Innholdsfortegnelse for December 2018 i PLAY

“WE DISCOVER WHY WEATHER MATTERS IN JUST CAUSE 4’S EPIC WAR-TORN SANDBOX.” Open world games are commonplace now, but few do justice to the idea of ‘go anywhere, do anything’ quite like the Just Cause series. And number four is shaping up to be the best yet. This issue we visit Avalanche Studios in New York to play its new game, and discover why the weather matters in this war-torn sandbox. Read Oscar’s hands-on, starting on page 50. There are more first-hand impressions this issue too, as we go hands-on with Fallout 76 and discover why more people isn’t a bad thing (p36). We play Battlefield V ahead of release (p32), experience Devil May Cry V’s new Dante gameplay (p6), and see why Days Gone’s Freakers will test your endurance…

VRMAGEDDON PlayStation had a big showcase at Tokyo Game Show, which included a huge amount of upcoming PS VR support for the next year. With Ace Combat 7, Kill X, Everybody’s Golf VR, and, most importantly, Space Channel 5 VR: Arakata Dancing Show, PS VR’s future is going to be a bright one. KEYS TO THE KINGDOM With Kingdom Hearts: The Story So Far releasing as you’re reading this – a mega package containing everything released so far on PS4 – the pre-Kingdom Hearts 3 catch up doesn’t end here. The Kingdom Hearts VR Experience dropping this winter let’s you explore its history in the virtual realm. NOT SO REMNANT The Last Remnant Remastered arrives on PS4 in December, celebrating the classic game’s tenth anniversary with its PlayStation debut. This…

RED DEAD BETA Red Dead Online will launch in November, blending narrative, co-op, and competitive multiplayer. GTA Online v.2? Sounds great. SPIDER-SALES At the time of going to print, Marvel’s Spider-Man is the second-fastest-selling game of the last 12 months, after FIFA 18. FANG THEORY Castlevania Requiem: Symphony Of The Night and Rondo Of Blood are on the PS Store… now! They’re two classic games you need to play, and are out just in time for Halloween. POTTY FOR POTTER A leaked gameplay video of a new Harry Potter game got us very excited, and then Warner Bros cast its Evanesco spell and it vanished. Will we ever see it again? Hmm, we think so. PARTY POOPER SIE Worldwide Studios’ chairman Shawn Layden confirmed there’ll be no PSX this year.…

Hollywood isn’t giving up on getting a piece of the videogame cake, even after several setbacks. We can argue the merits of films such as this year’s Tomb Raider until we’re blue in the face, but none of these films have achieved (or deserved) critical acclaim or financial success. As Netflix is gearing up for another attempt, I’m asking myself who the desired audience is. The fact that even a TV giant like Netflix, known for high production values and a hand in changing the perception of telly as a worse alternative to films, is working on a Witcher TV series is a fantastic argument for the production value of games. That same value makes it hard for me to see TV and film as anything but a copy. Game…

“CONFLICT IS EPIC, SPRAWLING, CHAOTIC, AND ALWAYS DEADLY.” FORMAT PS4 / ETA 20 NOV PUB EA / DEV EA DICE The heavy, rapid thud of our assault rifle as we take down some unwitting soldiers poking up above cover; scrunching forward through snow as we stay low to the ground; the drone of planes overhead punctuated by intermittent machine gun fire; and the whirr of treads as a tank crashes through a nearby building – friend or foe? Perverse as it may be, all that’s the sound of home. To clear a capture point we lob a grenade into a first-storey window. It explodes and the interior of the building crumbles piece by piece around the cadavers of the enemies within, the collected snow sliding off the roof as it…

1 Our group finds a public crafting station and starts tooling up using resources we gather, making armour, knives, and handy pipe-revolvers. 2 After skirmishing with ghouls, we head to The Whitespring. This former luxury resort is still being serviced by robot butlers and mechanical security guards. 3 One of our group starts shooting up the robots. They respond with extreme prejudice. Man down! Time to help out our buddies… 4 A full-on battle with Protectrons and Assaultrons ends in a lot of scrap metal, and plenty of XP to share among the group, to level us all up.…

1 The second world from Spyro: Ripto’s Rage!, you probably remember Autumn Plains as a brown-and-red hued world with subtly drawn dawn sky… 2 …In the newly remade version on PS4 it’s as good as you wanted it to look. The devs have added the detail your imagination had to create. 3 Sheila’s Alp is home to the first playable character other than Spyro in Year Of The Dragon. Sheila The Kangaroo is a mess, but don’t tell your younger self… 4 … In Spyro Reignited Trilogy we finally get to see her how Insomniac intended. Look at her big eyes, bobbing hair, and cute jacket. Brilliant.…

DÉRACINÉ FORMAT PS VR ETA 6 NOV / PUB SONY DEV FROMSOFTWARE, SIE JAPAN STUDIO Fans of the developer should feel a delightful shudder when hearing of a completely new game from FromSoftware and its lead creative genius Hidetaka Miyazaki, responsible for the Soulsborne genre. But if you’re expecting anything familiar, don’t. Miyazaki is full of surprises yet. The team’s virtual reality debut is a much slower-paced experience, where you play an invisible faerie exploring a Victorian-looking boarding school. As time is frozen, you’re free to explore, uncovering clues to a larger mystery, and learning more about the school and the children within it, immersed in PS VR. HELL WARDERS FORMAT PS4 / ETA WINTER 2018 / PUB PQUBE DEV ANTI GRAVITY GAME STUDIOS Part hack-and-slash and part tower defence,…

Remedy last released a game on PlayStation 15 years ago – the rather excellent Max Payne 2: The Fall Of Max Payne. But during that time the studio’s been far from quiet, working on many other projects, and perfecting its style – not to mention working away on developing and refining its very own Northlight engine. So it was a pleasant surprise when, at E3, the announcement trailer for Control was one of the highlights of Sony’s excellent showcase. A bit of a departure for Remedy, Control is much more open-ended than its usual offerings. Taking inspiration from the ‘new weird’ genre (think the books of Jeff VanderMeer and China Miéville), it sees lead character Jesse exploring a twisted and surreal New York building, The Oldest House, and facing off…

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 PS VR ETA OUT NOW PUB ASPYR DEV ASPYR MEDIA As Patterson, a vlogger out for a morning stroll, you stumble upon a dilapidated mansion in the woods. Your vlogger instincts and deep sense of entitlement encourage you to nose around, and soon you’re on the trail of a story that unravels at a steady pace, teasing nuggets of weirdness to keep you interested.1 Your guide through the house is a floating ball of ‘posh’ light with perfect diction. Each room in the house is a large circuit board: hidden wires lurk behind the walls and under the floor, and using an acquired torch gizmo you can follow the lines and plug in furniture and ornaments to connect the circuits. The physics-based puzzles are fun, if not demanding,…

INFO FORMAT PS4 ETA OUT NOW PUB KOCH MEDIA DEV SPIKE CHUNSOFT There’s a kidnapping gone wrong, a mysterious crime syndicate, a deadly virus, and, of course, a dedication to recycling the right items in the correct bins. 428: Shibuya Scramble finally gets its English release, ten years on from its Japanese debut – it’s unique, and still one of the best visual novels out there.1 It begins with a ransom hand-off, where the victim’s twin sister is handing over a large sum of money for her return at the crowded Shibuya crossing. You follow Shinya Kano, one of the detectives assigned to the case. Things quickly go awry, and both the money and the sister go missing. As you hop between a selection of other characters, the narrative web…

INFO  FORMAT PS VR ETA OUT NOW PUB FELLOW TRAVELLER GAMES DEV TINY BULL STUDIOS This isn’t the first time we’ve found ourselves relying on echolocation, but while Stifled (reviewed OPM #143, 7/10) pushed our horror buttons this take on the technique focuses on solving puzzles. The setup is the same: you’re placed inside a dark world whose details are only revealed by sound waves bouncing around the environment. Why are you here? After a car crash you wake in a mansion, and need to problem-solve your way to freedom, rescuing your young brother along the way.1 While being inside a pitch-black room, deprived of one of your senses, will always be alarming, the game soon settles down into a cosy parade of echo-tapping conundrums. Any sense of unease is…

INFO FORMAT PS4 PUB KONAMI DEV KONAMI REVIEW #154, 8/10 Offline not much has changed, but online, particularly in myClub, PES 2019 has undergone many solid improvements, some cosmetic, some game-changing. There’s no denying Konami has lifted ideas from FIFA Ultimate Team, with new player cards and weekly revisals of stats. But this was sort of there anyway, only now it’s clearer. What has changed is your squad size, and the ability to sign up to three players at once from a Special Agent. This means the new trading system will become a metagame in its own right, in due course. On the pitch PES 2019 is the best edition yet, and if you only play online and are happy to ignore the lacklustre offline tweaks, there’s no better game…

MARVEL’S SPIDER-MAN – THE CITY THAT NEVER SLEEPS These three story chapters feature new missions, costumes, and challenges. The first, The Heist, is out now. Turf Wars and Silver Lining will then release in November and December respectively. SHADOW OF THE TOMB RAIDER – THE FORGE The first of seven DLC adventures releasing monthly, The Forge offers a new standalone story based in the City Of Paititi. And you get a new Challenge Tomb, outfits, and weapons, as well as the Grenadier skill. The Forge is out 13 November. OVERCOOKED – SURF ‘N’ TURF It’s time to take the co-op fun on holiday with 12 new exotic maps, and three new chefs, including the return of Boof! New kitchens mean new recipes, and this DLC offers smoothies and BBQ skewers.…

“BRILLIANTLY INVENTIVE. ONE HIGHLIGHT INVOLVES A MUSIC BOX, BUT I’M NOT GOING TO SAY WHY.” “ONE OF THE SLICKEST, MOST DAZZLINGLY PRODUCED, AND ENJOYABLE PLATFORM GAMES EVER MADE.” “TACTICAL TEAM-BASED SHOOTER […] – THE CHARACTER-SWITCHING MECHANIC SWEETENS THE GENRE. GROUP UP WITH FRIENDS TO AVOID CLUELESS CARNAGE.” “A BRIGHT, INVIGORATING SPIN ON THE ARCADE RACER WITH A FEW FOUNDATIONAL ISSUES IT NEVER QUITE MANAGES TO OVERCOME.”…

PICK #1 LEGO CITY UNDERCOVER Miriam McDonald says ditch the IPs As the team’s unashamed Lego liker (not Lego licker; that’d be weird), I know you don’t have to be undercover cop Chase McCain to identify the best Lego game of all. While it’s not based on a movie or comic book franchise, this crime caper riffs on everything from Columbo to Starsky And Hutch to The Shawshank Redemption as you hunt down Rex Fury. Not convinced? A side mission has you firing pigs out of a cannon. Now you are. “THIS IS WHAT LEGO HAS DONE BEST SINCE STAR WARS – RIFF ON OLDER MOVIES.” PICK #2 LEGO JURASSIC WORLD Oscar Taylor-Kent is a clever girl While I might have thought Jurassic World was a bit rubbish, what really…

Oscar Taylor-Kent GAMES EDITOR This month Oscar jettted off to New York to see Just Cause 4. Someone stop him playing Spidey to show us where he went. GAME OF THE MONTH Hollow Knight FAVE OPEN WORLD Spider-Man Jess Kinghorn STAFF WRITER Recently obtaining destructive powers, the team’s had to make Jess less angry than usual when chatting Life Is Strange 2. GAME OF THE MONTH 428: Shibuya Scramble FAVE OPEN WORLD Yakuza 6 Miriam McDonald OPERATIONS EDITOR Still haunted by the sheer size of Geralt’s third adventure, Mim’s perfect comedown is playing with those slimy stress balls. GAME OF THE MONTH Slime Rancher FAVE OPEN WORLD The Witcher 3 Milford Coppock MANAGING ART EDITOR Getting too into all the info on Control, Milf is beginning to swear he has…

962 Million. Total number of games (units) sold on the original PlayStation. 10,000,000 Sales of PS1 was celebrated with a rare Midnight Blue edition. 1994 The year PS1 launched in Japan, on 3 December just like the PS Classic. 2,418 The number of games released for PS1 during its lifespan. 15 Years it took to develop Gran Turismo (Yamauchi-san had the idea as a child). 102 Million original PlayStation consoles have been sold. It’s a record breaker. 128KB Capacity of PS1’s original external memory cards. So tiny! 8,766 Days between PS1 launching and the arrival of PlayStation Classic.…

There’s only one person out there with the skills to match Agent 47, the world’s ultimate assassin: himself. Hitman 2’s Ghost mode is a brand-new 1v1 competitive mode that challenges you to kill more targets than the other player, in a ‘first to five’ situation. The marks are the same, but you’ll also need to make your kills smarter and cleaner in order to get the leg up. “GHOST MODE IS A BRAND-NEW 1V1 COMPETITIVE VARIANT.” As you compete, you’ll be able to see the parallel Agent 47 interacting with the world as a ghost, so you’re essentially operating in different realities. Meaning if you mess up, the only one you’re inconveniencing is yourself. You both start in the same location, and you will need to use all the tricks…

Looking through the free retro magazine [with OPM #153] and reading about all the remakes I noticed that a lot of them are programmed by Bluepoint Games. If I remember Bluepoint Games made the excellent Uncharted Golden Abyss on PS Vita. Surely it would not take a great deal of work to convert this to PS4. The way that remakes are being done even the motion sensor sections wouldn’t be a problem for the DualShock 4. I think if it was put out as a digital edition in the same way as Lost Legacy at the right price all Uncharted fans would buy it. Phil Hall via email We’re afraid taking a game from PS Vita to PS4 would be a lot of work, Phil – but with Uncharted’s sizeable…

But isn’t any game where you play as a character an RPG?” That’s my dad. He knows damn well that’s not what I mean, as I explain to him yet again what RPG is short for, and why I’m playing so many of them. In a sense, he is right. When we inhabit the sneaky, footprint-leaving boots of Solid Snake we are inhabiting his character, but Metal Gear Solid still isn’t a role-playing game. As time’s gone on, though, my dad’s become more and more right. As technology’s moved forwards and things you can do in games have grown deeper, the way you play around with characters in these digital realms has had to get deeper too. Narratives and characters can have much more fidelity these…

1 FAR CRY 5 With Hope County infested with the followers of evil cult Eden’s Gate, your mute deputy isn’t afforded many opportunities for bobby-on-the-beat bonding with their colleagues. When your custom character isn’t fighting the Seed Family, Sheriff Earl Whitehorse (and his stupendous ’tache) is happy to have a chinwag. 2 TRUE CRIME: STREETS OF LA It’s a scientific fact that adding Christopher Walken to anything makes it 76% better. This is the case with Luxoflux’s so-so sandbox, where Walken’s cop George, a kindly desk sergeant, is the only likeable character to interact with Nick Kang. The two share a father/son bond, and we all wish Chris Walken was our pop. 3 MAX PAYNE 3 When he’s not off his face on Kong whiskey, Max is granted plenty of…

1 While you might play a map like Arctic Fjord in several modes, your varied objectives change the way you interact with the spaces immensely. 2 The default spawn points in Airborne are all mobile, with allied planes moving across the map constantly for you to respawn from and parachute back down. 3 Taking down AA guns allows for an easier time during Day 2. A bit like a segmented Conquest, Breakthrough is about capturing and holding points. 4 Vehicles are key to the Battlefield experience. Playable Spitfires dogfight above the map. On the ground you can deliver hot death in a tank.…

FORMAT PS4 / ETA 21 MAR / PUB BIGBEN INTERACTIVE / DEV FROGWARES Where Cyanide’s Cthulhu mythos game (a call we answered last issue) plays it close to the page, Frogwares’ game offers another take. In its titular city, the Lovecraftian monsters and the streets are drawn closer together every day as the flood waters rise. But the city in question, Oakmont, isn’t really a stand-in for Innsmouth. As Frogwares’ community manager Sergey Oganesyan explains in a recent developer diary, “Lovecraft was really good at exploring these really intricate philosophical concepts, like our place in the universe, fear of the unknown, and fatalism and all that. But when it comes to details and descriptions he was surprisingly vague, which actually works great for us as it gives us a lot…

“AFTER REMOVING THE PS VR HEADSET WE FEEL ZENNED-OUT.” FORMAT PS VR / ETA NOV 2018 PUB ENHANCE, INC. / DEV RESONAIR The Tetris effect: a psychological phenomenon whereby people visualise the shapes, colours, and patterns of the perennial block-building game to help create a sense of geometric order in the real world. It’s a fitting name then, for a PS VR title that makes Tetris fill your entire visible reality. Not that Tetris Effect envelops you in tetrominoes, or sends you on a nauseating first-person plummet from a block’s perspective. It’s still ‘classic Tetris’. There are a couple of new mechanics, such as the time-freezing Zone meter, but that shouldn’t stop anyone slotting right in. The game’s director, Tetsuya Mizuguchi (of Rez and Lumines fame), makes his mark with…

2001 MAX PAYNE This seminal shooter introduced the gaming world to bullet-time dives, and the titular ultra-pulp detective. Most modern shooters owe a lot to the sheer invention of this one. 2010 ALAN WAKE It never came to PlayStation, but this PC evolution of a Remedy Game took a lot of inspiration from Stephen King and Twin Peaks, and was about a writer whose books seemed to be coming to life in a creepy American town. 2016 QUANTUM BREAK Remedy’s take on sci-fi made the controversial choice of adding in full-length TV episodes that were of questionable quality. Thankfully the return to PlayStation with Control won’t have this.…

“YOU CAN’T WALK 500 YARDS WITHOUT RECEIVING A COY WINK, OR, INDEED, AN UPFRONT PROPOSITION.” When you have a grand sprawling adventure fringed with role-playing ideas where dialogue choices affect the world in a material way, all you really want to know is: can you smooch your way across Ancient Greece? Of course you can. You can’t walk 500 yards on one of the game’s many idyllic islands without receiving a coy wink or, indeed, an upfront proposition for a good time under the toga. It’s the Greek way, we’re told. Hashtag MeToo? More like hashtag MeQuoque . Of course everything is consensual, and when and if it’s not, like the moment I stumble into an illegal sex dungeon, you can right the wrong with a slice…

INFO FORMAT PS4 ETA OUT NOW PUB NIS AMERICA DEV SNK This crossover fighter where female SNK favourites have been kidnapped and forced to fight in a mysterious pocket dimension wearing compromising outfits1 shouldn’t work. But, like a burlesque show, there’s a huge amount of craft on offer here that results in a fighter that really has no right being as good as it is.2 Casual is the name of the game. The joy of SNK Heroines lies in how far it leans into being a more approachable take on a fighter, all put together by the veteran hands at SNK. Your two fighting gals share a health bar, but have separate special bars. With r you have a weak attack you can combo easily, w is a stronger attack,…

INFO FORMAT PS4 ETA OUT NOW PUB DOVETAIL GAMES DEV DOVETAIL GAMES Brace yourself, because this is the perfect plaice to indulge OPM’s terrible halibut of making codawful puns. This game aims to offer you the reel thing, licensing deals with the likes of Bass Cat and Sonik netting the developer hundreds of recognisable rods and accessories. Add in a variety of lakes from Europe and the USA (and our own Grand Union Canal, in case you’ve ever fancied catching anything other than typhus in a river in London), and there’s potential for a fishing sim on a grand scale. Fishing’s not the activity for everybody, and the controls and systems may initially seem a little intimidating; but there’s no need for newbies to be koi. There is a small…

INFO  FORMAT PS VR ETA OUT NOW PUB KONAMI DEV CYGAMES As it’s a remaster of a remaster of a 15-year-old Hideo-Kojima-produced mech shooter you’d be forgiven for ignoring this one. But closer inspection reveals a tiny w in the bottom corner of the main menu, which, once clicked, turns this game into a PS VR mini-masterpiece. You can now play the entire game in virtual reality, sitting inside your mech’s cockpit.1 Better still, you can swap between traditional and VR modes at any point in the game. Whether in VR or playing traditionally the action is identical and ‘of its time’. Each mission is a simple corridor filled with cannon fodder and shows its age; the eventual boss battles, however, are brilliantly inventive. These grand puzzle fights demand you…

DIVINITY: ORIGINAL SIN II Jess Kinghorn sins as she’s winning Much like planning any session of a tabletop roleplaying game, arranging to play a tens-of-hours-long RPG in co-op is a logistical nightmare. That said, I’ve managed to find someone foolhardy enough to go on this adventure with me (spoiler alert: it’s Oscar). Because I dream of becoming an improbable-haired magical girl, I choose to play as head-like-a-haunted-house-enchanter Lohse… though I’m not sure how I’d handle the latter part of her storyline when the devil comes a-knocking without a little help from my friend. CALL OF DUTY: BLACK OPS IIII Oscar Taylor-Kent gets brutalised so much he blacks out The new Blackout mode brings battle royale to COD for the first time. But it still feels like the COD I know…

One strange quirk of modern cinema, and the limitless potential of CGI, is that even the sight of a photorealistic dinosaur running away from an exploding island can evoke apathy. But, thankfully, there’s a little more to Jurassic World sequel Fallen Kingdom than its yawnsome centrepiece. Set several years after the events of Jurassic World, the prehistoric inhabitants of Isla Nublar face a new extinction-level event. With the rest of humanity unwilling to intervene, Owen (Chris Pratt) and Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard) lead an expedition funded by Benjamin Lockwood (an old buddy of John Hammond) to swoop in and save all the dinos they can. But not everyone’s motives are altruistic. While the first half of Fallen Kingdom follows familiar beats, climaxing in an expensive-looking but otherwise uninspiring action sequence,…

INFO PUB ATLUS AND DEEP SILVER DEV P-STUDIO RELEASED 4 APRIL 2017 GET IT NOW £39.99, AMAZON WHAT? “An unabashed masterpiece," we gushed in our 10/10 review in OPM #134. It marked Persona 5 out as the JRPG of this generation, the Final Fantasy VII for gamers weaned on Slack and metanarratives. The perfect JRPG. Ever since Persona 5 released I’ve listened to Jess and Oscar prattle and tattle about their Palaces and catching up with Ann Takamaki and the gang over a beef nabemono or a hot coffee. You’d be forgiven for thinking this was real. It’s not, of course, it’s life inside Atlus’ JRPG, albeit the highest-scoring JRPG in recent times. It’s for this reason, and the 120-hour lifespan, that I’ve put off jumping into Persona 5. Can…

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…

Sometimes when you’re travelling you just want to switch off as you magic yourself mentally from one place to the next. Rhythm games are marvellously absorbing, and plentiful on PS Vita. With the Persona 3 and 5 versions incoming 4 December, Persona 4: Dancing All Night has returned to my Vita, ever the mainstay. Coming back from the USA, I rocked out through some truly dire turbulence, and then almost missed my train stop home. Sorry-not-sorry, fellow travellers, for my rad dance moves.…

“WE CAN HEAR THE MURMUR AND SLOSHING OF THE FREAKERS IN THEIR MUDDY NEST.” If crowds make you anxious then we’d suggest you turn the page now, as Sony Bend sheds a little more light on how the Freaker horde fights play out in Days Gone. Set against the backdrop of the Rocky Mountains, Deacon St John is scurrying from one point to the next in a mud-clogged logging camp, planting bombs as he goes. One against a trailer loaded with logs, another against a fuel truck… Deacon’s not exploring the world, he’s laying traps. The Freaker nest missions in Days Gone look like they’re going to be a full workout – of your strategies, memory, and gun skills. As things aren’t so quiet, we can hear the murmur and…

“CROSS-PLAY IS GREAT, BUT WILL IT REIGNITE THE CONSOLE WAR?” IAN DEAN EDITOR It’s a bold step by Sony to allow cross-play; it’s something Microsoft refused to do when it briefly had the better-selling console (Xbox 360 versus PS3). Whether it will truly catch on is another matter, but given Epic is working with Sony to create a stable cross-play system, we could see future games built using Unreal Engine 4 offering the service, or indeed adding cross-play to current UE4 games. I’d love to take on all comers in Dragon Ball FighterZ, for example. The real question is: does this end the decades old console war or merely shift it online? I’m hoping everyone can get along, regardless of system. “THE FAMILY THAT PLAYS TOGETHER, STAYS TOGETHER.” JESS KINGHORN…

@TURBOGEEK421 Love my Vita! Out of the top 5, I’ve platinumed 3 of them, played 1, and not played 1… the 1 I’ve not played is your top pick! Might be time to change that! @NORTHLIGHTFILM Aim high while the mountain beckons. [Very zen! – ed] @DANNYROSAMOND Embarrassing admission. I’ve never played Symphony of the Night. Time to correct that. @MICK_BOSS had to pick opm even though i read a million red dead redemption 2 previews already getting a physical mag with one is all part of that ritual when a new Rockstar game is on the way for me (also wanted the large poster) #gaming #ps4 #Playstation @OPM_UK @TONYC6661 Haha boobs I am going to start playing fortnite again now haha @REALJALLEN1981 If the new PlayStation is to be…

This December, Sony will throw its hat into the ring of retro, quarter-sized console reproductions with the PlayStation Classic. As excited as I am to get my similarly tiny mitts on it, I can’t help but look far beyond this Christmas and think about the long-term conservation of games. By their experiential nature, and due to the onward march of tech, games are difficult to preserve, though that doesn’t stop not-for-profits such as The Video Game History Foundation attempting the task. Founder Frank Cifaldi cites the example of early film preservation (or rather lack thereof, as so much released before the 1950s is now lost) as the impetus behind the foundation’s mission statement. While much of this group’s current work covers earlier videogame history, more needs to be done by…

Ratchet & Clank 3 In the Lombax’s threequel, Ratchet joins the Q-Force; a group that more or less acts as intergalactic police. Miami Vice You know who asked for a shoddy PSP tie-in of Michael Mann’s Crockett and Tubbs reboot? Norman Nobody. Starsky & Hutch Another rubbish licensed game that couldn’t be saved by either its cop companions, nor the superfly Huggy Bear. Did we miss your favourite buddies? Got a brilliant In The Mood For idea? Show and tell at twitter.com/opm_uk.…

WRECKFEST Puzzler in which you need to stack your broken cars one on top of the other without the whole caboodle toppling over. Rival players can team up to slam their cars into your precariously balanced stack. Wreckfest? Wreck-feast more like. FORMAT PS4 ETA 20 NOV PILLARS OF ETERNITY II: DEADFIRE RPG set in a land where men can wear skirts to work, birds fly around uncaged, and LARPing isn’t laughed at. Welcome to Deadfire. FORMAT PS4 ETA 31 DEC METRO EXODUS Fed up with rising train fares and being nudged under tall people’s armpits, in this walking sim everyone’s leaving the underground, where they discover they could have walked to work all along. FORMAT PS4 ETA 22 FEB…

“THE REMADE SPYRO’S LEVELS AND ANIMATION LOOK IMPECCABLE.” FORMAT PS4 / ETA 13 NOV PUB ACTIVISION / DEV TOYS FOR BOB Not for the first time, Crash Bandicoot changed everything. Last year’s remake trilogy is still riding high in the charts, proving we can’t get enough of the warm, burbly nostalgia that comes with replaying games from our childhood. And just like on PS1, Spyro is following in the orange furball’s boardies. Can the dragon set the charts alight like PlayStation’s other mascot? Of course he can. Spyro Reignited Trilogy, a remade collection of the first three Insomniac-developed games on PS1, is shaping up to be another sharply recreated slice of nostalgia. Created using Unreal Engine 4, the remade Spyro’s levels and animation look impeccable. The tiny dragon scampers and…

“PULL OFF ENOUGH TEAM MOVES, AND YOU CAN EXECUTE AN ‘ULTIMATE BOOST’ THAT HURTLES YOUR TEAM FORWARDS.” FORMAT PS4 / ETA DEC 2018 PUB SEGA / DEV SUMO DIGITAL Sonic & All-Star Racing Transformed was one of the few decent kart racers on PlayStation, a mechanically sound battle racer spanning land, sea, and air, set across wildly themed tracks from IPs as varied as Sonic and Golden Axe. Sumo Digital’s latest Sega-themed racer, Team Sonic Racing, focuses on Sonic and his companions, and restricts the action to kart racing rather than competing in more outlandish vehicles. In place of the eclectic madness of the last game is a new hook: each race is team-based, as you and two other players share items, speed boosts, and points. The team with the…

OPM: Have you been surprised to see players latch on to the grappling hook since the first Just Cause? Christofer Sundberg: It’s about getting over that mental hurdle that it’s believable. From JC1, where it was a grapple gun you had to equip, to JC2, where we attached it to his arm, and now see where it is today with millions of combinations of modifications. The grappling hook is such a strong character in itself and that’s what it’s become. The grappling hook came up from one of our programmers as a test. He was just bored of having to climb stuff. So he’d just [ba-ding] shoot this little thing that was a pink line. Omar Shakir: It was a debug line that would connect to another point and allow…

Launch-day lineups have always been a hard sell, but hidden away are gems that never dull. PS1 shone with WipEout and Ridge Racer, PS2 wowed us with SSX and TimeSplitters, and PS3 had Resistance: Fall Of Man to promote its online features and power. When it came to PS4 we had a broad mix of shooters, sports sims, racers, and, well, Knack. The OPM team settles down to replay a selection of the key titles from launch – so do they all still hold up five years later?… KNACK GET IT NOW: PS STORE, £15.99 1.88 The total worldwide sales of Knack, in millions. “Why Knack?” questions Mim as we settle onto the OPM sofa. Knack was the pet project of PS4’s creator Mark Cerny, and was devised to be…

INFO FORMAT PS4 ETA OUT NOW PUB THE VOXEL AGENTS DEV THE VOXEL AGENTS On a dark and stormy night, two friends, Arina and Frendt, are sheltering from the rain in their shared treehouse between their two houses. Mysteriously, they end up transported to a surreal world of islands akin to something out of a pop-up book, populated by giant recreations of their shared memories. It’s an imaginative journey told wordlessly, as the two friends ferry from one diorama-like island to the next in their treehouse. You don’t control either of the pals directly – instead you’ve got a handle on time. The camera follows the girls around as they make their way from their makeshift boat to a gate at the end of an island’s path, and you either…

INFO FORMAT PS4 ETA OUT NOW PUB BANDAI NAMCO DEV ILINX Here in a world where everyone uses magic, you play as a young boy without it. Well, that’s not strictly true; Asta can use anti-magic, the rock to many wizards’ magical scissors. Black Clover’s a hugely popular manga and anime, and this tie-in delves into the past of Asta’s fellow Black Bulls Magic Knight, Captain Yami. You’ll slice your way through golems and other characters in wave-based battles, three-on-one arena fights, and even a bit of capture the flag. Story mode is brief,1 with much of the gameplay found in replaying the small selection of story missions as different characters or under set conditions. The optional challenge missions are even more bare-bones. While there’s a number of new animated…

INFO FORMAT PS4 ETA OUT NOW PUB MONOMI PARK DEV MONOMI PARK He who corrals the slimes, corrals the universe. On the Far, Far Range, that’s the name of the game as you feed slimes and farm the ‘plorts’ they drop. The entire economy is based on this resource, with prices for each variety of plort fluctuating daily. The money you earn can go into new ranch facilities for holding new types of slimes, unlocking new parts of the Range, or upgrading your gear so you can hoover up even more plorts, slimes, and resources alike. Beyond the odd offworld email offering delightful crumbs of a story, there’s not much more outside of that. You quickly get into a relaxing rhythm, spurred on by the cutesy chirps of the chubbily…

In time for Halloween was FRIDAY THE 13TH: THE GAME, inviting players on a jog around Camp Crystal Lake as one of a number of potential survivors trying to outrun and outgun classic serial killer Jason Vorhees. This asymmetric co-op was a bloody good time. If you wanted something with a slightly more level playing field, then the second title on PS4 this month was right up your alley. Illuminating Autumn evenings with a neon glow, LASER LEAGUE was an excellent, capture-the-flag-like future sport title. We’re still very fond of it after reviewing it back in OPM #150 and giving it 8/10. Also on PS4 (and, more importantly to some, on PS Vita too) were two more titles. 2064: READ ONLY MEMORIES looked towards a cyberpunk future where a journalist…

INFO FORMAT PS4 PUB CODEMASTERS DEV CODEMASTERS BIRMINGHAM REVIEW #154, 9/10 F1 2018’s quickmatch equivalent is a five-lap, ranked race… and it’s chaos. It doesn’t matter how politely you follow someone; pull alongside and they’ll invariably steer into you, trashing both your cars. The new Sportsmanship score is meant to match you with like-minded racers, but blame is rarely apportioned correctly and lobbies often range from A-D which is hardly ‘matched’. Some players also beat the penalty system and skip over corners, zooming off into an unassailable lead. If you fancy something more genteel, you can try 25% distance races instead, or eschew ranked mode entirely in favour of friendly events or custom championships with friends. It’s technically great throughout, but the public mode is basically spoiled by the public.…

NEW CHARACTER PACK Both Lei Wulong and Anna Williams return to kick off the second season of DLC content for the fantastic Tekken 7. Also available as part of the £24.99 season pass. THE SURGE – THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE AUGMENTED EXPANSION The sci-fi Soulsborne gets a western-themed expansion set inside a Westworld-like TV show. SPOOKY STUFF OPM’s Jess loves a bit of Halloween, and so do the Sims with this collection of costumes and decorations for scary season. If you have a party, invite Jess. COOLER & ANDROID 17 The fight(Z) must go on! Cooler and Android 17 are the latest fighterZ to join the Dragon Ball FighterZ roster, available individually or as part of the £28.99 FighterZ pass. STAR WARS PINBALL: SOLO PACK The movie’s digital…

ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK 29 OCT Metal Gear Solid drew on this John Carpenter classic, remastered on Blu-ray alongside ’80s gems Prince Of Darkness and They Live. THE FIRST PURGE 29 OCT This isn’t the ‘first’ Purge, it’s the fourth. But it’s the first chronologically, covering how the night of legalised crime came to be. SICARIO 2: SOLDADO 29 OCT Josh Brolin and Benicio del Toro return for the sequel to 2015’s war on drugs thriller, this time adding a topical splash of terror to the mix. BATMAN: THE COMPLETE ANIMATED SERIES 29 OCT Bruce Timm’s legendary animated series was a huge influence on Rocksteady’s Arkham Trilogy. 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY 29 OCT The greatest sci-fi film of all time? Watch this Blu-ray rerelease pulled from an unrestored 70mm print…

INFO PUB ACTIVISION DEV TREYARCH PRODUCTIONS RELEASED 2004, PS2 GET IT NOW AMAZON, £32.96 NEED TO KNOW 1 Treyarch made a further three Spidey titles. 2 It sold enough copies to become a Platinum title. 3 MGS3’s Josh Keaton voices Harry Osborn. On rare occasions, licensed games don’t suck. And when we say ‘rare’, we’re talking the equivalent of a singing dodo performing Les Misérables on Broadway. Yet against all odds, and years before Rocksteady’s Batman trilogy, Treyarch served up a sensational Spidey title that’s never been topped, even 14 years on. Released the same week as Sam Raimi’s excellent superhero sequel, Spider-Man 2 was PS2’s best licensed game. Why? Because it introduced a pioneering traversal system that used physics-based algorithms and a techy term called ‘raycasting’ to infuse every…

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…