Tabla de contenidos para July 2017 en Gamesmaster

There’s nothing quite like a good bit of loot. Give a man a rifle, and he’ll shoot some aliens for a week. But give a man a Mighty Rifle +1, and he’ll grind for drops for the rest of his life… Enter Destiny. The first game made us care about an Exotic rocket launcher more than several members of our actual family; now the incredible new sequel threatens to sever what few ties to the real world we have left with its all-consuming whirlwind of MMO adventure, tight FPS action, and loads more shiny treasure. It’s not even out yet and I’ve already forgotten my gran’s name. We’ve gone all the way to sunny LA to play it, and we’ve hobnobbed with the devs while we were there. The result?…

In issue 311’s Pokémon Sun and Moon review, you gave the games 90%. Now I know you guys are the experts, but I don’t think they deserve that high a marking. On the upside I do rather like the story, and I also that sense of freedom from the grid movement of old. I also like some of the new Pokémon – Rockruff, Rowlett, and Pyukumuku are some of my favourite additions! On the downside, though, is everything else… I don’t like that instead of the easy-to-use lower-screen menu of old (in which you could have Pokémon-amie, a map, the GTS, and more), you just get a map. When I saw this I was just looking at the screen in disbelief. Everything was perfect, where it should’ve been, spot on,…

I just bought Portal Knights. Why Minecraft hasn’t done this type of game by now is beyond me. This is the next step. Brilliant. ColossalCrib OP, @1stLegend Yeta from Twilight Princess is the scariest videogame character! When she turns around and turns into the level boss, that scared the heck out of me as a kid! Jacob Bachmann, @MegaDarkLucario I remember being 11 years old and getting woken up by the violent sound of a vibrating controller on the floor. I turned my TV on see Termina burning in Majora’s Mask. I’d forgotten to turn the N64 off after dinner. The death of an entire world and its inhabitants is a lot for an 11-year-old to take… Toby, @Directortoby Modern Warfare Remastered has had me hooked since day one. I…

“I’M SICK OF EVERYONE IN HYRULE EXPECTING ME TO SAVE THEIR POXY KINGDOM FROM GANON” Relatability is important. Whether you’re reading a 450-page novel, gorging yourself silly on TV blockbuster boxsets, or committing 100 hours of your life to a videogame, identifying with characters is vital for proper emotional investment. When I pick up a pad I want to empathise with the protagonist’s problems. I want to look at their issues and think: “Hey, there’s a situation I can really relate to.” News flash: videogames are bad at this. All right, I’ll be more specific: triple-A games suck at presenting relatable leads. Just take Mass Effect: Andromeda as a recent example. Who here can say they know what it’s like to be responsible for the entire future of their species?…

ROBIN’S PICK Darksiders III I’ve got such a soft spot for this series, and I’d long since given up hope of a sequel ever happening. Darksiders II, especially, was just magic, perfectly combining loot-chasing RPG action with Zelda-like dungeons and that over-the-top art style – here’s hoping the new team can recapture the magic of that blend. PS4, XO, PC – Summer 2018 BEN’S PICK Star Wars Battlefront II I regard Yoda’s fight in Attack Of The Clones as one of cinema’s finest moments, so I can’t wait to play as him and batter Darth Maul in the canon-shattering multiplayer. The tiny green Jedi will be absolutely maddening to fight, and I plan to cause further chaos by speaking backwards down the mic as I bounce around. “Hit me, you…

If the giant white ‘2’ present in Activision’s first wave of promotional materials didn’t give it away, this is, of course, a sequel to Bungie’s MMO-minded sci-fi shooter from 2014. It’s also a fresh start, a rallying call for new players to come and join the fight. Now on PC as well as Xbox One and PS4, packing fresh incentive for singletons, and with a controversial rank reset to ensure parity with newcomers, real effort’s been made to widen the appeal. Whether you regard that iconic white orb in the sky as an alien intelligence or a massive gobstopper, Destiny 2’s thousand-strong gun arsenal is laser-targeting you and everyone you love. In a nice way.…

TITAN Each of the three main classes has a further three subclasses , giving you nine distinct options in all . One Titan subclass , Sentinel , has a throwable Captain America-style shield . Another , Striker , uses Fists Of Havoc to pound the ground . HUNTER One Hunter subclass , Arcstrider ,, wields an electrified staff powering graceful yet devastating attacks , a bit like Donnie Yen in Rogue One . Gunslinger , meanwhile , summons a Golden Gun to dispatch targets in one shot . WARLOCK The Dawnblade subclass gives you the powers of a vengeance-seeking deity with its Daybreak super that sees you launch into the sky and smite opponents with solar light . Passive skills , meanwhile , let you glide about on fiery wings…

“ EVEN THE FLAKIEST PLAYER CAN CONTRIBUTE TOWARDS ROLLING GOALS AND SHARE THE PRIZE POT” Welcome to The Crucible, Destiny 2’s PvP portion, in which you’ll battle the galaxy’s most diabolical foes: each other. In-game it’s justified as a live-fire training exercise, and death doesn’t really matter, since resurrection is as easy as preparing and consuming a microwaveable burger. The big change is Bungie reducing player counts from 6v6 to 4v4, which effectively focuses what could sometimes be a confusing mess of light and colour, and lets the uninitiated make sense of the maelstrom. The downside of the reduction in players, we find during our session, is a lack of life and activity, especially next to the relentless energy of Strikes and the campaign. Having smaller groups encourages players to…

“THE MAPS FROM BOTH GAMES SLOT TOGETHER, UNLOCKING A GIGANTIC CAMPAIGN… YOU CAN VISIT ANYWHERE AND FIGHT ANY RACE” Format PC Publisher Sega Developer Creative Assembly ETA Autumn You probably noticed something missing from Total War: Warhammer. Something pointy-eared, and haughty. The Wood Elves went some way to fixing this, but without the High Elves it felt like something essential was missing from Creative Assembly’s strategy game. The sequel aims to rectify this, and much, much more. Warhammer 2 adds a whole continent called The New World, which includes Ulthuan, island refuge of the High Elves; the jungles of Lustria, home of the Lizardmen; and Naggaroth, a bleak landscape controlled by the Dark Elves. The Southlands are also part of the map – if Lustria is South America, the Southlands…

Format PS4, XO Pub Rockstar Dev Rockstar ETA Spring 2018 Rockstar, you tease! How dare you wave the most anticipated game in years in front of our faces, only to snatch it away at the last minute? Yep, Read Dead Redemption 2, originally slated for release later this year, has now slipped into 2018, cruelly condemning us to a cold, cowboyless winter wrapped in ponchos and huddling next to our stash of John Marston dolls. The developer offers the standard statement – pledging that it wants the game to be the best it can be, and needs a little extra time to make sure it’s completely ready. Fair play – joking aside, we’ve waited this long. What’s a few more months if the result is another dose of open-world perfection?…

Format PC Pub PixelCount Studios Dev PixelCount Studios ETA December From two of the creators of Fable (don’t worry, Peter Molyneux’s not involved) comes a game that looks suspiciously like a cross between that beloved series and the more recently popular Stardew Valley. You’re free to adventure and explore or stay at home and tend the farm in this gorgeous pixelated world, with the devs promising that “every person and domestic animal you meet remembers what you do”. Time passes realistically, with NPCs and even your player character growing old and eventually dying, before being replaced by their children.…

Jet packs, hoverboards, and party platters in pill form: just some of the many innovations that science fiction ‘predicted’ but have yet to arrive. Likewise talking robots, flying cars, and tubular public transport all turned out to be complete claptrap (so far – we’re still hoping for the robots). But while most folks dreamed of an automated future, others set their gaze on what technological advances meant for entertainment – and of the many varied amusements that only the virtual world could provide. These, then, are the videogaming visionaries, men and women who foresaw an entire world’s worth of bleeps, bloops, and towns named after nukes. These are the videogames before videogames themselves ever even existed.…

“Megaquarium is a game about running a public aquarium. Set up your exhibits, fill them with exotic fish, hire some staff and you’re ready to go! If only things stayed that simple… Each species of fish you recruit into your underwater kingdom has its own set of unique requirements. These range from environmental values like temperature and pH to ongoing needs such as diet or having an anemone to shelter in. It doesn’t end with fish, either. Jellyfish, sharks, turtles, and live corals will all present their own challenges. The game plays from an isometric perspective, with the design and layout of your exhibits performed directly by you and the day-to-day duties, such as feeding, handled by your semi-autonomous staff. Staff skills grow over time, allowing them to work quicker…

Don’t overlook Injustice 2’s Story Mode. While the story in most fighting games is just background noise, Injustice 2’s does an incredible job of making you feel invested across all 12 chapters. If you’re willing to really dig in, you can go back through a second time and see a few key fights from another character’s perspective, choosing another option in these branching scenes. See them all and you’ll unlock a secret section. The character faces are the best we’ve ever seen in a fighting game, too, so it’s essential to experience even if you’re just a passing DC fan.…

“THE LIMITATIONS OF THE TECH RESULT IN WHAT IS ESSENTIALLY AN ON-RAILS SHOOTING GALLERY” Format PS4 Publisher Sony Developer Impulse Gear ETA Out now Players 1-2 Eight months on from launch, PS VR feels like it’s still struggling to find its feet. Don’t get us wrong, the hardware is solid, and impressively accessible. It’s the software that’s lacking, with even its more impressive titles mostly so thin they feel more like tech demos than fully-fledged games. Farpoint, then, carries a certain weight of expectation. What the platform needs right now is a truly triple-A experience, and that’s certainly what Sony’s marketing has promised. The reality, unfortunately, is rather less substantial. It begins by stranding you (a space pilot) and two scientists on an alien world, via a strange wormhole. Separated…

The boss fight (outside of Souls-alikes) seems to have fallen out of fashion in recent times, and it’s understandable. Often the bookend to level-based games, the inexorable rise of open-worlds has somewhat eliminated the need for bosses. Let’s be honest, they were often frustrating damage-sponges that we won’t miss. But The Surge is a reminder that bosses done properly can be a joy. After getting flattened with a one-hit kill move by the second boss seconds into the fight, it seemed an impossible challenge, but an hour or so later, when its robotic corpse lay on the ground, we felt nothing short of euphoric.…

1 The Sims: Livin’ It Up (PC – 2000) The first expansion pack launched for Will Wright’s digital doll’s house introduced a number of new NPCs, including the skeletal incarnation of Death himself: The Grim Reaper. This scythe-wielding grump would appear to harvest the souls of the freshly-deceased, but living Sims could plead for him to pardon their beloved friends and family. Succeed, and your Sim would be spared – or return as a shambling zombie. 2 The Sims: Hot Date (PC – 2001) This raunchy add-on was one of the heftiest expansions to the first iteration of Wright’s gargantuan games franchise, introducing an entire new area – I’m talking Downtown – for your lusty Sims to explore. Many fans said they played it for the new areas and items,…

Awesome Boss! Silent Hill 2 Format PC, Xbox, PS2 Developer Konami Released 2001 There may not be a climactic physical face-off, but James Sunderland has to endure a gruelling psychological battle against Pyramid Head. This faceless beast is a hideous manifestation of the player character’s guilt and grief. His massive, phallic sword and the sexualised violence he inflicts suggests a sexual dimension to James’ fear and guilt, too. Classic Moment! Super Mario 64 Format N64 Developer Nintendo Released 1997 For all the praise that the 2D Mario games have earned, their boss battles are mostly wretched. The majority task you with hopping over Bowser, touching an axe, and then watching the Koopa King plummet into lava. Super Mario 64, meanwhile, required you to use the N64’s controller to swing the…

1 HALO 5: GUARDIANS 2 FORZA HORIZON 3 3 KALIMBA 4 QUANTUM BREAK 5 GEARS OF WAR 4 1 THE LAST OF US REMASTERED 2 UNCHARTED 4: A THIEF’S END 3 HORIZON: ZERO DAWN 4 JOURNEY 5 BLOODBORNE 1 THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: BREATH OF THE WILD 2 MARIO KART 8 DELUXE 3 SNIPPERCLIPS 4 FAST RMX 5 KAMIKO 1 TOTAL WAR: WARHAMMER 2 GUILD WARS 2 3 DOTA 2 4 THE SIMS 4 5 CRUSADER KINGS 2 1 POKÉMON SUN AND MOON 2 FIRE EMBLEM FATES 3 ANIMAL CROSSING: NEW LEAF 4 MONSTER HUNTER GENERATIONS 5 THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: A LINK BETWEEN WORLDS 1 HEARTHSTONE 2 DEVICE 6 3 80 DAYS 4 SORCERY 4 5 MONUMENT VALLEY…

1m Copies of Early Access game Battlegrounds sold on Steam in just its first month on sale. Head to p14 to read more. 17 Milliseconds it took speedrunner i_o_l to complete browser game Where’s An Egg. That’s not a misprint – milliseconds. 870 The size of Kenshi’s game world in square kilometres. That’s about 20 times bigger than Skyrim’s! Read more on p40. 4.3 Height in metres of ‘Big Bud 747’, a unique (real!) tractor now playable in Farming Simulator 17. That’s twice as tall as the biggest commercial tractors.…

THE WATCHER Geralt is getting his own TV show – Netflix has announced it’s turning Andrzej Sapkowski’s The Witcher novels into a series. While Sapkowski will be a consultant, CD Projekt Red, which makes The Witcher videogames, will not be involved. Even so, keen gamers will be waiting to see if the hero ends up in the tub at any point. GAMING FOR GOLD The Olympic Council Of Asia has decided to include esports in the 2022 Asia Games. There’s no news on which games will be included, though OCA partner Alisports stated it would promote ‘the most popular and mature games best for competition’. Puyo Puyo Tetris, please… ZELDA CALLING Rumours are circulating that, following the massive success of Super Mario Run, Nintendo is planning to release a new…

“ THE CAMPAIGN IS THE GAME’S FRONT DOOR , LIT BY GLOWING SIGNS SAYING ‘ THIS WAY TO FUN’ ” There are three prongs to Destiny 2’s offensive: competitive 4v4 multiplayer in The Crucible; three-player co-op missions, or ‘Strikes’, against AI opponents; and a tightly scripted single-player campaign, also playable in up to three-person co-op. You’ll take a consistent character through the lot, levelling them up to unlock weapons, armour, and powers ranging from basic to exotic. Or, applying biscuit-based parameters, Rich Tea to Choco Leibniz. Let’s start with the story. Earth’s last safe city is safe no more: Dominus Gaul, leader of the Red Legion, destroys it, your loot-filled vault, and your identity as a Guardian, adamant the Traveller (that white orb) chose wrong when he appointed you divine…

“STRIKES IN DESTINY 2 HAVE EVOLVED FROM THE COMPARATIVELY STRAIGHTFORWARD AFFAIRS THEY WERE” The MMO bit of Destiny 2 begins at Strikes, replayable co-op activities lasting 20-30 minutes, give or take how effective your three-person Fireteam is. Our first sends us to the Mint-Aero-coloured world of Nessus, in which the objective is to investigate a heavy enemy presence. Failsafe, our female-voiced AI, guides us through it. “We have detected a series of seismic disruptions,” she says. “The Cabal may be responsible.” Flash forward to us dodging a massive multi-armed drill the size of the Burj Khalifa and it turns out, yes, Failsafe is pretty bang on. We have to navigate the rocky spirals around this gnashing excavator while keeping clear of its numerous swinging blades. Collision results in instant death.…

Q How are you distinguishing Destiny 2 from Destiny? A Those big themes of loss and recovery we talked about, that really drove a lot of what you’re seeing… The catastrophe happens, the city is attacked, and then it’s really about focusing on how we could support that feeling and lean into those themes visually, and build a story where you felt like you were going from rags to riches. Q What’s the coolest new visual technology you’ve used? A PBR. Physical-based rendering is an upgraded lighting system. It basically deals with more realistic reflections and material responses, and so you can get chromes and iridescents and material qualities you just couldn’t get before… For example, the Hunter has this big hood, and there’s a snakeskin kind of back to…

Ronald Daniels ‘Red’ is the latest recruit to the 1st Infantry Division, the longest-serving battalion in U.S. Army history. Daniels was born in Longview, Texas. His father won the Silver Star in World War I. Edgar Crowley The latest campaign puts you in the boots of not only American soldiers, but troops from the French Resistance and the British Special Operations Executive. Major Edgar Crowley belongs to the latter. Rousseau A French resistance fighter, this mysterious figure could well become the first playable female soldier in a COD campaign. Her levels most likely revolve around the 1944 Liberation Of Paris. Robert Zussman Not much is currently known about old Bob. All we’ve really garnered is that he’s best pals with Daniels, which most likely outs him as another member of…

Lord Mazdamundi The oldest living Slann (sorcerers who rule the Lizardmen), he’s behind the continental shift that destroyed the Dwarven Empire. He’s one of the most powerful casters in the game, and CA has added new mechanics to represent this. . Kroq-Gar An ancient Saurus Oldblood, he rides on the back of a Carnosaur called Grimlock – yes, like the Transformer. He’s a powerful melee alternative to the sorcerous Lord Mazdamundi. Skinks The most versatile unit in the Lizardman army, making up for their lightweight frames with impressive diversity. They all have poisoned attacks, and there’s even a chameleon version for surprise attacks. Sneaky. Terradon Riders Terradon units soar above the battlefield. These can be deployed as normal flying cavalry – as normal as lizards riding other lizards can be…

Format PS4, XO, PC Pub Larian Studios Dev Larian Studios ETAAutumn Making an RPG is easy, right? Bit of wizardry here, an evil overlord there, boom. Anyone could do it. This turn-based RPG’s newly announced Game Master mode (no relation) lets you put that slightly spurious assertion to the test, giving you the tools to craft your own campaign and run it for up to four of your friends. Write dialogue trees with moral choices and skill rolls, place monsters and non-player characters, create exciting locales to explore, and throw all your old D&D books in the bin while you’re at it.…

Format PS4, XO, PC Pub Warner Bros Dev Monolith ETA 25 August A horde of giant, venomous spiders – an absolutely terrible birthday present, but it could be the perfect tactical advantage when you’re laying siege to an orc fortress. Before each assault, you’ll have the option to choose what to bring with you to the fight, from the aforementioned arachnids, to poison arrows, to fire-breathing drakes, to crack squads of door-smashing trolls. You’ll need every advantage you can get to make it to the throne room of each randomly-generated Overlord and take him down – or recruit him.…

Format PS4, XO, PC Developer Bedtime Games ETA Summer Web http://bit.ly/gmfigment Games that focus on our fears tend be horror-related. Full of long, dark corridors with unspeakable nightmares lurking at the end, or abandoned asylums. What a relief, then, to find a game that isn’t afraid to bring what frightens us into the light and deal with it in a different way. Figment might scare you – but only if you’re afraid of bright colours, surrealism, and, oh yes, musicals . Revolving around Dusty and his colourful and optimistic bird friend, Piper, Figment drops you into a world where only dream logic applies. Armed with just a wooden sword and his courage, Dusty must tackle his own nightmares in the bright light of day. “Dusty is one…

“DUNGEON-CRAWLING SECTIONS GIVE YOU CONTROL OVER STAR-CROSSED HEROES ALM AND CELICA” Format 3DS Publisher Nintendo Developer Intelligent Systems ETA Out now Players 1 It’s an unusual strategy: with Shadows Of Valentia, Nintendo is making the most of Fire Emblem while it’s hot by returning to a time when it wasn’t. A remake of the second game in the series, the Japanese-only Fire Emblem Gaiden, this absorbing history lesson also demonstrates why the original was considered the series’ equivalent of Zelda II. In other words, it’s a game of bold ideas producing mixed results. But for a while, you’re as likely to notice what’s absent as what’s new. If the 3DS entries welcomed you to the series, you’ll miss the pairing-up system introduced in Awakening and featured in Fates; though you…

1 PUYO PUYO TETRIS PS4 This otherwise excellent puzzle game might have the most annoying story mode of all time. I want to give every single character a slap. Especially the ones that only say ‘gu’ or ‘pi’. Robin Valentine, Editor 2 THE PLAYROOM VR PS4 The amazing thing about virtual reality is that it lets you experience things you never thought possible. For example, being spanked on the bottom by a giant cat. Robin Valentine, Editor 3 THE SIMS 4 PC I embarked on the athletic career without realising it requires you work out every single day. Who knew maintaining peak fitness was so demanding? Now I’m in tech. It’s less sweaty. Ben Griffin, Senior Staff Writer 4 HORIZON ZERO DAWN PS4 The camera enables my wildlife photographer dreams.…

Following Ubisoft’s rich tradition of taking games to eccentric extremes with ludicrous post-launch content, Steep’s new DLC makes a wild game even wilder. £11.99 gets you brand-new snowsports extravaganza Winterfest. It adds absurdities such as superhero capes, undersized sleds, and a yeti boss to beat. 21 fresh trials see you soar down inflatable monster mouths as a wingsuited sumo wrestler and don a T-Rex costume to chomp through blow-up goats. Or you could just go and meditate up a mountain in a banana costume. It’s like Burning Man but cold. Freezing Man? Burning Snowman? Let’s move on. Breath Of The Wild’s summer bundle adds a bunch of new outfits too: a Korok mask that shakes when you’re near a Korok seed, a body-hugging Tingle suit, Midna’s helm from Twilight Princess,…

FIERY BURN Of course Nintendo has announced the New Nintendo 2DS XL to confuse us with the word ‘New’, but it’s already revealed a Dragon Quest XI special edition. Complete with metallic slime, this black-and-silver console is enough to sell your soul for, never mind pay duty import tax on. SLIME HAUL To add salt to the wound, there’s a blue-and-gold PS4 to celebrate the fact that Dragon Quest XI is releasing on both consoles. Just try not to look at the exceptional customised touch pad or the gold slime that you won’t want to touch in case it rubs off… HEARTS OF SOLD And there’s a 15th anniversary Kingdom Hearts PS4 that we aren’t allowed to have in the UK. Panelled with Keyblades and Mickeys, the console comes with…

GlobalMaster We asked our international readers to write in and say hello – and they did not disappoint us! I live in Rome in Italy, and I read your magazine every month! I think it’s amazing! We have, of course, fantastic videogame magazines printed here (including Play Generation and The Games Machine), but I think yours is the most complete one! I love reading your reviews, they always contain interesting and competent opinions about all the videogame sold out there. I’m just sad I cannot buy the paper mag… I have to read -t on my iPad. Have you ever considered selling a physical version of the magazine here in Italy? Giacomo Evangelisti, email Thanks for reading Giacomo! While we aren’t able to put GM in shops in some countries,…

RED DEAD REDEMPTION 2 Format PS4, XO ETA Autumn Now at number one for four months, we’re starting to think the only way it could be deposed is if Rockstar also announced Grand Theft Auto VI… THE LAST OF US PART II Format PS4 ETA Winter 2018 Naughty Dog’s masterpiece-in-the-making has moved up a spot this month, amid a flurry of fan theories about the game’s story. SUPER MARIO ODYSSEY Format Switch ETA December How humiliating – Mario’s three-month stay at number two has been ended by a game all about mushrooms. He’ll be hopping mad. CRASH BANDICOOT N SANE TRILOGY Format PS4 ETA 30 June Meanwhile, a certain marsupial is holding strong at fourth for his last eligible month before release. DESTINY 2 Format PS4, XO, PC ETA 8…

“WE ARE A SMALL COMPANY… WE NEED TO PUT QUALITY STUFF AT AN INCREDIBLE PRICE IN THE MARKET.WE NEED TO GO MULTI-PLATFORM” In 2014, after finishing Castlevania: Lords Of Shadow 2, MercurySteam hit a crossroads. What should the Madrid-based studio do next? Make a safe and expected hack-and-slash sequel? Work with publishers to develop something market-tested? Or dive into unfamiliar territory with a passion project? With Raiders Of The Broken Planet, an asymmetrical, episodic, mission-based 4v1 sci-fi shooter, it’s choosing the latter – despite all advice from outsiders. We interview the studio’s two key figures to find out why they’re choosing to break a long partnership with Konami and go it alone. Q What happened after Castlevania: Lords Of Shadow? A Cox: The team didn’t want to do another Castlevania…

“THE PHANTOM THIEVES REMIND US THAT THERE IS NOTHING INEVITABLE ABOUT THE FUTURE” For a young person, it’s easy to feel like you’re screwed. With climate change looming, hateful political movements on the rise, and economic troubles seemingly far from over, the future can look bleak. Persona 5 may be a piece of popular entertainment, but it contains a message that young people sorely need to hear as they face that difficult future. In Persona 5, you lead a group who call themselves The Phantom Thieves. Their objective? To ‘steal the hearts’ of adults who are exploiting young people to boost their egos and line their pockets. By invading an alternate reality where your targets’ twisted desires manifest themselves and stealing a treasure that represents that desire, you force them…

BEAR ARMS Get down to your local game shop to pick up Nintendo’s Switch punchathon Arms, out now. CRASH COURSE Today is a g’day to buy, mate, as Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy hits shops. YOU’RE REVOLTING Power to the PS4, XO, and Vita people – RPG Valkyria Revolution is out now. EXPAND YOUR HORIZONS Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood is out today, giving you the chance to explore a new region, hang out in a new city, and become a samurai. WHAT’S YOUR SIGN? This month is loaded with RPGs – Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age is released today. BILLY NO MATES Dig out a favourite single-player game, as half the country gives up beds and washing to go to the Glastonbury festival. SMALL WONDERS Little vehicles make for…

COMMANDER ZAVALA Voiced by The Wire’s Lance Reddick, Destiny’s military hero stops flogging armour in The Tower to lend his skills as a Titan Vanguard. At one point in the campaign he shields us from a hail of missiles in a protective Ward Of Dawn bubble. Thanks, guy! IKORA REY This usually ice-cold Warlock Vanguard loses her cool in one of Homecoming’s best moments, when she leaps onto a Red Legion craft and Nova-Bombs it from the sky. “You will find no mercy in me!” she says, voice cracking. We’re glad she’s on our side. AMANDA HOLLIDAY Destiny’s shipwright, and organiser of the Sparrow Racing League, finally gets to show her daring piloting moves, picking you up in her ship during a thrilling cutscene and dropping you right onto the…

Q What were the key issues you wanted to address after Destiny? A We’re trying to make Destiny a world that pulls you in, where there’s amazing things to do every week, and there’s always someone to play with… But also let’s not hide the fun, you know? Destiny is a great game, and it’s an incredible hobby for a lot of people, but we made some of the most compelling parts either difficult to find and understand, or difficult to access because you didn’t have the people. So we’re trying to slope the floor. Q This is where Guided Games come in… A Guided Games are the way that everyone is going to be able to access the most competitive activities, whether that’s Trials, Nightfalls, or the Raid. We’re…

VAULT LINES Beating your first raid blind You’ve little reason, apart from nostalgia, to delve into the Vault Of Glass right now in Destiny. It’s a huge shame, because it’s still one of the game’s best raids. We say that utterly biased thanks to the fact that it was our first raid, and nobody ever forgets their first. Entire new mechanics, exclusive loot, and, yes, fiendish jumping puzzles, led to an incredible number of player stories. Not knowing what you were in for before you went in was a crucial component, though. Having a team member suddenly clock the key to solving an area and then everyone acting on it in unison delivered a pure satisfaction no other game can match. GJALL PALS Finally getting your hands on a Gjallarhorn…

“SLOTH IS REPRESENTED AS A GIANT GREEN INSECT WITH A BULGING BELLY, SITTING ON A THRONE” Format PS4, XO, PC Publisher THQ Nordic Developer Gunfire Games ETA Summer 2018 Each entry in this supernatural action series stars a different member of the Four Horsemen (that is, the apocalyptic harbingers from the Book Of Revelation rather than the ’80s pro wrestling stable led by Ric Flair). The first Darksiders, in 2010, saw you play as War. 2012’s second was all about Death. For the third game, you control Fury as she quests to kill the seven deadly sins. The events of Darksiders III happen parallel to the first two games, so War and Death are currently occupied, and any emails you send will bounce back with an out-of-office. Unlike those two,…

Format PC Developer Lo-fi Games Publisher Lo-fi Games ETA July Procedurally generated infinity-games aside, this survival RPG takes place in the single biggest virtual world of all time. That’s what developer Lo-fi tells us, anyway, and since we only have an hour with the game, we’ll take its word for it. It certainly looks expansive. So what do you do in Kenshi? Honestly, it’s hard to say. Don’t die, basically. There’s base-building, squad management, feuding factions, character customisation, dialogue trees, and lots of running around in this vast environment. You can do pretty much everything apart from work through a tutorial. You’re never told where to go or what to do, and while it makes the experience somewhat inscrutable, it also opens the door for seemingly anything to happen. Take…

Format PC Pub Snapshot Games Dev Snapshot Games ETA Summer The year is 2022, and an alien super-virus has devastated human civilisation, mutating people and animals into monstrous killing machines. Mankind’s only hope for survival lies with the Phoenix Project, an elite organisation of engineers, scientists, and soldiers charged with fighting back. Basically, this is post-apocalyptic XCOM, and it’s from the mind of Julian Gollop, creator of the original games. The twist? Your foes adapt to your strategies. Burn everything with fire? It’ll come back flameproof. Take them all out from range? They’ll bring their own guns next time……

Format PS4, PC Publisher Runic Games Developer Runic Games ETA Autumn This indie adventure’s beautiful setting may seem a verdant wilderness on the surface, but delve beneath and you’ll find nothing but clanking, clanging machines. For the development team that brought us the Torchlight series, Hob represents a significant departure. With nary a loot drop or a stats screen to be seen, in our hands-on we’re reminded more of the likes of Journey and Inside than the studio’s Diablo-esque prior work. A nameless hero, a mysterious world, a wordless story – it all adds up to something surprisingly contemplative. Using the main character’s hulking robot arm, we unlock a series of mechanisms that lead us down into the depths of the world. The forests and plains above are rearranged and…

UNRAVEL 2 Hey, remember that time you sobbed over a cute combination of wool and wire? Good news, you’ll be able to do it all over again. Yarny had not long jumped into the world before it was revealed that Swedish studio, Coldwood Interactive, has a sew-tably charming sequel to Unravel on the way. SUNLESS SKIES Moving the action from the ocean to the stars, Failbetter Games’ follow-up to Sunless Seas was Kickstartered in a matter of minutes and smashed its goal of £100,000. With the British Empire expanding across the heavens, we’ll be able to explore a unique and intimidating celestial world. SYLVIO 2 What do you mean you’ve never even heard of the original? Sylvio is a slow-burning but creepy horror tale that lets you record the ghostly…

“BATMAN LOCKS SUPERMAN UP, AND GOES BACK TO HIS NORMAL LIFE OF HOSPITALISING SKINHEADS” Format PS4 (reviewed), XO Publisher Warner Bros Developer Warner Bros ETA Out now Players 1-2 It doesn’t matter where he pops up (usually in a cloud of smoke), Batman never fails to raise an eyebrow in his videogame appearances. This is a rich dude who straps pointy ears to his head and glides around his home city punching people in the face, yet he sees himself as morally righteous because he doesn’t kill. A little brain damage is alright, though! Injustice 2’s story focuses on Batman’s moral superiority, with DC’s superhero roster forming two political sides: those who think the bad guys should be killed, and those who stand with the Batman. In Batman: Arkham Knight,…

As with previous Tekken games, you can unlock clothes, hair and accessories to tweak the characters. Want Akuma to look like he’s just been snorkeling, complete with amusing rubber ring? Want Nina to dress like Confusing Father Christmas? Tekken won’t judge you (and neither will we). 1 New gear is unlocked by playing Treasure Mode – VS battles that reward you with sweet (weird) loot. 2 You get money for playing all the modes, which you can use to purchase the goodies you’ve unlocked. 3 You can customise most things: hair, hats, glasses, upper and lower body clothes, and accessories. 4 You can buy specific effects that show up when you connect a big move, including a comic book ‘kapow!’. 5 Your creations can be used online – use your…

Not sure which games to grab? Trust the experts (that’s us) to shine a light of clarity through your fog of confusion. Over this spread you’ll find GamesMaster’s 100 per cent scientifically accurate and indisputable list of the greatest games on modern machines – updated monthly – as well as the top five most vital exclusives on each of the major platforms. Pick one of these up and, buddy, you’re going to have yourself a good time. THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: BREATH OF THE WILD Switch / Wii U Nintendo casually revolutionises the open-world genre with perhaps the best launch title ever. Explore, fight, and cook your way across Hyrule. GRAND THEFT AUTO V PS4 / XO / PC / PS3 / 360 Rockstar’s most detailed, immersive cityscape yet serves…