December LIVE Magazine 2018

LIVE DECEMBER ISSUE 2018

WIN A double

pass for Spider-Man Into The Spider Verse! pg. 32

Interview with Eddie Chew Animator for Spider-Man Into the Spider Verse

pg 26

WIN A double

pass for Holmes & Watson pg. 36

Super Mario Party - Red Dead Redemption 2 - Stan Lee - My Spider Senses are Tingling!

Go to page 32 for details on how you can go in the drawn to win tickets to see Spider-Man! (Australia only)

From the Editor Hello and welcome to the December edition of Gametraders Live!

This edition we have two competitions for you. One is a double pass giveaway for Spider-Man Into the Spider-Verse, which we were lucky enough to also get an interview with one of the animators for the film; Eddie Chew. Check out the interview on page 26 and the competion on page 32! The other competition is for a comedy called Watson and Holmes which you can check out on page 36!

Inside we also have our top five ‘nerdy’ christmas movies (pg. 12), an article on the history of Spider-Man with a look into the relevence of the new movie (pg. 20) two interviews, one with Eddie Chew and the other with Toni from Children of the Night (pg. 64) as well as many reviews including ones for Red Dead Redemption 2, Fallout 76 and Spyro Reignited Triology.

We hope you enjoy the magazine. Happy readings and happy holidays!

Emily Langford Emily Langford, EDITOR

What’s inside

EDDIE CHEW INTERVIEW ( SPIDER MAN INTO THE SPIDER VERSE )

pg. 26

“As long as there are young kids who would rather read comic books than play sport Spider-Man will continue to be their hero .”

REVIEWS: SPYRO REIGNITED & RED DEAD REDEMPTION 2

pg. 90 &

pg. 76

pg. 20

THE LIVE TEAM EDITOR & DESIGNER: Emily Langford

WRITERS: Scott Sowter, Entertainment review and opinion Paul Monopoli, Interviews / Retro Editor Taneli Palola, Evan Norris, Rex Hindrichs,

REMEMBERING STAN LEE

Paul Broussard, Jackson Newsome, Ben

Pg. 18

Dye, Stephen LaGioia & Patrick Day-Childs, VGChartz

10-41 MOVIES MERRY CHRISTMAS YOU FILTHY ANIMALS - TOP 5 ‘NERDY’ CHRISTMAS MOVIES, pg 12

32 SPIDERMAN GIVEAWAY 36 HOLMES & WATSON GIVEAWAY INTERVIEW WITH CHILDREN OF THE NIGHT

Pg. 64

42-103 GAMES OPEN WORLD GAMES AND THE PROBLEM OF SCALE vs CONTECT, pg 44 TOP 10 BEST GAMES BASED ON BOOKS, pg 50 THIS WAR OF MINE (NS) REVIEW, pg 70 SUPER MARIO PARTY (NS) REVIEW, pg 96 LEGO HARRY POTTER (NS) REVIEW, pg 102 LEGO DC SUPER-VILLANS (X1) REVIEW, pg 108

FALLOUT 76 REVIEW

Pg. 84

LATEST MUST-HAVE

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Red Flags is a party game about convincing your friends to go on terrible dates. One of your friends is going to be the single. Every other player uses perk cards to make a hot date. You’ll get characters like: a brain surgeon that loves to cuddle. But then everyone gets to play a Red Flag onto another player at the table. Now all of these perfect dates will have flaws like: wears a diaper because it’s “more convenient,” or collects human skulls, says they’re practically free! Now that all of the dates are horrible, everyone tries to convince the single to go out with their date. The game can be as raunchy or tame as your imaginations allow.

RED FLAGS The main 400-card starter deck for Red Flags

Pitchstorm is a party card game that puts players in the position of unprepared writers pitching movie ideas to the world's worst executives.

During each round, one player acts as the executive, and everyone else attempts to pitch them movie ideas based on a character card and a plot card. At the end of the pitches, the executive chooses which movie they liked the best, with that person scoring a point, then the game continues from there.

PITCHSTORM 3-12 Players - Ages 14+ - 15+ Game Time

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MOVIE SPIDERMAN DOUBLE PASS GIVEAWAY INTERVIEW WITH EDDIE CHEW (SPIDER-MAN INTO THE SPIDER VERSE)

HOLMES AND WATSON DOUBLE PASS GIVEAWAY

ES

MERRY CHRISTMAS YOU FILTHY ANIMALS! (TOP 5 NERDY CHRISTMAS MOVIES)

MY SPIDER SENSES ARE TINGLING!

YOUR SAY Scott F Sowter

MERRY CHRISTMAS YOU FILTHY ANIMALS!

Top five nerdy ... s e i v o m s a m t s i Chr

Shhhh… Do you hear it? The sound of wrapping

December watch a Christmas movie. But why

of dusty old boxes, Michael Buble rubbing

Love Actually… (Well you should watch Love

paper, trees going up, tinsel being pulled out

his hands together as people line up to buy his Christmas album again… That’s right it’s

the holy jolly time of year! The time of giving,

awkward family fights and trying not to get fired up when grandma says something racist at the family Christmas lunch. So given that

it is the time of year to get together with the

people you love, most of us will at least once in

settle for A Christmas Carol, or the Grinch or

Actually because it’s simply incredible.) So here for you! We have five Christmas films that are

a little off the wall. Five Christmas films that will keep your geek flag flying! So settle in, get

the egg-nog and enjoy five nerdy Christmas movies!

1

LETHAL WEAPON

1987’s Lethal Weapon is an action comedy masterpiece. Written by Shane Black (who’s name will

be coming up a lot on this list) and directed by the great Richard Donner, Lethal Weapon sees

Mel Gibson as Martin Riggs a renegade younger cop who teams up with disgruntled old cop Roger Murtaugh played by Danny Glover who is quite simply too old for Rigg’s shi… Nonsense.

A great neo-noir adventure takes place with some of the best one-lines in film. What does it have to do with Christmas? Well not a lot really. It’s set in December and there are a few carols and Christmas jokes thrown in. Plus the gift of bullets into bad guys.

2

GREMLINS

Joe-Dante’s horror comedy masterpiece Gremlins is just one of those absolute

classics. Featuring the great all time cutie Gizmo who when not properly cared for by his new owner births the mysterious gremlins who terrorise his town. The whole movie is set on Christmas

Eve and has nothing but Christmas lights, gifts, carols and terrifying monsters on display. A sure fire hit with everyone, except maybe the very young. It does get a little intense in parts‌

3

IRON MAN 3

Iron Man 3… Yes a marvel movie made the list… Well! It is set at Christmas. Plus it is one of my favourites in the MCU. Shane Black writes and directs this off the wall entry into the MCU. It pits

Iron Man against the haunting power of his greatest threat… The Mandarin… Or really it pits him

against Guy Pearce and an army of genetically modified super soldiers. The Mandarin well he’s just a washed up British actor. But you know what… I didn’t care. It was a hoot.

4

KISS KISS BANG BANG

Shane Black strikes again. There is a theme here… Shane Black is obviously obsessed with

Christmas… And I am obviously obsessed with Shane Black. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang sees Robert Downy Jr as a petty thief who accidentally gets cast in a Hollywood movie. He is then flown

to Hollywood and teamed up with a real private detective to gain experience for the role.

Unfortunately for them they get caught up in a real murder mystery. It’s one of the funniest films you will ever see with RDJ giving one of his best performances ever.

5

DIE HARD

Ok… Originality isn’t my strong suit, but can you blame me? Die Hard really is the best Christmas

movie ever made. I need not say anything else. But the meme says it all. “There are people who say Die Hard is the best Christmas movie ever made… And there are people who are wrong.”

By Scott F. Sowter

Twitter: @ScottFSowter

A REAL LIFE

SUPERHERO Remembering STAN LEE 1922-2018

Born Stanley Martin Lieber in 1922, Stan Lee would go on to become a household name for geeky families around the world. Stan created some of the most beloved characters in popular culture, we simply don’t have room on this page to list them all. He was beloved by the pop culture world for his enthusiasm,

his wit, his charm and his energy.

He became the face of the comic industry, particularly Marvel Comics. He was an ambassador for the brand and always made you feel like it was ok to love comic books, even as an adult. He gave us some of our best childhood memories and instilled in us fan’s attitudes for life;

always treat others with respect, be a good person. He always had time for his fans, he always treated them with respect and kindness. He was one of a kind. His genius has left us now but his creations will always be with us. Stan Lee created an entire universe... Let’s make sure we all look after it.

“I used to be embarrassed because I was just a comic-book writer while other people were building bridges or going on to medical careers. And then I began to realize: entertainment is one of the most important things in people’s lives. Without it they might go off the deep end. I feel that

if you’re able to entertain people, you’re doing a good thing.”

- Stan Lee

WRITTEN BY SCOTT F. SOWTER

SCOTT F SOWTER

MY SPIDER SENSES ARE TINGLING! In August 1962 Marvel Comics released

Amazing Fantasy issue 15. Before this issue the run on the comic had been largely

forgettable. However issue 15 introduced

the world to the hero that would become arguably the biggest character on Marvel Comics roster. Written by Stan Lee and

drawn by Steve Ditko, The Amazing SpiderMan was born. Seven months later Marvel introduced Spidy in his own solo comic

featuring a fight between the wall crawler and the Fantastic Four. From there the

character grew and grew in popularity to the jugernaught of pop-pop-culture we have today. He has been the star of six

solo feature films, as well as the Marvel

Cinematic Universe Avengers films. We have an animated feature film out in December.

Countless animated television shows.

Spider-Man is simply the face of Marvel.

Let me start by first saying I hate

spiders… I hate them. I’m terrified of

them. (Gagging sounds). But… Spider-

Man, he’s my hero. At the age of around four or five I was exposed to the 1994 animated Spider-Man TV show. I got my first Spider-Man comics not long

after that. Spectacular Spider-Man #256, Amazing Spider-Man #433, Sensational

Spider-Man #26 and Peter Parker SpiderMan #90. I remember them well, in fact I still have them. I won tickets to the

opening night of the first Spider-Man

film in 2002. Needless to say I’m a bit of a

Spider-Man nut. But why Spider-Man. Like I said. I hate spiders. Yet I like so many

others gravitate towards this character

more than any other. Well, the answer is actually quite simple… Peter Parker.

Peter Parker is every kid who was into

Ben. His flaws are on show, open and

is a total geek, terrible at talking to

something I could relate to right out of

comics and not sport growing up. He

girls, loved science and nerd stuff, was never rich, he is by every stretch of

the word “normal”. He is our avatar. I related so much to Peter Parker as a

kid and teenager and I feel that many people do, that’s why the character

has persisted. He always tries to do

the right thing, learning that lesson early on with the death of his uncle

on display. He struggles to find a job,

university… I’m sure many can… Peter

Parker is us. I could never relate to Bruce Wayne or Tony Stark. Captain America and Superman are damn near perfect.

Then we have Peter Parker… Sometimes he misses the landing. He’s the most

relatable character Marvel and DC have to offer.

The world hit fever pitch for SpiderMan in 2002 with Sony releasing

“Spider-Man” the film. Directed by legend cult filmmaker Sam Raimi and starring Toby Maguire, the

film became a monster hit. It was

followed in 2004 by Spider-Man 2

and in 2007 by Spider-Man 3. While 2000’s “X-Men” paved the way for the serious superhero film, SpiderMan really set the world on fire.

Without the launch of these films

we wouldn’t have the MCU we have today.

Spider-Man proving so bankable that

Marvel Studies made a deal with Sony (who own the cinematic rights of the character) to have him appear in the MCU, now played by Tom Holland.

Once again it proved to be a massive success. The unlikely pairing of Peter

Parker and Tony Stark has gone on to be beloved by movie goers and fans of the series. There was also the‌

Well, less than buster Amazing SpiderMan film series from 2012. Featuring Andrew Garfield in the title role the

first film was fairly successful while the second film left a bad taste in many mouths‌ Myself included.

So with SO many film adaptions of this

saw that first trailer I sure wanted it. I feel

film version set for release here in

of “Why not?”.

character why do we need an animated Australia on the 13th of December?

like it almost comes down to a question

Spider-Man Into the Spider-Verse tells

Spider-Man continues to prove to be

gifted with Spider-Man abilities. Miles is

not see the popularity of him wavering

the story of Miles Morales, a teenager

Spider-Man, in a seperate universe. Yes

it’s time to meet the many Spider-Men if

you will… And Spider-Gwen. All awesome alternate reality versions of our beloved character. This animated film will bring

these amazing alternate versions of Spidy to the big screen for the first time. I for

one am so excited for it. Do we need this film… NO! We don’t need it. But when I

Marvel’s flagship character. I for one do in the future. As long as there are young

kids who would rather read comic books

than play sport Spider-Man will continue to be their hero. He is still mine.

By Scott F. Sowter

Twitter: @ScottFSowter

INTERVIEW WITH

EDDIE CHEW Eddie Chew, Australian animator, involved with movies such as Jurrasic World, Captain America: Civil War, Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice to name a few.

Our writer Paul Monopoli had a chance to ask him a

PM: Was drawing cartoon characters a favourite pastime of

few questions about himself and his role in the latest

yours while growing up?

Spider-Man movie; Spider-Man Into The Spider Verse.

EC: I grew up drawing dinosaurs, Transformers and Paul Monopoli: Were you a fan of animated shows

Ghostbusters – I was literally always drawing. Later on, I

when you were younger?

moved to Ninja Turtles, and then into comic book superheroes.

Eddie Chew: Absolutely – from when I was very young

PM: As a child did you ever think that this could be the career

all the way into my 20’s. I can still be found surfing

you end up in?

through animated films on Netflix!

EC: I actually dreamed of becoming a comic book penciller. I PM: Which shows were you drawn to?

loved to draw, I loved the high contrast with pencil and paper

EC: I grew up with classics like Astro Boy, Transformers,

and black ink. I wanted to work for Marvel and DC comics. I

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Bugs Bunny and

hadn’t yet discovered the world of animation because I was

Ghostbusters.

focused on becoming a comic book artist.

PM: Your Q&A states that you made the decision to get into animation and special effects while you were still at University. What field were you looking to get into before making that decision?

EC: Initially I was studying a multimedia degree. I knew I wanted to do something in digital arts and use my foundation in my art, but I didn’t know exactly what that was at the time. The spark in animation came when I did the introduction in unit in 3D / Computer Graphics at University. Once I discovered CG, it was clear to me that this was it, and I was 100 percent focused and dove in with all my passion, curiosity and skill. My comic book artistry had taken me there. I finished my BA in multimedia and then pursued a year in film and television school.

PM: Which university courses would you recommend to

diversity in the industry and throughout studios around the

someone who had an interest in animation?

world can really shape your skill level.

EC: At the risk of sounding cliche, passion, practice and

PM: What came first when producing Spider-Man: Into the

persistence are probably three key ingredients you need

Spider-Verse, the voice over or the animation?

along with education. You can’t have education without those three and expect to be successful. In the realm of

EC: The temporary voice over comes first because there

technicality, practice your skill everyday, the same way you

is a fully realised script which is green lit before animation

develop any skill, and be patient with your learning. Purchase

begins. The celebrity voice over dubbing happens after

or rent a copy of Autodesk Maya and enroll in an online course.

animation is completed or during.

Technical skill is an absolute, and the sooner you understand it the more you can practice it. Master the 12 principles of

PM: How much contact did you have with the voice actors?

animation – timing, exaggeration, easing in and easing out, squash and stretch, anticipation, staging, arcs, secondary

EC: With Spiderman: Into the Spider-Verse, there was none

action, solid drawing, appeal, follow through and overlapping

unfortunately.

action, and posing. I would recommend the online courses Animation and Lanimate. If you want to pursue your career in

PM: This Spider-Man movie features multiple versions of

animation and take your career abroad, having a University

the character. Do we get to see the tokusatsu Japanese

degree helps with the Visa process.

Spiderman, Takuya Yamashiro?

PM: Was moving overseas something that was necessary

EC: I haven’t seen the whole film yet so I can’t answer that

to become successful in animation?

one. Pre-screening happens for us soon!

EC: Today, Australia has a thriving animation / film industry

PM: Which Spider-Man is your personal favourite?

so leaving isn’t necessary to develop skills or pursue an incredible career as there are excellent world-renowned

EC: I like Peter Parker, that’s the one I grew up with.

studios there. However, back when I started, I knew that leaving was important to get the skills and the experience

PM: Who is your favourite Spider Man villain?

I needed. Having the opportunity to work and travel around the world has also been a definite bonus in my perspective,

EC: Venom. I love his design in the comic books and his

and is something that I really look forward to. I think the

storyline.

PM: Were there any challenges working on the animation

that realm, I love the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and

to this movie?

Optimus Prime. When it comes to the dark side, Venom is such a vivid character with great art and design. I also like

EC: This was a really fun film to work on. Every animation

Magento, and of course Shredder and Megatron!

project poses some typical challenges that are not at all uncommon, but there was nothing out of the ordinary

PM: Who is your favourite hero to team up with Spider Man?

with this in terms of challenges. I love the style of art here. It’s refreshing, exciting and new!

EC: Venom – particularly the Maximum Carnage storyline!

PM: 2D animation seems to have become quite niche over

PM: Into the Spider-Verse looks to be a purely animated

the years, with shows like Family Guy and the Simpsons

feature. How different is it working with animation on a live

being two of the major examples that use still that style. Do

action movie?

you feel that 2D animation will always have a place in the world of entertainment?

EC: It is a purely animated feature. Animated movies have more liberation in terms of designing a shot as there is more

EC: 2D animation will always be here. Eventually we’ll come

room for creativity from the artist in that sense. Live action

to think of this as a vintage art form in the film making industry

footage has locked plates that are shot in real life so we

and it will be revitalized as a trend or with a refreshed vibe in

can’t deviate from those and there is more restriction to

animation. 2D animation has a lot of competition so the level

work within which can be seen as a challenge. Live action

of storytelling needs to be elevated to catch the audience

requires more realistic animation so that it blends in with

and ‘compete’ so to speak. That’s not to say that 3D

the actors. Animated features are more stylistic in design in

animation lacks storytelling at all. On the contrary, it needs

the way that they move. That would be the main difference!

to rise up to meet the visual artistry and excitement which is why films like Spiderman: Into the Spider-Verse have not

PM: Is it possible that Into the Spider-Verse will have a

just extraordinary visuals, but the writing is exquisite too.

sequel somewhere down the line, or even kick start a Marvel animated cinematic universe?

PM: A fair chunk of your career has taken place within the super hero realm. I know this might be a tough question but

EC: Wouldn’t that be cool! I would love to work on more

who is your favourite hero and villain?

Spider-Man films, but I not sure what the Spider-Man Universe holds...

EC: I love Spider-Man, Wolverine and Batman. Outside of

Interview conducted by Paul Monopoli

EDDIE CHEW A huge thankyou to Eddie Chew, check him out here: Imdb https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2691260/ demoreel https://vimeo.com/205204669

linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/eddiechew/

DOUBLE PASS GIVE AWAY

Phil Lord and Chris Miller, the creative minds behind The Lego Movie and 21 Jump Street, bring their unique talents to a fresh vision of a different Spider-Man Universe, with a ground-breaking visual style that’s the first of its kind.

Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse introduces Brooklyn teen Miles Morales, and the limitless possibilities of the Spider-Verse, where more than one can wear the mask.

In cinemas December 13

WIN A DOUBLE PASS! Thanks to Sony and Gametraders you could win a double pass to see the new Spider-Man Into the Spider Verse.

All you have to do is go to the Gametraders Facebook page and like the competition post, tag who you’re going to take and comment why you want to see Spider-Man Into the Spider Verse!

MARVEL and all related character names: © & ™ 2018 MARVEL. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, the Movie ©2018 Sony Pictures Animation Inc. All Rights Reserved.©2018 Sony Pictures Animation Inc. All Rights Reserved.Industries, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

©2018 Columbia TriStar Marketing Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

DOUBLE PASS GIVE AWAY HOLMES AND WATSON The Step Brothers are reunited – this time playing the world’s greatest consulting detective and his loyal biographer – as Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly star as Holmes & Watson. #HolmesAndWatson In Cinemas Boxing Day

WIN A DOUBLE PASS! Thanks to Sony and Gametraders you could win a double pass to see Holmes & Watson All you have to do is go to the Gametraders Facebook page and like the competition post, tag who you’re going to take and comment why you want to see Holmes & Watson!

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gameS

INTERVIEW: CHILDREN OF TH NIGHT TOP 10 BEST GAMES BASED ON BOOKS

OPEN WORLD GAMES AND THE PROBLEM OF SCALE VS. CONTENT

S

HE

REVIEWS

Taneli Palola

OPEN WORLD GAMES AND THE PROBLEM OF

F SCALE VS. CONTENT Over the last two decades two very different, and in many ways polar opposite schools of thought regarding the design of open world video games have emerged.

On one hand we have games that feature a large, but still relatively condensed and tightly designed world often packed with meaningful content with a lot of variety, but less options in terms of exploration. Sega’s Yakuza series is a great example of this. On the other hand there are games with massive worlds with either too little meaningful content stretched out over a vast space, or the same tasks being repeated over and over again with little to no reason or variety. These titles tend to give more options to players in terms of exploration and the number of locations they can visit. Quite a lot of Ubisoft’s open world games over the last decade or so have adopted this style.

However, while arguments can certainly be made for the merits of either approach, with various positives and negatives that can be found in both types of open world games, there’s definitely a tendency for games that go for the ‘massive world’ approach to take things too far in this regard. There comes a point when increasing the size of a game’s playable area begins to have diminishing returns and starts to actively hurt the title.

I’ve talked about this issue in the past from another perspective when I discussed the trend of making the size of a game’s world a measure of its quality, and how video game companies have tried to sell certain games almost entirely based on that merit alone. All too often when such titles are eventually released players discover that, beyond the massive scope of their worlds, they really have very little to offer after the first few hours of gameplay.

Fairly recent releases like No Man’s Sky, Sea of Thieves, and Fallout 76 have sold themselves in large part on the notion that they have massive worlds (or even a universe) to explore, in which players can discover uncharted worlds and places, but the developers then neglect to actually provide you with something interesting or meaningful to do within those massive

sandboxes. When these game worlds end up being populated by interchangeable quests and nebulous busywork they don’t really offer any compelling or interesting content for the player base.

I’m aware that No Man’s Sky did eventually offer a lot more content for people to engage with, and from everything I’ve heard it’s a vastly improved game compared to the one that was first released. Sea of Thieves promises to similarly redeem itself, with content releasing throughout the year and, it seems, well into the future. But I’m hesitant to praise either of these games (or other similar ones) for becoming worth their initial asking prices months, or even years, after release.

At that point you’re not really releasing a good game, but rather selling a husk of a game on the promise that it might one day actually be worth playing. That is where the problem of scale vs. content arises. When you begin to focus too much on figures, whether it be the number of square miles the world map covers or the number of different locations you can visit, rather than on what you’re actually going to be able to do in the game, you’ve kind of lost sight of what really makes the difference between an average and a great game.

Fallout 76 is a prime example of this kind of misguided focus.

Previous games in the series have certainly had large worlds that players could explore at their leisure, but at the same time Bethesda, Obsidian, and Black Isle studios before them filled these games with interesting content, unique NPCs, and well-written questlines. Fallout 76 was marketed as featuring the largest world ever created for the series, but then failed to include the interesting quests and plotlines that had really elevated the franchise.

Essentially, the thing that is often most important in open world titles, regardless of the size of the game’s world, is what I have started to call density of meaningful content. You can have the largest game world ever created but if it isn’t filled with interesting stuff for

players to do then it means absolutely nothing in the end. A large, empty world devoid of content has been the downfall of many an ambitious game in recent years, and it will likely be the same for many more to come.

This is why one of the absolute best open worlds in recent years has also been one of the smallest in size. The world of Yakuza 0 has nothing on the scale of games like Fallout 76, Sea of Thieves, or any number of Ubisoft open world titles, but it ends up feeling so much bigger than any of them because of the amount of activities and options that are open to players within the

world. It feels like behind every corner there is something exciting or interesting for you to do.

The world may be smaller than in most other open world games, but it works perfectly in the context of the game itself, and the content found within is what ultimately makes the world feel big, despite its actual size. This is something I think other game developers should take note of.

Of course, none of this means that you can’t make a huge game world interesting and exciting. Games like Red Dead Redemption 2 have shown very recently that even massive worlds can be made to feel varied and engaging.

It simply requires a lot of work to achieve that, which is unfortunately something that many developers just aren’t putting into their games, for one reason or another. When this happens we get procedurally generated massive worlds with repetitive content and dull environments.

Developers should consider what purpose the worlds they’re building serve in their games.

Instead of artificially forcing massive worlds into their titles, they should build worlds that fit into the settings and narratives of their games.

Essentially, the world should serve the needs of the game, and not the other way around. If the only reason for having a massive world is to check a box on the marketing sheet, then maybe that kind of world doesn’t really make much sense for that particular game.

Ultimately, the size of a game’s world should not be seen as its defining quality, but rather a facilitator for what actually makes that game great. Every game is different, and as such every world should be built with its own particular needs in mind. It should be something that makes the game feel alive, unique, and interesting, but all too often the maps we get just prove to be a detriment to the whole experience. If a developer is making the world huge just because they can, it’s most likely not going to result in a good final product. It all comes down to content density and content quality, and in that respect the size of the world should at best be a secondary concern as far as I’m concerned, and often not even that.

The best open world titles are carefully balanced between scale and content. The scale can certainly be ambitious to an almost extreme

degree, but the content then needs to match that ambition. Ones that fail to find that balance either end up feeling empty, with not enough stuff for the players to do (No Man’s Sky at launch), or cluttered with too much pointless busywork (Assassin’s Creed: Unity). It’s a difficult balance to achieve and far too few games manage to find it, and unfortunately the only way to fix that issue is to design games with this balance in mind from the very beginning of production. Do that and we just might get more games like Yakuza 0 and Red Dead Redemption 2 in the future, and less the likes of Ghost Recon: Wildlands or Fallout 76.

By Taneli Palola, VGChartz

YOUR SAY Taneli Palola

TOP 10 BEST GAMES BASED ON BOOKS Books have, historically, not been the most

The one criterion I have for this list is that it’s

existing works into video game form. Countless

world as the book or take inspiration from it.

popular medium when it comes to adapting

movies and TV shows have received their own

video games, but books have never been quite as popular. Perhaps the reason is that books

are inherently more difficult to adapt into video games than other, already visual mediums like

films. However, that’s not to say that there aren’t any great video game book adaptations out there.

not enough for the game to be set in the same Rather, it has to share a significant number of

characters, storyline details, and other elements to make it onto this list. For example, Middle-

Earth: Shadow of Mordor and its sequel do not

count as book adaptations. The games can differ in one or more aspects, but have to have clear

and strong connections to the source material to be valid. With that in mind, here are the ten best video games based on books (in my opinion, of course).

10.

DUNE II: THE BUILDING OF A DYNASTY/BATTLE FOR ARRAKIS (BASED ON DUNE BY FRANK HERBERT)

We start the list with a game that is in many

- Harkonnen, Atreides, and Ordos - battle over

in the early to mid 90s. However, it is also a

order to gain favour with the emperor.

ways responsible for the rise of the RTS genre slightly tricky entry, as the argument could be

control of the planet and its spice reserves in

made that Dune II is actually inspired more by

Overall, Dune II is a fairly loose adaptation of

Frank Herbert. Still, there are still a lot of direct

names, and other such elements including the

the film Dune rather than the original book by connections to the original novel in the video game to justify its place on this list.

Taking place on the desert planet of Arrakis, the only place where a valuable drug called

Melange (more commonly as �the spice�) exists.

On the planet three competing noble houses

the novel, taking the setting, important themes, basic premise from the book, but then telling its own self-contained story from that point

on. This is mainly due to the fact that the game has three different playable factions, each

with their own storyline, whereas the book is

mainly focussed on the point of view of House Atreides.

9.

KEN FOLLETT’S THE PILLARS OF THE EARTH (BASED ON THE PILLARS OF THE EARTH BY KEN FOLLETT)

The Pillars of the Earth is likely not the kind of

in high tension drama or fast-paced action.

a video game adaptation from. A historical

weaving its narrative, which covers several

book that most people would think to make novel about the building of a cathedral in a

fictional English town of Kingsbridge in the 12th

The Pillars of the Earth certainly takes its time decades and features several playable characters.

century doesn’t really strike one as the kind of

For any fan of well-written historical fiction The

that’s exactly what Daedalic Entertainment did

games to play. It captures the feeling of the era

story you could make a video game about. Yet with this point-and-click adventure game that released in 2017.

This one is definitely a very particular kind of

game that requires the player to be in a specific frame of mind to enjoy. It’s a very slow-paced, narrative-heavy title that isn’t really interested

Pillars of the Earth should be on their list of

and the location it depicts, and contains just

enough actual historical facts while still telling

a largely fictional tale to come off as genuinely authentic. It’s also an absolutely gorgeous

game, with beautiful backgrounds and character designs, which certainly helps in making the world feel real and authentic.

8.

I HAVE NO MOUTH, AND I MUST SCREAM (BASED ON I HAVE NO MOUTH, AND I MUST SCREAM BY HARLAN ELLISON)

I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream is one

human subjects, altering their minds and bodies

seem to know by reputation, but few have

with a game to play. AM presents the characters

of those games that a lot of people generally actually taken the time to play it, which is a

shame because it truly is an excellent (and quite disturbing) point-and-click adventure game.

however it saw fit, and is now presenting them

with their own personal psychodramas, praying on their deepest fears and personal demons.

It’s also an unusual adaptation, especially for a

The game takes the story premise, the

Harlan Ellison, was heavily involved in the

Ellison’s novel, but alters certain details and

video game, as the writer of the original story,

development process, writing much of the script and even voicing the game’s main antagonist, the supercomputer AM.

It’s set on a post-apocalyptic Earth where a

highly intelligent supercomputer annihilated most of the human race after developing sentience and absorbing two other

supercomputers into its programming. Now

calling itself AM, the supercomputer has spent

the last 109 years torturing and modifying five

characters, and a lot of the events straight from aspects, while also adding new elements in to

the mix, including making the story open-ended with seven different possible endings players

can reach depending on their actions. However, it’s very much in the bleak spirit of the original

story; only one of the endings can be considered a positive outcome, while the rest involve

varying degrees of hopelessness. It’s certainly

not the most joyful of experiences, but it’s very much worth playing nonetheless.

7.

PARASITE EVE

(BASED ON PARASITE EVE BY HIDEAKI SENA)

I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream is one

human subjects, altering their minds and bodies

seem to know by reputation, but few have

with a game to play. AM presents the characters

of those games that a lot of people generally actually taken the time to play it, which is a

shame because it truly is an excellent (and quite disturbing) point-and-click adventure game.

however it saw fit, and is now presenting them

with their own personal psychodramas, praying on their deepest fears and personal demons.

It’s also an unusual adaptation, especially for a

The game takes the story premise, the

Harlan Ellison, was heavily involved in the

Ellison’s novel, but alters certain details and

video game, as the writer of the original story,

development process, writing much of the script and even voicing the game’s main antagonist, the supercomputer AM.

It’s set on a post-apocalyptic Earth where a

highly intelligent supercomputer annihilated most of the human race after developing sentience and absorbing two other

supercomputers into its programming. Now

calling itself AM, the supercomputer has spent

the last 109 years torturing and modifying five

characters, and a lot of the events straight from aspects, while also adding new elements in to

the mix, including making the story open-ended with seven different possible endings players

can reach depending on their actions. However, it’s very much in the bleak spirit of the original

story; only one of the endings can be considered a positive outcome, while the rest involve

varying degrees of hopelessness. It’s certainly

not the most joyful of experiences, but it’s very much worth playing nonetheless.

6.

THE HITCHIKER’S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY (BASED ON THE HITCHIKER’S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY BY DOUGLAS ADAMS)

Another game where the author of the book

it with Steve Meretzky. This made for a very

development is The Hitchiker’s Guide to the

was the actual book you were reading. It’s also

it was based on was heavily involved during

Galaxy, which is based on the novel of the same name by Douglas Adams. Being a text-based

adventure game, it presents arguably one of the

most accurate portrayals of the style and tone of

authentic experience that genuinely felt like it

a rare case of a game that is intentionally funny, leveraging the nihilistic, often surreal style of humour Adams is known for.

the source material out of any game based on a

Of course, since this is a text adventure game

games live and die almost entirely based on the

who have actually played it, as the genre isn’t

book. This is a very good thing as these kinds of quality of the writing.

Naturally, the main reason behind this was

Adams himself writing most of the game’s text and dialogue, as well as designing much of

there are likely very few people reading this

exactly popular these days. However, for any fan of Adams’ books, or just fans of well written and funny stories in general, this should be on your list of games to play, especially as it’s free for everyone to play online.

5.

METRO 2030

(BASED ON METRO 2033 BY DMITRY GLUKHOVSKY)

Some people may have expected to see Metro:

known as the Dark Ones attack one of the

actually share that much in common with the

dealing with this threat from the rest of the

Last Light here, but that particular title doesn’t

novels these games are based on, outside of the

main character Artyom and the post-apocalyptic

stations, prompting Artyom to seek help in communities living in the metro tunnels.

setting. Metro 2033, on the other hand, is a

The greatest achievement of Metro 2033, in my

novel, taking the setting, many of the characters,

mystery surrounding the Dark Ones. A lot of this

fairly faithful adaptation of Glukhovsky’s original and storyline details directly from the book.

As the name suggests, Metro 2033 takes place

in the year 2033 in the Moscow metro tunnels,

after a nuclear war 20 years prior devastated the world and forced people to move underground to survive. A group of mysterious creatures

opinion, is how it successfully builds tension and also comes from the game’s world, which almost becomes a character in its own right as the

game progresses. The dark and claustrophobic

tunnels always loom around the player, and this in turn make the areas where people still live

havens of safety that nonetheless have a hint of uncertainty to them.

4.

ENSLAVED: ODYSSEY TO THE WEST (BASED ON JOURNEY TO THE WEST BY WU CHENG’EN)

Out of all the games on this list Enslaved:

far the loosest adaptation, going more towards

the furthest away from being a direct adaptation

while taking a much more liberal approach to

Odyssey to the West is perhaps the one that is of the original novel, and because of that I

almost left it out of the list completely. In the

preserving the themes and tone of the original, the rest of the source material.

end, though, it does share enough of the story

As a game, Enslaved is the title that made me a

epic novel Journey to the West - that I decided

was best known for the PS3 launch title Heavenly

it was adapted from – the 16th century Chinese to include it.

Of course, the main difference between the

novel and the video game is the setting. The

game takes the classic Chinese tale and places it in a post-apocalyptic North America, hundreds of years in the future. Various plot details have

also been changed, but the central concept and

the main characters still retain similar roles as in the novel. Still, of the games on this list it is by

fan of Ninja Theory. Prior to this the company

Sword, but I’ve always considered Enslaved to be a vastly superior game. Ninja Theory has always been excellent at telling stories and

creating interesting and nuanced characters, and Enslaved is no exception. It’s a great game in

my opinion, and while it takes liberties with its

source material, Enslaved: Odyssey to the West is one of the best book to video game adaptations ever.

3.

SPEC OPS: THE LINE (BASED ON HEART OF DARKNESS BY JOSEPH CONRAD)

Basing the story of a video game on a literary classic is always a

the devastated city of Dubai and

changing the names of characters,

rather thankless undertaking. Even the major elements are still intact at best of times video games are

and executed wonderfully.

mainstream media, and deciding

However, what truly makes the

video game, especially one that

is how it uses features unique

still often not taken as seriously in to adapt a beloved work into a has already been adapted into

a highly regarded film, can lead to heavy scrutiny and derision towards the developer.

Fortunately, this didn’t deter

Yager Development when the

developer decided to take Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness and use it as the basis for the game Spec Ops: The Line. It was a

brave move, but one that paid off

game stand out from other titles to the medium of video games to slowly erode the player’s

confidence in themselves and

what they see in the game. It lets

players make seemingly important choices throughout the story, but the further the player gets the

more uncertain things around the main character become, to the

point that it’s almost impossible to say what is actually real and what is not until the very final

hugely in the end. While the game twist in the story. changes certain elements and

details, like moving the story to

2.

THE WITCHER III: WILD HUNT (BASED ON THE WITCHER SERIES BY ANDRZEJ SAPKOWSKI)

Probably the most obvious entry

the books, The Witcher III is able

people are likely familiar with

original stories and use those as a

on this list, and one that most

at least to some degree. Based on The Witcher book series by Andrzej Sapkowski, the trilogy of games made by CD Projekt

to take what it needs from the

foundation for the story it wants

to tell without being shackled by any pre-existing boundaries.

Red between 2008 and 2015

Sapkowski’s books are some of

the story from the books, with

in the last 30 years and are also

are essentially a continuation of the first game taking place two years after the novel The Lady

of the Lake, which is, at least so far, the final book in the series chronologically.

While all three games have their

fans, it’s the third one that is often considered the peak of the series, and in general one of the best

games released in recent years.

Naturally, as it’s a sequel rather

than a retelling of the story from

the best fantasy literature written among my personal favourites within the genre. Fortunately

the games have lived up to that high standard, not only staying faithful to the tone and style

of the original novels, but also

creating a gorgeous and enticing

original story around the existing characters and world. It’s without question one of the best book to video game adaptations ever.

1.

SUIKODEN II (BASED ON WATER MARGIN BY SHI NAI’AN)

I would guess that most people

on political themes and warfare.

that the entire Suikoden series

go for a fairly fantastical approach

aren’t even aware of the fact

is loosely based on a Chinese

novel called Water Margin, from

which the idea of the 108 Stars of

While most other JRPGs usually

with their stories and settings, the Suikoden series has generally felt more mature and grounded by

Destiny that runs through the core comparison. of the entire Suikoden franchise comes from. The novels tell a

In the end, Water Margin serves

(960-1279), about a group of 108

for Suikoden II, providing many of

story set during the Song dynasty outlaws that set up their own

army and fight against a corrupt government.

While the entire Suikoden series is

mostly as a thematic origin point the basic ideas running through

the center of the game’s narrative, as well as serving as the main

inspiration for the setting but not necessarily sharing characters or

at least loosely based on the novel locations with it. In fact, as far as Water Margin, the game I decided

adaptations go, the first Suikoden

of the many excellent JRPGs on

in terms of story, but Suikoden II

to pick here is Suikoden II. One

the original PlayStation, Suikoden II differentiated itself from other

games of its genre with its focus

is the closest to the original novel is the better game, so it gets to top the list.

There are of course countless other video games that have been adapted from books since the early 1970s, and there’s no way I could include all of them on a list of just ten, not to mention that I am probably not even aware of some such games even existing. So, if I happened to

miss your favourite book-based video game for one reason or another, please share it in the comments below. By Taneli Palola

INTERVIEW BY PAUL MONOPOLI

INTERVIEW:

WITH CHILDREN

The world of home-brew video games has become an explosion of ideas and concepts almost unheard of in triple A titles. Genres that have been long abandoned by developers continue to be represented by fans, bringing a variety of homages and new ideas to the table. One such game that fits into this mould is Children of the Night by Micromancers.

OF THE NIGHT A top down RPG, similar to the original Legend of Zelda games and Golden Axe Warrior has been released for the MSX. For those who are unfamiliar with it, the MSX computer line was an attempt at an industry standard back when Amstrad, Apple, Commodore and Sinclair were caught in a 4 way battle, along with all the other smaller companies. Microsoft developed the operating system for the computer line, with big names like Sony and Panasonic releasing their own versions of the hardware. Each had their own interpretations, though the core of each computer remained the same.

continuing to support the system with their home-brew efforts. With that digression out of the way, let’s have a look at Children of the Night.

The MSX computer line was huge in Japan, though the rest of the world did not appear to be as keen. Only Sony managed to break ground with their Hit Bit line of MSX computers, though only in certain territories.

Some of the world’s favourite franchises were born on the MSX, including Bomberman and Metal Gear.

Micromancers promise gorgeous music and a complex storyline in this new action RPG. Screenshots and video trailers show an absolutely gorgeous game that appears to have been developed with a lot of care and consideration. As any good video game journalist is prone to do, I flooded their inbox with a bunch of questions. Toni, from Micromancers, was a good enough to fill me in on the hows and whys of their home-brew developing process.

Despite the relative unpopularity of the line there are die hard fans who are hard at work,

The story begins with the resurrection of Count Vlad Dracul, an obvious spin in the Dracula mythos. Vlad has no idea why he was resurrected, though this just happened to occur at the same time a world-domination-desiring demon made his presence known. These 2 events must be related somehow, but it’s up to you to figure out how.

PM: Where did the idea of developing games for retro systems come from?

At first it was about fulfilling the childhood dream of

developing games for the machines I loved when I was a kid.

However, after learning about these machines the motivation

went to something different. Developing for retro computers gave me absolute control over my programs. I don’t have to

depend on external libraries or development environments.

I can build my own development environment.

The feeling of control, knowing that everything that my

program does (good or bad) is my responsibility and the challenge of fitting everything into very tight margins of

memory and CPU power are my motivation now, and that is something that cannot be done in any modern computer or console.

PM: Why develop games for the MSX and Colecovision?

MSX was the computer I had when I was a kid. So developing for MSX was the natural step. It was the machine I knew and I loved.

As for ColecoVision, I was almost unaware of its existence

until 2015, when I was asked to port Caos Begins from MSX to ColecoVision. Then I saw that the hardware was almost

identical to the MSX but the game base and the user’s interests were very different.

That is precisely what motivated me to develop for the

ColecoVision: being able to use the same skills I use to code for MSX but focusing on a very different type of user.

PM: Children of the Night is very Legend of Zelda-esque. What was the inspiration behind this title?

I love RPGs and I have always wanted to make one myself. However, I wanted to make an RPG that could take advantage of the target machine (ColecoVision and, later, MSX).

That meant that graphically I should avoid scrolling, since it is almost

impossible to achive a nice scroll for an RPG on these machines, and that I should rely mostly on hardware sprites, since they make it possible to have lots of action.

I searched different RPGs for ColecoVision and MSX. The ColecoVision

barely has any RPGs, but MSX has lots of them. And among the RPGs

for MSX I found that two of them actually had the features I was looking for: Golvellius and Bolfes (Borfesu and Five Evil Spirits).

What I didn’t like about these two games is that story seemed to be too simple. So I created a complex storyline and decided to make a game

much more story-driven. This combination is almost non existent on

the MSX and doesn’t exist at all in the ColecoVision library. It is quite an original concept for these machines.

As for Zelda, even though I like Zelda games I am not a huge fan of the franchise. So I guess that the similarities between Children of the Night and Zelda are mostly casual.

Regarding the story of Children of the Night, I have always liked

classic horror characters, especially Dracula, and I have read almost

all of Lovecraft’s stories. I really loved the differences between the two styles. Whereas Dracula is a monster on a human scale (he hates and loves humans, he thinks like a human and he depends on humans to

survive), Lovecraft stories are about powerful creatures that do not care about humans. So the idea of confronting them and making Dracula the paladin of humankind was really appealing.

PM: How much consideration goes into the

PM: Do you develop games that you would

for?

enjoy?

specs of the computer you are developing

As much as I can. I always try to make a game that fits in the target computer or console.

For example, if there is no way to perform

a decent scrolling, I will not do it. If the machine has hardware sprites I will use them over software sprites. If something cannot be achieved at 60fps I will not do it.

like to play or that you know others will

I try to develop the games I would like to play.

I think this is the only way to do good games.

PM: Apart from Multiverse are there any other titles you are working on?

Yes, but that’s a secret for now ;-)

I would like to thank Toni for the time taken to answer these questions. Information about Children of the Night and the upcoming action platformer, Multiverse, can be found at

www.micromancers.com

Interview conducted by Paul Monopoli

Evan Norris

REVIEW NS:

THIS WAR OF MINE Some games are easy to review—to characterize, label, dissect, and, ultimately, score. This War of Mine: Complete Edition, developed exclusively for Nintendo Switch and featuring all past and future content, is not one of those games. At its core, it’s a resource and people management sim, infused with some stealth action, but thematically it represents an anti-war dissertation that thrusts the civilian cost of war front and center.

Judged solely as a work of art and an open dialogue on the debilitating, dehumanizing physical, emotional, and societal effects of military conflict—particularly urban sieges—This War of Mine: Complete Edition is extraordinary, unflinching, and, arguably, worth experiencing solely for its insight into the indignities of modern warfare. Evaluated only on its mechanics, technical merits, and gameplay loops, however, it’s merely adequate.

Inspired by the 1992-1996 Siege of Sarajevo, This War of Mine: Complete Edition follows several civilian survivors pulled from a pool of 21 playable characters (12 from the base game and nine more introduced in The Little Ones DLC). Stranded in a city under

lockdown and facing persistent danger from disease, starvation, and physical violence, the survivors must make many difficult life-ordeath decisions to stay alive long enough to witness a ceasefire.

The story in This War of Mine: Complete Edition is yours to write. Yes, the developers at 11 bit studios introduce a besieged city, a ramshackle house, and a group of characters—each with his or her own backstory, skill set, and disposition—but what’s done with these pieces is completely up to you. Will you invite a beleagured traveler to stay with you, adding a new mouth to feed but at the same time another warm body to keep watch against looters, or turn

him away? Do you travel to a warehouse, rich in food and medicine but patrolled by armed bandits, or choose the path of less resistance (and less materials)? Do you spend rare resources to build a heater to keep your group warm during the winter or upgrade your work bench to gain access to new, useful tools? In a way, This War of Mine is a brilliant choose-your-own adventure game, which, along with permadeath, grants the game a roguish replayability.

You’ll probably be replaying This War of Mine a lot—if you can bear the gloomy graphics, relentlessly dour mood, and tedious micromanagement—in part because the game is so difficult and in part because of its wealth of playable characters, locations, moral choices, and accidental encounters. In fact, after your first randomized playthrough, the game allows you to choose from several starting sets of characters: the father-daughter duo of Christo and Iskra, the threesome of Bruno, Roman, and Arica, etc. Alternatively you can choose a random group or, in one of the

best features of the game, create a specific, tailor-made adventure in “My Story.” Here you can choose up to four characters with whom to start, select the number of days until ceasefire, adjust the intensity of the conflict— ”low” means neighbors often stick together, among other things, and “high” signals a much more dire situation— pick specific locations on the city map, and even modify the length and harshness of the winter.

Whether you’ll return to the game again and again to witness every possible outcome and ending hinges on your response

to its aggressively bleak atmosphere, fussy console controls, and monotonous simulation gameplay.

Basically, This War of Mine is divided into two main spheres, each conducted in 2.5D side-scrolling segments: 1) the day, a Sims-like maintenance period during which players swap among survivors, reinforce their defenses, grow and cook food, treat wounds, and in general see to the long-term survival of the group; and 2) the night, a stealth action phase where a designated survivor will scavenge for resources, sneak past soldiers, thugs, and other civilians, and sometimes

experience. Soon, however, everything devolves into busy work. By the end of your first fortnight in Pogoren—your characters’ fictional, vaguelyEastern European city—you’ll have grown tired of herding survivors, watching meters fill, and grappling with the game’s plodding pace.

engage in melee or gunbased combat. Each sphere has its own strengths and weaknesses.

The day sequences represent the weaker half of This War of Mine.

Here, during daylight hours, players will manage their human and material resources. Sick survivors must be medicated, tired

survivors must sleep, depressed children (included in The Little Ones DLC, and bundled here in the Complete Edition) must receive attention and love.

For a while, this time-based micro-management works.

Raising little Iskra’s spirits with a game of Rock, Paper, Scissors or nursing a halfdead Cveta back to life is a meaningful, rewarding

Things are far more dynamic once night falls on Pogoren.

From an overhead map of the city, players choose a particular destination, labeled with the kinds of resources (and resistance) expected.

Then it’s off to scavenge, trade, sneak, and, if you’re unscrupulous or desperate enough, rob, steal, and kill.

While these midnight missions are more engaging and less languid than daytime episodes, they suffer from some fussy console controls.

Players enter stealth simply by pressing gently on the left stick, but angle the stick ever so slightly and a slowmoving character breaks into a full sprint, alerting anyone within earshot. Maneuvering between levels, up and down stairs, and through doorways is equally finicky.

While these control issues are also present in daylight—you can’t assign a character to a job without moving him or her next to a specific station and then using the d-pad to select the desired task, thus making multitasking more difficult—at night, with survival decided in an instant, they’re especially noticeable. Essentially, this is a game that demands the precision of keyboard and mouse, stuck with imperfect analog controls.

flourish: gentle pencil stroke animation in empty background areas. Sound design, like art direction, is more utilitarian than anything, although some strategically placed noises—a distant gunshot or a child softly crying— trigger an emotional reaction. Finally, 11 bit studios’ wartime simulation performs well, minus the odd glitch, like when a pill-popping animation loops without end (shut down and restart the game to fix the problem).

This is the unfortunate reality of This War of Mine: while it’s thought-provoking, powerful, and subversive—don’t expect the kinds of binary moral decisions and war heroics typical of the medium—it’s simply not always fun to play.

This War of Mine: Complete Edition is a challenging game to approach. As an anti-war treatise it’s provocative, edifying, and demanding. It will force you into uncomfortable, unwinnable situations and make you carry the weight of your actions— good, bad, and ugly. As a game, though, it’s only intermittently fun and rewarding.

There are dozens of hours of content in this package, but much of it is depressing, dark, tedious, and clunky. In the end, This War of Mine is an important game, but not necessarily a good one.

Since this is the Complete Edition, you can expect all of the add-on content released over the past four years. That includes the aforementioned The Little Ones; War Child, which includes unique street art pieces found in different areas within Pogoren; and Father’s Promise, a DLC campaign. The first of three story-driven campaigns (the second and third will be added for free), Father’s Promise is an interesting but ineffective departure from the standard This War of Mine formula. More scripted and linear, it undermines the chooseyour-own-adventure elements that make the game unpredictable and replayable.

Graphically, This War of Mine: Complete Edition is grayish and somber-looking, which is fitting for a game with such bleak subject matter. Although mostly monochromatic, the game does feature an enjoyable graphical

By Evan Norris

6

YOUR Rex Hindrichs SAY

REVIEW PS4:

RED DEAD RE

EDEMPTION 2

Few settings have as storied and well trodden a history as the Wild West. For as many movies, dime novels, and folk legends as it has generated over the years, there are relatively few games on the subject - let alone ones that do the era justice. The greatest contribution for some time has arguably been 2010’s Red Dead Redemption. Atmospheric, ambitious, and distinct, the waves it sent through the industry are still felt to this day. 8 years later, Rockstar Games has returned to the franchise to define the Western for the next console generation.

What proceeds is an incredible production that can buckle under its own weight.

Set at the turn of the 20th century, Red Dead Redemption 2 is a prequel chronicling the exploits of the Dutch Van der Linde gang. While the previous game’s protagonist is present, this time you wear the boots of Dutch’s grizzled and intimidating right hand man, Arthur Morgan.

The West is not as wild as it once was and the heyday of the outlaw is coming to an end. With the law hot on their trail, can the gang pull off a big enough score to retire before they’re caught or killed?

In classic Rockstar fashion, a massive sandbox is at your disposal to ride, punch, shoot, rob, hunt, and explore to your heart’s content.

There’s an arsenal of weapons and equipment to unlock, towns full of shops to purvey and people to interact with, an entire ecosystem of wildlife to appreciate and slaughter, diverse elements and geography to navigate, and scores of story missions, side missions, challenges, and secrets to tackle. The wealth

of substantial content on offer is staggering.

What would be afterthoughts in other games are fully realized here and you could easily spend over a hundred hours in a single playthrough.

For the scope of this game, the level of detail is second to none. Unfortunately this is one of the game’s double edged swords. Your weapons can be inspected, customized, and

upgraded, but maintaining and managing them can be a time consuming chore.

Your horse can be similarly developed, customized, and bonded with, but more realistic limitations like summon ranges and permadeath can be a pain. The physical and nuanced animations are impressive, but can make the simple act of exploring a house harder than it needs to be.

Survival elements like health, stamina, and

temperature become yet more meters to monitor and fuss over. There are a hundred little details like these that, depending on your tastes, can immerse you that much deeper or just get in the way of the fun.

The game’s scope also inevitably results in a lack of polish in certain systems and design elements. The gunplay feels great when you’re blowing people away with a shotgun or nailing a long string of slow motion kills, but it still relies too heavily on an unengaging lock on system, and the cover system to go with it is stiff and problematic. Character and creature AI can create convincing moments

or potentially fatal mishaps that you never intended. Glitches and bugs may cause you to lose progress or have to restart missions.

The witness and bounty systems can feel broken and playing a black hatted scoundrel may be more trouble than it’s worth. These annoyances are easy to forgive in isolation, but when combined can create significant frustration.

While its gameplay can be inconsistent, Red Dead Redemption 2 absolutely nails its setting.

Lush plains, dense forests, majestic mountains, teeming wildlife, towns of all speeds, people ordinary and strange, gorgeous lighting, subtle yet brilliant soundscapes, it all melds into the most comprehensive and convincing image of the mythical West the industry has seen yet - and by quite a wide margin. For all there is to see and do, the atmosphere of the place calls you to slow down, take your time, and soak it all in. It’s no accident we call these stories Westerns rather than cowboy games or anything else; the land is as much a character as any other.

Speaking of characters, your gang is one of the true joys of this adventure. The motley crew you ride, camp, protect, and scheme with make for some of the most human companions ever put in a game. Talkative missions help you get to know each member better, but where they really come alive are in the humble moments back at camp. Quiet

conversations, fireside music, drinking and games, working, sleeping, bickering, it all contributes to a sense of community you rarely find in other games and makes you care about your crew. The quality of the writing only takes this further. Rockstar has taken its storytelling to the next level with a mature and poetic tale full of development and drama. I can only hope it carries on into future works.

Red Dead Redemption 2 is a gargantuan affair that can get a bit too swept up in its own grandeur. The Wild West has never felt more alive or immersive, but trimming some of the fat and spending that indulgence on the game’s weaker spots instead could have made it an even better experience for the player. In any case, landmark titles like this don’t come around often. This exceptional value should not be missed.

By Rex Hindrichs

8

Paul Broussard

REVIEW PS4:

FALLOUT 76 As Bethesda’s attempt to bring multiplayer into one of its famous open world RPG series, Fallout 76 initially appeared to be an enigma. There was certainly potential for online interaction in an RPG, but questions immediately surrounded whether it could work and how well the core Fallout experience would make the transition.

Unfortunately, the answer to those two

questions were a definitive “no” and “not well at all.” Ironically, despite Bethesda designing the game with the intention of making it a more lively experience, Fallout 76 is one of the most lifeless games the company has ever produced.

YOUR SAY

The story of Fallout 76 opens somewhat similarly to Fallout 3 or 4 in that you create your character, awaken in a bunker, and have to set out to explore the wasteland. The major difference is that, while 3 and 4 both fleshed your character’s past out a bit and gave them some tangible motivation to go exploring, 76 just opens the vault door at the start and assumes that the prospect of wandering around another post-apocalyptic landscape will be incentive enough.

There’s no world building, no prologue, no backstory; just a quick cinematic of some guy in a suit talking about how cool vaults are before you’re tossed into the character creation screen and then shoved out the door.

Perhaps this could have been abated had the world been interesting to explore, but 76’s has easily the blandest and least interesting world out of any of the 3D Fallout games.

Despite being relatively colorful, especially compared to Fallout 3 or New Vegas, the world feels utterly lifeless and devoid of any charm. Much of this is due to the fact that NPC characters are virtually non-existent; the only “characters” that you’ll get to interact with in a way that doesn’t involve killing them are robots who give you quests in the blandest way possible.

It makes the world feel empty and pointless, which one could argue is the point of a post apocalyptic landscape, but previous Fallout games have managed to make the world feel largely deserted and hopeless while still providing interesting and quirky characters to interact with. That’s largely been their charm, and much of the reason to get invested in them.

I suspect that this concession was made to help the multiplayer aspect run smoothly, as the engine in past 3D Fallout games had a notorious amount of trouble handling NPCs even without a bunch of people on

the same server trying their hardest to break the game. But this simply was not a worthwhile concession, as without the various warring factions, dialogue trees, and quirky characters, Fallout is little more than just another first person shooter with survival elements.

Nearly all quests are now just boring fetch quests where either a pre-recorded tape or a robot tells you to either obtain some piece of paper or check in on some person that’s gone missing, which almost always results in trudging across the map for 15 or so minutes, finding either paper or a corpse

depending on which type of quest it is, and then trudging all the way back to deliver the paper or the news. Again, the lack of characters torpedoes the fun factor, as one of the biggest incentives for performing quests in the past was to help further a relationship with an NPC, and that is entirely lacking when the most of a response you’ll get is a robotic “congratulations!”

Combat remains mostly unchanged, albeit with a bit more of an emphasis on the “survival” side of things. The need to eat and drink from New Vegas’ hardcore mode returns, although food and drink are both

so plentiful that you’ll almost never be in danger of running low. There’s a bigger focus on crafting weapons as well, which can be kind of interesting initially, but melee weapons all handle very similarly and it just feels like a chore after a while. Shooting is pretty much exactly the same as before; still serviceable and certainly preferable to the clunky melee combat, but never feeling totally right.

The only way to make this game moderately worth your time is playing with other players (preferably friends). To Bethesda’s credit, the actual multiplayer component is implemented pretty smoothly. When you join a game, you’ll be inserted into a random world with players already in it that you can ignore, join up with, or attack depending on what you feel like. The number of players in a world is pretty well balanced as well; I never really felt like I was swarmed by other players, but there was never a session where I didn’t at least encounter a couple too.

The sheer gulf in levels can make finding ones worth teaming up with something of a challenge, however, and the lack of local multiplayer is a real missed opportunity for a game all about working with other players.

While multiplayer can certainly alleviate some of the boredom that this game would otherwise bring, even at its best Fallout 76 just doesn’t feel like a Fallout title. Oddly enough, enemies appear to still be balanced around a single player experience, which means that any time you’re with a group of other players everything just gets blasted into oblivion before a fight can really even begin.

Trying to go on quests with other players (especially strangers) is just an exercise in annoyance, as people will inevitably get sidetracked and wind up either abandoning you or forcing you to wait for them. This problem is admittedly largely mediated when you’re playing with friends and not random

wacky internet strangers, but even then quests aren’t engaging or fun, and whatever enjoyment exists usually comes from running into some poor soul along the way and killing them just to extract some enjoyment via schadenfreude.

The one positive I can give the game is that I personally experienced fewer bugs and technical problems than in previous Fallout games. But that hardly feels like an accomplishment given that many bugs tend to come from friendly NPC interactions, and since the game has virtually no friendly NPCs at all it’s probably to be expected that the number of problems on that front would be cut down.

Perhaps the best way to summarize Fallout 76 would be with a quote from a tape found early in the game: “There used to be people here... but now there’s no one.” Fallout 76 feels like Bethesda made a Fallout title, and then proceeded to take everything unique about the series out in favor of conceding to multiplayer. The series that I once loved is in here somewhere, but it’s been buried underneath a pile of annoyances, frustrations, and concessions made to make multiplayer possible.

By Paul Broussard

4

Jackson Newsome

REVIEW ps4:)

SPYRO REIGNITEd TRILOGY The Spyro Reignited Trilogy is a remaster

short, controlling Spyro feels a little less stiff

collection includes the first three titles of the

variations of these mechanics, such as timed

in only the loosest sense of the word. This

eponymous dragon’s series, each one rebuilt

these days. Occasionally, players encounter

challenge runs or brief segments as a different

and bolstered by Unreal Engine 4. While 2017’s character, but the formula is consistent.

Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy established a new standard for remastering classic

Complete enough brief levels and collect

higher with this release.

This approach is successful thanks to the

platformers, Toys for Bob raised the bar even

For the uninitiated, the gameplay is

straightforward. Collect gems, jump and

glide around mostly linear levels, and defeat enemies along the way. Combat generally consists of two attack modes: charging or incinerating foes. These gameplay

mechanics are all made easier with the modern availability of analog sticks. In

enough items to move on to the next world. trilogy’s diverse settings and characters, as well as its steady increase in complexity.

While enemies sometimes run from Spyro in

the early levels of the games, they hold their ground and pose a more serious threat as

you progress. It’s certainly a much easier ride

than the early Crash Bandicoot titles, but there is sufficient challenge to stifle most gamers’ boredom.

The first title in the trilogy, fittingly titled

addition to other trilogy-wide enhancements,

remaster treatment. Despite being a fine

option to listen to a remastered version of

Spyro the Dragon, benefits most from the game in its original form, its more basic

visual presentation and gameplay aged more

rapidly than the sequels that followed. In fact, Toys for Bob redesigned some of the NPC

designs to diversify the original title’s similarlooking character models. This work was in

including updated voiceover work and the

the soundtracks. Overall, the sequels, Ripto’s Rage and Year of the Dragon, were already

refined expansions of Spyro’s first adventure,

and were must-play original PlayStation titles.

They shine even brighter in this collection.

It’s difficult to find fault in the core elements

I would be remiss to ignore fan backlash

– for better or worse. Platformers of this era

shortcuts. It is disappointing that the

of the remasters; the trilogy remains intact

were often frustratingly limited in scope due to hardware and technical limitations. I can

imagine modern gamers feeling disappointed as they frequently encounter invisible walls and quickly reach the edge of the games’

small levels. In revisiting these games as an adult with limited free time, I truly valued

that I could complete several levels within

an hour. Its pick-up-and-play nature works

to its benefit, and it’s easy to imagine a port to the Nintendo Switch, but I’m reluctant to raise my hopes on that front because this

collection is wider in scope and boasts more

impressive graphics and level design than the Crash remasters. Visually, the Spyro Reignited Trilogy can pass as a current generation title.

following the collection’s development development team did not prioritize

accessibility and add subtitles to the

cutscenes. Similarly, I understand fans’

frustrations with the physical release, where the full collection is unavailable to play without downloading large

updates. However, neither of

these issues change the high quality of this production or diminished the fun I had in playing these blasts from the past. I recommend the collection without reservation despite these omissions.

Titling the collection as

Although gamers are right to

game is just as enjoyable, if

physical release and limited

“Reignited” is apt, for each

not more so, than at the time of their original releases. It

was wise to steer away from

marketing the collection as a remaster because that label

undercuts the developers’ level of dedication and investment in revitalizing these games.

In fact, I have never played a remaster of this caliber. Toys

be frustrated by the bungled accessibility options, fans of

the series and newcomers alike will find something to love in

Spyro’s first adventures. Spyro Reignited Trilogy is a tour of

some of the platforming genre’s most important history and

hopefully a sign of things to come.

for Bob accomplished a tough

Welcome back, Spyro.

past while updating the trilogy

balancing act of honoring the for modern audiences.

8

By Jackson Newsome

YOUR BEN DYE SAY

REVIEW NS:

SUPER MARIO P

PARTY Sometimes, it takes a dozen or so attempts to get something right.

Other times, you may get something right early on, but whenever you try to repeat it each subsequent attempt is worse than the one before... until, perhaps, finally, you get it right again.

Such is the case with Super Mario Party, which in my view is the most enjoyable Mario Party experience since Mario Party 3.

Focusing on returning to what used to work, or as Norman Osborn from Spider-Man would say, “back to formula�, Super Mario Party ditches the features that plagued more recent entries in the long-running series and instead introduces new boards and, best of all of course, a whole slew of new mini-games.

Many of these mini-games make use of

in Super Smash Bros. Melee were

but with the advantage that the Joy-Cons

beat the tar out of them, but I digress.

similar control functions to the Wii era,

are much more comfortable and easy-to-

superior to level 9 characters and would

use, especially when compared to a bulky

Some of the 80 or so mini-games are

I played without the attachment pieces

being ones like the sizzling steaks mini-

Wii MotionPlus controller. My wife and (because we couldn’t find ours), which

made things a little challenging at times,

but we’ve gotten used to playing like this since the Snipperclips days.

If you haven’t used the Joy-Cons in

this manner before, then you’ll quickly need to adapt because, somewhat

controversially, you’re forced to use the

naturally better than others, my favorite game, where you flip over meat you’re

cooking with the Joy-Cons. I also really

enjoyed ‘stake your claim’, which requires quick and instant decision making to

determine which shapes are the biggest, followed by the hilarious and sudden

realization of impending doom if you pick the wrong one.

Joy-Cons in Super Mario Party. After

Visually it’s the best looking Mario Party

some of the mini-games are brilliantly

Nintendo’s continues to demonstrate

a while it becomes clear why this is -

innovative and require you to make full use of the motion controls; something

that would prove challenging to replicate with a regular control scheme.

Interestingly the development team

game to-date, as one would expect, and its excellence here. A strong art style is

supported by a servicable soundtrack -

it’s not on the same level as, say, Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, but it’s enjoyable enough.

decided to divide the computer-

In terms of game modes Super Mario

difficulty categories, so now certain

‘River Survival’, and some others that

controlled characters into different

characters are innately better at the

game than others. Personally I wasn’t too bothered by this but if you were

hoping to play against certain characters at a customisable difficulty level then

you’re out of luck. As an aside, I’m still

convinced that certain level 7 characters

Party sports ‘Mario Party’, ‘Partner Party’, I don’t wish to spoil because they’re enjoyable to discover of your own

accord. Of the ones I have listed the first

two should be pretty self-explanatory for any Mario Party veterans, while the third

introduces a fun cooperative way to play.

Mario Party is nothing if not all about

become repetitive. But the one thing

together, and the mini-games in this

system. If you land on certain spaces

friends and family having a good laugh entry do produce some good chuckles in my experience. Practice rounds

continue to be provided prior to each mini-game, which makes the learning curve nice and easy, supplementing the pick-up-and-play nature of the

game, and each person has to sign off when they feel they’re ready.

When it comes to online - or ‘Online

Mariothon’ as it’s called - Super Mario

Party is also a blast. You play a handful

that does mix things up is the partner you can collect a partner, which allows you to roll a different type of dice (a

mixture of risk/reward), and also adds

to the amount of your total roll. These partners will also help increase the

odds of your winning the mini-games.

On the whole it’s a fun inclusion - one that adds a certain amount of sheer, dumb luck that can be oh so useful when trying to win any Mario Party match.

of rotating mini-games with three

Nintendo did make some questionable

(think Mario Kart). You also receive

Party, but none of these quibbles

other players and compete for a cup stickers and trophies (bronze, silver, and gold), which you can collect,

as well as some other goodies like leaderboards and statistics, which

incentivise you to keep playing the game over the longer term. I did

encounter some occasional lag though, which hampered the online experience (especially the mini-game where you have to dodge the fuzzies).

Elsewhere little has been changed - the items and board functions are overly familiar, and the latter tend to be let

down in general by being on the small side and not being terribly eventful.

There also aren’t that many boards to begin with, so they can quickly

decisions in designing Super Mario

detract too much from the fact that the mini-games themselves are incredibly fun (and, yes, often funny) to play.

Online features and new game modes

help to round out a very weighty minigame collection that could’ve been

even better with just a little extra vision and effort on Nintendo’s part. In a way, Super Mario Party is like comfort food on a cold rainy Friday; it may not be

as exciting as going out to eat but it’s sometimes just what you’re really in the mood for.

By Ben Dye

7

VG CHARTS REVIEW

REVIEW NS:

LEGO HARRY POTT The LEGO series has adapted a lot of

gen systems saw two LEGO HP titles, which

Indiana Jones, Jurassic Park—but perhaps

remastered on PS4, and finally ported to

popular intellectual properties—Star Wars, none makes more sense with the series’

gameplay conceits than Harry Potter (HP).

After all, levitation and transfiguration, the staples of most LEGO games, are standard

spells in the wizarding world of Harry Potter.

So, it makes perfect sense that seventh-

were subsequently bundled together and

Xbox One and Switch. Overall, the bundle

is a treat for the Potter faithful, although its

family-friendly accessibility might turn some

muggle heads—as long as they don’t expect gameplay that’s deep or demanding.

TER COLLECTION The HP Collection is split into its two original

demands of young adulthood and the rise of

menu. The first details the events of wizard-

both his personal journey and the peaceful

games, each available from a launcher

in-training Harry Potter, from age 11-14,

as he discovers his magic roots and starts sorcery lessons at Hogwarts, a boarding

school for magic-users. The second game deals with Harry aged 15-17, when the

a malevolent dark wizard threaten to derail

landscape of the wizarding world in general.

As with many of its LEGO games,

of London, or a combination of the

magical tales in a series of funny,

find Harry and best friends Ron and

developer TT Games captures these flippant cut-scenes. Filled with in-

jokes and sight gags, they’re a lot of fun. They’re also loyal to the source material—in this case the Warner

Bros. movies, not the original novels.

two. Individual chapters typically

Hermione learning spells, blasting

bad guys, and transforming piles of loose LEGO bricks into something useful.

While this works well for players

The general gameplay works well

seventh book was divided into two

players and families—but falls on

who’ve watched all eight movies (the film installments, for those living

under a rock since 2010), it’s counterproductive for those unaware of the main characters and minutiae of

Harry Potter, Hogwarts, et al. Since

the cut-scenes are wordless and bank on storyboards from the movies,

the uninitiated will struggle to keep

up. As a result, this collection is best consumed after watching the Harry Potter film canon.

Both Harry Potter: Years 1-4 and

Years 5-7 feature the same tried-

and-true, fool-proof LEGO gameplay: action-platforming, button-mashing combat, and light puzzle-solving.

Each year at Hogwarts comes with

its own sub-game, with six chapters united by a hub world—the interior

and grounds of Hogwarts, the streets

enough—particularly for younger the shallow and simple side. Take the mechanics of Wingardium

Leviosa, the most prominent spell in the game, for example. Harry

or whichever playable character is controlled at the time will spot an

item bathed in a purple glow. He’ll

cycle through a spell wheel to pick

Wingardium Leviosa, then hold down the A button, and the spell takes the

purple item and moves or transforms it accordingly. A pile of sticks

becomes a bridge, a barrel is turned upside down, etc. It’s simple and

effective, but not terribly challenging or rewarding. Often gameplay in the

Harry Potter Collection boils down to standing in the right place, selecting the right spell, and pressing A.

Now, of course, there are exceptions. Some puzzles require some outside-the-box

thinking and a few boss fights test your

behind-the-back on-rails flying sequence at the onset of year five.

dexterity and timing. A year three mini-boss

These sequences, and everything else in the

Draco Malfoy, where Harry and Hermione

co-op (again, great for families). While this

fight against Harry’s Hogwarts nemesis

must launch snowballs back at the sneering student, is especially good. There are also a

handful of stages that break up the standard action-platforming bits, including a car

escape toward the end of year two and a

game, are playable with two people in local disrupts the traditional narrative—Harry

should face the dragon from the Triwizard tournament alone, not with Hermione, for

example—it makes the puzzle-solving and spell-casting a lot more fun. Be warned,

however: the HP Collection uses a diagonal

Apart from its wealth of content—in

partners stray too far from another, resulting

of characters the compilation includes

split-screen set-up when the two co-op

in some visual disorientation (WiiU, with its

second screen, remains the best way to play local LEGO games).

When not adventuring through adolescence or avoiding the apocalypse, Harry and

friends can retire to the Leaky Cauldron, a

tavern from which players can view videos,

replay individual chapters—necessary to find all unlockable characters, collect all tokens, and achieve 100 percent completion—and

addition to dozens of levels and hundreds two DLC packs with new spells and new characters like Godric Gryffindor, Helga

Hufflepuff, Peeves, Rowena Ravenclaw and

Salazar Slytherin—the HP Collection offers

enhanced graphics, environments, lighting, and visual effects. While these aren’t a

quantum leap over the older HD console versions of Years 1-4 and 5-7, they’re

certainly an improvement—particularly

compared to the Wii, DS, and PSP variants.

access Diagon Alley. In the alley, there are

With a friendly approach to gaming, a warm

(not essential to beating the game), cheats,

Collection is a good investment for younger

several shops that sell new characters, spells and other items. At the back of Diagon Alley is the goblin bank of Gringotts, which hosts

several bonus stages and a neat level editor mode. The HP Collection isn’t wanting for content or replay value, that’s for sure.

sense of humor, and lots of content, the HP

and/or less accomplished gamers, or anyone who loves the Harry Potter IP. Shallow,

undemanding gameplay will make it less attractive to experienced players.

By Evan Norris

6

Patrick Day-Childs

REVIEW XONE:

LEGO DC SUPER Traveller’s Tales has always managed to

you have a huge amount to fiddle with

games, to one extent or another, but with

the game with my young son and he

squeeze something fresh into its LEGO

LEGO DC Super-Villains I feel like this is

the first time that the developer has really pushed the boat out in recent years.

LEGO DC Super-Villains stands as a

from the get-go. I had the joy of playing particularly enjoyed the customisation

options, placing Parademon wings on his LEGO character “to make him look like grandad”.

testament to what Traveller’s Tales can

Referred to as the ‘rookie’, you embark on

these franchised titles. With an interesting

to break out of prison. Your super power,

accomplish when it pours a little love into

story, a wide array of characters, and some highly varied settings to explore, this is truly one of the strongest LEGO games

I’ve played – and I’ve played a lot of LEGO games.

It opens with a new villain - one that

you create. On top of the usual array of customisation options you’re also able

to give your villain different powers and

have the ability to change how each power

looks. These customisation options expand as you progress through the game, but

a quest with some other ne’er-do-wells as it turns out, is the ability to absorb

other super powers (where have I seen that before?), making you one bad-ass menace. After a short crime spree the

Justice League show up to ruin your fun, but they’re zapped away by the Justice

Syndicate, an evil version of the Justice

League from an alternate universe. It turns out that the latter are actually worse for

our rag-tag squad of villains and so you find yourselves chasing after the actual heroes to try and save them.

R-VILLANS

There are several twists and turns

Traveller’s Tales really managed to

real surprises, and the level of writing

personality and key features, with the

throughout the story that came as

is impressive, especially considering that the game is aimed to a young audience.

The narrative takes you across

several varied locations - some dark and dingy, others full of life and

energy - and it’s a genuine pleasure to explore each level. In terms of

freeroam, the world is divided up into several sections, with the two major

areas being Metropolis and Gotham.

capture each cities’ own individual

former being a light, vibrant city and

the latter being a dark, miserable one.

Locations such as Smallville can be

around like a marble and using gravity

side missions that require the use of

more complex as you advance, with for

found too, and there are a bunch of

lots of different villains, and plenty of light puzzles to keep you distracted.

The races also make a return,

to reach your objective. These become

example the introduction of ropes that

you need to jump between, but to such an extent that it can feel a bit tedious.

along with a massive array of

A lack of QA sometimes rears its head;

see the likes of Red Hood’s

which forced me to restart from previous

vehicles. DC fans will smile to motorbike pop up. One final

thing that stood out to me in

this title is that in multiplayer you can both set separate

waypoints, allowing friends to

I came across several glitches, some of

checkpoints because characters became permanently stuck. But on the whole

LEGO DC Super-Villains is a fun, polished gameplay experience.

head about doing their own

With over 150 characters to play through,

thing during free roam. In terms of new

20 levels to work your way through, LEGO

gameplay elements, some characters

can now call on henchmen to help them reach otherwise unattainable places,

and there’s a tepid attempt to evolve the series’ platforming elements with the

introduction of moving platforms and

200 gold bricks to collect, and a total of DC Super-Villains offers a huge amount

of bang for its buck. If you’re a LEGO fan, or looking for that game to bond with

your kids over this half term, then LEGO DC Super-Villains is ideal.

more challenging sequences, but on the

whole it felt like Traveller’s Tales was too shy to really advance the formula.

By Patrick Day-Childs

Other gameplay additions include mazes, where you use the shoulder buttons to spin a board, moving your character

7

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