PARIS: Japanese video game legend Hideo Kojima releases Death Stranding 2: On the Beach this week, a star-studded PlayStation sequel inspired by the Covid pandemic.

Kojima has said the follow-up to the meditative 2019 game, in which Walking Dead star Norman Reedus played post-apocalyptic deliveryman Sam Porter Bridges, is "about connection".

"I said, let's get connected. Right after that, we had the pandemic, and my fiction became a little reality" as people communed over new digital channels, he added.

Death Stranding 2, which drops June 26, reflects Kojima's hope that people will rediscover analogue ways of being together following the years of isolation, he said.

The first Death Stranding was a hybrid between a hiking simulator and a classic action game.

It was set in a gloomy, fantastical science-fiction universe where characters are aged by the rain and carry foetuses that warn them of dangerous ghostly creatures nearby.

Reedus's character Bridges had the job of reconnecting the last outposts of civilisation in a devastated United States following a disaster.

This time Bridges's adventures will bring him to Mexico and Australia, in a story that 61-year-old Kojima – creator of the equally fantastical Metal Gear stealth action saga – said was completely rewritten in light of Covid-19.

"I already had the DS2 idea but I had to scratch that off because I experienced the pandemic. So I rewrote," he said.

"It's a new connection... I put that in the game system and I want everyone to experience that," Kojima added.

French actor Lea Seydoux – a star of films like James Bond adventure No Time to Die or Quentin Tarantino's World War II romp Inglourious Basterds – returns in 3D form alongside Reedus.

But new big-name talent is also along for the ride, including American actor Elle Fanning and the likeness of Mad Max director George Miller. French singer Woodkid composed the score for the new episode.

Kojima Productions, the eponymous studio the developer founded in 2015 after leaving Japanese giant Konami, said in March this year that the first Death Stranding had more than 20 million players.

And the franchise is broadening out to other media, with a feature film in development with American studio A24 as well as an animated film.

Kojima is already turning his bottomless energy to other projects, including a horror game, OD, co-written with American director Jordan Peele (Get Out, Nope) and developed in partnership with Microsoft.

He is also returning to the world of spy games in the vein of Metal Gear with a new espionage title, PHYSINT. – AFP

KUALA LUMPUR, June 25 — Indah Water Konsortium (IWK) Sdn Bhd has denied a SelangorKini report claiming that treated sewage discharge was the cause of flooding in Taman Sri Muda, Shah Alam.

According to IWK, its operations team conducted an inspection following a complaint by Zone 9 city councillor Ramu Nadarajan and found that the primary cause of the overflow in drains and ditches was poor maintenance.

“The drainage system was clogged with rubbish, sediment and tree roots, which obstructed water flow,” the company said in a statement today.

As a result, treated effluent from a nearby sewage treatment plant (STP) and rainwater from the residential area could not drain properly.

IWK added that the area’s low-lying location and its proximity to Sungai Klang also contribute to frequent flooding.

IWK clarified that the existing sewerage infrastructure and STP, which have been in operation for over 30 years, were built in accordance with technical plans based on the area’s original development design.

“The discharge route for treated effluent has remained unchanged since the plant was built,” it said.

The company also stated that two Aerated Lagoon-type STPs serve the neighbourhood and both are operating within their designed population equivalent (PE) capacity, without signs of overloading.

The findings have been shared with the Zone 9 councillor and the Shah Alam City Council (MBSA).

Earlier, SelangorKini reported that Ramu had urged IWK to redirect the treated discharge, claiming the existing route was contributing to repeated floods in the area. — Bernama

KUALA LUMPUR: Thunderstorms, heavy rain, and strong winds are expected across various regions in Malaysia, with warnings in effect until 11am on Wednesday (June 25), said the Malaysian Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia).

In Selangor, the affected areas include Sabak Bernam, Kuala Selangor, Klang, Kuala Langat, and Sepang. MetMalaysia also issued a warning for Putrajaya.

In Sarawak, the region of Limbang is on alert. In Sabah, the Interior region of Kuala Penyu is expected to face adverse conditions. Labuan is also included in the thunderstorm warning.

MetMalaysia issues these warnings when thunderstorms with rainfall intensity exceeding 20mm per hour are imminent or expected to persist for more than an hour.

These are short-term warnings, valid for no more than six hours from issuance.

IWK berkata, selepas menerima aduan Ahli Majlis Zon 9, Ramu Nadarajan, pasukan operasinya menjalankan semakan dan mendapati punca utama limpahan dalam longkang dan parit disebabkan kurang penyelenggaraan baik.

“Longkang dan parit berkaitan didapati penuh dengan sampah, mendapan pasir dan juga akar pokok yang menutupi saluran longkang berkenaan,” katanya menurut Bernama.

Ia berkata, keadaan itu menyebabkan air kumbahan terawat dari loji rawatan kumbahan (LRK) berdekatan serta air hujan dari kawasan perumahan berkenaan tidak dapat mengalir dengan lancar.

Tambahan, katanya, lokasi taman itu yang rendah dan berhampiran Sungai Klang menyebabkan kawasan berkenaan kerap terdedah kepada banjir.

IWK turut memaklumkan sistem paip pembetungan dan LRK yang beroperasi lebih 30 tahun itu dibina mengikut perancangan teknikal terperinci berdasarkan pelan pembangunan kawasan perumahan berkenaan.

Menurutnya, laluan pelepasan air terawat dari loji itu adalah laluan asal sejak pembinaan awal.

“Menerusi semakan rekod, terdapat dua LRK jenis Aerated Lagoon (AL) di kawasan perumahan ini dan kedua-duanya beroperasi pada kapasiti penduduk setara (PE) seperti yang direka bentuk, tanpa sebarang bebanan melampau.”

Hasil semakan dan penemuan itu telah dimaklumkan kepada Ahli Majlis Zon 9 dan Majlis Bandaraya Shah Alam (MBSA).

Terdahulu, SelangorKini melaporkan Ramu Nadarajan meminta IWK mempercepatkan proses pengalihan aliran air kumbahan ke lokasi lebih sesuai kerana mendakwa laluan sedia ada menjadi punca banjir di taman itu.