STACK Aug #154

INTRO GAMES

The boss names in Mega Man X5 are all references to the band Guns N' Roses. Did you know?

AUGUST

5 years ago - the superb Darksiders II is released. 10 years ago - Ken Levine's compelling BioShock arrives . 20 years ago - Gamers get a first look at the critically acclaimed GoldenEye 007 . 30 years ago - The Legend of Zelda is unleashed in Australia.

"You Know, Ellie..." - Neil Druckmann, CD, Naughty Dog

AC: ORIGINS JB are offering an exclusive Apple of Eden edition, featuring an Apple replica and steelbook!

Every month STACK takes a brief look at what’s happening in esports, both locally and overseas. esports Round-Up Junglist with I t’s an all-Blizzard bonanza international experience make it worse? It’s all academic in the MOBA meritocracy,

this issue. The ANZ region of Heroes of the Storm has long been the uncontested domain of team Nomia, occupying a lonely space between Australian and overseas tiers of skill. Long has it dominated any local competition; long has it crashed out of the first round in overseas tournaments, most recently being utterly torn apart by top tier Korean team MVP Black. When upstart team Morton’s List showed genuine promise against the champs, the Dark Sided franchise officially acquired them to make a stab at the ANZ throne. This always raises a question about what’s best for the region -- the old formula clearly hasn’t worked, but will resetting our

and after Dark Sided knocked Nomia into the lower bracket in the recent local championship, the veterans rallied to come

That puts two ANZ players in the global top eight...

regardless of international worries, it’s great to see a proper local rivalry with matches you wouldn’t

So travelled to the HCT Spring Championship with 14 other card-clutching contenders, chasing their share of $250,000 USD. Both finished at the top of their group before crashing out in the quarterfinals, with CitizenNappa losing to the eventual winner. That puts two ANZ players in the global top eight, which is our region’s best performance in any game right now – at least until those Call of Duty lads at Mindfreak decide to bring their standings up to recent glory.

want to miss. While I refuse to bestow

the title of “esport” on a game with RNG elements deciding pivotal moments, it’s exciting to note the ANZ region now boasts two of the world’s best Hearthstone players. Australia’s Paul “CitizenNappa” Yang and New Zealand’s Ki Yin “Mage”

back and win an entertaining 3-2 grand final. Some absolutely stellar skillshot snipes from DS_Hacky stole the show, and

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