ARMS

Nintendo's first-ever fighting game made specifically for the brand-new Switch, called ARMS, rewrites everything they think about fighting games and with the newest addition to the Nintendo family takes advantage of the new JoyCon peripheral, having just one pair isn't enough because you're going to need more to deliver its party piece for the newest Nintendo fighting game.

ARMS

ARMS, so what is ARMS? Nintendo calls it "the first fighting game of its kind" and players are ready to fight like never before as they can fight as different cast of fighters, including Spring Man and Ribbon Girl, and equip them with numerous kinds of ARMS that can turn the tide of the battle. They can only bring three different ARMS to a match and can be swapped during rounds and take note, each ARMS have different attributes such as fire, lightning, or wind. They will have to charge them up during a match and unleash its massive firepower to blow the competition away. Best of all, you can either collect new ones or upgrade existing ones. This means that ARMS isn't just a fighting game because it takes strategy to master different kinds of characters and ARMS to take on skilled players worldwide in various battle modes and show them who's the boss.

In ARMS, you can fight against other players in either 1 vs. 1, 2 vs. 2, or different kinds of games such as volleyball, basketball, target shooting, and many more. Or, you can get to know more about the characters in Grand Prix mode where players take on seven levels of difficulty and 10 matches each to prove that they deserve the title. In terms of playing online, they can either fight for fun in Party Match or fight for real in Ranked Match.

Just to take note, before the Switch's paid online subscription kicks off next year, best to play its online features at no cost for such a limited time, just so you can understand its online multiplayer gameplay better before you're going to charge some to play multiplayer online.

As a game made specifically for the Switch, ARMS offers different play styles but most importantly is using a pair of JoyCons courtesy of the Thumbs-up Grip because with the pair set, players can punch, move, grab, guard, or unleash Rush attacks by the way you move those JoyCons. In addition to the Thumbs-up Grip, ARMS allows players to play the game in various play styles depending on the controllers and layouts.

So, what can I say about ARMS? Taking advantage of the Nintendo Switch, this game is all about taking on all-comers wherever you go and because you are going to need a pair of JoyCons to unleash the ultimate ARMS experience, you should need some more to bring out its party piece because ARMS is more than just a fighting game, it's a party game where you can spend your time with your mates punching each other for the win and that really is the party piece ARMS is all about. Best of all, it's a fun, family-friendly alternative to those hard hitting fighting games your big bro and big sis are familiar with so you can challenge your whole family with the game of ARMS, making it the perfect family night idea after a long, strenuous day. Like I said, it really is a party piece and kudos to Nintendo to create a fun fighting game for all ages to enjoy anyway they like.

Disney-Pixar's Cars 3

Lightning McQueen returns for the biggest race for this life as the third installment of Disney-Pixar's Cars film is finally on the grid in time for race weekend and for this film, McQueen is trying to settle the score against newer and modernized racecars, including his most fearsome foe yet, Jackson Storm.

Disney-Pixar's Cars 3

As this year's Piston Cup now features next-generation racing cars, including the likes of newcomer Storm (played by Armie Hammer) himself, everything McQueen (played by Owen Wilson) know about the sport he loves will forever change following his sudden downfall during a race. Reluctant to end his long-running career in racing, McQueen seeks advice to an aspiring race technician known as Cruz Ramirez (played by Cristela Alonzo). Sharing common goals, they set off on a cross-country trip to regain his damaged morale. During their cross-country trip, McQueen will later do something that he never done before; go on a demolition derby. That sounds scary but if he really want to defeat Storm, he has no choice trying it out before returning to the circuit to settle the scores and finish what he started.

In addition to Wilson, Hammer, and Alonzo donning voices, Cars 3 brings back Larry The Cable Guy as Tow Mater, Bonnie Hunt as Sally, Cheech Marin as Ramone, Michael Wallis as Sheriff, and Paul Dooley as Sarge, among many others.

Past Cars installments have been proven to be a family-friendly alternative to some car action films we are familiar with but for Cars 3, it finally shows its darker side to McQueen's tale and if by "darker", it really is because with all the intense rivalry, the demolition derby, and what's happening to Lightning McQueen, this film finally came to its senses and you can really feel the rage boiling through its storyline that sets them apart from the past installments. While this film boils the fire within, there's still some sense of humor that makes Cars 3 a fun film for the whole family and there are some life lessons to be learned while trying to relate this film to their daily lives; rivalry, defiance, determination, and the moxie to overcome all odds in darkest of times.

Finally, Disney and Pixar landed on the master stroke with Cars 3 and while this is not ideally the best car movie to watch for car enthusiasts like you and I due to its cartoonish nature, its fiery storytelling, memorable cast of characters, and its classic Disney chemistry will make this another instant classic from the wonderful world of Disney.

My rating: 4.4 out of 5.

Let's Do The News! (June 16, 2017)

- The Department of Health announces decline in number of Dengue cases during the commemoration of ASEAN Dengue Day. DOH Sec. Paulyn Ubial said the agency has recorded 35,973 dengue cases nationwide from January until May 20, 2017 and 207 casualties. That's less than the 52,780 cases of the same months last year.

- The Metro Rail Transit Line 3 has resumed its normal operation after it underwent inspection due to the problem in its axles.

- Parts of Luzon experienced hailstorms following the thunderstorm advisory released by PAGASA. This rare weather phenomenon was experienced around 4PM Thursday in some areas in Quezon City and Nueva Ecija.

- US President Donald Trump's efforts to pressure people to tell the world that he is not under investigation has itself put him under investigation for obstruction of justice as the Special Counsel overseeing the investigation into Russia's role in last year's elections and interviewing senior intelligence officials to determine whether Trump attempted to obstruct justice.

- The second round of the Nuclear Disarmament Talks by the UN General Assembly has began with the draft resolution as the basis for their legally-binding treaty that will ban nuclear weapons once and for all. Members are expected to finalize the treaty by the 7th of July.

- Australian comedienne Rebel Wilson won the defamation suit against a global magazine publisher after the Victorian Supreme Court found a series of articles alleging she was a serial liar had damaged her career, according to reports.

- Floyd Mayweather Jr. agrees to take on MMA lightweight champion Conor McGregor for a boxing match at the T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, on the 26th of August.

- Lexus's CT hybrid hatchback has been given another minor change for the 2018 model year and it adds Lexus Safety System +.



- The fourth Yo-Kai Watch film has officially unveiled and its title is Yo-kai Watch Shadowside: Oni-ō no Fukkatsu. Coming in cinemas this December 16, this fourth Yo-Kai Watch film is set thirty years after the main story and it will feature three new human characters bearing Yo-Kai Watches and new forms from your favorite Yo-Kai characters to expect in the film while dealing with the new storyline that involves saving the world from an imminent danger.



- Reports told that Konami is blacklisting former employees in the Japanese video game industry. Reports cited a staffing agency employee as a source, saying that the employee alerts gaming companies if a potential hire is a former Konami employee, due to Konami allegedly filing complains against companies that hire its former employees.

- Toyota's 86 sports coupe set a new drifting world record of 165.04km, verified by the Guinness World Record.

- Check out the first trailer for the movie Goodbye Christopher Robin, hitting theaters this fall (October 13).

Forza Horizon 3: Driving Miss Sally

Oh yeah, since Cars 3 is just around us, this week's Forzathon stars the car that inspired Sally from the movie, the 996-spec Porsche 911, in GT3 guise for the driver who demands more 911s like this.



Designed for the traditionalists, the 996-spec Porsche 911 GT3 balances its track-honed capabilities with practicality fit for normal use, although practicality isn't best sums it up for the GT3. Under the hood lies the legendary 3.6L flat-six engine producing 380HP of power and 285lb-ft of torque while mated to a 6-speed manual gearbox. It does 0-60mph in 4.3 seconds and onwards to 190mph (306kph). Contributing to this 911 GT3 is weight-saving measures resulted to its 3,043lbs of weight as well as streamlining of the car's body that provides better aerodynamics precise enough to cool its brakes.



Okay, enough rambling about the 996-spec 911 GT3 right now, let's take it to Hot Wheels Thrilltopia to see if this is a great Porsche 911 during the time Bush ruined the world or else I should start calling it Sally. You know, from Cars.



With that performance like this, I should rule out calling you Sally because you really are one of the best Porsches ever made from the last decade.

Forza Horizon 3: A real American Le Mans hero

Le Mans weekend is upon us and it might be the ideal time to take a trip back memory lane on the real American hero that trumped Ferrari in their own game five decades ago. This is the Ford GT40, a real American Le Mans hero.



More specifically, it's the GT40 Mk.II that deserved the credit of Henry Ford's ambition to create a car that will humiliate Enzo Ferrari in Le Mans and it did with a crushing 1-2-3 finishing blow at the 1966 Le Mans endurance race. If it weren't for the likes of Carroll Shelby, the 7.0L V8 engine producing 485HP of power, the 4-speed gearbox made specifically for this engine, and the other American and European heroes involved in the development of the Mk.II GT40, Ford wouldn't succeed in the fight against Ferrari 50 years ago and because of the success of the GT40, the Americans are now part of the battle for global motorsport dominance.

Looking back fifty years ago and witnessing history repeated with the modern Ford GT, it's fair to say that the legendary Ford GT40 is too legendary to be forgotten by many car enthusiasts and its importance in America's involvement in motorsport-inspired the American Big Three to do the same in various motorsports no matter how good or bad they perform. I may be awestruck by the remarkable achievement Ford has ever done to create a racing machine that can beat Ferrari in Le Mans but this is no time to ramble more about it because...



...it's time to call on other drivers who have taste among vintage racers and see if the Ford GT40 lives up to its legend while donning a racing livery familiar to petrolheads and historians alike because this car isn't about being born for history. It was born to MAKE history. A real history maker, get it?



Even in the Australian fantasy land, this GT40 sure knows how to make history just like what it did back in 1966 at Le Mans. Man, it's great to be a Le Mans fan of some sort and I've never felt so pumped up getting ready to witness this weekend's Le Mans.

THREATS FROM NORTH KOREA: Detainee Warmbier released on humanitarian grounds

North Korea says they released American citizen Otto Warmbier on "humanitarian ground" after he had been held prisoner for 17 months.

Warmbier, 22, a University of Virginia student from suburban Cincinnati, was medically evacuated to the United States on Wednesday. His family said he arrived in a state of coma.

His release came after Joseph Yun, the U.S. State Department’s special envoy on North Korea, traveled to Pyongyang and demanded Warmbier’s release on “humanitarian grounds,” capping a flurry of secret diplomatic contacts, a U.S. official said.

Warmbier was detained in January of last year and sentenced to 15 years of hard labor in March last year for trying to steal an item with a propaganda slogan, according to North Korean media.

Reports quoted a senior US official as saying Washington recently received intel that Warmbier had been repeatedly beaten in custody. His family said they were told by N. Korean officials that Warmbier fell ill from botulism some time after last year's trial and lapsed into a coma after taking a sleeping pill, according to reports.

Source: Reuters

Let's Do The News! (June 15, 2017)

- The Philippine military states that they've arrested one of the members of the IS-backed Maute group. Mohammad Noaim Maute was arrested at a checkpoint near the coastal city of Cagayan de Oro just after dawn, said Lt Col Jo-Ar Herrera, a military spokesman.

- Meanwhile, two relatives of the Maute brothers were killed in an ambush in Lanao Del Sur last week. The victims were identified as Aliasgar Maute, and his brother Zulkifli Maute.  The two were arrested together with the ‘Maute Matriarch’, Farhana.

- The man suspected of opening fire on Republican lawmakers during a game of baseball on Wednesday raged against US President Donald Trump on social media and idolized Bernie Sanders, who he saw as the only politician who understood the working class. The suspect identified as James T. Hodgkinson from St. Louis, Belleville, Illinois. Records showed he was a 66-year-old home inspector. He died from injuries sustained in a shoot-out with Capitol Hill police who were at the scene in Alexandria, Virginia.

- The Philippine Embassy to London confirmed that a Filipino baby was one of the victims in the Grenfell Tower fire in West London. According to the Consul General, the infant was seven months-old and inhaled some smoke from the fire, causing it to feel light-hearted.

- Audi's R8 V10 Spyder now comes with the more powerful plus variant with 610HP from its 5.2L V10 engine.



- The new Jaguar XF Sportbrake was unveiled, adding some extra boot space to the second-generation Jaguar XF.



- The McLaren 570S is now available in the new open-top Spider variant.



- Konami's Metal Gear Survive game reportedly delayed to Early 2018.

- Check out the intro sequence for the upcoming Disney's DuckTales reboot series, premiering with a one-hour special this August 12, followed by the series premiere of two new episodes on the 23rd of September on Disney XD.

#DuckTales takes flight with a one-hour television movie to be presented for 24 consecutive hours on Saturday, 8/12, followed by the series debut of two new episodes on Saturday, 9/23 on #DisneyXD.

A post shared by DisneyChannelPR (@disneychannelpr) on Jun 14, 2017 at 9:30am PDT

TTFN!!!

Torchwood: torchwood_cascade_CDRIP.tor

Big Finish Productions continues to unearth some of the hidden Torchwood archives that never saw the light of day as full-cast audio drama CDs so fans of the hit Doctor Who spinoff can get the same experience as they got from the hit BBC TV series. 2017 promises to bring more Torchwood audio dramas as part of their ongoing efforts to celebrate Torchwood's 10th anniversary since October 2006.

Torchwood: torchwood_cascade_CDRIP.tor

Fans of the hit BBC TV Series already got hooked on the untold case of computer genius Toshiko Sato (played by Naoko Mori) back in the Zone 10 audio drama last year and now, Tosh returns for another untold case which now involves...the deadly consequences of online piracy.

Since the emergence of the internet, online piracy became a rampant outbreak in the digital world and to date, more and more people are illegally downloading movies, music, games, even TV shows, on the internet. In the case of Torchwood operative Toshiko Sato, unauthorized online piracy DO come with a deadly price which involves the lives of whoever downloaded something illegally.

This dystopian take on online piracy is something the fans should be worrying about and in torchwood_cascade_CDRIP.tor, this terrifying addition to Big Finish's Torchwood audio drama CD lineup will shock everyone with its dark, twisted, and dystopic taste with a fair lesson to learn about illegal downloads and its deadly consequences. While this installment terrifies the listeners about the consequences of online piracy, the classic Torchwood recipe continues to flow in every chapter of this installment with all the explosive thrills, spills, and chills in store for Tosh and the other characters, bringing torchwood_cascade_CDRIP.tor a must-listen for Torchwood fans.

While this story delivers a much scary take on a rampant internet trend, all the classic Tosh action is embodied in this audio drama that you can only expect from the world according to Torchwood.

Torchwood: Corpse Day

Big Finish Productions continues to unearth some of the hidden Torchwood archives that never saw the light of day as full-cast audio drama CDs so fans of the hit Doctor Who spinoff can get the same experience as they got from the hit BBC TV series. 2017 promises to bring more Torchwood audio dramas as part of their ongoing efforts to celebrate Torchwood's 10th anniversary since October 2006.

Torchwood: Corpse Day

Dr. Owen Harper (played by Burn Gorman) is a wisecracking medical specialist who likes to poke fun with the Torchwood Cardiff team until his death and resurrection (as demonstrated from Series 2 episodes such as Reset, Dead Man Walking, and A Day In the Death), rethinked his life and times as a Torchwood operative and in this never-before-told tale focused on our favorite medical specialist, it's time for the dead man to tell a tale once more.

Corpse Day is the day when the local constabulary seek assistance on dead cases from Torchwood and for PC Andy Davidson (played by Tom Price), a good friend of Gwen Cooper during her WPC days, he's grateful that for this year, he was volunteered to be a liaison for none other than, you guessed it, Dr. Owen Harper. However, in Owen's case, it feels like death cannot die, and for a dead man like him, this day feels like any other.

Hearing Tom Price and Burn Gorman in this installment is like you are jumping through a buddy cop flick at the start but when the case of grizzly murders kicked in, it transforms into a full-on gory horror experience that it won't really go easy on the listeners and long-time fans alike and in true Torchwood tradition, Corpse Day is a very special feast for the fans who just can't get enough of Owen as much as his on-screen antics from the last decade. 

More than that, this audio drama with a much gory outlook that became part of the Torchwood lore for a decade is more than enough to give themselves a "rat jam." Get it?

Torchwood: The Dollhouse

Big Finish Productions continues to unearth some of the hidden Torchwood archives that never saw the light of day as full-cast audio drama CDs so fans of the hit Doctor Who spinoff can get the same experience as they got from the hit BBC TV series. 2017 promises to bring more Torchwood audio dramas as part of their ongoing efforts to celebrate Torchwood's 10th anniversary since October 2006.

Torchwood: The Dollhouse

Long before the battle of Canary Wharf (known as Doomsday) that witnessed the downfall of Torchwood London, before Torchwood Cardiff emerged under the rule of Captain Jack Harkness, before everything you know about this secret organization that is "outside the government, beyond the police and the United Nations", there were three unsung heroines became involved in the alien mystery spelunking that became the template from this planet. Meet Torchwood Los Angeles.

It's the 1970's, the decade that witnessed US President Richard Nixon's resignation, the global energy crisis, and so on, Marlow Sweet (Laila Pyne), Charley Du Bujeau (Kelly-Anne Lyons), and Gabi Martinez (Ajjaz Awad) arrived in the city of angles to find new life and while this vibrant Californian city has some glitz and glamor in store, this city lies a dark secret where it will put three young girls to the test.

This is an all-new storyline written by Juno Dawson and while this installment has some originality unheard of in the Doctor Who franchise, it feels like it's connected to the original Torchwood storyline while delivering a fresher take on the secret organization we are now familiar with.

With all those alien stuff, youth life, drama, suspense, and thriller, The Dollhouse sets apart from all the other Torchwood installments Big Finish has to offer while evoking the spirit of the hit spin-off series that became as relevant as today's world affairs.

Torchwood: Visiting Hours

Big Finish Productions continues to unearth some of the hidden Torchwood archives that never saw the light of day as full-cast audio drama CDs so fans of the hit Doctor Who spinoff can get the same experience as they got from the hit BBC TV series. 2017 promises to bring more Torchwood audio dramas as part of their ongoing efforts to celebrate Torchwood's 10th anniversary since October 2006.

Torchwood: Visiting Hours

For the latest installment in the long line of Torchwood audio drama CDs, Rhys Williams (played by Kai Owen), the boyfriend turned husband of Gwen Cooper, takes on what's going on inside St. Helen's Hospital and his visit with his mother Brenda became a living nightmare they will face inside the hospital.

St. Helen's Hospital has been faced with series of unexplainable events following numerous people inside keep dying of natural causes every night and their bodies disappeared without a trace. Rhys comes to the hospital to visit his mam, Brenda, who had her hip replacement finished but the visit has became nightmare and with no one else around them, all that Rhys and his mam hope is to survive the night until the mystery at St. Helen's is unearthened.

This audio drama has a blend of horror and mystery in a Torchwood kind of way and while this is plainly moderate at first, the terror it blends on this latest Torchwood audio drama keeps on lingering until the very end and it feels like you're living in a nightmare full of monsters while trying to survive the night. Best be told, never try to listen to this one in the dead of night because of the terror waiting to unleash in every chapter but if you're brave enough to survive the night, this Torchwood audio drama will hit you with everything it got.

Aikatsu Stars! no Ongaku 01

Premiered last April 2016 on TV Tokyo, Aikatsu Stars! is an all new adventure that is separate from the original Aikatsu and it centers on the life and times of a girl named Yume Nijino who attends at the Yotsuboshi Gakuin to become the best idol in the school. Little girls across Japan have been tuning in every Thursday nights for more of Yume Nijino and the others as well as being part of the Aikatsu Stars experience via the Data Carddass game from Bandai. Because it's been a year passed since the show began, the original soundtrack of Aikatsu Stars has arrived for nostalgic pleasure.

Aikatsu Stars! no Ongaku 01

This two-disc compilation features the songs and score from not just the first season of the TV series but also the Data Carddass game inspired from, including TV-sized versions of the show's opening and closing theme songs as heard from the TV series. For an added bonus, there's the Christmas song as heard from Episode 37 of the series, titled We wish you a merry Christmas AIKATSU☆STARS！ver.

While supplies last, this original soundtrack comes with the special Lemon Creme Skirt card for use in the Aikatsu Stars DATA CARDDASS game, just a way of saying thanks and keep on watching Aikatsu Stars, which is now on its second season airing every Thursday nights on TV Tokyo.

TRACK LISTINGS:

Disc 1

01：スタートライン！（TV-size）

02：今回のおはなし

03：虹野ゆめ、いきまーす！

04：びっくり箱

05：おもしろいじゃない！

06：四ツ星学園

07：目指せS4！

08：花の歌組

09：鳥の劇組

10：風の舞組

11：月の美組

12：憧れのアイドル

13：気になるアイドル

14：学園長

15：This is Rock!!

16：ゆりちゃんと一緒

17：がんばらなくっちゃ！

18：S4 TV～キラキラするのがお仕事です

19：「CA物語」のテーマ

20：「ガリギャル」のテーマ

21：ロックへのいざない

22：ロック甲子園

23：ROCK☆ROCK☆GIRLS！

24：「リトルフェアリー物語」のテーマ

25：魔王の城

26：M4王国の妖精

27：アイキャッチA

28：みんな大好きめでたい焼き

29：アイキャッチB

30：はじけるホネホネブラザーズ

31：幹部のチームワーク

32：Let's Dancing!

33：天真爛漫アイドル

34：「ボディ・バード」のテーマ

35：「太陽に燃えろ」のテーマ

36：はばたくツバサ

37：先輩の教え

38：アイドルの学園生活

39：セルフプロデュースの極意

40：夜空のファッションタイムです

41：悔し涙

42：月想う太陽

43：月と太陽

44：さらなる成長

45：四つの星

Disc 2
01：1, 2, Sing for You!（TV-size）
02：試練
03：楽しい日々
04：今週のアイカツWAVE
05：オーディション スタート！
06：迷わぬ心
07：ステージ大成功！
08：夢へとつづく道
09：ドレスメイク講座
10：煌めくM4
11：ブロードウェイドリーム
12：四ツ星学園祭 後夜祭
13：やっぱりステージって最高！
14：ノー モア ネガティブ！
15：あれれ？
16：アイドル1年生
17：がんばれよ、ゆでダコ
18：ツンドラの歌姫
19：ちがうからこそ素晴らしい
20：憧れの存在
21：学園長の決意
22：厳しい現実
23：乗り越えるべき壁
24：不思議な謎の力
25：思い合う絆
26：つながる想い
27：星々のきらめき
28：永遠の輝き
29：S4決定戦
30：SHINING ROAD
31：スタージェット！（TV-size）
32：輝く星
33：新しいゆめに向かって
34：スタートライン！ ～Next Stage Ver.～
35：ささやかな願い
36：S4任命式
37：未来へ導くもの
38：episode Solo（TV-size）
39：So Beautiful Story（TV-size）
40：We wish you a merry Christmas AIKATSU☆STARS! Ver.