Innholdsfortegnelse for October 2018 i PLAY

“WE DISCUSS CHOICE-LED NARRATIVE, CLASSIC MONSTERS, AND SUNKEN TREASURES.” This month’s cover game snuck up on me, which is apt considering the stealthy shenanigans present in Assassin’s Creed Odyssey. Having played Origins all year I wasn’t sure a new game in the series, so soon, was for me. Then I spoke at length with creative director Jonathan Dumont. This issue we discuss choice-led narrative, classic monsters, and sunken treasures… and I’m on board. You can read everything on page 50. In fact, this issue is a celebration of the entire series. On page 64 we dive back into every Assassin’s Creed game, and on page 60 we interview Jesper Kyd, composer of the series’ music, and chat with The Flight, who wrote and performed Odyssey’s theme. When we do take…

BANG THE DRUMS Taiko No Tatsujin: Drum Session finally brings the classic arcade Japanese drumming game back to the west on PS4. Basically all you do is bang a drum, but it’s a series that uses that simplicity to devilish ends. Published by Bandai Namco, expect some classic game remixes in there too. HEEL TURN Wrestling games have never gone away, but none strike that classic itch quite so well as the Japanese Fire Pro series. Fire Pro Wrestling World brings the series back as arcadey as ever, and is coming to PS4 thanks to a tag-team matchup between Spike Chunsoft and Koch. STUDIO ANNIVERSARY Arc System Works celebrated their 30th anniversary, having been a fighting game rock all the way back to the days of the first Guilty Gear…

“STREAMING GAMES WILL BE THE BEATING HEART OF YOUR GAMING LIFE. BETTER GET USED TO IT.” One weekend back in 2012 I decided to treat myself to a new game and figured I’d try out this new-fangled ‘digital download’ business. Selecting Lego Batman 2, and paying more than the shop price despite not having a disc or any shiny packaging to show for it, I hit download… and waited for two days for my blocky fun to install. Despite my first brush with digital being slow, I’m still an advocate of the process. I can’t remember the last time I bought a physical copy of a game, preferring to hit Download and wait an hour for my new game to drip down the digital pipe. So I have no fears…

“THE DOUBLE GEAR SYSTEM GRANTS NEW POWERS, THOUGH CAN BE TAXING.” FORMAT PS4 / ETA 2 OCT PUB CAPCOM / DEV CAPCOM Announced in December last year, we finally know more about the next instalment in Mega Man’s 30 year history, nearly a decade after his last outing. It’s a more modern Mega Man take, pixel art replaced by 3D models and a 2.5D perspective, as well as the all-new Double Gear system. Series villain Dr Wily can’t leave well enough alone, as your ally Dr Light knows only too well. The pair unearth some long-forgotten research from their time at Robot University, and each kit out their own respective bots with the prototype. The Double Gear system grants Mega Man a number of new powers, though it’s prone to…

SHADOW OF THE TOMB RAIDER – CROFT EDITION They said this setting spray could withstand anything. They lied. Now Croft wants revenge and her money back. This shooter starts with you seeking out the salon manager. FORMAT PS4 ETA 14 SEP CALL OF CTHULHU In this RPG, the loneliest LARPer rocks up only to find a single-player experience. Wanting to make the most of his weekend he stays… though he finds himself wondering if there was ever an event to begin with. FORMAT PS4 ETA 30 OCT OVERKILL’S THE WALKING DEAD Aidan and co take to the streets to help the less fortunate in this rhythm-action game. Time presses to dish out pep talks and strike power stances to uplift the undead. FORMAT PS4 ETA 8 NOV…

TOKYO DARK -EMBRACE- FORMAT PS4 / ETA WINTER 2018 / PUB UNTIES DEV CHERRYMOCHI Deep under Tokyo, in the sewers, is a door, and anyone who passes through it never returns. It’s an HR nightmare. As Detective Ito you need to find this door and solve its mysteries, and in doing so find your missing partner. Mixing puzzles, stat management, and narrative choices, Tokyo Dark -Embrace- is the director’s cut of the PC hit from last year. Visually it’s a little basic, putting uniqueness above complexity, but it’s in keeping with developer Cherrymochi’s style. Your choices matter, too. They’ll change Ito’s character as well as the ending of the game – there’re ten in all. V-RALLY 4 FORMAT PS4 / ETA SEP / PUB BIGBEN DEV KYLOTONN RACING GAMES The…

While we loved Origins, after 80 hours of play having to find yet another farmer who’s got lost in some ruins or kill a marauding fat crocodile did begin to drag, just a little. Odyssey’s creative director Jonathan Dumont promises his game will vary in quest lines and emotional connection. “The main story has drama and tragedy,” he says, explaining how the side-quests can also “be fun and tragic too”. Dumont says some quests will have “wow, that’s insane” moments, while others will be completely standalone stories to play through. “But like everything there will be choices and consequences,” qualifies the dev. “Some will be short and other side-quests will have multiple parts and take three hours to complete.”…

As part of this issue’s big Assassin’s Creed blowout, we couldn’t forget the excellent musical scores the games have had over the years. As the series covers different historical eras, the music has had to evolve and change with each instalment, while at the same time continuously building on the main themes of the franchise. To dig deeper into how the music is made, we sit down to speak with composer Jesper Kyd, who worked on Assassin’s Creed all the way through to Revelations, and with Joe Henson and Alexis Smith from The Flight, who performed Assassin’s Creed Odyssey’s main theme, ‘Legend Of The Eagle Bearer’. OPM: How do you include the Assassin’s Creed series’ historical influences in your respective soundtracks? The Flight: The historical settings of the Assassin’s Creed…

After development on Prince Of Persia: The Sands Of Time finished Ubisoft began conceptualising ideas for where the series could go next. One it landed on was Prince Of Persia: Assassins, where you’d act as bodyguard to the AI-controlled titular prince, who was a young boy. Feeling that moving the Prince away from being the main character was a step too far, the promising, and already Assassin’s-Creed-like designs were allowed to develop into a separate project. The rest, as they say, is history.…

“A THRILLING COMING-OF-AGE STORY, WITH ALL THE RIGHT DASHES OF PULPY SECRET PLOTS.” FORMAT PS3, PS4 RELEASED 2009 PUB UBISOFT DEV UBISOFT MONTREAL We can’t overstate just how important Assassin’s Creed II was for the series. Not only was it a huge step up mechanically, feeling infinitely smoother to play than the first outing, it introduced a new hero – Ezio Auditore da Firenze. A suave Italian discovering his family’s history with the Assassin Order from the outside in, Ezio captured not only the hearts of fictional Italian women, but also the hearts of everyone who played as him. What made it particularly special was you started playing him from birth (in an only moderately traumatic tutorial scene that taught you the controls by getting you to wiggle your little…

LEONARDO DA VINCI Once things hit the fan for the Auditores, da Vinci is one of the few family friends Ezio can turn to. NICCOLÒ MACHIAVELLI The famous writer is an Assassin, assisting Ezio in his role as a master strategist. CESARE BORGIA The illegitimate son of Pope Alexander VI, and Captain General of the Papal Army. Ezio must take him out. CATERINA SFORZA The Countess of Forlì and Imola, Caterina is a strong ruler, and an ally of the Assassin Order. SULEIMAN I Before he becomes the Ottoman Empire’s tenth Sultan, Suleiman is helped by his friend Ezio.…

“PROVED THE SERIES COULD CHANGE SIGNIFICANTLY WHILE STILL FEELING LIKE ASSASSIN’S CREED.” FORMAT PS3, PS4 RELEASED 2013 PUB UBISOFT DEV UBISOFT MONTREAL Technically the sixth in the series, Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag was both the last numbered entry in the series, and the first one to sport a subtitle. It was also the first to wind back the clock on the historical settings, with main character Edward Kenway being the father and grandfather of Haytham and Connor respectively. As you might expect from the Age Of Piracy setting, Edward was a much more charismatic star, more in line with fan favourite Ezio than the morose and serious Connor. There was swashbuckling, leaping from ship to ship, cutlass in hand, and using multiple guns strapped to your body to get…

Moving away from the open seas of Black Flag, Unity’s refocusing on a single city location led to the massive recreation of Paris, divided by the River Seine. With all those buildings came new ways to explore. Options to free-run down as well as up changed the way you thought of parkour, and full interiors on some buildings made routing feel completely different. Proper skill trees and customisation came to the series for the first time, as well as online co-op multiplayer to replace Brotherhood onwards’ competitive modes.…

“ASSASSIN’S CREED ORIGINS DELIVERED ON THAT VERY INITIAL VISION – THE TRUE CREED.” FORMAT PS4 RELEASED 2017 PUB UBISOFT DEV UBISOFT MONTREAL While development began after Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, Origins wasn’t a game Ubisoft wanted to rush out, even giving the annualised series a year off in 2016 to make sure it got Origins right. And get it right it did. Origins was the biggest departure for the series yet, and also one of the most well-received ever, pushing boundaries for all open world games. Set in a ridiculously huge map of Ancient Egypt around 50BC, it charted the origins (see what they did there) of the Assassins through a very personal journey, as Bayek and Aya set off to track down and kill a secretive masked order…

THE HERON You don’t actually play this one, but the murder of The Heron in the Bent Pyramid of Sneferu hangs over the game. THE HIPPO Wearing only a bath towel and the newly developed hidden blade, Bayek stalks this target in a bathhouse. THE HYENA The sniper-esque archery boss fight in the middle of a sandstorm is one of the game’s best set-pieces. THE SCARAB Taharqa betrays Bayek and buries him in the dunes. It forces you to approach his city from a new angle. THE LIZARD In a classic bit of stealth action, you need to deduce which masked priest is your target before taking him out.…

INFO FORMAT PS4 ETA OUT NOW PUB INK STORIES DEV INK STORIES, N-FUSION INTERACTIVE Undoubtedly influenced by Telltale’s popular narrative adventures, 1979 Revolution allows you to experience and leave your mark on the protests aimed at overthrowing the Iranian monarchy. You step into the shoes of Reza Shirazi, a photojournalist who returns to Tehran just as the events in his home country pick up speed. Reza gets roped into a conflict that’s completely new to him, making him the perfect vessel for players unfamiliar with Iran’s history. You pick up interesting facts about Iranian culture, too, either through conversation, or by studying magazines, letters and Reza’s own photographs.1 The photographs are an important element. While taking them amounts to nothing more than finding your motive and pressing q at the…

INFO FORMAT PS4 ETA OUT NOW PUB BANDAI NAMCO DEV CLIMAX STUDIOS The Land of Ooo has flooded because of the melting of the Ice Kingdom, and who better than Finn and his anthropomorphic dog-pal Jake to put it back to normal? Pirates Of The Enchiridion captures the fun-loving atmosphere of the TV series to bring fans the best Adventure Time game yet. That is, if you can look past a slew of technical issues, including a poor framerate and persistent loading screens. If you can, you’ll be welcomed by a game brimming with personality1 and a turn-based combat system reminiscent of Costume Quest – but it’s difficult, nonetheless, to ignore how low-budget the game feels. Each character has unique abilities both in and out of battle. Jake’s shapeshifting body…

As the scorching summer roasted on into August, PS Plus offered a selection of stone-cold classics to occupy you as you spent the sweltering evenings sitting by a fan. With a bumper crop this month, things were really heating up in more ways than one. Top billing went to gangster drama MAFIA III, featuring an open world set in ’60s inner-city America. As returning war veteran Lincoln Clay you explored a new criminal enterprise amid tensions, power vacuums, shootouts, and heists. Speaking of tension, joining Mafia III was DEAD BY DAYLIGHT. This asymmetric multiplayer experience dropped four players into the oft-tripping shoes of hopeful horror movie survivors. A fifth player lurked in the shadows as a monstrous murderer hoping to pick them all off one by one. This fifth player…

INFO FORMAT PS4 PUB PQUBE DEV ARC SYSTEM WORKS REVIEW #151, 6/10 Even hopping into Arc System Works’ lobbies for the crossover fighter on a Wednesday lunchtime – hardly prime fight o’ clock – we have no problem finding someone in the mood for a battered fish and chips. Even if, unfortunately, both the fish and chips are my own tag-team fighters (isn’t that what those Persona characters are called?). While lobbies are never bustling with opponents, it’s always far from sparse. Connections are made quickly, and the matches run silky smooth. This is certainly no Cross Lag Battle, as the code’s more than up to snuff for battles as you’d expect from the veteran hands responsible for the likes of Guilty Gear and Dragon Ball FighterZ. But the competition…

SONIC MANIA – ENCORE DLC Welcoming Mighty The Armadillo and Ray The Flying Squirrel to the roster, this DLC adds a new dimension to the action through the pair’s respective powers. You can also engage in friendly competition with up to four buds in the new mode. DEAD BY DAYLIGHT – CURTAIN CALL CHAPTER Let’s put a smile on that face! Introducing a killer clown with a proclivity for pharmaceuticals and a new survivor who’ll fight like hell to get away from him, the stage for this chapter is set on a new map called Father Campbell’s Chapel. SOUTH PARK: THE FRACTURED BUT WHOLE – BRING THE CRUNCH The team take on classic horror tropes in this new DLC from the TV show’s writers. Pay a visit to Lake Tardicaca…

HOW TO TALK TO GIRLS AT PARTIES 3 SEP Punk boy meets alien girl in ’70s Croydon in this sci-fi romance based on the short story by Neil Gaiman. RACER AND THE JAILBIRD 10 SEP This French film in which a Brussels gangster and a high-flying race car driver fall for one another is a crime thriller worth seeking out. ENTEBBE 10 SEP The 1976 hijacking of Air France Flight 139 at Entebbe International Airport is the subject of this politically conscious but mostly dull hostage thriller. MARY AND THE WITCH’S FLOWER 10 SEP The first film from Studio Ponoc contains all the ingredients of a Ghibli classic, including a magical plot. ESCAPE PLAN 2 17 SEP This straight-to-Blu sequel makes the daft first film look like the Citizen Kane…

INFO PUB BETHESDA SOFTWORKS DEV ARKANE STUDIOS PRODUCTIONS RELEASED 2012 GET IT NOW PS NOW, £12.99 PER MONTH NEED TO KNOW 1 It was originally going to be set in medieval Japan. 2 Later designs relocated to London in 1666. 3 Arkane employed a morphology expert to advise on faces. Claiming that a film, novel, or game’s setting is a character in its own right is one of the oldest clichés in the book. While it’s not quite accurate to describe Dunwall – the fantasy city where Dishonored takes place – as a character, it certainly shines brighter than the game’s nominal star, the mask-wearing Corvo Attano. Corvo is your standard vengeful man on a mission. Formerly the bodyguard to Dunwall’s royal family, at the start of the game Corvo…

1 UNCHARTED 4: A THIEF’S END Nathan Drake’s swan song 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. 2 GOD OF WAR A departure in some ways but a resounding return in others, Kratos is back with a son and a ruddy big axe. Taking the legend from Greek to Norse mythology, this entry brings a lot to the table while improving on what was core to the earlier series’ identity. 3 THE WITCHER 3: WILD HUNT GAME OF THE…

Oscar Taylor-Kent GAMES EDITOR Reviewing Yakuza Kiwami 2 (p80) Oscar became so beset he got a Japanese back tattoo. We daren’t tell him what it really says. GAME OF THE MONTH Yakuza Kiwami 2 FAVE GREEK-SET GAME Disney’s Hercules Jess Kinghorn STAFF WRITER Only International Cat Day could calm Jess this month as she lost her lunchtimes to Overcooked 2. She’s like a small Gordon Ramsay. GAME OF THE MONTH Yakuza Kiwami 2 FAVE GREEK-SET GAME Apotheon Miriam McDonald OPERATIONS EDITOR Mim’s been running our well-oiled kitchen in Overcooked 2, getting ideas for OPM. “Less PES, more fish chopping, Ian.” GAME OF THE MONTH Overcooked 2 FAVE GREEK-SET GAME Civilization Revolution Milford Coppock MANAGING ART EDITOR After designing 28 pages of Assassin’s Creed features, Milf started to look at his…

431 BC, the year Assassin’s Creed Odyssey is set, the earliest in the series yet. 3-0 SonicFox vs GO1’s final Dragon Ball FighterZ score at EVO 2018. £4,500.00 What Oscar’s attempts to recreate the fun of Overcooked 2 has cost. 48 Times Jess listened to Persona OSTs this issue. She could use headphones! 889 The length of the Uncharted fan film starring Nathan Fillion, in seconds. 7,700,000 The latest astronomical worldwide sales figures for Final Fantasy XV. 2036 The year in which Metro Exodus is set – three years after Metro 2033. 4.36 Final Fantasy XIV patch that brings us the Monster Hunter World crossover.…

Treyarch’s latest entry in the Call Of Duty series has all the hallmarks the franchise is known for, but the shift towards Overwatch’s hero shooter template – you pick a character with a particular set of skills and class – gives Black Ops IIII a fresh feel. Playing this month’s closed beta we get to put the game through its paces. The Specialists at first feel restrictive, as you’re forced to play in certain ways and accept tactics that may feel alien. This is especially true during new mode Control, which flips objectives from capturing to defending a zone; it can feel like playing in a daze as you try to figure out just how the game wants that particular Specialist to affect the match. In 6v6 Chaos Team Deathmatch…

EVO LOTION We’re sore from being on the edge of our seats watching some of the hypest fighting game tournament matches we’ve ever seen. QUAKE SHAKE Bethesda’s fanbase is always a delight, and they were out in spades for QuakeCon 2018. Bigger than ever, it was a great celebration of Bethesda’s line-up. BLOPS BLOWOUT Jumping into the Call Of Duty Black Ops IIII Open Beta with the community was great fun, but now we worry we might’ve overdosed… GER’AL STAR Known gamer and Superman star Henry Cavill has revealed he’d love to play Geralt in a Witcher adaptation. Handsome? Yes. Geralt, though? Maybe not. Who’d you put in the role? PLUS PAINS God Of War’s added New Game+ mode is both good and bad; we love it but it means…

Since leaving art school I’ve found that being exposed to new or interesting music has become hard to find. However videogames have been my new source for tunes! Thanks to No Man’s Sky I’ve discovered music by 65daysofstatic. N++ has some great electrical beats, which I’m hoping for the OST at some point. Then there is Grand Theft Auto radio stations. Not to mention the standalone atmospheric music made specifically just for games, such as Red Dead Redemption and The Last Of Us. So thank you the gaming industry! And I’m looking forward to the next OPM issue that includes a CD. Lyndon via email Is that a hint, Lyndon? We love a good soundtrack, and we may have something special next issue……

“I’M JEALOUS OF PLAYERS EXPERIENCING NO MAN’S SKY FOR THE FIRST TIME. ITS AMBITION IS FINALLY MATCHED BY ITS FEATURE SET.” Back in late 2016, I briefly became besotted with Hello Games’ polarising procedural space romp. 40 hours counts as ‘brief’, right? Indeed, I was so obsessed with No Man’s Sky, I even got its platinum – “Total Perspective Vortex” is just one of my 22 shiny plat children. And yet even though I had a decent time in this campy, extra grindy universe, two years on I’m filled with regret. That’s because now No Man’s Sky is a substantially better game than the one I uninstalled upon making its platinum pop. First, the Atlas Rises update introduced 30 hours of new story content and ancient portals to zip around…

“REALLY EXPLORING WHAT UNTAMED EARLY AMERICA HAD TO OFFER.” FORMAT PS4 / ETA 26 OCT PUB ROCKSTAR STUDIOS / DEV ROCKSTAR STUDIOS Like a veteran prospector trying to hide their latest discovery to hold off a second gold rush, Rockstar has been hard at work in its game dev mines, easing out the treasure that is the extremely anticipated sequel to its 2010 Wild West open worlder. With its release on the horizon, the now-steady drip of info has made it clear that Rockstar has indeed struck gold with Red Dead Redemption 2. It’s almost not fair it has that little number ‘2’ after its title. Yes, it’s a sequel that shares a lot of its DNA with its predecessor. But Red Dead Redemption 2 is a brand-new thing –…

“THE MUSIC HAS BEEN A DEFINING PART OF PERSONA, SO BUTTON-TAPPING THROUGH REMIXES OF TUNES IS A NO-BRAINER.” FORMAT PS4, PS VITA / ETA 4 DEC PUB SEGA, ATLUS / DEV ATLUS (P-STUDIO) A decade after Persona 3 first captivated us in Europe, seeing its characters again in this rhythm action spin-off as detailed hi-res models feels like attending a high school reunion. Except everyone can dance like they’re in a high school musical. Persona 5’s Phantom Thieves also join the party, albeit these are two standalone titles, making this one (or two) for die-hard Persona fans. Nonetheless, Shoji Meguro’s music has been a defining part of the series, as well as Shigenori Soejima’s character design, so as far as spin-offs go, button-tapping through remixes of catchy tunes like ‘Mass…

“THE LOST BOYS MEETS LORD OF THE FLIES BY WAY OF LENIN.” FORMAT PS4 / ETA 22 FEB PUB DEEP SILVER / DEV 4A GAMES Leaving the tunnels of Moscow behind we expect to come face-to-face with drooling mutants, but a glassy-eyed deer licking our face? That wasn’t in the script. It’s our first tease that this Metro is doing things differently. A sunshine moment that’s as far removed from the depressed Moscow underground as we could get. We’re 5,530 kilometres from Moscow’s tunnels, to be exact. The distance is revealed every time we restart, and we’re getting deer cooties because we’ve been dragged from a raging river by the mysterious Olga, and left to fend for ourselves in the wilderness. We begin exploring. The shacks we discover are a…

FORMAT PS4 ETA 7 SEP PUB SONY DEV INSOMNIAC GAMES We only review finished games, so in Viewpoint we go hands-on with near-final code of a game that has just missed our review deadline. Ian Dean is a huge Spider-Man fan and spent four hours playing through the earlier part of the game. Is it as amazing as we’d hoped? Times Square is on fire, cops are shuffling energetically behind their squad cars, and a thug shouts: “Bring in the Hammer.” It’s intense. I can’t quite see what the Hammer is but it’s tearing through parked cars like I guzzle a Colin The Caterpillar birthday cake. This is the first scene of Spider-Man. It’s a chaotic Hollywood blockbuster of an opener, the camera hovering alongside stressed…

While comparing Odyssey’s ship gameplay to that of Black Flag’s, Jonathan Dumont, creative director on Odyssey, says there’s more involved this time around. “We have dynamic weather in the game. Storms on the sea create bigger waves, but it’s not that one rogue giant wave you need to dodge,” he explains. (If you remember, in Black Flag one huge wave would emerge for you to battle by turning the ship towards it.) In Odyssey, however, “it’s more than that,” says Dumont, suggesting the whole ocean is somehow against you: “It’s actually one of my favourite moments in the game, when you see lighting striking these giant waves as a ship on fire burns in the distance. It’s stunning.”…

2002 HITMAN 2: SILENT ASSASSIN While Jesper Kyd had been creating videogame music since 1990, it was Agent 47’s PS2 debut that brought him to our attention. Still a great soundtrack to this day. 2007 ASSASSIN’S CREED Kyd took his familiar dark tones developed with IO Interactive and created an atmospheric soundtrack that mixes Latin choruses and heavy orchestration. Tonally, it sung to Assassin’s Creed’s strengths. 2012 DARKSIDERS II The soundtrack to Death’s journey is a melancholic, often majestic blend of electronica and orchestral movements. Offering a blend of atmospheric pieces and melodic tunes, it’s a winner.…

FROM THE SHADOWS Your first main assassination isn’t too tricky. After arms dealer Tamir murders his own employee in broad daylight, he circulates in the crowd. Blending in allows you to stab him quietly as he walks by. PARTY ANIMAL Merchant king Abu’l Nuqoud makes a rare public appearance at a lavish party, where he poisons all his guests. As everyone attempts to flee, you make use of the chaos to stab him on the balcony. PUPIL BECOMES MENTOR In a twist, when you get the Apple Of Eden, it turns out your mentor, Al Mualim, has nefarious schemes of his own. The Apple’s powers are so different to what you’ve faced before it’s a memorable moment.…

Unlucky runaway Assassin Desmond starts out in the same area where he was trapped throughout the first game. He promptly escapes and joins up with a group of Assassin allies in a warehouse. The bleeding effect of the memories means he’s been acquiring skills useful to the modern-day Assassins during his memory jaunts. In Brotherhood, they do the same in the ruins of the Auditore Villa in Monteriggioni, and in Revelations poor old Desmond’s trapped inside the animus itself (which is rather trippy).…

“THERE’S STILL MUCH TO LIKE IN THIS TRAGIC TALE, AND REVISITING IT IS A PLEASURE.” FORMAT PS3 RELEASED 2012 PUB UBISOFT DEV UBISOFT MONTREAL Development on the next numbered Assassin’s Creed began after Assassin’s Creed II was finished. While the Ezio trilogy would iterate on the second game’s foundations, the third game was intended to make things fresh again. In many ways it succeeded – AC III was unlike anything that preceded it, but not entirely successful. At many points the game felt glacial, starting off with not one but two tutorials. It became a family revenge tale as Connor (the alias of Native American Ratonhnhaké:ton) becomes an Assassin and seeks revenge on his own father’s Templar chapter, all in the midst of the American Revolution. The problem is, the…

Never a stranger to spin-offs, the series ramped up from the Kenway Saga onwards. AC III’s three-part The Tyranny Of King Washington was an inventive “what if” story, and AC IV’s Freedom Cry was a standalone DLC that starred Edward’s First Mate Adéwalé. Two Ubisoft Sofia games released – Assassin’s Creed III Liberation followed female protagonist Aveline de Grandpré, and Assassin’s Creed Rogue followed Assassin-turned-Templar Shay Cormac. The latter kills Charles Dorian, setting in motion the events of Assassin’s Creed Unity.…

“ITS STORY WAS ONE OF THE MOST DYNAMIC AND EXCITING OF ANY ASSASSIN’S CREED.” FORMAT PS4, RELEASED 2015 PUB UBISOFT DEV UBISOFT QUÉBEC Very much built on Unity’s foundations, Syndicate felt fresh by virtue of just being a bit of fun in Victorian London. It revolved around the escapades of the two playable Frye twins, Jacob and Evie, as they work to restore the Assassin presence in a London that’s been brought under complete Templar control by capitalist fat cat Crawford Starrick. The siblings had some predictable characterisation – Jacob is the rough-and-tumble brawler, whereas Evie is smarter and stealthier – but some expectations were subverted. The two share a mostly supportive relationship, and are both eager to defy their superior’s wishes and start their reclamation of London (by forming…

After Desmond kicked the bucket at the end of Assassin’s Creed III, the succeeding games downplayed the modern side of the story quite a lot. Though it still wasn’t too overbearing, the modern-day story had a stronger presence in Assassin’s Creed Origins, something which we already know will continue into Odyssey. In a few small sections you played as Layla Hassan, who’s experiencing Bayek and Aya’s memories using a new Animus technique she’s developed to explore the memories of DNA not linked to her own.…

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.…

INFO FORMAT PS4, PS VITA ETA OUT NOW PUB BIT KID, INC. DEV BIT KID, INC. Having been successfully funded on Kickstarter all the way back in 2013, this charming Metroidvania-style underground adventure has taken some time to see the light of day, but the wait has been worth it. Taking control of a young recruit on their first mission, you venture into the mines in search of missing townsfolk and stumble upon a subterranean world, unfurling an intriguing tale of an ancient cult. Returning the mislaid populace not only nets you major good guy points, you can also avail yourself of their services, including blacksmithing and wielding magic. This allows for the slow unveiling of the game’s various mechanics1 – in fact, if there’s one word that sums up…

INFO FORMAT PS4 ETA OUT NOW PUB GRIP DIGITAL DEV GRIP DIGITAL, TERRIBLE POSTURE GAMES Perhaps you like your shooters to play out at the speed of a burly COD character’s stomp, every footstep a heaving effort towards the fight. I’m not here to judge (you). Some people were just raised that way. But those who were there at the turn of the century when Doom, Quake, and Unreal strode the landscape like gods will always find a warm reassurance in games like Mothergunship and its classic-Id-style movement controls. This is a game about the raw sensation of moving and shooting – and doing so very, very quickly. If you’re desperate for a plot, here’s one: aliens known as the Archivists have humanity pinned down out in the far reaches…

ABSOLVER Jess Kinghorn has enjoyed her fair share of bust-ups but is still a lowly grasshopper I have donned the mask of a Prospect and set out to meet my destiny across the ruined Adal Empire… which has, to date, largely consisted of having my arse handed to me, rather than piles of loot for defeating other players. I’m generally not much of a fighter but Absolver’s inclusion in last month’s PS Plus tempted me to try my hand at the way of the fist. I still couldn’t tell you exactly what a gold chain is or why it’s so important – I’m just taking in the scenery as my latest opponent leaves my head spinning. FORTNITE SEASON 5 Oscar Taylor-Kent drops off the battle bus, but not without a…

1 £9.99 LIGHT TRACER The only way is up for this pint-sized princess. In a unique twist on the platformer, you’re given indirect control of the princess on her ascent. With your shining rod, you provide a light that shows her where to go and what to do. Your tiny charge is perilously squishy, prone to falling from precipices, and a one-hit-point wonder in the face of enemy attacks, so you’ll need to keep an attentive eye on her. The control system takes some getting used to and can be frustratingly fiddly, especially as you’re constantly trying to adjust your view of the stage with your free hand. But the visual direction is strong throughout and the boss fights are particularly memorable for their old-school puzzle sensibilities. While this adventure…

1 “A VERACIOUSLY DETAILED RPG THAT SOMETIMES FORSAKES FUN IN THE NAME OF ‘REALISM’.” 2 “BEING A PART OF THIS ASTONISHINGLY PRETTY AND HAUNTINGLY PEACEFUL WORLD IS ONE OF THIS YEAR’S HIGHLIGHTS.” 3 “THE MARRIAGE OF BLIZZARD’S DEFIANTLY OLD SCHOOL DUNGEON-CRAWLING WITH ITS MESMERISING CRAFTSMANSHIP WORKS UNQUESTIONABLY.” 4 “I’D HAVE LIKED A BEEFIER SINGLE-PLAYER MODE, BUT IF YOU’RE AFTER A BRAINY ONLINE SHOOTER, CONSIDER THIS AN ESSENTIAL PURCHASE.”…

PICK #1 THE WOLF AMONG US Jess Kinghorn isn’t afraid of the big bad wolf – he’s a pussycat really The Telltale formula shows its age now, but this urban fantasy is a shining example of that system at its best. The fight scenes haven’t become any less awkward as the years have gone by but you’d struggle to find a crime drama with as much style or delicious weirdness. Even if you’re only returning to Fabletown for the dulcet tones of Adam Harrington as Bigby Wolf, it’s worth the trip. “THE MOST REFRESHING NARRATIVE-DRIVEN EPISODIC RELEASE IN RECENT YEARS.” PICK #2 THE COUNCIL Oscar Taylor-Kent’s put all his points into Logic – tell him it’s just in the game While it’s still ongoing, the first three episodes have proved…

1 THE PERSISTENCE Designed specifically for PS VR, this first-person horror roguelike is, arguably, the headset’s first true killer app. With the action structured around short bursts of intense survival, this shooter manages to pack in everything expected of a PS4 release, in VR. Clever ideas, unique weapons, genuine jump scares, and beautiful visuals delivered with zero motion sickness. All this plus inventive couchplay too. 2 REZ INFINITE Creator Tetsuya Mizuguchi’s vision becomes reality in PS VR. This psychedelic rhythm rail shooter has achieved its final form. Its crowning achievement? New level Area X, it’s powerful enough to bring players to tears. Worthy of its name, this is a truly timeless title. 3 THUMPER Make no mistake: the brave chrome beetle gave Rez a run for its money for our…

As PS Vita’s the premium console for fans of Japanese gaming, LA Anime Expo is often a godsend for owners. At the show last month Aksys announced a couple of great visual novels we thought we’d never see head west: Code: Realize ~Wintertide Miracles~ that’ll please fans of the first game, and a rare treat with the full-on horror, spooktastic Death Mark. Next issue, the PS Vita Hall Of Fame gets a fresh coat of paint. What should be championed in the Top 5? Let us know.…

“REMNANT: FROM THE ASHES IS ABOUT WORKING TOGETHER TO BUILD SOMETHING BIGGER THAN YOURSELF.” The studio behind Darksiders III presents Remnant: From The Ashes. It’s nothing to do with cricket: the game’s set in a post-apocalyptic future in which extra-dimensional beings have taken root across the Earth. After The Reckoning, beasties called The Root (still nothing to do with cricket) lurk in the dark, hungry for more than a nibble of you and your friends. The remainders of humanity in this four-player co-op title hop between alternate realms for safety and in an effort to uncover the mystery behind these creatures’ hostile takeover. Across the dynamic worlds, strategic combat is the name of the game. In this survival action-shooter you’ll be able to build a character that suits your playstyle,…

“THE POWER OF LOVE AND A GOOD TUNE COULD MAKE HORIZON ZERO DAWN A PERFECT FAN FILM.” I’ve always felt the real heart of Horizon Zero Dawn is found in the many characters you meet on your way to putting a spear in HADES’ shell. Which brings me to Talanah. Let’s have a short film about her struggle to to join the Hunter’s Lodge, and those characters she signed up with. If she happens to fall for a workshop girl making armour for the hunters while taking her trials, then all the better. If she just happens to pay a band to play a pan pipe version of Up Where We Belong as she strides into the armoury, picks up her lover, and carries her to a better life, why…

@BYRONB1986 When I saw the back (to see what is for next month) of todays new @OPM_UK and that little purple fella Spyro was looking back at me I may have done a little fist pump of joy. @MATT2004HOOP Loving the DUALSHOCK light decals that were free with this month’s @OPM_UK ! @MICK_BOSS also picked up opm those thumb grips will be handy ones on my ps4 pad are getting well worn down lol @ASIF90562965 What the hell is the walking dead character, negan is doing in the Tekken Franchises? That’s strange! @LEEARIGOLD Deano’s had years of Kirton. [I have indeed – ed] @UNSCCHIEF1178 @PlayStation sucks @SILVERMANIA2 We gotta talk more about Shenmue 3 & the next one maybe 4. @REALJALLEN1981 CONGRATULATIONS to my awesome wife @suze_allen for getting her…

“GAMES ARE OVERZEALOUS IN ASSIGNING ME FRIENDS. GIVE ME A REASON TO CARE ABOUT THEM.” Making friends heightens the sense of discovery and emotional attachment in a game. After all, you’re rarely completely alone, and the people you meet fill the world with life and give the opportunity for different interactions. In the games of my youth, a friend often equalled little more than a sidekick, but has that really changed? Jak and Daxter, Ratchet and Clank, Yooka and Laylee – I’m used to games that give me a pair of unlikely besties to open up new possibilities for gameplay. RPGs often come with large rosters of characters, and open worlds are awash with NPCs. What I don’t understand is why these friends are rarely more than a sentient weapon.…

1 There’s a lot more to the thrill of the hunt than just pointing and shooting. Tracking your kills-to-be plays a role now too – and you have to locate injured animals. 2 Land animals are so last year. Arthur Morgan is a dab hand at nabbing those fishy little swimmers too. Boats in, poles out. Eat your heart out, Noctis. 3 You can’t make a cowboy game without including some gambling, and poker makes a welcome return. We’ll spend a few hours too many in this. 4 What’s more fun than making boatloads of dollar by trading? We won’t rest until we get an alternate ending where Morgan becomes a rich oil tycoon.…

1 The ‘valley’ stage plays like a wide corridor – it’s linear but open-ended. This extends vertically to discovering paths over enemies and above threats. 2 If you see something in the world you can usually walk to it – maybe prepare for the church, though, as this is the lair of a grizzly with a bad head. 3 You’ll need to make use of the treetop huts and zip lines to escape the marauding pack of wolves in this forest, and the bear who randomly sniffs you out. 4 The environment is full of narrative detail, with everything placed for a reason. The Pirates have ship-like bric-a-brac littering their hideout.…

During our chat Jonathan Dumont is cryptic about exactly how the ancient Greek gods, and the myths and legends of the culture, will be woven into the game. He teases us by saying, “Let’s remember, people at this time did believe in them, and some people in the game do believe in these myths – but they’re real people, they’re not the monster you thought.” Revealing that the ancient creatures, possibly including the minotaur, cyclops, and hydra, will be featured in the game, albeit perhaps tied to the mind-warping powers of First Civilisation technology and Pieces Of Eden that fall into the wrong hands, or as just that, myths and legends, still has us excited.…

“A JUMPING-OFF POINT FOR SO MUCH THAT CAME AFTER… ALL THE ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS ARE HERE.” FORMAT PS3 RELEASED 2007 PUB UBISOFT DEV UBISOFT MONTREAL During its pre-release the first Assassin’s Creed looked like the reason to give up your dusty PS2 for good and move to the glorious (at the time) world of next-gen. It seemed like a true step forward. A huge, historical open world set during the first Crusades, with cities teeming with life where you could blend in with crowds, and, of course, jump off really tall towers directly into hay. It was a leap of faith many were willing to take. For the most part the story follows Altaïr Ibn-La’Ahad in 1191, a member of the secretive Assassin Order, as the organisation…

DARIM IBN-LA’AHAD Altaïr’s eldest son helps him on many missions. After Altaïr’s death, he looks after his dead brother Sef’s family. QULAN GAL Qulan is vital in the assassination of Genghis Khan, which is carried out with help from Altaïr. NICCOLÒ & MAFFEO POLO Altaïr entrusts the ancestors of Marco Polo with his codex. They spread his teachings. EZIO AUDITORE DA FIRENZE Following in Altaïr’s steps, Ezio travels back to Masyaf and then Constantinople. DESMOND MILES A descendent of Altaïr, runaway Assassin Desmond is kidnapped in 2012 to reveal secrets from Altaïr’s time.…

BASILICA DI SANTA MARIA DEL FIORE Florence’s cathedral houses the highest point in AC II. Both the top of the dome and the free-standing Giotto’s Campanile offer incredible views over the city. CASTEL SANT’ANGELO A dangerous location in Rome, deep in Borgia territory, and a difficult climb to boot. A trophy awaits those who make it to the top and use da Vinci’s parachute to sail slowly down. GALATA TOWER This chunky tower in Constantinople is housed in the Galata District (hence the name), by the entrance to the Ottoman Assassin Brotherhood’s HQ. Parachute from here across the river for a trophy.…

EDWARD KENWAY (1693 – 1735) ASSASSIN’S CREED IV: BLACK FLAG This swashbuckling Welsh hero (and descendent of Ezio) becomes a pirate. Gaining an Assassin disguise from a traitorous Assassin-turned-Templar, he eventually joins the Order. Fathering a daughter from one marriage and a son from another, he is murdered by a supposed friend. HAYTHAM KENWAY (1725 – 1781) ASSASSIN’S CREED III This young Assassin-to-be becomes a Templar after Reginald Birch, who killed Edward (unbeknown to Haytham), turns out to be Templar Grand Master. Sent to America to found a Templar Chapter, he fathers a child with a Native American woman. Though a Templar, he has a strong moral compass, and kills Birch after discovering his treachery. CONNOR KENWAY (1756 – ?) ASSASSIN’S CREED III Born Ratonhnhaké:ton, he takes the name Connor…

“ASSASSINATION MISSIONS HARKENED BACK TO THE FIRST GAME, AND FELT MORE OPEN.” FORMAT PS4 RELEASED 2014 PUB UBISOFT DEV UBISOFT MONTREAL Another story about family ties. Arno Dorian’s Assassin father is murdered, and the boy taken in by Templar Grandmaster François de la Serre, raised alongside his badass daughter Élise. He knows none of this, of course, being a dumb man about town, until he fails to deliver a letter to François warning him of an assassination attempt. Arno is framed, and his life crumbles again. Thrown into the Bastille, Arno’s taken under the wing of fellow prisoner and former friend of his father Pierre Bellec, joining the Assassin Brotherhood after they escape on Bastille Day. For the most part Arno is unfortunately a drab protagonist, especially compared to the…

Syndicate’s epilogue and DLC gave us the closest adventures to modern times yet. The Jack The Ripper DLC saw Jacob go missing and an older Evie return from India (now possibly the only Assassin left in London) to take down the infamous murderer – actually a power-mad Assassin gone rogue – in 1888. The time anomaly epilogue to Syndicate came even closer to modern times, and followed Jacob’s granddaughter Lydia on a mission in 1916 at Tower Bridge to help out Winston Churchill during World War I.…

THE HIDDEN ONES Four years after the main game, Bayek and Aya travel to the Sinai Peninsula, where a group of Hidden Ones is caught up in a conflict with Rome. This episode gives more closure to their arc. THE CURSE OF THE PHARAOHS This more ‘for fun’ DLC had Bayek take on undead monsters and curses in The Valley Of The Kings. Based on the superstition about the curse of Tutankhamun, it saw Bayek quelling a form of the curse in 38BC. A GIFT FROM THE GODS After a meteor opens a new entrance to a pyramid, Bayek finds Ardyn from Final Fantasy XV sealed within. Ardyn quickly vanishes, but leaves behind some Final Fantasy equipment for Bayek to use.…

INFO FORMAT PS4 ETA OUT NOW PUB GOOD SHEPHERD ENTERTAINMENT DEV CREATIVEFORGE GAMES Spy stories are a rarity in gaming. If you want to live out your James Bond fantasies, you’ll find plenty of opportunities to fire a virtual Walther PPK or drive an Aston Martin. Finding a simulation of proper spycraft, though, is much more difficult. Phantom Doctrine is a welcome exception to this rule, but also an unfortunate reminder of why interactive espionage is so hard to get right. Applying the XCOM formula to a le Carréesque Cold War spy story is a genius idea. The tactical missions see your agents1 infiltrating enemy bases to snap blueprints, rescue allies, or assassinate enemies. Meanwhile, the strategic layer has you shifting those agents around a world map, investigating leads, and…

INFO FORMAT PS4 ETA OUT NOW PUB DOVETAIL GAMES DEV DOVETAIL GAMES Writing this review at the train station, waiting for my delayed commute home yet again, is a little bit upsetting. Because, I know, for a fact, that I could do better. I’m almost always at least ten minutes early, approaching the railway station at speeds upwards of 100mph before desperately hammering on the emergency brakes to make sure the train stops in the sweet spot, as the passengers scream for their lives.1 This console version of Train Sim World comes with three routes as part of the base game – New York’s East Corridor, Rapid Transit S-Bahn in Germany, and the Great Western Express Reading to London Paddington route. Each has a handful of trains to master, scenarios…

WHAT WE SAID: NO MAN’S SKY Postcard-worthy space tourism, best dipped in and out of in short spells to avoid mechanical frustrations. It’s an otherworldly achievement on an insane scale, with tons of genuinely special moments to offer – but also an acquired taste. THE EVOLUTION OF… NO MAN’S SKY LAUNCH AUGUST 2016 The game releases to mixed critical reception, and a backlash snowballs as fans identify missing promised features. SURVIVAL MODE NOV 2016 Also in the Foundation is Survival mode, similar to the standard gameplay but with a much higher difficulty spike and a kind of semi-permadeath. PATH FINDER MAR 2017 Planetary vehicles find their way into No Man’s Sky via the Path Finder update, to the delight of the game’s small but dedicated community. NEXT JUL 2018 Next…

INFO FORMAT PS4 PUB MILESTONE S.R.L. DEV MILESTONE S.R.L. REVIEW #152, 7/10 MXGP Pro is a tricky beast to control, but when human opponents are scrabbling for grip as much as you are, it makes for a very fun, closely-competitive online racer. A well-visualised voting system for choosing bike class and track precedes Quick Race events, and the grids are well populated with actual players, with a few AI making up the numbers. Occasional laggy competitors aside, the only real problem is getting into a game. You’ll often spectate a race closing, expecting to join, only for the host to quit, booting everyone and reloading the compound area. Very annoying. Creating your own room lets you have qualification races and full seasons, or human-only races. Great! Just don’t quit out.…

JEWEL OF THE WEST This Conan Exiles DLC offers exclusive building pieces, armour sets, and weapons, including Aquilonian marble. It’s time to build that house Simon Cowell would love. CATS & DOGS Get yourself a growler! Adorable furry friends are up for adoption in The Sims 4. Your Sims can become veterinarians, open their own clinic, and explore Brindleton Bay. THE HANDLER’S SUNSHINE PAREO It’s time for fun in the sun in Monster Hunter: World with this summery little number. Kick arse, take names, and still look adorable while doing it. ADVENTURE PACK This free bonus for Ni No Kuni II adds more to the Faraway Forest Cave, as well as super strong Zeta and Blackhart boss fights. New items and outfits also await your party. DLC 3 Sweet yet…

Ever since Thanos first appeared in the MCU in a cameo at the end of The Avengers, the threat of the purple-hued mad Titan has loomed over Earth’s defenders like the Sword Of Damocles. The most impressive thing about Infinity War is that, for once, it feels like the sword could really drop. Thanos is so effective as a villain (his mission: to complete the Infinity Gauntlet and wipe out half the universe with a click of his fingers) because he’s Infinity War’s de facto main character. Mo-capped by Josh Brolin, and flawlessly realised by VFX wizards, there’s a twisted logic to Thanos’ actions, and real emotion behind those pixellated peepers. He’s the best villain the MCU has produced to date. The Thanos show it may be, but everyone gets…

INFO PUB BETHESDA SOFTWORKS DEV ID SOFTWARE RELEASED 2011, PS3 GET IT NOW PS NOW, £12.99 PER MONTH WHAT? A subtle blend of shooting bandits and driving dune buggies in a post-apocalyptic open world that’s equal parts Mad Max and Old West, from a past master of gun games. WHO? They say only cockroaches will survive our inevitable nuclear doom, but Alex Spencer has seen more apocalypses than you’ve had hot radioactive-iguana-on-a-stick dinners. When Rage came out in 2011, it seemed like the best days of Id – developer of Doom and Quake – were behind it. Worse, coming at a time when post-apocalyptic wastelands shooters were (excuse the pun) all the rage thanks to Borderlands and Fallout 3, Rage looked like a desperate attempt to stay relevant. So I…