MAY 2013
THE LIFE OF GAMING
Cheats
SSX, Batman: Arkham City
REVIEWS
Uncharted: Golden Abyss Escape Plan Mod Racers Nation: Road Trip
FARCRY 3 LIVE TOGETHER, DIE ALONE
$ 6.99 Issue 104
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MAY 2012
ISSUE 104
Contents 46
37
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Departments 9 | Feedback
Readers will discuss the demise of Star Wars Galaxies, video game franchises that are past their prime and our controversial Top 50 Games of 2011.
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13 | Connect
This month in Connect, the talented writers at Marvel sound off on how video games impact comics, Soldier, and more.
Features
15
Super Mario Bros: 25 Mario facts for the 25th anniversary
26 37 46 58
Exploring the Assassin’s Creed III Universe Ghost Recon: Future Soldier Weapon inspiration An inside look at Far Cry 3 Diablo III: Twelve years in the making
63 | Previews
This month we look at Far Cry 3, Diablo 3, Assassin’s Creed 3, Ghost Recon: Future Soldier and more.
76 | Reviews
The PlayStation Vita comes with a blowout of game reviews. Uncharted: Golden Abyss, Escape Plan, and ModNation Racers: Road Trip.
102 | Cheats
This month we’ve got cheats for: Uncharted 3 : Drake’s Deception, Gears of War 3, SSX and more.
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TOGET
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DIE A
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ALONE
T
he refrain might sound familiar. It was uttered time and time again in the TV series Lost, whenever the survivors of Oceanic 815 found themselves in peril. This becomes a rule of survival throughout the campaign and the sentiment rings true for another set of tropical castaways: the players of Far Cry 3’s multiplayer.
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bisoft’s latest installment of the exotic first-
importantly, the gameplay has a different feel to it –
person shooter attempts to stand out from
your character is a little more athletic, and the ability to
its peers by encouraging players to work as a
slide opens up interesting ways of traversing the smartly
team. Battle Cry is a brand new mechanic that
designed maps.
incentivizes working closely with the other members of your squad. Simultaneously click the analogue sticks, and
A nice touch is the introduction of the recently unveiled
your ‘Battle Cry’ will ring out, conferring a perk – such
‘Psyche Gas’ into the game’s multiplayer. Rack up
as a minor health boost – to all of the teammates within
enough points through kills and teamwork and you’ll be
earshot. It doesn’t punish lone wolves – you can still strike out into the distance with only a sniper rifle for company, if that’s your thing – but those who choose to fight together will receive a slight advantage. Domination has a typical FPS set-up: dotted around the map
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there’s a vibrancy that’s every bit equal to the game’s violence
able to drop a vial of psyche gas over a quadrant of the map. If you’re unfortunate enough to receive a lungful of the hallucinogenic gas, you’re perception of reality will be warped; the environment takes on a sickly yellow hue and all other players, friend and foe alike, are transformed into diabolical black silhouettes with glowing eyes. And
are three locations to capture, protect, and conquer.
to make things slightly more dangerous, friendly fire is
Holding locations accumulates points.Yes, it’s familiar,
momentarily activated – you have no idea who you’re
but Far Cry does enough to keep things fresh. Firstly,
shooting at, unless they attack first. Altering perception
Far Cry is visually more interesting than your annual
and the look of the game acts as a nice palette cleanser,
military shooter: from the clear tropical waters to the
and is far more creative than having a slightly bigger
crumbling temples strangled by vines, there’s a vibrancy
explosive as the second increment on the kill-streak.
that’s every bit equal to the game’s violence. But more
The second multiplayer mode shown off, entitled Fire-
storm, really showcased what Far Cry 3 is trying to do with multiplayer. The distinctive mode has several different stages to it, but it begins with two teams positioned at opposite sides of the map. Both have two ‘nodes’ each, containing canisters of fuel. Successfully reach one
MULTIPLAYER SPECIFICATIONS
of theopposition’s nodes and you’ll be asked to hold down a button, kick-starting an animation in which your character pierces one of the drums, dousing the enemy’s territory with gasoline and callously sets it on fire. Of course, while playing arsonist you’re a sitting duck,
Platforms Xbox 360 Playstation 3
and one well-placed bullet will halt the devious act. But if you successfully ignite one node, all your focus must
Game Modes
switch to the second stash of fuel.You’ll have a limited amount of time to set fire to the remaining canisters
Domination
before the first fire is extinguished, and the game ef-
Team Deathmatch
fectively resets. But to make matters more complicated, the fire will rage through a section of the level,
Free-for-all
dynamically changing the map – cherished camping
Capture the Flag
points will be engulfed in flames and gameplay will
Firestorm
become more compressed.
Assault If you can navigate the flaming landscape and set alight the second node, you’ll initiate an endgame. A radio will
be activated in the middle of the map. If the dominant
coordinated play – if you heedlessly storm into the centre of the map, you’re likely to
team can capture it first, they can call in a plane to drop
be picked off. Multiple strategies open up – you can rig the area with explosives and
gallons of gasoline onto the enemy’s territory, reducing
let the enemy make the first move, or one of your team can try to seize the radio
them to ash. But if the beleaguered team can retrieve
while others position themselves in smart sniping locations.
the radio, they can call in a plane to drop water and extinguish the flames; essentially, it’s a ‘comeback’
Whatever you choose to do, it pays to stick together. Far Cry 3 is trying to make
mechanism, and the game will start again from square
online multiplayer feel less isolating and less alienating. In so many shooters you’re
one with all nodes restored.
side-by-side at the beginning of a match but soon everyone scatters and it quickly feels like you’re playing alone – fighting your own battle. Far Cry 3 attempts to
It might sound a little convoluted but it’s a lot of fun,
change that, to alter the attitude of its players, through subtle gameplay mechanics,
and having several stages to the mode allows frequent
like ‘The Battle Cry’, and some interesting multiplayer modes, such as Firestorm. But
changes in the balance of power. When the end game is
it’s difficult to say whether this will be enough to overcome the deeply-entrenched
initiated, and the radio is activated, it pays not to rush
and sometimes antisocial habits of FPS fans.
in. Again, it’s an example of Far Cry 3 encouraging well 49