Issue 217 September 2018
www.gamesradar.com/oxm
Battlefield V halo infinite
■ ■
assassin’s creed
how microsoft won E3 2018 ■ massive E3 round-up
Next-gen console revealed ■ Over 50 new Xbox games previewed The Division 2
gears of war 5
Forza Horizon 4
PLUS: metro exodus ■ cyberpunk 2077 ■ elder scrolls VI just cause 4 ■ black ops IIII ■ beyond good & evil 2 ■ hitman 2
Chris Burke Editor Excited by the prospect of his trip to Texas to get hands-on with an up-and-coming Xbox title, Chris went out and bought a cowboy hat. We think he may have gone too far.
T h e
Halo, what have we got here then? It’s only Master Chief, coming back for Halo Infinite. Microsoft’s E3 conference in LA has given us this and so much more to get excited about. There’s talk of a next-gen console, and a record 50-plus new games showcased, including new Gears, Forza, Fallout 76, Cyberpunk 2077… actually, I won’t go on. Because this month, starting with our news section from page 8, and continuing with a massive preview from page 20, we bring you all the news and info coming out of E3. If a conference could be ‘won’, Xbox was clearly the winner—it was Microsoft’s best conference for ages. Keep an eye out for more in-depth coverage of all these games in future issues of OXM too, as we get more insight and details, and grab ourselves exclusive hands-on time with the best forthcoming Xbox titles! Enjoy!
O X M
Daniella Lucas Deputy editor Dani has been furiously house-hunting this month. If she doesn’t find a place soon, she’ll have to live in the cupboards at OXM Towers. Handy for work…
t e a m
Adam Bryant Staff writer Adam has been working tirelessly round the clock to send back info and impressions from all the games at E3. He probably hasn’t slept, or eaten. Sorry, Adam’s mom.
004 the official xbox magazine
ISSUE 217 september 2018 Editorial Editor Chris Burke burkey13a chris.burke@futurenet.com Senior Art Editor Warren Brown wozbrown Deputy Editor Daniella Lucas CelShadedDreams Production Editor Russell Lewin FloatedRelic264 Staff Writer Adam Bryant Firebreedpunk Our Man Down Under Paul Taylor Paulus McT
It’s official: Xbox won E3
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Warren Brown Senior art editor This month Woz went back in time to the 1990s to review the Sega Genesis Collection, and came back raving about ‘blast-processing’ and ‘shmups’. Word.
Russell Lewin Production editor OXM‘s film buff told us in detail about all the movies he’s been to see this month. Apparently, Jurassic World “has dinosaurs in it” and is “alright”.
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Chief executive Zillah Byng-Thorne Non-executive chairman Richard Huntingford Chief financial officer Penny Ladkin-Brand Tel +44 (0)1225 442 244
STA RT
contents Everything you can look forward to over the next 100 or so pages
insider 008 e3 News: The future of xbox 012 xbox adaptive controller 014 the big picture: dead cells 016 jedi: fallen order 018 opinions
e3 games 022 gears of war 5 024 halo infinite 026 crackdown 3 027 the division 2 028 forza horizon 4 030 skull and bones 031 just cause 4 032 hitman 2 033 devil may cry 5 034 fallout 76 035 elder scrolls Vi 036 black ops iiii 038 dying light 2 039 sekiro: shadows die twice 040 rage 2
008
subscribe now on page 078
024 006 the official xbox magazine
041 assassin’s creed odyssey 042 madden nfl 19 043 nba live 19 044 cyberpunk 2077 046 ori and the will of the wisps 047 beyond good & evil 2 048 kingdom hearts 3 050 resident evil 2 051 anthem 052 battlefield v 054 tunic 055 round-up 056 metro exodus
reviews 064 state of decay 2 068 onrush 069 sega genesis classics 070 dark souls remastered 072 moonlighter 074 ao international tennis 076 vampyr
056 088 094
extra 082 Now Playing: splinter cell conviction 084 far cry 5 085 minecraft aquatic update 086 how to… share a controller 088 retrospective: rage 092 wHY i love… 4K xbox 360 games 094 10 best xbox hikes 098 disc Slot: samuel brayley
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E3
2018
insider
Xbox Two
The future of Xbox Microsoft is already working on the next generation of consoles ahead of anyone else
Stage show Leading the parade of all things Xbox at the show was executive vice president of gaming Phil Spencer. He was given the new position earlier this year where he’s now directing hardware as well as software and pushing the focus on games within Microsoft’s wider business. It shows the company is making gaming one of its most important areas.
What a show. This year’s E3 was absolutely phenomenal, and leading the pack was Microsoft, championing 50-plus games, including 18 exclusives and 15 world premieres on their stage. There were so many games announced it was a struggle to fit them all in the mag, but it all goes to show just how bright the future of Xbox is looking. There was a real sense of excitement when leaving the show, and a feeling of all gamers sharing in that together. We’ve got Gears 5 and Forza Horizon 4 to look forward to in the coming months, but what has us most excited is what’s in store even further in the future. It was only mentioned very briefly, but Microsoft is already hard at work on the next generation of consoles. “The same team that delivered unprecedented performance with Xbox One X is deep into architecting the next Xbox consoles, where we will once again deliver on our commitment to set the benchmark for console gaming,” head of Xbox Phil Spencer said while up on stage at the conference. What does that mean? Since work is already underway, it sounds like we won’t have too long to wait until we’re playing with an even more powerful console than the Xbox One X. While we doubt anything will be ready for next year with so little teased, the year 2020 feels like it’d be a great time to launch a console—it’d be seven years
after the first Xbox One appeared on shelves which is a great length for a console generation. That, coupled with a few other announcements, is pointing towards an amazing few years ahead for Xbox fans.
Game plan
Quite a few game announcements are also pointing in that direction, such as Halo Infinite, which only had the briefest tease and no mention of a release window. It’s also being made in an entirely new engine, which suggests it’s being pushed hard for some new tech. Elsewhere, The Elder Scrolls VI was also teased with some gorgeous-looking mountains, but looks nowhere near ready for this generation. We also got to see a tease for another Bethesda game called Starfield that looks like it will have a sci-fi setting. There have been rumors that they’ve been working on the project for quite a while now already, but this was the first we’ve seen of it, and it still has a ridiculously long way to go. A new console generation also helps explain why things have been so quiet recently—while last year was jam-packed with new games, things definitely feel like they’ve slowed down in 2018. Elsewhere, we know a new Fable game is being worked on potentially by Playground Games (the studio behind Forza Horizon), although it was conspicuously absent at E3 the official xbox magazine 009
insider
Above Luckily you don’t have to wait until next gen to race around in a seasonal UK in Forza Horizon 4.
E3
2018
so perhaps they’re waiting until a new console launch for it to make its debut. But that isn’t the only news to come out of the studio, it’s also now been officially bought by Microsoft securing its future as a big Xbox developer over the coming years. They’ve also bought Undead Labs (famous for State Of Decay), Compulsion Games (the minds behind We Happy Few), and Ninja Theory— best known for the excellent Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice released on Xbox One earlier this year. By investing in such hugely creative studios, it shows that Microsoft is very much invested in its future and securing the best games. As well as buying four studios, they’re also launching a brand new one called The Initiative, based in Santa Monica and led by former Crystal Dynamics boss Darrell Gallagher— responsible for overseeing the Tomb Raider reboot. While they have confirmed they’re currently working
OXM SAYS Daniella Lucas
010 the official xbox magazine
Microsoft showing so much commitment to the future was a real show-stealer for me. Xbox has had a tough few years, and has been unfairly maligned after a rough start this gen, so it’s great to see they’re committed to fixing that.
“There’s a lot of potential in a console that can play anything” on a game, it’s still far too early to announce what it is—so another contender for the next generation Xbox then.
Power up
But what kind of shape can we expect a new console to take? With all the emphasis on power with the Xbox One X, Microsoft still very much wants to be known as the maker of the world’s most powerful consoles going forward. It certainly has a nice ring to it, and is a great way to push what it’s capable of doing differently.
Warren Brown
Having recently forked out for both an Xbox One X and a swanky new 4K telly, I let out a sigh of relief during Microsoft’s E3 showcase. With so many amazing new titles due, I can finally convince my other half I made a wise investment. Maybe...
Backwards compatibility is also likely given the success it’s had with it this generation, and the fact that no other console makers are doing anything similar. In a world where most companies will charge you again to rebuy a game you already own for a new platform, Microsoft puts gamers and their collections first. There’s a lot of potential in a console that can play anything. There’s also been another mention of future tech in the shape of streaming console-quality games to any device including both PC and mobile. A lofty aim, but if anyone has the chops to do it, it’s Microsoft. It also makes a lot of sense as games like PUBG and Fortnite are crossplay on mobile, PC, and consoles—it’s only a matter of time until other big games also make the leap to mobile. In theory you could have your super new Xbox at home, but still be able to play games on it from your mobile while waiting in a coffee shop somewhere. It also ties
Chris Burke
So happy to see Microsoft really commit to the future of gaming, particularly with a next-gen console already in development. That said, there’s also plenty of life in this gen too—so many exciting titles coming up on Xbox One, I just can’t wait.
Who won E3? OXM’s official top three and game of the show— what we’re looking forward to playing most
Cyberpunk 2077
Our top spot has to go to this insanely impressivelooking sci-fi first-person RPG that has one of the most technically impressive worlds full of choice we’ve ever seen. Turns out you can outdo The Witcher 3.
Gears Of War 5
It’s been a while since we last saw the series, and it’s great to see it coming back so strongly with Kait in the lead. It also looks a lot darker than previous entries. We can’t wait to get our hands on it.
Assassin’s Creed Odyssey
We weren’t expecting another Assassin’s game this year, but this Greek adventure looks absolutely gorgeous and the option to romance people is exactly what we didn’t know we wanted until now.
above Our game of the show, Cyberpunk, looks so technically impressive we hope they can pull it off for this gen. Left Gears Of War 5 is coming, and will star Kait in the series’ biggest adventure yet.
in quite nicely with Game Pass—will games come from your console, or directly from the service in the future? We can’t be certain, but either is a very exciting prospect. We also saw Xbox deepen its ties with Nintendo with the news that Fortnite is now available on the Switch and is now crossplay with Xbox One, PC, and mobiles. Each console provides such different but complementary playing experiences— will we see these ties continue to deepen over the next two years? We’d
love to see them partner up to be a part of the advances in streaming— it’d be a real dream team. With so many of Microsoft’s studios and the likes of Bethesda confirmed to be looking forwards to the future already, whatever shape a new console takes it already looks like it’ll be receiving a strong line-up of games right from launch. “The future is bright for us,” said Phil Spencer during an Xbox Insider show later that week, and we definitely agree. It’s never been a better time to be an Xbox gamer. ■
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insider
Xbox
Adaptive
Controller
play time
A big deal Microsoft takes a giant leap toward inclusivity with the Xbox Adaptive Controller Many of us take for granted how easy it is to experience and enjoy one of the world’s most popular pastimes, yet for many of the estimated one billion people who live with various disabilities, playing games can be either an arduous task or completely unachievable without the help of specialist equipment. For years, various charities have worked hard to develop and supply this unique equipment but due to limited funding, the people that require them have to contend with high costs and potentially long waiting lists. It’s for this reason that the announcement of the Xbox Adaptive Controller from Microsoft is so important. Born from Microsoft’s Inclusive Tech Lab and developed in collaboration with The AbleGamers Charity, SpecialEffect, The Cerebral Palsy Foundation, Craig Hospital, and Warfighter Engaged, the XAC has been designed primarily for gamers with limited mobility. In developing this new controller, Microsoft has removed many of the barriers that people with different levels of ability face, and set a precedent for others to follow suit and make gaming more accessible to players everywhere. Not only will this new accessory cost far less than similar devices, coming in at $99, but thanks to Microsoft having worked closely with
third party manufacturers, it will support most external inputs available on the market.
Empowered design
Much like a standard controller, the XAC is wireless, and has the traditional D-pad, View, Menu, and Guide buttons, but it also sports two large, easy-to-press buttons on the front, two USB ports on either side of the unit, and 19 3.5mm input jacks
“The accessory will support most external inputs available on the market” on the back. These ports function as any of the buttons on a standard controller, and are where you’ll attach the various assistive aids you may already own, such as Quadsticks (a mouth-operated joystick that works by blowing air into or sucking air from it to perform actions), switches and buttons. Thankfully, every one of these buttons and ports can be reprogrammed via the Xbox Accessory app so you can create a set-up that caters to your specific needs. You can also save three different gaming
Worthy gesture Researching and developing specialist equipment such as the Xbox Adaptive Controller doesn’t come cheap, and is only really possible through big corporations such as Microsoft. The company seems more than happy to absorb the significant investment involved in what can be considered a noble venture in achieving their vision of empowering every person on the planet to achieve more.
Above Players with different levels of ability were involved throughout development. right A small selection of accessories and assistive aids on offer.
profiles that can be seamlessly switched between to play a variety of game types without having to reset the device. To top things off, it has an internal lithium-ion battery, so there’s no need to keep swapping out batteries. Another welcome addition is the inclusion of the co-pilot feature that Microsoft introduced last year, which allows a second controller to be used in conjunction with another to add further options for people who can’t comfortably use a single controller. For example, one player can control the shooting in a FPS, while another controls the character’s movements, or one person can use both controllers using other body parts. There is still a long way to go, and a lot needs to be done for gaming to be more inclusive, but all of this is certainly a step in the right direction. ■
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