Innholdsfortegnelse for June 2016 i PLAY

“WE’VE PLAYED GHOSTBUSTERS ON PS4 – AND LOOK BACK ON 36 YEARS IN THE COMPLETE CHRONOLOGY.” Yes, you are staring at the ghost of OPM past. Yes, my doughy frame does bear an uncanny resemblance to the 1984 manifestation of Gozer. Don’t, however, go calling 555-2368. I’m merely filling in while editor Matt takes a spring break, and in doing so helping the team source spook-tacular exclusives such as the first hands-on with Ghostbusters on PS4. Making an official tie-in is one of the toughest challenges in all of gaming, and our tale of new studio Fireforge’s efforts with this one begins on p52. Additionally, we look back at 36 years of PKE-tracing, Egon-worshipping goodness in the complete Ghostbusters chronology, from p58. All without a “who you gonna…” joke in…

CAN YUZ BELIEVE IT? You’ll be wallowing in the filth of Japan’s underground come 2017, with prequel Yakuza 0 hitting European consoles. While you’ll still be able to take control of main protagonist Kazuma, for the first time in the main series, you’ll also slip into the luxurious, unhinged shoes of ‘Mad Dog’ Goro Majima. MOVE OVER, MOZART While Classic FM isn’t our usual go-to station, we’re happy to see that some of our favourite gaming themes have made it into its Hall Of Fame. The delightful Everybody’s Gone To The Rapture soundtrack by Jessica Curry ascends to #268, while Shenmue is the highest new entry at #144. HOOPS, HERE IT IS We have carball, but now it’s time for Rocket League to add basketball into the mix. Hoops adds…

"PS4.5 IS ON MY CHRISTMAS WISHLIST. ALL I NEED NOW IS FOR IT TO BECOME A REALITY." BEN TYRER STAFF WRITER No, we still don’t know if PS4.5 (or PS4K?) is definitely happening. But I really, really want it to. Sony has a habit of releasing slimline versions of its fun boxes throughout the console cycle and, with both PlayStation VR and 4K heading for the mainstream, the idea of a slightly more powerful console, catering to those taking the leap, makes a whole lot of sense. With it being easier than ever to transfer saves between machines, upgrading should also be hassle-free. Okay, I also like getting new consoles from Santa – this would scratch that entitlement itch oh-so-well. "I DREAM OF KOJ ROCKING THE STAGE WITH A LITTLE…

"TAMING A SABRE-TOOTHED TIGER WITH A WAVY HAND IS RIDICULOUS, SO WHY NOT HAVE FUN WITH IT?" WRITER BIO Far Cry 3 remains one of Ben Tyrer’s favourite games, believing the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again while expecting a different result. He only has himself to blame for sticking with the series. Halfway through Far Cry Primal, you meet Urki The Thinker, a caveman with one purpose – to push Homo sapiens into the future, through methods such as mastering the power of human flight. His first experiment sees him taking two feathers, jumping off a cliff and… plummeting into a stack of hay. Still, he’s the only character who seems to know that Primal should be a comedy. Let’s look at the…

“CRASHING INTO THE HUGE IRON GIANT IS A SPECIAL KIND OF JOY.” Break out the victory fanfare. It’s finally, definitely, happening. Final Fantasy XV is coming out this year and we’ve been hands-on with the longed-for demo to glean every scrap of info possible. It’s short, at roughly 15-20 minutes long, but there are loads of hints at what to expect from the upcoming game – if you only know where to look. Unlike the Duscae demo – which came free with Final Fantasy: Type-0 last year, and follows a full party of four as well as one large area to run around in – this Platinum demo strings together several smaller sections. It also follows a young version of hero Noctis as he’s led by cuddly fox-god-thing Carbuncle through…

“THE SERIES’ KILL-CAM NOW SHOWS KNIVES RIPPING THROUGH MUSCLE AND ORGANS.” Italy, 1943. Or could it be Afghanistan, 1984? There’s good reason for the confusion – Sniper Elite 4 bears more than a passing resemblance to Metal Gear Solid V. Rebellion’s PS4 blaster might not technically be set in an open world, but when its smallest level is three times bigger than Sniper Elite III’s largest, and its chapters can take hours to finish, the word ‘sandbox’ really begins to apply. Having shot his way through northern Africa in Sniper Elite III, American marksman Karl Fairburne is now creeping through the coastal fishing villages, shadowy forests and holey monasteries (geddit?) of Italy. Plugging enemies from range still forms a big part of the action, but with Nazis able to triangulate…

DEAD ISLAND DEFINITIVE EDITION Co-op is key in this survival horror with a difference. Inspired by Spice Girls hit 2 Become 1, you are half of a sliced-up zombie. Find the other half, while feeding on killer humans who want to make you more dead. FORMAT PS4 ETA 31 MAY ONE PIECE BURNING BLOOD Calling all older siblings, wind-up merchants and low-level bullies! This rhythm-action teaser is for you. Titter, poke and prance until your enraged opponent’s blood literally boils. FORMAT PS4 ETA 3 JUN CARMAGEDDON: MAX DAMAGE You’re Dave, a typical, happy-go-lucky kinda guy. Until you find the skull earring, that is. Now you’re Demonic Dave, with the power to control all cars to satisfy your every whim. FORMAT PS4 ETA SUMMER…

“A GAPING TENTACLE MAW EXPLODES FROM OUR GUN TO SUCKLE THE LOOT. YUMMY.” Who eats to forget their problems? A cookie here, seven cheeseburgers there… How about the corpses of giant monsters? You’re in luck. Action-JRPG series God Eater is coming west with double helpings of deific deliciousness. Buy God Eater 2: Rage Burst, and you’ll get God Eater Resurrection (the remaster of the first game) for free. Dashing around a winged Aragami beast under Resurrection’s burnt-orange sky, we deal deft sword slices – until a charge flattens us. Luckily, our God Arc weapon can shapeshift from Sword to Gun to Shield Mode. One tap of u and our blade folds back into a meaty minigun. Now that’s more like it. Once we’ve pumped some lethal lead into the scaly…

2010 PLAYSTATION MOVE The motion-sensing controller, or wand, is introduced to support PS3 (and later PS4). Receiving widespread critical and popular acclaim, it shifts more than 15 million units within two years, before PS VR creates a fresh surge. 2012 PS VITA Sony launches its powerful new handheld as the successor to 2004’s PlayStation Portable. With its name being taken from the Latin for “life,” PS Vita hits the market with day one games such as Uncharted: Golden Abyss. 2013 PS4 Current-gen arrives and PS4 never looks back. Being the most powerful, socially connected console to have ever existed, and with an abundance of boundary-smashing games, it’s little surprise that it’s a huge global success.…

You may, if you’ve been playing Street Fighter V, have met the Wall of Bronze. Don’t worry if you’ve never heard of it – it’s the name we’ve just made up for the point at which specials and solid combos no longer work online. The basics can only take you so far. Eventually, you’ll face an imperious, scrub-killing M Bison or a contemptible Vega who’ll use the very framework of the game against you. That’s when these tips come in handy. Some of them are straightforward, others will require practice and research. All of them, however, will make you become a more competitive player. Learn well, young padawan, and tell M Bison we sent you. EXPERT BIO Matt Elliott fell in love with Street Fighter II in a sticky Cromer…

“PATCHY LICENSING MEANS ONLY 15 OF THE 24 SIDES ARE TREATED TO PROPER KITS.” INFO FORMAT PS4 ALSO ON PS3 ETA OUT NOW PUB KONAMI DEV PES PRODUCTIONS Death. Taxes. England screwing up any chance of international glory via penalty spot misery. These are the unequivocal certainties of our existence on this spinning rock. Oh, and while we’re sharing an existential moment together, you better pop ‘PES Productions making great football games with dreadfully drab presentation’ onto that list. No matter how good the on-field action, the developer can never quite cook up that special sauce to slather onto its juicy soccer steak. And that’s the case here. Euro 2016’s take on the rapidly approaching French footy spectacle lacks va-va-voom, while its patchy licensing makes it feel like FIFA’s unloved…

INFO FORMAT PS4 ETA OUT NOW PUB PQUBE DEV MILESTONE Getting a chase cam right is a fine art. Every dev should look to Driveclub as an example: an implementation so good we even occasionally abandon the in-car view to enjoy it. But if Evolution’s take is a high-water mark, Milestone’s is the cracked riverbed below. Rigidly locked to the back of the bike, it emphasises both MXGP’s jittery handling and shaky framerate. Any nuance afforded by an admirably detailed control scheme is lost in a mess of juddering camera shifts and misjudged corners. There’s a first-person option, too, but that comes at the cost of placing you closer to the ugly brown textures that carpet MXGP2’s rather lifeless looking world.1 There are some impressive draw distances to take in…

“SERIES CALLBACKS ARE BEAUTIFULLY CRAFTED – GRINDING ALONG RAILS NEVER FELT SO SLICK.” INFO FORMAT PS4 ETA OUT NOW PUB SONY DEV INSOMNIAC GAMES You never forget your first KISS – and Insomniac’s PS2 actionplatformer lived and breathed that ‘keep it simple, stupid’ principle. It was pure Lombaxhopping, glitterball-blasting, crate-smashing joy . And the reboot? Well, pucker up, as the essential brilliance of Ratchet & Clank is back, and here’s the tutorial for newcomers: jump, shoot, smile until you can’t feel your face. Or at least it would be that simple, were the expanded Solana Galaxy not freshly stuffed with distractingly delicious detail. Flinging Day-Glo space ferret Ratchet (plus metal backpack buddy Clank) across bustling Metropolis and through tropical Pokitaru, you admire a glistening, unfortunate-looking alien here,…

“NOTHING SAYS JOB WELL DONE LIKE STEALING AN EYEBALL OR FIVE.” INFO FORMAT PS VITA ETA OUT NOW PUB DRINKBOX STUDIOS DEV DRINKBOX STUDIOS Drinkbox’s follow-up to Guacamelee takes about seven seconds to destroy any expectations you may have. If you’re awaiting another playful trip through the underworld, think again. Instead, this is a brutal journey, one that replaces the pithiness of Guacamelee with sincerity and melancholy. Don’t let that put you off, though, as this mature journey is a fascinating experiment that fits PS Vita superbly. Dropping into the boots of the one-armed Sasha, who awakes in a world in which she doesn’t belong, you receive a sword and must find her family across three sprawling areas. Surprisingly, this is a first-person crawler – like ancient maze games in…

INFO FORMAT PS4 ALSO ON PS VITA ETA OUT NOW PUB & DEV A CROWD OF MONSTERS There’s almost a decent little dungeon-crawling RPG lurking somewhere within Unepic. Almost. But not quite. The basic exploration through boxy caverns is certainly entertaining, as is the gradual empowerment of your character as you drop points into various weapon disciplines and skills. It’s also simple but functional. For the price, there are definitely plenty of worse ways to spend some time walloping worms and orcs with an axe.1 Mechanically, however, it’s nowhere near ambitious enough. Hit monsters to get XP and get better things to hit them with. Then do it again. And again. It also suffers from poor art and terrible writing. Visually, it’s as appealing of one of those pop-up ads…

ROCKET LEAGUE Andrew Westbrook learns that playing for rank simply ain’t fun My four-wheeled footy prowess has come on in jumps and slides. My poaching days are behind me (well, almost) and I’ve actually crafted goals. But that all means nothing when I foolishly agree to join a mate in some ranked co-op play. This buddy lives for Rocket League. He’s immensely proud of his hard-earned rank. The barking of positional orders and the expletive-rich questioning of my defensive “skills” sure make that clear. But it teaches me just one thing – playing for points turns you into a right ranker. TOM CLANCY’S THE DIVISION It’s a good day for Ben Tyrer to get shot in the Dark Zone Finally joining a mate in Ubi’s post-Black Friday hellscape means it’s…

INFO FORMAT PS4 PUB DEVOLVER DIGITAL DEV FREE LIVES REVIEW ISSUE #122, 7/10 We’re desperate to brodown with four randos in this spectacular shrine to muscles ‘n’ guns. Making it happen, however, is harder than the love child of Snake Plissken and John Rambo. For every game we manage to actually play with online strangers, there are at least three in which our character just doesn’t spawn in, leaving us ruefully watching other people having fun. Or worse, a static character doing nothing. If that wasn’t enough, there’s a game-breaking bug that freezes the entire game when you enter the lobby, forcing you to close and re-open the application. There’s just too much hassle. If you must have the company of others, you can host games for people to join…

CALL OF DUTY: BLACK OPS 3 – ECLIPSE The second round of Blops 3 DLC contains fresh zombies in feudal Japan and four new maps. There’s a remake of Bonsai from World At War, a space airport, a volcanic military complex and a Shaolin temple on an island. TOM CLANCY’S THE DIVISION – INCURSIONS The first of two free updates includes four extra-tough multiplayer Incursions, four new sets of gear, Dark Zone supply drops and Loot trading. The first, Falcon Lost, is set in an underground water-treatment facility. Don’t expect any checkpoints. FAR CRY PRIMAL – WENJA PACK Grab the trio of Legend Of The Mammoth missions – Hunt The Hunters, The Trapped Elder and Duel Of Beasts. You play as a mammoth trying to defend your herd. Or square…

INFO PUB WARNER BROS DEV AVALANCHE INTERACTIVE RELEASED 2015 GET IT NOW RAKUTEN, £18.50 WHAT? Critically divisive but disarmingly pretty sandbox starring the unhinged Aussie petrolhead. Fisticuffs are borrowed from Batman, while spot welded on top is car customisation and a tanker full of dusty vehicle combat.…

1 THE LAST OF US PS3’s premier developer proves a misbehaving pooch can learn new tricks in this extraordinary adventure. In true Naughty Dog fashion, the Californian studio subverts everything from zombie and post-apocalyptic tropes to the gameplay beats of its own back catalogue. Effortlessly blending stealth, horror and action with a script destined to break your heart, TLOU is interactive storytelling at its finest. 2 GRAND THEFT AUTO V The largest entry in the series is also one of the most ambitious games ever, but its fusion of thrilling missions, entertaining characters and scathing satire looks effortless. There can be no better way to bring a generation to a close than this. 3 UNCHARTED 2: AMONG THIEVES The game that sparked a million mancrushes, with a perfectly pitched script,…

Jen Simpkins STAFF WRITER Spent month “hella salty” over being “bodied” on “the new hotness.” In English: lost a couple of Street Fighter V matches online. GAME OF THE MONTH Dark Souls III GHOSTBUSTERS FAVE Gozer Ben Tyrer STAFF WRITER Barely slept for a full week while playing Ghostbusters PS4 and reviewing Uncharted 4. The ultimate first world problem. GAME OF THE MONTH Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End GHOSTBUSTERS FAVE Egon Spengler Andy Westbrook PRODUCTION EDITOR Favourite birthday present from the team? Not his TMNT Funko Pop. Nor his bottle of pricey plonk. His Euro 2016 sticker album. GAME OF THE MONTH Stikbold GHOSTBUSTERS FAVE Librarian Ghost Milford Coppock MANAGING ART EDITOR Finally graced us all with his karaoke rendition of Back In The USSR. Team verdict: 7/10. Hey, it’s…

Amount The Division generated on $330m release – fastest-selling new IP ever. 5-5 Aggregate FIFA Interactive World Cup result, won by Denmark (away goals). 100+ Countries expected to be represented at this year’s E3 trade show. 38.3 The beefy file size, in gigabytes, of baseball sim MLB The Show. 10,000,000 Number of copies of Final Fantasy XV that Square Enix expect to sell. 30/09 The aforementioned, much-desired Final Fantasy XV releases on this date. 335 New max Light level in Destiny after the spring update. $8.00 How much a Rocket League stressball costs from the official Psyonix store.…

THERE’S A VAST SWATHE OF GAMES FOR WHICH ‘FINISHED’ HAS BECOME A MEANINGLESS TERM. WRITER BIO Tom Sykes has been gaming since the Amstrad, and he’s still waiting for that gritty reboot of Animal, Vegetable, Mineral. A big RPG fan, he’s already bagsied the Vagrant Story 2 review… Square Enix just has to make it now. Hint hint. There’s a certain type of game that’s curiously absent from PlayStation. No, not truck simulators – though that’s a sore point, too – but survival games such as DayZ and The Long Dark. These games can be brilliant. Broken and unbalanced, yes. But brilliant with it. Every other week there’s some amazing new YouTube video of Rust – the PC’s premier naked caveman theft and murder sim – and, frankly, I want…

1 Okay, so it’s not exactly good news to see enemy airships cruising overhead, but Niflheim tech is as worthy of awe as it is of fear. 2 Smelly Chocobos aren’t always befitting of a prince. Thankfully, there are plenty of luxury yachts around to help you take in that view. 3 You get to roam around a small area of Altissia in the demo. As well as waterways inspired by Venice, it’s also home to the gigantic Leviathan. 4 To get that real city experience, you need to speak to the locals. Who knows, maybe you’ll even squeeze a few quests out of them.…

“RUNNING AROUND FEELS AS INTRICATE AND THRILLING AS IT EVER DID.” No guns. Yes, they’ve gone. Catalyst, it seems, is a Mirror’s Edge follow-up that’s well aware of its predecessor’s problems, and getting rid of the maligned gunplay is just one of the ways that DICE has revised its free-running first-person cult hit. While Faith’s story has been rebooted, though, and the action has moved to an open world, you can breathe easy – this is faithful (look, allow us the one pun) to the original in all the right ways. The team, for example, knew the platforming didn’t need fixing. Instead of making the wonderfully complex wall-running, leaping and sliding any simpler, they’re instead reintroducing some of those ideas through an upgrade tree, meaning it’s all a little easier…

“IT’S CLASSIC HOLMES, BUT WITH A DASH OF DOWNEY AND A SPRINKLE OF CUMBERBATCH.” This eighth outing of Frogwares’ crime-solving series contains many parts one might consider elementary: Batman-style detective mode, character exposition via QTE, and an over-arching storyline in which your deductions and conclusions ultimately shape the 20-hour tale’s climax. Happily, it also adds something lacking from earlier instalments: humour. Previous game Crimes And Punishment’s Sherlock was staid and stuffy. Devil’s Daughter Sherlock might look the same – at least until you get to work reshaping his facial hair into something thoroughly Brick Lane 2016 – but he’s been given a more contemporary voice, literally and figuratively. BAKER TREAT New actor Alex Jordan’s delivery weds exuberance with experience, this revised interpretation of the Baker Street detective still resolutely his…

MEKAZOO FORMAT PS4 ETA SUMMER PUB GOOD MOOD CREATORS DEV GOOD MOOD CREATORS This 2.5D platformer wastes no time in hitting all of our favourite nostalgia buttons, with music that apes SNESera Donkey Kong and an art style that would fit in with the golden era of Crash and Rayman. Unfortunately, our playthrough on co-op leaves us with a minor headache. Each player controls a specific animal, each of which is better suited to certain situations. Only one player, however, is allowed on screen, with the other one stabbing w when they want to sub themselves in. It’s just too convoluted for the type of speedrunning itch that Mekazoo tries to scratch. TALES OF BERSERIA FORMAT PS4 / ETA 2017 / PUB BANDAI NAMCO DEV BANDAI NAMCO We’ve now had…

“THE TEAM WORKED WITH ORIGINAL GHOSTBUSTERS DIRECTOR IVAN REITMAN.” Does any genre inspire more undeserved apathy than the licensed tie-in? There’s a towering scrapheap of games only out to capitalise on stratospheric opening weekend numbers, sure, but there are also those that soar past that low benchmark. They don’t merely capture what makes their universe special, but – like a hug from the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man – engulf you in everything you hold dear about the IP. It’s a special skill, one that can elude even the very best of developers. So inheriting one of the most beloved series of all time for your studio’s debut? That sounds harder than crossing the streams without ending the world. Step forward, Fireforge. CAPTURING THE SPIRIT(S) Chris Tremmel is project director and,…

01 TMNT: MUTANTS IN MANHATTAN All shell breaks loose in Platinum’s new brawler PUB Activision DEV PlatinumGames ETA Summer It feels like we’ve been waiting since the days of gloomy seaside arcades for a not-terrible Turtles title, but Mutants In Manhattan glows with mutagenic promise. It’s being developed by Platinum, a studio so talented at making action games that even its Transformers one didn’t stink. A Turtles game plays to its strengths even more – expect crisp third-person action and immaculate hack ‘n’ slash combat. Just like the source material, each turtle has their own ‘thing’ – Raph can enter stealth mode, Leo focuses to slow down time, Mikey can refresh his teammates’ abilities and Donnie can get wedgied in the school toilets for being a nerdlinger (okay, that one…

GOLD AWARD Awarded to a game that’s brilliantly executed on every level, combining significant innovation, near-flawless gameplay, great graphics and lasting appeal. 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 INCREDIBLE The kind of phenomenal experience rarely seen in a console generation. 9 OUTSTANDING Unreservedly brilliant – this should be in every collection. 8 VERY GOOD A truly excellent game, marred by just a few minor issues. 7 GOOD A great concept unfulfilled or the familiar done well, but still well worth playing. 6 DECENT Fun in parts, flawed in others, but more right than wrong. 5 AVERAGE What you expect and little more, this is for devotees only.…

“EVEN A LOW-LEVEL FOE CAN BE YOUR DOOM, THANKS TO A HUGE ARRAY OF TRICKS AND TACTICS.” INFO FORMAT PS4 ETA OUT NOW PUB BANDAI NAMCO DEV FROM SOFTWARE After the filth of Irithyll jail, the radiance and space of Archdragon Peak can be overwhelming, like being shown an aeroplane window after having your head shoved down the cabin toilet. The prison is a place of stealth and terror. It’s patrolled by cowled women clutching red-hot brands, twisted exiles from the Profaned Capital who can sear away your health bar with a stare. But Archdragon Peak? It’s all hazy blue skies and serene marble cliffs. What could possibly go wrong here? Stepping away from a bonfire checkpoint, we take a moment to drink in the beauty of a tumbledown fortress…

“CRAZED AND COLOURFUL, IT’S FESTOONED WITH STUPEFYING STUNT JUMPS.” INFO FORMAT PS4 ETA OUT NOW PUB UBISOFT DEV NADEO Need For Speed’s plenty fast, Burnout’s pretty nippy and Driveclub moves at a fair old clip, but Nadeo’s latest leaves these motoring celebs looking positively pedestrian. Here, you might start a level suspended from a crane, freefalling 200m for a running start, before drifting into a tight hairpin bend. You’ve barely straightened up before you hit a boost, sending you careening off a ramp at 500km per hour… Trackmania is essentially a crazed, colourful and terrifically quick rollercoaster – a celebration of unbridled speed that’s festooned with barmy loop-the-loops and stupefying stunt jumps. To that end, its single-player campaign boasts an impressive assortment of impossible track designs, charting insane corkscrews and…

INFO FORMAT PS4 ETA OUT NOW PUB MARVELOUS GAMES DEV EXAMU On first glance at this 2D anime fanservice fighter, you’d be forgiven for seeing nothing but niche – there’s a particularly cavernous one between the prominent breasts of box-art bombshell Super Sonico. If you’re into a little titillation with your brawlers, it’s cute. If you’ve got niggles about jiggles, it’s offputting.1 But beyond all the heaving cleavage is accessible arse-kicking – and hidden depth, too. Sonico is a zoning character, calling upon her J-pop bandmates to beat up opponents while her anti-socially extensive collection of cats cavorts about her person. Grapple-happy Muramasa’s more technical and, er, technically a spider-demon. And Saya? Well, she’s just a regular girl in a pretty nightie. Just kidding – flesh tentacles! Obstacles between you…

INFO FORMAT PS4 ETA OUT NOW PUB GUNGHO ONLINE DEV CAMOUFLAJ This dystopian saga was originally a mobile game – but always seemed destined for something greater, hence the leap to PS4. It challenges – both emotionally, and in gaming terms – from early on: staring into the panicked face of a girl named Hope, you learn she’s going to be ‘erased’ for having a book that supposedly infects young minds. Hope is whisked away for a rough inquisition, observed from the lens of a nearby security camera. That leaves you with numerous questions, and République’s measured pacing throughout five episodes – as well as subtle narrative clues in the form of posters, voicemails and newspaper cuttings – makes for some excellent storytelling throughout.1 The main idea is to bust…

INFO FORMAT PS4 ALSO ON PS3 ETA OUT NOW PUB SONY DEV SONY SAN DIEGO There was a time when Sony’s big bopper scored a run of OPM 10/10s that looked to be seemingly endless – but the switch to PS4 last season saw it come to an end. It’s not that MLB 15 was in any way poor, but the removal of features such as Sounds Of The Show (in which you could assign individual walk-up or home run music to any team or player) made the generational leap feel more like playground hopscotch. No such issue this year. Sounds Of The Show is back, and PS4’s biggest sports exclusive finally rekindles the form that made it so essential for the first half of this decade. Its on-field brilliance…

Forget navigating an asteroid field with Darth Vader on your tail: if you want impossible odds, try making a follow-up to the most beloved film trilogy of all time. Miraculously, The Force Awakens obliterates any lingering ill-will after the prequel trilogy left everyone with a nasty case of the Jar Jars. Picking up 30 years after the destruction of the Empire, at a time when the evil First Order has risen to fill the power vacuum and the Jedi are considered myths, it’s difficult to imagine anyone crafting a more satisfying Episode VII than The Force Awakens. As a piece of storytelling, it’s superb – passing the torch from the old guard to the new without doing a disservice to either. Harrison Ford is wonderful as grizzled smuggler Han Solo,…

“IT’S A GLORIOUSLY REWARDING AND BARBARICALLY TOUGH ADVENTURE.” INFO PUB NAMCO BANDAI DEV FROM SOFTWARE RELEASED 2009, PS3 GET IT NOW AMAZON, £14.98 NEED TO KNOW 1 Miyazaki admits it was partly inspired by Ico. 2 The US deluxe edition contained a 150-page guide. 3 PS Home got DS armour sets, but only in Japan. Most modern games must make Hidetaka Miyazaki sick. Ample checkpoints. Patronising tutorials. Regenerating health. It’s almost like they’re not designed to make you suffer. Thankfully, as long as we all reside on the same watery planet as From Software’s acclaimed director, PlayStation will always be home to a special breed of savage challenge. Enter Demon’s Souls. Back in 2009, gamers had yet to truly taste real pain. Sure, the likes of Devil May Cry 3…

“SOME BRIGHT SPARK DECIDED TO MAKE MAX CONTROL MORE LIKE A CAR.” Like anything else, games go through fashions. The one in vogue when I was a rookie journo was the canned drama of the tacked-on driving section. I can’t even count the number of helter-skelter ‘narrow escapes’ that action-adventures have pretended I’ve had behind the wheel. So, when Mad Max takes the bolt-on driving bit and makes it the game, all I can see is a sort of distorted genius. Even before I put pedal to metal, it’s worse than I feared. Some bright spark plug has decided to make Max control more like a car than a human. This works in that the right trigger makes both go a bit faster, and then falls apart lemon-quick. So Max…

"YOU NEED SIX PASSWORDS TO ESCAPE. TO UNLOCK ONE, SOMEBODY HAS TO DIE…" Phi is locked inside an incinerator, Sigma is strapped to a chair with a revolver to his head, and you’re told that pulling the trigger will release Phi before she’s flame-roasted. What do you do? That’s just one conundrum you’ll face in new PS Vita narrative adventure Zero Time Dilemma, the sequel to the excellent Virtue’s Last Reward. Like the previous games in the series, Zero Time Dilemma locks nine people inside a facility and asks you to solve puzzles and make choices to help them escape. And continuing the trend established in VLR and its (sadly non-PlayStation) prequel Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors, those choices you make are going to mean certain characters will die.…

Norwegian midfielder Andrine Stolsmo Hegerberg’s “#fifa17” Instagram post suggests Norway’s national women’s side is getting the call-up from EA next season. Is Skyrim PS4-bound? A supposedly leaked photo shows it in the PS Now store. God Of War PS4 hints abound, as one insider teases a Nordic theme. A Polish gaming website suggests The Witcher 3’s Blood And Wine DLC may release on 7 June. Mirror’s Edge Remastered? Hopefully that now-removed screenshot of an Amazon UK listing was legit.…

EVOLVING DOOR A happy end for the team at Evolution, who are being taken on by Codemasters. The Dirt Rally and Driveclub devs together? Get revvy for some top racing. CAN YOU FEAR IT? Fear Effect is such a cult game that the FBI is probably monitoring it. Fortunately, it’s Kickstarting a revival, so you’ll be able to drink its Kool-Aid once more. HELLBOUND Doom’s open Beta had us rushing through levels while sucking super shotgun bullets. Bring on 13 May. ZAN-GRIEF Alex’s arrival is great news, but Street Fighter V’s April update still stings. There’s nothing wrong with Challenge mode, but it’s still no substitute for an arcade mode. DONUT PASS GO Uncharted 4 has its first confirmed casualty in Donut Drake. While we understand the reasons behind his…

@JENNIFELIZABART Literally anything I see on mirrors edge catalyst makes me cry. I’ve waited for SO LONG. @ADAMSESSLER I cannot overstate the pleasure of waking up and having a new Ratchet and Clank game ready to play. @SIRLARR Just Super’d some guy in Street Fighter V so hard that it blew the PS4 offline. @C3NTAURI0N Thanks for the code in the last issue. I’m now addicted to world of tanks. @GREATWALLOFCHIN #Firewatch was fantastic! The type of storytelling I love. And how about that voice talent? Perfect. @COOLDERIK FFXV demo question: is magic consumable? We know how swimmingly that turned out in FFVIII. @CHALM3RS_305 Disappointed to find issue 122 being an Uncharted mag instead of Playstation. Getting Repetitive. @JAMESEARNSHAW Day was made easier by TWO @OPM_UK podcasts! It’s the new…

"GET LOST, MINI-MAPS. WELL-DESIGNED VIDEOGAME ENVIRONMENTS SHOULD LEAD THE WAY, AND LET US KEEP THE FIZZ OF DISCOVERY." WRITER BIO Jen Simpkins opted out of GCSE Geography, and thought London was smack-dab in the centre of the UK until she was 14. She still feels a terrifying stab of panic when she loses sight of her mum in Tesco. Who’s her fave band? One Direction, obvs. Let me level with you: I’m a bit dizzy. I have no sense of direction, and could get lost in a neon-lit, braille-encrusted, circular corridor. You’d think I’d be grateful for mini-maps, right? Wrong. I’m sick of the things. They’re either a bewildering muddle of markers (looking at you, Final Fantasy XIV) or bland, utilitarian tools that distract from my experience. Star Wars Battlefront’s…

1 WWE BRAWL Street Fighter meets Super Smash Bros… if Ryu and Mario had both been AA’ed through tables. That was the basic premise for this bicep-heavy grappler. A platformer/beat-‘em-up hybrid, it centred around Cena and co. trying to stop Vince McMahon’s schemes. Despite its quirky art style, Brawl was canned in 2012, not long before publisher THQ went under. 2 KILLING DAY Or ‘The One With The Really Sexy Marble Textures’. Another failed child of (whisper it) E3 ‘05, this Ubi shooter rocked sultry destructible scenery. Very little was ever mentioned of K-Day after this and, in the fullness of time, it looks like it was merely a briefly impressive slice of target footage to hype folk for PS3. 3 FAITH AND A .45 A Bonnie And Clyde-inspired co-op…

“WE’LL GET TO HUNT RATHTARS WITH HAN AND CHEWIE BEFORE THE FILM.” Whatever you do, don’t call it ‘just another Lego game’. Sure, over the last 11 years, you’ve become accustomed to that story playing out across tie-ins to the Indiana Jones, Jurassic Park, Harry Potter, The Lord Of The Rings and Pirates Of The Caribbean sagas. The most recent release, Lego Marvel’s Avengers, suggests it’s a pattern that’s offering diminishing returns, too. But if this game is ‘another’ anything, it’s another reminder of why you fell in love with TT Games’ unique take on the legendary Lucasfilm universe in the first place. As we pick our way through a trio of levels, it becomes clear that the next Lego outing is delivering something very special. On a surface level,…

“THINK FRANK FROM DONNIE DARKO, BUT STYLED BY ‘90S RAVERS.” The reward for hacking through crowds of fodder in most action games is the juicy boss fight that’s waiting to test your abilities at the end of a level. The Game Baker’s ingenious twist on the age-old formula, however, is that the boss fight is the level, with your enigmatic swordsman going toe-to-toe with just the one challenging foe per stage. Should be a cake walk, right? Nope. Prepare for meticulous punishment. Context is brief before we dive into the fight. Our nameless futuristic samurai is being held prisoner, his guard mocking him as “a bringer of death” and gleefully promising to kill him over and over again. There’s bad news for that fool, however, as…

“AS DARK SOULS VETERANS KNOW, INTENSE DIFFICULTY LEADS TO A WAVE OF SATISFACTION.” There’s a thin line between being abstract and utterly unfathomable and this indie hopeful doesn’t so much walk this line as mainline off it. Hyper Light Drifter is bonkers. But it’s mad in a weirdly earnest way, rather than a fun way – depending on your threshold for pretension, it might just turn you away. That would be a huge shame, as behind the square-headed dog leading you across a bubblegum-coloured pixel-verse (we think that’s what the story is about) lies a devious and maddeningly satisfying top-down action RPG. Yes, we really did say square-headed dog. The titular Drifter is a cape-wearing type with an initially easy-to-grasp moveset. You’ve got a burst dodge,…

From the moment we again donned the headset and dove into the kaleidoscopic magic of PlayStation VR, at this year’s GDC event in San Francisco, we knew it would set the games industry aflame. Unparalleled wonder unfolds – high-octane shootouts, mind-bending puzzle chambers, rhythm-violence beetle-riding – all with us at the heart of the experience. But despite enjoying that instant immersion, we still have plenty of questions about the new tech. How in the name of Kratos will Sony manage to sell it at the low price of just £349? Can we expect PlayStation VR to branch out beyond games? And are we going to fling that fancy headset straight off our bonces when heading virtual footballs in The Headmaster? Fortunately, we found ourselves in a small room with a…

OPM: How will the single-player campaign work? CT: You always have four Ghostbusters on-screen at the same time. If I’m playing by myself then three characters are AI-controlled, with two people, two of them are AI-controlled, and so on. The difference in the game is we dynamically adjust the encounters dependent upon the number of human players. If you’ve got four players together, the encounters are going to be a little bit tougher. OPM: Does the multiplayer have a drop in, drop out option? CT: For us, that was one of the very first requirements. Making this kind of game, there are a few anchor points you have to hit, and that was one. It has to be drop in and drop out, because the levels are about 30 minutes…

BEN WILSON We’ve had Transformers. We’re getting Turtles. Now it’s time for Platinum to complete the ‘80s ‘toon hat-trick, and deliver us a Thundercats actioner. Imagine the sword-swinging, nunchaku-cracking four-way battles against Hammerhand, Mumm-Ra and – greatest episode ever – The Inflamer. Or, if Platinum doesn’t see gold, enter Telltale; there’s loads of storylines to tap into. The Lion-O/Cheetara/Tygra love triangle. Jaga and Grune’s on-off bromance. Ma-Mutt’s daddy issues. Like Monkian, it’s a no-brainer. JEN SIMPKINS As OPM’s resident Japanophile, I’m hankering after an obscure anime tie-in. Here are five words to get my engine revving for a racer based on 2009 animated movie Redline – NSFW Wacky Races in space. All the elements are there for a no-holds-barred PS4 wheel-spinner. The zany tale of the Redline drag race; the…

“A FEAST OF INCREDIBLE VISTAS MAKES UNCHARTED 4 THE BEST-LOOKING GAME ON ANY CONSOLE.” INFO FORMAT PS4 ETA OUT NOW PUB SONY DEV NAUGHTY DOG You’ve worked this out already by glancing at that score, but here’s written confirmation. The wait has been more than worth it. Nathan Drake’s final journey is the one that Sony’s greatest action hero deserves. Uncharted 4 has sections, and set-pieces, that need to be played to be believed. It looks phenomenal. It delivers you back into a world, and storyline, that you never want to leave. It is, without question, the best game in the series – and PlayStation 4’s finest hour so far. Drake rocking it cosmetically in his bonafide current-gen debut is hardly a surprise, but it merits praise, regardless. Screen-grabbers will…

“THE GUNS FIRE BOUNCING SAWBLADES, TENTACLES AND HOMING SKULLS.” INFO FORMAT PS4 ETA OUT NOW PUB DEVOLVER DIGITAL DEV DODGE ROLL There’s been quite a bit of hand wringing about the games industry’s preoccupation with ordnance lately, to the point where many games often invite us to question our fondness for digital destruction. So it makes a refreshing change to see a developer unashamedly embracing the way of the gun. Dodge Roll’s sparky twin-stick dungeon crawler is the kind of game in which even the bullets shoot bullets. Just about everything you face is either gun or ammo-shaped. If not, it’s usually holding an unfeasibly large weapon or spitting out projectiles. With the randomly generated floors throwing out narrow walkways, disappearing platforms, spike pits and more, staying out of harm’s…

INFO FORMAT PS4 ETA OUT NOW PUB SOEDESCO DEV VERTIGO GAMES There’s nothing quite like the sensation of solving a satisfyingly tricky puzzle – the feeling of working through all a conundrum’s possible answers to reach that one, incontrovertible solution. Alternatively, if you prefer to bash out a couple of guesses before fluking your way onto the right answer, here’s a bargain bin adventure that’ll allow you to do just that, such is the simplicity of its all-too-basic brainteasers. Adam’s Venture isn’t merely puzzles, and its globetrotting narrative follows a cocksure Indiana Jones-type as he traverses crumbling temples, evades nefarious corporate goons, and even confronts an ancient evil. Yet while that might make for a compelling back-of-the-box summary, in practice, it’s an excuse for unresponsive platforming, instant-fail stealth sections, and…

INFO FORMAT PS4 ETA OUT NOW PUB TELLTALE GAMES DEV TELLTALE GAMES Some of you cannier ’crafters may have noticed that, after the first episode, my reviews of Telltale’s interactive adventure Minecraft Story Mode disappeared. Full disclosure: I buried ’em. Along with the memories of clunky combat, offensively lazy dialogue and the last of any hoots I gave about the tedious plot. But at the conclusion of my grind through second-rate storytelling, I unearthed a gem. Not that there wasn’t a crunchy layer of the series’ typical faults to scrape off first. Pickaxe-deep in a jungle temple, with puzzles that either merrily defy all logic or are insultingly simple, protagonist Jesse and his/her band of blockbusting buddies reminisce. Remember when we defeated that giant boss? A couple of critically important…

INFO FORMAT PS4 ETA OUT NOW PUB CURVE DIGITAL DEV GAME SWING An instant way to tell whether a couchplay game is any cop is by the inability to control your volume while playing. Stikbold – a reimagining of dodgeball with a heavy dose of ‘70s style – is a corker in this regard. Get a group of people playing and, within minutes, there’s screaming, air punching and a whirlwind of chortles. It’s ingeniously simple, with up to six players (four human, two bots) taking part in either a free-for-all or team match, the winner being the last one standing. Games take place across five wildly different arenas, all with various environmental hazards to navigate,1 as well as the ball you’re dodging. Utilising twin-stick controls, with p for diving and…

There must’ve been something in the PlayStation water this month – the April Instant Game Collection looked distinctly peaky. Giddy space shooting, zombie-tainted survival horror, cyberdiseases and mutated goldfish all brought their own infectious strains of fun. We were more than happy to get down with the sickness – freebies are freebies. Even contagious ones. We all knew DEAD STAR was winging its way to PS Plus after someone tried to throw money at it too soon and Sony’s polite refusal revealed all. But we hadn’t expected the competitive brilliance of the PS4 space MOBA-like. Ten-player team skirmishes were as much about capturing outposts and defensive play in procedurally generated zones as they were about firing your ship’s lasers into anyone who looked at you funny. Antagonising the undead in…

INFO FORMAT PS4 PUB EA DEV EA CANADA REVIEW ISSUE #122, 7/10 Good news, big spenders. UFC 2 takes the Ultimate Team template and makes it work. The main difference is you chase moves – say, the Superman punch – rather than players. The slow burn, gradual improvement addiction remains the same and, once you’re invested, it’s hard not to want to power through packs. Elsewhere, Ranked Championships mode has you moving up divisions, FIFA Seasons-style. While a few time-outs looking for games occur, once you’re in, they run with minimal fuss, though you’re left screaming after getting laid out by a lucky punch. Again. There are also unranked matches for knockabouts. Sadly, the game’s best mode – Knockout – doesn’t feature online. A glaring omission in an otherwise sturdy…

UNCHARTED DYNAMIC THEME Remember that gorgeous Drake’s Fortune scene where Nate finds a U-boat atop a waterfall? Well, now you can plonk it on your PS4 menu screen. ANT-MAN PACK Exclusive to PS3 and PS4, the Lego Marvel’s Avengers add-on has you play shrinking superhero Scott Lang (and ten other characters) in a Pym Technologies level. SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS KIT The LBP3 level kit features 117 stickers, 54 decorations and Sackboy using SpongeBob’s excavated body as one of 200 premium costumes. GAARA’S TALE SCENARIO PACK Sneak back into Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 with adventure story scenario “Bonds Of The Sandy Sea” and three new secret techniques. ESPORTS WRC PACK 2 Rally round, race fans, the WRC 5 DLC adds six new special stages in which to compete. What else…

ROOM 16 MAY Brie Larson scooped the best actress Oscar for her performance in this drama about a mother and son imprisoned in a squalid room. I AM WRATH 16 MAY John Travolta does his best Liam Neeson impression in this geriaction movie about a man out for revenge following the murder of his wife. CHILDHOOD’S END 16 MAY Mini-series adaptation of Arthur C Clarke’s sci-fi classic about a seemingly peaceful alien invasion by a mysterious race. HIRED TO KILL 16 MAY Daft, high concept ’90s action movie about a soldier of fortune who infiltrates a South American fortress by posing as a fashion photographer. SCOTT OF THE ANTARCTIC 16 MAY Ealing Studios’ classic chronicles the true story of British explorer Robert Falcon Scott and his ill-fated expedition to the…

DOCTOR PLAYSTATION Our console medic fixes your tech woes with actual science THE PROBLEM You’ve killed and killed and killed some more, but still can’t secure a master rank. You can get there quick by hitting your two targets at the same time, if only they were together… STEP 1 LET THEM EAT LEAD Medical school taught me to do no harm. But it also taught me to never say no to freelance games writing. And to look very, very closely at contracts. As such, I know that sniping your way through Paris’ gruesome twosome is all about getting the setup just right. You’ll need a mastery level of five to hide the Jaeger 7 rifle in the ‘Shed’. You’ll also want to equip a lockpick and spawn undercover in…

1 “LIKE A 60-YARD-FIELD GOAL INTO A HURRICANE HEADWIND, IT COMES UP JUST SHORT OF GREATNESS.” 2 “YES, OLD ALBERT’S SHADOW DASH MAKES HIM LOOK LIKE AN UROBOROSFUELLED ROAD RUNNER, BUT IT’S A FUN ADDITION.” 3 “FOR EVERY SINGLE THING YOU CAN THINK OF – HAMMERS, FONDUE, TELETEXT – THERE’S SOMEONE OUT THERE WHO FINDS IT WILDLY AROUSING.” 4 “IT’S EXACTLY LIKE THE PRINCESS BRIDE, EXCEPT IT’S ABOUT TENNIS. AND ANDRE THE GIANT IS SADLY ABSENT. (FOR SHAME.)”…

1 METAL GEAR SOLID V: THE PHANTOM PAIN Konami might try and scrub Hideo Kojima’s name from the ultimate in tactical espionage action, but it’ll never remove his fingerprints. While retaining that distinct storytelling and sense of wonder that defines an MGS title, MGS V offers a level of freedom and creativity unheard of in any sandbox. Grand, majestic and bittersweet, this is an instant classic. 2 GRAND THEFT AUTO V Laughing in the face of other cross-gen ports, GTA V on PS4 is more than just a mere HD remaster. Upped to a glorious 1080p, it weaves everything that made the PS3 original great, with new music, more dynamic weather and a game-changing FPS mode. 3 BLOODBORNE With the finest third-person melee combat in gaming, drool-worthy art design and…

1 TEARAWAY Peerless crafty platforming from Media Molecule, this time using PS Vita’s raft of touchscreen/ touchpad controls to surprise and delight you in new ways for hours on end. Full of whimsy, charm and enough personality to put most games to shame, Tearaway’s papercraft world remains Vita’s most vibrant title. 2 PERSONA 4: GOLDEN This thoughtful and unique JRPG epic gives you another stab at high school – only this time with intrigue and superpowers instead of nerves, acne and an unpredictable vocal register. 3 RAYMAN LEGENDS Rather than losing its lustre on the move to PS Vita, Ray’s second slice of sumptuous side-scrolling is even better on handheld. Touchscreen gestures make this fine platformer all the sweeter. 4 VELOCITY 2X A ludicrously enjoyable puzzle/platformer hybrid that should come…