Gaming

Crime Boss: Rockay City was as rocky as the city title

It’s pure chaos and nothing else, really

Published

June 13, 2023

Gab Orlina

Role-playing games, in my opinion, bring out a side of us that we all aspire to be depending on what you choose to play as. It’s these types of games that give us the escape from reality for a little while, and focus on how we actually want to shape ourselves. Some put us in near fantastical worlds with the world as your oyster, others like Crime Boss: Rockay City serves an empire on a silver platter.

Admittedly, being a crime boss is a sweet gig. Especially as you command your own crew and enable yourself to be the only head honcho in town. As The Boss in Rockay City, your main goal is a hostile takeover of the entire city. And there’s nothing the law nor your contemporaries can do about it. Packaged with a series of test runs and simulations to boot, Crime Boss: Rockay City is all that it’s hyped up to be.

Let the chaos ensue, ladies and gentlemen, and may the best boss win!

Get your feet wet, or dive right in

At the start, the game treats you to multiple game modes at your disposal. It helps you get a grip of what’s to come. Of course, you have the Main Campaign that takes you straight into the action. We’ll talk more about it in detail later. For now, the focus here is on the other modes, especially for online multiplayer.

I spent a lot of my time going through the Crime Time mode. It’s basically your free play to understand the core mechanics. This game mode basically throws you into the action. It’s complete with a crew and weapons of your choice to accomplish certain objectives. Now, each objective is different and requires a decent amount of planning, but you get cash rewards to buy better weapons.

Urban Legends has a similar approach to Crime Time, except this is the dedicated Co-Op mode for the game. I like that they added this in for people who want to do the missions with their friends because some of them are honestly difficult on your own. Also, Urban Legends gives you the same rewards and helps you unlock more weapons down the line, so it’s still a good time.

A bit of a learning curve with the mechanics

I mentioned earlier that these game modes still require a bit of planning to get used to. If you’re not confident with how the mechanics work, there’s also a dedicated Tutorial mode that’s basically just a heist mission on repeat. However, it does its job of getting you accustomed to the fundamentals of the game when you’re going solo.

For starters, movement in this game allows you to do your missions in a variety of ways. Whether you wanna take it easy and be stealthy or go out guns blazing, your character moves fine. Apart from this, you can approach any non-cooperative civilians by simply restraining them without so much as wasting a bullet and also break security cameras. Honestly, these took a while to get used to.

With a crew by your side, you can also switch to their point of view to help you set up your strategy. This is a great mechanic and integrates a co-op style gameplay even when you’re playing all by your lonesome – basically, you can be anybody. Although, it’s only one at a time so don’t push yourself too much. Overall, the tutorial does help you get through the basics. It comes in handy when you take on the full campaign mode. Speaking of which:

Be your own boss over and over again

Most of my time playing this game was spent within the Main Campaign mode, as expected. It starts off with you, The Boss, battling for your life on a rooftop surrounded by all your enemies and Chuck Norris as the Sheriff. Whether you win it out or not doesn’t really matter since that’s just a taste of what being a crime boss will be like.

After that entire sequence, it’s Day 0 and you begin your quest to overtake the entirety of Rockay City and establish it as your domain. Along the way, you’ll end up recruiting some old friends and handle the takeover like a business. Throughout the entire campaign, the goals are simple: takeover and stay alive – literally.

Start from scratch when you get too dirty

The thing that bothered me about this set-up was the fact that it’s a hard reset when you, The Boss, die in any mission you go on. Obviously you can just send your henchmen to do the dirty work, but sometimes you have to do some dirty work too. This means that you run the risk of doing a hard reset every time, and that’s too big in my opinion.

Also, just to circle back on the mechanics a little bit, this game does not come with any ammunition crosshair as your reference when shooting. It’s something that threw me off a bunch of times, especially when in gun fights for turf wars. I ended up doing multiple resets, with each more tedious than the previous.

If anything, what made every reset sort of worth it was the fact that you still keep your XP and even improve your boss level and some skills. Think of it like New Game+ in other games. You keep skills, items, and levels you gain with every redo after finishing the game. It’s still a good mechanic to inject in the Main Campaign, but it’s still tedious to trudge through.

A city of crime awaits

Crime Boss: Rockay City is a piece of work that requires a ton of time and energy to fully enjoy yourself. Overall mechanics are easy to follow but a bit difficult to maneuver. That’s becaus some features are not present (like a crosshair). Also, you have a Main Campaign mode that is basically “try and try until you un-alive.” It can take you hours to crack and code and succeed.

Even with a slog of a Main Campaign, everything else is exciting enough to get through, especially with friends. Having both a solo and co-op game mode to mess around with salvages this game for me. Honestly, I can just do most of the Crime Time tasks over and over with much enjoyment. And I get rewarded for it every step of the way.

It’s an interesting take on how most crime/mafia-related games go in terms of having to survive through hell for a massive takeover. It rewards you for giving it your best. And lets you have a go at it over and over again until you get it right. Again, if you had the time and energy to go through it, be my guest!

Crime Boss: Rockay City is available on PC now. It will be available on the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X digitally on June 15th. Physical copies will come on September 5th.

Gaming

Valve unveils price of the Steam Frame

The VR headset starts at US$ 1,059.

Published

September 15, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

The trifecta is complete. Almost a year after announcing their new hardware, Valve has finally unveiled the price tag of the Steam Frame, complementing the Steam Machine and Steam Controller revealed a few months ago.

Whereas the Steam Machine is a console of its own, the Steam Frame is a traditional VR headset with a pair of controllers for both hands. Unfortunately, despite being in a different segment, the headset is not immune to the rising prices of technology. The Steam Frame will start at US$ 1,059 for a 256GB model and can go up to US$ 1,299 for the 1TB model. On the plus side, each box will come Half-Life: Alyx packaged along with the headset.

Here’s a more detailed rundown of what you’re getting. The Steam Frame will ship with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset, paired with 16GB of RAM. Each eye comes with a 2160 x 2160 LCD screen, putting out images at up t0 a 144Hz experimental refresh rate. As mentioned above, the headset will start with 256GB of storage but can go up to 2TB. It will come packaged with SteamOS 3 and a rechargeable 21.6Wh battery.

This might be a hard buy for some. The industry currently has more affordable options, for one. Also, virtual reality isn’t the most thriving segment of gaming today.

If you’re still decided on buying one, however, Valve is using its lottery system. Interested customers can sign up from now until September 17. The company will then randomize the purchasing order. Those who draw the first ones in the lottery can get a purchase email as soon as September 18. Meanwhile, anyone who registers after September 17 will automatically be put at the back of the queue.

Gaming

BlizzCon 2026 announces World of Warcraft: Forever and Diablo V

StarCraft, Overwatch, Hearthstone, and more also get news

Published

September 14, 2026

GadgetMatch

Blizzard Entertainment kicked off BlizzCon 2026 with a packed Opening Ceremony featuring new games, major expansions, updates, and other announcements across its biggest franchises.

Blizzard Entertainment President Johanna Faries opened the event at the Anaheim Convention Center, celebrating the community behind the company’s games and the teams that bring its worlds to life.

World of Warcraft: Forever and Diablo V

The biggest announcement was World of Warcraft: Forever, a new World of Warcraft experience launching November 5 AEDT, with its beta beginning September 18 AEST. The new experience will feature three zones, more than 1,000 quests, nine dungeons, two raids, and a new Skyborne race.

Blizzard also officially announced Diablo V, marking the next era of the franchise. The game is set to launch in North America in Spring 2029, with Sanctuary having fallen and Diablo having won.

StarCraft is also returning with a new story-driven, open-world shooter. The game is currently planned for a Spring 2030 release in North America.

Beyond games, Blizzard revealed that an animated series set in the Diablo universe is in development with Netflix. The company says this is only the beginning of its plans to expand its universes beyond gaming.

For Warcraft III Reforged, the new Forsaken Kingdom campaign is available today. It marks the Warcraft RTS series’ first new storyline in more than 23 years and explores the fall of Lordaeron and the origins of the Undercity. The accompanying 3.0 update also brings graphical improvements and a revamped World Editor.

Heroes of the Storm is adding Xal’atath as its newest Hero. She arrives in the Nexus on September 29 AEST, with her PTR release scheduled for September 15 AEST.

Existing games updates

Meanwhile, Diablo IV is preparing for its next major content drop. Season of Hell’s Legacy begins September 16 AEST and celebrates the franchise’s 30-year history with the return of the Prime Evils and Deckard Cain, alongside themed rewards and gear.

The legendary Amazon class will also arrive in the first half of 2027 as part of Diablo IV’s first class pack. The Diablo IV: Age of Hatred Collection is additionally coming to Nintendo Switch 2 on September 16 AEST with cross-platform play and cross-progression.

For World of Warcraft, Blizzard teased the next major update for Midnight. Eclipse (12.2) will see Xal’atath move closer to her goal of claiming Azeroth’s Worldsoul. Blizzard also offered another look at The Last Titan, the next expansion in the Worldsoul Saga and a major culmination of more than two decades of Warcraft storytelling. More information is coming early next year.

Overwatch is getting a major update with Season 5. The season introduces new Support Hero Doctrine, reworks for Sombra and Roadhog, and the new Watchpoint: Grimsvötn map. It will also conclude The Reign of Talon, Overwatch’s first year-long narrative arc.

LE SSERAFIM & YOASABI

BlizzCon also featured performances from YOASOBI and LE SSERAFIM. YOASOBI will perform during the first-ever esports halftime show at BlizzCon, while LE SSERAFIM will return to the Main Stage to close the weekend. A new LE SSERAFIM in-game collaboration is available now, with another Overwatch Spotlight scheduled for February 2027.

Finally, Hearthstone is getting its first new class in more than six years. The Monk arrives in 2027, while the upcoming Reign of the Black Empire expansion takes players back to the earliest age of Azeroth. It introduces the Assemble keyword, which combines two cards into a new one. Battlegrounds is also adding Aberrations as a new minion type.

BlizzCon 2026 is now underway, with Blizzard promising more announcements and details throughout the weekend.

Gaming

Xbox saves Kojima’s PHYSINT after PlayStation drops support

PlayStation says the separation was mutual, but Kojima hints otherwise.

Published

September 11, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

Things aren’t going well in the PlayStation camp. After two months of frankly questionable decisions, the company adds another to the pile by dropping support for Hideo Kojima’s PHYSINT.

For a while now, Kojima and PlayStation were in a very productive relationship with the Death Stranding duology, a critically acclaimed collection of titles for the platform. When things looked like they were going well, Kojima announced PHYSINT, an espionage-themed game which reminded fans way too much of Metal Gear Solid.

If you were investing in a PlayStation 5 to play Kojima’s latest thriller, you might want to move your chips elsewhere now. PlayStation has just dropped support for the espionage game, meaning PHYSINT will no longer be a first-party title for the platform.

Though PlayStation claims that the decision came after “careful consideration,” Kojima himself has said that the move was “unexpected,” going against PlayStation’s assurance of a mutual separation.

Very quickly, Xbox has announced that their platform will support PHYSINT instead. It’s a big get for the competing brand because Xbox Game Studios is already supporting OD, Kojima’s other upcoming horror project starring Sophia Lillis.

Unfortunately, it’s difficult to say more. As is tradition, Kojima will not explain much more about his upcoming titles. In fact, OD’s trailer barely says anything. One thing’s for sure, though: we’re all in for quite a ride.