PART brawlers, part Japanese dramas, and part open-world experiences, Sega’s Yakuza games have always been a ridiculous but compelling blend of action and adventure. While they initially seem like compilations of conflicted ideas from a fever dream, their interesting, over-the-top antics and enjoyable combat systems are truly anything. Their stories keep you invested, and their atmosphere, taken individually or collectively, is nothing short of engrossing. Yakuza Kiwami 2, a remake of 2006’s Yakuza 2, follows pretty much the same formula. Featuring better graphics and sounds, enhanced gameplay, and new story elements, it does its best to keep the spirit of its source material while tacking on some of its own unique flair.

If you tell a fellow Filipino that you are flying to Abu Dhabi, the assumption is almost always that you are going to start working there. And you can’t fault them because as you wait to board the plane for your Abu Dhabi trip, you’d notice that you are surrounded by mothers on the phone, saying their last minute goodbyes to their children. “Mag-behave ka habang wala si mama, ha? I love you, anak [Behave while mom is away, okay? I love you],” implying that they will be gone to work abroad for a long time.

THE FILM BEGINS with the sound of cicadas rhythmically whirring over a black background. The sound cuts out, the film title (simple white letters) flashes on-screen. Cut to a vision of hell: a guard shrouded in steam stands beside a wood shelf containing severed heads. We are at the volcanic springs of Unzen, near Nagasaki, where friars are strung up on crosses and longhandled ladles with holes sprinkle boiling hot water on them, delicately poaching their skin. (Today of course the springs are a popular vacation resort).

IT’S NO COINCIDENCE that the birth and growth of Shin Nihon Kikaku (SNK) as a video-game developing, publishing, and manufacturing company coincided with the industry’s rise in popularity. The transition to the 1980s saw the proliferation of gaming arcades and the inevitable releases of home-console versions of popular titles, and it was determined not just to take advantage of the boom, but to ensure its sustainability through constant innovation. Soon enough, it became a major player in the coin-operated business, and it astutely leveraged its experience to penetrate the expanding home market.

In April 2016, over a million public school students in the National Capital Region (NCR), Central Luzon, and Calabarzon lined up to take part in the immunization program of the first dengue vaccine. It was recommended that the three doses of the vaccine be administered at six-month intervals. It was more than a year into the program, in November 2017, when Sanofi Pasteur issued a warning that immunized people who had not previously been infected with one of the four known varieties of dengue may experience a more severe version of the disease.

HOME to rare underwater species, Mabini, Batangas was the location of the 6^th Anilao Underwater Shootout, mounted by the Department of Tourism (DoT).

ALFONSO CUARON’s Roma is, yes, one of the most beautiful-looking films of the year, a blend of artfully lit footage digitally stitched together to appear a seamless whole.

IT’s a testament to the critical and commercial success of Life is Strange that Dontnod Entertainment had already begun work on a sequel even as its final episode was just being released. When the French developer confirmed the piece of news in January 2016, sales had already reached the three-million mark and physical copies were already making their way to store shelves. Episodic adventure games weren’t new to the industry, and yet it managed to present a choice-driven, coming-of-age narrative that transcended the genre. And, understandably, it wanted to build on its singular achievement.

AT THE University of the Philippines Fair early this year, April Hernandez had the lucky role of opening for the popular band IV of Spades. Under the stage name “TheSunManager,” she has just around 3,000 monthly listeners on Spotify while IV of Spades has a following of over a million.

SO GET this -- Ron Stallworth becomes the first black police officer in a large largely white town (the “Jackie Robinson of the Colorado Springs police force” as his superior puts it). He is consigned to the records room, requests a transfer to undercover; sees a recruitment ad for the KKK, dials the number, gets an unexpected voice at the other end, improvises a racist rant, is invited to join the group.

By Anthony L. Cuaycong NIPPON Ichi Software (NIS) has been known to push the envelope in terms of offerings for popular genres, so it’s no...

What in the world is this nebulous construct called creativity, anyway? The mere mention of the buzzword can make even the most erudite tongue-tied. Vastly cited Italian behavioural scientist Paolo Legrenzi describes creativity as a justification of artistry. In his 2013 publication, Creativity and Innovation, he cites architect Vittorio Gregotti: “Every work of architecture seems to be justified by the term creativity, which by now is used to define every aesthetic act (diffused aesthetics has overwhelmed us) with which designers, advertisers, stylists, architects and many other professions justify their ‘artistry.’”