Gamecca Magazine September 2015 by Gamecca Magazine

ISSUE 75 / Vol.7 September 2015

www.gameccamag.com

Behind You!

Until Dawn investigated

Gears of War: Ultimate Edition Until Dawn Rare Replay Sound Shapes And More...

Back to Battle

Be the Master Cooler Master has a great new idea

Gears of War comes to Xbox One

GamesCom And in Germany...

All Dressed Up... CosPlay in South Africa

The Next Hero

Asusâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Maximus VIII Hero reviewed

guitarHERO Is Back on Centre Stage

Free Online Mag

H OW

Gamecca Magazine is a monthly digital magazine that you can read online or download for free. You can also read Gamecca on our Facebook page...find it under the Issuu tab. All links in Gamecca Magazine can be clicked - even after you have downloaded it - as long as you are connected to the Internet. Gamecca Magazine has an associated website that offers access to all issues, easy competition entries, newsletter subscription, news and more. Gamecca Magazine uses the Issuu platform to publish. This means that Gamecca can easily be accessed on your smartphone or tablet, thanks to Issuu’s Android and iOS apps. Look for it in your app store. You can even find all of our back issues online, where they will be available forever.

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Bronze Award

Silver Award

Gold Award

Platinum Award

Ed’s Choice Award

Given to games & hardware that score 80-84

Given to games & hardware that score 85-90

Given to games & hardware that score 90-94

Given to games & hardware that score 95-100

Editor’s Choice Award for products that make an impression

gamecca75

by Walt Pretorius

hanks to all kinds of things happening around the world that none of us have any real control over, the South African Rand is looking extremely unfavourable against foreign currencies. That means everything becomes more expensive, including our beloved video games. Games are already expensive. I am not going to go into why… it’s a complex situation that is more involved than you might think, and involves more factors that just a straight exchange rate calculation. But the simple fact is that our already embattled game distributors face the prospect of needing to increase game prices out of necessity (not because they are money grubbers, but because their businesses need to survive). The problem is that they have already been feeling various pinches resulting from high pricing of games. An idealist might say that they should simply drop prices. But idealists seldom do proper research into matters and, as I said before, the situation is far more complicated that just multiplying the overseas cost by the ridiculous exchange rates we now face. All of this really could not have come at a worse time for the South African video game industry. Because of release schedules that often make very little sense, there are a huge number of great games coming out at the end of the year. But increased pricing may equate to lower sales, despite the big name releases, as consumers get more picky on the titles they buy, rather than expending massive amounts of cash.

This is further exacerbated by the fact that the year up until now has been relatively quiet, and those with the disposable income to buy games on a regular basis have probably spent that money on other things already – gamers don’t really save up their cash. So while the industry could have been generating some income through the year, a lack of game releases in the quiet months means that revenues are down, and the mass of great titles headed our way at the end of 2015 won’t do much to change that, thanks to increases in exchange rates. Add minimum order quantities, increased shipping charges and a whole bunch of other factors to the mix, and the situation starts looking bleak. Not past the point of no return, but still grim. So what can you do to help, if you should want to – and you should, because these legitimate distributors have done a great job in years past, and them taking flak like this can only harm each and every local gamer. The answer is simple. Buy legitimate games, if and when you can, and buy new products rather than second hand titles. It might seem like a big ask, sure, but the industry needs every bit of help it can get through this rough patch. Gamers are not really known for sticking together. Rather they have a reputation for service their own, personal agendas. Maybe, this year, we can all help to make a difference… the rewards outweigh the sacrifices, and a healthy gaming industry in future will mean better deals for us all. g

mgeect 2 c7a 7 5 ggl a ad

From the Editor

WorkTogether

THIS MONTH’S COVER

Feature: Express Yourself Cooler Master just got even cooler

reviews: Hardware Ten bits of tech Rock

Guitar Hero is about to get back on stage...

Publisher Walt Pretorius walt@novamentis.co.za

Publisher Katia Taliadoros

Regular: Internet Digital vs Physical

Regular: Security How anonymous are you?

Regular: Did you know More Gaming factoids for your amusement

Feature: Rock Fantasy Reboot Guitar Hero is about to make a comeback

PReviews: Games 15 titles incoming!

Feature: GamesCom 2015 What went down at the german show

Reviews: Games 6 games thoroughly investigated

110

Regular: Indie View We chat with Italic Pig’s Kevin Beimers

116

Regular: Legacy Redefining RPG the Ultima way...

katia@novamentis.co.za

Writers: Alex Scanlon Clive Burmeister Charlie Fripp Christo van Gemert Iwan Pienaar Lein Baart Katia Taliadoros Nthato Morakabi Rob Edwards Suvesh Arumugam Walt Pretorius Letters: letters@gameccamag.com

Competition Entries: competitions@gameccamag.com

Newsletter Subscriptions: www.gameccamag.com

Marketing Contact:

walt@novamentis.co.za katia@novamentis.co.za

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

GAMECCA is published byNova Mentis (Pty) Ltd

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Feature: In Character CosPlay in South Africa

132

Gadgets Five life-improving devices

138

Board Games Two table-top treasures

140

Comics Four bits of enticing reading material

Gamecca Vol. 7 Issue 75 September 2015

124

Edâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Note Time to work together Technically Speaking For the love of the game

120

Ramjetâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Rantality Betraying the trust of trust betrayers

130

The Time Betwixt Simpler can be better

148

The Last Word Getting addicted to bad online drugs

121

Razer Deathstalker Chroma Keyboard

137

Cooler Master Suppressor Keyboard

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s e d’ c E oi h C

Until Dawn

â&#x20AC;&#x153;... great presentation, excellent atmosphere and all-around frightening fun...â&#x20AC;?

FeatureS 10

Express Yourself

HARDWARE Reviews 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34

MSI Z170A Gaming M7 Motherboard Turtle Beach Ear Force Stealth 500P PS4 Headset Razer Deathstalker Chroma Keyboard Asus RT-AC87U Dual-band WirelessAC2400 Router MSI R9 390X Gaming 8G Graphics Card Cooler Master Suppressor Gaming Keyboard ASRock X99 Extreme4 Motherboard HuntKey MVP Pro PC Case Asus ROG Maximus VIII Hero Motherboard Cooler Master Mastercase Pro 5 PC Case

RegularS 36 40

Internet Security

COLUMN 42

Technically Speaking

gamecca7 65 2

Corex recommends Windows.

Get Windows 10 free.* Get your free upgrade when available at windows.com/windows10upgrade

The Windows you know, only better

Enterprise-quality security

Simpler setup and management

Windows 10 feels familiar so you can get more done from the get‑go. The Start menu is back with space to pin your favourite apps. And simple navigation means you don’t need to spend much time learning anything new.

Windows security features are designed for the world’s largest enterprises and governments. And the foundation is built into all Windows editions, so every business small to large can benefit from it. Windows 10 helps you secure devices, user identities, and data.

Whether you have a new Windows 10 device or are doing an in‑place upgrade from Windows 7 or 8, setup is quicker and easier than ever before with Windows 10 – and only a light touch is required to manage your devices and stay current with the latest Windows feature updates in the way that works best for your business.

Universal Apps, including Office

Cortana’s got your back

Take your gaming further

The Store in Windows 10 is a one‑stop shop for hundreds of thousands of apps including games, music, videos, as well as a new version of Office.**

Cortana is your truly personal digital assistant who works across all your devices to help get things done.†

With Xbox on Windows, play and connect with your games and friends. Everywhere.‡

500 16th Road, Randjespark, Midrand tel: +27 11 700 7188

Apps sold separately. Windows 10 Upgrade Offer valid for qualified Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 devices (including devices you already own) for one year after Windows 10 upgrade availability. Visit windows.com/windows10upgrade for more details. ** App availability and experience may vary by market. † Cortana available in select global markets at launch. Cortana experience may vary by region and device. ‡ Features only available in supported games in Xbox Live‑supported countries, see xbox.com/live/countries. Limited number of games available in 2015 support cross‑device play; additional games to follow. Stream to one device at a time; Streaming with multiplayer from Xbox One requires home network connection and Xbox Live Gold membership (sold separately); Gold also required for multiplayer play on Xbox One. DirectX 12 only available with supported games and graphics chips. *

expr

your

Cooler Masterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Master range put

GAMING

The idea of expressing personality through a PC case is not new. A few years back, case modding was all the rage, and incredible designs showed

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Express Yourself

ress

rself

ts control in the hands of the user. up regularly as people spent a lot of time, money and effort in learning how to mod PC cases effectively.

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right through to drilling out rivets. It takes skill and know how, and probably more power tools than the average PC users knows exist. Until now. Cooler Master have launched a great new concept, which puts modifying of cases and peripherals squarely in the reach of those that may have the desire, but are a little lacking in ability. They have, through the introduction of a number of devices that make up the Master series, put modding – even just practical, improvement-based modding – within reach of a much larger audience. And at the heart of it all is the Mastercase. The Mastercase comes in three main flavours, being the Mastercase 5, the Mastercase Pro 5 and the Mastercase Maker 5. All three offer a freeform modular system, which allows for reorganising of several aspects of the case, as well as slip-andclip SSD pockets (two in the main interior and two behind the motherboard) and a dual chamber design, which isolates the PSU and a secondary drive cage from the rest of the interior. The Pro 5 and Maker 5 also offer added top panel support for a 240mm watercooling radiator, while the

GAMING

n those days, modding was much about looks as anything else – in fact, many modders would treat ideas like interior layout and air-flow as secondary considerations. Many different designs sprang up on the internet, ranging from cases with side panels cur out for widows and funky lighting, right through to extreme makeovers based on video games. The variety was amazing, the workmanship commendable. While modding may have become a little more niche than it was a few years ago, those that enter into the activity now want more than just extreme personalisation. There are considerations that have come to the fore, and the designs that we see more of these days are the type that are less about striking looks and more about effective performance. Sure, looks are still there, and a great many modders are producing PC cases that are nothing short of works of art. But looks aren’t everything any more. The thing with modding is that it’s a lot of hard work. Let’s say, for example, you want to change the position of your HDD cage. That could involve anything from working with poorly positioned screws

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Maker 5 has an additional front door panel to reduce noise and add a sleeker look to the overall design. All three cases offer options for improving and maximising air-flow, as well as advanced cable management features and a sturdy, robust construction. The Mastercase range are a great place to start modding. Not only do they allow for all kinds of tweaking, but they are very friendly to the modding process, with large panels and a roomy interior. But Cooler Master know that expression extends beyond just the case, and so they have brought some more items to the range, to allow even more possibilities. Cooling within the range comes in two main options, as an example. The user can opt for a more traditional fan based system in the form of the MasterAir Maker, a modifiable fan based CPU cooler that features dual fans that can easily be removed and upgraded. For those wanting a more high-end approach, the Masterliquid Maker system offers an easily-cutomisable, easily-installed liquid cooling system. Built to work with the Mastercase range, the Masterliquid system shifts 600 litres of coolant per hour – with

Express Yourself

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The illumination of the mouse is also cutsomisable in two zones, for visual customisation. But most impressive of all is the SlideSensor technology, which allows you to adjust the position of the sensor and centre mass of the mouse to sit directly beneath your palm, no matter what grip style or hand size you have. This means that perfect weight balance and sensor position are just a few tweaks away. Supporting the Mastermouse is the Quick Fire XTi keyboard, which makes use of a minimalistic design while still delivering a performance punch and per-key backlighting customisation. The peripheral range is rounded off by the Mastersounds headset, which allows for tailoring of your sound experience right down to the circuitry of the speakers. This is supported by a choice to use the device either wired or wireless, and is combined with software-free on-ear equalisation controls (including bass and treble), adding even more customisation to the sound experience. It even features three tier noise suppression to make sure that your perfectly tuned listening experience remains

GAMING

the coolant of your choice in action. Thanks to a versatile, customisable design, elements like direct connection of the pump to the reservoir are possible, and various other factors make the Masterliquid system extremely versatile. Cooling and airflow are crucial, but so is a reliable power source. Enter the Masterpower Maker 1500, a 94% efficiency 1500W/1200W power supply unit that allows the user to monitor AC input, voltage, currents, temperature, power consumption efficiency and fan speed via an exclusive smartphone app, all in real time. This means that the user of this fully modular power supply will have up to the second knowledge of exactly what their power supply is doing, allowing the tracking of trends and faults. With the interior workings of your case taken care of, it’s time to move on to peripherals. Leading the pack is the Mastermouse, which allows a wide degree of customisation. Interchageable parts mean that the user will be able to switch out palm plates and finished, allowing for the most comfortable mouse experience possible, no matter how big and sweaty your hands are.

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uninterrupted. This brief glance at Cooler Master’s revolutionary new ideas shows that this manufacturer has moved in a direction that is extremely forward thinking. By providing a wide range of components that work together beautifully and placing control of the final experience and expression within the user’s grasp, Cooler Master have provided an excellent basis for not only modders, but also other enthusiasts to work from. These devices enable to user to tweak and tune their devices to pitch-perfect performance, showing that Cooler Master truly have their finger on the pulse of what PC enthusiasts (modders or not) want from their purchases. There is little doubt that the clever design and versatility of the Master product range will extend into more products as time passes, setting Cooler Master apart from their competitors as a company that turns control over to those that use their devices. It’s an exciting prospect, and one that is long overdue; Cooler Master have taken their product offerings to a whole new, enticing level with the Master range. g

Express Yourself

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H C EW E T VI E R

MSI

Gami

Getting things just right

TECHNOLOGY

SI came out very strongly with their new line-up of Skylake compatible Z170 motherboards recently (we did a write-up in last month’s issue if you want some reference). Now we’re getting to play with the products, and quite frankly, they weren’t making a fuss over nothing. MSI have, with this range of boards, made it quite plain that they know what end users want and need – reliable, fast boards with a host of excellent features. And it really is those features that will set them apart from their competitors. This is particularly true of the more well thought-out, unique ideas among those features. For example, the Z170A Gaming M7 (which falls into their high-end “enthusiast gaming” categorisation) features optimised and reinforced PCIe slots. They are literally armour plated, with metal reinforcement that helps keep the contact points cooler, as well as prevent warping or other damage that may be caused by larger, improperly seated graphics cards. It’s a small thing – almost a no-brainer – but it makes a ton of sense. The M7 also features all kinds of boosts, aside from its great overclocking potential. For example, it has Twin Turbo M.2 technology, which provides more bandwidth (and thus greater speeds) to SSD drives, while DDR4 boost and Game Boost speed up the RAM and CPU respectively. In addition, network latency is

combatted by the latest Killer E2400 Ethernet technology, which prioritises gaming traffic via a protected LAN port. Even their choice of USB shows off speed, with USB 3.1 Gen 2 ports in Type A and Type C USB ports included on the board. Audio enhancements come by way of Audio Boost 3, supported by audio wizards Nahimic. The M7 features a striking deep red and black aesthetic, with large heat sinks and covers carrying the dragon motif we have come to expect from MSI. The components used are also of a newer, higher standard, in the form of Military Grade V. What it all boils down to is a very impressive motherboard. MSI have, for some time, played second fiddle (in reputation at least) to some of their competitors, particularly here in South Africa, but devices like the M7 will hold a lot of appeal for our sometimes picky market. This is a motherboard that shows MSI’s strengths, particularly in the implementation of effective new technologies and special features that other manufacturers may have overlooked. Practically it is a very good, reliable and responsive motherboard, but the joy of the M7 goes beyond that, into an area in which the bells and whistles actually make sense, rather than being extra frills. MSI are off to a running start for this CPU generation, and products like the M7 will go a long way to show just how good their components actually are. g gamecca75

MSI Z170A Gaming M7 Motherboard

Motherboard

SUMMARY While MSI may not have the reputation of some of their competitors, excellent products like the M7 will go a long way to show how well they make components.

TECH SPECS • • • • • • •

4 ink cartridge system Wireless function Print, scan, copy Double sided printing ePrinting Web connected

M A NUFA CT UR E R M SI

DISTRIB UTOR C o r ex w w w. co r ex . c o. z a

Platinum Gold Silver Bronze Ed’s Choice

SCORE

96 gamecca75

by Walt Pretorius

AT A GLANCE:

AWARDS

ing

Ear Force Stea Never skip a beatâ&#x20AC;Ś

TECHNOLOGY

Turtle Beach

H C EW E T VI E R

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Turtle Beach Ear Force Stealth 500P PS4 Headset

alth 500P

PS4 Headset

by Alex Scanlon

AT A GLANCE: SUMMARY

TECH SPECS

Feature rich and effective, this PS4 headset is a great option from Turtle Beach.

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

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• • • • • • •

7.1 surround sound Wireless Preset modes 15 hour battery life Separate volume controls

SCORE

T urt l e B e a c h A pe x I nt e ra c t i v e w w w . a pe xi nt . c o . z a

AWARDS

t’s all about making life as easy as possible these days, isn’t it? That’s not a bad thing, really… when you want to take a call but need to decide whether your PS4 gaming is more important, that really is something of a first-world problem, but it can be a problem none the less… particularly if it’s an important call during a crucial part of a game. This is just one of the things that Turtle Beach’s Stealth 500 P headset (for the PS4) makes easier. See, you can connect the wireless headset (another thing that makes life easier) to your mobile while you are gaming, and have a great conversation without pausing the fragging. And expletives that your mom might hear during the call are your problem, though… Thanks to the generous 50mm drivers built into the over-ear-cups, the 500P delivers the high level of audio quality one would expect from a Turtle Beach device, and it does so in7.1 surround sound, thanks to DTX Headphone: X technology. The fact that it is wireless adds significantly to the experience (unless you use the wired mobile connection). That mobile connection can also be used for any device that needs a 3.5mm jack connection, adding lots of versatility to the device, with the removable cable not compromising its uncluttered approach. Even the mic boom can be removed if you’re not using it, which is extremely handy. While the setup is a little strange (a cable from your PS4’s optical output interfaces with a transmitter plugged into one of the from mounted USB ports) the ease of use is excellent. The internal battery delivers around 15 hours of gaming per charge (and recharging can be done from the same USB port, thanks to an included cable) and the channel-hopping system ensures interference-free audio at all times. In addition, mic monitoring means that you’ll hear your own voice via the headset, eliminating the propensity to shout when using a mic. Game and chat audio volumes are controlled via separate controls built into the right ear-cup, as well as a toggle for the various built-in presets an a mic-mute button. In addition, the headset’s power is turned on and off by pressing the outside of the right ear-cup (and a friendly voice tells you when it’s powering on or off, as well as which preset is currently selected). In terms of comfort, the 500P should provide plenty of it, thanks to generously padded earcups and headband, as well as a light-weight construction. That means many hours of comfortable, uninterrupted gaming with your PS4 (or other devices), thanks to sensible design and good construction. Turtle Beach have done it again. g

Platinum Gold Silver Bronze Ed’s Choice

90 19

Razer

H C EW E T VI E R

Deathstalker A little less colourful…

TECHNOLOGY

need to be honest here – I love Razer’s peripherals, and when it comes to keyboards, the Deathstalker range is way up on my list. It’s because of the chiclet keycaps, see. I tend to get… enthusiastic when I write, for example, and the relative silence of this key configuration makes for a less stressful experience for me, and those around me. And for a chiclet keyboard, the Deathstalker does really well as a gaming device. The Deathstalker Ultimate, for example - my weapon of choice – has enough extra functions to make it a great gaming solution for me. So I was understandably excited to get the Deathstalker Chroma out of its box. Say what you will about Chroma functionality, but in terms of keyboards it is a great idea. The extreme level of single key customisation it offers makes sense, and the system is suited to keyboards more than any other peripheral type. So why, then, did Razer drop the ball when it comes to combining my favourite keyboard idea with the cool Chroma concept? Admittedly, the Deathstalker Chroma is not the Ultimate version of the keyboard – it has no macro keys and a numpad instead of the extremely handy touch screen that features on the Ultimate. In fact, other than the Razer logo and the distinctive font they use on the keys, it is pretty much

indistinguishable from any other chiclet style keyboard. It’s a great keyboard, don’t get me wrong, and this Chroma version is in-line with previous lower-end Deathstalkers. It performs well under pressure, is responsive and is blissfully quiet, just like its forebears. Where things went wrong was with the actual Chroma implementation. On previous boards, we have seen single key definition of lighting, which is a massively useful tool and something that sets Chroma apart from other backlighting ideas. But in the case of the Deathstalker, that individual approach is absent. In fact, the Chroma lighting, with all its brilliant colours, can be used in terms of three zones – the main keyboard can be one colour, the numpad another, and the directional and function keys arrayed between the two can be a third. Call me picky, but if Chroma allows me to highlight only my WADS keys on other keyboards, why the hell can’t I do it here? Sure, I can make use of all those fancy wave and spectrum and breathing effects, but the really useful bits of the Chroma system are missing here. There may be a technical reason for it, but it feels more like laziness. Perhaps the structure of a chiclet style keyboard means that individual colours cannot be done. But even if that is the case, it still feels disappointing. g gamecca75

NAME Deathstalker Razer OF THE PRODUCT Chroma Keyboard

Chroma

Keyboard

SUMMARY With colour settings divided into zones rather than individual keys, the Deathstalker is a little disappointing as a Chroma device. TECH SPECS • • • • • • •

3 colour zones Chiclet style keys Gaming mode Fixed wrist rest Anti-ghosting

M A NUFA CT UR E R Ra zer

DISTRIB UTOR Ra zer

AWARDS

w w w. r a zer. c o m

Platinum Gold Silver Bronze Ed’s Choice

SCORE

79 gamecca75

by Rob Edwards

AT A GLANCE:

Asus

H C EW E T VI E R

RT-AC87U

Dual-ban

Squeeze the most out of your internet co

TECHNOLOGY

s chunky internet connections get more and more popular (thanks to the slow moving one-upmanship between service providers) and line speeds increase, the need for a good router gets more and more important. Keep this in mind: the router that your service provider will give you as part of your package is, more than likely, at the lowest end of any particular scale. That’s simply the way it is – mass provision of things like routers gets farmed out to the lowest bidder, because profit margins are important. And the lowest bidder doesn’t always provide the best goods. So if you are in need of a new router (either because your lowest-bidder version gave up the ghost, or because you want to move to something generally better before that happens) you will do well to consider Asus’ offerings. The rather lengthily named RT-AC87U Dual-Band

Wireless-AC2400 Gigabit Router offers fast and stable performance, which is something every internet user want, whether surfing sites, sending email or cracking heads in an online game. The fact that it is really easy to set up helps, too, and the overall experience provided by this four-aerial router is great. Not only does it provide great connection speed, but its dual band Wi-Fi will enable smoother, more stable connection for devices using that standard. It makes use of concurrent 2.4 and 5GHz connectivity, allowing devices capable of fast connection to do just that, as well as ensuring interference free connectivity. It also has a directional signal focus system, which makes those connection even more stable and reliable. In terms of online connectivity, AiProtection (powered by Trend Micro) helps ensure that malicious attacks and software don’t even get past the router. It helps ensure a more secure computing environment, particularly for

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Asus RT-AC87U Dual-band Wireless-AC2400 Router

nd Wireless-AC2400 Router

onnection

by Walt Pretorius

AT A GLANCE: SUMMARY

TECH SPECS

If you need a great router (and who doesn’t need a great router?) this Asus option is an excellent multi-user, multi-purpose choice. Ma nuf a c t ure r D i s t ri but e r: Onl i ne :

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• • • • • • •

Dual-band 2.4 & 5GHz AiRadar Adaptive QoS AiProtection USB 2.0 port USB 3.0 port

SCORE

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

AWARDS

multiple users. Also aiding multiple users is beefed up multi-user performance, meaning that sharing a line becomes less of a power-struggle. The router also automatically optimises its adaptive QoS to provide the best data service for activities being undertaken, be it streaming movies or audio, playing games or whatever else it is you do on the internet. In addition, Asus have built some practical applications into the physical body of the router, too. These include a USB 3.0 port in the front, and a USB 2.0 port in the back. This allows for ideas like printer sharing, external network storage and a host of other applications. With four LAN ports, a WAN port, dual-band Wi-Fi and a host of features that make it faster, more stable and more secure, the RT-AC87U is almost a no-brainer when it comes to routers. It’s a top of the line device that delivers great service for those who demand it. g

Platinum Gold Silver Bronze Ed’s Choice

94 23

MSI

H C EW E T VI E R

Another MSI winner

TECHNOLOGY

hese days the argument between NVidia and Radeon fans is almost moot. It will never go away, mind you, just like the AMD vs Intel and the PS4 VS Xbox One vs PC arguments will go on forever (or until the next generation of console comes out, in the latter case, when it will just shift to the new hardware). The truth be told, though, most people have made up their minds already, and there is little that will change their standpoint on these things. It is almost as if the arguments are justifications, rather than actually trying to convince anyone of anything. But whatever the case may be, the truth is that the differences between various products are become less and less significant, and brand loyalty is what is driving things along, rather than truly valid points. If you fall into the Radeon corner in the GPU Wars,

Gam

this one is for you; MSI’s R9 390X Gaming 8G is a monster of a graphics card, not in least thanks to the fact that it packs a massive 8GB of VRAM along with its fast Radeon processor. And the fact that it is PCIe 3.0 compatible helps, too, giving this card really fast and responsive performance. But what sets this MSI card apart – truly – is almost the same as what sets every other high-end MSI graphics card apart. Aside from the fact that many of the bundled software items and features are Radeononly, the real attractor to this card is the fact that it runs quickly, smoothly and quietly without generating high levels of heat. And that’s what it has in common with so many other MSI graphics cards. The heart of the cooling system lies in a twin set of fans with a proprietary fan design that MSI call Torx. The blades are quite uniquely angles, driving more air

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MSI R9 390X Gaming 8G Graphics Card

ming 8G

Graphics Card

by Walt Pretorius

AT A GLANCE: SUMMARY

TECH SPECS

With lots of RAM, a powerful GPU and excellent cooling system, this Radeon card is another great product from MSI. Ma nuf a c t ure r D i s t ri but e r: Onl i ne :

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• • • • • • •

Radeon R9 390 chipset 8GB RAM Zero Frozr technology HDMI output 2 DVI-D outputs DisplayPort

SCORE

MS I Co re x w w w . c o re x. xo . z a

AWARDS

towards the card’s generous heat sinks. Also, both fans use what MSI term Zero Frozr technology, the next step in their Frozr cooling line. With this tech, fans stop spinning when they are not needed, keeping noise levels and power consumption lower when the card is not under strain. With Military Class 4 components and a very good cooling system, the longevity of this card should be just about as good as its excellent performance. In addition, the Gaming App software allows for easy overclocking and great presets, including gaming, movie and “eye rest” modes. On the whole, this is yet another great graphics card from MSI. It seems that MSI have seriously hit their stride, and the choice is less about brand, and more about chipset these days. If you’re a Radeon fan, you should seriously consider this great GPU. g

Platinum Gold Silver Bronze Ed’s Choice

90 25

Cooler Master

H C EW E T VI E R

Suppressor Get the job done!

TECHNOLOGY

ometimes you find exactly what you need in a somewhat unlikely source. Not that Cooler Master is an unlikely source for good peripherals. But the Suppressor gaming keyboard certainly delivers more than an initial glance might imply. Last month we looked at two Cooler Master gaming Gear Combos (basically a mouse and keyboard package), but the keyboards in each of these were fairly stripped down; good devices, but almost devoid of some of the special features that gamers way want from a keyboard. The Suppressor is a bit better in that respect. This keyboard features five macro keys along the left side, as well as storage for five programmable profiles. These are powered by a 32-bit engine for quick macro response. In addition, it has the expected multimedia and function shortcut

keys, arrayed along the top of the board (in fact, as alternate functions on the F keys.) The whole thing is backlit, too, although the backlighting in not adjustable – it gives you a clear view of the contoured keys, but you’re not going to be doing any personalisation here. The keys are generously spaced and raised quite high. They have a great tactile feel when depressed, with a fairly comfortable travel distance and a keen sense of when they have been hit. And, as a bit of an added extra, the cable can be removed for easy transportation. It’s plug is also set off to the one side, making it a little less invasive on your desktop – it’s easier to place your cup of coffee in easy reach, essentially. The thing is that even though the Suppressor offers great performance and a few bells and whistles, it (on paper) pales in comparison to some of the other

gamecca75

Cooler Master Suppressor Gaming Keyboard

aming Keyboard

by Rob Edwards

AT A GLANCE: SUMMARY

TECH SPECS • • • • • • •

It might not be heavy on special features, but this board is more than effective at getting the job done.

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

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5 macro keys 5 profiles 32-bit engine Full keyboard Backlit Removable cable

Co o l e r Ma s t e r Co o l e r Ma s t e r w w w . c o o l e rma s t e r. c o m

AWARDS

keyboards out there. It has enough in terms of special features to get by, but it probably won’t blow anyone’s hair back. With that said, though, the Suppressor delivers a very decent level of performance. It’s pretty responsive, and using it is comfortable enough. The keys offers a comfortable finger “grip” thanks to their shaping, and the whole package is well constructed and good looking (if a little understated). The Suppressor is not a top of the line keyboard, but it is a very decent one. So it really comes down to the user whether they want to have a keyboard that costs a fortune and has every conceivable feature built in, or whether they want one that is slightly more barebones, and more affordable. In the end it comes down to personal taste, but if you’re after something a little simpler that still gets the job done, the Suppressor is a good way to go. g

Platinum Gold Silver Bronze Ed’s Choice

SCORE

77 27

X99 Extreme Work and play, all in one…

TECHNOLOGY

ASRock

H C EW E T VI E R

gamecca75

SUMMARY

AWARDS

This is a great gaming board, as well as a powerful workhorse which, despite its older chipset, offers massive RAM support and premium performance.

Platinum Gold Silver Bronze Ed’s Choice

gamecca75

hurts (particularly in a country where load-shedding is common and power is often “dirty”). Starting that idea out is a host of protection systems built into the board, including surge, lightning and ESD guards. In addition, by adding high grade components that are well researched and manufactured, the Extreme4 ensures that power reaching your PC’s sensitive bits is smooth, clean and constant. These components include things like premium 60A power chokes, , premium memory alloy chokes, dual die MOSFETs and 12K platinum capacitors. These are combined with ideas like 12 phase power and digital pulse-width modulation to create a board that is really reliable and extremely stable, even under strain and overclocking conditions. Elements like oversized heat sinks add to the overall stability, too. When you look at the feature list, you come to the impression that while the Extreme4 would make a great gaming motherboard, it really does look like a powerful workhorse. The massive RAM support, the use of faster PCIe and SATA connections, the checks and balances towards power and protection, and the relatively slim list of special features all imply that this board would be as at home in a strenuous work environment as it would inside a gaming PC case. It’s stable, reliable and extremely capable, and if you want to go the X99 route, it’s a great bet. g

SCORE

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

ASRock T V R Co mput e rs w w w . t v r. c o . z a

TECH SPECS • • • • • • • • •

X99 chipset 128GB DDR4 supported 12 power phase Purity Sound 2 technology Full Spike Protection Intel EtherneT

by Walt Pretorius

he X99 chipset came at a strange time. It arrived just in time to take advantage of DDR4 RAM but its flair only lasted a relatively short while, when the Skylake-associated Z107 chipset hit the market with a big splash. In addition, the new USB standard, USB 3.1, hasn’t really made big news in association with X99 chipset motherboards. In short, it’s basically like buying a new smartphone just before the next iteration releases. That doesn’t mean that it is old technology, or behind the times. In fact, the X99 chipset is a very capable and viable backbone for any PC, and ASRock’s X99 Extreme4 is a great way to take advantage of this excellent performer. The top of the list of this board’s cool features is the fact that it supports more RAM than you can shake a really big stick at. It might even be too much RAM (although such a thing doesn’t really exist): the Extreme 4 can handle up to 128GB of DDR4 RAM, which is double what most boards (including Z107 boards) offer. It’s a massive amount of memory, and one wonders why someone would need that much. But there are reasons for having copious amounts of RAM, and the Extreme 4 becomes a no-brainer to those that need it as a result. ASRock’s biggest focus with this motherboard has been towards stability and smooth power supply, which never

AT A GLANCE:

Motherboard

ASRock X99 Extreme4 Motherboard

MVP Pro Slogans and all…

TECHNOLOGY

HuntKey

H C EW E T VI E R

gamecca75

PC Case

HuntKey MVP Pro PC Case

by Alex Scanlon

AT A GLANCE: SUMMARY

TECH SPECS

A decent case with striking looks, despite one particular odd design decision…

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

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• • • • • • •

ATX case 2 USB 3.0 ports 2 USB 2.0 ports 5 120mm fan barackets

SCORE

H unt Ke y T V R Co mput e rs w w w . t v r. c o . z a

AWARDS

ne of the most important aspects of a PC case – aside from the obvious elements including air flow, frontside ports and fan brackets – is the overall aesthetic of the box. It’s an expression of the person who buys it, to a degree (which case modders obviously take further) and it says something about the person that built their PC into the case. It might be serious, or funky, or whatever… but the choice you make in buying a case lets the visual aspect of it speak volumes. HuntKey’s MVP Pro case is one that falls into the funky category, with clean likes and contrasts that look like they come right out of a sci-fi movie. We got to look at the white and blue model and, at first glance, its somewhat unusual design makes for a very impressive case, visually – even down to the blue tint applied to the side window. But someone over at HuntKey got over-excited with the design, and they made a poor decision; there’s nothing wrong with printing the name of the case, in logo format, on the case. We prefer discretion over the bold approach that HuntKey took, but that’s a matter of taste. The layout is pretty bad, too… but the truly bad decision is the slogan that has been printed – printed, not a removable sticker – on the case. Nothing wrong with a slogan either, except when it is translated poorly. It says “no one can stop my game. I make decision”. Admittedly not the worst case of “Ingrish” around, but still – and it’s repeated on the top and front of the case. If it bothers you, you could remove it, but you would have to take some care to not screw up the otherwise great look of the case. Or you could take up case modding. Just saying. Other than that arguably small complaint, the MVP Pro is a decent case. It offers a lot of fan brackets, which is great, although all the drive cages are arrayed along the front side, which may interfere with air flow. It’s fairly board, too, which helps with cable management, and most of the case is screwless. It also offers two USB 3.0 ports and two USB 2.0 ports on the front side which, along with the audio ports, are hidden under a removable cover. Great for keeping dust out, but it would have been better if it was hinged. Overall, the MVP Pro is a decent case, with striking looks that will make an impression on those that see it. It is solidly built and well finished, and is fairly roomy inside – although it won’t support longer graphics cards. Still, if you’re looking for a good ATX case, it is a viable option. g

Platinum Gold Silver Bronze Ed’s Choice

79 31

Asus

H C EW E T VI E R

ROG Maximus Asus takes Skylake to the Maximus…

TECHNOLOGY

ow that the furore surrounding Skylake is over, it’s time to get down to business. The processor is a great new addition to Intel’s stable, and provides users with far more beyond just increased power. But what lets this new processor shine is the motherboard you use it with, and Asus are determined to ensure that their motherboards stand out from the rest in terms of reliability, performance and features. It is only natural that their high end Maximus line would get the full Skylake treatment. The Maximus VIII boards are built specifically to take advantage of the new processor’s abilities, as well as adding in DDR4 RAM’s increased power and performance into the mix. The Maximux VIII Hero sits near the top of the range, and presents users with the expected level of quality from the series. In other words, it is a responsive and stable board, capable of being pushed to all kinds of limits. And it has numerous special features, too. These include (at the least useful end of the scale) lighting on the massive heatsink that can be adjusted in terms of colour. While this is a purely aesthetic element, it makes a lot of sense to many users. Moving into slightly more practical areas, the Hero offers a number of useful ideas. These include things like KeyBot II (which enables you so save macros

to the motherboard with any keyboard) and ROG RAMCache, which enables files or fragments to utilise RAM more effectively, thereby increasing overall performance. Intel Ethernet and GameFirst technology make LAN gaming a breeze, with prioritised gaming traffic and LANGuard enabled ports to protect against power surges. Also of particular note is the SupremeFX audio system that the board makes use of, with physically isolated audio components delivering an excellent level of sound performance. Another new feature on many Skylake enabled boards is USB 3.1, and the Hero features one type A (read as “the USB port you’re used to”) and one Type C (reversible) port. In addition, it offers six USB 3.0 and eight USB 2.0 ports. The Hero also comes with a host of software, including overclocking systems, Daemon Tools, Kaspersky protection software and more. It’s a very decent motherboard right out of the box, and performs well under the strain of gaming and overclocking. And in addition to all that, it looks good too, with enlarged heat-sinks (complete with that lighting we mentioned) finished in a gun-metal that complements the black of the motherboard. On the whole, you won’t go wrong if you choose to upgrade to a Skylake Z170 chipset board in the form of the Maximus VIII Hero. g gamecca75

NAMEROG Asus OF THE Maximus PRODUCT VIII Hero Motherboard

s VIII Hero

Motherboard

SUMMARY It might not be as feature rich as some competitors, but the Maximus VIII Hero is certainly a decent Z170 option. TECH SPECS • • • • • • •

Z170 Express chipset Up to 64GB DDR4 RAM Lighting control 2 USB 3.1 ports Intel Ethernet SupremeFX Audio M A NUFA CT UR E R Asu s

DISTRIB UTOR Asu s

AWARDS

w w w. a su s.c o m

Platinum Gold Silver Bronze Ed’s Choice

SCORE

93 gamecca75

by Rob Edwards

AT A GLANCE:

TECHNOLOGY

Cooler Master

H C EW E T VI E R

Mastercase Getting it just right…

ooler Master’s new move towards an enhanced user experience through the customisation of peripherals and other PC hardware is a very clever one. Years ago, modding of PC cases was all the rage, but it required a lot of PT and some serious power tools. These days, though, with products like this coming out, modding your case is much simpler. But it’s not all about looks with Cooler Master’s Mastercase Pro 5. There are far more practical applications to make this one of the best PC cases we have ever seen. To be fair, though, calling the case completely modular is inaccurate. There are aspects of the case that simply cannot be changed, meaning that it cannot be precisely what you want it to be. But the things that are more or less fixed are sensible. The optical drive bays are at the top front, where they should be. The PSU goes in the bottom rear, where it should be (beneath a heat blocking solid plate, no less, that forms a whole separate compartment in the bottom of the case, complete with additional drive bays). But beyond the things that cannot be changed, there are a number that can. Additionally, the overall sensibility of the design makes the Mastercase Pro 5 a dreamy prospect to house your PC in. The best term to use when describing this case is “superpractical”. It has support for water cooling (complete with a dual top fan bracket array that can be removed if

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needed. It has excellent cable management facilities – clips, crawlspaces, the works. And you can take out some of the things you don’t need in the case, making it great for airflow obsessive-compulsives like yours truly. For example, if you decide to capitalise on the cooling potential of the dual chamber design, and stick all your hard drives in the bottom space, you can pull out the top mounted HDD bracket in the upper compartment. Or move it to be mounted lower. You can remove the optical drive cage and mount an extra front fan. You can mount your SSDs on top of the compartment separator, or behind the motherboard back-plate. You can easily fix a radiator, or extra fans, and even adjust the position of fans vertically to optimise airflow to the smallest degree. All of this is helped along by truly excellent construction, as well as impressive good looks. The Mastercase Pro 5 has stern, strong lines, and looks every bit the serious PC case, at home in both an office and as part of a gamer’s rig. The front of the case is dominated by a generous mesh, to allow excellent airflow, with top front mounted controls and ports, including audio ports and two USB 3.0 ports. It’s beautiful to look at, wonderful to work with, and capable of great degrees of tweaking – meaning that you can build a neat, effective and well cooled system within its spacious confines. This is a truly superb case. g

Cooler Master Mastercase Pro 5 PC Case

PC Case

AWARDS

AT A GLANCE:

by Walt Pretorius

SUMMARY While you cannot totally reconfigure the Mastercase Pro 5, it allows for so much tweaking that your system should be perfect inside it.

Platinum Gold Silver Bronze Ed’s Choice

gamecca75

SCORE

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

Co o l e r Ma s t e r Co o l e r Ma s t e r www.coolermaster.com

TECH SPECS • • • • • • • • •

Modular 6 140mm fan brackets 280mm radiator compliant Dual chamber design 4 SSD drive pockets Extra-long GPU support

e rn

To Rent or Torrent

The new digital entertainment market

TECHNOLOGY

(and why it isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t the best idea for South Africa).

mgeect 2 c4a 7 5 ggl a ad

by Suvesh Arumugam

To Rent or Torrent

he film and music industry have been protecting their revenues for years. This goes back to the days of “Illegal Home Taping” warnings printed all over your LP inside sleeve that making a copy of the latest Michael Jackson record for your mates was just naughty. Technically, even making a copy to play in the car was naughty, even though the industry was not kind enough to encourage the invention of front loading record players to make this more practical. Of course, years later they were nice enough to invent CD players, so there was no reason to make copies, except that car CD players were notorious for scratching the stuffing out of any disc that you really valued (just like cassette players used to love treating tape like delicious junk food and guzzling away). Then came the digital age, when we had iTunes and Windows Media Player and it wasn’t just about copying for friends, but accessing your music across multiple devices like home and work PCs, portable players and phones. And then the industry invented streaming and it was simple. Now you can play whatever you want, whenever you want - you just can’t own it, share it, or listen to it again if you stop paying a monthly fee. The world groaned and it seemed clear that for many audiophiles, this just wasn’t addressing their addiction to great music. The film lover is a similar animal. We’ll talk about him in a bit, as soon as I set the scene for his story. Film and television consumption has been going through a radical change in the last few years. Content consumption is slowly moving from terrestrial satellite and cable broadcast of television, movie screening theatres and DVD releases towards a single streaming technology. A Nielson report released late last year confirmed that 2.6 million households in the US were now broadband only - i.e. no terrestrial broadcasts to their TV, and everything viewed was via the internet on their Smart TVs. On average viewers are watching 12 minutes less TV per day than they were a

year ago, and that figure is set to continue to decline. Adobe, whose platform is used by most cable subscribers to view their subscriptions online, found that TV viewing over the internet grew by over 388% in 2014, and the number of unique viewers is growing by an estimated 146% per year. This figure does not include the major players in online video entertainment (in terms of produced content, not user generated like YouTube) which are the likes of Netflix, Amazon Prime and Hulu. It’s no surprise that in the last few years these services have become so profitable that they now produce their own original series, like the award-winning House of Cards, Marvel’s Daredevil and a host of other sought after original content, alongside rebroadcasts of content aired on traditional TV stations. South Africa’s biggest media group, Naspers, recently launched ShowMax, an attempt to beat Netflix to market here in South Africa. This is not the first pay service of its kind here, MTN launched FrontRow, a similar service (and price) boasting tons of premium content (and free content) for viewers to view over their internet connection. As a South African, I can poke a few small, but significant holes in this business model. First, we’re using the rental model. OK, back in the day, when we had Blockbuster or Video Gems, we didn’t really have central hubs of information where movies were readily accessible, but I think I can remember it being far more preferable to borrow a video of a movie taped from M-Net then hiring a video for the night. It was impractical and annoying. What if you decided you wanted to watch the movie again? What if you waited all week to get the movie and the copy was poked. And of course, having to rewind the darn tapes. For me, the thought of renting anything seems horrible. Another thing that we South Africans like is physical product. We like to buy things and hold them and mourn them when they go missing. The idea that you’ve paid a

“Then came the digital age,..”

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TECHNOLOGY

few hundred rand for something as intangible as the air between you and your neighbour’s wall is very disconcerting to the average South African consumer. South Africans still buy tapes! In fact, we’re probably the biggest cassette buyers in the world, aside from India. We still have CD and DVD stores, like Musica, where most other countries have long retired these dinosaurs. It’s because we need to own things, we need to hold them in our hands and place them on a special shelf, and treasure them. I have a jolt of pride when I open my DVD cupboard and see all the Bond movies along with my Matrix, Godfather, Lord of The Rings and other collections. There is a sense of time and effort (and sacrifice) that made this possible. And we need to leave them behind. One thing that that digital distributors have not answered and will haunt South African buyers is, where do my purchases go when I die. I remember, as a child, digging around in an old storeroom and finding a treasure of Rolling Stone magazines from the late 1960’s, vintage LP’s of Cream, Jethro Tull, Jimi Hendrix and a whole lot more that a family member had left behind after passing. To me this was like finding a treasure beyond value. I desperately scoured the earth for a record player, needles and found a way to play these to somehow feel connected to a time long past. My children will never have that experience. My books, films and music will never pass to them (unless they are my own original works) and they will never get a sense of who I was, what my dreams were and how I evolved from a gangly teenager playing air guitar to Metallica, to the stern old fart I’m bound to become that reads Proust while humming Mahler. So the question is why pay for digital ownership that gives you nothing more interesting than illegal downloading does? In fact you might not get the best quality if you’re on a poor internet connection anyway on a legal stream. At least when you trumped someone’s ratty pirated version of an album with your mint-condition, limited edition, 2 disc release of the same product, there was some sense of exclusivity, ownership and something you could leave behind that marked your existence. Now you hardly ever find people at braais lauding their legal subscriptions in response to others passing around terabytes of downloaded content. A very good friend of mine told me he once found an old book about entrepreneurship that once belonged to his father (who had passed). His father never followed his idea, but had annotated the book with lots of ideas and thoughts. His son read the book from cover to cover, and later used his father’s advice to start a multi-million rand business. Until I hear a similar story with someone using a Netflix subscription, I’m going to hang on to my paperbacks, cassettes and video tapes. g

gamecca75

To Rent or Torrent

“Where do my purchases go when I die...” gamecca75

i ur

TECHNOLOGY

by Iwan Pienaar

f the recent Ashley Madison hack has shown us anything, then it is that you can never be completely safe or anonymous on the internet. In fact, every time you visit a Web site, a certain amount of information is collected. This might range from the seemingly harmless to the more malicious. Some of this information include the following: IP (internet protocol) address - Each computer on the internet is assigned a specific, unique IP. Your computer may have a static IP address or a dynamic IP address. If you have a static IP address, it never changes. However, some ISPs own a block of addresses and assign an open one each time you connect to the internetâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;this is a dynamic IP address. You can determine your computerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s IP address at any given time by visiting www.showmyip. com. Domain name - The internet is divided into domains, and every userâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s account is associated with one of those domains. You can identify the domain by looking at the end of URL. For example, .edu indicates an educational institution, .gov indicates a government agency, .org refers to organisation, .com is for commercial use, and .co.za is a South African Web site. The list of active domain names is available from the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority. Software details - It may be possible for an organisation to determine which browser, including the version, that you used to access its site. The organisation may also be able to determine what operating system your computer is running. Page visits - Information about which pages you visited, how long you stayed on a given page, and

whether you came to the site from a search engine is often available to the organisation operating the Web site. If a Web site uses cookies, the organisation may be able to collect even more information, such as your browsing patterns, which include other sites you have visited. If the site you are visiting is malicious, files on your computer, as well as passwords stored in the temporary memory, may be at risk. How is this information used? Generally, organisations use the information that is gathered automatically for legitimate purposes, such as generating statistics about their sites. By analysing the statistics, the organisations can better understand the popularity of the site and which areas of content are being accessed the most. They may be able to use this information to modify the site to better support the behaviour of the people visiting it. Another way to apply information gathered about users is marketing. If the site uses cookies to determine other sites or pages you have visited, it may use this information to advertise certain products. The products may be on the same site or may be offered by partner sites. However, some sites may collect your information for malicious purposes. If attackers are able to access files, passwords, or personal information on your computer, they may be able to use this data to their advantage. The attackers may be able to steal your identity, using and abusing your personal information for financial gain. A common practice is for attackers to use this type of information once or twice, then sell or

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trade it to other people. The attackers profit from the sale or trade, and increasing the number of transactions makes it more difficult to trace any activity back to them. The attackers may also alter the security settings on your computer so that they can access and use your computer for other malicious activity. Are you exposing any other personal information? While using cookies may be one method for gathering information, the easiest way for attackers to get access to personal information is to ask for it. By representing a malicious site as a legitimate one, attackers may be able to convince you to give them your address, credit card information, social security number, or other personal data. How can you limit the amount of information collected about you? Be careful supplying personal information Unless you trust a site, do not give your address, password, or credit card information. Look for indications that the site uses SSL to encrypt your information. Limit cookies - If an attacker can access your computer, he or she may be able to find personal data stored in cookies. You may not realise the extent of the information stored on your computer until it is too late. However, you can limit the use of cookies. Browse safely - Be careful which Web sites you visit; if it seems suspicious, leave the site. Also make sure to take precautions by increasing your security settings, keeping your virus definitions up to date, and scanning your computer for spyware. g

How Anonymous are You?

How Anonymous are You? ‘They’ might know more about you than you think... gamecca75

Technically Speaking

o be brutally honest, I had no idea what my column this month was going to be about. Usually, as deadline approaches I have about two or three vague thoughts that I could explore on paper, but it doesn’t always pan out the way I hoped. When I sat down to write this one, my mind was truly a blank – just like the open Word document in front of me. The cursor blinking, mocking me into typing the first couple of words to see where it goes. I sat down to write this rather late in our production cycle, so time was actually of the essence. I woke up at 8am, made a cup of coffee and sat down in front of my PC still half asleep. That is when I realised that I woke up at 8am not to finish the column and send it to Ed as quickly as I can, but so that I can get back to playing Elite: Dangerous as soon as possible. See, the thing is that I have invested more time in the game that I probably should have in the short two weeks of playing, but I just couldn’t get enough. It’s actually a bit of a long story. I purchased the beta version for Xbox One about two months ago, but the way the game was designed was to throw you into the deep end and keep your head under water.

The title explains the barebone necessities about combat and nothing else. If you had to quantify it, it details about 3% of what you can do. Once the tutorials are over, it literally goes “There. Now go into the wild and do stuff” and then smugly walks away. Needless to say, that would frustrate the pants off of anyone. I (together with an online friend) played the game for a couple of days, and after dying a number of time and not being able to successfully figure out how to fly in wings together, we quit playing. Rewind to two weeks ago, we decided to give it another shot. Sitting down and actively trying to figure out how things work, we managed to explain to ourselves how the world operates and what we can do. That was the start of our doom, as we have been exclusively been playing Elite: Dangerous ever since. The game is much more complex than what developers Frontier have ever explained, and there is a plethora of things that you need to do to gain rank, standing and reputation with the 10 space factions. As with most games, there is a level of grinding that you need to go through which consumes a large chunk of your time, but that is not unexpected. gamecca75

This was a bit of the long way to get to the point, but how much time is too much spent in a game? My friend and I do realise that Elite: Dangerous is one of those titles that will take a lot of our time in the long run, but we simply can’t get our fix right now. Every opportunity that we get, we are floating around in space. I actually don’t want to think about to overall hours that will still go into it. One of the games that I played the most (and probably the quickest) was The Witcher 3. When I finished it, the timer was hovering around the 110 hour mark – and that was just in two weeks. That is an average of seven hours a day – which is a lot by any standard. Have you ever played a game in which you just want to pour every waking minute into, even though you know it is a marathon and not a sprint? With Elite: Dangerous, there is no time limit in which you need to buy a better ship, complete certain missions or rank up at a specific time. We just want to get there as quickly as possible. What is the game that you have spent the most time in? I know Bungie’s Destiny is one for the long haul, but what other have totally consumed all your time? Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a cargo racks full of rares to go and sell... g

BYcHARLIE Fripp

Labour of Love...

Features 50 82

Rock Fantasy Reboot GamesCom 2015

PReviews 56 60 62 64 66 67 68 70 72 74 75 76 78 79 80

Forza 6 Company of Heroes 2: The British Forces Act of Aggression SkyScrappers Gunscape Warlocks VS Shadows Poncho Might and Magic Heroes 7 Grand Ages: Medieval Tearaway Unfolded Skyhill Blitzkrieg 3 NBA 2K16 Lost Horizon 2 Between Me and the Night

Reviews 92 98 102 104 105 108

Until Dawn Gears of War: Ultimate Edition Rare Replay Sound Shapes Stealth Inc 2: A Game of Clones How to Survive: Storm Warning Edition

RegularS 48 110 116

Did you know Indie View Legacy

COLUMN 120

Ramjetâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Rantality

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AVAILABLE 9 OCTOBER 2015 16V

Distributed Exclusively by Apex Interactive Tel: (011) 796 5040 Email: sales@apexinteractive.co.za All rights and trademarks and logos are copyright of their respective owners. www.apexinteractive.co.za

GAMING

Did You

Know?

1…

that The Witcher 3 had a development budget of only $81 million The Witcher 3 has been one of the most-anticipated games of the year, and it definitely didn’t disappoint when it was released. While we have seen some sales figures for the title, creators CD Projeckt Red revealed that the game managed to sell six millions copies in six weeks - which is really good. What makes that number even more significant, is that the development team only had a budget of $81 million. That might sound like a lot, but it’s really nothing when compared to titles like Destiny, which is rumoured to have cost close to $500 million.

2…

that Rock Band 4 will be more expensive on Xbox One? When you start meddling with gamers’ prices for titles, things can only go south. Unfortunately for Xbox One players, it is an unavoidable situation that they will be facing with Rock Band 4. In order for them to make use of the old plastic instruments that came with a lot of the previous titles, the price will be $20 more expensive than the PlayStation 4 version. The reason for that is because the XO version comes with a special adapter that will allow for the instruments to be used. Alternatively, you can just rebuy your favourite guitar…

3…

that Kerbal Space Program is coming to Xbox One? Kerbal Space Program is one of those little games that almost nobody has heard of, but trust us – it is huge amounts of fun. Ok, it’s not that unknown, but still… In case you didn’t know, KSP allows you to build your own rockets from many pieces available, that you then use to ferry little kerbals into the far-flung reaches of space. It sounds a lot easier than what it actually is, as the game makes use of real physics forces. In any case, the game has been available on PC for a long time, and finally it is now coming to Microsoft’s Xbox One. Exactly when, still needs to be revealed. gamecca75

DID YOU KNOW

Kerbals, PS4 Previews and no more Peter...

4…

that the PS4 has its own preview program? One of the great things about the Xbox One is that it has a Preview Program that allows gamers to test-run the latest updates at least two weeks before they are rolled out to the public. This way, gamers can get an early look at some of the new features planned for the console, and to keep up with the competition Sony has decided to create a preview program for the PS4. Right now it is running a beta program to test the functionality of major system software updates, and you can sign up right now if you want to be part.

5…

that Batman: Arkham Knight is getting the film’s Batmobile? Love it or hate it, the Batmobile in the latest Dark Knight game is one of the highlights of the crimebusting franchise. The deadly vehicle has been pretty well received by many gamers, and now Rocksteady has through something special into the mix. Batman: Arkham Knight is the first game in which players could actually drive the Batmobile, and now another one will be added. The Batmobile from Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight trilogy films will be added sometime this month, which is sure to make many players very happy.

6…

that Peter Dinklage has been removed from Destiny? Destiny’s Ghost was designed to help players across the planet, but it turned out as soon as the game was released that voice actor Peter Dinklage’s performance was less than stellar. With the impending release of the game’s The Taken King’s release, creator Bungie has decided to remove all of Dinklage’s line – in favour of it being re-recorded by super-talented Nolan North. That name should ring a bell, as he has been the voice of so many characters in video games that we have completely lost track. g

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Guitar Hero Live t 50

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Guitar Hero Live

by: Lein Baart

boot

takes to the stage gamecca75

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he story of Guitar Hero is a legend in the making, a tale of a franchise that appeared to have revolutionised not one but two entertainment industries, then through a mixture of greed and awful timing seemingly disappeared overnight. What has remained however is a legion of fans that still regularly pick up pretend guitars to play at the rock star fantasy, and despite a five year gap the appeal hasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t diminished. However this decade has taught us that reviving a beloved franchise can be a delicate affair, though at this point Guitar Hero Live, the long awaited seventh main instalment, is appearing to be hitting all the right chords (ba dum tss). When RedOctane first proposed the idea of a Guitar Hero game to developers Harmonix (after nicking the concept from a Japanese game titled GuitarFreaks admittedly), neither could have guessed the phenomenon that game would eventually become. Featuring a soundtrack that spanned several decades of rock and metal, the novelty of the controller, and the fantasy it allowed you to create for yourself, elevated the game far and above the other rhythm games of the time. This in turn allowed Guitar Hero to be 2005â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s surprise hit, with sales figures hovering around $45 million for that year alone and almost universal acclaim from both critics and gamers alike. It was Guitar Hero 2 however that truly cemented the franchise as a gaming powerhouse. While the basic gameplay remained much the same, with the acclaim, and the money, that the first game had brought in Harmonix and RedOctane were able to licence big-name artists such as Metallica and AC/DC, and a generally fine-tuned experience made the game even more enjoyable than before. However it was the multiplayer, specifically the ability to play co-operatively rather competitively, that truly made Guitar

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Guitar Hero Live

Hero 2 a standout title, paving the way for the game to become a massive sensation amongst even the most casual of gamers. By the time Guitar Hero 3: Legends of Rock was set to be released, the franchise had become a household name, and behind the scenes things had drastically changed. Activision, having seen the success of the series, had decided to purchase RedOctane in order to obtain the rights to the game, though with MTV having bought Harmonix development had been given over to Neversoft Entertainment, who at that point was mainly known for the Tony Hawk Pro Skater series. What resulted was a game that, despite receiving slightly less praise than its predecessors, managed to become the first game ever to rake in over a billion dollars in sales. By this stage Guitar Hero was having more than an impact on gaming however, with the music industry starting to see the franchise not only as a legitimate method of distribution but a means to boost the popularity of older acts while introducing up and coming bands. Every single song released with Legends of Rock saw a spike in sales following the gameâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s launch, as much as 843% in one case, and music labels began queuing to get new acts into future releases. Indeed, at one point Activision even claimed that Aerosmith made more off their dedicated game, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, than any previous album. This was truly the pinnacle for the franchise however, and by the time Guitar Hero World Tour launched a number of issues were about to creep in, the first being the competition from Rock Band. Created by the original developers of Guitar Hero, Harmonix, Rock Band was released at the same time as Legends of Rock and had immediately raised the bar by introducing more instruments with a greater focus on party play. World Tour was destined then to

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play catch-up, and while the game itself was solid many felt that its lesser known competitor, which had released its second instalment at the same time, was a superior game. World Tour also failed to meet sales expectations, in part because of the global recession that was just starting to really ramp up at the time, however Activision chose to press on, and 2009 saw a total of six released for the franchise, including the fifth main instalment, not all of which were particularly well received. The over-saturation, combined with the worsening global economy, quickly saw the market drop off, and by the time Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock hit the shelves in late 2010 demand for rhythm games had all but disappeared. Activision placed the series on indefinite hiatus, and Guitar Hero (and Rock Band for that matter) vanished from the shelves. So why then has Activision chosen to reboot what everyone thought was a closed chapter of gaming history? According to the CEO of Activision Publishing, Eric Hirshberg, continued fan support had a lot do with it, as Guitar Hero still commands over 10 million fans on Facebook even five years after its last release. With development have been given over to FreeStyleGames, a studio with some experience in musicbased games, the idea has been to completely re-invent the franchise and to this end a number of changes have been made. To begin with probably the most important aspect, the controller has been redesigned, and will now feature six buttons arranged in two rows of three (so no more awkward pinkie flailing then). While this should make the game more accessible to newcomers, the studio is hoping that design will better simulate the actual playing of a guitar. Guitar Hero Live has also drastically changed its presentation, and the game will essentially be split into two modes: live and TV. gamecca75

Guitar Hero Live

The former, which will be singleplayer, will set you up as the lead guitarist of a fictional band, struggling to rise from obscurity to sold-out stadiums. FreeStyleGames, hoping to create a more immersive game than previous entries, have dropped the cartoonish visuals and instead have opted to have gamers play from a first-person perspective in front of a “real” audience, who boo and hiss should you mess up and yell and cheer when you starting smashing the required notes. As the trailer has shown it can be absolutely exhilarating, and more than ever appears to allow us to live the rock star dream. Just as exciting, if not more so, is the GHTV, which is where you will spend hours of your time after finishing the career mode. Essential a music video streaming service overlaid with game mechanics, TV has a tracklist composed of hundreds of songs, ranging from Megadeth and In Flames to Bruno Mars, which will be divided into channels by genre, with players able to select what type of music they want to listen to. GHTV will then present them with a mixture of constantly rotating music videos, giving gamers access to a mix of both classics and new releases. Best of all, the entire service will be free, though people can still purchase credits to open up songs not available on the current rotation. For a franchise that at one stage had beaten itself to death through sheer repetition, Guitar Hero’s return is both surprisingly welcome and appears to encouragingly competent. Loaded with fresh ideas, the aim is clear: let players once again live out an impossible, awesome fantasy. While we won’t know whether FreeStyleGames have succeeded until we can actually get our hands on its plastic imitations, everything they’ve shown makes me believe I’ll be soon be doing powerslides to imaginary cheers. g gamecca75

E M W A VIE G E R P

Forza 6 GAMING

Around the next turn

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Forza 6

by Charlie Fripp

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lot of things that haven’t been seen in previous iterations. One of the first that will be added will be wet-weather driving – meaning that drivers will have to be extra careful when they go around corners. This will very interesting for new drivers to the franchise, as players will naturally have to time their racing, overtaking and acceleration. Hydroplaning will also be a reality, adding even more danger. The formation of puddles on the track has also been carefully calculated, as the developers visited some of the real-world locations on which the track were modelled. Going around the track, they documented where the puddles would form during rain showers, and added them into the game at the exact locations. Speaking of tracks, the Top Gear Test Track and The Stig’s

GAMING

here is actually very little that needs to be said about the entire Forza Motorsport franchise. Even if you don’t like racing games, you have more than likely heard about it sometime in your gaming life. But just in case you have been living under a controller for the last decade or so, the Forza Motorsport franchise is one of the biggest money-spinners in Microsoft’s stable. It claims to be one of the most realistic drivers around, and the game feature incredible graphics – and that is not mentioning the huge catalogue of cars. The sixth game in the franchise (the first one was released in ten years ago) will be spinning around the track towards the middle of the month, and it includes a

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Forza 6

Digital Cousin from Forza Motorsport 5 will also be included in this version, and presenters James May and Richard Hammond will deliver their usual commentary throughout the title. Sadly, Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson will not be in the game. In terms of the player’s experience, the game will feature a single-player campaign of sorts, and a multiplayer element where they can race against other Forza enthusiasts online. Developer Turn 10 Studios estimates that the single player portion of the game is about 70 hours in length, and the ‘Stories of Motorsport’ will additionally feature races set in early racing eras. You know, just to remind players where it all started. Drivatars, the AI drivers featured in Forza Motorsport 5,

will also be included. But in terms of the cars that are available for racing, there are too many to mention in this short preview. We are not going to leave players completely hanging – it will include 450 vehicles spanning supercars, sports compact class cars, muscle cars and all eras of Grand Prix motor racing. “Collect and race over 450 cars, all featuring cockpits, damage and customization. Tour 26 world-famous locales, including 10 newly captured tracks, all built from the ground up for Xbox One. Relive the classic races and epic rivalries that have defined motorsports’ greatest moments,” Microsoft explains. If you own an Xbox One and love racing games, this one is definitely for you. g

AT A GLANCE Sports

Better graphics and more cars... the Forza Motorsport franchise seems to be growing from strength to strength. Developer: Publisher: Distributer:

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Turn 10 Studios Microsoft Microsoft

Sep 2015

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GAMING

Sep 2015 Developer: Publisher: Distributer:

Relic Entertainment TBA TBA

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Tally ho, it’s off to war

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AT A GLANCE RTS

Another expansion to CoH brings the best out of the new units

gamecca75

by Charlie Fripp

Company of Heroes 2: The British Forces

ne of the most successful real-time strategy games that involve World War II has to be the Company of Heroes franchise. We absolutely love what developer Relic Entertainment has done with the second game in the series. Even though the title is two years old (the base CoH game was released in 2013), downloadable content is still being pushed out for it. Western Front Armies and Ardennes Assault DLC packs were released after the game’s launch, but this month we will get to have a go at the British army with The British Forces DLC. The add-on to the game is the latest multiplayer standalone pack, and as expected gamers will be able to play as the Britons – which will include Englishmen, Scotsmen, Welshmen and the Irish. And there is a lot of goodies that come with it. “The British Army features a brand new set of distinctive tactical gameplay options articulated around a new tech tree including new infantry, team weapons, vehicles, upgrades, commanders with unique abilities and a total of eight new multiplayer maps portraying historic battlefield locations,” Relic Entertainment explained. New units will include things like fearless leader Winston Churchill’s Crocodile flamethrower tank and the RAF glider – bring to unique character count to 15. Some of the changes that the pack brings is also subtle, like new motion-captured data for the most common animation sets. If you have the base game (or any other DLC), then you should definitely consider buying this awesome pack. Not only does it bring a bit of variety in terms of the units and technology that you can play with, but it should make for a pretty neat challenge. So hop to it chaps, tally-ho! g

Company of Heroes 2: The British Forces

E M W A VIE G E R P

Act of Aggression Modern day old-school

as the “Shanghai Crash”, which has plunged the global economy into a recession not equalled since the Great Depression. The campaign will follow the exploits of a UN-created army called the Chimera as they seek to stop the machinations of the Cartel, a shadowy political group operating through private military contractors and mercenaries. As the campaign progresses players will also unlock Cartel missions, presenting “an alternate view on situations previously played through”, though as yet there is no word on whether the United States, the game’s third faction, will feature as a playable army in single-player. As is proper for a traditional RTS, each of the game’s three factions will feature unique play styles, with the near-future setting allowing for each army to wield “the

GAMING

he real-time strategy genre does not easily lend itself to change. Ever since Dune 2 came along and introduced the world to base-building, resource management and combat, the blueprint had pretty much been created for every RTS game to follow, with any innovation being more peripheral changes than developments in core gameplay. Of course this hasn’t stopped a pining for the heyday of the genre, and it appears that Eugen Systems, the creators of R.U.S.E. and the Wargame series, have heeded the call with Act of Aggression. Set in the near future, Act of Aggression will see players battle in a world in which the China’s financial system has gone belly-up following an event known

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Act of Aggression

set across 5 different countries. There will also be two ladders, namely 1v1 and 2v2, along with dedicated servers hosted by Eugen Systems, though whether gamers can play over a local network or host their own sessions to remains to be seen. Act of Aggression’s dedication to old-school real-time strategy gameplay means that the title appears to be channelling the spirit of Command and Conquer, which is by no means a bad thing. The modern emphasis on tactical combat, as opposed to the traditional base-building mechanics of yesteryear, has created somewhat of a niche in the market, and with Eugen Systems’ proven track record Act of Aggression could very much be the game that players struck with nostalgia may be longing for. g

AT A GLANCE RTS

Command and Conquer appears to be very much alive in Eugen System’s latest offering Developer: Publisher: Distributer:

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2K Australia 2K Games Megarom

Sep 2015

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by Lein Baart

greatest modern and prototyped military weaponry”. The Chimera will act as the jack-of-all-trades, offering the greatest versatility; the Cartel will feature a force heavily reliant on stealth and high-impact weaponry; and the US Army will has access to the most specialised units in the game, though it lacks adaptability. All three will eventually gain access to super-weapons, including tactical nuclear strikes and some decidedly fantastical units and building, such as tanks equipped with laser cannons, which will be powered through the use of cash, petroleum, electricity, aluminium and rare earth elements, meaning that resource management will likely be a delicate affair. Of course an RTS cannot be considered complete without a multiplayer offering, and Act of Aggression will come with 20 maps

SkyScrappers

E M W A VIE G E R P

SkyScrappers

An SNK inspired classic in next-gen glory.

Developer: Publisher: Distributer:

GroundShatter GroundShatter TBC

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GAMING

TBA

a few. From the overall hand-drawn artwork, character design and level design right down to the colour scheme, SkyScrappers will be an obvious reflection of these SNK classics. The premise is simple enough; players will select from a diverse range of extreme fighters from the different walks of life and fight their way through an exploding building to reach the top. However, this wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be a battle of the strongest or fastest as style, dynamism and risk taking will be taking into consideration and fighters with flair will be rewarded accordingly. With a heavy arcade influence,

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playing the game will boil down to a one stick, two-button control system with mechanics driven gameplay. SkyScrappers has been built for those who understand the arcade lineage and appreciate the distinct visual style. SkyScrappers will feature a full single-player campaign alongside a range of game modes for one to player and master. The game will also feature a multiplayer game mode allowing up to four players. Capturing the feel of the Neo-Geo, SkyScrappers combines the old with the new through the power of modern game consoles. g

AT A GLANCE Platform Fighter

Battle your way through an exploding building in this arcade inspired platform fighter.

gamecca75

by Nthato Morakabi

n the secret world of international thrill seekers exists the ultimate sport for the ultimate daredevil fighters; contestants meet at the bottom of a sky scrapper that is about to be demolished, to race and fight their way to the top before the exploding building hits the groundâ&#x20AC;Śor they do. SkyScrappers was inspired by the arcade classics of yesteryear, specifically the large Japanese gaming giant SNK that brought titles such as Sengoku, The King of Fighters, The Last Blade, Super Sidekicks, Art of Fighting, Metal Slug, Burning Fight, Samurai Showdown and Fatal Fury to name

Gunscape

E M IEWW A VIE G EEV R PR

Gunscape g

ame developers have started to take the creativity of gamers to heart for the last few years now, allowing them to test their imagination on various platforms. With titles like LittleBigPlanet or Nintendoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s latest Mario Maker, we see developers giving gamers the tools they need to create their own worlds and effectively their own games. Blowfish Studios have followed suit in this train of thought but in a different genre all together. Gunscape is a Create-Your-Own-FPS construction kit for PC and now Xbox One The premise is simple. Players will be given easyto-use tools from early classics to modern triple-A shooters, to create their own maps for single-player campaigns, co-op maps and multiplayer arenas. Arranged by theme, each unique set of world building blocks will be easily placed through Gunscapes blockplacement interface. With a number of assets available, each falling under a specific set will allow players to recreate their favourite maps or create new maps inspired by a particular game either past or present. Some assets available will include: world building blocks, player models, enemies and bosses, music tracks, skyboxes, special level elements like traps and teleporters and of course weapons from guns, bombs, bats, swords, flamethrowers, chainsaws, rocket launchers and more. Of course such an experience would not be complete without a multiplayer experience and Gunscape will allow players to share their maps through the World Sharing system with map browser filtering and a voting system. There will also be a cross platform map sharing and co-op between Xbox One and PC across different game modes. A fascinating project already on Steam and coming to Xbox One at the end of the 3rd Quarter. g

GAMING

Sep 2015 Developer: Publisher: Distributer:

Blowfish Studios Blowfish Studios TBC

PLATFORMS

by Nthato Morakabi

Create your own First Person Shooter

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AT A GLANCE First Person Shooter

Blowfish Studios gives players the ability to create their own First Person Shooter experience with Gunscape and its block-placement interface.

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GAMING

TBC Developer: Publisher: Distributer:

Frozen District Frozen District Steam

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Pixel perfect wizardry

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AT A GLANCE Platformer

Wizardry requires one to wield enormous power, fend off creatures of the dark and occasionally engage in battle with other wizards. This is Pixelated Wizardry.

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by Nthato Morakabi

Warlocks VS Shadows

he Independent Game Developer community continues to thrive as more companies come to the fore with creative and unique titles making their way to the homes of PC, mobile and console gamers alike. With large companies like Microsoft, Sony and Valve taking a real interest in these upcoming developers, with initiatives like Steamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Greenlight, we can expect to see more Independent games in the gaming scene. Warlocks vs Shadows is such a title which enchanted its way into Steam Greenlight and gained momentum through the community. An action RPG brawler that rehashes the pixel beauties of long bygone titles with modern day multiplayer goodness. Players swish into a dark fantasy world as incredibly powerful Warlocks who must utilize their exceptional abilities and weapons in a battle against the shadow monsters invading the land. The game modes have been said to be geared towards co-op and versus gameplay between players which will pit player against player, a team battle in a 2v2 or allow a single player to stave off four other players in a Death Match brawl. The Single Player / Co-Op campaign will expect players to clear their way through five diverse dimensions with their own distinct environments, unique enemies and powerful vengeful bosses. Much like any other RPG, in order to be the best you must slay the rest and by defeating monsters players will be able to level up. There will also be procedurally generated loot across the levels which players will be able to collect. Featuring 11 playable characters and nostalgic pixel art, this high action RPG may conjure up an amazing response from all who play through it. g

Warlocks VS Shadows

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Poncho

E M W A VIE G E R P

Poncho

Explorative adventure with Robot and the poncho

Developer: Publisher: Distributer:

Delve Interactive Delve Interactive TBC

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GAMING

TBA 2015

wherever they wish with no set path. With treasures hidden behind every nook and cranny, players will be encouraged to forage the level both sideways as well as back and forth in the “z” axis of the multilayered environments. An interesting facet that Poncho will bring, will come in the form of its choice driven exploration that has no guidelines nor set paths to guide players. Where and how to explore will be completely up to players in areas that have randomly generated ecosystems, filled with creatures that co-exist in

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the created world who will react to decisions that the player makes. An indie game at heart, Poncho is the dedicated work of three young developers, one of which worked at Capcom and Beeline Interactive in London, with a crazy idea to build a game about a poncho wearing robot able to shift through layers of the world in 2D/3D space. With a fascinating concept, classic pixel graphics that have become the Indie Developer look and a “free to explore” world with depth, Poncho looks to be an interesting title. g

AT A GLANCE Platformer

A poncho clad robot is on a quest to find his maker, in a world where humans have been extinct for centuries.

gamecca75

by Nthato Morakabi

n a story very much similar to the Disney tale where humanity has disappeared off the face of the earth, Poncho tells the story of that single robot who must now fend for himself in a world of robots when humanity has been extinct for centuries, hoping to meet the very creature who is the Maker. The unravelling of Poncho occurs within an explorable 2D world with complete depth in the form of parallax layers. The protagonist robot will begin his journey smack dab in the middle of the game and players will be free to explore

E M W A VIE G E R P

Might and Magic Heroes 7 Paying homage

roughly 200 years after HOMM 6’s last expansion (Shades of Darkness), with the campaign centred on the various representatives of each of the game’s races reliving their history in an attempt to convince a human Duke to pursue a vacant crown. It’s an unusual framing device, and one that the series has never used before, though ultimately a convenient way to include all of the HMMH 7’s playable factions without plunging the entire world of Ashan into yet another continent-spanning war. Plots have never been a standout feature of the franchise though, and fans hoping that Limbic will not attempt so drastic an overhaul of HOMM’s established mechanics as Black Hole Entertainment’s HOMM 6 can rest assured, as MMH 7 will feel very familiar. For

GAMING

urn-based strategy is not an oft served genre, with virtually all major releases belonging to a handful of distinguished franchises that have carved their own niches in today’s market. Running the gamut from grand strategy through to tactical combat, what remains of this once proud genre caters to a very distinct, very passionate group of fans, and in this Heroes of Might and Magic is no exception. Celebrating the series’ 20th anniversary this year, Ubisoft are about to launch Might and Magic Heroes 7, a game that aims to do nothing more than polish the franchise’s distinct mechanics. Developed by Limbic Entertainment, the creators of Might and Magic X: Legacy, MMH 7 will be set

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Might and Magic Heroes 7

Necropolis and Stronghold filling out the roster. It’s a game that’s been designed to stick to its roots, extracting the most well-liked aspects of past games, and to that end most of the innovations that HOMM 6 introduced have been dropped in favour of tried and tested mechanics. What few modifications that have been made look to be exciting (for a franchise so set in its ways at least) and gamers can look forward to things like dynamic map events, the ability to reinforce armies through caravans and an overhauled skills system. These changes are few and far between however, and besides for a fancy new shine on the graphics, fans can expect Might and Magic Heroes 7 to be a faithful addition to the series. g

AT A GLANCE Turn-based strategy

MMH7 should be exactly what fans of the franchise want, nothing more, nothing less Developer: Publisher: Distributer:

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Limbic Entertainment Ubisoft Megarom

Sep 2015

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by Lein Baart

those who haven’t played a HOMM game before, the essential gameplay is divided between a strategic map, which sees you expanding existing towns, gathering resources (i.e. anything that sparkles) with heroled armies and reinforcing said armies through the recruitment and production of new units, and tactical skirmishes whereby you clash with opposing forces on gridded battlefields. At its heart the series has always been easy to learn, though its many intricacies mean that mastering the system takes considerable effort. Limbic Entertainment have made great strides in reaching out to the community, to the point where two of the factions (the Sylvan and Dungeon) were chosen by popular vote, with Haven, Academy,

Grand Ages: Medieval

E M W A VIE G E R P

Grand Ages: Medieval

Harken to me, number crunchers

Developer: Publisher: Distributer:

Gaming Minds Studios Kalypso Media Digital TBC

A sequel to the somewhat average Grand Ages: Rome, Medieval will start with players taking the helm of a small European town in 1050 A.D., with the eventual goal being to create an empire that stretches across the 20 million square kilometres of real estate that the game will offer. While Grand Ages: Medieval will include an option to conquer by military force, there appears to be a decidedly heavy emphasis on trade and diplomacy. Trade routes will need to be setup to ensure the continued flow of goods,

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GAMING

Sep 2015

certainly plenty to catch to the eye.

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while new settlements can be founded and existing towns persuade to join your cause, all in an effort to expand your access to resources and thus produce more advanced items. The game will feature a fully fleshed economic simulator, meaning supply and demand will fluctuate and careful attention will be need to be paid to your production lines to ensure a steady income. Add to this a tech tree featuring 50 technologies to research as well as the ever present danger of natural disasters, and Grand Ages: Medieval could definitely be an absorbing experience. g

AT A GLANCE Grand strategy

Grand strategy games to both demanding and captivating (in their own way), and Grand Ages: Medieval looks to be no exception

gamecca75

by Lein Baart

rand strategy, as a genre, can be surprisingly difficult to define, with many games borrowing heavily from other subgenres, such as management sims and real-time strategy, to create an unexpectedly diverse range of games and gameplay. While Civilization looms large over the genre as a whole, to the point where other great titles are usually side-lined, grand strategy remains active, with several games launching each year. Now Grand Ages: Medieval is about to enter the fray, and for those who love to on play glorified Excel spread sheets, thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

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Tearaway Unfolded

E M IEWW A VIE G EEV R PR

Tearaway Unfolded F

rom the creators of the popular “Play, Create, Share” title LittleBigPlanet, with its popular premise of user generated content, came the highly rated paper tearing PS-Vita title Tearaway. Three years following this successful PS Vita exclusive title, comes the expanded retelling of the handheld version, as Tearaway Unfolded. Players will once again take up the role of a messenger who is on a delivery adventure of a lifetime, across the paper world of Tearaway. Originally inspired by Rex Crowley of Lionhead Studios, famous for Fable and Black & White, this reimagined world will be in glorious full 1080p HD, targeting 60 frames per second for the PS4 version. From a game play perspective, Tearaway Unfolded will continue to break the fourth wall by allowing players to interact with the in-game character in more ways than before thanks to the new PS4 controller. The controller’s front touch pad will work similarly to the back touch panel on the PS Vita, allowing for interaction with elements within the game . Players will now be able to create wind by swiping across the touch panel, moving obstacles the same way and utilizing the lightbar on the PS4 controller to shine light directly onto in-game characters. The beauty of Tearaway lies in its user generated content which appears in various ways. From player drawn artwork decorating the landscape, player created creatures coming to life as papercraft models. These models will also be available to print, upload onto the Tearaway website and shared with the online community. This re-imaging of the original Tearaway title takes advantage of the PS4 and the new controller for a new yet familiar experience. g

GAMING

Sep 2015 Developer: Publisher: Distributer:

Media Molecule Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Ster Kinekor

PLATFORMS

by Nthato Morakabi

An Exclusive Peeling back of the 4th wall

PC X0 PS4 Wii U X360 PS3 PSV 3DS

GENRE

AT A GLANCE Adventure

Take up your post and deliver that message with a personal touch, in a papercrafted world and player created crafts that come to life.

gamecca75

Skyhill GAMING

Sep 2015 Developer: Publisher: Distributer:

Mandragora TBA TBA

PLATFORMS

Trapped!

PC X0 PS4 Wii U X360 PS3 PSV 3DS

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AT A GLANCE Platform

Taking a slice from old games, it looks really good, and fans of action platform puzzling should get a kick out of it.

gamecca75

by Charlie Fripp

o you remember those platform games like Flashback where you traversed the environment in a side view, trying to solve puzzles? Ah, those where the days… But the lustre of those times gone by isn’t completely lost, as a little known studio called Mandragora Team is trying to bring back exactly those types of games. For their first outing, Skyhill looks like Flashback on the surface. Sure it doesn’t have all the space-age type things and weird graphics, but it resembles it pretty closely. If you have ever played Flashback, you might just smile with nostalgia. Anyway, the premise for Skyhill is that you play a character that has been a resident in the Skyhill hotel. Some awful went pearshaped and now you think that you are possibly the only person alive in the place. This in itself presents you with a bit of a problem, as you need to escape the building and stay alive at the same time. Problem is, many of the people how stayed in the hotel have now turned into horrible creatures that naturally want to claw your eyes out. “You face the dilemma: on the one hand you have to get out from the damn building, on the other hand your hotel suite is your only ‘fort’ that protects from the horrors of post-apocalyptic reality,” Mandragora explains. The game makes use of three mechanics in order for you to stay alive: crafting, survival and exploration. In exploration, you can search randomly generated hotel rooms and look for anything that could be of use. There will obviously be hindrances in your way, and you will have to figure out how to overcome them – while fighting off monsters. It looks amazing and should be really nail-biting. g

Skyhill

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Blitzkrieg 3

E M IEWW A VIE G EEV R PR

Blitzkrieg 3 All-out war!

GAMING

2015 Developer: Publisher: Distributer:

Nival TBA TBA

PLATFORMS

by Charlie Fripp

ames about World War II don’t seem to be letting up, even though there are hundreds of them in the market. Luckily for us, there are very few of them that are the same, and a bunch of them have managed to grip the market. On the flip side of that, there are some really good ones in the wild that not a lot of people know about or devoted too much time too – one of which is the Blitzkrieg franchise. The series of games have been developed by little-known creator Nival, and they are actually pretty good. As the name implies, Blitzkrieg 3 will be the third game in the series, and this time around the campaign will focus on the main part of the war – specifically September of 1939 up to fall of Berlin in May 1945. In case you didn’t know, Blitzkrieg is a MMORTS, similar to the Company of Heroes games. You will be able to command the Allies, the Axis, and the USSR’s troops in a semi-top down view, naturally following the progress of the war as historically accurate as possible. World War II is one of those topics that will always be popular and rather controversial, no matter who is making them. While some games have tried to incorporate different element to give it a unique spin, other have steered clear of embellishments and made them historically accurate. Blitzkrieg 3 will try to do just that, while still retaining the familiar feel and game mechanics from the franchise. Do yourself a favour and go check out the very nice live-action trailer that Nival has put together. It mixes the live-action with scenes from the game and concept art. g

PC X0 PS4 Wii U X360 PS3 PSV 3DS

GENRE

AT A GLANCE RTS

The franchise is getting another spin, this time with all sides involved

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NBA 2K16

E M W A VIE G E R P

NBA 2K16

Where a film director and basketball meet

Developer: Publisher: Distributer:

Visual Concepts 2K Sports Megarom

PLATFORMS

GAMING

Sep 2015

much better than any other American sport ever can. In that space, there are two franchises that are vying for your money: EA’s NBA *insert year* and 2K’s 2K *insert year*. So it should come as little surprise that both will have releases this year, but for the purpose of this preview, we will be focussing on 2K’s NBA 2K16. What is a bit of a surprise though, is that director Spike Lee has been heavily involved in the development of the game. He wanted the story in the career mode to be as realistic as possible, and spent a lot of time with

PC X0 PS4 Wii U X360 PS3 PSV 3DS

GENRE

actual players to see what they go through. In that mode, players will be able to create their own NBA star and take him to greatness, of use an existing athlete and push them to their boundaries. It will be up to players to compete against other teams in order to become the best athlete on the court – while taking their chosen team to the championship. Players can expect a huge graphics boost over the last couple of games, as which is expected, but the biggest thing to look forward to is Lee’s involvement in the story mode. g

AT A GLANCE Sports

With Spike Lee involved, it can only be good... an NBA game with a realistic career story-line.

gamecca75

by Charlie Fripp

e have mentioned this a number of times in the past, but when it comes to sports games in South Africa, nothing (oddly) beats the WWE franchise in sheer number of sales. Next to that, a (decent) rugby game would probably also do well, but sadly the cricket games on the market just don’t cut it. Of the American sports, ice hockey and football fly relatively low under the radar, but basketball is a different story. Pin it down to the country’s demographics or whatever, but any game focussed around the NBA will do

Lost Horizon 2

E M IEWW A VIE G EEV R PR

Lost Horizon 2 Sticking to the formula

GAMING

TBC Developer: Publisher: Distributer:

Animation Arts Deep Silver Apex Interactive

PLATFORMS

by Lein Baart

dventure games, point-and-click to be specific, tend to be rather beholden to their past, with many new releases seeking to capture the spirit of what made the genre so popular in the early days of computer gaming. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, given the focus on storytelling and puzzles, and as Telltale Games and Double Fine (to name a few) have shown, adventure games still command an eager audience. It was for this community that Deep Silver’s Lost Horizon was created, and now five years later the publisher is set to release the second instalment. Set during the start of the Cold War, Lost Horizon 2 will see players once again take up the role of Fenton Paddock, a former Royal Air Force pilot and smuggler, who will have to “save his family that has been caught by powerful enemies” in an adventure that will lead him “far beyond the Iron Curtain and finally onwards to mysterious, uncharted territory.” In all honesty everything that Deep Silver have revealed sounds fairly par for the course (narrative included), though the same can be said for the first title which was a very satisfying entry in the genre. Where Lost Horizon 2 does appear to shine though will be in its graphics, with screenshots depicting a gorgeously crafted world that ranges from quaint country homes to sprawling deserts. While it’s slightly worrying when a game’s feature list includes “Mouse, Keyboard and Gamepad control” as one of its four standout characteristics, it must be said that evaluating an adventure game before its release is almost impossible, and hopefully the Indiana Jones-inspired spirit of the first game will still be present. g

PC X0 PS4 Wii U X360 PS3 PSV 3DS

GENRE

AT A GLANCE Adventure

Adventure games live and die on their plot and puzzles, and hopefully Lost Horizon 2 will live up to its predecessor

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GAMING

Q3 2015 Developer: Publisher: Distributer:

Raindance LX Raindance LX Steam

PLATFORMS

Puzzling duality: insanity by day and sanity by night PC X0 PS4 Wii U X360 PS3 PSV 3DS

GENRE

AT A GLANCE Adventure

Explore the mysterious floating house by day, fend off creatures of darkness by night and traverse the thin line between sanity and madness.

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by Nthato Morakabi

Between Me and the Night

his is a tale of duality in the life of a boy with fiery red hair; an adventure between good and evil, sanity and insanity – day and night. In a surrealistic world that pits boy against a fantastical realm between reality and nightmare, the young hero must unravel puzzles by day and fend off monsters by night. A title that dares to “walk the thin path between sanity and madness.” By day, players will have to explore a mysteriously floating house chock full of puzzles to solve in an interactive environment. Flitting between multiple rooms filled with strange creatures, slanted doors and a cryptic television set attached to spindly spider legs, reality will not be what it seems. By night, one must either stay awake to explore more of the peculiar world or fall into the darkness of dreams where monsters and creatures of darkness await. Armed with sword and shield, players will have to roll, hack and slash past enemies while continuing to explore the alternate world. The team over RaindanceLLX is comprised of an illustrator with a passion for solitudeinducing videogames, a pipesmoking fantasy writer with a game and sound design background, and a charismatic game developer with a love for 8-bit art and retro games. This attributes to the title’s oldschool “point and click” puzzles, its surrealistic artwork and style, and what could surely be a unique gameplay experience. After more than two years in development and finally getting the Steam community to back this title up through a Steam Greenlight approval, we can look forward to an indie title with a fantastical world, distinct character and fun gameplay. g

Between Me and the Night

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2015

Game Com

GAMING

Germanyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s GamesCom allows us to get a better look at even more upcoming games - often ones that are eclipsed during the noise and chaos of E3. We have picked 16 titles 82

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GamesCom 2015

es m that look promising, including some exciting news for RTS and role-playing-adventure fans. Here they are, in alphabetical order... gamecca75

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Broken Sword 5: The Serpentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Curse

PS4/XO September 2015 A murder and a robbery start off another epic adventure in the world of Broken Sword, set against the backdrop of war-torn Europe. This one will be thoughtful and pedantic, and will sit well with fans of more traditional adventure titles... certainly something to keep an eye on.

Cobalt

PC/X0 October 2015

GAMING

Side scrolling action games are making something of a come-back, and with elements like bullet-time and fast-paced combos, Cobalt looks set to grab some attention. It will feature a host of game modes, too, including Deathmatch, Team Strike and Survival.

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GamesCom 2015

Crackdown 3

XO Q2 / Q3 2016 Six years after Crackdown 2, Crackdown 3 promises to be breaking things in a big way. Multiplayer games, using Microsoft’s Azure Engine, will see destruction on a scale we’ve only dreamed of before. It won’t be as messy in single player modes, though...

Dreadnought

PC 2016 It’s free-toplay, it’s set in space and it will allow players to command massive capital battleships. Dreadnought looks like a lot of fun, with tons of customisation, online multiplayer and a single player campaign, all for the very best price... nothing.

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ELEX

PC/PS4/XO TBC Post-apocalyptic science-fantasy isn’t a genre you hear thrown out every day, but that’s exactly what this new open world RPG from the creators of the Gothic series will be. What exactly that means remains to be seen, but we’re pretty sure ELEX will present a breath of fresh air...

Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns

PC October 2015

GAMING

The long awaited expansion for Guild Wars 2 will be here soon, and great news for seasoned players is that it will be introducing raids into the mix. Epic encounters and massive boss fights await for those who brave this new expansion for the no-subscription MMO.

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GamesCom 2015

Halo Wars 2

XO TBC Microsoft arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t saying much about the long-awaited sequel for the Halo Wars RTS game, but we do know that the masterful team behind the Total War series, Creative Assembly, is involved in the development... and that should count for a hell of a lot, even if this a console real-time strategy title.

Hellblade

PS4 TBC Hellblade looks pretty exciting the player takes on the role of Senua, a Celtic Warrior who was traumatised by a Viking invasion. This action packed title is a journey through her mental illness, as well as a rich and combat-riddled world.

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Lost Horizon 2

PC October 2015 Set 20 years after the original game, this graphic adventure will take players deep behind the Iron Curtain at the height of the Cold War as the hero, Fenton Paddock, seeks to rescue his family. Stunning visuals and high adventure await... Lost Horizon 2 should be good fun for adventure fans.

Might & Magic Heroes VII

PC September 2015

GAMING

Hereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a truly legendary franchise that has been around for ages. Might & Magic Heroes VII will once again transport players to beautiful, magical realms, in which they build a massive army to do turn-based battle against all manner of evil. Fans are probably jumping for joy already...

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GamesCom 2015

Scalebound

XO TBC Drawn into the strange world of Draconis, Drew is bonded with the ancient dragon Thuban, and the two must learn to do battle as one to survive this dangerous and exciting Xbox One exclusive. We first heard about Scalebound a while ago, and weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re still excited to see what it delivers...

The Crew: Wild Run

PC/PS4/XO November 2015 The original game left a few things to be desired, and weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re hoping that the Wild Run expansion will elevate The Crew to a better level. What we do know is that Wild Run will add motorcycles to the mix, as well as dragster, drift car and monster truck tuner specs. Time will tell...

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The Solus Project

PC/XO TBC Stranded on an alien planet, you will need to face the challenges of a harsh environment while you battle to find a way to send a signal home... and save the human race in the process. This first-person, singleplayer survival game has all the elements that make for a great experience, and we’re excited to see how it shapes up...

The Technomancer

PC/PS4/XO 2016

GAMING

The Technomancer sounds very interesting: it’s a post-apocalyptic, cyber-punk inspired RPG set on Mars, and it is up to the player to unravel a deep and ancient mystery. With multiple endings, crafting and character development, this one may just shine, and we’re hoping that it delivers.

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GamesCom 2015

Total War: Warhammer

PC TBC Now this is exciting: a collaboration between Creative Assembly and Games Workshop will see the Total War series mesh with the fantasy table-top wargame setting of Warhammer. The potential for awesome fantasy RTS action here is beyond massive!

Unravel

PC/PS4/XO TBC Yarny is the hero of Unravel; he is a tiny character made out of a single piece of thread, and he must use the abilities this thread grants him to get through this physics-based puzzle-platformer. With the backing of EA, Unravel promises to be a challenging and enjoyable puzzler.

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E M W A IE G EV R

Until Dawn GAMING

If you go down to the woods todayâ&#x20AC;Ś

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Until Dawn

by Walt Pretorius

â&#x20AC;Ś

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horror the likes of which movie-makers have been spewing out in recent years… lots of frights, but not really scary in the deep, chilling way that some of the classics were. The developers are a little unclear on their intentions, so it really comes down to the way that the player approaches the title. If you’re willing to be forgiving on some of the finer points – like plot and credibility – Until Dawn poses a great experience. If you take your horror, or more accurately, this game, too seriously, you may be left with a bad taste in your mouth. It is difficult, though, to approach this game like a serious horror offering. It feels too much like Cabin in the Woods for that. Let’s break the situation down: eight ridiculously good looking teenagers get together in a remote, snowbound cottage for a weekend of depravity at a time that corresponds with the disappearance of two of their

GAMING

here are two ways to take an overall look at Until Dawn; the first is to consider it a serious horror game with lots of scares and frightening sections, and the second is to see it as something of a parody of the slasher, crazy-villain-in-the-woods-huntingteenagers genre. The first would put it into a category in which movies like Friday the 13th (the original, before they got more stupid than scary) while the latter sets it up to feel a bit like the awesome Cabin in the Woods. I hope, personally, that the developers aimed for the second ideal, because if they were after the first, they failed. Until Dawn feels like an over-the top parody, amplifying horror tropes and stereotypes to a level that, while scary, simply cannot be taken seriously. And if that was what the developers were going for, then well done. If not, then Until Dawn descends into the realms of pulp-

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Until Dawn

dear friends a year earlier. It sets up like an ‘80s slasher flick, really, and if this premise is anything but parody, it is anachronistic. Anyway, these eight teenagers spend around ten hours (the rough running time of the game, and the rough time over which events unfold) being subjected to all kinds of horrific events, which range from creepy to overtly gratuitous (thanks, Saw, for ruining the idea that horror should be subtle). And the player has a massive amount of control over the entire situation. See, Until Dawn is driven by a “cause and effect” idea. The developers have chosen to go with the term Butterfly Effect to define it, although that massive concept is much bigger than what happens here. Instead, the game takes the player’s actions – pretty much every one of them – into account. They all have an effect on how the story develops. Some have minor consequences, while others

have massive impacts, and their implementation is pretty clever. Players will be able to draw correlations between actions and events, even if the possibilities may not seem clear initially. And that’s where Until Dawn’s charm really lies. Even the way the player has characters interact with each other will have an effect in later stages of the game. If the player, for example, opts for an argument between characters that are friends, their loyalty may waver later in the game. In this way, it’s quite reminiscent of Heavy Rain and Beyond: Two Souls, although it is more of a game than the former title was. Still, a lot of Until Dawn is driven by snap decisions and quick-time events, much like Heavy Rain was, and the feeling that the player is something of a passive observer at times is undeniable. But Until Dawn manages to do things right. Quick time

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and creepier as the game continues, at least up to a point. Into the second half of the game, they feel a little tacked on, and far less consequential than they did before. In fact, pretty much the entire second half of the game feels very different to the first half, leaving the player wondering if they’re still jamming the same game. The truth is that the plot of Until Dawn is inconsistent, and sometimes leaves one wondering whether the heavy handed homages and cheesy jokes are intentional. One can only hope that they are. In terms of presentation, Until Dawn is brilliant. Great graphics couple with solid acting from a carefully assembled cast. Heading this cast are the aforementioned Peter Stormare and Hayden Panettiere, and they are joined by a number of familiar faces and voices. The characters are believable, if somewhat

GAMING

events, for example, are not there to frustrate you… instead, the player’s performance has a very real effect on the game’s outcome. Miss a button, and the character you are currently controlling (yes, you jump around between the eight characters) may stumble, which in turn may mean that they arrive too late to prevent a tragic situation. It’s that level of cause and effect, and it lends Until Dawn a high degree of replayability – even if only to see what the different endings and outcomes are. This feeling of being an observer is further strengthened by the “therapy sessions” that occur between the game’s chapters. The player will be interviewed by a psychologist (played by Peter Stormare) and their answers in these sessions will determine aspects of the game going forward. These sessions also get deeper

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Until Dawn

stereotypical – the dumb jock, the innocent cutie, the vengeful ex, and so on – and the performances that the cast deliver go a long way to making Until Dawn a far better experience than the weak plot and inconsistencies would normally allow for. That’s the thing about this game – with the right approach and acceptance of the fact that it’s going to cram as many tropes into its ten hour run time as it can, Until Dawn can be an awesome experience. It’s not the greatest survival horror game ever made, and the creation of suspense is often heavy handed enough to rely on visions of the future and tons of jump-scares. But the overall experience that the game provides is really enjoyable, as long as you don’t expect award winning script writing or ideas that are massively original. And at the core is the cause and effect system which, when

all is said and done, is really well implemented. It’s not crammed with action, and there are times when the player does feel a little disconnected, thanks to tight scripting, QTEs and an almost movie-like quality to the game. But those decisions drive a lot forward in terms of eventual outcomes, and you may well find yourself replaying the game to see if you can change the way things play out. It even given you indications of which events are significant, which may well help you to get different results if you want them. Ultimately, there are problems with this game, but they’re relatively minor in terms of the overall experience. The biggest issue is the narrative, which seems disjointed more often than not, but this doesn’t take away from the great presentation, excellent atmosphere and all-around frightening fun that Until Dawn offers. g

AT A GLANCE Survival horror

While it does suffer from a few weaker points, Until Dawn is great fun... particularly if you don’t take it too seriously.

Developer: Publisher: Distributer:

SuperMassive SCEE Ster Kinekor

PARENTAL ADVISORY

18+ gamecca75

Violence Language Sex Drug Use Prejudice

AWARDS

Platinum Gold Silver Bronze Casual Ed’s Choice

REVIEWED ON

PS4 PLATFORMS

GENRE

PC X0 PS4 Wii U X360 PS3 PSV 3DS

Score

80 97

E M W A IE G EV R

Gears of War: Ultimate Edition GAMING

Once more into the breachâ&#x20AC;Ś

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Gears of War: Ultimate Edition

by Rob Edwards

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E M W A IE G EV R

what Microsoft’s then-new hardware was really capable of, and through the years the original game and the franchise that it spawned became a bench-mark and definitive factor, not only for the Xbox 360, but for cover based shooters in general. It introduced players to a new setting that was full of ruined buildings, mean enemies and truly bad-assed, burly soldiers in the form of Fenix and his crew of fighters. It brought with it a host of great weapons, and even better game-dynamic ideas. And while some of its design elements (like its heavy reliance on the A button) look a little poor in retrospect, at the time it was something of a gaming revolution. No wonder it gathered such a massive following, and enjoyed attention throughout the bulk of the Xbox 360’s life. Gears of War became a bar that was hard to better.

GAMING

he video game market moves really fast. What was great last year may be not so great this year, because ideas and advancements really do fly around here. So when you see a bunch of games from the last few years getting remastered for the latest console hardware, you don’t necessarily know what you’re in for; some of them work really well, while others… not so well. Games can feel dated really quickly these days. So it stands testament to great, sensible game design when a game that is around nine years old feels great in a remastered version – and that’s what has happened with Gears of War: Ultimate Edition. When Gears of War originally showed up for the Xbox 360 in 2006, it was something of a mind-blowing game. This was the title that showed, at the time,

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Gears of War: Ultimate Edition

While many of those design ideas have followed the game into this new version, the real truth is that Gears of War is still a great game. And playing it again, now on the Xbox One, is not only enjoyable, but fans have a few extras to look forward to. As with all remasters, Gears of War has enjoyed an extensive graphical overhaul, meaning that it looks better than ever. The environments and characters have much better definition now, and the overall visual effect of the game is almost impactful as it was the first time we fired it up almost a decade ago. In addition, fans who never played the game on PC will be able to enjoy five new campaign chapters which seamlessly integrate into the original story, as well as King of the Hill and Team Deathmatch multiplayer modes added for good measure.

With new looks and extra content, Gears of War: Ultimate Edition manages to keep the same addictive, tense, smart and over-the-top action going that we all came to love in the original. Admittedly, it does show a few signs of age here and there but, to be honest, it still beats the socks off of a number of games that came out recently. There is a reason why this game is a classic, and if you have never played it, this is the perfect chance to take the fight to the invading Locust and kick some bad guy butt all over the screen. Hell, even if you have played it before, the extra content and better looks make it worth playing again. Even if those extras werenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t there, it would still be worth it, because Gears of War is a game that helped define, and redefine, combat games. This is a true classic, and a welcome remaster. g

AT A GLANCE Action

REVIEWED ON

It may be almost a decade old, but Gears of War is still one of the best experiences around... despite a few signs of age.

Developer: Publisher: Distributer:

Splash Damage Microsoft Microsoft

PARENTAL ADVISORY

18+ gamecca75

Violence Language Sex Drug Use Prejudice

AWARDS

Platinum Gold Silver Bronze Casual Edâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Choice

x0 PLATFORMS

GENRE

PC X0 PS4 Wii U X360 PS3 PSV 3DS

Score

85 101

E M W A IE G EV R

Rare Replay Let the retro roll…

of presentation made many of them stand out. For those that enjoy retro gaming, there’s a treat on Xbox One. It comes in the form of a massive package of 30 games, called Rare Replay. Rare Studios have a long and vital history as video game developers, and Rare Replay takes the player through most of it. Sure, there are some titles conspicuous in their absence (like GoldenEye, which many feel is one of Rare’s best, thanks to a stranglehold on the title by Nintendo) but, for the most part, Rare Replay offers players a really decent retro experience. The collection runs through the gaming ages quite nicely. The most recent titles included in the pack are the superlaid-back Viva Piñata games, while some of the oldest games include the likes of Jetpac and the ever-green Battletoads. What’s best is that the entire collection is tied together

GAMING

ne of the biggest problems in the video game industry is that games can soon lose their appeal. I don’t mean that idea of gaming, which remains appealing to everyone bitten by the bug. Rather, I mean specific titles; games can quickly get cast aside when newer, shinier titles arrive. Longevity isn’t something that every game offers, particularly for those lucky enough to be able to buy a large number of games. However, the retro-gaming movement is, and always will be, strong. Fans of these games look for the dynamics and game play elements so often missing in modern games, when a title couldn’t just rely on great looks and repetitive action cloaked in fancy effects to garner appeal. There is a purity to older games, an innocence almost, that makes them extremely appealing, and their reliance on factors outside of the general scope

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Rare Replay

mixed history of Rare. So when you play Battletoads, you’re going to get the blocky graphics and sprite-based animations that you would have when the game was still new. It’s not about making things modern, and that’s something you have to be fully aware of before undertaking this journey. It’s great to see this collection available for the Xbox One, but it is also a little odd. Retro gamers will tend to play things on the systems that they were created for, if they’re lucky enough to have them, or on emulators. This, however, is a collection specifically put together for a console that is anything but retro. However, it does serve as a great introduction to the world of retro-gaming for those who may not be too familiar with it. In the end, it’s a bit of a mixed bag that won’t appeal to everyone. But it is still a great collection of games. g

AT A GLANCE Retro collection

This is a great journey through the highs and lows of Rare’s long and distinguished game development career.

Developer: Publisher: Distributer:

Rare Ltd Microsoft Microsoft

PARENTAL ADVISORY

16+ gamecca75

Violence Language Sex Drug Use Prejudice

AWARDS

Platinum Gold Silver Bronze Casual Ed’s Choice

REVIEWED ON

x0 PLATFORMS

GENRE

PC X0 PS4 Wii U X360 PS3 PSV 3DS

Score

78 103

by Rob Edwards

in a beautifully presented package, which takes on a theatrical approach in presenting the various titles. There are also bits of information within the package that not only give a view of the games themselves, but the processes and people behind them as well. If you are a fan of retro-gaming, Rare Replay (which also includes the Banjo-Kazooie games, Killer Instinct and the ground-breaking Perfect Dark, among many others) is a great look at video gaming through the ages. And it also includes some of Rare’s more cringe-worthy games, meaning that it isn’t a lopsided view. What you shouldn’t expect from Rare Replay is any kind of remastering. Boot up Viva Piñata, for example, and you still get the Xbox 360 splash screen kicking things off. That’s because this collection isn’t about revitalising the included titles, but rather celebrating the long,

104

Platform This very creative game is let down by simplistic dynamics and graphics, which don’t do its better

REVIEWED ON

PS4 PC X0 PS4 Wii U X360 PS3 PSV 3DS

GENRE

AT A GLANCE

GAMING Bound of flame

A musical, of sorts…

ideas any favours. PLATFORMS

Developer: Publisher: Distributer:

SCEA SCEE Online

PARENTAL ADVISORY

3+ gamecca75

Violence Language Sex Drug Use Prejudice

AWARDS Platinum Gold Silver Bronze Ed’s Choice

Score

Sound Shapes

by Alex Scanlon

ound Shapes is a game that flits between genius and… well, whatever the opposite is. It’s not stupidity, because this certainly isn’t a stupid game. But it is one with minimal appeal, where artistry and creativity have overtaken function to a large degree. It’s a creative game, intended for creative types. And that means it becomes thoroughly niche. Which is something of a pity, because on one hand, Sound Shapes is a great game. OK, maybe the term game is a bit loosely applied. Yes, it requires you to do all the things you would in a platformer, but it’s really a bit too easy. It’s almost as though the game part is simply an excuse to get you involved in what the game is really about – music. Your character on screen is a blob that, when it touches other blobs or engages with enemies, adds elements to the song playing in the background. As you progress through levels the various songs build and swell, which actually provides a great sense of enjoyment. The simplistic game dynamics and simplified art (Sound Shapes goes for that minimalist Indie-chic look) are the game’s true downfall, because many people won’t be able to see past these elements to its underlying genius. And that’s sad, because Sound Shapes can be a lot of relaxing, creative fun. It even comes with music and level editors, making it a great way to express your creativity, if you are so inclined. But by its very nature, Sound Shapes will never become anything but a niche, cult classic – there simply isn’t enough flash here for it to draw tons of attention.g

Sound Shapes

E M W A IE G EV R

Stealth Inc 2: A Game of Clones

e m w a ie G v e R

Stealth Inc 2: A Game of Clones Punish yourself!

REVIEWED ON

If you’re into extreme

PS4

self-punishment, go right ahead. If not, it simply isn’t worth the frustration.

PLATFORMS

Developer: Publisher: Distributer:

concentration and near pin-point accuracy, is simply unforgiveable. If you’re a sadist who likes to punish yourself, or someone who prefers their gaming stressful (rather than relaxing), Stealth 2 may well be something to consider. But aside from constant virtual self-flagellation, it doesn’t offer much to those who want their games challenging but achievable. The graphics aren’t great, the plot is non-existent (other than the odd premise) and that control bugbear is just too large to ignore. It could have been a fun title, if it was a little less demanding g

Curve Digital Curve Digital Online

PARENTAL ADVISORY

12+ gamecca75

Violence Language Sex Drug Use Prejudice

AWARDS Platinum Gold Silver Bronze Ed’s Choice

Score

Platform puzzle

PC X0 PS4 Wii U X360 PS3 PSV 3DS

GENRE

AT A GLANCE

GAMING

learning curve is pretty much vertical – there is no gentle introduction here. Stealth Inc 2 will have you facing tough challenges from the word go, and the frustration levels are extremely high. This largely stems from the fact that the game demands a fast paced precision, whether you are sneaking past guards or racing through trap gauntlets. Sadly, the controls simply aren’t up to scratch for the decision that it requires. They’re inconsistent, and something that worked once won’t necessarily work a second time. And that, for a demanding game like this, which requires constant

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by Rob Edwards

ames should be challenging, but Stealth Inc 2: A Game of Clones takes things to a level that is relatively ridiculous. The premise is that you’re trying to escape an oppressive work place – so oppressive, in fact, that workers who are not back in their little rest cubicle at the end of the day are set upon by robot dogs, nefarious traps and a host of other nasty things designed to end their lives. It’s the ultimate in work-force discipline, really. But escape is what it’s all about. And so that’s what the player needs to try and do, time and again. But the game’s

NAME How toOF Survive: THE PRODUCT Storm Warning Edition

E M W A IE G EV R

How to Survive: Storm Warning Edition T

It’s a simple game that borrows ideas from many other sources, but it can provide a few hours of

REVIEWED ON

XO PC X0 PS4 Wii U X360 PS3 PSV 3DS

GENRE

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Survival horror

mindless fun. PLATFORMS

Developer: Publisher: Distributer:

EKO Software 505 Games Online

PARENTAL ADVISORY

18+ gamecca75

Violence Language Sex Drug Use Prejudice

AWARDS Platinum Gold Silver Bronze Ed’s Choice

Score

here are a ton of zombie games out there, all with varying degree of awesomeness. Some of them use a first or third person perspective, others are isometric dual-stick shooters, and yet others are great for enthusiasts of foraging and crafting. How to Survive: Storm Warning Edition falls into the last two categories. It’s an isometric game that relies on both sticks, and allows the player to explore a fairly large area in search of items to craft into bigger and better weapons. Those that have played How to Survive before won’t find a hell of a lot new in the Storm Warning Edition. It includes all the DLC, as well as a few new monster types and, as an added “bonus”, rain. The rain can play havoc with the game’s all-important camp fires that the player needs to painstakingly light using limited resources, so there is a definite extra challenge there. For those that haven’t played How to Survive, the Storm Warning Edition addition doesn’t mean all that much – they’re faced with a new experience, after all. The premise of the game is that the player finds themselves washed up on a mysterious island (part of a group of islands that all need to be explored). The island is, as these things go, awash with zombies and other nasty undead creatures, and the player needs to complete missions, craft weapons and armour, and generally kill bad guys… all while being guided by the often hilarious Kovac’s How to Survive guide book, which is spread around the location in chapters. It’s not ground breaking, and has more than a few warts, but How to Survive: Storm Warning Edition can provide a few hours of almost mindless fun for those who enjoy bashing undead. g

AT A GLANCE

GAMING Bound of flame

by Walt Pretorius

Again with the zombies and crafting

vi er

Slante GAMING

A chat with Kevin Beimers of Italic Pig 110

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Indie View

ed! Indies come from all over the world, and have all kinds of backgrounds. Italic Pig’s Kevin Beimers started out making games while he was still in high school, went via 3D animation and iPhone and ended up working with the likes of Team 17. He found some time in his busy schedule to talk to us about Schrödinger’s Cat, making new things and how tough the industry can be… gamecca75

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GM: Italic Pig is a fascinating name and there must be some great story behind it? KB: I’ve always thought Italic something would be a great name for a company, but it took a bit of work to come up with the perfect something – it was almost Italic Tractor, then Italic Chipmunk, then Italic Windmill. The logo was always going to be the something casually leaning to the right, but it had to be easy to visualise, easy to spell, and most importantly, the .com needed to be available. Sorry for sucking all the fun out of a good name - now I sound cold and calculating.

GM: Italic Windmill is not bad at all either. As for game development, how did you get into that?

GAMING

KB: I studied Computer Science in university, focusing on computer programming during a time when computers still had more potential than their abilities could allow. I made goofy games with friends in Commodore 64 Basic, and in high school and university I always tried to add a creative element into my assignments, but then I got into web design and flash development and things like that… Eventually I moved to Northern Ireland and found my way into a digital animation company making cartoons and writing scripts. That company finished a major project and started looking around for its next IP, which happened to be right around the time that the iPhone came out. These new-fangled smartphones seemed promising, so we shifted our next project from a show to a game. With my programming background I was able to combine logic with creative scriptwriting to aid in the creation of Hector: Badge of Carnage, a point and click adventure trilogy made for the iPhone 3. Hector was popular enough to be picked up by Telltale Games for distribution on PC/Mac, and I’ve stayed in Games ever since.

GM: It’s great to see that gaming has been a part of your life for so long. You’re the first I’ve spoken to who was building games for that long. Having that particular inclination, what was a game or company that influenced you the most? KB: My biggest influencers from my formative years would be Lemmings, Oddworld, and the LucasArts collection. LucasArts was about characters and wit – in the days of low processing power and refresh rates, games like Day of the Tentacle and Sam & Max backfilled those gaps with buckets of wit and sarcasm. When polygons became a substitute for character development, I kind of dropped back from gaming a bit, and now that I’ve got the chance to make my own games I’m doing everything I can to bring back the wit.

GM: And during development, what role do current games play in your life? KB: I don’t like to be swayed by other influences too much during development (I’m a major feature-creeper), so I tend to stay off anything too huge for too long. There’s also that element of the value of time - “I should be making my own instead of playing someone else’s” – so as a result I don’t have a console at home and I avoid social media when there’s a Steam Sale on. Between projects I have a few gaming binges, but it always comes back to a logjam of all the ideas I’ve had to park during a job – what am I going to work on next?

GM: I have spoken to a number of developers so far and many of them have shared their difficulties within the industry. Would you care to share yours and your view of the industry? KB: I won’t lie to you, the industry is

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fucking hard… when I started making iPhone games, you could pop out a game on the App Store and have a pretty good chance of showing up in the New & Noteworthy zone, but now you’re competing with over a thousand new apps per day. At the same time, it all depends on your definition of success. Success could be simply recognition or notoriety, or as mighty as hefty bags of cash. In my meager experience, all most indies want is enough money from the last one to make the next one, with a little left over to eat.

GM: Where do you think the games industry will be in the next 5 years? KB: Y’know, I’m not even going to try on this one. I laughed recently when a funding application asked me for a two-year financial forecast. I mean, I did one, but I wouldn’t want to give you guys the same smoke and mirrors treatment I gave them. I’m assuming you’re smarter at seeing through smoke than they are.

GAMING

GM: You know what they say about assumptions but thank you nonetheless for that assumption! In terms of development itself, what does being a Game Developer mean to you? KB: The key word to me is “develop”, as in “make something new”. Clones bother me, skins bother me, games built entirely on the science and statistics of the drooling public’s addictive weaknesses bother me. One of the most beautiful things about the indie scene is its innovation: that’s where all the weird stuff is, and from weird stuff comes the wild card that changes the industry. If I’m at a huge gaming event like GDC or EGX, sure I’ll take a breeze through the big downstairs area showing off the latest FPS or RPG polygon orgy, but all the triple-A stuff starts to look a bit samey after a while. For the most part you’ll find me in the Indie Zone because that’s where you’ll see something never seen before.

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GM: In that case, are there any Indie Developers you look up to? KB: My twitter feed is bunged with Indie Developers, and for the most part they’re a fantastically humble bunch. Truth be told, I have mad respect for anyone who decides to make a go of it as an indie developer. It’s a huge gamble, but hey, if it’s not fun why do it?

GM: Are you part of a community of Game Devs? What is that community and how has it helped in your development? KB: There are a couple of NI/Irish Facebook groups out there, where we knock about talks and talent, and the local Belfast crew gets together pretty often. Northern Ireland has a decent community for such a small country, and that means everyone’s there to hoist each other up whenever any of us has something to crow about.

GM: From a technical perspective, what platform do you develop for and why and what platform would you like to focus on? KB: With Schrödinger’s Cat, I actually started off making it for the tablet, mostly because of the low bar for entry – any bozo like me with a subscription can get a game on the App Store without the need to jump through a lot of hoops. When I met Team17, and they said, “Y’know, this’d be way better on Steam, or even console,” I wholeheartedly agreed, and thankfully, Team17 had the contacts and knowhow to open those doors and they steered me straight. Now I’ve got a couple of console dev kits and the world is my oyster, so whatever I make next can be applied to any platform it’s worthy of.

GM: And in terms of software? KB: I used Unity to make Schrödinger’s Cat, and will very likely build on that code for the next project. As for why… I don’t gamecca75

Indie View

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cy a eg

Legacy: GAMING

Role Playing G

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Legacy: Ultima

: Ultima

Game Evolved

By Lein Baart

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RPGs in the early days of gaming were a very different kettle of fish to what we now expect from the genre. Beyond the sheer amount of time needed to complete them (a hundred hours of play could seem paltry in some games), these forerunners to modern epics like Mass Effect and Dragon Age where far more concerned with making you hack at innumerable, generic fantasy monsters than conveying any sense of plot (traits they seem to share with modern MMORPG’s). Ultima, one of the first series to be recognised as a true computerised version of pen-and-paper RPGs, was certainly no different, and indeed was

rather generic plot as an excuse to go out and slash at things, as was the standard for the time, Ultima was an important step for the genre in general, from its impressive graphical capabilities to its inclusion of an open-world, a first for computer gaming. More significantly however it laid the foundations for the eight games to follow, nine including the MMORPG, which would come to shape the genre as we know it.

largely responsible for setting this trend to begin with. However Ultima also proved to be fount of innovation and through its eighteen year span changed not only RPGs, but the way developers approached plot in general.

the standard by which all others were judged. Things such as first-person perspectives when dungeon crawling and sprawling over world maps all became standards in the genre during this time, and its surprising depth in gameplay were seldom matched, even by games that sought to clone it. Ultima’s legacy is more than just pure mechanics however. Starting from the fourth game the franchise placed huge emphasis on plot, setting and writing, creating its hallmark virtues system that demanded the player act in an appropriately heroic manner. Ultima’s writing grew from

Why was it created?

Ultima’s true origins lie not with its first title, but rather with Akalbeth: World of Doom, a game that series creator Richard Garriot (perhaps

GAMING

better known as Lord British) developed whilst in high school. Inspired by Dungeons and Dragons and of course Tolkien, par for the course with this genre, Akalbeth was never meant to be more than a high school project, though when the game did eventually go on sale in 1979 it earned Garriot around $150000. Akalbeth provided the template that Ultima would be based on, and the first game, titled Ultima 1: The First Age of Darkness, proved an even greater success. Utilising a

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Why do we care?

Ultima, along with the Wizardy series, dominated the RPG market for most of the eighties, basically setting

strength to strength with each release, eventually peaking with the seventh instalment, which many older gamers still hold as one of the greatest RPG’s every released. The series is even responsible for the first MMORPG (a term that Garriot coined) to achieve true mainstream popularity in the form of Ultima Online, and while the eighth and ninth games saw the decline of the franchise, there can be no doubt as to its importance for modern RPGs. g

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Legacy: Ultima

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BY rAMJET

Betrayal of Trust... I

Ramjet’s rantality

nternet shaming is a big, bad trend that is causing many people all kinds of problems. Psychologists have pointed out a few times that the mass scale of public shaming the internet offers is extremely dangerous, and suicides and other bad things have been associated with it. And so when the Ashley Madison website got hacked, and the digital infiltrators threatened to release a huge amount of user data unless the site got shut down, there was a particularly large amount of concern for those whose names were on the stolen lists. Because, you see, no-one would be on Ashley Madison for any reason other than trying to arrange an extra-marital affair. OK, that’s not entirely true. Because of their setup, it was possible to register anyone on Ashley Madison, simply because the site did not require email verification. You could screw your boss over by registering him on the site, and he would never be the wiser. And the company that owns Ashley Madison would only remove your profile if you paid them money – almost a weird sort of blackmail. So for those folks who

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were registered on the site without ever intending to be, big problem. But for those that went to the site of their own free will – because they wanted to arrange some strange on the side – well, that sits in a whole different arena for me. When a website doesn’t properly secure your sensitive information, that is a form of betrayal of trust. When you sleep around with other people and cheat on your spouse, that’s also betrayal of trust. Add these two together, and what do you get? A betrayal super-nova that has seen some very prominent people exposed as Ashley Madison users. But two wrongs don’t make a right, and the righteous indignation that Ashley Madison users are flinging about stems from the fact that they’re a bunch of potential adulterers – a crime in some countries, and punishable by death in one or two. It’s like stealing a chocolate bar and then punching your buddy when he snitches on you. Just because your buddy is a rat doesn’t mean that what you did was right, now does it? Apparently, according to some, it does, because a

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multi-million dollar lawsuit has been levelled against the owners of Ashley Madison. And that company’s response? It’s kind of like “we made the service, but we didn’t force anyone to use it”. Wow. Really. Let’s build the most tempting water slide in the world, but not expect anyone to go for a spin. Really? What crap. There are a million ways in which you can be a dick. There really are. But when you start crying out your indignation because the website which you were using to conduct extra-marital affairs didn’t protect your information, well… that’s just ridiculous. Screaming loudly won’t cover up the fact that you were a jerk in the first place. And really, use some common sense. We all know that no website is impenetrable. If you’re the kind of bottom feeding lowlife that wants to have an affair, don’t do it on the internet. That’s just plain dumb. I hope the lawsuit fails. Because these guys are not just total douche-nozzles, but they’re stupid ones. They don’t deserve anything like a big legal pay-out. g

A Razer Deathstalker Chroma Keyboard! Courtesy of Razer TO ENTER: Send an email to competitions@gameccamag.com Tell us one of the Deathstalker’s special features. Insert “Deathstalker” in the mail’s subject line Subscribe to www.gameccamag.com (Optional) Like Gamecca’s Facebook Page (Optional)

Competition closes 20 September 2015. South African residents only. Prizes may not be exchanged for cash. Competition closed to employees (& employee’s family) of Nova Mentis (Pty) Ltd, the Lime Envelope and Razer. The judges’ decision is final. co mp e t i t i on • c o mp et it io n • c o mp et i ti on • com pe ti ti on • com pe ti ti on • com p etition •

com p e ti ti on • com p e ti ti on • com p e ti ti on • com p e ti ti on • com pe ti ti on • com petition • c omp et itio n • c ompetition • co mpetition

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COLUMN 130

The Time Betwixt

Cool stuff 132 133 134 135 136 138 139 140 142 144 146

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Rii Mini i25 Huawei P8 Smartphone Genius Life-Shot FHD300 Mini Rii Mini i6 Rii Ultra Slim Keyboard The Castles of Mad King Ludwig Lords of Vegas Beauty #1 Howard the Human #1 RUNLOVEKILL #1 Tomb Raider Volume 1: Season of the Witch

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In Char Y

CosPlaying in South Af

LIFESTYLE

ou’ve probably seen CosPlayers at a number of events – people who dress up as (and sometimes even act as) their favourite characters from movies, games, comics and anime. The hard work and dedication of a committed CosPlayer can yield impressive results, and seeing familiar characters “come to life” through this growing hobby is awesome. But what about CosPlaying in South Africa? Is it a

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In Character

By Nthato Morakabi

racter

frica with KomboKitten growing community? And how do you get into it? Do you have to do all the hard work yourself, or is there a solution for lazier CosPlayers, too? We asked these and other questions of Genevieve “KomboKitten” Lesch, a self-confessed costumer, CosPlayer, geek and gamer from Cape Town (not to mention a community leader, but we’re adding that one).

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differently to anybody else so I cannot personally say what is factually the most popular.

GL: Cosplay is a form of art,

The term ‘cosplay’ originated in

GM: And how does one get into the CosPlay scene?

Japan, but the act of cosplaying

GL: It depends to what extent

particularly fan art, where the body is used as the canvas.

was present in America already

you want to be involved. Not

well before that. Whether you

all cosplayers necessarily

act in character or not, the

make most of their costume

mere act of wearing a costume

pieces themselves. You can

or portraying a character or

easily Google cosplay to find

concept via costume pieces

out more and via the internet

counts as cosplay in my opinion.

you can discover cosplay groups or communities (like on

GM: What kind of characters are typically emulated by CosPlayers? GL: Since it is fan art,

Facebook) in or near your area. Corresponding with cosplayers online for advice can also help, but try to do your own research

cosplayers will portray what

first. There are tons of tutorials

they are a fan of. In other cases

and guides online both written

they may cosplay something

and on YouTube which can give

as part of a group with friends

you direction regarding how to

or they may cosplay something

acquire or craft certain cosplay

they are paid for by a sponsor

pieces.

or employer. You will typically see a lot of gaming, comic book and anime related characters cosplayed, but like I said - it’s

GM: How popular is CosPlay globally? GL: Cosplay is a global

all open to the fandom of the

industry by now. It is very big in

cosplayer themselves, so you will

some countries.

see cosplays from other sources as well and even original designs made up by the cosplayers themselves or based on designs

GM: How does South Africa compare? GL: In South Africa the niche of cosplay is rapidly growing.

by others.

There will always be a booming

GM: Which are the most popular CosPlaying genres? GL: Probably gaming, comic

and busy market here unless we break out in war. There is a lot of potential for cosplay related business here. Our

books and anime. Since each

cosplay communities are growing

individual perceives things

bigger and bigger by the day.

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In Character

GM: For the uninitiated, what is CosPlay, in a nutshell?

LIFESTYLE

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community in both Gauteng and

scratch? GL: Not necessarily. If they

Cape Town, with other provinces

don’t make it all themselves they

also showing growing talent in

can commission full costumes or

the cosplay realm.

pieces from other crafters or buy parts (whether locally or through

GM: What kind of events can one expect to find CosPlayers? GL: Our cosplay communities host various cosplay related events all over the country over the course of each year. Big

importing).

GM: Are there suppliers for those who don’t want to put in the hard work? GL: Yes, many online and also

convention type events like rAge

several within South Africa.

Expo, EGE, Stelcon and UCON

If you want to know whether

also boast a thriving environment

something is available locally

for cosplayers. Cosplayers are

just ask in the Cosplay South

typically found at geeky events,

Africa group on Facebook and

but you can find them anywhere

you will be swiftly assisted.

they choose to cosplay as well! You never know, and much can still be decided.

GM: What’s the attraction to CosPlay? GL: It is different for each

GM: Are there any specific CosPlay events locally? GL: Yes, like the ones I

person. Some crafters enjoy the creative process, some enjoy trying to pull off accuracy and others enjoy just having fun and

mentioned in the previous

goofing around in costumes.

answer. Some of the others I

It’s a great way to break away

know about are frequent picnic

from the stresses of this world

gatherings in Cape Town, the big

or to be creatively expressive.

Free Comic Book Day annually

Just like some people enjoy

hosted by Readers Den in Cape

any other hobby like reading,

Town, Geekfest in Johannesburg,

painting, writing, sports, gaming,

and many more. Just join the

or whatever it may be - so

‘Cosplay South Africa’ group on

cosplayers enjoy cosplay. It

Facebook and ask any questions

is just another hobby, or even

there. Many people will respond

career related for some.

and we also share a lot of our event information there.

GM: Do most CosPlayers make their own costumes from gamecca75

GM: For those that are keen, where can they find more information? GL: Google and YouTube for days! g

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In Character

We already have quite a big

BY Lein Baart

Less is More... S

The Time Betwixt

o I’ve recently found myself engrossed with Fallout Shelter, as I suspect many have since the E3 reveal. It’s a solid game with competent mechanics that can actually challenge players, a rarity for a free game in the mobile market, yet it remains enticingly simple. There’s nothing particularly complicated – there are no skills to master, tricky puzzles to solve or number crunching to be done. You won’t be asked to map trade routes, or have a sequence of bloody quicktime events shoved down your throat. Rather you just slap people in a room to work for the rest of their cloistered lives, occasionally plucking out an individual to participate in your selective breeding program, all the while watching green bars go

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up and down with little else to break the cycle. Broken down into its constituent parts, there should be little here to make a compelling game. And yet I have become addicted. I have a pile of AAA titles clogging up my desktop and shelves, all polished and preened with the latest and greatest in game engine graphics and gameplay, and still I find myself devoting more time to this one little mobile game, a mere filler until Fallout 4 hits the shelves, than I do to anything else. It brings to mind the countless hours I have plugged into games like Pokémon , or the time I still spend on classics I have long since mastered whenever GOG throws out a particularly enticing special. They are games that hark back to an era when the focus was squarely on design and

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plot and gameplay, if only because they had bugger all else to work with. It’s the very reason that Nintendo is still able to exist, despite the apparently severe allergic reaction they to get when they encounter an original thought – simple games that do what they’re supposed to do without cluttering up the experience. You can pick up something like Ocarina of Time, and as unpolished as it may appear when compared to modern titles it still manages to grab your attention for hours on end. We may all wither and rot away before Nintendo releases anything approaching a risky new IP, but for the most part the games they do put on the shelves nevertheless retain an addictive quality, if only because they’ve perfected the art of recycling ideas. g

Storage for every application.

Rii Mini i25

etW g ad IE G EV R

Rii

Mini i25

The magic wand (with a few extras)

LIFESTYLE

he sleek Rii Mini i25 is a great device. It’s a multifunctional remote on one side, with a keyboard built into the back. The remote functions on the infrared spectrum, while the keyboard makes use of wireless technology. In addition, for those who like the functionality, it serves as an air mouse – basically a “magic wand” motion sensitive pointing device. It makes use of a 2.4GHz signal, and is rechargeable… a great accompaniment to smart devices and particularly useful for smart TVs, it will work perfectly to replace some (or all) of your first-party remotes. And you can type on it, too! g

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Huawei P8 Smartphone

etW g ad IE G EV R

Now that’s smart…

LIFESTYLE

he Huawei P8 has been creating some waves among smartphone enthusiasts. This device blasted onto the market earlier this year, and offers quite a package. With tons of processing power, 3GB of RAM and a crisp, clear 5.2 inch display, the P8 certainly is a phone to watch. It also comes with a 13 megapixel camera and shoots HD video at 30 frames per second. In addition, it is crammed with tons of other features and is powered by the Android OS. It’s a sleek, beautiful phone that looks as impressive as its performance is, and it shows that great phones don’t only come from two companies. g

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Genius

FHD300 Mini Go any wh er

e, d o y an

thing…

G LIFESTYLE

oPro isn’t the only company that makes cameras that go anywhere, do anything and take a beating to boot. Genius’ Life-Shot FHD300 is such a camera, and it offers full HD video recording in a really compact body. Complete with a waterproof case, the FHD300 can pair with a smart phone for even more features. It uses an 8 megapixel sensor for video and stills, and can even do time-lapse video. It’s a go-anywhere, do-anything action camera that produces great video and sound, and will be a great companion for those who live their lives full of action.g

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Genius Life-Shot FHD300 Mini

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Rii Mini i6

etW g ad IE G EV R

Rii

Mini i6

Control in your pocket

LIFESTYLE

he smallest of Rii’s range of keyboard and remote combos is the Rii Mini i6, a device not much larger than a smartphone yet capable of making your life so much easier. It’s great for use with smart TVs and set-top boxes, but works particularly well with consoles and other devices that may need text input… read as smart phones. The highly portable i6 manages to enable the user to type without the finger gymnastics associated with smartphone keypads. In addition, it has an integrated IR remote, with controls built into the back (while the front features a small touch pad and a keyboard). g

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Rii Ultra Slim Keyboard

etW g ad IE G EV R

Rii

Keyboard Fo

ta b

…

LIFESTYLE

veryone loves the idea of things like smart TVs and other similar devices, but sometimes controlling them can be a pain in the butt. Rii offer a number of practical solutions, though… The Rii Ultra Slim Keyboard is built for use with devices like smart TVs, TV boxes, tablets and even PCs. It is a scaled down keyboard (still bigger than your average smartphone screen) conbined with a touch pad. The notebook style keyboard is powered by a rechargeable battery and uses a 2.4GHz signal for connection. It’s a little big for every day transportation, but it would do well on any TV room coffee table. g

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A Cooler Master Suppressor Keyboard! Courtesy of Cooler Master TO ENTER: Send an email to competitions@gameccamag.com Tell us one of the Suppressor’s special features. Insert “Suppressor” in the mail’s subject line Subscribe to www.gameccamag.com (Optional) Like Gamecca’s Facebook Page (Optional)

Competition closes 20 September 2015. South African residents only. Prizes may not be exchanged for cash. Competition closed to employees (& employee’s family) of Nova Mentis (Pty) Ltd and Cooler Master. The judges’ decision is final. co mp e t i t i on • c o mp et it io n • c o mp et i ti on • com pe ti ti on • com pe ti ti on • com p etition •

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E YL W T ES IE lIF EV R

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OnBo

The Castles of Mad King Ludwig

ing Ludwig II of Bavaria went down in history as being a lover of castles, and being an extremely demanding employer when it came to the architects and builders who constructed them for him. But despite the results being some of the most striking constructions around (like the near-legendary Neuschwanstein Castle which inspired Disney) Ludwig was, by all accounts, a complete nutter who changed his mind almost as often as he changed his clothes. The result was that the people building his castles were driven half-crazy themselves by the king’s ever changing demands and capricious whims. And that’s what this game emulates. The Castles of Mad King Ludwig is a fun and chaotic tile laying game which sees

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each player building a castle for the king. Each round, one player becomes the Master Builder, and sets pricing for the available rooms… after which he can add the leftovers to his own castle. The role changes each round to keep things fair, but keeping up with the whims of the king and adding the best possible rooms to your castle can be a tall order. Each round scores the player points and even special awards, depending on their tile laying skill. At the end of the game, these are all added up to see who built the best castle. Not only do the rooms need to be right, but the castle needs to meet the king’s demands, which change with each game. It’s a crazy, frustrating and thoroughly enjoyable game for one to four players. g

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Lords of Vegas

ne could, we suppose, call Lords of Vegas a property management game, but it really comes down to much more than that. The game is all about becoming the most powerful casino owner on the Vegas strip, and to do so will require collaboration and deals â&#x20AC;&#x201C; which will likely devolve into doubledeals, backstabbing and manipulation before long. Designed for up to four players, Lords of Vegas is a combination card and dice game, which will allow players to build small casinos and develop them as the cash starts rolling in. But sneaky players may just end up taking over the results of their hard work by dominating lots (and a few lucky dice rolls) and it is during this kind of play that Lords of

Vegas displays its strategic nature. Lords of Vegas is a tongue-in-cheek look at the history and development of one of the most notorious towns in the world, and just like the gangsters that spawned, and were spawned in, Vegas, you will have to play dirty to get ahead. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s all about making money and turning a patch of desert into a paradise that sells nothing but dreams. The beautifully put together game is an extremely social one, and will result in laughs and arguments aplenty as players try to get a foothold on the various lots and become gambling tycoons. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s like Monopoly with a bad attitude and deep strategy, and those that love making money and screwing over the competition will enjoy Lords of Vegas immensely. g

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Title: Writer: Artist: Publisher: Rated:

Beauty #1 Jeremy Haun / Jason A. Hurley Jeremy Haun Image Comics Mature

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by Clive Burmeister

What would you do if there was a way you could lose weight, grow back lost hair, basically gain your most attractive possible appearance, without a day at the gym, any dieting, and no special supplements or pills? You’d jump at the chance right? What if to do this you would need to contract a new sexually transmitted disease, which had your dream body as its side effects, would that give you any pause to jumping at the possibility? Well that’s the basic premise behind Jeremy Haun’s “The Beauty”, but it doesn’t stop there. Just while you’re thinking about the possibilities, the what ifs that this could be real and awesome, then there’s a dead body, with no proof, but a lot of suspicion that The Beauty is behind it. Still want to have that STD?

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Title: Writer: Artist: Publisher: Rated:

Howard the Human #1 Skottie Young Jim Mahfood Marvel Comics Teen +

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by Clive Burmeister

It may be another Secret Wars / Battleworld tie in, but Howard the Human is more a parody than a tie in. Howard, usually the only talking humanoid duck in the normal Marvel universe, is now the only human in a whole city of humanoid animals. But he still has what essentially makes him special; his wits, his calm, and his plain old dumb luck. In New Quack City, things start out already pre-heated for Howard, with everybody out for his money, which he doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have. With scaly bartenders, plucky gangsters, and the King Pin up to his usual monkey business, Howard is caught in the middle of a full scale tooth and claw power struggle. But heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not alone at least, with friends like Mouse Murdock to watch his back.

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Title: Writer: Artist: Publisher: Rated:

RUNLOVEKILL #1 Jon Tsuei / Eric Canete Eric Canete Image Comics Mature

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by Clive Burmeister

Rain Oshiro is trapped in a nightmare, a city under the thumb of the evil Origami organization, which dominate all the citizens’ freedoms, from the law to the media. If you live in Prygat, you’re at their mercy. But Rain has a dark past, and it’s catching up to her fast. With only one night left to escape the city, the Origami at her heels, and time slipping away, Rain must do whatever it takes to avoid capture and survive. The minimalist approach of Tsuei and Canete to the script is not to be confused with a book light on story, as this fast paced comic unravels a complex plot as it flows from page to page. The art is sharp and intense, perfectly conveying the sense of urgency in the story.

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Title: Writer: Artist: Publisher: Rated:

Tomb Raider Volume 1: Season of the Witch Gail Simone Nicolas Daniel Selma Dark Horse Teen +

by Clive Burmeister

This fast paced, action packed, thriller style book is tied in to the bestselling 2013 video game, picking up where the game left off. After Lara and her friends underwent a hellish ordeal on a strange island, where only some of them made it out alive, Lara and the other survivors are struggling to come to terms with what happened. But there are forces that don’t want to leave the past in the past, and soon Lara and her companions are thrust back into the world of dark intrigue and horror that they were trying so hard to forget. This isn’t the Lara Croft I remember from the old days. She’s gritty, emotional, courageous, and flawed. She’s more “real”. And she kicks ass!

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BY Katia Taliadoros

Social Crack... T

Last word

he idea of social networks is to put people in contact with each other, reducing often long distances and time zone differences into a single distillation of friends and family, available at the click of a mouse. The ideal is a good one, allowing people to stay in contact and track their interests (be they friends, family or activities) through fewer sources. But it just that: an ideal. So much of what social networks could be has been lost as the companies that run them have started earning billions of dollars, and the people that use them have begun competing for narcissistic fixes rather than communicating. How often do we see posts from our friends telling us what they did? Their new job, their new car, what they had for lunch… this is now the largest trend on sites like Facebook, and it really is far from social interactivity. Rather, social networks have become like massive gatherings at which everyone has a conversation with themselves, while others occasionally chip in when it either suits their own egos, or when they can get their own

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taste of attention from what they say. And circling this gathering like sharks are the site operators, slowly leeching information from users and selling it to the highest bidder. Social networks are now less about communicating with friends and family and are more about loudly expressed opinion, hoaxes, shaming and social outrage. Everyone’s fifteen seconds of fame is earned by shouting the loudest, or the most. Why then, when they have become degenerated version of their former selves, are services like Facebook and Twitter still so addictive. Studies have shown that Facebook addiction is a very real thing, and millions of people spend many hours scrolling through their news feeds like zombies, paying little attention to the noise and perhaps hoping for the next bit of juicy slander, shaming or outrage. Where is the meaning? What is the purpose of trawling through all those selfies, advertisements, outragepieces and self-aggrandising posts? These social networks have become anathema to the idea of being social, with users behaving in ways that

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they never would at real social gatherings. And our children are learning that these behaviours are acceptable, which is the most worrying thing of all. It doesn’t say much for our society at large when children’s behaviour is becoming increasing aberrant, thanks to exposure to social media and the antics of others on those sites. Is our desire for voyeuristic fixes so strong that we simply cannot stay away from these sites? Are incidences of Facebook addiction far more widespread than experts assume? And where will it all lead? It cannot be anywhere good – technology is becoming more in demand, but also more demanding. As our world grows stronger in its technological capabilities, individuals become less important to the greater whole, and the idea of proper socialisation becomes less appealing as things like crime rates rise. So that leaves social media to carry the load, but only in the form of an illusion that we are popular when we have a lot of friends or followers. And the company owners are laughing all the way to the bank as we continually consumer their social crack. g