Innholdsfortegnelse for September 2019 i PLAY

“READ THE TEN REASONS WHY THIS WILL BE THE BEST STAR WARS GAME YOU’VE PLAYED IN QUITE SOME TIME.” GAME OF THE MONTH Samurai Shodown FAVE CYBERPUNK GAME Ruiner The buzz around Cyberpunk 2077 reminds me of that around Grand Theft Auto. There’s a need to pick apart every morsel of detail to tease out how this beautiful game will play. This issue we were able to sit down with Marcin Blacha, the game’s story director, and learn even more. You can read the interview, and our views of the game in action, on p56. With CD Projekt Red leading the charge it feels like PS4 has some exciting months ahead. This issue we go hands-on with some of the games you need to play, including Brexit romp Watch Dogs…

“INTERACTION HAPPENS EVERY 15 TO 20 SECONDS.” First announced at Paris Games Week 2017, Erica looked like an intriguing narrative mystery game incorporating live action – then it disappeared under the radar. Fortunately, it’s re-emerging just as live-action interactive entertainment is making its mainstream breakthrough thanks to the likes of Bandersnatch and You Vs. Wild on Netflix. However, it’s also offering something entirely different from what we’ve come to expect from the interactive narrative so far. Instead of the usual binary choice and branching narratives, developer Flavourworks’ emphasis is on interacting with the world through touch. One reason why the project went dark for a couple of years was because the dev was building new technology Touch Video from the ground up. As creative director Jack Attridge explains, “We didn’t…

KAER MORHEN’S FINEST Initial images of Henry Cavill in costume for Netflix’s Witcher adaptation hit a bum note but newly released promo pictures of the show’s Geralt, Yennefer, and Ciri have turned us around. Produced by Daredevil’s Lauren Schmidt Hissrich, each of the eight episodes will be an hour long. HOOPS AND DREAMS The eldest sibling of the McElroy podcasting empire, Justin, has announced he will cameo in D’Avekki Studios’ latest FMV fever dream. Dark Nights With Poe And Munroe follows the radio host duo from D’Avekki’s last game, The Shapeshifting Detective. The episodic supernatural mystery will release this year. JUST DESERTS Putting personality into role-play, Black Desert is a new sandbox MMORPG that encourages the social side of adventuring as much as the questing. You can trade items with…

We’ve always maintained that Crash is one of the best mascots that PlayStation has ever birthed. That goofy grin just makes us want to smile right back. Like any good mascot, he’s perfect for slapping all over some garish merchandise, and a brand-new line has come to PlayStation Gear to celebrate the release of Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled. (Turn to p78 to see what we made of the game.) “WE’D GIVE PRIDE OF PLACE TO THE SET OF 11 PIN BADGES.” Often we’re seen sipping from the strangely cube-shaped crate mugs from the N.Sane Trilogy merch collection, and now we’ve got a trophy-shaped mug too. To the victor, the spoils. But also, the tea. Other mug shapes are available, and there’s also a medal you can buy to really amp…

@REBELZOMBIEFORT I have finally found my White Whale! I have had to scour all of Manchester to find this cover variant. But it was all worth it @OPM_UK , Aerith looks amazing. Can’t wait to look through the issue. @MATT2004HOOP Loving the article in this month’s @OPM_UK about the #FF7Remake. The first ‘game’ in the series will be set in Midgar. I was in awe of that place when I was younger on the original and always wanted to delve deeper into city but it never gave you the chance @SHOMAKKAA Pretty awesome to see your game on a double page spread in @OPM_UK this month :D @GAMERINTHEHIVE Reading in the heat! Awesome cover as always @OPM_UK @MRTJ_808 Knack 3 [You’re supposed to be one of the good guys! –…

So, we’ve swung our way across New York city as Spidey in last year’s excellent game and we’re about to defend the planet as the Earth’s Mightiest Heroes in Marvel’s Avengers next year. What a time to be a gamer and a superhero aficionado! Along with Rocksteady’s excellent Batman Arkham franchise, Netherrealm’s equally fine Injustice games, and Telltale’s criminally underrated point-and-click Batman, there’s no doubt that superhero-based videogames have morphed into their own subgenre. But, I’ll tell you what I want, what I really, really want: a female superhero – or a team of female superheroes – starring in their very own game. That would really spice up my life! And the lives of many others… With a huge array of strong female superheroes ripe for the picking, there is…

“WE’RE RECRUITING FOR DEDSEC, AND ANYONE CAN BE SIGNED UP.” FORMAT PS4 / ETA 6 MAR PUB UBISOFT / DEV UBISOFT TORONTO Laying its scene just a little too close to home here at OPM Towers, Legion looks towards a post-Brexit Britain. This 20-minutes-in-the-future speculative setting imagines a government even more obsessed with surveillance than our own, with London dominated by security checkpoints and signs everywhere you look urging London’s citizens to ‘report suspicious activity.’ We begin our hands-on spending an evening down the pub. We’re not there to drink, much less socialise really. We’re recruiting for DedSec – and anyone can be signed up. We scan the crowd with our phone, bookmarking potential candidates, until we come across young Jada. She’s got a reasonably positive opinion of DedSec but…

BORDERLANDS 3 You are the patron saint of violence and mayhem in this bizarre simulator. As the head of a civilisation that believes in a modern-day Valhalla, winning the game is many other titles’ failure state: death. Bless this thy hand grenade! FORMAT PS4 ETA 13 SEP BATMAN ARKHAM COLLECTION – STEELBOOK EDITION Three Batmen out-frown one another in an action-adventure to decide who is the real Gotham Knight We bet on the grumpy one FORMAT PS4 ETA 6 SEP DOOM ETERNAL This endless-restaurantmanagement-sim-meetsdungeon-crawler puts Doom Guy on a quest for The Final Meatball. The legends tell of an orb of mince that is juicy, spicy, and creamy but can they possibly be true? FORMAT PS4 ETA 22 NOV…

“ENEMIES YOU MAKE ON THE TRACK BEHAVE LIKE THEY HATE YOU.” FORMAT PS4 / ETA 13 SEP PUB CODEMASTERS / DEV CODEMASTERS Finally, after almost an entire generation in the wilderness, Grid is back – and it’s making enemies left, right, and centre. Technically the fourth game in the series, this is actually something of a reboot, a return to what made the first Grid so successful in the first place. So what is that, you ask? Something Codemasters refers to as ‘racecraft’. We’re talking about the sheer spectacle of motorsport. The ‘rubbing is racing’ mentality that makes Max Verstappen that much more exciting to watch than Valtteri Bottas. Physics objects getting sent cascading in a cloud of smoke as squealing tyres give up their adhesion and leave you a…

1 The Toreador are fools for beauty. Made up of both talented artists and gorgeous one-hit wonders, they’re known to be as pretentious as they are fickle. 2 Lovers and fighters, Brujah have strong principles and hair triggers. There aren’t many in Seattle but it’s the go-to clan if you need to hire some bodyguards. 3 Members of Clan Ventrue see themselves as aristocrats. Even with drinking from other vamps frowned upon, there are plenty who’d like to eat these rich. 4 The much-loved and equally reviled Malkavians have a unique perspective on things. However, if knowledge is power, that power corrupts absolutely.…

RIVER CITY GIRLS FORMAT PS4 / ETA 5 SEP PUB ARC SYSTEM WORKS DEV WAYFORWARD Grey-haired readers will remember Technos Japan’s Double Dragon and Renegade series. Well, those games were acquired by Arc System Works, and River City Girls is a loose spiritual successor. This colourful side-scrolling retro beat-’em-up features all the combo fun you’d want from a genre game of this kind, but with a modern twist. These girls are out to rescue their baes, flipping the damsel in distress narrative. In-game the big twists are the ability to recruit defeated enemies to your cause, and unlocking stat boosts to make that arse-kicking a little easier. MANIFOLD GARDEN FORMAT PS4 / ETA TBC / PUB WILLIAM CHYR STUDIO DEV WILLIAM CHYR STUDIO This first-person, free-roaming, physics-based puzzler taps into…

We’ve all dreamed of adventuring a long, long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, but it’s been a while since a videogame has delivered full-Force single-player thrills. Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order looks set to make up for all those cancelled games and disappointing releases. Free of lootbox nonsense and the trappings of games-as-a-service, we’ll be able to visit previously unexplored planets and fight new agents of the Empire. So grab your lightsaber and join us in a look at why this will be the game you are looking for. 01 ROGUE LEADER Cameron Monaghan brings something special to Cal Kestis We don’t need to tell you how special the actor playing the lead character is, just ask the whooping and hollering fans who screamed their approval after…

Whether or not you’ll go ape for this retro arcade remake is likely down to your fond memories of the coin-op original. Released in 1989 it was, even at the time, a novelty. A giant, floating disembodied gorilla hand kidnaps your cave-girlfriend, and before you can grab your club and get her back a malevolent wizard turns you into an ape. Handily you’re an ape who can spit enemy-killing energy balls. Between you and your Love Island final fling are familiarly themed levels (ice, fire, jungle, and water) and an army of bug-eyed baboons, bow-tie-wearing penguins, and all manner of boss battles.1 As remakes go Toki on PS4 is a sincere recreation of the cult 2D platform-shooter. The hand-drawn characters and world look beautiful, and because this is a one-to-one…

From the moment you begin playing Etherborn, you’ll know it’s the type of game that’s meant for a lazy Sunday afternoon; the minimalistic art style has a calming feel, reminiscent of titles such as Journey and AER: Memories Of Old. You play as a strange being of light, guided by a voice that is calling out for you to find them so you can unravel the mysteries of the world around you. This puzzle-platformer relies on exploration, and exploring’s made easier by your power to shift gravity by using the gently curved edges found on various structures and platforms to relocate your orientation within each environment. You need to activate switches to move platforms and bridges using the light orbs found throughout each level,1 and while some of these may…

MONSTER HUNTER: WORLD Jess Kinghorn knows winter is coming After being impressed by Iceborne, I decide it’s time to get serious about my training in Astera. To my dismay, when I return, it appears this is the first time I’ve been serious about monster hunting because my expeditions are still mired in tutorials. Making up for lost time, I dispatch three Kulu-Ya-Kus in quick succession. Unfortunately, the skittish raptor keeps tearing away into Anjanath territory and I’m still too green to take on that beastie. Perhaps it’s time to set off a distress flare. FINAL FANTASY XIV: A REALM REBORN Oscar Taylor-Kent does it by the book I’m battling through a library with three other adventurers at my side. We push through the dungeon, the warrior getting the attention of…

MISSING LINK 5 AUG Laika deserves praise for helping keep Claymation alive, but its latest film – about an explorer who helps Bigfoot find his family – is a letdown. DOMINO 5 AUG Nikolaj Coster-Waldau stars in this crime thriller about a cop out for revenge after the murder of his partner, directed by Brian de Palma. BATMAN: HUSH 12 AUG Hush popped up in Arkhams City and Knight, but this animation is an adaptation of Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee’s acclaimed comic arc. ATTACK ON TITAN S3 – PART 1 12 AUG The third season of Attack On Titan is its bleakest yet. Save some happy watching for afterwards. APOCALYPSE NOW: THE FINAL CUT 13 AUG Francis Ford Coppola has recut his Vietnam classic and given the picture/sound a…

Nowadays, Far Cry games are fairly predictable. Pick up a new entry in the series and, whether the setting is the Himalayas, a post-apocalyptic America, or the Stone Age, you’ve got a pretty good idea of what you’re getting: a blend of shooting and stealth in an open world full of collectibles, outposts to conquer, and animals that can be hunted and occasionally tamed. But when Far Cry 3 arrived, that formula hadn’t really been established by the previous games in the series. The 2004 original was a more traditional linear shooter of the time, albeit one offering a little more freedom than most in how you approached each encounter. Its sequel left the Pacific island setting behind in favour of a war-torn Central African nation, ditching most of 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 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…

Oscar Taylor-Kent GAMES EDITOR Oscar chatted to Respawn this issue and reveals his ten reasons to love Fallen Order on p68. It’s something to Chewie on. GAME OF THE MONTH FFXIV: Shadowbringers FAVE CYBERPUNK GAME VA-11 HALL-A Jess Kinghorn STAFF WRITER Jess spent time with Bloodlines 2 this issue. Whose bite idea was it to give more room to Vampire puns? [Suck it up – ed.] GAME OF THE MONTH Sea Of Solitude FAVE CYBERPUNK GAME Observer Miriam McDonald OPERATIONS EDITOR It’s all corn pair-shaped for Mim as she played too much Builders 2 to grow her virtual farm. She’s been chasing grainbows. GAME OF THE MONTH Dragon Quest Builders 2 FAVE CYBERPUNK GAME Beneath A Steel Sky Milford Coppock MANAGING ART EDITOR It’s not a pigment of your imagination,…

3,600 Seconds of Watch Dogs Legion we enjoyed for our hands-on – see p34. 16,000,000 Final Fantasy XIV Online players. Read our Shadowbringers verdict on p92! 23 The age of Tom Holland, who’s playing Nathan Drake in the Uncharted movie. £199.99 The hefty price tag of the Doom Eternal Collector’s Edition. 1.93m The height of NBA 2K20 Legend Edition cover star Dwayne Wade. 05 Outbursts about whether “eFootball” is a good prefix PES title. (It isn’t.) 384,400 Km from Earth to the Moon, where we’ll return in Destiny 2: Shadowkeep. 250 Pages to fawn over in The Art Of Tekken: A Complete Visual History.…

“THIS ENVIRONMENTALIST THEME IS TIMELY AND SOMETHING CYANIDE VALUES STRONGLY.” The classic tabletop World Of Darkness setting is enjoying some illumination thanks to a number of recently announced videogame adaptations. While the games Werewolf: The Apocalypse – Earthblood and Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 are based on are part of this same universe, there’s no crossover here (nor with any of the other non-Paradox Vampire games on the horizon). Catching up with game director Julien Desourteaux, we are treated to a hands-off look at a very-much-pre-alpha build of the former game. As most people are more familiar with Vampire, Desourteaux explains Werewolf’s premise, “Werewolves are eco-warriors, they are fighting for Mother Nature’s sake. Gaia is in a dangerous position. Huge corporations are destroying it and gathering all the resources…

MOTHER LOAD Sony’s new patent for a “system and method for dynamically loading game software for smooth play” has confirmed the new console will be excessively speedy. HOBBIT HAPPENING We’re going on an adventure! Amazon Game Studios, Leyou, and Athlon Games have confirmed a Lord Of The Rings free-to-play MMO is in development. There’s a lot of Hobbity fun to come. EIGHT’S THE CHARM Final Fantasy VIII Remastered is coming. Turns out it’s taken so long because Square Enix lost the original source code, so it’s having to rework it from scratch. Dedication! CATAN YOU NOT? Catan VR brings Settlers Of Catan wonderfully to life in PS VR. But Jess is still terrible at the game and it’s sent her into a rage. ROTTER POTTER Mobile phone users have a…

“Time for a dev to make a new footy title. Take the best bits of both FIFA and PES in one game and add something new.”JASON MACDONALD, DO YOU REMEMBER SONY’S THIS IS FOOTBALL? “Good times; if it’s as good as the last one, I’d be chuffed to bits.”NEWS OF NI NO KUNI 3 PLEASES DRAZIAK DURST 1 Cyberpunk 2077 The power of Mr Reeves holds this one firmly in the top spot. You’ve got to (Silver)hand it to him, he’s a star. FORMAT PS4 ETA 16 APRIL 2 The Last Of Us  Part II Despite a total lack of news, it’s still high on the list. It had better be good, or there will be some seriously disappointed gamers! FORMAT PS4 ETA TBC 3 Final Fantasy VII Remake Head…

His debut project as a free man since moving on from the shackles of Konami and Metal Gear is under the pressure of so much expectation, we fear the slightest touch of Hideo Kojima’s creative cork will spill his secret gaming champagne all over the laps of his celeb cast. So we can understand why Kojima would want to avoid being pigeonholed. Once we’d all become fans of Metal Gear Solid, it felt like every new release was a battle between him trying to subvert our expectations, and us expecting him to subvert them. Watching Death Stranding’s Sam Bridges (Reedus) doing a crouch run and avoiding soldiers had us wondering if he’d see some stealth action like Solid Snake. But Kojima has said that Death Stranding is “not a stealth…

1 If you want to recruit Albion guards later, it’s best to leave their mates alive. May we suggest a taser rather than a lethal takedown for an introduction? 2 Never discount the not-so-humble drone. Whether you need another pair of eyes in the sky or a quick getaway, they’re surprisingly versatile. 3 Don’t be fooled by your spider bot’s adorable appearance: it can take down enemies all on its own and the Hacker class is able to use them as small turrets. 4 All DedSec operatives must stay on their toes: if every other tactic fails, you can just kick your enemies really hard during melee combat.…

1 Picture the situation: you’re driving along, about to win the race, when suddenly a wall appears from behind a puff of dust. There’s no time to avoid it. 2 Spin! Spin! Spin! It’s all over bar the vrooming and you’re still pointing the wrong way. Ah, but a quick press of the Flashback button... 3 And… ta-dah! The action rewinds to a point of your choosing, allowing you to have a racing mulligan and try that last bit again, missing that wall. 4 Oh look! The chequered flag is yours. The bonnet flies off just before the line because (*cough*) that wasn’t your only prang. But the win stands.…

1 After a hostile takeover of their ship, the Duke Of Milan, the crew hatch a plan to create a distraction so Conrad – that’s us – can sneakily go and get help. 2 Unfortunately, our distraction goes awry. Conrad can either go for one of the hijackers’ guns or head for their boat as planned. We feel heroic… 3 …Oops. We fumble the QTE and Conrad loses his chance to get help or grab the gun. What horrors would Conrad have found on the hijackers’ boat?…

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.…

Evan T Kovolosky is something of a fool. In an alternative Cold War era, Evan (a down-on-his-luck journalist) is a bizarrely outspoken fan of communism living in the West. After making his adoration of the leader of the (fictional) country of Matryoshka clear, a femme fatale whisks him off to this pseudo-Russian state, culminating in poor old Evan getting sucked into a communist conspiracy.1 Irony Curtain operates as a cartoony point-and-click adventure in which you must solve puzzles and uncover secrets. Puzzles begin simply enough, but soon become more item-based and complex. Luckily, helpful clues within each wacky location, for example numbers scratched into panels or verbal clues scattered throughout conversations with NPCs, hint at solutions. These conversations are a real highlight. The whole game is a delightful spoof, but…

Waaaaaay back when, ex-PlayStation boss Phil Harrison described rumble as a “last-gen” feature while trying to big up PS3’s SixAxis pad. Phil, we’ve got a game that would like a word with you. Though Rainbow Studios’ racer is somewhat cheap and erratic, there’s no question it gives your DualShock 4 the sweatiest, most finger-shaking workout it’s ever had. Aside from rather exquisite rumble feedback, Monster Jam: Steel Titans revels in chaos. This is a monster truck game where the headline vehicles often cartwheel through the air as if they were entirely composed of styrofoam and helium. Despite its arcadey appearance, this is a punishing title – make one false move, tip your truck, and there’s a good chance you won’t see an opposing driver for the rest of the race.…

PS Plus seems to be having an identity crisis months on after dropping PS Vita and PS3 titles from its lineup. For instance, last month the two PS4 titles were announced only for there to be a last-minute swap. Instead of enjoying a kickabout in Pro Evolution Soccer 2019… well, we can’t promise that a load of old balls wasn’t involved. The last minute switcharoo was for Quantic Dream’s interactive sci-fi movie DETROIT: BECOME HUMAN. While visually impressive – to the tune of 7/10 – we’re still waiting for the buddy cop dream team of Hank (the curmudgeonly copper) and Connor (the android from CyberLife) to get their own crime caper game. That’s a dream Quantic may never realise but the deluxe edition on offer here was no nightmare. If…

We get a pleasant surprise upon dipping into Big Ant’s online bat ‘n’ ball offering: it’s not teeming with rage quitters who exit once they’ve no chance to win. In sports gaming terms that’s like alchemy. Five-overs-per-team games take 20 minutes max, and while England vs England – the most popular team pairing – does feel jaded after a while, the runfests are lag-free and full of monster boundaries. Great as long as you’re the one thumping them. Longer, more traditional contests are harder to come by – we’ve yet to find anyone willing to meet us at the digital WACA for a five-day test – but limited-overs cricket is en vogue thanks to the recent World Cup, and in that regard 19 offers a satisfying buffet of frenzied white-ball…

SCHWEET VANITY PACK Five new emotes and four 1980s fashion sets – the Indy-esque adventurer set, gaudy Miami set, midsummer set, and tourist set – arrive for Generation Zero. RETRO 3D HAOHMARU As a series, Samurai Shodown has been around for a while, which is why this low-polygon-count retro skin for Haohmaru is utter genius. Others are available too. WORSHIPPERS OF THE NECRONOMICON Three new cases for Charles Reed to tackle in The Sinking City revolve around the titular Lovecraftian book of forbidden eldritch secrets. SHANG TSUNG The Soul Sorcerer himself hosted the very first Mortal Kombat tournament, and now returns as DLC for Mortal Kombat 11, where he’ll use his powerful magic. CLAIRE’S SANCTUARY Bryce Dallas Howard reprises her role as Claire in this Jurassic World Evolution DLC focused…

These days it feels like it would be simpler to work at a high-class Bureau de Change than brave online gaming. Whether it’s to encourage microtransaction spending or not, is the currency all too much to keep track of? When starting a new game, free-to-play or otherwise, you’ll need to bust out a maths degree to keep up. Apex Legends alone has three currencies, only some of which can be spent on certain things, and only some of which can be bought with real money. The recent FORTNITE John Wick skin cost around £16, but first you had to exchange that for a couple of thousand V-Bucks. Even if a game doesn’t use its currencies to squeeze you for microtransactions, they can still intrude. In CRASH TEAM RACING NITRO-FUELED, rather…

“1 A STRONG, YET UNIVERSAL, SHOOTER IN A VIBRANTLY REALISED STAR WARS SETTING.” “2 NAME ONE OTHER GAME WHERE YOU CAN WATCH ELSA BELT OUT ‘LET IT GO’ BEFORE HAMMERING SOME MONSTERS TO DEATH WITH A GIANT KEY.” “3 THOUGH IT’S ONE OF THE BEST-LOOKING TITLES ON PS4, [ITS] UNINSPIRED ACTION AND OBSESSION WITH GRINDY TASKS MEAN BIOWARE’S MECHS AREN’T ON SONG.” “4 A GENRE-PINCHING RPG THAT MARRIES PLATINUM’S COMBAT TO AN OVERBLOWN PLOT THAT COULD FUEL A STANDALONE ANIME.”…

PICK #1 DEATH ROAD TO CANADA Jess Kinghorn still doesn’t have her licence but that won’t stop her There are 3,000 miles between us and Canada, we’ve got a full tank of gas and half a Colin The Caterpillar, it’s dark, and we’re wearing sunnies. Hit it! This arcade-y zombie apocalypse roguelite is best for quick bouts rather than an extended road trip but its over-the-top tone and 16-bit-inspired art style is worth the pit stop. It makes the perfect road less travelled for survival fans. PICK #2 “ITS GATHERING AND BUILDING MECHANICS ARE AS SIMPLE AS SLOTTING BRICKS TOGETHER.” MINECRAFT Oscar Taylor-Kent’s the new block on the… block? What a square… erm, cube Believe it or not, this mega-popular cube-based survival game is ten years old this year. Its…

While you might be salivating over PS4’s gorgeous-looking Final Fantasy VII Remake (yes, we are too), PS Vita still excels at delivering an authentic retro experience. Recently Square Enix announced that a still-delightfully-pixelly remaster of Romancing SaGa 3 will be heading to PS Vita as well as PS4 – it’s never been released before in English. Unless you’re lucky enough to drive a TARDIS, the handheld is your surefire option for replaying the classics close to how they were intended.…

“WE ARE PULLING OFF RAINBOW FLICKS AND PANNAS LIKE IT IS NOBODY’S BUSINESS.” You might think very little innovation is possible when it comes to a football game, especially one that bears the FIFA branding as it needs to stay authentic. Each year, the changes and improvements to the game aren’t glaringly obvious to the more casual player. However, the addition of Volta Football to FIFA 20, returning the sport to its roots, is sure to rejuvenate the series. The FIFA Street games were hugely popular on PS2, and players have been calling for the series to come back for some time now. EA is listening, and we know that because it invited us to the Adidas Football Base in Berlin – an indoor football arena that captures the essence…

IAN DEAN EDITOR “SONY’S BURGEONING HITS COLLECTION SHOULD BE USED TO PUSH PS4’S HIDDEN GEMS AND RARITIES.” Being a fan of Hitman, but also someone who loves to let the lead fly, I’d urge anyone to play Sniper Elite 4. This WW2-set sniper-stealth-shooter is one of PS4’s hidden gems. Played as a stealth sim it feels on par with Hitman’s nastier side; there’re few games that deliver the sense of satisfaction that comes from shooting a Nazi commander’s nads off from half a mile away, and watching his mates scamper in terror. But it also embraces pure action. Facing a Panzer tank? No problem! Snipe its driver through the two-inch peep hole and then take out the fuel tank. That’s a Hit. JESS KINGHORN STAFF WRITER “WITH MY CHILDREN KAZUMA…

I have been looking everywhere for the Playstation Magazine Issue 57 May 2011 UK demo disc. It is ingrained in my childhood memories and I would do anything to get hold of this. I miss listening to this disc every night, and I used to listen to it while my parents were arguing before their divorce. My dad passed away quite recently and he used to watch this disc with me. I was wondering if you could send me an MP4 or anything of the demo disk. William Ashton via email We’d send you one if we had it, William, but a few office moves have meant we don’t have any copies kicking around. If any other readers have an OPM#57 disc they don’t want any more, please contact us…

Don’t call it a reboot… because, well, it simply isn’t. After years of underwhelming military shooters, Activision is returning to Call Of Duty’s loftiest peak, yet Modern Warfare is no recooked COD. Instead, this reimagining of an all-time great is an entirely new game with an entirely fresh actor filling the magnificently moustached boots of Captain Price. And it’s about damn time. Even though Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare was released 12 years ago – lord, I feel disgustingly old – the franchise has never come close to matching (let alone topping) Infinity Ward’s magnificent FPS. Such is the reverence Soap MacTavish and Captain Price’s electrically paced shooter is held in, Activision has already remastered it, while a 4K redux of Modern Warfare 2 is also on the way.…

1 PLAYERUNKNOWN’S BATTLEGROUNDS Now this is serious survivor style. Anyone can outlast 99 opponents to grab a chicken dinner, but it takes a special kind of PUBG player to win a match in a bright pink skirt suit. As fashion choices go, this combo is both bold and outright daft. After all, blinding pink doesn’t exactly blend into long grass. 2 MAX PAYNE 3 Though he spends a good deal of Rockstar’s slow-mo shooter garbed in a gaudy Hawaiian shirt, Max at least makes a little effort in the opening levels with a stylish grey suit. Copying Tom Cruise’s distinctive look from Collateral, the whisky-loving bodyguard looks downright dapper in spite of all the midair homicide. 3 HITMAN The most famous, sharpest suit in games. Agent 47’s trademark outfit makes…

“STRIFE AND WAR ARE TASKED WITH SAVING HUMANITY FROM LUCIFER.” FORMAT PS4 / ETA 2019 PUB THQ NORDIC / DEV AIRSHIP SYNDICATE In the beginning there was a top-down hack ‘n’ slash action RPG, which spawned two sequels. A prequel to the entire series, Genesis features the four Horsemen early on in their apocalyptic careers and, for the first time, a playable Strife. Strife’s fighting alongside his brother War, the protagonist of the first Darksiders. The pair are tasked with saving humanity from Lucifer. Going hands-on, we find War has a lot of the same moves as he did in the first game. He’s excellent for crowd control and sword-swinging area-of-effect attacks, while Strife’s bullets are better suited to picking off individual foes from a distance. You can swap between…

“IF VAMPIRES ARE MAKING DEALS, IT’S ALWAYS AT A NIGHTCLUB.” FORMAT PS4 / ETA MAR 2020 PUB PARADOX INTERACTIVE / DEV HARDSUIT LABS If sweltering summer room temperatures and romantic sitcoms will teach you anything, it’s that absolutely nothing good happens after 1am. Unfortunately, in Bloodlines 2 your new existence traps you in a perpetual 1am funk: you can’t bear the sun, you can’t keep your eyes open during the day, and you’re always hungry but not for most food – least of all anything containing garlic. Could it be… that you are Kindred? Not so fast, moonshine. You’ve got a long way to go before earning the respect of your fellow vamps. You are a Thinblood, one created out of a mass Embrace, and are therefore adrift within vampire…

Brigitte The woman of the hour because she might be able to offer information on the immortality chip plugged into V’s head. As she’s the leader of the Voodoo Boys finding her is something of a mission, but once V locates her they find the rabbit hole they’re currently freefalling through has a far longer (and colder) drop than they ever could’ve guessed. Placide A talented Netrunner in his own right, Placide ranks highly within the Voodoo Boys. He’s got a direct line to Brigitte but before he’ll share what he knows, he wants us to deal with a rival gang, the Animals. He could become a powerful ally so we recommend staying on his good side… that is, after that one time he tries to fry you. Uh, forgive…

What does this game have to offer, apart from a grammatically infuriating title? Which genre does it fall into? Sometimes it feels like the answer is “all of them.” It’s a historical drama set during the French Revolution which, depending on when you’re playing it, is (deep breath) a courtroom simulator, a digital board game, a choice-driven narrative adventure, a turn-based combat game, a diplomacy simulator, a text adventure, an empire builder, or a test of morals. WTR pulls itself in so many directions, something had to give – and that ‘something’ is a little bit of everything. That’s not to say it’s a complete disaster. Your character is a judge, so the stream of trials makes sense, and also represents the best of the game. The guilt or innocence…

Going eyeball-to-eyeball with a tattooed, cyber-enhanced sumo wrestler is not something you do too often. In PS VR it feels personal. The big lad in question is part of a cybernetic army bent on destabilising 2066 Neo Tokyo. Or are they? The Sairento Organisation’s servers have been hacked and agent Chieko Hatsuri’s connected systems are in flux – nothing is as it seems. Though the story delivers a neat twist, ultimately you put any questions about who or what you’re slicing and shooting into sashimi to one side – the act of doing so is too much fun to let moral dilemmas get in the way. Control on the PS Move controllers is accurate, and the teleporting movement works well. You ‘beam’ to spots in the world, arcing your guide-lines…

This year’s MotoGP promises new, dedicated servers for ‘low latency’ and racing that’s ‘fairer than ever’. In practice, however, it’s flaky and mismatched. Lag is the main issue, with some individuals jumping about erratically, even on the straights. This isn’t helped by the fact the lobby system rarely connects to a waiting game quickly enough, leaving you to sit and watch someone else’s race or quit out and try again. When you do race, half the racers exploit track limit inconsistencies, managing to go five seconds a lap faster than clean, by-the-books efforts, which is frustrating. With no ranking or championships to join besides the protracted eSports mode, unless you set up a friends-only game it all feels rather inconsequential. VERDICT A flaky and jittery online mode with too much…

MARVEL’S SPIDER-MAN – FAR FROM HOME SUITS Pretending to be Tom Holland just got a whole lot easier as Insomniac has added two new suits based on the latest Marvel movie to the PS4 game – and for free. Web around NYC in Spidey’s darker duds or the black stealth suit. DISSIDIA FINAL FANTASY NT – TIFA LOCKHART You might still have a little wait before you get to see Tifa in Final Fantasy VII Remake, but she’s already joining the fray in the crossover fighting game. She brings her brawler combat style to the mix, and can use her Slot Machine limit break. MOSS – TWILIGHT GARDEN We loved this mousy PS VR platformer when it first launched (giving it 8/10 in #148). Now, for free, our hero Quill…

With hindsight, it’s fair to say the DC Extended Universe ran before it could fly. Ill-fated team-ups like Batman V Superman and Justice League proved launching straight into multi-character event movies doesn’t a universe make. No longer chasing Marvel’s tail, DC has found a successful niche with fun standalones like Wonder Woman, Aquaman, and Shazam! – a film which gives Guardians and Thor: Ragnarok a run for their funny money. Asher Angel stars as Billy Batson, a 16-year-old bounced from foster home to foster home since childhood. Billy might have a rebellious streak, but he’s got it where it counts, which is why an ancient wizard imbues Billy with the incredible abilities of his civilisation’s champion, Shazam. Say the magic word and Billy transforms into Zachary Levi’s superpowered demi-god. It’s…

Games are not movies. I don’t want to follow someone else’s story, I want to write my own. That’s the line I would have used, probably, to explain why I’d never played an Uncharted game. The truth, if I’m being completely honest, is at least partly that I didn’t own a PS3 and, having missed out on the series’ beginnings, stubbornly refused to jump aboard the Nathan Drake bandwagon. IN MY CLUMSY HANDS DRAKE HAS THE GRACE OF YOUNG BAMBI ON ICE. After a full decade of hearing that Uncharted 2 is really great, actually, it’s time to finally to face my assumptions. So I’m initially smug to find that Drake does in fact bounce from cutscene to scripted set-piece and back again, just as I always suspected. I groan…

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.…