Threat to Survival’s strongest moment and the synthesizer notes that crescendo during the chorus peak sound like something out of a space arcade game that’s landed on Earth to be repurposed as shiny Shinedown musical fodder. Smith describes with disdain his rumor-spreading counterpart: “You need to tie your tongue/Cause when you spit on everyone/You were arguing and now you’re asking for it.” And the listener can’t waste time picking sides on this he-said/she-said dispute because of the pulsating thrust of melody that’s reverberating out of the guitar amplifiers. “Asking For It” is a hit we didn’t even know we wanted. The lead off single was the Queen “We Will Rock You”-inspired rhythm of “Cut The Chord.” Following the single’s release last June, Smith posted on the band’s Facebook profile an explanation to the song’s fury: “This is the statement to the world that you will not give up, you will not give in and you refuse to fail! Now is your time... to ‘Cut The Chord!’” The wolfish track begins with Smith detailing some of his finer qualities (how he’s vicious, savage and far from passive aggressive) before the pre-chorus begins to detail the song’s suicidal tendencies. “Switchblade on the edge of your wrist/Can I get a witness?” he poses during the song’s peak. (Note that the word “witness” gets repeated in a manner that would make the Eighties hair metal gods stretch a grin for its multi second, soprano soaring.) The notion of cutting the chord provides a dual meaning: Does Shinedown suggest you cut the chord to (literally) end your life of oppression or does it imply to cut out the aspects of your life that hold you back? Shinedown do not seem interested in answering for you; rather, provide you the question to mull over. The album’s final offering is the bittersweet “Misfits.” No, there isn’t a Danzig reference hidden within the song’s title; Smith is reflecting on his past where he and his pals disregarded trends for a life-in-the-fast-lane style. It’s a somber finale full of rearview analysis and could close out their concerts with a lighter’s flame held high. The remainder of Threat to Survival is a fairly blasé affair that won’t discourage any fans nor win over some new ones. Of the eleven tracks, all but one fall between that 3 ½ - 4 minute money mark which suggests Shinedown have perfected their hard rock songwriting to a T. Threat to Survival is consistent but the target they keep hitting isn’t a tough shot.

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Blood Red Written by Silas Valentino

There are those who simply rap about the hip-hop game and then there are those who actually embody it. For Jayceon Taylor, or appropriately nicknamed The Game, there’s no differentiating between the content that makes its way into his rhymes and the content of his morning breakfast. It’s all the same for the 36-year-old rapper and he’s keen on keeping it 100. In the week leading up to Christmas 2015, The Game made multiple headlines for various discrepancies: A judge ordered him to pay $3,000 to fellow rapper 40 Glocc for a 2012 scuffle that ended with The Game brandishing his weapon, then he was sued for failing to perform at the Kentucky Derby Festival last May for not being listed as the headliner and finally the Compton-centric former gangbanger pleaded not guilty to punching an off-duty cop. There’s a line between hustle and flow and The Game lives on it. To continue documenting his storied past and reigning present, The Game returns with the sequel to his 2005 debut aptly titled The Documentary 2. It’s a 19-song, 75-minute epic full of ghosts from his Christmas past, present and future with the underlining theme as this: the game is hard but not as tough as this player. The Game is a Golden State warrior – he tosses this pun and reference to the basketball squad frequently throughout The Documentary 2 – who wears his roots on his sleeves and isn’t afraid to go to war over it. His initial 2004 hit, “How We Do,” featured his East Coast counterpart 50 Cent. Both rappers rasp with that syrupy flow and have the gun shot wounds to prove their street credibility. But since The Game entered, well, the game, he’s been involved in a feud with 50 Cent that’s spawned countless attacks on both sides. During the smooth retrospective track “Made In America,” The Game admits “We all make mistakes look what happened to me and 50” offering a moment of peace – but he isn’t ready to let bygones be. He immediately (and cleverly) ends that line by cutting to the next song “Hashtag” which jumpstarts with a Little John-esk (though actually rapper Jelly Roll) exclamation of the word “egos!” During “Hashtag,” The Game compares the breakup of The Beatles with the breakup of G-Unit due to unnecessary egos. It’s almost as if The Game said he’s “sorry… but not sorry” and just like that the Cold War between 50 and The Game battles on. Like any good documentary, this one includes a cast of characters who pop in to provide their insight and contribution to the overall narrative – which in this case is the life in a life of The Game. Everyone from Ice Cube, Diddy, Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre to Kanye West, Drake, will.i.am and Future have their say in The Documentary 2. (Least we forget that during The Game’s 2011, Tyler, The Creator-featured hit “Martians vs. Goblins,” the OFWGKTA frontman boasted: “That shit was expected like Jayceon whenever he name-drops.”) The most powerful feature on the album comes from the current Compton CEO Kendrick Lamar. The track “On Me” begins with a drive-by shooting between two gangbangers that seems to galvanize the content and inspirations heard on Lamar’s To Pimp A Butterfly. Over a jungle beat with a head-swaying rhythm, The Game and K-Dot trade versus regarding Compton life where they were “Freestylin’ to them Chronic instrumentals, no pens and pencils.” It’s a pleasant moment of friendship and getting each other’s backs amid all the bellicosity of The Documentary 2. Ten years separate the two documentaries and countless altercations lie within the decade for The Game. He’s prone to trouble but he’s also a street-made converter of woes into flows. The game isn’t rigged – it’s rugged. The same could be said for The Game.

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Written by Samuel Wendel

Coheed and Cambria, The Color Before The Sun

With their eighth studio album, Coheed and Cambria throw their fans a fat curveball. The Color Before The Sun is the prolific prog-rockers’ first non-concept album. Up until now, Coheed and Cambria have made their name by delivering fans albums filled with rich, science fiction-inspired narratives. The Color Before The Sun focuses on a much more personal narrative – that of the band’s own experiences. A novel concept. While not a concept album, it does follow the band’s personal experiences and growth in intimate, vivid detail, making The Color Before The Sun their most profound work yet almost by default. Despite the change in album format, Coheed and Cambria haven’t changed their sound all that much. Musically, The Color Before The Sun is just as sprawling and epic as ever and shows the band hasn’t lost a step. First single “You Got Spirit, Kid” is a case study in the band’s signature effectsladen guitar riffs, spacious solos and dramatic lyrics. In short, if you like Coheed and Cambria, you won’t be disappointed. Standout tracks are “Here to Mars,” “The Audience” and “You Got Spirit, Kid.”

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Pop Evil, Up

Pop Evil are quickly establishing themselves as workhorses in North America’s mainstream rock scene. Up is the band’s third studio album in a 4-year period, harkening back to a long gone era when bands didn’t wait a half-decade between releases. The bar for Up was set high, as it followed 2013’s Onyx, which featured three No. 1 rock singles. Despite the short turnaround, Pop Evil’s latest collection of songs doesn’t ride the coattails of the band’s recent success. Tracks like “In Disarray” and “Core” are as catchy and powerful as anything the band has ever put out. This is most evident with “In Disarray,” with which the band seems to be aiming to establish themselves as a latter day Stone Temple Pilots – big shoes to fill, especially now that they’re big empty. But Pop Evil does an admirable job, bringing raunchy power chords, squealing guitar solos and wailing choruses that firmly establish the band as post-grunge revivalists in era when such acts are beginning to fade from view. With Up, Pop Evil should provide longtime fans with more than enough to chew on and sets the bar higher for their next release –which is probably on the way as we speak.

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Foals, What Went Down

English indie rockers Foals should consider a name change. With What Went Down, their fourth studio album, Foals seem more like “stallions” than baby horses. Building off 2013’s stadium-friendly Holy Fire, their latest batch of songs brings another helping of alternative rock anthems, but manages to up the bombast level even more. The title track and lead single is perhaps Foals’ heaviest song to date, and wouldn’t sound out of place on a Queens of the Stone Age album. Where on previous albums Foals combined spacey power chords with shout-along choruses, What Went Down is on a lot more aggressive and fills formerly empty space with fuzz and feedback. The result is their most claustrophobic and frenetic album. But Foals also haven’t forgotten where they came from. Second single ”Mountain at My Gates” – which is maybe their best song to date – features a jangly guitar line that conjures memories of Foals’ Britpop forefathers. But paired against the chiming guitar intro is a fuzzy math-rock breakdown and a wall of background noise egged on by a propulsive rhythm section. Overall, What Went Down furthers Foals’ upward trajectory as one alternative rock’s most promising young bands.

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Rebecca Abbitt

Photography by Andrew Gates Make-up by Alisha Baijounas

ebecca Abbitt comes to us from Virginia Beach, Virginia, but now resides in San Diego, California. Although, she’s only been in California for about four years, she now considers herself a Cali girl. Rebecca started her modeling career while working at Hooters. She had competed in their local bikini contests, hoping to make the finals, but nothing panned out. She then heard about The International Bikini Team and how they hosted pageant style bikini contests, so she tried her hand at that and won third place. This experience allowed her to keep working for IBT doing promotional work, biker events, Duck’s Unlimited banquets, golf tournaments, casino events, and more. In 2015 Rebecca went on to win The International Bikini Team’s “Miss Photogenic” award and is featured as Miss March in their 2016 calendar. Currently, you can find her doing different trade-shows around the USA, Panama, and Canada promoting Triace Tires.

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RUKUS • Sept/Oct 2015

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THE STATS Birthday: October 18 Zodiac Sign: Libra Measurements: 32DD-25-25 Height: 5’9” Weight: 135lb Ethnicity: Greek. My grandmother came over to America from the small island of Cyprus. Hometown: Virginia Beach, VA Turn Ons: The lumbersexual look. Turn Offs: A guy who leaves the toilet seat up. Ideal first date: Rock climbing. If you can’t belay, I’m not into you. Guilty Pleasure: I love chocolate…a lot! Pet Peeves: People who don’t train their dogs and caudle them like they are gods. Celebrity Pass: David Beckham. See more of Rebecca at

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Sept/Oct 2015 • RUKUS

Get The Shred Out

Written by Jesse Seilhan

Stop me if you’ve heard this one: there is a game you can buy that comes with a plastic instrument. I know, it’s not a radical idea, as literally millions of these have been sold in the past decade, and you might even have some guitars or drums collecting dust in your closet right now. But Activision decided to give it another go, designing a brand new game with a brand new guitar, using a new concept and tons of new music. Sounds too new to be true, right? Somehow, someway, they actually pulled it off with Guitar Hero Live, putting gamers in the shoes of a real guitarist in a real band, transcending the bedroom rockstar experience for something more authentic that represents a real evolution of the genre. There are two innovations for Guitar Hero Live, the first being the most obvious and important: the guitar. Sadly, those dusty instruments will continue to sit in your closet, as this all-new design deviates from the standard five-button layout from games past. Instead, the controller now features two rows at the top of the frets, with three buttons per row. So you actually have a sixth button and the ability to play chords, adding a degree of realism. You aren’t going to be able to solo “Freebird” on a Stratocaster anytime soon, but at least the actual hand motions are more representative of playing a real guitar. The second innovation is what is happening on the screen. Gone are the days of mechanical and polygonal representations of larger than life fake rock stars, and in their place are a suite of full motion videos. You now play guitar on a stage from the perspective of a real guitarist, interacting with your bandmates and feeding off of the crowd. And your performance dictates how these videos play out, as constant success breeds more energy from the fans and jubilation from your friends. But screwing up makes your band pretty pissed, and the crowd will quickly turn on you, booing your every note, until you string together a good combo to get back on track. It’s somewhat jarring the first time you experience it, but goes a long way to getting you involved in each performance. Finally, Guitar Hero Live has an awesome new mode called Guitar Hero TV. Essentially, it’s an MTV-style music video service, but every song is playable. They run continuously 24 hours a day, with different genres highlighted at different times of the day. Even better, you can go in and select any of the 150+ songs available in the library at any time, perfect for those that love to throw parties and want to bust out a game for everyone to play. The huge library is getting updated every month and there is even a live concert mode where you play along with bands like Avenged Sevenfold and Weezer, taking that sense of realism just one step closer. It’s remarkable that we’re talking about a music rhythm game in 2015, but it’s truly astounding that we’re talking about one that is so good. While it looked like the fad was over for good, Guitar Hero Live proves that the formula just needed a shot of adrenaline and a new way to play. Rock Band 4 tried to get the band back together by promising old instruments would work and all legacy songs would be compatible, but that ended up being a weight around its neck that kept it from rising up to Guitar Hero’s forward-thinking ways. Both games will come down to the soundtrack and if they have songs you actually want to play, but Guitar Hero is a better game in almost all respects.

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RUKUS • Sept/Oct 2015

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Tried and True

Written by Joshua David Anderson

There are some video game developers that, for good reason, inspire a rabid fanbase. Bethesda Game Studios is one of those developers. The creator of the popular Elder Scrolls series, Bethesda’s brand of open world RPGs create a passion within gamers. When Bethesda announced at E3 that their next project was a new Fallout game, people were excited but not surprised. When they announced that their newest game, Fallout 4, would be available less than six months later, fans were ecstatic. Now that it is out, fans are too busy being lost in the wasteland of Boston to think of anything else. The Fallout series has a unique setting, one that sets it apart from other post-apocalyptic fiction. Taking place in an alternate history, players are treated to a world where the technology and optimism of the 1950’s became the actual future, and the 21st century resembled the lofty ideals of World’s Fair demonstrations. People lived in idyllic neighborhoods with robot butlers and drove nuclear fusion powered cars, all while enjoying an old fashioned feeling of Americana. All until the bombs fell and destroyed the world. In Fallout 4, we pick up hundreds of years after that world was destroyed, and travel the blasted landscape of Boston, where insects have mutated into giant monsters and people can mutate into irradiated zombies. Alongside these wasteland threats are people just trying to survive, creating makeshift towns in abandoned baseball stadiums and living in broken down diners. You play as a character waking up to this world, trying to find your son, and dealing with all the different groups vying for control of Boston, including the militaristic Brotherhood of Steel, and the Institute, a group of scientists creating human-like robots to replace the populace. You will interact with all of these characters, as well as raiders, super mutants, and nuclear wildlife as you explore the ruins of Massachusetts. A rich world filled with so much to see is only fun to explore if the game controls well, and thankfully Bethesda has made some important improvements to Fallout 4 over it’s predecessors. Most notably, the shooting controls feel like a modern game. This Fallout game, as the previous ones that Bethesda has made, is all played in a first person perspective. And while the previous games had shooting controls that felt less than adequate, Fallout 4 is much close to feeling like a contemporary first person shooter than ever before. Aiming down the sights of a laser pistol feels snappy and Bethesda was smart to add a dedicated sprint and grenade button, all things missing from the past Fallouts. What still needs a bit of work is the menus and UI, with trading and managing items feeling more clunky and frustrating than they should. As far as the graphics go, Fallout 4 is certainly not the most technically impressive game out today. There are still some performance issues in the bigger sections of Boston, and the framerate can still drop, especially when you are playing on one of the consoles. However, all of this is more understandable when you see the scale and size of the world Bethesda has made. There is so much to do and see in Fallout 4, and so much detail in all the items in the world, that you can forgive the game for not looking quite as nice as the other games that came out around it. Certainly, a lot of Fallout 4 feels familiar to the previous games. Sometimes you will find elements that are lifted directly from an old entry in the series. This works as much to the advantage of Fallout 4 as it does to its detriment. There are things in the post-apocalyptic world of Fallout that you simply can’t get anywhere else in video games, and those things make the game a unique joy to experience. As the Fallout series famously says, “War never changes.” Neither does Fallout, and perhaps that is why we like it so much.

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Sept/Oct 2015 • RUKUS

Written by Jesse Seilhan

Hitman

The Hitman franchise has had its ups and downs, and the next entry might be the final nail in its coffin if it doesn’t sell well. Developers IO Interactive are being bold with this release, selling Hitman as a service instead of as a single game. You will buy the game and get maybe two or three levels, but will be delivered new and updated content for at least a year, constantly adding new gameplay areas and targets for you to assassinate. They are banking on this variety and community involvement to make this game something akin to Super Mario Maker, a title that is constantly refreshed by those that love it the most. If the gameplay is as a solid as it always is and the missions keep gamers entertained, this should be something truly unique in March of 2016.

Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam

Combining two of the best Super Mario Brothers spinoffs, Paper Jam looks to be another solid entry in the pantheon of great Mario games. There hasn’t been a Paper Mario game in years (since Sticker Star), so adding it to the Mario & Luigi series looks to be a great way to keep the franchise active. Instead of comprising either side’s visuals, both titles will blend their gameplay and art styles into a single title. Both have a great sense of humor, something that I’m sure will be kept alive and well in this game, due out in January. It sounds a bit crazy, but if they pull it off, Nintendo might just have a bonafide classic on their hands. The 3DS is not dead just yet, and this game could kick off quite an eventful year for the handheld device.

Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2

After what was a surprise hit two years ago, Popcap is back with another entry into this Plants vs Zombies spinoff. This time, all the progress, characters, and unlocks you gathered in the first game will carry on to this sequel, due in February of 2016. The world is now a lot larger, with an open world hub area for you and friends to mingle and battle before joining one of the many gameplay modes. The new characters look crazy as ever, including an imp that pilots a giant walking mech and 39 other plants or zombies to choose from. The tight shooting controls and massive online battles gave this game legs way back when, as did the horde mode and co-op activities. All of that is back plus a lot more, making it more than just a budget title. Definitely pick this up if you are looking for a change of pace from the hyper-realistic warfare or sci-fi shooters and want something just as fun in a slightly more ridiculous package.

RUKUS • Sept/Oct 2015

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