INFINITY WARD REACHES FOR THE STARS

And The Beat

Goes On...
he first Call of Duty was made by

T Infinity Ward in 2003, and the world

has been given a new Call of Duty in
some form every year ever since. It has
gone on to set sales records, and is a
franchise that brings in billions of dollars.
The series is a part of pop culture, sits in
rarified air, and will be remembered and
played for decades to come.
The amazing thing about Call of Duty is
the consistent level of quality. Though
ANDY McNAMARA the series has stumbled, most entries are
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF impressive and engaging – and Infinity
[email protected] Ward’s work on Modern Warfare changed
the face of first-person shooters forever.
Read my column or Of course, the Infinity Ward that once
comment on this letter at created the gold standard for first-person
gameinformer.com/mag shooters is no more; the company changed
or follow @GI_AndyMc after Activision and its founders bitterly split
in 2010, when Vince Zampella and Jason
West were fired.
The studio was in tatters, but still man-
aged to release Modern Warfare 3. Since
then, talent from other development studios
(like Neversoft) were folded into Infinity Ward
to try to bring the studio back to greatness.
I think it is more than a coincidence that
Infinite Warfare is more than a little close to
the name of the company creating it; this
game represents more than a journey to
outer space for Call of Duty. It represents
an opportunity for a studio to be top dog in
the world of first-person shooters, but the
climb won’t be easy.
Respawn, the company that rose from the
ashes of the original Infinity Ward, is releas-
ing Titanfall 2 later this year. Call of Duty’s
visit gameinformer.com daily for the latest and greatest, and follow @gameinformer on Twitter

longtime competitor, Battlefield, is getting

a new entry that goes back to World War I-
era fighting. Infinity Ward knows Call of Duty
is a juggernaut, but the competition is
fierce. This year is more than a fight for our
entertainment dollars; it is a battle rooted
at the core of who Infinity Ward is, and
the team is pulling out all of the stops to
reclaim its crown.
Enjoy the issue.

Cheers,

36 Call Of Duty:
Infinite Warfare
Infinity Ward is back in the driver’s seat,
taking the series further into the future than ever before.
We traveled to the studio to see what’s next for the world’s
most successful shooter. by Daniel Tack

2
 games index

Alienation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92

Atelier Sophie: The Alchemist

of the Mysterious Book. . . . . . 92
10 Destiny: Rise
of Iron Targets 12 Duncan Jones
Talks Warcraft Atlas Reactor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
September Release
Destiny’s next big expansion
is in the works, and we have
We spoke with the man
behind Moon and Source
Code about how the
16 World-Building
With Words
How do you create a fiction-
Battleborn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86

the first details from Bungie. Warcraft movie came to be. al language from scratch? Battlefield 1. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

Below . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare . . . 36

Climb, The . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92

Destiny . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided . . . . . 50

Doom. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83

28 Interview: Ubisoft
CEO Yves Guillemot
As the publisher/developer
Dreadnought . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78

behind Assassin’s Creed Hearthstone:

(and many other games) Whispers of the Old Gods . . . . . 92
nears its 30th anniversary,
we spoke with its CEO about Homefront: The Revolution . . . . 87
where the company has I Am Setsuna. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
been and where it’s going.
Inside . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

King’s Quest – Chapter 3:

Once Upon a Climb . . . . . . . . . 92
04 Feedback
14 The Good, The Bad, Kirby: Planet Robobot . . . . . . . . 91
And The Ugly
Madden NFL 17 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
20 Impulse:
Big Indies Aim To Monster Hunter Generations. . . 79
Steal The Spotlight
22 Gamer:
50 Deus Ex: Mankind Divided
We visited Eidos Montreal to see how Mankind Divided
is shaping up.
NASCAR Heat Evolution . . . . . . . 71
Jorien “Sheever”
Van der Heijden Odin Sphere Leifthrasir. . . . . . . 84
24 Afterwords: Overwatch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Quantum Break
26 Top Ten Unresolved Persona 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Cliffhangers
Pocket Card Jockey. . . . . . . . . . 92
32 Gear: Video Game
Jewelry Round-Up Pyre. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
34 Timeline
Quantum Break . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
56 Previews
80 Reviews
94 Classic: The National
56 Battlefield 1
DICE is looking
Ruiner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

Videogame Museum
96 Game Over
toward the past while its
main competition looks
toward the future.
72 Persona 5
We have new details
on Atlus’ dark JRPG drama.
Sid Meier’s Civilization VI . . . . . 64

Skylanders Imaginators . . . . . . . 70

Star Ocean:
Integrity And Faithlessness . . . 73

Stellaris . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89

Stephen’s Sausage Roll . . . . . . . 92

Total War: Warhammer . . . . . . . 91

Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End . . . . 88

82 Overwatch
We’ve spent tons 83 Doom
The game that pop-
88 Uncharted 4:
A Thief’s End
Nathan Drake’s story is
Walking Dead: Michonne –
Episode 3:
of time with Blizzard’s ularized the FPS is back. coming to a close, and it’s What We Deserve, The . . . . . . . 92
new shooter, and we have Does the franchise feel new as engaging as we hoped
our verdict. all over again? it would be. Witcher 3: Wild Hunt –
Blood and Wine, The . . . . . . . . 85
3 contents
feedback

Square’s legendary JRPG series was a hot topic this month, while
others raged against video game rebellions, questioned Nintendo’s
NX plans, and tried to pin down Doomguy’s name. Seriously, it’s
just Doomguy.

Finally Fantastic?
It was with great excitement that I We heard from a number of dis- mindlessly tearing it down. If there
pulled this month’s issue of Game enfranchised Final Fantasy fans was a good, anti-rebellion game out
Informer from my mail box and found this month who are cautiously there, I would buy it in a heartbeat.
Final Fantasy XV on the cover (issue optimistic about the direction of Liam Farrell
277). As a longtime fan of the series, FF XV. Whether Noctis’ epic road via email
I’ve been more and more disap- trip meets their expectations or
pointed with every release since not remains to be seen, but one Shootouts and explosions tend to
FF X. I didn’t even bother to play the thing is clear from our time at favor rebellions over diplomacy, but
sequels to Final Fantasy XIII. As such, the studio: Square Enix knows the experience you’re looking for
I have lost faith that the series I love this is a make-or-break moment may already exist in other genres.
so much will bounce back. After for the series, and is aware of its Series like Civilization and SimCity
reading your cover story, however, previous missteps. For more on task you with building up and lead-
some of that faith has been restored. Final Fantasy XV, visit our hub ing a society to prosperity, without
I’d hate to see the RPG series at gameinformer.com/ffxv. resorting to bombs and bullets. If
that means so much to so many you’re looking for something more
people fail. A Fan Of The Man action-oriented, Fable III lets you
Christopher Miller I realized something after reading the slice up bad guys while also run-
via email newest Homefront preview: There ning your own kingdom – but don’t
are a bunch of games about rebel- blame us if it’s not as much fun as
I just wanted to tell you that I enjoyed lions, like Red Faction, pretty much blowing stuff up.
your cover story on Final Fantasy all of the Far Cry games, and even
XV. Despite being a fan of RPGs, I’ve Assassin’s Creed. Too often the
never gotten into the Final Fantasy establishment is seen as the enemy.
series primarily because of the poor One of the things I liked about Skyrim
reviews that the Final Fantasy XIII and Brink was that you could choose
games received. However, after read- to align yourself with the people in
ing your article I’m very intrigued, power; there was a choice in decid-
both by the game and the efforts that ing whether to be a rebel or not. I
its creators are putting into making it feel that a game from the established
right. If they can do everything they government’s perspective could
promise, FF XV might just get me offer unique story elements and add
into the series. some new gameplay experiences by
Contact Us Katelyn Scott tasking the player with working to
[email protected] via email maintain something instead of just
4
 Virtual Rivalry Short Answers
I noticed in your VR roundup (Virtual To Readers’
Reality Races Toward The Starting Line, Burning
issue 277) that the Oculus Rift and HTC
Questions:
Vive have surprisingly distinct launch
lineups. Both share a few games like “Can Darth Clark DJ my
Elite Dangerous, but Valve’s The Lab is birthday party?”
exclusive to the Vive and the Oculus- He can, but he won’t.
bundled Lucky’s Tale is exclusive to the
Rift. Even though these devices are very “How about an article
similarly designed and implemented, on the top 25 or 50
are we still doomed to have to choose Steam games you
between the two based on title lineups? haven’t played?”
I had hoped that VR wouldn’t create
another console war (peripheral war?), That would be hard,
but it seems like if I get the Rift, I won’t since we haven’t
be able to many play Vive games, and played them.
vice versa. I know I’d be disappointed
if I dropped six or eight hundred dol- “What do you think
lars only to find that my device wasn’t Nintendo should do with
compatible with a game it would have the Paper Mario series?”
Better Luck NX Time no trouble running simply because of a
Origami. Zing!
Nintendo has informed us that its new Zelda game and the licensing deal.
mysterious NX console have been pushed back to a March Alex Marino
2017 release. I’m totally okay with this, but what I’m not okay via email
with is the fact we know nothing about the NX and that it’s
Reader
The disparate launch lineups of the Gibberish
skipping E3 altogether. Nintendo has always done things at Oculus Rift and HTC Vive may be
its own pace, but E3 is just nine months out from its supposed “I’ve started to realize
discouraging for potential buyers, but
that by the time I start
March 2017 launch. I don’t feel like anything less than nine they’re not the only ones taking a risk
learning a new language,
months is enough to successfully market a console. Right on the new medium. The slow rollout
it will have taken over
now, there are probably some fans still buying Wii U sys- and adoption of VR effectively ensures
my soul like dark matter
tems – it’s gonna be a slap in the face when Nintendo finally that most developers creating games
consuming a heart-
for the new devices aren’t going to
says, “By the way, this new console is out in like, six months.” shaped planet (sunny
see a profit any time soon. Making
I sincerely hope that whatever the NX is, it is amazing enough side up)”
their games multiplatform would cer-
to sell itself and that we get the old Nintendo back. tainly help recoup their investments,
Kolby Galloway but it also adds to their upfront costs. Question
via email We suspect a lot of the currently
Of The Month:
exclusive VR titles will eventually
make their way to other headsets, but What does Nintendo’s NX
Nintendo’s announcement that it will only be show- console need to make
like all aspects of the nascent technol-
ing Zelda at this year’s E3 has raised more than a few ogy, it’s just going to take some time. you buy it?
eyebrows, but it’s likely a reflection of the company’s
waning interest in the show itself, and not the NX or its
software lineup. However, given the confusion consum-
ers had over the Wii U, you would think the company
would give itself more time to educate the public on its
new console. Regardless of when Nintendo decides to
reveal the NX, you can expect to read about it here and at
gameinformer.com. That is kind of our job, after all.

(Left) Wade secretly

gi spy

infiltrated the Infinity Ward

crew during our recent
studio visit thanks to his
penchant for flannel. He’s
still there now!
(Right) Suda 51 was
really happy to catch up
with Mike at this year’s
PAX East.

PHOTOS FROM THE VIDEO GAME INDUSTRY

feedback 5
 On Your Mind No Fly Zone
Like many gamers, I was introduced to
the first-person shooter genre with the
original Doom. With the new reboot to
the franchise fast approaching, I still
wonder why many sources say there is
no name for the main protagonist other
than “Doomguy.” The 1995 novel Knee-
Deep in the Dead (Doom, Book 1) gives
our hero the name Flynn “Fly” Taggart.
Why is it that only a few sources apply
Fly’s name to our lovable slayer of
the demon hordes? Also, will the new
Doom game give the character a name
or simply refer to him as “Doomguy”
as well?
Ethan Pethel
via email

According to the myriad game

spinoffs and extended fiction,
Doom’s main protagonist has at vari-
Sequel Or DLC? ous times been called John Grimm,
In issue 277, we asked readers whether they would John Kane, B.J. Blazkowicz, Stan
prefer a year of DLC support for a game they already own Blazkowicz, and the aforemen-
tioned Flynn – none of which are any
or a sequel to it. Once we weeded out the wishy-washy
cooler than the fan-given moniker
responses (it’s an either/or question!), DLC was the clear, Doomguy. The truth? The protago-
not to mention surprising, favorite. nist is unnamed and referred to in
the second person during the game
Personally, I think a year of DLC for a game you love is the best for a reason: He’s supposed to be
way to go. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’d be all over a sequel, you. In our hearts, however, he’ll
Sequel or but it’d take longer to develop and might not be as good. Plus, always be known as Doomguy.
DLC Debate the DLC might even end up being free.
Final Fantasy Austin Michelson
Fanfare
VR Hype/Skepticism I would say a sequel is better than a year of DLC support.
Why? Because the sequel will be new while the DLC is still
NX Anxiety
part of the same game – why would I need more content
Lamenting than I already own?
Fable’s Fate Ahmed Abdalla

It depends. If the game wraps its story up in such a way

where a sequel would be unnecessary, like Arkham Knight,
then DLC is a great option to increase the game’s longevity.
However, if the story leaves enough mystery and questions
to warrant a sequel, like Uncharted, or its universe is broad
enough in scope like Fallout, then a sequel is great.
Tyler Cox

(Left) During a recent

trip to Santa Monica,
Kim ran into Twilight
actor Kellan Lutz and
wouldn’t let him go until
she took this picture.
(Right) Kim also ran
into GameSpot editor
and former G.I. intern
Mike Mahardy, who
wouldn’t leave until she
took this picture.

6 feedback
 A Sweet Piece of Fun.
© 2016. Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company.
Juicy Fruit and all affiliated designs are trademarks of Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company or its affiliates.
gallery 1
WINNER
1 Andrea Cadle
This is what Bowser would look like if he were designed
by Tetsuya Nomura

2 Madison Brake
The tighter the pants, the faster the evasive
roll, right?

3 Gabrielle Denman
Link has secretly been every character
in every Zelda game. It’s like Fight Club.
Seriously. Take our word for it. Play all of the
games again and you’ll see we’re right

4 Lillian Peterson
Undertale’s characters are as adorable as
they are unbelievable. Come on, there’s no
way a skeleton could wear shorts

» Submit your art for a chance to win our monthly prize. Please include your name and return address. Entries become the property of Game Informer and cannot be returned.
Send to: Game Informer Reader Art Contest | 724 First Street North, 3rd Floor | Minneapolis, MN 55401 or Email to: [email protected]

(Left) A big thanks to

all the G.I. fans who
came to last month’s
Glitchcon to watch a live
episode of Replay!
(Right) Dan had a
festive GDC thanks to
Bender/Helper Impact’s
Kate Lollar, Trion Worlds’
Evan Berman, and
GREE’s Steven Spagnolo.

8 feedback
NOTABLES
16 world-building
with words:
how developers
approach language
creation in games

20 impulse

22 gamer:
jorien “sheever”
van der heijden

24 afterwords:
quantum break

26 top ten unresolved

cliffhangers

28 interview: ubisoft's
yves guillemot

10
Destiny: Rise Of Iron
Targets September Release
Bungie goes new-gen only in latest expansion

I
n advance of the slew of impending E3 announcements, Bungie to develop Destiny exclusively for
PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. The
shared a taste of what fans can expect out of Destiny later this
move allows Bungie to not be held
year. After a leak in late May, the promised expansion now has back by technical constraints regard-
an official name; Destiny: Rise of Iron is the next large-scale release ing future releases, but it also means
that previous-gen players need to
for the ever-expanding shooter. Like last year’s The Taken King, the upgrade if they want to continue to
new content is steering toward a September launch date. experience new content for the sci-fi/
fantasy shooter.
Back in June 2015, Activision CEO
Eric Hirshberg may have telegraphed
by Matt Miller the writing on the wall in a conversa-
tion with Game Informer. “We’ll never
[let last-gen] hold the game back,”
Longtime Destiny fans should have In addition to a full campaign of story Hirshberg said at the time. “I think
no trouble recognizing the title’s origin. missions, players can look forward to people imagine that there is some
The Iron Banner competitive tourna- an unannounced competitive mode, sort of anchor around the ankle of the
ment occurs on a monthly basis, pro- new Crucible maps, an as-yet-unseen developers because it's on last-gen
viding a focused event for players to three-person cooperative strike, and an platforms. We develop the right game
test their skills against the rest of the elevated light value to try and achieve for each platform and optimize for that
community. But since its inception, as they level up their characters. While platform. What you're seeing on the
the Iron Banner has also alluded to a details on most of the new arsenal of next-gen is Bungie's full vision for that
broader narrative surrounding a cast of weapons remain under wraps, Destiny’s game, unencumbered.”
legendary figures called the Iron Lords. most popular (and infamous) rocket Activision has held off on reporting
Rise of Iron puts those characters launcher from Year One is returning. unit sales for Destiny, so we don’t
front and center in a new story-driven The Iron Gjallarhorn is colored in black know about the current split between
chapter set on Earth, and also intro- and silver, and is currently designated players on old versus new consoles.
duces a new faction of enemies – a as a pre-order bonus. Bungie also However, it’s clear that Activision sees
mutated twist on the Fallen aliens first promises that all players can forge a Destiny as one of its most success-
introduced in the base game. new version of Gjallarhorn through ful projects, as the publisher recently
The Taken King established a an in-game quest, but absent the reported 30 million users – up from
precedent with the introduction of the cosmetic black aesthetics. 25 million just one financial quarter
Hive ship called the Dreadnought as One of the most surprising details to prior. Rise of Iron undoubtedly hopes
an exploreable locale, and Rise of Iron emerge about Rise of Iron is the de- to continue the upward trend to close
appears to be following suit through creased platform options. Beginning out 2016, even as Bungie continues
a new area set on Earth called the with this expansion, Bungie is aban- to work toward the full sequel planned
Plaguelands. The new site is the home doning PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 for 2017.
of a resurgent threat from the past,
and one that connects to the new
Devil Splicer faction of Fallen foes.
Bungie is also promising a new social
space for players to gather, but the
details and purpose of the space are
yet to be revealed.
“I’m really excited to finally tell the tale
of the Iron Lords,” says game director
Christopher Barrett. “Players have been
given small nods to the lore through
evocative Iron Banner weapon names
like Jolder’s Hammer and Efrideet’s
Spear, but behind each name is a heroic
story waiting to be told. That story will
take players on their own journey deep
into the Plaguelands, where they’ll find
a new cinematic story, new enemies to
fight, new weapons and gear to earn,
and of course, a brand new Raid to
conquer, all on a quest to become an
Gjallarhorn makes a triumphant return in Destiny: Rise of Iron
Iron Lord themselves.”
connect 11
A GAMER IN THE DIRECTOR’S CHAIR
We talk with director Duncan Jones
by Ben Hanson & Andrew Reiner
about the Warcraft movie
ideo game movies rarely meet the expectations of the fan bases, often spin-

V
I became a fan of World of War-
craft because of my guild, but I had
ning the fiction that made the games compelling into something unrecogniz-
already played all of the real-time
able. Filmmaker Duncan Jones, who directed Moon and Source Code, is hop- strategy games from Warcraft: Orcs
ing Warcraft shows the world that video games can successfully be adapted & Humans on through. I used to
bounce between the Warcraft RTS
to film. As a World of Warcraft guild leader and lifelong gamer, Jones believes he knows games and Command & Conquer
what gamers want to see on the big screen. back when there was an arms race
for real-time games.
When you are absorbed in the from an isometric viewpoint. You Is there a British theme running
post-production world of creat- could upgrade your guys to try throughout all of these games? Do you miss the RTS Warcraft
ing Warcraft, do you have time to and dominate sectors of the city. Well, I grew up there, so a lot of my games? Do you think World of
play games on the side? You could up their weapons and early gaming came from the U.K. Warcraft has consumed too
All I do in the free time I have is technology, and there was this or just in Europe. But that’s not much of the lore?
play XCOM 2. That’s my go-to constant wave of enemies you true. Lord British [Richard Garriott] It’s kind of crazy how many
escapism game. were dealing with as you were try- came from Austin, Texas. He’s real, serious, hardcore fans of
ing to complete missions. faux British. Of all three games, Warcraft were involved in the
Do you name everyone Another of the three is Speed- he’s the only [creator] who has a making of the movie. Myself;
in XCOM 2 after Warcraft ball 2: Brutal Deluxe by The Bitmap medieval castle. Bill Westenhofer, who is the VFX
characters? Brothers back in the day. The supervisor; both Jeff White and
No, I make them all look like my Amiga version is the one that I As a big gamer, when you Jason Smith, who were sort of
friends and crew members. The loved. I know they’ve remade that heard there was a Warcraft film the heads of VFX at Industrial
people that piss me off get made game over the years, and tried to being made, did you petition to Light & Magic; Rob Kazinsky, who
tanks, and get thrown in the front. update it, but whenever they do, it get it? plays Ogrim Doom hammer in the
Everyone else I like gets to stay just doesn’t work. But for whatever Let’s get into the nerdy technicali- movie – all of us were hardcore
behind and snipe. reason, there was this magic when ties of it. I started and ran a guild in Warcraft players.
they first made Speedball 2. It’s Ultima Online for years, and having We have this constant contact
What’s your favorite game of a future sports game somewhere run that for several years, and as with the people at Blizzard and
all time? between ice hockey, soccer, and that game finally came to a close we’re all sort of saying “You know
It’s a tie between three different mixed martial arts. It’s incredibly with the cataclysm of Lord British what would be really cool? Why
games. One is Syndicate Wars violent with a steel ball that they getting assassinated in the game don’t you make a new Warcraft
by Bullfrog out of the U.K., which throw to each other and a goal they and the world overrun with demons, RTS for the iPad or something like
was absolutely fantastic. You were try to get it into. we decided to find a new game to that? We really want to play one!”
the brains behind four android-like Finally, for my nerdy RPG creden- move to. We moved en masse to They were getting bugged from
heavies down the street in sort tials it would be Richard Garriott’s World of Warcraft, when that even- us all of the time to make a new
of a Blade Runner-inspired city Ultima III: Exodus. tually opened. We played that. Warcraft RTS.
12
Can you walk us through the as they do the humans.” people who know about Warcraft, them. As a filmmaker, what’s
early meetings with Blizzard, and That obviously resonated with they’re going to feel like they’ve it been like working on a huge
what you thought their priorities Blizzard. They thought, “Yes, gone home. project like this?
were for the direction of the film? that’s what we’ve been missing,” As much as I may have conscious-
I think since the very beginning I did a rewrite and I integrated The film takes place in the time ly told myself I knew what I was
of World of Warcraft – about 10 that into the script and everyone of the first contact between jumping into with this movie, the
years ago – they have been talking got excited. orcs and humans. Was it also in marathon nature of this is some-
about making a movie. I know consideration to think about this thing I wasn’t ready for. It was
that Legendary got involved very In an interview, Sam Raimi being a franchise, leaving plenty three and a half years. With Source
early on, and started working with mentioned he was put off by of room to grow and get to the Code, we didn’t even have a
Blizzard on the movie. They got how much veto power Blizzard Warcraft III storyline? script, and by the time we finished
Sam Raimi attached and started had with the script. Can you talk I think everything is utterly depen- the script, shot the film, and edited
working with him for a couple of about how much power Blizzard dent on how this film does, but it, it was 12 months. Source Code
years on development, but things ultimately had in the direction of just for the fun of it since you can’t was short, massively short in com-
just didn’t dovetail between what this movie? help yourself, when I was working parison to Warcraft, which is three
Sam and Blizzard and other inter- One thing you have to remember is with Chris Metzen [Blizzard’s game and a half years. Trying to maintain
ested groups wanted the film to they’ve been making these games designer] a bit, we talked about, the quality control, and the focus,
be. Eventually Sam went off to do successfully with the love and sup- “Okay, if we did get the chance to and the energy, and drive for three
Wizard of Oz, I believe. port of their fan base for 20 years. do three movies, what would those and a half years on a project is
I had been a fan, obviously, and It’s a huge business for them. They three movies be?” really hard work. It’s taxing. You
I had been following along with don’t want some movie coming in We kind of have a sense of what know, we did it. I’m proud of it, and
what was happening with the and pooping on something they’ve those three movies would be. now I just want people to see it.
movie. I was bugging them con- worked so hard on. I get that. Anything beyond that is abso- The internet is a hard place to
stantly, and then found out it had As a fan, I don’t want that either. lutely possible, but all things are live when you hear people talk-
fallen off of the tracks a little bit. As a fan, it’s easier for me to come dependent on people enjoying and ing about marketing but actually
Source Code had just come out in and work copaseticly with wanting more after they’ve seen haven’t seen the movie yet.
and was being pretty well received, Blizzard, because I kind of know this movie.
so I had two movies in a row that what they care about. As much as Are you going to bring your guild
were doing okay, and I said “Look, possible, I’m in sync with that, and Source Code and Moon were to the premiere?
I’ve only done two smaller films, I want the same thing. It makes my ambitious films. Warcraft must Um… I don’t know. I don’t know if
but if I could come in and have a job much, much smoother. If you be leaps and bounds beyond I’m ready for that [laughs]. \
meeting, I would really, really love are coming at it from a completely
to do this movie. I think I could do different angle, and you are fight-
Duncan Jones on the set of Warcraft, opening on June 10
something with it.” ing what they think Warcraft is, I
There was a little bit of a passing can see that being very frustrating
of time and then eventually I got a for both parties.
phone call saying, “Do you want to
have a look at this script we got? As a World of Warcraft player,
We’d like to talk to you about it.” I did you hide your character in
read it, and it was a draft that they the movie?
were working on after Sam had left I did not hide my character, but
for a new approach to the Warcraft there is a very graphic and obvious
movie. It was basically going back shout-out to my guild.
to the first game, Orcs & Humans,
and that first contact moment How much did you focus on slip-
between them. It made absolute ping in Easter eggs for fans of
sense. I read the script and was a the series?
little disappointed because the one There’re basically two versions of
thing that, to me, Warcraft does me that you get when I have to
is it takes the fantasy tropes and do interviews. There’s the version
expectations and puts a little twist that has to make it very clear
on them, and makes things a little that this is a film for absolutely
bit different. everyone. It appeals to everyone,
If you’re used to J. R. R. Tolkien, and has a narrative and charac-
and you’re used to humans and ters that you don’t have to have
very human-looking elves all being previous knowledge of. That is
the good guys, and the monsters true, but for you, who are more
are the ugly things are the bad game-centric and understand the
guys, that’s kind of the fantasy excitement that people who love
people know. What Warcraft did Warcraft have for this, there is so
in the early games is allow you to much buried in there and woven
play as the Orcs, the monsters, and throughout the fabric of the movie
be the hero on that side, and have that will get fans excited – whether
your own story lines and how to they are going to go to the Lion’s
save the world for the Orcs. That Pride tavern, whether they are
was [Blizzard’s] twist. Not to have going to see places they’ve seen
that in the script was sacrilegious. and spent weeks, months, years
That’s not Warcraft anymore. My of their life in. They are going to
pitch was: “Look, I would love to see those places as real, sumptu-
do this movie, I like elements of this ous places. They’ll feel at home. I
script, but you really need to get wanted to make the movie in such
the audience to be as comfortable a way that it absolutely works as a
and care just as much for the Orcs movie in its own right, but for those
connect 13
 THE GOOD, THE BAD, & THE UGLY
The Good

RESPAWN Entertainment, the studio

behind Titanfall, is working
on a third-person Star Wars action game to be published
by Electronic Arts. If the developer’s pedigree alone wasn’t
enough, the project is being headed by Stig Asmussen, the
The Bad director of God of War 3.

Quotable

“We’ll deliver the

new play in the
new future with
the cutting-edge
equipment, tech-
nology, and the
frontier spirit.
The gear he’s
wearing is the
extra-vehicular
DISNEY canceled its Disney Infinity toys-to-life franchise, but also shut down the internal
studio behind it, Avalanche (no affiliation to the similarly named developer of the Just
Cause series). From now on the company will license its properties, like Star Wars, out to others for future
activity (EVA) video games. Previous to launching Disney Infinity, Disney Interactive shut down several of its own internal
studios, and back in 2013 when Disney bought LucasFilm Disney also closed video game arm LucasArts.
creative suit.”

THE LEGEND OF
The Ugly

ZELDA ON WII U
has been delayed into 2017, and will now
release with a version of the game on
Nintendo’s upcoming NX system. This is bad
news for Wii U owners, as they have one less
exclusive title to look forward to on the system.
– Hideo Kojima It also signals the effective end of the console,
explains the 3D since a chunk of its crowd will now buy the
image of Kojima NX version instead. Nintendo only expects to
Productions’ sell 800,000 units of the Wii U worldwide in
new logo. fiscal year 2017.

connect 14
 World-Building With Words
How developers approach language creation in games

o feel a connection with the virtual world, we first have to believe

T in it. With sci-fi and fantasy settings in particular, designing fictional

languages can help paint a more realistic world that captures the
diversity and personality of its characters. Would Far Cry Primal’s
prehistoric setting be conceivable in modern English? What if Skyrim’s ancient
draconic tongue didn’t exist? Whether they are pushing creative player
engagement with ambiguous speech as we see in The Sims, or mimicking real-
life dialects to give the impression of multiculturalism in Dragon Age Inquisition,
video games are heightening the bar for immersion. We chatted with various
developers about how they approach this unique and daunting task.
by Elise Favis

16
REVIVING THE PAST Primal are reconstructions molded from PIE, the aura of realism. A problem the development team
When Ubisoft decided Far Cry Primal would remaining five percent are educated guesses. In soon realized, however, was that the foreign lan-
be set in 10,000 B.C., the team faced a glar- PIE, there are nearly 20 different roots for the guage would mean a heavy usage of subtitles.
ing problem: How would they coherently tell a verb “to shine,” but modern words including Ubisoft didn’t want players to spend their entire
narrative if all the characters are primitive cave- expressions as simple as “yes” don’t have an time reading, so they put more emphasis on mo-
men? Would groans and grunts suffice? Be- existing term. The two had to improvise with tion capture to drive home the narrative through
fore settling on Proto-Indo-European, Ubisoft creative solutions, such as “yes” becoming “it body language and facial expressions. To test
first explored other routes, such as tasking its is correct.” this out, the team revisited their previous entry,
writing team with creating a fictional language “[Accuracy] was something that was very im- Far Cry 4, but this time entirely in Japanese.
from scratch. After realizing it would be too portant to all of us in the project, because Proto- “We wanted to see if we were able to under-
much of a strain on the writers, they looked for Indo-European is something that many, many stand what was going on in the world without
outside resources. people have studied,” Brenna says. “We wanted understanding the language,” says narrative di-
A member of the localization team suggested it to be as authentic as possible. We wanted it to rector Jean-Sebastien Decant. “And of course,
two linguists, Andrew and Brenna Byrd from the be believable for other linguists.” the body language, the emotion, and the situ-
University of Kentucky. They had prior expertise The result was a rich, complex language that ation made it very clear that people would get
in researching and translating Proto-Indo-Eu- breathed life into the land of Oros and gave an what was going on.”
ropean (PIE), a rudimentary language that was
spoken between roughly 2500 and 4500 B.C.
“Toward the beginning of the project, when
[Ubisoft] sent us an email, we actually thought it
was spam,” Andrew Byrd says, laughing. Creating An Alphabet
The Byrds translated the game’s 40,000-word The Elder Scrolls series has long had a rich world full of elaborate detail, and its dragon language,
script, which was previously written in simplified with over 60 individual words that combine to form 20 dragon shouts, reinforces this ideology.
English. The colossal project tasked the two with Largely created by senior designer Emil Pagliarulo, every word in the dragon language is translat-
building a fictitious language based on variations able. Even the iconic dragon shout “Fus Ro Dah!” can be broken down into English: “Fus” means
of PIE for three of the game’s tribes: the Wenja, force, “Ro” means balance, and “Dah" means push.
the Izila, and the Udam. Each tribe’s name is When we spoke to Pagliarulo for our 2011 The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim cover story, he explained
inspired from a combination of words that best the many challenges of writing the stanzas for “The Song of the Dragonborn,” a tune that would
represent the tribe’s mindset. For example, capture and sway the hearts of many fans. He had to make sure it would rhyme in both English and
Wenja is derived from the word “wan,” which the dragon language, while also communicating an epic tale. The language itself is comparable to
means “to hunt.” The Izila speak a language of BioWare’s use of fragmented speech in Dragon Age. Rather than designing a complete language,
their own — a more melodic iteration of Wen- the dragon language abandons most grammar rules and syntax, and is instead considered word-
ja. While the Wenja and Udam can understand based and hieroglyph-based. However, Bethesda went one step further, by building an alphabet
each other, their dialects differ phonetically in a that would be scribbled across Skyrim’s many ancient ruins and word walls that teach you new
similar way that Southern English and New York dragon shouts.
English would. Pagliarulo worked alongside concept artist Adam Adamowicz to create the runic alphabet, which
Ubisoft wanted the Byrds to base the lan- is comprised of rough scratch lines to imitate the talons of a dragon, as if they were engraved by
guage off a more archaic version of PIE, which the large beasts themselves. Adamowicz created a font with those aesthetics in mind, and designed
the linguists call Proto-Proto-Indo-European. symbols for different letters, though not all of them correspond to the English alphabet.
In the dragon language, there are 34 unique runic characters, and certain Roman alphabet letters
Modifications were made to better suit the set-
don’t exist, such as “c.” Other times, a single symbol can represent several Roman letters at once,
ting, and to accommodate voice actors who
such as double vowels, including “ii” or “ei.”
struggled with specific words. While the Byrds
estimate that 95 percent of language in Far Cry
connect 17
 In the Dragon Age series, the Elven language
is spoken without closing your mouth often
due to its scarce usage of hard consonants

CREATING SPEECH FROM GIBBERISH unintelligible, so players could create emergent Bay area, and we gave them those languages,
Far Cry Primal’s language-building posed many narratives of their own. but they were very confusing for them to work
questions. Could the game remain immer- During the development of the original Sims, with,” says audio director Robi Kauker. “They
sive even if players didn't understand a word? which released in 2000, creator Will Wright and didn’t know where to put their emphasis.”
Would their interest wane? The Far Cry 4 test his team experimented with foreign languages Two of the original Sims actors, Stephen
affirmed to the team that a story told entirely in such as Navajo for dialogue, but that idea soon Kearin and Gerri Lawlor, brought a new idea
an unknown language was conceivable if done fell through after the voice actors struggled with to the drawing board. They informed the team
right. In comparison, The Sims’ creators at the performance. of an improv exercise where the goal was to
Maxis built a language that was supposed to be “We brought in some improv actors from the build a coherent story using only nonsensi-
cal sounds such as hums and mumbles. From
there, early iterations of Simlish were born. After
seven days of recording improvised sessions of
Simlish, Kauker and fellow audio director Kent
Jolly spent six to eight months editing pieces of
audio, mixing them up in new combinations to
build the Simlish we hear in the game.
As the series matured, so did Simlish. A ba-
sic vocabulary began to form and phrases be-
came more consistent. For example, “Sul Sul”
is known as the hello greeting and “nooboo”
means infant. The language is simple and much
of it remains gibberish to this day, except for a
short list of words that have their own definitions.
While some vocabulary defines certain objects,
many of the words have multiple meanings re-
lating to various emotional inputs. This was es-
pecially prevalent as Maxis moved forward with
The Sims 4, which puts emphasis on emotions
more so than any other Sims game.
“We have a lexicon, but it’s not a one-to-one
Reteaching Artists Their Songs In Simlish translation by any means,” explains The Sims 4
audio director Jackie Gratz. “It’s more [based
When Sims audio director Robi Kauker spoke on the phone with David Gahan of Depeche Mode dur- on] emotional context. We have five or six other
ing the development of The Sims 2, the singer told him he had a very strange job — and he wasn’t words that in general express that you’re en-
wrong. The two, along with other members of The Sims development team, would later sit down and joying eating something, or something is really
discuss a script of lyrics that reimagined the band’s song “Suffer Well” into gibberish. grossing you out, or something has a flavor to
“Suffer Well” is one of many hit songs that are recreated in Simlish, which appear in-game for your it. But the words can be used in many different
Sims to dance and listen to through CD players and stereos. Depeche Mode was followed by several contexts within that general idea.”
other famous artists, including Katy Perry and the Barenaked Ladies. The team kept much of Simlish ambiguous
The process begins with the sound team at Maxis contacting an artist of interest, with the musician
for players, leaving it up to their own interpreta-
choosing their preferred song to undergo the lyric transformation. A loose translation is then given
tions. Considering the series is user-generated
to the artist, so they can rework their song to reflect their singing style and personality. Finally, they
in many ways, from home building to in-depth
hit the recording booth.
character creation, it comes as no surprise that
the language, too, was there to breed creativity.
18
THE ADVANTAGES OF FRAGMENTED LANGUAGE “In both cases, they are languages that are Andrew Byrd says. “He’s such a talented actor
A full-fledged fictional language is an ambitious good for communicating simple feelings, or that he needed very little coaching.”
task, but it’s not always necessary, as we saw pointing at something and saying what that thing The rest of the cast, particularly those that took
with The Sims. At BioWare, creating condensed, is,” says BioWare writer Patrick Weekes. “They’re part in motion capture, were guided through the
fragmented language was more efficient for its not languages that you can use to get instruc- language by Brenna. She taught three immer-
fantasy role-playing franchise Dragon Age, due tions on how to program your microwave.” sion courses on set. The actors would introduce
to the large size of the writing team and the ex- This was deliberate, because a language with themselves in Wenja, and speak it for the entire-
tensive lore of the game. Simulating a sense of extensive vocabulary and grammar would mean ty of the hour. Then Brenna shouted out com-
realism was a primary goal, but sacrifices were each writer would have to learn a new language mands in Wenja, such as telling the cast to run
made so intricate details wouldn’t end up lost in from scratch. But the purpose of this direction around the room or pretend to throw objects.
translation. They settled on a compromise: The goes deeper: Fragmented language is used This is a technique known as Total Physical Re-
team designed bits of language and borrowed to illustrate how little is known about Elven in sponse, an instructional tool that has been used
inspiration from real languages to build a world the world. in language classes since the 1970s.
that is as believable as it is multicultural. “It was deliberate that it was just fragments, “The actors would not speak, only react physi-
With an internal language database of gram- because until you get to Inquisition, there’s not cally to what I was communicating verbally,”
mar rules and vocabulary, any writer in the team a single elf in any of the Dragon Age games who Brenna says. "It’s a little like the game Simon
can glance at a list of words quickly to grasp knows how to speak Elven,” says Dragon Age Says, except the challenging part is remember-
the many fictional languages from Dragon Age. writer Mary Kirby. “The language is kind of a lost ing what the words mean.” It became a chaotic
Thedas, Dragon Age’s sprawling fantasy set- part of their culture, so they have phrases and but fun activity that the two linguists believe was
ting, is a continent filled with several empires words and that’s it.” a turning point in the project, allowing the cast
and kingdoms home to elves, dwarves, hu- Qunlat features more vocabulary than Elven, to become more comfortable with the language.
mans, and others. While English (usually called though once again it remains fragmented. The “As you can imagine, it’s really hard to learn
“the common tongue” in-game) is spoken uni- Qunari are a brutish race that uses oral commu- a completely made-up language,” Andrew Byrd
versally, each area comes with its own dialect, nication less frequently than other races do. Their explains. “Not only do that, but coordinate it
and several races have their own language they speech is stripped to mere necessities, and most with new movements that are completely for-
revert to occasionally with brief phrases. Most words have several meanings, which creates a eign to you, and express emotions within the
dialects and accents resemble real languages, highly metaphorical language. This makes Qunlat cinematics – it was a very, very difficult thing for
such as the Orlesians speaking with French ac- a challenge to write, whereas Elven is more dif- the actors. But in doing these lessons, Brenna
cents. The team saw this as the best compro- ficult for the voice actors due to its sibilant sound. really created a community among us.”
mise. The latest entry to the series, Dragon Age:
Inquisition, covered more ground than any other TEACHING THE CAST A NEW LANGUAGE BUILDING BELIEVABLE WORLDS
installment. The deeper the lore and cultures It’s common for voice actors to first struggle Whether it’s using internal wikis for consistency
became, the greater the team wished to flesh with learning a new language. With Far Cry or hiring linguists to build entire languages, de-
out fictional languages too. Primal’s PIE-inspired language being exception- velopers are paying more attention to what their
For the languages that are completely ficti- ally in-depth, it required teaching and mentor- language conveys to the player about the uni-
tious, it’s a different story. The two most com- ship from the linguists. Every morning, Andrew verse they're stepping into, and as we've seen
plex languages, and most heard in the series, are Byrd would hop on Skype with voice actor Elias with these various games, it's paying off. Cre-
Qunlat (spoken by the Qunari) and Elven (spo- Toufexis, who plays the protagonist Takkar, to ating languages is an ambitious task, but the
ken primarily by the Dalish elves), though these teach him the proper annunciations of Wenja. value is substantial: boundaries continue to be
are far from fully realized languages. BioWare “We would get together every morning on pushed to portray a living and breathing world,
describes them as being closer to ciphers. Skype and practice his hundreds of lines,” one word at a time. \

While Far Cry Primal's Wenja and

Udam can understand each other,
their dialects differ phonetically

connect 19
impulse Big Indies Aim To Steal The Spotlight

Abzû
PS4, PC

A
s E3 rolls around yet again, bringing with it the expected mix of has some interesting talent behind it.
announcements and reveals, the independent games movement Developer Hollow Ponds includes team
members who worked on the quirky
continues to steam ahead. This month, we check out several of and experimental game Hohokum.
the coolest titles on the horizon looking to shake up gaming’s biggest We recently saw the new game in
yearly show. action, and though it has a fun sense
of humor, it also delivers interesting
strategy elements.
by Kimberley Wallace, Javy Gwaltney, & Matt Miller In Loot Rascals, you need to escape
a hostile planet fighting zany aliens,
robots, and monsters. You move
If you’re looking for something that’s As you swim, sea creatures react across a procedurally generated level
just all around beautiful rather than to you and each other; you can even divided into hexagonal tiles, searching
chaotic and bloody, Giant Squid’s latch onto larger fish to see the world for gear and engaging in turn-based
Abzû should be on your radar. Not from their perspective. One recent battles. The card collecting element
many games give you the relaxing, addition is implementing a food chain is the most intriguing aspect; you
meditative feeling that this third-person into the game as a way to juxtapose can only equip a limited number of
exploration game does. As a diver, you the beauties of ocean with its harsher cards (which alter your attack, life,
probe the world beneath, brushing up realities. The experience also holds its and defense), forcing you to choose
against aquatic life. You may be lost in share of surprises, such as drones that wisely. You lose this equipment when
the ocean, but it doesn’t feel alarming. help you get past barriers and magical you die, but when other players defeat
Instead, the vibrant atmosphere makes undersea pools that warp the environ- the same enemy that killed you in their
it feel inviting. For our most recent ment into a more fantastical landscape. game, they have the option to either
hands-on session, the orchestral music The story comes through exploring, keep your gear or send it back to you.
by composer Austin Wintory (Journey, and Giant Squid is already prepared for Giving it back allows your avatar to
Assassin’s Creed Syndicate) was finally plenty of different interpretations when appear in their game and help them for
in the game, and it makes a big impact, the games launches this summer for a period. If they’re mean and keep it,
by setting the mood and capturing the PlayStation 4 and PC. you can enact revenge and hunt them
surreal feeling of just drifting through Loot Rascals, a roguelike strategy down. Loot Rascals launches early
the sea. game with collectible card elements, next year on PlayStation 4 and PC.

Loot Rascals We Happy Few

PS4, PC PS4, Xbox One, PC, Mac, Linux

20 connect
 Compulsion Games' We Happy Few
makes you want to know more about
its world immediately. In Wellington
Wells (a dystopian, alternate ver-
sion of 1960s England), everyone is
taking “joy” drugs and you’re just a
downer who won’t and is trying to flee
the chaos.
After getting feedback from Early
Access, Compulsion Games discov-
ered people enjoyed its lore so much
that they wanted more story, so it’s
adding specific narrative levels called
“encounters,” which will become avail-
able after the game ships. For now,
the focus is on only one character and
his escape.
This survival game has roguelike ele-
ments, as dying forces you to begin
again in its procedurally generated
landscape. To get past the delusional
citizens, you must craft everything from
weapons to disguises and make sure
you eat and stay hydrated. Blending
in with the citizens by taking drugs or
wearing the right attire makes things Strafe
easier. Otherwise, you must hide or PC, Mac

stealthily take down the residents

before they swarm you to death. Talk with its soundtrack and waves of with limbs and expended ammo raining
about a bad trip. enemies, but the 45 minutes we spent down on the environment as you rush
Strafe is a first-person shooter that with an early section of the game through each level, blasting everything
harkens back to a simpler, gloriously showed that developer Pixel Titans in sight, never ever stopping because
stupider time, with sci-fi weapons blow- know just what elements of Quake and the moment you slow down, your odds
ing holes through monsters. It’s loud, Doom to tap into when making this of survival drop dramatically. Strafe is
occasionally veering on obnoxiousness gory homage. The action is off the wall, coming to PC in early 2017. \

IT’S LIKE
YOUR TONGUE
CRASHED INTO
A CHOCOLATY,
PEANUTY,
CARAMEL
ICEBERG. ICE CREAM SATISFACTION
opinion

Do Genres Mean
Anything Anymore?
by Jeff Cork, Senior Editor

et’s play a word-association game. I’m going to call out a series as players. Netflix and other stream-

L
of words, and your job is to think of the first game that comes to ing sites categorize wildly diverse films
mind. Got it? Great! under categories like drama, comedy,
First-person shooter. Real-time strategy. Fighting. and that old bugaboo action, to make
What did you come up with? For “first-person shooter,” may- it easier for viewers to find what they’re
be something like Doom, Call of Duty, or Counter-Strike? Did looking for. At the same time, algo-
“real-time strategy” conjure up memories of StarCraft or Age of rithms create far more granular sub-
Em pires? And how about that last one? Are you a Street Fighter person? Maybe genres – such as “suspenseful action
The King of Fighters is more your style? Or how about Super Smash Bro–NOT featuring a strong female lead” – which
SO FAST! are verbose, but certainly more helpful
Despite being a game in which your primary way of interacting with other play- than “drama.”
ers is punching and kicking, Nintendo’s franchise isn’t technically considered Other forms of entertainment strug-
a fighting game in some competitive circles. Naysayers cite the game’s easy- gle with this, too, as artists pile their
to-execute special moves, emphasis on platforming, and randomized item distri- plates high with a variety of dishes
bution as disqualifying factors. While I think those arguments are silly – and you from the creative buffet. Many of us
can create custom rules to circumvent most of them – they’re indicative of a larger laughed more at the Hollywood For-
issue: As games continue to borrow elements from other genres, the concept of eign Press Association for awarding
genres as a whole has become increasingly irrelevant. The Martian a Golden Globe for best
Take Rise of the Tomb Raider, for example. What is it? Lara Croft explores her comedy or musical than we did with
surroundings, solving puzzles to navigate dangerous environments. That sounds the actual film. Sure, it featured bits of
a lot like an adventure game, in the same way that The Legend of Zelda games comedy – and Matt Damon’s astronaut
can be lumped into that broad genre. But hold on – there’s a big emphasis on did play some disco CDs while ma-
stealth, putting it in the company of series like Splinter Cell and Metal Gear Solid. rooned on Mars – but does that make
Then again, you can also play it like an all-out action game, taking on foes like you it a comedy?
would in a typical third-person shooter. However you decide to tackle combat, it’s In spite of my bellyaching, I’m trying
wise to put points toward the abilities that will best help your style, adding to the to see the positive side of things. It’s
invisible damage rolls that happen behind the scenes. Wait, is it an RPG? a plus for gamers to even to be able
Ultimately, Game Informer filed it under “action,” which is the big-top-sized um- to talk about this. Think about how
brella that these hard-to-categorize games typically live under. Whenever I type far we’ve come. RPGs almost always
the word “action” in a genre bullet point, it feels like a synonym for defeat. Once used to mean “Games where you buy
a game slips away from genres that are purely descriptive – first-person shooter, new swords and shields on your way
rhythm, racing – pinning them down can be futile. When I talk to my friends about to slay a dragon or ogre chieftain.”
a new game they should try, I rarely bring up the genre. Instead, the discussion Now, an RPG can take place in a high
sounds like an elevator pitch to a movie executive. “It’s like Skyrim, but in a post- school – or inside Bowser. Meanwhile,
apocalyptic world.” “It’s Dark Souls meets H.P. Lovecraft.” “Think Uncharted, though I still may have to fill in “ac-
without all the dopey jokes.” tion,” in the little sidebar, I’ll do my best
The indie game Stardew Valley was an office sensation, but not once did I hear to tell you what’s really going on in the
anyone talk about it as being “role-playing,” which is what we categorize it as. meat of my writing.
“It’s like old-school Harvest Moon,” was the common refrain, which summed it up
about as best as possible. The views and opinions expressed in this column are
I understand that categorizing is important for the magazine and a few oth er strictly those of the author and not necessarily those
odd ball instances, even though doesn’t translate to how we talk about games of Game Informer

22 connect
afterwords

QUANTUM BREAK
Nick) in the prototype phase, but we
also had Gethin Anthony (Renly from
While the Quantum Break live-action show left some feeling empty, that Game of Thrones) in our first proto-
didn’t diminish our enjoyment of Remedy’s stellar third-person action types. However, once we had our final
Jack in Shawn Ashmore we could find
shooter, which lets you tap into an array of time-manipulation super his brother William Joyce, and Dominic
powers. Remedy’s game/show hybrid was in development for over five Monaghan was a natural choice. Along
years, so it took a few twists and turns along the way. We spoke with with this, we also originally had four
main characters. However, we found it
Remedy about this unique hybrid’s extended development. by Ben Reeves diluted the storytelling and we wanted
a key focus on the protagonist.
How does Remedy feel about the style slow-mo dive. Why did you
response to the live-action seg- steer away from straight up adding Were you ever tempted to turn
ments? Are you happy with how bullet time as one of his powers? Quantum Break’s live-action bits
those turned out? Mikael Kasurinen (game director): The into their own standalone series to
Sam Lake (creative director): Creating a cinematic action of Max Payne was an be streamed/sold on Blu-ray?
live-action show that has both branch- homage to the legendary Hong Kong Thomas Puha (head of communications):
ing material and one-to-one crossover movies like Hard-boiled and The Killer. No, not really. The live-action show
elements with the game was a huge With the style and tone of those movies is an integral part of the game, so it
challenge. Considering how hard it comes a very established choreography should stay within the game.
was, I'm very proud of the result we that is iconic for that world. It fit per-
achieved. There were a lot of learnings fectly for Max Payne’s unique blend It seems like a lot of companies have
along the way that I hope we can put of Hong Kong action and film noir. had trouble porting their game to PC
to good use some day in some future In our eyes Max “owns” those classic recently. What was your experience
project that involves multiple mediums combat moves and it is a core part getting Quantum Break onto PC?
coming together. of his visual identity. Puha: At the end of the day, we
While we initially didn’t explicitly shipped a DX12 title on Windows 10,
Time-travel stories are often confus- decide to rule out bullet time, there both of which were very new things at
ing. What were some of the plot holes was a clear desire to have a fast and the time. There were definitely some
you had to fix during development? energetic pacing for combat. Taking challenges, and we’ve been diligently
Mikko Rautalahti (narrative lead): that into account, a huge part of the making updates to the Windows 10
Usually, if you change an event around bullet-time experience is to provide version to fix the issues that the game
the last third of a story, it only affects the player a cinematic moment in launched with. Still, it was great that
the ending. With time travel, though, slow-motion, giving time to be in awe we got to bring Quantum Break to fans
a change at the end can affect the of the spectacle. So it didn’t quite on another platform, and as a studio,
beginning – and that affects every- fit with Quantum’s faster pace and the key learnings we took away from
thing. So you have to plan very care- emphasis on combining the use of the development experience were
fully. One example of that is Beth powers and attacks. incredibly valuable.
Wilder. She’s manipulating her younger
self, lying by omission. We had to Did any of the game’s characters Are you hoping to work on Alan
manage that carefully. If she knew too change dramatically over the course Wake 2 or Quantum Break 2 next?
little, she wasn’t effective; if she knew of development? Puha: I’m pretty sure we’d love to
too much, she wouldn’t be committed. Greg Louden (narrative designer): work on both, but like Sam said earlier,
She’s quite ruthless about screwing The cast of Quantum Break evolved these are complicated business deci-
up her own life. It says a lot about her throughout production. For example, sions, so it’s not always entirely up to
character and her commitment. we had three different Jack Joyces. what we at Remedy want. We would
A little known fact is that before Shawn love to make sequels for both, but on
Jack has a lot of time-based powers, Ashmore was finally cast as Jack the other hand, we’ve got a lot of new
but he still can’t do a Max Payne- Joyce we had Sean Durrie (now our ideas we would love to explore.
24 connect
Play by your own rules.
Come to ThinkGeek for shirts and gear for video games new and old.
 top ten Unresolved
Cliffhangers
by Javy Gwaltney

Alan Wake
Poor Alan. He goes through so much trouble to save his
wife, only to end up in a mysterious limbo, exclaiming
cryptically “It’s not a lake…it’s an ocean.” Though
Remedy followed up with DLC and American Nightmare,
we still haven’t received a sequel or an answer to Wake’s
current predicament.

Mega Man Legends 2

Legends is a great subseries to the beloved Mega Man
Half-Life 2: Episode 2 franchise that ends on one heck of a cliffhanger, with
Could any other game have taken this spot? Not only does the second episode of Mega Man and friends stranded on a mysterious planet.
Half-Life 2’s continuation end bleakly and with a series of unanswered questions, but Mega Man Legends 3 would have wrapped things up,
it’s been nearly a decade since then with no word on the next installment. but it was canceled in 2011.

XIII Darksiders 2 Conduit 2

XIII was a slick shooter with a great espionage story Across two games Darksiders built a fascinating world Conduit 2 ends with Abraham Lincoln and George
centered on protagonist Jason Fly being framed for the and story about the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse Wash ington stepping out of a portal wearing battle
assassination of the president. The game ends with Fly and the (premature) end of the world. The second game armor and coming to your aid in an epic battle…that
facing off against the the true villain, but the lack of a ended on a mysterious note, hinting at larger things to never manifested because we never got a sequel, rob-
sequel means we’ll likely never see how that scenario come in a sequel we may never get. bing the world of wacky sci-fi delights.
plays out.

The Darkness 2 Advent Rising Psi-Ops: The TO BE CONTINUED

Jackie Estacado can’t catch a break. The first in a trilogy that never came Mindgate Conspiracy
After avenging the death of his about, Advent Rising was an ambitious Psi-Ops let you use a number of psychic
girlfriend and trying to keep his pow- action adventure game with a compelling powers to crush your enemies. It also
ers in check, he faces off against the story that ended with a series of portal had an interesting military-complex
mysterious Brotherhood and eventually hops and a mysterious being leading our action story that didn’t get proper closure
ends up stranded in hell, howling in hero into the unknown future. due to Midway Games’ closure.
despair. Bummer.
26 connect
 photo: Florent Schmidt
interview

Ubisoft’s CEO Discusses The

Publisher’s Critical Year Ahead
Ubisoft is turning 30 this year, and with Assassin’s Creed on the back burner, The Division off
to a strong start, and multiple virtual-reality games in development, this is a good time for us to
find out what’s in store for the publisher. We sat down with CEO Yves Guillemot to talk about
why Ubisoft makes a point of being at every hardware launch, the company’s commitment to
developing the industry in new regions, and the threat of a Vivendi hostile takeover.
28
 experiences that haven’t been created before,
interview by Michael Futter and generally they can attract new gamers.
When we led early with Rabbids on the Wii, it
included a Just Dance experience that became
Vivendi has been purchasing Ubisoft stock any new hardware, it’s the content that’s going a huge IP afterwards. We found that new play-
at a rapid rate. They now control 15 percent to make the difference. I think we’ll have good ers were completely different than older play-
of voting shares. Are you concerned about content coming this year, and we have some- ers and were interested in playing the dance
this, and what are you doing to protect the thing new we’ll unveil at E3. minigame more than the others. It gave us a
company from a hostile takeover? Being present in the world and being chance to address that population, and we
We are very concerned. We feel the way they immersed in a world that reacts to us will be wouldn’t have discovered that just by asking
operate is very “brick and mortar” style. They are another dimension in playing video games. If we customers what they wanted.
not from our industry. They follow the old indus- manage to build the right experiences, I think For the development teams, the reward is a
try rules, without understanding that creative that business will take off and take off quickly. lot higher when they can innovate than when
people are very important in our business. The Sony’s on the way with a more affordable head- they have to chase after others who discovered
quality of games is connected to the amount of set and it will help kickstart the new segment. new things. If you arrive early, you get to experi-
freedom creators have and their ability to take We feel that it will be a huge industry, because ment with a lot of new possibilities, and you’re
risks and to fail. This gives us an opportunity to it’s not only games; it’s movies, sports, educa- in front of the industry with innovative experi-
create new IP and new experiences that are dif- tion, and more. All of that content will bring new ences. When you arrive later, you’re copying
ficult to achieve in a company that is managed people to VR. Next year, we expect that VR things that have been done, but doing them a
differently. What we fear the most is that they games will bring in strong revenues. little bit differently to ensure you enhance them.
would destroy our model and come in with their You also find out early if the hardware is
own. The second issue is that what they are Have the Rift and Vive shipping issues going to succeed or not. If it succeeds, you can
doing is “creeping control.” This means that they impacted how quickly that segment will increase the number of teams working on that
aren’t making an offer for our company. They ramp up, and has it changed your thinking platform. When you start later, you don’t know
are trying to install board members and then about when and how to launch games like what you don’t know.
take over. They won’t actually buy the company. Eagle Flight and Werewolves Within?
They’ll just take control without buying it. But the Any problem has an impact. We have to be Are there any lessons from the Wii U you’re
main concern is that we’d become a totally dif- careful, for sure. It’s making us say, “Okay, using to adapt your strategy?
ferent company than we are today. we’re going to take our time developing the We could see it wasn’t selling as fast as
games. Let’s make sure there are enough head- expected, so we reorganized around other
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau sets out there so when we launch there are platforms. With the Wii U, we were able to
recently visited Ubisoft Montreal, and in enough customers to buy and experience the relaunch Rayman 2D. It was a good thing for
a statement following, you said that the games we make.” the company and the brand and its fans. If
discussion was about “the importance of you remember, it was supposed to be Wii U
Ubisoft’s presence in Canada.” There have Ubisoft has a tradition of being present early exclusive, but we made it multi-platform when
also been links to potential courting of public on new platforms. What is the reasoning we saw it wasn’t selling fast enough. The Wii U
and private investment. Is there a relation behind that? has done quite well. It’s still a Nintendo machine
between this and the Vivendi actions? This is something that’s going to continue. NX is with lots of great franchises, and we’ve sold lots
Justin Trudeau is a gamer. Having some of the coming, and other new technologies are going of copies of Just Dance on it.
best games in the industry made in Canada to emerge. It’s something as a company that
is important to him. He considers it important we’ll continue pushing forward on. When you Do you expect to be present during the NX
to make sure that Ubisoft continues to deliver arrive early, you learn how to deal with those launch window?
high-quality games. When games are created in problems and opportunities. What happens You can expect we’ll support Nintendo.
a country, that country can shine on the world is very often you discover new types of Nintendo is one of the best partners in the world.
stage. It’s a showcase for what the country can
do in terms of technology. Just like Hollywood
did for the U.S. way of life and its attractive-
ness, video games do the same for the coun-
tries in which they are created. Video games
are influential.
Video games are also a business. There is a
lot of revenue generated from Ubisoft games,
and we’re going to have 4,000 employees in
Canada by the end of the year.
It’s not only the revenue that’s generated in
the country, though. It’s the know-how and
technology that is created and can be used
in other fields. It’s a new infrastructure that
can expand to other businesses. There are a
number of elements in creating video games
that translate well to other fields.

While Trudeau was at Ubisoft Montreal,

he took a picture wearing a VR headset.
You’ve got a couple of games in develop-
ment for virtual-reality hardware (that we
know of). When do you expect VR to be a
profitable technology?
It won’t be long before VR will be profitable. We
expected a medium start. Companies are able
to deliver a number of headsets, and custom- Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
ers seem to like what they’re experiencing. It’s visited Ubisoft Montreal to sample some
of the company’s upcoming VR games
just the beginning of what will be delivered. Like
connect 29
Have there been any changes in the We have an evolution and new types of games more of a challenge than it used to be. For us,
triple-A landscape since the start of the on the way. The Division is a good example. it’s important that we’re organized well so we
new console generation? We’ve become a service provider, where we can prepare announcements and give gamers
If we look at the environment, each time there’s have to make sure we have regular content and all of the information when we announce. When
a new generation there are players that leave extend the experience, even if it’s a challenge. someone else announces our game, it’s only
and new players that enter. THQ is gone, and a It’s something totally new for the industry and part of the information. It’s not complete, and it
number of Japanese companies have invested for us. I think we’ll see lots of growth in games can be bad, actually. Gamers want the full pic-
less in the consoles, because they invested like The Division, For Honor, and the new IP. ture to make up their minds. The better we all
more in mobile. There’s less competition in On the other side, we’ll still have single and work together to respect the unveiling of a new
terms of number of companies compared to co-op games like Ghost Recon and the next project, the better it is for everyone.
last generation. Assassin’s Creed, where you’ll be able to play
On the other side, there are a few free-to-play alone and with no persistence. They will be two Ubisoft has had a tumultuous relationship
games from different companies (Perfect World different types of experiences. Ghost Recon, with PC gamers. There isn’t a lot of love for
is one of them) that are doing quite well on con- as you saw at E3 last year, is a new experience Uplay, for instance. What are your thoughts
sole. That didn’t exist before. There’s also World in an open world, which is a huge evolution. about re-engaging with the PC community?
of Tanks. So there are new types of games that We feel those new possibilities are going to PC gamers are often early adopters, and they
have emerged this generation. One of the things enhance community and the ability to create purchase new technologies and want to experi-
that I love about this generation is that there’s a content so people play longer. ment with new things. We’re trying to give them
chance Sony will beat PS2. We’re coming back ways to use those new technologies for better
to a mass-market business that will spur another Are costs still rising, or have they leveled out graphics and other advancements. We make
round of growth. This will give us the revenue to now that last gen is being phased out? sure that our games are adapted to them, but
invest in totally new, big projects. You’ve seen Costs are under control. We have to make sure we’re not always as good as we would like to
a lot of things exploding this generation, like we can create content at a reasonable price. be. We are working to meet PC gamers’ expec-
open-world games. At Ubi, we have a strategy We have to create engines that are agile. We tations. We’ve been working in the last five years
in this area, and you’re seeing games come have to be able to use techniques, like proce- to understand the needs of PC players and
from us that are using a combination of open dural generation, to create spaces in which we to release games that are fully adapted to the
world with persistence. The Division is out. For can have lots of gameplay. We have to develop capacity of their machines. We also try to intro-
Honor is coming next year. We have a new IP at technology to cope with the new demands of duce new features that emerge first on PC. We
E3 that you’ll love, because it’s the 2.0 of video 100, 200, and 500 hours of gameplay in our consider the PC like a new console that’s always
games. You’ll have a chance to play by yourself, games. We have increased costs because of a new console, so we can experiment with new
play with the community, and create content. that, but we also have increasing revenues. We things and maybe bring those to console. We’ve
The new consoles brought new connectivity and have to work hard with the teams to make sure seen some improvements; we have a way to go,
have given the industry room to grow fast with we supply high-quality content to make sure but we’re on the right track to give PC players
new experiences that didn’t exist before. people want to play longer. better experiences. We like customers that want
a lot, and we’re trying to serve them.
Do you see games like The Division as this Given social media and online retailers, is it
generation’s open-world evolution? Is it possible to keep a game secret until you’re There has been a lot of talk about The
the new standard? Ghost Recon: Wildlands ready? If so, what steps do you need to take Division. I know the team is working on ways
seems like it might be a fit for this kind of to make that happen? to combat the cheating and exploiting. There
approach; do you think we’ll see elements Because games are created by more and have been some opinions suggesting that in
from The Division in that game? more people with lots of external partners, it’s order for the game to reach its potential on
PC, it needs a “rewrite” in order to combat
hacking. What are your thoughts on that?
That’s false. The team is working to solve the
problems we’re encountering. They’re not
intimidated by the problems that we have today.
They’re working on these new challenges.
Some of these were expected. Some were
not. The team is hard at work to make sure
we can ban cheaters. To do that, you need the
right data to find out what they did. And we’re
also letting people who use exploits know that
they could lose their progress or be banned.
It’s something that happens on new games
all the time. It’s not just The Division. Rainbow
[Six Siege] was also affected by it. All games
have trouble. It’s a challenge, but the team is
confident that they can find solutions for the
problems we’re encountering. They won’t let
the experience be ruined for everyone, and they
are going to do everything they can.

We hear from readers all the time that there

is still a lot of hope for Beyond Good &
Evil 2. Anything you can share to keep the
flame alive?
The only thing I can say is that at Ubisoft when
we create a good experience, we want to
come back with another at some point. I say
regularly that you’ll hear about [Beyond Good
& Evil 2] at some point, but I can’t say when.
We deal with creators, and we have to make
sure that they have the time and that they can
30
 Yves Guillemot stands with his team
at Ubisoft’s headquarters in France

deliver what they want. Sometimes they start basis, but with the best possible game. about the franchise? Do you see this path for
something, they stop, and they restart to make In this case, we stopped the annual cycle in other franchises?
sure they find the right recipe to create the best order to put enough energy behind the fran- On top of Assassin’s Creed, we had a good
experience possible. chise to deliver the best experience possible. evolution with the Rabbids on television. That’s
We know what we have in mind for the next pushed the brand and let people get to know
About what percentage of Michel Ancel’s volume will be fantastic. the Rabbids better while we have been wait-
time is spent working on Ubisoft projects? ing for new possibilities for an audience that is
It’s a 50/50 split. Will you ever go back to an annualized large enough to purchase the game. It’s going to
Assassin’s Creed or, for that matter, any happen. We can’t say more today, but the next
Likewise, fans have been clamoring for a other franchise? Rabbids will show that it was a good idea to
new Prince of Persia. Is there anything you What’s important is to deliver new, creative wait and come back with a big, new experience.
can share about that franchise’s status? experiences. How often we release isn’t the We have a huge advantage in the video game
As you might have expected, not yet. There’s most important thing. It’s how innovative we industry in that launching a game is a huge
nothing to share at the moment. As I men- are in each release that’s important. The model event, just like in the movie industry. This gives
tioned, we always want to make sure our fran- of having multiple studios on the project helps us the chance to create new experiences in other
chises come back at some point, but I can’t say us to deliver innovation on a regular basis. media that can have two elements. It can make
more right now. When we look at Call of Duty, they have three the brand shine more and known by a larger
different teams working on the IP. They are audience. And when we don’t release games
You’re taking a big step with the Assassin’s able to release regularly with high-level games. on a regular basis, gamers can remember the IP
Creed franchise, taking the year off. The most important part is if we have enough because they consume other things than games.
Obviously this isn’t your only annual fran- new ideas and the team behind the next game Our customers are watching TV and movies or
chise, but what did you learn from Assassin’s needs to feel that they’ll do a fantastic job when reading books, they can interact in some sort
Creed about managing a yearly franchise? they’re ready with the game. The main issue is with our IP. A good example is what LucasArts
We learned to give a lot more time to the team how we can deliver a game that will be fantastic was able to do. They had the movies, but then
so they can come back next time with the for fans of the series. they had games for a long, long time, before
best possible Assassin’s Creed. They’re work- coming back with movies. The property was still
ing on that to satisfy fans. In the meantime, Assassin’s Creed has been fascinating to hot thanks to video games. I think we are doing
we have the Assassin’s Creed movie, which will watch from a franchise perspective. It grew the same thing with Ubisoft IPs. Sometimes it’s
give fans something this year. For a brand like into comics, there’s a young-adult novel better not to release a game and instead make a
that, there are business motivations, but we’re coming, and of course the film this year. movie or a TV show and then come back when
under pressure from fans to release on a regular How does that change the way you think the market is ready for the IP as a game. \
connect 31
 2
Mass Effect
Relay Necklace
Dream of going to exotic,
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Crown
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Class up your look with
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by Ben Reeves

6
Warcraft

1
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$149 | gear.playstation.com $249 | wetanz.com

32
 LEAGUE OF DRAGONS
Final Fantasy XV Fallout Nuka Cola The Elder Scrolls (TEMERAIRE)

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4 Bottle Cap
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5 Amulet Of Mara
In Skyrim, this enchanted
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BY NAOMI NOVIK
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*ThinkGeek is owned by Game Informer parent company GameStop connect 33

timeline
06.2

01 06.1

15

26 Shiren the Wanderer

31

19 I am Setsuna

2016

15 Ghostbusters Pegg return to the Enterprise today in

A new generation of capturing spirits Star Trek Beyond, the third installment
kicks off today with the theatrical in the new series. With director J.J.
release of Ghostbusters. The new Abrams exploring another science-
team consists of the comedic might fiction universe, The Fast and the

July of Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig,

Kate McKinnon, and Leslie Jones.
Ghostbusters seems like a perfect fit
for director Paul Fieg, who brought us
Furious director Justin Lin brings this
sequel to the screen. This may sound
like a disaster, but Lin has proven he
can make fun, team-based action.
01 The BFG new Batgirl series and New Super- Bridesmaids, Spy, The Heat, and several All he’s doing is replacing cars with
No, The BFG isn’t a movie about the Man this month. Yes, his name has episodes of The Office. ships, right?
Doom video game. Today, director a hyphen in it, and he’s a new hero
Steven Spielberg’s adaptation of manufactured by China. Yes, you read 19 New Releases 26 New Releases
Roald Dahl’s book The BFG opens on that correctly. › Ark: Survival of the Fittest › Fairy Fencer F:
the silver screen. The BFG is a story (PS4) Advent Dark Force (PS4)
about a friendly giant and a little child. 06.2 Doctor › I Am Setsuna (PS4, PC) › Shiren the Wanderer (Vita)
It’s basically The Iron Giant, but not as Strange Prelude
cool because it doesn’t have a robot Marvel’s Doctor Strange film isn’t due 21 San Diego Comic-Con 31 Harry Potter and the
in it. in theaters until November 4, but fans Over 130,000 people went to last year’s Cursed Child: Parts I & II
can get a jump on the story with the Comic-Con, making it one of the most Nineteen years have passed in Harry
05 New Releases two-issue Prelude comic. The first issue crowded, but exciting shows. This is Potter’s world, and he now finds himself
› Rocket League: Collection’s Edition ships today and begins with a mystical the place to be for first looks at new working hard in the Ministry of Magic.
(PS4, Xbox One, PC) relic stolen from the British Museum. films, television shows, video games, He has three children, one of them
› Romance of the Three Kingdoms XIII The Masters of the Mystic Arts are and comic books. Most of the creators named Albus Serverus, who is strug-
(PS4, PC) called in to investigate. of these projects are in attendance. gling with his father’s legacy. Harry
Shopping remains a huge part of this Potter and the Cursed Child: Parts I & II
06.1 Justice League 12 New Releases four-day show, with most toy manu- is a new story written for the stage by
The second month of DC Comic’s › 7th Dragon III Code: VFD (3DS) facturers bringing exclusive items you J.K. Rowling, John Tiffany, and Jack
Rebirth event welcomes a new ongoing › Ghostbusters (PS4, Xbox One, PC) can’t find anywhere else. Thorne, debuting at London’s West
Justice League series that kicks off › Mobile Suit Gundam: End on July 30. A day later, the book
with the team adding three members Extreme VS Force (Vita) 22 Star Trek Beyond adaptation by Jack Thorne releases
to its roster. DC is also releasing two › Song of the Deep (PS4, Xbox One, PC) Chris Pine, Zoe Saldana, and Simon to stores. \
34 connect
 Infinity Ward Reinvigorates The War Epic With Call Of Duty: Infinite Warfare

36
 BUILDING
FUTURISTIC
COMBAT FROM
REALISTIC
ROOTS

by Daniel Tack

» Platform
PlayStation 4
฀ ฀฀
» Style
1-Player Shooter
(Online TBA)
» Publisher
Activision
» Developer
Infinity Ward
» Release
November 4

cover story 37
38
W
When Infinity Ward introduced the newest Call of
Duty installment via a teaser trailer in May, many
were taken aback by its hard sci-fi setting. Rather
than dabble in near-future technology like Advanced
Warfare and Black Ops III before it, Infinite Warfare
warped into a new setting complete with massive
capital ships, starship battles, and robotic soldiers.
Skeptics laid siege to the video reveal, making
it one of the most disliked videos in YouTube
history. Haters are nothing new to Call of Duty; as
an annualized franchise, disenchanted gamers are
prone putting the series in their sights. But this felt
like another level of doubt.
To see how different Infinite Warfare really is
from the rest of the series we visited Infinity Ward,
which gave us a deeper glimpse at how the game
fits together with its predecessors. While the latest
game features things you won’t find in any other
Call of Duty title – such as combat in zero-gravity
environments, flying around space, and dogfighting –
it’s rooted in reality, a boots-on-the ground saga
its developers say is inspired by media like Band
of Brothers, Black Hawk Down, and Saving Private
Ryan. To that end, even though Infinite Warfare
includes energy weapons and homing grenades, the
franchise DNA is readily apparent.

cover story 39
A BLOODY BEGINNING mission through the eyes of Lt. Reyes, a sol- reigns. Recent additions to the franchise such
Infinite Warfare sets its events in the plausible dier thrust into the reins of command. Reyes as four-player co-op and wide-open environ-
future, with no date given. Earth’s resources is shoved directly into the action, using many ments are absent, with things hearkening back
have dwindled down to nothing, so the planet’s familiar Call of Duty weapons like submachine to earlier titles in the franchise. After blasting
governments and businesses are seeking new guns and sniper rifles to survive the assault. through the battle-besieged streets of Geneva
power sources, fuels, and other supplies else- The weapons have a familiar look to them, as the fleets of the world are blown apart in
where in the galaxy. “Our rationale is that this but some of them have a decidedly futuristic the stars above, Reyes is promoted to captain
is a universe where resources are scarce, and twist, like using energy instead of ammuni- of the new home away from home in Infinite
we are basing this all on the reality of what’s tion. We see some high-tech armaments, like Warfare – the capital starship Retribution. With
going on today,” says narrative director Taylor a seeker grenade that crawls along surfaces the original Retribution captain dead, and the
Kurosaki. “There’s peak oil, we are running before finding and annihilating its targets. world’s fleet almost completely destroyed,
short of rare earth metals and minerals. We Outside of robot soldiers and capital ships Reyes must become the commander Earth
know that we’re going to run out of things like hovering above, the action is classic Call of needs to chart a course to victory against the
this in our lifetime, and the off-planet moons, Duty, with explosions everywhere as havoc brutal insurgents.
asteroids, and planetoids are a vast source of
these rare materials that we will need for our
further survival.”
While the major powers of the world still
squabble over control, space trade and travel
is governed by a U.N. style organization, the
UNSA. The starship fleets of the world have
gathered in Geneva, Switzerland, for the annual
Fleet Week Parade sponsored by the Solar
Alliance Treaty Organization. The powerful
peace-week initiative is cut short by a vicious
surprise attack by the power-hungry opposing
faction of the game, the Settlement Defense
Front (SDF), an off-world group of insurgents
who want nothing less than complete control
of the galaxy. A sleeper-cell agent hijacks the
Earth’s planetary-defense systems and turns
them on the parade, destroying the majority of
the allied fleet in moments, while a simultane-
ous ground attack seeks to take out the world’s
leaders and other attendees.
We witness this chaos unfold during an early Lt. Reyes must assume leadership
duties as captain of the Retribution

The Retribution serves as an

evolving hub for the player

40
 MEET THE CREW

While the Retribution houses thousands of people from engineer to soldier, the core team close to you plays a huge role
‹ƒŽŽ‘ˆ—–›ś º‹–‡ƒ”ˆƒ”‡ŜŠ‡•‡ƒ”‡•‘‡‘ˆ–Š‡ ”‹–‹ ƒŽ Šƒ”ƒ –‡”•›‘—‹–‡”ƒ –™‹–Š‘›‘—”Œ‘—”‡›–‘’—–ƒ
ŠƒŽ––‘–Š‡ƒ Š‹ƒ–‹‘•‘ˆ–Š‡ Ŝ—‡–‘–Š‡‰Ž‘„ƒŽƒ–—”‡‘ˆř›‘—”–‡ƒ‹• ‘’‘•‡†‘ˆƒ›˜ƒ”‹‘—•ƒ–‹‘ƒŽ‹Ş
–‹‡•ƒ†„ƒ ‰”‘—†•Ŝš’‡ ––‘•‘‡‘–Š‡”ƒŒ‘”’Žƒ›‡”•ƒ•™‡ŽŽř„—––Š‡•‡ƒ”‡–Š‡–”‘‘’•›‘—‰‡––‘‘™‹–‹ƒ–‡Ž›Ŝ

Lt. Reyes Adm. Raines Lt. Salter Sgt. Omar ETH.3n

Nationality: American Nationality: American Nationality: Lebanese Nationality: British Nationality: American
Š‡’”‘–ƒ‰‘‹•–ř –Ŝ‡›‡•ŨŽ‘‰–‹‡ –ŜƒŽ–‡”Šƒ•„‡‡ ‰–Ŝƒ”Ž‡ƒ†•–Š‡  Ŝɪř‘”ũŠƒ ‡†
Reyes, is forced into friend and mentor, ‡›‡•Ũ•ˆ”‹‡†ƒ† ƒ”‹‡•ƒ„‘ƒ”†–Š‡ ƒ –‹ ƒŽ —ƒ‘‹†ɪ”†
a commanding role, ƒ‹‡•™‘—Ž†‘–‘”Ş ™‹‰ƒˆ‘”ƒ› RetributionŜ ‡Ũ• ‡˜‹•‹‘Ū‹•ƒ”‘„‘–
–ƒ‹‰ ‘–”‘Ž‘ˆ–Š‡ ƒŽŽ›„‡•‡‡‘—– ›‡ƒ”•ŜŠ‹Ž‡‡›‡•Ũ •‘”–‘ˆ–Šƒ–Šƒ”†Şƒ•• •‘Ž†‹‡”™‹–Š•’‡‡†ř
Žƒ•–”‡ƒ‹‹‰ ‘–Š‡„ƒ––Ž‡º‡Ž†‹ —‡š’‡ –‡†’”‘‘–‹‘ ƒ –‹‘Ş‘˜‹‡ˆ‘‹Ž–‘ ’‘™‡”řƒ††‡ˆ‡•‡•
capital starship, the Ž‘•‡Ş“—ƒ”–‡”• ‘„ƒ–Ŝ has put added strain –Ŝ‡›‡•™Š‘†‘‡•Ũ– –Šƒ–Š—ƒ–”‘‘’•Œ—•–
RetributionŜ‡ˆ‘”‡ Š‡‡˜‡–•ƒ– ‡‡˜ƒ on their relationship, ƒŽ™ƒ›•ƒ‰”‡‡™‹–ŠŠ‹ř ƒŨ–ƒ– ŠŜŠƒ–•‡’Ş
–Šƒ–Š‡•‡”˜‡†‹–Š‡ put Raines and many ƒ••Š‡Ũ•‘™ƒ•—„Ş „—–‰‡–•–Š‡Œ‘„†‘‡ ƒ”ƒ–‡• Ŝɪˆ”‘–Š‡
’‡ ‹ƒŽ‘„ƒ–‹” ‘–Š‡”Š‹‰ŠŞ”ƒ‹‰ ordinate in the chain ƒ†ƒŽ™ƒ›•Šƒ•Š‹• Š‘”†‡•‘ˆ”‡–”‘º––‡†
‡ ‘ſ•ƀř‡••‡Ş ‘ˆº ‡”•ƒ†‘ˆº ‹ƒŽ• of command instead of „ƒ ‹ƒº‰Š–Ŝƒ” ‹‡”„‘–•ƒ†‘–Š‡”
–‹ƒŽŽ›–Š‡‡“—‹˜ƒŽ‡– ‹–Š‡ ‡–‡”‘ˆƒ™ƒ” ‡“—ƒŽ•řƒŽ–‡”‹•Ũ– ‹•ƒŽŽƒ„‘—–•‘Ž˜‹‰ ƒ••ƒ—Ž–”‘„‘–•–Šƒ–
‘ˆƒƒ˜›Ŝ• œ‘‡Ŝƒ‹‡•†‡Ž‹˜Ş ‘‡–‘Š‘Ž†„ƒ ‘ ’”‘„Ž‡•™‹–Šƒ –‹‘Ŝ the Settlment Defense
ƒ’–ƒ‹‘ˆƒ”–ŠŨ• ‡”•‡™•ƒ†‘ˆˆ‡”• •’‡ƒ‹‰Š‡”‹†ŜŠ‡ ‡Šƒ•ƒ’‡”•‘ƒŽ Front has under its
Žƒ•–Š‘’‡ř–Š‡™ƒ” ƒ†˜‹ ‡–‘‡›‡•‘˜‡” has plenty of attitude •–ƒ‡‹–Š‡º‰Š–řƒ• ‘ƒ†‹•–Šƒ–Š‡Ũ•
Š‹‰‡•‘‡›‡•Ũ• the course of the ƒ†‹•Ũ–ƒˆ”ƒ‹†–‘ his family suffered at ‘‡‘ˆƒ‹†ŷƒ–ƒ Ş
†‡ ‹•‹‘•Ŝ—‡–‘–Š‡ campaign against the ŠƒŽŽ‡‰‡Š‡”•—’‡”‹Ş –Š‡Šƒ†•‘ˆ–Š‡ Ŝ –‹ ƒŽ•‘Ž†‹‡”„‘–’”‘Ş
urgency and nature —•Šƒƒ„Ž‡
  Ŝ ‘”•‘”–ƒ‡–Š‹‰•‘ˆˆ ƒ”Šƒ•ƒ„”ƒœ‡ř ‰”ƒ‡†–‘Šƒ˜‡Š—ƒ
of the missions at • ”‹’–†—”‹‰ƒ‹•Ş ‘—–•’‘‡‡š–‡”‹‘”ř responses and emotions
Šƒ†řŠ‡—•–Œ—’‹ •‹‘‹ˆ•Š‡ˆ‡‡Ž•‹–Ũ• „—–ƒŽ™ƒ›•Šƒ•Š‹• –‘‡˜‡”›•‹–—ƒ–‹‘Ŝ
–Š‡–Š‹ ‘ˆ ‘„ƒ– –Š‡”‹‰Š––Š‹‰–‘†‘Ŝ mind on the mission  Ŝɪ‰”‘™•™‹–Š–Š‡
™‹–ŠŠ‹•–‡ƒřƒ‹‰ ˆƒŽ–‡”Šƒ••‘‡Ş ƒ†Š‹•‡Ŝ –‡ƒƒ†‹†‹˜‹†—ƒŽ•ř
tough choices for –Š‹‰–‘•ƒ›ř‡š’‡ – ‡˜‡–Š‘—‰ŠŠ‡Ũ•‘–
–Š‡‰‘‘†‘ˆ–Š‡‹•Ş –‘Š‡ƒ”‹–Ž‘—†Ž›Ŝ really accepted at
•‹‘ŷƒ†‘–‡ ‡•Ş º”•–ſ‡•’‡ ‹ƒŽŽ›„›
sarily the good of the ‘Ž†Ş• Š‘‘Ž–”‘‘’‡”•
”‡™ŜŠ‹Ž‡ƒ›ƒŽŽ Ž‹‡
 ƒ”ƀŜ
of Duty titles place
you in the position
‘ˆƒ•‘Ž†‹‡”ˆ‘ŽŽ‘™Ş
ing instructions and
–ƒ‹‰‘”†‡”•ř–Š‹•
time around you are
–Š‡‘‡‹••—‹‰–Š‡Ŝ

cover story 41
 The Settlement Defense Front
has retrofitted service and worker
robots to become death machines

KNOW YOUR ENEMY think that they are delusional, perverted, fas- trappings, and many of these other identifiers
The Settlement Defense Front won’t be earn- cist, greedy, and are hell-bent on the destruc- remain on their new forms. With the SDF’s
ing any sympathy from most players, they’re tion of the world as we know it.” focus on pure efficiency, nothing goes to waste.
as “evil” as it gets. While the SDF does not These off-world colonists are sort of space- “They’re willing to kill civilians, soldiers,
consider itself to be the bad guys, they’re scar- age gold-rushers that headed off to the frontier and anyone else that gets in their way to take
ily single-minded, true believers in their cause. of space. As such they are all about functional- control of Earth and the galactic economy,”
A victory for the SDF means that essential ity over style, which is reflected in everything says art director Brian Horton. “We wanted a
resources and the bounty of space stop going from ships and weapons to combat armor. As functional-first aesthetic. Utilitarian. Practical
to Earth for good. “They consider themselves you grab discarded weaponry and use it, you and unrefined. Their suits are modular so they
the true inheritors of the solar system,” says can easily see that these are no-frills, some- can mix and match pieces, with everything
narrative director Taylor Kurosaki. “They feel times even repurposed items from tools or designed to protect them from the elements in
like their way of life is stronger, more pure. other equipment. They carve out their weap- harsh areas like Mars. We took inspiration from
They feel that by living off-world that makes ons with raw metals, eschewing plastics and Soviet designs and British designs from the
them more worthy of running the solar system mattes. The SDF has also reprogrammed and ‘60s, giving them a distinct look that gave them
and consider the people of Earth weak fat cats retrofitted many service droids to retask them a silhouette that was intimidating and unique.”
that are living off the bounty of the off-world from say, mining duties, to the destruction of While the SDF has legions of troops, ships,
colonies. That’s their point of view. But I also their enemies. Solar panels, construction-bot and killing drones with no other purpose but
slaughter, some standout faces are in the mix
as well. One of these is Riah, a sleeper-cell sta-
tioned in Geneva who has planned for years to
set off a chain of events that ultimately hijack
the Earth’s planetary-defense system and blow
apart the majority of the world’s fleet during the
annual Fleet Week Parade.
NEW FACES AT INFINITY WARD Perhaps the most prominent of your enemies
is Admiral Salen Kotch, the commander of the
Olympus Mons. Kotch is the big bad and the
‹ ‡–Š‡ɩɥɨɪ”‡Ž‡ƒ•‡‘ˆƒŽŽ‘ˆ—–›ś Š‘•–•ř º‹–›ƒ”†Šƒ•ƒ†‡•‘‡•‹‰Ş leader of the SDF. The Olympus Mons is an
‹º ƒ––ƒŽ‡–ƒ “—‹•‹–‹‘•ŜŠ‡‡”‰‹‰‘ˆ‡˜‡”•‘ˆ–ſ‘› ƒ™”‘ƒ–‡”ř
incredible supercarrier starship, almost twice
—‹–ƒ” ‡”‘ƀ‹–‘–Š‡ ‘’ƒ›‹ɩɥɨɫƒ†ƒ††‹‰•‘‡‡™ˆƒ ‡•ˆ”‘ƒ—‰Š–›‘‰
ſ Šƒ”–‡†řŠ‡ƒ•–‘ˆ•ƀŽ‹‡ƒ””ƒ–‹˜‡†‹”‡ –‘”ƒ›Ž‘”—”‘•ƒ‹ƒ††‡•‹‰
the size of the Retribution (900m in compari-
†‹”‡ –‘” ƒ‘„‹‘ˆˆŠƒ˜‡‡š’ƒ†‡†–Š‡•–—†‹‘Ũ•Š‘”‹œ‘•Ŝ son to 590m), and the ultimate weapon of
ũ º‹–›ƒ”†Šƒ•ƒŽ‘‰Š‹•–‘”›řƒ†–Š‹•‹ ƒ”ƒ–‹‘‘ˆ º‹–›ƒ”†‹•ƒ the SDF. This enormous capital ship’s arse-
‡™•–—†‹‘‹ƒ›™ƒ›•řŪ•ƒ›••–—†‹‘Š‡ƒ†ƒ˜‡–‘ŠŽŜũ –Ũ•‹–‡”‡•–‹‰„‡ ƒ—•‡ nal includes a devastating array of weapons,
‹–Ũ•”‘‘–‡†™‹–ŠƒŽ‘–‘ˆ‡š’‡”‹‡ ‡‹–Š‹•ˆ”ƒ Š‹•‡ř’Ž—•ƒŽ‘–‘ˆ‡™’‡‘’Ž‡ and functions as Infinite Warfare’s primary
ˆ”‘‘–Š‡”•–—†‹‘•–Šƒ–Šƒ˜‡„‡‡‹†‘ˆ„”‘—‰Š––‘‰‡–Š‡”Ŝ –Ũ•ƒ ‘ŽŽ‡ –‹‘‘ˆ nemesis, tracking down your forces like a
˜‡”›‡š’‡”‹‡ ‡††‡˜‡Ž‘’‡”•ř„—–‹–Ũ•ƒŽ•‘ƒ‡™‰”‘—’‘ˆ’‡‘’Ž‡‹†‘ˆ™‘”Ş predator seeking prey over the course of the
‹‰–‘‰‡–Š‡”ˆ‘”–Š‡º”•––‹‡ƒ•ƒ•–—†‹‘ŜŪ game. While ultimately we expect to take on
the powerhouse vessel, it is a force that will
inspire dread and fear into Lt. Reyes’ forces
and the Retribution.
42
CHARTING A COURSE
The Retribution serves as your base of opera-
tions in Infinite Warfare. You can hear the crew
members stationed on the massive ship chat
and interact with them as you travel to vari-
ous sections of the ship, pop off a few rounds
and perfect your loadout at the shooting range,
check out the news reports regarding the war
effort on the big screen, track your progress
against the enemy fleet, and plan your mis-
sions at the bridge.
Infinite Warfare features core story missions
that you progress through linearly, as well as a
wealth of optional side missions that can offer
additional insight into the characters and crew.
These missions also provide new upgrades,
weapons, and assets, so participating can give
you an advantage when you move to tackle
the core content. The look and temperature of
the Retribution’s crew changes based on the
mission you are about to tackle or the current
events of the war, so expect to see it in states
of disrepair, despair, or confidence as the war
rages on. REMASTERING A MASTERPIECE
“The Retribution is our home, an evolv-
ing, mutating hub for Reyes to come back
to between each mission,” Kurosaki says. ƒ Š ‘’›‘ˆ º‹–‡ƒ”ˆƒ”‡ ‘‡•’ƒ ‡†™‹–Šƒ”‡ƒ•–‡”‡†˜‡”•‹‘‘ˆ ”‹–‹ ƒŽ
“Remember that there is no backup for us. †ƒ”Ž‹‰ƒ† ‘‡” ‹ƒŽ•— ‡••ƒŽŽ‘ˆ—–›ɫś‘†‡”ƒ”ˆƒ”‡Ŝ º‹–›ƒ”†ƒ†
The Retribution was not supplied before the ƒ˜‡–—†‹‘•ƒ”‡ ‘‹‰–‘‰‡–Š‡”–‘‡•—”‡–Šƒ––Š‡”‡ƒ•–‡”‡†˜‡”•‹‘Ũ• ‘Ş
Geneva attack when this thing started, we just –”‘Ž•Šƒ˜‡„—––‘Ş’”‡••–‹‹‰’ƒ”‹–›™‹–Š–Š‡‘”‹‰‹ƒŽ–‹–Ž‡†‘™–‘ˆ”ƒ –‹‘•
‘ˆƒ•‡ ‘†ŜŠ‹Ž‡–Š‡‰ƒ‡’Žƒ›•–ƒ›•ˆƒ‹–Šˆ—Ž–‘–Š‡ɩɥɥɮ Žƒ••‹ ř–Š‡•–—†‹‘•
happened to be at the parade. We’re not ready
ƒ”‡ƒ‹‰˜‹•—ƒŽƒŽ–‡”ƒ–‹‘•–‘–ƒ‡ƒ†˜ƒ–ƒ‰‡‘ˆ‡™–‡ Š‘Ž‘‰›řˆ”‘•“—ƒŽŽ•
for a deployment. Your crew will be bringing –—”‹‰‹–‘Š—””‹ ƒ‡•–‘Ž‹ˆ‡Ž‹‡™Š‹•‡”•‘‰–Ŝ”‹ ‡Ũ•„‡ƒ”†Ŝƒ’•‡‡’
together everything they have to keep that –Š‡‹”‘”‹‰‹ƒŽ†‡•‹‰•†‘™–‘‡šƒ – ‘˜‡”Ž‘ ƒ–‹‘•ř„—–™‹ŽŽ˜‹•—ƒŽŽ›„‡––‡”
thing floating and keeping us from losing ”‡’”‡•‡–”‡ƒŽ‡˜‹”‘‡–•™‹–Šƒ‡™ƒ––‡–‹‘–‘†‡–ƒ‹ŽŜ
the war.” ũŠ‡‡˜‹”‘‡–•ƒ”‡•‘‹ ‘‹ –Šƒ–‹–™ƒ•”‡ƒŽŽ›‹’‘”–ƒ–ˆ‘”—•–‘ƒ‹Ş
While this massive capital craft definitely –ƒ‹–Š‡‹–‡‰”‹–›‘ˆ–Š‡’Žƒ›•’ƒ ‡řŪ•ƒ›•ƒ˜‡‘ˆ–™ƒ”‡•–—†‹‘†‹”‡ –‘”ƒ˜‹†
looks like it could pass for a Star Wars ship ‡ŽŽƒ•Ŝũ‡‡‡†‡†–‘‹†‘ˆ”ƒ– Š‡–‹–—’ƒ†‘–Œ—•–‹ƒ˜‹•—ƒŽ™ƒ›„—–
on the outside, the interiors are inspired heav- ™‹–Š‹‡”•‹‘ˆƒ –‘”Ŝ‘™‡ƒ††‡†ƒŽ‘–‘ˆ‹–‡”ƒ –‹˜‡‘„Œ‡ –•řƒŽ‘–‘”‡
ily by a combination of both Navy and NASA †‡–ƒ‹Ž™‡–‹–‘‹–ŜŪ
Ž‘‰•‹†‡–Š‡ɨɥɯɥ’‘˜‡”Šƒ—Žř‹’”‘˜‡†–‡š–—”‡•řŽ‹‰Š–‹‰řƒ—†‹‘ř”‡†‡”‹‰ř
protocol and functionality. These modular and
•‘—†řƒ†‘–‹‘Ş ƒ’–—”‡‡Šƒ ‡‡–•ř–Š‡–‡ƒƒŽ•‘–‘‘ƒŽ‘‘ƒ–™‡ƒ’‘•Ŝ
redundant designs offer parts available to be Š‹Ž‡–Š‡™‡ƒ’‘•‘„˜‹‘—•Ž›•Š‘—Ž†Ũ– Šƒ‰‡— Š‹–Š‡”‡ƒ‡ř–Š‡–‡ Š‘Ž‘‰›
changed out on the fly depending on the situ- ƒ†”‡†‡”‹‰‹’”‘˜‡‡–•Šƒ•ƒ’‡†–Š‹‰•—’˜‹•—ƒŽŽ›‘–Š‡™‡ƒ’‘•–‘ƒ‡
ation, and giving the commander utility for any †‡–ƒ‹Ž•‘”‡”‡ƒŽ‹•–‹ ř†‘™–‘™Š‡”‡™‡ƒ’‘•ƒ”‡Š‡Ž†Ŝƒ˜‡‹•ƒŽ•‘ƒ††‹‰
number of contingencies. Ž‹––Ž‡—ƒ ‡•ƒ†–‘— ŠŞ—’•–‘–Š‡‡š‹•–‹‰ƒ”‘”›řŽ‹‡• ƒ””‹‰ř• —ˆº‰ř
“It was very challenging to balance the ele- ƒ†Ž‹––Ž‡‹ •‹–Š‡™‘‘†•–‘ Ŝ
ments of NASA and Navy,” says design direc- ‡‘ˆ–Š‡„‹‰“—‡•–‹‘•ƒ‘‰ˆƒ•”‹‰Š–‘™‹•™Š‡–Š‡”‘”‘––Š‡›™‹ŽŽ
tor Jakob Minkoff. “It’s a unique challenge ‡˜‡–—ƒŽŽ›„‡ƒ„Ž‡–‘’‹ —’ƒŽŽ‘ˆ—–›ɫś‘†‡”ƒ”ˆƒ”‡‡ƒ•–‡”‡†‘—–•‹†‡
‘ˆ’—” Šƒ•‹‰ º‹–‡ƒ”ˆƒ”‡řƒ†‹ˆ‘–ř™Š›‘–ţũ ‘™™‡Ũ”‡˜‡”›ˆ‘ —•‡†
anytime you are grounding something to make
ƒ„‘—–‹–•Š‹’’‹‰™‹–Š º‹–‡ƒ”ˆƒ”‡řŪ‡ŽŽƒ••ƒ›•Ŝũ‡–Š‹–Š‡‡™ˆƒ•ř
it realistic so that it’s recognizable, but also –Š‡‘Ž†ˆƒ•ř–Š‡›Ũ”‡”‡ƒŽŽ›‰‘‹‰–‘Ž‘˜‡–Š‡˜ƒŽ—‡–Š‡›‰‡–™‹–Š–Š‡„‡‹‰
then see enough change that people can see ’ƒ ‡†‹Ŝ•ˆƒ”ƒ•™Šƒ–Ũ•ƒˆ–‡”–Šƒ–ř ŨŒ—•––”›‹‰–‘‰‡––Š‡‰ƒ‡†‘‡
why something may be still happening in the ƒ†‰‡–‹–‘—––‘–Š‡ˆƒ•ƒ•“—‹ Ž›ƒ•™‡ ƒŜŪ
future. An aircraft carrier may be in service for
50 years. That means you can see technology
from the ’70s next to technology from the ’90s
next to technology from today.”

cover story 43
SEAMLESS SPACE WARFARE
Infinite Warfare features three distinct modes
of combat, and a player may engage in all
three during the same mission. The traditional
ground-based infantry warfare is at the core,
but space combat both inside vehicles and “on
foot” in zero gravity give Call of Duty: Infinite
Warfare two unique distinguishing factors from
the other series directions. From the surface of
a planet or the launch bays of the Retribution,
the player can fire off into space via the Jackal,
the UNSA’s take on the personal starfighter
that Infinity Ward says is inspired by real-world
fighter jets.
Jackals feature heavy guns, light guns, and You face not only Settlement
missiles for attacking options and counter- Defense Front soldiers, but
measures like flares that help dodge incoming deadly robotic enemies as well
attacks. During space combat, you also take
on turrets on enemy capital ships while pro-
tecting your friends and blowing apart swarms Zero-gravity combat is an exhilarating space combat is unique to Infinite Warfare,
of enemy starships, which are called Skelters. change of pace, and you have special reac- and adds variety for players looking for some-
When you are ready to breach and destroy tive armor available so that a stray enemy shot thing other than a traditional ground warfare
a capital starship, you have to pop out of your isn’t a death sentence. As we all know that experience. Enemy ship breaches can range
craft and enter the void of space to find a vul- sound doesn’t exist in the void of space, a from simple scuttling the ship maneuvers to
nerable entry point, taking on other human special helmet dodges that plot loophole (as more advanced fare like stealing technology
combatants in a zero-gravity environment it would be incredibly boring, if accurate, to or assassinating a SDF commander.
where your grappling hook is an essential have soundless segments in a game like this) “The idea is that the whole game is this con-
tool for moving around the environment on a so that you can hear every powerful rocket- tinuous experience,” says chief creative offi-
capital ship exterior. It also serves as a deadly propelled grenade and clip blasted when you cer Carl Schnurr. “You land in the Jackal, you
ad hoc weapon for pulling unfortunate enemy romp around on the outside of one of these board, you go up in the elevator, walk to the
forces closer to tear their helmets off or send huge capital vessels. bridge, you select what you’re going to do, go
them hurtling through the void of space. These After infiltrating and disabling the capital ship down, suit out, hop back in your Jackal, launch
segments looked slightly arcade-like and quite from within, you can head back to your wait- out, get onto the enemy ship, do all this stuff,
different from anything we’ve come to expect ing Jackal and dart back into space to land back into the Jackal, go back, land, and just
in Call of Duty vehicular combat. victoriously at the Retribution. This cycle of keep going.

The Settlement Defense Front focuses

on efficiency and functionality

44
 STOCKING THE ARSENAL OF THE FUTURE

º‹–‡ƒ”ˆƒ”‡ˆ‡ƒ–—”‡•‘”‡™‡ƒ’‘•–Šƒƒ›‘–Š‡”ƒŽŽ‘ˆ—–›–‹–Ž‡Ŝ
‡ƒ’‘• ‘‡‹ƒ›”‡ ‘‰‹œƒ„Ž‡•–›Ž‡•ƒ†–›’‡•ř‹ Ž—†‹‰†‹ˆˆ‡”‡– Žƒ••‡•
‘ˆƒ••ƒ—Ž–”‹»‡•ř•—„ƒ Š‹‡‰—•ř•‹’‡””‹»‡•ř•Š‘–‰—•ř‡– Ŝ–Šƒ–’Žƒ›‡”•
ƒ”‡ƒŽ”‡ƒ†›ˆƒ‹Ž‹ƒ”™‹–Šˆ”‘‹Ž‹–ƒ”›•Š‘‘–‡”•ŜũŠ‡”‡Ũ•ƒ‹š‘ˆ‡‡”‰›ƒ†
„ƒŽŽ‹•–‹ ™‡ƒ’‘•řŪ•ƒ›•Ž‡ƒ†™‡ƒ’‘ƒ”–‹•–‡ƒ›‡”•Ŝũ‡Ũ”‡–”›‹‰–‘ ”‡ƒ–‡
•‘‡–Š‹‰„‡Ž‹‡˜ƒ„Ž‡ƒ†”‡ƒŽřƒ†Šƒ˜‡ ”‡ƒ–‡†–Š‡™‡ƒ’‘•–‘”‡»‡ ––Šƒ–Ŝ
ƒ Š‘ˆ–Š‡™‡ƒ’‘ ‘’ƒ‹‡•†‘‡•ƒ ‡”–ƒ‹–Š‹‰ŜŪ
—–™Š‹Ž‡‡‡’‹‰–Š‡ˆ‡‡Ž‹‰‘ˆ–Š‡•‡™‡ƒ’‘•–”—‡–‘–Š‡‹”‘”‹‰‹ƒŽ‹•’‹Ş
”ƒ–‹‘•ř–Š‡•‡––‹‰Šƒ•ƒŽŽ‘™‡†–Š‡–‡ƒ–‘ ”‡ƒ–‡•‘‡‘”‡‹–‡”‡•–‹‰‰—•
ƒ•™‡ŽŽřŽ‹‡ ‘ŽŽƒ’•‹‰ƒƒ••ƒ—Ž–”‹»‡‹–‘ƒ•—„ƒ Š‹‡‰—–‘•™‹– Šˆ— Ş
–‹‘ƒŽ‹–›‘–Š‡»›Ŝ
Š‡™‡ƒ’‘•‹ º‹–‡ƒ”ˆƒ”‡ ‘‡ˆ”‘º˜‡‘”•‹š ‘”‡º –‹‘ƒŽƒ—ˆƒ –—”Ş
‡”•ř’Ž—•ƒˆ‡™‘–Š‡”•ˆ‘”•‹‰Š–•ř•–‘ •řƒ†‘–Š‡”ƒ––ƒ Š‡–•Ŝ

KENDALL BALLISTICS:Š‹•‹Ž‹–ƒ”›Ş‰”ƒ†‡™‡ƒ’‘•ƒ—ˆƒ –—”‡”’”‹ƒ”‹Ž›

ƒ‡•ɫ•ƒ†‘–Š‡”–”ƒ†‹–‹‘ƒŽƒŽŽ‘ˆ—–›™‡ƒ’‘”›ŜŠ‡”‡ ‘‰‹œƒ„Ž‡™‡ƒ’Ş
‘”›Šƒ•ƒˆ—–—”‹•–‹ –‘— ŠřŽ‹‡ƒɫ™‹–Šƒ †‹•’Žƒ›Ŝ
ũ‡†ƒŽŽ ”‡ƒ–‡•”‡ƒŽ‹•–‹ ™‡ƒ’‘•ŷ‰—•†‘Ũ–Ž‘‘Ž‹‡‘–‘” › Ž‡•‘”
ƒ›–Š‹‰řŪ•ƒ›•›‡”•Ŝũ‡‘’Ž‡•–‹ŽŽ—•‡‰—•ˆ”‘–Š‡‡ƒ”Ž›ɨɰɥɥ•–‘†ƒ›ř•‘
–Š‡”‡Ũ•‘”‡ƒ•‘–Š‡•‡‰—•™‘—Ž†Ũ–‡š‹•–‹•‘‡™ƒ›‹–Š‹•—‹˜‡”•‡Ŝ‘—
Ž‘‘‘• ”‡‡řƒ†›‘—ŨŽŽ‰‘řŧŠř ‘™–Šƒ–‰—ŜŨŪ

MASHIMO: ƒ’ƒ‡•‡ ‘’ƒ›–Šƒ– ”‡ƒ–‡•Š‹‰ŠŞ‡‡”‰›řˆƒ•–޺”‹‰™‡ƒ’‘•Ŝ

Š‡•‡‰—••–‹ŽŽˆ‡‡ŽŽ‹‡„ƒŽŽ‹•–‹ Ş•–›Ž‡™‡ƒ’‘•ř„—–™‹–Š‹–‡”‡•–‹‰ƒ†
——•—ƒŽ’‡”•†—‡–‘–Š‡‡‡”‰›Ş ‡ŽŽƒ—‹–‹‘Ŝ ‘”‹•–ƒ ‡řƒ™‡ƒ’‘ ‘—Ž†
Šƒ˜‡ƒ•ƒ”–•‹‰Š–‘–Š‡•‹†‡•‘–Šƒ–™Š‡›‘—•Š‹ˆ––Š‡™‡ƒ’‘ř›‘— ƒ‘˜‡
ˆ”‘•—„ƒ Š‹‡‰—ˆ— –‹‘ƒŽ‹–›–‘„Ž‘™–Š‡”‡•–‘ˆ›‘—”’‘™‡” ‡ŽŽ‘ƒ•Š‘–Ş
‰—Ş•–›Ž‡„Žƒ•–Ŝ‘— ƒ–Š‡’‘’‘—–›‘—”‡’–›‡‡”‰› ‡ŽŽƒ†’—–‹–‹–‘ƒ
”‡ Šƒ”‰‡ƒ„Ž‡’ƒ –‘‡‡’–Š‡’ƒ”–›‰‘‹‰ř‡••‡–‹ƒŽŽ›ƒŽŽ‘™‹‰›‘—–‘”‡‰‡‡”Ş
ƒ–‡ƒ‘ŜŠ‡•‡™‡ƒ’‘•‘ˆ–‡Šƒ˜‡—Ž–‹’Ž‡ˆ— –‹‘•–Šƒ– ƒ—•‡‡‡”‰›‹
‹–‡”‡•–‹‰™ƒ›•ˆ‘”†‹˜‡”•‡•‹–—ƒ–‹‘•Ŝ

FUJIWARA: ƒ’ƒ‡•‡ ‘’ƒ›•’‡ ‹ƒŽ‹œ‹‰‹‡‡”‰›™‡ƒ’‘•™‹–Šƒ”–‹•–‹ 

ƒ†‡š–”ƒ˜ƒ‰ƒ–†‡•‹‰•ř‘ˆˆ‡”‹‰Š‹‰ŠŞ Žƒ••ř‡š’‡•‹˜‡™‡ƒ’‘”›‹ ‘’ƒ”‹•‘
–‘–Š‡‘”‡ƒˆˆ‘”†ƒ„Ž‡ƒ•Š‹‘Ŝ‡‘ˆ–Š‡‘”‡‹–‡”‡•–‹‰‡‡”‰›™‡ƒ’‘•„›
—Œ‹™ƒ”ƒ‹•–Š‡ɩřƒ –Šƒ–›‘— ƒº”‡ƒ–Ž‘‰ŵ‹†Ş”ƒ‰‡ƒ†–Š‡”‘–ƒ–‡
ƒ†’—ŽŽ‹–ƒ’ƒ”–‹™Šƒ–ƒ‘—–•–‘•’Ž‹––‹‰–Š‡™‡ƒ’‘‹ŠƒŽˆ–‘ ”‡ƒ–‡
ũƒ‹„‘’‹•–‘Ž•Ūˆ‘”ƒ Ž‘•‡Ş ‘„ƒ–‡ ‘—–‡”Ž‹‡„”‡ƒ Š‹‰ƒ”‘‘Ŝ

EDI: ‘ —•‡•‘‡š’‡”‹‡–ƒŽ™‡ƒ’‘†‡•‹‰•ƒ†‡‡”‰›™‡ƒ’‘•ř™‹–Šƒˆ‘ —•

‘Š‹‰Š“—ƒŽ‹–›ŜŠ‡•‡ƒ”‡•‘‡‘ˆ–Š‡‘•–ƒ†˜ƒ ‡†™‡ƒ’‘•ƒ˜ƒ‹Žƒ„Ž‡‹–Š‡
‰ƒ‡ř•Š‘™ ƒ•‹‰•‡ ”‡–’”‘–‘–›’‡•Ŝ

ATOMIC DYNAMICS:”‘–‘–›’‡ ‘’ƒ›•’‡ ‹ƒŽ‹œ‹‰‹”ƒ™†‡•‹‰•™‹–Š

‡š’‘•‡† ƒ’ƒ ‹–‘”•ƒ†™‹”‹‰ř„‹‰• ”‡‡’”‡•‡ ‡řƒ†‡š’‡”‹‡–ƒŽ–‡ Š‘ŽŞ
‘‰›Ŝš’‡ –”ƒ‹Ž‰—•ƒ†™‡ƒ’‘•–Šƒ– Šƒ”‰‡—’ř„—––Š‡›Ũ”‡ƒ„‹–‘”‡”‘—‰Š
Lt. Salter is Reyes’ ƒ”‘—†–Š‡‡†‰‡•–Šƒ Ũ•‘ˆˆ‡”‹‰•Ŝ
lifetime friend and ally
”‘’‹•–‘Ž•™‹–Š‡Ž‡ –”‘‹ ƒŽŽ› Šƒ”‰‡†ƒ—‹–‹‘–Šƒ– ƒ•Š‘‘–—Ž–‹’Ž‡
„—ŽŽ‡–•ƒ–‘ ‡‹ƒ„—”•–޺”‡ ‘º‰—”ƒ–‹‘–‘•‹‰Ž‡º”‡‘”ƒ••‹˜‡ ƒ–Ž‹‰Ş
‰—„‡ƒ•–•Ž‹‡–Š‡–‡‡Ž”ƒ‰‘’”‘–‘–›’‡ř›‘— ƒº†–Š‡’‡”ˆ‡ –Ž‘ƒ†‘—–ˆ‘”
›‘—”•–›Ž‡‘ˆ‰”‘—†‡†Ş‹Ş”‡ƒŽ‹–›ˆ—–—”‡–‡ ŠŜ
ƒ††‹–‹‘–‘–Š‡‡‘”‘—•ƒ”‘”›‘ˆ‰—•řƒ—„‡”‘ˆ‘–Š‡”‘–ƒ„Ž‡‡™
‹–‡•ƒ”‡ƒ–›‘—”†‹•’‘•ƒŽŜ’‹†‡”ŞŽ‹‡”‘„‘–‹ •‡‡‡”‰”‡ƒ†‡• ƒ ”ƒ™ŽƒŽ‘‰
–Š‡‰”‘—†ƒ†™ƒŽŽ•ƒ† ƒ‹†‡–‹ˆ›ř–ƒ”‰‡–řƒ†ƒ––ƒ ‡‡‹‡•ƒ–›‘—” ‘Ş
ƒ†Ŝ—–‘‘‘—•†”‘‡• ƒŠ‡Ž’‡‡’‘’’‘‡–•‘ˆˆ›‘—”„ƒ Ŝ‡”‘މ”ƒ˜‹–›
‰”‡ƒ†‡• ƒ ”‡ƒ–‡’‘ ‡–•‘ˆœ‡”‘‰”ƒ˜‹–›‹–Š‡‡˜‹”‘‡–ř‹ ƒ’ƒ ‹–ƒ–Ş
‹‰‰”‘—’•‘ˆ‡‡‹‡•ƒ†’‘–‡–‹ƒŽŽ›‘˜‹‰–Š‡ˆ”‘–Š‡•ƒˆ‡–›‘ˆ ‘˜‡”Ŝ ˆ
›‘—Ũ”‡ˆ‡‡Ž‹‰Ž‹‡‰‡––‹‰”‹‰Š–‹–‘–Š‡–Š‹ ‘ˆ–Š‹‰•ř–”›ƒ•Š‹‡Ž†–Šƒ–
•ƒ•Š‡•‘’’‘‡–•‘—–‘ˆ–Š‡™ƒ›™Š‡›‘—Ũ”‡‘–’”‘–‡ –‹‰›‘—”•‡Žˆˆ”‘ƒ
‹ ‘‹‰
 „ƒ””ƒ‰‡Ŝ
Žƒ›‡”• ƒƒŽ•‘ ‘‘ƒ‰”‡ƒ†‡™Š‹Ž‡º”‹‰–Š‡‹”™‡ƒ’‘ř™Š‹ Š•Š‘—Ž†•Šƒ‡
—’–Š‡†›ƒ‹ •‘ˆ‰”‡ƒ†‡Ž‘„„‹‰“—‹–‡ƒ„‹–Ŝ

cover story 45
 NEW ENVIRONMENTS,
EXCITING SET PIECES
The Call of Duty series is known for summer
blockbuster-style sequences and campaigns
full of explosive moments that often task the
player to pilot various vehicles and brave
absurd obstacles. Infinite Warfare trades
in the same fare and is taking advantage of
unique elements that could only take place in
the future.
One mission tasks Reyes and his crew to
investigate a critical mining facility that has
ceased production. The mining crew hasn’t
checked in, and the supplies are crucial to the
ongoing efforts of the campaign. Something
big has changed at the facility, as the aster-
oid it’s housed on has been knocked out of
its orbit and its rotation has turned the day/
night cycle completely out of whack, with the
entire cycle completing in around a minute.
The volatile new orbit has placed the rock
incredibly close to a nearby sun, making the
daytime around 2,000 degrees of heat and
completely unsustainable.
The mission begins like an unsettling horror
film as the crew discovers some of the miners
have met unfortunate fates, with the focus
shifting toward finding survivors and surviving
the ordeal yourselves. The adventure quickly
turns into a search-and-rescue game of “red
light, green light” where the player must take
on both the enemies waiting for them at the
facility and the deadly heat of the sun, moving
The Settlement Defense Front proves only during brief safe snatches of night to
to be a brutal, powerful enemy

CHASING GHOSTS

º‹–›ƒ”†Ũ•Žƒ•–ƒŽŽ‘ˆ—–›
–‹–Ž‡‡†‡†‘ƒ Ž‹ˆˆŠƒ‰‡”ř„—–
‹–Ũ•— ‡”–ƒ‹™Š‡–Š‡”ˆƒ•™‹ŽŽ
‡˜‡”‰‡–ƒ› Ž‘•‡”–‘ƒ”‡•‘Ž—Ş
–‹‘‘”ƒˆ—–—”‡ˆ‘” Š‘•–•Ŝ‡‘ˆ
–Š‡•‡”‹‡•Ũ•‘”‡†‹˜‹•‹˜‡–‹–Ž‡•
™Š‡‹– ƒ‡–‘ ”‹–‹ ƒŽ”‡ ‡’Ş
–‹‘ř–Š‡”‡™ƒ•Ž‹––Ž‡•—”’”‹•‡
™Š‡ º‹–‡ƒ”ˆƒ”‡™ƒ•ƒ‘— ‡†
‹•–‡ƒ†‘ˆƒˆ‘ŽŽ‘™—’Ŝ‡ƒ•‡†
º‹–›ƒ”†ƒ„‘—––Š‡”‡ ‡’–‹‘
–‘ Š‘•–•ƒ†‹ˆ–Š‡•–—†‹‘™‘—Ž†
”‡–—”–‘–Šƒ–•–‘”›Ŝũ Š‘•–•™ƒ•ƒ
Š—‰‡‡ˆˆ‘”–řŪ•ƒ›••–—†‹‘Š‡ƒ†ƒ˜‡
–‘ŠŽŜũ•›‘—‘™ř‹–™ƒ• º‹–›
ƒ”†Ũ•Žƒ•––™‘Ş›‡ƒ”†‡˜‡Ž‘’‡–
› Ž‡řƒ†‹–•Š‹’’‡††—”‹‰ƒ ‘Ş
•‘Ž‡–”ƒ•‹–‹‘›‡ƒ”Ŝˆ ‘—”•‡ř
–Š‡”‡™ƒ•ƒŽ‘––‘Ž‡ƒ”ˆ”‘–Šƒ–
–‹–Ž‡řƒ†ƒ•†‡˜‡Ž‘’‡”•ř™‡Ž‡ƒ”
ˆ”‘‡˜‡”›‰ƒ‡™‡ ”‡ƒ–‡Ŝ‹ ‡
Š‘•–•ř–Š‡•–—†‹‘Šƒ•™‘”‡†Šƒ”†
ƒ†’—–ƒ”‡‡™‡†ˆ‘ —•‘˜ƒ”‹Ş
‘—•‹‘˜ƒ–‹‘•ŜŠ‹•›‡ƒ”ř‘‡‘ˆ
–Š‘•‡‹‘˜ƒ–‹‘•™‹ŽŽ„‡‘—”ƒ”Ş
”ƒ–‹˜‡řˆ‘”‹•–ƒ ‡ŜŪ

While some missions will take you

out into space, there are many close-
quarter interior encounters as well

46
avoid baking to a crisp. This tense trek capital- TAKING FLIGHT featuring elements from earlier titles in the fran-
izes on some futuristic fare while maintaining Call of Duty may release annually, but the vari- chise before we moved to ages beyond.
the team-based infantry feel of the series. ous studios and visions behind each title bring Infinite Warfare will also launch with zom-
We also get a look at something new for new things to the formula every time. Infinite bies mode and a robust multiplayer compo-
this game, the ability to “peek” inside rooms. Warfare is a mix of things old and new, with nent, but we’ll have to wait for details to see
Players can crack open the door slowly, look- classic rooted-in-reality combat, while simul- how space design and feel influences these
ing for enemies waiting in ambush instead of taneously offering a taste of a technologically other styles of gameplay. More details on the
kicking the door open entirely. This lets players advanced future and big differentiators like multiplayer will be revealed at the Call of Duty
take out dangerous foes by throwing a grenade space dogfighting, zero-gravity combat, new Experience event, which is returning this year
in or firing from a better position before knock- weapons, and substantial mechanics changes. to Los Angeles. \
ing out the door entirely. Alternatively, if you’re While the initial reveal played up elements from
feeling like Rambo, you’re certainly more than the space-age category, it’s clear that while Visit gameinformer.com/infinitewarfare for exclusive video inter-
welcome to kick the door down immediately, futuristic explorations and diversions are on views with the team behind the game, a discussion with some of
or even kick it in during the peeking process. the menu, the core gameplay is down to earth, the actors, in-depth details on game features, and much more

Sgt. Omar commands the

Marines aboard the Retribution

cover story 47
©2016 Performance Designed Products LLC. Performance Designed Products, PDP, Rock Candy and
their respective logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Performance Designed Products,
LLC. All rights reserved.
All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
50
 In 2027, the Aug Incident shattered the near-
future world of Deus Ex, killing millions and
traumatizing those who survived. A frequency
broadcast worldwide forced transhumans,
individuals with cybernetic enhancements, into
a frenzy, driving them to commit involuntary acts
of violence. Now that two years have passed, the
mechanically augmented face rigid segregation
from the rest of the population. The golden age of
advanced technology has all but ceased, and fear
of augmentations has been instilled in society.
The cybernetics industry is crumbling, replaced
Exploring the darker world of with a growing black market of dangerous aug-
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided mentations, all while a new dawn of terrorism
begins. Welcome to Deus Ex: Mankind Divided.
Since our 2015 cover story, much has been
by Elise Favis
under wraps about this futuristic follow-up
» Platform
to Human Revolution. With Mankind Divided’s
PlayStation 4
฀ ฀฀ ฀
release date looming, I visited Eidos Montreal
» Style
1-Player Action/
for a deep dive on its progress and new features.
Role-Playing
» Publisher
As I explore this ravaged, frightened world, it is
Square Enix TG[NTZXYMJYTSJNXRZHMIFWPJWFSIƤJWHJWYMFS
» Developer
Eidos Montreal its predecessor, envisioning a future that may
» Release
August 23 not be so different from our own.

feature 51
 A Dark Horizon His augmentations, however, took a hit. To fix them up, Jensen
decides to visit an underground augmentations special-
Mankind Divided paints a dystopian world emerging from ist, Vaclav Koller, on his way to work. Koller is stationed in a
disaster. A strong divide separates those who are mechanically workshop hidden inside a bookstore, but finding a way there is
augmented from those who are not. Human Revolution was a challenge of its own.
thematically an analogy to the Renaissance, from its golden Koller warns Jensen through his comms channel that
color scheme to the world’s advanced scientific develop- something has gone awry. The Dvali, a powerful crime family in
ments. In contrast, Mankind Divided metaphorically reverts to Prague, is narrowing in on Koller to resolve what he describes
the Dark Ages, where groundbreaking knowledge has been as a “misunderstanding.” As a result, Jensen will have to be
replaced with terror and paranoia. creative with finding an entrance.
“Mankind Divided is a dystopia, so it’s a bit of a regres- Jensen navigates through the city, passing by pastel-colored,
sion,” says art director Jonathan Jacques-Belletête. “It’s not a European homes that are glued together like siamese twins.
regression in the sense that technology is falling back or being Their worn walls are defaced with graffiti, and a tourism poster
forgotten, but instead this perfect era of augmentations is on written in red paint says “This place is hell.” On the opposite
the downward slope as we go back to the dark ages.” wall, “Augs will prevail” is scribbled. The divide in society is
As I watch a demo set in Prague, this theme of hopelessness substantial, with cops lining the streets, separating augmented
becomes readily apparent. After witnessing a horrific terrorist people from naturals. Jensen finds himself an outcast, and this
attack at a train station, Jensen groggily wakes from bed in becomes clear when he’s briefly, but harshly, interrogated by
his dim apartment. Hints of sunlight stream through the blinds, a cop who asks for paperwork and performs a scan on him,
almost as a reminder that hope is not lost. Jensen, just like his before he can continue on his way.
world, has changed: He didn’t save the world two years ago.
The failure has made him bitter, but it has also driven him to
find the truth.
Rising from his bed, Jensen speaks through his communica-
tions implant to Alex Vega, a friend who was by his side at the
bombing the day prior. “You sound like s---,” she says. Jensen
responds by saying that while he’s sore, he’s doing just fine.

Mankind Divided has around 90,000 lines of dialogue,

in comparison to Human Revolution which has 20,000

Jensen will travel to several places around

the world, including Prague and Dubai

52
 In typical Deus Ex fashion, many paths lead to the main
objective. Jensen could bribe his way past the police, or follow
a tip about a fake I.D. supplier. A Dvali gangster guards the
entrance to another path toward the bookshop. Jensen could
pick a fight with them, but he decides to take a stealthier route.
He notices an open window from an apartment on a higher
level, which he reaches by climbing over a dumpster and
other obstacles.
Jensen eventually climbs onto the roof of the bookshop.
Before squeezing through an open skylight, he spots a handful
of enemies patrolling the room below. Using his Tesla gun arm
augmentation, tiny darts shoot out of his knuckles toward the
unsuspecting foes below, incapacitating all of them at once.
This is one of many new augmentations in Mankind Divided,
which allows players to target up to four enemies and disable
them simultaneously.
Jensen eases himself into the building. With his sound
suppressing ability, and his cloaking augmentation, Jensen be-
comes both silent and unseen. He takes cover behind a book-
shelf and activates his new and improved smart vision, allowing
him to see through walls and find out what enemies are carrying
as loot. He detects an enemy behind the shelf and performs a
non-lethal take down. In one swift movement, Jensen pulls the
Boss battles can be approached in many ways, from combat
unconscious gangster toward him and hides the body behind to stealth. It’s also possible to defeat a boss non-lethally
the shelf.
Once he clears the room, he descends to a lower level of the
shop to meet with Koller. Behind a hidden door, Jensen finds
the eclectic workshop where cybernetic limbs are strung across
the ceiling like Christmas lights. Koller is eccentric in both
personality and appearance, with his unruly hair and studded
lab coat filled with punk-themed pins. He greets Jensen with
a grand smile and hearty gesture, reminiscent of Leonardo da
Vinci from Assassin’s Creed II. With Jensen as the guinea pig,
Koller adjusts his augmentations to bring them back to their
full capabilities.

The Double Agent

The industry of cybernetics is on the verge of collapse. Sarif
Industries, where Jensen worked as chief of security during
Human Revolution, is no more. The corporate themes of the
past game are left behind, replaced by a more militant vibe.
Jensen in employed by Task Force 29, a worldwide anti-
terrorism operation headed by Interpol. Jensen has a hunch
that the group has connections to the Illuminati – society’s
invisible puppeteers that had a hand in perpetrating the Aug
Incident. His motives for joining the task force are twofold:
He’s hyper-focused on tracking down the Illuminati, but he’s Whispers Of Conspiracy
also looking for redemption, and hopes to dull the worldwide At the end of Human Revolution, Jensen infiltrates Panchaea, a geo-engineering
threat of terrorism.
“Jensen has realized now that in order to get to the heart of
plant built to curb global warming, where he uncovers the truth behind the Aug
the problem, he has to go after the people that really caused Incident and its ties to the Illuminati. Players are given a few choices on how it
it,” says narrative director Mary DeMarle. “He has to take this will be revealed to the public: They can unveil the truth, manipulate the story by
fight to the Illuminati, but to do that, he has to find them. At the pinning the blame elsewhere, or cover it up by destroying Panchaea. Because Ei-
same time, he is somebody who is trying to right wrongs, so he dos Montreal didn’t know it would make a sequel to Human Revolution until later,
gets involved with Task Force 29.” it isn’t possible to transfer your save to the new game. Instead, Mankind Divided
Though he’s employed by the task force, Jensen follows his
own agenda. He is affiliated with a second organization, The
keeps the outcome of your chosen ending ambiguous. Panchaea has collapsed,
Juggernaut Collective, a hacktivist group dedicated to expos- but the amount of information seeping into the public is up for debate.
ing the Illuminati. However, he must keep his association with “The canon ending is whichever you chose,” explains narrative director Mary
them hidden from Task Force 29. Both groups give conflicting DeMarle. “There are only three people in the world who know what Adam Jensen
missions throughout the main campaign, but it’s not presented chose, and that is Adam, Eliza, and you. We didn’t want to rob you of that choice.”
to the player as two separate batches of quests. Instead, they 8MJZXJXFXFHTRUFWNXTS)ZWNSLFMTWWNƤHJ[JSYYMJWJNXNSNYNFQQ^[JW^QNYYQJ
are intertwined in the storyline, but it’s up to you how much
time to process and rationalize what is happening. The same can be said for the
information you divulge to either side. For Jensen, these two
entities are stepping stones to the intel he seeks. Aug incident; controversies surface and governments or organizations try to ma-
“They are different channels to get to his purpose,” DeMarle nipulate the information to their advantage. “People will believe what they feel
says. “The information that they’re giving him can sometimes YMJ^\FSYYTGJQNJ[JƊXMJXF^XƉ&X^TZUQF^YMJLFRJ^TZƇQQƤSIYMFYYMJWJFWJ
contradict one another or shed new light on each other. He differing theories about it. Various people support different possible messages that
also has to take into account that they have their own opinions. came out.”
The Juggernaut Collective might believe the task force is an
Illuminati tool, but Jensen’s not 100% sure of that yet. So you
also have to judge the biases of some people.”
feature 53
 Near the beginning of the game, Jensen witnesses a
YJWWTWNXYFYYFHPFYYMJ7ĊĕNÊPF9WFNS8YFYNTSNS5WFLZJ

Golem City Dishonored’s Blink ability, now easily accessible, I dash from one
corner to the next. To take out a guard to my left, I use my nano
One of the many places you visit in Mankind Divided includes blade that shoots out of my arm, stabbing my target and pinning
the Utulek Station, nicknamed Golem City, on the outskirts of them to the wall.
Prague. This gritty, rundown station began as a temporary hous- However, because I wasn’t careful, I’m spotted by an overhead
ing unit for transhumans, but after the Aug Incident, it devolved turret. A group of enemies begin firing at me without mercy. While
into a ghetto and segregated community for augmented people. it was an unexpected turn of events, it doesn’t become a prob-
The Augmented Rights Coalition (ARC), a group branded as lem. Combat in Mankind Divided has improved substantially, with
a terrorist organization by the media, has its headquarters a better flow and more options, bringing flair to these gun fights.
stationed inside. First, I switch on my titan shield, transforming me into a walking
Golem City, with its claustrophobic environment, represents tank. Then, I switch my combat rifle’s ammo to armor-piercing
a dark part of the world with only remnants of the golden age bullets, which blows the turret into satisfying little pieces. Once
still faintly flickering. “As you walk through Golem City, there are I’m the last man standing, I move to my next point of interest by
these little slivers of gold lighting, almost as if they bought their crawling through a vent – but I’m far from in the clear.
gold paint and their candles with them,” Jacques-Belletête says. The exit at the other side of the room is barricaded by laser
“They’re bringing the soul and spirit of that lost era.” beams. I use my remote hacking device, reminiscent of the tool
During a demo I played, Jensen is sent by Task Force 29 to found in Batman Arkham games, to hack the lasers.
infiltrate ARC and extract its leader, Talos Rucker. The complex is Human Revolution’s hacking mini game returns in Mankind
large and multi-levelled, providing me with an impressive amount Divided, with a slicker design and a few upgrades. “Hacking is
of entryways and paths. Mankind Divided has put an emphasis coming back, and now it’s deeper than it was in Human Revolu-
on verticality, meaning there are multi-level structures in the tion,” Dugas says. “The security systems have booby traps and
level design. reinforced security systems, but you have more software to play
“We brought verticality into the mix, so challenges are not all on with to circumvent the challenge. It will feel very similar, but it’s
the same level. Even in the city hub, and everywhere in the game, going to demand more skill than it previously did.”
verticality is a big part of the experience,” says game director
Jean-François Dugas.
On the ground floor, I look upward and see patrolling guards Breaching The Palisade
overhead on balconies. My first action is to pull up my augmen- In addition to an improved hacking system, Mankind Divided in-
tation wheel, a similar mechanic to Mass Effect’s powers wheel, cludes a new mode accessible via the main menu called Breach
which I use to map different augmentations to the d-pad and that Eidos Montreal describes as Deus Ex with an arcade twist.
left shoulder button. With Icarus Dash, which works similarly to The mini campaign takes place inside a digital world that the
main character accesses through the Neural SubNet, a virtual
reality device originally marketed as a therapeutic technol-
ogy in 2023. The Rippers, a hacking faction you are part of,
use this technology in lieu of traditional coding to access the
Prague Palisade Bank, a corporate server farm advertised as “impen-
etrable.” Within the Neural SubNet, the servers take the form of
Prague is one of the fully explorable city hubs in Mankind Divided. With more of a a platformer stealth game with several levels where you extract
focus on visual storytelling and many areas of interest, you can uncover micro- data and receive guidance from your mentor ShadowChild, who
narratives of both its people and its rich history. In 2016, following the election contacts you through an instant messaging program.
TKNYXƤWXYKJRFQJUWJXNIJSY?TƤJ7Z_NHPFYMJ(_JHM7JUZGQNHXF\FSJHTSTRNH “One of the things that has become very valuable in Mankind
Divided is digital information,” DeMarle says. “Within the Czech
boom that transformed Prague into one of the world’s leading metropolitan cities. Republic, the Palisade Bank Corporation has opened up to
The city saw a rise in immigration, particularly with augmented workers, and it clients saying that they are a bank that stores your digital infor-
soon became a wealthy haven for transhumans. When the Aug Incident hit, the mation. Rich corporations, the pope, and all these people store
tables turned drastically. Because Prague has one of the highest populations of their top secret information in there because the Palisade Bank
augmented people, its authorities took a rigorous approach to controlling and seg- states that nobody can get through their firewall.”
regating this group of people that the public now deems dangerous. The Rippers however, are able to breach the system. You
navigate through the digital data storage of four corporations:
the Palisade Bank, which is the server host, as well as Tarvos
Security, VersaLife, and Steiner Bisley.
54
 “Each one of those corporations has a visual and gameplay
style that we put together,” explains live team producer Fleur
Marty. “We tried to reflect their backgrounds. For example,
Steiner Bisley is a weapons maker. When you go play their
maps, you have the feeling of a foundry, and the music also
serves that very well.”
Reminiscent of both the indie hit Volume and Metal Gear
Solid’s VR missions, the aesthetic of these levels is modern
with a blocky architecture. In Breach, your enemy is the
A.I., a booming voice in each room that controls the robotic
foes you face. If you’re detected, you’re marked as a hostile
instantly. This causes the room’s enemies, which may include
turrets, drones, and sentinels, to attempt to kill you on sight.
The Deus Ex philosophy extends to Breach, allowing you to
approach each level in accordance to your own play style,
from combat to stealth.
Each corporation’s servers offer challenges, such as best
score, best time, and whether you managed to extract all the
data. However, there are also ways you can change the rules Deus Ex Go
of these challenges. With the use of modifiers, you can up
the difficulty for a better reward, or give yourself a temporary Deus Ex Go is the newest addition to Square Enix Montreal’s series of minimalistic
ad vantage such as an increase in speed. As the difficulty mobile games that put an emphasis on turn-based puzzles. In Deus Ex Go, you
rises, you can upgrade your Ripper avatar’s augmentations, YFPJYMJWTQJTK&IFR/JSXJSFSINSƤQYWFYJT[JWQJ[JQXYMWTZLMMFHPNSLFSI
some of which are exclusive to Breach. New weapons and XYJFQYM9TRT[J/JSXJS^TZX\NUJYMJXHWJJSNS^TZWUWJKJWWJIINWJHYNTSXNRNQFW
additional experience points can be obtained through booster to past Go games.
packs, which are randomized rewards after completing *FHMFWJFNXUFYWTQQJIG^FXJWNJXTKJSJRNJXKWTRXJSYWNJXYTLZFWIX'^ƤSI
a level.
Breach also tells a story of its own, through darknet files.
NSLJSJWL^UQFHJIFWTZSIYMJQJ[JQX^TZHFSZXJNYYTUT\JW^TZWFZLRJSYFYNTSX
These are different conspiracies from each corporation, which XZHMFXNS[NXNGNQNY^FSI*25GQFXYXYMFYNSHFUFHNYFYJJSJRNJXKWTRFINXYFSHJ
you investigate and uncover as you progress through the Like the main Deus Ex series, hacking is one of the main mechanics. When us-
digital world. NSLFXJHZWNY^YJWRNSFQ^TZHFSIWFL^TZWƤSLJWYTIWF\FQNSJYT^TZWIJXNWJI
target that you wish to hack and disable. This can be used on enemies such as
Understanding What Makes Us Human YZWWJYXYTINXFGQJYMJRTWYTGZNQIUFYMXYMFY\JWJSƇYF[FNQFGQJGJKTWJ-T\J[JW
^TZMF[JYTGJHFZYNTZX ^TZWMFHPNSLHFSGJZSITSJG^JSJRNJXXMTZQIYMJ^
With its reliance on choice and consequence, along with a FUUWTFHMYMJYJWRNSFQYMJRXJQ[JX9MNXJ[TQ[JXYMJUZ__QJINKƤHZQY^T[JWYNRJ
beefed up combat system, Mankind Divided impressed me
\NYM^TZWUWNRJTGOJHYN[JKTHZXJITSRFPNSLXZWJ^TZMFHPFYYMJWNLMYYNRJFSI
with its depth. It is much darker than its predecessor, but the
core moral and philosophical questions it poses remain the place to progress.
same. Does the advancement of technology breed freedom A new concept coming to Deus Ex Go that hasn’t been explored in the Go games
or control? Are we still considered human if our bodies are GJKTWJNXFSNSYJWKFHJFQQT\NSLUQF^JWXYTIJXNLSYMJNWT\SZXJWHWJFYJIQJ[JQX
more machine than flesh? The line is blurred, and the out- 9MJ^FWJLN[JSFQQYMJXZWKFHJQJ[JQIJXNLSYTTQXYMJIJ[JQTUJWXZXJ9MJXJQJ[JQX
come of Jensen’s quest for redemption and truth remain in will be sharable with friends online.
the hands of the player. Adam Jensen already failed to save Deus Ex Go releases this summer on iOS and Android.
the world, and now he struggles with those consequences,
making this super-soldier a flawed human being like the rest
of us. \

feature 55
 Battlefield 1 1
Turning back time to fight a new war
» Platform fter three Battlefield games through trenches, cavalry on horse- its focus on close-quarters fights,
PlayStation 4
฀ ฀฀
» Style
1-Player Shooter
A set in the present day, DICE is
diving back into the past with
Battlefield 1, taking the series to World
back charging into battle, and front-line
fighters stabbing foes with bayonets
as mustard gas explodes all around
and watching someone drive their
bayonet into another character’s chest
through the eyeholes on a gas mask
War 1. A setting seldom seen in video them. Rudimentary tanks rolled over is a level of brutality never seen in this
(64-Player Online)
games, this iteration features intense obstacles and mowed down troops franchise before.
» Publisher aerial dogfights as well as trench war- with turret gun fire as biplanes dropped The visuals showcase the high
Electronic Arts
fare, with design director Daniel Berlin bombs from above. standards set by DICE’s Frostbite
» Developer saying that “everything should feel epic Battlefield 1 is violent and grue- engine, matching the graphical fidelity
in this game.” some, with blood seeping from every of Star Wars: Battlefront. The engine’s
» Release During a press conference in San gunshot wound, bodies being thrown destructable capabilities are in full
October 21 Francisco, DICE showed off pre-alpha across the landscape by mine explo- effect, with bombs tearing barbwire
footage of gameplay. The demo is sions, and corpses splattering blood traps and encampments apart and
visually stunning, with soldiers rushing across the grass. DICE has increased doors shattering from explosives so
56
players can storm a bunker.
DICE has some new plans in store
for the multiplayer component of
Battlefield 1. The game introduces
dedicated vehicle classes, letting play-
ers step into the boots of pilots and
tank specialists. In an attempt to cap-
ture the scope of the first World War,
maps are scattered across a series of
diverse environments, including Arabian
deserts, grassy French countrysides,
and the Alps. Weapon customization
returns as well, but the specifics of that
system remain under wraps.
DICE shared few details about the
single-player campaign, outside of
admitting that the game has one, but
the developer did say the story is
“centered around a bunch of people
and how they react to the world
around them,” hinting at the possibil-
ity of multiple protagonists. Berlin also
suggested that the campaign is more
open and less linear than previous
campaigns, saying it will be “structured
around battlefield moments.”
While we didn’t get any hands-on
time with Battlefield 1, the direction
DICE is taking the series is off to a
promising start that excited the legions
of gamers who have been waiting a
long time for a quality action game set
during the first World War.
» Javy Gwaltney
previews 57
 Inside
A stunning tour-de-force six years in the making
» Platform fter the success of Limbo in without prior story details to spoil the all. A single puzzle might use a surpris-

฀
฀ ฀฀
» Style A 2010, the talented developers at
Playdead seemed to disappear
back into their cocoon. Information on
progression. As such, my impres-
sions steer clear of specifics. The
game opens as a virtual homage to
ing new mechanic, but rather than stick
with that idea for the rest of the game,
a head-scratching new device or envi-
» Publisher their sophomore effort has been hard Playdead’s last project, with a fragile ronmental concept is introduced next.
฀ to come by in the intervening years. boy’s appearance in a dark forest, These puzzles are rarely difficult, but
» Developer That’s about to change, as Inside is and a sidescrolling run forward into the uncomplicated solutions contribute
planned for a surprise launch on Xbox unknown dangers. From there, the to the breathless forward pace.
» Release One at the tail end of June, with a PC plot and setting diverge from the prior Inside is all about building tension,
฀ ฀ launch to follow soon after. I turned game, and the discovery of what lies and steadfastly refuses to answer the
out the lights and sat down for a ahead for this silent child pulls you growing assortment of questions about
complete playthrough of a near-final through the adventure. what you’re seeing and hearing. The
version of the game, and while late Gameplay combines light running and effect is one of open-mouthed confu-
tweaks may still affect my ultimate platforming sequences with physics- sion and wonder, as scene after scene
interpretation of the game, my early based puzzles, many of which are takes you deeper inside. The title is a
impressions suggest a masterpiece of about simple manipulation of mundane figurative and literal metaphor about
artistic presentation. objects in the environment, but fre- the progression. Between the immacu-
Even more so than Limbo, Inside is quently with strikingly original twists. lately constructed ambient sound
best experienced from start to finish Playdead’s design values novelty above design and a unique three-dimensional

58
art style that relies heavily on depth
of field to communicate narrative, I
couldn’t escape the sense that I was
asleep, shifting back and forth between
a weird dream and the disturbing
imagery of a nightmare. Every few
minutes brings a striking visual tableau,
exploring themes of decay, loneliness,
or conformity.
Inside charts a linear path to comple-
tion, but a series of hidden rooms and
cleverly disguised side paths sug-
gest an additional narrative layer that
beckons me back for a second play-
through. Even without that optional
element of exploration, the game is
enigmatic and disturbing, and I fore-
see many players debating what it all
means. We’ll wait to pass a final ver-
dict until we’ve experienced a version
that reflects Playdead’s final crucial
brush strokes, but there’s no doubt in
my mind that Inside will emerge as one
of the most talked-about games
of 2016. » Matt Miller

Puzzles frequently use familiar and

mundane objects in surprising ways

Inside layers on new mysteries at every step;

what lies beyond the glass is one of the few
questions that gets a concrete answer

previews 59
 Madden NFL 17
Taking a page from the playbook
» Platform he Madden franchise is in the into account how fast you are going coordinate appropriately to attack the
PlayStation 4
Xbox One
» Style
1or 2-Player Sports
T best position it’s been in for years.
Last year was a good outing, and
the series’ current leadership has a
and how many defenders you can
realistically affect. Therefore, there are
moves you pull off quickly while trying
line of scrimmage. For instance, on
some plays one defender may try to
keep the running back from turning the
roadmap of where it wants to take the to maintain your speed and those that corner while another defender stays
(Online TBA)
franchise, trying to avoid creating fea- develop more slowly but which can home for a possible cutback. In the
» Publisher tures one year only to abandon them affect more defenders. What special secondary, meanwhile, Madden 17
EA Sports
the next – something that Madden moves you can and can’t do is deter- hopes to shore up a lingering com-
» Developer has done in the past. Therefore, this mined by players’ ratings. If, however, plaint. Defenders in zones won’t just
EA Tiburon
year’s game sees the expansion of you don’t want to fuss with all the sit still as receivers blow by. Following
» Release familiar features, while at the same buttons, you can have the game per- real-life coverage rules, defenders in
August 23 time honing of past concepts in an form special moves for you while you zone coverage identify threats and
attempt to sustain the series’ current simply steer. react accordingly depending on the
ascending trajectory. Perhaps the biggest accessibil- play, such as covering a tight end
The recent theme of accessibility ity feature this year is called Play the coming across the middle or a slot
continues with an optional display for Moment. This uses the series’ sim receiver going deep.
the ball carrier similar to last year’s engine to fast forward to the impor- When you put everything together –
tackle cone. The threat cone surfaces tant moments in a game: red-zone including revamped blocking tech-
which special move players should plays, key third downs, the two-minute niques and reactions for the offensive
use to avoid being tackled based on drill, etc. It’s reminiscent of how Rory line – the sum effect should be that
the ball carrier’s particular proficien- McIlroy PGA Tour culled holes for play- plays develop more organically.
cies. A similar icon-based system ers, and in that case it was done well. Gamers should have more choice and
now also governs breaking out of a Regardless of whether or not you control over what happens during a
tackle. The offensive player jams on actively use Madden 17’s various play, and because real-life football con-
their controller to avoid getting tack- accessibility features, the team is evolv- cepts govern players’ behavior more,
led during select moments, while the ing its players’ intelligence on the field. there should be fewer money plays. In
defender does the same to complete Defenders are governed by football fact, Madden 17’s playcalling system
the tackle. strategies rather than just swarming the lets you pick plays designed to cover
In general, the game’s arsenal of ball carrier. They have gap responsibili- specific areas of the field where you
special moves is rearranged to take ties (shown in the play art) and may be getting repeatedly beat.

60
Still, success isn’t just a matter of prep and is now basically tied to your (potentially to sustain more damage
calling the right play. Synthesizing win/loss record, and the drive goals are like Tony Romo did last season), and
what you see as it unfolds with all of being fixed to be more contextual to curb player regression. The latter is
the new behaviors on the screen and the game situation at hand. now spread across more attributes,
reacting accordingly will be a welcome Last month developer EA Tiburon and doesn’t drop dramatically in just a
challenge for long-time players. teased changes for the Connected single category.
Getting your players prepared before Franchise Mode, and while the long- On the surface, there are no
they step on the field is also important. requested 10-man practice squad is headline-grabbing changes for this
This year’s title overhauls game prep now in (including the ability to sign year’s Madden. But planned improve-
to suggest offensive and defensive those players from other teams as ments to the series’ gameplay has me
gameplans each week based on your well as lose your own), the balance of excited to see how plays develop in
opponent’s tendencies. Get a medal additions for this year revolve around Madden 17 and how quickly I react
in the suggested drills, and your play- tuning. So while the same contract to them. Madden 17 doesn’t include
ers will get a boost when that play limitations, free-agency structure, all the features that either you or I
concept appears in the game. You can lack of coordinators, and restrictions want, but if the game can continue to
similarly train for certain situations like to stadium building remain, EA tuned improve on the gameplay of its prede-
your red-zone offense, as well as game the game to present more busts/gems cessor, then the developer’s vision is
prep specific players for XP. Elsewhere, in the draft, give users the choice to at least on the right path.
confidence is no longer part of game bring players back early from injury » Matthew Kato

previews 61
 Pyre
Fantasy role-playing meets arcade sports
» Platform
฀ ฀฀ ฀
» Style
1-Player Role-Playing
» Publisher
Supergiant Games
» Developer
Supergiant Games
» Release
2017

ith titles like Bastion and character-driven fantasy RPGs with esoteric books and signs in the stars

W Transistor, Supergiant Games

has established an identity and
reputation for originality and innova-
clear inspirations drawn from old-
school arcade-sports games.
That’s a seemingly incongruous
makes you the missing link of their
team, and gives them the chance
they need to compete in the highly
tion. The studio’s calling card isn’t an meeting point, but a clever narrative structured rites that offer a path
ongoing franchise or genre, but rather setup makes it feel natural. The game to freedom.
a visual, audio, and narrative style that opens as you wake in the mysterious Eschewing a traditional combat
is instantly recognizable, characterized world of the Downside, a purgatory system, the rites are 3v3 competitions
by bright colors, mythical overtones, for criminals and undesirables in in which a celestial orb is captured,
and timeless settings that meld past which exiles desperately seek a way passed, and slammed basketball-style
and future aesthetics. Pyre aims to to return to the idyllic Commonwealth into the opposing team’s pyre. While
further cement the team’s trademark that expelled them. Rescued by three a system of character auras and other
presentation, this time by melding of these exiles, your ability to “read” mystical terminology governs the rules

Pyre sees your party of characters compet-

ing in the rites, a competition seemingly
inspired by old-school arcade sports games

62
 A narrative RPG framework
helps propel the game forward

of the competition, the gameplay is options, or a wider attack arc when of both its gameplay and world-
unmistakably based in the tradition targeting opponents. building. After just a few matches,
of older arcade-sports titles like NES Pyre is awash in subtle narrative I’m eager to see whether Supergiant
Ice Hockey and NBA Jam. Your three touches that deepen the experience, Games can continually make the rites a
playable heroes have distinct traits, like from the gorgeous backdrops your compelling gameplay loop. If the story
your slow and heavy bruiser and your wagon rolls across, to the ability to and sport-inspired throwdowns lead
speedy forward. The orb is passed hover over text and images with the to the complexity hinted at through
between heroes, even as the oppos- onscreen cursor to learn more about the game’s intro, Pyre may shape up
ing A.I. team maneuvers to block the setting. In my early hands-on time, into an unusual and surprising twist on
your path. Characters who get hit by I was repeatedly struck by the novelty genre-blending design. » Matt Miller
opposing players or score (as they
self-immolate in the fire) are temporar- When camping for the night, you can choose
whether to develop your party through study, men-
ily absent, leading to a new challenge toring, or foraging through the nearby environment
as you hold off the enemy team while
down a hero. The potential for strategic
complexity is high.
Between rites, Pyre has more in
common with games like Mass Effect,
Banner Saga, and Oregon Trail. Your
three party members have personali-
ties and quirks, and regular conversa-
tions during your journey help to flesh
them out. As they ask you questions,
your responses provide temporary
buffs and change your relationships.
The party makes its way across the
Downside in a rickety wagon (pushed
by specially bred drive imps), and
you choose which locales to visit to
scavenge for supplies, track down
fuel for the wagon, and more. At each
stop, you also choose a single activ-
ity to spend time on. Foraging leads
to valuable discoveries. Studying
provides new information about the
rites and other info in the world.
Mentoring helps to level up and
enlighten your heroes, providing new
capabilities like more frequent rushing
previews 63
 Sid Meier’s Civilization VI
Making all the right moves
» Platform
F
iraxis finally unveiled Sid Meier’s world can inspire my people for toward it has cut down the time signifi-
PC Civilization VI by revealing several technological advancements. Since I cantly to obtain it (only six turns).
» Style savvy changes, from cities span- built my city on the coast, people will I send men off in two separate direc-
1-Player Strategy ning multiple tiles to more complex naturally go out and establish fishing tions to discover more of the map and
(Online TBA) relationships with fellow leaders. To see boats and nets, and I immediately get decide to build a monument for my
» Publisher how everything is coming together, I a boost toward learning sailing. Before city, which helps me get more culture.
2K Games recently went hands-on with the new I can move on I need to make a pro- Soon enough my city grows; now two
» Developer entry, completing around 40 turns. duction and science decision. I select tiles around my city are occupied by
Firaxis Games Let’s just say if you thought the one- a scout to help me explore the map, citizens that can bring things in such
» Release more-turn itch was already hard to and I pick sailing because my bonus as harvests, and it’s satisfying already
October 21 resist, it’s going to be even harder with
Civilization VI.
Civilization VI brings all the important
decision-making back, but makes the
process smoother than before. I notice
the improved interface immediately,
which makes navigating and setting
up turns easier. The game always lets
you know which units you haven’t
moved, if research is available, and a
blue outline shows how far each unit
can move. I’m more of a builder than
a warrior, so my strategy is to do just
that and eventually research astrology
so I can erect a holy-site district and
found a religion.
As the leader of China, I put down
my first city and notice one of the new
systems immediately. What I do in the
64
seeing some progress in the matter of a military tradition, starting a new trade Cleopatra likes me because I’ve been
a few turns. I spot some whales that I up, or dabbling in mysticism and reli- building up my army to take out that
can harvest to make my people hap- gion. A scroll bar lets you see you how barbarian camp, but if you don’t have
pier, but it requires the sailing technol- far you can go with your advancements a powerful military, she won’t give you
ogy; thankfully, in one more turn my through history. the time of day. Later, when my army
research is complete. With my first civic complete, I can loses forces facing the barbarian camp
I move my scout a few spots and now put bonuses into my govern- and I explore too close to her border,
discover a barbarian camp. If I don’t ment. I can select either a military or our relationship declines. She espe-
do anything about them, they’re going economic bonus. These come in the cially gets mad once I meet and stay
to raid my city, so I need to act sooner form of cards that you place in open on friendly terms with Teddy Roosevelt,
rather than later. This puts a damper slots. I choose combat and production whom she dislikes. Rumors and gossip
on my peaceful plans; I need to build bonuses. I’ll get more of these cards as show up about leaders throughout the
up my power to take on these baddies. I complete more civics, so I can always game; this new system gives you more
I build a ranged attacker, and later I’ll adapt it to my playing style at the time. information to react to and plan your
build a warrior for back up. After building up my army more, decisions around.
I also have plenty of options for my focusing on a settler to establish a new After my astrology research is over,
next research now that sailing is com- city, and starting research on foreign I build a holy-site district and con-
plete. I look around my city; pottery trade, I run into Egypt’s Cleopatra. All struct a bunch of buildings to produce
can help me bring in the grain, mining the leaders speak in their correct native faith, such as a shrine. This eventually
helps with the stone, and animal hus- language, a nice touch as Cleopatra lets me found my own religion; I go
bandry helps with a deer nearby. The greets me in Coptic. She invites me to with Buddhism and generate a great
deer is within the border of my city, visit her city and I agree. prophet to spread its message. I don’t
so I decide on that. I can also always Civilization VI introduces leader get to see much beyond that, which
buy tiles to pull them into my city, but agendas, and Cleopatra’s is “Queen of is a shame because I think Cleopatra
for now I work with the deer since it’s the Nile,” which states that she likes is about to become my enemy and I
already there. powerful militaries and will try to ally know my decisions with what to do
Civilization VI has separate tech and with them. Firaxis pulled this detail with her are only going to get harder.
civics trees, which were previously from her actual life; she aligned herself I’m already so immersed at crafting
combined. “There were always a lot of with powerful men like Julius Caesar my own tale that I can’t wait to dive
things in the tech tree like ‘chivalry’ that and Mark Anthony, seducing them so back in. The drama is heightened by
weren’t really a technology,” says lead Egypt wouldn’t get attacked. She also your relationships with leaders and all
designer Ed Beach. I complete my first has another randomly assigned hidden the systems just play off each other so
requirement in the civics tree, which is agenda that I’ll need to discover well. Every improvement we’ve seen
all driven by culture. Some examples of through trade routes or by sending from Civilization VI feels for the better
things under this tree are establishing a delegation. so far. » Kimberley Wallace

Multi-tiled cities give you a better

sense of your accomplishments

previews 65
 I Am Setsuna
An old-school, somber tale
» Platform
฀ ฀฀
» Style
1-Player Role-Playing
» Publisher
Square Enix
» Developer
Tokyo RPG Factory
» Release
July 19

I
Am Setsuna has captured a lot of During the encounter the classical leave Endir to die, freeing him from the
buzz since its reveal, where Tokyo piano score revs up its intensity. magic that’s restraining him. She has
RPG Factory noted it was inspired The active-time battle system is an immediate trust in him, even though
by classic RPGs, ranging from Chrono reminiscent of Chrono Trigger, right moments ago he tried to kill her. Her
Trigger to early Final Fantasy games. down to combo attacks that you friend, Aeterna, isn’t as trusting, but
After getting some hands-on time, it’s unlock once more members enter they don’t have time to waste and
easy to see that influence and feel nos- your party. For now, it’s just a matter decide to enlist Endir.
talgic, but I Am Setsuna also immerses of waiting for my bar to charge to This is where battles get more inter-
you with its beautiful music and tragic unleash attacks, as they’re on a esting, as I now have a three-member
story. The more I played it, the more I cooldown before I can use them party. Combo attacks are extremely
was drawn to the world. again. Edir can also use tech attacks powerful, such as X-strike, which lets
I Am Setsuna starts off simple: As to hit multiple enemies at once. This Endir and Aeterna team up to attack
a young mercenary named Endir, you comes in handy for the pesky pen- the enemy in an X shape for deadly
help defeat the monsters invading the guins I face after I defeat the bear and damage. The battle system also offers
land. As you search a snowy forest to save the girl. There are no random an interesting decision: You can build
serene piano music, you come across a encounters, but being in the vicinity of up your SP points by not attacking
vicious bear holding a woman hostage. an enemy triggers combat. when your bar is full, storing up to
Endir comes back from rescuing three turns. This allows you to unleash
the woman to an interesting proposi- a charged attack or tech with timed
tion. He’s told about an 18-year-old button presses. Positioning also mat-
girl and a ritual called the “village of ters, and some of your attacks can
sacrifice” where a sacrifice is chosen knock enemies back. More importantly,
once every 10 years. He’s told to kill characters all have unique perks. For
this young woman, who’s set to be the instance, Aeterna can deal two hits to
offering before she goes to the Last one enemy, while Endir can target mul-
Land to fulfill her destiny. After track- tiple enemies at once.
ing her down, you find out her name is I’ve only scratched the surface of
Setsuna and she’s warm and friendly. I Am Setsuna, but so far it’s promis-
Endir begins to raise his sword, but vil- ing. I can’t wait to see how deep the
lagers storm in, coming to her aid and battle system goes, and the soundtrack
capturing him. stands out as it drives the emotions
Endir may be imprisoned, but his associated with each experience. Most
chance to prove himself comes soon importantly, the story is already haunt-
enough: Monsters are attacking ing me. Will Endir really let Setsuna die?
Setsuna’s village. Setsuna refuses to » Kimberley Wallace
66 previews
 ™
UNEXPLAINABLY JUICY
from MC Hammer’s juicy raindance.
juiciness comes

Shazam this ad to see Hammer

do his thing. #juicytheory
Maybe
©2016 Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company.
Starburst and all affiliated designs are trademarks of the Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company or its affiliates.
 Below
Descending into darkness
» Platform hree years after its announcement, This lets you keep important or has been brought up in playtesting and
฀ ฀฀
» Style
฀
฀
T Below is nearing completion. The
game pulls elements from series
like Zelda and Dark Souls to deliver
powerful items for specific sections.
Say you’re venturing into a danger-
ous region of the map; it might be
on show floors.
“I think the more options there are,
the more value that some kind of
intentional combat, purposeful explora- a good idea to keep some of your recipe book would add, especially if
» Publisher tion, and a high level of challenge for rarer inventory items in the Pocket so there are subtle differences between
฀ fans of the top-down action genre. I you don’t have to go find the corpse one result and another,” Vella says.
» Developer recently played the latest build of Below of your previous character just to “We don’t want to handhold, but if
฀ and talked with Capybara president retrieve something. you’ve gone through the process of
» Release Nathan Vella about the recent updates. Below relies on exploration, and with actually figuring it out, we’re not hold-
Putting you in the shoes of a tiny procedural generation at play, it’s hard ing your hand if we just give you a
character exploring a massive dun- to be sure about where you’re going. reminder of how to actually do what
geon, Below offers little guidance. To help with that, Capybara has intro- you just did – definitely being consid-
Your early characters are doomed as duced a minimap to show things like ered, definitely being talked about.”
you use them to learn how the game corpse locations of previous characters With Below inching closer to the
works. You quickly discover what spike as well as which areas you’ve explored finish line and Vella promising several
traps and tripwires look like, as well as and missed. While much of Below is surprises that the team isn’t reveal-
how to defeat enemies. meant to be figured out by players, ing prior to launch, we can’t wait to
Each character has one flexible Vella says that the idea of a recipe see what other revelations lurk in the
hit point. If your characters take any book that stores crafting formulas once depths of the dungeon of this darkly
damage, they begin a process of you discover them is something that beautiful title. » Brian Shea
bleeding out that continues until they
expire. The only ways to survive are E ฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ ฀
to use fire to cauterize the wound or
craft a bandage to stop the bleeding.
Any characters that die are gone for
good, and you have to restart with a
new character and an empty inventory.
To reflect being a new character, the
walls shift using procedural genera-
tion to convey the feeling of being in
an unexplored dungeon from that
character’s perspective.
The biggest new feature I saw is the
Pocket. This new area is accessible
using the fire pits at the beginning of
each section. By napping at the fire,
your character transports to a location
outside of the main game’s space.
Here you can store weapons, items,
and ingredients for future characters.

L ฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ ฀
฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ ฀
฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ ฀

68 previews
 THAT’S A MIGHTY
FINE GAME
YOU GOT THERE.
WANNA SWAP
FOR A NEW ONE?
TRADE YOUR GAMES AND ACCESSORIES FOR CASH
OR STORE CREDIT AND SAVE BIG ON NEW GAMES
AND MORE.

www.tradeatgamestop.com

Trades must be in full working condition to receive full value. Trades subject to manager approval. Cash not available in all locations. See store associate for details.
 Skylanders Imaginators
Warriors of your own design
» Platform day after launching Spyro’s
PlayStation 4
฀ ฀฀ ฀
PlayStation 3
Xbox 360
A Adventure, the inaugural release
in the Skylanders series, devel-
oper Toys for Bob was bombarded with
a common request from fans. “They
» Style wanted to make their own Skylanders,”
1or 2-Player Action
says Lou Studdert of Activison’s pro-
» Publisher duction team. “They sent us art of what
Activision
their Skylanders looked like, and info on
» Developer how they played, what they sounded
Toys for Bob
like, and what their catch phrases were.
» Release They came up with all of those things
October 16
that we spend so much time making
a Skylander out of; they wanted that
power. This year we are giving them
that power.”
The ability to create your own
Skylanders may sound like a joke, since
the survival of this series depends on down into body, gear, color, powers, the most powerful beings in Skylands,
selling figures, but that’s exactly what and personality options. These catego- and they all favor black and gold outfit
Toys for Bob is doing in Skylanders ries give way to a wealth of fun choices. colors. They are the only characters
Imaginators. Players can still purchase The body sculpting allows players capable of unleashing new special
new characters at retail, but Toys for to mix and match heads, arms, legs, attacks called Sky Chi. We were
Bob is hoping they also buy in on a chests, eyes, and ears. The options introduced to three Sensei: Master
new physical item called the Creation cover the gamut, from bird and bug Kingpen, a giant penguin-like warrior;
Crystal. When this item is placed on parts to snow and stink themes. The Master Tri-tip, a triceratops wielding a
the Portal of Power for the first time, finer tweaks allow players to alter the mace; and Golden Queen, the sorcerer
a character doesn’t appear. Instead, size and color of the individual parts, boss from Skylanders Trap Team.
you are warped to a character-creation as well as the voice and catch phrase She’s joined the Skylanders after being
menu where you design your own (which can be assembled from a limited rehabilitated for two years. Studdert
Skylander. That character’s data is selection of words). New customiza- says other bosses will likely get figures,
saved to the Creation Crystal, an ordi- tion items are unlocked through loot and didn’t rule out the idea of Kaos
nary-looking glass tube with a small, chests found in the levels, but may also finally getting his due, even though
colored “Imaginite” element inside of be dropped randomly by enemies. The he is the antagonist of this caper.
it. Only one character can be saved to items that drop are also random, and fall Following the success of the Nintendo
each Creation Crystal, meaning you into the common, rare, epic, and mythic guest stars in SuperChargers, Toys for
need to buy 10 different Crystals if you categories. Some of the drops are tied Bob says Imaginators will have a spe-
want to create a character for each of specifically to battle classes. cial guest as well.
the 10 elemental types featured in the If the proposal of a custom Skylander Outside of the custom characters
game (each retailing for $9.99). doesn’t interest you and you’d rather and Sensei, Skylanders Imaginators
The creation process begins with play the game in the traditional way follows the same gameplay we’ve seen
the player selecting a battle class from with an action figure created by Toys in all of the other Skylanders games.
10 options, such as ninja or smasher. for Bob, Skylanders Imaginators All of the multiplayer racing content
Combining the 10 classes with the welcomes 31 new characters called from SuperChargers is included in
10 elemental types gives players 100 Senseis. Standing in at roughly the Imaginators, but the vehicles won’t
options out of the gate. Next up is the same height as the Giants and Trap have any effect on the campaign.
customization phase, which is broken Team figures, the Sensei are some of » Andrew Reiner

70 previews
NASCAR Heat Evolution
Veteran developer Monster Games returns to the track
» Platform
W
hen Electronic Arts grabbed the form of the career mode where the A.I. drivers’ mentality. Since they
the exclusive NASCAR con- you start out at the bottom of the don’t race on preset lines around the PlayStation 4
฀ ฀฀
sole license in 2003, it ended Sprint Cup series. Do well and you track, how they balance aggression
developer Monster Games’ strong run can earn contracts with real-world versus conservatism and what lines » Style
with its NASCAR Heat franchise. Since secondary and primary sponsors they take will be interesting to see. 1-Player Racing
(Online TBA)
then a lot has changed in the racing who pump money into your opera- Monster Games isn’t promising the
landscape. EA isn’t making NASCAR tion, improving your car and facilities. moon in its first new NASCAR game, » Publisher
Dusenberry
games anymore, and developer Soon, your organization will have a but the studio is anxious to get back Martin Racing
Eutechnyx is also out after treading wind tunnel, robotic welding, and on the track after its absence and
water with the license for five years. machine fabrication at its disposal. make use of all the horsepower of » Developer
Monster Games
Enter DMR – a publisher created Your progress in career mode or this generation of home consoles.
by Tom Dusenberry and Ed Martin – anywhere else throughout the game The company has big plans for where » Release
September 13
two men with long histories in the opens up areas in other modes, such it wants to take the property, and
video game sport. Both Dusenberry as unlocking challenges replicating after the relative instability of the past
and Martin worked with Monster events from the current and past years, it’s good to have Monster’s vet-
back when the franchise first started. seasons in real-life (which also make eran presence back behind the wheel.
Therefore it’s fitting that DMR’s up some of the game’s planned DLC.) » Matthew Kato
acquisition of the NASCAR license You can also play through the Chase
signals Monster Games’ re-entry into portion of a single season.
stock-car racing. The other binding feature throughout
In the interim, Monster did some the game is the adaptability of the
excellent work for Nintendo with the A.I. as you race. As you get better in
Excite series of racing titles and its the quick race or season modes, so
3DS port of Donkey Kong Country will those cars around you. This is
Returns. While Monster’s return to Monster’s attempt at making the game
the franchise is welcome, the com- bridge the gap between casual and
pany is starting from scratch on the hardcore NASCAR fans (along with
new systems. Thus, NASCAR Heat career-mode options for increased tire
Evolution isn’t a seamless transition wear, race duration, etc.). In my short
from the past Heat games, but a title time with the game, I found that racing
made by a developer that knows what with all the assists off felt like previous
it’s doing. console NASCAR games – not a simu-
The game might not have multiple lation or a Sunday drive. The main dif-
racing series like past Heat titles – ference lies in the kinds of contact you
although Monster says it’s on its could get away with before you spin
wishlist – but progression comes in out. Monster says it’s working hard on
previews 71
 Persona 5
More classmates enter the fold to fight the system
» Platform
PlayStation 4
PlayStation 3
» Style
1-Player Role-Playing
» Publisher
Atlus
» Developer
Atlus
» Release
February 14

ith a Japanese release date wraps until recently. Makoto channels using a “Metaverse Navigator” to

W locked for September 15,

more information is trickling
out about the highly anticipated next
some serious Mitsuru from Persona
3, as the intelligent and strong-willed
student-council president who takes
lead them to the evil hearts they must
reform. These worlds have been
warped by the corrupt individual’s
entry in the Persona series. While things way too seriously. Recluse perception. You enter everything from
North American fans have to wait until Futaba is a genius hacker, who has an opulent castle to a pyramid. One
next year, breadcrumbs like Atlus amazing mathematical and program- world is an art gallery that has you
revealing three more characters and ming chops but lacks social skills. jumping through paintings to navigate
new gameplay details in the Japanese Lastly, Haru is the daughter of a it. No new details have surfaced about
Your Contract magazine Famitsu prove the game still renowned food-service conglomerate the traditional battle system.
With The has plenty of surprises in store. owner; she’s grown up in a wealthy After a slew of fun spinoffs tackling
Velvet Room Persona 5 focuses on a group of household, making her naive to the everything from dancing to crossing
The Velvet Room and friends who band together to become dangers of the world. But she’s also a over the Persona 3 and 4 casts, fans
its proprietor Igor are the “Phantom Thieves of Hearts.” keen observer, which is sure to come have waiting for a new cast and entry
back, but this time the Their mission? Steal the hearts of cor- in handy on their journey to become to embrace. Atlus has a knack for
place that’s somewhere rupt adults and force them to confess the Phantom Thieves of Hearts. creating captivating, compelling tales
between dream and their crimes and reform their ways. This wouldn’t be a Persona game with fun battles and great character
reality takes the form Some of their targets include an abu- without unique dungeons to fight development. Persona 5 already
of a prison. Igor’s new sive teacher, a plagiarizing artist, and through. Persona 5 has characters sounds like it’s giving us more of what
assistants are twin girls a blackmailing loan shark. entering worlds known as Palaces, we love. » Kimberley Wallace
who call themselves The story begins with the protagonist
wardens. They’re here (who, like previous main characters,
to aid the protagonist, is more of a silent protagonist you
with the goal of making roleplay through) facing off against a
him a master thief. repugnant man harassing a woman.
Thus, his journey Our main character steps in to protect
begins to steal the the victim and injures the culprit, but
hearts of the twisted instead of getting awarded, the truth
members of society. gets twisted and he is reprimanded
The main character is and put on probation. This leads him
asked, “Do you have the to move into an old cafe with a friend
resolve to challenge the of the family in Tokyo. Throughout the
distortion of the world?” game, you visit real districts, such as
With the corruption Shibuya, Shinjuku, and even the elec-
he’s just experienced, tric town of Akihabara.
we’re pretty sure his We previously learned about a few
answer is yes. Your of the cast members, like a mysteri-
mission is also to reform ous black cat named Morgana and
yourself and grow into a troublemaker named Ryuji. Atlus
a stronger person. kept three other characters under
72 previews
Star Ocean: Integrity And Faithlessness
Fun gameplay that keeps getting better
» Platform
T
he Star Ocean series has been be interesting to see how it all pans also gives each character perks, such
around for 20 years, but we out. Star Ocean has had some crazy as raising their attack power, allowing PlayStation 4
haven’t seen a new entry since plot twists over the years, so I’m them to take more actions, or letting » Style
2009’s The Last Hope. The absence hoping the story and characters get them guard more often. You can even 1-Player Role-Playing
almost makes the series feel like a relic more interesting along the way. increase their damage for certain » Publisher
from the past at this point. Thankfully, The best features of Integrity and enemies. The role system looks to be Square Enix
Square Enix and tri-Ace are giving the Faithlessness so far are the battle one of the most promising innovations; » Developer
series a much-needed upgrade. From system and progression system. The they can be leveled up and you can set Tri-Ace
crafting to combat, Star Ocean always action battles are fun, allowing you different roles that play off each other » Release
stood out for its fun and complex sys- to dole out weak and strong attacks well. It gave me a behind-the-scenes June 28
tems. After spending a few hours with along with specials. You can cancel way to control the tide of battle.
the latest entry, that’s still the case. attacks with its rock-paper-scissors With Integrity and Faithlessness’s
The story begins in typical RPG system. For instance, weak attacks release date right in view, seeing
fashion: The main character, Fidel, and can interrupt strong attacks, strong the game in action was reassuring.
his childhood friend, Miki, must deal attacks can break an enemy’s guard, Hopefully, tri-Ace can find ways to
with enemy soldiers invading their vil- and guarding can stop weak attacks make the many gameplay mechanics
lage after an unexpected war breaks and initiate counterattacks. Battles exciting throughout the whole trek.
out. Fidel vows to do everything in his flow well, and you can swap between » Kimberley Wallace
power to protect his homeland. Soon characters at any time to build up your
enough, Fidel realizes the war is bigger combos. A reserve rush fills a gauge
than he thought, affecting not just his to different levels and allows you to
hometown, but all of Resulia. Things activate a charged special attack for
only get more complicated when he deadly damage – an essential for tough
runs into an amnesiac child who has boss battles.
magical powers he’s never seen before. Every character has a slew of roles
Determined to find answers and keep and can equip up to four at once.
the world he knows and loves safe, These allow you to build characters to
Fidel and Miki venture to find answers your play style and liking. For instance,
and help the mysterious child. I assigned Miki to healing and defen-
While the narrative has plenty of sive roles, while Fidel learned skills to
threads typical of the genre, it should aid in melee combat. Assigning roles

previews 73
 Manifold Garden
A new, gravity-bending perspective on the puzzle genre
» Platform
I
n most video games, gravity is affairs designed to acclimate you to well as multidirectional cubes that
PlayStation 4 more of a loose concept than a your newfound gravitational freedom, can travel in both directions on a
฀฀ ฀฀ ฀
law. Players double-jump and drop and the stark art style makes it easy given axis. Thankfully, every time
» Style from great heights with impunity, to shift your own perspective on the you realign yourself the “floor” color
฀ explosions blast vehicles sky-high, environments. After a few minutes I shifts to match the corresponding
» Publisher and even the most novice soldier can was transitioning effortlessly between gravitational cubes, which helps miti-
William Chyr throw a grenade clear across a battle- floors, walls, and ceilings, and jog- gate the confusion. At least some of
» Developer field. Indie developer William Chyr has ging up (down?) the undersides it, anyway.
William Chyr dreamed up his own unique take on of stairways in each increasingly After solving a series of puzzles
» Release general relativity, giving players the complex area. in confined rooms and hallways, I
TBA power to shift, flip, and fall their way Soon, a series of colored cubes stepped out into an open landscape
through surreal landscapes that would introduce a new snag; like in any full of infinitely repeating towers.
make M.C. Escher’s head spin. number of other puzzle games, you Jumping off the edge didn’t end in
The core puzzle mechanic in must pick these cubes up and place a game over screen. Instead, I con-
Manifold Garden allows players to them on switches to open their corre- tinued falling through space until
change their center of gravity at will sponding doors. However, each color the areas seamlessly looped around
by walking up to any perpendicular of cube has its own fixed gravity, and again, a feature Chyr takes advantage
surface and pulling the trigger. Doing can only be moved when you are of in later puzzles. I look forward to
so automatically hops you onto the aligned to the same plane. The puz- seeing what other vertigo-inducing
new plane, shifting your viewpoint zles quickly ramp up in difficulty as tricks Chyr is cooking up for Manifold
of the environment by 90 degrees. they start combining multiple cubes Garden’s strange and surprising
The first few puzzle rooms are simple with different gravitational pulls, as world. » Jeff Marchiafava

S ฀ ฀ ฀ ฀
฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ ฀

74 previews
 Ruiner
Brutality and revenge in the city of Rengkok

» Platform eveloper Reikon is a product of guiding him through the claustrophobic creation requires they actually be
PC
» Style
1-Player Action
D the small-but-successful game
industry of Poland. Much of the
team has history with CD Projekt Red
city of Rengkok.
Szneider references Hotline Miami as
a starting point for the gameplay, but
experienced by somebody first, and
the sensations demanded by the con-
sumers sometimes include terror and
» Publisher and Techland, the developers behind it doesn’t take long to recognize what even death. “That’s just the beginning,”
Devolver Digital The Witcher and Dying Light, respec- separates Ruiner from other twin-stick says Tomkowicz, who isn’t ready to
» Developer tively. The group of Polish artists and action games. A warp ability allows you share exactly how it all ties into the
Reikon designers stepped away from the to slam into enemies from a distance, faceless protagonist’s story. She does
» Release zombie and fantasy narrative mainstays or get yourself out of trouble quickly. reveal, however, that the protagonist is
2016 of game development to found Reikon The combat is fast, brutal, scary, and looking for his brother, a character he
and play with a style that isn’t touched challenging. Making it past the demo’s is struggling without.
on nearly as often: cyberpunk. final boss was an achievement in per- Ruiner may draw from the estab-
CD Projekt Red has a cyberpunk severance, and it all serves to sell how lished cyberpunk genre, but Reikon is
game in development (one literally dangerous the city of Rengkok can be. working hard to make sure the game
named after the science-fiction sub- Tomkowicz says Rengkok is a play stands out. “Ruiner was never meant
genre), but Ruiner’s story designer on the Japanese word for purgatory. to look like any other games, and we
Magdalena Tomkowicz says staying The city is home to Heaven, a virtual didn’t want to evoke similar feelings to
with CD Projekt simply wouldn’t be reality company that creates digital other games,” Szneider says. Despite
enough for what Reikon wants to do worlds and emulates sensations. It its oppressive atmosphere, I am eager
with Ruiner. is in the emulation of emotion where to explore more of Rengkok later
Ruiner plays like an even more Heaven exposes its dark side. Their this year. » Kyle Hilliard
oppressive and intense version of
Hotline Miami. It’s a twin-stick action
game that uses guns and melee weap-
ons equally. Its art style is inspired
by classic cyberpunk like Blade
Runner and anime like Akira, Ghost
in the Shell, and Patlabor. “Akira and
Otomo’s work was very influential for
me, and he was always my master, but
of course his visual language comes
from other guys,” art director Benedykt
Szneider says.
The portion of the game we play fea-
tures a protagonist with his face cov-
ered by a mask searching for a hacker
named “the wizard” with the help of a
remote woman simply going by “her,”
76 previews
Atlas Reactor
Turn-based strategy enters the hero-based competitive arena
rion World’s upcoming strategy an XCOM title, gameplay is anything order so that characters can be moving » Platform
T title seems incredibly ambitious,
a blend of everything hot on the
Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA)
but ponderous and labored. Actions
must be taken quickly and deliberately.
Coordinating your turn with random
out of the way, attacking, or laying out
a huge attack that leaves them vulner-
able in any given turn. Many characters
PC
» Style
8-Player
Online Strategy
scene and turn-based strategy. Atlas teammates may seem like an impossi- also have counters and other skills that
Reacter combines character personali- ble affair, but handy arrows and UI ele- leave the field open for some degree » Publisher
ties, special abilities, and 4v4 competi- ments let everyone know what you’re of poker playing. Bluffing opponents Trion Worlds
tive play with fast-paced simultaneous planning. You have seconds, not min- off of a deadly strike with the threat of » Developer
turns, meaning that while the philoso- utes, to make your choices each turn, devastating countermeasures makes Trion Worlds
phy may be rooted in pure tactics like and everything plays out in a particular for some compelling mind games, with » Release
players guessing and outguessing 2016
themselves at every turn.
With unique freelancers (heroes)
that all come with sophisticated skill-
sets, Atlas Reactor is not unlike a
team-based, lightning-fast game of
chess. Gameplay is more entertaining
with a full group of friends that can
coordinate both their characters and
actions, but it’s fairly satisfying to jump
into a random game and try to make
things work with all kinds of players
and combinations.
With the MOBA scene flooded and
many tactical games focusing on
single-player affairs, Atlas Reactor
is a unique mix of elements that has
Turns happen simultaneously, so potential. We’ll lock our turns in later
there’s a good deal of trying to get this year and see how they play out.
into the opposing team’s heads
» Daniel Tack

GIVEKIDS for the

of St. Jude

on St. Jude donations of $1 or more

 Dreadnought
A thinking man’s intergalactic war
» Platform
PC
» Style
10-Player
Online Shooter
» Publisher
Grey Box Games
» Developer
Yager Development
» Release
2016

ost space shooters place to get a lock on your targets. the Artillery Cruiser class is a little

M you in the cockpit of a nimble

starfighter or some other X-Wing
stand-in. Dreadnought’s methodical
Dreadnought features a variety of dif-
ferent ship classes, which you upgrade
as you earn experience and unlock
faster, but it is also a glass cannon.
Thankfully, the Svarog’s anti-missile
lasers help me avoid obliteration on
space battles, on the other hand, have new weapons and abilities. My first more than a few occasions. My most
you commanding massive capital ships test run is in a Destroyer-class vessel, successful battles involve using a
that turn about as fast as the Titanic called the Athos, which isn’t the tough- stationary cloak to disappear and lie
headed for an iceberg. The result is est or fastest ship, but it has favorable in wait for the perfect shot with my
a thoughtful space shooter than is stats across the board. In addition primary cannon, which functions a lot
surprisingly intense. to a repeater cannon, it is outfitted like a sniper rifle thanks to its powerful
We recently jumped into Dread- with a series of special weapons and blast and slow rate of fire.
nought’s closed beta for several five- abilities that operate on cooldowns. It takes a few rounds to acclimate
on-five battles raging across the orbits The tempest missiles unleash a flurry to Dreadnought’s slower shootouts.
and atmospheres of various planets. of explosive projectiles that home in These methodical engagements,
Most of our encounters took place on their target. A salvo of torpedoes where ships plod through fields of
around the rings of Saturn, and the do even more damage, but require sporadic cover in hopes of unleashing
planet’s giant asteroids and other flot- more aiming. Thankfully, the Athos is a barrage of hellfire on unsuspecting
sam offered great cover, even for a ship also outfitted with an energy genera- enemies, reminded me more of deep-
the size of the Empire State Building. tor, which comes in handy when my sea submarine battles rather than the
When combat gets closer to a planet’s shields run dry. frantic light shows of traditional space
surface, finding cover gets trickier. After a few rounds getting used to shooters. Thankfully, Yager’s take on
Mountain ranges might shield your ship Dreadnought’s deliberate pacing, I space warfare is a welcome change
from a barrage of missiles, but they dive into an Artillery Cruiser called of pace, and you might find it hard to
restrict your view, so eventually you Svarog. While most of the ships in jump back into a small starfighter’s
have to rise into the open atmosphere Dreadnought are slow and plodding, pilot seat again. » Ben Reeves

Yager is planning to have approximately

50 different abilities available at launch, so
there will be a good diversity of ship builds

Battles take place over sweeping

vistas that provide plenty of cover
for these large-scale encounters.

78 previews
 Monster Hunter Generations
Adding a sense of style to the classic formula
» Platform
I
t wasn’t until Monster Hunter 4 One is the classic play style, but the they increased my enjoyment while
Ultimate (as it was named in the others emphasize jumping and aerial testing them out. Knocking down a 3DS
West) that the popular Japanese attacks, counter attacks, and the Great Maccao opened the speedy » Style
series started to finally pick up steam new Arts. lizard up to the dual blade spinning 1-Player Action/
stateside. Capcom found balance Hunter Arts are essentially finishing Blood Wind attack. When the beast Role-Playing
(4-Player Online)
between the complexity longtime fans moves. You can take one to three into sprung forward using its tail as a coil,
crave and the accessibility necessary battle depending on your style, with activating the evasion art kept us out of » Publisher
Capcom
to grow the franchise. That evolution- each weapon offering different options. claw range.
ary path appears to be continuing The meters charge independently, The methodical combat for which » Developer
Capcom
with the upcoming Monster Hunter so you can strategically decide when Monster Hunter is known hasn’t
Generations thanks to the inclusion of to trigger them. They appear on the changed. Battle is still as much about » Release
two new features. touchscreen and are close enough to strategy as it is about agility. But the Summer
All 14 weapons from Monster Hunter your right thumb for easy access. styles and arts add an additional
4 Ultimate return, but this time players Not only do the styles and arts offer dimension to give players a way to hunt
can choose from four different styles. added customization and strategy, but on their own terms. » Michael Futter

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involving the design, computer languages, or art and animation
within video games.

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previews 79
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 GAME THEOF
MONTH
82 Overwatch
Blizzard’s first new franchise in nearly two decades doesn’t disappoint.
Overwatch is a fast, fun, first-person shooter with unforgettable char-
acters and vibrant personality. This multiplayer, online-only experience
offers a wealth of various playstyles to explore and heroes to master,
and is immensely enjoyable whether you’re picking it up for a few
minutes playing solo or settling in for a night of gaming with friends.
A highly accessible romp with plenty of depth under the surface,
Overwatch lives up to Blizzard’s legacy.

THE SCORING SYSTEM AWARDS

Outstanding. A truly elite title that is nearly perfect Flawed. It may be obvious that the game has lots of
Awarded to games
10 in every way. This score is given out rarely and
indicates a game that cannot be missed.
5 potential, but its most engaging features could be
undeniably flawed or not integrated into the experience. PLATINUM
that score between
9.75 and 10
Superb. Just shy of gaming nirvana, this score is a Bad. While some things work as planned, the majority
9 high recommendation because the game reviewed
is head-and-shoulders above its competition.
4 of this title either malfunctions or it is so dull that the
game falls short as a whole.
Awarded to games
that score between
Very Good. Innovative, but perhaps not the right Painful. If there is anything that’s redeeming in a game
GOLD 9 and 9.5

8 choice for everyone. This score indicates that there

are many good things to be had, but arguably so.
3 of this caliber, it’s buried beneath agonizing gameplay
and uneven execution in its features or theme. Awarded to games
that score between
Average. The game’s features may work, but are Broken. Basically unplayable. This game is so SILVER 8.5 and 8.75
7 nothing that even casual players haven’t seen
before. A decent game from beginning to end.
2 insufficient in execution that any value would be derived
in extremely small quantities, if at all.
The award for the
Limited Appeal. Although there may be fans of
most outstanding
6 games receiving this score, many will be left
yearning for a more rewarding game experience.
1 Broken like the hearts of Disney Infinity fans GAME THE
OF
MONTH game in the issue

80 reviews For more information on the age classification ratings in our reviews, head to gameinformer.com/ratings
 ฀ ฀
10฀ ฀ ฀
» Concept
Two teams battle in
fast, objective-based
matches with a roster of
distinct characters
» Graphics

Overwatch
The colorful characters
and settings are bright,
but you can always tell
what’s going on
» Sound An epic evolution
Audio is integral to
the gameplay, calling
out when ultimate
abilities have been
activated. Memorable Style 12-Player Online Shooter Publisher Blizzard Entertainment
quips from each char- PLATINUM GAME THE
OF
MONTH Developer Blizzard Entertainment Release May 24 Rating T
acter flow endlessly,
and a spirited score

A
enhances the action s the clock winds down to zero, today may call for a single-player you can also have a lot of fun goofing
you backtrack in time to drop a campaign or a wide variety of modes, around with six Roadhogs all trying to
» Playability perfect pulse bomb on the enemy Overwatch’s consistently chaotic game- land hooks in the enemies on a map
Incredibly easy to
pick up and play, position, blowing apart the greedy play stands on its own, giving players where you can pull them down a well.
since most characters robot-turned-turret and his teammate, the tools to ensure that no game ever Overwatch provides a dynamic game-
have only a single a slick sniper assassin who was too plays out the same. These elements play experiences that allow anyone to
weapon and a handful busy tracking her prey to notice your simply form the canvas where players enjoy it immediately, while at the same
of abilities. However,
advanced teamplay and
explosive gift. The game heads into paint a new and unique experience, time rewarding those who seek to
strategy leave plenty overtime as the payload wagon rests match after match. become experts. You settle in and learn
of room to grow mere inches away from the victory point, Unforgettable characters are the life- how to play within mere minutes, but
» Entertainment but your team has just been annihilated blood and driving force of Overwatch. the potential for character mastery and
Vibrant and endlessly by an enormous magical dragon. Then Time-traveling Tracer makes quirky team-centric gameplay go well into hun-
entertaining. Whether you hear it: “Heroes never die!” As your British quips as she blinks through the dreds of hours. Whether you’re playing
you just want to play a one chance, your team’s Mercy hero battlefield, while tanky Reinhardt roars solo with random teammates for 20 min-
few quick rounds or settle
activates her ultimate ability and brings as he dunks enemies into dust with utes or looking to become an eSports
in for hours with friends,
Overwatch delivers with your entire group back to life for one his rocket hammer. These personality- pro, you’re having an amazing time.
polished panache last stand. After Mei brings a scientifi- driven heroes have unique skillsets that Important sayings like “behind you” are
cally sound winter to your opponents by make playing each one different; you’re streamlined into the game with charac-
» Replay Value
High freezing them, victory is yours. Moments not just embracing the sniper rifle or ters saying them outright without need
like these define Overwatch, including the rocket launcher, but ability kits that for player input, allowing players who
amazing victories and last-second come together to form a hero. don’t want to use voice chat to have
defeats. No matter what happens – Hero personalities are tied into the access to these critical observations
win or lose – you’re going to have fun. gameplay directly, as it’s essential melded directly into core gameplay.
Overwatch may not have a campaign to listen for important catch phrases Overwatch doesn’t have a campaign
to speak of, but entertaining stories and call-outs to identify when players or any single-player/offline aspects
emerge from the interactions with your have activated their signature ultimate worthy of note, but its profound ability
Looking team and your enemies. abilities. Widowmaker’s silky-spiderlike to provide drastically different experi-
To The Future Blizzard’s influence on gaming is notification that “nothing can hide ences with each hero ensures that fresh
Overwatch is already an unquestionable, having redefined and from my sight” lets you know that you explorations and hours of renewed
incredible game, but the reinvented almost every genre it has can now see opposing forces behind enjoyment are a single tap away.
promise of continued set its sights on, including real-time obstacles, and you won’t soon forget Concern regarding content offerings
support in the form of strategy, collectible card games, and the warning that comes alongside grow when a multiplayer-only experi-
maps, modes, and he- MMOs. Wading into first-person shooter Hanzo’s deadly, wall-ignoring magical ence arrives, but Overwatch’s laser
roes could keep things waters, specifically the team-based dragon or McCree’s cowboy declaration focus on providing a polished arena
fresh and interesting for shooter, is a daunting prospect for any that “It’s high noon” (avoid a shootout where every game tells its own tale
months and even years. company. Even so, Blizzard has done with McCree at high noon, in case that provides many hours of entertainment.
With competitive play it again, pairing objective-focused play wasn’t obvious). Banter between heroes In addition, Blizzard is not dividing
on the horizon, eSports and fast matches that encourage you to often reveals more of the lore during the community or locking characters
enthusiasts and skilled pursue objectives rather than kill/death/ matches as rivals and allies interact. behind paywalls, as all future maps
teams looking to take assist stats. Whether you’re slinging Widow- and characters will be free.
their game to the next Overwatch’s strength lies in its sim- maker’s grappling hook or deflecting Overwatch is an amazing experience.
level should expect new plicity and polish, much like Dota 2 or incoming projectiles with Genji’s blades, It’s fresh and consistently fun, with
options to suit their League of Legends. Two teams of six gameplay changes dramatically from matches that are great in random
needs sometime after players each do battle on a handful of one character to another. Overwatch groups, but astonishingly good when
launch. However, there maps, and modes all boil down to some encourages players to swap characters played with friends. Blizzard has taken
are still other things form of escorting, capturing, or protect- constantly to deal with the ever-evolving its masterful art of polishing and perfec-
we’d love to see make ing an objective. Other modes may be nature of a match. With no restriction tion to the team shooter, and things will
their way to Overwatch, available, but the game is at its best by on multiple instances of the same hero, never be the same. » Daniel Tack
such as clan/guild sup- keeping things close to the core, with you and your friends can assemble a
port and more robust maps everyone knows and easy-to- traditional tank/support/damage group This review pertains to the PC version of Overwatch.
spectator options. understand modes. While expectations and push the payload to victory. But Overwatch is also available on PS4 and Xbox One

82 reviews
Doom
A bloody welcome rebirth

SILVER

hat a difference 12 years

Style 1-Player Shooter (12-Player Online) Publisher Bethesda
Developer id Software/Certain Affinity/Escalation Studios Release May 13 Rating M

to focus on picking the right weapon

8.75฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ ฀

W
The campaign steals the show, per-
makes. In the sizable gap for the occasion and artfully dodging forming at a level the other modes can’t
between Doom games, the incoming projectiles and rushers. The match. The straightforward competitive
» Concept
Bring Doom back to its
first-person shooter genre has evolved Frenzied combat feels unlike any other multiplayer recalls the glory days of high speed, ultra-violent
in myriad ways. Far Cry embraced the shooter on the market, and creates arena shooters like Quake or Unreal, basics and inject it with
freedom of open worlds. Call of Duty memorable moments that honor the largely relying on the rush of circle straf- some smart modern
set a new high bar for set-piece-driven legacy of the franchise. Pulling off a design flourishes
ing duels to keep players engaged. The
linear campaigns and deep multiplayer chainsaw kill while near death to recover standard fare of modes varieties and » Graphics
progression. Games like BioShock a treasure trove of health and ammo, cosmetics-driven progression check off Whether you’re playing
HD or 4K on a high-end
doubled down on storytelling, while laying waste to an onslaught of heavies the boxes of a fully featured experience, PC, the id Tech engine
others like Team Fortress 2 abandoned thanks to a quad damage power-up, or but unlike the campaign, it feels generic. capably renders the frantic
single-player altogether in favor of dedi- stringing together a series of glory kills The final pillar of Doom is an ambi- action at a good framerate.
cated competitive experiences. The to cap a frantic arena battle are the real tious creation tool called SnapMap. The demonic landscapes
further these offerings push boundar- reasons to play this game. This beginner-friendly toolset allows of Hell look like they’re
ripped straight from ‘90s
ies, the less modern shooters resemble While the action faithfully adheres players to quickly design single-player,
metal album covers
the game that put the genre on the to the pace of classic Doom, id incor- cooperative, and multiplayer chal-
map. This diaspora ultimately works in porates several minor, contemporary lenges. The tutorials do a great job of » Sound
When the double bass
favor of id Software’s latest Doom title, design touches help flesh out the coaching, but ultimately the pre-fab drums start pounding
an unrelenting, kinetic, and obscenely campaign experience as well. Exploring options at players’ disposal limit crea- and the metal riffs start
bloody return to form for the first main- rewards players with upgrades that tive freedom. Instead of designing shredding, you know it’s
stream FPS. enhance health, ammo, weaponry, and your own spaces from scratch, you time for a demon slaughter
Even though this long-overdue reboot play style. You may even find some are forced to use templates, and they » Playability
resurrects several traits that made the clever nods to the series past. dreadfully lack diversity of settings. The controls hold up
original two titles so revered, it feels The campaign splits its time between I haven’t found many compelling ex- well to the kinetic pace,
and id enables hotswaps
surprisingly fresh. Forget hiding behind the Mars space station and Hell itself, periences available to play thus far,
of weapons and mods
cover for prolonged bullet exchanges or each of which provides excellently which is to be expected considering to keep you running
following a linear path to your objective crafted combat arenas. Once id rolls the community is still playing around and gunning
while killing endless waves of generic out the last classic demon, Doom with the feature set. SnapMap may lead
» Entertainment
dudes with guns. The Doom campaign settles into a comfortable (if predict- to some interesting gameplay experi- The campaign is a
eschews these modern trends com- able) pattern of simply throwing more ments, but its limitations will likely turn glorious, bloody return
pletely. To survive blood-drenched difficult waves of enemies into the off the serious modding scene. to form for the godfather
battles with a familiar array of classic fray. The battles stay hectic, but Doom Driven largely by its successful single- of first-person shooters,
but the multiplayer and
Doom demons, players must embrace could have used a few more wild cards player campaign, Doom is a welcome
SnapMap don’t match it
constant movement, make on-the-fly later in the game to keep the experi- return to form for the genre-defining
tactical shifts, and get up close and ence fresh. The game sprinkles a few franchise. By sticking to time-worn tra- » Replay Value
Moderately high
personal with enemies for brutal, over- boss fights into the mix as well. These ditions in all the right places and deftly
the-top executions. offer a decent challenge on higher dif- employing some modern flourishes,
This gameplay dynamic requires ficulties, but essentially serve as palate id has rediscovered what made this
responsive controls, and id Software is cleansers. A forgettable narrative about demon slaying series so successful.
up to the task. With no weapon reloads scientists harnessing the energy of Hell Multiplayer and SnapMap don’t reach
or sprint buttons to worry about (the pushes the action in a forward trajec- the same heights, but shooter fans
fabled “Doomguy” protagonist moves tory, but rightfully takes a backseat to shouldn’t miss this bloodthirsty romp
in a constant state of hurry), you are free the combat. through Hell. » Matt Bertz

reviews 83
 Odin Sphere Leifthrasir
New life for an old favorite

฀ ฀
8
฀ ฀
Style 1-Player Action/Role-Playing Publisher Atlus Developer Vanillaware Release June 7 Rating T

» Concept
An underappreciated
PS2 gem gets an
array of tweaks and
improvements
» Graphics
Vanillaware’s gor-
geous visuals have
been improved, and
the signature style
shines through in the
characters, enemies,
and environments
» Sound
The dialogue often
sounds stilted, but the
soundtrack is still solid
» Playability
Combat is fast and
fluid, and the crippling
slowdown that marred
the original release
is nonexistent

N
» Entertainment ostalgia is one of the main draws witness events (sometimes even the abilities focused on ranged attacks and
The changes add a fun of remastered games. Retaining same events) from the perspectives of keeping enemies at bay, but once you
modern edge to com- the original mechanics while five protagonists. I remember the narra- finish her campaign, you move on to
bat and progression. making visual improvements and adjust- tive being one of my favorite parts of the Oswald the shadow knight (my favorite
However, the story- ments lets fans relive the experiences original, but it has not aged well. The of the five), who has skills focused on
telling and repetition
are more noticeable
they already love. That’s the approach structure is interesting, but beyond that enhancing his berserk mode. The fun of
problems in today’s taken by high-profile remasters like God gimmick, the dialogue and plot weave discovering how these abilities shape
gaming landscape of War III, Grand Theft Auto V, and the a decent-but-conventional fairytale each character’s approach to combat
» Replay Value new Tomb Raider – but not Odin Sphere that leaves you to fill in a lot of blanks dulls the pain of starting from nothing
Moderate Leifthrasir. Vanillaware has significantly yourself. While that’s disappointing, the when a new story arc begins.
redesigned the action and its underlying story still adequately sets up the action, The battles may feel different, but the
systems, so even though the graphics which is where this remaster shines. characters tread dangerously familiar
are gorgeous and familiar, Leifthrasir Vanillaware draws on its experience territory in other ways. Each campaign
feels almost completely new. with later games like Muramasa: The simply remixes the same elements in
If you didn’t play the original 2007 Demon Blade and Dragon’s Crown different sequences with minor tweaks;
version of Odin Sphere, you won’t to reengineer Odin Sphere’s combat, level types, basic enemies, and bosses
have anything to measure Leifthrasir transforming it into a fast, diverse, and are recycled to exhaustion. Even the
against, but that’s okay. You can play entertaining affair. You move from zone progression feels the same, since the
the included Classic Mode if you want to zone on a larger map, encountering bulk of your levels are gained through
a full understanding, but all you need groups of enemies in 2D, side-scrolling the cooking system. Though you
to know is Odin Sphere tells a story areas. How exactly you confront those learn some new recipes with different
inspired by various myths, and you enemies depends on where you are characters, you’re generally gather-
in the story, since each character has ing the same ingredients to make the
different attacks and skills. You may same dishes to earn experience. Plus,
want to launch into a flurry of aerial despite the unique combat skills, a lot
What’s Different? attacks, use a potion to create a toxic of abilities overlap among characters.
cloud, or do a blade spin to shred the The repetition doesn’t deflate all of
If you played Odin Sphere on PS2 and are curious about some of the
opposition. Regardless of who you are the fun, but it makes the process feel
specific changes, these are the most significant alterations. It isn’t
controlling, the action is smooth and less rewarding.
a comprehensive list, but these tweaks improved the experience the
most for me.
responsive. It isn’t exactly strategically Some of the same issues were also
demanding, but I still got a thrill when a present in the original PS2 release, but
฀฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ ฀฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ well-planned combo went off without Leifthrasir is an enormous evolution
system and flexible a hitch. as a whole. With so many annoyances
฀฀ ฀ ฀ ฀฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ Beyond your standard attacks, you fixed (see sidebar), this feels like the
(not just between) to raise also invest in various skills as you level. game Odin Sphere was meant to be.
฀฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ A passive damage boost gives you an The presentation is top-notch, and the
your level
deplete with normal attacks advantage when striking from behind, action is fast-paced and satisfying. I still
฀฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ while weapon skills can send you into a got the sense of an older game at the
฀฀ ฀ ฀
forms of currency
(and no slowdown during blur of magically fueled slashes. These core of the experience, but the updates
critical fights) ฀฀ ฀ ฀ factors further differentiate the char- more than justify revisiting this stylish
acters; the fairy queen Mercedes has and unique adventure. » Joe Juba
84 reviews
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Blood And Wine
Another superb outing in a vicious land

GOLD

ou really want a happy ending,

Style 1-Player Role-Playing Publisher Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
Developer CD Projekt Red Release May 31 Rating M

The main narrative is full of twists Bosses are more frequent and excit-
9.25฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ ฀

“Y don’t you?” This line is said to

Geralt as he tries his best to solve
Blood and Wine’s complex murders. As
that I won’t dare spoil. Let’s just say it
captures betrayal at its finest, and my
head was spinning about who to trust
ing than in the previous Hearts of Stone
expansion. Not much has changed
with combat, but you do have a new
» Concept
Take Geralt on an
adventure to track down
we know in the world of the Witcher, a and what impact my decisions would mutation upgrade system that gives a beastly murderer in the
happy ending rarely happens. This isn’t have in the long run. As in the past, your you new abilities and bonuses in battle. new region of Toussaint
a fairytale, but the desire to see Geralt choices affect the world around you. These are extremely powerful, and I » Graphics
rise above the worst circumstances and Sometimes they are as grand as a char- found them worthwhile to spend the Toussaint, a gorgeous,
change things for the better was still acter living or dying. Others are small, time unlocking. Once I got the freeze inviting land untouched
by war, is inundated with
with me the whole way, especially since like whether someone appears at your upgrade for my telekinesis power, unique monsters
CD Projekt has billed Blood and Wine headquarters or gives you a discount. bosses went down much faster. These
as the last tale with Geralt at the center. Blood and Wine features an abun- abilities require hefty investment, since » Sound
The voice actors are
The good news is CD Projekt crafted a dance of side quests, and they are you need the right materials and at well-suited for their roles,
wonderful expansion for his sendoff that extremely clever and fun, rarely feeling least three skill points to unlock them. driving emotional scenes.
captures the series’ trademarks: unex- like filler. One had me tracking down a My only big gripe is toward the end of A lot of the soundtrack is
pected twists, tough choices, and intense culprit who castrated a statue. Another the game it feels like wave after wave from the base game, but
battles. With its vast new area and was a commentary on the ridiculous of enemies are hitting you without that’s not a bad thing
involved plot, Blood and Wine feels like bureaucracy at a bank. You also much to break up the chaos. Some late » Playability
a full game; don’t expect a simple side encounter new places of interest as you bosses have ridiculously overpowered The controls haven’t
changed, so navigating
story with a few sets of quests scattered explore, such as vineyard infestations attacks that can kill you with two con-
the world and fighting
about. It feels on par with the quality and and knights errant in distress. These secutive hits, but these flaws are minor baddies simply requires
creativity of Wild Hunt, and I loved it. don’t feel all that different from previ- compared to the excitement that comes reacquainting yourself
Blood and Wine takes place in a new ous points of interest, but do allow you from knocking out these vicious foes. with the mechanics
and exciting region: Toussaint. It reminds some extra things to do in the world Blood and Wine is an example of an » Entertainment
me of Tuscany with its architecture and for experience. I had one that put me expansion that takes advantage of pro- Blood and Wine is an
vineyards. Wine is ever-present. It’s on an interesting side quest where viding top-notch new content. The whole impressive expansion that
almost always a talking point; you find statues came to life. You can romance expansion is an adrenaline rush, remind- tells a captivating tale
about betrayal and love
bottles scattered about, and your head- someone, but it’s poorly done and ing me of the intense pacing of Wild
quarters is on a vineyard. While the feels forced. Geralt only spends a few Hunt’s final act. It also has plenty nods to » Replay Value
Moderate
citizens of Toussaint are proud of their moments with the main love interest, Geralt and his friends that longtime fans
craft, they’re not too joyous about a and his previous interactions with her are sure to enjoy. You never know when
mysterious beast that’s been murdering make it seem like he wasn’t fond of a past character may make an appear-
knights. Geralt goes on the case to track her. Still, the majority of the expansion ance or be mentioned. The world has so
down the monster and discovers that, is teeming with creativity, from side much depth and excitement; Blood and
as usual, things are more complicated quests to fairytale-inspired areas to the Wine is a great way to spend your last
than they appear. monster design. days as Geralt. » Kimberley Wallace

How Do
You Access
Blood And Wine?
Like the previous expan-
sion, Hearts of Stone,
Blood and Wine is a
standalone story. You
can use your Witcher 3:
Wild Hunt save, but it’s
recommended you’re
at least level 30, or you
can choose to play with
a new game mode that
provides you with a
Geralt of that level with
unallocated skill points.
Once you access the
expansion through the
main menu, a new quest
appears with a marker
guiding it to the quest
board to select it. From
there, you are trans-
ported to Toussaint.
reviews 85
 Battleborn
Ill-conceived action

6 Style 1 or 2-Player Action/Shooter (10-Player Online) Publisher 2K Games Developer Gearbox Software Release May 3 Rating T

attleborn has big ambitions. It survive the end of all things and save

B
฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ in which the focus shifts specifically to
includes over two dozen char- the last star in the universe. getting the minions to a particular spot
» Concept acters with unique powers and Your progress through the narrative on the field, which leads to focused
Guide a kaleidoscope
of characters through gameplay. A lengthy campaign explores is hampered by the litany of missteps skirmishes around the happily toddling
an unintelligible a universe of planets and cultures. that characterize the eight-mission robots. Capture is the nod to more tra-
universe-saving Three objective-based multiplayer campaign. While level art and design ditional first-person shooters, in which
mission, and then drill modes attempt a strategic competitive are colorful and interesting, the action the holding of three zones around the
down into arena-based
experience that combines first-person and objectives within those levels are map is the key to victory. These three
competitive matches
shooting and hand-to-hand combat tedious. Enemy A.I. is virtually non- PvP modes each have a high learning
» Graphics in a MOBA-inspired playground. existent; I saw one boss blindly walk curve, and it was a long time before
Characters look great,
but the brightly colored Unfortunately, the implementation of around a pillar for three minutes as we I was able to appreciate some of the
environments, constant most of these features fails to meet whittled away his health bar. Endless strategic elements at play.
explosions, and choppy the high aspirations of the concept, wave-based defend and escort objec- Even when I finally tapped into a
animation style makes and is further hamstrung by moment- tives crop up in virtually every mission, character or two that I enjoyed, or
the action hard to to-moment gameplay that is chaotic, which is boring at first and excruciating found a competitive match with some
interpret, especially at
close range
imprecise, and unresponsive. by the end. Combat balance is all over engaging give and take, my dislike
Gearbox has a strong instinct for the place, with long stretches of overly of the core gameplay remained. No
» Sound distinct and varied characters, and simplistic fights, followed by sudden matter the ranged character, shoot-
Audio design and music
is weirdly distant, and Battleborn continues that trend with an escalations into crushing difficulty. I’d ing feels stiff and unsatisfying. Little
the constant banter entertaining roster of playable heroes. enjoy the challenge, except a single beyond a ticking health bar communi-
and quips rarely hit That variety is the biggest selling point. failed objective (or losing all your lives) cates that you’re damaging a foe,
with the humor they’re The heroes are unusual and mostly ends the mission and, if you’re playing and when you’re getting hit, it’s hard
shooting for entertaining to discover, and homing in a public team, dissolves the group. to tell where the damage is coming
» Playability in on the playstyles that work for you Cooperative online play for up to five from. Melee fares far worse. Run up
Numerous characters is satisfying. Like in MOBAs, any given works well, but I’m disappointed by the to foes and wildly swing in their gen-
and their disparate
mission or match sees your character lack of drop-in play options, especially eral direction, and the onscreen action
powers are rewarding
to master, but the core fully level up, and the choices you make since missions often take a long time, becomes an indecipherable mess
shooting and melee help further specialize your approach to and you can’t take a break part way of explosions, slashes, and effects.
elements fall flat combat. Consistent play unlocks new through and return later. I appreciate This is exacerbated by a choppy ani-
» Entertainment cosmetic and mutation options, as well the inclusion of two-player splitscreen mation style, a clash of onscreen
A varied playable roster as game-changing gear loadouts, ensur- options, but the mode is plagued by color, and strangely flat sound design.
isn’t enough to salvage ing further investment, and I appreciate miniscule onscreen text and no adjust- On a fundamental level, combat feels
a lackluster campaign the steady pace of progression. ments to the aspect ratio, resulting in disconnected and awkward.
and clumsy combat
While I enjoy the varied play, I can’t a full third of the screen dominated by I enjoy Gearbox’s work on games
» Replay Value say the same for the repetitive and mini maps. Public cooperative match- like Borderlands, and I was cheerfully
Moderately low
banal dialogue that both the heroes and making also sees some bad ideas, like enthused by the studio’s willingness to
their adversaries spout ad nauseum the inability to directly select which mis- try something different with Battleborn.
throughout the plodding storyline. The sion you want to play for all but the final The chaos of battle and goofy tone of
characters have the smug, self-satisfied episode, allowing you only to vote on the team’s latest creation may work
attitude of bad ‘90s cartoon stars, with three random options. for some players, and even as of this
endless sarcastic quips and lame jokes Competitive play fares better, despite writing Gearbox is actively patching
to back it up. A slick animated intro a painfully slow process for getting into balance and matchmaking issues that
reminiscent of Peter Chung’s Æon Flux a match. Incursion directly cribs from may improve the experience. But after
lends hope of some stylish action, but the established framework of MOBAs, many hours, many characters, and
as soon as we enter the meat of the in which two opposing teams of five many matches, I can’t recommend
campaign, coherent and entertaining work to assault enemy territory and something that so completely failed to
storytelling begins to dissolve. The overtake defenses, even while escort- click. I applaud the ambition, but not
plot never goes anywhere, despite the ing minion groups to aid in the attack. every grand venture ends with triumph.
ostensibly epic setup about fighting to Meltdown is a variation on the theme, » Matt Miller

86 reviews
Homefront: The Revolution
Time to raise the white flag

Style 1-Player Shooter (4-Player Online) Publisher Deep Silver Developer Dambuster Studios Release May 17 Rating M

ith a story penned by Hollywood hit detection for grabbing onto ledges is something downright embarrassing.
4 ฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ ฀

W director and screenwriter John

Milius, the original Homefront
was an ambitious military shooter
spotty, often requiring multiple hops for
your character to recognize a climbable
surface. These basic problems feel like
For starters, the game freezes for sev-
eral seconds every time you complete
an objective, acquire a new mission, or
» Concept
Reboot the Homefront
series with a new open-
rendered mediocre by technical limita- they belong to a bygone generation. exit out of a weapons locker. Getting world format and a ton
tions, dated graphics, and a lack of The same is true for one of Homefront: stuck in the environment is an uncom- of problems
distinguishing features. A few regime The Revolution’s biggest stumbling mon but ever-present threat, as is » Graphics
changes later – which include both blocks: the framerate. Despite a hefty enemies spawning right in front of you. The visuals might be
the series’ developer and publisher – day-one patch designed to improve Some bugs have to be (not) seen to impressive if it weren’t for
frequent texture pop-in
and Homefront: The Revolution returns performance, Homefront’s framerate be believed: Once, I witnessed an entire and a stuttering framerate
with some novel additions including frequently stutters, and on some occa- roomful of characters disappear into
a unique take on the open-world sions felt more like a slideshow than a thin air. Another ally stood around bran- » Sound
Aside from a few bad voice
format and on-the-fly weapon cus- video game. The best shooters aim for a dishing an invisible rifle. Yet another actors, the sound design
tomization. Unfortunately, developer solid 60 frames per second – Homefront charged across the battlefield as just is one of Homefront’s most
Dambuster Studios failed to slay is lucky to claw its way to 30, and rarely a floating head and pair of hands. stable components
Homefront’s true enemy; an unending stays there for long. The performance The list is endless, and while some of » Playability
litany of glitches, A.I. failings, and per- issues don’t just kill the already shaky these bugs are entertaining, I was less The gunplay is loose
formance issues do indeed differentiate gunplay – they also gave me headaches amused by losing an hour of progress and sluggish even
Homefront from other shooters, but for during prolonged play sessions, some- when two of the four rotating autosave before you factor in the
subpar performance
all the wrong reasons. thing I have never experienced in my files glitched out and caused the game
Homefront: The Revolution reboots many years playing shooters. to load indefinitely. The standalone » Entertainment
Homefront’s few smart
the series’ already dubious premise These fundamental flaws are disap- co-op mode is equally riddled with
concepts are crushed
with an even more absurd explana- pointing, because there are some inter- bugs, on top of being saddled with under the weight of
tion of America’s downfall: In the near esting elements at play in Homefront. blind weapon crates, one-use consum- constant glitches and
future, the U.S. government sees fit to The shift to an open-world setting was able items, and an overly grind-heavy other problems
start buying all of its military equipment undoubtedly the right call for the series. progression system that saps the fun » Replay Value
from the technological powerhouse that The large zones you travel through out of casual play. Low
is North Korea, which then renders our contain plenty of personality and open Despite all the technical problems,
defenses useless by disabling all of our buildings to explore, and taking on the I still managed to finish Homefront’s
electronic devices via a hidden back- KPA forces demands novel hit-and-run campaign, but I can’t say I had fun.
door. Once you play through the lack- tactics. Customizing your guns in the All of the game’s ambitions are undone
luster intro, you’re free to start taking heat of battle also works well, though by its flaws, offering only the rare
back the city of Philadelphia one district being limited to two primary weapons glimpse of what could have been.
at a time. Unfortunately, it doesn’t take meant I hardly touched a number of Dambuster has already stated it is
long for Homefront: The Revolution’s alternate guns. These features instill a committed to improving the game
fundamental problems to arise. sense of gameplay freedom that mili- with additional patches, but given
A number of games deliver compel- tary shooters often lack; I would have everything that’s currently wrong, the
ling first-person shooting with a con- enjoyed them if it weren’t for the perfect studio faces a greater uphill battle than
troller. Homefront isn’t one of them. The storm of other problems. Homefront’s desperate underdogs.
gunplay is sluggish and inexact, making All of Homefront’s shortcomings are » Jeff Marchiafava
even perfect headshots unsatisfying. compounded by a relentless barrage
Navigation doesn’t fare much better; of glitches, which are more oppressive This review pertains to the PS4 version of Homefront:
vaulting over objects feels stilted and than the occupying KPA forces. You The Revolution. The game is also available on
breaks your flow of movement, and the can’t go 30 seconds without seeing Xbox One and PC
reviews 87
 Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End
One last grand adventure

9.5 GOLD

he Grim Reaper’s scythe rarely

Style 1-Player Action (10-Player Online) Publisher Sony Computer Entertainment

pirate who we only learn about on

Developer Naughty Dog Release May 10 Rating T

T
PS4 The platforming is as briskly paced as
falls upon treasure hunters. The pieces of paper and riddles scrawled it’s been in the past, and is often done
» Concept earth collapses beneath their on cave walls. He’s written remarkably with the world exploding around Drake.
Nathan Drake’s final
adventure is as emotional feet, arrows fly from walls, and giant well by Naughty Dog. Avery has con- But again, this element has lost some
as it is exciting, a true boulders give chase, but these adven- cocted the mother of all treasure hunts, of its magic with time.
testament to Naughty turous souls cannot be stopped until which ends up being a fascinating Some of the environments are so
Dog’s storytelling and they locate an ancient secret. Their reflection of a pirate in his prime, and a vast that they take on the illusion of
gameplay skills expeditions are brimming with rollick- fun breadcrumb trail to follow. open worlds, giving the player even
» Graphics ing fun, but their stories always end The adventuring spirit is alive and well more freedom to explore, often with
A work of art. Few the same way: They live another day, in this installment, and the revelations a vehicle. These areas change up
details are spared in
and one less treasure is lost to the at the end of it all are fantastic, as they the pacing nicely and embrace the
making the characters
and world come to life world. But unlike Indiana Jones (who show the great lengths Avery went to essence of adventure in a slightly
is still chasing myths and legends at protect his treasure. different way. Since Drake is often
» Sound age 73) and Lara Croft (who is turning A Thief’s End doesn’t have that big, with Sam (or other characters), light
Nolan North and Troy
Baker make a great back the clock), Naughty Dog has said iconic set piece moment like the previ- team-based gameplay is periodically
team, and are almost Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End is Nathan ous Uncharted games did (i.e., the thrown in (think The Last of Us).
always cracking wise. Drake’s final chapter. The subtitle alone train on the cliff, the boat capsizing, Drake’s hand-to-hand fighting is
The score is also used paints an ominous picture for the famed and the cargo falling out of the plane), greatly improved, giving each punch a
expertly for tension
hero, but what is it hinting at? Does he but succeeds as a collection of smaller cringe-inducing (but satisfying) smack.
and drama, sometimes
drowning out all sound die? Disappear without a trace? Retire “I can’t believe we survived that” The gunplay is still a little loose, but the
to heighten a moment atop a mountain of gold? sequences with houses crumbling, enemies are smarter now, which means
» Playability That question turns A Thief’s End armored vehicles exploding, motorcy- Drake either has to rely on stealth more
The awe factor of the into a ticking time bomb of a narrative. cles racing dangerously, and Naughty (which works well), or strategically pick
world blowing up As this story unfolds, we see Drake’s Dog’s artists pulling out all the stops off targets before they advance or flank.
around Nathan Drake entire life come into frame. We get to to make every second of action look Combat never feels like a thrown-in
isn’t what it once was, know him intimately; we know what as chaotic and beautiful as possible. chore. I enjoyed all of the encounters
but the combat is better,
and the exploration
he’s sacrificing and what drives him. However, the excitement they deliver and found them surprisingly empower-
offers more gameplay Drake has settled down and appears has diminished over the years. The ing, especially when the grapple swing
and discovery to be content living out the rest of his thrill of a platform falling apart as soon is used to launch Drake onto a foe.
» Entertainment days working 9 to 5 and heading home as Drake lands on it doesn’t get the A Thief’s End is the best Uncharted
The best Uncharted yet. to see Elena. The unexpected arrival blood racing as much – it’s an expected yet, delivering a story I didn’t want to
It hooks you emotionally of his older brother Sam, who was element that, by the fourth installment, end, and an adventure that concludes
early on and keeps you believed to be dead, pulls Drake back seems fairly commonplace. with a hell of a payoff. The “wow” factor
locked in place as the
into the treasure-hunting game. He is The action may feel somewhat routine of the world exploding under Drake’s
thrill of the hunt for a lost
treasure takes shape reluctant at first, but Sam’s life hangs in at times, but the feeling of exploring feet has diminished in the years follow-
the balance, so he has no choice. lost worlds is heightened in this chap- ing Uncharted 2, but those moments
» Replay Value It’s a hell of a story that shifts ter. The environments are much wider, are still effective, and a true showpiece
Moderately high
between Uncharted’s patented “every- sometimes offering multiple traversal of the developer’s exquisite craftsman-
thing is suddenly exploding and every- solutions. In past Uncharted games, ship for world and gameplay design. All
one is yelling” design to the slow and I just ran forward, following the linear four of Naughty Dog’s games culminate
heavy emotional tone of The Last of Us. path laid out before me. In this game, in A Thief’s End in a fitting and cohesive
There’s clear inspiration from The Last many of the environments made me way that fans should appreciate. I hate
of Us in Uncharted 4, and it’s a better pause, analyze my surroundings, and seeing Drake go (especially when he’s
game because of it. figure out how I could navigate them. in his prime), but I’d rather see him go
While Nathan and Sam are front and Drake’s new grappling hook out on top like he is here than be tasked
center for most of this journey, one enhances the exploration, and is to find a crystal skull or some other
of the most interesting characters to often tied to harrowing platforming poorly fabricated MacGuffin decades
follow is Captain Henry Avery, a dead sequences. It’s also flat-out fun to use. from now. » Andrew Reiner
88 reviews
Stellaris
Space race relations

Style 1-Player Strategy (32-Player Online) Publisher Paradox Interactive Developer Paradox Development Studio Release May 9 Rating NA
8.25
PC
» Concept
A rich strategy
experience where you
explore the galaxy, settle
on new home worlds,
and ultimately dominate
the universe
» Graphics
Stellaris exhibits some
dynamic lighting effects,
and the space battles look
like impressive fireworks
displays, but you rarely
get close enough to notice
fine details
» Sound
The main theme is
a sweeping epic, but
the soundtrack lacks
variety overall
» Playability
The UI is clean and easy
to navigate, and you
always have a few ways
to accomplish any task,
so you never feel lost in

O
uter space has always been a tan- and battled aggressive spaceborne rotation for several hours. This random
a sea of menus
talizing place. Our universe is so crystals. Even Stellaris’ smallest ran- technology selection always keeps you
vast and unexplored that it teases domly generated maps feel vast thanks on your toes, but I wish I had a better » Entertainment
A series of small tasks
the imagination and fuels our science to a wealth of mineral-rich planets and carrot to pursue while advancing my makes Stellaris easy to
fiction. This dream of discovery is what asteroids scattered across every solar society scientifically. jump into, but hard to put
pushed us to send rockets into the sky system. I never grew tired of construct- Stellaris’ early game is full of explo- down without completing
and put people on the moon. Stellaris ing new mining and research stations ration and promise, and the small that “one last thing”
taps into that same itch to explore the to exploit the universes’ riches, or terra- nuggets of fiction I picked up after dis- » Replay Value
unknown. Like space itself, Paradox’s forming a harsh alien world to establish covering an abandoned research sta- High
new strategy sim is big, complex, and a new colony. tion or dissecting the corpse of a space
easy to get lost in. As you continue to explore, your giant helped draw me into the fantasy
At the beginning of the game, Stellaris expanding borders push against other that I was truly exploring the unknown.
drops players onto a single point on a alien races and the galaxy starts to Unfortunately, the game eventually
galactic map and asks them to explore – feel a bit smaller. I appreciated the settles into a grind as you either try to
and then tame – the unknown by build- wealth of diplomacy options, and I convince neighboring aliens to become
ing fleets of science ships, mining sta- tried to befriend several other races. your vassals or slowly build up an army
tions, and combat cruisers. At the start, However, some aliens are stubborn, to forcefully take over their worlds. The
you choose your galaxy-conquering and no matter how I negotiated for rewarding moments are still there, but
race from a nice range of reptilian, border access or how favorable I made they’re spaced out significantly. Taking
avian, and fungal aliens. Selectable my trade deals, diplomatic relations over the galaxy turns out to be a lot of
traits influence everything, from your eventually broke down and I was forced work, but it’s a worthwhile mission for
species’ breeding speed to its overall into war. Unfortunately, combat boils would-be explorers. » Ben Reeves
heartiness, which helped me feel like down to a numbers game; you make
my race of highly evolved cats was sure your military fleet’s attack rating is
distinct from any other feline species higher than your enemy’s, and then you
the game might have auto-generated point them at the alien homeworld.
somewhere else in the galaxy. These I found it relatively easy to make
traits also influenced my strategy for sure my combat cruisers were always
conquering the galaxy, as my species’ outfitted with the latest tech, but the
natural agrarian skill made it easy to game doesn’t clearly outline the pro-
grow food, so I rarely had to worry gression of new technologies. Instead
about starving masses. of a tech tree, you’re presented with
Thankfully, it doesn’t take long to start three different technological research
exploring the galaxy and claim new options. After you research one, three
planets for your empire. I had the most new tech options pop up. This means
fun with Stellaris in the opening hours after you develop ion cannons, you
as I constantly uncovered new relics might have the option to develop the
from extinct precursor races, reverse next tier in that technology, or that
engineered abandoned space probes, option might not cycle into the random
reviews 89
 Total War: Warhammer
A fantastic fantasy diversion

8.75 SILVER Style 1-Player Strategy (8-Player Online) Publisher Sega Developer Creative Assembly Release May 24 Rating T

he Total War franchise has popped

T
PC
out all sorts of entries from various
» Concept time periods and historical back-
Take the massive battles
and settlement strategy drops. Throwing history to the wind and
of the Total War franchise embracing a classic fantasy franchise
and inject them with in Total War: Warhammer is an inspired
Warhammer factions effort, breathing new life into a series
» Graphics that was feeling weary under the weight
Combat looks fantastic, of legions of axemen, spearmen, and
from trolls casually bat- trebuchets. With a smorgasbord of
ting smaller units aside
to magic lighting up diverse units and a magic system at the
the battlefield forefront of the classic economy-driven
war for territory and control, the series
» Sound
From greenskin grunts to has never felt so fun.
salty dwarven war cries, The more historically focused strategy
an immersive sound fans may turn up their noses at the
suite enhances conflicts embrace of Warhammer factions, but it Each campaign and skirmish differ With all kinds of faction-specific
» Playability works out wonderfully for creating con- significantly and allow for all kinds of abilities, bonuses, and rules, keeping
The strategy elements flicts and strategies that wouldn’t work new approaches to each situation, like up with everything going on can feel
may be complex and in the traditional human-versus-human using hordes of the dead to overwhelm slightly overwhelming, even if you’re
overwhelming (especially
for newcomers), but an
confrontations. Insane flying creatures opponents or casting magic to crumble already a seasoned strategy game
extensive tutorial process and units make their first appearance armies in mere moments. Unique units, veteran. However, an expansive advisor
and comprehensive in the series, monstrous and terrify- abilities, and mechanics add faction option keeps you in the know through
advisor option help ease ing beasts, and magical artillery do an flavor and diversity – a major draw that your first campaign and beyond, if you
players in excellent job shaking up the formula. keeps me coming back to master the still need assistance. While tons of new
» Entertainment The various factions have considerable four available factions. mechanics and important info is con-
If strategy games and differences beyond legions of unique Longtime fans of the franchise stantly thrown at you, the game does
massive battles are your
units, and play differently off the battle- shouldn’t worry that things have been an incredible job keeping you informed,
thing, this is an excellent
and entertaining choice field as well, taking advantage of things dumbed down or changed to facilitate even if it feels a little off-putting at times
that effectively captures like underground travel, necromancy to the more fantastic approach. If any- to be halting the action and reading up
the strength of its fuel armies in an instant, or corrupting thing, this entry has even more depth. on new things.
source material the very lands around their holdings. Your management skills are continually While the time-consuming campaigns
» Replay Value This is all handled with a pomp and put to the test with settlements and can devolve into long slogs, they can
High zeal that doesn’t make sense in any provinces, legendary lord and hero be rewarding as well. Seeing things
sort of historical context; nothing beats units, and technology trees. You must change over the course of time (Chaos
laying waste to a settlement with ter- also keep the diplomacy engine running faction units may even show up to rain
rorgheists, a Luminark of Hysh, or an outside of the massive, series-defining on the party!) and taking over the world
Arachnarok Spider. battles and quest encounters. is always a pleasure. For those who
want to get right into the mix, a nice
variety of “instant action” quest battles
are available outside of the campaign,
loading you up with units and placing
you in the thick of combat. Multiplayer
bouts are also available, and a nice 1v1
or 2v2 is your best bet for a quick and
dirty tactical battle.
In addition to nailing the function and
flavor of the Warhammer fantasy, this is
also one of the more technically sound
Total War releases. Sometimes it can
take time after launch to iron out the
quirks and glitches, but I experienced
almost perfect performance during my
approximately 40 hours with the title,
with no crashes or major errors.
Total War: Warhammer is one of the
best Total War games I’ve ever played,
and fans of either franchise should find
themselves with a winner here. Those
looking for more historically rooted fare
may find the fantasy over the top, but
plenty of solid strategy lurks under the
magic and mayhem. » Daniel Tack
90 reviews
Kirby: Planet Robobot
Playing it safe

Style 1 to 4-Player Action Publisher Nintendo Developer HAL Laboratory Release June 10 Rating E
8
3DS
» Concept
Kirby embarks on another
platforming adventure
while stealing enemy
abilities, but this time he
has a mech suit
» Graphics
Sweet and colorful
visuals haven’t changed
much since 2014’s Triple
Deluxe, but the robotics
and machinery have
changed the aesthetic in
a notable way
» Sound
The music is upbeat,
poppy, and in line with
a game starring the
equivalent of a pink
balloon. I particularly
enjoyed the jazzy Kirby
theme remixes and
chiptune music of the
later levels
» Playability
Kirby moves well, and
jumping in his mech
suit doesn’t slow him
irby’s homeworld is constantly like focused dismantling rather than just Kirby Clash is a cooperative mode

K getting invaded and attacked by

outside forces, interrupting his
naps and important sky-staring. Planet
depleting hit points.
Kirby is not the only 2D platformer
to jump the player between the back-
that can be played locally, and is a big
improvement over Triple Deluxe’s multi-
player battle mode. You and friends
down, despite more than
doubling his size
» Entertainment
Planet Robobot feels a
Robobot is no exception. This time, ground and foreground as well as can choose between a collection of lot like Kirby’s last outing,
the invaders are robot aliens seeking to scroll left and right, but among those classes (i.e. stolen powers) to take on it’s never boring (and the
destroy all organic life, and Kirby has to that do, Kirby does it the best. I often bosses together, and you level up and final few hours have
some unexpected and
defeat them by borrowing some of their turned on the stereoscopic 3D to get get stronger as you make your way exciting surprises)
technology, but also relying on the old a better perspective on the action through. These modes aren’t destina-
standby of stealing powers by ingesting between the planes. Jumping between tions, but they’re fun distractions that » Replay Value
Moderate
enemies. This Kirby is not a radical new the front and back to grab collect- add value to the overall package.
direction for the hero, but it’s a well- ables, or remote controlling a character Planet Robobot is entertaining, flows
designed platformer with some new in the background and Kirby in the fore- well, and never overstays its new
mechanics – and a particularly compel- ground simultaneously is fun, and is a mechanics…but occasionally feels like
ling final few hours. good use of the 3DS’ mostly underused a retread with a mechanical theme. It
Planet Robobot plays it safe by not stereoscopic capabilities. does differentiate itself, however, with
feeling particularly distinct from Kirby’s Two extra modes are included an ending that takes a surprising leap
previous platforming adventures. You alongside the main campaign. Kirby from the established Kirby norms for
still make your way through short plat- 3D Rumble gives you full 360 degree an engaging climax. The game extends
forming levels and swallow up enemies control of Kirby in a series of small past its final boss with completely dif-
to steal their abilities. It was a fun for- 3D arenas taking on waves of ene- ferent gameplay that works as a great
mula when it premiered on Game Boy mies. The added campaign is brief, finale. Planet Robobot doesn’t move
in 1992, and the core has not changed but entertaining enough to make me Kirby forward in any significant way, but
much, with only small experiments wonder if a whole Kirby game could it’s a well-made platformer that’s worth
layered on top. In 2014’s Triple Deluxe support this kind of gameplay. Team completing. » Kyle Hilliard
it was stereoscopic 3D flourishes. For
Robobot, it’s a mech suit.
Kirby moves just as well inside his suit
as he does on foot, which keeps the
platforming pace thankfully consistent,
regardless of your state. Kirby can still
borrow powers while using his mech,
and I had fun playing with their destruc-
tive capabilities to open up secret areas
and lay waste to enemies. Taking the
suit into boss fights is rare but reward-
ing, since those battles play out more
reviews 91
 8 | Atelier Sophie: The Alchemist
Of The Mysterious Book
Platform PS4 Release June 7 Rating T

Atelier Sophie improves on an already

fun and engaging formula. The better pro-
gression and deepening of its signature
alchemy system makes it one of my favorite
entries in the long-running series.
– Kimberley Wallace
8 | Stephen’s Sausage Roll
Platform PC, Mac Release April 18 Rating NR

8 | King’s Quest – Chapter 3: The concept is simple, and many levels

look like they should be easy to solve,
Once Upon A Climb but after only a few seconds rolling
Platform PS4, Xbox One, PC Release April 26 Rating E10+ sausages around these tiny mazes,
The series continues to be charming and I realized that even the earliest puzzles
funny, and this chapter’s comparatively require unconventional thinking.
smaller scope results in more focused puzzles. – Ben Reeves
I groaned at a solution after thinking about
things too hard a couple of times, but overall
it’s tricky but fair. – Jeff Cork
5.75 | The Climb
Platform Rift Release April 28 Rating NR

Being in VR adds a level of believable

mobility where you can track and
admire the progress you make by paus-
ing and looking around. Unfortunately,
the impressive vistas were not enough
to keep me from dreading the next
ascent. – Kyle Hilliard

7.75 | Alienation
Platform PS4 Release April 26 Rating M

While you’re doing plenty of alien

massacring here, the interplay of class
abilities, complex weapon upgrades,
and ever-escalating challenge and
rewards are what keep you coming
back. – Matt Miller
9.25 | Hearthstone:
Whispers Of The Old Gods
Platform PC, Mac, iOS, Android Release April 26 Rating T

Whispers of the Old Gods succeeds

8 | The Walking Dead: Michonne –
on multiple levels, shaking up the Episode 3: What We Deserve
competitive scene with a variety of Platform PS4, Xbox One, PS3, Xbox 360, PC, Mac, iOS, Android Release April 26 Rating M
new deck types to experiment with
and combining flavor and mechanics I’m disappointed this post-apocalyptic tale took so long
to create interesting fun new cards. to find its footing, but the third installment serves as an
– Daniel Tack entertaining and moving finale. – Javy Gwaltney

Visit gameinformer.com/mag for the full reviews

92 the score
reviews archive
PLAYSTATION 4 PLAYSTATION 3 Street Fighter V 7.25 Apr-16
Dark Souls III 9.25 May-16 Minecraft: Story Mode, Trackmania Turbo 7.5 Jun-16
Day of the Tentacle Episode 5 – Order Up 7 Jun-16 Unravel 7.75 Apr-16
Remastered 8.25 Jun-16 Walking Dead: Michonne – Walking Dead: Michonne – Episode 2:
Dirt Rally 8.5 May-16 Episode 2: Give No Shelter, The 6 Jun-16
Division, The 8 May-16 Give No Shelter, The 6 Jun-16 XCOM 2 9.5 Apr-16
Enter the Gungeon 8.5 Jun-16
Far Cry Primal 8.75 Apr-16 XBOX 360 RIFT
Firewatch 7.75 Apr-16 Minecraft: Story Mode Chronos 8.5 Jun-16
Episode 5 – Order Up 7 Jun-16 Eve: Valkyrie 6.25 Jun-16
Hitman – Episode 1 6 May-16
Walking Dead: Michonne – Episode 2: Lucky’s Tale 6.5 Jun-16
Minecraft: Story Mode –
Give No Shelter, The 6 Jun-16
Episode 5: Order Up 7 Jun-16 Radial-G 6.5 Jun-16
MLB The Show 16 8 Jun-16
Wii U
Plants vs. Zombies: VIVE
Garden Warfare 2 8 Apr-16 Pokkén Tournament 7 May-16
Audioshield 8 Jun-16
Ratchet & Clank 8.25 Jun-16 Star Fox Zero 6.75 Jun-16
Job Simulator:
Salt & Sanctuary 8.5 Jun-16 The 2050 Archives 6.5 Jun-16
Stories: The Path PC Lab, The 8.25 Jun-16
of Destinies 7.75 Jun-16 Adr1ft 8 May-16
Street Fighter V 7.25 Apr-16 Ashes of the Singularity 6.75 Jun-16 3DS
Trackmania Turbo 7.5 Jun-16 Banner Saga 2, The 8.5 Jun-16 Bravely Second:
UFC 2 8.5 May-16 Dark Souls III 9.25 May-16 End Layer 7.5 Jun-16
Unravel 7.75 Apr-16 Day of the Tentacle Fire Emblem Fates:
Walking Dead: Michonne – Remastered 8.25 Jun-16 Birthright 9.25 Apr-16
Episode 2: Division, The 8 May-16 Fire Emblem Fates:
Give No Shelter, The 6 Jun-16 Don’t Starve: Conquest 9.25 Apr-16
Shipwrecked 7.25 Jun-16 Fire Emblem Fates:
XBOX ONE Enter the Gungeon 8.5 Jun-16 Revelation 8 May-16
Dark Souls III 9.25 May-16 Far Cry Primal 8.75 Apr-16 Hyrule Warriors Legends 6 May-16
Dirt Rally 8.5 May-16 Firewatch 7.75 Apr-16
Division, The 8 May-16 Flame in the Flood, The 9 Apr-16 VITA
Far Cry Primal 8.75 Apr-16 Hex: Shards of Fate 8.75 Apr-16 Day of the Tentacle
Flame in the Flood, The 9 Apr-16 Hitman – Episode 1 6 May-16 Remastered 8.25 Jun-16
Hitman – Episode 1 6 May-16 Hyper Light Drifter 9.5 Jun-16 Minecraft: Story Mode –
Minecraft: Story Mode – Minecraft: Story Mode – Episode 5: Order Up 7 Jun-16
Episode 5: Order Up 7 Jun-16 Episode 5: Order Up 7 Jun-16 Salt & Sanctuary 8.5 Jun-16
Plants vs. Zombies: Plants vs. Zombies: Severed 8.5 Jun-16
Garden Warfare 2 8 Apr-16 Garden Warfare 2 8 Apr-16
Quantum Break 8.5 May-16 Pony Island 7.5 Apr-16 iOS
UFC 2 8.5 May-16 Quantum Break 8.5 May-16 Minecraft: Story Mode
Unravel 7.75 Apr-16 Salt & Sanctuary 8.5 Jun-16 Episode 5 – Order Up 7 Jun-16
Walking Dead: Michonne – Stardew Valley 8.75 May-16 Clash Royale 8 May-16
Episode 2: Stories: The Path Walking Dead: Michonne – Episode 2:
Give No Shelter, The 6 Jun-16 of Destinies 7.75 Jun-16 Give No Shelter, The 6 Jun-16

Volume XXVI Number 7 Issue 279

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 The National Videogame Museum
was sort of born out of the
Classic Gaming Expo, which you
helped run. How did you guys
decide to spin a museum off of
a classic gaming expo?
I don’t want to make it sound like
we had this vision that nobody else
in the world did, but all three of us
[Kelly and co-founders Joe Santulli
and John Hardy] were doing our
own thing before we got together
to do a group thing. All three of us
had each decided individually that
there was more to the video game
industry than just something cool
that we liked to participate in. It
was an important part of American
or even global culture, and it was
important for us to understand
what happened.
The stories behind the scenes
were the things that we were
hoping to preserve, and that’s why
it was so important to us that we
tracked those guys down. One of
the interesting/annoying things that
we found back then was that most
of those guys didn’t care. They
had done something so important
in our view, but they didn’t really
get it. “Yeah, we threw that stuff
out five years ago, it didn’t mean
anything to me. It was just a job.”
We missed out on a lot of those
guys and their contributions and
the chance to preserve their contri-
butions by just finding them a little
bit too late.
That was the point of Classic
Gaming Expo. We did that show
every year, and every year our
collection grew and our museum
display grew and the show grew.
In about 2009, we decided that we
needed to give this display some-
place that people could come and
view it anytime they wanted.

How did you settle on Texas?

We set up our museum at DICE
in 2012 in Las Vegas, and at the

STATE OF THE FINE ARTS

DICE exhibit we were in a small
room. This one guy was in there
hanging out, and he came up to
my partner John and said, “This
is great, I love this! Do you guys
A tour of the National Videogame Museum want to do a museum? I’ve got
the perfect place for you!” We had
heard those kinds of stories many
ack in early April, the National Videogame Museum opened its doors for the first

B
times at many different shows,
time in its new permanent home of Frisco, Texas. Housed in a 12,000-square- but 99 percent of the time it’s just
foot building that used to produce rockets for space shuttles, it is the first someone BSing. But this guy hap-
pened to be [Gearbox CEO and
museum in the country dedicated solely to the technological innovations president] Randy Pitchford.
and mechanical oddities of the video game industry. We spoke with National Quite honestly, we didn’t really
Videogame Museum co-founder Sean Kelly about the history of the museum, how a video know who he was. We were much
more classic gamers, and in a lot
game museum ended up in Texas, and Atari’s obscure mind-reading controllers. of ways John and I enjoy the hunt
and the preservation side of it
more than we do the playing side
interview by Ben Reeves of it. Any available time that we
do have, we like to spend hunting
94
things down or reading about the Maybe that was the mistake;
history – things like that. Neither I don’t know. That was what we
of us knew who Randy Pitchford felt was the most important, and
was, so we kind of brushed him off we probably should have raised
as another one of those standard the cutoff year over the years,
crackpots that we see all the time. but we never really did. It was
But he was just about to move mainly pre-Nintendo, which was
his headquarters from Plano the area that we were most well-
[Texas] to Frisco [Texas], so Randy versed in.
said, “Listen, I want you guys to
come down here and check out Are you planning any rotat-
the area. I’m going to make some ing exhibits, or anything in
introductions, and I think that it the future for people to look
would be good for you.” We did. forward to if they’re taking a
We went down to Frisco, and trip out there?
Randy introduced us to the mayor Lots of things like that. One of
of Frisco and the city council and the plans that we have is that highlights that you want to call day job that you used to fund
some of the dignitaries in the area we’re going to redo the NWC out? Do you have a favorite this massive collection?
and things like that. [Nintendo World Championships] museum piece? Two things. [Laughs] First of all,
Leading up to this, we had at the museum. We have what we We have a lot of really rare stuff in back in those times, it wasn’t re-
contacted a few cities and mu- call the Head-to-Head Hall, which there, but most of what makes it ally all that expensive. If you think
nicipalities and whatnot, trying to is a setup with 10 TVs and 10 con- rare is the fact that nobody knows about it in those terms, the mid to
find a home for the museum, but soles that are there every day, and what the heck it is. For example, late ‘90s, my parents were living
our kneejerk reaction was Silicon what consoles are in those spaces one of the more interesting pieces in California, and I would go out
Valley. That seemed to be the we change out from time to time. that whenever I’m walking people to visit my parents and hit the flea
place that it should be, since Atari In the same place, we might do around the museum I always point markets out there, and I would
was born there. But we hadn’t had something like The History of Mad- out is the Atari 2600 Mindlink ship bags back to myself, literally
much luck – a couple of conversa- den, so start with the first Madden controller. What the Mindlink did dozens and dozens of boxes of
tions, but most people didn’t really on the Sega Genesis and go all the was that it was a headband, and stuff that I’d picked up at flea mar-
get it or they weren’t into it. But way to the Xbox One. We thought it wrapped around your forehead. kets for pennies. This wasn’t just
when we came down to Frisco, about doing a giant multiplayer Supposedly, what Atari was telling Atari Combat cartridges or crap, I
Frisco got it right away. “This is Halo 1 in that area, on a local Halo people was that the Mindlink con- would pick up prototype cartridges
a great idea, we want you here. 1 network. We’ve got a lot of fun troller would be able to read your that are worth hundreds and
Whatever we have to do, we have things planned. mind and you’d be able to control hundreds of dollars today. It was
to make this happen.” In the space itself we have three the game on the screen with your easier to amass a collection back
different areas that we call flexhib- thoughts. Obviously, that wasn’t then. To try to do it today, it would
Why did you call it the National its, which we can change up for possible, because that tech can’t cost a bloody fortune. The other
Videogame Museum and not the different events or different ideas. even be done today. But, what it part of it is that both Joe and I own
National Video Game Museum? One of them currently is being used did do is that you would wrinkle independent video game stores,
Is there a significance in making for when Randy moved his office your forehead in certain ways, and and we specialize in vintage
Videogame one word? from Plano to Frisco, he decided it would pick up the movement in games. I’ve been here for 13 years,
The explanation is pretty simple, that he was going to completely your skin. I always point out the and any time something interest-
really. We want “videogame” to be redo his office. His office in Plano Mindlink controller, people always ing came into one of our stores,
a word. We think it has become was really kind of cool – there was get a kick out of that. I snatched it up and added it to
its own class, its own thing, and a lot of history in there and vintage We have a mockup of the Sega our collection. Trying to build this
it’s big enough to warrant its own stuff. He had a giant shelf there that Neptune, the only one in the world, type of a collection today would be
place in a dictionary. If “videophone” covered one wall that was the his- the Sega Genesis with the built-in outrageous. You couldn’t do it.
can be a word, surely “videogame” tory of Randy Pitchford. When he 32X. We have the Atari Graduate
can be a word. moved his office, he asked, “How’d computer, which is a computer Why do you think it’s important
you like to rebuild my office in one that was supposed to plug into the to preserve video game history?
Do you feel like the museum of the spaces in the museum?” We top of the 2600 and turn it into a There are two museums in the
kind of rose up and took the did that. It’s kind of a temporary computer. It was never released by country that pay homage to
place of the Classic Gaming exhibit, but it was fun. We had Atari, and there’s only one of them nothing other than carrots. The
Expo or do you think that the Randy’s desk, Randy’s computer, in the world, and it’s in the mu- carrot. Video games are larger than
museum could host something Randy’s monitor, Randy’s shelf full seum. There are some interesting the movie and music industries
like that in the future? of virtually everything that he and Pong systems. We have a Doctor combined [sic], and both of those
Yeah, it’s exactly something that his company has ever worked on. It Pong, that was a tabletop arcade have multiple places where you
we’ve had in mind. The problem was kind of cool, because that’s the Pong machine that was sold to can go and see or read about
with doing something like that in office that Borderlands was born in. doctors’ and dentists’ professional their histories. But the video game
Las Vegas is that you’re trying to buildings as a way to keep kids oc- industry had nothing – nothing
run a small show in a sea of eight So you have an exhibit called cupied while they were waiting for that was dedicated to just the
million other things to do. It was Randy’s Office? their appointment. Only three Doc- video game industry. And video
tough over the years in Las Vegas. Yeah, that’s what it is. Some of the tor Pongs have ever been found, to games are a huge part of not
It was tough to get a crowd, guys are finishing up the little pop- the best of our knowledge, and we only American but global popular
tough to grow a show. You look at up notes explaining exactly why this have two of them. We don’t really culture. Over a billion people play
something like the Portland Retro is in his office and whatnot. They’re display our software libraries, but video games on a regular basis.
Gaming Expo or the Midwest also printing up a full-sized standee we have a complete NES collec- How can you not have something
Classic in Milwaukee, and some of of Randy standing in his office. He tion, complete Genesis collection, serious, something real, something
those shows have grown steadily draws inspiration from the weirdest complete SNES collection – I think tangible, something where people
over the years, but both of those things, so it’s really cool. we’re almost complete on PS1. can go and see how something
shows have embraced all of video that has become such a big part of
gaming, whereas the Classic Do you have any rare artifacts How did you first start amassing their lives came to be? That’s what
Gaming Expo was pre-Nintendo. at the museum or any particular this collection? Did you have a we show at the museum.
classic 95
 Answers: 1-G, 2-H, 3-B, 4-C, 5-E, 6-A, 7-D, 8-F
The Villainous
History Of Call Of Duty
Are you a Call of Duty lore expert? Do you know every betrayal and plot thread by heart?
Prove it by matching every villain here to their respective game. by Javy Gwaltney

ENTRIES
A
Call of Duty 4:
Modern Warfare
B
Call of Duty:
Modern Warfare 2
C
Call of Duty:
Modern Warfare 3
D 1. Gabriel T. Rorke 2. Jonathan Irons 3. Lt. Gen. Shepherd 4. Vladimir Makarov
Call of Duty:
Black Ops
E
Call of Duty:
Black Ops II
F
Call of Duty:
Black Ops III
G
Call of Duty: Ghosts
H
Call of Duty:
Advanced Warfare
5. Raul Menendez 6. Imran Zakhaev 7. Nikita Dragovich 8. John Taylor

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