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Gamesmaster|March 2016“This is perhaps the most instantly iconic gaming series”Along time ago, on a carpet far, far away… ok so it was back in 1999 that the Danish bricks and the interstellar fighty films first collided in toy form, going on to inspire perhaps the most instantly iconic gaming series in history. TT is about to return to the saga that ensured the Lego games lifted off to such aclaim, so we naturally tagged along for the ride, popping into the studio to get a sneaky first glimpse at Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Elsewhere we’ve pretty much let Pokémon take over. The hallowed critter collect-a-thon is a rocking 20 years old this month, so we’ve fired a special feature-shaped party popper off in its direction. Regular readers will also notice we’ve had a retool of our Game…1 minGamesmaster|March 2016LETTER MONTH OF THEMy reason for writing to you is regarding the price of digital download games. I shall try to keep this civilised, but the issue really irks me. Browsing through the online stores on the major consoles, I find that games are far too often ludicrously expensive. Star Wars Battlefront and WWE 2K16, for example, are over 50 quid each. I understand the cost of video game production, marketing, and such, but when they sell games digitally, they save money on packaging, disks, and distribution. They also have lower risk in the sense of not having to produce a lot of stock that may not sell. Surely this saving should be passed on to the paying consumer? I’d consider buying all my games as downloads if it was cheaper than physical…1 minGamesmaster|March 2016YOU LOVE GAMESNick Littlefield has made the perfect Pokémonplaying machine with this hand-painted Game Boy. Find more of his work at: http://bit.ly/gmnick Keep a squid on hand at all times with this Splatoon keyring, made by Etsy seller ArlandAtelier – grab one here: http://bit.ly/gmsquid Redditor mycataccount crocheted this slice of retro gaming magic for their boyfriend. Lucky guy! GM fan Luke Riley wears his Skyrim love proudly with this amazing sleeve tattoo, featuring Alduin and Talos. Prepare for an adventure with these real-life health and mana potions available to buy from Etsy seller WhimsicalbyNature1 here: http://bit.ly/gmpotions…1 minGamesmaster|March 2016THE FASS AND THE FURIOUS1 “I think we’ve done something original in this genre,” Fassbender told the Wall Street Journal after finishing shooting last month. “I think we’ve got something special.” Well, he would say that. 2 Costume director Sammy Sheldon Differ says the team used the 15th century time period’s “strong influences of Moorish deco to give the Assassin’s looks a nomadic warrior personification”. Now that’s killer fashion. 3 There’s no sign of Aguilar’s hidden blade here, so the production is clearly keeping his version under wraps until later in the year. He’s still got all his fingers, which rules out it being a copy of Altair’s model, at least. 4 What’s that on the sword handle? Yep, the red emblem of the Templars. A tease of the other weapons to feature in…3 minGamesmaster|March 2016“Publishers have sold us on always online. Can they meet expectations?”“THE PROBLEM BUNGIE NOW FACES IS IT’S STRUGGLING TO MEET THE DEMANDS OF PLAYERS” Gamers are a pretty nostalgic bunch really. We may lust after virtual reality headsets and graphical whizz-bangery, but we’re also prone to imagining the past as a hallowed golden age of gaming – a halcyon era before our medium’s artistic purity was tainted by grasping moneymen. Right now, it seems as though a lot of gamers pine for the days when publishers just brought their games to market and left them the heck alone. No day one patches, no microtransaction stores, and certainly no season passes. Back then, it seemed, we were simply presented with a developer’s vision for what the game should be. £40. Take it or leave it. But as budgets soared and second-hand…2 minGamesmaster|March 2016THE GM TO DO LISTLEAP INTO ACTION A leap day is like the Gregorian calendar’s gift to gamers: 24 free hours to pump into Fallout. DIVIDE AND CONQUER Destiny lost its thrill for you? Try Ubisoft’s take on stats and shooting, The Division, out now. SAN FRAN CLAN The Game Developers Conference kicks off in San Francisco, with a barrage of gaming news. NOT THAT TWILIGHT Perhaps the most underrated Zelda ever, Twilight Princess returns in HD form today. ST PATRICK’S, WHEY! Celebrate a snake-free Ireland by firing up Metal Gear Solid and that Nokia 3210 game. YO, MOMMA It’s Mothering Sunday, so why not treat yer dear ole mam to a spot of couch co-op? THE NEXT EPISODE Agent 47 has gone all episodic for his latest excursion, and the first part’s out…1 minGamesmaster|March 2016THE EEVEE-LUTION OF ’MONGENERATION 1 1999 – GAME BOY Red and Blue hit Europe in 1999, winning over the west with their trademark blend of collectability, strategy, and exploration. GENERATION 2 2001 – GAME BOY COLOR Gold and Silver introduced breeding, berry cultivation, and a day/night cycle that influences Pokémon location and appearance probability. GENERATION 3 2003 – GBA Ruby and Sapphire made use of the GBA hardware to introduce double battles, weather effects, and a significant graphical upgrade. GENERATION 4 2007 – DS Diamond and Pearl allowed players to trade and battle online for the first time, while the DS touchscreen served as a natty simulated smartwatch. GENERATION 5 2011 – DS Black and White introduced cheerful animated attacks, a seasonal cycle, triple battles, rotation battles, and, er, Pokémon musicals. GENERATION 6…1 minGamesmaster|March 2016Just Division thingsDog It’s a pooping dog. And not just any pooping dog. This pooping dog kicks dirt over its poop like a real pooping dog. If you shoot the pooping dog, or for that matter a non-pooping dog, you even earn experience. Snow Snow is a constant. It blankets the ground and cars, and sometimes falls from the sky to obscure your vision. It even melts at points, gradually revealing patches of grey concrete and, yes, your footprints. HUD Like any good Ubisoft game (Ghost Recon, Splinter Cell), the HUD projects onto the world to save screen real estate. Take, for example, the “security wing” sign at the top of the screen. People You’ll often see neutral NPCs glumly wandering the streets. Interaction is minimal, though. You can’t shoot them –…1 minGamesmaster|March 2016Unorthodox offenseSabre rattling Backstage, we smash a glass case to obtain a sabre. Unfortunately everyone hears because breaking glass is quite loud, so we have to go stabbing. It’s hard work: this level has hundreds of characters. Pint pounding You can use ‘blend in’ to stop people staring. Dressed as a bartender we mix a cocktail for Novikov himself. It’s not poisoned, since it would probably look a bit suspicious if he suddenly keeled over. Roadie running Setting off the fire alarm triggers a swarm of panicked fashionistas to evacuate. This gives us time to drop the lighting rig down with an almighty crash… but Novikov’s already left with everyone else. Mean mugging The most inventive interaction comes when you knock off the show’s lead model and take to the runway.…1 minGamesmaster|March 2016PARAGON“YOU’LL HAVE TO CAREFULLY CONSIDER YOUR DECK – IT SHOULD PLAY TO YOUR STRENGTHS, BUT ALSO COUNTER ENEMY BUILDS” MOBAs are big business these days, as anyone at Riot, Valve, or Blizzard will tell you. It’s understandable, then, that just about every studio under the sun is pining for a portion of that sweet competitive multiplayer pie, and it also explains why MOBA influences seem to be popping up all over the place lately. So it’s no surprise to discover that Epic is getting in on the action. What is surprising, however, is how different its interpretation of the genre is shaping up to be. Paragon is a multiplayer online battle arena that offers direct, third-person control of every character – a blend of MOBA and shooter, then, and it’s…4 minGamesmaster|March 2016QUANTUM BREAK“GRAPHICAL ARTIFACTS AND AURAL ERRORS SELL THE SENSATION THAT TIME ITSELF IS DISINTEGRATING” When Jack Joyce first strides into a courtyard filled with uniformed goons and waist-high walls, you’d be forgiven for letting out a long, low groan. But Microsoft’s next big exclusive is no normal cover shooter. It’s one part game, one part TV show, and one part time-travelling choose-your-own-adventure story. Time itself is broken, y’see, fractured by a temporal experiment gone awry. At the centre of all the chronological craziness are Jack Joyce and Paul Serene, erstwhile buddies played by X-Men star Shawn Ashmore and Game Of Thrones’ Littlefinger himself, Aidan Gillen. Both find themselves imbued with wild new powers, but while Joyce is out to fix all the temporal anomalies, grinning antagonist Serene takes the line that…4 minGamesmaster|March 2016VALKYRIA CHRONICLES REMASTEREDOne of Sega’s most idiosyncratic games of the last generation is returning with refreshed visuals, and the Japanese publisher has confirmed that its painterly strategy outing will reach the European front by Spring. And while the game’s distinctive, watercolour artwork is looking better than ever, it’s the hybrid turn-based gameplay that’ll impress first-time visitors to Gallia. In the course of a single turn, you might start out in the tactical view, managing your forces from an overhead perspective, before zooming in to assume direct control of a spunky rifleman. You dash into cover, and free-aim a headshot on an unsuspecting Imperial adversary; your feat of marksmanship accompanied by an onomatopoeic onscreen ‘ratatat’. It’s not only satisfyingly strategic – it also looks and plays like nothing else. GM Instant Reaction THRILL-O-METER…1 minGamesmaster|March 2016DARK SOULS IIIFrom Software’s action-RPG series has never been one for cheery scenarios and gentle introductions, but even by its own sinister standards, having the player wake up in an area called Untended Graves is a pretty moody call to adventure. As if that wasn’t bleak enough, you’ll start out as an Unkindled – a new classification, seemingly distinct from the previously seen Undead and Hollow states. And it looks as though things will get much, much worse for your newly-rolled player character before they get better. From says that you’ll have to prove yourself against the ferocious Iudex Gundyr – an armoured titan wielding an enormous player-skewering glaive – before you can reach the ashen calm of the game’s first safe area. We’re not scared, ok? Just… cautious. Surprisingly, the sadistic…1 minGamesmaster|March 2016BRICK BY BRICK1 If something’s in the game, it has to be possible to build it in real life too “As far as we’re concerned, we have a massive responsibility,” explains Palmer. “And what does mean? Well that means anything that you build in our videogame, anything that we let the players build, they should be able to pause the game at any time and build that in real life.” That’s assuming you’ve got the bricks and figures to hand, of course… 2 If there’s an existing set out there, that’s what you’re seeing in-game Lego has already produced most of the vehicles in the Star Wars universe, and they’re available to purchase as sets. When that’s the case, Bate and his team will simply “get assets from the Lego Company and…3 minGamesmaster|March 2016#1 100 FT ROBOT GOLF“IT’S A DRAMATIC ANIME STORY ABOUT YOUR CHOSEN PILOT’S QUEST TO BE THE BEST ROBOT GOLFER” PlayStation VR is going to be exciting. We all know it. No matter what the cost of the virtual reality headset turns out to be, it’s going straight to the top of everyone’s most wanted tech list. And why? Kitchen? Until Dawn: Rush Of Blood? Rez? Nope. It’s going to be the chance to don a headset and be transported to the interior of a 100ft robot and play some serious golf. That’s right. We just said golf. So exactly what was going through the heads of devs No Goblin? “I actually love where our idea for 100ft Robot Golf came from!” says senior designer Panzer. “I do Let’s Plays in my spare time,…5 minGamesmaster|March 2016Small… But Perfectly Formed#1 YOOKA LAYLEE Yep, it’s already the year of the spiritual successor to Banjo-Kazooie. After a £2 million success on Kickstarter, this ultimate buddy platformer looks packed to the nostalgic gills with fun. And it seems when the devs say it has an “arsenal of abilities” it also includes a move involving a giant fart. Mature. #2 HOME FREE It’s a dog-eat-dog world. Not literally – that would be a very different kind of game and we like the visuals for this canine simulator without any need for cannibalism. A procedurally generated city will offer multiple challenges as we learn to take on the world as a lone pup, and it unpawses in November. #3 THIMBLEWEED PARK Been craving the point-and-click adventures of old? This is bound to make your…1 minGamesmaster|March 2016HOW TO… SURVIVE SKYGRIDFancy cranking up the difficulty level? Youtuber SethBling’s blocky matrix SkyGrid is your typical tough Minecraft survival map… had it been shoved through a sieve made of cheese wire and demons. To help your brain avoid meeting the same end, here’s our essential guide to finding your feet in particle purgatory. 1 DON’T STOP MOVING SkyGrid is relentless, so keep up. Half the challenge is in parkouring between the treacherous single blocks, so make sure you’re sprint-jumping to ensure you’re clearing those long gaps and not, y’know, falling inexorably into the abyss. The important thing is to take your time and make considered leaps. Get too cocky, and you’ll hop onto lava or bonk your head on an overhead block. Thanks for keeping us humble, Minecraft. 2 BED DOWN You’ll…4 minGamesmaster|March 2016GLOBAL WARNINGEach continent has a random bonus, gained when you’ve made contact with enough resistance cells, and built up your network of radio towers. This timer means you’re down to the wire – the aliens have filled the progress bar and you’ve got mere days to fight back before you’re wiped out. The aliens build these facilities to speed up their research. Take them out and you’ll hinder their progress towards the Avatar Project. Each region brought into your fold provides a useful boost to your monthly income, but must be protected from the alien’s retaliatory strikes.…1 minGamesmaster|March 2016LEGO MARVEL’S AVENGERS“EVEN IF YOU KNOW THE MOVIES OFF BY HEART, YOU’RE NEVER SURE WHAT’S COMING NEXT” After 11 years’ – and 17 games’ – worth of brick-hammering, stud-collecting, and Minifig-smashing, it’s safe to say Lego games can occasionally dip their toes into formulaic territory. Even the recent Dimensions saw little advancement: the real toys were a welcome (if pricey) addition to shelves, but once you stepped through the USB portal, familiarity abounded. Rack up studs, button-bash enemies into submission, smile here and there over some well-placed humour. Fun, sure, but not very fresh. Which means Avengers – TT’s first non toys-to-life effort post-Dimensions – feels all the more stale for covering the same ground again. Right? Yes and no. There’s plenty here you’ve done before, albeit in a different universe. Digging…6 minGamesmaster|March 2016OXENFREE“THIS HAS ONE OF THE BEST DIALOGUE SYSTEMS WE’VE EVER SEEN IN GAMES” When you were a teen, were you one of the cool kids, out drinking, snogging, and partying? Or were you, like us, more likely to stay at home in your room fiddling with a pocket radio? Those in the (perhaps rather specific) latter camp will likely find a kindred spirit in Alex, the blue-haired teenage lead of this creepy adventure game. She’s brought her radio to Edwards Island, where it lets her tap into strange signals, cryptic Morse code messages, and olde-timey music perfect for doing the Charleston to – tuning it to interact with the environment is this adventure game’s main hook. After Alex inadvertently releases sinister forces, she must use it to open doors, activate…3 minGamesmaster|March 2016RESIDENT EVIL ZERO HD REMASTER“BATTLING A BIG BAT OR CENTIPEDE CAN’T COMPARE TO ELECTRIFYING A 50-FOOT GREAT WHITE” If nothing else, Capcom’s spooky prequel should give you a new respect for National Rail. You might have suffered delays on lethargic locos, but it’s unlikely the conductor has ever tried to eat your face. Enter the Ecliptic Express, the scariest damn virtual train you’ll ever board. As opening acts go, enduring zombie-filled carnage on battered carriages in this remastered fright fest is hard to top. It’s just a pity the route that follows can’t quite maintain the terror, with uneven action threatening to send it completely off the rails. A direct prequel to 2002’s Gamecube Resi ‘RE-make’, Resident Evil Zero originally shuffled onto Nintendo’s adorable purple box a year after the Spencer mansion nightmare. Following…3 minGamesmaster|March 2016HAND DRAWNOne of most striking aspects of Firewatch is how Henry interacts with his environment. Most first-person games don’t bother animating arms or legs, but Henry has a real physicality and fluidity. He’ll grab objects and clamber up walls. His animations were created by James Benson, whose early work (on his YouTube channel) includes Team Fortress 2 short Dance Fortress (http://bit.ly/DanceFortress) and a Half-Life trailer with custom animations for all of Gordon Freeman’s actions (http://bit.ly/ BensonHL). Before joining Campo Santo, Benson also worked as an animator and designer on the gorgeous Ori And The Blind Forest.…1 minGamesmaster|March 2016DARKEST DUNGEON“EVERYONE HAS A GAUGE SHOWING THE TOLL THE ADVENTURE IS TAKING ON THEIR PSYCHE” So it turns out that like life, dungeon crawling just isn’t fair. There’re no heroes in this roguelike-meetsmanagement sim, just the lucky few who perhaps get to retire with only a couple of crippling psychological scars – some obsessive self-flagellation here, a bit of kleptomania there. (And those are just the ones you’ll pick up in the tutorial.) Welcome to the mysterious and merciless Estate, where even victory feels like a kind of defeat. Before we get into the eldritch horrors that lie in the darkness – yes, that’s a tentacle, we’re not just pleased to see you – it needs to be made clear that if there was ever a time to stop naming your…4 minGamesmaster|March 2016POCKET LEAGUE!Calling all Pokéfans! Have we got a giveaway for you this month? Yes. Yes, we have. In fact, we’ve got not just one but three limited-edition 2DS consoles, previously only available in Japan, to fire in the direction of three lucky readers. Meowth , that’s right! The three handhelds in question are far from your run-of-the-Beedrill machines. Oh yes. Each one comes with a colour coordinated see-through outer shell, to match the three original Pokémon games, Red, Blue, and the Pikachu-starring Yellow. This magnificent Dugtrio of devices also each come with a sticker sheet for optimal 2DS customisation, as well as a Virtual Console edition of one of those three aforementioned 1996 hits. Seaking more reasons to enter this fine compo? How about the knowledge that these…3 minGamesmaster|March 2016UNDEAD SLAYERSFRANK WEST Dead Rising (Xbox 360 – 2006) Everyone prefers grumpy, rumpled hack Frank to Dead Rising 2’s Chuck or Wossname from number three. Rarely do we throw a spanner (and a lawnmower) into the works of the zombie apocalypse with such glee. AYA Oneechanbara (PS2 – 2004) Like Juliet Starling, bikini girl Aya sails a little too close to titillation over practicality. What saves the day are the Baneful Blood powers and katana evisceration skills that put her alongside the best in the corpse-dropping business. MAXIMO Maximo (PS2 – 2001) As the first level enemies of predecessor Ghosts ’n’ Goblins ran riot through an entire game, noble Maximo faced the rancid mob with just his sword, shield, and some novelty pants. Well, and a favour or two from the…2 minGamesmaster|March 2016GLOBAL MASTERCALIFORNIA DREAMING Head to San Diego Comic Con on 21-24 July for the biggest comic con in the world. Cosplay, games, films, TV and comics combine to deliver the ultimate convention experience, where it’s weird not to be dressed up as your favourite character: http://bit.ly/gmsandiegocc GO EAST If you don’t mind the 11-hour flight, The Tokyo Game Show is a four-day extravaganza of gaming glory. Publishers and developers show off their latest games, and there’s a merchandise section so big that your wallet should already be very afraid. It runs from 15 to 18 September. Find more at: http://bit.ly/gmtokyogameshow DEUTSCH ANGLE Thankfully a little closer to home, Cologne’s Gamescom is a veritable Christmas for gamers, with hands-on access to all the big winter releases. We’ve seen the queues, though, so…1 min
Gamesmaster|March 2016Team GMTHE MOST DEDICATED TEAM IN THE BUSINESS Well used to playing the part of a tiny unit thrown against impossible odds, Team GM adapted easily to life as XCOM soldiers. Well, until they all got melted by plasma blasts, that is. Matt Sakuraoka-Gilman “If you were a Pokémon, which one would you be?” was the philosophical conundrum of the hour in GM Towers this ish. Given his panicked expression on deadline day, there was no other choice than Psyduck for our esteemed editor. Sam Freeman Asked the same question he’d probably pick Alakazam and make some quip about working magic on the pages of GM each issue, but we all know the reality. Art Ed Sam is most definitely Piloswine – basically a walking beard with tusks. Robin Valentine Our…1 minGamesmaster|March 2016READER’S TOP 5 SPORTS GAMES1 Sensible Soccer “An all time classic that is still addictive to this day. Proof you don’t need HD graphics to make a great game.” 2 FIFA 09 “The FIFA that took the crown back from Konami, with new modes that brought players together.” 3 Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 “Improves everything that was already great about THPS2, and has the best soundtrack too!” 4 Tony Hawk’s Underground “The story mode mixed in with some great physics makes for one of the best Hawks games.” 5 SSX Tricky “This has it all. Great voice cast, awesome soundtrack, and cool tricks mixed in with brilliant gameplay.” Martin Dootson, Facebook Disagree? Why not head over to our Facebook page and let us know what your top five would be!…1 minGamesmaster|March 2016SOCIAL GROUSINGMANIAC OF THE MONTH! A Fur Fighters remake would be awesome! That game is huge, with tons of stuff to unlock. Dino World was humongous! Karl Lymer, Facebook I’d like a behind-the-scenes of Superman 64, so we can see who is responsible for such an evil game. Daniel Climo, Facebook Would love to see The Warriors game remade. Craig Glasscock, @craigo_14 I swear as a kid GamesMaster used to be quite ‘edgy’… JamesTalksGames, @JamesTalksGames After I killed some enemies in Fallout 4, only their heads were left behind, just floating there in mid air. Kinda creepy… Anthony John Harris, Facebook As a Steam user, prices have never been so good. I remember when videogames used to be like $80 on PC, when floppies were a thing! B.A., @AlanDHudson I’d like…1 minGamesmaster|March 2016“Each new iteration seems to be moving further from its core”“THE GRADUAL PROGRESS AND TRADING; THE EUPHORIA OF PULLING A SPECIAL CARD” Not sure if I want to admit this in print but… £709.75. That’s how much I spent on Ultimate Team booster packs between 2011 and 2013. EA’s behemoth of a mode is essentially Pokémon cards – just swap Charmander for Ross Barkley – but even more addictive. Unfortunately (unless you’re my wallet) recent years have seen the series blaze its efforts over the crossbar. Let’s take the latest introduction to the series: Draft Mode. It is, in theory, a Good Idea. Instead of getting frustrated over unattainable players – the likes of Messi, Aguero, Ronaldo etc – we’re given access to certain virtual footballers through a lottery. A selection of random players pop up, you choose the preferred…2 minGamesmaster|March 2016GM MOST WANTEDMATT’S PICK The Division In recent weeks I’ve found myself floating around in a kind of content-less no man’s land in Destiny. This latest slice of Clancy looks to scratch that MMO shooter itch, while also tapping into the tactical veins of the likes of Ghost Recon. Those two things right there? The stuff online multiplayer dreams are made of, I reckon. PS4, XO, PC – 8 March ROBIN’S PICK Thumper Describing itself as ‘rhythm violence’, this game looks like an absolute assault on the senses, and I couldn’t be more into it. The visuals simultaneously look strikingly beautiful and like something out of a fever-induced nightmare, and even just in trailer form it already seems brilliantly tactile and weighty. It’s great to see such a unique take on the…1 minGamesmaster|March 2016YOU WINWE’RE ALL AGOG PC gaming distribution service GOG has launched an early access platform with a difference: the Games In Development program enables customers to obtain a refund on any game for any reason within 14 days of purchase. Furthermore, players will be able to roll back to previous versions of a game at any time, enabling you to disable an update if it breaks the game or simply makes unwanted changes. STORY TIME One of GM’s favourite games of 2015 is getting a sequel, according to Her Story developer Sam Barlow. The understated and enigmatic original casts you as an investigator trawling through FMV clips in an effort to piece together a mystery, and Barlow claims his sequel will once again employ onscreen actors – but to tell an…1 minGamesmaster|March 2016MAK ING A MON STERSome 20 years on from its Japanese launch, Nintendo’s creature-catching franchise is so enormous that it has a certain sense of inevitability about it. But when Satoshi Tajiri founded Game Freak in 1989, the only hint of the phenomenon to come were his rose-tinted recollections of a childhood spent bug-collecting in the Japanese countryside. These memories famously formed the basis of the pocket monster phenomenon, but back then, Game Freak was just an upstart developer with an urge to develop for the newly-released Game Boy hardware. Once Tajiri’s nostalgia crystallized into the Pokémon concept, production was anything but plain sailing. Then-composer and programmer, now-producer and company director Junichi Masuda was part of a team that would be considered miniscule by today’s standards, piecing together a project of considerable complexity to…7 minGamesmaster|March 201620 YEARS OF POKÉMON1996 IN THE BEGINNING After six years in development, Red and Green finally launch in Japan. The response is… tepid. These Game Boy originals achieve respectable, if unremarkable, chart positions at launch, but it’s not until months later that word of mouth generates wider interest in the fledgling franchise. Part of this is down to schoolyard buzz, which takes some time to ferment, but they’re also helped along by CoroCoro Comic, a popular monthly manga aimed at primary school kids. CoroCoro runs articles on the games alongside its regular strips, boosting their profile over several months. 1997 ENTER KETCHUM By April of 1997, Red and Green have been out in Japan for over a year, and Pokémon is well on its way to becoming an industry craze. It’s arguably the…10 minGamesmaster|March 2016HOMEFRONT: THE REVOLUTION“THE MAP LAYOUT IS ALIVE WITH POSSIBILITIES, BUT SO FAR PHILLY LOOKS AS APPEALING TO RUN AROUND IN AS COVENTRY” Philadelphia, 2029. It’s a pitch black night as our team of four resistance fighters get ready to infiltrate a KPA stronghold and pilfer two trucks. The only lights come from roaring bin fires and sniper lasers that flicker over the buildings. The team slowly moves from building to building, ducking into hollowed-out rooms as patrols roll past. Then everything goes wrong. Maybe it’s the lack of communication, or someone shooting too early, but within seconds it’s over. Overthrowing an occupying Korean army is harder than you’d think. This is the first taste of Resistance mode – Homefront’s four-player co-op multiplayer – and it’s designed to be tough. Maybe not Dark…4 minGamesmaster|March 2016TORMENT: TIDES OF NUMENERASitting somewhere between traditional RPG and a choose-your-own-adventure, this is a cerebral journey into Earth’s far, far future. You’re a consciousness newly born into a body discarded by an elusive immortal called The Changing God, hunted through time and space by a transdimensional force called The Sorrow. And it gets weirder from there. Torment: Tides of Numenera is a spiritual successor to 1999’s Planescape: Torment, a game that took the classic PC RPG formula and gave it philosophical purpose. It had a single question at its core: ‘what can change the nature of a man?’ This new Torment has a different query: ‘what does one life mean?’ After a fatal injury sustained in the intro, you rebuild your personality, bit-by-bit, through flashbacks and visions encountered in the recesses of your…2 minGamesmaster|March 2016SUPER, THANKS FOR ASKINGQ Epic as a studio is most closely associated with the shooter genre. What made you guys decide to enter the MOBA space? A When we were talking about what our next game would be, we knew we wanted it to be competitive. For us right now, the most engaging competitive games are MOBAs. We knew that we could put a different spin on that, using our experience with shooters, and create something new. Q What makes the free-to-play model a good fit for Paragon? Paragon is about experimentation and mastery, and so a low barrier to entry is great for getting people in to find their footing and into the fight. Our plan is to be respectful of our players’ time, and give them great value. Q What sparked…1 minGamesmaster|March 2016ASSETTO CORSANever heard of this racing sim? No? That’s ok – it just means you’re in for a treat now. Already a hit on PC, it’s speeding on to consoles this spring. We’ve played it on PS4, and it’s simply the most realistic racing sim we’ve ever experienced. The reason is simple: this is professional simulation technology turned into a game. The state-of-the-art physics engine is used by the likes of Ferrari and Dallara to help them develop real cars, and professional drivers play the game for practice. From a gamer’s point of view, that ultra-realism means super fast control response and a wonderful, solid sensation of driving. The benefit of this assuredness is that it’s easier to stay on the road than in most other racing sims, as there’s a…2 minGamesmaster|March 2016SHENMUE IIIAlthough Yu Suzuki’s much-publicised Kickstarter campaign has generated a minor series of brouhahas, it’s yet to produce all that much by way of an actual look at the game itself. And while that trend looks set to continue for the time-being, a handful of work-in-progress screenshots have emerged from a recent public appearance made by the series’ creator, and they seem to show Ryo and Shenhua exploring the Chinese countryside. More importantly, however, it looks like Ryo still has that badass leather jacket.…1 minGamesmaster|March 2016PLANET COASTERIt may be more than 11 years since Frontier released Rollercoaster Tycoon 3, but the game still inspires and supports a vibrant community of mad fairground architects to this day. Now, its spiritual successor looks set to make coaster creation more effortless than ever, whether you want to construct outlandish loops or burrow into the earth itself. What’s more, sharing these radical rides promises to be a cinch, since you’ll be able to pop into another player’s park at any time, and pinch their creations for your own garish nausea-world.…1 minGamesmaster|March 2016THE HOUSE THAT BRICKS BUILT1 Lego Star Wars: The Video Game (2005) The very first Lego videogame that Traveler’s Tales produces is a slapstick adaptation of George Lucas’ prequel trilogy, and it features the blend of gentle puzzling and block-on-block brawling that remains a staple of the series today. This assured franchise debut sets the course for TT’s development efforts over the coming decade. 2 Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures (2008) The next franchise that the developer tackles is another product of the Lucas imagination, and this swashbuckling archeological adventure cements the formula while introducing a welcome dash of complexity to the puzzle-solving and a sprinkling of new platforming options to the minifigure moveset. Also: some industry-leading snake phobia gameplay. 3 Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4 (2010) Traveller’s Tales title draws from Rowling’s…2 minGamesmaster|March 2016The 60 Second Pitch“The 60 second pitch for 100ft Robot Golf? The game lets you control a 100 foot tall robot to play golf in a destructible world. Done. The game sells itself just with the title! We’ve actually pitched and closed business-related things in one email thread just by saying that sentence. The twist is that not only are the robots directly controllable in real time, but they’re playing golf in a fully destructible environment. You can now destroy that pesky obstacle that’s blocking your shot to the green, or even push it in the way of one of your golfing buddies! We’re pulling out all the stops to make 100ft Robot Golf really fun to play with friends. You can tear up the town with up to four people taking turns,…1 minGamesmaster|March 2016#3 NIGHT IN THE WOODSIt’s hard to describe a game that its own devs say is “about the inevitability of death… and pizza parties”, but we’re going to have to try, for your sake – or should that be fur ? Our hero, Mae, is a 20-year-old cat who has arrived back in her hometown after dropping out of college. Mae plays bass guitar – which presumably makes her a meow-sician– and this will apparently be part of the gameplay experience, along with smashing things and hanging around with the people she used to know at school. While the visual style is beautiful, with defined colours and vivid animation, what three-person dev studio Infinite Fall wants to recreate is the angst of loss and change as we…2 minGamesmaster|March 2016Come and play Dark Souls ™ III at the PC Gamer WeekenderDark Souls™ III comes out on April 12, but on March 5-6 you will have a unique chance to play the game over a month before release, at the PC Gamer Weekender, a new event taking place at The Old Truman Brewery in London. Dark Souls III is a headline game at the Weekender – come along to sample From Software’s latest, and pre-order now from GAME to get the Apocalypse Edition. PRE-ORDER THE APOCALYPSE EDITION * Pre-order Dark Souls III now from GAME to get the Apocalypse Edition, which comes with an exclusive soundtrack and metal case on PC, PS4 and Xbox One. This is a pre-order-only edition of the game that fans of the series won’t want to miss. Pre-order today to make sure you get your…1 minGamesmaster|March 2016SHOOT FORCEIn XCOM 2, even your guns have personality. Loot parts from dead enemies, and you can install them in your soldier’s weapons, building your own custom armaments, and even giving them new names, colours, and patterns.…1 minGamesmaster|March 2016FOOD FOR THORFrom Loki’s Helicarrier escape being aided by a gun-toting hot dog to Nick Fury supping milkshakes at even the most critical of moments, nigh-on every laugh-out-loud moment in the game comes via a food- or drink-based sight gag. Black Widow and Bruce Banner share an intense conversation while making eyes at a lone chicken drumstick, Loki casually tucks into a tub of popcorn while in hiding from Captain America and Iron Man, and a furious Hulk chase on board the moving sky-fort ends with the big guy taking a wet fish to the face. They’re simple gags, sure, but a very welcome break from the game’s sound issues within cut-scenes, which often undercut the comedy elsewhere.…1 minGamesmaster|March 2016BRAVELY SECOND: END LAYERSupressing a chortle having read the name of this dubiously titled JRPG sequel? Well, just remember this: In Japanese the words ‘chin chin’ mean ‘willy’. Not actually that bad a slice of Japanese-English garble, now huh? Bravely Second is an incredibly hard game to talk about without sounding like a complete weirdo, and it gets even worse when you start throwing in some of the game’s terminology, such as Brave points and Abilinking. There’s certainly a significant knowledge barrier here, but persist and behind all of that bluster you’ll find a solid adventure. Set two and a half years after the events of the original, Bravely Default, Second follows the tale of Crystalguard Cavalier Yew, who sets out to rescue Pope Agnès after she’s abruptly kidnapped by the evil Kaiser…6 minGamesmaster|March 2016PONY ISLAND“THE TRUE MEAT LIES BEHIND THE GAME, IN YOUR ATTEMPTS TO CORRUPT AND DESTROY IT” Steam isn’t short of horsey-based hijinks. Equestrian fans can ‘enjoy’ such budget casual titles as Pony World 3, Secret Of The Magic Crystals, or My Riding Stables. These aren’t so much games people buy, as jokes people gift to their friends. Pony Island is not one of these games. It’s as strange, as clever, and as unexpected a game as you’re likely to see this year. On the face of it, Pony Island is a cheerful 2D side-scroller. There’s a unicorn, a series of fences, and a jump button. It’s mind-numbingly tedious, and that’s entirely the point. Behind the cheerful facade lies a dark secret. Pony Island’s Steam page is quite open about what lies…4 minGamesmaster|March 2016DEAL WITH WHOEVER IS SETTING OFF FIREWORKSAs you explore the world, you’ll find a series of supply caches. The information inside will update your map with new routes and nearby landmarks. The UI is incredibly sparse. Mostly it shows only the name of whatever Henry is looking at, and whether or not he can call Delilah about it. Firewatch takes place across a decent sized chunk of land, and offers plenty of nooks and crannies in which to find little secrets and bonuses. Games rarely require proper orienteering, but Firewatch doesn’t mark your destination on the map. You’ll need the compass to find your way.…1 minGamesmaster|March 2016BOMBSHELLWell, this is a novelty. We thought the days of videogaming avatars being so annoying that they cause blood clots to form in your temples from over-throbbing were long gone. Didn’t Gex the Gecko kill this witticism spewing, dialogue-repeating bum-end of a game character trope stone dead? “How many aliens does it take to change a lightbulb?” says Shelly ‘Bombshell’ Harrison, for the 11th time in the last 15 minutes. Tell us. No, don’t delay. Tell us right now, Shelly. We really must know if the punchline to this joke has altered in any way since the last time you told it. Or the times before that. Go on. Tell us. “None. They’re all dead.” That noise, 3D Realms? That’s the sound of a thousand videogame players groaning in unison…2 minGamesmaster|March 2016THE WESTPORT INDEPENDENTLucas Pope’s indie success Papers, Please has a lot to answer for. Not just the guilt you’ve still got for not letting an innocent man into Arstotzka, but for its clear influence on this smart noir-styled newspaper sim. Welcome to the editor’s desk of a weekly paper where you not only have to tow the line of a totalitarian state, but also keep your team of journalists happy and not erased like an inflammatory rebel-leaning sentence. Your main duties are looking at the news stories of the day before selecting and editing them for publication. While there’s plenty of evil cackling joy in towing the government line as you choose to censor its villainy, it’s equally glorious to splash the grim truth across the cover. Yet juggling crime, industrial, celebrity,…1 minGamesmaster|March 2016RESIDENT EVIL 2“AMMO AND INVENTORY SPACE AS TIGHTLY SQUEEZED AS YOUR IMPERILLED BUTTOCK MUSCLES” Developer Capcom Publisher Capcom Released 1998 Format PC, GameCube, Dreamcast, N64, PS1 Get it PlayStation Store The games industry has gotten much better at sequels over the years. Nowadays, probably because no triple-A game is greenlit without locking down a budget, deadline, and sales forecast, it’s a nasty surprise when a sequel falls flat. Back in the day, it happened all the time as small teams went a bit doolally in the wake of a surprise hit. Mercifully, with Resident Evil 2, Capcom was the epitome of tact and calm (even though the sequel’s development didn’t exactly run without a hitch…). The origins The RE2 design and production team was like a roll call of the company’s finest,…4 minGamesmaster|March 2016Grab BagAwesome Boss! Marvel vs. Capcom Format Dreamcast, PS1, Arcade Developer Capcom Released 1998 Enjoy fighting Apocalypse in previous Vs games, did you? Well, chuckled Capcom, here’s a treat! Out rolled Onslaught, a mile-high mongrel of Bad Professor X and Magneto, adding teleportation and flight to Apocalypse’s toolbox of energy bolts, ramming attacks, and an inconveniently massive final form. Who does that leave? Galactus? Surely they’d never… Oh. Classic Momen t! Jet Set Radio Format Dreamcast Developer Smilebit Released 2000 There was a lot to love about Sega’s cel-shaded skate opera, from its achingly trendy soundtrack to the joy of claiming whole districts of Tokyo-to by spraying tags onto shop fronts, moving buses, and, occasionally, people. The ability to deface the city with your own custom-designed graffiti (or comedy pics nicked…1 minGamesmaster|March 2016XCOM 2 EXPOSED1 XCOM give it to ya The key to the higher difficulties is to never give the game a fair fight. If a round of combat consists of you and your enemies both hiding in cover, taking potshots across open ground until one of you scores a hit, then you’re really just rolling dice – and they’re weighted in the aliens’ favour. You’ve got to play dirty to succeed, and your ultimate goal shouldn’t be to survive their attacks, it should be to not get shot at in the first place. Not always achievable, but possible more often than you’d expect, as long as you’re taking advantage of every tool and tactic at your disposal. 2 Aim for success The simplest way of making sure your foes never…3 minGamesmaster|March 2016Guilty PleasureThis month, Robin admits his shameful enjoyment of Bound By Flame Ok, it’s a janky The Witcher 2 rip-off. I can’t deny it. Awkward fights, awful dialogue, the visuals of an iOS port of Dragon Age 2. But damn it, there’s just something about it I love. Its idiosyncracies, from the explosives-heavy combat to the customisable armour pieces, make it feel genuinely unique, and the story it tells, a grim tale of demonic possession and icy armageddon, is gleefully bleak. Plus every character is such an insufferable jerk (main character Vulcan chief among them) that you can’t help but chuckle. Flame on, I say.…1 min
Gamesmaster|March 2016FANBASE“SONY PUTTING ONLY 500GBS OF SPACE IN THE PS4 IS A JOKE” The waiting game What’s the most excited you’ve ever been for a videogame coming out? GTA V – the trailers looked unreal, the world bigger, the punchlines funnier, and the characters more broken than ever. Rockstar has never failed to impress. Courtney Evans, Facebook Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 – the hype behind that game was enormous and everyone was talking about it! It felt like a pop-culture event! Rob Manifield, Facebook The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time – as a kid I remember wanting to buy every magazine that said anything about it! The adverts on TV were amazing. Best Christmas present ever. Stanley Cohen, Facebook Team GM’s Robin remembers being absolutely obsessed with evolution…3 minGamesmaster|March 2016YOUR TOP 5 MOST WANTED1 DARK SOULS III Format PS4, XO, PC ETA 12 April Looks like you lot are almost as excited for this as editor Matt, who even now is building a bonfire in the office. 2 THE LEGEND OF ZELDA Format Wii U ETAWinter The magic of one of Nintendo’s best series, combined with a full open world? It’s got to be a winning combo. 3 OVERWATCH Format PS4, XO, PC ETA Summer No one does it quite like Blizzard, and this superheroic multiplayer shooter looks ready to steal our hearts. 4 THE DIVISION Format PS4, XO, PC ETA 8 March You’re never ones to turn down a good end of the world, are you? Fair enough – this plagued New York looks ace. 5 THE LAST GUARDIAN Format PS4 ETA…1 minGamesmaster|March 2016TURTLE POWER!“WHILE OLD ENEMIES SUCH AS SHREDDER RETURN, THEY’RE RENDERED IN A DARKER STYLE” Platinum Games – the acclaimed developer of Bayonetta, Vanquish, and Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance – has confirmed that it’s hard at work on a co-op action game based on everybody’s favourite sewer dwellers: the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. This cel-shaded brawler will let players step into their half-shell shoes to battle familiar foes such as Shredder, the Foot Clan, Bebop, and Rocksteady. A full single player campaign is promised, alongside four-player online co-op. Whichever turtle you plump for, you’ll find that each has a distinctive play style, with a moveset designed to reflect their personality and preferred weaponry. So, the dual katana wielded by Leonardo will feel appreciably different from Donnie’s bo staff, while the hot-headed Raphael…3 minGamesmaster|March 2016STATS MAGIC100 Cost, in pounds, of the Doom collector’s edition, which includes a spiffy 12 inch Revenant statue. Out 13 May. 1/3 The proportion of Wii U owners that have purchased Splatoon. That’s more than four million copies! 5 000 000 Gross revenue, in dollars, that The Witness generated in its first week on sale – more than Braid took in a year. According to creator Jonathan Blow, this “will allow us to make more nice games in the future” – but for now he’s focusing on post-launch support for his puzzle epic. 10 Years since Bayonetta developer Platinum Games was founded. Happy Birthday, guys!…1 minGamesmaster|March 2016THE NX BIG THINGThe good folk over at Nintendo HQ are famously capable when it comes to keeping all of their sauciest cards close to their collective chest. Despite us knowing the new NX console is on the way, that it’s likely to receive a full reveal, and possibly even launch by the end of the year, speculation is still rife as to what we’ll actually be playing on it. It’s a good job we’ve got such passionate, opinionated, and thought-splurging reader types picking up the mag each month. We’ve picked your brains to discover which games Ninty really needs to have on it’s books for NX. AND THE REST... 6% BAYONETTA 6% THE LEGEND OF ZELDA 3% POKÉMON 3% SONIC ADVENTURE 3% OTHERS SOCIAL BLURBS Nintendo needs something to bring us back.…2 minGamesmaster|March 2016YOU LOSETHE MISTAKEN KING Bungie’s president Harold Ryan has parted ways with the company following a period of intense upset within the Destiny community. It comes alongside a highly unpopular set of matchmaking changes, which have since been rolled back, and the news that Destiny 2 has been delayed. SLIGHTLY LATE NO. 9 Keiji Inafune’s Mighty No. 9 has been delayed yet again, slipping from a scheduled release date of February to sometime in Spring. In an update on the game’s Kickstarter page, Inafune explained that the delay was necessitated by bugs discovered in the game’s matchmaking, before going on to apologise personally: “We have no excuses for disappointing our fans and especially our backers once more.” SHOCK HORROR Five Nights At Freddy’s developer Scott Cawthon has removed his latest game…1 minGamesmaster|March 2016WE CAN DIGLETPOKÉMON SNAP 2000 – N64 A photographic excursion into Pokémon habitats that rewards compositional artistry (and apple-throwing) with high-scores. POKÉMON TRADING CARD GAME 2000 – GAME BOY Hudson Soft’s attempt at a digital recreation of the playground craze, bashed into the shape of an RPG. HEY YOU, PIKACHU! 2000 – N64 Though sadly never available in Europe, this Pikachu-raising game used voice-recognition technology to let players talk to the yellow critter. POKÉMON DASH 2005 – DS This super simple DS launch title saw you frantically stroking the touchscreen to push your Pikachu around a racetrack. LEARN WITH POKÉMON: TYPING ADVENTURE 2012 – DS A DS typing instructional that shipped with its own bluetooth keyboard peripheral. POKÉMON GO 2016 – MOBILE You’ll be able to catch Pokémon by wandering around actual…1 minGamesmaster|March 2016THE DIVISION“OUR BASE MORPHS FROM SPARSE ENCAMPMENT TO THRIVING SETTLEMENT WHERE SERIOUS MEN POINT AT MAPS” Central Park is a mass grave. Madison Square Garden is a field hospital. You could hear a bullet shell drop in Times Square. After contaminated banknotes spread a deadly disease on Black Friday, The Division’s New York eschews post-apocalypse for refreshing mid-crisis. Some people are looting, some are killing, and the rest have legged it. You, a sleeper agent activated by the President, are trying to help. Despite the immense promise of a present-day online RPG set inside what associate creative director Julian Gerighty calls “one of the most realistic portrayals of New York ever put in a videogame”, an “almost 1:1” recreation of the city’s downtown area which is entirely open from the start,…6 minGamesmaster|March 2016HITMAN“WE ELECTRIFY A SPOTLIGHT, PUNCTURE AN OIL CANISTER, AND RIG A GENERATOR TO EXPLODE, OBSERVING THE CHAOS FROM AFAR” As pairs of high cheekbones prowl the catwalk, a secret auction behind closed doors sells identities of undercover personnel to the highest bidder. IO has shown Showstopper before – the biggest stage Hitman’s ever seen – but this is the first time anyone has been allowed to play it. Or, in our case, break it. The target is Viktor Novikov, oligarchical leader of spy ring IAGO. Sharp-suited Agent 47 doesn’t need a disguise to infiltrate his Parisian fashion event, even getting compliments from guests who probably see his barcode tattoo as next season’s hottest look, so we scout the palace’s picturesque gardens in peaceful anonymity. Unlike in Absolution where you often…3 minGamesmaster|March 2016HYPER LIGHT DRIFTERIf you’ve been around as long as us, there are some cultural touchstones across both anime and games that cut deep. The stark red leather-clad action and body horror of Akira? The symbolism-strewn personal drama of Evangelion? The weirdly welcoming yet equally repellent world of Nausicaa? This overhead action-RPG, by Alex Preston of Heart Machine, consciously taps into these cultural barometers as it builds its own mystical and hard-as-nails outing. Those inspirations are evident in the arresting art style, but under this welcoming veneer is a story, and a focus on masterful play, more akin to Zelda-meets-Dark Souls. Preston’s tale of a “desperately ill character in search of a cure” in a “very foreign, ravenous, ruined land” will have veterans of Lordran and Drangleic nodding sagely and salivating in equal…2 minGamesmaster|March 2016MONSTER BOY AND THE CURSED KINGDOMIt began life as a Kickstarter campaign for ‘Flying Hamster II’, a 2D platformer heavily inspired by 1989’s classic Wonder Boy III: The Dragon’s Trap. But having picked up a publisher and won the approval and support of Wonder Boy’s creator, Ryuichi Nishizawa, this retro effort is now a revival of the series in all but name. You play as Jin, a boy who is turned into a pig by his eccentric uncle Nabu (incidentally, said pig smokes a cigarette during his idle animation, which is an unhealthy but fan-pleasing throwback to one of the NPCs in the original series). Then, as you beat various bosses, you’ll be able to transform into different creatures, including a snake, frog, and lion. Each animal will have a unique ability, including tongue swinging,…2 minGamesmaster|March 2016UMBRELLA CORPSLeaving the question of whether the world was really clamouring for a fast-paced, team-based take on Resident Evil to one side for a moment, it’s clear that Capcom is at least committed to delivering a distinctive spin on the competitive multiplayer shooter. Third-person traversal, brutal melee takedowns, first-person gunfire, and wacky gadgetry all rub shoulders in these 3-on-3 showdowns, which take place across zombie-strewn stages drawn from across the franchise’s storied history, including an RE4 map.…1 minGamesmaster|March 2016DANGEROUS GOLFNailing a wedge shot onto the green may be satisfying, but it doesn’t provide the same sense of spiritual fulfilment you’d get from, say, destroying an exquisite chandelier. Fortunately, a team of former-Criterion developers has brought the two together at last, in a golf game that rewards destruction of property rather than careful club selection. You might tee off in a palatial ballroom, for instance, and drive your flaming golf ball through a king’s ransom of irreplaceable, fragile heirlooms. It’s Tiger Woods meets Burnout 3 meets a bull in a china shop.…1 minGamesmaster|March 2016BUILDING A BLOCKBUSTERWay back in 2005, Traveller’s Tales released Lego Star Wars: The Video Game, a knockabout action title that somehow managed to transform George Lucas’ prequel trilogy into something good-natured, funny, and even loveable. It was a game that appealed to wide-eyed youngsters as well as jaded gamers, and one that can be credited with contributing to the meteoric revival in interest in all things Lego over the past decade. It certainly played its part in the rise of TT itself – since then, the developer has gone on to work with some of the biggest franchises in the world, including Lord Of The Rings, Harry Potter, and Jurassic World. Now, it’s returning to Star Wars once again, crafting a Lego adaptation of J. J. Abrams’ The Force Awakens. We moseyed…14 minGamesmaster|March 2016WAR LOGSTHE BATTLE OF ENDOR As Solo and his strikeforce assault the shield generator on Endor, Luke boards the second Death Star. Together, he and his father kill the Emperor. The Rebel Alliance then destroys the Death Star, dealing a crushing blow to the Empire. THE NEW REPUBLIC The Rebel Alliance soon reorganises into a fledgling government known as the New Republic. Chandrila is chosen to be the initial seat of governance, the galactic senate is reestablished, and Mon Mothma is elected Chancellor. THE BATTLE OF JAKKU Just over a year after the Battle Of Endor, New Republic forces engage in combat with the Empire’s remaining fleet over the planet Jakku. The conflict is a decisive victory for the New Republic, and the Empire is left with no choice but to…1 minGamesmaster|March 2016#2 EVENT [0]We’ve all fought our fair share of evil AIs over the years, from SHODAN to GLaDOS, but when’s the last time you just sat down and had a bloody good natter with one? Enter this first-person space adventure’s HAL-inspired rogue computer, who’s very much up for a chat. We don’t mean picking from a set of dialogue options either – you’ll be putting your fingers to your keyboard and typing in your own questions and responses, with your robot pal/foe convincingly (and creepily) talking back. “The game was born out of the AI and interaction with it, so it was the single most important thing for us,” explains game designer Sergey Mohov. “We looked at dialogue in video games and saw that player participation is historically very limited. Usually, narrative…2 minGamesmaster|March 2016#4 SYNDROMEWhy does no one ever wake up in a spaceship surrounded by their friends and family after a long slog in cryosleep? Why is there always so much blood ? For once we want to see someone at least wake up at the same time as a puppy. Wait, no, then we’d just worry about the puppy… Syndrome’s premise doesn’t exactly smash the terrifying mould as you wake up after something’s gone very wrong in space, but Camel 101 wants to take first-person survival horror back to its roots. That means hardly any weapons, very little ammunition, and plenty of hiding from fiendish abominations in the dark, trying not to breathe too loudly. “ENEMIES WILL HUNT YOU DOWN IF YOU MAKE TOO MUCH NOISE. GREAT” Scream on…1 minGamesmaster|March 2016XCOM 2“THE ALIENS FEEL LIKE A TRUE OPPONENT, STRIKING BACK AGAINST YOUR TERRITORIES” For a series that stacks the odds so much against its players, that challenges you to be the underdog, it’s fitting that this sequel begins with the premise that we all lost XCOM: Enemy Unknown. The playthroughs where we screwed up, where we let our soldiers die and every country pulled out in panic, those are the canon. Now, 20 years later, the extraterrestrials, in the guise of dystopian government regime ADVENT, rule our planet with an iron fist, and a new band of alien hunters must rise to rebuild and fight back. And for some reason, they’ve put you in charge again. Despite the new premise flipping the first game’s roles, throwing an attacking human force against…8 minGamesmaster|March 2016INFO BURST!Ranger An evolution of EU’s Assault, this is your battlefield scout and close-range assassin. The first of their skill trees is focused on stealth, allowing them to stay in concealment even when teammates are revealed, and make devastating surprise attacks; the second makes them melee masters, buffing their use of their brutal two-handed swords. Sharpshooter More versatile than the Sniper, this class specialises in both long-range support with their rifles, and short-range barrages with their pistols. Spec one way and you get a soldier that can win the mission from half a mile away; another, and you get an Eastwood-alike who can make more shots in a turn than the other classes have had hot dinners. Grenadier This successor to the first game’s Heavy uses a handy grenade launcher to…1 minGamesmaster|March 2016UNRAVEL“HE CAN SWING, ABSEIL, AND YANK EVERYDAY ITEMS INTO PLACE, ALL BY LASSOING WITH HIS INTESTINES” Water is one of Yarny’s greatest enemies, as he has just a couple of seconds to pull himself free before he sinks down to a watery grave. Pushing objects to create new pathways is vital to Unravel’s progression, but unfortunately they’re rarely used for anything more creative. Yarny only ever moves on a 2D plane, but each level has a wonderfully hazy depth of field that hints at a world teaming with wildlife. Yarny’s wool is his lifeline, so you’ll need to seek out extra bundles wherever you can in order to carry on moving forward. There’s something sinister about this title’s hero, Yarny. The game might bookend itself with heartwarming messages about love,…4 minGamesmaster|March 2016CAREER ADVICEWith 30 Jobs to choose from to make up your party, each boasting its own unique abilities in battle, there’s a lot to get to grips with. We certainly won’t blame you for getting overwhelmed. Here are our favourite picks – if you’re stuck, we reckon these Jobs’ll do you right.…1 minGamesmaster|March 2016FIREWATCH“HE’S AN IMPERFECT MAN IN A HEARTBREAKING SITUATION – A PROTAGONIST YOU CAN RELATE TO” The concept of an indie supergroup is tricky, the relative anonymity of all but the most notable of developers making it difficult to pinpoint the origins of any one team. Firewatch developer Campo Santo is the exception. It features, among others, Jake Rodkin and Sean Vanaman of Telltale’s The Walking Dead, Gone Home composer Chris Remo, Mark Of The Ninja designer Nels Anderson, and artist Olly Moss. In short, this first-person adventure boasts more pedigree than the VIP lounge at Crufts. Despite being a small-scale, narrative-focused game, Firewatch has attracted plenty of hype. For the most part, it lives up to it. This a quiet, contemplative work, but also funny, charming, and likeable. It’s set…6 minGamesmaster|March 2016ASSASSIN’S CREED CHRONICLES: INDIA“YET ANOTHER SEARCH FOR A MYSTICAL MACGUFFIN ACTED OUT BY TWO-DIMENSIONAL CHARACTERS” Step into a sentry’s cone of vision and it’ll start to turn red. Step out sharpish, and he’ll be a bit suspicious. Linger too long and you’re rumbled. The classic hay bale returns, and you’ll once again be flinging yourself from dramatically-placed ledges whenever the opportunity arises. Arbaaz can duck behind these green-fringed pillars to evade detection, hopping from spot to spot in time with enemy guard patrols. Sneak up on a guard undetected and you’ll be able to pickpocket the dozy blighter to refill your stock of stealth gadgetry. Back in April, Ubisoft served up a refreshing little appetiser – a downloadable amuse-bouche that whetted our appetite for the next instalment in the trilogy. Given that ACC:…4 minGamesmaster|March 2016NOW PLAYING1 FINAL FANTASY EXPLORERS 3DS This beautiful but shallow Monster Hunter-like has me pining for a real story. After grinding for Sephiroth’s duds for hours, I switched to Tactics Ogre instead. Matt Sakuraoka-Gilman, Editor 2 LEGO MARVEL AVENGERS PS4 Another Lego game with everything I like! Combat’s a blast and I’m loving the wide variety of characters you get to play with, as well as the witty riffs on the movies. Sam Freeman, Art Editor 3 DRAGON’S DOGMA: DARK ARISEN PC It’s got a rough first few hours, but now that I’m in, I’m obsessed. Every quest feels like a real journey – exhausting, dangerous, and properly satisfying. Robin Valentine, Production Editor 4 JUST CAUSE 3 PS4 When you do this for a living it can be hard to unplug…1 minGamesmaster|March 2016HOT DOWNLOADSAlthough the Imperial overlords at EA are preparing to launch their paid DLC bombardment at any moment, the parade of freebies for Star Wars Battlefront continues unabated for now. This month a new multiplayer map has set down on the ice planet of Hoth, providing a frigid backdrop for games of Walker Assault, Supremacy, Fighter Squadron, and Turning Point. March, meanwhile, comes with the promise of a new map set on Endor – although it sounds as though our pleas for playable Ewoks have once again fallen on deaf ears. But if cutesy woodland critters aren’t your bag, perhaps gung-ho witches are more your speed. Super Smash Bros For Wii U and 3DS has added Bayonetta to the roster, and as ever Platinum’s action antihero comes equipped with a quartet…2 minGamesmaster|March 2016Series Spotlight1 Resident Evil (PC, PS1, Saturn – 1996) Yes, it was all thoroughly scripted, with fixed camera angles bringing out the festering best in those pre-rendered backgrounds and jump scares that only worked once, but they did work. Also a bit short on unlockables and bonus modes, but it scored where it mattered – virtually every feature introduced here would become Resi standard. Gratifyingly, Capcom still seems as reverent about this first instalment as we all were at the time. 2 Resident Evil 3: Nemesis (PC, GameCube, Dreamcast, PS1 – 1999) RE2 was a tough act to follow, but RE3 did it by building on two of its best ideas: survival in an infected city, and the recurring attentions of a big stalky lunatic. Framing the events of RE2 but…2 minGamesmaster|March 2016SAVING THE VERY BEST FOR GLASS“IT COMBINES TWO PASSIONS: CRAFTS AND GAMES. THE IDEAS COME NATURALLY” Life’s good when you have a goal. Especially when that goal is to frame the first 151 Pokémon in lead and glass. Meet Arjan Boeve from Normandy, France. The self-styled Stained Glass Geek on Instagram, Boeve is a 29-year-old motion designer who crafts beautiful versions of our gaming heroes in glass. “I was starting to get fed up with my daily routines as a motion designer and I needed another creative outlet,” Arjan explains when we ask him how he got into this rather unique job. “Also, sitting behind my desk the whole day long started to hurt my back, so I was looking for a new balance of doing motion design and something else, hopefully stained glass. When…5 min
