ISSUE 71 / Vol.6 May 2015
www.gameccamag.com
Crucial Step
Viewing Pleasure
Back with a bang
Acer’s XG Series Monitor
Stimulating SA eSports
Murdered: Soul Suspect EA Sports UFC Tropico 5 Sniper Elite III GRiD Autosport and more...
The Handsome Collection reviewed
Dars Sould 2 remastered
Still Strong
Fatality!
Mortal Kombat X packs a punch
Star Wars is alive and well
Journey’s End... The Witcher comes to a close...
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H OW O
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Gold Award
Given to games and hardware that score above 90
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Silver Award
Given to games and hardware that score above 85
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Bronze Award
Given to games and hardware that score above 80
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Ed’s Choice
Given to products that stand out for various reasons. This award is not dependent on score.
From the Editor
HopefulWhispers by Walt Pretorius
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henever I sit down to write my Ed’s Note, it is a sign that we have almost finished the next issue of Gamecca Magazine. This time around, out of the blue, I realised that it is a sign that we have almost finished another year of publishing… our sixth birthday is around the corner. Between then and now, of course, we have E3 1025 happening (which we’ll be looking at in our birthday issue in July) and I sincerely hope that there is some really good news coming from the show floor. Because this year has been brutal for gamers. We have not seen many massive releases. Sure, there have been big names, but they have been relatively few and far between, and some of them have been really disappointing – I’m taking to you, The Order: 1886. It’s been so quiet that even us game journos have been gagging for something to play. And to make it worse, April was full of public holidays, meaning lots of gaming time to spend on… what? Even my to-do list for games that I need to get back to has been running out, and I can’t say that I have had that happen for many years. So hopefully E3 will bring some good news.
We have two big names coming this month, of course, in the form of Project CARS (for the racing fans) and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (for everyone else). And while The Witcher promises around 200 hours of solid adventuring, it still seems so awfully quiet in the gaming industry. You can almost hear the virtual crickets chirping. Word is that the last half of 2015 is going to be the exact opposite. Whispered rumours and back office discussion imply that we’re going to have a very big Festive season this year, and that the months after E3 are going to be crammed with tons of gaming goodness, both sequels and new IPs. Voices in hushed tones are dropping hints that the end of this year is going to be massive, and not just because we have a new Star Wars and a new James Bond movie coming out. Between then and now… E3 2015. We’ll have a lot of answers once that three day extravaganza is done and dusted. And then, of course, we have to hope that the delay monster doesn’t bite too many developers, and that the whispers on the wind are true. Because, quite frankly, I need a decent fix… I can only replay Diablo 3 and Borderlands 2 (even if it is the shiny, new, updated edition) so many times... g mgeect 2 c7a 7 1 ggl a ad
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THIS MONTH’S COVER
The Witcher takes on his biggest adventure yet...
Publisher / Editor: Walt Pretorius
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Regular: Did you know Little bits of awesome gaming stuff...
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Feature: Journey’s End The Witcher Trilogy comes to a massive close
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Previews: Games 14 games to look forward to
walt@novamentis.co.za
Publisher / Art Director Katia Taliadoros katia@novamentis.co.za
Writers: Alex Scanlon Charlie Fripp Clive Burmeister Iwan Pienaar Katia Taliadoros Lein Baart Nthato Morakabi Rob Edwards Suvesh Arumugam Walt Pretorius
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Feature: By Gamers for Gamers Project CARS redefines development
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Reviews: Games 10 games scrutinized
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Regular: Legacy Dune 2 made a massive mark
Letters: letters@gameccamag.com
Competition Entries: competitions@gameccamag.com
Newsletter Subscriptions: www.gameccamag.com
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Ed’s Note
Waiting for the whispers to come true... 70
Ramjet’s Rantality
Losing connection to what counts
Marketing Contact: marketing@novamentis.co.za 104
Technically Speaking
Co-op... we need more co-op Copyright © Nova Mentis (Pty) Ltd 2009 - 2015
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The Time Betwixt
Too much of a good thing
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.
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The Last Word
Tech fuels laziness, laziness fuels tech
GAMECCA is published by Nova Mentis (Pty) Ltd
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Feature: A Crucial Step A new contest to spur on SA eSports
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reviews: Hardware We test 9 tech items
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Regular: Internet A Rock and a hard place
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Regular: Security Finding the best fit
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Feature: A Long Time Ago Star Wars has stood the test of time...
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COOL STUFF: Gadgets 2 cool gadets you need
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COOL STUFF: Board Games 3 table top games to enjoy
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Gamecca Vol. 6 Issue 71 May 2015
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COOL STUFF: Comics 4 awesome reading experiences
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“Mortal Kombat X [is] a strong contender for the fighter crown.�
Features 12 38
Journey’s End For Gamers by Gamers
PReviews 18 20 22 24 25 26 28 30 31 32 33 34 36 37
Dead Island 2 Earthlock: Festival of Magic Lego Dimensions Rory McIlroy PGA Tour Tembo the Badass Elephant Hollow Knight Lego Jurassic World Mario Maker F1 2015 Wild Season Puzzle and Dragons Z The Questening: A Modest Adventure Attack on Titan: Humanity in Chains Act of Aggression
Reviews 44 50 52 56 57 58 60 61 62 64
Mortal Kombat X Borderlands: The Handsome Collection Dark Souls 2: Scholar of the First Sin Pool Nation FX Aaru’s Awakening Neverwinter Tower of Guns MonsterBag Never Alone Codename: S.T.E.A.M
RegularS 10 66
Did you know Legacy
COLUMN 70
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Ramjet’s Rantality
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1…
that the Xbox360 can now use 2TB storage? If you are still one of those gamers clinging onto their Xbox360 consoles for whatever reason, there is a very good chance that you have amassed a huge library of games. First of all, well done on the collection, but secondly, you are probably running out of space for all that data. Luckily for you, Microsoft rolled out an update at the end of April that will now allow you to make use of 2TB storage instead of one. There is nothing special that you need to do, except do the update when prompted.
2…
that the PlayStation 4 has sold over 22 million units? The battle between Sony’s PlayStation 4 and Microsoft’s Xbox One will probably never go away, but Sony released some sales figures for their console at the end of April – and it is rather impressive. Now, we are aware that sales figures don’t usually translate into satisfaction, but Sony has sold 22 million PS4 units since its release. It might not sound impressive, but let’s but it like this: its 44 000 consoles a day, or about one console every two seconds.
3…
that Minecraft has a female character? You might have been wandering through the pixelated world of Minecraft wondering why you can’t play as a female character. Well, wonder no more. You don’t often get to actually see your character from a third-person view in the game, but developers Mojang added a female character called Alex. Actually there are a number of them in different shades or attire, but they are all called Alex to compliment the original character of Steve. “But jolly old Steve doesn’t really represent the diversity of our player base. For that reason, we’re giving all players opportunity to play with an Alex skin instead,” Mojang said.
GAMING
Did You
Know?
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DID YOU KNOW
Bigger storage, blocky ladies and Star Wars...
4…
that Ouya has some money troubles? We are not going to say “told you so”, but it seems as if independent games console manufacturer Ouya has some money troubles. The manufacture decided a couple of years ago to go at it alone and develop a completely new gaming console running on the Android OS – but many scoffed at it at the time. In a confidential email leaked to the media it has been revealed that the company is in deep debt and is looking for a buyer – and quick. It would be interesting to see where the millions went which they got from investors, with at least $10 million coming from a venture capital company, and another $8.5 million from its Kickstarter campaign.
5…
Nepal earthquake victims are getting $100 000 from an unlikely source? If you got stuck into the really awesome Far Cry 4, you will know that the main game borrowed a lot of inspiration from the people and culture of Nepal. With the devastating 7.8 earthquake that hit the small nation at the end of April, Far Cry developer Ubisoft decided to match Red Cross pledges of up to $100K to aid the people in Nepal. “Having spent the last few years working on Far Cry 4, a game heavily inspired by Nepal and its people, it is with heavy hearts that the Far Cry family pulls together to raise money for the Canadian Red Cross, who are mobilising their traveling hospital team to Kathmandu to offer support and medical assistance,” Ubisoft said.
6…
that most of the old Star Wars games are available for download? Who is excited for the release of the new Star Wars film? With that in mind, you might have a yearning to play some of the old PC games released in the late ‘80s and ‘90s – but where would you find them again? Well, luckily Good Old Games has you covered. Available for digital distribution, games like Star Wars: Rebel Assault 1 & 2, Star Wars: Jedi Knight 2 - Jedi Outcast and Star Wars: Jedi Knight - Jedi Academy is on the site for purchase. Do you remember zooming through asteroids while dodging the Empire? Well, strap yourself in again as Star Wars X-Wing and Star Wars TIE-Fighter has also been added as Collector’s CD-ROM editions. GOG says these two games feature “upgraded graphics with the classic MUSE sound system, and a refined flight engine.”... g gamecca71
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Journe End
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Geralt’s tale is about to come to a stunning c 12
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The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
ey’s
conclusion...
By: Lein Baart
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t’s no secret that the Witcher 3: Wild Hunt has been pegged as one of the year’s most anticipated releases, with massive amount of gamers eagerly awaiting the final instalment in the trilogy. Gamecca sat down with Fabian Mario Doehla, the Studio Communications Manager at CD Projekt Red, to talk about what we can expect from the game.
GAMING
GM: Obviously the big story is that Witcher has gone open-world. For a game that has traditionally had such a tightly scripted plot, with so many possibilities and interweaving plotlines, how has openworld gameplay affected what has historically been two difficult elements to meld? FD: We had to get a lot more quest writers and senior story writers, which was the main area we had to invest in. We’ve got a separate section in the studio which is just people working on quests, that’s all they do. They know the books and the novels, and I think that’s where we’ve put in the most hours and effort, because creating a big world is not the most difficult thing. I mean you’ve
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got to adjust the engine and make sure its looks right, but then you’ve got to fill it with life.
GM: Being open-world you’ve had to add a whole range of new mechanics, like mounted combat and sailing, what else can we expect? What are people going to sit down and think to themselves, “I’ve never seen this before in a Witcher game”? FD: Airborne enemies, larger enemies and even the graphics in general are something you’ve never seen in any Witcher game before. Hardware has obviously evolved, and the good thing is that Witcher is one of those games that doesn’t have to take care of the PS3 or Xbox 360 anymore, so we didn’t have to scale it down in order to make it run on last-gen hardware. When you boot it up for the first time and you’re playing through the prologue it’s going to be the graphics where you’ll say, “OK, that just looks amazing.” I’m not saying the previous games looked bad, back in the day, but it’s just been a huge step forward.
GM: So Witcher 3 is going to involve the Wild Hunt, with Geralt searching for Yennefer now. Plot-wise the Witcher games have always been dark, with mature themes. Are we going to be seeing the same difficult moral choices in the game?
FD: Definitely. We’ll have a few surprises, but by no means is it a perfect world, gamecca71
especially if you look at No-Man’s Land with all the creatures and choices you’ll have to make. Sometimes there simply won’t be a good option; there’ll always be a bad consequence. That’s why we’ve ended up with so many different endings, and when I say different endings it’s not just Geralt wearing different armour in the last cutscene. There’ll be both good and bad surprises.
GM: How heavily are you drawing on the short stories and novels? FD: It’s actually quite loose. If you know them it helps you, because you’re like, “I know that. Oh this character’s here, that’s really cool, I’m finally going to meet that person.” But we have a lot of freedom.
GM: Are there any other influences that have crept in over the years?
FD: When it comes to deciding on some of the creatures and filling the world with life, yeah definitely, but we’re trying to stick as close to the general feel of the setting as possible. Of course everyone is playing other games, but their influence is more related to the user interface, or how another game has accomplished something. We’ve also asked what people did not like about Witcher 2, which has been the largest factor.
GM: Following on from that, what did you learn from the feedback from Witcher 2 that is now going to be different in Witcher 3?
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
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FD: Definitely work on the combat system. I think there was a huge improvement in combat from Witcher 1 to Witcher 2; there was a lot of criticism aimed at the combat in the first game. We’ve also looked at some of the menus and their accessibility, and you can now actually prepare for a battle by using your Witcher sense to see how tough an enemy is going to be. We haven’t completely changed everything because we think we have a working system. It’s more like a new version of a car, you do a facelift when it comes to the menu and you say, “What didn’t people like, what kept crashing? What wasn’t really well-balanced and where was there negative feedback?” That’s all been reworked.
GM: There was some criticism levelled at the upgrade system. What are we going to see different this time?
GAMING
FD: I remember that if you focussed on playing a warrior it became too strong, so we’re looking to balance things out. Also we’ve got weapon upgrades, where you can upgrade ammunition. For example if you take the crossbow, if I get this right, you start with a single arrow and you can upgrade it up to three bolts. If you want to you can put in a lot of time crafting items and working on armour.
GM: So essentially what we’ve got is the Witcher experience with a vast amount of 16
freedom? FD: Definitely. We don’t want to reinvent the Witcher. Someone recently said that it’s just more of the Witcher, and yeah, it’s more a really great game with great graphics and the freedom of choice to go wherever you want.
GM: How do you think it’s going to change people’s perceptions of the franchise as a whole now that they really can do what they like? FD: The only way to really find out how the perception would change would be to create another Witcher 3 that was more scripted, and then compare the opinions of the people who bought it. Obviously we’ll be unable to do so, but we did a lot of research and found this to be the next step to take it further. We can’t tell in advance, but we think this is the right way because it feels like we don’t having to push people too much. If you have this classic “don’t go there, turn around, you can’t progress further until you’ve done this and that” it always reminds you that you’re stuck in a corridor in a game. Openworld, especially when it comes to a fantasy RPG’s, should always be the goal I think, even if it’s the most complicated approach.
GM: In terms of world size, how large will Witcher 3 be?
FD: We’ve talked about eight by eight kilometres, which makes it sixty four square kilometres, but then we’ve got three additional areas as well. We’ve gamecca71
haven’t had anyone as yet who’s walked from the very bottom to the very top. You’ll have to use fast travel when you progress further in the game. And you can jump finally! You can jump, swim, dive… It’s funny when you speak about it but Geralt wasn’t able to jump back in the day.
GM: Will Witcher 3 end Geralt’s story? FD: That’s our plan, to end the party with bang.
GM: So what will CD Projekt Red be doing next? FD: Well we’ve got Cyberpunk 2077, which is out next huge project, but we’ll talk about that once the Witcher is out. We’re definitely not planning any additional Witcher games, we always planned for it to be a trilogy. We just hope that people will like the climax of the series. In fact we’re looking forward to the players’ reactions.
GM: Just to end, what is your personal favourite aspect of Witcher 3?
FD: I know it sounds a bit dull but it’s the graphics. When I played it on my machine the first time, with everything set to max, I was walking through some swamp with sunlight filtering through the trees and I discovered some old decrepit house and I was just blown away. And then you climb up a mountain and look over the landscape which has an amazing view, and just to know that you can walk there. Ultimately it’s just the general look and feel of the game. g
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
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E M W A VIE G E R P
Dead Island 2 California dreaming…
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Island series, but will be a sequel to the original Dead Island game. And this one’s name is a bit of a strange one, as it doesn’t actually take place on an island, but somewhere in California. By taking place in the sunny state, players can look forward to bashing zombie heads in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and an undisclosed third location. And with a new game comes a number of new implementations and tweaks, most notably the combat system. If you thought that the previous games’ combat was violent, wait until you have seen this. According to the developers, Dead Island will have more brutal combat but the zombies will be more fragile to damage. It’s a win-win for everyone.
GAMING
uickly, hands up those who don’t like zombie games. Right… those who raised their hands can go sit in the corner. For the rest of us, Yager Development is putting the finishing touches on Dead Island 2, the sequel to the hugelypopular (depending on who you ask) zombie shooter from 2011. The first game rattled a few cages when it was released, as the zombie enemies behaved very differently to what traditional zombie shooters and pop culture would like us to believe. In it, zombies ran faster, jumped on things and were just everything except the shuffling mess they usual are. This will be the fourth instalment in the Dead
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Dead Island 2
Of the four characters in the game, only one has been announced so far: Ryan the Berserker. His favourite weapon is the sledge hammer and he’s a former volunteer firefighter answering the call of the apocalypse. On the official game page, player will the silhouette of the three unannounced fighters: a girl that seems to favour crossbows, a young man with a love for fire and molotov cocktails, and possibly another girl who clearly likes to slice-and-dice with blades. The developers state that this is Dead Island the way it was meant to be, so if you loved the previous title we can almost guarantee that you are going to thoroughly enjoy the sunny beaches of California. g
AT A GLANCE If you loved Dead Island, there is no reason to miss the sequel. Developer: Publisher: Distributer:
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TBC
First-person brawler
Yager Development Deep Silver Apex Interactive
Platforms
GENRE
ETA
PC X360 X0 PS3 PS4 Wii U PSV 3DS AND iOS
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by Charlie Fripp
Taking a leaf from the previous games, players will still be able to give themselves a bit of a boost with the Rage system, and crafting weapons has apparently been made a heck of a lot easier. Because it’s a sequel to the first game, the plot takes place a couple of months after Dead Island. Not an awful lot is known about the plot so far, but all that we know is that the United States military has put California under a full quarantine due to a new zombie outbreak. Players will also be able to choose from four playable characters, but don’t worry – you won’t be playing by yourself. With a fairly large multiplayer component, up to eight players will be able to slay zombies together.
E M W A VIE G E R P
Earthlock: Festival of M GAMING
Magical RPG in this Kickstarter g
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AT A GLANCE RPG Adventure
Umbra has come to a standstill and impending war looms over the horizon. An unlikely group set out on an adventure far greater than anticipated. Developer: Publisher: Distributer:
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Snowcastle Games Snowcastle Games Steam
ETA
TBC 2015
Platforms
GENRE
by Nthato Morakabi
goodness.
Earthlock: Festival of Magic
Magic
I
n times past, a kindred of magical beings, powerful as they were terrifying, ruled over the planet Umbra. When the planet mysteriously came to a standstill, no longer turning as it should, the repercussions devastated the world. With the Suvian empire, now on the brink of war, traitorous fiends devise schemes for power while whispers of the lost race sweep across the lands. In the midst of this, a town is destroyed by terrible and mysterious foes leaving Amon and a group of strangers to seek the cause of the calamity in a journey far too dangerous. Earthlock: Festival of Magic is a turn based RPG, taking place in a fantasy world known as Umbra. Players step into the shoes of desert scavenger Amon with a love for treasure and the adventures they bring. However, revenge is the adventure he pursues when his hometown is destroyed and thus the tale that unfolds over Umbra. The combat system has been described as “no-nonsense turn-based battles� however what that will look is yet to be seen. Characters to join the player will each have unique skills, abilities and be able to pair up to combine attributes or activate amazing combos. Adaptation is the guide by which enemies will look to take players down. With the ability to pair up, even enemies will combine their attributes and utilize combos of their own. With different elemental types, enemies will adapt to attacks too, taking defensive stance when threatened and attacking stance when things go their way. With alluring grottos, temples and forests strewn across the land of Umbra, Earthlock will pit players against zany foes and ingenious puzzles for an intriguing upcoming title. g
PC X360 X0 PS3 PS4 Wii U PSV 3DS AND iOS
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Lego Dimensions More crack for the kiddies…
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Developed by Traveller’s Tales, who have been responsible for most of the Lego games to date, in conjunction with Warner Bros, Lego Dimensions will take the Disney Infinity route and mash together a host of different brands. The premise given for this is that an evil helmeted villain has been creating rifts between multiple Lego worlds, and now it’s up to a consortium of heroes from the various dimensions to stop him. It’s a simple plot, but then again The Lego Movie shared a similar premise backed only by snarky social commentary and that was pretty awesome. Of course the real question when it comes to Dimensions is what licences Lego plans to draw on, and even the first set of toys are looking pretty varied, with
GAMING
t’s no secret that Skylanders has changed the way toymakers and video games publishers approach the children’s market. With Activision’s franchise already a multi-billion dollar enterprise, and its closest competitor Disney Infinity having sold more than three million starter packs just six months after its release, it’s clear that the kids of today will be reminiscing in the future about portals and figurines the same way that nineties kids talk about tamagotchis. The toys-to-lifegenre, as it has now apparently been dubbed, is clearly a boom market for video games, with even Nintendo eyeing the prize with their own range called aaimbos, and now probably the most natural fit has come about with the announcement of Lego Dimensions.
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Lego Dimensions
exploration, combat and puzzles. All told there’s not a lot of information been given out by either Traveller’s Tales or Warner Bros, but considering the market the game is aiming to compete in this should be a title that offers plenty for the kids to enjoy. Doubtless parents will be groaning at the thought having to fork out yet another wad of cash for another set of figurines, and while South African pricing has yet to be announced in America the starter pack will retail for around $100. It’s a hefty price tag, especially considering the already existing choices on offer, but with over a decade of experience in creating Lego games, hopefully Traveller’s Tales will be bringing something exciting to the genre. g
AT A GLANCE Toys-to-life
While a lot remains unknown about Lego Dimensions, the franchise has a strong record that bodes well for the latest entry Developer: Publisher: Distributer:
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Traveller’s Tales Warner Bros. Ster Kinekor
Sep 2015
Platforms
GENRE
ETA
PC X360 X0 PS3 PS4 Wii U PSV 3DS AND iOS
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by Lein Baart
characters from DC Comics, Back to the Future, Lord of the Rings, Wizard of Oz, The Lego Movie and Lego Ninjago all set to be released in the first wave. The starter pack will include Batman, Gandalf and Wyldstyle as playable characters, along with a buildable Lego Gateway and the Batmobile, and additional characters can be purchased through fun packs (which will also include a gadget or vehicle) and level packs (which will provide additional levels for the game). Finally team packs will also be made available, and will include multiple characters along with several vehicles and/or gadgets. In terms of actual gameplay fans of previous Lego titles will be delighted to hear that Dimensions should play pretty much the same as before, with a mix of
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Jul 2015 Developer: Publisher: Distributer:
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EA Tiburon Electronic Arts Prima Interactive
PLATFORMS
Golf returns with a new champion and game engine
PC X360 X0 PS3 PS4 Wii U PSV 3DS AND iOS
AT A GLANCE GENRE
Sports
This one should be even greater than previous titles.
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by Charlie Fripp
Rory McIlroy PGA Tour
ideo games based on the sport of golf have been around for many years, but there are very few that can claim to have been one of the best for a good number of decades. EA’s golf simulator games, regardless of who is on the cover or the main focus, have for many years been the go-to title for golf enthusiasts – and it should continue this year. For 2015’s iteration of its popular PGA Tour franchise, EA decided to drop former world leader Tiger Woods in favour of current champion Rory McIlroy, and the change also rings in a number of changes in the game itself. This will be the first PGA Tour title from EA to be released on the current generation consoles, so to make things works a little bit better it opted to make use of the Frostbite 3 engine as the developer claims it will provide for more “lifelike” environments. By going with the Frostbite engine, it not only gives EA the opportunity to develop stunning visuals, but it makes things a bit easier behind the scenes as well. With the new engine, entire courses will be rendered at the same time, as opposed to hole-by-hole when the Ignite engine was used. In terms of official courses available, only TPC at Sawgrass and Wolf Creek has been revealed, as well as a fantasy course set on the Battlefield map Paracel Storm. But if gamers have been playing the franchise’s titles they will pretty much know what to expect – great graphics, fantastic recreations of real-life courses and a physics engine that will be its best to recreate any experience on the golf course. g
Rory McIlroy PGA Tour Bound of flame
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GAMING
Q2/Q3 2015 Developer: Publisher: Distributer:
Gamefreak SEGA Ster Kinekor
PLATFORMS
A trunk load of badassery
PC X360 X0 PS3 PS4 Wii U PSV 3DS AND iOS
AT A GLANCE GENRE
Action-Adventure
Tembo is one badass elephant with a grudge against the PHANTOM forces and their mysteriously leader, who are hell bent on destroying Shell City.
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by Nthato Morakabi
Tembo the Badass Elephant
he mysterious masked commander and his PHANTOM troops have forced Shell City into a state of emergency. Their machines of war tear through the city leaving dust and rubble in their wake even with the National Army in defence. Who can save them from total obliteration? Only the most badass mammoth on this side of Shell City, busting villains and chomping peanuts as saviour of the people. His name is Tembo and he is one badass elephant. With the help of his trusty avian compatriot Picolo, the two work together smashing through cars, helicopters and buildings seeking to eradicate PHANTOM and its mysterious villain leader. From the studio that brought the famous gotta-catch-em-all adventure, Pokémon, comes this 2D side-scroller. Game Freak have collaborated with the famous SEGA team for an epic action adventure title that is surely a cross between Dr Seuss and Michael Bay. The action happens right in the city streets where Tembo will hurtle through enemies, tanks, buildings and anything getting in the way of him and Shell City’s safety. The unique comic-book style artwork coupled with exaggerated antics from the elephantine hero are sure to create fun gameplay and exciting fast paced level runs. 17 amazing interactive levels await: destructible objects and environments cannot withstand Tembo’s onslaught as players are set to travel through jungles, rumble across cityscapes, charge through moving trains and hurdle through many more. Bursting out of canons, barrel rolling into enemy tanks, charging trunk first into enemies and butt busting through obstacles is part of what makes Tembo so badass and the rest of it is sure to come as this title makes its way to both console and PC. g
Tembo the Badass Elephant
e m ew a vi G e R P
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Hollow Knig
GAMING
Classically inspired
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Hollow Knight
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ght
AT A GLANCE 2D Platformer
Hollow Knight is shaping up to be an enchanting and strange entry into Metroidvania history. Developer: Publisher: Distributer:
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Team Cherry Team Cherry TBC
ETA
Mid 2015
Platforms
GENRE
by Lein Baart
he last ten years or so have seen indie development produce a remarkable effect on the creation and publishing of games, in some cases bringing about whole new approaches to the industry. It has also allowed a resurgence of genres that would probably have otherwise stayed dead, and the 2D platformer has been no exception. The so-called Metroidvania (a portmanteau of Metroid and Castlevania) sub-genre in particular has always remained a popular style of gameplay, and while it can be hard to separate the truly promising from the passable clone, Team Cherry’s Hollow Knight definitely looks to have potential. Inspired by “classic games like Metroid, Zelda 2 and Faxanadu”, as the developers put it, Hollow Knight will be following most of the Metroidvania staples, with gameplay focused on a mixture of exploration of the vast interconnected 2D world along with “difficult but always fair” combat. As usual for the sub-genre Hollow Knight will include RPG elements, with newly acquired abilities not only giving you an edge in combat but allowing you to unlock previously inaccessible areas. So far, so standard. What truly is looking to separate Hollow Knight from its ilk however is its eerie and imaginative setting. Players will guide the Hollow Knight through the Hallownest, an ancient subterranean kingdom which has seen its denizens, made up of an assortment of grubs such as flies and mantises, driven mad by a noxious poison. The trailers released have shown a beautiful aesthetic design, with simple cel-shaded graphics evoking an atmosphere that is both unnerving and enchanting. Likewise the music direction appears to be top-notch, and even short gameplay videos have been mesmerising to watch. g
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LEGO Jurass World
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Prehistoric building blocks
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AT A GLANCE Action adventure
If it’s anything like the previous LEGO games, it should be fantastic. Developer: Publisher: Distributer:
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Traveller’s Tales Warner Bros. Ster Kinekor
ETA
Jun 2015
Platforms
GENRE
by Charlie Fripp
ho doesn’t love a good LEGO game? The hugelypopular kids toy has been the subject of many video games, usually tying in with some of the latest films on the circuit – and this year is going to be no different. One of the most-anticipated films of the year is Jurassic World, starring Chris Pratt, and it will also be getting a makeover in the familiar LEGO style. But this one is going to be rather special, as it won’t simple be following the plot of Jurassic World, but it will be incorporating the plot lines of the previous three films as well. Developed by Traveller’s Tales, player can expect the usual quirky humour as they go around completing a number of tasks while picking up as many buttons as they can. In true LEGO style, players will have the choice of more than 100 different dinosaurs and characters to play as in the game, and they will be able to play with friends as well, as two-player cooperation mode has not been left out. The huge variety of LEGO games and their unique take on various aspects of popular films and culture has made them rather popular with a large group of gamers. In the early days of LEGO games the character had no narration, with voice only being to them much later. It is still unclear if Jurassic World will have talking characters, but that should be the last thing that gamers should worry about. The game is fantastic and humour is often off-kilter, and that should make up for than enough for any lack of speech. g
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Mario Maker
GAMING
Sep 2015 Developer: Publisher: Distributer:
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Nintendo Nintendo Core Group
PLATFORMS
If you build it...
PC X360 X0 PS3 PS4 Wii U PSV 3DS AND iOS
AT A GLANCE GENRE
Level-Editor/Platformer
Nintendo’s in-house game creator is offered to players in this exclusive title, that allows for custom creation of Super Mario Bros. levels.
gamecca71
by Nthato Morakabi
intendo seems to be enjoying its current run of “make gamers game creators” and offering them their characters to do it. With Mario vs Donkey Kong: Tipping Stars recently released on both 3DS and Wii U combining level creation with platform puzzle gameplay, this latest title puts players right at the fore of creating their own Mario levels. Mario Maker is a Wii U exclusive title that will utilises the Wii U gamepad for creating 2D Mario levels. This side-scrolling game-creator was initially a tool for Nintendo’s internal development team, which was then pitched as a title for the Wii U. Level creation will be as easy as dragging and dropping various level elements on to the screen. All the pieces available such as bricks, blocks and pipes to coins blocks, coins and mushrooms, will be from the famous Super Mario series, to allow players the freedom of creating or recreating their own Mario world. Enemies such as the Piranha plant, Hammer bro Goomba and more will also be available as obstacles to place in the levels. The option of adding wings to some of these enemies is sure to expand the level possibilities thereby making for more challenging gameplay. Created levels will be instantly playable with a single button click, moving between level editing and play-testing instantaneously. With a single tap of an icon, the visual style can alternate between the 8-bit Super Mario Bros. look to the High Definition New Super Mario Bros. U. With the amount of freedom that the Mario Maker levelcreation offers to players, only their imagination will limit the scope and possibilities they can achieve. g
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F1 2015
GAMING
Jul 2015 Developer: Publisher: Distributer:
Codemasters Codemasters Megarom
PLATFORMS
Take on a new crop of F1 drivers
PC X360 X0 PS3 PS4 Wii U PSV 3DS AND iOS
AT A GLANCE GENRE
Racing
If you are into racing, there is no reason why you shouldn’t get it.
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by Charlie Fripp
acing games have been on almost every console that has been released so far. Whether gamers like the simple need for as much speed as possible, the usually incredibly graphics or the realism attached to it, players flock to it every year. One of the best franchises in terms of graphical capabilities and realism has to be the official F1 series, and this year will see another opportunity for race lover to take the wheel as a driver for their favourite team. F1 2015, developed by Codemasters Birmingham, is the seventh Formula One game produced by the studio, and it will also be the first racing game that Codemasters will be releasing for the current generation of consoles. But racing games have one glaring flaw – as with any sports franchise: there isn’t much evolution in the sport itself, which often transfers to the game. So with that in mind, players can expect more of the same as with previous versions, but obviously the title will have better graphics and improved physics to make whizzing around the track more enjoyable. For this version, F1 2015 will make use of the new EGO game engine to make those improvements possible and will feature the team and driver line-ups from the 2015 season, including the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez. For a bit of bonus content, all the drivers, cars and circuits from the 2014 season will be included. If you are an old hand at racing, you might want to try the new “Pro Season” mode that is said to be more challenging than the normal gameplay. g
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Quickfire Games Quickfire Games Steam
PLATFORMS
Premature publishing
PC X360 X0 PS3 PS4 Wii U PSV 3DS AND iOS
AT A GLANCE GENRE
Simulation RPG
Wild Season looks to capture the charm and innocence of games like Harvest Moon, though it first needs to make it to official release status
gamecca71
by Lein Baart
Wild Season
arly Access games, like the shareware titles of the nineties, have become something of a craze amongst indie developers, a means of generating funding for games that would otherwise never see the light of day. While there have been a few releases that have highlighted the potential of the model (most noticeably Minecraft), its very nature means that Early Access titles are flawed and often under-deliver, leaving a sour taste in the mouths of many PC gamers. It’s a preconception that any indie developer choosing to go this route will have to face, but one that Quickfire Games are taking head-on with Wild Season. A farming simulator, according to the developers Wild Season has been inspired by “the greats within the farming simulation, visual novel, and RPG genres”, meaning that as it stands it’s looking a lot like Harvest Moon. Besides the actual farming, which will require you to repair and expand your plot in addition to the expected manual labour, players will have the chance to interact with townspeople and engage in romance, all the while attempting to “solve the secret of Bedford Valley.” The game has just been released on Steam as an Early Access title, with Quickfire Games predicting that it will take another five months to reach completion. Early Access releases are notorious for their constant delays however, and should you chose to take the plunge beware that the game is currently listed as early beta, and will undoubtedly come with a host of bugs, some potentially game breaking. Nonetheless Wild Season has generated mostly positive feedback from the community, and if all the planned features make it into the final product there should be plenty to keep gamers entertained. g
Wild Season Bound of flame
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May 2015 Developer: Publisher: Distributer:
Gung Ho Online Entertainment Nintendo Core Group
PLATFORMS
Mixing and matching monster madness
PC X360 X0 PS3 PS4 Wii U PSV 3DS AND iOS
AT A GLANCE GENRE
Puzzle, RPG
This mobile success story makes its way to the 3DS, combining monster capturing, training and battling with match 3 puzzles, for a unique experience.
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by Nthato Morakabi
Puzzle & Dragons Z
uzzle and Dragons is a unique puzzle title developed for the mobile platform. Its success captured Nintendo’s eye enough to see the title ported to the 3DS and expanded to incorporate various RPG elements. Players will take up the role of Dragon Tamers, with over 1000 unique monsters to collect, nurture, grow and turn into powerful allies. Each creature is unique in its abilities and could be combined to form teams of various play styles and strategies. The gameplay is broken down into puzzle based combat that will see players attempt to match three or more colours to attack. Unlike many match-3 puzzle games, Puzzle and Dragons will be without the limitation of a single movement to create matching rows and columns, thereby increasing the number of combinations possible. The more combinations created, the higher the combo score and the stronger the attack against enemies. The 3DS version of Puzzle and Dragon will be significantly different to the mobile version as it will have towns that players may explore and visit as well as NPC character to interact with for a fuller role playing experience. Hundreds of dungeons are ready to be explored, unique and adaptive to ensure challenging and varied encounters against enemies sure to ensure your demise is swift. As part of the collaboration with Nintendo, Puzzle & Dragons is set to have a standalone Super Mario Bros. Edition, featuring characters from the famous Nintendo franchise. This additional title, not available on mobile phones, will have its own storyline and world while keeping the core combat and RPG elements. A bundled version of Puzzle and Dragons Z + Super Mario Bros. Edition will also be available. g
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The Questen A Modest Adventure GAMING
The boy who cried wolf-imaginatio
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Adventure/RPG
A modest adventure about a boy called Modest... Developer: Publisher: Distributer:
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Pixel Dilemma Pixel Dilemma TBC
ETA
Q2/Q3 2015
Platforms
AT A GLANCE
By Nthato Morakabi
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The Questening: A Modest Adventure
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odest is a unique boy with a rather expansive imagination. The problem, however, lies in the fact that he has a rather rare mental disorder which prevents him from distinguishing between reality and fantasy. His friends and family endure the wild tales of adventure he continuously tells but when a traveller overhears one of these outlandish tales, he believes the boy. The traveller, far more intrigued by the large wealth and riches the boy claims to have found, sets out to retrieve this treasure with Modest and thus begins their adventure. Armed with a combination of weapons ranging from swords and arrows to the ability to control time and other sorts of magic, The Questening is set to follow along an RPG adventure driven by Modest’s imagination. The quests Modest will embark on, are formed from the various conversations he hears from villagers fuelling his imagination rather than villagers sending him off on those particular quests. As he learns more skills, the quest log expands with it, opening up more places for him can explore. The Questening is said to have a large open world filled with towns, caves and dungeons. The environments will change from bright sunny fields and villages to stormy castle grounds infested with bats to dark caverns and frozen forests. As with any RPG title, monster drops and loot play a big role in advancing characters and levelling up, which the developers of The Questening have placed a big emphasis towards. All loot obtained has been deemed valuable as the more one explores the stronger Modest will get. This pixelated side-scroller has been developed for all platforms save for handhelds. g
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Spike Chunsoft Atlus Nintendo eShop
PLATFORMS
Defend the wall
PC X360 X0 PS3 PS4 Wii U PSV 3DS AND iOS
AT A GLANCE GENRE
Action Adventure
Definitely one for the fans, it should be noted that Humanity in Chains will only be available through the Nintendo eShop
gamecca71
by Lein Baart
Attack on Titan: Humanity in Chains
y and large anime is still a relatively niche market here in South Africa. While shows like Naruto and Bleach (and before that Dragonball Z) have achieved a modicum of mainstream popularity, the vast majority of anime remains largely unknown, though as time goes by this will likely change. Of the shows that have managed to breakout, 2013’s Attack on Titan proved a phenomenal hit worldwide, quickly reaching cult status. Now, two years after the show initially launched, fans can finally look forward to being able to enter the harrowing world with Attack on Titan: Humanity in Chains. For those who have not watched the show (or read the manga), Attack on Titan depicts a world in which humanity has retreated behind massive walls due to constant attacks by giant, genitallacking humanoids called titans. Known for its rather brutal and violent style, the story follows Eren Yeager as he seeks to exterminate the titans that have caused him and humanity so much grief. An action-adventure for the Nintendo 3DS, Humanity in Chains will be split into two modes, with Story Mode allowing players to relive battles from the perspective of Eren and his comrades, while World Mode will see players creating their own Survey Corps character to engage in various missions. Of course the use of the ThreeDimensional Manoeuvring Gear (which essentially turns you into Spiderman) will play a prominent role in combat, while a skill system will allow you to level up your character as you progress through the game. Humanity in Chains will also offer four player co-op, and as bonus Nintendo have made the first two episodes of the anime available as free downloads from their eShop. g
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Eugen Systems Focus Home Interactive Apex Interactive
PLATFORMS
Things are going to get hostile
PC X360 X0 PS3 PS4 Wii U PSV 3DS AND iOS
AT A GLANCE GENRE
Realtime strategy
If you want a RTS like from the good old days, definitely keep an eye on this one.
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by Charlie Fripp
Act of Aggression
o you long for the good old days of real-time strategy games, when titles like Command & Conquer: Generals were hugely popular? Of course you do, and lucky for you game developer Eugen Systems is coming to the rescue. The company’s name might ring a bell, and if you said that they were the developer of Act of War, you would have been spot on. Taking that into account, the developer is behind the wheel of the development for Act of Aggression – a spiritual successor the Act of War. With Act of Aggression, Eugen Systems want to take players back to the era where RTS games where in its wonder years, making use of traditional systems and game mechanics that many players got incredibly familiar with in the 90’s. While it is a bit of a sequel to their previous games, Act of Aggression will take place in the 2020s where many of the world’s powers have collapse after a global economic crisis. Playable factions will consist of the US, the Chimera (a United Nations organisation), and the Cartel (the bad guys), and players will be able to choose the path they decide to take in the game’s two separate campaign modes. Trying to bring back the glory of the traditional RTS games from the 90’s, this one will have base building and resource management like deposits of aluminium, petroleum, electricity, and rare earth elements – everything a modern force needs. Do you remember the nuke from the Chinese campaign in Command & Conquer? Well, this one will also have superweapons. If you want a RTS like from the good old days, definitely keep an eye on this one. g
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Project CARS changes the face o
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Project CARS
amerS amers
of triple-A game development…
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espite numerous delays, the anticipation for
Project CARS is still massive. With driving enthusiasts By Walt Pretorius
the world over champing at the bit to get hold of Slightly Mad Studios’ latest, highly realistic motorsport simulator, we managed to catch up with game director (and fellow South African) Stephen Viljoen, to pick his brain about this game, it’s unique design approach and what driving fans can expect…
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SV: We wanted to create simulation that is both authentic and accessible, with a focus on motorsport. Previously games were about creating fairly realistic physics and a bunch of cars and off you go. But we wanted to create the experience of what it is like to participate in motorsports, so our focus is very much on you establishing a career in that. We cover quite a number of motorsports; we have open wheel racing, GT, prototypes, karts, track days, road cars. When you start your career in Project CARS you get some contract offers from different teams and you decide which motorsport you want to start with. We let you go where you want. We don’t force you into a lowly little beat up car and make you play through hundred of hours to get to the car you really want to drive. This is your fantasy, your opportunity to be a virtual driver in the motorsport world. We simulate that world around you as well. On the calendar you will see all the other events, including all the other motorsports. The ones you are not participating in are being simulated all the time, and you see the results of that in your dashboard, media feed and social feed. So we wanted to create the experience of what it’s like to be part of that world. Of course we do all the obvious things; we have world class physics and tyre model. We set new standards as far as environment simulation goes. We believe that for you to experience everything correctly, it all has to be accurate – including how the weather works, how the time cycle works. So for example, you can experience the Le Mans 24 race as it happens.
You can play the full 24 hour event, watch the sun rise and move across the sky, see clouds form… everything is dynamic. And what’s more, because of the way our system works, we give you the opportunity to do a sortof time travel thing, where you can choose, for example, to experience Le Mans in 2003. You set your calendar date, and you can simulate the start times and real world weather, as it actually was that day, in the game. You then drive and experience the race – the sun, the moon, the weather… everything will be accurate.
GM: OK, so Le Mans is driven by a team. No one guy is going to do the race on his own. Are you going to have that kind of team facility?
SV: Initially, it will be AI team mates. When you need a break and you pull into the pit (again, accurately recreated with full detail pit stops that vary according to the motorsport you’re participating in) and on the menu that pops up you can change drivers to an AI team mate. When you get back a few minutes or hours later you can hit a button that requests a pit stop, the AI team mate will pull in, and you can take over again. The next phase will be online co-op play, and you can play a series like that already. But I need to point out that although it is awesome to experience a full race, it takes some serious commitment to race for a full 24 hours. So what we do is allow an option for you to compress time via a slider. You can scale it for whatever you want. And we still simulate the whole experience, so you will still experience a 24 hour light and weather cycle, only compressed to a shorter time. gamecca71
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GM: What’s the main thinking behind Project CARS?
GM: So aside from being able to tweak race settings, will you be able to customise cars?
SV: Absolutely. When we accurately simulate a vehicle, it’s not just what it’s like to drive it. We simulate everything about it, including what is configurable on the car. On most road cars, there’s not much you can change, aside from minor tweaks. But in a full out racing car you can change a huge number of things, and you can set up and save multiple configurations. So you can customise to specific tracks and conditions – per car, per track, multiple slots… absolute detail.
GM: During the development, you allowed the community to contribute and create content for the game… SV: Oh, far more than just creating content. We believe that this approach is the first time something like this has been done with a triple-A title. The typical process is develop a game and when it’s nearly finished you release a beta or demo, and people give you feedback. You do a few last minute tweaks, and then release the game. With Project CARS we created a system called “worldwide mass development”. We got the community involved from day one. We allowed them to sign up to the system and help to develop the game. By gamers, for gamers. We have over 80 000 people involved. They were get daily, weekly and monthly builds, and they could give feedback and make suggestions, and contribute content. There are amazing artists in the community that have contributed things like textures, paint jobs on the cars and even some elements used in the user interface. Some of the guys
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GM: And they’re getting a share of the profits?
SV: Yes. I am not going to go into detail of the contracts but, suffice to say that those that bought in – unlike Kickstarter – they actually became shareholders in the game, and will share in the profits. We actually started this before Kickstarter was a thing.
GM: Speaking of economics – and getting back to the game – what kind of economic system will the game use?
SV: It’s part of the simulation of the motorsport world. How many drivers do you know of that sign a contract and then have to go buy their car? We do it in the way that it happens in the real world. Real teams don’t expect their drivers to buy cars. They provide the car. The way we do it is that you get different motorsport offers, and each offer then has different contracts from different teams. There are sports where the cars are identical, and then we have sports like GT3, where you have BMWs and Aston Martins and so forth. Different cars and models within the same sport. So you still get to pick the car that you want to drive, by choosing a contract that offers it.
GM: In that case, is there flexibility within the contracts? Will you be able to bounce around between contracts? SV: Yes, sort of. How it typically works is you would participate in a season, and you don’t have to win all the time. As you progress through the game, we track your performance and use it for teams to scout you in the game. Based on that you’ll
get contract offers. But if you’re in a contract and you decide you don’t like it, we’re not going to force you to complete a season. We provide you an escape clause. But you’re not going to get an offer from the same team if you dodge around.
GM: If I hear the name Stephen Viljoen, I think nuts and bolts driving simulations, which have formed the greater part of your career… but there are players out there who don’t want that extreme depth. Will project CARS be accessible to them to?
SV: Absolutely. What we do is simulate the world. Not everyone who is in that world is a tech head or petrol head. They have engineers and technicians who take care of those things, and so will Project CARS. You don’t have to get into that… you can leave it to your AI team engineer, and he will take care of it. But it is there if you wanna play a guy who likes to get under the hood, like Michael Schumacher. And it pays off, because you can trim those valuable milliseconds off here and there.
GM: So Project CARS is a simulator for everyone who has an interest in driving?
SV: Definitely. Traditionally there’s been this idea that simulators are boring. People want to play arcade style racers because they’re fun, but simulators are for the guys who sit and fight their way around the track. But real world motorsport isn’t like that – people participate in it because it’s fun! And that’s what we want people to experience, as the games also get more and more realistic. We even see real drivers practicing with simulators these days. And our real world cycles and simulations gamecca71
Project CARS
even helped out with the dynamic dirt layers on the cars.
are helping drivers prepare for things like Le Mans, well enough for podium positions.
GM: That’s quite a feat for a game that hasn’t been released yet…
SV: It is. And I love what Ben Collins said – we’ve had him on board since almost the beginning of the project. And, of course, he’s driven many cars during his reign as the Stig, and even now he’s still racing GT3 and participating in Le Mans. So our CEO contacted Ben, and Ben said “you must have the wrong guy, this is not for me… I think simulators are rubbish.” But after some convincing, he came on board, and for the first year or two he kept saying that it’s not right, it doesn’t feel right. And then about six months back, Ben said we had a break through, and he’s been loving it ever since. So it’s great when a guy like him says, “guys, you’ve nailed it.”
GM: And what will we see in the future? More editions, DLC and so forth?
SV: What we’re releasing now is a platform. We will be releasing new game modes and content for a good while to come.
GM: Our traditional closer: what’s your favourite part of Project CARS?
SV: It’s difficult to pick out one. It is a massive package. We didn’t know it, but Project CARS is the game we’ve been working towards making for the last ten years. It’s visceral and real and intense. So for me it is difficult to pick. I love the weather system, and the physics. I love the tyre model, which is worlds ahead of anything we had before. I love what we’ve done with the graphics and the sound – it’s mind-blowingly good. I just love the whole package. I love Project CARS. g
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Beating down the opposition‌
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by Walt Pretorius
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The biggest problem that Mortal Kombat X has on offer is only a problem depending on how you like to consume your games. If you’re in it for the visceral action and thrilling experience of multiplayer combat - which is the strongest part of any fighting game – then what follows matters very little. However, if you want to drain every ounce out of the experience and undertake the single player game, you will find that the plot of the game is not only weak, but it is thoroughly inconsistent with the rest of the game. Plot should not, naturally, be a driving force when it comes to this kind of game, and Mortal Kombat X goes to great lengths to show why that is the case. Aside from the fact that the Mortal Kombat setting is getting increasingly complex – even bordering on the ridiculous – Mortal Kombat X tries to inject a somewhat
GAMING
veryone seems to have their own favourite fighting game, and rivalries between the players of franchises can lead to some heated arguments (if you travel in those circles, of course). But it is undeniable that Mortal Kombat, as a franchise, is up there with the best of them. It might not have been a genre progenitor, but since its early days as a coin-op, Mortal Kombat has taken numerous steps in all kinds of right directions. That’s not to say that the series hasn’t had its fair share of failings, of course. Anyone who has worked their way through the nine previous releases of this franchise will surely be able to point out weaknesses. But while Mortal Kombat X may have a few missteps on show, it certainly isn’t the weakest release we have seen from the series. In fact, it is quite arguably the best.
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heart-felt and emotionally charged plot into a world where it doesn’t belong. In the past it was all about lone fighters doing their thing to advance their chosen cause. Now, though, there are elements like relationships and coming-of-age ideas that simply do not fit the mould. When two characters have a strong emotional bond in the single player story, it seems odd to see them performing gleeful fatalities on each other in other parts of the game… it’s inconsistent, at worst, but it is still pretty odd. Then again, most people who play Mortal Kombat X will care less, really, because story-line is so superfluous in these types of games that it becomes a true novelty, rather than being central to the experience in any way. And it does bring with it a host of new characters, which is never a bad thing. That said, with one third of
the initial character roster being new – that’s eight out of 24 – there have had to be some omissions to make space. But while some long-time characters are not present anymore, thanks to some heavy handed plot devices, the newcomers more than make up for the gaps left. The eight new characters are fresh and exciting, and freshness is something that the Mortal Kombat character roster needed. Something for all characters that should have players very excited are options in fighting styles. Each character has three options, which expand on play styles (albeit slightly in some cases) and allow the player to add a modicum of customisation to their game. Customisation also comes from the Krypt, which makes a welcome return for players to spend their Koins on various unlockable goodies, including character skins.
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resulting in a game that feels more crisp and fastpaced. The characters move faster and perform their moves very quickly, leading to an experience that is as fast paced as it is strategic. The strategy comes in on improvements in the use of fighter resources, as well as the addition of interruptible combos. Unfortunately the directional blocking idea has resurfaced in Mortal Kombat X – something that many had hoped had finally disappeared from the series. It’s a mechanic that can feel a little boggy, but not enough to ruin the overall experience. And the characters have myriad special moves and abilities that make the experience even more visceral and satisfying. The whole lot adds up to a game that is awesome to look at, and great to play. It shows a few chinks in its armour, but there seem to be less of those issues in
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And that’s great, because this is the best looking Mortal Kombat game ever made. Some of the character models could have been a little better, judging by their roster mates, but the overall effect is really visually appealing. That goes even more so for animations, which have been greatly improved across the board. And the graphics capabilities of the more powerful platforms make things like Fatalities a wonder to behold, even if they are on the darker side of things. Even the backgrounds are vibrant and lively affairs, adding a lot of detail and atmosphere to the game. There have also been improvements made in what’s most important in a game like Mortal Kombat X – The fighting. The whole affair seems a lot slicker, with punchier move execution (if you’ll excuse the pun)
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Mortal Kombat X
this iteration. The developers truly hit their stride with this brutal, action packed and pacey fighter, and it is doubtless that there will be many rivalries rekindled as players take to it, either locally or online. Online play is also pretty slick, but there can be timing issues that come up from time to time. It’s obviously better locally, where Mortal Kombat X becomes a strong contender for the fighter crown. Sadly, though – as things tend to be these days – the feeling of achievement for unlocking a new character or item is diminished by those willing to shell out a few bucks to circumvent the hard work. Micro-transactions are in full force here, and if you’re not into the idea of unlocking the character you’re after, for example, you can simply buy him. It feels a lot like cheating, and diminishes the achievements of those players who get
the rewards the hard way. It is the state of the world of gaming these days, though, and there is little that can be done about it when a publisher decides that certain ideas need to be cheapened (by making them more expensive, oddly enough). But no one is forced to take advantage of the micro-transactions, so they become little more than a grumble, really. If fighting games are your bag (and this is an extremely popular genre, let’s be honest) then Mortal Kombat X is a game that you really need to strongly consider adding to your collection. Even if your tastes tend towards other franchises, the solid game dynamics and great looks of this title allow it to shine, and set something of a new mark for the genre. It’s well worth experiencing, and getting to beat down your opponents with supergraphic Fatalities is as satisfying as ever. g
AT A GLANCE Fighting
REVIEWED BY
Despite a few weaker points, the overall fighting experience granted by Mortal Kombat X is fantastic.
Developer: Publisher: Distributer:
NetherRealm Warner Bros Ster Kinekor
PARENTAL ADVISORY
18+ gamecca71
Violence Language Sex Drug Use Prejudice
ACCESSIBILITY
Hard-Core Medium Casual
PS4 PLATFORMS
GENRE
PC X360 X0 PS3 PS4 Wii U PSV 3DS AND iOS
Score
85 49
E M W A IE G EV R
Borderland The Handsom Collection
GAMING
The same kind of crazy‌ just more
50
gamecca71
GENRE
This remaster is great value, with
by Alex Scanlon
two full games and all DLC for both... and, besides, it’s Borderlands.
ACCESSIBILITY Hard-Core Medium Casual
Score
88
AT A GLANCE
18+
Gearbox 2K Megarom
Violence Language Sex Drug Use Prejudice
Developer: Publisher: Distributer:
PARENTAL ADVISORY
REVIEWED ON
PC X360 X0 PS3 PS4 Wii U PSV 3DS AND iOS
XO
gamecca71
First-person shooter
PLATFORMS
e of it.
advantage, but the overall feel and massive scale of the games and DLC packages (including new characters) may just tempt you to work your way through the insane glory of these games from the beginning. Another great thing that it offers is couch-co-op. Up to four players can now play the game locally, using a four way split screen to take on the bad guys of Pandora and its moon. Borderlands 2, particularly, shines here, with smooth frame rates throughout. The Pre-Sequel does less well, with frame rates that dip below where they should be. It isn’t ruinous, but it is definitely there. Another little downside stems from the fact that the games need to be booted individually. You cannot start one without completely quitting out of the other. Once again, this isn’t a massive problem, but a central menu for both titles would have been a nice addition to the package. Other than that, nothing much has changed – and that’s a great thing. We’re still given the massive, exciting and completely insane Borderlands experience, complete with all the weird skill trees, tons of playable characters and massive amount of guns. On the whole, this really is one of the best remasters we have seen to date. It offers the player an absolute truck-load to get through (even just one of these titles is a long and entertaining prospect) and reinvigorates one of the best shooter franchises around, bringing it kicking and screaming into the new generation like an angry midget marauder. And for those that have never experienced Pandora and all its craziness (as well as those fantastic randomised weapons) before, this is a great place to start! All in all, this collection is an absolute winner. g
Borderlands: The Handsome Collection
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t looks like remasters are going to be around for a while. It’s something of a double-edged sword, really. On the down-side, the remastered titles are not exactly new games, and if you got through them on the previous generation, you may not want to suffer the extra expense of getting the upgraded version. On the upside, these remastered titles bring a set of great games to the latest console hardware, which I awesome if you haven’t played them before. Even f you have, and are willing to shell out the cash, they’re of great benefit to fans who can’t play favourite older titles on newer consoles, thanks to a lack of backwards compatibility. And most of them, to sweeten the deal, have all kinds of extras included. In those terms, Borderlands: The Handsome Collection offers really great value. It includes two games – Borderlands 2 and Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel – as well as all DLC for those two titles. The end result is a couple of hundred hours’ worth of play. And it’s Borderlands, still one of the best adventurebased shooters of recent years. The remastering is there, too, bringing these two games to life in glorious 1080p, with added flash and glitz. You will be excused for not noticing it at first – Borderlands distinctive visual style can make it challenging to see all the tweaks. But the steady frame rates and higher resolution make the game very appealing. It also rewards returning players with Golden Keys and Badass Tokens, which really help things along. And these rewards are generous, giving you a real leg-up on the action. You can also import characters from previous generation versions of these games – obviously using the characters specific to the individual games as dictated. That’s another great
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E M W A IE G EV R
Dark Souls 2 Scholar of First Sin GAMING
Not quite the same as before‌
52
gamecca71
Dark Souls 2: Scholar of the First Sin
by Walt Pretorius
2: the
53
gamecca71
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V
packs, which are a great addition if you have the stomach to fight through to them. This is usually the point when we point out that, other than cosmetic changes, better resolution and improved frame rates, nothing much has changed. But From Software aren’t exactly known for being forgiving when it comes to their games. And while the massively steep learning curve and brutally unforgiving nature of the original are still present here, From decided to mix things up a bit. Some – not all – of the encounters have been modified. Where previously there may have been no enemies, there are now new surprises. And the locations of some items – like the near crucial Ring of Binding – have been changed. What this means is that while newcomers will have to take on the dangers of Drangleic from a fresh perspective
GAMING
irtually everyone is jumping of the remaster bandwagon these days, thanks to the fact that the last few crops of games for the PS3 and Xbox 360 were really great – more than warranting a reworking for newer platforms. Joining the fray is From Software, who recently had players babbling excitedly about their first true current generation title, the PS4 exclusive Bloodborne. But while Bloodborne presents some new ideas for the developer, they haven’t left their roots behind, and Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin, makes a very welcome appearance on PS4 and Xbox One. While the name might imply that it is a different game, or a standalone expansion, Scholar of the First Sin is actually a remastered version of the original Dark Souls 2. That said, it does contain all three Lost Crown DLC
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Dark Souls 2: Scholar of the First Sin
(and won’t notice much new, beyond how punishing the game is) veterans won’t just waltz through Scholar of the First Sin. While the experience won’t be entirely fresh for those that have played Dark Souls 2 before, there are enough changes and surprises to keep players on their toes. In terms of visuals, the upgrades certainly are as apparent as they can be in the drab and depressing kingdom of Drangleic. There is more to occupy the eye, and while it might not seem like a massive upgrade at first, this dead world certainly seems more alive than before. And, of course, there are the three brutal and punishing DLC packs. This adds value, particularly for veterans who never got to the extras. And newcomers – well, they’re in for a massive, sprawling experience that does its very best to see their character on the wrong side of dead.
What’s truly refreshing here, though, is something that isn’t common in remastered games. For the most part, they are carbon copies of what came before, albeit spruced up for the new hardware. But From Software obviously wasn’t content with delivering the exact same experience before, and their tweaks included the switching up of certain elements that were mentioned before. This means that upgrading your version of Dark Souls isn’t necessarily a grudge purchase. While it may not be a truly fresh experience, it has freshness to it, and surprises that help the game stick to its punishing nature, even in the unlikely event that the player has finished Dark Souls 2 before. It’s something of a caring approach ( a word that seems out of place when describing any game from From) and one that shows that this developer wants to add value to what others might perceive as a quick cash-in opportunity. g
AT A GLANCE Role-playing Game
This isn’t a carbon copy remaster; with all the DLC and a few changes to the main game, it’s fresh for veterans and newcomers alike. Developer: Publisher: Distributer:
From Software Namco Bandai Megarom
PARENTAL ADVISORY
16+ gamecca71
Violence Language Sex Drug Use Prejudice
ACCESSIBILITY
Hard-Core Medium Casual
REVIEWED BY
PS4 PLATFORMS
GENRE
PC X360 X0 PS3 PS4 Wii U PSV 3DS AND iOS
Score
85 55
T
56
It’s more about the flash than actual game play.
Sport
XO
PLATFORMS
Developer: Publisher: Distributer:
Cherry Pop Games Cherry Pop Games Microsoft
PARENTAL ADVISORY
3+ gamecca71
Violence Language Sex Drug Use Prejudice
ACCESSIBILITY Hard-Core Medium Casual
Score
REVIEWED ON
PC X360 X0 PS3 PS4 Wii U PSV 3DS AND iOS
GENRE
AT A GLANCE
GAMING Bound of flame
Sinking feeling
65
by Charlie Fripp
Pool Nation FX
he sport of pool, the one where you have to hit red or yellow (or solids and striped) balls into the pockets on a billiards table, is exciting on its own, but it’s incredibly hard to get right as a console game. Pool Nation FX, the free game for Xbox One owners last month, is proof of that. I don’t usually gripe about games, as I try to see the best as well as the sloppy in all titles, but Pool Nation FX is just a mess. Ok, it’s not that big of a mess, but if you have played other pool titles on Xbox One, this one has just enough to annoy you. Pure Pool, another Xbox One title, was released for the console a while back and where it served as a relaxing activity with your friends, Pool Nation FX destroys that notion. The game bills itself as “the ultimate Pool Simulator” but its turns out that it is more about the flash and fan-fair than anything else. There is a regular “tournament mode” where you can play against other players, but the heart of it is in trick shots. While that sounds exciting, it is so difficult to pull off (even the easy setting for regular games) that you will be throwing your virtual pool cue through the television. But with that said, it does have one thing going for it: it has really good graphics for a studio that is pretty much unknown. It does try to take on a different angle than regular pool games, but making it too difficult had me uninstalling the title right after I wrote this review. g
Pool Nation FX
E M W A IE G EV R
T
REVIEWED ON It’s all style over substance here, with the game’s great looks being completely out of balance with its lessthan-ideal dynamics.
Platformer
PS4 PC X360 X0 PS3 PS4 Wii U PSV 3DS AND iOS
GAMING
GENRE
AT A GLANCE
Looks aren’t everything…
PLATFORMS
Developer: Publisher: Distributer:
Lumenox Lumenox Online
PARENTAL ADVISORY
7+ gamecca71
Violence Language Sex Drug Use Prejudice
ACCESSIBILITY Hard-Core Medium Casual
Score
Aaru’s Awakening
50 57
by Walt Pretorius
he planet Lumenox’s four deities – Dawn, Day, Night and Dusk – have lived in perfect balance for centuries, a balance struck after a great war between them. But when Night starts getting greedy, wanting more time in control, Dawn releases an ancient warrior beast to save the day. Aaru, Dawn’s champion, must run, jump and teleport through a host of levels to save the day. Aaru looks a bit like a genetic mishap involving a bear, a bird and an ant-eater. But the character fits in perfectly with the game’s bold, hand-drawn visual style, so the fact that I sometimes couldn’t tell his head from the other end wasn’t too much of a problem. The visuals are truly impressive, and the developers Luminox (wait, isn’t that the planet…) let their artfreak flag fly here. They just didn’t spend much time thinking about the game dynamics. Principally, it’s controlling Aaru that’s the game’s weakest link. He has no sensible, quick attack; attacks can only be performed by teleporting. This problem is made even more frustrating by the fact that the game demands a level of accuracy that the controls simply do not allow for. It’s a clumsy affair, leaving the player spending most of their time dodging enemies or getting frustrated by what feel like cheap deaths. There is a puzzle aspect to Aaru’s Awakening, and this is probably the strongest part of the game. They won’t fry your grey matter, but they are balanced enough to be challenging without being impossible to solve. Ultimately, Aaru’s Awakening fails to strike a balance between looking good and feeling good. It’s visuals are really wonderful and beautifully themed, but without solid, enjoyable game play to back them up, the whole affair descends into being style over substance. g
Aaru’s Awakening
e m w a ie G v e R
E M W A IE G EV R
Neverwinter GAMING
Casting spells the D&D way
58
gamecca71
Neverwinter
GENRE
It’s a complex, but
by Charlie Fripp
very enjoyable, trip through the fantasy world of
PARENTAL ADVISORY Violence Language Sex Drug Use Prejudice
10+ ACCESSIBILITY Hard-Core Medium Casual
Score
80
AT A GLANCE
PC X360 X0 PS3 PS4 Wii U PSV 3DS AND iOS
REVIEWED ON
PLATFORMS
D&D... MMO style.
Cryptic Studios Perfect World Entertainment Microsoft
gamecca71
RPG Adventure
Developer: Publisher: Distributer:
to build up strength for the next fight. It’s very much like Sanctuary in Borderlands and The Tower in Destiny. Being an MMO, this is also where you will encounter many other online players – possibly about to do the same quest or activity as you. Since the game is built around online player participation, you will often find others in your game instance, and while they might be on a different quest than you, they will still be able to help kill whatever is standing in your way. But one of the problems with the game is that I can honestly not tell you what the overall plot is. I mean there is one, but there are so many “go do this”, “go fetch that” or “go kill him” missions, that the main plot often gets lost. And each new area that you go to, of which there are about 10 or 12, there are more people who want to give you a variety of quests. In your Journal, where all the active and complete quests are displayed, there is also no mention of which quests contribute towards to main story. Another problem with Neverwinter is that there are about six or seven different currencies to buy stuff with. And then there are microtransactions. The main currency of the game is Zen, which you can buy 1000 of for $10. Or you can buy a simple weapon for 13 000 Seals of the Lion – which will take about a gazillion days to get through normal means. But at the end of the day you learn to work your way around it, and it turn out that Neverwinter is actually a pretty decent game. At its core it is very complex but it has the ability to quickly suck you in for hours. g
XO
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’ll be the first one to tell you that I know nothing about Dungeons & Dragons. I know it is an RPG-board game-thingy made by the Wizards of the Coast, but as far as anything else goes, I have zip. Nada. Nothing. That probably makes me either the worst or the best person to review Neverwinter, a free Xbox Live game released a couple of weeks back. You could have told me the game was based on characters from Paul Zippy and Do-da Brothers, and I would have believed you – if it wasn’t for the big D&D logo on the game’s splash screen. All I knew was that it was free, it was a RPG and it was an MMO – making it a MMORPG. Now… I’m not completely clueless when it comes to MMORPG as I have played my fair share of Guild Wars back in the day. To say that I’m rusty is a bit of an understatement. But with that said, I jumped head-long into Neverwinter, and what I found was a rather charming game with a lot of elements to keep me busy. But that is also the game’s downfall, which I will get to in just a moment. At the start of the game, players can set up and create the character that they want to play with – complete with back story and customizable facial features. I’m not going to go into too much detail here, but expect the usual classes of upfront axeswingers right through to spellcasters. From there, you have to make your way towards Protector’s Enclave, which serves as the central hub for where everything happens. It is here where you will get new quests, buy and trade items and where you can rest your character
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R
60
REVIEWED ON Although ugly and inconsistent, Tower of Guns can be fun in short bursts.
First-person shooter
PS4 PC X360 X0 PS3 PS4 Wii U PSV 3DS AND iOS
GENRE
AT A GLANCE
GAMING Bound of flame
A frustrating climb…
PLATFORMS
Developer: Publisher: Distributer:
Terrible Posture Grip Games Online
PARENTAL ADVISORY
12+ gamecca71
Violence Language Sex Drug Use Prejudice
ACCESSIBILITY Hard-Core Medium Casual
Score
Tower of Guns
60
by Walt Pretorius
oguelike games aren’t likely to disappear any time soon – in fact, the quasi-genre is starting to span other genres quite a lot, so we’re seeing more and more games that are less and less like the original Rogue game that spawned the somewhat lamentable descriptor attached to these titles. Take, as an example of this unchecked expansion, Tower of Guns. The game isn’t particularly complex and, as the name implies, the player needs to work his way up a tower while shooting guns. Well, one gun anyway. AT the beginning of each session, the player starts at the bottom of the tower, and is given one gun… selected from ten weapons that are unlocked as the player achieves certain goals. The guns start with a pretty normal pistol (which isn’t good for much) and get crazier from there. In addition, the player gets to choose one perk to help them along. The game alternated between too easy and overly punishing. Its randomised levels can also be inconsistent, because some of them will give the player lots of perks and buffs, while other respawns will be a little light in those departments. In addition, the game throws very varied numbers of enemies at the player, making the overall experience thoroughly unpredictable. Tower of Guns is fun to play, although short doses are generally preferable. It does very little to help the player along, adding to the challenge. Sadly it is an ugly game, for the most part, with graphics that seem to be more functional than aesthetic. It’s something that you can draw some enjoyment out of, but the ugly visuals and rampant inconsistency keeps Tower of Guns from rising up to become a classic. g
Tower of Guns
E M W A IE G EV R
M
Although MonsterBag has the best intentions, it soon descends into the realms of frustrating mess.
Platformer
PSV
PLATFORMS
Developer: Publisher: Distributer:
IguanaBee IguanaBee PSN
PARENTAL ADVISORY
12+ gamecca71
Violence Language Sex Drug Use Prejudice
ACCESSIBILITY Hard-Core Medium Casual
Score
REVIEWED ON
PC X360 X0 PS3 PS4 Wii U PSV 3DS AND iOS
GAMING
GENRE
AT A GLANCE
Timing is everything…
45 61
by Alex Scanlon
MonsterBag
onsterBag is part of the growing number of indie games that shows that the gaming community at large enjoys the creativity of smaller design studios, in addition to appreciating the big name blockbusters. The fact is that the very existence of these types of games means that the market accepts them, and their contribution to the world of gaming is, above all, fresh ideas. MosterBag follows a very simple principle. The player takes control of a monster-shaped backpack called V, who has been separated from his friend and owner, Nia. The mission is simple; get back to Nia. But to do so the player will need to get through lots of people, leaping from back to back to do so… and some of those people want V dead. So do the aliens that show up, inexplicably, in the later parts of the title. MonsterBag sets itself up to be a simple, timing based platformer with a cause-and-effect puzzle flavour for variety. Possessed of a unique, simplistic art style, MonsterBag could have set itself apart from other gaes quite easily. However, it doesn’t take too long for the wheels to fall off. Later parts of the game get excruciatingly difficult. With a large reliance on stealth, the game demands precise timing from the player, but later on the windows of opportunity get so small that the game descends into the realms of frustrating mess. That, coupled with Vita controls that get just a little too finicky from time to time, means that MonsterBag misses its mark more often than not. Where it could have been something of a definitive title, it becomes something that is painful to play. That’s a pity, really, because the ideas at the core of the game are solid. g
MonsterBag
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E M W A IE G EV R
Never Alone
GAMING
Left out in the cold‌
62
gamecca71
Never Alone
by Walt Pretorius
AT A GLANCE GENRE
Platformer
REVIEWED BY
While the lessons it teaches about the Iñupiat culture are interesting, Never Alone isn’t a particularly appealing title.
Developer: Publisher: Distributer:
Upper One E-Line Media Online
PARENTAL ADVISORY
12+ gamecca71
Violence Language Sex Drug Use Prejudice
ACCESSIBILITY
Hard-Core Medium Casual
PS4 PLATFORMS
e
E
ducational games don’t all have to be awful. Never Alone is such a title, and it teaches the player about a native Alaskan tribe called the Iñupiat. In fact, it was developed by member of this tribe, and provides the player with an interesting, deep and often heart-felt view of this fascinating culture – a culture that has thrived in some of the harshest conditions on the planet. The videos range from looks at traditional art through to important aspects in the Iñupiat way of life and, quite honestly, I found them fascinating. Rather than hiding them away in the menu system, Never Alone prompts the player to watch the videos as soon as they are unlocked, and these wellproduced titbits are one of the highlights of the title. In fact, they are what kept me going for the length of the game, partly because they are rather interesting and partly because the game is a little weak. It’s a by-the-book platformer than never really goes out to challenge the player further than having to deal with an often idiotic AI partner. Trust me, co-op is the way to go here if you want to keep your head hair. Aside from a brilliantly aesthetic and the engaging videos, Never Alone doesn’t do too much to impress. The Iñupiat culture infuses the entire game, which is great, but it never goes beyond being undemanding in its platforming approach. Most of its challenges fall into the realm of obvious, and the player will have little difficulty traversing the ice-bound world as they help the hero, Nuna, find out why her village is plagued by devastating blizzards. Still, there is interest here, particularly if learning about other cultures is your thing. But that’s likely the only reason you may want to play Never Alone. g
PC X360 X0 PS3 PS4 Wii U PSV 3DS AND iOS
Score
60 63
E M W A IE G EV R
Code name: S.T.E.A.M Who’re you gonna call?
T
book style story unfolds chapter by chapter, each scene depicted in its own panel with turning pages to continue the comic book feel and theme. Gameplay wise it is a turn based strategy game very similar to X-Com: Enemy Unknown with its third person view and character movement around the level. Each mission has different objectives with many of them guiding the characters to various Goals following the story. The idea of steam has be incorporated into every aspect of the game; how far each character moves as well as their attacks are connected to the steam bar. Strategy is everything. The steam bar guides everything such as attacking and movement: the problem comes when you make one move too far and suddenly the enemy fires at you faster than you can say “who chopped down my cherry tree”. Both a blessing and a curse is the fact that no time
GAMING
he world has been transformed into a modern day utopia thanks to the pioneers and engineers utilizing the power of steam to bring in new technology. London is about to participate in a grand event over the river Thames: the opening of the Steamgate Bridge. The event does not go as planned when an alien invasion rocks the city - and the world. However, in anticipation for such cases, president Abraham Lincoln suddenly makes an appearance on his air-ship Lady Liberty. Together with an assembled team known as Strike Team Eliminating Alien Menace or S.T.E.A.M, the alien invasion is sure to be eradicated…but at what cost Codename: S.TE.A.M puts players in the shoes of S.T.E.A.M operatives with a mission to save humanity, operating steam powered weapons and gear. The comic
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Codename: S.T.E.A.M
as you move through each level. As the levels progress and more characters unlocked, the four-man roster each level requires can be switched up allowing variety with each level. The alien creatures are rather formidable and one wrong move will leave you blowing steam with nothing to show but a greyed out steam bar and a knocked out agent. As the game progresses, the alien creatures begin to vary in role and attack thereby making progress that much harder. Learning their weakness earlier and how to exploit each creature is sometimes the difference between a long drawn out battle and effective counterattacks. As a strategy game, Codename: S.T.E.A.M plays out well enough and the third-person perspective works for it. It can be frustrating and restarting a map may be a viable option during tough times but the game is fun and the variation of S.T.E.A.M agents allows for diverse gameplay. g
AT A GLANCE RStrategy
REVIEWED BY
The world is under attack from alien invaders and only Earth’s steam powered heroes can protect the world from annihilation. Developer: Publisher: Distributer:
Intelligent Systems Nintedno Core Group
PARENTAL ADVISORY
7+ gamecca71
Violence Language Sex Drug Use Prejudice
ACCESSIBILITY
Hard-Core Medium Casual
3DS PLATFORMS
GENRE
PC X360 X0 PS3 PS4 Wii U PSV 3DS AND iOS
Score
70 65
by Nthato Morakabi
limit exists for missions however each passing turn will spawn more enemies and strategically that makes the game harder. The level design is interesting, rather haphazard in how everything is arranged making movement and use of steam a delicate thing. With no map to guide your efforts, and not knowing if an enemy is waiting to attack around the next corner is a damper on the whole strategy thing but the game is forgiving in allowing you to retract your steps, giving back the steam used, so you can plan accordingly. There are 12 unlockable S.T.E.A.M agents, each one based off a “famous” fictional character. The likes of Randolph Carter a H.P Lovecraft character, Lion the cowardly feline from The Wizard of Oz, Tom Sawyer from…well Tom Sawyer and Tiger Lily from Peter Pan. Each has their unique abilities and special attacks which can be incorporated into strategy
cy a eg
l
Legacy:
The Building GAMING
The Spice
66
gamecca71
Legacy: Dune 2
Dune 2:
of a Dynasty
Must Flow
By Lein Baart
gamecca71
67
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T
here are some genres that have appeared overnight, literally redefining the way gaming is approached and opening up whole new worlds of possibilities. These remain the exception rather than the rule however, and far more common is the subtle build-up of new mechanics and features that eventually result in a new style of gameplay emerging. The real-time strategy genre (more commonly known as RTS) was one such case, with a plethora of titles in the eighties that all bore elements of what was to come, but each lacking in key features. It took Westwood Studios, one of the great developers of the nineties, to tie all the mechanics together, and Dune 2: The Building of a Dynasty was to become the inspiration for some of the best known franchises to date.
GAMING
Why was it created?
It’s important to note that Dune 2 was not the first RTS game in history. That honour, at least by the standards we recognise today, belongs to a little known game that launched on the Sega Mega Drive (Genesis if you live North America) in 1990 called Herzog Zwei. Indeed, according to former Virgin Interactive vice-president Stephen Clarke-Willson, the idea for Dune 2 came about when the publisher, fed up with delays from a small French developer called Cryo Interactive, decided to scrap the idea for an adventure game based on the 1984 movie in favour of a title that blended Dune’s setting with Herzog Zwei’s gameplay. Approaching Westwood Studios with the idea, which at the time were known mainly for their adventure and RPG games, the developer agreed to take on the project, and the thus foundations for Dune 2 were laid. Westwood co-founder Brett Sperry has also cited a number of inspirations, including Populous, Eye of the Beholder
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(created by Westwood) and most surprisingly the Apple Mac OS interface, which at the time was one of the leading drivers of mouse-based GUI’s. While the development of Dune 2 remained relatively trouble-free, work on the original Dune by Cryo Interactive was still proceeding, as apparently nobody at Virgin Interactive had informed the studio that game had been cancelled. Finished just before Westwood’s version, Virgin decided to publish the game (which was an excellent adventure title in its own right), and, over Westwood’s objections, launched Dune 2 as unrelated sequel.
Why do we care?
Upon its release in 1992, Dune 2 was almost an instant success, establishing the genre in its own right as well as launching it into mainstream popularity. While it might have been inspired by Herzog Zwei, Dune 2 established a number of conventions in its own right, many of which are still adhered to today. While it introduced resource gathering, base and unit construction and factions with unique units and buildings, probably its biggest contribution to the genre (and simultaneously the reason for its success) was its use of both mouse and keyboard inputs. The impact was massive, allowing individual unit selection and assignment of orders, and while the original DOS version still relied heavily on menus the Mega Drive port gave us the concept of context-sensitive inputs, which would forever after become a staple RTS gaming. Dune 2’s reach is far more than just the mechanics it pioneered however, as it served not only as direct inspiration for Westwood’s Command & Conquer franchise but for Blizzard’s WarCraft and StarCraft series, as well as the excellent Total Annihilation. It’s a legacy that has allowed for some of the most successful games of all time, and for this Dune 2 can rightly be considered one of the most important games in history. g
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Legacy: Dune 2
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BY rAMJET
Disconnected... I
Ramjet’s rantality
t’s easy to forget where we came from. And that is a problem that is quite evident in the world of video game journalists. See, we’re spoiled… but before I get to that, I assure you that I am not trying to prod your jealousy gland here. I am trying to point out something that you probably need to be aware of. And you’re probably going to get jealous anyway, and call me all kinds of nasty names. Whatever. Been there, done that. Anyway, we’re spoiled. The reason why I say that is because, quite simply, we get to indulge our love for games without having to spend the majority of our disposable (or even our crucial) income on buying stuff. Game journalists – the ones who have established themselves – don’t pay for stuff. Ever. Consoles? We get given ‘em. Sure, it’s a “long term loan” basis, but I have never been asked to give one back. Games? Same thing. Sometimes we even get limited edition stuff, and I have more gaming T-shirts than I could wear in a year. Jealous yet? Well, don’t be, because it’s
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actually a problem. Stop shouting. Seriously, just stop, and let me explain why it is a problem, OK? Calm the hell down. See, when a game journalist writes an article, he does so because readers want his opinion on the game. And, quite frankly, that opinion needs to be tempered by personal experience. And sure, the game journalist perceives the game in the way that virtually everyone else would, except… well, he hasn’t paid for it. No, I am not saying that game journalists should start paying for games – anything but that. Rather, I am saying that they need to remember that other people do pay for games, and quite a lot of money at that. And that should be part of their approach to reviewing a game. See, it’s easy to be negative or flippant about something when you haven’t made a heavy investment into it. If someone gives you a car, say, and you write it off, it hurts less than if you had to buy that car with your hard earned money. Same
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thing applies. It’s easy to rip into a game or praise it when it hasn’t cost you a cent. But when you’ve paid for it, you’re either going to enjoy it more than a game reviewer would, or be more disappointed. It becomes easy for game journalists to be happy-golucky about game length, or to be undisturbed by DLC. But that’s because they play a lot of games, and they haven’t paid a cent for them. When you can afford one or maybe two games a month, and they’re brutally short, or hampered by lots of downloads to complete the experience, well, that just sucks. So what you have to try and do is find someone who hasn’t lost their connection and follow their articles, if you’re interested in outside opinions. Not every game journalist has lost the connection. And even those that have may realise it one day, and work to get it back. Either way, it’s important that journalists don’t forget why they write their articles… and to do that effectively, they need to remember what life was like before all the free stuff. g
FeatureS 74
A Crucial Step
HARDWARE Reviews 80 82 84 86 88 90 92 94 96
Acer Gaming XG Series Monitor Crucial Ballistix Sport DDR4 RAM Acer K135 LED Projector Logitech z333 Multimedia Speaker System Asrock Z97M Anniversary Micro ATX Motherboard COUGAR CMX850 PSU Crucial MX200 & BX100 SSDs Genius GX Gaming SW-G5.1 3500 5.1 Speaker System Asus ROG G501 Gaming Notebook
RegularS 98 102
Internet Security
COLUMN 104
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Technically Speaking
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In
ACRUC TECHNOLOGY
Taking South African eSp
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The Crucial Cup
IALSTEP
ports in the right direction gamecca71
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T
he South African eSports arena has seen its fair share of ups and downs. With problems ranging from infighting between various organisations responsible for eSports right through to difficulties in securing sponsorships for events, local eSports have travelled an often difficult road. But there are those in the industry and community that share similar goals and views, and when two such entities get together, the results are more often than not extremely positive. One such collaboration has seen the creation of the Crucial Cup, a new event that looks likely to become an important part of South Africa’s yearly eSports calendar. The combined efforts of Crucial, Syntech and xTc-Black Legion’s Stephen de Witt have culminated in an event that is sure to make an impact of the local scene, all the while promoting eSports in South Africa and helping bring the local scene to the level where it should be. We spoke to both Ryan Martin, co-founder of Syntech, and Stephen de Witt about the Crucial Cup. First off, we asked Ryan about the importance of the Crucial Cup to companies like Syntech and Crucial, his thoughts on the local scene and where he would like to see it going in future.
GM. How do you see the state of eSports in South Africa currently?
RM. eSports in a very exciting stage of development and it’s particularly encouraging to witness it evolving. Innovation and commitment from the gaming community are driving growth despite limited levels of sponsorship and funding. We are confident that this will lead to more structured and sustainable platform for eSports to excel locally.
TECHNOLOGY
GM. How will the Crucial Cup affect this landscape?
RM. We think that the Crucial Cup will play a role in building the gaming community in South Africa. We’d like it to provide a platform for more teams to compete, learn from each other and hopefully drive further interest and investment into the eSports arena.
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GM. What was the thinking behind this event? Why was the Crucial Cup created?
RM. Following our participation at rAge in 2014, we were inspired by the enthusiasm of the gaming community and, in particular, Stephen’s commitment to growing eSports in South Africa. PC gaming is a focus market for Syntech and we feel that by investing in this community we will contribute to the development of the market. Stephen is the mastermind behind the Crucial Cup and we really happy that we could help make it a reality.
GM. What kind of response have you had to the Crucial Cup?
RM. We were overwhelmed by the response to the competition and look forward to engaging more with the gaming community.
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The Crucial Cup
GM. Is this an event that we will see happening every year?
RM. We’d really like to make this an annual event and, based on the success of the first competition, hope to see it grow every year.
GM. What is Syntech’s overall approach to eSports in South Africa? Will we be seeing more events like this in the future?
RM. We see this as an excellent platform to engage with enthusiasts and develop the gaming industry in South Africa. We have already received interest from some of our other brands in supporting future initiatives and would like to see more events like this in future.
help us to develop a market as well as introduce new products to the people that they were designed for. Crucial is a leading international brand and the Crucial Cup is undoubtedly a sign of their intention to build a strong following in the South African community.
GM. How would you like to see the Crucial Cup grow in the future?
RM. We hope to see the Crucial Cup grow in participation and be extended to support more disciplines. The Syntech team would like to thank the gaming community for supporting Crucial and the Crucial Cup, we are excited about the future.
GM. How important are events like this to companies like Syntech and Crucial?
RM. These events are very important to us, they gamecca71
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ext we spoke to xTc-Black Legion’s Stephen de Witt about the insand-outs of this year’s Crucial Cup, which is already in full swing, about putting this kind of event together, how it has been received and what it has been like working with the event sponsors.
GM. What is the format of this year’s Crucial Cup?
SdW. The cup has a dual bracket system. It started off with a 64 team single elimination bracket, then followed by a 32 team single elimination bracket. This was to ensure the strongest possible 16 teams make it to the next stage. After the 32 team single elimination bracket it lead into the current 16 team double elimination bracket.
TECHNOLOGY
GM. What kind of work goes into organising an event of this type?
SdW. It is not as hard and intimidating as people imagine. Yes, the administrations is a hell of a lot of work. I have a 9 to 5 day job, and then spend every night administrating the cup. Tons of questions get asked, rules need to be updated, streams and commentators that need to be arranged. But having this awesome community that’s so hungry for competitive gaming
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tournaments made my life easy. It is a lot of work, but I do not mind doing it for the massive benefit that it holds for the growth of the sport.
GM. What can teams signing up for the Crucial Cup expect? SdW. Currently the Crucial Cup is very much community driven, so teams that have signed up and that are currently competing in the cup feel that they are a part of something bigger… something where everyone has a say and is involved. The prizes that have been offered by Crucial are seriously amazing. So the team winning the cup won’t only have the bragging rights and be seen as possibly the best team in the Cup, or even the country, but they will also receive an awesome prize sponsored by Crucial. Five RAM kits and five SSDs worth around R15 000 is a seriously attractive first prize and has attracted all the best teams in the country. So not only have we seen a bunch of new
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The Crucial Cup
teams registering, but also all the best teams. We also gave plenty of the teams exposure via the streams and casting that they haven’t enjoyed before.
GM. How do you feel events like the Crucial Cup will benefit the eSports arena in South Africa?
SdW. It has already started to benefit the eSports arena in South Africa. We have massive amounts of talent in this country when it comes to gaming and it’s about time that we have more tournaments to promote it. The amount of exposure teams and the casters get via this tournament is great, the numbers of viewers are growing with each and every match. Newer players are learning so much through playing against other teams in the Cup. People are getting more interested in online gaming and having more tournaments like the Crucial Cup will definitely promote growth within the sport.
GM. What has the support from Syntech and Crucial been like for this event?
SdW. Crucial and Syntech were the people asking me what they can do to help. That alone says it all. Where else do you find a company or brand that’s so willing to just help a sport grow like this? It’s been inspiring, to be honest. They have been amazing to work with and I will do it all over, again and again, without hesitation.
GM. How would you like to see the Crucial Cup grow in the future?
SdW. I would like to see the next Cup host two more events. After the massive turn out and interest in the current Cup it would only make sense to open it up to at least two more major titles. So, in my books, I would love to see the next Crucial Cup host Battlefield4, Dota2 and CS:GO. That would be epic and I know the interest levels would be unreal. g
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Acer
H C EW E T VI E R
Gaming
Incredibly, ridiculously good loo
TECHNOLOGY
W
hile your PC may contain all kinds of goodness, the ways you interface with it – your mouse, keyboard, sound device and monitor – are extremely important. What good is it having a great PC system if one of these peripherals isn’t up to scratch. And monitors, particularly, are important, because they deliver all those awesome visuals (arguably the most important feedback you’ll get from your input). So having a really good monitor is extremely important. Acer may not be a name that one associates with monitors, but their Gaming XG Series Monitor proves, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that this is a company that understands the importance of great visuals, and knows how to deliver them. This 27 inch widescreen monitor certainly delivers the goods where it counts. Although you may need to tweak the settings a little out of the box, the Gaming XG Series Monitor doesn’t need a lot of that. The image is beautifully crisp and clear, and built in modes make it pretty easy to get as close to what you want as possible with just a few button presses. The 1 millisecond response time and 144Hz performance means that the Gaming XG Series Monitor will be as responsive as you are, and will certainly not get in the way of great gaming
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– or any other kind of application, for that matter. The monitor also has a marvellous aesthetic, with a bezel so thin it is almost not there at all. Acer calls this idea Zero Frame, and the visuals that you get from the monitor are unhindered by surrounding elements. That said, the parts of the Gaming XG Series Monitor that you can see are visually appealing. The monitor is finished with a reddishcopper brushed metal look, and its stand is discrete, while still remaining stable. In terms of inputs, the Gaming XG Series Monitor offers DisplayPort, HDMI and DVI-D ports, as well as 3.5mm audio input and output. However, there is only one of each – that’s fine for most, but those who want to connect multiple devices may find the fewer ports a bit of a problem. The menu system is a no-mess, no-fuss idea, with buttons arrayed discretely along the bottom edge of the unit. Overall, it’s a good looking monitor that delivers good looks. The screen size is generous, and the panel is finished with a matt antiglare coating that keeps things clear under a wide variety of lighting conditions. If you’re in the market for a great gaming monitor, the Gaming XG Series Monitor is a solid bet. Even if you’re just after a good looking monitor to deliver reliable and clear images for various applications, you’ll find it here. g gamecca71
Acer Gaming XG Series Monitor
Monitor
oking…
Summary A great monitor that looks good while delivering great visuals, this unit is responsive and crisp.
Tech Specs: • • • • • • •
27 inch HDMI input DVI-D input DisplayPort input 144Hz Zero Frame
Ma nuf a c t ure r: Ac e r D i s t ri but e r: A c er w w w . a c e r. c o m
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by Alex Scanlon
AT A GLANCE:
Crucial
H C EW E T VI E R
Ballistix Pure RAM power…
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TECHNOLOGY
e always want things to be bigger, better and faster. That’s just part of the human condition – we like convenience, we like thing to go smoothly, and we don’t want to spend more of our precious time doing things than we absolutely have to. So when an idea like DDR4 RAM comes along, it certainly speaks to that need, while bringing the added benefit of much improved performance for the PC that uses this upgraded RAM. Crucial, who have time and again demonstrated the great quality of their RAM through their Ballistix range, are making great strides with this improved technology. Suffice to say that, if your hardware supports it and you want that extra bit of punch from your PC, choosing Ballstix DDR4 Sport RAM is an excellent way to go. When compared to Ballstix Sport DDR3 RAM (to be fair, we’re sticking to the brand here) the advantages of DDR4 are more than obvious. The first, and most significant advantage, is the speed boost. DDR3 delivers 1600MT/s (that’s million transfers per second, if you were wondering) which is still a pretty decent number. However, Ballistix Sport DDR4, which is available in 4GB to 8GB module densities, manages to punch through that barrier (which has, let’s be honest, been the mark for a long time) with a huge 50% boost, bringing the number up to 2400MT/s.
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Will it make your PC 50% faster? Well, it doesn’t really work that way, because a PC’s performance depends on more than just RAM. But it will elevate performance levels in areas that are RAM intensive, and will add stability across the board. And yes, you’re going to be spending less time waiting in general, because faster RAM does create undeniable performance boosts. In addition to the allimportant speed and stability improvements brought into play by Ballistic Sport DDR4, Crucial have reworked the design of the RAM to now include two custom heat spreader designs to choose from, rather than providing just one integrated heat spreader like they did on previous models. It’s not a deal breaker, sure, but the visual aspect of computer components is more important than one might think, and we don’t often have customisation options for things like RAM. DDR4 is cutting edge technology, and Crucial’s Ballistix Sport DDR4 makes great use of it. It might not be quite as quick as Ballistix Elite DDR4, which runs at 2666MT/s, but the performance boost over the DDR3 we are all accustomed to is absolutely undeniable. And, of course, you have Crucial’s track record to go on – this company understands RAM, and moving to DDR4 (if, once again, the rest of your system is compatible) with Ballistix RAM is a decision you will not regret. g
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NAME OF Crucial Ballistix THE PRODUCT Sport DDR4 RAM
RAM
Summary If your system is compatible, then Ballistix Sport DDR4 RAM is a great way to go!
Tech Specs: • • • • • • •
4-8GB module density 2400MT/s Custom heat spreaders
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by Walt Pretorius
AT A GLANCE:
Acer
H C EW E T VI E R
K135
Projecto
Versatile viewing on the go…
TECHNOLOGY
T
he idea of a projector being a big, bulky yet overly sensitive device are pretty much long gone. These days, we get projectors that might not fit in your pocket, but can certainly be transported much more easily, thanks to greatly reduced size, plug-and-play functionality and rugged construction. Acer’s K135 LED projector falls neatly into that category. In fact, pretty much everything about this compact image projection device is just that: neat. The K135 is small enough to fit into virtually any bag, yet packs a surprising amount of power. It’s native resolution is 1280 x 800 (WXGA), but it can be pushed to produce images at 1920 x 1080, which is a good deal for those that want full HD from the device. With a rating of 500 ANSI lumens, though (or 400 if you run the device’s built-in eco mode) you’ll be wanting a fairly
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dark environment to truly enjoy the display. However, lower lumens generally mean a more affordable unit, so there is that benefit. The K135 allows for two input types; there is an HMDI port, which takes care of most things, and a universal I/O port (with included adapter cables) to take care of pretty much everything else. The unit also has a USB port, as well as a microSD card port. All of these add up to making it a pretty versatile device overall, and the included remote control makes using the K135 really simple. The K135 also features a height-adjustable from foot, which will allow for perfect positioning. One thing that is missing – and would probably have been a good idea – is a lens cover. The manual-focus lens is set well back into the unit, and the included carry case should keep it safe, but a level of added protection would have been a nice addition.
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Acer K135 LED Projector
or
by Rob Edwards
Longevity is provided by the ColorSafe II system, which helps prevent colour shifts that occur over time in many projectors. In addition, an eco-mode has been included for those that are environmentally conscious. The K135 may not be the best projector around – particularly due to its low lumen count – but that doesn’t make it a bad projector. In fact, considering its diminutive size and extremely portable nature, it really is rather good in terms of projection, and will make a handy companion for those who need projected images on the go. The high resolution capabilities and HMDI port make it compatible with most modern devices and allow for a wide range of implementation, from office work to gaming. Unfortunately the carry case doesn’t include space for the extras, like power adapters and cables, but it still remains as a highly portable, very versatile image production device. g
AT A GLANCE: Summary
It’s not the brightest projector around, but it is extremely portable and very versatile.
Ma nuf a c t ure r D i s t ri but e r: Onl i ne :
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Acer Acer w w w . a c e r. c o m
Tech Specs: • • • • • • •
500 lumens LED HDMI input Remote control WXGA native resolution ColorSafe technology
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Logitech
H C EW E T VI E R
z333
Providing the sound you need
C TECHNOLOGY
Multimedia Speaker Sys
hoosing the right audio solution can be a tricky prospect. There are numerous routes to follow – like headphones or speakers. And if you go the speakers route, there are still more options, ranging from small, stereo desktop devices right through to large 7.1 surround sound systems. It all comes down to things like personal preference and requirements. If you’re looking for a mid-sized speaker system of the stereo variety – which is a decent option for those who don’t need personal audio (read as headphones) but don’t have the space for a gargantuan system with more speakers than you can shake a stick at, Logitech has the z333. And, as an added bonus, the z333 Multimedia Speaker System offers a little more versatility than your average product aimed at a desktop PC.
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The system is comprised of two fairly large stereo speakers, a subwoofer unit and a wired controller. It’s very easy to set up, with all components routed via the subwoofer – speakers and inputs alike. The subwoofer offers a 3.5mm port for those wanting to make use of audio sourced from a PC, smartphone, tablet or similar devices, as well as stereo RCA jacks that can be used with TV and older console audio, among others. This adds the versatility we spoke of earlier, because the z333 won’t just be at home on your PC desk – it can be part of your home entertainment system, too. The wired allows for a headphone connection, which is rather convenient, and controls volume and power. Bass levels can be adjusted via a control built into the subwoofer. It works really well for a setup that sees the subwoofer sit under the desk, with the speakers positioned on top of the desk. In terms of sound quality, the z333 offers decent
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Logitech z333 Multimedia Speaker System
stem
by Walt Pretorius
performance. It has been acoustically tuned by Logitech, and offers clear audio across the board. It pumps out up to 80 watts pf power at its peak, which can get pretty loud. You might not have the neighbours complaining, but you won’t be straining to hear, either. The z333 fills the gap of a mid-range speaker system quite nicely. It’s well designed and looks good, even if its aesthetic is a little on the down toned side. But what’s most important is the convenience of setup, and the great audio quality that it delivers. Many people would want more than stereo, sure, but if you’re good with dual channel audio (which is, quite frankly, often enough for general purposes) then the z333 is a good way to go. The large controller is easy to use and pretty stable, too, which are good bonuses. If versatility and stereo are what you’re after, this may just be the speaker system for you. g
AT A GLANCE: Summary
This is a very dependable, good quality mid-range stereo speaker system.
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L o gi t e c h L o gi t e c h w w w . l o gi t e c h. c o m
Tech Specs: • • • • • • •
80w peak output Stereo Subwoofer Wired controller 3.5mm input Stereo RCA input
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Asrock
H C EW E T VI E R
Z97M
r e d
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n e t
TECHNOLOGY
o c t h ig e ew l d d i m s k’ c o r As
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Asrock Z97M Anniversary Micro ATX Motherboard
Micro ATX Motherboard
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by Rob Edwards
e don’t often get to see Micro ATX motherboards – perhaps because they fall at neither end of the size spectrum) and so getting the Asrock Z97M Anniversary in for a spin is something of a treat. With the naming conventions for motherboard size standards being a little odd, micro ATX falls somewhere between the larger standard ATX size and the truly tiny mini ATX. One would think that micro would be smaller than mini, but no… oh, well, as long as you know, you should be fine. Asrock have a reputation for building dependable motherboards, and this one certainly is no different. With a Z97 chipset at its core, it will provide all but the most tenacious power-users with exactly what they need – and the power-users are only excluded because the Z97M Anniversary only offers one PCIe 3.0 slot and two PCIe 2.0 slots, which might limit multiple GPU options a bit. Other than that, this board should serve every purpose beautifully. It features everything you will need to get going, without splashing out on too many bells and whistles. Onboard audio, for example, is of the 5.1 variety, rather than the 7.1 found on larger boards. The sound is supported by high-end ELNA audio capacitors, so the quality is generally very good. In terms of ports, the Z97M Anniversary offers a total of four USB 3.0 and eight USB 2.0 ports, along with six SATA3 ports and video outputs in DVI, D-sub and HDMI flavours. It also offers space for up to four DDR3 dual channel RAM units, and features Realtek gigabit LAN technology. In addition, it has numerous technologies to consider. Full Spike Protection guards against power surges, lightning strikes to the LAN port and electrostatic discharge for USB, LAN and MOSFETs. That means you’re pretty secure against any kind of electrical calamity when using the Z97M Anniversary. In addition, the board offers access to the Asrock App shop, where all kinds of supporting software and applications are available, and allows access to the Asrock cloud, with a 1 year free subscription (US$ 49.99 a year after that, should you wish to use it) to Orbweb.ME Professional. It also offers a boosted CPU frequency, and allows for easy overclocking. Cards on the table: the Z97M Anniversary is not a top of the line motherboard. But it was never meant to be. Rather, it fills a space that is more accessible that high-priced hardware, and allows a reliable and versatile system to be constructed for a much lower price. And when it comes to motherboards, security and reliability – both of which the Z97M Anniversary offers – are as important as added extras, many of which will never really come into play. So if you’re after stable performance uncluttered by added extras, the Asrock Z97M Anniversary is a decent micro ATX option. g
AT A GLANCE: Summary
It’s not the fanciest motherboard around, but it certainly is a strong micro ATX middleweight option.
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Tech Specs: • • • • • • •
Z97 chipset 4 USB 3.0 ports 8 USB 2.0 ports Full Spike Protection Boosted CPU performance ELNA audio caps
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COUGAR
H C EW E T VI E R
CMX850
Quiet, cool and efficient…
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TECHNOLOGY
he power supply unit is an essential part of every PC – no PC can work without one, and not having sufficient power to run your system can also lead to some problems. But it can also be a source of a lot of heat inside the PC case, resulting from both the heat it generates, as well as the cables that run from it to the various components it needs to supply with power. In fact most cabling nightmares stem from power cables originating from the PSU, and these can lead to heat levels being less than ideal. So when you get a PSU like the COUGAR CMX850, its sensible approach to heat levels makes you sit up and take notice. Not only does it operate at a peak temperature of 40 degrees Celsius (thanks to a large, 140mm cooling fan), but the majority of the cables supplied with the PSU are flat cables, which help keep air-flow better within the case. In addition, it is a modular power supply, which means that only the necessary cables need to be employed. Better air flow, and less need to try and unused stash cables within the PC case interior. That approach to heat shows sensibility of the part of COUGAR, and sensible is something you want from a component manufacturer. But low heat generation and improved air-flow aren’t the only things you want from a PSU. Another thing that the
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PSU
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PSU can cause a lot of is noise, but the COUGAR CMX850 also has that under control, thanks to that same 140mm fan, which already features a low noise level and automatically adjusts speed according to temperature levels. And reliability is taken care of by durable main capacitors, which are heat resistant at a level above the operational temperature of the PSU. In addition, protections built into the PSU deal with over-current, over voltage and a number of other potential electrical disasters. Along with all of that, the COUGAR CMX850 offers an excellent fan lifespan, as well as a long life-span on capacitors. When you put it all together – and try out the performance of the COUGAR CMX850 – you find a power supply unit that is quiet, efficient and reliable. The CMX range also supports the latest technologies, and comes in a variety of outputs ranging from 500 to 1000 watts. And just because they can, COUGAR have made this a pretty PSU, too. It’s copper and black honeycomb finish will look great in any windowed PC case, and its overall look implies the reliability and efficiency that it delivers. COUGAR’s approach to this device has been one that demonstrates their knowledge of what a PSU needs to be, beyond just a source of power for your PC. g
COUGAR CMX850 PSU
AT A GLANCE:
by Alex Scanlon
SUMMARY
COUGAR demonstrate their knowledge of what’s important in a PSU with the CMX850.
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SCORE
79 Manufacturer: COUGAR Distributer: Pinacle Africa www.pinnacle.co.za
TECH SPECS • • • • • • •
4 ink cartridge system Wireless function Print, scan, copy Double sided printing ePrinting Web connected
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Crucial
H C EW E T VI E R
MX200
SSDs Va r
iet y
is the sp
AT A GLANCE: Summary The MX200 range of SSDs offers top notch performance and great technology for those willing to make a larger investment.
Tech Specs: 555 MB/s sequential read 500 MB/s sequential write Energy efficient Data protention Thermal protection 250GB / 500GB / 1TB
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TECHNOLOGY
96 92
MX200
• • • • • • •
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e’ve seen a number of SSDs since the industry started making the move to more energy efficient and reliable solid state data storage, but there have been certain factors that simply didn’t work in their favour. Capacities were small, and prices were high. Even though the transfer speeds from these devices were amazing, and the lack of moving parts meant less electricity consumed and less chance of failure, price remained a serious barrier to entry – particularly when considering that a traditional HDD, for the same cost, would offer a lot more storage. And SSD manufacturers seem, for the most part, to gamecca71
be competing on the wrong levels, instead of addressing some of these barriers to entry. That’s where Crucial comes into the picture. Realising that cost effective SSDs are essential for spurring on the market, they have introduced the BX100. But, knowing that a high-end ideal still needs to be maintained, they have also brought out the MX200. These two SSDs offer opportunities for all computer users. The BX100 is, by Crucial’s own admission, more of a budget device. It doesn’t offer quite the performance of the MX200, but it comes in at a much friendlier price. In fact, they carefully worked towards this very ideal, and created a drive that is still 15 times faster
Crucial
Crucial MX200 & BX100 SSDs
BX100
SSDs
e! f i l pice of
Summary
The BX100 range offers SSDs that are solid performers at a much friendlier price.
It’s also more durable that competing SSDs, and offers high level encryption and four levels of data protection. Adaptive thermal protection helps keep the drive cooler, and its energy efficiency is similar to that of the BX100 range. SSDs are the way of the future, of that there is no doubt. But while other manufacturers are still finding their feet to a degree, Crucial have pioneered ideas and approaches that see their drives excel at every level. Whether you want the less expensive BX100, or are looking for the all out power of the MX200, Crucial’s SSDs have consistently shown great performance and reliability… exactly what one would want for PC storage. g gamecca71
Tech Specs: • • • • • • •
535 MB/s sequential read 185 MB/s sequential write Energy efficient 120GB / 250GB / 500GB / 1TB
BX100
than a traditional HDD. The speed of 535 MB/s sequential read might not be as fast as the MX200’s 555 MB/s, and the write speed (185 MB/s) is substantially lower than the MX200’s 500 MB/s, but it still knocks the socks off of any HDD. And with size varieties of 120GB, 250GB, 500GB and 1TB, the range offers something for every requirement. It’s also twice as energy efficient as an HDD, and far more reliable. If you’re willing to spend a bit more, though, the MX200 is a fantastic option. Available in 250GB, 500GB and 1TB varieties, this range of SSDs manages to not only leave HDDs in the dust, but also outperforms competing SSDs, thanks to a unique data writing and accessing system.
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by Walt Pretorius
AT A GLANCE:
Genius GX Gaming
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SW-G5.
Bold sound, bold looks
f you have the luxury of space, you can really go to town with an audio system. There’s something extremely appealing about big sound, sound that goes beyond stereo to create an immersive and engaging experience. Sound, which is so often overlooked as a vital element in things like video games, can make an engrossing experience even more so, and having a great audio source can make a massive difference to the overall experience. Genius’ GX Gaming range has a great sound solution for those after a solid surround sound experience, in the form of the SW-G5.1 3500 speaker system. Shying away from the usual GX naming conventions, the SW-G5.1 3500 offers users a full and rich audio experience that truly can enhance any game or movie. In keeping with GX’s striking and unique looks, the SW-G5.1 3500 is all about boldness. While the
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speakers themselves aren’t overly large, they employ angles and bold colours to make a visual statement. The subwoofer is rather substantial, and has a funky control panel built into the front, beneath which is a large, bright power-indicating LED. The placement of the system’s main control panel on the subwoofer – which traditionally gets put under a desk or in some other out of the way spot – is a little odd. They’re not easily accessible because of this, but the system does include a fully functional remote control, which mirrors every function on the subwoofermounted panel. That makes adjusting volume, bass levels and more much easier. The speakers themselves are designed with a hook mount, meaning that they can either be placed on a flat surface, or hung on walls. That helps a lot with space, and if you take the time to neatly place the wires, you’re going to end up with a rather nice set-up, both in terms
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Genius GX Gaming SW-G5.1 3500 5.1 speaker system
5.1 Speaker System
by Alex Scanlon
of sound quality and aesthetic. The SW-G5.1 3500 system is extremely PC oriented. Its main inputs are 3.5mm jacks, following the colour coding one finds on PC sound output devices. While that does strip some of the versatility out of the system, it does have a 3.5mm line-in port on the subwoofer control panel, allowing for relatively simple connection of a compatible device. And if your audio needs to go from booming to personal, a 3.5mm headphone jack is also located there. Its placement on the subwoofer is a little odd, once again, but if you don’t need it too often it shouldn’t be a real problem. And where it really counts – great sound – the SWG5.1 3500 system really delivers the goods. It’s bold looks might not work for everyone, and the control placements might be odd, but when it comes to full bodies 5.1 surround audio, the SW-G5.1 3500 packs a mighty punch. g
AT A GLANCE: Summary
It’s bold, both in terms of sound and looks, and aside from odd control placement, it gets the job done beautifully.
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5.1 surround sound 3.5mm inputs Full function remote Headphone output Wall mountable
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Asus
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Smaller than you’d expect…
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sus more often than not hit the nail on the head when it comes to putting together great gaming gear. Sometimes, though, the shot is a little amiss, and while the nail still gets driven home, it’s not quite as straight as it should be. What that slightly extended metaphor is trying to say is that every once in a while, Asus deliver something that isn’t quite great, even though it is still good. That’s a problem that this company faces… when so many of their devices are of exceptional quality, one that is a little less than stellar kind of stands out. And that, unfortunately, is the case with the G501 Gaming Notebook. First of all, one needs to understand the market that this device is aimed at. Gaming notebooks are traditionally much bigger and bulkier than other notebooks, but the G501 is a bit trimmer than one would expect. The omission of an optical drive helps the device achieve its smaller size, but with miniaturisation there are often other aspects that come into play that aren’t necessarily positive. Back to the optical matter – anything you want to install on the G501 will have to be downloaded. That’s not as much of a problem these days, as all-you-can-eat broadband becomes more and more common in South Africa, but if you don’t have a decent
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line, it’s best not to consider this option. The performance of the G501 is a little up and down. It doesn’t compete particularly well against high end gaming notebooks, but it does play games far better than the majority of notebooks out there. Its performance is maybe a touch below where it should be, even though it is armed with a 2.6GHz CPU and 16GB of RAM. Even the storage, in the form of a single 512GB SSD, is built for speed. It seems, though, that the few performance issues it does bring about stem from the configuration of the GTX 960M GPU. It’s a decent chip, but the structure of the system, along with the 15.6 inch 4K (that’s 3840x2160) display create some slowdowns. Dropping the resolution works well, and improved performance quite a bit… and 4K seems a bit wasted on a screen of this size. It’s unlikely that the average gamer who invests in a G501 will find much to complain about. The smaller size means things like the keyboard configuration will take some getting used to, and you’re going to want to use headphones with it (like the majority of other notebooks out there). But, on the whole, it’s a pretty decent gaming performer, provided you take the knock and set the resolution of the graphics down to plain old HD (which, let’s be honest, isn’t that terrible a prospect). g gamecca71
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NAMEROG Asus OF THE G501 PRODUCT Gaming Notebook
ming Notebook
Summary It’s a smaller gaming notebook which, aside from a few minor quibbles, delivers decent performance.
Tech Specs: • • • • • • •
2.6GHz CPU GTX 960M GPU 16GB RAM 15.6 inch screen 512GB SSD Full keyboard
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Getting the service provision run-around
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here’s that old Phil Collins song about a feeling “in the air”. The song title may well describe how many consumers feel, especially in the broadband community. Rising costs, deceptive discounts, unsustainable price cuts all with a side serving of load shedding has given most South Africans a meal that’s hard to chew (and bitter to swallow). And like the song, we’re building up to a dramatic drum solo. And like the song, many of us are not sure how to dance to this tune. Most South Africans you may meet these days are a little grumpy. It’s probably because they don’t know if they’ll be able to power their smartphones or watch their latest series on Netflix because the power may not be on when they get home. Now, granted, some of them can do these things because they’ve devoted a fair chunk of their earnings (or sacrificed that family trip to Mauritius) to investing in generator, batteries and inverters to keep the LEDs blinking at all times, as well as solar panels to shave a little off their electric bill; or they’ve at least forked out for a small UPS that can power their DSL router so that their wireless devices (charged off some sort of power bank) can at least do a little light YouTube when the rest of the neighbourhood goes dark. But they’re not happy about spending their money on these things; something in our very nature goes against accepting the unacceptable. It’s a grudge purchase, like household cover or life insurance. We all naturally want to plan for the best rather than expect the worst. But load shedding is like that family relative you swore you’d never accept or get along with, but as years pass you just seem to grow OK with it (or give up feeling miffed about it). Sitting around the office, people talking about being load shed like being audited, it’s horrible, but we all know what it’s like and we’ve just got to live with it. So slowly, that feeling of disquiet started to rumble. Then we got a massive drop in fuel price in March. And people were genuinely happy. People started talking about how much there were going to save, as the price dropped a whopping R1,27
per litre, one of the single price drops in history. But before the month was up, and everyone was getting ready to blow that extra cash on some good old booze and braai, the price went up again by R1,62 per litre. Now, the reality is that everyone had just saved that money for a month (almost) but most people felt a little cheated. It’s like you gave me a Porsche for a month and then took it away and gave me back my old rusty Toyota, that I used to love, but now I can’t help but loathe. The feeling, now having more to feed on, moved from a rumble to a consistent rumble. Vodacom were the first of the 3 main cellular providers to announce a price hike, not only for future contracts bit also for existing in-contract clients, which was an unprecedented move. Most of these price changes take effect from 1 May 2015, so if you have a contract cell and are reading this in South Africa, that feeling probably stirred somewhere between your bowels and your fire chakra. Vodacom took a big chunk of the heat having hit the press first, but Cell C and MTN were quick to follow suit with similar announcements. Sadly, MTN took it to the next extreme when MTN CEO Ahmad Farroukh said that data prices are simply too low (just days before data price hikes were also announced). He felt that the average price of Mobile Data, at 13c per MB should be closer to 40c per MB, basically 200% price increase, to be in line with voice per minute costs. The grumble-mumble in the background was now emerging above the noise of the day to day hub-hub as a quiet roar. A few days ago, Telkom made a massive announcement that it would be slashing prices across the board. Okay, that’s not quite right, they first announced an increase on monthly rentals, from a base price of R166 per month to R189 per month. While the move was heavily criticised, their next announcement to slash wholesale prices (including IP Connect and Fibre Access) for ISPs received much more positive sentiment from the public. Telkom announced that IP Connect would be cut by anything from 1.4% to 63%. I’m sure a few people like me wondered why the massive gap between lowest
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and highest decrease, and probably also came to the conclusion that this was to be able to give a bigger discount to ISPs servicing bigger communities on the higher end of the scale. However, a few days later interviews with ISP CEOs seemed to indicate that Telkom’s plan was quite the opposite. Telkom’s savings were set to give the smallest ISPs the bigger percentage discount, while major ISPs have much smaller real discounts. Ultimately it means that the average consumer will see a reduction passed on which will be much lower that 63% ultimately, though Telkom did also claim that ISP would be able to double their capacity for an incremental fee (possibly around 15%). Bottom line - service providers are not singing from the rooftops, which means that consumers are not likely to either. While it may disrupt the market and create a smaller barrier for new players to enter the market, it’s not likely to create the kind of disruption that will significantly alter the status quo, with IPC being the most significant cost factor for ISPs and ultimately still ensuring that the bigger companies retain market share. As most consumers watched their excitement unravel to a dull grimace, that feeling starts to feel like a rising volcano of unexpressed displeasure. It’s no wonder that South Africans are more obsessed with defacing (or defending) statues than celebrating. Most of the time it feels like our service providers are playing with our feelings. Many South Africans feel that while prices are steadily increasing, service provision and access are not improving accordingly. At the same time, consumers read more and more articles in the press about how their services providers can’t make ends meet and lay off more and more service people, while CEOs take home mostly multi-million Rand pay-outs and bonuses. Consumers would also be reading how poorly SA’s broadband access and average speeds rate against international standards. In January the United States Communications Regulator (the FCC) raised the definition of broadband from 4Mbps minimum to 25Mbps, while the South African average recently clocked in at only 3.2Mbps and had actually declined against previous results. Some residential areas like Parkhurst are interpreting all this bad news as a sign to take matters into their own hands by contracting their broadband and utility provision out to other companies so they can have more control over the pricing and level of service, but that won’t do much for the average citizen (in fact it will probably hurt their chances of better services as the 1 percenters move their spend elsewhere). So the chances are that we’ll stay hooked to our current contracts, no matter how we feel about them. And right now that feeling is not so great. g
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n 2015, there should be no argument about the merits of using anti-virus software as an integral part of any device connected to the internet. Whether it is the humble desktop or laptop, a smartphone or tablet, we need to protect ourselves from those nefarious users who will stop at nothing to steal personal information (at the very least) or hack into our bank accounts (at the very worst). But how do you go about selecting an anti-virus solution that meets your needs? Is it as simple as walking into your friendly neighbourhood electronics store or logging on to your e-tailing site of choice and buying the cheapest package? Clearly, there are a lot of factors to take into account when trying to select the best one catering for your requirements. With the security of your data, digital identity, and financial transactions at stake, it is definitely worthwhile investing some time in assessing each product out there. And of course, with people going online in droves, using email, sending instant messages, and doing the social networking thing, your software of choice needs to include an internet security component to make your online activities just that much safer. Unfortunately, not all anti-virus products are created equal. In fact, if you measure the top ten solutions in the market today against the following criteria, you will find significantly different scores.
TECHNOLOGY
Reliability Even the most thorough anti-virus solution can prove to be absolutely useless if it conflicts with
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other software that is running in your computer. If these conflicts lead to a malfunction or temporary suspension in the antivirus protection processes, that could leave you vulnerable. Moreover, there are firewalls that also clash with some antivirus products so best to double check the manufacturer Web site. Usability It is worthless having the best anti-virus solution in the world if it requires an advanced computer sciences degree to operate. Most users do not care about the nitty-gritties of cyber security and are intimidated by some of the more advanced settings. For example, imagine Joe Soap having to set the level of heuristics defence. So any anti-virus product that is awkward to use, asks the user complex questions, or needs the user to make difficult decisions, is likely to increase the chances of ‘operator errors’. In some cases, if the anti-virus software is too difficult to run, the user may simply disable it. So not only will you be leaving yourself open to attacks but you will also have wasted your hard-earned cash. Comprehensive protection An anti-virus solution should deliver constant protection for all computer domains, all types of files, and all network elements that could be subject to attack by a computer virus or other malware. The programme should be able to detect malicious code and also protect all channels or entry points to the computer. This includes email, the internet, and FTP to name but a few. Cynics argue that these
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comprehensive packages only succeed in slowing down a system, making it unusable. In fact, if you were using computers in the late 90s you would know all too well the axiom that the biggest virus you can get on your system is an anti-virus package. Fortunately, the past decade has seen a marked improvement in how these solutions are designed and integrate with your device. Not only are they more user-friendly (well, most of them) than ever they are also incredibly light on system resources. Quality of protection Anti-virus solutions need to be able to operate in an aggressive environment that is constantly changing – with new computer viruses, worms, and Trojan viruses that can be much more complex than previously known malware, and may include new ways of avoiding the actions of anti-virus programmes. For quality, you need to consider the following points: • Effectiveness of malware detection processes’ • Frequency and regularity of updates; • Ability to remove infections from the device; and • Efficiency in delivering computer protection. Of course, the internet is your friend when it comes time to select your antivirus package. Do online search for reviews of the product you have in mind. I would even go so far as to say that these reviews need to be limited to South African sites as the reviewers understand local market conditions and requirements. g
Selecting the Right Anti-Virus Solution
Selecting the Right Anti-Virus Solution Social networking tips and tricks
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really love open-world games, as they tend to give the player a lot more freedom in terms of what they want to do, and when. There has been a great deal of really good linear titles, but I just love walking around virtual towns, looking at all the things that I can do or buy, and random people I can talk to. But what I love more than an open-world game is the ability to do all those activities with a co-op partner. A really good example of that is Borderlands, where you and up to three friends can head out to do some missions, and then come back to home base to regroup, resupply and talk to a bunch of interesting characters. I really enjoy playing games with friends, and while games like Grand Theft Auto V had a multiplayer element, the main story is still closed off to a single player experience. And that is where I get a bit of a sad face… I started thinking about how much I love co-op games when I found out that The Witcher 3 doesn’t have a multiplayer component. I understand that The Witcher is a massive game, which will reportedly take around 200 hours to complete. But then it got me thinking: how great would it be if The Witcher had a co-op component? I’m not asking for the whole
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campaign to be made available to friends, just a small portion so that you don’t have to go creature hunting by yourself. I have been told I was wrong on many occasions, but to me the principle of The Witcher is no different from that of Borderlands. Now, before you throw a rock at me, just hear me out. Both games have a plot that consists of a vast number of missions. Both titles have maps on a massive scale. Yet only one of them will allow you to play the entire story with some friends. It’s not like The Witcher needs to generate different areas at the same time – all it has to do is insert your friend into your game. You will be doing the same mission, fight the same characters and talk to the same people. This is something that Borderlands has done fantastically well. There is no better experience that grabbing your gear, checking that everybody is OK, and then heading off into the unknown to fight off the galaxy’s bad guys. For the same amount of money, why does Battlefield have separate multiplayer and single player campaigns? Can you imagine how much better the story missions would have been if you had a friend by your gamecca71
BYcHARLIE Fripp
A Little Help from my Friends...
side? Dragon Age is another title that had a poorly constructed multiplayer element, and I feel that they should have spent that development time on inserting co-op play into it. It would have probably turned the game into a world-class Neverwinter, but that would have been alright with me. There are a lot of games that have no multiplayer, but how about making a game that doesn’t have a single player campaign, with the premise being that you have to play through the story missions with a friend. That was kind of the premise for Army of Two, which I think is still one of the best examples of how co-op gaming should be done. The same can be said for Splinter Cell. Man… there was nothing better than planning an attack strategy with a buddy and then executing your stealthy manoeuvres flawlessly. Need another example? How about Gears of War? I do realise that a lot more goes into developing a game like The Witcher or Dragon Age, but I am really willing to wait four years of development time if somebody can make a game of that scale and stature with co-op play. Is that too much to ask? g
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Acer Iconia Tab 8 Sony Xperia Z3 Stone Age Relic Runners Nuns on the Run Archie VS. Predator #1 Kanan - The Last Padawan #1 Munchkin #3 Rebels #1
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A Long Time Ago
Star Wars
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n the 25th of May, 1977, the world changed forever. It wasn’t a massive catastrophe, nor was it a miraculous change that would make the world a better place for all. But it was the beginning of a phenomenon that would grow from strength to strength, a work of fiction that would capture the hearts and minds of millions of people, and would grow to become a multi-billion dollar franchise. Almost 38 years ago, the world was introduced to an epic so powerful and enthralling that its legacy would continue and grow, even while the original work remained evergreen and well-loved. And that epic was called Star Wars. It is unlikely that the creator of Star Wars, George Lucas, had any idea of the impact that his tale would have on the world. It was an ambitious project, yes, and it defined many new ways of making movies at the time, but could Lucas really have been aware that his story would lead to six movies (so far), hundreds of books and comics, well over 70 video games, numerous trading card and board games, several pencil-and-paper role-playing games, almost 40 fan films, merchandising of all shapes and sizes and much, much more? Probably not. In fact, after pitching the idea to several production companies, who found it “a little strange”, Lucas – who had created the Star Wars story when he failed to secure the rights for Flash Gordon – must have felt don-hearted. But when 20th Century Fox picked up the production of the first Star Wars movie, they set in motion the realisation of Lucas’ complex vision of eldritch knights, sage masters, far flung places and
an evil empire overseeing it all. When production began, Lucas founded his own visual effects company (the nowfamous Industrial Lights and Magic) because 20th Century Fox had disbanded their own effects division. This, and numerous other factors, stand as testament to the fact that Lucas’ thinking was ahead of its time, and that the world was almost not ready for the vision that he would bring to the big screen. In fact, less than 40 cinemas ordered Star Wars on its release. 20th Century Fox used strong arm tactics to get Star Wars into more cinemas, but even they weren’t completely assured – they moved the release date out of the summer release schedule, for fear that other upcoming films (including Smokey and the Bandit) would eclipse Star Wars. Even Lucas was sceptical of the film’s success. He agreed to trade 2.5% of the profits of the film for a similar amount of the profits made by Steven Spielberg’s Close Encounters of Third Kind – a sort of industry bet that Spielberg happily accepted, because he had faith in Star Wars. Spielberg receives that cut to this day. Lucas was so doubtful of the film’s success that he planned to be in Hawaii when it opened, but clean forgot about the release day and was still in Los Angeles when it opened. Even after seeing long queues outside of Mann’s Chinese Theatre, waiting to see the film, he had his doubts, and it wasn’t until he saw Walter Cronkite’s report discussing the gargantuan crowds gathering to see the film (while on his planned Hawaii trip) that the truth started to sink in. Star Wars was an instant, and massive success. Prior to 1977, 20th Century Fox’s best year showed profits of US$37 million… in 1977, that number jumped to US$97 million, most of which is gamecca71
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attributed to the success of Lucas’ “slightly odd” story. By August of 1977, 1096 US cinemas were showing Star Wars, and 60 theatres ran the film for continuously for over a year. The rest, as the saying goes, is history. While the original Star Wars film didn’t carry the “Episode IV: A New Hope” subtitle, it was added for rerelease in 1981, a year after the release of The Empire Strikes Back. It was Empire that introduced the episodic nature of the series, much to the consternation of many fans (who were somewhat surprised by the “Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back” title that followed the Star Wars splash screen). Three years later, in 1983, the trilogy was completed with the release of Return of the Jedi. This highly successful film completed the story of Luke Skywalker’s saga, and brought the Star Wars story, which captured the imaginations of millions of fans the world over, to a close. Or so we thought. But the strong drive of fan loyalty towards the three films, which saw several rereleases and reworkings over the years, proved that the Star Wars franchise had more tales to tell. The prequel trilogy, which dealt with the rise and fall of Anakin Skywalker, saw its first part, The Phantom Menace, released in 1999. Although many elements of the film did not sit well with long time Star Wars fans, the additional tale – as well as its appeal to a whole new generation – saw the franchise propelled forward, with Attack of the Clones (Episode II) released in 2002, and Revenge of the Sith (Episode III) released in 2005. Although Episode I is considered by many to be the weaker of the three prequel films, it grossed more, at US$474 million, over US$310 million for Attack of the
Clones and US$380 million for Revenge of the Sith. All Star Wars films, including the Clone Wars animated series, have earned an unadjusted box office gross of US$4.382 billion worldwide. So it is no surprise that we will be seeing a new set of films coming out, starting at the end of this year. By bringing original cast members into the picture (resurrecting characters like Han Solo, Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia) with new characters, these films promise to appeal to fans of all generations. Already, the trailer for Episode VII: The Force Awakens is getting huge amounts of traffic on social networks, as fans prepare for the release of this much anticipated title. In addition to the new trilogy, a series of spin off films have also been announced, which will deal with stories peripheral to the main plot. The first film, Rogue One (slated for release in 2016) will deal with the team that stole the Death Star plans, which were central to the plot in Episode IV: A New Hope. Episodes VIII and IX (which form the remainder of the new trilogy) have been slated for release in 2017 and 2019, respectively (yes, a new Star Wars film every year for the next three years). With a philosophy that touches real-world spirituality, a story that follows the ideals of heroism and overcoming adversity, a sci-fi fantasy setting that is both expansive and immersive, and a cast of characters that are some of the most memorable ever produced by Hollywood, it is small wonder that the Star Wars franchise is still so powerful. Even fears of Disney’s involvement sanitising the new movies have been allayed, and it is almost certain that the Force will remain strong, both in the Star Wars movies and in our hearts and minds, for many, many years to come. g gamecca71
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Compact and Cost-effective
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cer’s Iconia Tab 8 is a great device for those wanting a smaller form factor tablet that falls in a low to mid-range price bracket. The unusual 8 inch display offers crisp visuals, while the 1.86GHz quad-core CPU, supported by 2GB of RAM, takes care of most tasks effectively. With no cellular connectivity, the Tab 8 relies solely on Wi-Fi for internet access, which may be a problem for some. But it has enough bells-and-whistles to be very attractive, considering its more reasonable price point. It’s a great entrylevel tablet for those wanting a compact option.g
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Xperia Z3 Tough and elegant
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s a high price bracket Smartphone, Sony’s Xperia Z3 hits all the right marks. It offers the power of a 2.5GHz quadcore Krait processor, supported by a whopping 3GB of RAM. It offers internal storage of 16GB and 32GB varieties, which can be supported by microSD cards of up to 128GB in capacity. It offers s generous 5.2 inch display that offers up to ten finger multitouch. And it is powered by Google’s popular Android OS. Add to that the fact that it is tough as nail, responsive and reliable, and you end up with a product that is almost a no-brainer for those wanting a new Smartphone. g gamecca71
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t’s common wisdom that there can be too much of a good thing. No matter how amazing, when something is overindulged there are inevitably unpleasant consequences. It’s a lesson usually enforced with hangovers and food binges, but the idiom applies to all fields, not least of which is gaming. We’ve seen it countless times in the past, with everything from platformers to war shooters all reaching a point of no return, where we just roll our eyes as yet another clone hits the shelves. And it’s a point that I believe MMO’s, of whatever flavour, are fast approaching, if they haven’t reached it already that is. The last couple of years have seen a massive spike in the number of games that bear the MMO appellation, and from MOBA’s to MMOFPS’s we pretty much have covered
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the gamut of possible genres. In this past year alone we’ve had Evolve, Destiny, The Crew, Wildstar, The Elder Scrolls Online and yet another WoW expansion launch, and that’s just counting games that sprung to mind immediately. Never mind the countless titles that have been released in Asian markets, or existing games like Guild Wars 2 or Star Wars: The Old Republic that regularly receive major content updates. Or, for that matter, browser and mobile games, which have a huge hold on the casual market. All told it’s a multi-billion industry by itself, and it seems that every publisher and developer is racing to grab their piece of the pie. It’s actually pretty standard practice, all things considered, and with any other style of game five or six major releases in a year would not be considered a
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terribly large amount. What sets MMO’s apart, especially those that follow the MMORPG vein, is the investment required. By their nature these games are designed as massive, time-sucking affairs that are meant to capture and hold a player for months on end at the very least, with a large portion of content locked away for the end-game. Single-player games almost always have a clearly defined start and finish, allowing players to put down a title and move on to the next, but MMO’s try desperately to hold on to their players for an indefinite period. The sheer amount of effort required to extract the true value a game holds means that players do not willing jump ship, and this creates a situation where having more than a handful of MMO’s on the market means that eventually the majority are going to peter out and die. g
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tone Age is one of the most beautifully presented games we have seen, complete with a leather dice cup and wooden dice and figures to add to the illusion created by it. In this game, the player is in control of a Stone Age settlement, and are responsible for gathering enough food resources, not only for survival, but for the settlement to thrive. Stone Age is a tactical game along the lines of Settlers of Catan and other resource based, expansion driven titles. It is a highly strategic game that will see the players employing their work force in areas that they feel are the most beneficial in each turn. They must gather food, stone, wood and gold to further their settlement, build sturdier buildings and, most importantly,
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feed their tribe. It’s a careful balance of caution and pushing progress that must be struck for a player to succeed in Stone Age, and its strategic nature makes it suitable for older players. Stone Age is a pedantic and thoughtful game, less possessed of moment of hilarity or high jinks than it is of careful planning, long term strategy and a modicum of luck. To this end, victory in Stone Age is an extremely satisfying, if somewhat down-toned affair, and protracted game sessions might become the norm, even if the estimated play time last an hour to an hour and a half. With fantastic presentation, a well-balanced model and lots of opportunity for careful strategy, Stone Age is great for those who like their games to be thoughtful. g
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Relic Runners
s a sort of homage to the archaeologists we love – like Indiana Jones and Lara Croft – Relic Runners allows player to explore ancient tombs and find forgotten items in a bid for victory. But they’re not along in their exploration – rivals want the same treasures, Relic Runners becomes a game of wits, strategy and a bit of luck as players try to get to the treasures before their competitors do. Players must move their characters along paths according to the rations they have access to, but may also lay paths to make their movement easier. In addition, each player has an upgradable toolkit to help them bend (or break) the rules. Visiting a temple allows a player to draw a token, which may provide victory points
or an in-game advantage. When all the tokens are removed from a temple, they are replaced by a relic (a sacred toad, bird of paradise, crystal skull or grimacing juju) which players must then race to get for a massive victory point boost. While the game’s relics and certain other elements are beautifully presented, a little more effort could have gone into things like player tokens. But presentation doesn’t make or break a game, when all is said and done, and it is Relic Runner’s opportunities for sneakiness, oneupmanship and outright competition (as well as quite a bit of hilarity) that makes it an extremely enjoyable experience for two to five players. It allows for a strategic approach, while keeping a fair dose of chaos in the mix, and is great fun overall.g
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Nuns on the Run
s-vs-them board games are always an entertaining way to pass a few hours. Scotland Yard is one such game, in which the players need to track down a criminal who is making secret moves. Similarly, Nuns on the Run pits teams of players against each other, and also makes use of the secret move principle. One set take on the role of Novices, who must sneak around the Abbey (read as game board) in search of treasures to fulfil their desires. If a player find their treasure and successfully returns to their room, thy have won the game. On the other side, there are players who control the Abbess or Prioress. These characters move in prescribed patterns, but may deviate from their path if they spot one of the sneaky
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novices. One of these players can win the game by catching a prescribed number of sneaky Novices. Nuns on the Run is a fairly simple title, although it does require some book-keeping on the side of Novices. It’s thoroughly irreverent, and tons of fun, with moments of incredible hilarity when chases ensue. It’s a sneaky combination of strategy and wits that can lead to many memorable nights of gaming, and the complex layout of the board means that everyone has a fair shot at winning, provided they play smartly. The game also employs cards which can be played for various advantages, adding a slightly chaotic factor to the whole affair. It’s great fun, when all is said and done, and beautifully presented, too. g
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Title:
Archie VS. Predator #1
Writer:
Alex de Campi
Artist:
Fernando Ruiz
Publisher:
Dark Horse
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by Clive Burmeister
There have been some real whoppers in the pages of Archie over the years. He has faced all sorts of improbable, unlikely, and downright unsettling situations and antagonists before (out of continuity of course), from a tangle with the Punisher to facing the zombie apocalypse. But when the universe’s most feared hunter, the Predator alien, focuses his sights on Archie and his friends, how can the Riverdale clan hope to survive? Merging two comic universes as worlds apart as Archie and Predator is no easy task, but Alex de Campi seems to have no problem spinning a tale that flows from Archie in the middle of a tiff between the girls, to the Predator lurking in the trees and mutilating his friends one by one.
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Title: Writer: Artist: Publisher:
Kanan - The Last Padawan #1 Greg Weisman Pepe Larraz Marvel
The latest Star Wars comic from Marvel, Kanan - The Last Padawan, is set after the Clone Wars, where a former Jedi padawan is living a secret life as a rebel to the Empire, but hiding his past. But now, as he flies off to the planet Kaller, where his former life began to unravel, he is forced to face the past that he has tried so hard to keep hidden. This new series does well to keep the Star Wars “feel” that the other new Marvel releases has also captured, and the fast paced writing and fluid artwork keep the story flowing in the same way it would have as a movie or cartoon. I’m looking forward to discovering more of Kanan’s past. by Clive Burmeister
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Title:
Munchkin #3
Writer:
Various
Artist:
Various
Publisher:
Boom! Box
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by Clive Burmeister
The Munchkin comic is based on Steve Jackson’s best selling card game of the same name, and is a tribute to the chaotic violence, satirical humour, team work, and inevitable betrayal that embodies the best selling card game. Each comic features mini stories which are centred around some of the Munchkin characters or monsters, and tie in a few of the jokes from the cards into their story. Yes, it is pretty silly, but in a good way. Issue 3 features a story about a couple of munchkins repeatedly wrecking and looting a dungeon until the monsters don’t even get time to rebuild in spite of their overtime pay, and another story journeys into the unspeakable horror of Cowthulu!
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Title:
Rebels #1
Writer:
Brian Wood
Artist:
Andrea Mutti
Publisher:
Dark Horse
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by Clive Burmeister
In 1775 America’s first militia was born, and the events that transpired sparked what later became the War of Independence. Writer Brian Wood, who has quite the name in comics for hard hitting stories that don’t shy away from uncomfortable truths and thought provoking subjects, is probably the best choice to tell this gritty tale of Imperialist oppression and the bloody struggle to achieve freedom over tyranny. Told from the perspective of Seth and Mercy Abbott, Rebels gives this historic fiction a more personal spin, which illustrates not only the overwhelming issues that the early patriots faced, but the strength, the courage, and the tenacity that was required of these brave men to overcome them.
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THE OBSERVER
t has been said that the modern world, full of technology that makes our lives easier in so many ways, is resulting in people becoming less intelligent. Social networks are full of posts that are poorly spelled and badly researched, while Google and Wikipedia have replaced the need for thought… but the truth is far simpler. Even if we were less intelligent, thanks to the world of high tech that surrounds us, we could still sound smarter if Google or Wikipedia were something we turned to. But many people don’t bother, and that indicates that the problem isn’t one of rising stupidity. It is one of increasing laziness. Every living thing has three primary drives in order to continue survival of the species. The first is the drive for food and sex, which is why so much pleasure is derived from both. The second is selfpreservation, to ensure that they can live a long life (and, in the case of many animals, produce more offspring). The third is conservation of energy. Living things expend as little energy as possible so that they have strong reserves if
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they need them. These three elements are instinctual, hard-wired into us at a base biological level. And technology is allowing us to act on almost all of them. The quest for food and sex can be aided by technologies like the Internet and GPS services. Self-preservation is also helped by similar information sources. But the instinct to conserve energy is the one that is most stimulated by a world in which technology makes everything easier. People spell badly on social networks not because they are less intelligent or have become more stupid, but because correct spelling and punctuation – even learning them – takes effort. Effort consumes energy. So rather than expend their energy on doing something that they may not want to, they save it for things they do want to do, and leave their spelling in a poor state. The same can be said about those that simply believe everything they read online, without researching facts. Research takes effort. It is easier to just accept everything and post another selfie.
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BY Katia Taliadoros
The Tech of Lazy...
Our world has become so advanced that we are starting to have the luxury of being too lazy to even think for ourselves. And perhaps, in the long run, this laziness will result in a decreased level of intelligence. Why go to the effort of retaining learned information when the internet can simply provide you with answers? Why try to write properly when no-one else seems to be doing it, and those that try to hold on the vestiges of correct language are called “grammar-nazis”? It is so much easier to let ourselves slide into a primal instinct and let technology do everything for us. Perhaps then, one day, we can be like the humans in the Disney movie Wall-E: too fat to move, and too lazy to do anything about it. This is not technology’s fault. It isn’t even really humanity’s fault, because fighting against instinct is hard work and unless a conscious decision is made to break away from it, the combination of our innate laziness and the advances of technology may become a dangerous downward spiral. g