Innholdsfortegnelse for January 2018 i PC Gamer (US Edition)

For years, Far Cry has sent you to exotic locations. For the next game in the series, Ubisoft is trying something different. Far Cry 5 takes place in Montana, under siege by a family of cultists. Is it a change for the better? Andy finds out. Also, this issue, our review section is filled with enough great games to see you through the year. It begins on page 54, with our six-page verdict on Destiny 2. EDITOR phil.savage@futurenet.com @Octaeder TALK TO PC GAMER Have your say! Tweet us @PCGamer Our team of writers ANDY KELLY Specialist in Twitter, fame Twitter @ultrabrilliant This month Made a Twitter bot so popular that Louis Theroux read out its tweet. This isn’t a joke. TOM SENIOR Specialist in Space, guns Twitter @PCGLudo This month…

1 CARD GAMES This eldritch card game explores your innermost fears, depicted by some gruesome hand-drawn artwork. 2 BOARD GAMES A Blue Peter-inspired deal, this worker placement game sees a papercraft spider defending its lair. 3 INSTAL LATIONS Made of spring door stops and LED lights, this whack-a-mole-type game’s special glasses made it sparkle. 4 MUSIC Seasoned game jammer Elie Abraham spent their time writing signs and perfecting a series of catchy tunes.…

NICK RYE A mechanic and bush pilot, Nick will fly his crop duster overhead and drop gunfire on attacking cultists, with satisfyingly explosive results. BOOMER Yes, it’s a dog. This spirited pooch will pounce on enemies and chew them up, and can even fetch you weapons and ammunition if you’re in a pinch. GRACE ARMSTRONG A sniper who will clamber up to high ground during a battle and provide fire support from above. A silent, reliable guardian, if lacking Nick’s firepower.…

SUNSHOT Gun type: Hand cannon Perfect for: Duels at dawn Special thing: Bullets make enemies explode with the power of the sun. RISKRUNNER Gun type: Submachine gun Perfect for: Tesla fans Special thing: Arc damage makes it more electric. WARDCLIFF COIL Gun type: Rocket launcher Perfect for: Firing torrents of mini-missiles Special thing: Looks like a big old dildo. QUICKFANG SWORD Gun type: Sword Perfect for: Slashing, not shooting. Special thing: Chops up Guardians in PvP.…

NEED TO KNOW WHAT IS IT? A superhero RPG set in South Park. EXPECT TO PAY $60 DEVELOPER Ubisoft San Francisco PUBLISHER Ubisoft REVIEWED ON GTX 1080, Intel i5-6600K, 16GB RAM MULTIPLAYER None LINK fracturedbutwhole.com While 2014’s magnificent The Stick of Truth skewered Tolkien, Skyrim, and high fantasy, The Fractured but Whole is an anarchic send-up of superheroes—from comic book cliches to endless money-spinning movie franchises. You play as the mute New Kid, whose heroic deeds in the previous game are forgotten because, well, the kids are playing a different game now. Tutored by the Coon (alter ego of Eric Cartman), you begin your adventure as a lowly sidekick, and must earn the right to establish your own superhero brand and potential Netflix series. Yet no matter how hard you work, he’ll still always refer…

NEED TO KNOW WHAT IS IT? Long awaited rabbit puncher EXPECT TO PAY $30 DEVELOPER Wolfire Games PUBLISHER In-house REVIEWED ON Intel i5, 16gb RAM, Nvidia GTX 970 MULTIPLAYER None LINK www.wolfire.com/overgrowth It is obligatory that every article on Overgrowth start with a bit on how long it has been in development, so here’s mine. When Wolfire Games first started work on its rabbit beat-’em-up, both George W Bush and Gordon Brown were still in office, the first Android phone had not yet launched, and there was only one Marvel Cinematic Universe movie. The Humble Bundle was a spin-off project from Overgrowth, that is how much the industry has changed while this game’s development trundled on. Unfortunately, combat is only half the Overgrowth experience So, after nine years of continuous, open development, you…

THIS MONTH Toiled on an imaginary farm for imaginary profit. ALSO PLAYED Resident Evil 2 Once, I used to play Euro Truck Simulator to rinse my brain of the anxiety and stress of modern life. Now I exfoliate it with Stardew Valley, a wildly addictive farming simulator by ConcernedApe. In the past I’ve lost hundreds of hours to the likes of Animal Crossing and Harvest Moon on Nintendo consoles, and this scratches all the same itches. It’s the kind of gentle game that you can play while listening to a podcast or binging on a Netflix show. But also has enough variety and depth to satisfy the urge for something with a bit more meat on the bone. Everyone plays Stardew Valley differently. There’s a whole friendship and romance system where you can talk to townsfolk, give…

NEED TO KNOW RELEASE Out now PUBLISHER In-house DEVELOPER Wargaming LINK www.worldofwarplanes.com It’s been a few years since I practised my Immelmann turns and barrel rolls in World of Warplanes, but any fears about being out of the loop were put to rest when I jumped into World of Warplanes 2.0 and realized that everyone was in the same situation. This is, effectively, a new game. And in many ways, a much better one. The old World of Warplanes was a dogfighter. You had to learn how to fly a roster of planes, sure, but once in a battle, the objective was simply to destroy as many enemies as you could, and survive until the end of the match. This is no longer the case. Conquest is the new primary mode in 2.0,…

1 Click the ‘New Mission’ option, and at the bottom you’ll find an option for ‘Download Missions’. 2 You’ll now see the server’s list of all available missions. Simply click one and select for download. 3 Helpfully, you can select multiple missions at once, add them to your queue and download them all together as a batch. 4 Whenever you wish to play a mission, you’ll have to install it first, and you can only have one mission installed at a time. Uninstalling loses your save data.…

SECRETS OF THE WAVES A glorious storm hits your isolated boat in the mid-portion of this Global Game Jam 2017 project. ABZU Wafting kelp, refracting light, and currents which push you around all act in concert to give the sense of being in water. A GOOD GARDENER It’s the sound effects which delight here as you collect rainwater in your watering can and tend your crops. DON’T STARVE Exaggerated animated waves and sketchy surf perfectly suit the Lemony Snicket-like art style of the survival game.…

1 DEAD RISING 3 Reducing the importance of Dead Rising’s time limit gave players more time to accomplish objectives, but also diluted the route memorization and prioritization that made the series stand out. 2 BATMAN: ARKHAM CITY With a larger sandbox came the ability to not just glide, but fly. Spaces grew larger to accommodate this, causing some players to mourn the densely packed secrets and focus of Arkham Asylum. 3 RESIDENT EVIL 4 Replacing the clumsy controls and rigid cameras of previous games left Capcom with a genre-defining hit, and an awkward question: how do you build on one of the most groundbreaking games ever released? 4 FALLOUT 3 If you’ve ever wanted your favorite series to shift perspectives, Fallout 3 shows what would happen. This critically-acclaimed and divisive…

UK-based Daughter had never thought of creating a videogame soundtrack. When it was approached by Deck Nine, the trio had never even heard of Life is Strange. But as guitarist and vocalist Igor Haefeli explains, it allowed the band members to step outside of their own experiences. “It all happened quickly from the moment we said yes,” he says. “Apparently, [Deck Nine] had been listening to our music as inspiration. I guess they felt our music fit well with the story. They wanted us to do whatever we wanted. They said they liked our music, the way we approach things, the way we tackled some themes in the past.” The band were given a synopsis, but they had to create the music before the game was ready. “We sent stems…

NEED TO KNOW WHAT IS IT? An open world action game set in Middle-earth. EXPECT TO PAY $60 DEVELOPER Monolith PUBLISHER Warner Bros REVIEWED ON GTX 1080, Intel i5-6600K, 16GB RAM MULTIPLAYER None LINK www.shadowofwar.com The orcs are the real stars of Shadow of War. Decorated with skulls, piercings, and plates of battered armor, these toothy brutes sneer, jeer, and brag like rowdy drunks. And before you fight them they delight in detailing all the ways they’re going to kill you, gut you like a fish and present your head to Sauron. It’s almost endearing how much they obviously love being orcs and serving their Dark Lord, which is more than can be said for the game’s dreary human characters—and that includes hero Talion, an undead Gondorian ranger with all the…

ALKALINE HYDROLYSIS This is pitched as a more eco-friendly option than burial or regular cremation. It uses a strong alkaline solution, plus heat and pressure to break down the body. MUSHROOM SUITS These are infused with a mushrooms and other organisms. The idea is that this helps with decomposition, and could help break down toxins from the body. DEATH BEADS A method of converting human remains into beads—which are then kept in containers. This is popular in locations such as South Korea where burial space is now at a premium.…

THIS MONTH Was let down by rafts, trees, food and snakes. ALSO PLAYED Watching a lot of League of Legends Ihaven’t starved. That’s what I cling onto every time I try to get somewhere with Klei’s rock-hard survival game, Don’t Starve. I’ve died a gazillion other ways, but I haven’t starved, and therein lies a mighty victory for pedantry. There were the shadow monsters, which is how I remembered about sanity. There was that encounter with those snakes, which taught me that poison doesn’t wear off. There was the decision to avoid disturbing the bees, which saw me channel my thwarted desire to poke something with a spear into disturbing three spiders instead… but I haven’t starved, and am therefore still winning. The thing which lured me into this hellscape was…

THIS MONTH Burnt her wrist on the hob trying to make an omelette. ALSO PLAYED A Mortician’s Tale, The Botanist My mother introduced me to the delights of cooking at a young age. Whether it was making delicate little butterfly cakes or filling the house with the scent of freshly baked cookies, my childhood was happiest in the kitchen. Two decades later and I’m downloading Cook, Serve, Delicious! 2!!. People have warned me about the challenge that awaits, but come on. I’ve thrown dinner parties before (as in I’ve served three people chilled beer and fish tacos around a cramped table) and I can make a hollandaise sauce without it curdling. How hard can it be? The fantasy of cooking has me hooked. It’s a slice of heaven, with a…

BRISTOL BLENHEIM MK IV Drop your 250-pound payloads from high altitudes where fighters will struggle to reach you, and then use your speed to get away, or your rear 7.7mm machine gun to deal with anyone foolish enough to follow you. DOUGLAS A-26B INVADER Twin .50-cal turrets and six frontal machine guns should come in handy when you’re getting ready to drop your 16 x 100-pound bombs. Not surprisingly, this payload covers quite a large area. MYASISHCHEV RB-17 With light, 100kg bombs, you’ll be able to drop six at a time instead of four, making up for their small size. And if you’re being harassed from behind, get on that 23mm cannon and deal with those pesky fighters.…

The FMV sequences are both dreadful and lovable Was I the only one who used to misplace my stealth tanks? It was a problem I had in 1995’s Command & Conquer, so imagine my woes in 1999 when C&C’s sequel, Tiberian Sun, introduced cloaking devices that made entire bases disappear. Thanks, Westwood. Tiberian Sun is the sequel to C&C, set after the first Tiberium War. It was the first game released after Red Alert, which was conceived as an expansion for the original C&C. Red Alert became so impressive, however, that Westwood marketed it as a standalone game. Tiberian Sun, meanwhile, was teased on Red Alert’s installation disc as a first-person Mechwarrior-style game that would eventually became C&C Renegade. The real Tiberian Sun was spared such ignominy, and became one of my favorite…

PHIL SAVAGE GUILD WARS 2: PATH OF FIRE www.guildwars2.com → Guild Wars 2 remains my casual obsession. I’m glad I found an MMO that doesn’t require me to play every day, or even every week or month. Instead, I return every now and then to investigate the latest story update, and leave when I’ve had my fill. Also, the expansion adds a raptor you can ride around on. Ace! DIVINITY: ORIGINAL SIN II www.divinity.game → I’m 11 hours in, and no, I still haven’t left the first island. The sheer density of stuff in Divinity: Original Sin II is remarkable. A confession, though: I’m playing on the easiest mode. I’m more interested in the possibilities of combat— electrocuting blood or setting fire to things—than the challenge. WOLFENSTEIN: THE NEW ORDER…

LOVEBRING ER ZE TA A grenade launcher designed by the legendary romantic Lord Zorgog. Launches grenades filled with pheromones, charming enemies and making them wanttwant to kiss instead of kill you. Use with caution, especiall pecially around the Cabal. “I gift unto thee the powerer of love” —Lord Zorgog MORNINGBANE This solar-type hand cannon has a chance to dispense a lovely cup of coffee with every round fired. Excellent for Guardians who have trouble getting up in the morning. “Just five more minutes, oh god why is everything so away” —Variks VAINGLORIOUS DISCOTHEQUE Vomits out pink and blue neon beams everywhere, drawing in the ire of every nearby enemy. Ideal for a blaze of glory, or for trolling your raid team during a jumping puzzle. “Voluntary selfdestruction a mathematical certainty.…

PHIL SAVAGE Once spent tens of dollars trying to get a Mercy witch skin. PHILIPPA WAR Still has a pile of delicious coal from 2012’s Dota 2 festivities. ANDY KELLY Has the spirit of Vague Unaffiliated MMO Festival. Phil: It’s the season! Which season? I’m not sure. Magazine production lead times still confuse me. But, when you’re reading this, it should be slightly after Halloween and slightly before Christmas. As such, games will both just have and be about to update with themed seasonal events. Have any of you spent a festive season in Overwatch, World of Warcraft, Dota 2 et al? And what’s the key thing that prevents a good seasonal event from being a Christmas turkey? Andy: I like it when MMOs do their own version of Christmas,…

How did you get involved in Far Cry 5? Ubisoft approached me, and wanted me to do some reality testing. To see if their ideas were grounded in historical fact, which I found was true, repeatedly! Is this the first time you’ve worked on a piece of fiction? No, I have consulted on books, movies. I was the advisor to Harvey Keitel when he played a cult expert in the film Holy Smoke. I’ve done a lot of documentary work and so on. But this is my first experience in the world of videogames. How real is the cult in Far Cry 5? There isn’t anything about Eden’s Gate that isn’t grounded in reality. Ubisoft has taken various bits and pieces from history, from many different groups, and created a…

THE RIFTBORN Inspired by: Demogorgon (Stranger Things) De Waubert watched the Netflix TV show while Endless Space 2 was in Early Access, and used its monster as an inspiration for the Riftborn. HORATIO Inspired by: Narcissus Horatio, the massive egomaniac who has cloned himself into an entire faction, is based on the myth of Narcissus—the hunter who fell in love with his own reflection. ROVING CLANS Inspired by: Asian Nomads Initially written as Silk Road-style merchants, this faction’s inspirations moved eastward over time, eventually settling on Mongol-style horse tribes with a splash of color. ARDENT MAGES Inspired by: BDSM/Brom The self-mutilating Ardent Mages base their society around suffering to gain power. Rather than your usual shtick, their look is like an Elizabethan twist on the art of Gerald Brom. UNITED…

NEED TO KNOW WHAT IS IT? An online shooter set in a glittering futuristic vision of our solar system. EXPECT TO PAY $60 DEVELOPER Bungie PUBLISHER Activision REVIEWED ON Intel Core i5-2500K 3.3GHZ, GTX 970, 16GB RAM MULTIPLAYER Up to six in PvE, up to eight in PvP LINK www.bit.ly/destiny2pcg Welcome to the era of the lifestyle game, where products are sold as persistent experiences, intended to become a cornerstone of your leisure time. MMOs have given way to snackable games that use loot boxes and uneven rewards to entice us into putting in a few hours every week. Destiny 2 is your next lifestyle game. Not because its progression systems are more enticing, but because it is a world-class shooter. I get a rare feeling of satisfaction from taking a headshot…

STEFANO VALENTINI An ex-war photographer who considers death the ultimate art form. Mind manipulation is his forte, as is hanging corpses on display. OBSCURA Stefano’s pièce de résistance, this beast is comprised of butchered limbs and barbed wire, with an antique camera for a head. THEODORE WALLACE One of Union’s most influential individuals, Father Theodore Wallace is a twisted cult leader obsessed with power. And fire and brimstone. HARBINGERS Theo’s flamethrowerwielding lackeys want nothing more but to convert you to their cause. Persuasion to them means burning you to death.…

SAURON The source of most of the evil in Middle-earth. Obsessed with the One Ring and the main villain of Shadow of War. CARNÁN An ancient, primeval force of nature who dwells in the forests of Mordor and commands plants and beasts alike. BRÛZ One of the first orcs you bend to your will. Australian-accented Brûz delights in violence, making him a strong ally. BARANOR Minas Ithil’s second in command, this guy grew up in a wealthy family, but ultimately left it all behind to be a soldier. IDRIL This lady is the Shieldmaiden of Gondor and the daughter of General Castamir, Minas Ithil’s military leader. SHELOB A giant, hairy spider in Tolkien’s books, but a sultry goth in the game. Best not think about that too much.…

THIS MONTH Looked at Starbreeze’s back catalogue. ALSO PLAYED Divinity Original Sin II, Death of the Outsider Before Starbreeze became the studio behind FPS cult classics like Escape From Butcher Bay, it tried action RPGs. Namely, Enclave. It’s a very silly game. Enclave is set in a typical fantasy world, where the forces of good and evil are separated by an ancient chasm formed in a battle centuries ago. Why are they fighting? Is it hard to build bridges in this fantasy world? Look, it’s not important. The premise, like the story, is paper thin. As best I can tell, it’s an excuse for Starbreeze to string together a load of daft levels. For instance, there’s the one where I fight a giant skeleton. I’ve been sent to retrieve some magical staff,…

There’s a water library I like to visit and a water library I dream of visiting. The one that I dream of is Vatnasafn in Stykkishólmur, Iceland. It’s an art installation by visual artist Roni Horn—a collection of melted ice from glaciers laid out in 24 glass columns in a former library. You buy tickets to the Library of Water from the nearby Volcano Museum. I’ve wanted to go for ten years. The one I can get to regularly is called v r 3. It’s an exhibition of different water shaders you can browse, and you’ll find it as a digital download created by Pippin Barr. As he explains the idea: “Water is perhaps the archetypal technology we use to assess how ‘good’ a game engine or game is in…