magazine gamepad full pages

YOUR #1 VIDEO GAMES MAGAZINE ISSUE 020 MAY 2021

EXCLUSIVE

Resident Evil
VILLAGE REVIEW
pg 9

INTO THE RIDERS REPUBLIC MASSIVE PLAYGROUND!
MULTIPLAYER
JUMP

Preview: It’s
Left 4 Dead 3 in
Everything but

Name.
pg 12

PLAYSTATION 5 LATEST GEFORCE RTX 3090
CONSOLE FEATURES GALAX!
pg 6 pg 21

FROM Infinity Xtreme Titanium FROM Infinity X99 Ti
RM22,000 RM10,400

Windows 10 Home Windows 10 Home
Intel 10th Gen i9 Processor Intel Core i9 Processor
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080Ti 11GB NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 8GB
ASUS TUF X299 MK 2 Mainboard MSI Z390-A PRO Mainboard
4x8GB Corsair Vengeance 16GB DDR4 Corsair Vengeance
500GB Samsung SSD 500GB Samsung SSD
2TB Seagate SATA-III HDD 2TB Seagate SATA-III HDD
CoolerMaster H500 RGB Case CoolerMaster Masterbox Case
Corsair Vengeance 750M Corsair VS 650W Power Supply
TP-Link Archer T6E Dual Band

FROM Infinity X66 FROM Infinity X99 GT
RM4,800 RM8,100

Windows 10 Home Windows 10 Home
Intel Core i5 Processor Intel Core i7 Processor
NVIDIA GeForce MSI GTX1660 NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 8GB
MSI Z390-A PRO Mainboard ASUS PRIME Z390-P Mainboard
8GB DDR4 Corsair Vengeance 16GB DDR4 Corsair Vengeance
2TB Seagate SATA-III HDD 240GB Kingston SSD
Corsair 220T gaming Case 2TB Seagate SATA-III HDD
InWin A45 450W CoolerMaster Masterbox Case
Cooler Master Liquid Lite Cooler Master 600W Power
Supply

FROM Infinity X44
RM3,100

Windows 10 Home
Intel Core i3 Processor
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 4GB
ASUS PRIME H310M-R Mainboard
8GB DDR4 Corsair Vengeance
240GB Kingston SSD
1TB Seagate SATA-III HDD
Cyberpower Onyxia Case
Cooler Master 400W Power Supply

ORDER TODAY! 03 333 3333

Get RM20 off using code PCGAME21 at the checkout

CYBERPOWER PC

CUSTOM BUILD GAMING PCs

WWW.CYBERPOWERSYSTEM.COM



#020

Contents MAY2021

MONITOR

06 PlayStation 5 console features

REVIEWS

09 Resident Evil Village Review
12 Back 4 Blood Review
15 Riders Republic review

HARDWARE

21 GeForce RTX 3090 Galax

GET YOUR FREE GIFT

Download your free Gamepad
Annual 2021 digital edition here:

bit.ly/gpd2021

PLAYSTATION 5

Everything You Need To Know About Sony’s Newest
Consoles

Sony’s behemoth of a console promises an exciting new generation of gaming
By Jay Peters @jaypeters

The next generation of PlayStation is finally here with THERE ARE ACTUALLY TWO PS5 CONSOLES, BUT
the arrival of the PS5. This generation, it seems like THEY’RE LARGELY THE SAME
Sony is sticking with the approach that made the
PS4 so successful: sell consoles that can play first-party Like Microsoft, Sony is actually selling two versions of its
games from Sony’s storied franchises, and supplement upcoming next-generation console. For $499.99, you
that lineup with great third-party titles, too. You should can buy a PS5 with a 4K Blu-ray drive. But for $100 less, at
expect to see better graphics in your games, and the $399.99, you can buy the Digital Edition PS5 (which also
PS5 will also support high refresh rates, which should looks noticeably thinner than its more expensive sibling).
make games feel smoother (if you have a display that Unlike Microsoft, the only thing that differentiates those
supports those refresh rates). Plus, the PS5’s custom SSD two versions is which console has a disc drive and how
promises to offer such a leap forward in loading speeds
that it could change the way games are designed.
We’ve already reviewed the PS5, and it turns
out that the console is pretty good. Its new controller is
amazing, games load quickly, and the console has a
more streamlined user interface than the PS4. We felt
that it left a great first impression — even if there aren’t
a lot of actual next-generation games to play just yet.
Microsoft also has a powerful console in the Xbox Series
X, which promises better graphics and faster loading
times, and it’s also selling the somewhat lower-powered
Xbox Series S. The company continues to make Xbox
Game Pass, its Netflix-like game subscription service, one
of the best deals in gaming, and it doesn’t mind whether
you play its games on an Xbox or a PC. And while the
PS5 will play most PS4 titles, the new Xbox consoles boast
backwards compatibility with not only Xbox One but also
many Xbox 360 titles and some OG Xbox games as well.
We’ll have to wait and see which console proves
to be the better buy in the long run. But if you want to
learn more about what the PS5 offers right now, here’s
everything we know. (And for even more information,
check out Sony’s extensive PS5 FAQ.)

6 May 2021

The PS5 is powered by a custom eight-core AMD Zen 2 available. Back in March, PS5 lead system architect Mark
CPU and a custom AMD Radeon RDNA 2-based GPU Cerny said the SSD certifications will likely happen “a bit
that will provide 10.28 teraflops of raw graphical power. past” the console’s launch.
The console also uses variable frequencies on both the The Xbox Series X will also have a custom SSD,
PS5’s CPU and GPU, which could theoretically push the one with 1TB of NVMe storage (of which 802GB is usable)
graphics to run slightly faster than normal when the CPU but a lesser throughput of 2.4GB/s. That could wind up
isn’t running at peak. And that game-changing SSD I meaning the Xbox Series X has slower loading times than
mentioned earlier? It has 825GB of storage and 5.5GB/s the PS5 in practice, but it depends on a variety of factors.
of throughput — which could be fast enough to let game
developers build levels without things like elevator rides THE DUALSENSE CONTROLLER MIGHT BE THE
or winding corridors that actually mask levels loading in MOST NEXT-GEN PART OF THE PS5
the background.
You should know, though, that some of that 825GB The PS5’s controller is a significant departure from the
of storage space is used up by system data, though, DualShock line that you might be familiar with from other
PlayStation consoles. But it has a number of brand-new
features that might make it the most interesting aspect
of the PS5.
Let’s start with the design. Sony’s DualShock
controllers have generally kept a similar design from
generation to generation, but the PS5’s new DualSense
controller is the first PlayStation controller that doesn’t
look anything like the original. And while the DualSense
does have the basic layout PlayStation fans are familiar
with — a directional pad and buttons on the top half,
two control sticks on the bottom, and the center touch
bar from the DualShock 4 — the whole shape of the
controller is new, with pointier handles and broader lines,
and it all has a striking two-tone design.
The DualShock 4’s “Share” button, which lets
you grab screenshots, take videos, and broadcast
gameplay, has been changed to the “Create” button
on the DualSense, though it has similar functionality. In an
improvement from the PS4, though, the PS5 automatically
captures the last 60 minutes of your gameplay (up from
the 15 minutes) at 1080p resolution and 60fps. The PS5
also lets you manually capture gameplay in 4K, though
you’ll have to tweak a setting to do so.

meaning that you actually have 667.2GB of usage
space. And the ever-growing size of games means that
you might fill up that usable space quickly. Call of Duty:
Black Ops Cold War takes up 133GB, for example, which
is nearly 20 percent of the console’s available storage.
If you want to expand the PS5’s storage, you won’t
be able to at launch, but at some point in the future,
you’ll be able to slot in a Sony-certified M.2 SSD. We’re
not exactly sure when that those SSDs might become

May 2021 7

May 2021

PREVIEW

Resident Evil Village is a magnificent tribute to 25
years of survival horror

The eighth game in Capcom’s beloved series is an intense thrill ride, capturing the atmo-
sphere of recent entries and brimming with clever nods to its history.

By Sean Keane @SpectacularSean

The greatest Resident Evil adventures kick off with the iconic opening of 2005’s Resident Evil 4, in the first of
a sense of desperation. Utterly terrifying enemy many tributes to the Capcom series’ 25-year history.
encounters, impossibly tight resources and a feeling
that there’s no way you’ll live to see the next area -- VILLAGE OF SHADOWS
survival horror at its most visceral. Resident Evil Village
captures that feeling wonderfully in its early hours, Once you’ve survived the opening salvo, the mystery
clutching you in its menacing vice grip. of the village starts to unfold and you’re tasked with
The game hit PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One defeating the four lords who rule over its inhabitants with
and PC on Friday, and it’s already shipped more than 3 apparent supernatural powers. The village itself acts as
million copies worldwide, Capcom said Tuesday. a hub, and you gather items to enter each of the lords’
After surviving the harrowing events of 2017’s territories.
Resident Evil 7, Mia and Ethan Winters are living in Each area is visually distinctive and infused
apparent domestic bliss. That’s quickly shattered by with its master’s personality, with fascinating imagery
the arrival of longtime series protagonist and anti- and iconography providing every environment with
bioterrorism agent Chris Redfield, an event that sends character. The first territory is the gothic castle of internet
Ethan to a creepy European village as he tries to rescue phenom Lady Dimitrescu. Wandering its halls, figuring out
his daughter Rose. safe routes and solving fun puzzles elicits the same sense
Upon arrival at this snowy hamlet, all hell of satisfaction as getting to know the original game’s
quickly breaks loose as you’re attacked by a horde Spencer Mansion or the police station of Resident Evil 2
of werewolves, and that video game fight-or-flight -- it captures so many of the series’ finest elements.
response sets in. Fans will notice that it feels whole lot like

May 2021 9

teresting to look at, but is challenging enough that you’ll leave it in a chaotic mess (if you’re some kind of savage).
stay engaged until the end. Each of the four lords has their own set of minions,
Despite the atmosphere, it isn’t a particularly so enemy types rarely outstay their welcome and the
scary game. Only one area leans hard into psychological challenge always feels fresh. You never know when you’ll
horror -- it’ll scare the living daylights out of you (I had get swarmed or encounter a stronger enemy either,
to stop playing with headphones, turn on all the lights so you can never fully relax or get into a comfortable
and take a little break to calm down) but you’ll wish groove. It’s nicely paced, and injects a unique tension
there were a few more like it to take advantage of the into each area. The variety seeps into the boss battles
immediacy and intensity of the first-person perspective. too; most are memorable, cinematic and feel suitably
Nods to past games are dotted throughout to delight demanding. However, one late-game fight apparently
longtime fans, but they’re subtle enough that they don’t takes its cues from the infinite ammo blasting scenes in
interrupt the flow and won’t alienate newcomers to the Resident Evil 5 and 6 -- it’s pretty mindless and forgettable,
series. The plot is delivered sparsely, with the mystery and an element the series should just leave behind.
around the village unfolding slowly and satisfyingly tying
into Resident Evil 7 -- the narrative won’t be quite as
engaging if you skipped the seventh game.
Chris doesn’t show up often, but his shadowy role
is refreshingly different from the straightforward hero he’s
generally been depicted as since 1996. It’s easily the
most compelling he’s ever been. Despite his presence,
Resident Evil Village’s links to the overall series plot feel
pretty tenuous, so longtime fans might be disappointed
in that regard.

BATTLING THE HORDES

The intense arrival at the village will fill you with dread
for any combat situation, since resources are super tight
in the first few hours. It gets easier as you gather more
weapons and encounter the game’s merchant, who lets
you buy and upgrade weapons, so that fear fades a little
over time.

Playing on PS5, clever use of the DualSense controller’s
haptic feedback adds another layer of tension to
combat. If you’re using a handgun, you’ll be able to
pop off shots with a tap of a button, but you’ll need to
squeeze the trigger quite hard to fire your shotgun or rifle.

Item management is wonderfully satisfying too. The
inventory system riffs off Resident Evil 4’s attaché case,
meaning you can organize everything beautifully or

10 May 2021

Despite these challenges, I didn’t die for the first seven ETHAN
hours of my 12-hour playthrough on the standard difficulty, WINTERS
leaving me with the sense that Resident Evil Village’s bark
was worse than its bite. I’m definitely a cautious player, the protagonist of the 2021
but I generally see the “You died” screen regularly on video game Resident Evil
my first run through these games. If you’re looking for a Village, a direct sequel to
tough time closer to previous games, consider starting Resident Evil 7.
on the hardcore difficulty.
Once you’ve completed the story, you unlock the
excellent Mercenaries. This wonderful time attack mode
(a series staple that’s been disappointingly absent in the
most recent entries) sees you taking down a set number
of enemies across various stages and is immensely fun.

Unfortunately, unlike some past iterations,
this mode doesn’t have a multiplayer
option.

EVIL AT 25

Resident Evil Village is a slick, atmospheric
addition to the franchise, and it bookends
the story started in Resident Evil 7
beautifully. Every area is dripping with dark
personality and it’s filled with memorable
characters, while fun combat and a
satisfying upgrade system keep things
fresh throughout your adventure.

Higher difficulties, the Mercenaries mode
and other fun unlockables will keep
hardcore players coming back after
they’ve beaten the story, so there’s plenty
of value and challenge beyond the main
game.

It could definitely be a bit scarier and The creatures of Resident Evil
more difficult, and the final major area Village may at first appear
isn’t quite as visually arresting or fun to to be supernatural, but in
explore as earlier ones, but it’s a strong true series fashion, they are
start for the series on next-gen consoles science experiments gone
and a delightful tribute to the series on its wrong.
25th anniversary.

May 2021 11

PREVIEW

Back 4 Blood adds new complexity, bravado to the
Left 4 Dead formula

Original Left 4 Dead developer Turtle Rock evolves the zombie shooter
By Michael McWhertor @MikeMcWhertor

Turtle Rock Studios, the original developer of 2008’s through one level as one of four “Cleaners” earlier this
Left 4 Dead, is giving it another shot with a spiritual week, blasting my way through swarms of undead,
sequel, Back 4 Blood, which is playable starting which are called “the Ridden.”
today in a closed alpha test. Back 4 Blood hews closely In Turtle Rock’s take, the survivors here are more
to the Left 4 Dead formula — four human survivors punch than just survivors. They’re capable, confident, and
through hordes of zombies in search of safe rooms, wise-cracking zombie-killers, not the likable everyman
while an AI-powered “director” reacts to players in real- and everywoman archetypes of Left 4 Dead’s
time — but it adds new complexity in the form of player characters.“You are amongst a handful of survivors that
progression and deck-based character customization. were either resilient enough to make it through a year of
Otherwise, Back 4 Blood feels incredibly familiar, complete chaos, or you’re actually immune,”
like Left 4 Dead 3 from an alternate universe. I played

12 May 2021

said Phil Robb, co-founder and creative director at Turtle What remains to be seen is how well Back 4
Rock in a video presentation. “The immunity gives the Blood will balance all these new systems, as well as its
main characters a sense of bravado and confidence more complex weapons system. Players can pick up or
that normal folks don’t have. You’re no longer trying to purchase weapons, and later upgrade them, spending
find a safe place, you’re trying to create safe places.” a currency called copper found throughout levels. Add
The Cleaners, Robb said, accomplish that “by weapon attachments and additional player upgrades,
going out guns blazing and killing as many infected as like the ability to carry additional healing items or extra
you can.” ammo, and Turtle Rock has another delicate balancing
Chris Ashton, Turtle Rock co-founder and design act on its hands.
director, told Polygon that the studio “wanted to change Back 4 Blood is in closed alpha now, which is
the attitude” of the zombie genre, to not just focus on scheduled to run through Dec. 21 on Windows PC. Turtle
the dire sense of apocalypse, but on what comes next. Rock and publisher Warner Bros. Interactive plan to
“There’s been a real influx of popularity of zombie stuff, release the game on on June 22, 2021 for PlayStation 4,
especially in the last couple of years, whether it’s television PlayStation 5, Windows PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
or movies, streaming services, and other games,” Ashton
said. “If you watch a lot of them, at some point, you get CAMPAIGN + CO-OP
to this point where you’re kind of tired of it, because
there’s never any hope for the future. And there’s never Fight your way through a dynamic,
a way out of it, it’s just the end of civilization. You’re just perilous world in a 4-player co-op story
witnessing the candle blow out, basically, and so we’ve campaign.
really wanted to really fight against that.”
Some of that comes through in the dialogue
between Cleaners, who sound less scared about their
situation and more matter-of-fact, more tactical.
Turtle Rock said it wanted to modernize elsewhere,
giving Back 4 Blood players a sense of progression
through perks that can be earned through gameplay.
Those perks are structured as cards and decks that can
be earned in the game. They give players bonuses like fire
resistance or the ability to heal themselves when healing
others. One perk might give you a health boost for a
melee kill, for example. More powerful perks unlock as
players tackle harder challenges, and some challenges
will require strategic ability loadouts.

May 2021 13

May 2021

Jump into a massive
multiplayer play-
ground!

Riders Republic is the Justice League of parks

By Christian Donlan

Riders Republic is a lot like Steep, Ubisoft’s brilliant mauve against a bloomy morning sky. A bunch of them,
winter sports mix-up. It’s like Steep in the fact that knocked together. It’s such a brilliant idea I’m surprised
it throws a bunch of different sports together and it’s taken anyone this long to do it.
lets them spark off each other. It’s like Steep in that Obv, since this is Ubisoft doing it, there’s a certain
you can pull back to a gigantic map of the whole maximalism in play. Sports range from BMX biking to
environment whenever you want. It’s like Steep in that paragliding and snowboarding and several things
you’re chucked in with a bunch of other players - this is that seem to involve rocket packs. Everything is points,
a massively multiplayer playground. But then there’s this everything is progress, and everything can be done in
element that is new to Riders Republic. In the E3 trailer multiplayer - the whole career mode and much more
I found myself craning my head, as it were, to catch a besides. The avatars all look like Just Dance went on
glimpse of... could that be... was that? Yes, while being holiday, and obviously you can customise and unlock
a bit like Steep Riders Republic is also a super group of gear and upgrade it and tweak it and all of that. The
America’s National Parks. central hub is a 3D menu that doubles as the kind of
A lot of them are here. Bryce Canyon with its festival Jess Glynne’s always going to in videos. Of
radioactive peach earth and spindly towers, Sequoia course Ubisoft would make an interactive menu with its
with those vast trees, whose branches must hold the sky. own food trucks.
Yosemite, the best of all parks, with Half-Dome glowing

May 2021 15

16 May 2021

Screenshots May 2021 17
Screenshots

I watched a twenty minute presentation online a extra points. Beyond this things get wonderfully strange.
few days before E3, and my notes are chaotic. Riders Every hour, a Mass Race erupts on the map, linking
Republic has a lot of ideas, and for the time being they’re together a bunch of runs and bringing up to 50+ players
all sort of tangled together. Each sport has its own mini- together to compete (50+ on next-gen consoles). I saw a
career progression, spread across a range of different glimpse of one of these moments - snowboarding giving
event types. Then there’s PvP stuff like free-for-all events way to jet-packs across Grand Teton, dozens of players
and Trick Battle Mode, the two-teams-of-six-facing-off- filling the air above a beautiful open world.
to-score-the-most-trick-points. The gimmick here, and
it’s a good one, is that Splatoon has entered the mix
somewhat, since you can own rails and grinds and bits of
the tricky scenery for your team and then hold onto it for

SOCIAL
PRESENCE

Join more than 50 *PLAYERS SIMULTANEOUSLY* live on screen and witness oth- MULTIPLAYER
er’s biggest wins and worst fails in a living, breathing world! Gather in vibrant MODES
social hubs and meet with a wild community of fellow riders. Ride on!

18

Play with or against your friends in a bunch of different multiplayer modes.Show
who’s boss in PvP events all around the map in races and trick competitions.
Show the world how it’s done!

18 May 2021

MASS START
RACES

Don’t miss the EPIC all-out mass start races with more than 50 players! Watch
your blind spots and keep your cool as you collide, grind, and fight your way
to the finish line. First to get there in one piece takes the crown! Adrenaline
guaranteed.

Publisher: Ubisoft
Developer: Ubisoft Annecy
Availability: Out on PC, Xbox, Sta-
dia and PlayStation on September
2nd

Perhaps the most enticing thing I saw, though, was
something that went against the massively-multiplayer
grain a little. Exploration allows you to just enjoy the world
that Ubisoft has created, a sort of theme park of the
great parks, where carefully colour-calibrated greatest
hits of stone and snow and forest live alongside each
other. This is the mode for me, hunting for landmarks and
other collectibles, occasionally bumping into someone
else, switching from parasailing to snowboarding to
downhill biking on a whim. This is Riders Republic, a vast,
busy game, then, but one that still knows the value of a
moment of silence.

May 2021 19

May 2021

G3RG0TAeXFL9oA0rXce

This RTX 3090 from Galax is pure graphics card decadence

By Bill Thomas

The Nvidia GeForce RTX 3090 is already an exercise Premium, and RTX 3090 HOF Limited Edition. And, while
in graphics card excess, but some third-party board they are all different prices, even the entry-level model
makers are bringing things to a whole new level – is incredibly expensive. The PCB and shroud design was
enter the Galax RTX 3090 HOF (Hall of Fame). leaked just a couple weeks ago, but even then we didn’t
There are three variants of this high-end version know just how extra the Galax RTX 3090 HOF would be.
of the 3090 listed: the Galax RTX 3090 HOF, RTX 3090 HOF

May 2021 21

THE ULTIMATE PLAY

The GeForce RTX 3090 is colosally powerful in every way, giving you a whole new tier performance. It’s powered by
Ampere-NVIDIA’s 2nd gen RTX architecture-doubling down on ray tracing and AI performance with enhanced RT
Cores, Tensor Cores, and new streaming multiprocessors. Plus, it features a staggering 24 GB of G6X memory, all to
deliver the ultimate gaming experience.

EXCLUSIVE FAN BLADE “WINGS”

11 new “WINGS” fan blades being extraordinary not only for its good look, but also provide high air flow and air
pressure at minimum noise level.

22 May 2021

SPECIFICATIONSHOF PANEL III

Next generation HOF information panel, 4.3” full color TFT LCD 23
- USB connection
- 480*272 pixels full colour LED
- HOF Crown colour adjustment

GPU Engine Specs:
CUDA Cores 10496
Boost Clock (MHz) 1860
1-Click OC Clock (MHz) 1875 (by installing Xtreme
Tuner Plus Software and using 1-Click OC)
Memory Specs:
Memory Speed 19.5 Gbps
Standard Memory Config 24GB
Memory Interface Width 384-bit GDDR6X
Memory Bandwidth (GB/sec) 936
Feature Support:
PCI-E 4.0
Windows 10 64-bit, Linux 64-bit
Fan Feature:
1*92mm, 2*102mm
Fan stop @ Idle (All Fan)
Display Support:
DisplayPort 1.4a x 3, HDMI 2.1
Dimensions:
Dimensions(with Bracket): 352*160*68mm
Dimensions(without Bracket): 339*144*68mm

May 2021

Even at the entry level – if you can even call it that – III, which is an LED screen mounted on the side of the
the RTX 3090 HOF looks like a luxury item. With its all-white graphics card. This will let you monitor your card’s
shroud, fans and backplate, this graphics card will look stats, like performance and clock speed. It’s entirely
gorgeous in a white gaming PC chassis, which is definitely unnecessary, but when you’re paying an eye-watering
rare. And, of course, it’s packed with RGB lighting. AU$3,999 (about $3,100, £2,230), why not get everything
It’s also got three 8-pin PCIe power connectors, and the kitchen sink. It’s unclear if this version of the
with some seriously high-end power delivery specs. That RTX 3090 will make its way outside of Australia any time
shouldn’t be too much of a surprise, though, as this line soon, though we’d be surprised if it didn’t. But with this
of Galax graphics cards is typically reserved for the PC high price tag, it might not sell out quite as fast as other
hardware enthusiasts that want to push their computers versions of the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3090.
to the absolute limit.
And, if that wasn’t enough luxury, the Premium
and Limited Edition versions come with the HOF Panel

THE WORLD RECORD BREAKER - HALL OF FAME SERIES
24 May 2021

May 2021

WE BUILD THE
WORLD’S MOST
ADVANCED PC

Experience a new level of performance with an award-winning Ajimaqwa build PC. Built
with the latest technology, highest components and backed by lifetime support. Visit our
website and build your dream PC today.