Innholdsfortegnelse for April 2019 i PLAY

“THE COUCHPLAY CLASSIC PROVED TO BE ONE OF PLAYSTATION’S BEST GAMES IN 1999.” GAME OF THE MONTH Dead Or Alive 6 FAVE GAME FROM 1999 Driver You can’t deny the emotional connection we have to classic games from our childhoods, and few bring back the good times quite like Crash Team Racing. The couchplay classic proved to be one of PlayStation’s best games in 1999, and 20 years later it’s back and still essential. This year it has some competition, as Sega is lining up Team Sonic Racing. We have an exclusive interview with the dev (p6) in which we discover the bandicoot has a serious race rival this summer. There’s less competition when it comes to some of this issue’s other big games, as they’re so unique. We go…

VIRTUAL SHOOTALITY PS VR is getting better and better. Space Junkies releases on 26 March, and is looking like a must-have for anyone who likes shooting other gamers in virtual reality. The online multiplayer uses Ubisoft’s VR Brigitte engine and the DualShock 4’s motion controls to bring its space-set shootouts to life. FROM Z TO RPG A new action RPG with the working title Dragon Ball Game Project Z will crash-land on Earth later this year from Bandai Namco. The reveal trailer teases an attempt to adapt a number of the anime’s greatest hits, including moments from the Cell Saga and a glimpse of Goku’s Spirit Bomb. MERCH SUPPLY DROP The Division 2 releases… now! As does some quality swag. The branded gear is fantastic, a mix of hoodies, caps,…

Looking back at the first couple of years after PS4 launched, that period seems a little hazy. With so many games and so little time (and money), you could be forgiven if you didn’t play everything released in this heady period. Dipping back into some of these bygone classics and curiosities, such as The Division, Watch Dogs 2, and 1888: The Order, it strikes me how well they hold up, even now. Technically still very accomplished, and playing better than at launch given the slew of updates, many of these early releases should be on your must-play list. But why am I looking back? With rumours of PlayStation 5 fuelling web clicks and media chatter (Sony’s not confirmed anything), the need for proper backwards compatibility is rising to the top…

1 Discovering a strange rot in the forest we return to our noble household, only to struggle to escape with our lives as we’re pursued by the Inquisition. 2 We hope to find safety in a village but it’s deserted… then we stumble upon people burning the sick, and they want to get their hands on us next. 3 Hiding from the mob in the ruins of the village church, we must make our way through crypts to escape. We meet the villainous vermin for the first time. 4 Near a river, we try to reach a farm as night falls, and we have to weave between English patrols and piles of rotting farmyard animals.…

“HARNESS SWARMS OF ZOMBIES WHILE PICKING OFF YOUR RIVAL HUMANS.” FORMAT PS4 / ETA 16 APR PUB FOCUS HOME INTERACTIVE / DEV SABER INTERACTIVE Zombies, eh? You wait ages for one, and then a thousand shuffle your way at once. In the same month as you’ll be shooting Freakers in Days Gone, this more streamlined approach to the walking dead will arrive. There’s no open world or emotional narrative here, though. It’s just you, three friends, and a whole lot of decaying flesh. While it’s disappointing to discover World War Z’s main campaign mode has been streamlined, and will focus on multiplayer and co-op rather than solo survival, we’re still excited. The main draw is players-versus-players-versus-zombies. While you’re trying to notch up kills against other players, World War Z will…

1 The new multiplayer mode is simple: kill the creatures, collect their gems, and transfer them to a gold zone. The team with the most gems wins. 2 In reality it’s utter chaos, and surprisingly tactical. When you’re not being attacked by massive monsters you’re fending off other players after your loot. 3 If it gets too much you can spend some gems on upgrading your weapons – an essential tactic as the Aggressors get larger in size and numbers. 4 Power up the right weapon and you can take down hordes of creatures and your human foes in one salvo. We love the epic three-way mini-nuke launcher.…

KILL LA KILL THE GAME: IF FORMAT PS4 / ETA 2019 PUB ARC SYSTEM WORKS DEV A+ GAMES Based on the 2013 anime series, in this arena-style fighting game schoolgirl swordswoman Ryuko Matoi searches for the person who killed her father. Supervised by the studio behind the animated series, Trigger, it aims to serve up a similar helping of improbably dressed action. Alongside a meter for flashy super moves, there’s the debate mechanic, where you provoke, taunt, or mock your opponent in a rock-paper-scissors-style war of words. Win rounds of debate to whittle down your opponent’s health and raise your Ketsui rating, granting you powerful buffs. TALES OF THE NEON SEA FORMAT PS4 / ETA APR PUB ZODIAC INTERACTIVE / DEV PALM PIONEER A retro-style cyberpunk point-and-click adventure featuring a…

Vibrant colours, huge explosions, and gaudy characters. That’s what Rage 2’s wasteland looks like. It’s a far cry from the sometimes very brown settings of other videogame post-apocalypses – that of Avalanche’s Mad Max game, for example, or Id’s own first Rage. For the sequel to the latter, those two studios have collaborated to play to each other’s strengths. It feels like a true jam session. But how do they tie it all together? We’re speaking with Odd Ahlgren and Loke Wallmo, Avalanche’s narrative director and senior narrative designer respectively, to find out. OPM: Rage 2 is a sequel, but it feels quite fresh in terms of how it follows on from the first game. How do you approach that from ground level, narratively speaking? Odd Ahlgren: The first thing…

When the life of a private investigator gets you down, why not play a videogame? Sega has included several emulated versions of classic games for you to play at the arcade. You’ll find Virtua Fighter 5, Puyo Puyo, Motor Raid, Fantasy Zone, Space Harrier, and Fighting Vipers. Since you play all these in a Japanese arcade centre, trying your luck at catching a plush toy in an UFO catcher claw game is also a must. We’ve had the most fun with an arcade game developed just for Judgment: Kamuro Of The Dead is an arcade shooter featuring the residents of Kamurocho as bloodthirsty zombies out for your hide. The mini car races from Yakuza have been retired. In their place, you can sign up for tricky drone races. You can…

Yagami doesn’t always beat his way to a suspect. There is a reliable pattern to Judgment: wait for someone to provide you with a hint, then go and take a second look, conduct an interview, prepare a stakeout. Yagami is smart and tech-savvy, two things his predecessor Kazuma Kiryu definitely wasn’t. He needs to be, as success in the new detective minigames is a major source of experience points next to battles and main missions. Every clue you find and correct question you ask rewards you with a small number of points. You use these points to buy new attacks as well as health and EXP bar upgrades, but you also spend points to boost your sleuthing skills, such as gaining more time to unlock doors under pressure, and more…

Lab members old and new are welcomed back to the future gadget laboratory in this reboot-of-sorts of the classic visual novel Steins;Gate. You might be familiar with the story, but this version offers a set of full animations previously included in the anime, along with never-before-seen sequences which bring already quirky and colourful characters more vividly to life than ever. It pushes the concept of a visual novel away from the usual static images, resulting in a blend of text story and interactive anime that’s like nothing else in the genre. If you’re unfamiliar with Steins;Gate, the game starts close to a ‘slice-of-life’ tale, as the narrative follows Okarin and the other members of the Future Gadget Laboratory. It turns into a time travel adventure when they accidentally make a…

FINAL FANTASY XIV Jess Kinghorn is feeling snappy It’s long past the point where it’s timely for me to tell you about the adorable photos my catgirl gal pal Oscar and I took during last year’s Christmas event. However, there’s never not a good time to attempt to induct another into the Gpose cabal. With just a forward slash and the word ‘gpose’ entered into the chat, you’ll be able to compose and light scenes to an impressive degree. While a bit fiddly on the DualShock 4, and unwieldy in some areas compared to other photo modes, it’s nonetheless one of many reasons why I’m eager to revisit Eorzea. OVERWATCH Oscar Taylor-Kent’s watch is far from over Maybe I’ll be Tracer, I ponder, looking over the now-more-expansive hero list –…

WILDLIFE 18 MAR Paul Dano turns writer/director for this powerful ’60s-set drama about a 14-year-old boy who watches his parents go through a bitter breakup. WIDOWS 18 MAR A rare mainstream thriller with real substance, Steve McQueen’s hard-hitting heist movie should have got more love this award’s season. THE RING COLLECTION 18 MAR Boxset collecting the original Ring and its rubbish sequels, including Spiral, which answers every question you may have had about Sadako. THE GIRL IN THE SPIDER’S WEB 25 MAR The Crown’s Claire Foy leads the latest Lisbeth Salander adaptation, which is a daft hacker action movie. SHOPLIFTERS 25 MAR Japanese auteur Kore-eda Hirokazu won the top prize at Cannes for this gently affecting drama about a family of thieves who take in a young child. ROBIN HOOD…

They don’t make ’em like this any more. Why not? Someone, somewhere, thought it would be clever to suggest the word ‘arcade’ meant ‘crap’, and everyone fell for it, right around the start of the PS3 generation. So this game, which remains 1995 Sega Rally’s last great sequel, was passed over by many players, and never got the recognition it deserved when it launched. Well, let’s change all that right now. This is exactly what racing games used to be like in the ’90s, only reimagined with PS3’s superior capabilities in mind. The handling will probably alarm you when you boot the game up now, because the car actually responds to your directional input. No ‘realistic physics’ to carefully manage with gentle prods of the stick and squeezes of the…

Oscar Taylor-Kent GAMES EDITOR “Did you know, rats didn’t cause the plague… or eat people.” Oscar IQs us this issue after going hands-on with A Plague Tale (p32) GAME OF THE MONTH Apex Legends FAVE GAME FROM 1999 Persona 2: Innocent Sin Jess Kinghorn STAFF WRITER We see Jess’ competitive side as she reviews Dead Or Alive 6 (p86), and can be heard shouting: “Punch her in the mimzy!” Ouch. GAME OF THE MONTH Apex Legends FAVE GAME FROM 1999 Crash Team Racing Miriam McDonald OPERATIONS EDITOR Dragon Quest Builders 2 (p48) now has stacking slimes. For some, including Mim, this is the best news since metal slimes. GAME OF THE MONTH God Eater 3 FAVE GAME FROM 1999 Silent Hill Milford Coppock MANAGING ART EDITOR “That’s my best work…

15,000 Creations were made in Dreams during the program’s beta period. 20 Years between Crash Team Racing releasing on PS1 and its return on PS4. 1 million Downloads were made of Apex Legends in its first eight hours online. 82 Percent of Kingdom Hearts III’s five million copies sold are on PS4. £155 Will buy you a custom, dough-nutty DualShock from We Are Robots. 14 Keyblades to collect, if you’re a Kingdom Hearts III completionist. 2.5 million Copies of the first Nioh have been sold. The sequel’s in development.…

The original Baldur’s Gate and its sequel, Shadows Of Amn, have been hugely influential in the two decades that have passed since their original release, paving the way not only for BioWare’s later successes but arguably for Western RPGs as a genre. We got a whiff of what was so great about Baldur’s Gate with the Dark Alliance duology in the PS2 era, but now Beamdog is bringing Baldur’s beginnings to PS4 this year. Beamdog’s 2016 expansion, Siege Of Dragonspear, will also be making its way across, as will Neverwinter Nights. It’s not just BioWare titles coming to PS4 either; Black Isle’s Planescape: Torment and Icewind Dale are being ported too. Beamdog is known for making Enhanced Editions of all of these games for other systems and is partnering with…

HAPPY RETURNS We’re not a quarter of a way through 2019, yet already we have game of the year contenders in Resident Evil 2 and Metro Exodus. THREE’S COMPANY Producer Yoshiaki Hirabayashi has said that the Resident Evil 2 remake project was only possible due to fan demand. He implied a remake of Resident Evil 3 may be possible if fans are similarly vocal. SO LONG PS Plus subscribers now have a whopping 100GB of storage for cloud saves. You can justify romancing everyone as multiple save files won’t clog up your hard drive. SWEET STREAMS Constantin Films, the firm behind the Resident Evil films, is rumoured to be developing a Resi TV series with Netflix. JUICY LOOT In France, a man tried to pass off a brand-new PS4 as…

Has anyone else played so much of a game that gaming blurs into reality? I’ve just got back off holiday in a large and nice hotel, overlooking a beach. While there we began to notice a lot of similarities between the day-to-day goings on around the hotel and levels in Hitman. We watched as the gardener had access to a “staff only” area, a delivery in the loading bay for the kitchens, and the maid service had access to a single key-card that unlocked everyone of the guests rooms. Is this a sign for playing too many games or am I becoming more observant to the things around me? ‘Carlageddon’ via email You’re certainly observant! But how do you know a bald-headed assassin wasn’t lurking in the hotel wearing a…

The term ‘comfort food’ is one that gets thrown around quite a lot in videogames. Usually it’s made in reference to genres that emphasise a grind (I’m looking at you JRPGs), involve routine (still you), or those that are simply well-suited to letting you cosy up with a controller in hand, not requiring much thought while still making you feel engrossed. Ubisoft’s first-party titles are often accused of showing this box-ticking mentality towards game design, especially its open-world epics, but the publisher’s recent overhauls to the Assassin’s Creed formula have proved that it’s never too late for the tide to turn. Prior to the release of 2017’s Assassin’s Creed Origins, many had grown tired of the regular rigamarole Ubisoft’s stealth franchise put them through. Towers to climb? Check. Viewpoints to…

1 MARVEL’S SPIDER-MAN While we all know it’s Peter Parker under there, the classic Spider-Man mask that goes along with his suit hasn’t ever stopped being cool. It’s impressive to be able to keep rocking a look dating all the way back to the ’60s. While his suit may change from time to time, Spidey always stays classy. 2 DISHONORED When you’re on a deadly revenge quest assassinating your targets one by one, it isn’t a great idea to let everyone know who you are. Enter Corvo Attano’s marvellous mechanical skull mask. Armoured and with a telescopic sight, it’s functional, but the important thing about it is what it represents: a swift execution from the shadows. 3 CRASH BANDICOOT As far as platformers go, the Crash games can be some…

FORMAT PS4 / ETA 2019 / PUB BIGBEN INTERACTIVE / DEV EKO SOFTWARE This ain’t your older sibling’s Warhammer, with Space Marines battling through the grim darkness of the future in the 40K universe. This is Warhammer Fantasy, a setting that encourages you to paint the town red as you hack and slash your way through the forces of Chaos. An action adventure from the Old World, it sees you running through a land influenced by the Renaissance and Medieval periods, in the midst of an otherworldly invasion. It’s up to you and three other blood buds to drive back the hordes of supporters of the Plague God Nurgle. In our hands-on demo with game director Jean-Georges Levieux, we gain an introduction to the rules of engagement via Empire captain…

“AS WE’RE RAIDING A SHACK AN IRATE CRASH TEST DUMMY ACCOSTS US.” Peeking from between wrecked cars and overgrown fronds, we measure up whether the target’s worth the bullets. We’re a special agent known only as P-3, working for the KGB in a parallel universe  in which the Soviet Union never broke apart. It’s a world in which the technical revolution marched on, knee-deep in communism and a paranoid imperialism fearful of Western powers… and one that entertains P-3’s taste for personalised, stylish gloves, apparently. Bipedal machines, each one sporting a circular-saw crest protruding between their eyes, waddle in a uniform line beside the field agent. We see them but, thankfully, they don’t seem to notice us. They’d be almost cute if we didn’t know how murderous they were. As…

Beech Pool By: THE_ARCH1TECT There are a few pool games in Dreams but Media Molecule’s own Beech Pool is the best. It neatly showcases Dreams’ physics model, and offers a decent game of pool. PT By: lewisc729 Dreams is littered with homages. Few are quite as good as this take on PT, which manages to deliver the same chilling repeated corridor as Hideo Kojima’s test project. The Encounter By: bigsurf77 One of the more complete games on the Dreams beta, this first-person puzzle adventure looks great and manages to suck us into its space-bound mystery. There’s a cute robot, too. Battle Tops By: Sumasshu Pump your spinning top with q and bash your opponents off the stage. It’s a Dreams game that proves the simplest ideas done well are the…

2015 MAD MAX Telling an original story about the titular road warrior, Mad Max marries vehicle-based action and third-person combat surprisingly well – though the world is as bleak and brown as you might expect. 2017 THEHUNTER: CALL OF THE WILD The open world of TheHunter speaks for itself, giving you a sandbox in which to, well, hunt. Your own stalking and hunting connects you to the world. 2018 JUST CAUSE 4 Set on the fictional island of Solís, where action hero Rico has to battle a rival army through its crazy biomes. Environment variety is important to Avalanche, and that shows here.…

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.…

This top-down shooter sees you running and gunning under cover of darkness. With a map almost completely obscured save for a few bright spots, even your own character’s location on the map is hidden from you as you stalk the shadows. Your controller vibrates when you run into a wall, and a quick tap of q can reveal the general area around your character. You’ll also be illuminated whenever you fire a round with R2, too. Map-specific environmental hazards can also betray your location, sometimes with deadly results.1 Striking the balance between maintaining your cover and racking up kills creates a compelling tension from the off. Local co-op is the mode you’ll undoubtedly return to above all else. Playing with two humans creates a tense game of cat-and-mouse as you…

This is the end, my friend, the end. Of PS3 and PS Vita on PS Plus at least. They left your monthly lineups on a high note, though, and to celebrate we’re going to start this month’s column by looking at these offerings first. Hanky at the ready? The PS3 headline offering was METAL GEAR SOLID 4:  GUNS OF THE PATRIOTS, the end of Solid Snake’s story, set in the distant, dystopic future of… 2014. This game is more than ten years old, after all, but was no less impactful all this time later. It was joined by DIVEKICK, a two-button fighter in which your main tactic was strongly suggested by the game’s own name, which was available for PS3 and PS Vita. For an added blast from the past…

There’s a lot to like in Disruptive’s stripped-down take on the MOBA, mostly being very comfortable in PS VR. But while gameplay feels great, there’s only so much you can get out of a single map and a handful of Titans to choose from. The pre-order bonus Thorn is at least available to everyone now but only as paid DLC. Disruptive is, however, promising a free trial with rotating Titans available, while you’ll be able to buy future Titans with in-game currency, SFV-style. These may hopefully incentivise the grind and bulk up a very limited player base (on successive evenings I find myself encountering the same user as teammate and opponent, as well as the occasional bots). It sure would be nice to see some new content soon. VERDICT Online…

BAND OF BASTARDS Henry’s medieval quest continues in this new questline for Kingdom Come: Deliverance. Join up with mercenaries to protect the roads and cut down bandits. SNOW VILLIERS Everyone’s favourite special snowflake from Final Fantasy XIII joins the roster of Dissidia Final Fantasy NT, rocking his look from trilogy-ender Lightning Returns. DESAFíO RUTA 40 12,000 square kilometres and five new stages come to Dakar 18, the official videogame of the huge South American rally raid. A new route is open for the brave. GREEN CITIES As if building a functioning city in Cities: Skylines wasn’t hard enough, try creating an eco-friendly one. With over 350 new assets, urban planners will be green with envy. EX+ If you thought VR rhythm game Beat Saber was too easy (we definitely did…

The ever-so-slightly differently named Valentione’s Day (which lasted over a weekend and then some) in Final Fantasy XIV was a perfect way to kick off celebrations. A special set of minigames that required co-operation to pass awaited parties of two players, followed by fortune tellings that would match their compatibility. Aww. If bloodshed was more romantic for you, then the coupling that was part of Destiny 2’s Crimson Days was much more your speed. It saw Guardians playing in Crimson Doubles mode as part of a squad of two. Remaining close to your partner enabled better skill regeneration, and straying too far apart revealed you on the map. Being forced to get cosy with our partner was an interesting experience, but a rewarding one as we could load up on…

1 “PUT ANY HOPES OF A DEEP STORY TO REST. THESE TWO CAN ESCAPE PRISON BUT THEY CAN’T ESCAPE A TERRIBLE SCRIPT.” 2 “THE COMBAT IS PEERLESS, THE WORLD CAPTIVATING AND THE SENSE OF DEADLY EXPLORATION NEVER MORE COMPELLING.” 3 “ABSOLUTELY MADE TO BE PLAYED AGAIN, WITH NEW PERSPECTIVES, NEW ENEMIES AND NEW POWERS ALL UNLOCKED AFTER YOU’VE SEEN THE CREDITS ONCE.” 4 “ITS STEALTH GAMEPLAY IS SO TENSE YOU CAN FIND YOURSELF TRAPPED, NERVES SHREDDED, IN THE SAME LOCKER FOR TEN MINUTES.”…

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 RED DEAD REDEMPTION 2 There are a lot of open world games, but none that make you feel like you’re a part of a world in quite the same way as Arthur Morgan’s wild west adventure. Tremendously physical, an epic story, and some of the most satisfying headshots you’ll ever find. 3 GOD OF WAR A departure in some ways but…

1 TETRIS EFFECT Tetris, yeah? It might be a great game, but it’s easy to understand why you’d brush this off as just more Tetris at a glance. Yet Tetsuya Mizuguchi’s trippy, transcendent take on the block-based puzzler is nothing short of a masterpiece. Sure, you can play it without PS VR, but in the virtual space it really becomes next level, transforming one of the tightest puzzle games ever made into an emotional ride. 2 THE PERSISTENCE This first-person horror roguelike offers perfectly sized chunks of survival bursts. It’s everything you’d expect from a full PS4 release, but in PS VR it’s filled with clever ideas, unique weapons, genuine jump scares, and fab looks – plus great couchplay. 3 REZ INFINITE Tetsuya Mizuguchi’s vision becomes reality in PS VR.…

Last month we unleashed a massive feature highlighting the best things about our favourite handheld. It got me thinking about the breadth of bona fide classic JRPGs on the system, and how by virtue of being on PS Vita they’re already much better games. It’s simply harder to find the time to grind like we used to, as so many of them necessitated. Persona 3 especially benefits from being on PS Vita. The hundreds of floors of Tartarus become soothing bus rides instead of an annoyance.…

“IT’S NOT TITANFALL 3, WHICH EVERYONE ASSUMES WE’RE MAKING.” Yes, another battle royale game has tumbled out of the great gaming dropship in the sky. But Apex Legends – developed by Respawn, best known for the stellar Titanfall 2 – has the advantage of being very, very good. And that’s made it very, very popular, notching up 25 million players within a week of its unheralded release. While matches are 60-person affairs, you’re always part of a squad of three. When you’re downed, your team can revive you or deliver your fallen banner to a respawn point within a time limit, so you don’t always feel like you wasted your time. A smart ping-based system on R1 lets you voicelessly highlight things of interest, such as supplies, to the rest…

IAN DEAN EDITOR “REMOVE THE RULES AND MIX IN SOME MORTAL KOMBAT AS PES MEETS RED CARD SOCCER.” The team know how much I love PES, and I can see Konami’s football sim being even better if it were to embrace some of the insanity of PS2’s Red Card Soccer. The old arcade kick-about from Midway was football without the rules. Imagine games of PES where flying kicks to the face would result in Mortal Kombat-like slow-mo cinematics… brilliant, huh? Red Card also featured neat arcade touches like power-ups and special moves. It was a fighting game living inside a football sim. PES and Red Card wrapped into one whole? Even the OPM team could finally join me for a match. JESS KINGHORN STAFF WRITER “BAYONETTA AND DANTE WOULD HAVE…

@HNICHOLSON3 So the first thing I saw when I opened my #PlayStation magazine was a stunning piece of #art by @jgilleard from #shadowofthecolossus wow! My photo doesn’t do it justice! Gonna jump straight to page 12! @KIERANROSEART Nice new @OPM_UK but that Shadow of the Colossus poster.... Wow! @KENNYUK77 Have to agree that game reviews on YouTube or websites are very poor in comparison to traditional print games journalism. @MICHAEL34144808 Pls dont tell me there’s gonna be cats VS dog thing in Farcry now @ONYERSIX Come on. MGS4 is not even close to being the hardest PS3 platinum. Wipeout HD would be much higher on the list. @EMILIOLEWIS4 Betcha Half-Lufe 3 that this game is terrible. @CAJ_310 Would still love a Mass Effect Trilogy Remaster too. Though unlikely. Would love…

There’s one exceedingly sinister, tortuously delivered phrase I want to hear more than any other on PS4: STARS. Actually, that’d be “STAAAAAAAARRRRSSS”. Turns out, the Nemesis-T Type Tyrant really enjoys dragging out his words. Resident Evil 3 is the most unfairly overlooked entry in Capcom’s survival horror saga. Released in late 1999, it never captured the PlayStation public’s imagination in the same way as its predecessor. Despite its terrifying titular monster, quickfire undead action, and superb pacing, Resi 3 isn’t discussed in the same revered tones as the first two landmark titles. Quite frankly, Nemesis deserves a second chance. Following the recent decomposing success of the Resident Evil 2 remake, Capcom could well be tempted to give Jill Valentine and her psychotic, slavering stalker a PS4 remaster. During development of…

“PLAYING A CHILD BEING PURSUED BY BRUTAL ADULTS IS FRIGHTENING.” FORMAT PS4 / ETA 15 MAY PUB FOCUS HOME INTERACTIVE / DEV ASOBO STUDIO Something vile is worming its way through the kingdom of France, something even worse than the barbaric and brutal invasion of the English – because this is the time of the 100 Years’ War, and the conflict already has the population on edge. Villagers are plagued with sickness and bites in the night, as well as the unwelcome presence of the merciless English troops. You take the role of Amicia, a 15-year-old girl. She becomes solely responsible for her brother, Hugo, who suffers from a mysterious malady, after their family is torn apart. He’s been sick to the point where he’s been hidden for his five…

“EMBRACES PORTAL-STYLE PUZZLES […] YOU NEED TO MAKE USE OF DOORWAYS TO OTHER VERSIONS OF DORMONT.” FORMAT PS4 / ETA 2019 PUB CAMEL 101 / DEV CAMEL 101 Behind the familiar facade of a small US town lies a nasty secret. Look beyond the warm, recognisable Americana of an inviting neon diner sign, tempting you with hot black coffee and sweet cherry pie, and you’ll discover a vicious side that’s sure to have you screaming into your curdled cream. Edward Turner is an ordinary man who happens upon the town of Dormont and soon wishes he’d stayed away. The twist? This town was created by a demon and is swathed in darkness, its inhabitants locked inside the shadowy, cold streets. There’s more than a little of Silent Hill about Those…

TEAM SONIC RACING Haunted by their past, Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles attempt to outdrive their sins in this racing game. Unlike in most racers, it’s not just the other players you have to beat – it’s your own past performances. FORMAT PS4 ETA 21 MAY CONTROL Country-and-western-themed PS VR rhythm-action game in which you don’t just have to match your dance moves to the on-screen instructions, you have to fire a gun in time too. Yeehaw! FORMAT PS4 ETA 2019 TRüBERBROOK If you thought walking simulators were dull [YES THEY ARE – ed] then wait till you’ve played this ‘waiting for a bus’ simulator. The good news? Two sequels are releasing at the same time. *Ba-da-boom!* FORMAT PS4 ETA 19 APR…

“SHOOT LOTS OF CREATURES, AND ENJOY FULL-FAT CHEESY DIALOGUE.” In the midst of the carnage, between the flailing giant ant legs and the burning beetle torpedoing towards us, we catch sight of a giant lizard standing 60 metres above us. It’s so high its head  disappears in the hazy mist of the raging battle’s smoke. It’s daunting, somewhat terrifying, and its name is Basil. This isn’t a normal shooter. The Earth Defense Force series has always riffed off its cult status. What started as a budget series, those giant ants created out of necessity rather than artistic vision (they were cheap, enlarged pre-made models), has become a genuinely beloved franchise. Now, powered by Unreal Engine 4 for the first time, and in the hands of Yukes!, the series has its…

1 Farming is more important than in the first game. Harvest crops with your sword and they’ll regrow; hit them with your mallet and you get a seed instead. 2 Many of the landscapes and monsters are familiar. It’s incredibly heartwarming. And yes, clubbing scorpions to death with a mallet is wholesome. 3 You still spend a lot of your time demolishing vast tracts of land. You can carry more of each item now – less fear of ending up overburdened with sand. 4 We’re hoping this derelict windmill will contain the wheat seeds we need. And you can bet your behind we’re going to loot it for interesting building blocks.…

When we hear of a remaster, we feel a mix of joy (a favourite’s returning!) with trepidation (what if it’s so bad it spoils the original?). We’ve no fear of the latter with Nitro-Fueled; as Thomas Wilson explains, the devs love the original as much as anyone. OPM: Did you work much with N.Sane Trilogy’s Vicarious Visions? Thomas Wilson: We talked to our good friends at Vicarious Visions because they went through an experience of remastering the games, and did an awesome job with the N.Sane Trilogy. But we’re big fan of the franchise, big fans of the original Crash Team Racing, so really for us our focus was really on delivering a great remaster that fans of the original would simply fall in love with. OPM: Why do you…

01 GET INSPIRED Drawing inspiration from our childhood favourite, the Jaleco arcade hit Butasan (known as Psycho Pigs UXB in the UK), we begin planning out our game. Butasan is a simple multiplayer take on Bomberman in which you hurl timed bombs at one another, the explosions either killing your rival or blowing a hole in the ground, creating death traps, and we’re going to get cute little kittens to do it because kittens are psychopaths. 02 BASIC MODELLING First we need to model the arena. To create the hole left behind by exploding bombs we decide it’s best to build the arena’s ground from panels. Using the cube as a base, we tap into it and use the Stretch tool to squish it into a flat panel. Then holding…

With Judgment, Sega and Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio welcome us to what is now the extended Yakuza universe. Kazuma Kiryu’s story has reached its conclusion, but if we have learned one thing during the nearly 20 years that the Yakuza series has existed, it’s that crime never sleeps. If you’ve never touched a Yakuza game, Judgment serves as a great introduction to Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio’s style of games – a dramatic crime narrative full of twists, offset with a ton of minigames and side-quests that highlight the quirky side of Japan. “THE YAKUZA GAMES AND JUDGMENT ARE UNMISTAKABLY TWO SIDES OF THE SAME COIN.” Sometimes one event is all it takes to change a life in the blink of an eye. Takayuki Yagami is one of Tokyo’s most popular…

Yagami makes his living from taking on the small cases the people of Kamurocho bring to him on a regular basis. Whether it’s perverts disturbing public peace, high schoolers working at brothels, or investigating haunted houses, Yagami is prepared to take on any case. Even the weirdest situations don’t seem to faze him, as if Yagami is literally too cool to be surprised by much. Sometimes you meet people you can make friends with, mostly in the various eateries around town. Each time you visit, you will get to know these people a little better. You can help several people in their quest to make the perfect dish, serve as a guinea pig for massage techniques, or take pictures of strays around town for a cat lover, among other things.…

Picture the top-down, fast-paced gameplay of Hotline Miami attentively intertwined with all the trademarks of a Hong Kong action flick. The final product: an adrenaline-raising pick-up-and-play. Days and specific times act as levels, where you must eradicate all enemies in brisk combat encounters without taking a hit.1 Fail in this, and you’ll be greeted with the infamous “Dead” screen, a sight you’ll no doubt get well-acquainted with as you’re bested by the early stages of the game. However, learn from your mistakes and you’ll feel a profound sense of accomplishment nonetheless. Stars earned by beating levels and completing challenges can be exchanged for new weapons and upgrades, allowing you to pack more of a punch. It’s a simple yet gratifying progression system that ensures you match the game’s steep difficulty…

Carving your way through hundreds of beasties is reliable fun. It’s the fantasy first-person fight you never knew you wanted. A game best played with others, Vermintide II’s servers are still fairly well populated. Matchmaking doesn’t take too long, and players are (usually) keen to watch one another’s virtual backs. Few use a headset, though (a blessing or a curse, depending on your perspective). The seemingly endless parade of loot and challenges has succeeded in keeping people coming back for more, and online play is smooth. There are still technical irritations, such as the time a member of our fellowship becomes trapped in the scenery mere seconds away from the level exit, but overall, it’s well worth diving back in now and then. VERDICT Despite the occasional bot filling in…

DRAGON BALL FIGHTERZ – FIGHTERZ PASS 2 Six characters are joining the lineup of powerful punch people in the superb fighter’s second season. Dragon Ball Super’s Jiren and Dragon Ball Z’s Videl are already in the mix – both feeling fresh in a pleasingly strong roster. RESIDENT EVIL 2 – THE GHOST SURVIVORS Three bonus ‘what if?’ survival campaigns add further challenges to the tricky survival horror, in the same vein as The 4th Survivor mode. Arcadey twists see item vending pods, loot backpacks, new enemies, and handy training modes. RAINBOW SIX SIEGE – OPERATION BURNT HORIZON The Year 4 Pass kicks off with a new map and two new operators. The Australia-set Outback map is free to all players, whereas you’ll need to pay or unlock Mozzie, a drone…

Following an overstuffed, if not unenjoyable, opening chapter, JK Rowling’s five-film Potter prequel series Fantastic Beasts has hit the doldrums with The Crimes Of Grindelwald. A deathly hollow, emotionally inert sequel, it spectacularly fails to cast a spell. Set predominantly in Paris, bumbling magizoologist Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) is recruited by young Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law) to track down dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald (Johnny Depp) before he can radicalise the wizarding community. Meanwhile, tormented obscurial Creedence Barebone searches for his parents with the assistance of future Horcrux Nagini. The primary problem here is a lack of focus. Rather than telling a complete story, it’s primarily an exercise in positioning pawns for future sequels. Worse: Rowling takes several steps back from the first Beasts. Grindelwald’s first act is to break out…

Within 15 minutes of booting Journey up, I remember why I quit it. I’m trudging through candy-floss-coloured dunes being battered by a sandstorm, and I have no idea why. Where am I going? And why? I appreciate Journey’s languid visual language and melancholic score, but I’m going to need some kind of a clue here, pal. It made me feel stupid; that was the issue. I’m notorious for my lack of direction, and somehow – astonishingly – I’m even worse in virtual worlds. Journey doesn’t spoon-feed anything. That soft score begins to grate; my avatar’s lack of urgency irks more. I’m prickled by those old frustrations. Then a mysterious figure appears. “MY AVATAR’S LACK OF URGENCY GRATES. I’M PRICKLED BY OLD FRUSTRATIONS.” I tip-toe further and realise they’re another me…

PICK #1YAKUZA 6: THE SONG OF LIFE Jess Kinghorn gets lost in Kamurocho Game locations ten times the size inspire a sense of existential dread in me, whereas the streets of Kamurocho will always feel like home. Though I’m left longing for Kiwami’s crane machines, the sixth entry’s iteration of the city is impressively polished and packed to the brim with side attractions. The more sedate Onomichi offers a complementary counterpoint that’s left me craving its local speciality pudding ever since. PICK #2 WATCH DOGS 2 Oscar Taylor-Kent hacks back in After the mediocre first outing, this hacking open world game could only go up. And boy did Watch Dogs 2 soar. Set in an exaggerated version of San Francisco, it pokes fun at startup tech culture in a city…