Innholdsfortegnelse for July 2017 i PLAY

“THIS MONTH THE PROMISE OF FULL VR GAMING IN YOUR LIVING ROOM FINALLY LIVED UP TO THE HYPE.” GAME OF THE MONTH Injustice 2 WOULD MIMIC… A glass half full Destiny 2 is going to take over your life in a big way. We know this because Jen, our resident Destiny megafan, flew to LA to go hands-on with Bungie’s hotly anticipated sequel. You can read her impressions on page 50. Being huge PlayStation 4 fans we’re no strangers to big events in games. Last year saw PS VR dominate the headlines, and this month the promise of virtual reality gaming in your living room finally lived up to the hype. You can read reviews of Statik (p80) and Sony’s Farpoint (p86) this issue – both titles show PS VR…

HORSING AROUND Red Dead Redemption 2 is delayed until Spring 2018. Rockstar needs the extra time to ensure the cowboy sequel meets sky-high expectations, but promises we’ll learn more about the game this summer. While we’re disappointed in a longer wait, it’s not uncommon for devs to push back a title. A MARVEL-LOUS SURPRISE Can’t get enough of Star Lord and co? Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2 is landing on 17 November, bringing the Guardians Of The Galaxy, Cowboy Captain America, Spider-Gwen, and more to the party. Time manipulation will play a big part in the story, and there’s a new four-player battle mode. DEFYING GRAVITY Multiplayer FPS Lawbreakers will be vying for Overwatch’s crown when it comes to PS4 this year. It takes place in a world where gravity…

“OPPOSITES ATTRACT ON THE BATTLEFIELD.” It’s good to talk. But is it? Is it really? Let me introduce you to my heavy weapon *giggle* The Aguish Of Contrary Opinion. This little beauty will send enemies into their own personal echo chambers. Your foes will descend into obsessive opinion, forced to defend the indefensible, such as why the Clancy-verse is gaming’s liberal saviour; why Japanese dating sims bring out the best in us; and why unskippable cutscenes are an art form to be cherished. The need to self-aggrandise and opinionate will send your enemies into a stunned state, easy to pick off. If war, even sci-fantasy war, is hell, then Aguish Of Contrary Opinion is a purgatory-cannon of mass effect. “NEVER MIND WHAT IT DOES, IT’S ALL IN THE NAME.” Forget…

I created this Hanzo Lone Wolf sculpture from aluminium armature wire and clay. I baked it, painted, and mounted it on a Japanese stand I bought from eBay. It comes complete with his custom lone wolf bow and arrow. I love Overwatch so it inspired me to create this sculpture. It took a while to make. Glenn Jackson via email That’s a fantastic piece of work – we’re not surprised it took ‘a while’ to make. You’re taking a risk sending us the photo, though: if Overwatch addict Jen burgles you, you’ve only got yourself to blame.…

“THE DANGER IS NEW GAMES WILL BEGIN ADOPTING OLD IDEAS IN A RACE FOR YOUR CHILDHOOD.” Nostalgia can be a dangerous thing. Why? Because for every Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy we get a Night Trap, the Sega Mega-CD full motion video cult ‘classic’ that sees you save a group of ’90s teens from stalker vampires, horny boys, and bad hair. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll be ‘partying hard’ with the teens of the Trap when it releases, but I’ll hate myself afterwards. I’ll need to schedule a binge-play of Overwatch to clean my soul and wipe away the memory of Megan’s yoga pants. Nostalgic remakes and remasters play on our need to rekindle that sense of excitement we had when games felt new and fresh. It taps into a…

1 JAK AND DAXTER Probably the second most iconic PlayStation pairing ever, even if the oft-mute elf and his irritating ottsel companion peaked with the PS2. Naughty Dog may have subsequently moved onto dreamier/more apocalyptic adventures, but for a time, Jak And Daxter damn near single-handedly revitalised 3D platformers. 2 BROTHERS He ain’t heavy he’s my… well, you know the rest. The siblings in Starbreeze’s enchanting adventure really do make a wonderfully harmonious double act. The older Naia helps his little bro to swim, while Naiee can squeeze through tight gaps to solve puzzles. Who says brotherly love is all wedgies and purple nurples? 3 RATCHET & CLANK The space rodent and his gentlemanly metallic mate enjoy quite the enduring bionic bromance. This lombax engineer and the teeny droid have…

“MATCHES EVOLVE INTO CHESS-LIKE GAMES OF CAT-AND-MOUSE.” FORMAT PS4 / ETA JUNE / PUB GREYBOX GAMES / DEV YAGER As we meet the team behind Dreadnought, we notice a slogan on the dev’s wall that reads ‘Show you’re not afraid’. Yager has clearly taken it to heart, as its new game ditches the hot sand of breakout PS3 hit Spec Ops: The Line for the cold of space. It shows a desire to take a risk, to fear nothing. A free-to-play strategic shooter, Dreadnought puts you in control of spaceships laden with enough exotic sci-fi weaponry to make Worf blush. East-German-born art director Mathias Wiese tells us it’s the game he’s always wanted to make since seeing a stolen five-second Star Wars clip as a teenager. It seems even The…

“OUR LITTLE PIXIE IS BRINGING LIFE TO THIS MECHANICAL WORLD ONE PIECE AT A TIME.” FORMAT PS4 / ETA 2017 PUB RUNIC GAMES / DEV RUNIC GAMES Who’d have thought being a cog in a machine would be this much fun? Well, when the cog is a cute, hooded imp-like creature and the machine is a large world of ancient gears and doodads, it can’t fail to raise a smile. Particularly as every new, well-judged puzzle unlocks more coggy conundrums. Hob’s world is a mix of colourful foliage and ancient, ruined constructs. It’s a lively place, with creatures bounding about; we choose to stroke a duckdeer, but if we’d killed one they’d all run at the sight of our nameless red-hooded hero for the rest of the game. It’s a…

1 Short-range shotgunner Lycus has a devastating tool to help him get up close – a kinetic shield that recharges as he runs. ‘Come at me bro’ personified. 2 Konstantin has more range, although his machine gun takes a while to warm up. Our tip? Keep it constantly revved so it’s ready to go at a moment’s notice. 3 Don’t underestimate aussie Alicia, though. If you play aggressively, her wall jump-slash-air float combined with accurate pistol shots is devastating. 4 Harec’s our fave. How an upside-down swirly mist can wield a sniper rifle, we don’t know – but the metamorphic ability helps us land unbelievable kills.…

“AFTER THREE YEARS OF BUILDING, BUNGIE’S FANTASY UNIVERSE IS IN FLAMES.” Ask any Destiny player worth their salt what playing Bungie’s space-set, massively multiplayer online first-person shooter is all about, and you’ll get a variety of responses. “Loot!” some will (correctly) cry. “Raiding!” others will nod, launching into a minute-by-minute breakdown of their legendary six-Guardian assault on the Vault Of Glass. “PVP!” plenty will insist, shotguns and K/D ratios buffed to an expert sheen. The broader answer is that Destiny has always been a game about finding things. Shiny new guns, a group of friends, the perfect loadout – or in Bungie’s case, a phenomenon. But the theme that defines the long-awaited sequel? Loss. It’s one of the first words mentioned at the Destiny 2 keynote presentation. No wonder. After…

As mental illness awareness starts to improve, games are starting to explore the topic in meaningful ways. None, however, is quite as thorough and ambitious as Ninja Theory’s complex depiction. Hellblade’s protagonist, Senua, is journeying through ‘Hel’, but she (and you) will experience the world through the lens of her psychosis. To ensure an accurate portrayal of what Senua experiences, the developer enlisted University Of Cambridge professor Paul Fletcher, who helped educate the team and gave them examples of how psychosis can affect people, which became part of the game. It helps to create a disquieting experience in the section we played, with voices constantly chattering in the background. Importantly, though, the extensive research means your time with Senua doesn’t slip into easy cliché. We sat down with Paul and…

WHAT WE SAID: “The best couchplay fighting game you can play right now.” Subscribe to OPM today ONLINE myfavouritemagazines.co.uk/OPMsubs TERMS AND CONDITIONS Gift is available to new UK print subscribers and print + digital subscribers paying by six-monthly Direct Debit only. Please allow up to 30 days for delivery of your gift. Gift is subject to availability. In the event of stocks becoming exhausted, we reserve the right to replace with items of a similar value. Prices and savings quoted are compared to buying full priced UK print and digital issues. You will receive 13 issues in a year. You can write to us or call us on 0344 848 2852 to cancel your subscription within 14 days of purchase. Your subscription is for the minimum term specified…

“THERE’S A REMARKABLE CONSISTENCY IN QUALITY ACROSS THE NINE LEVELS.” INFO FORMAT PS VR ETA OUT NOW PUB TARSIER STUDIOS DEV TARSIER STUDIOS Welcome to the Institute Of Retention. A facility where the malevolent Dr Ingen monitors your attempts at solving the puzzle box strapped over your hands. Every time it’s completed, you’re put to sleep and wake up wearing a new one. Whether it’s creating a composite silhouette or using a rotary phone to decipher clues, this inventive curio asks plenty of your mental capabilities while slyly probing at your emotional ones. While having a box fastened to your hands sounds a bit Saw, Statik is never interested in creating overt horror, preferring to induce nervy curiosity via its story and systems. For example, in a clever use…

INFO FORMAT PS4 ETA OUT NOW PUB FOCUS HOME INTERACTIVE DEV DECK13 Borrowing from the best is one thing, but it’s a brave game that attempts to mimic something as delicately balanced and finely crafted as the Dark Souls series – especially as brazenly as this. But at least it’s a polished knock-off, and unlike Deck13’s previous attempt to bottle the magic of Namco’s brutal epics (2014’s Lords Of The Fallen, ‘awarded’ 6/10 in OPM104), this sci-fi pseudo-sequel goes out on a limb to add its own twist on the Souls template – literally. In the biggest deviation, The Surge rips the action out of the pages of medieval fantasy and dumps it in a dystopian future where murderous robo-men run amok. Equally clichéd, it’s true, but in replacing…

INFO FORMAT PS4 ETA OUT NOW PUB TRANSHUMAN DESIGN DEV TRANSHUMAN DESIGN The speed of Quake. The sound of Doom. The style of Contra. The questionable taste of a 13-year-old goth. Butcher has been sent forward in time from the ’90s, its sole mission to make you feel a bit bad for how much you’re enjoying its dumb, bloody innards. An inhumanly quick twin-stick actionplatformer, Butcher asks you to slaughter armies’ worth of enemies who can kill you almost as efficiently as you can kill them. It asks you to do this quickly, and it asks you to do this unpleasantly, with pixelated chainsaws, wall-piercing railguns, and shotguns that leave people alive, but incapacitated.1 Then it asks you do it again, faster, and against larger armies. It’s dumb as sin.…

INFO FORMAT PS4 ETA OUT NOW PUB TELLTALE GAMES DEV TELLTALE GAMES Talk about a match made in a heaven. The biggest A-holes in the galaxy, and a developer which puts characters instead of action at the front and centre of its games. There’s plenty of scope for Telltale’s distinctive style – a genre unto itself by now – to give a fresh spin on the Guardians’ shambolic idea of teamwork. Shame, then, this opener only fitfully makes the dream work. Not that this episode doesn’t lay some solid foundations in its opening hour. Starting with a distress call from the Nova Corps, Star-Lord (that’s you!) and the Guardians are hot on the tale of a very recognisable villain who’s after the Eternity Forge. So far, so familiar. Stifle those…

INFO FORMAT PS4 ETA OUT NOW PUB NIS AMERICA DEV GRASSHOPPER INTERACTIVE Years before he was warping our minds with the likes of Lollipop Chainsaw, Let It Die, and Killer7, cult game designer Suda 51 made Japanese gamers’ brains hurt with The Silver Case. Released on PlayStation in 1999, this remaster is the first time it’s been made available to English-speaking audiences. Like Suda’s other games, it’s got a unique feel. For the most part it’s a visual novel (so be prepared for a lot of sitting there pressing to flick through reams of text), but the story is told in a stylised way with lots of little picture windows and dialogue boxes popping up all over the shop in all manner of shapes and sizes. It’s the sort of…

INFO FORMAT PS4 ETA OUT NOW PUB AEIOWU DEV AEIOWU Most games’ difficulty levels are judged on the enemies and obstacles thrown at you, but there are others where the challenge is based on mastering a deliberately awkward control system. TumbleSeed is a perfect example of this. Your aim is to get a little round seed to the top of a mountain by raising the long horizontal bar it’s sitting on. The left and right sticks move each end of the bar up and down, so by raising just one end you can create a slope and make the seed roll. That sounds like simplicity itself, but while it is an uncomplicated mechanic, it’s one that needs a great deal of patience: you have to take your time and make…

INFO FORMAT PS4 ETA OUT NOW PUB ANNAPURNA INTERACTIVE DEV GIANT SPARROW Walking sims are all the rage at the moment, and if the likes of The Vanishing Of Ethan Carter and Everybody’s Gone To The Rapture are anything to go by, those with long names are especially important. What Remains Of Edith Finch has a suitably elongated moniker, but there’s more to it than that. A lot more. Playing for the most part as the titular Edith Finch, you’re tasked with exploring her old family home, abandoned suddenly one night for reasons not initially explained. Edith’s mum gave her a key before she passed away and told her to return to the house to find out what happened to the rest of the Finches, a family plagued with a…

DESTINY Jen Simpkins finds the Crucible’s peachy when you’re a pair By the tentacley beard of Xur, space shooting’s fun, isn’t it? I’d forgotten. Inspired by what I saw of Destiny 2, I hop into orbit for the first time in months with a pal for a few rounds of Doubles in PvP. We’re both paying for taking time off, though. Universal Remote shotguns tear us apart. Then my buddy suggests we go back-to-back out in the open and pick ’em off at range: an easy job for my Haakon’s Hatchet auto rifle. My fave gun might be going up in flames with Destiny 2, but at least friendship’s forever, right? ROCKET LEAGUE Heroes to zeroes as carma bites Ben Tyrer’s team I think I’m back to my Rocket League…

STEP 1 LEARN HOW TO TECH ROLL Much like performing open-heart surgery, you don’t need any prior experience with this fighting game series to make a good go of the newest instalment – but it helps. Tekken 7’s more slick, stylish, and simple to pick up and have fun with than ever before. Nevertheless, the Doc’s got a few tricks up her sleeve that’ll help you avoid a thorough trouncing online. The best offence is a good defence, as the saying goes, and learning how to ‘tech roll’ can help improve your brawling. Save yourself some combo-flavoured humiliation by trying this. When an opponent launches you into the air – your body flapping about like the scalp of the Doc’s last health-and-safety inspector – hit the light punch button just…

1 “SOLID FLYING, FAMILIAR MISSION STRUCTURE AND SOME NEW IDEAS THAT DON’T WORK OUT.” 2 “SO WHEN YOU ACCIDENTALLY PUNCH YOUR BRIDE IN THE FACE WITH AN OVERSIZED WEDDING RING INSTEAD OF SLIPPING IT ONTO HER DAINTY FINGER, ALL THE BETTER.” 3 “IT PROBABLY WON’T STAND UP TO MONTHS OF SPACE SHENANIGANS: A FRUSTRATING AMOUNT OF CONTENT IS LOCKED BEHIND A PAYWALL.” 4 “OFFERS FINELY TUNED AND EMERGENT ACTION, AND A POSITIVELY REGAL RUMBLE OF THE GENRE’S CELEBRATED A-LISTERS.”…

PICK #1 LOOT RASCALS Jen Simpkins reckons this quirky permadeath roguelike is a wild card It may feel like we’ve got roguelikes coming out of our ears lately – but prick yours up for this under-the-radar loot-’em-up. An array of comical combat cards to collect and combine makes grinding a joy, every Vortex Bin Lid or Meteorball integral to your fight across the hexagonal board. The best bit? The goodies look extra-tempting in the beautifully animated ’70s cartoon art style. “ SHOVE WEAPONS IN THE GRINDER AND MAKE A RARE SHOOTER FROM THE DROSS.” PICK #2 BORDERLANDS: THE HANDSOME COLLECTION Ian Dean finds his perfect match in the third game in the shoot ‘n’ loot series Grinding through loot is a literal delight in this return to Borderlands, as it…

Jen Simpkins GAMES EDITOR A Destiny 2 VIP invite and collectors’ pin badge sent Jen into orbit. She’s still up there somewhere. Jen?!? GAME OF THE MONTH What Remains of Edith Finch WOULD MIMIC… A big fish Ben Tyrer STAFF WRITER Ben visited Ninja Theory this issue to interview consultant psychiatrist Paul Fletcher. He came back with an inflated ego. GAME OF THE MONTH Statik WOULD MIMIC… A little fish Miriam McDonald OPERATIONS EDITOR Mim got to ‘enjoy’ the shouty, squealy cutscenes from Puyo Puyo Tetris. “It makes more sense than the team,” she reckons. GAME OF THE MONTH Birthdays The Beginning WOULD MIMIC… A cardboard box Milford Coppock MANAGING ART EDITOR Our wise art wizard always knew Bungie would drop a sequel to Destiny. “Bungie rope always comes back,”…

40% Two-fifths of games sold digitally so far in 2017, according to EA. 60,000,000 PS4s shipped. That’s a whole lot of gaming going on worldwide. $45 The price you’ll pay for official Overwatch D.Va leggings. 29 Fighters at launch in Injustice 2. So you’ve no excuse for choosing Batman. 8th PS4’s position in console history in terms of sales – for now, at any rate. $7.75m Paid to Max Payne dev Remedy by 505 Games for its new game. 83 Hysterical ways to kill Crash Bandicoot in the forthcoming N. Sane Trilogy.…

“THERE ARE DIRECTIONS TO TAKE ALEX HUNTER – BUT IT HAS TO BE HIM, NOT JOHNNY GENERICO.” EA’s first crack at a story mode within FIFA provided one of 2016’s happiest surprises. And The Journey hasn’t come to an end just yet, with a conference call in January confirming it’s to return as part of FIFA 18. The next natural step would appear to be creating your own character – but that would relegate the sequel to League Two mediocrity. Aside from the odd piece of HollyEnders-calibre voice acting, the mode worked because you felt invested in Alex Hunter, rather than Johnny Generico. Adetomiwa Edun’s performance drove you through its narrative, making cut-scenes far more fun than actual matches, and giving genuine weight to your conversations with rival Gareth Walker.…

“IT’S BLOWING THE BLOODY DOORS OFF THE SERIES’ EXCLUSIVE CLUB.” FORMAT PS4 / ETA 19 SEPTEMBER PUB CAPCOM / DEV CAPCOM It’s ironic that a series centred around Marvel (wildly popular superhero universe) and Capcom (daddy to Ryu and Resident Evil) has a reputation for being unfriendly. It’s not that Marvel Vs. Capcom titles lack charm – far from it – but that the skill bar for their manic airborne action has always been set high. Can’t chain together a 40-hit combo? Go home, Iron Man. By contrast, one of the first things we’re told about Marvel Vs. Capcom: Infinite is that we can walk up to our opponent, hammer the ‘light punch’ button a bunch of times, and this’ll explode into an accomplished-looking firework of a combo. We’re taken…

“THE ILLUSION OF AN ENVIRONMENT FORMING AT SPEED.” FORMAT PS4 / ETA 31 AUGUST / PUB 505 GAMES / DEV 34BIGTHINGS You wait ages for one WipEout and then two come along at the same time. Almost. While you’re tucking into the recently released Omega Collection, a fine, sprightly batch of remasters, earmark August for more futuristic high-speed racing in the shape of Redout: Lightspeed Editon. WipEout comparisons are unavoidable, particularly as developer 34BigThings boasts it’s a “tribute to classic anti-gravity racing games”. As we all know, there’s only one ‘classic anti-gravity racing game’ worth its go-faster stripes, and that’s WipEout. The question is, then, is Redout admiration without innovation? At its core Redout aims to offer the same flashy futuristic racing, where blistering speed and spiralling tracks are sent…

“GIVE INTO THE BLOODLUST FULLY AND RISK BECOMING ONE OF THE LOST.” FORMAT PS4 / ETA 2018 / PUB BANDAI NAMCO / DEV SHIFT The human race has been dealt many a bad hand over the years, we’ve had fungus zombies, magical apocalypses, and nuclear armageddon. But nothing has prepared us for a vampiric disease that reduces the population of the world to mindless husks wandering the shells of city skyscrapers looking to feed on your blood. Reader, meet The Lost, your new worst enemy. Developed by the team behind the God Eater series, Code Vein is the latest game to siphon the yummy game juices of Dark Souls into something new, and The Lost are your worst nightmare. We thumb a mental tick sheet of what to expect from…

“TICKING OFF SPECIFIC TASKS ALLOWS YOU TO LEVEL UP TRAITS.” FORMAT PS4 / ETA 30 AUGUST PUB SONY / DEV CLAP HANZ It’s been five years since Clap Hanz’s last golfing masterclass charmed us as a PS Vita launch title. For a series that’s every bit as PlayStation as WipEout or Crash, just the fact we’re getting a new entry this summer is cause for celebration. However, this PS4 debut brings along huge changes to the accessible arcade ball-whacking that should drive newbies and veterans to give away their green. The biggest innovation is that courses are completely open to explore. Instead of being magically transported from one hole to the next, you can hop in the buggy to travel there or see what other activities are waiting for you…

DAWNBLADE A moment of silence for all the Sunsinger Warlocks out there, please. The self-resurrecting subclass is no more, replaced instead by… hang on, this is much cooler. Pop your Super, and your Guardian summons a burning Solar sword that can hurl waves of devastating flames at your enemies. This kills to extend the duration of your attacks. It feels similar to hammer-throwing Titan subclass Sunbreaker (aka, positively beastly in PvP). SENTINEL Defender Titans, get ready: you’re about to have your bubble burst. The dome-like protective Super is gone in favour of something far more showy: a Captain Americaesque shield. Charge foes! Throw it at enemy heads! Ricochet it between targets! The Void subclass is now more flexible than ever, able to deal damage as well as soak it up,…

2007 HEAVENLY SWORD The developer’s PlayStation debut is an ambitious tactical hack ’n’ slash that boasts gorgeous art design and a bonkers turn from Andy Serkis as evil King Bohan. (It gets a healthy 7/10 from us.) 2010 ENSLAVED: ODYSSEY TO THE WEST One of PS3’s underrated gems (we score it 8/10). The Beach writer Alex Garland pens the story for this bright delight that follows Monkey and Trip as they navigate a gorgeous post-apocalyptic world. 2013 DMC: DEVIL MAY CRY A fantastic reboot (it gets 8/10), which puts an emphasis on sharp slashing and a ferocious pace for the studio’s finest hour to date. Juggling combos is a joy, especially against the bosses. Ignore all the moaners, the redesigned Dante is actually pretty cool.…

This year’s co-op mode is also going back in time to World War 2 with the return of Nazi Zombies. Sledgehammer co-founder Glen Schofield says: “It’s the story of the Third Reich’s desperate attempt to create an army in the final stages of the war.” Clues within an ARG website reveal pictures of Frederick Barbarossa and Raphael’s painting ‘Portrait Of A Young Man’. Operation Barbarossa was the codename given to the Nazi invasion of Soviet Russia and Frederick was crowned King Of Germany in Aachen – a location Michael Condrey reveals they visited when researching the game. Could he be a boss monster? Or someone who you fight as? We’re going to be breaking out the corkboard and red yarn to figure this one out.…

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.…

“MANIACAL SUPERMAN GOES TO PLACES EVEN ZACK SNYDER WOULDN’T DARE.” INFO FORMAT PS4 ETA OUT NOW PUB WARNER BROS DEV NETHERREALM STUDIOS Everyone online is playing as Batman. It stands to reason: he’s popular and has enough Mortal Kombat move-set heritage to make him an easy pick-up-and-play hero. Some may say ‘cheap’. Not me, but some people. After a day online, I really wish there was a ‘Martha’ move to stop old Bats in his tracks. Thankfully, the gaming world’s obsession with the Caped Crusader is one of the rare downsides to playing Mortal Kombat creator Ed Boon’s new brawler. An evolution of the classic fighting series, Injustice 2 has enough new features, revisions, and polish to ensure it’s more than an extension of familiar traits. The core button…

WHAT YOU DO IN… STATIK 40% Hammering to get the lovely smiley face on your puzzle box’s screen. 15% Feeling proud for solving a puzzle without resorting to a guide. 10% Looking like a wally by talking yourself through a puzzle out loud. 5% Dialling 911 in the rotary phone test in vain. 13% Swinging your head around from side to side to try to discover more clues. 17% Trying to assemble a floating cube on the level select screen. Even the menus are fun in Statik. SECOND OPINION TESTY TESTEE Anything vaguely Portal-shaped automatically has my attention. Clinical test chamber? Check. Threatening supervisor? Check. Tricky puzzles and a creeping sense of unease? Check and check. But Statik distinguishes itself with unique style and manages to be even more disturbing.…

“SHADOW WARRIOR 2 OFFERS MORE THAN BAD TASTE AND DISMEMBERED BODIES.” INFO FORMAT PS4 ETA OUT NOW PUB DEVOLVER DIGITAL DEV FLYING WILD HOG Whether you call it a ding-a-ling, dong, chopper, schlong, skin flute, tally-whacker, or wiener, you’ll know a word for it. Dick jokes – this game’s got the lot, starting with its hero Yu Wang. The genitally-named protagonist, self-proclaimed super ninja, is on a mission to free the girl (stuck in his head), save the world from a demonic army, and wisecrack about swimsuit areas. If you can stomach a script that drops innuendos like its hero chops body parts, then Shadow Warrior 2 may just surprise you. Surface impressions are of a frenetic Doom-alike run ’n’ gun shooter. Every pull of the trigger results in…

INFO FORMAT PS4 ETA OUT NOW PUB CURVE DIGITAL DEV NOBRAKES GAMES This 3D delight follows the grand tradition of platformer questlines: get from this place to that place without dying. Easy! Except here you’re controlling a boneless tube of meat, afflicted by physics and comically challenged by simply pushing a big red button without falling over. Harder! Placed in a series of big, low-poly themed worlds,1 you need to jump, lift, drag, and puzzle your way through obstacles. The solutions are easy; it’s doing them that’s the problem. The mastery here is that it rarely becomes annoying – partly because the puzzles come thick, fast, and varied, but primarily because the inherent slapstick of simply getting around just doesn’t wear off. Local co-op adds an excellent extra layer because…

“LIKE OUTLAST AND GONE HOME HAVING A GRUBBY GROPE IN A BACK ALLEY.” INFO FORMAT PS4 ETA OUT NOW PUB BANDAI NAMCO DEV THE FARM 51 Trying to understand what Get Even is can be a game in and of itself. Billed as a psycho-thriller-shooter-puzzler-horror-walking simulator, Bandai Namco’s latest is a bit of everything you love, thrown into a (very) brown bag and shaken up. Get Even is a gaming pick ‘n’ mix, but you’ll need to take the sweet with the sour. Playing as kidnapped, amnesiac protagonist Cole Black, you’re forced to repeat past mistakes and relive fractured memories from inside a hyperreal VR simulation. Every recollection can be altered, and decisions taken will affect the game’s later missions and resolution. Searching the memories for clues as to…

INFO FORMAT PS4 ETA OUT NOW PUB GOOD CATCH DEV GOOD CATCH Remember those flash games you would play in IT class? The ones you would sneak on instead of filling out spreadsheets? That’s exactly what Black & White Bushido reminds me of; a simple yet smart 2D brawler with a refreshingly unique concept at its core. Four players can face off in one-hit-kill matches across five stylish stages, all offering varying levels of verticality to dash madly across.1 At the very centre of this fighter is the ability to choose either ‘light’ or ‘shadow’ before heading out into the bloodshed. Depending on which team you choose, you’re able to blend completely into black or white backgrounds by holding down – effectively turning each match into a deadly version of…

“IT ISN’T JUST ABOUT THE THRILL OF SNAPPY GUNPLAY, BUT OF EXPLORATION.” INFO FORMAT PS4 ETA OUT NOW PUB BETHESDA DEV ARKANE STUDIOS The Huntress Boltcaster is an amazing toy gun. This versatile item can open doors and lure the mysterious Typhon towards you. Alas, the yellow wonder can’t do a single lick of damage to the aliens that haunt space station Talos 1. Great concept, lots of variety, but frustrating in combat. In many ways, it perfectly sums up what works and what doesn’t in Arkane’s sci-fi shooter. Set in a fascinating alternate history where JFK was never assassinated and the Space Race became a joint effort between Russia and the US, you’re taking on the alien outbreak as scientist Morgan Yu. Both experimenter and experimentee, Morgan and…

INFO FORMAT PS4 ETA OUT NOW PUB FOCUS HOME INTERACTIVE DEV SWING SWING SUBMARINE As far as 2D platformers go, they don’t come much more charming than this. Visually spectacular, the cutscenes are done in the style of watercolour paintings, while the in-game graphics are comparable to Disney animations of old. It’s a treat for the peepers and should be enough to swiftly silence those who still question the artistic credibility of videogames. It’s engaging to play, with a play mechanic making the most of those graphics. Taking control of a fox, you gradually gain the ability to change between seasons. This not only alters the aesthetics of your surroundings but also opens up new possibilities for interaction with the environment. Each season has unique benefits, which are cleverly combined…

May? More like matey, no? Ahem. This is my terrible way of pointing out that last month’s free Instant Game Collection was distinctly pirate-flavoured, whether it was a space-swashbuckling adventure game, a simulation title, or a shooter with enough loot to lure Davy Jones from his locker. One of Telltale’s finest headlined this month’s PS Plus selection: TALES FROM THE BORDERLANDS (PS4). Borderlands lovers and newbies alike were undoubtedly thrilled to snag the five-episode series for free – it’s an adventure anyone can enjoy. The celshaded story of a hunt for a legendary treasure on the planet of Pandora is a masterfully written thrill-ride. It didn’t half get us in the mood for lootin’, though, something Housemarque’s twin-stick shooter ALIENATION (PS4) was only too happy to deliver. Pumping space lasers…

INFO FORMAT PS VR PUB SONY DEV WHITEMOON DREAMS REVIEW ISSUE #135, 8/10 Picture Zorbing in zero-G while your friends hurl things at you. If that appeals, then look no further than this zippy shooter. Modes include Carnage and Team Carnage (deathmatches); Gridiron (grab the ball and score); and a horde mode called Invaders, which feels a like an afterthought. While a recent patch fixed some matchmaking problems, you may still need to wait longer than you wish to get a game going due to PS VR’s small user base. However, making use of the party feature to search in groups speeds things up. Patient players will be rewarded with one of PS VR’s most balanced online shooters, and not a drop of vom spilt. If you own a headset…

BIG BUD DLC Farming Simulator 17 adds two new tractors, including the world’s largest tractor – the Big Bug 747 – to annihilate (or erm, more efficiently harvest) your crops. BOXASAURUS REX Birthdays The Beginnings’ tongue-in-cheek streak continues with this cardboard charmer. With marker pen scrawls for eyes and teeth, he’s cuter than your average dino. FALLEN GHOSTS If, like Ian, you’re still jonesing for more Ghost Recon: Wildlands, this pack of missions pits you against a new faction, Los Extranjeros, in the Bolivian jungle. 3C3C1D119440927 Nier: Automata’s lunacy continues as this add-on lets you fight the CEOs of Square Enix and Platinum Games. Oh, and there are also new costumes for 2B, 9S, and A2. CREO SPECIAL EMPLOYEE KIT Finding The Surge a little tough? This pack gives you…

The sixth and final entry in the Resident Evil series of movies, The Final Chapter takes the films back to where they began – Umbrella facility The Hive – and a ‘shock’ truth about Alice lies in wait for fans who’ve got this far. Resident Evil’s relationship with quality could generously be described as ‘inconsistent’, but The Final Chapter can’t even reach the relative highs of Afterlife, Extinction, and the 2001 original. There’s an admirable attempt to boost tension by bringing back the laser corridor and introducing a Giant Fan Of Death. It’s also refreshing to see the claustrophobic series hit the road briefly, highways lending the first half of the film impressive scope and pace. But once the gang hits Raccoon City any momentum is lost. Frenetic editing and…

INFO PUB SONY DEV MEDIA MOLECULE RELEASED 2015 GET IT NOW AMAZON, £11.60 WHAT? The PS4 remaster of one of PS Vita’s most beloved games, Atoi’s puzzle/platformer is so charming, it’ll melt your vital organs. Direct a papercraft hero around cute worlds, as you try to deliver a message to a portal in the sky. WHO? Sackboy-hating Dave Meikleham tries to give Media Molecule’s other cutesy adventure a spin. Can the game’s oh-so-precious papercraft thaw his horrendously cynical ticker? “MY TWISTED SOUL CAN’T RESIST THE GAME’S DELIGHTFUL PUZZLES.” Hello. I’m a heartless husk of a human being. I cheer for the bad guys in films, celebrate little grannies losing fortunes on game shows, and revel in being an all-round curmudgeon. I also have a strong aversion to ‘cute’: the only…

REZ INFINITE Fifteen years after the original’s release, the psychedelic rhythm rail shooter has achieved its final form. In PS VR, creator Tetsuya Mizuguchi’s vision becomes reality, the glittering polygonal trance-world and pounding techno inspiring total synaesthesia within you. Its crowning achievement? New level Area X, powerful enough to bring players to tears. Deserving of its name, this is a truly timeless title. THUMPER Make no mistake: the brave chrome beetle gave Rez a run for its money for our top spot. Hurtling down a violently kaleidoscopic track, pounding notes and scraping round corners is exquisitely tough – and the manic magic is enhanced and perfected in PS VR. KEEP TALKING AND NOBODY EXPLODES Who knew bombs could bring people together? With one headsetted Defuser, and as many Experts as…

Proud PS1 players of the past, prick up your ears. The geniuses behind two kooky titles that inspired a genre have teamed up to sing a new tune on PS4. Project Rap Rabbit is the working title of a joint creation by Masaya Matsuura (the man behind rhythm-action classics PaRappa The Rapper and UmJammer Lammy) and Keiichi Yano (who gave us button-tapping musical battler Gitaroo Man). Bring both together, and what we get is a fresh rhythm-action game that has you perform in comedy rap battles. The best setting for a hip-hop showdown? 16th-century Japan, obviously. And the hero that’s about to reunite a world divided by fear? You – as Toto-Maru. This bunny boy has a unique power: he can win hearts and fell foes by spitting bars. Along…

A screen that sources suggest is from Assassin’s Creed: Origins leaked online. The world stopped. Also, you can apparently put your hood up and down. Amazing. IO Interactive is up for sale, but Hitman Season 2 may still be coming. Tales of a fifth Thief game releasing to tie in with the new film have been denied by Eidos. Sega is planning to revive past IPs as part of its revival. Afterburner? VR Samba De Amigo? Shenmue? We hear the Mass Effect series is on hold for now, following reaction to Andromeda. See you, space cowboys……

GTA GETS REAL A Google Earth video comparing GTA V’s Los Santos to the real Los Angeles proves eyeopening. Take a look at: bit.ly/gtaearth. STRANGER THINGS Life Is Strange, the BAFTA-winning indie time-travel adventure, is getting a well-deserved sequel. We can’t wait to play with time again. Or did we do it already? WE’RE ABSOLVED At OPM we love the look of martial arts RPG Absolver, so news of a firm 29 August release date will vindicate our belief the indie dev can deliver the punches. BIO-WARNED Mass Effect developer Bioware has delayed the release of its new, secret game. Given Andromeda’s buggy release window, it can only be a good thing. STRAFE STRIFE Strafe was a hot mess when it released last month – so bad we chose not…

@ KILLUMINATI96_S My bro got a VR tonight some laugh played few demo games rush of blood demo so scared lol @FRATZKEKEVIN When will people stop paying companies extra to complete their game? Stop microtransactions. @MYSTICWOLF1981 We need MORE gore still! @GINATHESHORT I SHOULD be going to sleep, but instead, I’m reading old copies of OPM and compiling a wishlist. @LOU_SKOLNICK E3 can’t get here fast enough @THENORTHERN_ONE Thanks for pointing out in this month’s mag that if pre ordered you get Jak and Daxter free! @MRLOVEJONES75 Add messages to quick menu! [EIGHT TIMES!] TROLL OF THE MONTH @WLANE17 When I get Horizon, it’ll be like playing with Ygritte. @BRANDONNN i gotta do what? @OMNIBOI ya gotta BELIEEEEEVE…

What’s your favourite robot on Play Station? 38% Getting a massive share of the vote, it’s Clank! 24% Nearly a quarter of you opted for Borderlands’ boastful Claptrap. 5% Poor old Cayde-6, with a measly percentage. And there’s no loot at all for that. 13% Portal 2’s gurt lush West Country ’bot Wheatley is popular. 11% R2-D2 scoots his way into your favourites list. 9% We’re not sure if Mass Effect’s Edi is a robot, but you reckon she counts. NEXT MONTH COD is back with zombies. But which game is best for a bit of zombie-ending action?…

“TRIAL-AND-ERROR DOESN’T ALWAYS HAVE TO BE A DIRTY WORD. (ER, WORDS?)” Picture the scene: I’m reviewing a game, plodding along nicely, when I get stuck on a trivial bit for what feels like eleventy hours. An obscure puzzle, wonky signposting, or a design that makes judging jumps impossible. Welcome to Trial-And-Errorsville! Population: my tortured psyche. It’s gaming’s equivalent of bashing your head against a brick wall, if the wall were insulting your IQ at the same time. Perhaps it’s an oversight on the part of the developers. Perhaps it’s your own inability to understand what’s being asked of you. You try anything to brute-force your way through a puzzle, you nudge hopefully near potentially grabbable ledges, or make desperate leaps of logic. Trial-and-error situations took the shine off otherwise brilliant…

1 New recruit X has us utterly sold on his adaptability. He’s great on the ground, with buster shots that pick floatier heroes like Iron Man out of the air. 2 Strider Hiryu’s back. He’s a “glass cannon” (super-fast, but very squishy), so we make the most of his combo potential with Power Stone’s wall-bounce. 3 Ultron’s moveset is killer. We particularly enjoy spamming this deliciously annoying move, which has opponents struggling to cross the screen to our position. 4 Hawkeye’s got an answer for everything, though, his ranged bow attacks, dive kicks, and devastating low slide will sort out pesky defensive (or “turtling”) foes.…

HUNTING SIMULATOR A handsome man alone in the wilderness must team up with two bears, a deer and a pheasant (?) to save the world from greedy oil barons dead set on plundering nature’s black gold. It’s bear-ly logical. FORMAT PS4 ETA SUMMER BAILA LATINO Star Trek rhythm-action game in which the crew of the Enterprise beams down to the Boogie Planet and has to win dance-offs to get back to the ship. Uhura’s Disco Battle is fun; Kirk’s boylesque routine’s painful. FORMAT PS4 ETA Q2 2017 SONIC MANIA Freshly dug up from the same crater Atari buried ET in, this classic rhythm-action game features a blue squirrel on a mission to teach the world the joys of 16-bit melodies. FORMAT PS4 ETA SUMMER…

“THE DIFFICULTY CURVE IS MORE OF A DIFFICULTY GREASY POLE.” FORMAT PS4 / ETA 2017 PUB MERCURYSTEAM / DEV MERCURYSTEAM We’re having a good sniping day. Count ’em – that’s one, two, three heads in quick succession. Hugging the side of a roof like a kind of phantom polyp, we realise this is the first time all day we’ve felt powerful. Finally, we’ve wrestled the game’s punishing difficulty into submission. We relax. Suddenly, a shot sends us plummeting. There are systems galore in Raiders Of The Broken Planet – systems for shooting, for brawling, for character upgrades, for stealth, ammo, and health. It all adds up to one golden rule, of course: concentrate. Drop your guard for even a second, and you’re liable to end up dead and probably friendless.…

WHITE DAY: A LABYRINTH NAMED SCHOOL FORMAT PS4 / ETA AUGUST PUB PQUBE DEV ROI GAMES Horror games have come a long way since 2001, when White Day first released. Stuck in a haunted school and hunted by a bad tempered janitor, the jingle-jangle of his keys signalling his approach, you need to escape. This ground-up remake on PS4 feels like a history lesson in classic horror gaming: item management, jump scares, obscure puzzles, key juggling, and endless backtracking. Oh, and dating. Because, naturally, you’re stuck in a haunted school so you need to get your flirt on. BLOODY ZOMBIES FORMAT PS4/PS VR ETA AUGUST / PUB NDREAMS DEV PAW PRINT GAMES Great name, Bloody Zombies. It’s on PS VR too, so right off the brain-soaked bat this freeform zombie…

 OPM: Tell us more about the new European Dead Zone area. “WE’VE CREATED A VILLAIN THAT YOU’RE GOING TO LOVE TO HATE.” Steve Cotton: The European Dead Zone is definitely the largest destination that we’ve ever built – probably on a magnitude of two times as big as something like the Cosmodrome. There’s lush forests, there’s a town, there’s a Cabal base that you can go assault and you get sent to sometimes, and there’s a big corrupted shard that fell from the Traveller a long time ago. But we’re keeping it mysterious. OPM: What’s your philosophy when building a social space for Guardians? How do you make a home? SC: That’s a good question! It’s important when you’re designing a social space like the Tower – obviously your Tower…

M1 A1 CARBINE A classic American semi-automatic rifle that has featured in a lot of shooters. It fires as quickly as you can hammer the trigger – which means you’re probably not doing it quickly enough. STEN The stubby spout at the end and ammo clip that juts out of the side make the British SMG unmistakable. Good at killing people, too. Could its presence mean we’ll play as Brits/Commonwealth soldiers? M1 GARAND Making the most satisfying *PING* outside of a text alert, the sound of a clip being spent is instantly recognisable. You’ll feel like Tom Hanks at the start of Saving Private Ryan. If that’s your thing.…

Bright indie platformer is all wrapped up in its thoughts “IT’S QUICKLY CLEAR THAT FINDING THE KEYS TO RIME’S CONUNDRUMS WON’T ALWAYS BE SIMPLE.” INFO FORMAT PS4 ETA OUT NOW PUB GREY BOX/SIX FOOT DEV TEQUILA WORKS Out of everything in this brave little platformer – the boy, the ruins, the mysterious tale unfolding inside – it’s the holes that stick out the most. Almost everywhere you look, there’s an empty space: a silhouette for you to stand in to solve a puzzle, or a strange shape punched out of a tall white tower. Your job, as it often is in games, is to fill in the blanks. In a sense, that’s what Spanish studio Tequila Works has been doing during five years of development. Rime was once a third-person,…

WHAT YOU DO IN… INJUSTICE 2 40% That satisfying feeling that only comes from earning rare loot from a win. 10% Playing through the epic single-player story mode. 5% Wondering why everyone is still playing as Batman! 20% Dipping into the daily Multiverse mode for new bespoke matches and loot. 10% Mashing the Meter Burn modifier to land a perfect flurry of health-eating combos… 15% …Failing to activate the Meter Burn and leaving myself wide open to my opponent’s counter. Tits. HOW TO… WIN AND USE LOOT 1 Entering story mode, an online match, or a Multiverse challenge match means I stand a chance of earning gear. Offline PvP doesn’t offer loot. 2 Depending on my performance and the level of challenge I faced, afterwards the game gives me XP,…

INFO FORMAT PS4 ETA OUT NOW PUB DEEP SILVER DEV CI GAMES Anxiously, a young boy peers down the scope of his rifle. He’s forcing himself to keep his breath under control with visible and audible effort, presumably worried he’ll spook the empty bottles he’s aiming at and they’ll gallop off into the forest. Sniper: Ghost Warrior 3 begins as it means to go on, because even your grown-up avatar faces his fair share of absurdities. The young boy is actually your character’s brother. SPOILER: both siblings grow up to become snipers, but when A Mission Goes Wrong your brother is taken away and… look, the story’s rubbish. While it has one, possibly two good ideas – definitely not including the hilariously predictable plot twist – they’re lost in a…

INFO FORMAT PS4 ETA OUT NOW PUB SONY DEV SCE JAPAN STUDIO Sunshine pressed into UMD form, this upbeat platformer brightened up PSP’s early days, and remains one-of-a-kind in all its new 4K glory. The eponymous critters are happy little blobs that you control by tilting the world with the shoulder buttons,1 while pressing both together makes them jump. On each level you’ll gobble fruit that increases the number of LocoRoco, up to a maximum of 20 – but it’s easier to guide them by holding so they assume a single, larger form, like a squashy space hopper. Your only goal is to get as many as you can to the exit, though there are grinning, humanoid creatures tucked away on every level, and tiny, fluttering collectables to find and…

“THE AIM CONTROLLER’S DESIGN MEANS IT FEELS LIKE EVERY GUN YOU GRAB.” INFO FORMAT PS VR ETA OUT NOW PUB SONY DEV IMPULSE GEAR My glutes are on fire and I’ve not even let off a single shot. Before I can begin to enjoy the alien worlds inside Farpoint I’ve needed to shift the sofa and drag the coffee table to the other end of the living room. We suffer for our hobby. There’s a reason for the impromptu DIY SOS: I need the space to shoot, crouch, and swap weapons without breaking the furniture. Farpoint is a very physical game, more so than most PS VR experiences. For example, you swap guns by passing the PS VR Aim Controller over your shoulder, as if grabbing for a gun.…

“YOU’RE PROBING THE NOGGINS (GNOGGINS?) OF LARGE, FRIENDLY MONSTERS.” INFO FORMAT PS4/PS VR ETA OUT NOW PUB DOUBLE FINE DEV KO_OP MODE Sure, it has the kind of name Ikea might give to a small shelving unit, but Gnog is a shot of pure digital serotonin. It’s not so much a game as a collection of intricate playthings: a bit of gentle puzzle-solving is required to uncover all the secrets hiding within, but the real joy comes from pushing buttons, pulling levers and winding cranks just to see the magical responses. Each of these nine puzzle boxes is like a fantastic kids’ toy and a weird musical instrument combined, evoking childlike sensations in a way that’s palatable for grown-ups. It delivers the tactile amusement of a Fisher Price Activity…

INFO FORMAT PS4 ETA OUT NOW PUB NIS DEV ARC SYSTEM WORKS Whether you favour a beardy creator or the Big Bang, creation is a dense subject. So spare a thought for Yasuhiro Wada’s1 indie RTS: a terraforming treat where you evolve primitive organisms over eons until they turn into humans. Needless to say, Birthdays The Beginning is a smidge more high-concept than Big Mutha Truckers. Good thing it’s got a ruddy good tutorial, where you learn to transform a cube into a landscape teeming with life, all courtesy of an avatar2 who looks like the offspring off Ant-Man and Viewtiful Joe. Proceedings start on a teeny scale. First you create water with the Primordial Drop tool, then a few drips from the Broth Of Life birth your first organisms,…

INFO FORMAT PS4 ETA OUT NOW PUB SEGA DEV SONIC TEAM Some things are better together. Hotdogs and mustard. Left sock and right sock. Pizza and pineapple. And, for Puyo Puyo Tetris, you and one to three other human players. The basic idea – to fuse the hit Russian block-buster with the equally moreish cute Japanese bubble-popping strategy game – is fantastic. There are modes where you and your opponents can play the same game, different games, both games at once1 or both games swapping every 25 seconds. It should be harder to put down than a sticky superglue mitten. And yet the solo game is a massive letdown. The story mode is poor. While it’s fun to have different game modes thrown at you, each level is preceded by…

INFO FORMAT PS4 PUB GAIJIN ENTERTAINMENT DEV TARGEM GAMES REVIEW N/A Do you like destroying cars as much as you like driving them? If so (a) you’re a maniac, and (b) this free-to-play vehicle game might get your engine running. There are PvP battles and races, and PvE ‘raids’ – try to steal loot from frustratingly competent AI. It’s ultimately all about building the sturdiest, deadliest apocalyptic junkmobile possible from unlockable bits and pieces. There are no connection issues, and bots fill in for puny humans where necessary (about 90% of each lineup for team matches). Unlocking, buying, and installing parts, though, is slow, complicated, and poorly explained. Worse, the handling leaves a lot to be desired; but at least you can pretend you’re pushing a shopping trolley fitted with…

CALL OF DUTY: BLACK OPS III – ZOMBIES CHRONICLES Haven’t had enough of mowing down the undead? Treyarch has remastered eight classic maps, from the original Nacht Der Untoten from World At War to Black Ops’ Kino Der Toten. LEGO DIMENSIONS – THE GOONIES LEVEL PACK Goonies never say die, and neither do we. Our favourite part of the latest wave of expansions for the toys-to-life platformer gives you a nostalgic new level to treasure, where you escape the Fratellis’ house as Sloth and Chunk. THE WALKING DEAD: A NEW FRONTIER – THICKER THAN WATER/FROM THE GALLOWS The penultimate and final episodes of Telltale’s return to form puts a wave of zombies on course with the New Frontier’s settlement of Richmond. We’ll have a series review next issue.…

THE GREAT WALL 12 JUN Matt Damon is miscast in this blockbuster about an Irish mercenary battling an army of psychic lizards. Not as fun as it sounds. THE FOUNDER 12 JUN Michael Keaton’s late-career resurgence continues with this biopic of ruthless McDonald’s founder Ray Kroc. Fair warning: you’ll crave a Big Mac after. BILLY LYNN’S LONG HALFTIME WALK 12 JUN Ang Lee’s Iraq war drama, the story of a young veteran’s victory parade, is far from triumphant. MY NAME IS LENNY 12 JUN Biopic chronicling the life of bare-knuckle fighter Lenny McLean, aka the Guv’nor. Features one of John Hurt’s final onscreen appearances. MOONLIGHT 19 JUN This Best Picture winner was overshadowed by the biggest cock-up in Oscar history, but don’t let that distract from the film’s undeniable quality.…

“DESPITE BEING RUBBISH IN ALMOST EVERY WAY, IT’S UTTERLY GLORIOUS.” INFO PUB RISING STAR GAMES DEV ACCESS GAMES PRODUCTIONS RELEASED PS3, 2010 GET IT NOW PSN, £19.99 NEED TO KNOW 1 Review scores varied widely, from 2 to 10. 2 Swery toned it back, removing a disembowelling. 3 A 2013 Director’s Cut added scenes and fixed bugs. With David Lynch’s Twin Peaks making its comeback after more than 25 years, there’s no better time to look back at Deadly Premonition, the bizarre survival horror that owed more than its fair share to the classic early ‘90s TV series. Like Lynch’s show, it tells the story of a coffee-loving FBI agent who’s sent to a small town to investigate the murder of a young woman. As he delves into the…

UNCHARTED 4: A THIEF’S END Nathan Drake’s swansong is a daring evolution. It combines series-defining set-pieces, quietly devastating storytelling beats, and sprawling levels that make you feel like a real-life explorer. This franchise finale retains its signature charm, with the wisecracks flowing as fast as the bullets, while the new characters each justify their inclusion. With an astonishing attention to detail, it’s Naughty Dog’s best yet. THE LAST GUARDIAN After a decade in development, Ueda’s PS4 debut is both a technical marvel and emotionally devastating. Trico’s mannerisms make it feel like a real creature – one we truly care about – while escaping The Nest is a captivating test. Some things are worth waiting for. METAL GEAR SOLID V: THE PHANTOM PAIN While retaining that distinct storytelling and sense of…

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. 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. 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. VELOCITY 2X A ludicrously enjoyable puzzle/platformer hybrid that should come with a health warning.…