Category: Technology

FaZe Clan’s Quan “dicey” Tran has voiced his concerns about the changes made to VALORANT’S French sentinel Chamber in the latest patch.

The 19-year-old pro player called out the developers for nerfing the wrong abilities. “They’re [Riot Games] doing it wrong,” dicey said in a recent interview with Sportskeeda.com.

The American explained, “these Chamber nerfs aren’t really going to matter that much.” He built his argument by saying in professional matches, where “teams have been playing a lot slower,” the agent’s teleport is rarely used.

“It might change the way that I fight or my timings or things like that, but overall, the agent will still be good. I think people are still going to play him, and I feel like he’ll still be dominant, ”dicey said ella, underlining that in the end,“ he’s just a solid Operator agent. ”

Related: Chamber hit with drastic nerfs in VALORANT Patch 5.03

In VALORANT Patch 5.03, the devs targeted all of Chamber’s abilities with nerfs. But Rendezvous (the agent’s teleport) received the brunt of the changes. The devs reduced the base and recall cooldown of the ability, set a timer of 45 seconds whenever a teleport anchor is destroyed, and decreased the activate range from 21 to 15 diameters.

In the NA VCT Last Chance Qualifier, in which dicey has been competing, Chamber has the highest win rate with 83 percent, according to stats site VLR.GG. The agent has accumulated a 49 percent win rate on the attacking side, and 51 percent on the defending side.

It remains to be seen if the recent Chamber changes will have the dev’s desired effect on the agent.

Last night the Splatoon 3 Direct was jam-packed full of all the Splatty splat info you could hope for. It covered online modes, single-player, new customization options, new characters, Splatfests and even a brand new in-game card game.

Let’s start at the beginning with Turf War – which returns obviously. Included in the game at launch are 12 maps made up of new maps and some returning from older games. There are five brand new ones Scorch Gorge, Eeltail Alley, Mincemeat Metalworks, Undertow Spillway and Hagglefish Market. Nintendo promises more maps will be added to the game as time goes on.

Speaking of updates, Splatoon 3 will receive both paid and free updates, and the free updates span maps, weapons, and fashion items and will be added to the game every three months for the next two years.

A brand new type of weapon was also announced. The Splatana Wiper sends out ink blades or can do a charged slash.

The new locker room feature can further customize yourself and show off your style. This section of the lobby will show recent people you have played against, and in their lockers, you can see what gear they have on, and you and they can add other flourishes to the lockers to style them however you like.

Customize your locker’s colour, slap on some snazzy stickers, and fill it with weapons, gear and items to show off your signature splatting style! #Splatoon3 pic.twitter.com/fNoYhundUy

—NintendoAUNZ (@NintendoAUNZ) August 10, 2022

Tableturf Battle is an entirely brand new mode in Splatoon 3. It’s one on one competitive card battle game within the game. You’ll get a pack to start, but then you’ll be able to unlock more to add to your deck and battle other players in card battles. There are over 150 cards to collect in the game.

Get ready for a dazzling deck duel with Tableturf Battle, a 1 vs 1 competitive card-battle spinoff of Turf War you can play on the go! #Splatoon3 pic.twitter.com/e39ym72nWf

—NintendoAUNZ (@NintendoAUNZ) August 10, 2022

Deep Cut is the brand new band in the game; they’re hosts of the in-game news, which announce what maps and modes are in rotation at any given time. Deep Cut is a trio with Shiver, Fryre and Big Man.

Splatfests will also be back, with Nintendo showing off Splatsville rocking out when they’re on. The first Splatfest is on even before the game is out. We’ve got info on that here. The addition of Trio Turf Wars is new to Splatfests in Splatoon 3, where three teams battle it out for the chosen cause.

Brace yourselves for Big Run, a once-in-a-while Salmon Run phenomenon in which Salmonids invade Splatsville! #Splatoon3 pic.twitter.com/oZxpv4Oxwz

—NintendoAUNZ (@NintendoAUNZ) August 10, 2022

The game’s story mode was touched on, but only briefly. It promises to be the third and final part of the story.

New amiibo were also announced. There’s three new ones based on Shiver, Frye and Big Man. They’re due out this “summer”, we’ll have more local information here when they’re available and how to get them.

If you’ve played Splatoon 2 there’s also some bonuses for having the save game on your system. You’ll get extra Gold Sheldon Licenses, be able to join Anarchy Battles and even start the game with a higher rank. More information about that and everything else in the Direct can be found here.

Splatoon 3 is out on September 9th, just under a month away now. Check out our bargain guide for the game here.

You don’t need to be a splatoon fond of being able to recognize good. Mr. Coco, an enormous wife-beater-wearing crab-like who runs a shoe shop, is purest goodness. That’s just solid good. The store is called Crush Station, and that makes no sense on any level. perfection.

In today’s astonishingly dreary Splatoon 3 Direct, where they were able to take a moment away from describing the shades of gray appearing in the game’s lobby, we suddenly sat up and took notice at the appearance of Mr. Coco.

“Get a variety of cool kicks here,” says the paid-to-be-enthused voiceover lady, “from trainers to sandals, and even leather footwear.” I love that “even”! Like, wow, somehow they managed to program in that most difficult and elusive of textures! She then adds, “It’s owned by Mr. Coco. He might look intimidating, but…”

Wait, stop! looks bullying?! He looks like the friendliest stack of circles you could hope to meet. I genuinely have kabourophobia (I just looked up the name) — I literally cannot look directly at a crab without my entire body wanting to rip itself apart at an atomic level — and I want to give this guy a hug. Intimidating he is not.

Why are we not on first-name terms with this…well, we’re calling him a crab. He’s got crab pincers, and wears a t-shirt with a crab on it, but man-alive, that is not a crab’s face. He appears to have a proboscis? And apparently only four limbs, two of which are tiny legs. The hairy chest is a whole other matter. I think maybe he’s more lobster than crab? Look, I’m not a crustalogist. I just had to Google Image Search for lobsters to see if they have such protrusions, which they do, but now my insides are made of wiggling worms of upset and danger.

The shoes he sells will apparently give you advantages in the game, such as upping running speed, or ink resistance. Although you then have to unlock said abilities by wearing the item in battles. Which is not really how shoes work, unless you count this as “wearing them in.” What I’m saying is, have a walk around Mr. Coco’s emporium a few times before you buy them.

Mr. Coco, you are Splatoon 3‘s break-out feature, despite close competition with that dumbass manta ray, Big Man.

Keeping track of all the latest video games coming out is an increasingly complex task, what with multiple PC storefronts, Xbox One, PS4, Switch, mobile, and more to keep track of, but don’t worry, I’m here to help . Every month I’ll be running down the games you need to be keeping an eye on, from the big triple-A headliners, to the intriguing indies you might otherwise overlook.

August may seem a bit slow at first glance, but there’s plenty to look forward to if you just scratch the surface. Headliners include the rebooted Saints Row, Atlus’ latest demon-training adventure Soul Hackers 2, and the latest Genshin-style anime-infused F2P RPG, Tower of Fantasy. On the indie front, players can look forward to the dark ‘n’ cuddly Cult of the Lamb, roller skating shoot ’em up Rollerdrome, Bloodborne-esque action-RPG Thymesia, and more.

Note: While I may have played demos or got early access to some of the games recommended in this article, in most cases I’m simply choosing games that look promising, and can’t vouch for the end product. Do wait for reviews before buying!

That said, here are the games you should be looking out for in August…

The Headliners

Two Point Campus (PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5 & Switch, Aug. 9)

From the makers of Two Point Hospital comes another attempt to make institutional bureaucracy fun. Much like its predecessor, Two Point Campus is a management sim that offers a combination of relatively deep mechanics and goofy British humor. Campus may provide even more opportunities for the latter, with an array of silly majors like clown college and “Knight School.” Sometimes you have to accept a few groans with your fun. You can pre-order the game here.

Madden NFL 23 (PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4 & PS5, Aug. 19)

As always, August is Madden month. With Madden NFL 23, the big new bullet-point is the “FieldSense” system that promises to deliver more realistic, adaptive animations and gameplay. EA is also promising some new features for the game’s Franchise and Career modes. Of course, if you’re a Madden fan, you don’t really need me to tell you to buy it. You can pre-order the game here.

Saints Row (PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4 & PS5, Aug. 23)

The Saints Row series eventually took things to such crazy heights that there wasn’t really anywhere else to push the bar. And thus we have the Saints Row reboot, which is developer Volition’s attempt at a (somewhat) more grounded, realistic open-world adventure. That said, the game’s character creator will allow for all manner of wackiness and there’s still some more subtle humor to be found, particularly if you tackle the game’s unique side hustles. This isn’t the Saints Row of old, but hopefully, it can find its own groove. You can pre-order the game here.

Soul Hackers 2 (PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4 & PS5, Aug. 26)

For those who can’t keep track of Atlus’ sprawling Shin Megami Tensei franchise, Soul Hackers 2 is the sequel to the spinoff of a spinoff. Shin Megami Tensei spawned Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner, which led to Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers, which finally led to Soul Hackers 2. But don’t get too hung up on the lineage – this is classic Shin Megami Tensei, which is to say, challenging dungeon hacking and demon recruiting. This time around, some Persona-style social elements have also been included. This one ought to hack into Atlus fans’ happy places. You can pre-order the game here.

Promising Indies

Cult of the Lamb (PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5 & Switch, Aug. 11)

Haven’t we all wondered what it might be like to lead our own cult from time to time? Come on, I know it’s not just me. Well, Cult of the Lamb lets you do just that – build your flock of loyal followers, build up your cult’s home base, and then delve into a challenging procedurally-generated world to defeat the unbelievers. This one looks adorably dark. Here’s the Steam page for Cult of the Lamb.

Rollerdrome (PC, PS4 & PS5, Aug. 16)

From the creators of the acclaimed OlliOlli world comes something a little more aggressive. In Rollerdrome, tricks are still important with players flipping and grinding on roller skates, but this time around, you’re also equipped with a pair of guns and have enemies to worry about. Test your skills in more ways than one! Here’s the Steam page for Rollerdrome.

Thymesia (PC, Xbox Series X/S & PS5, Aug. 18)

Still pining for that Bloodborne remake or sequel that’s probably never going to come? Well then, you might want to give Thymesia a look. The game is clearly inspired by FromSoftware’s works, to the point of perhaps being a bit derivative, but its action looks solid, and it should be every bit as punishing as you Souls freaks like it. Here’s the Steam page for Cult of the Lamb.

I Was a Teenage Exocolonist (PC, Aug. 25)

Being a teenager is hard. Being a teen growing up on a distant space colony is harder. I Was a Teenage Exocolonist largely focuses on your social life as you grow up amongst the stars, but there’s also a card-based combat system, with your deck being determined by your experiences and choices. And there are a lot of different directions your teen drama can go, with the game promising over 30 “wildly different” endings. Here’s the Steam Page for I was a Teenage Exocolonist.

Tinykin (PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5 & Switch, Aug. 30)

One part Mario 64, one part Pikmin, with a stylish 2D-3D hybrid art style, Tinykin looks to deliver no small amount of charm. The bug-sized Milo must make his way around various household environments with the help of dozens of tinykin with unique powers — can he find his way home? It ought to be an entertaining (and cute) journey. Here’s the Steam page for Tinykin.

Full List of Games Worth Watching in August:

• Frogun (PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5 & Switch, Aug. 2)
• Hard West II (PC, Aug. 4)
• Hindsight (PC & Switch, Aug. 4)
• Sword and Fairy: Together Forever (PS4 & PS5, Aug. 4)
• GigaBash (PC, PS4 & PS5, Aug. 5)
• Two Point Campus (PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5 & Switch, Aug. 9)
• Lost in Play (PC & Switch, Aug. 10)
• Tower of Fantasy (PC & mobile, Aug. 10)
• Arcade Paradise (PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5 & Switch, Aug. 11)
• Cult of the Lamb (PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5 & Switch, Aug. 11)
• Rumbleverse (PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4 & PS5, Aug. 11)
• Rollerdrome (PC, PS4 & PS5, Aug. 16)
• Way of the Hunter (PC, Xbox Series X/S & PS5, Aug. 16)
• Cursed to Golf (PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5 & Switch, Aug. 18)
• Thymesia (PC, Xbox Series X/S & PS5, Aug. 18)
• A Tale of Paper: Refolded (PC, Xbox One & Xbox Series X/S, Aug. 19)
• Madden NFL 23 (PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4 & PS5, Aug. 19)
• Deadwater Saloon (PC, Aug. 22)
• Midnight Fight Express (PC, Xbox One, PS4 & Switch, Aug. 23)
• Saints Row (PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4 & PS5, Aug. 23)
• Yars: Recharted (PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5, Switch, Stadia & Atari VCS, Aug. 23)
• I Was a Teenage Exocolonist (PC, Aug. 25)
• SD Gundam Battle Alliance (PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5 & Switch, Aug. 25)
• Soul Hackers 2 (PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4 & PS5, Aug. 26)
• Pac-Man World Re-Pac (PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5 & Switch, Aug. 26)
• Destroy All Humans! 2: Reprobed (PC, Xbox Series X/S & PS5, Aug. 30)
• F1 Manager 2022 (PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4 & PS5, Aug. 30)
• Immortality (PC, Xbox Series X/S & mobile, Aug. 30)
• Prinny Presents NIS Classics Volume 3 (PC & Switch, Aug. 30)
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Cowabunga Collection (PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5 & Switch, Aug. 30)
• Tinykin (PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5 & Switch, Aug. 30)
• Scathe (PC, Aug. 31)
• Mondealy (PC, Aug. 31)

And those are the games you should be keeping an eye on this coming month. What games are you planning to pick up in August? Did I miss anything you’re looking forward to?

Don’t you just hate it when you pick up your trusty Canon EOS R5, only to discover it’s actually a sneaky Transformer? Well bad news, because this nightmarish future spotted by TFormers is actually becoming a reality next year thanks to a collaboration between Takara Tomy (the Japanese company behind the Transformers toys) and Canon (the Japanese company behind… well you get the idea).

The collaboration has resulted in a pair of Transformers figurines that are able to fold away into surprisingly realistic looking Canon mirrorless cameras. I say “surprisingly realistic” because at first glance I somehow mistook these for functioning cameras. But in case it wasn’t obvious from their ¥19,800 (around $147) pricing, they’re non-functional replicas that are only 80-percent of the size of the real thing. (The idea that this could be a functioning camera isn’t so wild considering Takara Tomy has previously produced working MP3-player Transformer toys).

Probably my favorite detail is the lens cap, which in both cases transform into shields for the Transformers to wield. But a close second is the miniature cameras both figurines appear to be holding in some of the promotional images, which is a delightfully silly addition. One figurine is based on Optimus Prime, while the other is Decepticon Refraktor.

Both Transformers are scheduled to release in Japan next year on February 25th, and TFW2005 reports that preorders are open from now until September 28th. It’s unclear if they’ll see a global release.

A whacky Apex Legend bug is giving characters the wrong abilities.

Yesterday on August 9, Apex Legends launched Hunted, its brand new season, along with new legend Vantage. The new seasonal launch hasn’t gone as smoothly as developer Respawn might’ve hoped though, as players are now reporting instances of their characters being given the abilities of other legends by mistake.

In addition to a new case and air cooler, be quiet! has also unveiled a new AIO water cooler – the Pure Loop 2 FX. Just like the other newly announced products, the Pure Loop 2 FX is an improved variant of an existing product – in this case the PureLoop AIO. The new Pure Loop 2 FX is available in 240mm, 280mm and 360mm sizes. For this Pure Loop 2 FX review, I used the 280mm variant.

Design & Processing

The biggest changes are in the design department. The previously mainly monochrome black exterior has been complemented by a lot of RGB with the Pure Loop 2 FX. The fans for the radiator are now the Light Wings PWM fans, which feature a visible RGB ring around the black fan blades on both sides. Likewise, the attachment for the processor, which previously only had white LEDs on the PureLoop, now also supports the full RGB spectrum. Otherwise, the surface of the processor attachment is made of brushed aluminum with the black be quiet!- logo in the center. Included with the AIO is an ARGB-PWM hub that the individual parts can be connected to in order to pair the lights with each other. In addition to the AIO, the rest of the PC’s hardware can of course be connected to this hub, allowing centralized control of the lighting. In total, up to six different devices can be connected to the ARGB-PWM hub.

The build quality is be quiet!-typically high. The pump is installed in a separate unit on the hose of the AIO, which promises improved durability. At the same time, this is also supposed to reduce the noise compared to other water cooling systems. The fans used are specially optimized for radiator operation. On the radiator itself is a refill port, which can be used to refill the supplied coolant if necessary.

Installation

the Pure Loop 2 FX supports Intel 1700, 1200, 2066, 1150, 1151, 1155 and 2011 sockets, as well as AMD AM4 and AM5 sockets. The 40-centimeter-long hose allows the AIO to be attached to the lid of a case as well as to its front. You should only make sure that the pump or the processor attachment is not at the highest point of the loop. Otherwise, air bubbles could collect there, reducing the cooling performance or the pump’s service life.

The installation for the Pure Loop 2 FX test was pleasingly simple. First, the radiator is bolted to the case. Then the fans are screwed to the radiator. Unfortunately, a proprietary socket adapter from be quiet! must be used to attach the CPU attachment; the standard adapter for, for example, socket AM4 is not compatible. However, in my opinion, the adapter itself also has the advantage that the attachment of the attachment is somewhat more precise and it is thus easier to achieve an optimal contact surface between CPU and cooler. The fans, as well as the pump each have their own power supply via a 4-pin WM connector. So that the pump and the fans can be connected to the motherboard and get the correct speed communicated, the included ARGB-PWM hub can be used.

Before installation, it should be looked at in which order you install the radiator, the mainboard and the RAM most sensibly. Otherwise, individual parts may have to be removed again because they get in each other’s way during installation. Likewise, spatial compatibility in the case must be checked – in my case, the RAM sticks, as well as the radiator (with fans) did not fit at the same time until I removed the sticks’ heatspreaders.

Performance

I tested the 280mm variant of the Pure Loop 2 FX. For my slightly overclocked Ryzen 7 5800X, an AIO like this is ideal. The thermal mass provided by the coolant, as well as the large surface area of ​​the radiator, allows heat to be dissipated quickly and, ultimately, effectively. Water coolers are not always necessarily the better choice when it comes to cooling the processor, but water coolers in particular with a large radiator and multiple fans can theoretically dissipate significantly more heat in a certain amount of time than an air cooler, which is of course severely limited in size. The test system used consisted of a Ryzen 7 5800X, Nvidia RTX 3080, 16 GB of Corsair Vengeance RGB PRO memory and the MSI B550-A Pro motherboard.

The graph shows the heat development during Cinebench R23. The green line shows the temperature of the Ryzen 7 5800X with the Pure Rock 2 FX. The red line is the temperature with the Pure Loop 2 FX. The temperature difference is about 5.7 °C. It can also be seen that the Pure Loop 2 FX can keep the slightly overclocked Ryzen 7 5800X below 85 °C under full load. So especially for processors with higher TDP, the Pure Loop 2 FX is a good choice to avoid thermal throttling or temperatures that can reduce the life of the processor.

Loudness

Even under full load, the Pure Loop 2 FX didn’t get particularly loud. I find the pump in particular to be very quiet – I have not been able to hear it a single time. However, the airflow generated by the fans on the radiator is clearly and strongly noticeable, and the Light Wings spin at speeds of up to 2200 rpm. Be quiet! specifies a noise level of 32.8 dB for this speed. When idling, the AIO is generally drowned out in the quiet background noise of the PC and also does not produce any annoying “chatter” or the like.

value for money

the Pure Loop 2 FX is available in three variants. A 240mm variant for €129.90, a 280mm variant for €139.90, and a 360mm variant for €154.90. This is comparable to what other well-known AIO brands charge for their products. Depending on the space in the case and the processor to be cooled, there should thus be a suitable version.

At be quiet! on sale for €99.90 / €109.90 / €124.90, the value for money is almost unbeatable. Only if you like to do without RGB, you can still save some money. Otherwise, the Pure Loop 2 FX is a good choice in terms of price-performance, as well as quality.

Conclusion

the Pure Loop 2 FX test shows that the new AIO builds on the already good foundation of the PureLoop and especially brings the design up to date. The result is an AIO that is quiet, performant, modern and affordable.

Design & workmanship

Installation

Performance

Loudness

value for money

92/100

A good all-rounder AIO that leaves little to be desired.

be quiet! Pure Loop 2 FX 280mm BW014 price comparison

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