Innholdsfortegnelse for November 2018 i PLAY

“RED DEAD REDEMPTION 2 IS SADDLED AND WAITING TO LEAVE THE STABLE. AND WE’VE PLAYED IT.” After delays and months of waiting, Red Dead Redemption 2 is saddled and waiting to leave the stable. And we’ve played it. Oscar was whisked off to a secret Rockstar location to spend time with Arthur Morgan, bond with a horse, and skin a lot of rabbits. You can read his hands-on impressions on page 50. The first plays continue as Jess goes hands-on with Claire Redfield in the remake of Resident Evil 2 (p6), plus Devil May Cry 5 (p32), and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (p42). All fantastic games heading to PS4. Fresh off a flight from QuakeCon, we also take a closer look at Doom Eternal (p64) and are reminded no one…

MAKE LIKE A TIME BANANA THQ Nordic has picked up the rights to Free Radical’s beloved TimeSplitters series, as well as Second Sight. Spanning three PS2 games between 2000-2005, TimeSplitters offered some of the best split-screen multiplayer of the era, plus fantastic arcadey campaigns and fun unlockables. More of this, please, THQ. RYO RIDER Now we’ve all had time to bask in nostalgia and catch up with the Shenmue story thanks to the Shenmue I & II collection on PS4, we’re hungrier than ever for the tale to continue. That time has been properly dated as 27 August 2019. Maybe we’ll find even more sailors (and confront Lan Di, we guess). CHECKING THE BLUEPRINTS Hitman 2 isn’t just delivering a boatload of new maps and missions for Agent 47, it’ll…

“EPISODIC GAMING SHOULD GIVE ME NEW EXPERIENCES I CAN’T GET ELSEWHERE, NOT CONTENT CHURN.” At one time episodic games were the hot new thing. By mimicking the format of TV, developers could extend the window of a game’s release, iterate, and provide fresh content with each instalment, whether that was new brain-teasing cases for Sam & Max to crack, or new harrowing events for The Walking Dead characters. At some point, though, this turned into a bloated genre where each episode was much the same as the last, even between different games. Rote, predictable – the opposite of the exciting promise they’d initially made. Now, following on from its shakeup of the narrative game with Until Dawn, Supermassive has returned to breathe life into the realm of episodic games, where…

“THERE’S MORE TO YOUR NEW HELPING HAND THAN MEETS THE EYE.” FORMAT PS4 / ETA 8 MAR PUB CAPCOM / DEV CAPCOM Dante is definitely back. Our hands-on session confirms it. Perhaps he’s looking a little bedraggled, with a scraggly beard and a coat that’s seen better days, but at least he’s back to his old self rather than being the dark-haired reimagining from the tautologically titled last game. It’s been a decade since a mainline entry in the Devil May Cry series, and it feels good to see the white-haired pretty, quippy boy return on PlayStation 4. While Capcom is keeping Dante mostly under wraps until closer to release next year, we notice he’s picked up a few new toys during his travels. His chosen mode of transport, a…

DARKSIDERS III We’ve all been there: our hand slips and it looks like we could take off on our eyeliner wing. But this beauty guru leans into it. With a look this sharp, she can take on the world… and in this adventure she will, for a special edition lipstick! FORMAT PS4 ETA 27 NOV THE PRINCESS GUIDE In between culling Rodents Of Unusual Size, the heirs to four kingdoms act as tour guides. In this management sim, you must make your land the top tourism spot. Losing is INCONCEIVABLE! FORMAT PS4 ETA 5 JUL JUST CAUSE 4 After getting swept away during your commute by a parade and re-emerging the wrong side of the jungle, you remember you left the oven on. See how quickly you can leg it…

“WE DISPATCH THE SHAMBLING MESS WITH A FLURRY OF KNIFE BLOWS.” FORMAT PS4 / ETA 8 NOV PUB STARBREEZE STUDIOS, 505 GAMES / DEV OVERKILL “You were so focused when you were playing together, it was unbelievable!” Almir Listo, producer at Overkill, reflects after our hands-on with three other strangers. In Georgetown, there ain’t no room for lone wolves, as we learn early on. Let us set the scene: we’re in bandit territory, out to wreak revenge on a group called The Family. Over our headphones we hear, “Oh no… I think I’m dead?” We swing round to see Walkers chowing down on our barely-alive medic, Maya. As the red-headed Heather we tear over and pull two of the blighters off of her and release her leg from the bear…

1 Elegant swordplay to destroy your opponent’s posture is one thing… or you can just smash through their shields with a hand-axe. Sorted. 2 You can move around the large environments easily with your good old grapple. But attach it to enemies and you can dash to them too for speedier kills. 3 The only type of cracker banned from Nan’s Christmas bashes, the firecracker is an ace way to stun your enemies (and escape awkward conversations). 4 When’s a shield not a shield? When it’s a hat. Actually, it is also a shield. This unfurling metal fan shield helps in a pinch, but don’t get too defensive.…

RICO FORMAT PS4 / ETA AUTUMN 2018 / PUB RISING STAR DEV GROUND SHATTER Kick down doors, initiate slow motion, and take out bad guys using the element of surprise alongside a buddy cop co-op partner. Getting hands-on with Rico is as slick as ever, but the whole package has had plenty of upgrades since we last took aim at it. Thanks to partnering up with Rising Star Games, the devs at Ground Shatter have been enhancing the arcadey, procedurally generated shooter. Randomly created missions see you having to clear new buildings, with shifting objectives like defusing bombs, and now there are daily challenges too. All with local or online split-screen. WORLD WAR Z FORMAT PS4 / ETA 2019 / PUB PARAMOUNT PICTURES DEV SABER INTERACTIVE Based on Paramount’s movie…

For Rockstar, turning back the clock to 1899 wasn’t a difficult decision. “The premise and concepts for RDR2 sprang very naturally out of the events of the original game,” says Nelson. “Even before the last game was fully finished, a small team of people in San Diego that had worked on the original game, including Dan Houser and the writing team, Josh Bass and others, could see the possibilities in taking the characters and setting back in time.” That first game took an unusual approach for storytelling in games where so much was left unspoken and only hinted at, but by the time all was told at the end it was too intriguing to not want to explore further. “Dutch was such a compelling character and seemed to loom over…

1999 SYPHON FILTER One of Sony’s biggest franchises of the PS1 era, Syphon Filter introduced the world to Gabe Logan and global conspiracies, and played like Metal Gear Solid made by Tony Scott. 2009 RESISTANCE: RETRIBUTION After six more Syphon Filters, three on PSP, Bend became Sony’s go-to portable dev. Resistance: Retribution offered solid FPS gunplay on PSP, a near-miracle for the time. 2012 UNCHARTED: GOLDEN ABYSS Bend made some of PSP’s best games, so who better to bring Uncharted to PS Vita? Playing like PS3’s debut in the palm of your hands, Golden Abyss was another triumph, earning a respectable 8/10.…

“CANNON-BALL THROUGH CONCRETE PIPES HANGING FROM CRANES AND BETWEEN SCAFFOLDING STRUTS.” INFO FORMAT PS4 ETA OUT NOW PUB SONY DEV INSOMNIAC GAMES Hello New York City, how I’ve missed you. The city so good they named it twice, and then set a gazillion games in its griddy streets. Marvel’s Spider-Man puts the gaming mecca back on the map, and it’s a triumphant return. Not only is this a vibrant space to swing through, it’s a beautiful one too, with sunsets piercing its concrete canyons while traffic buzzes at your feet. It’s a Spider-Paradise of random crimes, psychotic supervillains, and quick costume changes. And you won’t want to leave. Let’s get right to it, you will love webbing your way around this city. The swing mechanics are perfect. Yes, better than…

INFO FORMAT PS4 ETA OUT NOW PUB KALYPSO MEDIA DEV GAMES FARM Smashing through plenty of enemies, collecting loot, levelling up, and upgrading skills, Shadows: Awakening ticks all the checkboxes you’d expect from a Diablo-like hack-and-slash RPG. It might be a little janky at times – animations can be quite stiff, and the environments look nice but don’t offer anything mindblowing in terms of fantasy settings – but it does stimulate the parts of the brain that just like hitting enemies and then picking things up. Thankfully Shadows: Awakening has some fab twists. Summoned from the Shadow Realm, you take the role of The Devourer, a demon who consumes souls that can then act for him in the mortal realm (world-switching plays into some puzzles). You choose one of three…

INFO FORMAT PS4 ETA OUT NOW PUB TELLTALE GAMES DEV TELLTALE GAMES Clue’s in the title; this is the end of the road for Telltale’s series where people fall apart emotionally (alive people) and physically (not-alive people). The first episode veers from the design of the rest of the season so it can lay the foundations for more exciting things to come… hopefully. This is the weakest opening for a Telltale Walking Dead series by some margin. It starts off fairly action-oriented which, for a story-focused game, is a mistake. Worse, including the “unscripted combat” was a terrible idea. This basically translates to a few sequences where you’re up against two or three zombies, where you’ll die if you don’t work out the exact sequence of actions the developer wants…

BLAZBLUE: CROSS TAG BATTLE Jess Kinghorn can’t avoid crossing fate You know me, I can’t say ‘no’ to some top-tier anime nonsense, and it’s a bonus if a contrived crossover event is involved. I’ve been thoroughly enjoying pixel-art punch ups this month, even though the combat of this fanservice-y fighter isn’t especially deep. That isn’t to say I’ve mastered it by any means, as online matches have shown time and time again. While there’s no novelty in having my arse handed to me, I’m enjoying the banter and bust-ups between characters from four different series here. DARK SOULS III Oscar Taylor-Kent’s faith in humanity is restored As someone who rattled through the main game at launch, barely being able to put down the controller, I felt like my fire had…

Plagued with public production woes, including the dismissal of original directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller just six months into principal photography, it’s a minor miracle Solo turned out as well as it did – even if it remains a largely unnecessary chapter in the Star Wars saga. Recasting Harrison Ford was always going to be a fool’s errand, but Alden Ehrenreich gives it his best Nerf Herder as the young Han. In a tale that dutifully hits every origin story beat, the nascent Solo meets walking carpet Chewbacca and cool customer Lando Calrissian, and gets behind the wheel of that magnificent hunk of junk, the Millennium Falcon, all while on a mission that will turn him into the rogue smuggler we (and, later, a certain Princess) know and love.…

INFO PUB SQUARE ENIX DEV IO INTERACTIVE RELEASED 2016, PS4 GET IT NOW PS STORE FREE (PARIS), £49.99 (GOTY EDITION) WHAT? 2016’s Hitman returns to the sandbox-style levels of Blood Money, giving you a number of options for bumping off your targets. Featuring drastically more complex stages than any of its predecessors, it’s a challenge to relish. WHO? Jess Kinghorn would rather sit down and talk about it than bring out the heavy artillery… though she’s always looking for new tools to add to her conflict resolution repertoire. One of my earliest gaming memories is of Hitman 2: Silent Assassin. Rather than playing, I was watching as I attempted to impress a boy I liked – not a brilliant first impression, to say nothing of the controversial level I remember…

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…

Oscar Taylor-Kent GAMES EDITOR After going hands-on with Red Dead Redemption 2 Oscar now catches and skins his food, one Mars wrapper at a time. GAME OF THE MONTH Red Dead Redemption 2 FAVE VIDEOGAME COWBOY Revolver Ocelot Jess Kinghorn STAFF WRITER Jess has played too much Tomb Raider and concealed herself in OPM Towers. All we can hear is the jingle of her cat bag… somewhere. GAME OF THE MONTH Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice FAVE VIDEOGAME COWBOY Virginia Maxwell Miriam McDonald OPERATIONS EDITOR Mim spent the month wrangling the OPM team towards deadline. Fine, but was the whip and branding really necessary? GAME OF THE MONTH Strange Brigade FAVE VIDEOGAME COWBOY Irvine Kinneas Milford Coppock MANAGING ART EDITOR “Brrrrrm, eeee, vroooom, brrrrm, gtching, gtching, vroooom…” Milf’s not lost his…

3,000,000 PS VR headsets out in the wild. Pinch yourself – are you sure this is reality? 48:22 Length in minutes and seconds of Cyberpunk 2077’s gameplay reveal. 05 Months until you can take a bite out of Overkill’s The Walking Dead. 6,754 Number of days Sony Japan supported PS2. Good times. 500 Million PlayStation units sold worldwide. Doing all right, Sony! 290mm The height of Fury’s statue in the Darksiders III special edition. 04 New colours for the DualShock 4, including Berry Blue and Camo. £129.99 The price of the sold-out Collector’s Edition of Marvel’s Spider-Man.…

“WE WANT THE PLAYER TO LOVE DANIEL AND SEAN LIKE THEY LOVED MAX AND CHLOE.” We’re sitting with Life Is Strange writer Jean-Luc Cano and director Raoul Barbet. We get right down to business in asking the pair: without previous leads Max and Chloe, or Arcadia Bay, what exactly makes a Life Is Strange game? Cano explains what he feels defines the series. “The real DNA of Life Is Strange is relatable characters, everyday decisions and problems, and [social themes] that we want to explore and dig in and, on the top of that, a little bit of supernatural stuff. Life Is Strange is the sum of all of this.” New protagonists Daniel and Sean have ‘powers’, but will we meet any other power users in the upcoming season. “Or…

EARLY TO RISE Plenty of big hitters have been confirmed as releasing in the first months of 2019. Resi 2, Anthem, Sekiro, Devil May Cry 5, Kingdom Hearts III, and more. Wake us up at New Year. MAC OUR MONTH A screen of Ada Wong from the remake of Resident Evil 2 has us excited, and ordering ’80s-style macs and sunglasses for the ultimate spy look. FANTASY HUNTERS The Final Fantasy XIV and Monster Hunter World crossover Rathalos boss in the MMO has been fun, and filled with rewards. The best thing? It’s not going away. Hop in. GAP YEAR Ubisoft has confirmed that 2019 will have no mainline Assassin’s Creed to follow up on Odyssey. We’ll be thinking of you, Assassin’s Creed… I SPY-RO The purple dragon is missing;…

I bought an issue of OPM the other day, and the fact that you include articles about the PS Vita in the official PS Magazine is one of the most heartwarming things I’ve seen all year! Even by today’s standards it is the most advanced portable gaming console available and I only pray that you keep promoting it for as long as you can! As a side note, there is quite literally no other system in history that is as good as the Vita at rhythm gaming! Muta via email Oscar’s a massive PS Vita fan, Muta, so there’s no danger of it being left out of the magazine. He’s on a mission to convert the world to the handheld… though he can keep his dating games to himself!…

1 FORTNITE BATTLE ROYALE Gravity sucks. Screw you, Newton. Still, just because everything that goes up must eventually come down doesn’t mean we can’t have fun hurtling back towards terra firma. Take Fortnite. The purest joy in the battle royale phenomenon comes from cutting through the clouds as you skydive towards its island. 2 METAL GEAR SOLID 3: SNAKE EATER In a cute nod to a certain Xbox shooter, Naked Snake’s Cold War adventure begins with the sneaky agent taking part in a Halo jump. In essence, he throws himself out of a plane, then proceeds to pirouette through the clouds like a gravity-defying serpent. Pity he doesn’t exactly stick the landing. 3 GTA ONLINE GTA V may let you drive an ATV out of a plane before plummeting towards…

1 Like some sort of boy-Bayonetta, Nero can give demons a double dose of justice in half the time. Truly, a stroke of genius from Nico. 2 Hold e to charge up, then release it to let the sparks fly with Nero’s sleek, blue Overture arm. And this is just his basic prosthetic! 3 With plenty of destructible environments to smash up, we’re looking forward to seeing what havoc can be unleashed with this multi-projectile arm. 4 We only got to mess around with two different arms (Overture and the mobility-boosting Gerbera) but we can’t wait to take a peek at Nero’s full arsenal.…

“THERE’S A CHARM TO THE QUIET MAN – THE FIDELITY OF THE MODELS IS UNIQUE EVEN IF THE ANIMATION IS SKITTISH.” FORMAT PS4 / ETA TBC / PUB SQUARE ENIX DEV SQUARE ENIX, HUMAN HEAD STUDIOS Gaming’s quiet man is here to stay, and he’s turning up the volume, or at least he’s punching some faces, saving the girl, and catching a serial killer. We love the dev’s ambition in attempting to merge FMV and digital doubles as this game jumps from narrative cutscenes into classic brawling. The Quiet Man is centred on deaf model Dane as he seeks revenge on the gangster who terrorised him as a tween, which leads him to team up with mobster Taye. There’s also a serial killer on the loose, a sultry club singer…

“MORGAN CAN CARRY TWO REVOLVERS, DUAL-WIELDING IF HE WANTS.” Red Dead Redemption saw ex-Dutch Gang member John Marston being forced to find and bring to justice some of his old comrades. Those you hunt down, and Marston himself, figure prominently in the plot of Red Dead Redemption 2. “Marston’s story was about the very end of that period and the modernisation of the world,” Rob Nelson, co-studio head at Rockstar North, tells us of the first game’s 1911 setting. “John was a lone outlaw brought back into a life that he tried to leave behind.” The world might still be changing in RDR2’s 1899, but dialling back the clock a bit allows a refocus on a much more notorious life. “This new game was a chance to tell a different…

INFO FORMAT PS4 ETA OUT NOW PUB NEOCOREGAMES DEV NEOCOREGAMES Warhammer 40,000 has proved fertile ground for videogame adaptions in recent years. Each new game has given the ‘grimdark 41st Millennium’ treatment to a different genre,1 and Inquisitor – Martyr is no exception, stretching its Warhammer theming over the skeleton of a Diablo-style action RPG. You play an Inquisitor, equal parts secret policeman and witchfinder general, in one of three flavours: the agile Assassin, tank-like Crusader, or magic-wielding Psyker. This being an action RPG, though, whichever class you choose, your job is roughly the same: hammer the attack buttons and scoop up the resulting loot like a gothic Roomba. It’s a solid formula, but can feel an awkward fit for the setting. The genre-standard cooldown bars and special abilities of…

INFO FORMAT PS4 ETA OUT NOW PUB SEGA DEV SEGA AM2 Sitting at the top of my CV are some entries that cause any potential employer to raise eyebrows: forklift driver, lucky hit salesman, professional duck racer. It’s true these are only jobs I did virtually through Ryo Hazuki – they’re all jobs he takes on while he works to track down his father’s killer – but in a way I feel like I actually did them. Trawling the streets of Asian towns in Yokosuka, and then Hong Kong, feels like part of my own story. The lack of signposting within the games forces you to follow leads, really interact with the people you meet, and pay attention to the meticulous detail that was unheard of when the first two…

Wake me up when September ends? As if we’d sleep through one of the biggest months of PS Plus yet, offering one of the most definitive line-ups the PS4 has seen – keeping you occupied throughout the month either playing solo or getting communal playing online. The biggest surprise here – DESTINY 2. Coming to the PS Plus service early as a treat to get new players on board before the FORSAKEN DLC launched, this sci-fi epic from Bungie offered a swathe of polished content even in the base game, and simply the finest headshots you could find in the galaxy. You already know we were massive fans of daddy Kratos in his latest outing, but GOD OF WAR III: REMASTERED came to PS Plus so we could relive the…

INFO FORMAT PS4 PUB EA DEV EA TIBURON REVIEW ISSUE #153, 8/10 Ready for OPM’s annual rant about Madden’s paper-cup-and-string online stability? Here’s a shocker… there isn’t one. EA has finally sorted its servers so that net-based matches play out with minimal delay, and plenty of bruising hits and spectacular TDs. This is best demonstrated in Ultimate Team. The Madden equivalent of FIFA’s best mode contains neat ideas such as upgradeable player cards, but bigger rosters and a smaller player pool make for a sprawling experience that often feels impersonal. It’s good, but not great. Still, that charge can’t be levelled at live player updates or importable draft classes for franchise mode – both of which make for a strong-like-Ndamukong-Suh online package. VERDICT A rare sports sim that’s still best…

SOUNDTRACK You can now get the Warhammer 40,000: Inquisitor – Martyr soundtrack from the PS Store, which is music to our Games-Workshop-obsessed ears. GOKU/VEGETA The ‘base’ versions of Goku and Vegeta are now available for Dragon Ball FighterZ, which means you can now have a three-way Goku team-up. All Goku, all the time. GENTLEMAN EXPLORER CHARACTER PACK Free in August, did you grab the dapper Winston Bey for Strange Brigade? There should be more freebies coming soon; keep an eye peeled. PS+ EXCLUSIVE SKINS These four Space Lords premium skins are for PS Plus members only, and include the Rusty Pilgrim look for Konstantin. They’re lording it over us. ESCAPE MODE DLC You can finally enjoy your Prison Architect creations from the inside out in this DLC that sees you…

SHOW DOGS 1 OCT Will Arnett teams up with a talking canine (voiced by Ludacris) to take down animal smugglers at a dog show in this fascinatingly awful family film. LETHAL WEAPON S1&2 1 OCT Surprisingly decent television take on the classic 1980s-’90s buddy cop movies that starred Mel Gibson and Danny Glover. AGENTS OF SHIELD S5 1 OCT If you’re still following this Marvel series you’ll feel rewarded by this latest season, which features a time travelling arc. SNEAKY PETE 1 OCT Amazon’s most successful series to date stars Giovanni Ribisi as a con man who assumes the identity of his cellmate after getting out of prison. WWE SUMMERSLAM 2018 8 OCT Roman Reigns takes on sentient meat slab Brock Lesnar while Ronda Rousey sets a record. WYNONNA EARP…

INFO PUB MATT MAKES GAMES DEV MATT MAKES GAMES PRODUCTIONS RELEASED 2014 GET IT NOW PS STORE, £11.49 NEED TO KNOW 1 The prototype was developed at a game jam. 2 That first iteration was a single-player game. 3 Dev Matt Thorson was inspired by GoldenEye 007. There are few things in life better than settling down on a sofa, a mate either side of you, all with controllers in hands, and doing permanent damage to your friendship as you hammer each other in a multiplayer game. Alas, unless sports or beat’em-ups are your particular poison, multiplayer couchplay is a pleasure that has become increasingly difficult to chase in recent years. Most modern multiplayer games want you to have the entire screen to yourself, with your pals safely on the…

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…

“WE’RE SURROUNDED BY A BUBBLE OF MUCUS. BADDIES CAUGHT IN THE ROLL-UP MEET A STICKY END.” Whether you’re up against a greedy cat tribe that’ll run your makeshift dirigible into the ground for quick scrap, attempting to slay a fire-breathing, fluffy hulk, or, like developer Experiment 101, delaying the release of your post-apocalyptic RPG to 2019, you need to be adaptable. In our hands-on we see a grim new mutation for your customised critter: it enables them to surround themself in a bubble of mucus that extends their jump, though baddies caught in the roll-up meet a sticky end. On top of their mutations, wushu, and gun kata moves, your furry friend also uncovers a mighty metal fist that’s handy for busting heads and doors alike. Though that’s not your…

IT’S AN ALTERNATE HISTORY BUT READY AT DAWN MADE THE 19TH CENTURY COME ALIVE. Honestly, just give me the sequel to The Order: 1886 I need, but y’know, maybe set in 1887. The end of the century, end of Empire setting, when science and technology clashed with tradition and outdated thinking, is ripe for the picking. And no dev has managed to create a consistent world within this setting like Ready At Dawn, bending the historical period to its own fantastical lore. Now Sony needs to finally let the developer canter away with its brave new world. A trip to New York or Bombay would be perfect, to follow up where the first game’s sequel-baiting tease left off. I’d bite. A SUPERNATURAL ALTERNATE HISTORY WITH ELEGANT DRESSES AND GORE? SIGN…

@WELOVEGAMEMUSIC If any of you are fans of the Assassin’s Creed series, especially it’s wonderful music, and are UK based, you may want to pick the latest issue of@OPM_UK. What do you say @theflightmusic @ JesperKyd? :) @RM_MATHESON Me and my wife meet though a gaming clan we both joined because of @ OPM_UK if it was not for games, Metal gear online and resi 5 in particular then we may not have met. Games have brought us together and we love to play them together. @CREAVENDYLAN Christmas is whenever a new issue drops @TUFFKNUX There’s no fun in easy platinums. Work for it! @MJDYSONUK Mario @LAMBENT_LUCKY Mafia 3 was pretty good I thought. @CATASTRONAUTS #TBT to when we danced around the office after seeing Catastronauts in @OPM_UK! We’ve been…

“AS GAMES BECOME MORE DIVERSE, HOW ABOUT A BIT MORE DIVERSITY IN OUR MALE CHARACTERS?” There’s no more Chloe and Max. Life Is Strange 2 has replaced its female leads with two brothers and the internet had a bit of a fit. Somewhere online there’s a special place reserved for Chloemax fanfiction and blue hair memes. Some fans are prepared to turn their backs on another complex, emotional adventure just because this one will have two male protagonists. So has the poster game for empowered girls turned its back on gender politics and become just another dudebro adventure? Not quite. That makes the assumption all male identities are currently being served, and served well. In fact, despite female representation in games improving (though, admittedly, there’s still room to go), with…

Crysis What sort of self-respecting super-soldier needs a parachute to survive a skydive? Go, go heroic shins! No One Lives Forever This campy Bond tribute lets you shoot while skydiving during its Unexpected Turbulence level. Pew! Pew! Killzone Shadow Fall Fall by name, and a fair bit of freefalling by nature. Unfortunately it’s as much fun as landing on your funnybone. Did we miss your favourite skydive? Got a brilliant In The Mood For idea? Show and tell at twitter.com/opm_uk.…

“THICK SMOKE REALISTICALLY BILLOWS OVER OUR WHIRRING WHEELS.” FORMAT PS4 / ETA JUN 2019 / PUB BETHESDA / DEV ID SOFTWARE, AVALANCHE STUDIOS Everything in this game is splintering, exploding, and fizzing. Enemies erupt into bloody, flailing body parts and sparks fly from armoured goons as you empty a clip into them. Even the moon is broken. Seen from afar as we gaze out over Rage 2’s starry sky, the once-gleaming lunar lantern is severed into pieces, dangling precariously in orbit. Back on terra firma the latest from the ‘super-dev’ combo of Id Software and Avalanche Studios is living up to the hype. The game is one huge open world crammed with variety – grassy wetlands, hot deserts, and abandoned ‘old Earth’ technology. Drive or walk, whichever direction you go…

“SEKIRO’S SET IN ONE OF THE BLOODIEST ERAS IN JAPANESE HISTORY.” FORMAT PS4 / ETA 22 MAR PUB ACTIVISION / DEV FROMSOFTWARE While the next title in FromSoftware’s and Hidetaka Miyazaki’s portfolio is taking a lot of cues from the SoulsBorne series, it’s also the biggest departure the studio has made from its success stories in a long time. Where previously we prepared to die over and over again, death is only the beginning in Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. The events of Sekiro are set into motion when you’re struck down, as your shinobi is felled by the Ashina’s Clan’s samurai commander, and you’re divided in two – your young charge and master is taken (his bloodline is special, you see), and your own arm is chopped off. Hence the…

1 Scenes in the game begin as handmade models. They’re created from wood and card and are treated like mini film sets, with working lighting rigs. 2 The scenes are then turned into base geometry using photogrammetry. Each item is cleaned up and polished before being added into the game. 3 With the in-game scene set, it’s time to add the digital puppets. Here an untextured Tannhauser is dropped into the scene to test. 4 Now everything is working in-game we get a unique blend of real-world models, puppetry, and traditional game CG. All that’s left is to solve those puzzles……

GOOD BOY You can pet dogs you come across (or scold them if you’re mean). Researching animals you’re looking at adds them to your journal. BANDANALIERS What you do affects how people behave around you. Whether your gun’s out for instance, or if you’re hiding your identity with a bandana. DEAD EYES Building off GTA V’s PS4 addition, you can play through all of Red Dead Redemption 2 in first-person, if you want. HIGH FASHION Instead of donning complete outfits like in the first game, you can customise each piece of clothing. Similarly, you can personalise your horse and guns to your heart’s content. LORE MAN Poking around the environment will reveal plenty of things to discover, like letters and books that give Morgan more information about the world. HAT…

With a launch date set in stone – 22 February next year – there’s no looking back for Bend Studio, the dev behind Days Gone. Despite recently playing the game, we still have questions. So we’re sitting down with writer and director John Garvin to discuss why Freakers aren’t zombies, and more. Garvin helps us dig a little deeper into how the game plays, discussing upgrades, the open world, and how anything can happen… OPM: What is the elevator pitch on what Days Gone is all about, for those unfamiliar with it? John Garvin: It’s an action/adventure, third-person shooter, set in an open world where the world comes for you. So it’s an open world that’s dangerous, it’s always dangerous. As soon as you leave one of the encampments, you…

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 ETA OUT NOW PUB ADULT SWIM GAMES DEV WHITE RABBIT Oh dear, we’ve died again. Losing resources, we’re revived at the save point that we also use to upgrade skills, before setting off to bash our heads (and, ideally, weapons) on that tough-as-nails boss yet again. No it’s not Dark Souls, it’s Death’s Gambit – a 2D take on the Soulslike genre with stunning pixel art visuals and some terrific bits of animation. Yes, it is a little tiresome to compare games to Dark Souls, and sometimes it isn’t warranted, but when the menus look essentially the same, and the game even re-uses a lot of the same tricks, you can’t help it. At a glance, you’d be forgiven for thinking this was actually a fan de-make…

“THIS IS BY FAR LARA’S MOST VISUALLY IMPRESSIVE EXPEDITION TO DATE.” INFO FORMAT PS4 ETA OUT NOW PUB SQUARE ENIX DEV EIDOS MONTRÉAL You’d be forgiven for thinking I see a bit of myself in Lara. As she’s an intelligent young woman with a passion for history and a great accent, maybe I even look up to her a little bit; after all, it’s not often we see such a hyper-capable female lead in our medium, let alone one so enduring. But truthfully the first game I played in Croft’s gameography was the initial instalment in this origin trilogy that Eidos Montréal is now closing out and I’m not writing this review from a place of nostalgia. After uncovering the lost island of Yamatai and the secret city of Kitezh,…

WHAT YOU DO IN… PES 2019 MULTIPL AYER The servers feel solid and there are few issues playing online, other than one moment when one game is played at Benny Hill speed. The changes to myClub and the return of co-op mode ensure this is the best PES yet for multiplayer. STAT PACK 9 Authentic leagues, including the Ladbrokes Premiership. Old Firm derby ahoy! 11 New skill traits. Our fave: the no-look pass. It just looks so casual and effortless. 5 The number of goals we put past East London. You could say we hammered ’em… 90 Salah’s overall ranking in PES 2019. He’s always got a space in OPM’s myClub team. THE FIRST FIVE HOURS… 1 Losing my pre-season friendlies and patience with Wijnaldum. Time to buy. Harry Kane…

INFO FORMAT PS4 ETA OUT NOW PUB RISING STAR GAMES DEV AKSYS, TOYBOX INC The twins live idyllically, whiling away days learning to cook with their Mum. But one day she falls into an unending sleep, leaving the tiny tykes to run the family café all by themselves. A wizard appears with a mysterious draconic egg and the revelation that it and their Mum are linked... because she’s half dragon. If the pair can care for the baby dragon that soon hatches, plying it with plenty of delicious food and turning the café into a success, their Mum may one day wake up. From there you’ll be managing a small kitchen1 and gathering ingredients as you make many meaty meals to help your baby dragon grow up big and strong.…

INFO FORMAT PS4 PUB TEAM17 DEV TEAM17 & GHOST TOWN GAMES REVIEW #153, 8/10 This kitchen is fully staffed and a positive work environment. The random level selection of arcade mode and the team-based versus mode are likely where Overcooked 2 will find much of its longevity… though we do find ourselves feeling sidelined as more experienced chefs take the wheel. It’s probably no surprise that Overcooked 2 has a healthy public online lobby and we are paired up with plenty of sous chefs in no time. Perhaps thanks to the exclusively positive emotes hamstringing micless communication, every one of them was the polite professional you’d hope for, even in failure. It won’t give you any bonuses to enjoy in solo or local mode but this is one tasty broth…

FAR CRY 5 – DEAD LIVING ZOMBIES The final DLC for Ubi’s open-worlder is a celebration of zombie movies. Play through seven film pitches from in-game director Guy Marvel as the series embraces the horde shooter. There’s plenty of gore ‘n’ gunplay, just don’t lose your head. YAKUZA KIWAMI 2: CLAN CREATOR BUNDLE Get all the previous SSR Clan Creator leaders and packs in one download, plus Sega is offering two exclusive weapons – the Kiwami Machine Gun and the Kiwami Demon Blade. Own the Majima Construction minigame in one DLC bundle. MINECRAFT – SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY PACK If Minecraft has been off your radar recently then this Star-Wars-themed pack will have it pinging on again. It includes characters such as Lando Calrissian, L3-37, and, of course, Han…

1 “A MAGNIFICENT, DEEPLY PERSONAL TALE OF A BOY AND HIS MONSTER. SMART, SUBVERSIVE AND EMOTIONALLY ENRICHING.” 2 “THE DETECTIVE FANTASY, MIXED WITH A UNIQUELY CRUDE AND SARDONIC HUMOUR, IS ONLY MARRED BY OCCASIONAL PERIODS OF REPETITION.” 3 “COME IN EXPECTING A BIG, DUMB ACTION FILM AND YOU’LL HAVE YOURSELF A GOOD TIME, BUT PUT ANY HOPES OF A DEEP STORY TO REST.” 4 “THE FIRST TWIN-STICK SHOOTER OF THE NEXT GENERATION HAS A GOOD CHANCE OF BEING PS4’S DARK-HORSE KILLER APP.”…

PICK #1 A HAT IN TIME Jess Kinghorn throws her hat into the ring As it begins to get gloomy outside, it only follows that I would look for something bright inside… and completely bypass that for the cracking Halloween-themed levels. Yes, I still curse that extended section with the disappearing ledges that only goes to show how not-so-far 3D platformers have come. But I’m a sucker for its silly take on the macabre. Maybe one day I’ll even get to the bottom of the Dead Bird studio… “SHOVEL KNIGHT CONTINUES IN THE STEPS OF RETRO, HARD-AS-NAILS PLATFORMERS.” PICK #2 SHOVEL KNIGHT Oscar Taylor-Kent digs himself into a hole I was practically raised by the caring hands of Sonic The Hedgehog and Mega Man. Shovel Knight (Treasure Trove Edition) continues…

Due to the recent success of Sony’s other PSV (the VR headset), we focused PS Vita’s Hall Of Fame down to five top picks. Because of this, it makes sense to give it a new coat of paint (based on your suggestions) to showcase what really shines on PSV because it’s on PSV. Lots of games can benefit from being portable, but the system is at its best when it’s pushing new and unique ideas, or refining genres. We hope you like the picks, but remember: it’s just the tip of the PSV iceberg.…