PlayStation Magazine - docshare.tips (2023)

Contents W

PS4 LAUNCH! Releasedate, lineup andperipherals confirmedinside

HUGEREVIEW!

Thebiggestgamein PS3historyrated

10 HOTTEST GAMES COMING THISCHRISTMAS, INCLUDING…

BATTLEFIELD 4 ASSASSIN’SCREE SCREEDIV:BLACKFLAGCALLOFDUTY:GHOSTS GRANTURISMO6 WATCHDOGS &MORE

HIGHLIGHTS The big 10

010 01 0PLAYSTATION 4 Next-gen gets underway on 29 November – and we’ve got every last detail of the PS4 launch. the big 10

020 02 0NEED FOR SPEED: RIVALS Criterion boss Craig Sullivan talks the series’ first PS4 entry, entr y, and holding holding off its rivals. pREVIEW

036 03 6WWE 2K14 Yuke’s’’ grapple Yuke’s grappler r returns returns with with a host of past past faves onboard – but can it strike Goldberg? feature

050 05 0PRE-ORDERS GUIDE

Playtesting the best ten games coming this Christmas – and saving you money to boot. review

078 07 8GRAND THEFT AUTO V The definitive verdict ver dict on the world’s biggest game. Clue: it’s definitely better than a 3/10. review

084 08 4FIFA 14 We assumed EA’s footy series was warming down on PS3 ahead of next-gen nex t-gen – turns out that prediction was wrong like Gervinho’s hair. hair. retrostation

106 10 6GOD OF WAR II How Kratos changed the face of action gaming – by breaking the faces of o f his enemies.

November 2013

ISSUE089 NOVEMBER2013£5.99 officialplaystationmagazine.co.uk

00 4

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024 02 4

014 01 4

070 07 0

THE Games index 070 070ASSASSIN’S

CREED IV:

BLACK FLAG 046 046BANDFUSE:

ROCK LEGENDS ARKHAM ORIGINS

052 052BATMAN:

064 064BATTLEFIELD 060 060BEYOND: 056 056CALL

TWO SOULS

OF DUTY: GHOSTS

046 046CASTLEVANIA:

106 10 6

LORDS OF SHADOW 2 042 042THE

CREW

047 047DARK

SOULS II

099 099DEATHMATCH VILLAGE 047 047DESTINY 088 088DIABLO

III

100 100DISHONORED

044 04 4

078 07 8

086 086DISNEY 022 022THE

INFINITY

DIVISION

044 044DRAGON

AGE: INQUISITION

054 054DRIVECLUB 043 043EVERYBODY’S

GONE TO THE RAPTURE

018 018FEZ 084 084FIFA

005

092 092FINAL

FANTASY XIV: A REALM REALM REB REBORN ORN

068 06 8

106 106GOD

OF WAR II

052 052GRAN

TURISMO 5

078 078GRAND

THEFT AUTO V

024 024INFAMOUS:

SECOND SON

091 091KILLZONE:

MERCENARY

062 062KILLZONE:

SHADOW FALL

047 047LIGHTNING

016 01 6

084 08 4

036 03 6

RETURNS: FINAL FANTASY XIII

094 094LOST

PLANET 3

094 094MADDEN

NFL 25 GEAR SOLID IV: GUNS OF THE PATRIOTS

114 114METAL 014 014METAL

GEAR SOLID V: THE PHANTOM PAIN

015 015MINECRAFT 020 020NEED

052 05 2

094 094NHL

FOR SPEED: RIVALS

095 095ONE PIECE:

PIRATE WARRIORS 2 090 090PUPPETEER 038 038RIME 099 099SAINTS 109 109SIREN:

ROW IV

BLOOD CURSE

040 040SOUTH

PARK: THE STICK OF TRUTH

SECTIONS AT A GLANCE

098 098SPLINTER

THE BIG 10 All th the e hotte hottest st new news s 010

PREVIEWS

FEATURES

REVIEWS

NETWORK

Latest info, screens and playtests

To-the-point, detailed analysis

In-depth verdicts on every big new game

Max out your PS3, online and off

Classics revisited

03 5

05 050

077

097

106

RETRO STATION

016 016THE WITCHER 3: WILD HUNT 068 068WATCH DOGS 046 046THE

WOLF AMONG US

036 036WWE

CELL: BLACKLIST

2K14

Hello. W

Sun Life Stadium

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EDITORIAL EditorBen Wilson @BenjiWilson Associ Associate ate editor editor (online (online))Leon Hurley @leonHurley Deputy editorJoel Gregory @j0el_g Managing art editorMilford Coppock @milfcoppock

Deputy art editorAndrew Leung @CaptNorth Production editorEmma Davies @emcetera Contributing operations editorHelen Woodey @OPM_UK Acting Actingnews news editor editorDave Meikleham @OPM_Dave Staff writerPhil Iwaniuk @PhilIwaniuk

head, four-syllable hookYes, replaced byfor the wordsits ‘Grand Theft Auto’. waiting the biggest game of this or any other year actually sent me a bit loopy. So thank heavens that 1) The game is finally here and reviewed on p.78, and 2) You can now share my pain by having that tune stuck in your head for the next week. Thanks/sorry. I’d wager getting lost in Los Santos is all you’ve got planned for the next month, but it’s worth remembering that there are other fine games looming on the PlayStation horizon – and this issue, we celebrate

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FIFA 14

ISSUE 89 / NOVEMBER 2013

onfession time. Remember that godawful ‘Barbra Streisand’ song from a few years back? I’ve spent most of this month with it stuck on repeat in my

GAME OF THE MONTH

CONTRIBUTORS CONTRIBUTORS

Wri Writers tersAlex Dale, Ben Griffin, Andrew Kelly, Debbie Lloyd, Louis Pattison, Ro b Pearson, Iain Wilson DesignAndy Ounsted ProductionDamian Hall, Andrew Westbrook ADV ADVERT ERTISI ISING

Adverti Advertis sing ing sales sales director directorNick Weatherall Adverti Advertis sing ing sales sales man manager agerAndrew Church Account Accountsales sales mana manager gerRicardo Sidoli MARKETING MARKETING

Trade marketing managerMatt Cooper Senior product managerAdam Jones Group marketing managerSam Wight Senior marketing executiveTilly Mitchell Marketing executiveAntonella Matia CIRCULATION

International account managerRebecca Hill Head of trade marketingJames Whitaker PRINT & PRODUCTION Production managerMark Constanc Constance e Production co-ordinatorVivienne Turner LICENSING

ten of the most exciting in our annual pre-orders guide. We’ve not only playtested every one, but also hunted down the best prices and special editions so you don’t have to. Phew. Enjoy the issue, and happy GTA-ing.

International licensing managerRegina Erak FUTURE PUBLISHING LIMITED Editorial directorJim Douglas Creative directorRobin Abbott Managing directorNial Ferguson Deputy managing directorClair Porteous Head of gamesLee Nutter Group senior editorTim Clark @timothydclark Group art directorGraham Dalzell

“WE’VE HUNTED DOWN THE BEST PREORDER PRICES AND AN D SPECIA IAL L EDITIONS, SO Ben Wilson EDITOR YO Y OU DON’T [emailprotected]

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Phone our UK hotline on 0844 848 2852 Phone our international hotline on+44 (0)1604 251045 Subscribe online at myfavouritemagazines.co.uk NEXT ISSUE ON SALE 25 October 2013 Printed in the UK by William Gibbons on behalf of Future. Distributed in the UK by Seymour Distribution Ltd, 2 East Poultry Avenue, London EC1A 9PT. Tel: 0207 429 4000

The ABC combined print, digital and digital publication circulation for Jan-Dec 2012 is

31,524 (Print 30,204Digital 1,320) A member oftheAudited Bureau ofCirculations

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HAVE TO.”

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Leon Hurley

Dave Meikleham

Emma Davies

ASSOCIATE EDITOR ASSOCIATE EDITOR Admitt Adm itted ed to likin liking g the n new ew Miley Cyrus single, making it the first pop song ever

Joel Jo el Greg Gregory ory DEPUTY EDITOR Spent five consecutive days at home with GTA V to squeeze in this month’s

ACTING NEWS EDITOR ACTING EDITOR Sadly Meiks departs this month, returning north for 10am Irn-Bru-drinking and

PRODUCTION EDITOR Alas, EmAlas, Em-Dub Dubz z is also also of offf to pastures new – a secret project she insists isn’t a

he hasn’t hated. didn’t mark it by Thankfully twerking.

review. team still seethingRest withof envy.

Texas-listening. yes, by Irn-Bru we meanAnd Buckfast.

Dappy fanzine. Hmm. Tulisa-hunting, ma’am!Happy

GAME OF THE MONTH

Splinter Cell: Blacklist

GTA V

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Just thin think, k, tthis his glor glorious ious box could well be sitting under your tree come Christmas morn.

01 0

E V E R Y L AU NC H G A M E Assa Assass ssin in’s ’s Cree Creed d IV V:: Black Flag Basement Crawl

Battlefield 4 Blacklight

Call Of Duty: Ghosts Contrast

DC Universe Online Doki-Doki Universe

Driveclub FIFA 14

Flower Hohokum

Just Dance 2014

SONY HAS CUT DEALS FOR CROSSGEN DISCOUNTS.

Killzone: Shadow Fall

Knack Lego Marvel Superheroes

Madden NFL 25 Minecraft

N++ NBA Live 14

NBA 2K14 Need for Speed: Rivals

Pinball Arcade Planetside 2

Pool Nation Extreme Resogun

Skylanders: Swap Force Super Motherload

The Playroom Tiny Brains

Warframe War Wa rT Thu hund nder er

Watch Dogs

14 14ZEROES ZEROES TO HEROES

Metal Gear Online returns. 20 SPEED FREAK

The inside track on NFS: Rivals. 24 24SON SON SPOT

InFamous’ Delsin Rowe gets touchy.

TheBi Big g10 10 STORIES EVERYONE’S TALKING ABOUT

A November to remember with PlayStation 4 Next-gen release date, games and peripherals confirmed. Dear Santa Santa… … be in the market before Christmas, and we need to know the volumes we have vs demand from consumers. All of those things are shaping up nicely.”

The wait is almost over. In two months’ time that gloriously angular box will hopefully be nestled proudly under your telly. Well, provided you acted sharpish on the pre-order front. PlayStation 4 will be released in the UK on 29 November, a semi-agonising fortnight after its US launch. Christmas really is coming early – by a whole 26 days. Af Afte ter r a stro strong ng Game Gamesc scom om pr pres ess s conference where PS4’s release date was finally confirmed, we sat down with head of Sony UK Fergal Gara. “The target window was always November,” he confirms. “We’ve hit that now and it’s been in line for years, not days. It’s an incredibly complex process to bring a piece of technology like that to market, so to do so on time is tremendous.” Gara is also keen to hammer home how important hitting that festive window is: “You need to

LAUNCH AND LEARN

In additional air-punching news, 33 games will be available before the end of the year. That range spans everything from megaton fare such as Killzone: Shadow Fall and Watch Dogs, through to indie puzzler Tiny Brains. Unless you’ve pre-ordered, though, the overwhelming demand for PS4 means Santa may not be able to fit those Helghast into his, er, bulging sack. “They’re higher than we’ve ever seen in 20 years in this business,” Gara admits in the wake of UK pre-orders for the console topping a million. “The ex-retailer in myself realises we’ve got a situation to manage – we need to help retailers set the expectations of their customers and not let them down. That’s why we advised them that after 5 August, shops should not guarantee anyone else that they will

011

STORIES EVERYONE’S TALKING ABOUT

get their unit on day one.” That’s right, little Quinton Quick-Off-TheMark: now’s the time to gloat over that pre-order you placed in 2010. If you’re lucky enough to get a machine for launch, that £349 price tag still represents a markedly more wallet-friendly option than Xbox One, although RRPs on games are set for a slight increase from PS3 titles. Currently, most online retailers are offering PS4 games between £47 and £55. Peripherals will also give your bank balance a bit of a pounding. A DualShock 4 costs £54.99 – but the fact you can plump for eyeball-arousing Wave Blue or Magma Red takes a tiny sting out of that figure. The PlayStation Camera,

comes with a free download code for the bot-basher. Still, there’s going to be an awful lot of Yen barbecuing holes in pockets this Christmas. Next-gen excitement should rightly have you quivering with anticipation, but Sony is also aware that transitioning between consoles is a difficult process. In response to this, the company has cut deals with publishers to offer digital discounts if you’ve already bought a select range of PS3 cross-gen titles. Ac Acti tivi visi sion on an and dU Ubi biso soft ft ar are eb bot oth h tak takin ing g part in the scheme, with the former announcing that those who purchase Call Of Duty: Ghosts on PS3 will be able to download the PS4 version

meanwhile, is priced at £44.99. Oh, and if you want to give your new pride and joy that PS2 chic, pick up a PS4 vertical stand for £15.99. You savvy buyer, you.

for just a tenner. Cross-gen change purse savings are great, but what your heart should be beating at an alarming rate for is the system’s everexpanding indie collection. With the likes of the recently announced, dazzlingly colourful Resogun and the distinctly Ico-esque Rime (see p.38), Gara is justifiably buzzing over the blossoming independent scene.

RISING SHUN

It’s at this point you should spare a thought for your less fortunate Japanese counterparts. For the first time in the history of existence, they’re not getting a Sony console first. In fact, the poor blighters have to wait until 22 February until they’re allowed to become intimately acquainted with Knack – something Sony has made considerably easier by offering punters in Japan a First Limited Pack version of PS4 that

REMEMBER THREE If you’re staying rooted in currentgen territory, fret not. Gara confirms PS3 isn’t being put out to pasture: “I’m certa certain in tthat hat lots and and lots lots of major titles title s wil willl continu continue e to come out o on n PS PS3 3 through thro ugh next year year..”

The Big10

01 2

“We’re giving those studios freedom – creatively and commercially – and they seem to be loving it,” he says. “We took their feedback, which then went right into the heart of PS4.” Indeed, nurturing the indie scene has been a long-term vision for Sony to coincide with its next-gen baby. “This isn’t something we decided over the last five weeks – it’s something we’ve been building to over five years. Gamescom was a landmark in terms of being able to flesh it out in more detail.” WRAP WR APPE PED D UP UP

More wanted than ten crates of Furbies nestled among a truck full of Tamagotchi being driven by a life-size Buzz Lightyear doll, Sony’s next-gen baby is the thekiller Christmas pressie. Wisely learning from PS3’s release, which was held back by a bloated price point and an underwhelming launch lineup, Sony has given itself an incredible platform from which to build a decade of PS4 dominance. With an exciting indie collection surrounded by a small triple-A must-haves such as Watch Dogs and Assassin’s Creed IV, plus an aggressive price point, you’re the real winner this festive season. We’ll see you in that freezing midnight launch queue.

IF YOU WANT TO GIVE YOU Y OUR R NE NEW W PR PRID IDE E AN AND D JO JOY Y THAT PS2 CHIC, PICK UP A VE VER RTI TICA CAL L ST STAN AND. D.

For your essential PS4 launch guide, visit visit off offici icialp alplay layst stati ation onmag magazi azine. ne.co. co.uk. uk.

A beau beautif tiful ul box you’ll you ’ll cheris cherish h for for one glorious car jou journe rney… y… the then n chuck in the attic for five five year years. s.

We’re big fan fans s of the these se DualSh DualShock ock 4 We’re twi twin nc colou olourr sche schemes mes.. L Love ovely ly,, llovel ovely y rred. ed.

If you look at this little chap at just the

right angle he resembles a happy crab. W

Knack’s getting a local co-op mode, folks. There’s plenty of dinky droid love to go around.

013

Resogun and Driveclub both star in a 30+ game launch window line-up that’s easily the most diverse in the near 20-year history of PlayStation.

Killzone looks so good, we wan wantt to lic lick k our our 4K tellies tell ies… … which which we’ we’ll ll be be able to afford in 2027.

The Ground Zeroes portion of MGS V features featu res a fresh fresh-fac -faced, ed, pre-coma Snake.

01 4

Solid news on Snake’s future Metal Gear Online is back as fresh Phantom Phantom Pain shots sneak out Aa Aaan and d bre breat athe he.. IIt’ t’s s been quite the couple of months for fans of mulleted stealth heroes. First Konami opens a new branch of Kojima Productions in Los Angeles, then a fresh demo of Metal Gear Solid V emerges, before old Hideo makes the internet explode with a controversy bomb by revealing a scantily clad sniper. Give us a few moments here, we need a sit down.

were eventually closed in June last year, nearly half a decade on from its initial release alongside Guns Of The Patriots. What’s more, the new LA studio has been tasked with refreshing the plastic-duck shooting, cardboard-box cowering, Snakehunting experience as the main wing of Kojima Productions cracks on with delivering MGS V. The Phantom Pain’s online component is clearly well underway, with Kojima tweeting the following on a recent trip to California: “People at

Oh,iteration and Kojima totally announced new of Metal Gear Online, a too. One of the most beloved, esoteric experiences in the history of PSN, the multiplayer inspired frenzied fandom before its servers

LA studio showedwith. me the MGO that they are working Looked promising.” Reassuringly, veteran Metal Gear staffers are keeping tabs on the project to ensure it matches Old Snake’s much-loved covert

dev talk “I know know there there are are people concerned about Quiet. I created [her] as an antithesis to the the women women who appeared in fighting games… excessively exposed. Quiet, who doesn’t have a word, will be teased teased in the story story.. Once Once you you recognise the reason for her exposu exposure, re, you you feel asham ashamed ed of of your your words word s and deeds deeds..”

KOJIMA MADE THE NET EXPLODE WITH WI TH A SCAN SCANTI TIL LY CLAD SNIPER.

deathmatches, with Kojima confirming “original MGO dev staff” are checking the mode frequently. Al Alth thou ough gh no conc concre rete te de deta tailils sh hav ave e poked their head out of a rusty oil drum just yet, expect multiplayer to continue to follow the certifiable tone of bizarre teamwork and methodical stealth set down by its predecessor. WE CAN CAN B BE E ZER ZEROE OES S

But what of MGS V itself? Well, the hands-off demo presented in LA gives a more in-depth look at the utterly drenched military base originally shown in the very first Ground Zeroes trailer. Snake is able to explore the base like it’s a freshly erected borough of Liberty City, and this sandbox approach to stealth means guards can pursue you over much larger areas. Luckily, the game’s new slo-mo mechanic gives you the chance to silently cap the

Hideo Kojima Game director, Kojima Productions

RELIANT ROBIN Minecraft is also a survival game. At night, monsters stalk the world, world, so you you ha have ve to buil build d a shelter hide in. By day, you harvest materials, making weapons weapo ns to defend defend you yourself rself..

The Big10 STORIES EVERYONE’S TALKING ABOUT

From idyllic villages to recreations of modern full cities, the creation tools are deceptively powerful.

There’s no denying the Fox engine gives damn good volumetric lighting. Mmmm… volumetric lighting.

Next-gen strikes Minecraft gold Block-based indie sensation is bound for PS4 If you build it, he will… get filthy stinking rich by selling over 20 million copies. Since its full release in 2011 – after two years in alpha and beta – breakout blocky masterpiece Minecraft has seen incredible sales, which are set to skyrocket further with the indie smash hit now coming to PS4, PS3 and Vita. Get ready to let your mind run wild in a Lego-aping sandbox where the only limit is your own imagination. Er, and free time. “We’re delighted to spread the Minecraft love to a new family of consoles,” says a Mojang spokesperson regarding the series’

can harvest resources such as wood and stone, and use them to build – well, whatever you want. People have used the game to build full-size replicas of New York City and Bioshock’s Rapture. There’s even a way to build working machines, taken to extremes by a gamer who constructed an actual functioning computer processor. We’d probably set our sights on making something a mite less ambitious at first. Multiplayer is a big part of the appeal, as you team with others to build wonders, so expect it to take advantage of PS4’s sharing features. “We want to improve the social aspect – hopefully it’ll be easier to play with friends,” says creator Markus ‘Notch’

Sony “It’s games been one most debut. requested by of the PlayStation fans over the years.” Set in a strangely beautiful, randomly generated world, how you play is up to you. If you’re feeling creative, you

Persson the series’ An Anyo yone ne fanc faof ncy y bui build ldin ing g us ufuture. s a gian giantt mansion shaped like Drake’s jawline?

first baddie who spots you before he sounds the alarm. Frustratingly, though, it’s still not clear how Ground Zeroes and The Phantom Pain slot together. We know the former acts as a more linear prologue to help acclimatise players to the controls before unleashing them on open-world deserts. What we’re still in the dark over is whether Zeroes will be released as a separate digital/boxed entity or come bundled with MGS V as an extended quasi-tutorial. What structure Snake’s adventure will take is a cranium-scratcher, but it’s clear MGS V’s open-world elements are set to reinvigorate the

PEOPLE HAVE BUILT FULL-SIZE REPLICAS OF NEW YORK CITY AND AN D RAPT RAPTUR URE. E.

stealth genre when it infiltrates and PS4. Be excited… and more PS3 than a tad confused. For more shots of the new LA studio, head to officialplaystationmagazine.co.uk.

Let us know what you plan on building by emailing [emailprotected]

015

CHOOSE IT OR LOSE IT Player choice is a huge factor in Wild Hunt. Hunt. As executiv executive e pro produce ducerr John Mamais Mamais tel tells ls us: us: “In terms of game states, we have 32 different endings planned.” Best pick wisely.

The Big10 STORIES EVERYONE’S TALKING ABOUT

This format – single image – works well works well wit with h an an upda update te to a

well-known well-kn own gam game. e. e.g e.g.. Biosh Bioshock ock is delayed. Or E3 is in Vegas now.

01 6

2014’s surprise Game Of The Year? The Witcher 3 wows wows with scale, spectacl spectacle e and serious beards It’s not the visuals or the size that impress most in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – though both are remarkable. It’s the attention to detail and production values that have gone into what is only a side-mission. With multi-part objectives, a cast of supporting characters, cutscenes and an ending cinematic, this is more effort than most games put into their main quests. Perhaps we should be surprised rather than shocked, as The Witcher comes to PlayStation (PS4, to be specific) with a stellar reputation in the role-playing world, combining gritty tales with high fantasy, player

Equally so while that optional quest is playing out. The background to Geralt’s journey this time is fairly simple – intentionally on developer CD Projekt RED’s part, so that new players can get onboard without feeling like they’ve missed out. The Wild Hunt, a mythical and deadly force, has appeared and is laying siege to villages. Hearing of one survivor of such an attack, Geralt follows the trail and tracks the fellow down in the settlement of Fayrlund (awkward spelling is a Witcher staple). But just as the two are

tackle it. Geralt, man of action that he is, decides for them, and takes on the task in exchange for payment (he may be on the side of good, but a Witcher’s got to make a buck). And so begins – should you choose to undertake it – an optional mission that involves tracking and researching the beast, negotiating with the villagers about how to tackle it, discovering its sinister intentions, and ultimately striking it down by the medium of massive sword to its ugly skull head. An And d ttha hat’ t’s s jjus ustt one side-quest. With one of the largest environments

choice, andfind freeform But– when you out thatcombat. Wild Hunt the conclusion to Geralt Of Rivia’s tale, due out in 2014 – is 35 times bigger than the previous game, it’s hard not to be taken aback.

wagging chins, interruption strikes.

we’ve ever seen and 100-plus of high-quality action, this couldhours already be next year’s game to beat.

THIS IS MORE EFFORT THAN MOST GAMES PUT INTO EVEN THEIR MAIN QUESTS.

MYTH BUSTER

A tow towns nspe pers rson on has has b bee een n kil kille led d by by a an n evil dwelling in the woods, and the residents can’t decide on how to

For the latest on Wild Hunt, including new trailers, go to thewitcher.com.

the big shot

is eagle-eyed analysis analys

Protagonist Gomez had the ‘2D plat platfor formin ming’ g’ thi thing ng sussed – but then a whole new dimension appeared.

What’s arou What’s around nd the corner? If Vita and PS4’s touchp tou chpads ads are aren’t n’t use used d to to rotate, we’ll be stunned. 01 8

PS4 reeling in more indie stars Phil Fish’s Fez goes next-gen There are three stories here. One is the tale of outspoken game creator Phil Fish, whose retro platformer Fez was among the stars of 2012’s Indie Game: The Movie. Fez takes the 16-bit platformer and literally turns it on

jour journo no Ma Marc rcus us Be Beer er, in in w whi hich ch he announced Fez II cancelled and himself out of the games industry. An And d now now for for tthe he gran grand d denouement: Fez lives on! Alth Althou ough gh the the s seq eque uell s sta tays ys cancelled, the original is coming to PS4, PS3 and Vita via Blit Software, with Cross Play available between the latter two.

its horizontal axis, giving you the power to rotate little hero Gomez’s world at will. Then there’s Fish’s Twitter outburst following insulting comments made by freelance

Alon Al ong gw wit ith h Min Mbig inec ecra raft ft (see (s ee p.15 p.15) ) it’s another name signing for Sony’s impressive indie roster.

Excited about PS4’s indie prospects? Tweet us @OPM_UK.

number game we do the maths

33m

The budget of David Cage’s miserable masterpiece Heavy Rain.

60°

You’re You’r e able able to clim climb b these thes e vine vines s and and flip the perspective to cheat at physics and gain elevation.

Temperature a PS3 overheats at, risking the Yellow Light Of Death.

1860s Decade in which Metal Gear Solid 3’s ancient sniper The End was born.

019

This simple golden cube is to Fez wha whatt ring rings s are are to Sonic. They’re rarely this easy to locate, though.

Number of players GTA Online supports at any one time.

20,000 kg 1:54:11 Number of polygons Kratos is made up of in 2010’s God Of War III.

2.8 We Weigh ightt of of P PS4. S4. Th The e beef beefy y llau aunc nch h model PS3 tipped the scales at 5kg.

There’s no guessing what lies beyond. Perhaps a single room, perhaps a completely new hub world.

Exact length of Sony’s conference at this year’s Gamescom.

$2,000 The price of buying GTA IV’s Niko a Perseus mustard sports coat.

Ghost Games has been developing Rivals with close involvement from Sullivan’s Criterion team.

02 0

The Alldrive of your life Need For Speed director on powersliding into next-gen’s fast lane

Much more than merely the annual update of a regular Christmas fixture that’s now as established as Kris Kringle’s sagging gut, Need For Speed: Rivals is aiming not to blur, but to obliterate the lines between single and multiplayer racing. Criterion Games’ creative director Craig Sullivan talks us through the series’ most ambitious racer yet, and why PS4 is helping it reach never-before-seen speeds.

weather, graphical resolution of the environments… and the cars look amazing. The same basic experience is true of PS3, but it’s kind of more all-singing, all-dancing on PS4.

we get rid of lobbies? To tap into that next-gen thinking we got rid of those and then we came up with a progression system that allows us to truly have that Alldrive experience. It’s always the case that the game you make now is not the game you were ready to make two or five years ago – your thinking constantly changes and you learn so much. We listen to our fans – NFS has been going for 19 years now, [and] I remember playing the original game on 3DO before I even got into the industry. So we [were aiming] to give people what they want.

OPM: The series has been running for a long time now. When you came to this instalment, what was the overarching aim that you wanted to achieve with Rivals? Craig Sullivan:We wanted to figure out a next-generation concept for the series. We thought that if we completely got rid of single and multiplayer then there had to be something that allowed us to play

OPM: You’re working cross-gen. W Was as the the a add dded ed powe power ro off the the new new consoles part of the reason you were we re so am ambi biti tiou ous sw wit ith hR Riv ival als? s? CS: CS:Yeah, we wanted to push it as much as we could, because we’re launching on PS4 and PS3. There’s obviously going to be two different versions of the game, but we try to make sure that the basic experience

together, and copswas andalready racers a seemed like there game mode in [it]. If you put cops and racers together, one is going to run and one is going to chase. How can that work with Alldrive? How can

is the same.better The graphics will look immensely on PS4, and the video sharing is something that’s just just am amaz azin ing g – an and d act actua ualllly y len lends ds itself really well to our style of gameplay. We can go further on

dev talk

OPM: Other than the visuals, is there anything fundamentally different on next-gen or is it roughly the same experience that both consoles are going to get? CS: CS:The visuals are obviously going to be very different, and the video sharing that the new hardware brings is different. There will be differences in terms of the weather and stuff like that, but the world’s the same, the car’s the same – the basic progression is the same. We haven’t finalised exact numbers yet – we will try for there not to be a big difference. But it might be that the number of AI characters is much greater on PS4 than on PS3.

“I think think PS3 will be around for asowhile – there are many [units] out there. Who knows when that tipping tipp ing poin pointt will will come come in the future? For now we’re strad straddlin dling g both both machines and making sure we get the best out of them. Our game looks up there with the best PS3 games games,, and we’ve still got a long way to go.” Craig Sullivan Creative director, Criterion Games

OPM: How are you finding working with with PS4 PS4 com compa pare red d to to P PS3 S3? ? IIs s iitt easier to develop CS: CS:Yeah, I think it for? is. The thing with new hardware is that some things are easier. Some things you may have struggled to do on previous hardware might be easier, but then

MEDIA CRACKDOWN

The Big10

News channels are key to Rivals’ story, says Sullivan. “Imagine “Imag ine racers racers speedin speeding g about about London posting videos: they’d hit evening news. It’s about the media war that plays out.”

STORIES EVERYONE’S TALKING ABOUT

something else might be harder as you’re having do it on you a new console. Sometosystems have to rewrite, or find a new way of doing them. I think the second wave of games will truly be starting to harness the power of the new machines. I think here in this transition year, people immediately go for the ‘tick boxes’ of better visuals, but all games look really good these days – even some bad games look really good. To me, though, it’s about that next-generation experience of how is a game going to be different in this time frame. On next-gen machines it’s way easier and way quicker to get to massive expansive worlds with very high visual fidelity and almost photorealistic cars, because you just have way more horsepower to work with. I think it will be easier to connect with people, and actually play with each other and have more communication back and forth than you could on PS3. I’m really interested in how the controller works with the camera: I’ve seen some really interesting demos and we want to explore that going forwards. You just couldn’t do that before. That light being built into the front of the controller is something that other consoles don’t have, and I think that could be quite interesting in the future. The question is whether we’ll actually manage to get [this] into the game or not this time, but we have lots of cool ideas for it.

info updatepatches your brain

Deployable weapons like spike strips return, for use by both cops and racers.

because, you know, I want to play those type of games, too. But Need For Speed caters for those who aren’t simulation-driven and who want to charge around in an amazing car being chased by the

VIT VI TA’S A’S NE NEW W LO LOOK OK Sony’s handheld has clearly been ditching the burritos for celery sticks with a redesign that sheds 15% of the original’s weight. Hitting

cops – that [approach] doesn’t work on a track. The chase would be pretty boring if the cops were chasing you around Silverstone. I think circuit-based simulation and circuit-based racing are here to stay, and I think open-world racing is also here to stay.

the scales scales at existing 219g, 219g, it’s it’s 20% 20%screen thinne thinnerrwith andan has replaced the OLED LCD model. It’s out in Japan in October, with a European release still to be confirmed.

021

OPM: You’ve previously mentioned that there is a narrative, which is something racing games normally struggle with. What Wh at’s ’s your your approach to story in Rivals? CS: CS:If you’ve seen the E3 trailer, that’s a good glimpse into how we’re going to tell the narrative of the game. We’re not making Titanic: this is a driving game. Give me a narrative that explains why I’m driving and reflects the consequence of what I’m doing. It can’t be a story about world peace or a crisis in the Middle East: this is ultimately a story about what’s going on inside the cop’s head and how he reacts to the racer. It’s about the rivalry that plays out as the two sides are essentially battling each other throughout this game. The narrative is there to completely and utterly support the gameplay – it’s not overly preachy

IT CAN’T BE A STORY ABOUT WORL WO RLD D PEAC PEACE E OR A CRIS CRISIS IS IN TH THE E MIDDLE EAST.

OPM: Are open-world racers here to stay? Is that almost a must-have for a new title now, or can they co-exist with menu-driven race-torace experiences? CS: CS:It’s our job to be aware of what everyone’s doing in the driving space. You’ve got Driveclub – we played that at E3 and it’s more of a track game than an open world. Gran Turismo 6 is there and we

played and it runningthat on PS3 aslooked well –amazing, but that’s tracks again. It’s going for photorealistic, perfection driving around a real track. I don’t think those games will ever go away –

LAST PAST THE POST Every time someone says The Last Guardian won’t come out, a gia giant nt griffi griffin n thingie thingie dies somewhere. At least Ico mastermind Fumito Ueda recently offered some hope on PlayStation’s most delayed game, saying it’s “under “und er earnest earnest developmen development. t.”” Kee Keep p as many fingers fing ers as as you can spare cross crossed. ed.

MOVIE MAGIC FOR GT Polyphony’s Kaz Yamauchi lifted the bonnet

and it’s not very long. [told in] cutscenes that playIt’s outsimply at certain times in the game.

on the Gran Turismo flick at Gamescom. Apparently Apparent ly,, it’s it’s about about a kid who plays plays too much GT but eventually becomes a pro driver – based on the real-life tale of Spanish racer Lucas Ordonez. At least it doesn’t sound like the Fast Fast & Furi Furious ous c clone lone folk feared. feared.

To watch the latest videos of Rivals, check out youtube.com/OfficialPSMag.

A friend in very high places

The Division shoots for app assistance

Ubisoft is going after secondscreen support hard with its latest batch of PS4based triple-A trea tr eats ts.. Fir First st th ther ere e was was Ai Aide den n Pearce getting his iPad-friendly hack on in Watch Dogs, and now Tom Clancy’s MMO-flavoured co-op shooter is also set to serve up tabl ta blet et fu fun. n. In Inde deed ed,, The Division’s recently announced

app interfaces with the HD client and has its own progression.” Download the app and you’re instantly given a bird’s-eye view of the th e bat battl tlef efie ield lds s in in an an apo apoca caly lypt ptic ic New York decimated by a contagion that’s spread through the th e han handl dlin ing g of of mon money ey.. Fro From m her here e you yo u can can as assi sist st yo your ur al alli lies es by highlighting highlighti ng enemy positions or even providing pals with damage boosts. The touc to uchs hscr cree een n system looks

companion app could yet outdo Pearce’s peeping tabl ta blet et an anti tics cs.. “It’ “I t’s s a dr dron one, e,” elaborates game director Ryan Barnard in a Gamereactor interview. “It can scout for you and help in combat.” The usefulness of this th is di dink nky y AI AI tab table lett sid sidek ekic ick k is is quickly apparent in the game’s latest trailer, which shows someone assisting their console pals with an app that’s been carefully crafted to offer tangible benefit. “We were very ve ry cl clea earr it it had had to be me mean anin ingf gful ul,,” says Barnard. “It’s not for chatting or browsing your character – this

smartly streamlined, and is ably supported by a pleasingly chunky 3D engine. The Division is also looking to push boundaries when it comes to lo loot otin ing g in in its its pl play ayer er vs pl play ayer er battles, which take place in areas called Dark Zones. “It has to be suspenseful, meaning scary,” Barnard comments. “You don’t actually know who’s a threat.” As Stone Cold Steve Austin might say: don’t trust anybody.

THE APP COULD YET OUTDO AIDE AI DEN N PE PEAR ARCE CE’S ’S PEEPING TABLET ANTI AN TICS CS..

This hunkered-down solider could sure use a friendly eye in the sky to scout ahead.

Check out OfficialPSMag on YouTube fo forr th the e la lates testt tr trail ailer er ffrom rom The Divisi Division on..

the r rumour umour machine

Metro: Last Light is due a sequel – Deep Silver admits it wants to continue the series.

our sources understand…

Dead Space may not have carked it as a franchise after all, with EA boss

The wait for a new Guerrilla’s IP could be glacial, with Steven Ter

Frank Gibeau explaining “it’s not out of rotation”.

Heide hinting it “will be a while”.

GT6 is being planned for PS4, but may evolve into GT7 due to time issues, according to Polyphony.

Don’t hold your breath for Battlefield 5 next year ye ar.. DICE DICE ha has s suggested it’s unlikely to get annual updates.

MARDENBOROUGH MARDENBOR OUGH LIGHTS Winning the Winning the A Academ cademy y didn’t didn’t do any any harm to 2011 victor Jann Mardenborough, who placed third in class at Dubai 24 Hour and currently races in Formula 3. He’s set his sights on F1, too, so remember that name.

PlayStation vo v oice s the month in mouthing off

Our man Phil samples life in the fast lane at the home of British motorsport and birthplace of Formula 1.

“I going towas name her ‘Naomi Kay’, the anagram of Konami.” Hideo Kojima

reveals Doctor Hunter’s original name.

“It’s not part of GTA V. It’ll grow on its own.” Rockstar North president Leslie Benzies sets the record straightt on straigh GTA Online.

The Simon Cowell of GT Academy 2013 Our Phil helps judge UK finalists at Silverstone Silverstone One day the stars will align and we’ll post an unbeatable leaderboard time in the GT Academy online shootout – just before the heat death of the universe, by our current calculations – but until then, we’ll just just ha have ve to ma make ke do with with judg judgin ing g the Gran Turismo maestros who made the cut and found themselves at Silverstone for the UK finals.

Over a gruelling two days at the ‘Stone, 24 hopefuls were whittled down to six after being tested not only in Gran Turismo 5 but also on the real track, and via press conferences and fitness exercises. That half-dozen go on to the international finals for a chance to become real drivers for Nissan’s Nismo racing division. Al Alon ongs gsid ide eo oth ther er pr pres ess sa att tten ende dees es,, we judged the finalists on their media skills and brand spokesman potential, sifting the silver-tongued from the Raikkonens. Big-ups, then, to Mark Ridout, Shane Ward, John Foster, Martin Hefferon, Ad Adam am Susw Suswilillo lo a and nd Ne Neilil Wil Williliam ams s– and best of luck to all when they compete against hopefuls from 17 territories in the final stages.

“I played, but I got my rear end kicked.” Turns out Ultimate War W arri rior or isn’t very good at WWE 2K14.

And An yes yes,,Walsh, s sho houl uld dwe any anyth thin ing gh hap appe pen nto to d Louis are available step in on X Factor at short notice. Follow the action on ITV4, presented by Craig Doyle and Johnny Herbert.

This year’s cream of the crop, battling for

a chance to drive one of these for a living.

023

instant opinion

Delsin’s smoking hot powers will at times be controlled via innovative use of the touchpad.

strong vs wrong INDEPENDENTS YAY

Hotline Miami 2, Wasteland Kings, Mike Bithell’s Volume Volume – these and plenty more are making their console debut on PlayStation. REFUNDAMENTALS

Can’t wait for PS4 before getting your COD/FIFA on? Game Game is offering a guaranteed £40 trade-in value when you swap your PS3 copy for the shiny next-gen version. LB FREE

02 4

Sackboy’s giving away his woven wares for nada. LBP Hub, coming later this year, is a gratis download featuring 16 levels, plus paid content. SHOWER PLA PLAY

No rain in Spain or anywhere else for PES 2014, as the game being built from scratch means the wet stuff has to wait a year. year. COLOGNE IRRITATION

With a cancelled hotel room, borked Wi-Fi, and no wurst of any sort, Gamescom coverage was no picnic but (hopefully) worth it.

InFamous’innovations shocking dual Superhero sandbox debuts pad tech and a fiery gal For those still thinking the DualShock 4’s touchpad is a gimmick, Delsin Rowe has some choice words (read: lethal energy bolts to the face) for you, as Sucker Punch’s upcoming open world uses your digits in exciting ways. When Rowe uses a hand scanner, for instance, you replicate his gestures on the touchpad. Grabbing a power core, meanwhile, sees you swiping up on the touchpad with your left thumb and holding it there while you destroy it with punches of i. An And d let let’s ’s no nott for forge gett

the touchpad’s functionality as a bona fide button: sapping neon energy from buzzing street corners requires a dual prod of the entire interface. It adds more interactivity to an already exciting prospect. An And d ttha hat’ t’s sn not ot al alll the the cont contro rollller er does. If Delsin gets detected creeping somewhere he shouldn’t, a ringing alarm chimes through the inbuilt speakers. It’s the same with phone calls, which redirect voices to the controller. This spreading of sound results in greater immersion, almost to the point of intrusiveness. One of these callers could turn out to be Abigail ‘Fetch’ Walker. With emo earring, purple hair and scruffy jack jacket et,, s she he’s ’s cert certai ainl nly y the the re rebe bellllio ious us type. She introduces herself in the latest trailer by exclaiming, “I’ve never hurt an innocent person in my life!” before… hurting an innocent person. She shares a unique bond with Delsin, seemingly transferring

GET DETECTED AND A ND ALA ALARMS RMS PLA PLAY VIA V IA THE THE PAD’ D’S S SPEAKERS.

ALIE IEN N WAR ARY Y AL

Xcom:: Enem Xcom nemy With Within in is undeniably a tasty tacticalto prospect, yet having pay full-price for an expansion – even if you own Enemy Unknown – is an unwelcome fiscal probe.

powers him.swipes If there’s any trouble, though, atofew of the touchpad should sort her out. For Second Son screens and video, visit visit o off ffici icialp alplay layst stati ation onmag magazi azine. ne.co co.uk .uk..

Meet Fetch. She’s single, spiky – and

could barbecue you in half a second.

END OF PLAYS

The Big10

Where a gre Where great at final finale ec can an elev elevate ate a very good game to the level of a masterpiece (see: Ico), a deflating end can put an almighty, sometimes controversial, downer on proceedings (hey, Mass Effect 3).

(Video) Horticulture Tips for March

PRISTINELY

STORIES EVERYONE’S TALKING ABOUT

ju j ust one more question…

the team debate this month’s burning issue

What’s the greatest game ending of the generation?

LOOK AWAY!

SPOILER ALE AL ERT

025

BEN WILSON

EDITOR

THERE’S ONLY ONE PS3 PAIRING FIT FOR THIS GONG, AND IT MOST DEFINITELY AIN’ AI N’T T KAN KANE E& BLOODY LYNCH.

DAVE MEIKLEHAM

PHIL IWANIUK

DAN DAWKINS

ACTIN ACT ING G NEW NEWS S EDITO EDITOR R

STAFF WRITER

CONTRIBUTING WRITER

RED DEAD REDEMPTION HAS THE BEST ENDING ON PS3. WHY? BECAUSE THERE’S A GOOD CHANCE YOU’LL NEVER SEE IT.

BIOSHOCK INFINITE’S ENDING PUTS ALL OTHER GAMES – AND ITSELF – TO SHAME.

IT’S A GLORIOUS, OVERBLOWN MESS, BUT NOTHING BEATS MGS4’S FINAL SHARED CIGAR.

Look, I’m a hopeless romantic whose top ten films include Titanic, Enchanted, and… Music An And d Lyr Lyric ics. s. Don’ Don’tt s say ay it, it, I know. So taken aback as I was by Joel’s Philadelphia-sized fib that closed out The Last Of Us and John Marston’s stark yet somehow glorious Red Dead demise, there can only be one choice here: Nate and Elena smooching and swapping affection-coated insults to wrap up Uncharted 2. “I kept your tears in a jar. I have proof,” Elena jokes

That’s the real genius of Marston’s melancholy tale: you have to go out of your way to uncover its deliberately vague finale. Af Afte ter r tthe he do doom omed ed ou outl tlaw aw takes his final bow outside the family barn, the Western hits you with a moving burial scene. An And d for for seve severa rall o off my my mates, that was that. They never figured out that a little exploration as John’s son reveals an optional side-quest where the true full stop lies. The moment you finally track

Most of the games I love finish with a polite cough rather than a mic drop. But I think nothing less of Skyrim, Heavy Rain et al when the credits roll with an air of embarrassed apology, because the past 20 hours eclipsed that stuttered final sentence. Infinite is the opposite: a staggering end that sends shockwaves through me and puts the preceding 12 hours to shame. “This is moviequality writing,” I think, before realising said flick would be a VHS of Die Hard someone taped over with the final scene from

after he denies crying over her apparent death. Drake may not have blubbed but many, yours truly included, did. 

down duelcathartic your pa’s killer isand hugely and – more importantly – earned like no other ending on PlayStation. 

The Prestige. Incongruity aside, nowhere else have so many questions been posed and answered so damn satisfyingly. 

I almost said Mass Effect 2’s Suicide Mission, for crystallising 30 hours of exploration into a perilous set of high-stakes decisions. But nothing, nothing, beats the impact of MGS4’s overblown, wonkily scripted finale that makes the end of LOTR look concise. Forget the Mr & Mrs Smith nonsense of Meryl’s ‘final’ stand… it’s all about Snake’s haunting reunion with absent ‘father’ Big Boss, and their shared stogie. “This was good, wasn’t it?” asks Kojima, as the series draws to an enigmatic on its own,close. but Powerful devastating when you realise Koj’s father died when he was only 13. 

REPLIES F facebook.co facebook.com/OfficialPla m/OfficialPlayStationMaga yStationMagazine zineT@OPM_UKW officialplays officialplaystationmagaz tationmagazine.co.uk ine.co.uk E [emailprotected]

really I was left feelingpaid bothoff. amazed yet strangely a little guilty. Was I the the on only ly one w who ho was surprised to see (I’m ashamed to say it) that a girl had come up with a gaming theme for her own bedroom? I’ve asked my own girlfriend if we can have a bedroom makeover… but my Resident Evil idea hasn’t gone down that well!

#88First Watch Dogs hands-on & Saints Row IV review

CAN I GET A RT? Tweet gold (and one troll) from this month’s month’s @OPM_UK @OPM_UK timeli timeline ne @ScootaKuH

If they can’t be bothered to do a prop proper er FIF FIFA A Vita Vita versio ver sion n then then the they y don’ don’tt deserve our cash. @tongoga

Can’t stop smiling, the only date this year that matters: 29/11/2013.

David Parker via email

Knives out

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The first time I played Dishonored I attempted to preserve as many dastardly souls as possible for the sole purpose of getting a jolly ending – but this was an error as sneaking was not my forté. My second playthrough is different. I’m handling each situation as I see fit. I’m slashing, shooting and ‘sploding freely, and having a whale (oil) of a time. Here’s a tip for all you Corvos out there: don’t play Dishonored a certain way to get a certain ending – play it however the heck you want and see where it takes you! Horace Limpey via email

It’ll probably blow your mind your mind if we s say ay Portal’s production

We’ll We ’ll a add dd to tthat hat tip tip by

@RaidenPatel

Borderlands on Vita? Are you sill Vita? silly? y?

lead was a girl, too, so we’ll su we’ll suffi ffice ce with with havin having g smashed just the one gender stereotype.

suggesting you play it in the exact opposite way wa y you ttrie ried d the ffirs irstt time round: incredible replayability replayabil ity awaits.

Hidden a gender I was truly inspired by your article ‘Extreme cakeover is a real triumph’ in issue #87. The designer Lauren has done a phenomenal job of converting her bedroom into a virtual Portal room – her hard work has

I cannot wait!!!

@maganoo23

Great coverage of #Gamescom2013! My stream kept dying so the tweets twe ets wer were e a god sen send! d!

Fun love I found the debate about the difficulty level on games really interesting. Does an easy difficulty level defeat the point? Whatt exa Wha exactl ctlyy isthe point? Is it the same for everybody? I reckon it isn’t, and maybe that’s why most developers give

@ProcrastiNYEtor h t n o m e h t f o l l o r t

DOES AN EASY DIFFICULTY LEVEL DEFEAT THE POINT? WHA WH AT EXAC EXACTL TLY Y ISTHE POINT? THE POINT IS TO HAVE HAVE FUN.

Ray Foster via email

Ari Aris s Tsoum Tsoumis is via email

@FALCAO

Happy to be in the @EASPORTSFutbol FIFA 14 cover, and to confirm Colombian league is in. @reverendanthony

Holy shit, Spies vs Mercs classic is really fun.

@kierongillen

Having struggled bitterly through Catherine on medium, we’re inclined to agree. Catherine the game, by the way.

I am wearing shorts and drinking coffee. Whatt coul Wha could d possi possibly bly go wroAAE wro AAEIAIG IAIGH! H!

lol at Gamescom… A bit excited over them announcements were we?

13 years ago I suffered a stroke, and my physio suggested I use a console to help with my hand/eye co-ordination. It’d also help with my memory, as I’d have to educate my brain to remember which button did what. So I played Tomb Raider on PlayStation. Now I’m 67 and have wandered into the world of multiplayer via Black Ops II – but I wouldn’t have played on any console if it had not been for the easy option. Not everyone who plays games is young and fast. The older you get, the slower your reaction times become.

Inspirational stuff, Ray. Your twitch-gaming skills might’ve passed their peak, but you’d probably still wipe wip e the floo floor r with with us at Blac Black k Ops. Ops. Have Have a year’s year’s free subscription to keep you nice and sharp.

@EdStern

@TheeLeeFerguson

a wide range of difficulties in their games. For me, the point of playing a game is to have fun – and that’s a word only Emma mentioned in her opinion. The day that enhancing my experience becomes more important than playing for the fun of it is the day I am unplugging my PS3.

letterEasy Easy does it Star letter

Minecraft announced as a PS4 launch title – silence your mouth and accept my currency!

Twitter this morning is disturbing in its lack of geek knowledge. Bruce Wayne Way ne is Bat Batman man.. Doh. Doh.

officialplaystationmagazine.co.uk ficialplaystationmagazine.co.uk best comments from of W

“Hulk Hogan is the most overrated wrestler in the history of wrestling. wrestling. Y Ye eah, I went there!”

“Puppies are CUTE, kittens are CUTE too. Well most baby animals are CUTE :D”

Oh no you di-n’t, tubrogeek421… oh, you did.

Except naked mole rats, Carl-G.

READERS’MOST READERS’ MOSTfiredWANTED Which games are you most fired up for? GTA V

Yes, it’s Yes, it’s sti still ll hoggin hogging g the the top slot llike ike a particularly infectious summer tune penned penned b by y meth meth sci scientis entists, ts, but at least Rockstar’s everythingsim actually has actually hit the shelves at long last – finally giving someone else a chance to sample sample the dizzying dizzying heights of number one. FORMATPS3 PS3 ETA ETAOUT NOW

MGS M GS V: The Phantom Pain The Phantom Gamescom Appearance finds find s its itself elf relega relegated ted tto o a mere Europa League qualification slot, but expect all that to change next summer when we see more of Kojima’s Fox engine-powered open world. FORMATPS4/PS3 ET ETA ASUMMER 2014

V VO OTE NOW!

Watc Wa tch h Dogs Dogs A disappo disappointi intingly ngly cagey cagey showing at Gamescom has done little to deter your enthusias enthusiasm m for Aiden Aide n Pe Pearce arce and his bag of high-tech tricks. Another Anot her silve silverr med medal al for Ubisoft’s Ubisoft’s nextnext-gen gen hopeful this month, but maybe once GTA arrives that top slot will come a-cal a-callin. lin.’ FORMATP PS4 S4 ETA ETA22 NOV

029

Tell us the five games you yo u can’ can’tt wait wait to pl play ay at [emailprotected]

Killzone: K illzone: Shadow Fall At numbe numberr fou fourr it it’s ’s [takes a big gulp of drink] Killzone: Shadow Fall! [Splurts drink everywhere.] Orange and blue are back this month, as is large-scale gunplay and beady Helghast eyes. FORMATPS4 PS4 ET ETA A29 NOV

inFamous: Second Son Rounding off a top three that’s undisturbed from last month, month, Del Delsin sin Rowe Rowe a and nd c co o occupy occupy your collective consciousness once again. The dev diary from Sucker Sucker P Punch unch showi showing ng s slick lick touc touchpad hpad cont controls rols and use of the controller’s speaker can’t have hurt. FORMATP PS4 S4 ETA ETASPRING 2014

EXIT POLL Our Facebook fans answer answer a final question question

18 18% %Couldn’t be happier about Borderlands 2’s Vita Vit a outi outing. ng.

What was your Gamescom highlight?

28%

Are Ar e all ab abou outt

NEXT NEXT MONTH

13%Have fallen 13% in love with the

Share your tales of dastardly criminal capers in GTA V, PS4 preorder excitement and Ultimate Team ultra-squads.

shiny UI, the designnew fiends.

Vi Vita ta’’sRemote time ti mely ly pr pric ice e cut. play, anyone?

14%Love 14% Sony’s gamesover-tech approach.

13%Are bowled 13% over by Sony’s diamond-strong games lineup.

14% Are all in 14% for the newly announced CrossBuy Vita games.

OPINION

Tim Clark

YOU ARE WEAK, AND YOU ARE NOT TRULY READY FOR THE NEXT GENERATION OF VIDEOGAMING. I AM HERE TO HELP, BUT IT IS GOING TO HURT. Why you ought to give PS4 the very best and nothing less last year’s model instead, because the

ruly, I have been waiting

03 0

difference in quality is almost impossible to discern with the naked eye, but I’ve been waiting years for next-gen. Also: shut up. Why do nextgen at all if you’re not going to do it right? Sometimes you need to pay over the top to get primo quality. (If only Arsene Wenger recognised this, I would not be so close to an actual breakdown – but that’s another column for a different magazine.)

for this. You know that bit at the start of Apocalypse Now when Willard, Martin Sheen’s character, says: “Every minute I stay in this room, I get weaker, and every minute Charlie squats in the bush, he gets stronger”? Well, you’re Willard and I’m Charlie. You’ve been sat there thinking, ‘I’ll just stick a pre-order down, and that’s my PS4 experience sorted.’ Dead wrong. While you’ve been getting soft, I’ve been getting prepared. First there was the TV. When PS4 was announced, I had a perfectly lovely 50” Pioneer PDP-5080XD plasma. I loved her so much that she even had a name: Betsy. But Betsy is gone now. She was six years old, which in TV terms essentially makes her Catherine Zeta-Jones – still fabulous-looking but, if we’re being honest with each other, past peak performance. Speaking specifically, her resolution was only 1,365x768, which meant she wouldn’t display 1080p full HD. Unacceptable work, Betsy. So now I have Amy. Her full name is TX-P55VT65. She’s bigger – obviously – at 55”, because people who

IDIOT LANTERN So, that’s visuals sorted. That leaves the sound. Amy’s built-in speakers, including a subwoofer, are clear, resonant, and powerful. Still not good enough. So I said goodbye to a kidney and hello to a brand-new Sonos Playbar and standalone sub. Coupled with some existing Sonos wireless speakers I had, we’re now rolling in full Dolby 5.1. Sure, the dog cowers under the coffee table trying to work out where the gunfire is coming from, but he’ll adjust. If dogs in warzones can, I really don’t see why a small French Bulldog living in the West Country shouldn’t. All that’s left is seating. My existing electric recliner is comfortable like being held in God’s own chubby hand, but I’ve got my eye on a restored Georgian leather wingback. Because nothing says ‘videogames of the future’ like sitting in the finest chair of the past. And no, I can’t afford to eat, but

WRITER TER BIO WRI

Tim Clark was once editor of this magazine before his crippling addiction to arguing about Arsenal Arse nal on the interne internett sa saw w him him ret retire ired d to to tthe he green pastures of middle management. He’s been obsessed with TVs since 18. The girls at uni called him ‘TV Tim’. It was a lonely time.

on the floor of the Mariana Trench. The motion handling is smooth like Robin Thicke after being dunked in a vat of melted Nutella. I can’t wait to play the new Killzone on her. I don’t even like Killzone all that much – but it’s going to look special on Amy. Okay, so she cost the same amount as a decent second-hand hatchback, and I probably could have saved half the cost if I’d bought

buy smaller TVs be sectioned, andshould she’s oh so beautiful. Let’s talk picture quality for a moment. The black levels are deep like waking up

that’s commitment. takes to win. Are youThat’s ready?what Canityou truly stand to see even a pixel less than PS4 is capable of? Can I borrow a fiver? No, really, I’m absolutely skint. If not for me, think of the dog.

OPINION

Leon Hurley

Phil Iwaniuk

DON’T LIKE THE VIDEO VI DEOGA GAMES MES YO YOU’R U’RE E CURRENTLY CURRENTL Y PLA PLAYING? YING? THEN MAKE YOUR OWN.

ROCKSTAR’S MARKETING STANCE FOR GTA V MIGHT HAVE HA VE BEEN FRUSTRA FRUSTRATING, TING, BUT BU T IT WAS A GOOD THING.

Sony’s big indie love means anyone can be a PlayStation developer now. Even you…

Call it arrogance or savvy PR, but Michael & co’s mystery means you’ll enjoy it more

ven me. I’m making

and Vita with the ravenous

a game right now. Thomas Was Alone’s Mike Bithell keeps retweeting my progress updates. And, to be clear here, I’ve never tried ‘real’ programming before (unless you count the “10 PRINT ‘Hello’, 20 GOTO 10” stuff I did on a Commodore 64 back in 1900, and anyway…). But for most of this year I’ve been watching YouTube tutorials, making notes, trying stuff out and gradually learning Game Maker. You might have heard of it. It’s the same program used to make Spelunky and Hotline Miami – both games that made the leap on to PlayStation. Using Game Maker’s actually a lot like a levelled-up version of LittleBigPlanet, only swapping out felt and comedy pistons for actual code. And it’s free initially, via a resource-limited version that’s perfect for learning the basics. Even the full program only set me back £60. Not interested in 2D? Fine, grab Unity: that’s a freebie, as well, and lets you make 3D stuff. Bithell’s using it for his new title, Volume. As Sony is currently

appetite of a starved animal, now is a very good time to start learning. Indie games are more mainstream and acceptable than ever – a few years ago the idea of one person making and selling a game was a bit of a freakish oddity. Now it’s a sales pitch and something that’s only going to take off further with PS4’s self-publishing and Sony’s desperation to pack Vita full of games. The internet made it possible for musicians to reach huge audiences and make a living without the need for big publishers. Sony’s indie program could do the same for bedroom coders.

pursuing indie games for PS4

something you’ve made?

CODE GREEN It’s taken me about eight months to get from ‘I have no idea what I’m doing’ to ‘showing off prototype gameplay’. In another eight months, who knows? The key thing is that it’s possible and achievable for anyone. At this moment in time, making games has overtaken playing them for me – and maybe one day you’ll see Shooter (er, the name needs work) on the PlayStation Store. Or perhaps

WRIT ER BIO WRITER

Leon Hurley spends most of his free time squinting at hundreds of lines of code trying to find the one ‘{‘ in the wrong place that’s ruining it for everyone. He hopes to have something others can play before the heat death of the universe.

espite the fact this is

more chance of busting open

PRESS PAUSE Wait, no – the opposite of that. It was frustrating for us in the games press, too: it’s our job to sniff out new info and secure early access with games, but since GTA V’s

the Kennedy assassination than landing a hands-on. Whatever the reasoning for that borderline nonexistent PR campaign, it conveyed almost mythical value in the product. Hell, our review disc was hand-deliveredby by a Rockstar employee. Loading the game up for the first time felt genuinely momentous, and gathered an office-wide crowd full of schoolkid enthusiasm. In the time of dev commentaries, E3 demos and long betas, the magical feeling of playing a boxed copy for the first time and not knowing exactly what’ll happen is a wondrous rarity. It wouldn’t have worked for GTA V if it hadn’t turned out to be easily one of the games of the generation – just as the same ‘top secret’ s ecret’ strat strategy egy would be suicide for all but a handful of the past seven years’ titles. If a publisher wants your pre-order bucks, it needs to inform you how its game plays, and there’s no sidestepping that. But if Half-Life 3 was announced tomorrow with an accompanying 14-minute gameplay video, don’t tell me you wouldn’t feel cheated out

announcement there was

of some of the magic.

an industry that lives and dies by its pre-orders, Grand Theft Auto V gave you almost nothing to go on in the months before its release, other than That Name. You might perceive it as arrogance. As if Rockstar had such confidence in its flagship franchise’s selling power, it felt it could simply throw the occasional screenshot into the wild like bread crusts for the pigeons and still sit pretty atop the pre-order charts. Which is exactly what happened, of course – it’s been wedged into the number one-spot all year, amassing over a million PS3 preorders in the US alone. And as we all know, gamers are a famously easy-going bunch – so absolutely no ill will was harboured toward Rockstar for being tight-lipped in the run up to release.

WRITE WR ITER R BI BIO O

Phil Iwaniuk has been picking through Dan Houser’s bins since 2012, and insists on donning a Dick Tracy jacket whenever a new GTA trailer lands. He’s known for his rendition of the ‘I’m not listening’ song whenever Gabe Newell appears.

031

1 DEFY DE FYING ING GRA GRAVIT VITY Y W

Defying Gravity Giving two fingers to Sir Isaac Newton Giving with PlayStation’s floaty frolics 1 GRAVITY 03 2

RUSH

4 LIMBO

As much much as we we lo love ve pict picture ures s of cats that resemble Z-list celebrities, none of them can touch the tabby in this Vita gem. Gravity Rush’s feline gives Kat (the game’s hero, not another kitty) the power to control gravity. Cue floating fun using the handheld’s gyroscope. 2 BIOSHOCK

INFINITE

Buck, buck, Bucking Bronco-aroo. Who needs a kids’ game about a rebellious horsey when you can control an emotionally conflicted dude with the power to fling men into the sky before bringing them down with an oh-so-satisfying oh-so-sati sfying crunch? 3 QUANTUM CONUNDRUM

HONOURABLE

Ah, the distin distinctl ctly y no non-h n-humb umble le Gravity Gun. Has the great videogame overlord in the sky ever blessed us with a finer weapon? Capable of turning Headcrab zombies into undead sushi, the physics-powered physics-p owered mutilator makes floating and firing buzz saws in the spooky Ravenholm a slicey delight. 6 DEAD

When you’re hanging with Professor Fitz Quadwrangle, the rules of the inverse-square inverse-squa re law on universal gravitation (ooooh!) can go do one. After After the the m madc adcap ap scientist gets trapped, it’s up to his nephew to brave the Reverse Gravity dimension and save him.

7 INVERSION

Giant spiders, natives who spit poison darts, and mind-controlling worms that steer their victims into pits: Limbo reallyhates hates children. Its small, silhouetted boy also has to contend with a factory full of switch puzzles that kibosh gravity. 5 HALF-LIFE

SPACE 2

Isaac Clarke is a man of many talents. He’s a space engineer, he can fillet a Necromorph like a Michelin– starred chef, and he’s able to punch physics square in the face. His second game contains several zero-grav puzzles involving floating mechanical parts. Hey, it can’t all be alien murderising.

Verti Vertical cal,, horiz horizont ontal al – real really ly,, what’s the difference? In Vangu Vanguard ard City City, black black is w whit hite, e, up is down and hamburgers eat people (probably). Due to pockets of zero gravity, Davis Russel spends more time walking up skyscrapers than he does on terra firma. Take that, physics. 8 STAR WARS: THE FORCE UNLEASHED

Yo You’r u’re e no nott the the boss boss of of me me,, gravitation. Especially when I’m a badass Sith capable of fiddling with physics through my magic Force fingers. While levitating Wookies around on Kashyyyk would make Chewie cry, yanking a Star Destroyer from the sky is a gravity-assaulting treat. 9 CALL OF DUTY: MODERN WARFARE 3

We’re going down! No, wait, we’re headed up. Aren’t the laws of the universe at 36,000ft a cad? Early in MW3’s campaign, terrorist mastermind Makarov hijacks the Russian prez’s plane, resulting in some levitating, stomach-churning stomach-c hurning firefights.

MENTIONS

Sonic

Singularity

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3

Show us a spiky mammal that claims to run through a loopthe-loop without breaking its neck and we’ll show you a liar.

The Grav Manipulation power enables you to pick up and throw objects, but feels like a bit of Half-Life 2 rip-off.

Men with a history of shattered ankles somehow catapulting 60ft for an ollie is quite the slap in the face for Gordon Gravity.

Did we miss your favourite physics? Got a brilliant In The Mood For idea? Show and tell at twitter.com/OPM_UK.

7 W

033

42 THE CREW We go hands-on with PS4’s biggest open-world racer, fresh from the minds behind Test Drive Unlimited and Driver: San Francisco.

035

CONTENTS WWE 2K14 36 | RIME 38 | SOUTH PARK: THE STICK OF TRUTH 40 | THE CREW 42 EVERYBODY’S GONE TO THE RAPTURE 43 | DRAGON AGE: INQUISITION 4 4 THE LATEST ON… 46

PREVIEW

NOV/ 2K/ FORMATPS3 PS3/ETA1 NOV /PUB2K /DEV DEVYUKE’S

WWE W WE 2K 2K1 14 Remember Slam Jam? Then this is your dream game

03 6

The Ultimate Warrior. Hulk Hogan. Razor Ramon. Ted DiBiase. Yokozuna. If your formative years were spent watching these underdressed beefcakes – all of whom feature in WWE 2K14 – swinging unclenched fists at one another, you will heart Take Two’s debut wrestling effort like you loved Miss Elizabeth’s reunion with Macho Man Randy Savage at WrestleMania VII. This is a game built upon the very notion of fan service – and the longer you’ve adored wrestling, the more enjoyment you’ll get from it.

2K goes as far as to say the mode couldn’t have happened without him. “That was make or break: if we can get Hogan, we can do the concept. If we can’t, we’ll have to try something else,” explains creative director Cory Ledesma. “Hulk Hogan was such a huge part of WWE in the early years of WrestleMania. We knew once we got past that hurdle, everything else was going to be alright.”

WALKIN WALK ING G TAL TALL L Progress requires victory in each match as whichever grappler won the original contest. However, an on-screen list shows additional objectives that, when complete, trigger specific cutscenes and unlock extra wrestlers, alternate outfits and other goodies. Playing as Shawn Michaels against Ric Flair in the latter’s 2008 retirement match, one such objective is to hit two super kicks on the Nature Boy. Once nailed, the second triggers the famous (in wrestling terms!) close-up where Michaels leans on the turnbuckles

THE GAMEPLAN Things are more than alright on the gameplay front, with last year’s excellent engine (ignore the haters – it underpinned the best grap outing in Yuke’s history) improved by quicker strikes and fewer chain reversals (countering an opponent’s punch or hold results in an immediate offensive move). New OMG moments, like a ring-apron DDT, are welcome too. If you hated WWE 13 then this is unlikely to win you over – but you’re more wrong than CM Punk’s new Wolverine sideburns anyway. The only letdown is commentary. Jim Ross Ross and Jer Jerry ry La Lawle wlerr ar aree on announcing duty for the ’Mania mode, but there are still too many recycled lines from years past. Ledesma agrees this is an area that needs to be upgraded if the series is to truly replicate what you see on telly in the early hours of Tuesday morning: “We have a way to go on audio, and improvements we can make to match what you hear on WWE television. The commentators do such a good job in real real li life. fe. W Wee wan wantt to see if w wee can capture those performances and do them in a way that sounds like

and whispers, “I’m sorry, I love you” at Flair – before the camera cuts back to the full ring, enabling us to hit a third Sweet Chin Music for the three-count. The mode is shaping up excellently, and bolstered by Hogan’s presence in both ’80s and Hollywood flavour, despite him currently fronting rival fed TNA.

what you hear in a match.” Comms woe aside, this is shaping up to be a slobberknocker – just be prepared to have DiBiase’s theme stuck in your head after every single play. ‘Money, money, money, money, money…’

The inclusion of so many past heroes and heels – The Rock, Steve Austin, Ric Flair, Bret ‘Hitman’ Hart and Shawn Michaels are also present with authentic looks, entrances and movesets – is a direct result of 30 Years Of WrestleMania mode. It works like Attitude Era did in THQpublished predecessor WWE 13: the scene for each of the 45 matches is set with a FACTRICK WWE-created video, before you get the 1. HD UNREADY chance to replay it in full. Every Mania Best bit of the Mania mode: a grainy screen filter that right up to XXIX is represented (the 30th makes ‘80s matches look happens in New Orleans next March), with genuinely old. Very cool. accurately-recreated arenas and logos. And 2. PINNED DOWN in a brilliant touch, ring announcer Harold Two-counts are back after Finkel even has three different character Yuke’s Yuke’s fixed fixed a disas disastro trous us bug, which made them models for complete authenticity. super-scarce in WWE 13. 3. HAIL CESARO

Current stars confirmed include Dolph Ziggler, John Cena, Antonio Cesaro, Ryback and Rey Mysterio.

PREVIEW

Every WrestleMania is represented in-game – but if you prefer your stars current, book Rey Mysterio and Dolph Ziggler in a Universe mode spotfest instead.

“MICHAELS LEANS ON THE BUCKLES A AN N D W H I S P E R S , ‘ I ’ M SORRY, I LOVE YOU.’” 037

John Cena sme smelt lt what what John Cena The Rock was cooking at ‘Mania ‘Ma nia XXV XXVIII: III: def defeat eat for the jor jortsts-wear wearing ing rap rapper per.

Above veRazor Ramon defeated Shawn Michaels for Abo

both real and fake Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania X – now you can do the same.

PREVIEW

“IT REFERS TO A ON COLERIDGE POEM THE RELATIONSHIP OF MAN AND NATURE.” FORMATPS4/ETA2014 DEVTEQUILA WORKS PU PUB BSONY/DEV

RIME Game from Spain is anything but plain With its upcoming indie slate, the headswapping Puppeteer (see p.90), and now Rime, no one could accuse Sony of playing it safe. This is an open-world adventure from Madrid-based Tequila Works full of Ico-esque towers with spiral staircases, wheat fields shimmering in the sun and the craggy cliff faces of a mysterious island. Gameplay specifics are scarce, but with a first showing as enigmatic as this, Sony could reveal it’s actually a washingdishes-while-queueing-for-an-Adrian-Chileshosted-polystyren hosted-polys tyrene-lecture-simulator e-lecture-simulator and we’d we’d only be a bitdisheartened.

03 8

And the name? Either it’s an extreme measure to bag a unique Google search term, or a reference to the Rime Of The Ancient Mariner – a Coleridge poem about man’s relationship with nature, where ‘Rime’ is an archaic version of ‘rhyme’. Or both. Maybe that poem tells us something about the shadows that surround our hero as he sits by the fireside. Is he cursed by nature? Has he been shipwrecked? Tequila Works’ previous game Deadlight worked the survival horror angle hard within a 2D sidescroller format, so don’t expect Rime to be all happy-clappy island exploration. It’ll certainly be interesting to chart its voyage into open-world territory from the constraints of 2D zombieshooting. Just no one mention albatrosses, okay? okay?

One of the key themes seems to be an immense sense of isolation. That and craggy rocks.

Above Abo veLooks like the ideal spot for a day at the beach, but we

suspect things are more sinister than a paddle and a picnic.

PREVIEW

Gameplay is a mix of point-and-click-style exploration and turnbased RPG combat.

“A BRIGHT PINK DILDO IS SIR

on the box judged only by ju their covers

DOUCHEBAG’S FIRST WEAPON.”

PUBUBISOFT/DEV DEVOBSIDIAN ENTERTAINMENT FORMATPS3/ETAWINTER/PUB

BATMAN: ARKHAM ARKH AM ORIG ORIGIN INS S all-new new sta starin ring g cont contest est An allsimulator: fix your gaze and use special attacks such as throwing sand to force yourr oppo you opponen nentt to to blin blink. k. The Dark Knight is a final boss so tough you can’t even find his eyes. FORMATPS3 ET ETA A25 OCT

SOUTH PARK: THE STICK OF TRUTH 04 0

Old-school fusion set to offend all the family If you’re worried that the tone of this turn-based RPG isn’t going to sit comfortably with the… non-PC nature of the long-running TV show, then here are a couple of facts for you. Your character’s name is Sir Douchebag. The first weapon we see him using during our latest demo is a bright pink dildo. And we’re fairly certain that during the sizzle reel at the end of proceedings we see Stan’s

begin, you’re in turn-based combat territory, choosing attacks and skills from radial menus. The first fight we see involves our boy and Butters taking on three enemies, supported by the Bard dispensing buffs from the background. Abilities involve things such as throwing a hammer into opposition

dad being, ahem, ‘invaded’ by a piece of machinery. We’re sure that Matt Parker and Trey Stone would approve. In fact, we know they do – because the whole of The Stick Of Truth is written by the dynamic comedy duo. And the plot they’ve penned involves two warring factions: the Elves, led by Stan and Kyle, and the Wizard and his crew, fronted by Gandalf-wannabe Cartman. You, Mr Bag, are the new kid on the block and have fallen into the ranks of the second of these groups.

faces, dressing likeofacourse, bull forfarting. a head-on chargeup and, Always with the farting. Each has an interactive element to it, for instance twirling the analogue stick in order to charge your hammer throw, and timing button-presses to enact blocks. In gameplay terms this is a familiar mix of whittling away hit points, upgrading characters and hunting down items. Whether it appeals or not depends on the allure of that authentic South Park overlay. So, here’s a foolproof test: pull my finger…

DROLL PLAY What this means in the demo we see is a perilous journe jou rney y deep in into to th the e Inn Of Of The Gi Giggl ggling ing Do Donk nkey ey with your magical leader, searching for the legendary Bard who may tell of the location of the titular wand. Although in actual fact you’re wandering into a front room that appears to be full of Skyrim cosplayers, and then popping down into the basement. When not in combat, the game plays out like an old-school point-and-click. Not that you’re actually pointing-and-clicking, but you explore isolated environments looking for clues or objects that might help you in your quest. Then, once a battle does

DESTINY Remember those ‘put the wood wooden en blo blocks cks in the correct slots’ games you had as a kid? Well this is the ‘pu ‘putt the the pla planet nets s in the correct gaping ozone-layer holes’ version of that aimed at grown-ups. FORMATPS4 ET ETA A2014

MADDEN NFL 25 Finally, market-leading

Above Abo ve The game’s cast is familiar, even if

Kenny looks prettier than ever as a Princess.

antiperspirants are put the ultimat ult imate e test. test. Place Pla ce ato succession of high-profile sports stars under harsh floodli floo dlight ghts s to to see see if if Gille Gillette tte can manage to beat Lynx to the cro crown. wn. FORMATPS4 ET ETA AWINTER

PREVIEW

It takes 90 minutes to drive from East Coast to West, Wes t, and all the maj major or US cities are represented.

“YOU CAN SIMPLY CAVORT CAREFREE THROUGH MIDWEST SUNFLOWER FIELDS.”

04 2

FORMATPS4/ETA ETASPRING/PU PUB BUBISOFT DE DEV VIVORY TOWER/UBISOFT REFLECTIONS

THE CREW Friends to the fore in free-roam racer Sadly for loners, human company is a prerequisite to enjoying The Crew, a sprawling next-gen social driving experience that takes place across the entire expansehave of the grand old USA. Sure, you could feasibly fun on your own dominating point-to-point sprints down Santa Monica Boulevard, trying the ‘don’t prang another car’ skill test in Detroit (good luck), or simply cavorting carefree through swaying Midwestern sunflower fields, but the real fun can only be found with friends.

Above veWith With a pro promis mised ed 500+ skill skill tests tests and 200 200+ + race races, s, T The he Cre Crew w is qui quite te the hef hefty ty game. game. Abo

Seamless drop-in co-op allows you to search for mates on the map, join them instantly, and then embark on hundreds of activities. For those that score a podium finish in the Racing Line challenge (you and a partner earn points by sticking to a thick neon-blue strip), Raid (find a route to the destination via experimental shortcuts), and Cop Outrun (survive as long as possible against a fleet of police cars and choppers), the rewards are XP, cash and car parts. If your friends list is a barren wasteland, don’t

Three reasons why… The Crew’s car customisation will rock

Each car contains 19 Unlockable perks will It’s satisfying. Bonnets elements to customise. also impact various snap open, tyres fly Vehicle Veh icles s also also hav have e portions of your vehicle off, and entire chassis different specs: a ride built – increasing brake power by lift up. Imagine Michael Bay for asp asphalt halt wil willl be be dras drastic tically ally a percentage point or two, turned mec turned mechan hanic ic and you you’re ’re different to one built for dirt. for exa example mple.. some way there.

fret: you could fill it easily by recruiting strangers into your gang, and then either taking on the world or developing some interpersonal rivalries. So while this immensely ambitious arcade racer is perfectly serviceable alone, you’ll need company to wring the most from it. It’s called The Crew for a reason…

PREVIEW

Details are scarce, but the gam game e cent centres res on six characters, and you’ll be trying try ing to inf influe luence nce the events around you.

ETA A2014/PUBSONY/DEVTHE CHINESE ROOM FORMATPS4/ET

“THE TEAM’S KEEN TO EXPERIMENT WITH A SECRET COMPONENT MAPPED TO q.”

EVERYBODY’S GONE TO THE RAPTURE 98, 99, 100… ready or not, here here I – oh A refreshing take on the apocalypse,

Unlike its predecessor’s largely linear

this. There’s a zombie in sight – developer Thenot Chinese Room leaves that to the likes of Dying Light, Ray’s The Dead, The Walking Dead Season Two and anyone else with an interest in the end of days and a computer science degree. Everybody’s Gone To The Rapture’s dark future looks positively cheery by comparison: a CryEngine 3-powered, first-person narrative adventure that puts you in the sweaty size nines of a scientist in the final hours before all life on Earth goes bye-bye.

design an open world to explore at yourthis will,isand its haunting beauty surpasses even the frankly ridiculous visuals Dear Esther managed to drum out of the ancient source engine. Thanks again, Crytek. The team’s also keen to experiment with the formula by adding a new, top-secret component we have no idea about but firmly believe will be – whisper it – mapped to q.

If you played the Brighton-based studio’s previous game Dear Esther on PC, you’ll know what to expect. Minimal interaction, zero mechanics, lustrous production values and more voiceover than a Herzog documentary. The game challenged the nature of storytelling in the medium, placing it above all else on the shores of a bleak island. It guided you from

DON’T SHOOT

place to place with a light source here, a building there, each location prompting another slice of narrative delivered by a man who could make cereal ingredients sound unbearably heartbreaking. Except you won’t know what to expect, because The Chinese Room knows what you’re expecting.

Jonathan Ed Jonathan Edwa ward rdss star started ted on th that at lot) lot),, but if you like your games challenging, brooding and poured slowly so you can savour each moment, this surprise PS4 exclusive might just be your favourite next-gen proposition.

The Chinese Room’s games aren’t for everyone. For some its firstperson narrative design will feel like playing an on-rails shooter that’s been sabotaged by anti-gun protesters (and anti-jump protesters. Don’t get Above Whatt iiff the the end end of the AboveWha world took place world place in a rrura urall English village? Well, it’d be one seriously picturesque apocalypse, that’s for sure.

043

PREVIEW

Inquisition is made up of many self-enclosed areas, but even the ‘medium’sized of these is bigger than every area in Dragon Age II put together.

“SPY A GROUP OF AR A RCHERS ON A RICKETY

04 4

BEAM AND YOU CAN TAKE THEM DOWN IN ONE BY TARGETING THE STRUCTURE.”

Apparentl Appare ntly y ther there e are more than three dungeons on offer this time out out.. Rejo Rejoice ice!!

FORMATPS4/PS3/ETAAUTUMN 2014 DEVBIOWARE PUBEA/DEV

DRAGON AGE: INQUISITION Bioware’s generation-straddling sequel gets a touch of Frost(bite) Hoping to recapture the glory of 2009’s (admittedly divisive) Origins and erase memories of a rushed sequel, Bioware is enlisting the help of DICE’s differencemaker: the much-trumpeted Frostbite 3 engine that powers Battlefield 4’s supermodel looks. “It’s an opportunity with the generation change, as well as the new engine, to revitalise things,” says producer Cameron Lee. “We’ve rebuilt everything from the ground up.” It’s a fresh start for players, too. With dreary hero Hawke gone, you’re able to customise your own fully-voiced avatar and embark on a quest that sees you sniff out the solution to a

Conquer a keep and you can mak make e it eit either her a political, military or espionage stronghold.

Above Abo veUsing web app Dragon Age Keep, you can shape the world as you wish.

series of Fade rifts spilling demons into Thedas.3 has As well as increasing visual fidelity, Frostbite important applications behind the scenes. Loading has been drastically chopped, and you can now enter caves and mines seamlessly (the overworld is still split into self-enclosed environments Mass Effect-style, mind), and combat comes alive through environmental destruction. “We want players to look at a battle space and think, ‘What opportunities do I have to destroy something?’” says Lee. Spy a group of archers on a rickety beam, for instance, and you can take them down in one fell swoop by targeting the structure. Capable of bigger levels, better looks and more combat complexity, Frostbite might just hold the key to getting Dragon Age back on track.

Abo Above veHawke’s been given the elbow for a customisable player-created hero.

DI GI TAL EDITION d

045

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PREVIEW

PREVIEW ROUND-UP Hot gossip gossip from around the gaming globe, shepherded into an assortment of bite-sized chunks. This month we’ve got Telltale’s latest, the return of music games, Final Fantasy Fantasy (twice!) and, oh, so much more…

04 6

THE WOLF ETA FORMAT AMO AM ONPS3 G /UET SAAUTUMN PUBTELLTALE GAMES DEVTELLTALE GAMES

The name Telltale Games used to be synonymous with gems such as Jurassic Park: The Game and Puzzle Ag Agen entt 2. 2. In that that er era, a, ne news ws that the studio was working on a cel-shaded episodic adventure based on Bill Willingham’s Fables comic books would have been greeted with the same enthusiasm as a new Go Compare ad featuring Nickelback. The Walking Dead changed all that. An Anyo yone ne wi with th a p pas assi sing ng knowledge of how enthralling last year’s episodic hit was will be jone jonesi sing ng for for thi this s ffai airy ryta tale le-blending adventure starring Bigby Wolf.

YAIB YAI BA: NINJA GAIDEN Z ETA ASPRING FORMATPS3/ ET 2014/PUBTECMO KOEI DEVSPARK UNLIMITED/ COMCEPT/TEAM NINJA

CASTLEVANIA: LORDS OF SHADOW 2 FORMATPS3/ET ETA A28 FEB / PUBKONAMI DEVMERCURYSTEAM ENTERTAINMENT

It’s been many moons coming, but a release date for Castlevania: Lords Of Shadow 2 was finally announced by Konami at Gamescom. Set partially in modern times, Lords Of Shadow 2 is an expansive fang-filled world, placing you in the dusty old shoes of Dracula, a real A-lister of the vampiric dark lord circle. You must reacquire the powers you’ve been stripped of, discover the secrets of your past and save yourself from the clutches of Satan himself.

BANDFUSE: ROCK LEGENDS FORMATPS3/ ET ETA A19 NOV PUB PUBMASTIFF/DEVREALTA ENTERTAINMENT GROUP

ADVEN ADVE NTU TUR RE TIME: EXPLORE THE DUNGEON BECAUSE I DON’T KNOW!

Been able to contain your excitement for this one? It is, after all, a ninja-zombie actioner from studios with less-than-stellar less-than-st ellar track records, carrying the name of a franchise not enjoying the finest form after Ninja Gaiden 3. However Keiji ‘Mega Man/Resident Evil/ Dead Rising’ Inafune is involved. The zombs come in different breeds, but they’re dealt with in the same tongue-in-cheek tongue-in-che ek manner

Like Keith Richards on ketamine, Rock Legends might be a bit late to the music game party – like, six years late – but it looks in fine fettle to fulfil the promise Rocksmith made last year and actually teach you how to play guitar or bass. By letting you plug a real instrument into your PS3 and offering a mix of Guitar Hero rhythm-action gaming and real tablature, the idea is to build your muscle memory and teach

AT: AT:ET ETDB DBID IDK K ((!! !!)) is an isometric dungeon-crawler with your favourite pals from Pendleton Ward’s Cartoon Network series. Ward was involved and events will crop up in TV shows. What events, you ask, because you’re so into Ad Adve vent ntur ure e Tim Time e it cree creeps ps us out? You must save the Candy Kingdom by delving

as in Dead Rising 2. Don’t expect Ryu Hayabusa’s po-faced difficulty levels. Doexpect a supporting adversarial role from the ninja’s ninja.

you the tricks of the trade. The on-screen action’s looking more intuitive than Ubi’s 2012 effort, and with endorsement from Slash it’s looking good for Realta.

into the Secret Royal Dungeon. Don’t expect Wayforward’s Wayforwa rd’s abysmal output to suddenly spike, but hopefully some mirth will shine through.

FORMATPS3/ ETA ETA12 NOV PUB PUBD3 PUBLISHER/DEV WAYFORWARD WAYFORW ARD TECHNOLOGI TECHNOLOGIES ES

FINAL FANTASY

Chug down a +5 disappointment potion, because Spira’s modern makeover just slipped to 2014. Still, you’ve waited 12 years to return to one of the best RPGs in PlayStation history – what’s another couple of months? No explanation has been offered, but Square isn’t half-assing this. The Japanese giant’s even updating the music. But before you morph into An Angr gry y Squ Squar are eE Eni nix x For Forum um Person, rather than new music, the instrumentation’s been made to sound less like a Casio keyboard’s demo mode.

DESTINY

PREVIEW

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BATMAN

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THE NEW ORDER

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FORMATPS3, PS4/ETA2014 PU PUB BACTIVISION/DEV DEVBUNGIE

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The sci-fi universe in which Bungie’s building its definitely-notan-MMO-despite-displaying-allthe-characteristics-of-one shooter is as influenced by traditional fantasy as the usual Star Wars shtick, and nowhere is that more evident than in its player classes. The Titan is your vanilla warrior, all health points and max damage, whereas the Hunter relies on stealthier tactics – the Barbarian and Rogue of traditional RPGs. The Warlock harnesses powers of the Traveller (the dude who saved humanity and left the floating orb above Earth), creating a Mage-like play style. Old warriors in new armour, those Guardians. Your foes are very ‘mythic sci-fi’ too, populating the world with zombies, robots, strange living cube formations and Halo-esque grunts.

If there’s a more poorly run penitentiary system outside of Gotham, we don’t want to know about it. Seriously, anotherinmate uprising? That’s the setup for Ar Arma matu ture re’s ’s Vi Vita ta ou outi ting ng,, set set after the events of Arkham Origins on PS3 – a sequel to the prequel, if you will. The Man Of Bats is sent in to quell a rebellion in Gotham’s Blackgate prison. There’s a surprisingly open-ended structure that lets you choose the order of your boss fights, and you can even ignore them – which affects the game’s ending.

SOFTWORKS DEV DEVMACHINEGAMES

Watch your footing, BJ – oh, he’s slipped. Right off that red-barrel filled platform and into 2014. You’ll have to wait until next year for this tongue-in-cheek Nazi massacre, which feels like a hybrid of Duke Nukem Forever and Inglourious Basterds. BJ’s arsenal includes energy weapons from Nazi labs and a laser cutter that carves freeform shapes – cue volumes of genitals-based graffiti gracing the walls of just about everywhere. On PS4, the fine detail of your handiwork will be rendered as never before.

LIGHTNING RETURNS: FINAL FANTASY XIII FORMATPS3/ETA14 FEB PU PUB BSQUARE ENIX/DEV DEVSQUARE ENIX

RIDGE RACER DRIFTOPIA

Square’s already

FORMATPS3/ ETAAUTUMN DEV PU PUB BNAMCO BANDAI/DEV BUGBEAR ENTERTAINMENT

Namco went F2P with Tekken Revolution and it’s steering Ridge Racer down the same route with Driftopia, which looks as much about microtransactions microtransact ions as traction. It’ll offer shorter, sharper shots of tail-sliding racing and monetise things like repair kits, booster packs, vehicle packs and XP boosts. So a prang in the game costs real-world quids – now there’sa recipe for no-holds-barred, adrenaline-pumping racing. adrenaline-pumping We’ll reserve judgement on the payment model, especially as stablemate Tekken Revolution has a fair system. Still, repair kits?

DARK SOULS II FORMATPS3/ETA14 MAR/ PUBNAMCO BANDAI DEVFROM SOFTWARE DEV

When you hear talk of bravery bravery,, beta testers don’t get the mention they deserve. It’s all, “Fire-fighters this, the guy who landed his plane on the Hudson River that”. What of the intrepid ones who endure unfinished, possibly buggy games for the greater good? Saints, the lot of them. And An d be beta ta te test ster ers s wi willllin ing g to ta take ke on th the e se sequ quel el to Dark Souls, a game more difficult than Higgs Boson Simulator 2013? Unfathomably brave. You’ll get your chance to enter the closed beta test from 12 October via the DSII Facebook page, you heroes, you.

prepping your nostalgia fix with Final Fantasy X/XX/X-2 2 HD HD,, bu butt the there re’s ’s yet more golden oldie material to come from Lightning Returns in the form of a FFVII Cloud Strife outfit. It’s part of the game’s pre-order bonus pack, which also includes a limited edition steelbook, and it adds Cloud’s victory poses and fanfare in addition to his trademark gear. Unspecified ‘abilities’ are also included, which means you might get to unleash Omnislash on the beasties of the Fabula Nova Crystallis universe. Not that such antics will raise much of an eyebrow in a dying world in which the 500-year-old inhabitants stopped reproducing centuries ago. They’ll need more than a nod to a 16-year-old RPG to save them.

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EXCLUSIVE AC A CC ESSand features you News, previews won’t find anywhere else, covering the biggest games on PlayStation.

OPINION AND

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INSIGHT editorial Expert writers and

KNOWLEDGE PS4, Unrivalled access to all things

independence guarantee forthright views on the issues that matter.

bringing you the future of console gaming before anyone else.

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PRE-ORDERS GUIDE .

W I N TI S ER C OM Our pre-orders guide charts the ten games most likely to keep you toasty throughout Xmas

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GAMES MONTREAL BEST PRICE (AMAZON.CO.U CO.UK) K) £37 AMAZON. SPECIAL EDITIONYES (AMAZON EXCLUSIVE: STATUE, ARTBOOK, EXTRA CHARACTER SKIN, EXTRA CHALLENGE PACK, 3D CASE) PRE-ORDER DLCYES (PLAY AS DEATHSTROKE, TWO MAPS, TWO SKINS)

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GRAN TURISMO 6 Flooring it on PS3’s final straight

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“I’ve always been a GT fan, so I have this on order despite the fact it’s out a week after PS4. YamauchiSan and his team really seem to be extracting an incredible amount from the PS3 hardware. I’m looking forward to seeing how GT6 on PS3 compares to NFS: Rivals and Driveclub on PS4, in both looks and experience. I have a feeling it might be closer than people think!” LEE GROOM

BRISTOL

INFO FORMATPS3 ETA6 DEC PUBSONY DEVPOLYPHONY DIGITAL BEST BEST PRICE £38.99 (ZAVVI.COM) (ZAVVI.COM) SPECIAL EDITION YES (GAME (GAME EXCLUS EXCLUSIVE: IVE: STEELBOOK CASE, 1M IN-GAME CREDITS, EXTRA CARS AND CUSTOMISATION OPTIONS, GUIDE) PRE-ORDER DLC

t feels almost as if GT’s sixth instalment caught up with Gran Turismo 5 on a B-road on the approach to 2010, but just couldn’t find a place to overtake it. How else can one explain the unexpectedly imminent release of a game following such a famously tardy one? Now that it has a firm 6 December release date on PS3, and Polyphony Digital boss Kaz Yamauchi cleared up initial murkiness regarding a PS4 version by suggesting at Gamescom that GT6 on next-gen may evolve into GT7 and is “some way off”, we can see the game for what it really is. Not a clever smokescreen deflecting attention away from the PS4 edition, but instead an honest-to-

There’ll be a livery editor of some description, although Yamauchi’s downplaying its functionality to editing “beyond just colours”. Its next best candidate for innovation is Vision Gran Turismo, a monthly DLC drop of one or two concept cars from various manufacturers that’ll keep the roster fresh and, well, weird. The previous game’s updates positively transformed the original boxed version, and you should be expecting a similarly evolving package for PS3’s second helping of Gran Turismo. Day/night transitions are being interwoven into Spa Francorchamps, Daytona and an updated Apricot Hill, so you can expect endurance races aplenty round the storied Belgian

God evolution of Gran that seeks to make the Turismo biggest 5 driving game in existence go one bigger. The handling model is fundamentally different. But you know that – you’ve played the demo. Polyphony asserts that its new course maker will be substantially different to GT5’s, too, offering 100 square km of space as your asphalt canvas.

hills, endless banked leftsand at the Florida NASCAR Mecca long excursions to the technical corners of GT’s premier fantasy track (you heard us, Cape Ring sadists). As for the 1,200-strong car list, Polyphony still hasn’t managed to include allthe cars in the world. But God bless it, it’s trying darn hard. So if there’s a car you never bought, a championship you never beat, or – heaven forbid – a paint sample you never unlocked in GT5, it’s time to tick them off your bucket list. Gran Turismo 6 is bigger and better in every metric, and although a more traditional

his is not the Bruce you love and criminals cack their evil Y-fronts over. As his loyal butler Alfred painfully spouts in a recent trailer, “You’re not some hardened vigilante! You’re a young man with a trust fund and too much anger.” Boyish, brutal bru tal and and – crucia crucially lly – perhaps better: against all odds the untested WB Games Montreal is creating a dark Gotham journey that

wait looks likely before we see a staggering next-gen thoroughbred, the PS3 version is a no-brainer on the pre-order list of any selfrespecting petrolhead.

could capture the cowl from Arkham City to become PS3’s most heroic adventure. Regardless of whether this fresh-faced Bats can topple Rocksteady’s masterful work,

“THE HANDLING MODEL IS FUNDAMENTALLY DIFFERENT.”

B A T U E T T E g

USUALLY, CALLING ANYTHING THAT COSTS 80 QUID A BARGAIN WOULD HAVE YOU INSTANTLY DISPATCHED TO ARKHAM ARKH AM ASYL ASYLUM. UM. NOT SO SO AMAZON’ AMA ZON’S S ORIGIN ORIGINS S SET, SET, THE HIGHLIGHT OF WHICH IS A 30CM FIGURINE THAT DEPICTS BATS DANGLING JOKER FROM A ROOFTOP. WHO’S LAUGHING NOW, EH?

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Dark is the Knight for all the Dark Knight is certainly in for a bracing Crimbo. Not only is his game one of the most anticipated titles of the festive period, but Wayne also has to contend with eight assassins who are all out to whack him – and on Christmas Eve, no less. The latest batch of screens show the tortured hero taking on Mad Hatter and Firefly. The latter is a pyromaniac who uses a winged jetpack to bring a fiery hurtin’ from above. Anyone else reminded of Metal Gear Solid

Arkham Asylum featured a small likeness of the Batcave, Origins treats you to the blackened, full-fat original. Whether you want to pore over evidence, switch between bonus costumes or access those fiendishly addictive challenge maps, the iconic lair acts as a handy hub away from your crim-capturing activities in downtown Gotham.

3’s demented, extra-burny astronaut, The Fury? The Caped Crusader’s reassuringly dank home-awayfrom-million-bucks-home also makes its series debut. While

pre-order Bruce’s bonanza of homicidal clowns and innovative three-on-three multiplayer matches. Those who put their money down early are rewarded with a code for early access to

STROKE OF LUCK There’s also plenty of incentive to

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“I’ve already pre-ordered the Collector’s Edition of Batman: Arkham Origins. Every game in the series has been accompanied by a really nice Collector’s Edition, filled with genuinely unique extras – rather than the rubbish other games throw into their versions. I’m also really looking forward to getting back to the Arkhamverse, and seeing how it deals with the fact that this is a prequel.” RHYS JONES

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Deathstroke DLC (Batman’s obsessed, dual-pistol-wielding nemesis). Need a further excuse to drop those pre-emptive readies? Look no further than the soughtafter Collector’s Edition. If said version’s added Knightfall pack, extra skins and 80-page art book seems a little vanilla, just wait until you clap corneas on a very special statue. A limited-edition figurine featuring Batman throttling Joker, it’s a beautiful collectible. (See above.) Thankfully, with incredibly intense combat and the most exciting Rogues Gallery yet, the actual game is shaping up to be every bit as striking – although mercifully slightly less strange.

Premium-soaring paint Premium-soaring scratches are the extent of Driveclub’s damage model. Ouchie. P A C K

R A C E R

DRIVECLUB PS4’s horsepower leaves MotorStorm in the dust

ext-gen racing starts Think about that: an here. entire genre, jump-started by one intrepid studio and its almost unnerving love for exotic cars. Not that Evolution’s any stranger to such pressure. The Cheshirebased studio’s PS3 launch title, MotorStorm, signalled the first powerslides and barrel rolls of this generation, setting an impressive graphical benchmark along the way with giant draw distances, impressive motion blur (if a tad heavy-handed for modern tastes) and detailed damage modelling. MotorStorm did the trick, so naturally Sony has put Evolution on point again to deliver the goods as it hurtles towards the conveniently placed ramp that’ll propel it on to next-gen Tarmac. Driveclub’s ignored some GPS instructions during development

INFO

FORMATPS4 ET ETA A29 NOV PUBSONY

DEVEVOLUTION STUDIOS £47.85 BEST PRICE£47.85

(GAMESEEK.CO.UK) GAMESEEK.CO.UK)

SPECIAL EDITIONNO PRE-ORDER DLCNO

and endedsome up indistance arcade racer territory, from the meticulous, seat materialobsessing sim destination we expected from its reveal back in February. Yes, the brake lights and cockpit surfaces are still accurate down to the last LED and carbon fibre trim (empty Haribo packets and miscellaneous receipts in the footwell will be available as post-release DLC, presumably), but insofar as recreating the experience of owning a supercar, Driveclub gives you cars that handle the way you want them to handle – rather than the way they actually do.

I’M FREE! Its pick-up-and-play appeal is especially important considering it’s available for exactly £0.00 for all PS Plus subscribers on PS4, which is everybody who wants to play their games online. The gratis

PRE-ORDERS GUIDE .

Above Abo veHugely detailed trackside

scenery sprawls on for miles and miles.

Not pictured: a very nervous dry-stone waller who just fini finished shed the Kinloch estate by hand.

edition includes most cars and tracks, and trophy hoarders will be delighted to know they can still nab the platinum. It’s akin to the increasingly prevalent standard and premium edition model except, you know, the standard edition’s free. Now there’s a business model weHandling can get behind. feels closer to Need For Speed than Gran Turismo, then, as Driveclub aims for instant accessibility among a huge user base, but there’s been no such about-turn when it comes to its social features. But again, we’re going to have to namecheck NFS, because Autolog is the Alpha and Omega of connected racing and forms Driveclub’s chief adversary out in the field. As it happens Evolution owes a lot to Criterion and its mid-race and asynchronous challenges – throughout the duration of each race you’re coaxed into microgames such as scoring points in drift challenges, nailing clean sections and maintaining high speed. They offer a chance to earn more ‘fame’ during the race than you would for simply crossing the finish line in P1. That fame is both

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“My dream racer – a blend of sim and arcade with the prettiest graphics going. I love the look of the dynamic night/day and cloud systems, plus it’ll have great online capabilities. And the best part is that Evolution is going to keep adding stuff even after the game is released. Add all that up and you have the most awesome racing game on PlayStation 4.” AMBROZ REMSK REMSKAR

VIA FACEBO FACEBOOK OK

your personal XP and fuel for your club’s reputation. If Driveclub has a USP beyond Matt Southern rubbing his knees at exhaust pipes, it’s the idea of persistent clans pooling their fame together for the greater good, resplendent in their matching liveries.

Geographically they’re far from chalk and cheese, but they assert their individual personalities nonetheless. Kinloch’s roads are open and peppered with highspeed corners, a far cry from the mountain hairpins and claustrophobic trackside vegetation

DROP OFF There’s no telling what level of stop, drop and gawp the final build’s visual fidelity will summon, but the alpha gameplay, which

of You Oliver’s Bay. don’t need to tease the McLarens and Paganis around either circuit with the numbhanded diligence required of a Gran Turismo hot lap. But that’s

“THE STANDARD EDITION IS FREE. NOW THERE’SA BUSINESS MODEL WE CAN GET BEHIND.” Evolution estimates to be around 35% complete (best stock up on the Pro Plus, boys), already shows encouraging signs. We’ve seen two tracks so far: Oliver’s Landing, a waterside highway sprint along Highway 99 in northern British Columbia surrounded by lush Canadian woodland, and the castles, dry-stone walls and rolling fields of Kinloch, Scotland.

not to say the cars don’t exhibit unique characteristics or try to squirm away on corner exits. Driveclub’s free availability to Plus subscribers will give it an instant and sizeable online community. With a substantial handling model that makes the DualShock 4 purr in appreciation and the prettiest wheels on PS4, it’s already motoring along.

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FORMATPS4

ALSO ONPS3 ETA29 NOV

PUBACTIVISION

DEV INFINITY WARD BEST PRICE£47.85

(GAMESEEK.CO.UK)

SPECIAL EDITIONYES

(AMAZON EXCLUSIVE: COLLECTIBLES, BONUS MAP,STEELBOOK, PARACORD STRAP, SOUNDTRACK) PRE-ORDER DLCYES (GAME EXCLUSIVE: CAMO)

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CALL OF DUTY G H O S T S 05 6

Soldiers are more agile; able to vault over waisthigh cover without breaking pace.

Not relying on phantoms of past glories ccording to executive producer Mark Rubin, Ghosts marks the series’ biggest multiplayer overhaul since 2007’s Modern Warfare. That’s a lofty claim indeed: COD4, remember, was the iteration that introduced killstreaks and perks – changes

their replacement – these are placed on the floor like turrets, and because they’re so easily destroyed you’ve got to think before deploying them, searching out secluded spots or areas that see less footfall, so that you can enjoy their benefits for longer. What might seem a minor

that shaped entire You won’t an find such genre. sweeping refinements in Ghosts, but we can still see what Rubin was hinting at.

change ends up having a drastic effect on match flow. Instead of online battles being boom-andbust affairs as teams frantically

“I still have some faith in Call Of Duty, so I pre-ordered Ghosts on PS4 (and of course had to do the same with GTA V on PS3 – becau because se if I didn’t, dn’t, I’d be a idiot). I’m excited for Ghosts, as it looks like Infinity Ward has finally accepted that COD is an arcade shooter, and that’s reflected in the new game modes it’s adding, such as Blitz. This looks to be a whole load of mindless fun.” JACK FAIRBANK

LONDON

class – which bridges the gap between Assault and Sniper – combines the mobility of the former with the latter’s lethality. It’s a potent, if difficult to tame, hybrid class designed to decrease ‘quickscoping’ (running around like a loon using a sniper rifle as if it’s a Super Soaker). Meanwhile, CreateCreate-A-Soldier A-Soldier replaces Create-A-Class, finally bringing character customisation

“TWEAKS AIM TO SOLVE PROBLEMS BY WORKING WITH, NOT AGAINST, THE COMMUNITY.” This is more of a silent revolution – an intelligent refinement that dares to challenge some of the franchise’s most ingrained rules. Take the humble UAV as an example. Since the dawn of time, UAVs have been airborne creatures, requiring specialist equipment and nerves of steel to take down. But why, Ghosts asks, should a killstreak so powerful be so difficult to destroy? Ground-based units known as SATCOMs are

exchange radars, you find yourself relying more on defensive perks and good old-fashioned caution to gain your bearings, as well as a new feature known as Battle Chatter – where your soldiers bellow enemy positions at each other, increasing the value of taking strategic locations. Other tweaks aim to solve existing problems by working with, rather than against, the community. The new Marksman

P R E S T I G E

WANT THE NEXT SPECIAL EDITION UP FROM ‘HARDENED’ (OUTLINED ABOV ABOVE)? E)? THE THEN N PLUMP PLUMP FOR THE ‘PRESTIGE’ VERSION, WHICH INCLUDES – AMONG OTHER GOODIES – A 1080P HD TACTICAL CAMERA. SADLY IT’LL SET YOU BACK £179.99, AND DOES DOESN’T N’T EVEN EVEN INCL INCLUDE UDE A CERTIF CERTIFICA ICATE TE FOR FOR HAV HAVING ING MORE MONEY THAN SENSE.

One of nine new match types, Cranked requires you to bag frequent freq uent kills – or die.

BLU-RAY P R E - O R D E R S s

AL ALAN AN PAR ARTR TRID IDGE GE:: ALP ALPHA HA PAPA DIRECTOR DECLAN LOWNEY STARRING STEVE COOGAN, FELICITY MONTAGU (ZAVVI.COM) ETA 2 DEC BEST PRICE £15.99 (ZAVVI.COM) There are two schools of thought surrounding surrounding North Norfolk’s infamous DJ: he’s one of British comedy’s finest creations, or you’re wrong. Here the hapless broadcaster is called in to defuse a hostage situation at his local radio station. Triumph.

MAD MEN: SEASON 6 DIRECTORVA VARIOU RIOUS S ELIZABETH MOSS STARRING JON HAMM, ELIZABETH ETA 4 NOV BEST PRICE £24.45 (ZAVVI.COM) When Don Draper’s not having extra marital hankypanky he’s firing clients. When he’s not firing clients he’s drinking to excess. And when he’s not drinking to excess he’s… probably asleep. Here DD starts to unravel in the world’s smoothest breakdown.

BREAKING BAD: FINAL SEASON DIRECTORVINC VINCE E GILLIGAN LLIGAN AARON PAUL STARRING BRYAN CRANSTON, AARON (ZAVVI.COM)) ETA 25 NOV BEST PRICE £19.99 (ZAVVI.COM ‘Remember my name’, proclaims this darkly comedic cultural phenomenon’s curtain call. And

ONLY GOD FORGIVES DIRECTOR NICOLAS WINDING REFN KRISTIN SCOTT THOMAS THOMAS STARRING RYAN GOSLING, KRISTIN ETA 25 NOV BEST PRICE £15.99 (ZAVVI.COM) Visually Visua lly arre arrestin sting g like like coating coating your corn corneas eas in sulphuric acid, this Thai thriller offers an incredible

thanksforget never to Cranston’s Walter White/Heisenberg’s White/Heisenber masterful portrayal, g’s moniker you’ll as the series ends with a breathless flourish.

sensory is disorientating, experience it makes – and while for essential its formlessness discussion. You won’t find find a more sens sensatio ationall nally shot shot Blu-ray. u-ray.

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to Call Of Duty. You can make up to ten of these soldiers – each with their own Prestige level – and there’s plenty of incentive to experiment. Squads mode is a tense one-on-one affair where players are flanked by AIcontrolled versions of their fellow soldiers, handing the advantage to the more well-rounded players. While Battlefield 4’s colossal 64-man skirmishes are stealing most of the column inches, there’s much to admire in Ghosts’ more restrained approach to next-gen warfare. Infinity Ward has taken the dawn of a new era of hardware as an opportunity to retool, refresh and reload Call Of Duty. It could well be enough to see the series start life on PS4 as it ended it on PS3: as the pace-setter.

THIS IS THE END DIRECTOR EVAN GOLDBERG, SETH ROGEN JONAHHILL STARRING SETH ROGEN, JONAHHILL (ZAVVI.COM)) ETA 4 NOV BEST PRICE £14.99 (ZAVVI.COM Rogen and real-life chums send themselves up in this disarming, riotous romp. As the apocalypse hits LA, the desperate gang goes from performing a half-assed exorcism on Jonah Hill to making lewd jokess about joke about Hermi Hermione one from Pott Potter er.. Funny Funny stuf stuff. f.

THE GREAT GATSBY DIRECTOR BAZ LUHRMANN DICAPRIO, CAREY MULLIGAN MULLIGAN STARRING LEONARDO DICAPRIO, (AMAZON.CO.U CO.UK K) ETA 11 NOV BEST PRICE £17 AMAZON. Nestling amid the Roaring ‘20s’ glitz and sleazy underbelly, this adaptation of F Scott Fitzgerald’s classic was always going to be a tailored-suit fit for Baz Luhrmann’s excessive stylings. The type of film HD was made for, with DiCaprio on fine form to boot.

DESPICABLE ME 2 DIRECTOR PIERRE COFFIN, CHRIS RENAUD STARRING STEVE CARRELL, KRISTEN WIIG ETA 25 NOV BEST PRICE £14.99 (SAINSBURY’S) S) ‘Fun for all the family’ is rarely a phrase that bodes well – but stay with us. Legendary villain Gru may have settled down with a trio of daughters, but he and his army of minions haven’t lost their edge, as this light-hearted, tongue-in-cheek caper proves.

MAN OF STEEL DIRECTOR ZACK SNYDER RUSSELL CROWE STARRING HENRY CAVILL, RUSSELL ETA 2 DEC BEST PRICE £16.75 (AMAZON.C AMAZON.CO.UK O.UK)) This modern reinvention of Supes bears summer blockbuster hallmarks: origin story, Hans Zimmer score, spandex suit. But there’s also a serious post-9/11 commentary and plenty of one-camera sequences in this handsome superhero rebuild.

2 GUNS DIRECTOR BALTASAR KORMÁKUR STARRING DENZEL WASHINGTON, MARK WAHLBERG ETA 9 DEC BEST PRICE £15.99 (PLAY.COM) (PLAY.COM) Two?! Fat chance. There are more firearms than one-liners in Denzel and Marky Mark’s LethalWeapon-inspired buddy comedy. The two play a DEA agent and a naval intelligence officer looking to bust a drugs cartel, one macho witticism at a time.

MONSTERS UNIVERSITY DIRECTOR DAN SCANLON STARRING BILLY CRYSTAL, JOHN GOODMAN ETA 11 NOV BEST PRICE £16/49 (ZAVVI.COM) (ZAVVI.COM) An origi origins ns story story with a differe difference, nce, as Pixar Pixar explores ores the beginnings of Sulley and Mike’s friendship by sending up all your favourite frat-tastic college flicks – minus the rude bits. Even so, the belly laughs come thick and fast for both kids and adults alike.

With ten times times the number of animations players move in far more realistic ways.

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FIFA 14 Next-gen series looking to kick off in style

hould you want to know how the PS3 version of EA Sports’ mammoth football franchise has fared, flip to page 84 for our review (hint: it’s really rather good). But if you’re more interested in all things shiny and next-gen (and we can’t blame you for that), then read on. Because we’ve once again had the chance to go hands-on with the only football game coming to PS4 this year, and it’s still shaping up nicely. The most striking difference is how much smoother things feel compared to the current generation counterpart. And with ten times the number of animations crammed in there, this is hardly surprising. It means players can react to the ball – and each other – in far more varied and realistic ways, allowing passes to run across them if the weight is

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correct, turning in tighter circles and changing direction more quickly, or hopping over outstretched limbs in order to avoid contact. And when you do accidentally collide, or are on the receiving end of a Lee Cattermoleapproved reducer, the outcome is now based entirely on how the players come together and at what speed, with no recourse to pre-canned results whatsoever whatsoever.. There will be blood substitutions. Slightly less integral to the action on the field, although significant in terms of what it adds to the overall realism factor of individual matches, is that crowds are no longer populated by cardboard cut-outs whose support would come to a swift and messy end at a moderate gust of wind. Now fans are properly modelled individuals, which means they can react more authentically to the

PRE-ORDERS GUIDE .

Above e‘Pro Instincts’ enable players to better anticipate how a move will play out. Abov

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on-pitch action – something that can significantly up the atmosphere when you see them go feral after a last-minute winner, or groan en masse as Nicklas Bendtner shanks another great chance into the stands.

MYSTIC MEGS As you’d expect, the visuals have also been significantly kicked up – for one thing that game now runs in glorious 1080p. (For the technology-allergic among you this means sharper images and more space on the screen for fine detail. It’s ‘a good thing’ is the general thrust.) Additionally, player faces are more realistic than ever, grass looks like grass, there’s increased authenticity in the weather effects, and bespoke footballing styles mean you can identify the big names by their mannerisms to an even greater extent. Oh, and the game can predict the future. Not in the sense that you should ask it for the lottery numbers or if that seemingly sweet girl you’re engaged to is actually going to end up running off with your best friend, stealing your tortoise and taking… wait, what?

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“The FIFA series is my Call Of Duty – I refuse to miss one and play it throughout the year – and 14 appears to be a big step forward, particularly with the new Ignite engine looking the business. It’s a bit like Gareth Bale moving from Tottenham Hotspur (PlayStation (PlayStatio n 3) to Real Madrid (PlayStation 4): they’re both classy outfits, but the latter is justt that jus that tiny tiny bit clas classier sier.” ALAN O’CO O’CONNOR NNOR

VIA FACEBO FACEBOOK OK

Oh yeah, FIFA’s all-new crystal ball. Known as Pro Instincts, what this really means is that player AI enables them to better anticipate how a given situation is going to play out. This might mean them making a more intelligent run into space so you can ping a penetrative

So it looks better, plays better, and it’s already one of the biggest games on the planet. Add in the fact that the menus have finally been tweaked, online play is set to be more robust than ever, and increased connectivity means you’ll be plugged into the real

through stepping back to into a defensiveball, position in order cover for a player who’s gone walkies, or trying to hurdle out of the way when a tackle comes flying in. (Even though they look

world football tono an denying even greater degree,ofand there’s that FIFA 14 is one of PlayStation 4’s most exciting prospects. Plus, it’s not simply a prettiedup port of the current-gen version

“THERE’S NO RECOURSE TO PRE-CANNED RESULTS. THERE WILL BE BLOOD SUBSTITUTIONS.” nice and realistic now, even computerised players are keen to avoid a studs-up leg-breaker.) And it definitely works: forwards and full-backs create far better passing channels when running in behind opposition defences, and your centre backs are less prone to idly wandering upfield as though they’ve spotted a really shiny penny in the centre circle.

(although no doubt it’d still sell four gazillion copies even if it was) – there are the kind of meaningful changes in there that you’re hoping for. And if you just can’t wait, then fear not: your rosters, in-game items and currency for Ultimate Team will transfer between the PS3 version and next-gen. Start filling that ‘gold Bale’ bank account now.

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There’s no place like Holmes’

arely is it the case that you’re more familiar with the creator than the creation in games, but director and agent provocateur David Cage enjoys that particular privilege for his outspoken stance on interactive dramas, and retaliatory punches against QTE-

Page takes centre stage as troubled supernatural savant Jodie Holmes. Her relationship with her otherworldly companion Idan forms the basis of the 15-year narrative span and core gameplay – the story charting her tumultuous adolescence stemming from her outsider status and

centric criticism his previous games Fahrenheit and Heavy Rain garnered. Does Beyond have an axe to grind, then? You bet.

freakish abilities, your control switches between Jodie and Idan. Wait, did we say Jodie’s freakish abilities? Because here’s the thing:

“GREAT PAINS HAVE BEEN TAKEN TO LOSE NOTHING BETWEEN MOCAP AND IN-GAME CHARACTER.” Those events of a quick-time nature are still the cogs of the machine driving Beyond’s action, although Cage would likely shed a single tear to hear you say so. But while the timed button-presses and controller-waggles carry over from Heavy Rain, the less-thanAcademy-Award-troubling calibre of the 2010 adventure’s cast is well and truly shed in favour of Hollywood heavyweights Ellen Page and Willem Dafoe.

alone, she can’t do jack. She’s just a girl who finds herself with SWAT teams after her more often than not. If you’re expecting to pick up the Dualshock and control Cole MacGrath with Juno’s face, you’ll fail swiftly, in a distinctly non-electricity-emitting manner. It’s Idan that holds all the power, you see. Lucky for you, the two are inexorably bound to help each other out in a pinch. If you were being hyper-critical of the skillset

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“Beyond: Two Souls excites because developer Quantic Dream is capable of telling great stories in a unique fashion. The blend of action and drama in what looks to be a gorgeous world just seems like the perfect swansong for PlayStation 3. You migh mightt be taking ng on on the the role of a ghost at times, but this proves there’s still plenty of life in the console yet.” MIKE WILKINSON

MANCHESTER

The supernatural theme is a world apart from Heavy Rain, but Beyond shares its bleakness.

Mark Wahlberg will be furious when he discovers that young Jodie has stolen stolen Te Ted. d.

Jodie bri Jodie bring ngss to th the e tabl table, e, y you ou might comment that Idan appears much better at the whole ‘saving us from certain doom’ thing. After all, he possesses the abilities to, er, possess people, create force fields and move matter. Jodie? Well, that girl can certainly get her punch on when the occasion calls for it. But come on. Force fields. Dafoe, who you might know as ‘that guy who’s been in every movie for the past 30 years’, plays Dr Nathan Dawkins, a government scientist who discovers Jodie’s powers at a young age and takes on a morally murky role as a father figure who may not always have her best interests at heart. Great pains have been taken at Quantic Dream to lose nothing of the emotionally charged performances from either cast member in translating them from ‘gifted actor covered in miniature ping-pong balls’ to ‘believable in-game character’, employing the latest full performance capture techniques to build seamless audio and visual delivery. It’s a notch shy of LA Noire’s uncanny Motionscan facial animation tech, but given the working conditions controv controversy ersy and massive expense that came out of Team Bondi’s innovative project, you can understand Cage and co’s decision to duck out and skip the headache. Besides, what Beyond loses in minute facial detail, it gains in simultaneously captured body animations. Its on-screen cast looks human from the neck down, which is more than can be said about Aaron Staton’s Cole Phelps. Hollywood stars, ambitious gameplay and a controversial creator spearheading the project: granted, it’s far from a guaranteed recipe for success, but Beyond’s ambition nevertheless looks ready to bear fruit. And whether the great experiment redefines interactive drama or falls on its star-studded behind, one thing’s for sure: this willbe be one of the last great talking points of PS3. How can you resist? S O U L F U L IF, LIKE OUR LEON, LISTENING TO GAME SOUNDTRACKS ALONE IN A DARK ROOM DARK IS WHA WHAT YOU CALL YOU C ALL SUNDAY, YOU NEED A)THELP AND B) TWO SOULS’ SPECIAL EDITION, WHICH COMES PACKAGED WITH AN ALB ALBUM’S UM’S WOR WORTH TH OF THE THE GAME’S AMBIENT BACKING TUNES. (PLUS OTHER EXTRAS – SEE ‘INFO’.) IT’S ONLY £32.99 ON AMAZON AMA ZON,, TOO. TOO. BUY, BUY, BUY BUY,, BUY. BUY.

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OPM Towerites’ most want wa nted ed del eliv iver eriies – and why why

FIFA 14 Shocking admission: I love sports games. And while there there’s ’s still still plenty plenty of life life in PS3’ PS3’s s finest finest – MLB: The Show and NBA 2K – in terms of on-field action, where next-gen really excites is in areas like atmosphere and fine detail. When ball strikes onion bag, I want to hear the crowd roar as if celebrating a vital goal rather than imitating the Katy Perry song of the same name. I want stadia in which supporters come to life, and opposition players who visibly wince in agony when chopped down by my digitised Mile Jedinak. And from dep ed Joel’s impressions on pages 58-59, it sounds as though next-gen FIFA is my genie in a bottle. You’re You ’re gonna gonna hear me score. score. Ben Wilson

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BEYOND: TWO SOULS Yes, Heavy Yes, Heavy Rain Rain is my favou favourite rite PS3 game thus far.. And far And yes, yes, that that leads leads to to a lot lot of argu argument ments s with with people who refuse to believe anyone could enjoy a 12-hour button-prompt sequence more than Red Dead Redemption. But Beyond’s going to silence the haters haters who poke poke fun fun at at thatvoice voice acting and occasional journeyman writing. It’s got acting clout. It looks beautiful. Its story spans 15 years of the protagonist’s life, and that protagonist’s brought to life by Ellen freaking Page. If that turns turn s out to be anyt anything hing other than an incre incredibl dible e journey jour ney and gener generation ation high highligh light, t, I’ll I’ll eat that origami booklet thing that came with the Heavy Rain special edition. Phil Iwaniuk

ASSASS ASSA SSIN IN’S ’S CR CREE EED D IV IV:: BLACK FLAG I’ve been good this year year,, Mr Kringle. As reward for committ committing ing only 11 of the 14 14 atrociti atrocities es on my naughty list, you owe me exactly one megaton pirate adventure. Learning from Far Cry 3, Black Flag has a wealth of worthwhile side activities: engaging inlayin naval infiltrating Mayan templ temples es or laying g battles, the whaling the whaling smackdown smack down on Free Free Willy’s Willy ’s great great uncle uncle.. What What could could be bette betterr than than waking wakin g up on a bitt bitter er Decembe Decemberr morn morn and and treatin treating g your corn corneas eas to to a glorio gloriously usly tropi tropical cal six-h six-hour our session in PS4’s most visually vibrant world? It’s a pirate’s life for me this Crimbo. Dave Meikleham

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“I’ve pre ordered Killzone: Shadow Fall, because it’ll do exactly what it says on the ti… er… box. It’s a solid series that hasn’t disappointed me yet, and I have high hopes for this one. Guerrilla is game an excellent studio and the is looking beautiful. Plus, I’ve always enjoyed the storylines and characters – and so all things considered, considered, this is a must for me.” MARTYN BOWELL

PEASEDOWN ST JOHN

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DEVGUERRILLA GAMES BEST PRICE£47.85

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Who’s a pretty pretty boy? Those iconic orange eyes have never looked purdier thanks to PS4.

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Helghast hath no fury like a killer FPS

hose helmeted space Nazis play by their own rules, man. And so can you, thanks to a multiplayer experience that’s been built around confident layers of customisation (quiffing your hair James Jam es Dean-s Dean-sty tyle le and n nest estlin ling ga pack of fags up your T-shirt sleeve is entirely optional). Guerrilla is set to deliver another cinematic single-player campaign, and with a thoughtfully designed online mode, Shadow Fall is aiming to shoot to the very top of your PS4 hit list. Sick of vanilla deathmatch slaughter? Then let us direct you towards custom warzones. These editable game variants let you tinker with match rules to an almost absurdly esoteric degree. If you’ve got a hankering for a deathly tense, stealthy team game, you can nix respawns, limit weapons to invisibility cloaks and daggers, and

to the DualShock 4’s ultra-precise analogue sticks, aim-assist has also been kiboshed, meaning this could well be a more hardcore alternative to those megaton blasters. The game is also generous to both your wallet and time. Treating the latter with respect is becoming an increasing rarity in shooters nowadays, with most forcing you to spend days and weeks grinding to unlock the best guns. Mercifully, Shadow Fall is the giving sort and opens up all its wares to you right off the bat. “All of the game’s 22 weapons come unlocked, so you’re free to start building specialised classes from the get go,” confirms PlayStation Blog social media manager Sid Shuman. “It’s a move Guerrilla believes will help newcomers find an effective loadout quickly.” Aside from the ten maps that you’ll be able to fully test those guns out on at launch, later DLC offerings are

slow down health regeneration. Boom: you’ve got yourself a Cloaked Nightmare playlist. Alternatively, you could go for a full-on frenzy, put revive drones on and revel in a constantly escalating orgy of violence where folk simply won’t stay down. The choice really is up to you.

also on the way, and they’ll be free to boot. We told you those Helghast types are givers.

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“REVEL IN AN ESCALATING ORGY OF DEATH AND AN D VI VIO OLENCE.”

CREATE TO THE PARTY Guerrilla is obviously keen to foster a long-term Killzone community, and as such has given you the option to browse and hop into other PS4 gamers’ custom warzones, LBP-sty LBP-style. le. Offering 24-player battles is already impressive, but the ability to access such a potential wealth of varied user-created content could really set Shadow Fall apart in the savage online killing fields populated by Call Of Duty: Ghosts and Battlefield 4. Thanks

FALL BRAWL Lone wolves aren’t being forgotten, either. Shadow Fall’s solo offering looks to be the most ambitious in the series’ insanely gruff history. The planet of Vekta also opens far more open environments from what you’ve seen from the series on PS3, offering more scope for altering your Helghast-mangling tactics on the fly. With Guerrilla also finally unleashing honest-togoodness colour into its universe (our poor, singed corneas), this is perhaps PS4’s most visually dazzling launch title to date. Unlike COD: Ghosts, the game has been purpose-built for Sony’s new machine, rather than merely based on an existing PS3 engine that’s been given a spit and polish.

Above AbovePredictably, Shadow Fall’s lighting and particle effects are utterly glorious. Good job, Guerrilla.

Sony is rightly pushing Shadow Fall aggressively, and you’ll soon be able to buy a special PS4 launch bundle that includes a copy of the game, two pads and the PlayStation Camera. Costing around as much as an Xbox One, it’s a dang generous package – and should ensure many a Helghast finds a loving home this Christmas. Sony’s new baby looks to be in safe hands with this potentially killer shooter providing dead-eyed cover fire.

There’s no quicker way to be bran branded ded a noob noob than crash crashing ing your squad into the trees.

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BATTLEFIELD 4 Taking about a Levolution ettling into the War Room (our name, not theirs, but it seems fitting – not to mention cool) in DICE’s Stockholm HQ, we’re told that the new multiplayer mode we’re trying out is called Obliteration. Each team has three objectives to defend, and a bomb will spawn in the middle of the map. All we need to do is grab that bomb, take it to one of the enemy objectives, arm it, and then protect it until it blows up. Do

that three times and victory is ours. Easy. Also: hmmm. Because although the mode is clearly named after the effect the bomb has when it goes off, it might as well be referring to our team’s morale after a few rounds. Playing against what appears to be a squad of full-time professional FPS players, we’re soon as shattered as those three objectives we were supposed to be looking after. And somehow things only get worse as we move to playing Domination. A miniaturised version of Conquest (it plays out within a smaller section of whatever map is chosen), we’re losing tickets faster than a hapless Lotto addict in a wind tunnel. Turns out Mother was right: you really do have to get along with others in order to succeed.

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But our team’s lack of coordination is not the most remarkable thing on show. Nor, in fact, are the two new modes, as they’re really just different slants on familiar multiplayer dynamics. What’s most striking is the map – or, more specifically, how the map evolves. OCEAN COMBAT SCENE Were we DICE employees, we’d presumably be slapped around the head right now and sent to the Naughty Room (next door to the War Room). Because in BF4 things don’t evolve, they, er, ‘levolve’. Levolution is a key concept in this year’s game, and it’s a term used to describe how environments alter as you play the game. The first instance we saw was during E3, with a skyscraper crashing to the ground in downtown Shanghai. Now we’re playing something different altogether. This map is called Paracel Storm, and it’s set on an island

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“Can’t fail to be excited about Battlefield 4. Just think of the numbers: with over 5,000 knife kills, I’m most looking forward to those new animations, and on top of that you’ll be able to partake in huge 64-player online matches. Battlefield 3 was great, but this should blow previous games to pieces.” LEE TAYLOR

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AboveThe bigger Levolution set-pieces completely Above change the appearance and dynamic of maps.

group in the South China Sea. That means lots of navigating narrow waterways between the various chunks of land, be it via boat, jet ski or the age-old military technique of doggy paddle. There’s also a sizeable stretch of wideopen ocean surrounding the cluster, and one of the spawn points lies within a large battleship a way off the coast. Inevitably, this geography affects playstyle in a number of ways. You can’t career across the map in jeeps or tanks, there are precious few tall vantage points to exploit as prime sniping spots, and carrying the bomb to its detonation location in Obliteration is usually a team pursuit, as someone needs to drive and/or protect your chosen boat. But then

that Levolution process kicks in, and things are shaken up even further. Remember the name of the map? Well, that nasty weather front comes closing in – darkening the skies and whipping up the waves. Seafaring is now more perilous than ever, sightlines on the ocean become obscured, and helicopter and jet pilots pilots h hav avee to contend with heavy rains lashing across their windscreens. There’s also the small matter of the turbines off the coast, which seem to be cracking, but surely that won’t… oh look, one’s just come crashing down. And in turn released the enormous battleship. Which has now ploughed right into the middle of the entire island group. Joy. It’s a huge, cinematic

“DICE IS HOPING TO SHAKE UP ITS ONLINE GAME FOR PS4.”

F INIS HED SYMPHONY DICE’s DICE’ s Patrick Bach Bach on BF4 Above Abov eSure, it’s pretty, but this’ll wreck your retinas if you don’t look away now.

and spectacular moment, and its knock-on effects go beyond just wrecking a whole load of sandcastles on the beachfront. One of the landmasses has been cleaved in two, affecting navigation, and for whoever can gain control of the surrounding area there’s an anti-aircraft gun sitting on the ship’s deck that can be commandeered and used to fight back against death from above. It’s with dynamism like this – as well as delivering 64-player battles at 60 frames per second – that DICE is hoping to shake up its online offering on PS4. The fundamentals of Battlefield

overhaul would be madness – this, after all, is already the most deep and tactical of the megaton FPS games. New maps and modes are a given, but the potential of all of those is multiplied by the on-the-fly seismic shifts made possible with Levolution. (The concept, it must be said, also offers tactical options on a much smaller level. You can, for example, fuse the lights in a room before you breach it, or be made aware of an enemy’s presence when he accidentally sets off an alarm by bumping into a car.) Before, your military acumen let you command the battlefield. Now you can

multiplayer already so solid and nuancedare that a complete

actually control and contort it. Bombs away.

OPM: As we enter into next-gen, what’s the longterm future for ‘authentic’ shooters such as Battlefield? Patrick Bach:Right now our goal is to deliver the deepest, most exciting and above all fun Batt Battlefie lefield ld experi experience ence yet. Once that happe happens, ns, our PATRICK BACH focus focu s shifts shifts to to support supporting ing EXECUTIVE PRODUCER, the game game post-l post-launc aunch h and and DICE Battlefield 4 Premium, which is building on the success we had with Battlefield 3 Premium and its 4 million members. Battlefield 4 Premium will give players a ton of post-release content, including five digital expansion packs, new maps, modes, weapons, unlocks and more. OPM: With such a passionate MP community, where does where does the bala balance nce lie bet betwee ween n giving giving peo people ple whatt they wha they love love and advan advancing cing the ser series ies? ? PB: I think we can do both – we’ve been doing so for the last ten years since the release of Battlefield 1942. In Battlefield 4, we have created a new design concept we call Levolution where

the envir environmen onmentt reacts reacts to to your your every every move. move. It’s taking takin g what what you you know know from from destru destruction ction to places places it’s never been in a multiplayer game, both on a big and small scale. You can reduce a skyscraper to rubble rubble or shoot shoot fire fire exting extinguish uishers ers to to distrac distractt enemies, both of which you, the player, control. Our community is very passionate and vocal; they want more Battl Battlefie efield. ld. We We are const constantly antly liste listening ning to them them to see what what they they are enjoy enjoying ing and what’ what’s s causing issues. Because of them, we’ve done a lot of work to a number of things in multiplayer – including the classes and loadouts. You can explore a wide range of combat roles and subroles when picking your loadout and kit. OPM: The companion app for tablets is a focus this year. What does this add, and is something like this key for any triple-A title nowadays? PB: It has to offer something that enriches the overall experience – it can’t feel tacked on. For Battlefield 4 we’re using the second screen in a few ways. ways. First First,, we’re we’re bringi bringing ng back back Comma Commander nder

mode, which gives two players on opposing teams a bird’s-eye view of the battlefield, enabling them to delive deliverr info info and and assets assets to to their their team. team. Orig Originall inally y introduced in Battlefield 2, it was a feature many fans wante wanted d to see return return.. We want wanted ed to enhan enhance ce the experi experience ence – the secon second d screen screen allows us to do do that. that. Not Not only only will will Comman Commander der mode mode be playable on PC and console, but you’ll also get to play as a Commander on iOS or Android tablet via the inter internet. net. Anot Another her way we’re we’re utili utilising sing the second screen is with our Battlelog app, which will featu feature re the the Battlesc Battlescreen reen on nextnext-gen gen and PC versions vers ions of the the game. game. The The Battle Battlescree screen n offers offers an intuitive second-screen experience with key gameplay info in real time, including the ability to highlight attack points on the mini map. You’ll also be able to use Battlelog on the second screen to change your loadouts, create missions, check out geo-leaderboards geo-leaderboard s and much more.

“The next perso person n who shout shouts s ‘I’m ‘I’m on a boat!’ gets their knackers lopped off.”

OPM: What early feedback have you been getting from people who’ve played or seen the game? PB: The reaction has been tremendous, and it’s provided the team back at DICE some great motivation as we cross the finish line of development. Something people have consistently wanted want ed to see is is more more of the game! game! They They’ll ’ll get get a chance soon enough!

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W A T C H D O G S Open-world options have us sinning in the city o far, we mainly know Aiden Pearce as a man with a bandana over his face and the world’s most powerful smartphone. And while his personality and goals will become clearer as you progress through Watch Dogs’ überconnected Chicago sandbox, that level of anonymity is a conscious design choice, as senior producer Dominic Guay tells us. “Right now we’re seeing a façade of Aiden, but when you follow in his footsteps you’ll be pushing to achieve his goals: to find his family and the people who hurt

interactivity with the game’s setting is a truly next-gen proposition. We already know breaking into CtOS towers enables Aiden’s hacking abilities, and we’ve seen the multiplayer invasion gameplay in action. But what our latest extended hands-on reveals is the mayhem that the man behind the mask can really wreak through the streets. When an innocent bit of suburban gun-toting gets called in, the police are quickly on the scene. However – and here’s that interactivity interactivit y at work again – it

him, and vengeance,” vengeance, ” he says. “Butget wehis don’t want Aiden to overpower you as a player and your own goals – we call [him] a vigilante but [you are] the one who really becomes a vigilante, as [you] decide what [you] want to do in the city.”

needn’t havefar. gotten that The do-gooding civilian could’ve had the offending phone torn from their grasp, or blocked using a cell phone jammer, or we could have fled the scene before being properly spotted. However we don’t, and are instead treated to

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“I pre-ordered a PlayStation 4 as soon as they were available, and had to get Watch Dogs reserved at the same time. After all, what other possible way is there to start off my PS4 career than with what looks like an amazing sandbox game that demonstrates demonstra tes every last one of PS4’s capabilities?” GEORGE TSIELEPIS

WALTHAM ABBEY 06 8

It’s this freedom to do as you wish that makes the game such an exciting prospect, because although many of the core open-world mechanics are familiar, the level of

AboveHacking Above Hacking is fun, but holding your gun sideways gets maximum cool points.

a ten-minute chase that makes World’s Wildest Men In Pick-up Trucks Driving Like Lunatics look like a Sunday jaunt to the bowls club. Squad cars are wrecked using sets ofbollards, traffic lights are hacked leading to mass pile-ups, steam vents under the streets are blown and take out vehicles with them – it’s carmageddon. And that level of control over the environment is set to extend even further, thanks to the game’s crafting system. As Guay explains: “You can craft items such as remotely detonated explosives, or things to distract enemies from a distance, but Aiden can also mix in some hacking abilities with his

“THE MAN IN THE MASK CAN REALLY WREAK SOME HAVOC.”

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MONTREAL

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(GAMESEEK.CO.UK GAMESEEK.CO.UK)) SPECIAL EDITION YES (GAME (GAME EXCL EXCLUSIV USIVE: E: COLLECTORS’ BOX, CAP, MASK,SOUNDTRACK, BONUS CONTENT) PRE-ORDER DLC

YES (BONUS (BONUS SINGL SINGLEEPLAYER CONTENT)

items. These can be bought or found through the game, and some of the most precious stuff is actually software. These let you do the powerful one-time hacks, such as the blackout.”

WORLD WORL DP PEA EARC RCE E We also see the impact of choice in the vigilante side-missions: a gun shop is being held up and we can intervene. But even trying to do good has alternate outcomes: the first time we play it through, we don’t respond fast enough and the clerk is shot. The next time we are as we’re ambushed in an alley. The details of Watch Dogs’ story are being kept under wraps for now, but even if it didn’t have one at all this would be a must-have PS4 proposition. This is a game all about choice – but making the one to pre-order yourself a copy needn’t be given a second thought.

Once you’ve hacked the relevant CtOS tower tower,, your phon phone e is way more powerful than that gun.

069

H A C K F E S T FOR THE DOGGY DIE-HARD WITH 115 SHEETS BURNING A HOLE IN THE THEIR IR POC POCKET KET, THE DEDSEC EDITION IS A MUST. WHILE THE STANDARD SPECIAL EDITION COMES WITH CAP AND MASK, THIS INCLUDES AN AIDEN FIGURINE, BADGES, AND AR CARDS. WHO NEEDS TO EAT AT CHR CHRIST ISTMAS MAS,, ANYW ANYWAY AY? ?

The ‘Zorro impersonator goes to burlesque’ look was big in the pirate heyday.

07 0

01 INFO

FORMATPS4

ALSO ONPS3 ETA29 NOV

PUBUBISOFT

DEVUBISOFT MONTREAL BEST PRICE£47.85

(GAMESEEK.CO.UK GAMESEEK.CO.UK)) SPECIAL EDITION YES (ST (STEEL EEL CASE, CASE, ART ARTBOOK BOOK,, SO SOUNDT UNDTRAC RACK, K, LITHOGRAPHS, BONUS IN-GAME CONTENT) PRE-ORDER DLCYES (TREASURE MAP PACK WITH FOUR ADDITIONAL LOCATIONS)

S E A

PRE-ORDERS GUIDE .

C H A N G E

A S S A S S I N ’ S CREED IV B L A C K

F L A G

Yo Y ou’re invi vitted to the sa saiil of th the e cent ntu ury

hey may take our openended assassinations, but they’ll never take our freedom!” These famous words, never spoken by legendary Scot Mel Gibson, were sadly disproved by Connor’s American Revolution adventure, as both the stealthily murders of AC games past and the much-hyped autonomy promised pre-released failed to materialise. But when we’re handed the pad for the first hands-on of Black Flag and told, “Do whatever you want,” it’s safe to say that all fears of a repeat performance sink to

robes for something more water-appropriate, Edward Kenway descends downwards in a rudimentary diving bell, finding himself on the seabed and surrounded by crystal-clear waters. The aim here is to recover treasure from seven chests scattered around the area, all while keeping an eye on Teddy’s oxygen meter and the slightly more intimidating danger of sharks and barracudas on patrol. It’s claustrophobic, panicky and more than a little bit difficult – but all in a good way. And when we’re done we

the bottom of the ocean. As, incidentally, do we, opting to try one of the game’s new underwater sections. Shedding his Assassin’s

simply climb into our bell, ascend to the surface, and are back aboard the Jackdaw with the world at our hull. The vast map can be

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PRE-ORDERS GUIDE W

another of the game’s new mechanics comes into play. As you carouse around the world causing havoc on the high seas, a ‘wanted’ meter fills – much in the style of GTA. The higher this gets the more you’ll come under attack from enemy vessels looking to cash in the bounty on Edward’s head. And so, as three ships descend on us, there’s only one thing for it: breakdance fighting. But it seems ol’ Captain Kenway must have done his knee, because we settle instead for some naval warfare, which is also hugely improved from ACIII. There it was like two elephants trying to joust in bumper cars – now we feel more like an AK-wielding llama driving an Ariel Atom. The

in ACIII – and those that were included were such a letdown – was one of the game’s biggest problems, and something Ubi was keen to address this time around. It seems to have succeeded. The key points are that they can be completed using actual stealth, and you have options in terms of how to proceed. We’re told that an enemy captain aboard a ship in a nearby port must be taken out (the ‘why’ doesn’t seem important), and are then left to figure out how. We reach the dock by sneaking through jungle undergrowth, avoiding patrols as best as possible and aided by the improved Eagle Vision, which marks enemies on your minimap and enables you to see their outline when they

side cannons are more responsive and easier to line up, likewise the swivel guns, and now there’s also a mortar for long-range attacks, and a shooter mounted on the front. The end result is far more control, and sea battles that don’t take longer than the denouement in the final Lord Of The Rings film. So as well as being seamless, the ship-to-ship combat is now actually enjoyable.

move cover. behind Playing largely nonlethally, we take out one guard patrolling the ship’s jetty, and then swim to the bow, shimmying up the side of the boat. From here we could rush in, swords slashing, or use guns to take the captain out from long range. Or maybe use a berserk dart to distract his guards, and slip some steel into his neck unnoticed. But, ever the showmen, we decide to shimmy up the mast for a cinematic airborne takedown. We patiently wait as he talks to his subordinates, and when his

“WE LEAP,

BLADES A AN ND KI KIL LLOUT… THE WRONG GUY.”

07 2

AboveOcean wildlife gets pretty bitey Above bitey,, so don’t feel bad about responding with the spear of fear. fear.

explored with nary a loading screen in sight. Spying an interesting-looking island in the distance we set sail, using the improved ocean navigation – there’s an all-new cruising speed for long-distance travel – and, upon arrival, drop anchor and dive into the water. Here, just like on many other of the game’s countless islands, is treasure to be discovered, assassination contracts to be undertaken, and various other side quests which can be accepted or ignored. The sense of freedom is extraordinary, especially given the scale of the environment. In order to take advantage of the vast oceans – and to irritate PETA – we decided to go whaling, but before we can get our scurvyriddled teeth into Shamu,

MAST OR BAIT Once we’ve taken down our ocean oppressors and

decided what to do with their leftovers (you can absorb defeated vessels into your fleet, break them up for spares, or use the parts to fix the Jackdaw), it’s then time to see how Mr Gibson would feel about the first part of our imaginary opening proclamation. That the core assassinations were hardly present at all L E T ’ S

B U C

LIKE BATMAN AND WATCH DOGS, ACIV ALSO OFERS UP AN EVEN-MORESPECIAL-THAN-SPECIAL EDITION: THE ‘BUCCANEER’ VERSIO VER SION, N, PACK ACKAGE AGED D IN A TREASURE CHEST WITH A 45CM EDWARD FIGURINE INSIDE. AT £79.99, YOU’D ALSO ALS O EXPEC EXPECT T IT TO BE BE WATERPROOF. IT ISNT.

patrol finally brings him in to range, we leap, soaring through the air, blades extended… and kill totally the wrong guy. But that’s on us. The game, however, is spectacular: everything we were promised from III, only bigger, better and muchprettier. For the first time since the second game, we can confidently say that Assassin’s Creed is killing it – and for now, Black Flag looks to be the most exciting game coming to PlayStation this winter. Given the competition, that’s some feat.

Ed Kenway is friends with the dolphi dolphins. ns. Clear Clearly ly he only buys responsibly caught tuna.

F A N

T A L K

AC multip multiplayer layer has always been surprisingly solid, so expect the same again.

Wind farm NIMB NIMBYs Ys clearly held no sway over development back in the 1700s. 073

“After III slipped far from the standards I expect Creed games to keep, it seems like Ubi has rectified its slip. The exploration just looks more fun, and prettier. No more dull colours; we want vibrant! To me, Edward seems like Ezio crossed with a pirate, which is awesome.” MATTHEW GRAY MARTLESHAM

TR EA S UR E H U N T I N G Ubi’s Ashraf Ismael talks ACIV and internal rivalries OPM: What other games that you’ve seen released during the development cycle of Assassin’s Creed IV have helped influence what you wer were e doing doing with the game in any way? Ashraf Ash raf Isma Ismail: il:I loved Skyrim. Mostly from the ASHRAF ASHR AF ISMAI ISMAIL, L, exploration of the world, GAME DIRECTOR, UBISOFT MONTREAL the way way that that it it teased teased you with the conte content nt was was really well done. So we looked at some of those tricks, tric ks, looked looked at some some of the ways ways they were being advertised as a player, so that was one of the inspirations. Also Tomb Raider, the way it

a lot of people from Far Cry 3 to join our team to help help us us really really fill fill the the world world with with cont content, ent, to give the player motivation to go and explore it, and to upgrade the ship, and to upgrade Edward himself. OPM: In terms of other Ubisoft games, is there any sort of internal rivalry between you and other teams behind games, such as the people who deve develope loped d Watch Watch Dog Dogs s for for exampl example? e? Are Are you all genui genuinely nely frie friends? nds? AI:Ubisoft Montreal has a lot of the same people [who’ve worked] on the same games in the past, past, so we’re we’re all all friend friends. s. For For sure, sure, there there’s ’s a friendly competition between all of us, but I would descr describe ibe it it as more as we’re we’re the the older older

OPM: How tough is it on you all at Ubisoft to be releasing a game of this magnitude on an annual basis? AI:It’s an annual release, but it’s multiple teams working worki ng on on the the various various game games. s. This This team, team, when this game ship ships, s, we will have worke worked d on this game for about two-and-a-half years. We’re Assas Assassin’s sin’s Creed Creed,, we’re we’re Ubisof Ubisoft, t, so we do have a massive army of people working on this game. So we have a lot of advantages over a lot of studios, and we have a lot of very talented talen ted people people.. From From a timin timing g perspec perspective, tive, two-and-a two-a nd-a-hal -halff years years is a great great amount amount of time to pull pull off off a really really fant fantastic astic game game.. We are working worki ng our our butts butts off, espec especially ially now that that we’re in the home stretch. People are driving really

tells the story stransition tory,, in terms ofgameplay scripted script ed events ev how they in the isents and very nice. And even inte internall rnally, y, Far Cry 3. Far Cry 3 did some really awesome stuff for exploration, and for player progression. It really inspired us, and we actually brought on

brother and they’re the younger brother. We have a fanbase already, a big base of people who follow follow our game and [that [that’s] ’s] a new IP IP so it’s a very friendly competition between us, but we need need it to be succ successfu essfull for the health health of the the studio here in Montreal.

hard: adoin lot gofacontent is coming in the game, we’re doing lot of polis polishing hing work right righ t now. now. Talking Talki ng about resources, there’s no place like Assassin’s Assas sin’s Creed Creed,, honestly honestly.. The The developm development ent of of Assassin’s Assas sin’s Creed is a gian giant, t, a jugg juggernau ernaut. t. It’s It’s a bit unstoppable.

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(Video) Podcast Learnings 2022 | The Flow by Ecamm

OPM SCORES

GOLD AW A WARD

GOLD AWARD Awarded to a game that’s that’s brilliantly executed on every level, combining significant innovation, near-flawless gameplay, great graphics and lasting appeal.

EDITOR’S AW A WARD

EDITOR’S AWARD Not at the very highest echelon, but this is a game that deserves recognition and special praise based on its ambition, innovation or other notable achievement.

10 The kind of phenomenal

INCREDIBLE

experience rarely seen in a console generation.

9 Unreservedly brilliant – this OUTSTANDING

should be in every collection.

VERY GOOD A tru truly lyex excel cellent lentga game me,, ma marre rred d by just a few minor issues.

GOOD A gre great at con concep ceptt unf unful ulfil filled led or the familiar done well, but still well worth playing. DECENT Fun in parts, flawed in others, but more right than wrong.

5 What you expect and little AVERAGE

90PUPPETEER 90 PUPPETEER As ma mad d as it isch charm armin ing, g,an and d as varied as it is cute, this headswapping platform-puzzler is unique if nothing else.

more, this is for devotees only.

BELOW AVERAGE Any br Any brig ight htid ideas easaredro drown wnin ing g in a sea of bugs or mediocrity.

POOR A ser seriou iously slyfla flawe wed d ga game mewit with h little merit on any level.

2 Disgraceful: the disc would be AWFUL

more beneficial as a coaster. co aster.

1 Own this and you’ll be swiftly, HORRIFIC

justi ju stifiabl fiably, y,ex exililed edfro from m so socie ciety ty..

077

MADDEN NFL 25 94 | LOST PLANET 3 94 | NHL 14 94 | ONE PIECE: PIRATE WARRIORS 2 95 W

We’re gue We’re guessin ssing g this this isn isn’t ’t Trevor showing off his impressive new spare tyre tyr e to to the the gan gang.. g....

07 8

“FEW EXPERIENCES DURING THE CONSOLE GENERATION

PROVIDE AS MUCH JOY.” JOY.” W

REVIEW

GOLD AW A WAR ARD D

CHASING STARS

@j0el_g

GRAND THEFT AU A UTO V Three men and a little LA deed sign the generation off in style

INFO FORMATPS3 ET ETA AOUT NOW PUBROCKSTAR GAMES

DEVROCKSTAR NORTH

rom resolving global conflicts to slowly batting a little white blob back and forth (how often do you actually do that in real life?), all videogames exist as a form of escapism. But those that offer it most overtly aren’t actually the ones that allow us to save the world single-handedly or let us control a cartload of chimpanzees with our mind (which, incidentally, sounds awesome). It’s those that offer a rough simulacrum of reality and provide us with the freedom to interact with it as we wish – including, not ignoring,

the mundanities of life – that are the most compelling virtual holidays. That’s always been one of the key appeals of GTA: regular guy makes good in (semi) regular world. And okay, he may make good in the most violent and psychopathic way possible, but no amount of squashed pedestrians can run over the games’ aspirational nature. And it is here that V’s greatest triumph lies. The scathing social commentary is, of course, present and correct. Likewise the eccentric cast of misfits and oddballs we’ve come to expect. And, now far more than ever, the ambitious, cinematic missions involving all kinds of spectacular carnage. But standing above all of this is the fact that no other virtual world in all of gaming is as fully realised and alluring as what’s on offer here. This is a glorious and jubilant reminder of the fact that – at their heart – games are supposed to be about having fun, and few, if any, experiences during this entire console generation provide as much pure joy. Such is the frequency with which remarkable

079

moments occur that no longer can they be called

REVIEW

Michael has a mansion in the hil hills, ls, fan fancy cy car cars, s, and and a nice line in tailored suits. So it stands to reason thatt he’s tha he’s mis misera erable. ble. l

Abo Above veRelationships between the three vary from

fracti fra ctious ous to mur murder derous ous to bro bro-ta -tasti stic. c.

08 0

Above Abo ve left leftCatch

your son your son bef before ore he falls out of yourr stole you stolen n yach yacht. t. Above Abo ve righ rightt

Dirt bikes are among the most versati ver satile le veh vehicl icles es in the game. LeftTrevor will

do anything to protect his meth empire. Just like Walter Wal ter Whi White. te. Right“Put your

hands up, bend your knee your knees… s…”” T-dogg shows off his U-turn.

inhabitants; couples argue in the street; there are boat races, street races, bike races. There has never been a more convincing world in the whole history of gaming.

highlights: the game’s standard operating mode is to have your mouth agape in amazement. Backflipping a motorbike over an airport terminal. Parachuting out of a cargo helicopter into a fully manned military base. Causing a 20-car pile-up on a freeway during rush hour by sniping a truck driver from half a mile away. Oh, and the stuff you’re tasked with during missions isn’t too shoddy, either.

THREE SLEAZY PIECES But while the environment is undoubtedly the star, it is more than ably supported by three protagonists, every one of which puts all of the series’ previous leads to shame. There’s Michael, the monied middle-aged misery who’s having a serious life crisis. Franklin, the up and coming street hustler looking to graduate from repo work and gang crime. And then there’s Trevor, the psychotic trailerdweller who defies

SUN, SEA, AND SANDBOX The scale and sense of freedom is so staggering that the initial wave of amazement never wears off – every now and then you’re hit with a whole new sense of ‘wow’ as you realise just how much is on offer to you at any one moment. This is not only the biggest world in Grand Theft Auto history, incorporating both the city of Los Santos and the sprawling countryside of Blaine County to the north, it’s also by far the most richly populated when it comes to activities, asides, and locations justt begg jus begging ing to b bee exp explor lored. ed. So luxurious is the level of design that vast structures that would be the environmental highlights of entire games are included without any overt

“THERE’S NEVER BEEN A MORE CONVI NVINCING WORLD IN THE WHOLE

purpose beyond sense that this a enhancing real place. the For instance, at one point I rode a dirt bike off the beaten track and discovered an enormous, Hoover-esque dam. Surely some secret is hidden up here? Or perhaps it’ll come into play as a set-piece during a later mission? Nope, it just… is. The game never directed me there, and I never came back. I simply leapt from the top to my death, a suicide made gleeful by the incredible care taken in constructing this virtual world. And all of this is open to you from the very start of the game – there’s no waiting for bridges to be made passable or areas to be freed from lockdown. Any location can be visited in any order and in any vehicle, right from the minute you first set eyes on sun-drenched San Andreas. It’s partly the nature of this setting, in addition to the tech that’s been used to create it, that

classification

as much HISTORY OF GAMING.” as he does convention. But

makes it such a pleasure to inhabit. The wide streets, verdant hills and shimmering ocean are in stark contrast to the fogshrouded greys of Liberty City – riding down faux Sunset Boulevard in a faux soft-top Mercedes feels like a far more appealing version of the American dream than hopping aboard the decrepit LC subway ever did. Five years of technological improvements mean that things look far prettier, and allow the world to be both more detailed and more populated. Where once city streets were deserted like a Daphne & Celeste comeback gig, now they hum with whiny software developers, irate mortgage brokers and disillusioned actresses rushing to casting calls. Certain roads get busier at certain times of the day; sun seekers flock to the beaches when ol’ shiny gets his hat on, and scarper for cover as the rain sets in (there’s a fully dynamic weather system); and squabbling foursomes fill the local golf course. Other crimes – some resulting in truly spectacular police chases –

BelowThis is

Franklin. He enjoys driving very ver y fast fast and staring moodily.

such summaries fail to do justice tto justice o any on onee of them them,, and each showcases their threedimensionality far quicker than should be possible. If you think you’ve already picked a favourite or that one looks like a weak link then be prepared to reconsider: each of the trio is far more interesting and nuanced than expected. To venture into the details of their backstories or the circumstances of their meeting would be to stumble into Spoilerville (and this itself is a process that’s far more rewarding than anticipated), but evidently the specifics of their criminal ambitions bring the three together. And it’s when they do converge that GTA V spreads its gameplay wings and showcases how the ambition of its mission structure can match that of its world building. Naturally each member of the gang has a vast number of their own objectives, but it’s the collaborative heist efforts that are the headliners. These multipartite undertakings involve planning, recon, decision-making, crewhiring and, ultimately, execution. Payoffs are big,

REVIEW

how smoothly all of these steps go – and there’s always more than one way to get your hands on the loot. Take the first of the bunch, the jewellery store robbery. You first need to go inside and scope the security system and cameras. You then need to ascend to the roof in order to photograph the outlet vent of the air conditioning system. From there, it depends. You can go for a more traditional, headon approach, or you can play it sneaky. Going for the latter, as I did, you require some extra kit: namely sleeping gas, which has to be requisitioned beforehand. This is then lobbed into the air con vent you photographed, knocking out the unsuspecting bracelet shoppers inside and allowing you a free run at the precious metals. That’s still not the whole story, though, because your success isn’t justt depen jus dependent dent on th thee pla playa yable ble characters: additional team members need to be recruited. For this heist that means a hacker, a driver and a gunman. More capable crooks do their job bette betterr, but th they ey al also so tak takee a bigger cut of your loot. I hired a primo computer whiz, thus allowing me a larger time window to grab goodies inside the store, and a top-notch driver, meaning that we had the perfect getaway vehicles in place. But not anticipating any firefights I went for the poundstore gunman, who ended up bailing off his bike and dropping a third of the take. Turns out that, much like when visiting intimate waxing clinics, sometimes you really do get the results you pay for. There are around half a dozen of these high-profile jobs,, and each jobs each is to totall tally y different from the last in terms of motivation, setting and mechanics. While there could be more variation provided in the choice of approaches you’re offered for each – it pretty much comes down to ‘sneaky’ versus ‘loud’ every time – there’s precious little repetition in terms of content, and all are truly memorable high points.

PLANE CRAZY Not that standout gameplay moments are confined to these. Far from it, as GTA V is consistently brilliant in terms of the quality of both its

081

are undertaken by the city’s more nefarious

but only in accordance with

main missions and its side-

RightPretty much every single name in the game featur fea tures es a p pun. un.

LeftInvade the Facebo Facebook ok – sorry, Lifehacker – offices early on.

08 2

quests – and to an extent never before seen in an open-world game. Again, to go into too much detail would be to sour the joy of discovery, but brief highlights include riding atop a moving train on a motorbike, driving an ATV out the back of a cargo plane, and landing one plane inside another. And it’s a case of quality andquantity, quantity, with 69 main missions, a huge range of emergent events, and dozens of Strangers & Freaks side-quests, which really do live up to their name. All of these, heists aside, are specific to each character, bringing the switching dynamic into play. At almost all points (not mid-mission or if you’ve got the fuzz on your tail) holding 2 enables you to take control of any of the three, whatever they might be up to at that time. And what they might be up to varies a fair amount, from Michael having a nice refreshing cup of Bean Machine coffee (the brown stuff is almost as depressingly ever-present as it is in real life), to Franklin taking his Rottweiler for a relaxing walk in the Vinewood hills, to Trevor, um, strangling a biker and throwing him into the sea.

“EVERYTHING IS MADE FUN OF, FROM THE MORTGAGE

It’s testament to just how much brilliance there is in GTA V that discussing the revamped gameplay mechanics is this low on the priority list in terms of points of discussion. Because they really are excellent. Driving feels less like trying to steer a bendy bus across an ice rink than before, with cars more responsive while still maintaining a degree of realism and, crucially, all feeling pleasingly distinct. Shooting has been massively improved too, bearing more than a passing resemblance to Max Payne 3 (although it’s not as solid or rewarding). quiteas Weapons – now customisable – are chosen from a handy radial menu, and most pack a hefty punch, with enemies dropping plausibly quickly, especially if heads are being shot. Another Max Payne nod is Michael’s special power: click both analogue sticks down and the action slows to

you to pick off enemies at your leisure. Each of three has such an ability, with Trevor able to deal extra damage and become near-invulnerable for a short time, while Franklin’s lets him drive with more precision and is easily the pick of the bunch. Each also has eight stats determining, say, stamina or flying ability (in planes, not à la Superman), which can be slowly improved by undertaking the given activity.

FUNNY HOW Everything in the game is tied together with that trademark Rockstar sense of humour, poking fun at everything from the sub-prime mortgage crisis to online trolling to the modern obsession with coconut water. There’s perhaps no unifying theme to the satire in the same way that IV was concerned with the American dream seen through the lens of illegal immigration, but rather

CRISIS TO ONLINE TROLLING. W

a bullet-time crawl, enabling

a holistic approach to scathing

REVIEW

THE OPM BREAKDOWN W H A T Y O U D O I N … G R A N D

THEFT AUTO V

20%Exploring the most fully realised openworld ever.

10%Thinking

that maybe banks really aren’t thathard hard to rob after all…

6%Flicking

Ju Jump mpiingout out of planes before realising realisin g you have no ’chute.

back over to WCTR to hear the latest instalment of Chakra Attack.

41%Shaking

your head as you simply can’t believe what you’re seeing. Again. Aga in.

14%Helping/ murdering San Andreas Andr eas’’ weir weirdo do population.

Above Abo veThere

are 50 stunt jumps to jumps complete. Or die attempting.

TROPHY CABINET

ABY

EER

M MIS D

L O

G I

G D I

S A

O S

R D

RightDon’t pack the Coldpl Coldplay ay album by mistake when whe n skyd skydivi iving. ng.

B ,B

A S

BRONZE

SILVER

GOLD

Complete all of Trevor’s Rampage missions. And yes, the they’re y’re every every last bit as bloody as they sound.

Explore all of Los Santos and Blaine County. This one might take you a while – it’s kinda big.

Achieve Achiev e7 70 0 gold gold medals on missions and Stranger & Freaks activities. Well, go on then…

HOW TO… FLY A HELICOPTER

083

Planes are k ids’ play, but whirlybirds are a different story. iand pascend and descend, but in order to move forward you to need to tilt the nose downwards. This, however, will cause you to drop altitude, so pay close attention.

Above AboveOur automobile crash counter hit maximum inside the first five hours.

social commentary about all aspects of the modern world. Our characters chase wealth, but also acceptance and a sense of contentment that they know the money can’t bring. Despite all this praise, the game is not perfect: there’s a slight sag in the middle section, and one mission in particular is deeply uncomfortable despite the overriding message behind it (sounds cryptic, but it’ll be clear enough). But honestly, that’s about it. And I haven’t even mentioned the car customisation, the property purchasing, the stock market, or the huge range of pastimes such as tennis, stunt jumps, yoga and hunting. There’s more content to discuss than it would be possible to mention in a review twice this long, but that’s sort of the point. And stumbling across it for yourself and at your own pace is a joy that’s almost unique.

that Grand Theft Auto V releases to perhaps the highest expectations of any game in history. It’s also no exaggeration to say that it, somehow, manages to surpass them all. The finest game of the generation? It depends on your perspective. It doesn’t have the storytelling chops of something from the Bioshock stable, the emotional resonance of The Last Of Us, or the artistry of Red Dead Redemption’s ending. But there’s simply more here than in any game before, and yet quality is never sacrificed for quantity. Personal favourites will persist, but it’s hard to put anything else on top of the pile.

STAT PACK

150 69 3 41 The amount, in Main missions millions of across each of dollars, that the thre three e you’ll you ’ll have to pay characters. It’s in order to own also a dirty thing the gol golff cour course. se. – “LOL!” etc.

Hours played to complete the main game. That includes a fair chunk of side activities, mind.

SERIESOGRAPHY

0 1 |

V E R D I C T

Everything you’ve ever wanted a GTA game to be, and a whole lot more. Consistently hilarious, constantly compelling and combining never-before-seen scale and ambition. This is going to make next-gen look bad for a

Choices of ending. Wait, you wentt for wen for tha thatt one? Seriously? Whatt kind Wha kind of person are you?

9 |

| o t u A t f e h T d n a r G

2 o t u A t f e h T d n a r G

8 | I I I o t u A t f e h T d n a r G

0 1 | y t i C e c i V : o t u A t f e h T d n a r G

s a e r d n A n a S : o t u A t f e h T d n a r G

9 | s e i r o t S y t i C y t r e b i L : A T G

0 1 | V I o t u A t f e h T d n a r G

Given its shared setting, San Andreas has a lot it in common with V, only this outing is bigger, more detailed, and a whole lot prettier. p rettier.

It’s no exaggeration to say

long time to come.Joel Gregory

year ear of cha change nge A y has proven fruitful for Balo Balo,, and and the same is true of EA’s footy series.

08 4

GOAL PIGGY

@BenjiWilson

FIFA 14 Doubts over over champion champion’s ’s title hopes prove prove unfounded

he trouble with iterative sports games is that, year on year, you rarely feel like you’re truly getting a new experience on first play. Familiarity breeds contempt. So cue up The Great Escape and prepare your clumsiest Ian Holloway touchline dance, because this season EA’s footballing colossus has changed more than at any time since the series moved to PS3 in 2007. It doesfeel feel like a new game, in the very best way possible.

Happily, this isn’t down to one big gimmick, but EA Canada refining and improving upon every fundamental of football. Shooting is tied directly to player animation and therefore more natural, so a perfectly timed volley both looks and feels like one. Momentum takes into account the speed and angle at which a player is moving, enabling you to beat opponents with a welltimed turn of pace rather than a ballet-worthy trick. Defending is less risk-reward. Team-mates make clever forward runs and track opposition players properly. Central midfielders get more time on the ball. Keepers are better. The best part is how you swiftly stop noticing these upgrades and just become attuned to the smooth, fluid football FIFA serves up – never finding yourself bemoaning the AI’s superhuman ball retention skills (gone!) or Messi-

receiving the game, I lost six to one-more-matchhoursto itis before even considering Seasons, Ultimate Team, or Career. It’s that moreish. INFO FORMATPS3 PS3 ET ETA AOUT NOW PUBEA DEVEA CANADA

SCOUT’S HONOUR Which isn’t to say those modes don’t swiftly develop into huge timesinks once you dabble in them. At time of writing Seasons and Ultimate Team are tough to test given that there’s no one to play online (more next month), but Career mode has undergone as spectacular an overhaul as the on-pitch action: new scouting system, new menus, new ways to tailor it to your liking (for instance, swapping teams between leagues before you start, or switching off the first transfer

window to keep real-life squads intact. Nice). Now, new menus aren’t usually something to get overly excited about unless you’re Paddy Kenny lining up a Domino’s Two For Tuesday, but these really do transform the long-term experience. Giant rectangular panels act as your navigation tools, leading to your team-management screen, scouting network, etc. It’s easier on both eye and brain: new emails appear in the top left of the screen while simming and can be opened by tapping w– but you’re mercifully no longer forced to traipse back and forth between home screen and inbox to handle every last one. The scouting network feels more akin to Football

“I LOST SIX HOURS TO ONEMORE-MATCH-ITIS BEFORE

GOING NEAR CAREER MODE.

esque ability to score in every match (gone!). On

RightPlayers with with a dec decent ent Strength stat finally finally hol hold d opponents off properly.

REVIEW

THE OPM BREAKDOWN W H A T Y O U D O I N … F I F A 1 4

BelowSpurs

vs Atl Atleti etico. co. Not

7%Thanking the

17%Skipping

ref for correctly punishing sly tugs.

substitution cutscenes. (Almost instantaneously

11%Changing formation with the right stick while paused. Nice add.

pictured: Nacerin Chadli loitering no-man’s-land.

14%Playing

mates on ‘spins’ and wishing you’d taken Hull over Hereford.

this year. Phew.)

42%

Blaming anyone but yourself every time the opposition score.

9%Marvelling that Jeff Stelling even has lines included about the BrightonPalace derby.

MULTIPLAYER

EA says Ultimate Team is FIFA’s most popular mode, and it shows: it’s a cinch to navigate, and introduces the ability to search for players and more customisation options, such as squad numbers. Look out for an in-depth online test next issue. IS IT BETTER THAN?

085

Above lef Above lefttFrom team-mate marking to goalkeepers, AI is very much improved.

Manager than FIFA – and for the better. Instead of searching for potential signings using attributes, you task scouts (six maximum) to find players with specific traits: eg, ‘centre back, tall, defensive-minded’ or ‘centre forward, prolific, first-team ready’. Once they’ve found targets who match those descriptions, you see a range of attributes pertaining to each, such as ‘Pace 68-78’ – but need to scout further for those ranges to narrow. You can still search by name, club, or league, but unless listed for transfer or loan, you only initially see a player’s age and position. Again, scouting is key. The idea is that Career offers something deeper than just matches, and it’s a sound one, with results that suit your club: as Celtic in the Championship (remember what I said about swapping leagues?) I was presented with CB options such as David Wheater and

Exeter boss threw up cloggers from Scotland and Germany who I’d never heard of. (Rightly so – for all his awfulness, even Joleon Lescott isn’t quite League Two calibre. Yet.) These Career changes amount to a giant step forward for FIFA, as is the case elsewhere. Gameplay is the best it’s been on PS3, and presentation is improved, too, with Jeff Stelling’s pre-match, half-time and post-match links upping the broadcast feel yet again. Whatever your thoughts on annual sports games, you really mustn’t miss this one unless you want to spend the next nine months feeling like a defeated play-off finalist.

YES

Easily hammers last year’s big rival game. Same ahead of 2014? Find out in next month’s review.

EA’s other big ‘football’ title has finally been left eating turf by its soccerinfatuated broski.

FIFA still can’t touch PSN’s brilliant baseball effort for realism or presentation. But it’s getting closer.

STAT PACK

20 94 7

Licensed Overall rating for Maximum human Premier League Brazilian clubs in Leo Messi, the players offline stadia in the FIFA 14. The only game’s best – more than you’ll game. Everton’s top fli flight ght one to player. Cristiano get on PS4, Goodison Park is miss out is Bahia. Ronaldo is next where wher e the the top top the sol sole e newbi newbie e Bahia humbug. with wit h 92. 92. limit is four. this thi s year year..

TROPHY CABINET

ION

IO SS I

E F

S R

S ,S

T I

V E R D I C T

With the PS4 version set for a Bale-style arrival in November, expectations were low on PS3 – but FIFA 14 is brilliant. If Wenger can finance Ozil, you can definitelyafford afford this.

BRONZE

SILVER

GOLD

Score a perfect hat trick – left foot, right foot and header. Actual Actually ly harder harder tha than n the other two here.

Hire a new scout and send him on his first mission. Brazil, you say? It’s alright for some.

Score with a dipping volley. Will happen naturally if, like most, you only play as Barca or Real online.

Ron Vlaar, whereas my time as

Ben Wilson

REVIEW

Toybox mode unlocks all manner of crossfranch franchise ise fun fun,, li like ke Iain Iain Dowie vs Johnny Depp.

TOON IN

08 6

@emcetera

DISNEY INFINITY

Expansion figures highly in the House Of Mouse’s latest ike so many of my generation, I spent many a happy, slack-jawed childhood hour in front of Uncle Walt’s finest VHS tapes. These days, however, kids get their Disney fix in interactive digital form thanks to Infinity – the wonders of modern technology, and so forth. In the mould of Activision’s megaton Skylanders franchise, this is a cheerful, child-friendly actionadventure, with plastic figurines you slot into a base to unlock various elements. It’s a nicely detailed trip into some well-loved franchises, albeit rather biased towards more recent characters and with a steep price tag.

L INFO FORMATPS3 ETA ETAOUT NOW PUBDISNEY

INTERACTIVE DEVAVALANCHE

SOFTWARE

The game’s starter kit comes with the USBpowered base unit, as well as three figurines: Sulley, Jack Sparrow and Mr Incredible, and each of the trio boasts its own full storyline. There’s stealthy clambering, pranking and scaring your way around a rival university’s campus as a monster; you take to the high seas in your own galleon with the pirates; and there are Omnidroids aplenty to be smashed as you face off against Syndrome. Each character has a pleasingly distinct feel to their movement, from

“HERE’S YOUR CHANCE TO SEE BARBOSSA ZIPPING ABOUT

Johnny Johnn y Depp Depp’’s slightl slightly y minc mincing ing gait as Sparrow to Sulley’s heavy lumbering. Sadly, though, you can’t slot a character into a different universe for crossfranchise funtimes. Once you’ve exhausted the three initial worlds, you can purchase extra playsets to expand your game, with the likes of The Lone Ranger dropping you into a Wild West town with your trusty six-shooter. And then there’s Toybox mode. Essentially an LBP-esque sandbox, you’re given a plot of terrain in which to run riot. This is the one place you can mix things up, as you arrange collectibles picked up throughout your questing. Want to see Barbossa zipping about in Mr Incredible’s sportscar? Here’s your chance. What’s more, a pal can hop in, too, using any figure they like.

clearly – and successfully – designed to foster a sense of constant progression for kids. It does start to get a little repetitive, however, and anyone over the age of ten or so is going to yearn for something a little more meaty to sink their remaining milk teeth into. And there’s no getting away from that pricing. While it arguably contains a wealth of content, you’re looking at around £55 for the starter kit. Additional playsets are then around £30, and extra figures cost £12. Once pester power enters the equation, you’re talking about a hefty outlay. Still, Skylanders has proved immensely popular at a similar price point, so there’s clearly a market. Don’t bet against this becoming the latest playground must-have come Christmas.

COSTLY CHARACTERS

A clev er use use of Dis Disne ney y lice licenc nces es clever that kids will absolutely adore, even if grown-ups will be less enamoured by the mission – and costly merchandise – structure.

The missions are split into bite-sized chunks, and you’re frequently showered with confetti for achieving even the

V E R D I C T

IN MR INCREDIBLE S CAR.

most minor of objectives. It’s

Emma Davies

FIRST FOR GAMING NEWS

NEWLOOK. NEW LOOK. MORE MORECONTENT. CONTENT. FASTER FASTERBROWSING. BROWSING.

ComputerAndVideoGames.com W

Know a local Barbarian who’s handy with a club? Nab them for some coco-op. op.

08 8

DEVIL’S ADVOCATE

@PhilIwaniuk

DIABLO III PlayStation’s PlayStation’ s latest evil in rresidence esidence is the hell of the ball

his is quite the coup – the threequel to one of PC’s most revered franchises, on your PS3. Over a decade in the making, and record-holder for day one sales in the domain of mice and keyboards, Diablo III is a true heavyweight. If you’re uninitiated but you’ve heard the buzz and glanced at its high fantasy artwork, there’s a good chance you’re expecting an epic somewhere on the scale between Avatar and the Bible. With more amulets of 2-3% cold damage.

It’s time for a bit of expectation management, then. Diablo III’s story isn’t a life-affirming parable you’ll retell to grandchildren, nor does its gameplay tear down the very foundations of the dungeon-crawler and rebuild them in its own image. Despite its hardcore fanbase and menacing iconography, this is an accessible – even casual – proposition. Oh, excuse me a second. There’s one of those hardcore fans now, asking me to sign for this parcel marked ‘Anne Thracks’. It’s simple. Your role in the fantasy kingdom q of Sanctuary is toIfpress untilreductive, there are it nois a more bad things. that sounds bit: there are five classes to pick, each with their own energy resources and tactical intricacies, and the bad things in question are hellspawn of myriad variation. But it’s certainly not intended

storied hack ’n’ slash is doing exactly that, undistracted by secondary objectives or extraneous mechanics.

A LOO LOOT T POI POINT NT INFO FORMATPS PS3 3 ET ETA AOUT NOW PUBBLIZZARD ENTERTAINMENT

DEVBLIZZARD ENTERTAINMENT

Diablo III fetishises mass slaughter expertly, throwing wave upon wave of unholy meatsacks towards you from all angles and letting you enjoy the power you wield over them. Then, when beaten, those meatsacks explode in a glorious, pornographic shower of gold and loot. This is the only game on PS3 that comes close to Borderlands 2’s obsessive item drops, turning each monster into a stumbling lottery ticket that just might hold a game-changing rare crossbow when scratched.

Further to the cause of perpetuating the slaughter, you’re served delicious XP bonuses for massacring 20 or more enemies at a time. As you level up, you gain secondary killing abilities and increased character stats (though this is about the extent of its RPG leanings). Kill to amass loot and XP. Use loot and XP to do more killing. It’s an irresistible Skinner box that actually grows more enjoyable through repetition. And it is repetitive. Once you’ve run the 20-hour gauntlet once, the done thing is to play it again on a higher difficulty against larger hordes to find even more powerful loot. And then again. It’s an altered beast from the troubled PC version that

“MEATSACKS EXPLODE IN A GLORIOUS, PORNOGRAPHIC

SHOWER OF GOLD AND LOOT.

as a criticism. The greatest pleasure in Blizzard’s

REVIEW

RightGet

behind me, Satan’s absurdly muscular hellspawn!

THE OPM BREAKDOWN W H A T Y O U D O I N … D I A B L O

III

3%Hearing the

15%Doing a sick when the Grotesque explodes in a mess of corpse-worms.

BelowIt might

look intense, but this scrap’s a relative lull in the pacing pacing..

‘level up’ noise and knowing that, for a brief second, the world is all okay.

23%

17%Blowing

Realising that even in the best gear your Wizard looks like a douche.

10,000 gold on a weapon and instantly finding a better one. 10%Not

admitting the Inferno level made you weep.

32%Agonising

between the amulet that increases your dexterity, or the one that speeds your mana regeneration.

FRIENDS & ENEMIES

AN OD

AIN

C H E

AC RM

M Z A

O K

A h humbl umble e llass ass,, and and

Lord Of Sin and

Templar knight

early ally, with immense magical powers.

all-round jerk. A tough boss showdown.

companion with a Sean Bean-esque accent.

IS IT BETTER THAN?

089

Abo Above ve lef lefttNew powers unlock at each new level, but they’re not always better.

required a constant internet connection to play and thus led to Error 37-gate when the game’s servers couldn’t handle the traffic. There’s no such requirement on PS3 – although net co-op play is available, in addition to four-player local co-op that stays coherent by not splitting the screen and instead zooming out to oversee the bloodshed from a distance. Menus have been redesigned as radial affairs for minimal fuss, and the camera’s been drawn towards the player – handy if you’re playing the Barbarian class, annoying if you’re a ranged character like the Demon Hunter who thrives on creating space between yourself and your targets. Aside from its console

Starbreeze’s Syndi Starbreeze’s Syndicate, cate, Ninja Theory’s DmC and 2k Marin’s original design for its Xcom shooter were all lambasted for taking liberties with their source material, somehow missing the point of their prequels. Diablo III by contrast is nothing if not the essence of the original games, and the anachronisms it displays in everything from an absence of character customisation to low-rent animations are more endearing than underwhelming. It’s an ancient evil residing in a new place, and the marriage of Blizzard’s defiantly oldschool dungeon-crawling with its mesmerising craftsmanship works unquestionably.

tailoring, Diablo a hackits ’n’ slasher that feelsIII asisthough design documents have been excavated from darkest 2001, and then been lavished with the highest production values

A dec epti tive vely ly sim simpl ple e and aBeelzebubnd decep expertly constructed basher, translated smartly for a platform not immediately receptive to the genre. A new approach for a modern

V E R D I C T

YES

Good God, yes. Both are traditional dungeon-dwellers, but Diablo III has superior polish and panache.

P4’s dungeoncrawling has less enjoyable combat, but it’s a narrative heavyweight.

Miyazaki’s revered RPG stacks the odds against you with a mechanical finesse lacking in Diablo III.

COMPEL-O-GRAPH

Find mega-rare gloves

Replay in Nightmare mode

First loot drop Fail boss fight. fight. Again Again

Kill 30 monsters

TIME

20 hours

MULTIPLAYER

Smart camera-zooming keeps the action tidy in four-player local or online co-op, and you can play the whole campaign in this way you wish. There’s PvPif duelling, too, for a deathmatch fix, but the PC game’s online auction house has been cut.

2013 can muster.

reincarnation. Phil Iwaniuk

REVIEW

“Hmm, “Hmm, Tues Tuesday day… … I’m I’m cutting a dragon apart with wit h magi magic c scis scissor sors. s. Sorry, can’t do drinks. drinks.”” WOODEN WON DER

09 0

@rob_pearson86

PUPPETEER A bo bolt of ori rig ginality with no strings a att tta ached

S INFO FORMATPS3 ETA ETAOUT NOW PUBSONY DEVSONY JAPAN STUDIO

o to defeat Snake – a general of the evil Moon Bear King – you’ve got to ride a rat through the serpent’s toxic innards before cutting your way through its throat with a pair of magic scissors. It’s a sequence that’s essentially Puppeteer in miniature, five minutes where the game throws a completely new mechanic your way before barrelling you through a breakneck set-piece of outlandish creativity and sinister cartoon violence.

Oh, the violence. “Don’t run with scissors!” said every mum ever. “Ignore boring old Mum!” replies Puppeteer before handing you the most moreishly addictive gameplay tool on PS3 and then encouraging you to dash all over the place cutting things to shreds. They’re called Calibrus, and the snippy satisfaction that comes with making tattered rags out of a hapless boss feels brilliant, like peeling dried glue off your fingers. Puppeteer often brings out that kind of childish delight – it’s a game for ten-year olds, both real ones and the ones we all have buried under a layer of stony adult cynicism. The world is colourful, creative and wildly diverse – you

“MAKING TATTERED RAGS OUT OF A BOSS IS LIKE PEELING

side-scroll your way through castle dungeons, haunted forests and pirate ships, to name just three – and is brought to life with Roald Dahl-esque wit and flair by a hilarious cast of characters.

HE’S BEHIND YOU

The game continually overindulges in its concept, however. A framed narrative sees the action playing out on an in-game stage complete with curtain drapes, cheering crowds and panto style narration. Even the pause menu is playfully daubed ‘intermission’. It’s a brilliant idea, but Puppeteer regularly forgets that first and foremost it’s supposed to be a gameand and is instead constantly showing off how clever it is. Each ‘act’ is punctuated by lengthy cutscenes that – while entertaining and well-scripted – inevitably end with your at thumbs anxiously twitching your neglected controller, with the musical interludes really getting on my nerves. But that’s the only thing

notching an even higher score. The game hurls its madcap two-dimensional world at you with boundless enthusiasm, constantly shifting gears and giving you new things to cut with those wonderful scissors. Later on you use them to solve puzzles and propel yourself through the air, too, indicative of how Puppeteer teaches you new gameplay tricks right until the end. There’s always something new to toy with, plus wooden hero Kutaro’s ability to jam different heads on to his tiny shoulders never gets old. The platforming itself is solid if not spectacular, but then much like LittleBigPlanet it’s the warmth and creativity of the world that counts, and the world of Puppeteer is one of the most original on PS3. V E R D I C T

An exa examp mple le of of the the crea creati tive ve talent at Sony’s disposal, it’s one of PS3’s most unorthodox exclusives. Even the lovechild of Scrooge and the Grinch would

GLUE OFF YOUR FINGERS.

preventing Puppeteer from

smile at this. Rob Pearson

REVIEW

Those signature eyes burn just as brightly on Vita’s screen.

@PhilIwaniuk

MONEY SHOT

KILLZONE: MERCENARY

091

Ve V ekta kta graphics c ca an’t save Guerrilla’s missed opport rtu unit ityy his is a technical marvel, you understand. Watching a game that looks at first glance indistinguishable from Killzone 3 run on Vita’s pint-sized circuitry is one of few novelties that never really wears off throughout Aaron Danner’s handheld Higg massacre.

T INFO FORMATPS VITA ETAOUT NOW PUBSONY DEVGUERRILLA

GAMES

Textures do give away a lower fidelity when you really peer at them up close, of course. But you’re rarely given apt pause for technical note-taking before a fresh batch of future-cockney-Nazis arrives to disturb your frames-per-second count. It goes without saying, then, that this is one of the best-looking titles on the platform. The hipster in me doesn’t want to give it the accolade outright and ignore the artistry of Hotline Miami et al, but in terms of triple-A aping it’s peerless. Where shooters have mistakenly offered an overly pared-down experience on Vita in the past (lookin’ at you, Black Ops Declassified), Mercenary swaps out larger set-pieces and introduces arcade elements without diluting the blockbuster campaign vibe. You won’t find quite the same spectacle of Killzones 2 and 3 here in this tale of a side-swapping, planet-hopping

“ARCADE ELEMENTS ENHANCE SOME OTHERWISE FAMILIAR

merc, but the leaner levels make sense on the platform. What’s more, those arcade elements enhance some otherwise tediously familiar shooting galleries by introducing points payouts for headshots, multi-kills and the like. You can spend your bounty at weapons caches, found at several points in each mission, but giving you the power to choose your own arsenal plays haywire with difficulty spikes and leaves you ill-equipped for the task ahead.

HIGHLIGHT ZONE These niggles aren’t the sole culprits keeping Mercenary from greatness. It isn’t Danner’s fault ‘brutal melee takedowns’ have have become synonymous with everything we’re growing a bit fatigued with in shooters – orange and blue, sweary men in huge facestabs, boots – but fatigue does set in during Mercenary’s love letter to those maxims. It’s with multiplayer that

app. The occasional tedium of its solo campaign makes way for 4v4 battles on maps that have a way of amplifying the modest headcount. While we’ve yet to see how it fares in the wild, it’ll likely prove Vita’s most popular hangout spot. You find some elements you like about shooters here, and they’re done well. You also find some elements you didn’t know you liked about shooters, such as excited ‘headshot!’ UI messages with accompanying points payouts. The problem is, those moments don’t constitute a ‘thing’. The closest Mercenary comes to having one is in its touch controls – and as satisfying as they are, the marriage of console FPS and iOS game doesn’t manage to elevate it into the realm of the exceptional. V E R D I C T

A bett better er att attem empt pt tha than n most most to strip the triple-A shooter down into a leaner portable experience, but not the blockbuster that was billed.

the game presents its strongest case for becoming Vita’s killer

SHOOTING GALLERIES. W

Phil Iwaniuk

REVIEW

Series veterans wil willl reco recogni gnise se the Behemoth here. And be hiding behind the sofa.

SECOND HELPING

09 2

@rob_pearson86

FINAL FANTASY XIV: A REALM REBORN The guilds are alive with the sound of grinding ou wanted the bad news first, right? Well, you’re having it anyway: at the time of writing, Final Fantasy XIV’s servers are stretched, strained and overflowing with disgruntled adventurers unable to log in or even create characters. With the EU hubs packed like a rush-hour tube, I’m unceremoniously dumped on a replacement bus service based in Japan, which comes packaged with a language barrier and the occasional bout of lag. Great.

Y INFO FORMATPS3 ETA OUT NOW PUBSQUARE ENIX DEVSQUARE ENIX

seductively peels back its boundaries as quests take you deeper into the land and lore, with deserts, forests and bustling cities creating a real sense of adventure.

DUTY CALLS

You’d think Square Enix would have learned its lesson after the unanimous critical mauling the original FFXIV received when it launched on PC back in 2010, but if anything the server issues are even more annoying this time around – because the game is actually good. Very good, in fact. Manage to chisel your way through FFXIV’s scabby technical crust and you find a world that’s beautiful, intimidatingly massive and thronging with life and possibility. It’s a slow burner, too, easing you in with story quests that play out

Most impressive is how streamlined it all is. A fully customisable hotbar system means battle commands and inventories are never more than a single button-press away. Although the targeting system is disturbingly skittish, the fighting itself is an accessible blend of turn-based action and real-time movement. Cooldown times on your main attacks are balanced by the fact you can nip behind opponents to dodge their offensive. Hell, stick the

much likeintroducing a traditionalyou single-player RPG before gradually to MMO concepts – raiding dungeons, joining guilds and bonding with a gang of strangers by hacking a giant mutant mushroom to bits.

‘dance’ on yourFlatley hotbar and youemote can Michael your way through brawls if you fancy it – it’s a system as flexible as it is simple.

Realm Reborn flexes those tactical biceps, however. The ingenious Duty Finder automatically sticks you with suitable companions according to your chosen class (you’ll always need a tank, healer and ranged fighter, for example) before letting you loose on some brilliantly designed monstrosities. Pounding these into EXP soup really is the best way to make friends. Hopefully, by the time you read this Square Enix will have given those servers a good kick up the caboose – and if that’s the case you can stick an extra point on that score, because A Realm Reborn is the pinnacle of online adventure, and easily the best MMO on PS3. V E R D I C T

Technical teething issues aside, FFXIV is a blinding online RPG. A huge huge,, dive divers rse e worl world, d, bag bags s of quests and a console-friendly UI

It won t be until you party up with mates that A

The pacing is near perfect. Swords, loot and EXP get fatter along with the monsters. Eorzea

make it simultaneously deep and accessible. Play it. Rob Pearson

GAMING ESSENTIALS .

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LOST PLANET 3

NHL 14

Vet Veter eran an brui bruise ser r sh show ows s its age age

A co cold ld en end d to th the e tril trilog ogy y

Still plenty of bang for your puck

To some extent it’s a sensible call, with the RPG elements it introduces enjoyable for a time – hiring and firing, setting prices for everything from burgers to replica jerseys, even relocating and building a new stadium should you see fit.1(The most fun I had was moving the Jaguars to London and making their uniforms even more horrendous than in real life.) But this living, breathing world feels entirely disconnected from the one you inhabit once on the field. There are no other scores from around the league, no seasonal stats displays, no standings – just the sense that your match exists in its own little bubble. London, Jacksonville, Mars… it doesn’t matter: you spend every contest feeling lonelier than Akon. So while the football is generally very good – defensive AI has improved and the QB gets a true ‘pocket’ to throw from for the first time in any Madden – it’s unlikely to keep you invested long-term. Anniversary features also disappoint: a selection of videos showcasing classic players and some loading screen imagery of previous games apparently provided the sole justification for changing the title to ’25’.2 This is by no means a bad game, but it’s crying out for next-gen reinvention more than any of its contemporaries. Ben Wilson

FOOTNOTES1 In a nice touch, you can even play as real-life

FORMATPS3 ET ETA AOUT NOW PUBEA DEVEA CANADA

MADDEN NFL 25 uring the latter days of PS2, Madden was the yardstick against which all other sports series were judged, offering up just the right balance of on-field authenticity and off-field fun. It’s never ascended to the same heights on PS3 – which perhaps explains why EA Tiburon has finally restored the single feature that garnered it so much acclaim in the midnoughties: Owner mode.

09 4

e can’t deny you tried, you really did. Y You ou paid paid atte attent ntio ion n to to som some eo oth ther er great games to try to work out why they were great. Mainly Dead Space 2.1 But, Lost Planet 3, while you made sure the mechanics were sound, there’s just a lack of any real sparkle and a few odd choices. Case in point: on one occasion you’re besieged by spine-spitting monsters that force you to take cover, as they do the

omically giant foam hands in the air, please, in honour of the sports game of the year… 2008. EA Canada’s NHL efforts have been so strong for so long that the dev has understandably adopted an ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ approach to frozen hockey of late. The end result here is a pucksmacking effort right up there with MLB: The Show and NBA 2K14 in terms of on-field authenticity, yet of limited appeal if you own

same. It’s not that it doesn’t work (although it doesn’t), more that it simply doesn’t make sense. The world of EDN III is meant to be filled with unique alien lifeforms, so why are they basically funny-shaped men with guns? Firearms are satisfying when pulling the trigger but, as a rule, nerfed by enemies and combat scenarios. There are Facehugger things that aren’t much of a threat but get under your feet, forcing an antsy toeshooting circle as you try to track them. Elsewhere enemies are bullet-sponges, making shootouts laborious. Mech sections – when you’re not trekking around Hoth-like ice bases in third person, you’re stomping around in a robot suit– are also a mix of fun and slog.2The empowerment’s nice, but mostly spoiled by the fact that areas you explore are separated by constant loading. It all adds up to a game that’s functional and at times enjoyable, but in a derivative manner that rarely stands out. This has studied better games well and worked hard to reproduce them – only without the feel. And And it is a sha shame me,, be beca caus use e iin n pla place ces sL Los ostt Planet 3 has a tangible sense of something that could have been more satisfying – a whiff of lost atmosphere and soul that haunts the game rather than makes it. Leon Hurley

NHL 13. Or 12. Or 11.1 Incorporating FIFA’s Player Impact Engine sounds like a big change on paper, and does result in more oomph to bodychecks – plus laugh-out-loud humour when a dispossessed foe hurtles icewards, coccyx over chest. But physics was something the series already did superbly, so the engine’s effect here is less significant than its implementation into EA’s footy franchise. Utilising the Fight Night engine for on-ice punch-ups amounts to a more tangible upgrade, with blocking and timing crucial when it comes to KOing your opponent. Lovers of the film Goon, rejoice. Yes Yes,, all all fo four ur of y you ou..2 One very welcome addition is NHL 94 An Anni nive vers rsar ary y mode mode,, co comp mple lete te wi with th ev ever eryt ythi hing ng you remember from the series’ Mega Drive days: garish blue ice, hammy organ music, and mates calling you C-words as borderline murder on their keeper goes unpunished. You You’d ’d be be m mad ad to bu buy y tthe he game game jus justt for for one one mode, but its sped-up action provides a fun change of pace (quite literally), especially in two-player. Otherwise, this is very much the impeccably presented EA hockey game you’ve grown to know and love over the last half-decade – but the series could definitely do with some buffing from a PS4shaped Zamboni. Ben Wilson

FOOTNOTES1 The first time you fire up the floaty holo-menu you

FOOTNOTES1 Consider buying 3 On 3 NHL Arcade from PSN

owners. Remember to boo yourself as Jerry Jones. 2 The Madden All--25 25 Team is the sole anni anniv versar ersary y feat feature ure worthy worthy of praise praise..

can almost hear a distant ‘Oi!’ from Isaac. 2 Locations really are lovely, though – this is a good realisation of an arctic wasteland. lovely,

instead – similar but with added power-up hilarity. 2 Goon actress Alis son on Pill is thesp spitt ittin ing g image image of ourown Emma. Emma.Seep.6forpro proof of..

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STRAIGHT TO THE BARGAIN BIN @j0el_g

I like endless runners. I think it’s the initial mind-numbing

@OPM_Dave

CAPTAIN CACK

ONE PIECE: PIRATE WARRIORS 2

I’m really not sure what’s going on in Mars: War Logs. A man called Roy Temperance is looking after

Borked buccaneer is a bottle of glum urse you, repetitive strain injuries. My thumbs are shredded to absolute ribbons as a result of pressing w roughly 13,973 times during this scurvy third-person scrapper.. Despite spectacular scrapper moves, stretchy-limbed seamen and alluring eye candy, limited combos and endless, identical cycles of attritional war turn this colourful fighter into a bit of a shipwreck.

Based on a manga series about a dude called Luffy who can Stretch Armstrong his limbs in a jiffy, One Piece: Pirate Warriors 2 is several tasty nautical treats short of a picnic hamper. Whether it’s a member of your Straw Hat Pirates crew sporting chest globes the size of the Epcot golf ball or a half man/half robot who’s more Optimus Prime than Blackbeard, this is a seriously surreal game. Underneath its bizarre cartoon stylings, though, lies an experience very much rooted in the familiar. Tasked with capturing enemy territory while fighting off dozens upon dozens of on-screen dastards, this is Dynasty Warriors with a patch over one peeper and squawking Macaw on its

a kid called Innocence, and yet this isn’t a story about a world-weary pimp and his young stripper dependent. In fact, it’s a third-person Fallout 3 clone… but only in the same way that a man with a blonde wig and melons shoved up his jumper is a ‘clone’ of Scarlett Johansson. Clomping around a fugly world bathed in colours ranging from red to crimson to carmine, engaging in ham-fisted melee combat, or the shooting of moles in a well, is every bit as fun as it sounds. And it sounds a bit like a pneumatic ‘nails on chalkboard’ device.

feudal Japanese series – just wait until you see a bikini-clad pirate catapult 20 men into the air with an impromptu hurricane. Yet get past the superficial gloss and combat quickly feels cripplingly limited.

FOLLY ROGER Freezing enemies with u before unleashing a devastating finisher on eto wash away countless evildoers in a tsunami of manga murder is appealing in the short term. There’s also the new ‘Haki mode’, which enables you to call in support when you’ve filled a gauge, and a higher enemy count than in the original. But no amount of graphical flair can distract you from the repetitive fisticuffs that never evolve into anything truly reactive or primal. With exquisitely directed cutscenes and some utterly bonkers high-seas antics, One Piece’s vessel is at least brimming with esoteric charm. It’s just a pity that the hugely wearing combat ushers your sanity off the end of the plank in such a hurry. V E R D I C T

Beautiful and bizarre, the likeably certifiable antics on show are ultimately undone by a repetitive structure, lack

simplicity, then way to thewhich ‘jacked intogives the Matrix’ sense of serene brilliance as you start to see the obstacles almost before they come on-screen. And An d all all of of thi this s fro from m a gen genre re th that at ca can n be be pla playe yed d wit with h a pad in one hand and a beer/hotdog/BB gun in the other. Runner 2: Future Legend Of Rhythm Alien has all of these qualities (though it’s not technically endless), combined with a lovely art style, calming music that pulses in time with your actions, and a title that, I’ve just realised, is an acronym for Flora. And wherever videogames cross over with delicious buttery spreads, that’s a happy place.

Narco Terroris sort of

BelowLuffy the

pirate slayer – about 2% as alluring as Sarah Michelle Gellar.

amazing. But amazing like an episode of Dirty Sanchez, or watching a Geordie punch a horse – you can admire the bravado and stupidity on show, even if you wouldn’t recommend it. It’s a twin-stick shooter in which a man who makes Ray Winstone look softly spoken takes down a terrorist enterprise single-handedly (or in co-op), mostly by lobbing grenades or firing off bullets that appear to be the size of an average human head. The aiming’s fiddly, everything’s frustratingly slow, and it’s relentlessly one-note… but just like guiltily chuckling at John Matrix one-liners, there’s a peverse pleasure to be taken from its idiocy.

A BOMI ABO MIN N ATI ATION ON OF THE MONTH Snowy: Treasure Hunter,

I hate you. Partly because you’re you’ re a pon ponde dero rous us,, lo-fi platformer that’s somehow both overly simplistic and needlesly complicated. But mainly due to the fact that even doing a totally flawlessrunthrough on some of your levels isn’t enough to win a gold medal, because of the th e del delay ay be betw twee een n rea reach chin ing g the the en end d and and th the e

095

shoulder. Visually, combos are much more interesting than the

of ideas and undercooked scraps. Dave Meikleham

Joel el Gr Greg egor ory y time ti merr sto stopp ppin ing. g. No Nott coo cool, l, Sn Snow owy y.Jo

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MASS EFFECT 3 Joel Greg Joel Gregory ory lea learn rns s that in space, no one can hear you die again and again Okay, so my Adept may look a little generic – despite his fetching lightblue suit with orange trim – but I’m sure I can learn to love love him, him, especi especially ally once I’ve upgraded some powers and weaponry weapo nry.. So I’ll just load up this this map map for my my first first exper experienc ience e of Mass Effec Effectt 3 online… oh, I’m down. Oh, and no one’s coming to revive me because they’re they’ re all all down, down, too. too. Oh, Oh, and and look look we’ve all bled bled out and and the the mission mission’s ’s been failed. Great job, guys! This never would have happ happened ened with Shep Shepard ard on on the scene scene.. Lovely Lovely,, strong strong Shep Shepard… ard…

NBA 2K13 09 8

A tale tale of pump pump-fa -fake kes s and heartbreak from eternal hoop-dreamer Phil Iwaniuk The best victories aren’t the ones ones where where you work diligently and outclass your oppon opponent ent – they’re they’re the ones ones you you don’t don’t deserve. Never is that sweeter than in a Celtics-Knicks match-up that goes to the wire, and gets decided by a last-second three-poi three -pointer nter from the halfw halfway ay line. line. Having used up my quota of those for life, I’m left to ponder what next-gen might bring to a franchise that already gets so much right.

STEALTH INC Dave Meikleham picks a clone of contention with wit h tthe he snea sneaker ker’s ’s leaderboards Look, I’m not pap at games. Sure, this indie darling’s online charts will tell you you I’m I’m only only the the 7,243rd speediest player on its tricksy Block Bridge stage. Yet I fail to see how some folk can blitz a level in 9.24 seconds, when my mightiest run still balloons to well over a minute. In retrospect, spending one balmy Saturday afternoon stewing like a rotating suckling swine to achieve such a meagre online achievement was wrong-headed. Next time, I’ll go go out in the the sun sun for some soda pop and a game of ball in a cup.

INFO

FORMATPS3 PUBUBISOFT DEVUBISOFT TORONTO REVIEW ISSUE #88, 8/10

Splinter Cell: Blacklist Hide lone and Spies reboot wolf critique Mr Fisher may be,with pedestrian, while vs the Mercs there’d be genocidal

but his latest game really wants you to play with other people. Pre-mission briefing screens are brazen in their desire to get you playing co-operatively, and Blacklist’s entire competitive multiplayer component appears on your strategic mission interface (because: Tom Clancy) like it’s just another arm of everyone’s favourite stealthy pensioner’s UN-flouting global assault. In fact, it feels like an entirely different game to the refined, mechanically impeccable and endlessly customisable solo experience. Both the old-school and reimagined Spies vs

repertoire of acrobatics and tech arsenal of the third-person Mercs can’t match Sam’s. These are necessary compromises. If every Spy were as powerful as Sam they’d hack all three of each map’s terminals unseen before a single Merc finished tying his boots. Likewise, the Mercs handle like tanks because if they zipped around like COD noobstompers on uppers

Mercs modes (the former sticking with two-on-two games and noncustomisable loadouts, the latter with 4v4 and custom kit) lack something of Fisher’s finesse. The first-person view

INSTA-KILLS ARE INSTA-KILLS COMMONPLACE IN THE DARK CORRIDORS MAKING UP 90%

scenes. It mightn’t feel immediately satisfying to play either party, but they are well balanced. They’re far from underpowered, either. Insta-kills are commonplace in the unfathomably dark corridors that make up 90% of Blacklist’s multiplayer maps. Spies’ ranged weapons are tricky to use and lowpowered, but they’re unstoppable at melee

and movement speed of the Merc is, perhaps intentionally, frustratingly

OF BLACKLIST’S MAPS.

DATA ENTRY

Each map has three control points. Spies must hack the terminal and remain nearby (and alive) until the hack’s complete, while Mercs must kill them. The final terminal termi nal is is lik like e The The Al Alamo. amo.

Ranged weapons have their fla their flaws, ws, but the they’r y’re e

eeing as I’m not a 15-year-

absurdy powerful at melee range.

old boyfind from Idaho, I noor longer wang jokes beating down pedestrians with sex accessories a rich source of mega-lulz. But I have to give the superpowered devil his due here, because Saints Row IV is markedly more fun in co-op. The whole campaign is playable online with a friend, including all story and side-missions, with the latter proving a perfect fit for tag-team shenanigans – just wait until you destroy a city block playing a game of telekinetic hoop toss alongside a pal. Having another Supermanshaming prez by your side also makes mowing through endless waves of aliens less of a grind,

S Saints Row IV Fine co-op saves superhero sandbox INFO FORMATPS3 PUBDEEP SILVER DEVVOLITION REVIEWISSUE #88, 6/10

and the streamlined matchmaking ensures this is the best way to enjoy the deliriously daft sandbox. V E R D I C T

An effor effortle tless ss onlin online e campai campaign gn ensures the Saints’ co-op seamlessly soars over their grind-tastic solo adventures. A heroic heroic effo effort. rt. Dave Meikleham

distance. As a Merc you can mow down a Spy with an assault rifle, although you’re in danger of being outmanoeuvred by nimbler adversaries. Pulling the trigger or snapping a neck is just one element of the game of hide and seek Spies vs Mercs induces. Much time’s spent with an eye on the radar, wondering which air vent they’re hiding in, or hanging upside down, waiting for that ‘Death From Above’ button-prompt to appear. Map knowledge is key. Work through the ranks and more multiplayer permutations appear: Extraction, Uplink Control and team deathmatch. These are variations on the number of control points, the role of each side in attacking or defending the control points, or just straight up murdering each other. Spies vs Mercs was a fan favourite in previous ‘Cells, so expect to see the middling map count to extend via updates. V E R D I C T

It’s a daunting feeling heading online with wi thou outt Fish Fisher er’s ’s ar arse sena nall or or exp exper erti tise se,, but the smart balance of Spies vs

Deathmatch Viillage V There’s only dismay in this tiny town INFO FORMATPS3 PUBFREEKY GAMES DEVBLOOBER TEAM REVIEW

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his little piggy went to market, this little piggy had roast beef… and the other fat oinker squealed all the way home thanks to this botched F2P effort. Imagine a take on Worms with the kamikaze-ing invertebrates and exploding sheep replaced by athletic hicks who can wall jump while battling for control of pig pens. And yes, that’s exactly as confusing and inbred as it sounds in execution. With a camera that constantly struggles to keep track of your red-necked acrobatics, flinging yourself around 2D maps as you scythe and shoot five other players all trying to carry pork scratchings-in-waiting scratchingsin-waiting back to their pens is exhaustingly chaotic. A cyni cynica call paypay-re real al-h -hum uman an-c -coi oina nage ge-for-better-weapons for-better-w eapons system also makes fights horribly uneven. V E R D I C T

We’ve not been this sad over a messy debacle involving pigs since Wilbur lost his cuddly spider chum. Avoid this messy, joyless

099

Mercs makes for consistently tense net play. Phil Iwaniuk

affair. Dave Meikleham

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THE LAST OF US – INTERROGATION MODE The 1.03 patch for Naughty Dog’s masterpiece adds a free new online multiplayer mode. Interrogation sees two teams of four trying tryi ng to to threaten threaten each other’s players in order to reveal reveal the locati location on

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of a lockbox. £2.39

Extremely Daud Daud and incredibly close to a classic

hose of you who’ve not played The Knife Of Dunwall – the first of this two-part story DLC – use your freeze-time power and make that purchase. It’s a fantastic expansion to the original game and, combined with this, effectively gives you a mini Dishonored 2. It’s that good – up there with the best DLC of the generation. There are new powers, fresh factions to meet/stab and a variety of previously unseen locations. Giving Daud a voice (the gravelly Michael Madsen) has actually made your über-powerful hitman a far more compelling character than the mute Corvo ever was, too. Halfway through his quest for redemption we genuinely wanted things to work out for him, in an only semi-murdery way.

Elsewhere, the tone differs enough to be fresh, while maintaining the core feel of the game – and it has all the freedom and openness you’d expect. Imaginative and atmospheric, this fantastic chunk of DLC manages to offer something new where it counts, making it an essential download.

In terms of new abilities, you have a summonable assassin that’s carried over from The Knife Of Dunwall, plus a new telekinetic power,, perfect for power grabbing things from a distance. This latter really does give you new options as you yank guards into throttling range unseen.

YOU YOUR R MI MICH CHAE AEL L MA MADS DSEN EN-VOIC VO ICED ED HITM HITMAN AN IS MO MORE RE COMPELLING THAN THE MUTE CORVO EVER WAS.

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New creepy aliens to playalbino-type as! Apart from the Castit Castithan han class, this first piece of DLC adds new charge weapons, weapo ns, bosses bosses,,

dino level is worth the asking price alone. Take that, T-Rex!

may be a tad blocky, but it’s still PlayStation’s scariest pad.

this enduringly punchy beat-‘em-up. Still a superior scrapper.

off. Still with us? Good, because this ’80s jaunt is a homicidal hoot.

great dollops of cracking turn-based battles amid all the angst.

missions and maps.

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#85July 2013

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#87September 2013 #88October 2013

A-Z A-Z Of PS PS4 4

 PS4 Unveiled

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Even dirt and homelessness can’t quite extinguish M&M’s appeal.

coming soon 30 SEP THE WALKING DEAD SEASON 3 Andrew Lin Andrew Lincol coln n and and his grubby band of allies continue to fight for survival in an increasingly hostile, Walker-filled world. BONES SEASON 8

30 SEP

Emily Deschanel keeps detecting as forensic anthropologist Bones. Like Time Team, but with 100% less beard. THE LAST EXORCISM PART II

30 SEP

A teen teen see seeks ks ref refuge uge wit with ha Christian group as she tries to rid herself of the demons she’s possessed by.

7 OCT One for the kids, centring on an advanced civilisation of tiny forest folk. EPIC

Beyoncé voices Queen Tara, while Christoph Waltz leads the bad dudes.

7 OCT The arrival of a British exchange student inadvertently disturbs the placid lifestyle of one-time aspiring musician Keith and his family. BREATHE IN

10 2

THE BIG WEDDING WEDD ING

Mud Rescuing a hull from high waters iven that it’s one of the biggest rivers going, you’d think there’d be plenty to do along the banks of the Mississippi. But it turns out all 14-year-old boys have to entertain themselves with is pearl diving, door-to-door fish selling, and finding mysterious boats stuck up trees. It’s the latter of these that provides the thrust for our plot here, as Ellis and Neckbone (seriously, mum and dad?) investigate the shipwrecke shipwrecked d vessel. It soon transpires that it’s not as abandoned as first thought, with Mud – aka the world’s most ripped hobo (Matthew McConaughey) – seeking refuge within, and soon roping the pair into his plot to get the old girl

emotions that is the film’s strongest suit, and actor Tye Sheridan would appear to have a bright future. McConaughey is, as ever these days, rock solid, and there’s a strong on-screen on-scree n chemistry between the two. The desolate nature of the landscape is also well-portrayed well-portr ayed – with muted colours and a washed-out palette – and the realities of life in the region are starkly presented. While in this regard

seaworthy onceisagain. What follows a coming-of-age tale focusing on Ellis’ relationship with Mud, and also his perspective on love, which fuels the majority of his actions. It’s

the film is not as worthy as itperhaps tries to be, Mud is nonetheless anything but stuck when it comes to even-handed

There’s a love story in

14 OCT

Divorced couple Don and Ellie attend their adopted son’s wedding and confront their past, present and future – minus the ghost of Marley. BEHIND THE CANDELABRA

14 OCT

Based on the true story, this biopic focuses on the secret relationship of flamboyance and excess between Liberace and his lover.

14 OCT Will Smith and son Jaden team up in this sci-fi adventure, taking place on a future Earth where everything has evolved to eat humans.

AFTER AF TER EA EARTH RTH

STUCK IN LOVE 21 OCT

Greg Kinnear plays a divorced novelist still obsessed with his ex-wife, while his also-a-novelist daughter struggles in love, too. Like father…

21 OCT Ethan Hawke features in this horror/thriller combo where a family is held hostage on the one night per year when THE PURGE

seeing, understanding and empathising with the young boy’s turbulent

there, but the film there, film is about about the tri trials als of growin growing g up. up.

emotional exposition.

all crime is legal and the emergency services are off.

Joell Gr Joe Grego egory ry

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Poverty-stricken Swedish teens turn out a second Poverty-stricken album of despondent synth-punk about not having two krona to rub together. Luckily, there’s fire in their bellies, with Flesh & Bone hitting an anthemic peak.

Helmets/actually holding on would seem wise wis e when when goi going ng dow down n a hill that steep.

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Low-key Ghibli proves charming as ever

hose hoping for a dose of magical surrealism in the vein of My Neighbour Totoro or Spirited Away best adjust those expectations. Instead of Studio Ghibli’s usual ‘forest spirits and soot sprites’ fare, this is a more grounded tale of Yokohama teens that’s only slightly less enchanting for ditching the fantastical elements. Umi lives in her grandmother’s boarding house with her younger siblings – their father is dead, their mother studying abroad. She spends much of her time helping out with the day-to-day running of the place, leaving her time outside for little else outside of school – aside from her mysterious daily ritual of raising nautical signal flags. Upon meeting Shun, however, she’s dragged into a world of extracurriculars and proves instrumental in renovating the school clubhouse. If you’re thinking this all sounds a little twee, you are of course correct –

this is a Ghibli film, after all. But, set in the run-up to the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, it’s underscored by tensions between old and new in postwar Japan, as well as interwoven with a sweet (albeit complicated by potential-family matters) romance. While the subject matter may be a little surprising, the art style certainly isn’t: a typically gorgeous animation with the studio’s usual charm and eye for detail. Unfurling at a gentle, meandering pace, this is an unconventional period piece that will please the eyes, if not the adrenal glands. Emma Davies

Move over Tyler, The Creator,, and go tell Frank Creator Ocean: Earl Sweatshirt is shaping up to be the real hero of Odd Future. Foul-mouthed and with a vocabulary vocab ulary to shame shame tthe he OED, this is hip-hop at its rawest and realest.

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earlsweatshirt.com

KORN THE PARADIGM SHIFT FORMATALBUM ETA7 OCT PRICE£7.99

After a brief brief flirta flirtation tion with the bassb bassbin-t in-trembl rembling ing sounds of dubstep, Korn get back to what they do best: emotionally stunted nu-metal funk-outs that roughly approximate what it might be b e like to be lodged in Satan’s armpit. Kinda rocks, mind. mind.korn.com

JESS JE SSY Y LAN LANZA ZA

PULL MY HAIR BACK

FORMATALBUM ETAOUT NOW PRICE£7.99

acc ess playstation Next-gen hands-on and launch fever as

October on Access is all about the run up to PS4 launch day as we follow follo w the first pub public lic

She might hail from the Canadian outpost of Hamilton, Ontario, but when it comes to dance music, Jessy Lanza’s

hands-on sessions across the UK. We’ll have video reactions, new gameplay and all the info info you you could could want

got her finger right on the pulse. Her debut album, recorded with the help of Jeremy Greenspan of electro-pop duo Junior Boys,

is a sweet froth of sultry slow jams and future-facing electronica. hyperdub.net

before the big day on 29 November.

autumn rolls in

howt how to o… doctor playstation Our console medic fixes fixe s your your tech tech woes woes with actu actual al scienc science e

Make a custom XMB theme Take your cat-meme creating prowess to the next level

STEp 1 1 CREATE YOUR NEW ARTWORK ARTW ORK

STEp 2 2 COMPILE IT ALL IN A THEME FILE

STEp 3 3 INSTALL YOUR CUSTOM THEME

the problem

10 4

The fatigue of experiencing your PS3’s vanilla XMB theme the me 24/ 24/7 7 is is more more ‘minor ‘mi nor gri grieva evanc nce’ e’ than tha n ‘pro ‘proble blem’ m’, but but if you’re a creative type, typ e, the cha chance nce to redesign it is just too tem tempti pting ng..

Y You ou’l ’lll nee need d two two tthi hing ngs s tto og get et started: an image editing program such as Photoshop (or MS Paint if you’re a Luddite), and a .zip file containing all the elements you’ll need to compile the theme. You can grab the zip here: bit.ly/16e7rq0. bit.ly/16e7rq0.With With your digital easel and canvas in place, you’re now free to let your inner Rembrandt run riot and alter the images however you please, from changing colours to redesigning images and fonts from scratch or importing photos. Just make sure you retain the original dimensions and name of each file you edit, and save them in .PNG format when you’re done, or the compiler program won’t be able to read your files later on. Follow this process to make both icons and the wallpaper, and your quixotic dreams of an all-cats XMB can be made into magnificent, if hugely unsettling, reality.

theverd the verd ict

It’s surprisingly easy to import your custom themes, but predictably difficult to create something that doesn’t resemble the brushstrokes of an artistically challenged toddler

Y You ou’v ’ve ea alr lrea eady dy nai naile led d th the e hard part: making art happen. Now it’s time to get techy and export those newly created art assets into a theme file that your PS3 can read. As you’d imagine, this is a bit less fun. Start by opening up separate windows for the ‘Step 1_create’ and ‘Step 2_assemble’ folders. Now drag the “PS3Theme_ template.xml” file on to the ‘p3tcompiler.exe’ ‘p3tcompiler .exe’ program within the “Step 2_assemble” folder. Y You ou’l ’lll s see ee a n new ew,, D DOS OS-l -lik ike e window appear as your new files are imported back into one theme package, then an unceremonious ‘done’ message once all files have been added. Way to treat our visionary new creation, p3tcompiler.exe. p3tcompiler .exe. Your new icons and background have been merged in one installation file. All that’s left is to actually install the thing on your console.

Now we’re on the home stretch, let’s head back to the ‘Step 1_Create’ folder and locate the newly created GIM files. These are temporary files made in the compiling process that can now be trashed. You’ll also see a new file called ‘PS3Theme_ template.p3t’ which is your custom theme. Copy this on to a USB drive, creating this directory path for it to live in: \PS3\THEME. The caps are important: PS3s only read angry file directories. Now head to ‘Settings’, ‘Theme Settings’ and then ‘Theme’, in your PS3’s XMB, and finally hit ‘Install’. Punked! You just bricked the console forever. If ‘bricked the console forever’ can be considered a synonym for ‘successfully installed your custom theme’. Which it can’t. You Your rc con onso sole le’s ’s fi fine ne.. C Con ongr grat ats, s, your new creation will now be up on your telly for all to see!

next month

The Doc takes you through throug h calib calibrat rating ing yourr TV for you for the ultimate gaming experience. Next stop: inky blacks

unless you re an adept shopper.

and singed retinas.

Mr trophy Iain Wilson’s PSN ID is Wilbossma Wilb ossman, n, and and his his trophy trop hy cabine cabinett is bigger than yours.

Platinum x 48 Gold x 251 Silver x 1,039 Bronze x 4,280 Six kills = 400 points. Carry the four and thatt leav tha leaves es the squ square are root of mass murder.

Platinum Club

Our man is stealing trophies as well as lives in Hotline Miami or the second month running we’re having memory problems: all we know know this this time time is th that at the the ‘‘80 80s sa are re drawing to a close and a series of mysterious phone calls are sending us on a murderous rampage. Just remember to patch your game before starting – the original version is plagued with a few pot-kiboshing pot-kiboshin g glitches. Wi With th that that ta take ken n car care e of, your first task is to punch, swing and shoot yo your ur wa way y thr throu ough gh al alll 2 20 0 chapters and beat the epilogue. This unlocks most of the available masks, as long as you achieve decent scores, but a few need to be picked up on certain chapters, so keep an eye out. For the fina finall m mas ask ky you ou al also so need need to solve a puzzle, whic wh ich h iis sa an n element of the game that’s easy to completely

th ther ere’ e’s s a tiny tiny gl glow owin ing g squ squar are e ttha hatt unlocks a letter when picked up, and finding all of them gives you Eye For Details. You can then access the puzzle from the pause menu and rearrange the letters to sp spel elll o out ut IW IWAS ASBO BORN RNIN INTH THEU EUSA SA,, unlocking the Springsteeninspired award The Bossand allowing you to receive the final

to perf perfor orm me eve very ry mele melee ea att ttac ack k and ground kill, but some of these involve unique weapons that only appear in a single level, so make sure you don’t miss them when completing the set. The last hurdle to leap over is Get A Life, which is by far the to toug ughe hest st in th the eg gam ame ea as sy you ou have have to ge gett a an n A+ A+ s sco core re on ev ever ery y chapter. To boost your ta tall lly yy you ou sh shou ould ld we wear ar th the eZ Zac ack k mas mask, k, as it gives you a longer combo window to chain kills together, and aim to execute as many enemies as possible for extra points. With With th that at out out o off the the wa way y, as as long as you’ve killed 1,989 enemies and died 1,000 times in th the ep pro roce cess ss (bot (both hv ver ery y lik likel ely) y) th then en th the ea app ppro ropr pria iate tely ly na name med d Trophy Addi Ad dict ctwill be yours. As getting A+ scores is highly dependent on fast reactions as well as a slice of luck, it could take anywhere from te ten n to to 2 200-pl plus us hour hours s tto o wra wrap pa all ll th the ea acc ccol olad ades es up, up, b but ut th the ep pri rize ze is a satisfyingly hardcore platinum

PATCH YOUR GAME BEFORE STARTING ST ARTING – THE ORIGINAL IS PLAGUED WITH A FEW POT-KIBOSHING POT-KIBO SHING GLITCHES.

miss if you aren’t aware of it. In each of the firs firstt 1 16 6c cha hapt pter ers s

mask from the epilogue by using th this is pass passwo word rd on th the ec com ompu pute terr. With With al alll ffac acia iall a ado dorn rnme ment nts s collected you’ll receive Zoo Keeper, and using each one at least once gives you the Sounds Of Animals Fighting gong (if you don’t like a particular mask’s enhancement you can just immediately restart the level). Next, it’s time to mop up some of the challenges, and if you haven’t already managed to rack Combo King upen a 12x combo for th then the the b bon onus us le leve vell E Exp xpos osed ed fe feat atur ures es a gre great at op open en area area in whic wh ich h to to do do so. so. To get get Knife For ProsandAlwa Always ys On To Top pyou need

pot to add to your cabinet. ISSUEMr Trophy prowls about NEXT ISSUE darkened alleys… and also rinses Splinter Cell: Blacklist of all its trinkets.

joi join n the the club Hey! What’s th the e hard hardest est tr troph ophy y you you’ve ’ve snagged? Tell us at [emailprotected] futur futurene enet. t.com com..

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C L A S S I C G A M E W

E R

O R T

The Colossus Of Rhodes is one of the finest fin est bos boss s scrap scraps s you’ll you ’ll fin find d on on PS2 PS2 and makes for an ace intro to the game.

10 6

INFO PUBSONY DEVSONY SANTA

MONICA RELEASED2007,

PS2

GET IT NOWPSN, £13.99

NEED TO KNOW

1 2

The game has sold over a whopping 4.2 million copies. Corey Burton also voiced Zeus in Disney’s Hercules. The HD remake sadly uses the

TI A T

N o

original cutscenes.

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M i n o t a ur c r a f t

Each month we celebrate the most important, innovative or just plain great games from Play PlayStation Station’s ’s past. This month we drop in on everyone’s favourite constantly irate immortal, as Kratos looks to reverse his fate in a monum monumentally entally murdery sequel

God Of War II ow do you make a deity vulnerable? After all, when you’re a strapping slab of irritable Ancient Greek muscle who can zap himself into a skyscraper-sized slaphead, you’re not going to sweat a narked-off Harpy. After Kratos conquered Ares and claimed his godly seat on Mount Olympus in the original, Sony Santa Monica had set itself quite the challenge in creating a worthy follow-up to PS2’s most iconic actioner. Sensibly, God Of War II immediately nerfs your antihero’s Olympian powers, reducing him to a mere… uh, nearunstoppable killing machine. Ah well, at least your freshly man-sized, surly Spartan has to contend with a sentient statue that makes the giant metal dude in Jason And The Argonauts look like a garden gnome. And that’s what really defines this sequel: scale. As th the e Col Colos ossu sus s Of Of Rho Rhode des s pol polit itel ely y reveals before stomping you into a squidgy paste, it’s definitely about the size of the Cerberus in this fight. Bigger in almost every conceivable way, GOWII is a veritable kill list scrawled with the names of Greek mythology’s A-listers. It’s this irresistible combination of sprawling grandeur and X-rated monster murder that makes old

homicidal britches’ pursuit of the Sisters Of Fate such a success. Now, while Kratos’ first tale was a lean and muscular action game carved out of sturdy combat and setpiece spectacle, it was also a bit of a tease. After opening with one of best sustained scraps on PlayStation, GOW’s mighty Hydra scuffle is followed up by justt two jus two ot othe her r bos boss s fig fight hts s in in the the en enti tire re game. Compare that to the sequel’s dozen offerings and the increased scale of Ghost Of Sparta 2.0 is as striking as a tiara-sporting Cyclops entering the Miss Teen USA Bikini Finals. And An d oh, oh, what what bo boss sses es th they ey ar are. e. Eviscerating Perseus (cutely played by Clash Of The Titans’ Harry Hamlin), yanking off the serpent-encrusted noggin of a big-boned Gorgon that looks like a cross between Kaa and Lisa Riley, or impaling the monstrous Kraken on what’s essentially a giant fish tackle; God Of War II’s headline battles are a masterclass in spectacle and controlled fury. Oh, and did we mention the baddy

IMPALE THE MONSTROUS KRAKEN ON WHAT’S ESSENTIALLY A GI GIAN ANT T FIS ISH H TACKL ACKLE. E.

C L A S S I C G A M E

with a thousand boobs? Yeah, perhaps we’ll save that story until the young ‘uns have trotted off to bed. What we will tell you about is the game’s impeccable pacing. Although this is an experience still based on decapitating hundreds of identical beasties, Sony Santa Monica keeps your jour jo urne ney y cons consta tant ntly ly bre breez ezin ing, g, th than anks ks to varied set-pieces and a revolving carousel of evocative locations. Whether it’s clambering across the Steeds Of Time (imagine four Mount Rushmore-sized ponies) or tumbling down a near-bottomless cavern as you tussle with Icarus over his wings, God Of War II constantly cycles through grisly sights to keep you enthralled. Hell, there’s even a Pegasus flying bit where you gut an armada of Griffins.

GET SPARTA Released in the UK just over a month after PS3, Kratos showed PS2 was still capable of technical feats that could wow in the era of the Cell chip. Indeed, in terms of sheer spectacle, Sony’s new baby arguably had nothing to match God Of War II until the Titan-taming third adventure. It also proved the series could blossom without the vision of David Jaffe, as the first game’s lead animator Cory Barlog effortlessly slid into the sweary creator’s loafers to steer the sequel to critical acclaim. It’s a dirty great barrelling boulder of a game. Relishing in over-the-top pantomime violence, God Of War II reimagines the works of Homer and Hesiod as an R-rated Ray Harryhausen picture where gory polygons, not plasticine, prove God is a Greek.

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Show Zeus’ other son who’s the stabby boss.

The Pegasus flights are suprisingly graceful.

It wouldn’t be GOW without a scrap against a Titan.

T I M E M A C H I N E W

Name that game Guess the four games, and their scores, scores, from these review quotes

OPM TIME MACHINE

5 YEARS AGO It was sack to the future for OPM #24, as we went crazy for the debut of a certain game named LittleBigPlanet

IF YOU’RE CRYING OUT FOR SOMETHING DIFFERENT, THEN GET INVOLVED INVOL VED – THIS IS ONE OF THE MOST IMAGINATIVE AND REWARDING BLASTERS OF THE YEAR.

2 10 8

OVERALL IT’S A MESS OF CONCEPTS, EXPECTATIONS AND EXECUTION. THERE AREN’T ARE N’T ANY HIGHS HIGHS AS SUCH, SUCH, JUST JUST MOMENTS OF NOT SUCKING.

Above Abo veSo many weapons and so much shooting to

Below leftWho’d have thought a sack doll could do

enjoy them with… As Operation Flashpoint 2: Dragon Rising attempted to reinvent the FPS, we took an in-depth look at its arsenal, asking if it could be too hardcore for the Call Of Duty crowd.

so much? We delivered the verdict on LittleBigPlanet. Below rightWe spoke to inFamous director Nate

Fox and got exclusive shots of the superhero epic.

STAY WITH IT AND YO YOU’L U’LL L BE BE SMITTEN THROUGH TO THE UNBELIEVABLE END. NO DOUBT.

4 THE BEAUTIFUL GLOSS MASKS A HORROR SHOW OF A GAME GAME.. IT’S IT’S LIKE LIKE BUYING A FERRARI ONLY FOR IT TO FALL TO PIECES AS YOU DRIVE OUT OF THE DEALERSHIP.

Far leftDead

Space’s gore factor meant factor meant rumours of it being banned abroad came as little surprise. Good job it hit UK shelves.

0 1 / 3,5 0 #e u s s i,7 0L F Nn e d d a M.4 0 1 / 9,3 4 #e u s s i,IIIXy s a tn a Fla n iF.3 0 1 / 4,0 6 #e u s s i ,r e v e r o Fm e k u Ne k u D.2 0 1 / 9,6 7 #e u s s i,2s d n a lr e d r o B.1

LeftWe heard, saw and spoke Evil in a world-

exclusive chat wit with hS Shin hinji ji Mik Mikami. ami.

S R E W S N A

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DON’T MAKE ME PLAY!

INFO SONY PUB

DEVSONY

JAPAN STUDIO RELEASED2008, PS3 GET IT NOWPSN, £10.99

W WH AT? ThisH third-person survival horror sees you doin doing g your your utmost utmost to avoid avoid death death at the the hands of the zombielike Shibito. The Sight Jacking Jack ing mecha mechanic nic enables you to see through thro ugh enemi enemies’ es’ eyes… making hiding from them even tens tenser er..

WH HO? W

SIREN: BLOOD CURSE

Don’t like it. Never tried it. Every month we force one of the team to play their most feared game

Emma Davies only watches ho watches horror rror films if she she can do so from behind a pillow. The Dark Knight Rises gave her nightmares, and she still half-believes there are m monste onsters rs under her bed.

his isn’t fair. Not really. All the rest of the team have had to do is play a game they have a moderate distaste for. I, however, am being forced to play something that could well cause a large amount of psychological distress. I should probably inform HR. The idea of horror games does absolutely nothing for me. Movies I can understand, and even tolerate – other people’s shoulders make a marvellous shield, after all. At least cinema’s a medium I can take in passively – forcing myself to physically push on through the fear with a pad holds no appeal. I thought games were meant to be fun? Initially, I actually surprise myself. The first of the three Blood Curse episodes I play resolutely doesn’t scare me. Instead, I’m just rapidly frustrated by the awkward control scheme

OPERATING THEATRE? THEA TRE? CHECK. EVIL NURSES? CHECK. HIDING? OH GOD… and limited visuals. Why can’t I look around properly? Why don’t I have any weapons? Why is it so goddamn dark? One cheap jump shock aside – at which, I admit, I may mayhave have screamed a little – I am a very brave girl indeed. Episode two is slightly less irksome, but only mildly more chill-inducing. Hey, maybe I’m not such a wimp, after all! By episode three, however, I am not a happy bunny. I’m playing a small child, trying to escape from a terrifying abandoned hospital. Creepy operating theatre? Check. Evil nurses making ominous-as-all-hell noises? Check. Hiding in an incinerator, desperately hoping those legs I can see through the peephole don’t turn in my direction? Oh God, check. I find myself consulting the map a lot, simply to give myself frequent breaks to recover. Then, just as I think I’m safe, a man starts yelling at me about how he’s going to get me. I don’t like this any more. Frantically, I hit

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the off switch. I d like some warm milk and a cuddle now, please.

It was playing as young Bella (top right) that eventually broke Emma. Because nothing says abject terror terror’’ li like ke a power powerless less little little kid bei being ng pur pursue sued d thro through ugh the dar dark k by by nurs nurses es w with ith bleedi bleeding ng eyeballs eyeballs..

H T A H L E L T O O F P F 5 A 0 M E W

THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO THIS-GEN’S GREATEST GAMES

PS3 HALL OF FAME 1

3 11 0

UNCHARTED 2: AMONG THIEVES The game that sparked a million mancrushes set the new standard for adventuring, with a perfectly pitched script, crunchy combat and setpieces like no other. Highlights come thick and fast – the train! Flynn’s heel turn! Chloe! Tibet! Thatending! ending! – so while sequel Drake’s Deception is on par in quality terms, it’s Among Thieves that’ll go down as the theiconic PS3 game. In three words: unprecedented. Unequalled. Uncharted.

RED DEAD REDEMPTION A near-per near-perfect fect open-w open-world orld fusion fusion of engaging engaging storytelling, truly compelling characters and a living environment ripe for experimentation. No sandbox since has got us quite so invested, and the bold ending still resonates to this day.

THE LAST OF US PS3’s premier developer proves a misbehaving pooch can learn new tricks in this extraordinary apocalyptic adventure. Blending intense horror, ferocious shooting and a wonderful script, this is one of the most emotive games in history.

BIOSHOCK INFINITE

MASS EFFECT 2

Perhaps the best narrative of the entire generation brings one of its finest series to a staggering climax. The original game would be well deserving of a place, but the mind-boggling revelations here run a whole lot deeper. deeper.

While Bioware’s trilogy-ender sends Shepard

GRAND THEFT AUTO IV

METAL GEAR SOLID 4: GUNS OF THE PATRIOTS

Sharply satirical and legitimately funny, this sandbox feels uniquely relevant to real life, with its jibes at reality TV and dark tale of the American dream gone wrong. Liberty City also conveys a brilliant sense of life and is huge fun to drive around.

CALL OF DUTY 4: MODERN WARFARE Simply the finest COD ever made. From that nuke to Captain Price’s mesmerising ghillie suit

ICO/SHADOW OF THE COLOSSUS HD

PORTAL 2

THE ELDER SCROLLS V: SKYRIM

Only Valve could turn advanced physics, impossi-puzzles and a voice cast comprised of a disembodied AI and Stephen Merchant into such a unique and undeniable work of genius. Hands down the funniest first-person experience on console.

Had it worked from the off? Top ten, no doubt. It’s testament to this impeccably detailed dragonblasting RPG that even after the issues, Skyrim is still one of PS3’s biggest and best open worlds.

HEAVY RAIN

CASTLEVANIA: LORDS OF SHADOW

From controversial purveyor of interactive cinema David Cage comes this psychological thriller that plays like no other game on the system. So many games promise real consequences to your actions, but none deliver like this masterpiece.

Best-in-class adventure-brawler that manages to refine every mechanic of the genre, all while layering on inventive puzzles and an epic narrative. Plus the ending is jaw-drop fodder, make no mistake.

The most gleefully playful and imaginative stealth game ever. Whether you’re watching a monkey slurp soda or revisiting the site of the PS1 original, no game honours its past so poignantly poignantly..

The most compelling bit of Bats action money can buy… that doesn’t involve Heath Ledger’s Joker. Thanks to an acutely detailed open-world chunk of Gotham, Rocksteady’s classic is simply the best superhero game ever made.

The only double bill that lets you hold a princess’ hand before stabbing up a labradoodle-cute monster the size of a shopping centre. Both games share the capacity to make you cry like nothing else on PS3.

out in finesci-fi style,sandwich it’s the middle slice of its thebest. delicious that remains A brilli brilliantly antly scripted scripted a action ction-RPG, -RPG, the closi closing ng ‘suicide mission’ provides an incredible finale.

BATMAN: BA TMAN: ARKHAM CITY

DARK SOULS Akin to n nothi othing ng el else se you’ve you’ve ev ever er played played.. It may be impenetrable like an Amish girl’s undercrackers, but persevere and there’s a brutal

and beautiful challenge within that you will never, ever forget.

stealth mission, few games can match Modern Warfare’s thrilling scripted spectacle.

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FAR CRY 3 The open-worlder that lets you duff up a komodo dragon with your fists is a brilliant example of thoughtful sandbox design. With a hugely addictive crafting system, Jason Brody’s island shooter is stuffed full of wonderful distractions.

THE ORANGE BOX It’s not a great port. But it’s a not-great port of one of the all-time best games in Half-Life 2 (plus Episodes One and Two), magnificent puzzler Portal, and fearsomely well-designed class-based online shooter Team Fortress 2. Absurdly good value.

MENAGE-A-JEUX

Personal picks The games that we – and you – hold in the highest regard Team OPM

LA NOIRE

ASSASS ASS ASSIN IN’S ’S CR CREE EED D II

Phil Iwaniuk ponders the crime caper that was a was alm lmos ostt a Mc McNam Namas aste terpi rpiece ece

Undoubtedly the finest entry in one of PS3’s foremost franchises, this is the realisation of all the promises made in the original. An engaging lead character, open-ended hits and diverting sidemissions are what this series should be about.

If only all failures turned out this well. A few hours into this class act of a period procedural, it’s clear that some of Team Bondi’s grand ambitions went a bit squiffy during its considerable development time. What you’re left with isn’ isn’tt as player-dr player-driven iven as expect expected, ed, b but ut it it’s ’s nontheless a world rich with old Hollywood allure and absolutely unique gameplay gameplay..

LA NOIRE If the delivery had matched the scale of its ambition we may well be talking about the greatest game ever made. And while it couldn’t quite manage that, what we’re left with here is a deep, bold and thoughtful experience.

R e a d e r

UNCHARTED 3: DRAKE’S DECEPTION

Juanit Jua nita a Tsik sikata ata is all all lov love e and and Nat Nate e

GRAN TURISMO 5

The latest instalment of Naughty Dog’s franchise takes the g gong. ong. I sti still ll fi find nd myself myself mesmerised mesmerised by the stunning graphics every time the need for a spot of tr treasur easure-hu e-huntin nting g calls. calls. So, even even though thoug h I’ve I’ve never never played played the the game game on Crushing Crushing difficulty, due to my gung-ho, guns-blazing, shoot-in-every-direction shoot-in-everydirection tactics, this game will always be one of my favourites.

Still the king of racers, even though it trundled up to the starting grid in neutral upon its tardy release. Polyphony’s patches have since made this an irresistible love letter to locomotion, with more Skylines than the view from the Shard.

BULLETSTORM Uproarious shooter with an ingenious twist – a scoring system that rewards kills according to their goriness. As colourful as it is crass, there’s nothing on PS3 like it, and its lack of a sequel is one of this generation’s greatest travesties.

SUPER STREET FIGHTER IV

I FIND MYSELF MESMERISED BY THE GRAPHICS EVERY TIME TREASURE-HUNTING CALLS. Developer

Earns the distinction of PS3’s best fighter for

BATMAN: BATMAN: ARKHAM CITY

adding an unbelievable amount of polish and tweakability to SFIV’s endlessly playable comeback kid. New characters arrive perfectly balanced and drenched in that wonderfully distinctive art style.

Konami’s Manorito Hosoda is all about the superhero shenanigans

DISHONORED A daring daring new IP that that came came from from nowhere nowhere and at once resurrected a treasured bygone era of open-ended stealth gaming, turbocharging it with supernatural abilities. You’re empowered on the streets of Dunwall like nowhere else in the genre.

FIFA 13

BORDERLANDS 2

Every team, every kit, every gigantic swear when you lose a nail-biter with seconds to spare. And yet who doesn’t insist on getting instant revenge with ‘just one more game’, every time? That’sthe genius of this footy classic.

The best co-op experience on the system, and one of a precious few that manages to weave a worthwhile plot in among those multiplayer

I like the Batman films anyway, and then this was pretty pretty simpl simple e [gamepla [gameplay] y] wh while ile also also b being eing an open world. You can clear missions by using [your] equipment. It’s a little like the inFamous games, which I also love for the freedom they offer the player. I can’t wait to see where this type of n non-li on-linear near game goes in tthe he ne next xt [console] generation.

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Bruce Wayne s wealth of gadgets and gizmos in open-world Arkham was enough Arkham enough to secu secure re the admira admiratio tion n of of H Hosod osoda. a.

mechanics. It also looks gorgeous and features the most (bizarre) weapons in history.

H A L L O F F A M E W

A MUST-OWN SELECTION OF DOWNLOADABLE CLA LAS SSICS

PSN HALL OF FAME 1

3 11 2

JOUR JO URNE NEY Y An obje object ct less lesson on in ho how w lles ess s is is m mor ore, e, tthi his s ttwo wo-h -hou our r voyage crafts an incredible, immersive narrative and a genuine emotional connection using little more than near-silent figures, marvellous sand physics and floating pieces of cloth. A remarkable and unique experience, as well as a new high for PSN gaming.

THE WALKING DEAD With this episodic zombie series now drawn to a close, it stands among the best downloadable games ever, with emotional ties and tangible consequences for your actions.

BRAID If you want to make the argument that games are art, this is the place to start. An achingly beautiful handdrawn style combines with brilliant but brutal time-bending puzzles.

MLB 13: THE SHOW

RESIDENT EVIL 4 HD

The long wait is over: the best sports series around has landed in the UK with ace presentation, deep but approachable gameplay, and a lifesapping Franchise mode.

One of the best games on PS2 gets

Engrossing, varied and touching, this Nordic puzzler offers a unique variety of single-player co-op as you take control of one sibling on each analogue stick.

HOTLINE MIAMI

STACKING

FLOWER

Part puzzler, part top-down murder-‘em-up that’s as brutal as almost anything else on PlayStation. It’s hard but never frustrating, with instant restarts and lightning-fast lightning-fast gameplay.

Tim Schafer puzzler-cumadventure-cum-headtrip adventure-cum-headtr ip in which you solve mysteries by stacking Russian dolls with unique abilities. Intelligent, insane and totally immature.

More ‘experience’ than game, this collect-’em-up sees you steering a petal on the breeze by tilting your Sixaxis.

LARA CROFT AND THE GUARDIAN OF LIGHT Ignore the looks and know that this is one of Lara’s finest outings ever. Great two-player action plus loads of treasure hunting. A co-op essential.

PIXELJUNK SHOOTER

PAC-MAN CHAMPIONSHIP ED DX

It was expanded on by the sequel, but the inventiveness and satisfyingly simple twin-stick gameplay mechanics of the original mean that this is still the best PJ title around.

How do you update all-time classic? Why, up thean pace, throw in loads of neon and add some of the most satisfying sound effects ever. Sold!

a makeover. Still the ofhi-def survival horror, you’ll getpinnacle scared, shooty and decapitated by a chainsaw chainsaw.. And that that’s ’s a triple triple w win, in, quit quite e frankly frankly..

BROTHERS: A TAL ALE E OF TW TWO O SON SONS S

LIMBO

OKAMI HD

THOMAS WAS ALONE

This understated, monochromatic tale of a lone boy’s escape from a danger-filled forest is as gorgeous as it is frustrating. A glorious combination of eye-caressing art and gut-punching gore.

Beautiful like Nathan Drake standing in front of a Hawaiian sunset, this tale of a wolf goddess and her celestial paintbrush is still unique six years after its original release.

Platform-puzzler that manages to imbue a bunch of quadrilaterals with personality thanks to a witty script and

clever gameplay mechanics. A shining example of making a lot out of a little.

It’s a soothing mix of colour and music; a lovely deviation from frantic action.

retrostation W

YO Y OUR EVERY NEED FOR ON-THE-GO GOODNESS

PS VITA HALL OF FAME 1

PERSONA 4: GOLDEN If ever a game could make you forget the existence of anything outside the Vita’s screen, it’s this thoughtful and unique JRPG epic. Essentially it gives you another stab at high school – this time with intrigue, mystery and superpowers instead of acne, nerves and an unpredictable vocal register.

VI VIRT RTUE UE’S ’S LA LAST ST REWARD

This visual novel/puzzler just gets better over its 40 hours. The dialogue’s engaging, and however tough it gets you’re never left rage-scouring for clues.

GRAVITY RUSH Use a gravity-defying cat to break the laws of physics and zoom across the skies of a floating steampunk city. With stylish comic-book looks and a sassy heroine, this is a rush to remember.

LITTLEBIGPLANET Sackboy’s back, smaller but just as loveable as ever. His platforming antics work perfectly on Vita, and the new control inputs complement the level creator brilliantly. brilliantly. Also: d’awww.

LUMINES: ELECTRONIC SYMPHONY

METAL GEAR SOLID METAL HD COLLECTION

UNCHARTED: GOLDEN ABYSS

RAYMAN ORIGINS He of no limbs finds the perfect home on Vita’s OLED screen.

SUPER STARDUST DELTA

BLAZBLUE: CONTINUUM SHIFT EXTEND too muchcontent There’s almost here – the wealth of game modes is a total nerdgasm for fans, and the characters are insanely diverse.

URBAN TRIAL FREESTYLE Taking more than a little inspiration from its Xbox counterpart, this tricks and tracks biker is absurdly addictive. ‘Restart’ will take quite the hammering.

Drake proves he’s just as adept at adventuring on the go. A prequel story that’s classic jungle action, and crammed full of typical Uncharted charm.

TALES FROM SPACE: MUTANT BLOBS ATTACK

HR policy frowns on heroin, but we can’t imagine this is any less moreish. An ace port of the PSN shooter, you’ll never stop scratching the high-score itch.

Two of PlayStation’s finest adventures scale down beautifully, with enough cutscenes to fill a transatlantic flight. Even less excuse not to play, then.

The sequel’s a shameful rip-off that only updates kits and rosters, so unless you find them both for the same price, this entry is still the best way to get a footy-on-the-move fix.

Simple but gloriously addictive. Make your ball of goo grow to vast proportions in this B-movie romp, taking in all the pop-culture zingers in the background.

Part block puzzler, disco, this is as certain topart havemobile you nodding along to ace choonage as it is to keep you returning for more reflex-testing action.

FIFA FOOTBALL

UNIT 13 Free of any half-arsed story or COD-posturing, this shooter embraces Vita’s features without being gimmicky. Its solid mechanics make the generic warfare more than forgivable.

ULTIMATE MARVEL VS CA CAPC PCOM OM 3 Imagine the full-fat version, only

113

Beautiful visuals and flawless platforming make Rayman a handheld delight of quirky cartoon ridiculousness.

smaller. Now add some optional nonsense smaller. touch controls, all the DLC characters and a near-PS3 level of prettiness.

LOOK AWAY!

SPOILER ALE AL ERT

No.5

Big Boss bonding Signing off with MGS4’s final cemetery salute FORMATPS3 /PUBKONAMI /DEV DEVKOJIMA PRODUCTIONS /RELEASED2008 /SCORE10/10

Last Month Batman: Arkham Arkham As Asylu ylum m Join The Dark Knight as he suffers a trippy boyhood dream.

moking really isbad for your health… and, as it turns out, your tear ducts. The moment Big Boss and Old Snake put two decades of bad blood behind them over a fateful, distinctly final cigar puff is perhaps PS3’s most emotional moment. Ambi Am bigu guou ous, s, re refl flec ecti tive ve,, re rede demp mpti tive ve;; the father and cloned ‘son’ share a cathartic goodbye that puts a full stop on a series obsessed with philosophising, 007 references and

sad-faced exhaustion – and the ending of Metal Gear Solid 4 is by no means an exception. An ultra marathon of exposition-heavy cutscenes, it juxtaposes a manic depressive cyborg playing 2.4 children with a wedding involving a dude suffering irritable bowel syndrome over 90 increasingly draining minutes. How Kojima somehow steers the ship away from the motormouthed iceberg that threatens

a post-credits epilogue reunites your stealthy pensioner with his pop for the first time since the series’ days on the MSX2. After 15 minutes of prattling about evil AI AIs, s, Big Big Bos Boss s iis ss sud udde denl nly y st stri rick cken en by a deadly dose of FoxDie – MGS’ covert, killer pathogen. As th the e llif ife es slilips ps out out o off S Sna nake ke’s ’s father, the hostility between the two fades. Cryptically murmuring “This is good, isn’t it?”, Big Boss takes one last drag on his stogie,

arse gags. Series creator Hideo Kojima famously loves to talk players’ ear canals off until they flood full of

to sink the climax of a 21-year-old saga is a minor miracle. Starting with a tease of Snake topping himself in a graveyard,

reuniting the two Metal Gear icons on-screen for the first time on PlayStation in a wonderful moment of quiet reflection. 

Next Month Heavy Rain Drop in on PlayStation’s most down Dad, as Ethan Mars does some homework with his son.

(Video) Garden Tips for July

PlayStation Magazine - docshare.tips (2023)

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