Latest news with #Round8
Digital Trends
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Digital Trends
Lies of P: Overture makes a great Soulslike more approachable than ever
Back in 2023, Lies of P became a surprise hit thanks to its Pinocchio-inspired story and brutally fast combat. Though I enjoyed it at the time, that quick action was always my sticking point. It felt like bosses were so aggressive that slower weapons simply weren't viable. Players really had to commit to every attack to keep up with enemies that lashed out in a flurry of violence. Developer Round8 has since put out patches to make a few bosses easier, such as reducing health and increasing chances of breaking their stances. Now Round8 has a second chance to get things right. This summer, Lies of P will receive a prequel DLC dubbed Overture. The new chapter will take players back to the beginning of the mysterious Puppet Frenzy, and take them to some snowier locales along the way. It's not just bringing a new time and setting to the table, though. Overture stands to make a tough base game even more approachable than ever based on what we played in a recent two hour demo that showed what the DLC has to offer. Recommended Videos Environmental variety Right when I start my demo, I'm immediately struck by Overture's setting. While the base Lies of P game was filled with dark and rusty overtones, Overture is knee deep in snow. The bright white landscapes are a dramatic shift that makes Overture feel more inviting compared to the base game. There's still clever environmental storytelling underneath those sheets of white. Boxes and structures are broken, scattered everywhere. Bright red blood is splattered all around. Something clearly horrific went down during the city of Krat's final days. I got to try out several new weapons during my demo, including a bow and arrow as well as a gunblade. The bow and arrow is precise, useful for picking off incredibly aggressive enemies at a range. In particular, there's a frozen zombie enemy wearing a crown that would always charge at me as soon as I was spotted. I quickly learned that I needed to approach them very carefully so that I could get the jump on them first. When that failed, the gunblade came in handy. The weapon has a satisfying heaviness that matches its explosive firepower. Its heavy combos carried me throughout my entire session. Essentially, the gunblade can unleash a medium range blast that propels Pinocchio backwards. In a follow-up combo, the second hit propels him forward for an additional sweeping strike on enemies. This particular attack is perfect for putting distance between me and my enemies before I can swoop in for the kill. Sure, I used that attack over and over again, but in a challenging Soulslike game, I wanted to take advantage of every tactic I had at my disposal. As I perused through a zoo, a mansion, and a carnival-like area, I eventually came across the boss of my session: a gigantic alligator called the Tyrannical Predator. I wasn't able to defeat it in time due to its hulking size and powerful bites that took out sizable chunks of my HP with each hit, but it was a healthy challenge to end a session I otherwise coasted through with one move. Revisiting the past For the second half of my session, I tested out a new feature coming to the Lies of P base game that will be extended to Overture: boss replay. In the main hub area, Hotel Krat, players will be able to have rematches with bosses they've previously fought against. Additionally, there are now multiple difficulty levels for the bosses. Each boss rematch has five levels, and upon beating them at Difficulty Level 5, players earn a commemorative item. As far as I can tell, there weren't any differences in behavior between the lowest and highest difficulty levels. The boss' damage output and HP are simply higher. The Level 5 matches are quite difficult, as the bosses hit like trucks. Even a single strike from the game's very first boss at the highest difficulty took out half of my health. On the flipside, the Level 1 matches are helpful for relearning boss fights and patterns that I've long since forgotten since the game's release. The main draw of the boss replay demo was that I was able to fight against three new bosses. Despite Overture's overall snowy setting, it seems like there will be some different environments to explore. For example, Markonis, Puppeteer of Death resides in a lush greenhouse area. This is a dual boss fight where Markonis uses her mechanized puppet like a wrecking ball. The second boss I faced was the Two-Face Overseer, which utilizes a giant hammer to fight. He reminds me of Batman villain Mr. Freeze, as the boss's head is encased in a tank. The setting of this one looked like a hospital or medical institution. The third and last boss I faced off against was in some sort of excavation site. The creature is named the Anguished Guardian of the Ruins, and it's enormous. It stands on four legs and has a bearded face. This was the only fight I tried with two phases, and was the most challenging of the new bosses due to its wide-sweeping attacks that required me to time my parries perfectly. Based on what I played, Lies of P: Overture looks to be a substantial addition to the base game. I've only played an hour of the new area while spending another in its new boss replay feature, but I have the feeling that there's so much left to explore. That's great news for an already standout Soulslike game that's only improved over time as it addressed its difficulty balancing. Overture feels like it will be a culmination of that process, letting more players than ever get in on the puppet slaying action. Lies of P: Overture is scheduled to launch this summer.
7NEWS
20-05-2025
- Sport
- 7NEWS
Kane Cornes admits he regrets retiring half-way through final AFL season
Port Adelaide champion Kane Cornes admits he regrets retiring half-way through an AFL season to become a fireman. Cornes played his 300th and final game for the Power in Round 8 of 2015, after which he left the club to a pursue a career in the fire brigade. At the time, the decision was branded 'selfish' by a host of footy commentators, who said Cornes should have either played out the season or retired the year before. Back then, there was no mid-season draft for AFL clubs to fill list spots with, in the same way that Richmond could replace Shaun Grigg in 2019 when he retired. The Tigers used the mid-season draft that year to recruit Marlion Pickett, who famously debuted in the grand final against GWS. Speaking on The Agenda Setters on Tuesday night, Cornes admitted he wishes he held off on becoming a fireman until after the season. 'I really regretted quitting to be a fireman, and if I had my time again, I certainly would've played out the season,' he said. 'I feel like I let a few people down, mostly my teammates, in doing that. 'So, if I had my time again, I would have addressed life after football at the end of the season, not in the middle of it.' Making the decision worse in retrospect is that Cornes left the fire brigade shortly after joining it, instead pursuing his current career in the media, which began in radio. Caroline Wilson remembered the backlash Cornes copped for the early retirement. 'It was Round 8 when you quit, and a lot of people smashed you,' she said. 'Matthew Lloyd, Tony Shaw labelled you selfish.' She even recalled standing up for Cornes at the time, which she laughed at on Tuesday night. 'I tell you what, I stuffed up, because Mark Ricciuto had a crack at you, and I wrote this heartfelt column sticking up for you,' Wilson said. 'And I knew you, but I didn't know you that well — 'as close to romantic as life after football can get' (she wrote at the time). 'I had a go at Ricciuto for being conflicted because he was an Adelaide board member.'
7NEWS
05-05-2025
- Sport
- 7NEWS
Kane Cornes wipes Port Adelaide and Carlton from AFL finals race after ‘line-in-the-sand' Round 8
Kane Cornes has declared the top seven teams in the AFL have already shown enough to be 'certain' of playing finals, while he has wiped Port Adelaide and Carlton out of the race. An intriguing Round 8 saw Brisbane secure top spot with a win over top-four hopefuls Gold Coast after Collingwood lost a thriller to perennial contenders Geelong. Hawthorn, Adelaide and the Bulldogs all solidified their places in the top eight with big wins over bottom-10 sides. Among the top eight, only GWS truly lowered their colours with a loss to a Sydney side that entered their derby on a three-match losing streak. And now the Giants' place in the top eight is the last up for grabs, according to Cornes. 'They talk about moving day in golf — Round 8 is moving round in the world of AFL football,' he said on Kane's Call. 'I think it's separated the best from the rest. The Giants are maybe the only vulnerable team in the top eight now. I think the rest play finals, I would be certain of that.' If that proves to be the case, it would be a significant shift from the 2024 race. Last year only five teams sitting in the top eight after Round 8 went on to reach the finals, after Brisbane, the Bulldogs and Hawthorn surged while Fremantle, Essendon and Melbourne collapsed. Before that, six teams had held their spots and two had dropped out in each season since 2016 — when the top eight did not change after Round 6. In 2011, seven teams in the top eight after Round 9 (when 13 of the 17 teams had played eight games) made the finals, though Essendon briefly dropped out during a losing streak before salvaging eighth place. But not since 2010 has the race for the finals proved to be for just one spot this early in the season. That year, seven of the top eight were set after Round 7 and the top eight did not change after Round 11. While GWS could yet make it a 2016-style top-eight lockout, seven of the current bottom-10 teams will still hold out hope of making the 2025 finals. Fremantle and St Kilda sit eighth and ninth after playing off against each other on Friday night, with the Saints coming up trumps. Essendon sit 11th after winning four out of their past five but all came against fellow bottom-10 opposition. The Bombers do, however, hold a positive win-loss record and still have a game in hand after their Opening Round clash with Gold Coast was postponed. Below them, Port Adelaide and Carlton suffered heavy defeats in Round 8 despite entering on three-match winning streaks that included wins over Hawthorn and Geelong respectively. The Blues' cause is helped by a 108.6 percentage, more than 10 points better than any other bottom-10 side and only 6.4 shy of the Giants. Sydney and Melbourne, now on their own three-match winning streak, are the last sides in the mix. 'There's probably one spot up for grabs for the likes of Fremantle or the Saints if they make a charge, Sydney if they can do the same,' Cornes said. 'Not sure about Melbourne, I don't think Carlton are good enough. But this round's separated the best from the rest. 'Fremantle weren't good enough. Port Adelaide not good enough so we've seen that and that's been on full display. Adelaide too good, Carlton not good enough. 'I think we're going to look back at this round as a pivotal line-in-the-sand moment and say 'gee, this round separated the best from the rest'. 'Long way out, I get it, but you can see the quality rising.'
NBC Sports
02-03-2025
- Sport
- NBC Sports
Roczen 'finally' conquers Daytona Supercross
Leigh Diffey, James Stewart, and Ricky Carmichael unpack Ken Roczen's break through win at Daytona Supercross and all of the storylines coming out of Round 8 for the 450 class
