Gamecca Magazine April 2018

ISSUE 106 / Vol.9 April 2018

www.gameccamag.com

Far Cry 5 Sea of Thieves Pure Farming 2018 and more...

In the Picture

Razer’s Kiyo Camera

TUF as Nails

Asus TUF Z370-Pro Gaming Motherboard

Classic

Titan Quest Remastered

The Cult In the Fields Pure Farming 2018

Ahoy There!

Sea of Thieves

Far Cry 5

Tricky...

TT Isle of Man: Ride on the Edge

The East A new Yakuza heads west...

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Bronze Award SCORE 80-84

Read on www/gameccamag.com Read on Issuu (Also available on your App Store) Read on Facebook

Silver Award SCORE 85-89

Gold Award SCORE 90-94

Platinum Award SCORE 95-100

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Gamecca Magazine: © Copyright Nova Mentis (Pty) Ltd. (2009 – 2016)

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Ed’s Choice Awar

From the Editor

SmelltheFlowers

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by Walt Pretorius

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think I was under a tree, at the precise moment, looking out over a beautiful lake, almost feeling the prickling sunlight on my skin, almost smelling the long grass and wild-flowers, when I remembered, once again, how much I loved my job.

It was a mere moment before a crazy cultist leaped out from behind a bush and starter laying down shotgun fire. It was a glorious moment.

The big news for the last few days has been Far Cry 5, something of a triumph for game publishers Ubisoft. The move the action to a much less exotic location, yet they still manage to capture a fantastic feeling in the game, a great adventure presented to us by way of wires and lights. And there is more coming, with games like God of War and Detroit: Become Human just around the corner.

We are spoiled, really, if you think about it. In a relatively short time, video gaming has become such a tour de force that it is almost difficult to remember life without it. And that is perhaps why we have become so spoiled… with so many great new games coming out all of the time, it is difficult to remember what came before.

This year is once again shaping up to be something of a fantastic gaming year, and already chins are wagging about

names like Red Dead Redemption 2, The Last of Us 2 (although that, I think, might not come this year) and many others.

We almost don’t have the time to fully appreciate the Far Cry 5s before we are whisked away into another new digital dimension, for new experiences and challenges.

The world we live in is a very fast one (even when you’re forced to slow down). There is always something newer, better, brighter, faster around the corner, making it so difficult to keep up that it is simpler to just let go and get swept along by the current. So often, though, we miss out on so much because of it.

Take reviewing games, for example. I love games.

I review a lot of them.

But because of that, it becomes a breathless sprint from one to the next.

It doesn’t mean I don’t do a good job, but I so seldom get to feed the love of gaming that got me doing this in the first place.

So, while all these great games are coming our way at break-neck speed, whirling around us like exciting birds enticing us with their beautiful digital plumage, perhaps we should (me, particularly) sit back and relax a little, spend a little time, look at the scenery, enjoy the experience… as long as I remember to shoot that cultist. g

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THIS MONTH’S COVER

Another welcome trip to the East in Yakuza 6...

Publishing Editor Walt Pretorius

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Feature: Yakuza 6 Bringing the East to yhe West...

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Previews: Games Thirteen games to look out for

walt@novamentis.co.za

Art Director Katia Taliadoros katia@novamentis.co.za

Writers: Alex Scanlon Christo van Gemert Clive Burmeister Iwan Pienaar Lein Baart Noelle Adams Nthato Morakabi Rob Edwards Sibonisile Motha Suvesh Arumugam Walt Pretorius

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Reviews: Games Eleven games investigated

Letters: letters@gameccamag.com

Competition Entries: competitions@gameccamag.com

Newsletter Subscriptions: www.gameccamag.com

Marketing Contact:

Copyright Š Nova Mentis (Pty) Ltd 2009 - 2017

walt@novamentis.co.za

Taking fun seriously!

All rights reserved. No content may be reproduced, copied or transmitted without the express permission of the publishers. Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the editors and publishers. All Trademarks and Registered Trademarks are the sole property of the respective owners.

GAMECCA is published by Nova Mentis (Pty) Ltd

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Feature: PS-ing About A history lesson...

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Reviews: Tech Five great tech toys

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Regular: Internet Liar, liar...

96

Regular: Living Digital Private matters

100

COOL STUFF: Movies War to end all wars

110

COOL STUFF: Comics More illustrated literature

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Gamecca Vol. 9 Issue 106 April 2018

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“It doesn’t do much to differentiate itself from other Far Cry titles, save for a few systems, but who cares?

It’s great fun!”

Far Cry 5

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16 17 18 20 21 22 24 25 26 28 29 30 31

Features Yakuza 6: The Song of Life

PReviews Demons Age Shaq-fu: A Legend Reborn Total War Saga: Thrones of Britannia Claws of Furry The Swords of Ditto Death Road to Canada STAY Robothorium Bear With Me Immortal: Unchained Shift Quantum Solo Sacred Fire

Reviews 34 40 44 48 52 56 60 62 66 70 72

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Far Cry 5 MX vs ATV: All Out Sea of Thieves Pure Farming 2018 TT Isle of Man: Ride on the Edge Assassin’s Creed: Rogue Remastered Bravo Team Titan Quest Burnout: Paradise City Frantics World of Warriors

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Yakuza 6: The GAMING

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Yakuza 6: The Song of Life

nd Mean

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By: Lein Baart

e Song of Life

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he Yakuza series has never really caught fire outside of Japan. Almost inevitably described as “quirky�, at least in the Western world, the now long-running franchise has nonetheless accrued a vast number of fans globally, with each release only seeming to attract more.

For those that have actually picked up one of the seven main entries (not including remakes), Yakuza can be almost inexplicably addictive, a quality that the games possessed right from the first release. With the Yakuza 6: The Song of Life localisation mere days from launching outside of Asia, more than ever the series is receiving the attention it is due, and at this stage does not look like it will disappoint.

Released originally in 2005 in Japan, and a year later in the West, the first Yakuza title was something of an

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oddball, especially for gamers outside of Asia. Often billed as the spiritual successor to the acclaimed yet underperforming Shenmue series, the original laid down a formula that has been clung to by all its successors, blending over-the-top action, an almost melodramatic flair for storytelling and a mind-boggling number of side activities to create a rather unique experience, both for the time and since. Introducing players to Kazuma Kiryu, a Yakuza member with a penchant for suits known as the Dragon of Dojima, the first game was written off by many as little more than a Japanese-flavoured Grand Theft Auto clone, a wholly unwarranted description as outside of the open-world mechanics the two franchises had little in common.

To begin with Yakuza was more a brawler with light RPG elements thrown into the mix, and gamers were regularly

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Yakuza 6: The Song of Life

treated to sights such as a stern-faced Kiryu wielding a bicycle as a weapon or smashing a random thug’s face into a wall.

Set in Kamurocho, a fictionalised version of Tokyo’s redlight Kabukicho district, Yakuza favoured plot above all else, with a story full of convolutions, twists and lengthy scripted cutscenes. For good measure SEGA also chose to include plenty of optional side-quests and activities, with everything from sampling local cuisine to UFO Catchers available to waste hours of a player’s time, should they wish. It all blended to create a game hell-bent on keeping the player entertained in one way or another, and while it wasn’t without faults, such as the over-simplified combat and incessant load screens, it nevertheless amounted to an enthralling experience for those that got sucked into its world.

For better or for worse, much of the above can be applied to all the games released subsequently. While it would be unfair to say that the series hasn’t evolved, it cannot be disputed that Yakuza has stuck close to its roots, with each new iteration providing incremental improvements rather than drastic changes. Over time the franchise has become bigger in scope, adding more locations and playable characters, and has polished mechanics such as its combat to a fine sheen, but much of what made the original so enjoyable has remained relatively untouched. Even Yakuza 6: The Song of Life, which will in many ways looks to buck the trend, will still have a healthy focus on these core elements, and should satisfy the whims of even the most ardent fan.

As always set predominantly in Kamurocho, Yakuza 6 will

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break from the last three instalments in that Kiryu will feature as the only playable character in what will be his final outing. Having served three years in prison following the events of the previous game, Kiryu is released only to find that his adoptive daughter Haruka is in a coma due to a traffic accident in Hiroshima, with her newborn son Haruto having emerged unscathed. Players can expect the usual contortions and conspiracies that have become a hallmark of the franchise’s narratives, this time featuring the Triads, along with plenty of excuses to thump random thugs into the ground, though the heart of the story will lie with Kiryu’s attempts to protect Haruto and uncover the events that lead to Haruka’s condition.

Beyond just limiting the game to controlling Kiryu, in many

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ways it appears that Yakuza 6 will be scaling down the sheer size of its content from that of previous entries. For instance only one other location will be open to players, the seaside port of Onomichi, and the number of side quests and minigames will be pared down. Rest assured though that there will be plenty of distractions available, as SEGA have opted to include full versions of some its older games, the most noticeable being Virtua Fighter 5, along with a new game mode called Clan Creator, in which Kiryu will direct gang members in street battles. Yakuza has always had a knack for balancing the heavier moments in the main plot with lighter touches in the side activities, and from seeing the usually scowling Kiryu dressed up as a town mascot to him opening a cat café, there appears to be plenty to keep gamers amused. While there

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Yakuza 6: The Song of Life

is already some consternation regarding the limited content, in any other series it would appear that the developers have packed the game to the rafters, and players will still have many opportunities to waste their time.

Where SEGA has chosen to innovate however is in the technology underlying Yakuza 6. Built on the new Dragon Engine, this will be the first time that a Yakuza game will feature no loading screens, with seamless transitions from exploration to combat to entering buildings. Though this may seem inconsequential when compared to modern releases for many this will be a welcome change for a franchise where merely running down the street could see you being incessantly accosted. Coupled with streamlined combat mechanics this should hopefully translate into a game with

less inconsistencies in its pacing, though Yakuza has never particularly cared for this aspect to begin with.

The fact that Yakuza 6: The Song of Life will be Kazuma Kiryu’s swansong should alone be enough to justify its release for many fans. For those that have never touched a Yakuza game, this also appears to be an excellent time to take a look at the series, as SEGA has stated they have gone to great lengths to explain the wealth of story that has come before it. Though its diminished size will undoubtedly be a cause for some angst, which could possibly be due to technical constraints and a tight schedule, for many there should be more than enough content to see the hours fly by, and this might just be the game that sees the franchise truly and deservedly break into the Western markets. g

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April 2018 Developer: Publisher: Distributer:

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Bigmoon Entertainment Bigmoon Entertainment Online

PLATFORMS

You’ll never know how close to evil you really are‌ PC X0 PS4 Wii U X360 PS3 PSV 3DS

GENRE

AT A GLANCE Turn-based RPG

Depending on your gaming preference, this ambitious successor to classic RPGs might thrill or disappoint you.

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by Sibonisile Motha

Demons Age

emons Age tells the story of the land of Moragon. A land where mystical creatures dwelt peacefully by means of never having to really cross paths with one another. But just as is the case in our reality, so did the arrival of human beings bring an inevitable disaster to a once quiet place. For where there is wealth, there is greed. And where there is greed, evil is just around the corner waiting to strike.

Evil in this case, came in the firm of the Lord of Darkness, Vazhur. Although his initial attempt to take over the kingdom of Moragon failed through the persistent fighting of the people, another opportunity has now availed itself and the fight is far from over.

You will get to play as a prisoner, whose ship got wrecked, leaving you stranded on the shores of war-brewing Moragon. Seeing that you have nowhere else to go, you must now not only survive, but join the fight to save the place. Start your journey by finding an inn.

This will not become places of rest for you, but for the crews that you will have to assemble on the way. Each character you come across will have their own unique story that will determine their motives and how they will behave in your crew. So be careful who you let in.

Levelling-up will be accomplished through the main story quests, as well as side quests and exploration experience (e.g.; dungeons).

Combat will be turn-based so think your moves through.

Your combat will be aided by weapons you can collect throughout the environment.

And at least have fun making your character awesome in this sad, sad world. g

Demons Age

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Shaq-fu: A Legend Reborn

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Shaq-Fu: A Legend Reborn Big Shaq’s not hot – he’s blazing!

Developer: Publisher: Distributer:

Big Deez Productions Mad Dog Games LLC Online

PLATFORMS

GAMING

Q2 2018

PC X0 PS4 Wii U X360 PS3 PSV NS

GENRE

awesome.

At its core Shaq Fu is a comedy beatem-up and players will be travelling to various locations, fighting hordes of Hell and Hollywood. The unique environments have been created in way that they could be used against enemies, while Shaq himself will learn new moves as players progress. The enemies have been said to not only include various monsters, but also pop culture icons. Who those are is yet to be seen Players who purchase NBA Playgrounds for the Switch will receive a free copy of Shaq Fu when released. g

AT A GLANCE Action

The unstoppable Shaquille O’Neal returns to kick-ass and take names, Shaq Fu style.

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by Nthato Morakabi

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with the basketball player among other extravagantly priced Shaq experiences. Four years later the official announcement for the game was made.

In A Legend Reborn, Shaq returns as the world totters on the brink of destruction, and at its helm? Demonic Celebrities. Yeah… they have taken over the world, leaving our fate in the hands of the unstoppable Shaq Fei Hung. With a new look and revamped graphical changes, some over-the-top humour, and the return of O’Neal as Shaq Fu, the new rendition hopes to do what its predecessor failed to do – be

ack in 94, Shaq Fu was released on the Sega Genesis and Super NES. A 2D fighter featuring and voiced by NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal, a game which also made its way to the SNES, Game Boy and Game Gear in 1995.

Unfortunately, the game was thrown under the bus, rated one of the worst games of all-time.

Surprisingly, at the 2014 Consumer Electronics Show (CES), Shaquille O’Neal confirmed this upcoming sequel and the Indiegogo crowdfunding began to roll in the money. As far as the perks for donating, including lunch

Total War Saga: Thrones of Britannia Experimental warfare

GAMING

May 2018 Developer: Publisher: Distributer:

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Creative Assembly Sega Ster Kinekor

PLATFORMS

by Lein Baart

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he Total War franchise has been remarkably consistent over its now 18 year history.

Beyond the inevitable facelifts, at its core the series has not diverged much from the original blueprint laid down with Shogun: Total War, and over time has become a now iconic strategy series.

With the due date for Total War Saga: Thrones of Britannia just on the horizon it appears the studio is trying to tinker with the formula, and in the process create a new approach for the franchise.

For those that have never played a Total War game, broadly they can be summed up as a blend of turn-based grand strategy and real-time tactical combat, with individual titles set in eras ranging from Ancient Rome to Napoleonic Europe. Thrones of Britannia will be the first in the new Saga subseries, which will put players “right in the middle of a dynamic point in history”, which for now will translate into a period lasting roughly 200 years from 878 AD set exclusively in the British Isles.

As such players will be able to control 10 different factions split across five distinct cultures, including Anglo-Saxons and Viking kingdoms.

Beyond the setting, Thrones of Britannia will also shake up some well-established mechanics.

Units will no longer be recruited and unlocked through buildings at cities, with instead players mustering troops at any location from a global pool, though they will initially begin at quarter strength. Technology will now be dependent on the composition of both your armies and cities, and family members’ growth can be managed more comprehensively. To newcomers this may seem to be merely slight tweaks, but for returning veterans this could significantly impact long-term strategies, creating a refreshing experience for the now venerable franchise. g

PC X0 PS4 Wii U X360 PS3 PSV 3DS

GENRE

AT A GLANCE Strategy

The Saga subseries could open some exciting opportunities for fans, with enough changes to freshen up the franchise

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Total War Saga: Thrones of Britannia

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Terahard Ltd Terahard Ltd Online

PLATFORMS

Crouching kitty. Hidden ninja.

PC X0 PS4 Wii U X360 PS3 PSV 3DS

GENRE

AT A GLANCE Action

With co-op playability, you can enjoy kicking ass with friends in this fastpaced arcade-inspired title.

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by Sibonisile Motha

Claws of Furry

nter the world of Claws of Furry where there are a few rules that will keep you safe: Don’t blink, don’t be slow and DON’T call the ninja cat “cute.”

Created and developed

by Terahard Ltd, this title is a great showcase of the company’s risk on tasking a team with mostly inexperienced members to create a game that not only looks good but would play good too. Their risk paid off with the game being greenlit on Steam in its last week.

The game centres on the kidnapping of a Ninja Cat Master by an unknown enemy.

You must rescue your Master from an enemy you can only assume to be truly powerful, seeing as they managed to capture your great teacher.

You will have to fight and finesse your way through to accomplish your mission. And with over 50 levels to get through (yes, fifty!) you will be honing your Ninja Cat skills all the way. True to Beat’em up-styled games, you will be able to unleash your fur(r)y on many enemies at one go. But because there are so many levels to get through, it is safe to conclude that the boss fights will give players a run for their money.

The game visuals are unique and hand-drawn by the team. This creates a great atmosphere that adds to the tone of the game’s plot and environments.

You will be able to unlock outfits and bonuses as well as choose from multiple playable modes. You can also play with friends and family as local co-op gameplay of up to four players is allowed for.

Players and Terahard Ltd will see how this project turned out upon release. g

Claws of Furry

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The Swords of Ditto

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The Swords of Ditto It’s adventure time!

Developer: Publisher: Distributer:

Onebitbeyond Devolver Digital Online

PLATFORMS

GAMING

Apr 2018

PC X0 PS4 Wii U X360 PS3 PSV 3DS

GENRE

keep the experience and power gained during play.

The mystical Sword of Ditto is to be given to players at the beginning of the game – including local co-op.

To be added in the list of weapons are the traditional sword and bow combo (Zelda!), with a selection of uniquely weird weapons such as a magic golf club, vinyl record frisbee, and a giant foot dropping from the sky.

The eccentric cartoon visuals, particular micro-adventure style storyline, and compact RPG gameplay makes The Sword of Ditto look pretty sweet. g

AT A GLANCE Action RPG

Embark on zany, iterative RPG adventures as randomly-generated heroes against the evil sorceress Mormo. If you die... start again.

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by Nthato Morakabi

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dungeons... and monsters. Within the quaint village, players will be able to upgrade their heroes with collected stickers that boost their hero’s abilities and add perks to acquired gear.

Players begin as a randomly crafted hero who will create their own legend with each adventure. The catch? You only have three days to go on the available adventures or fight against the evil that is Mormo and her evil armies. Second catch? If you fail, you start again with a new hero, but same goal. Third catch? A century has passed with each respawn, but thankfully the game will let players

ometimes I feel like a broken record when I start talking about indie games published

by Devolver Digital. Strafe. Shadow Warrior. Hotline Miami. Broforce… You get it? Good stuff. So looking up The Swords of Ditto sent me into another fanboy, goosebump-inducing spiel, especially since the game will have that classic RPG feel. Sorta like your oldschool Zelda. And I like Zelda games.

The Swords of Ditto is an action RPG with a unique look and feel letting you explore pleasant, cartoonlike landscapes with zany characters and nefariously cute but dangerous

Death Road to Canada

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Death road to Canada F

or some of us that have the privilege of remembering our dreams when we wake up, it takes us recalling out loud the events of our lucid state for us to realize just how truly messed up our minds are.

For the rest of you, there’s Death Road to Canada.

If I were to simply state that this game is crazy, you wouldn’t believe me. So I will do my level best to paint the picture of awesome insanity that is this game.

The story is simple; you have to travel from Florida (to South Africans, it’s the one in the USA not the one near Roodepoort) to Canada. Why Canada? In this game, it’s the last nation on earth (no, we will not get into the how, even though we may all have an idea). So it is basically a straightforward road trip. But it’s not.

Apart from encountering unique strangers along the way that can join you on our trip, you also have the wacky places and, oh yes, zombies. I’m not talking a few here and there, I mean like 500 flipping zombies…all at once!

So what do you do when it’s three of you and your dog versus 500 undead? Give the dog a gun and let him help you shoot away (while standing on two legs no less). You think that’s weird, try imagining that you are a horse-head on a human body. This is but one of the many quirks of this game.

It’s also important to note that this is a randomly-generated permadeath simulation game. So it will be a different crazy experience every time you play. Finally, a game that gets us. g

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Rocketcat Games Rocketcat Games Online

PLATFORMS

by Sibonisile Motha

Roadtrips will never be the same…

PC X0 PS4 Wii U X360 NS iOS And

GENRE

AT A GLANCE Action, RPG

As absurdly wild and crazy idea for a game that totally works anyway.

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Appnormals Team PQube Limited Online

PLATFORMS

A deep story of the power of words and empathy.

PC X0 PS4 Wii U X360 PS3 PSV 3DS

GENRE

AT A GLANCE Adventure

An emotional rollercoaster ride that will test and push empathy to its limits and beyond.

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by Sibonisile Motha

STAY

n the text generation we live in, the power of our presence and words of social media plays out more drastically than ever before.

From cyber-bullying to people falling in love online, we can do it all with text. But what if your texts were the only hope a stranger has? What if your words are the only thing he has to live for? What if you were his only chance at survival?

These questions are the premise of STAY. You will be playing as yourself in a web chat room that is connected to a PC in an abandoned house. This PC is the only thing a kidnapped man by the name of Quinn has. You will be chatting to him and hearing his story as you get to know each other. The webcam on Quinn’s PC will enable you to see his actual responses to your replies and texts. As you communicate with him, you will be able to observe him and maybe even spot lies. You will be able to help him hopefully escape and find out who kidnapped him in the first place. This will require you solving some intense puzzles and at moments taking control of Quinn to solve them. Beware; there are many ways for him to die in your quest.

As if you didn’t have enough pressure to help the stranded Quinn, all this will be happening in real-time.

So your time away from the game equals the time Quinn is left alone. Stay away too long and you may come back to an insane Quinn…or worse.

You and your words are now a lone man’s only hope to survive – use them wisely. g

STAY

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Robothorium

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Robothorium

Choose your path to the Machine Revolution

Developer: Publisher: Distributer:

Goblinz Studio Goblinz Studio/Whisper Games Online

PLATFORMS

GAMING

Q3 2014

PC X0 PS4 Wii U X360 PS3 PSV NS

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to select your favourite, strongest machine warriors. Alongside this, there’s loot to collect and use to upgrade and craft new equipment.

Of course, there wouldn’t be much to building, crafting and looting if you couldn’t take your army to face off against other players. Robothorium will feature a PVP mode where one can obtain glory within the Robothorium arena.

From what I can glean, there is going to be quite a community focus as a discord has been opened for the public to talk as a community or with devs. g

AT A GLANCE Turn-Based RPG

Build your own robot army and select your path towards a robot revolution!

With each turn, that is.

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by Nthato Morakabi

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against the human race. Be wary of cyborgs, and robots too on the path to a robotic uprising.

Choice will play an important role in how the revolution turns out and will form part of the strategy. These choices have been set to affect the storyline quests within randomly generated levels. The path to choose is filled with traps as well as the enemies that will scale according your path choice.

The whole robot management feature will provide the ability to manage the various bots within your team, giving you an opportunity

kynet. If that name doesn’t make you want to burn anything that starts with Artificial and ends with Intelligence, then Robothorium is just the game for you. Well, as long as you don’t actually try and take over the real world with your army of robots… which is what Robothorium is all about.

It is a turn-based RPG that puts you in the general’s seat as you begin to amass an army of robots to do your bidding. There are allies to be made, teams to select, and strategies to employ in order to lead a revolution

Bear With Me

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ith me being a fan of noirs, Bear With Me is a title that tickles my curiosity. Set in the world of Paper City, a young girl, Amber, has been having strange and haunting nightmares. One night, during one of her nightmare episodes, she awakens only to discover that her brother is missing. Realising that the real nightmare has only just begun, she enlists the help of the only person she can trust right now – her teddy. Her trusted teddy, rightfully named Ted E. Bear, is a retired detective who agrees to help solve the mystery of Amber’s dear brother’s disappearance.

Along the way, Amber and Ted E. come to realize that there have been some strange occurrences happening in Paper Town. The appearance of a mysterious “red man” in Paper Town only intensifies the story as he is searching for Amber himself, and setting fires in the town while doing it.

In true noir style, you will be playing in black, white and greys (except for the red man, obviously). The gameplay itself is point and click.

You will be able to play as Ted E. Bear every now and again. Pay close attention in order to solve puzzles and get the clues that will help you hopefully find Amber’s brother.

The game is setup as an episode title with a total of three episodes to the game.

There is tons of humour throughout the game via the interactions between characters. Fans of sarcasm and puns will be greatly rewarded in this game.

Graphics of this game are the developer’s own uniquely drawn 2D animation style.

This game will hopefully prove that teddy bears are truly necessary companions indeed. g

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Exordium Games Exordium Games Online

PLATFORMS

by Sibonisile Motha

You can always trust teddy.

PC X0 PS4 Wii U X360 PS3 PSV 3DS

GENRE

AT A GLANCE Adventure

A story-driven adventure for noir fans with a sense of humour and wit.

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Immortal: Unchained GAMING

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Toadman Interactive Sold Out Online

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The end is near.

PC X0 PS4 Wii U X360 PS3 PSV 3DS

GENRE

AT A GLANCE Action RPG

Hopes are that this game will appease all the ‘‘hardcore’’ stakeholders in the gamers section.

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by Sibonisile Motha

e have seen over the years that hardcore games are rapidly growing in following and popularity. And with many that desire nothing more than to be the superior species in gaming accomplishment, these types of games will only increase. For those confused about the difference between an “ordinary” and a “hardcore” one, my best piece of advice would be to avoid getting into debates with the e-sport genre fans because it will get messy.

And on that note let me get into this ultra-hardcore RPG called Immortal: Unchained.

In this game you will play as an eternal prisoner who is suddenly awaken and set free.

Once locked away because of your power, you are now free because of it. But nothing comes that easy. You come to discover that the worlds you knew are in complete chaos and disarray. What has caused all this and how can it be stopped?

Your quest is now clear, or so you think. The nine worlds are filled with brutality and unleashed evils that kill without blinking. You will have to fight your way through hectically challenging enemies and bosses and get to the centre of the nine worlds to uncover the truth. Collecting and customizing your weapons to suit your style will be essential in combat. Quick-thinking strategy will be your friend. In the beginning of the game, you will be able to customize your character and choose from six initial disciplines to start off with (the official info hopefully to still come). Trust no one.

Characters in the game will either want to kill you or use you. And remember; although death isn’t permanent, you will pay for your mistakes. g

Immortal: Unchained

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Shift Quantum

E M W A VIE G E R P

Shift Quantum

Shift to the next level

Developer: Publisher: Distributer:

Fishing Cactus Arc System Works Online

PLATFORMS

GAMING

Apr 2018

PC X0 PS4 Wii U X360 PS3 PSV NS

GENRE

The whole Shift mechanic is what should truly change the puzzle-platformer experience, and developers Fishing Cactus promise eight new and unique game-play elements, as well as over 100 different levels of solo content. This including speedruns, level creation with contests, and weekly showcases of the best designed levels.

An interesting new feature, which we are seeing more and more these days, is the cross-platform sharing. Shift Quantum will let players share levels between PC, Xbox One, PS 4 and the Nintendo Switch.

This looks like it will be a fun indie remake. g

AT A GLANCE Puzzle Platformer

Shift into this Noir action platformer that tests your mind in stylish black-andwhite cyber reality.

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puzzles. The negative space you create

by Shifting, inverses the environment, creating paths where there should be barriers, and rendering obstacles obsolete dependent on which inversion of the world you shift to.

The story is set in a cyber-noir, futuristic world where Axon Vertigo recruit test subjects for research that is said to bring humanity to its fullest potential.

Where sadness and negative emotions can be effectively eradicated. Players take control of an avatar inside the main character’s mind within Axom Vertigo’s program and will have to traverse each level to escape the mental maze.

e’ve seen our share of unique puzzle-platformer games over the years, and some have been more memorable than others - whether it was the puzzles themselves, the style and art, or gameplay mechanics. The same can be said about Shift Quantum. There have been many sequels to the original flash version of Shift, created and developed

by Antony Lavelle and published by Armor Games, but this will be the official successor.

The concept of Shift Quantum itself is simple; players need to Shift the world between black and white in order to solve

Solo

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Solo L

et me be honest for a moment, when I did my research on this game I felt like it was a bit of a setup from God Himself.

Why? Well, this game aims to tackle questions and emotions that I would rather stay away from – love. Yes, the coodie-coated goosebumpinducing “L” word.

Created by the guys over at Team Gotham, based in Madrid, Solo is an introspective puzzle game. According to Team Gotham, the game came about after a painful breakup that a teammate went through. This is their expression of how they feel about love and how we deal with relationships. Asking questions like, “Have you ever fully loved with your heart,” or “How difficult is it to love someone?” These are some things we may not ask out loud, but may face daily.

So how does one incorporate such deep thoughts into a playable game?

You will be a sailor that travels on a vast and open ocean. When you arrive on an island, you will have to solve some puzzles to awaken the island totem that will ask you an introspective question about love. You will have to answer them in order to unlock the next island. With each island’s puzzle difficulty increasing (and probably the questions too), you will have more to discover and think about. It would be a nice touch to see a game like this take on different endings sand journeys based on the players’ responses.

The game’s visuals are bright and vivid (from what we have seen so far), and it wouldn’t be surprising if these visuals have an impact on the gameplay itself. Maybe I’ll conquer my fears of that word... g

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Apr 2018 Developer: Publisher: Distributer:

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Team Gotham Team Gotham Online

PLATFORMS

by Sibonisile Motha

What is love? Good question…

PC X0 PS4 Wii U X360 PS3 PSV 3DS

GENRE

AT A GLANCE Puzzle-solving

A game designed to make you look deep within yourself and answer some question you may have not thought about is a brilliant idea.

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Sacred Fire

The psychology of revenge and loyalty

Developer: Publisher: Distributer:

Poetic Studio Poetic Studio Online

PLATFORMS

GAMING

Q2 2018

PC X0 PS4 Wii U X360 PS3 PSV 3DS

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a vengeful queen, rise to power.

From here on it is a journey of choice between uniting the tribes and bring an end to strife, or channelling the people’s rage to crush Rome once and for all?

Sacred Fire will have two main phases of gameplay; Story Phase will revolve around dialogues and combat, while Fort Phase will be about strategy and politics.

This Kickstarter-funded indie title looks amazing, and seems to have a truly unique art style and gameplay mechanic. Definitely looking forward to playing this unique game. g

AT A GLANCE Adventure Strategy RPG

Drive the story forward in this choice-driven narrative, with amazing art style and unique gameplay.

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most important factor to the game, will be the narrative style, choice driven gameplay with a focus on the psychology of in-game characters.

In-short, you will be given tactical choices between both dialogue and combat, with the added ability to spend rare willpower points to boost your chances. Following that, you face whatever consequences your choices lead to.

The story is set in the very real and historical Caledonia, which was being sought after by the Romans.

Players step into the shoes of a young avatar, who sees Morrigan,

t is not every day that you find yourself looking up an indie RPG title that is narrative and choice-driven, with the art style that appears in Sacred Fire. It has that Dragon Age:Inquisition feel to it, and even has the voice of Doug Cockle, the voice of The Witcher.

The only difference lies in the fact that the entire game will play out like a “Choose Your Own Adventure” but with beautiful, realistic artwork.

The developers, Poetic Studio, have taken time to make Sacred Fire not about weapon strength, damage types or the like. The main and

E M W A IE G EV R

Far Cry 5 GAMING

The land of the free

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by Walt Pretorius

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a well-known one, and the bad guys in Far Cry 5 are no different. This time around, the game takes place in the fictional Hop County, in the US state of Montana, where a religious cult, armed to the teeth and ready to usher in the end of the world, is lead of the enigmatic and charismatic Joseph Seed. Joseph is assisted by his family (John, Faith and Jacob) who all oversee a portion of the operation, and together they want to create some kind of new Eden on Earth.

That’s the first spot in which Far Cry 5 falls a little flat (thankfully there aren’t many in this otherwise great game). With a pedigree of villains that included Vaas (Far Cry 3) and Pagan Min (Far Cry 4), Far Cry 5’s Joseph Seed doesn’t really make the grade. He lacks the insane crystal clarity of his convictions, and his nefarious nature seems quite take. In fact, Jacob is far

GAMING

have the coolest accountant in the world. Yeah, he’s great with all those tax returns and other money stuff, but what makes him really great is the fact that is a great Far Cry 5 co-op partner. And he knows some exceptionally colourful language, too, which often comes out during the rough and tumble of a Far Cry 5 session.

I’ll get back to all of that – the co-op bits – in a while, though. First, it’s probably more important to note that what might just have been the year’s most controversial game has finally arrived, after a delay or two. And, quite frankly, it’s not all that controversial at all – it’s just a Far Cry game set in America.

That brings with it a whole bunch of implications, of course – Far Cry’s long relationship with insanity is

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more menacing than Joseph will ever be (but you may disagree with that statement when you experience the end of the game).

Still, he’s a decent sort of villain, and he throws a whole bunch of crazy at the player in the form of his cult followers. Sadly, there isn’t a lot of variety in them (another short fall) but with so many of them to plough through, who cares what they look like. They’re pretty much all dirty, unwashed quasi-hippies with guns.

Anyway, back to the matter at hand. Far Cry 5 takes a leaf out of Ghost Recon: Wildlands in how it deals with the threat; the massive Hope County is divided into three districts, each of which is controlled by one of Joseph’s family. Take them out, and Joseph appears. It’s a very video game feel, with three big

boss battles to take on before the finale. Thankfully, Far Cry 5 is completely open – you can take these guys on in any order you prefer, or even a bit each at a time. It gives the player a fantastic sense of freedom.

The idea of the player being a lone gunman was one that pervaded the Far Cry franchise in the past, but this time around the player has, if they wish, the opportunity to fight as a team. This can be done in two principle ways. The first is to find a co-op partner and play virtually the whole campaign in co-op, which is massive amounts of fun, and able to produce many great experiences. The downside here is that only the host player will benefit from story progression, which is a little odd. The other player will have to replay missions to get the notches on their belt.

It really is a small price to pay though, because the

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completing the tons of missions available, Far Cry 5 will also allow the player to get in a spot of fishing, perform legendary stunts, hunt a few animals, and a whole lot more. The player is free to traipse around the whole landscape from the get go, which is really cool.

Some of the systems have been trimmed up, too.

Crafting, for example, is much simpler, and ir reliant wholly of discovered items; no more hunting crazy creatures for parts. In fact, hunting and fishing rather form a strong part of the game’s economy. Fish and animal skins can be sold for money, which means bigger and better guns.

Another thing that crafting doesn’t really take care of is the wide number of upgrades available. These are now purchased with perk points, which can be gained

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enjoyment to be had trumps any inconvenience.

The second way is to use guns for hire. These come in two flavours – normal folks who are willing to help the player, and who’s abilities become revealed as they progress (you can have a total of three of these employees at a time, with one or two on active duty, depending on your perk unlocks). Or you can make use of one or two of the game’s very handy unlockable specialists, ranging from pumas who stalk through the underbrush through to pilots giving air support from on-high. They can be pretty handy additions to the mix, when employed correctly.

I mentioned freedom earlier, but it bears taking a deeper look at all the things Far Cry 5 will allow you to do. Aside from the expected, like shooting back guys and liberating outposts, not to mention

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by completing challenges (so may kills with gun type X, and so on) or by finding presser stashes – small cashes of weapons, ammo and perk points scattered liberally all over the map.

Getting around the map also opens a bunch of new opportunities for the player, thanks to a wide array of vehicles – including planes and choppers. Taking a low flight through the game is great fun, and may just result in a few rewarding scuffles with enemy pilots, too.

And then, of course, there is the story which, while not having the most memorable Far Cry bad guy, is still a great tale of struggle. And that’s not even including Far Cry Arcade, an added mode which lengthens game play and allows players to make their own maps (although it still has a ways to go). It seems

that Far Cry Arcade is going to rely heavily on the community, so we may have to give it a bit of time before it really begins to shine.

Does Far Cry 5 has a few problems? Sure it does – any game this large and ambitious will have a few technical snags here and there. But, when you look at the sum of all of its parts, Far Cry 5 is a crazy, slightly disturbing, action packed adventure through to very rough territory, and a rollicking fight against the forces of madness – and that, quite frankly, was all that any Far Cry fan ever wanted it to be. It might not be in an exotic location, but the action is still intense, and the action is pitch perfect. It doesn’t do much to differentiate itself from other Far Cry titles, save for a few systems, but who cares. It’s great fun! And my accountant agrees. g

AT A GLANCE GENRE

First-person shooter

REVIEWED ON

x0

Developer: Publisher: Distributer:

Ubisoft Ubisoft Megarom

PARENTAL ADVISORY

18+ gamecca106

PLATFORMS

The fifth instalment of Far Cry bring the intense, insane action back to the US of A.

Violence Language Sex Drug Use Prejudice

AWARDS

Platinum Gold Silver Bronze Casual Ed’s Choice

PC X0 PS4 Wii U X360 PS3 PSV 3DS

Score

90 39

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MX vs ATV: All O GAMING

Wrong turn…

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MX vs ATV: All Out

by Walt Pretorius

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action literally at every corner, you cannot skimp on getting frame rates stable. You simply cannot. It’s not a case of “well, it should be ok, maybe nobody will notice”.

In a game like MX vs ATV: All Out, frame rate is king.

Only it seems to have been given a seat at the pauper’s table here. Getting the game to achieve something even resembling a steady frame rate is… well, it isn’t going to happen. And when you’re blasting around a track, doing battle with bikes, ATVs and UTVs, even the slightest visual hiccup can leave you at a distinct disadvantage.

The hiccups aren’t slight, and they are almost constant.

If you somehow manage to navigate the track a few times through the slide show, you’ll start noticing a few other things that simply should not be the way they are.

The AI, for example, is brutally stupid, and will ignore

GAMING

he love-hate affair between off-road racing and video games is a long one. In principle, the idea is brilliant, and the marriage should be perfect. In practice, not so much…

See there seems to be a block in the way that these games are made. Somewhere, someone has not connected the right dots, resulting in a never-ending cycle of “this could have been better”.

MX vs ATV: All Out is the latest victim of this everturning wheel. While it arrives with all of the best intentions and tries to plug some really good ideas in here and there, it suffers from the most basic problems. It almost seems as though the developers gave up on getting the game to work right, and went on to the fun stuff instead.

When you have a game like this, with fast paced

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the fact that the player’s character is on screen at all sometimes, resulting in needless crashes that, in the real world, would have been avoided by beings with even the most primitive forms of self-preservation.

Additionally, the respawning mine-field (which you will inevitably encounter quite often, given the frame rates and AI) is like vehicular Russian Roulette. Sometimes it is a wonder that you are on the bike at all, ever.

To add insult to injury, while you can unlock and buy new vehicles in the game, there isn’t really a sense of progression – you start at the top, and stay there. The idea of getting new vehicles that are better than the ones you had before doesn’t really exist here.

A lot of MX vs ATV: All Out’s issues disappear when you get into the multiplayer swing of things. Games can be a little tough to find but when you do get one, it can

be quite enjoyable, within the paradigms of the game.

There is a tendency to disconnect after every few races but, in the grander scheme of things, this is a minor issue.

What is presented here is something that some folks are going to find frustrating. MX vs ATV, as a franchise, has been around for quite some time. It is based on a wildly popular sport (even is there are some “fantasy” elements brought to bear) and so one would assume that the combination of popularity and experience has shown the developers a little of what it is that they are supposed to be doing. But either they are incapable of learning, or are unwilling to learn (which is even more disturbing) as people continue to buy games that really are sub-standard. This entire genre needs a massive shake-up. g

AT A GLANCE Racing

REVIEWED ON

With so many holes, it’s amazing that this boat floats... MX vs ATV: All Out is not the game it should be.

Developer: Publisher: Distributer:

Rainbow Studios THQ Nordic Apex Interactive

PARENTAL ADVISORY

3+ gamecca106

Violence Language Sex Drug Use Prejudice

AWARDS

Platinum Gold Silver Bronze Casual Ed’s Choice

x360 PLATFORMS

GENRE

PC X0 PS4 Wii U X360 PS3 PSV 3DS

Score

40 43

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Sea of Thieves GAMING

Sailing the shallow seas…

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Sea of Thieves

by Walt Pretorius

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make it all work properly. Even getting your ship to just move takes a bit of effort, effort of the kind that comes from working together. Do that with strangers, and the likelihood is that you won’t be getting as far as with a group of friends.

Another big if is whether you’re willing to subject yourself to Sea of Thieves’ progression system. There isn’t really much of one. To become a Pirate Legend, you’re going to be doing a lot, and most of it will be eye-bleedingly repetitive. There are, for example, only three companies that you can perform missions for, and their missions (respective to them) are always the same. Sure, that skeleton you need to defeat may be a bit tougher, but he’s still the same skeleton you beat up hundreds of times before.

Perhaps worse is the fact that what progress you

GAMING

he idea of striding across the deck of a pirate ship, breathing in the bracing sea air and wondering what just lies over the horizon – be it treasure, conquest of mystery – is one that has sparked the imagination of young and old for a long, long time. So when Microsoft announced Sea of Thieves a while back, everyone got really excited. Let’s be honest, great pirate games are rare.

And they still are. See, Sea of Thieves has all the best intentions in the world, and it really can be enjoyable, if… well, there are a lot of ifs here. The first is if whether you’ll be playing with strangers or friends. Friends is best, because a well-oiled team in Sea of Thieves can achieve great things. Almost every kind of activity requires team work, or at least a bunch of people doing different things at the same time to

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do make is almost entirely cosmetic. That bag of gold you just got rewarded for killing said skeleton of the umpteenth time isn’t going to buy you much more than a fancy hat or a new pair of shoes – it certainly will not buy you anything of any consequence, unless you’re big into bragging rights.

The biggest problem here is that, despite lots of potential and some really fun moments, Sea of Thieves sails of a very shallow experience. There is not a lot to do that is varied, and while a lot of fun can be had by a group of friends, it really doesn’t feel like it is going anywhere significant. And that’s a real shame, because this game has so much potential.

With a great graphical style, excellent effects and brilliant lighting, Sea of Thieves certainly looks the part, even if the experience doesn’t really deliver. It seems like

a massively wastes opportunity, really, and feels more like a glorified chat room with something to keep your hands busy that a full blown multiplayer world.

As it currently stands, Sea of Thieves is pretty far from most people would have hoped it would be. It is possessed of some great multiplayer moments, sure – doing battle with another ship can be immense amounts of co-op fun, even though the game is not very big on consequences, and vanquished enemies will be back before long to continue harassing you. But those moments are there. If they could just be extended to the rest of the game, things would be peachy indeed.

However, that might only happen in a next iteration, or after quite a bit of DLC. It seems that the issues that exist currently with Sea of Thieves go beyond just a few quick fixes… g

AT A GLANCE GENRE

Adventure

REVIEWED ON

x0

Developer: Publisher: Distributer:

Rare Microsoft Microsoft

PARENTAL ADVISORY

12+ gamecca106

PLATFORMS

There is potential here, but as things stand much of it is unrealised.

Violence Language Sex Drug Use Prejudice

AWARDS

Platinum Gold Silver Bronze Casual Ed’s Choice

PC X0 PS4 Wii U X360 PS3 PSV 3DS

Score

65 47

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Pure Farming 20 GAMING

Watching the grass grow…

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Pure Farming 2018

by Walt Pretorius

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simulation market is far bigger than most gamers would like to admit.

Pure Farming 2018 is similar to Farming Simulator is almost every way, except that it does a few key things differently. The first is that the player will feel much more welcomed in this little farming hamlet, because the game has a single player campaign that really is a lengthy tutorial. It is, to be brutally honest, quite a grind.

While farming sims aren’t really known for their breakneck pace, Pure Farming 2018 manages to feel even slower and more plodding than the Giants game. Yes, it is possible.

Once you get through that slog – which will walk you painstakingly through every aspect of farming – you’ll be ready to grab your trusty tablet and head out into the open world farms, which are located in the USA, Japan,

GAMING

arming simulators… love ‘em or laugh at ‘em.

But there is no denying that there are players out there who want to embark on adventures filled with agricultural high-jinx, myself included. Yes, I am one of those weird folks that gets… well, not excited, as such, but a little cheery at the idea of a new farm simulation game coming out. And that job was generally done by Giants’ Farming Simulator series, which has seen us knocking up dust clouds from dawn to dusk as our tractors plough the fields for quite a few years now.

Now, though, there is a new pretender in the field, and it comes from a somewhat unlikely source.

Techland, the publisher behind games like Dying Light and Dead Island has produced Pure Farming 2018, and there is nary a zombie in sight. Obviously the farming

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Italy and Columbia (with a German jaunt available as DLC). This improved variety is great, as are the varied conditions in the regions. Japan, for example, is rather water based in terms of farming, while the US is not.

OK, I mentioned the tablet, the boon and bane of my in-game existence. Pure Farming 2018 manages to create a virtual tablet hub for everything that happens in the game. Every notification comes through on the device.

The problem is, it isn’t exceptionally intuitive. The player will need to dig through a number of menus to get what they need every time a notification arrives. Some kind of heads-up prompt would not have been out of place here – there is such a thing as taking realism to far.

The biggest issue here is that Pure Farming 2018 takes a lot longer to get things done, it seems. That, combined with the fact that it has fewer vehicles and implements

on sale than Farming Simulator makes it something of a weaker prospect. However, armed with great graphics and a ton of good ideas that are in various stages of evolution, the series (if not this particular title) could become one to watch.

That’s a good thing – for the past few years Farming Simulator has held the power in this small genre market.

That has meant that Giants could pretty much do as they pleased, the consequences be damned. Now, though, with a potential strong competitor finding its feet in the genre, all involved are going to have to up their game to try and ensure that they remain cream of the crop, and don’t get relegated to the midden. It may not be a lot more exciting that watching grass grow, but the truth is that this is (like it or not) a lucrative sector of the market, and competition will only make things better. g

AT A GLANCE Simulation

REVIEWED ON

It might not be a thrill-a-minute, but this new competition for Farming Simulator will make the world a better place for virtual farmers in the long run.

Developer: Publisher: Distributer:

Techland Techland Ster Kinekor

PARENTAL ADVISORY

3+ gamecca106

Violence Language Sex Drug Use Prejudice

AWARDS

Platinum Gold Silver Bronze Casual Ed’s Choice

x0 PLATFORMS

GENRE

PC X0 PS4 Wii U X360 PS3 PSV 3DS

Score

72 51

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TT Isle of Man: Ride on the Edg GAMING

The edge of nasty…

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TT Isle of Man: Ride on the Edge

by Rob Edwards

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of lacklustre fictional U tracks in the mix for good measure). This is a game that those who know, and love, Snaefell are going to be falling over themselves to get.

Those other tracks are not a great point in the game, because they start feeling so similar before long.

Working through the career mode the player is going to have to race, buy better bikes and race some more, all on tracks that can’t hold a candle to the beautifully recreated Snaefell course. The repetitive process may well wear on non-enthusiasts too.

Another thing that will grind all those but the most dedicated is the difficulty of the game. It would be great to say that this is because Snaefell is such a challenging course. It is, yes, but there are more factors here.

Simply put, the bikes in TT: Isle of Man – Ride on the Edge are twitchy as all hell, and wrestling one under

GAMING

he Isle of Man Tourist Trophy is a motorcycle racing event that stands all on its own. Much like unconventional events like Le Mans, the TT Isle of Man event has a long and colourful history and takes place on one of the most challenging tracks in the world. The Snaefell course is nigh legendary, and so is the time trial motorcycle race that is associated with it.

It seems, then, to be a no brainer as far as a simulation goes – a virtual version of this gruelling and challenging race is exactly what enthusiasts would want.

There’s the heart of the matter right there – enthusiasts. Let’s be honest, no arm-chair biker is going to buy this game based on the fact that it is really just about one track (even if there are a number

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your control is more than a small chore. Getting things just right can be exceptionally tricky, and the unforgiving nature of the game (even without oversensitive bikes) would be something else that newcomers and lesshardcore players would likely steer away from.

One thing that this title does get right – in a big way – are the visuals. We’re not talking menues and the like here (which are as boring as they could be in this kind of game). Rather, it is the actual performance, specifically on Snaefell, that is so impressive. The impression of speed is fantastic, the detail level is high, and the lighting and effects are as close to the real thing as you’re going to get in this kind of game, barring some pretty major technological advances.

Back on the downside, the AI is something to avoid at all costs. Opposing drivers won’t try move around

you or anything like that – their simplest path is straight through you, resulting in many annoying accidents.

Additionally, your own rider will do the weirdest things at times, even leaping off the bike for no apparent reason.

And that is indicative of the biggest problem with this title… if you’re going to build a game for enthusiasts, fine. Go into every detail that you can. Restrict your market… none of that makes too much of a difference.

But make it work, for the love of Pete. Just having a game for the sake of a game is bad enough, but when you so clearly aim it at a very niche market, you better be ready to deliver the goods. Sadly, this one doesn’t.

Oh, and there’s multiplayer, by the way. One player at a time, time-trial style. It really isn’t getting any better...g

AT A GLANCE Racing

REVIEWED ON

It will only appeal to real enthusiasts, and then only the most patient ones... this game would benefit from a ton of polish.

Developer: Publisher: Distributer:

Kylotonn Big Ben Interactive Apex Interactive

PARENTAL ADVISORY

3+ gamecca106

Violence Language Sex Drug Use Prejudice

AWARDS

Platinum Gold Silver Bronze Casual Ed’s Choice

x0 PLATFORMS

GENRE

PC X0 PS4 Wii U X360 PS3 PSV 3DS

Score

60 55

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Assassin’s Cree Rogue Remaste GAMING

Remastered at the wrong time…

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Assassin’s Creed: Rogue Remastered

by Walt Pretorius

ed: ered

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And then Syndicate came out, and Rogue was all but forgotten. Good game, bad timing.

The timing of this remastered version also feels a bit poor; had it been released before Origins, there would have been a lot more going for the red-headed step-child of the Assassin’s Creed family but, as it stands, it now comes across as extremely old fashioned. And that’s a pretty sad thing, really, because it tells a very important story. For the first time ever, in Assassin’s Creed: Rogue, the player got to see the other side of the coin.

The main character, Shay, is a disgruntled chap who turns his back on the assassins and joins the templar order. This on its own provides the player with an extremely valuable view from the other side, making Rogue an extremely interesting game, if nothing else. But Ubisoft had also done a lot of work on what many saw as a stop-gap, refining ship

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ast year, pretty much everyone who played Assassin’s Creed: Origins crowed about it. It was a great game, and one that saw a major revamp in the way that Ubisoft approached game dynamics and story telling in the series. And it made everything that came before it feel old by comparison.

That puts the remastered version of Assassin’s Creed: Rogue in something of a tough position. See, this game was first released as a last hurrah to the old generation of console hardware, which had been a long-time companion to the franchise. So, while Unity got everyone’s knickers in a twist and Black Flag made a trip to the new platforms, Rogue just kind of was there, in the background, appreciated for what it was but not getting much love from people enjoying their new hardware.

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based dynamics to becoming pretty much perfect.

On the water is where Rogue shines, including things like raiders attacking your ship (instead of just you attacking theirs) and a very challenging environment to navigate.

On land, Rogue becomes an Assassin’s Creed game, complete with hidden blades, air assassinations and viewpoints to climb. It rounds out the Assassin’s Creed 3 story line pretty much, and provides the player with tons to do – as long as they’re not looking for the new Origins control scheme.

In terms of a remaster, there wasn’t all that much done.

The frame rate clips along at a steady 30fps, which never hurts, and the imagery has been spruces up. The character models are improved, too, although their faces could have used more refinement. Sure, they’re not like the mess we got with the Assassin’s Creed 2 remaster, but they are

nowhere near what a modern game should deliver.

To be brutally honest, it feels like Rogue has come to the new generation of consoles more as fan service than anything else. The game is great, and it certainly shouldn’t be forgotten, but the effort that went in here feels like it is just enough. Additionally, the timing of the release is really rather poor. Sure, I get that you should pay homage to what came before, but the old control scheme feels superclunky after having played Origins.

Still, it is an important story, and may well sit with those who want a little nostalgia along with their assassinations.

It is well worth playing for Assassin’s Creed fans, and revitalises the unique and interesting narrative. I just wish that this had been released during the gap year that lead up to Origins… it would have fared much better in that case. g

AT A GLANCE GENRE

Adventure

REVIEWED ON

Developer: Publisher: Distributer:

Ubisoft Ubisoft Megarom

PARENTAL ADVISORY

18+ gamecca106

Violence Language Sex Drug Use Prejudice

PS4 PLATFORMS

A bit of a poorly timed remaster, Rogue is a great story from the other side.

AWARDS

Platinum Gold Silver Bronze Casual Ed’s Choice

PC X0 PS4 Wii U X360 PS3 PSV 3DS

Score

72 59

E M W A IE G EV R

Bravo Team GAMING

Shot in the head

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Bravo Team

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by Rob Edwards

R just screams for first-person shooting action, doesn’t it?

Actually, no… VR screams out for good first-person shooting, but there tends to be little of that around. Sure, the tech is still in its infancy, and we can forgive that idea. It’s going to take time for games to catch up… but come one, give them some soul, at least.

That’s the biggest problem with Bravo Team, a quasi-rails shooter from Supermassive, who also made Until Dawn.

As a member of a two-man team (yes, this game is best played in co-op) you have to escort a dignitary through hostile territory. The dignitary gets snatched, and it is up to you to get them beck. What follows is a handful of hours of coverbased, restricted movement shooting that never really goes anywhere. Top of the list is the fact that the gun fights are hellishly repetitive and become bland before long, never mind being far too protracted in each instance. Next up is the fact that the game will lull you into a false sense of security, trying to get you to take cover behind things that won’t give you cover. Third, the enemies pop out of cover and back again so fast that they might as well be the parts of some kind of psychotic whack-a-mole game.

Perhaps worst, though, it the fact that of the three controllers you can use (DualShock 4, Move Wands or the Aim controller) the DualShock works best.

Great for including everything, guys, but shouldn’t the controller that feels like a gun deliver the best experience?

Bravo Team has some good ideas, but they’re long from being properly matured.

Hopefully one day there will be a better version. g

AT A GLANCE Action

REVIEWED ON

So much potential squandered – Bravo Team fails to be compelling as a co-op VR shooter.

Developer: Publisher: Distributer:

Supermassive SCEE Ster Kinekor

PARENTAL ADVISORY

16+ gamecca106

Violence Language Sex Drug Use Prejudice

AWARDS

Platinum Gold Silver Bronze Casual Ed’s Choice

PS4 PLATFORMS

GENRE

PC X0 PS4 Wii U X360 PS3 PSV 3DS

Score

40 61

E M W A IE G EV R

Titan Quest GAMING

Back to the classics

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Titan Quest

by Walt Pretorius

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weakness arising from the fact that, unlike Blizzards classic, it didn’t make use of procedural generation for levels. Several replays through Titan Quest will see you visit the same map over and over again. That’s a pretty sad thing, really, except for the fact that the game makes use of a really great character system that sees the player able to make use of a huge number of different character type and offers a ton of look on top of it.

As a new game, this remastered version of Titan Quest does leave a lot to be desired. It feels clunky, from time to time, and the combat isn’t the crazy, action packed brawl that one might expect (in all honesty, it never was.

The graphics, which good, lend themselves to regular aberrations and issues, particularly as far as effects goes, and the transfer of the control scheme from the game’s native PC to console has resulted in a system

GAMING

he current console generation has certainly seen a vast number of remakes. While many of them were late releases for the previous generation, some were actually pretty old titles, given a new lease on life by bringing them to a more modern audience. One such game is Titan Quest, which was first released 12 years ago.

Titan Quest tells the take of a generally nameless adventurer who, in Ancient Greece, takes on the task of fighting off diabolical Titans, released from their prison by what one assumes is a vengeful god. This globe trotting adventure takes players through various exotic locations, in which they smash monsters. A lot.

For those who weren’t immediately thrilled by the prospect of returning to this cult title, Titan Quest could best be described as a Diablo clone, with its biggest

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Titan Quest

that, while effective, does take a bit of getting used to.

To put it plainly, stacking Titan Quest up against a more modern action RPG is an unfair fight – even in its remastered version, Titan Quest will come off second best. But those are largely surface concerns, because there is a lot of offer here that is really great.

As mentioned before, Titan Quest probably has the largest roster of character classes in and action RPG, and the player can trim them up beautifully, thanks to a system that (after level eight) allows the character to use two classes and develop them as requires. Additionally, it delivers a great story, rooted (although sometimes loosely) is Greek mythology. And thirdly, despite its handful of issues, it is still a lot of fun to play, and is a great treat for fans of the original release.

On the whole, this remastered version of Titan Quest

feels rather anachronistic, and rightly so. The game misses many modern ideas, making one wonder if a remake wouldn’t have been a better route to follow than a remaster. It is not a particularly fast paced game and, aside from a few hair-raising moments, the player shouldn’t experience too much by way of extreme challenges. It’s looks are good, but they fall short of the exceptional imagery we see in many games these days. With all of that said, though, there is still a lot to be enjoyed here, even if just arising from the wide variety of character and gear options, and Titan Quest’s remastered version is a lot of fun to play when you get right down to it.

You draw the best out of this one, you’re going to have to be forgiving, though – it’s a classic, but it does feel a little long in the tooth. g

AT A GLANCE GENRE

Action RPG

REVIEWED ON

Developer: Publisher: Distributer:

THQ Nordic THQ Nordic Apex Interactive

PARENTAL ADVISORY

12+ gamecca106

Violence Language Sex Drug Use Prejudice

PS4 PLATFORMS

A welcome revisit to a classic, even if it does feel anachronistic.

AWARDS

Platinum Gold Silver Bronze Casual Ed’s Choice

PC X0 PS4 Wii U X360 PS3 PSV 3DS

Score

70 65

E M W A IE G EV R

Burnout: Paradis GAMING

Another lap, why not?

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Burnout: Paradise City

by Alex Scanlon

se City

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this is about chaos, mayhem and, ultimately, tons of fun. It reminds us of a very different age, and it is more than welcome as an addition to current generation libraries – save for the fact that EA have decided to price it far higher than it should have been.

This game is not a remake or a reboot; this is the original, wrapped up in a lot of 4K goodness. It also comes with all DLC included, which makes it pretty good in terms of value for money and play-time. But most importantly, because of the fact that it isn’t a “rebuilt from the ground up” affair, it retains the spirit of what made it such a fun game in the first place.

Admittedly, there are a lot of complaints about the original when it was first released, with many fans of the franchise feeling that Burnout: Paradise City didn’t really capture the spirit of the previous games but,

GAMING

t seems that the arcade racing genre has evolved into something much more than it was many years ago. The rollicking, crazy fun of arcade racers has bee replaced by something that much more serious, and the unbridled joy of just driving around has been replaced with a feeling of needing to be more realistic. So when a game like Burnout: Paradise City gets a remaster, complete with its former insanity intact, it feels quite fresh, despite being around ten years old.

Burnout: Paradise City is not about accurate simulation, or adjusting setting just so, of getting the precise line through a corner. It is not about emulating real-world experiences, or planning routes, or any of the other pedantic elements that are creeping from simulations into arcade racers there days. No, rather

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Burnout: Paradise City

when compared to the almost too sensitive nature of arcade racers released these days, Burnout: Paradise City still delivers the crazy, car smashing fun that one would want from a game bearing the name.

There are more than a few anachronistic ideas here: there is no fast travel system (you need to drive to every event you want to partake in) and there is no GPS system (you need to rely on indicators and road signs to find the right direction in the massive setting).

But these add to the experience in many ways, rather than detracting it. The spirit of Burnout: Paradise City is chaos and getting lost in a race or having to travel long distances before you get to smash other cars to bits is exactly what you should be doing.

And then there’s the overall experience. Burnout: Paradise City is a white-knuckled, pulse-pounding racer,

with bucket-loads of speed, tons of near misses and, of course, lots and lots of spectacular crashes.

It is a little sad to think that a game that could be considered definitive of a genre on the current platforms is a remastered version of one that is a decade old, but there you have it. In this way, Burnout: Paradise City is almost reminiscent of a time when people took things a lot less seriously when it came to gaming, and whether you’re playing it online of offline, or and using the more traditional cars or less conventional bikes, Burnout: Paradise City is a game that you play for the pure thrill and fun of simply messing around in a massive, highly destructible environment. It’s not about getting the physics right or making the cars look realistic – it is about fun, mayhem and tons of crazy racing action. g

AT A GLANCE Arcade Racing

It might be a remaster, but it serves as a definitive title is a genre that is otherwise getting far to serious.

Developer: Publisher: Distributer:

Criterion Electronic Arts Prima Interactive

PARENTAL ADVISORY

7+ gamecca106

Violence Language Sex Drug Use Prejudice

AWARDS

Platinum Gold Silver Bronze Casual Ed’s Choice

REVIEWED ON

PS4 PLATFORMS

GENRE

PC X0 PS4 Wii U X360 PS3 PSV 3DS

Score

80 69

E M W A IE G EV R

Frantics GAMING

Crazy casual

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Frantics

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by Alex Scanlon

s gamers, we often tend to hold our noses pretty high up in the air when it comes to anything that might even look like it’s maybe even thinking about one day being casual. The idea of casual gaming is anathema to us.

Which is pretty daft, when you get down to it, because there is a lot of fun to be had with casual games.

Sure, Frantics (and many other casual games like it) aren’t the best products that the gaming world has to offer, but when four friends can get together and use their cell phones as controllers to enjoy a zany time for a while, why the hell not?

Frantics is sort of a game show, although an exceptionally off-the-wall one that sees contestants regularly blown up, mangled and otherwise abused as they strive to be the winner. The game show, Fox, is a sneaky bugger that will sometimes offer players secret boosts and the like. The games themselves are generally mad-cap reimaginings of older games, yet they still manage to be a lot of fun. And they often involve explosions, food and rockets strapped to chairs…

No, you’re not going to be playing a lengthy campaign and bragging about head shots here. Instead, you’re going to be taking things a lot less seriously and having many good laughs with friends.

Frantics is not the kind of game you’ll go out of your way to play, but it will be fun when you do play it. And isn’t that what games are meant to be? Fun? Frantics won’t win any prizes, really… it’s not even that original, in all honesty.

But it is great for a group of friends to goof off with. g

AT A GLANCE Party

REVIEWED ON

While not the best, or most original game under the sun, Frantics can deliver lots of crazy fun for groups.

Developer: Publisher: Distributer:

SCEE SCEE Ster Kinekor

PARENTAL ADVISORY

3+ gamecca106

Violence Language Sex Drug Use Prejudice

AWARDS

Platinum Gold Silver Bronze Casual Ed’s Choice

PS4 PLATFORMS

GENRE

PC X0 PS4 Wii U X360 PS3 PSV 3DS

Score

68 71

E M W A IE G EV R

World of Warriors GAMING

A little vapid fun…

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World of Warriors

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by Rob Edwards

orld of Warriors is one of those games… the kind that is a lot of fun while you’re playing them but is pretty much forgotten a few minutes after you set the controller down.

Sure, there is a fair amount to do here, and you can have a lot of fun smashing your way through the varied and often chaotic levels. But the likelihood is that you’ll probably forget all about it as soon as something better comes along.

In this arena brawl style game, players will be able to unlock and use numerous historically inspired, achingly cute little warriors to do their dirty work. Fights can be intense, even though the controls are extremely simple, and added elements like environmental factors add to the fun somewhat. Some of these level-based challenges (read as random events intended to spice up game play) can get a bit much from time to time, devolving what little strategy is needed to play World of Warriors into frenzied button mashing that doesn’t feel like it delivers much accomplishment, but does provide a fair amount of fun.

Not all levels are about beating the tar out of opponents either, and various environmental and level rules can result in a fairly varied experience.

In the end, though, despite having a fair amount of fun with World of Warriors, it will unlikely be one that people spin yarns about. It has little plot, and not much more depth, and serves to be little more than a distraction in the greater scheme of things.

To this end it falls securely in the realms of ‘casual gaming’, and as long as you don’t expect more from it than that, you should be fine. g

AT A GLANCE GENRE

Action

REVIEWED ON

Developer: Publisher: Distributer:

Mind Candy SCEE Ster Kinekor

PARENTAL ADVISORY

7+ gamecca106

Violence Language Sex Drug Use Prejudice

PS4 PLATFORMS

Fun but forgettable, World of Warriors will provide a few hours on entertainment.

AWARDS

Platinum Gold Silver Bronze Casual Ed’s Choice

PC X0 PS4 Wii U X360 PS3 PSV 3DS

Score

60 73

Features 76

PS-ing About

Reviews 82 84 86 88 90

Asus Strix GeForce GTX 1070 Ti Gaming Graphics Card Razer Seiren X Microphone Asus TUF Z370-Pro Gaming Motherboard MSI Vigor GK40 Keyboard Razer Kiyo Broadcast Camera

RegularS 92 96

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Internet Living Digital

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PS-ing

By Iwan Pienaar

TECHNOLOGY

Abou 76

A Look Back at an Iconic Console gamecca106

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aunched in Japan in 1994 (and in the US the following year), the Sony PlayStation (PS) has helped shape the video game console industry we know and love. While it would be easy to say the PS came from humble beginnings and evolved into the behemoth it is today, the truth is Sony was pretty darn big even back then.

The Numbers Game In fact, the PS1 (often referred to by its provisional codename of PSX up until the time when the PSX was actually released in 2003 – see box elsewhere in this article) was the first console to ship 100 million units. According to the official Sony figures, it took nine years and six months to reach that mark.

To contextualise, the PS2 achieved that number within five years and nine months. And even though the PS3 ‘only’ sold just under 84 million in its 11-year life-span (launched in 2006 with Sony stopping production in November last year), it is expected that the PS4 will break the 100 million-mark next year, six years after it rolled off the production line. However, the PS4 must contend with the likes of the Xbox One, the Nintendo Switch, and so on while the PS1 really dominated the market in the first few years after release.

Even though Sony had no experience in consumer gaming at the time it launched the PS1, its popularity and ability to take gaming to a mass audience propelled the brand around the world. With its first foray into the market, Sony Interactive Entertainment (the division responsible for the PS) became a global player.

Why the Success?

TECHNOLOGY

Ironically enough, we have Nintendo to thank for the success of the console.

Much of the origin behind the development of the PS1 could read like a corporate thriller. In 1988, a partnership was formed between Sony and Nintendo where the former would develop a CD-ROM drive for the latter’s Super Famicom console (which

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you know as the Super NES). Sony unveiled the drive inside the console at CES in 1991, dubbing it the Play Station. However, a day after the big reveal, Nintendo said it would instead work with Philips using the same technology citing contractual disputes with Sony.

It is rumoured that this so incensed the Sony president of the time that he committed significant resources to developing the PlayStation project that had one aim - overshadow anything that Nintendo would offer.

The fundamental reason behind the success of the PS1 is a direct result of that CD-ROM developed for Nintendo.

For our younger readers, console games used to be primarily cartridge-based.

These were quite expensive to produce and did not allow for the large files that were required for 3D and full-motion video gaming. However, the Sony technology enabled CDs to use files that combined audio, graphics, and data – the building blocks behind any game.

By the time the PS1 launched, desktop computers were already able to run games off discs and publishers were looking for an opportunity to expand their offerings into the console market.

In its first month of sales in Japan, the PS1 sold more than 300,000 units.

In the US, it pre-sold over 100,000 units by the time it launched there in September 2015. The rest, as they say, is history.

A Next-Generation World Fast forward to the new millennium and the arrival of the PS2 in 2000. It was the first ‘next-generation’ console to be released and hit the ground running capitalising on the popularity of the PS1. The Sega Dreamcast (1998), the Microsoft Xbox (2001), and the Nintendo GameCube (2001) all vied for a share of the now incredibly lucrative console gaming market. Handheld gaming experienced a resurgence as well but that is an article for another time.

The four consoles formed part of the sixth-generation era (roughly 1998 to

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2005). Sony, as expected dominated the period. Returning to the numbers briefly, the PS2 sold 150 million units (as at 2011), the Xbox 24 million (2006), the GameCube 22 million (2010), and the DreamCast 9.13 million (discontinued in 2001). Just for interest sake, the PS2 is the best-selling console in history underlying the competition companies like Microsoft and Nintendo had to contend with.

Late 2005 until November 2012 ushered in the seventh-generation of video games and saw the rise of the Nintendo Wii, The Xbox 360, and, you guessed it, the PS3. All three consoles were launched within a few days of each other and for the first time, Sony started coming under pressure from its rivals. Even though each console offered something unique to the market, it was the Nintendo Wii that ultimately blew the competition away selling more than 101 million units (2015). The Xbox 360 came second at 84.4 million (2014), and the PS3 a distant third at 80 million (2013).

Initial production issues, product shortages, and the delay of launches in Asia, Africa, Europe, South America, and Oceania, resulted in the PS brand losing a bit of its lustre in favour of more ‘fun’ and technology-rich (at least according to perceptions) upstarts. Perhaps more stingingly for Sony, accusations were thrown at the company for resting on its laurels and not taking the competition seriously enough.

Given its initial directive all those years back, it is that last one that likely spurred them into throwing everything into making the PS4 the dominant force it needed to become.

Make or Break

TECHNOLOGY

Some analysts even went as far as saying Sony would lose its relevance if it released another sub-standard console. Well, we’ve entered the eighth-generation now (well, it started at the end of 2012)

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and consoles like the PS4, Wii U (although it recently got dumped in favour of the Switch), and Xbox One are dominating living rooms around the world.

In December, the sales figures of these respective devices show that the status quo has returned. Sony leads the pack with 70 million units, Microsoft trails at a distant 34-odd million, and the Switch is in last place at slightly less than 10 million units but admittedly it has only been in the market for a short time.

So, is the PS4 that much better than rival consoles? Probably not. However, what has made the difference is that Sony has shown that it would be willing to listen to gamers and what they wanted out of the console. The company has also embraced independent developers much more than the restrictive approach it took with the PS3.

While nobody can be sure what the future holds for the PS, even amid rumours that the “PS5” development units have shipped to content creators, the fact that it has been able to recover from significant competitive challenges places it in a strong position for continued growth.

Truth be told, we cannot wait to see how things turn out. Ultimately, all of us will be the winners as the market brings out more innovative devices capable of supporting even more immersive titles. g

What is the PSX? The PSX is a digital video recorder that features an integrated PS2 console.

Seleased in Japan in 2003, its high cost and fact that it did not carry the standard PlayStation branding resulted in Sony discontinuing the device in 2005. And then there was also the small matter of selling the device in eight different retail configurations, confusing customers even more.

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H C EW E T VI E R Asus

Strix GeForce GTX Pretty monster

I

TECHNOLOGY

would love to have been there, on the day that someone walked into a graphics card design studio, sat down (possibly lit a smoke) and said “why the hell do we put everything on the side of a graphics card upside down?” It’s not really relevant to this review… but it must have been a great day. And I thought of it while I was quietly drooling over the Asus Strix GeForce GTX 1070 Ti graphics card.

Aside from everything being the right way up on this card (a great boon for those guys who’s chassis is more glass than case) The Asus Strix GeForce GTX 1070 Ti is an exceptionally pretty graphics card. And it is massive. Long enough to sport three fans and deep enough to cause problems in smaller cases, the Asus Strix GeForce GTX 1070 Ti is a great big package of visual power. Sure, it might not be a 1080, but the difference between the two standards is tough to see with the naked eye.

For a few bucks less, this card does a massive job of chewing through rough graphics tasks.

One of the most striking features here is the exceptional build quality, but that is the result of the only 100% automated production process for GPUs in the industry. This great built quality, combined with beautiful looks and great design, make the Asus Strix

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GeForce GTX 1070 Ti a real winner.

Cooling is provided by way of huge heat sinks, double the number of GPU contact points, and those three fans, which use a proprietary fin design for maximum effect. The card also allows for system fan connection, to engage an even higher degree of cooling control.

And, of course, no graphics card goes without bling these days – the Asus Strix GeForce GTX 1070 Ti features Asus Aura Sync RGB LED synchronisation that allows for full system customisation, down to the finest detail.

With a 1070 chipset and 8GB of RAM under the hood, this card packs a punch – at it will deliver it to one of five monitors, if you like. Two DisplayPorts, 2 HDMI ports and one DVI port (which some brands don’t even use anymore).

The performance of this card is excellent – you’ll be blazing through the visuals in great time, and the excellent fans and heat sinks will keep things cool and quiet.

Of course, one does have to stay fairly conscious of the fact that we’re still siting in a GPU drought, thanks to everyone and their mother wanting to get on the cryptocurrency bandwagon, so this kind of joy doesn’t come cheap.

But it is arguably well worth it none the less. g

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Asus Strix GeForce GTX 1070 Ti Gaming Graphics Card

X 1070 Ti Gaming

Graphics Card

AT A GLANCE:

by Rob Edwards

SUMMARY A massive card with tons of power, the Strix GeForce GTX 1070 Ti Gaming is a powerhouse for visuals.

Ma nuf a c t ure r: D i s t ri but e r: Onl i ne :

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SCORE

95 A s us A s us w w w . a s us . c o m

TECH SPECS • • • • • • •

8GB GDDR5 1070 Chipset 2 DisplayPort 2 HMDI ports 1 DVI port MaxContact technology

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H C EW E T VI E R Razer

Seiren X

TECHNOLOGY

Smaller sound master

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Microphone

Razer Seiren X Microphone

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by Walt Pretorius

AT A GLANCE: SUMMARY

TECH SPECS

A simpler version of the Seiren, great for most but maybe not enough for all…

Ma nuf a c t ure r: D i s t ri but e r: Onl i ne :

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• • • • • • •

Condenser mic Super-cardioid pattern Headphone amplifier

SCORE

Razer A pe x I nt e ra c t i v e w w w . a pe xi nt . c o . z a

AWARDS

few years back – I forget how many – Razer started getting into the whole broadcasting deal. While some of their initial offerings were a little hit and miss, one particular device really stood out as a top-notch item, a must-have for those who took their broadcasting seriously… the Razer Seiren Pro. In fact, the Seiren Pro went beyond broadcasting – it was a multi-function microphone that could take care of any audio task you put before it, complete with varied pickup patters, integrated volume, pop-screens and a suspension rig (the latter two sold separately, of course). Although it was big and clunky, it was the real deal.

Fast forward a few years, and Razer have delivered a newer Seiren, called the Seiren X. It is a great device, but I, for one, do think that it is a step backwards for the line, simply because it is… well, simpler.

First off, the pick-up pattern. Where the original has several pickup patterns to choose from, the Seiren X makes use of only a super-cardioid pattern. Yes, it is the best for noise cancellation and a clear tone, but the original Seiren Pro had that, and more. It allowed for various patterns, based on what the user needed – never know when you might need to do an interview, right?

Next up, the stand. The original had a suspension stand that allowed for a great degree of tilt, while the X looks a bit like an old-fashioned joystick, with limited motion. Once again, perfect for someone at a desk, but lacking in overall versatility.

The one thing that the Seiren X does have going for it is its size – it’s much friendlier than the frankly enormous original, and it weighs a lot less, too. It is, as a result, a lot easier to work with, and its smaller dimensions mean that it takes up far less valuable desk real estate.

Not it might sound like the Seiren X is worse than the original Seiren Pro – that’s not the case. I personally prefer the older model for it’s versatility, but the truth is that this particular microphone delivers excellent audio reproduction, despite being considerably smaller. And while it might nit have all the added extras, it certainly gets the job done really well.

The weakens point here is the stand. It simply doesn’t feel like you can do much with the mic’s position but, with the right conditions, you won’t run into any problems.

Razer’s quest to produce great quality broadcasting equipment continues, and the friendly, easy-to-use Seiren X is a great addition (unless you prefer the old school clunk). You certainly won’t go wrong with it. g

Platinum Gold Silver Bronze Ed’s Choice

86 85

H C EW E T VI E R Asus

TUF Z370-Pro Ga

TECHNOLOGY

Built Asus tough…

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Motherboard

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A tough, responsive board with a unique look, the TUF Z370-Pro Gaming is a solid work horse.

AWARDS

AT A GLANCE:

SUMMARY

Platinum Gold Silver Bronze Ed’s Choice

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aimed at industry, though – this is a gaming thoroughbred through and through. It is, essentially, all about two factors – speed and toughness. The speed comes by way of increased RAM performance, multi-GPU support and one click overclocking. The toughness (arguably a more important factor, particularly considering the ease at which the TUF Z370-Pro Gaming can be overclocked with) comes in the form of reinforced PCIe ports, ESD guards, and high grade TUF components.

Combine all of these factors, and you have a motherboard with tons of capability and a pretty unique look. The TUF stands out in the crowd in a number of ways.

TUF boards may not be as recognisable as the ROG boards that Asus also produces, but that shouldn’t dissuade you from taking a long hard look at one. These motherboards are workhorses, the earth movers of Asus’ stable, and they deliver the goods beautifully. They are built for tough performance, and the TUF Z370-Pro Gaming is no different.

It terms of performance, reliability and ease-of-use, it really is a great performer. The only real issue here – and it is hardly an issue at all – are the looks. It is a striking board, but the orange accents might not work for everyone My bet, though, is that if you put the TUF Z370-Pro Gaming through its paces, the colour will be the last thing on your mind. g

SCORE

92

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A s us A s us w w w . a s us . c o m

TECH SPECS • • • • • • • • •

Z370 Chipset Onboard M.2 SafeSlot Asus OptimMem TUF LANGuard

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by Rob Edwards

sus have long been a great component manufacturer, delivering a range of products in a number of distinctive groupings. One such group if the TUF range and, quite frankly, they’re great. Even though the TUF bit of the name stands for “The Ultimate Force”, the truth is that these motherboards are a tough as their name implies. And they look pretty damn good, too.

Going into all the nitty-gritty is almost pointless these days, because the vast majority of motherboards are very similar under the hoods these days, in their various weight classes. It really comes down to the added extras, and even these can be pretty similar. That doesn’t make them any less impressive.

Audio, for example, is delivered by way of shielded signals, with dedicated channel layouts and covers ensuring optimum audio performance. It’s the small things, really, that make a motherboard stand out these days.

One slightly unusual direction taken by the TUF Z370-Pro Gaming is the accent lighting.

Like virtually any other board these days, the user can activate lighting on the TUF Z370-Pro Gaming, but it only comes in orange. Not everyone’s favourite colour. That said, it ties into the quasi-construction equipment thing that the TUF Z370-Pro Gaming has going on, complete with orange accents, hard likes and lots of black.

The TUF Z370-Pro Gaming isn’t

Asus TUF Z370-Pro Gaming Motherboard

aming

H C EW E T VI E R MSI

Vigor GK40

Gaming Keybo

Run-of-the-mill

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t seems, more often than not these days, that the ordinary is turned into the extraordinary through blinking lights and flashy packaging. What gets to me in these cases is that the things that are made extraordinary, despite their ordinary nature, don’t really need to be made more than what they are. It is a blessing and a curse of modern society, really, but sometimes it gets a little much to have to deal with the “New! Improved!” attitude when things aren’t.

Take, for example, MSI’s Vigor GK40 keyboard. It is a decent keyboard, one that will more than suffice when it comes to getting the job done. But, quite frankly, the marketing that goes into the box tries to achieve a level higher than what it really is. So instead of actually buying the “water resistant” perk emblazoned on the box (because, let’s be honest,

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every keyboard has been water resistant for a very long time) lets get down to what is really important here. The basics.

The Vigor GK40 is very basic, in fact. In truth, it is very little more than a standard keyboard; it has a membrane system that has a mechanical feel, which really is its most modern technology. For the rest, it is competent and effective, but is nothing that will blow your mind.

With that said, within its field for MSI keyboards, it does have a few ideas that are new. For example, the backlighting is now multicoloured. Sure, it doesn’t allow for zones and the like, but it does a great job in getting some customisation ij order.

It also offers the expected multimedia keys, as well as anti-ghosting and other smaller, pretty standard features. It also has an integrated wrist rest, and has

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MSI Vigor GK40 Keyboard

oard

by Rob Edwards

AT A GLANCE: SUMMARY

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There really is nothing special here – it is a straight forward, dependable keyboard, with nothing more.

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Multimedia keys Water resistant RGB backlighting Anti-ghosting Integrated wrist rest

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a gaming mode to avoid those annoying those terrible slips with the Win key.

It’s a fairly pretty keyboard, when all is said and done, with a decent look and a solid look that does the job, but it never goes exceptionally over the top in any aesthetic contests. I guess is really comes down to the fact that, unlike certain peripheral manufacturers, MSI’s stock-in-trade has little to do with peripherals.

They’re a nice-to-have, rather than bread-and-butter.

If you’re a MSI fan (and there are several reasons to be one) and you want a dependable keyboard that won’t try to rotate your tyres, then the Vigor GK40 does the job. It’s no frills, no fuss. If, however, you want something that has a little more pizzazz, it likely won’t do much for you. It’s a work-horse, not a sports car, and while it will most certainly give you what you need, it might not meet up to what you want. g

Platinum Gold Silver Bronze Ed’s Choice

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H C EW E T VI E R Razer

Kiyo

Broadcast Camera

Light! Camera! Streaming!

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hese days, everyone and their dog has a streaming channel. The fantasy of becoming rich and famous for playing games is a live and well, eve though many people who take to the “air” with streaming services don’t really have much place to be there doing it.

One of the biggest problems is decent equipment.

You can be the best gamer in the world, but if your sound and visuals are bad, you’re going to look awful, and unprofessional.

Razer have, for a while now, been producing equipment to use with live video streaming, and their latest crop of products makes a lot of sense. One of those items is the Kiyo camera, a slightly biggerthan-expected web camera with an integrated light ring and a 60 frame per second 720p video.

The Kiyo takes care of the hard work. It makes sure

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that there is enough light (which can, as mentioned before, be adjusted) and it captures pretty decent footage (even though they do try to imply that 720p is HD on the box).

It’s quite versatile, too. The Z hinging on the base means that the camera can get into almost any position.

Almost – there are a few permutations that don’t work out to so well, but we really doubt that these would be commonly used set-ups. It can even be safely balanced on top of a monitor, so there really are very few places the Kiyo won’t be comfortable.

Once the Kiyo is in position, it is pretty stable. The 1.5m braided cable won’t budge the camera with a bump, which is god news, and the generously padded rubber foot is extremely stable and secure, thanks to its round shape. The base also has a tripod mounting spot, for even more versatility.

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Razer Kiyo Broadcast Camera

by Alex Scanlon

AT A GLANCE: SUMMARY

TECH SPECS

A versatile and effective camera for all of those that fancy themselves the next big name in online broadcasting.

Ma nuf a c t ure r: D i s t ri but e r: Onl i ne :

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• • • • • • •

720p 60fps 100p 30fps Integrated light ring 1.5m cable Video & still

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The Kiyo works with XSplit and Open Broadcaster Software (and presumably a few others) to get the job done, and can also produce still images as a resolution of 2688x1520. It can also capture 1080p video, although only at a frame rate of 30fps (which, arguably, should be fine – if you’re streaming from your desk, you’re hardly going to be moving that quickly of smoothly anyway.)

The real winner here, though, is that fantastic light ring. Sure, it cannot create every lighting condition, but it is adjustable for brightness, and the fact that it has a light at all is a blessing. For streaming (or even vlogging, if anyone does that anymore) the Kiyo is a reliable, no-mess no-fuss solution that will capture great video. The content… you’ll need to worry about being entertaining, compelling and interesting. The Kiyo will take care of all of the rest. g

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Decryption or Deception TECHNOLOGY

The latest data scandal

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by Suvesh Arumugam

million users, but it makes sense based

article on machine learning and AI,

on the connected nature of social media.

but I decided at the last minute

From the 270,000 who downloaded and

to shelf that idea when news of the

used the app. they extracted data on their

Cambridge Analytica / Facebook scandal

family and friends. If you’ve ever played

broke. Don’t worry, you’ll probably get

the six degrees of Kevin Bacon game, it

that article next month (if my views don’t

makes sense how they got to 50 million.

change).

It’s not absolutely clear whether Kogan

In case you’ve been living on Mars

and Chancellor intended to sell the

(which is not yet supposed to be possible,

data right from the start. However, it is

so good on you) Facebook got into heaps

certainly what happened. One might say

of trouble recently when it was discovered

that clear evidence of this is the fact

that a British consulting firm, Cambridge

they’re the company that they we co-

Analytica, had extracted the personal data

directors of, Global Science Research, was

of over 50 million Facebook users and had

nothing more than a glorified answering

used this data to influence key political

machine in London. During the time that

decisions like the Trump election and the Brexit campaign.

followed, GSR got many

Undercover reporter brings back scathing evidence...

The firm is

users to download their app (and paid some too), which allowed them to harvest data from the users and their

backed by rich American conservatives and seems to be part of a surreptitious

networks.

The data was then passed (probably

group of companies called the SCL Group.

sold in some elaborate fashion) to

As clandestine as their methods appear

Cambridge Analytica, who started using

to be, the companies in the group openly

it on Ted Cruz’s presidential campaign,

advertise their services as data mining,

who paid the firm in excess of $11 million

data brokerage and strategic electoral

dollars. Once Cruz dropped out of the

communication. “So, they basically use

race, the firm went to work for the Trump

big data to fix elections” you are probably

campaign, who spent several million

thinking. Well, you wouldn’t be wrong.

dollars on advertising based on their

The tale of how we got here is a long

insights. Investigations now reveal that

one, and it starts way back in 2015 when

there could be links between Cambridge

Cambridge researcher Aleksandr Kogan

Analytica and the Russian election

approached Facebook for permission

tampering effort. They also went on to get

to access its API for an app called

involved in targeting ads during the Brexit

“thisisyourdigitallife”. The app was meant

campaign to influence the vote.

to be for research purposes, and was

It seemed like a data miner’s paradise,

basically a multiple-choice personality

until Channel 4 news sent a reporter

app, which was downloaded by about

undercover to verify the suspicions that

270,000 users. It’s a bit unclear how

the firm was being duplicitous about their

Kogan and his partner Joseph Chancellor

sources of information - especially how it

(who still works for Facebook) managed

was obtained. Their undercover reporter

to extrapolate personal information for 50

brought back scathing evidence

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Decryption or Deception

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was going to write a comprehensive

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that Cambridge Analytica were selling an

otherwise. They’ve also done little to

election rigging service and were offering

convince the public that they will prioritise

to do more than just give insights. Their

privacy concerns of users over the

CEO, Alexander Nix, was offering targeted

monetary concerns of advertisers.

smear campaigns and the dirtiest of digital tricks to influence election outcomes.

Facebook also did not alert users to the breach of the data, even though it’s

The investigation was as a result of

becoming clear that they were aware of it

revelations and evidence provided by

as early as 2015, long before the scandal

Christopher Wylie, a former Director of

broke. It starting to sound less and less

Research at Cambridge Analytica.

crazy that Facebook could be used to

The result - complete and utter

influence elections and public sentiment

meltdown! Facebook lost over $60 billion

to serve private interests. After all, it was

in net value as their share price dropped

Facebook themselves that bragged (in

(with founder Mark Zuckerberg suffering

leaked documents) that they had the ability

a personal loss of $5 billion). It also

to predict user behaviour and emotions

led to a massive backlash against the

based on their personal information and

platform, with even the co-founder of

online habits.

What’s really upset people is that

“The result - complete and utter meltdown! ”

Facebook have consistently denied that this type of abuse of personal data was possible, even though pressure is rising for them to take this issue more seriously.

Aside from delayed knee-jerk reactions

WhatsApp, Brian Acton, calling for people

(like suspending accounts and fake news

to #DeleteFacebook. Pretty ironic after

committees), Facebook have been broadly

Facebook bought WhatsApp for $22 billion

reluctant to tamper with their advertising

not so long ago.

business models - which is to provide

Now it’s a game of blame-shifting, with Facebook accusing GSR of breaching their terms, and Cambridge Analytica of illegally

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(regardless of their intentions).

While 84% in a recent survey said

possessing the data. Obviously, CA and

they were very concerned about how

GSR say they are within Facebook’s

their private data was being handled by

guidelines, so they are not the problem.

Facebook, less than 50% were willing to

However, there are going to be several

delete their accounts or use the platform

critical investigations by US and UK

less. Even with high profile personalities

government agencies in the coming

like Elon Musk and comedian Will Ferrell

months.

deleting their Facebook accounts, there

However most of the negative sentiment

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granular personal profiles to advertisers

is no indication that the platform will lose

has been directed at Facebook, and it’s

any significant traction in the social media

clear why. Facebook have consistently

space. So, the next time you pick up a

denied that they were responsible for fake

newspaper and ask yourself “How could

news influencing the outcome of the US

this have happened?” or “How on earth did

presidential election, though more and

this guy get elected?”, Facebook probably

more evidence seems to be indicating

knows the answer. g

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What Privacy?

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Online privacy may not be what you think it is…

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Sharing is caring Be very careful when you post any scans and photos online, especially

By Iwan Pienaar

when it comes to IDs, tickets, and billing documents. It’s also a bad idea to share information about your whereabouts and traveling schedule online. Criminals can use this information to find out, when you are away from home and rob you, or steal your personal data, like banking credentials. Even though it’s nice to ‘check in’ to a place, it is safer for you in the long run not to.

Another thing we have continuously preached on these pages is to never ever use an open WiFi network. Sure, in a country where mobile data costs a pretty penny, we cannot really blame people for hopping on to the closest hotspot. So, if you must access such a network, avoid logging in to your online banking app, buying anything online, or submitting any forms containing sensitive personal information.

A good general security tip is to avoid unreliable passwords. If you use weak combinations, which consist of letters only, you are not protected at all. And it’s not hard to remember reliable passwords with ease. Moreover, if you don’t want to mess around, just use a special app like LastPass or the like to securely store all your passwords.

Remember, online stores use your information to tailor their ads and product recommendations to suit your preferences. They track your online activities to be more successful (of course, all these processes are automated). But if you don’t want to have such a customised experience, rather open a private browsing window.

Just a virus away Computer viruses are one of the oldest forms of malicious software.

And while anti-virus and internet security software can protect us to a

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certain extent, we should never stop worrying about getting infected.

Always make sure you are running the latest version of your operating system and cyber security tools.

Ensure patches are downloaded and installed as soon as they become available to minimise the potential risk of infection.

It’s also important to avoid doing things that could put your computer or mobile device at risk. Examples include opening unsolicited email attachments, visiting unknown Web sites or downloading software from untrustworthy sources or peer-to-peer file transfer networks.

To ensure that the entire family understands the risks, these procedures should be taught to everyone, and children should have their internet use monitored to ensure they aren’t visiting dodgy sites or downloading random files that can be dangerous.

Not having security software installed that can actively scan your computer or mobile device is really an act of folly. And while there are many good free anti-virus solutions available on the internet, they are not comparable to the paidfor products. You can always ‘try before you buy’ and download a trail version of the software to see it in action.

Even though protecting your personal privacy can be done using these solutions, always remember that you are ultimately the last port of call when it comes to sharing data. If an app wants to access information that it really doesn’t need to or if a social network wants certain privacy settings disabled to work properly, rethink your options.

Your personal security is much more important than simply just happily sharing away. g

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What Privacy?

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ast month was certainly not a very good one for social networking giant Facebook.

When news broke that Londonbased data mining and analytics firm Cambridge Analytica misused data from as many as 50 million Facebook users to potentially influence the 2016 US election, people were understandably upset.

Even though the firm denies any wrongdoing (it would wouldn’t it), the news placed the spotlight on the information Facebook collects from us, what it is being used for, and why we don’t really seem to have a say in it. Such has been the impact of the public relations disaster, that a certain Mr Zuckerberg placed full page advertisements in several leading publications apologising for its lack of [user data] protection.

Let’s assume data whatever we do or say online will likely be shared or distributed in some way, shape, or form. Well, that’s what we’re supposed to assume isn’t it? Perhaps, more importantly, let’s assume that the information we share with the likes of Google, Facebook, Spotify, and so on are sold to advertisers and third-parties for revenue opportunities. Remember that classic saying ‘if you’re not paying for it, you’re the product’?

Well, that is true in the digital age.

At a time when many online services are offered free of charge, can we really be annoyed when those companies use our information to make money and, per implication, keep said product free for us?

Notwithstanding the arguments for and against, let’s rather look at what can be done to protect our privacy online.

Movies 100

Avengers: Infinity War

COMICS 110 112 114 116

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Oblivion Song #1 Spy Seal Volume 1 – The CortenSteel Phoenix Star Wars - Thrawn #1 Taarna #1

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With Avengers: Infinity War, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is set to alter forever gamecca

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By Noelle Adams

e is g...

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nfinity War has been a long time coming. In fact, it’s been 10 years since Samuel L. Jackson’s

Nick Fury showed up during a post-credits sequence in 2008’s Iron Man and invited Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) to join the Avengers Initiative. This sets the stage for a shared Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) full of interacting comic book heroes. At the end of this month, though, the MCU begins the process of changing forever, as Phase 3 of this superheroic movie

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series starts drawing to a close.

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Avengers: Infinity War is the third Avengers team-up, following Marvel’s. The Avengers in 2012 and sequel Avengers: Age of Ultron in 2015. Infinity War is bigger than ever, promising appearances by every hero in the MCU, as well as an epic storyline split over two movies.

Replacing Avengers 1 and 2 director Joss Whedon for Infinity War are Anthony and Joe Russo. The brothers proved they could successfully wrangle a huge superhero cast with Captain America: Civil War, which is essentially a third unofficial Avengers movie. They also helmed Captain America: Winter Soldier, which is regarded as one of the high points in the MCU. In Avengers: Infinity War, galactic overlord Thanos (Josh Brolin) finally arrives himself on Earth to claim the final Infinity Stones for a gauntlet that will allow him to bend existence to his will.

Although divided after Civil War, Marvel’s heroes will have to work together to stop him.

The star-studded hero roster for Infinity War is as follows: Iron Man/Tony Stark, Captain America/Steve Rogers (played by Chris Evans), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), the Hulk/Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo), Black Panther/T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman), Black Widow/Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson), Hawkeye/Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner), Ant-Man/Scott Lang (Paul Rudd), Falcon/Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie), Winter Soldier/Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), War Machine/James Rhodes (Don Cheadle), Vision (Paul Bettany), Scarlet Witch/Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen), Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) and Spider-Man/ Peter Parker (Tom Holland).

These heroes are also joined by the

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Guardians of the Galaxy, whose members Gamora (Zoe Saldana) and Drax (Dave Bautista) have personal reasons to confront Thanos. Of course, the Guardians also include Star-Lord/Peter Quill (Chris Pratt), Rocket (voiced by Bradley Cooper), Groot (voiced by Vin Diesel) and new member Mantis (Pom Klementieff).

This list isn’t even exhaustive as audiences can expect multiple other MCU supporting characters to appear as well, such as Thor’s treacherous brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston) and much of the cast of Black Panther. Trailers have revealed that at least one Infinity War battle occurs in Wakanda.

There are rumours are that at least a couple of Avengers will die in Infinity War – or its follow-up next year. Hot contenders are Vision, Iron Man and Captain America. In the case of the latter, it’s expected either Winter Soldier or Falcon would become the new Captain America, in keeping with comic lore.

As for what’s next after the two-part Infinity War storyline concludes, nothing has officially been confirmed by MarvelDisney yet. That said, audiences should expect Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.3 and sequels to Spider-Man, Doctor Strange and Black Panther. And in-between Infinity War and its unnamed second part, there will be two other superhero films, AntMan and the Wasp – out on 6 July this year – and Captain Marvel – releasing 8 March 2019. Starring Brie Larson, Captain Marvel is the first MCU solo film with a woman lead.

Anyway, Avengers: Infinity War opens in South Africa on 27 April (the same as North America), and it will be screening primarily in 3D and 3D IMAX. Part 2 is set for release next year, on 3 May 2019.

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WHO AND WHERE?

LIFESTYLE

Avengers: Infinity War has a huge cast, and is preceded by 18 other movies, so it’s easy to lose track of who all the characters are – and, more importantly, where they are in the massive universe. Here’s a very short recap: The most important thing to know is that secret government organisation S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Avengers Initiative are no more. Because of infiltration by sinister organisation Hydra, S.H.I.E.L.D. was disbanded at the end of Captain America: Winter Soldier, while the Avengers fell apart during Captain America: Civil War when the heroes clashed over their different attitudes to accountability. This means there is no longer any united force to defend the world against Thanos.

Iron Man has moved out of New York City, selling off Stark/Avengers Tower and is setting up a new secret Avengers facility for the members who remain. These include Vision and Scarlet Witch. Superheroes still based in New York City are Doctor Strange and Spider-Man. Black Panther is consumed with his new role as king of Wakanda, and carefully revealing his country’s capabilities to the world. Hidden within Wakanda, meanwhile, is a recovering Winter Soldier, while Captain America, Black Widow, Falcon, Hawkeye and Ant-Man are all lying low as fugitives after they defied government authorities in Civil War (and busted out of prison).

At the same time, Thor and the Hulk are off-world, piloting a spacecraft that contains refugees from Asgard. The newly reunited Guardians of the Galaxy are also roaming space in the aftermath of the events on Ego’s planet.

Soon, though, all these heroes will be forced to band together to battle the Universe’s greatest ever threat.

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WHAT ARE THE INFINITY STONES? Over the course of 18 movies in the MCU, uber-villain Thanos has been on a quest to collect six gems known as the Infinity Stones. But what are they, and where have audiences seen them before now?

The Infinity Stones have been described as compressed singularities that predate the Big Bang. They are exceptionally powerful – with abilities that range from controlling time to creating life and teleportation – and they can only be wielded by similarly powerful beings. All but one gem, the orange Soul Stone, have been identified in the MCU.

The blue Space Stone: Housed in Captain America’s Tesseract, this gem was used to power Hydra’s WWII era technology, as well as open wormholes in The Avengers. In Thor: Ragnarok, Loki seized it before evacuating Asgard.

The yellow Mind Stone:

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Initially contained in Loki’s mind-manipulating sceptre, it was later used to bring computer programs Ultron and Vision to life. Currently the stone sits in Vision’s forehead.

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The red Reality Stone: In liquid form for a large part of its history, this destructive, dark matter-conjuring stone was known as the Aether when Asgardian enemy Malekith used it in Thor: The Dark World. The Collector currently possesses it.

The purple Power Stone: This gem can destroy entire civilisations and was used by villain Ronan the Accuser in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1. After Star-Lord and his friends collectively wielded it, it passed to Nova Corps for safekeeping.

The green Time Stone: This gem is housed inside a magical artefact known as the Eye of Agamotto. Only very skilled sorcerers, like its current caretaker Stephen Strange, can use it without getting stuck in a time loop.

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Title: Writer: Artist: Publisher: Rated:

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GET GRAPHIC Oblivion Song #1 Robert Kirkman Lorenzo De Felici Image Teen +

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by Clive Burmeister

Robert Kirkman has become about the closest thing to a modern day Stan Lee that the comic Industry has (in my opinion), in that every project he works on seems to be great, his stories have found their way onto the screen giving comics a great exposure to the nongeek viewers, his character design and story settings are detailed and thought provoking, and he always manages to give you a feeling of being personally involved with his narrative. So it’s of no surprise that when Kirkman drops a new book, everyone is hyped. Will this be the next Outcast, or Invincible, or Walking Dead? I can’t tell you if Oblivion Song will get that kind of following, or whether it will be picked up as the next big TV phenomenon.

But I can honestly say that it is good.

Really good. Like, can’t stop reading, kind of good.

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Title:

Spy Seal Volume 1 – The Corten-Steel Phoenix

Writer:

Rich Tommaso

Artist:

Rich Tommaso

Publisher: Rated:

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GET GRAPHIC Image Teen

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by Clive Burmeister

It’s a new era in espionage adventure comics, and while a lot of projects take the serious hardboiled crime series route, this witty and wry fast paced tale sneaks by to the top.

Take a traditional comic adventure, like Tintin, keep the fluid action and intrigue that Tintin stories are famous for, throw in some secret agent conspiracy that you would expect to find in a good James Bond movie, oh, and a little tongue-incheek humour from the talking animals, and you get Spy Seal. This book is thoroughly enjoyable, from our hero’s humble beginnings as an out of work but loyal friend, to the naturally talented spy he becomes as he gets entangled in the web of mystery involving soviet plots, shady art dealers, and a crime spree masterminded by three masked bunnies.

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Title: Writer: Artist: Publisher: Rated:

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GET GRAPHIC Star Wars - Thrawn #1 Jody Houser Luke Ross Marvel Teen

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by Clive Burmeister

Any old school Star Wars fan is quite aware of the magnificent Heir to the Empire novel trilogy by Timothy Zahn which was generally considered as canon after the original movies, when the Star Wars franchise was largely being kept alive by its fandom, but became non-canon in 2014 when Lucasfilm continued with the franchise. The character remained a popular one however, so in 2017 Zahn released a new Novel titled simply “Thrawn� which detailed the origin of the character, to coincide with its use in the animated TV series: Star Wars Rebels. The Thrawn comic sees that origin novel being adapted into comic form, giving it the fresh visual spin of the comic genre, while still appealing to the nostalgia of the older Star Wars and Zahn fans.

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GET GRAPHIC Taarna #1 Alex De Campi Esau & Isaac Escorza Heavy Metal Mature

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by Clive Burmeister

The city of Aghartta has survived centuries of constant threat, from natural disasters to rampaging hordes, but now in 2507, a force that may not be able to be overcome assails the people.

Demons besiege their city. Food is scarce, and adults of fighting age are sent out in relentless assaults to keep back the demon tides. Conscription is mandatory. It seems there is no hope, no help that can change the drudgery that life has become.

But when two conscription dodgers discover a stranger in their city, events begin to unfold that will change Aghartta’s fate, and reveal the dark truth at its heart.

Taarna, like many Heavy Metal stories, is captivatingly written, with edgy and sexy artwork, brought together into a seamless and exhilarating ride.

Contains nudity, so not for kids.

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By wALT Pretorius

Chicken Dinner...

O

Last word

K, I am going to sound like a grumpy old man for a bit, because I am going to be one. I have found a new pet hate online… PUBG players. There are a lot of them, so I am quite certain that not everyone deserves my enmity, but the vocal ones do.

I am not talking about the ongoing rivalry between PUBG and Fortnite, either.

That is a ridiculous bun fight if you consider the world we live in, but I am not going to go there. Of all the important – or even slightly interesting – things that can be discussed, that particular debate doesn’t even make it onto the outer edges of my radar. That just a pair of games could create such tension and heated debate when the rest of the world is in such a shambles beggars belief.

But no, I am not going to talk about that. Neither am I going to talk about how selfaggrandising PUBG players can be. My Facebook feed is crammed full of people that simply have to let me and the rest of the world know how awesome they are at a game. They might well be an unemployed virgin living in

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their parents’ basement, but man, who cares, they rock at PUBG. Neither does the endless whining about a game that is essentially given to these people for free feature here.

Talk about self-entitled! But no, the fact that they have the audacity to criticise the hard work of others while they sit around eating cheese puffs and scratching lint out of various crevices of their woefully out-of-shape physique is not what is bothering me either at the moment.

It’s the “Winner winner, chicken dinner” thing.

It doesn’t bother me that it exists. I like the fact that the makers of PUBG have included it. I see the humour. I see the homage. I know that it didn’t start here.

Here’s a little education: in Las Vegas, for many, many, many years, when a black jack croupier dealt someone a winning hand, they would say “winner winner, chicken dinner.” It was high-roller slang, a cool thing that people who understood the deep strategies of black jack would come to identify as a great set of words to hear.

“Winner winner, chicken

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dinner” was around long before PUBG, and it was probably around long before a great number of the players were born. But it has been co-opted to such a degree that it has now become synonymous with the game.

And I am fine with that, really I am. What I am not fine with, though, is that those players bragging about how many chicken dinners they got (already showing a compromised set of mental tools) don’t know where it came from.

It is just another step on a long road, I guess: songs being taken over by new, far less talented artists, with little or no credit for those that first composed them.

Sub-standard movie reboots trampling on the excellence of what came before. And now this.

And no, it’s not because I am getting older. It’s that the world is getting faster, less patient, and infinitely more stupid. It is simply easier – less work – to accept everything at face value and move on to doing whatever it is that you want, than to put just a modicum of effort into anything. No wonder we have the planet we have now. g