Reviewed on Playstation 5

Also available on Playstation 4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC

Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio has built a reputation with their Yakuza and Judgment series of games. Mixing in serious crime drama with wacky over-the-top diversions that make their games unique and a blast to play. The latest game in the franchise is called Lost Judgment which is the sequel to 2018’s Judgment. The Judgment series revolves around Takayuki Yagami, a lawyer turned detective, and the crime mysteries that Takayuki has to solve.

For Lost Judgment, the crime mystery revolves around the death of a teacher from a nearby high school in the Yokohama area. It is up to Takayuki to find out what caused the death of the unfortunate teacher and the events leading up to it are filled with twists and turns that make it an entertaining story to see through to the end.

Besides trying to find out who caused the death of the teacher, Takayuki will also be helping out in investigating the mysteries that are happening within the school. Within the story, Takayuki becomes an advisor for this mystery-loving club called the Mystery Research Club. The Mystery Research Club asks Takayuki to help them figure out this figure that they call “The Professor” which has been causing trouble within the school and has been affecting multiple students and clubs. So, it is up to Takayuki to engage in various activities within the school to get information about “The Professor”. These activities can range from helping a School Dance Club win the Nationals, becoming a leader of a biker gang, and tons more. The School story is where Lost Judgment shines as this is where the wackiness that the Yakuza and Judgment franchise is known for pops up.

For the combat of Lost Judgment, this is where the game truly shines as this is one of the most engaging combat that the franchise has ever done. It makes you feel like you are playing a Jackie Chan film with Takayuki’s specialty in Martial Arts. He has three styles: Tiger, Crane, and Snake. Each combat style has different perks and cons. Tiger style is best for taking down enemies with its hard-hitting combat style but can be bogged down by how slow it takes to hit enemies. Crane style is best for crowd control with how nimble Takayuki becomes and immediately gets access to a move set that allows him to fight with gravity-defying kicks, the con of the Crane style is that it doesn’t deal too much damage as the combat style just focuses on swift movement over raw power. Lastly, is the newly implemented Snake style. Snake style is used to get access to counter attacks and out of the three styles.  Snake style is my favorite due to the move set that Snake style has. Being able to counter and follow it up with devastating attacks looks awesome when you pull them off successfully.

Despite praising the game’s combat and story, I was quite disappointed with the overall game. When comparing the content of Lost Judgment to the previous Judgment and Yakuza games, it felt tamer and more self-restrained than the previous games. This is disappointing because I adore that Ryu Ga Gotoku has been very ballsy with each game they made trying to one-up each game by making it wackier and crazier than the last. For Lost Judgment, they took a step back on the wacky side of the series and wanted to tell a more serious story that while being good, it doesn’t hit the right notes as the previous games did.

In summary, the game is a decently good time that has a lot of content to keep you engaged for weeks. If you like mystery games with great combat, I recommend the game, but I suggest that you play the other games first before trying out Lost Judgment.

Final Score: 7/10

Cabuyao, Laguna. Tatlo ang patay sa banggaan ng tatlong sasakyan sa kahabaan ng SLEX sa San Isidro Bridges kanina, ganap na 2:47 ng madaling araw sa lungsod na ito

Kabilang sa tatlong sasakyan na nagkarambola ang Isuzu Cargo plate no.TCK-779 , Man Ttruck Tractor NEU-6892  at isang assembled Jitney.

Ayon sa paunang imbestigsyon na isinagawa ni PEMS Romeo Vega Jr. ng Highway Patrol Group-HPG, kinilala ang dalawang nasawi na sina Joseph Agdan, driver ng Isuzu cargo truck at residente ng Brgy. Maligaya Rosario, Batangas at Marco Rosales, pawang mga pahinante ng nabanggit na cargo truck.

Naisugod pa sa pinakamalapit na ospital ang mga nasugatan ngunit habang daan ay binawian sila ng buhay.

APO Midwest Alumni Association members volunteers at the forefront

The Chicago Marathon is back after a year’s pandemic-caused hiatus.  There were 35,000 runners this year which is about 10,000 fewer runners than the last marathon.  Despite the specter of the pandemic, the enthusiasm among the runners, the volunteers, and the spectators remained as high as in previous years.

Certainly, the enthusiasm among the Filipino volunteers from Alpha Phi Omega Midwest Alumni Association Inc. (APO Midwest) was very high.  This year marked the first time in a long time that APO Midwest was assigned back at the finish line.  This was the usual assignment detail of APO Midwest for many years.  This is where they belong.  They did not disappoint.

The brothers, sisters, and friends of APO Midwest who volunteered for this event had a great time.  They all arrived pretty early in the morning to set up tables, placing empty water cups on top of the tables, mixing Gatorade powder with water, and pouring them on the empty cups.  Seventy percent (70%) of the water bottles that were stacked on other tables for the runners were set up by the APO Midwest volunteers as well.  

The red placard that identified the APO Midwest volunteers was in full display.  Unlike in years past, the association’s name was not abbreviated.  It was written in full. “Alpha Phi Omega Midwest Alumni Association Inc.”  A proud moment.

Los Baños, Laguna. San Pablo City’s native son, Gabriel O. Romero, PhD, was recently awarded the prestigious UPLB Outstanding Alumni Award.

Dr. Romero is a crop biotechnologist and seedsman who has impacted the advancement of agriculture in the Philippines.  Among his many achievements include the cloning and characterization of the rice glucanase gene family and the molecular mapping of tungro resistance that resulted in the development of rice elite lines that are resistant to disease and insect infestation. 

Four hundred thousand (400,000) corn farmers reaped the benefits of Dr. Romero’ stewardship in the campaign against the proliferation of low quality and counterfeit biotech corn seeds.  He is a tireless advocate of biotechnology and the seed industry.  He promoted partnerships between the government and various stakeholders in food and nutrition security.

In the last four years, Dr. Romero has been busy shedding light on the importance of plant breeding innovations among various stakeholders including researchers and policy makers.  He campaigns about the importance of crop biotechnology among the nutrition community.

The 2004 Outstanding Young Men (TOYM) and JCI San Pablo 7 Lakes Community Outstanding Young Achievers (COYA) awardee currently serves as the Executive Director for the Philippine Seed Industry Association (PSIA) the objective of which is to provide quality seeds to farmers in order to help improve their income.

Dr. Romero and his family, wife Marissa, who is a renowned scientist in her own right, daughter Nicole, who is a Medical Doctor, and son Justin, currently live in Nueva Ecija.

Bukas, Oktubre, 13, 2021, mula 7:00 ng umaga ay may pangalawang iskedyul ng mass vaccination sa Nagcarlan Municipal Evacuation Center.

Pinapayuhan ang lahat ng dudulog na magdala ng valid ID at ballpen. Inaasahang susunod ang lahat sa minimum health protocols. Magsuot ng face mask at face shield.

Mangyaring mag rehistro po lamang sa sumusunod na link:

https://ee.humanitarianresponse.info/x/JFQFJO7l

Ang mass vaccination project na ito ay bahagi ng sisterhood agreement ng San Pablo City at bayan ng Nagcarlan na pinagtibay nina San Pablo City Mayor Amben Amante at Nagcarlan Mayor Ody Arcasetas.