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Battlefield 1 | Xbox One

30/10/2016

 
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There comes a time for many games where committing to it is essential to enjoy yourself. Sometimes the premise and presentation is so ridiculous that you feel like you’ll never be able to take it seriously - and, in some cases, games are just games and should be treated as such - whereas in others there’s such a push for photorealistic graphics and a compelling story that calling it ‘just a game’ feels like a disservice.

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 by
James
Michael
​Parry

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@James_Parry

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Developer: DICE
Publisher: EA
Platforms: Xbox One, PS4, PC
Players: 1 - 64
With Battlefield 1, developers DICE (and, to a fair extent, publishers EA) had a lot to prove. Coming off a disastrous launch to Battlefield 4 and a lukewarm reception to spin-off Battlefield Hardline, they really needed to knock it out of the park with this game. This is where expectations become important - if you go into this iteration of Battlefield expecting more of the same, you might be disappointed, and if you go in expecting something different, you may also be disappointed.

Last year’s
Battlefront suffered by having a more arcade-style of presentation than many players were expecting, with less depth, customisation and tactics than players were used to, and, by the time the more exciting DLC came along, some had already moved on. If you’ve been playing Battlefront up until now, the setting will bring you crashing back to Earth. Weapons feel deliberate and physical, as if they are putting in a lot of effort to squeeze off each round; unlike the blasters you’ve been leaping around with.

Even if you’ve come from the more relatable era of
Battlefield 4, there’s lots you’ll feel is missing, purely because lots of things didn’t exist in the time period of World War 1. Complex sights and add-ons are things of the future, and even go-to gadgets such as RPGs are beyond reach, forcing you to quickly unlearn your tried-and-tested strategies for taking on enemies.

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At times in previous titles it’s felt like a bit of fun to have a tank or jeep at your disposal, here most vehicles - especially the epic-scale behemoths which are the game’s standout feature - can significantly turn the tide of a battle. Sitting in a tank you really feel like an unstoppable death machine.
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That’s not to say it’s unbalanced, tanks still explode left and right during matches, but with so many less tools to take them out it becomes a more substantial contrast being on foot to being mobile. There’s attention to detail throughout the game, particularly visually, but the awkward control of these early tanks is faithfully representative, as is the more clumsy and temperamental nature of weapons.

The single-player campaign (War Stories) feels more like series of skirmishes than a cohesive story, deliberately following the stories of five very separate soldiers as they battle on their various fronts. From the word go the game hits home hard the helpless feeling of this war, making it no surprise that many stories don’t have a happy ending.

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Characters get up to five episodes, with each section a fairly short mission, to make an emotional impact and it can be a bit hit and miss. You almost wish that we’d spent more time with a couple fewer characters so that we really cared about them at the end of their story. The full geographical variety of The Great War is captured, emphasising just how many fronts armies were fighting on, and offering different terrain.

​The opening prologue section throws you into the horror, as a voice over tells tales of the sacrifices and loss of life, making a harrowing impact and steering clear of any accusation of glorifying war at the same time. Soldiers’ names and years appear hauntingly at the top of the screen whenever you’re killed, making death feel all the more permanent - a touch, sadly, not carried over to the multiplayer.
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The opening prologue section throws you into the horror, as a voiceover tells tales of the sacrifices and loss of life, making a harrowing impact and steering clear of any accusation of glorifying war at the same time. Soldiers’ names and years appear hauntingly at the top of the screen whenever you’re killed, making death feel all the more permanent - a touch, sadly, not carried over to the multiplayer.
Gameplay is the aspect which does feel the most familiar, with your soldier slinging grenades and reloading their weapon with ease, but traversing some of the levels is more awkward than others, thanks to tricky foliage or destroyed walls with odd-angles. We only encountered a handful of invisible walls, though the signature ‘Return to the Battlefield’ returned numerous times as we tried to outflank enemies, who are generally shockingly oblivious to their friends being stabbed with a shovel mere metres in front of them.
In multiplayer there’s a new mode - Operations - to really play on the series’ love of scale. It’s a showcase for destruction, in which DICE continue to raise the standard, and frantic mayhem as 64 players hurl themselves across vast war-torn areas.
There’s plenty of other modes to indulge in, including the classic Conquest and Rush modes and the part quirky; part contrived War Pigeons mode, which sees teams fight for control of...pigeons. Unfortunately, much like in Battlefront, the gametypes don’t serve to mix up the gameplay all that much. Expect to die many many times in almost every match.
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The lack of variety doesn’t end there either. Despite the campaign finally embracing elements which make Battlefield Battlefield, such as controlling points and using vehicles, many missions still boil down to sneaking around an area, hoping you don’t get discovered, and then getting to another area and holding off enemies until something happens. For example, the best War Story is probably Through Mud and Blood, which puts you in the shoes of a tank driver, but more often than not you’re asked to scout ahead on foot.
In the end, Battlefield 1 is a game which ticks all the right boxes, but it all feels quite safe (as the bullets whip past your ears…). The team made a fantastic decision to return to the past, but arguably didn’t make the most of it, besides extremely faithfully recreating the era.
Whether it’s a must buy or a wait and see (there’s 16 more maps and lots of other content promised as DLC), depends if you have friends to play with. Sadly, the reality of modern gaming is that effective teamwork is rare between people who could potentially communicate but don’t, meaning most tactical maneuvers happen by chance as players happen upon the same area at once, rather than deliberate plans of attack.
While there are problems, there’s no denying that DICE are masters of creating a convincing setting, and there’s plenty to do within it, providing you are happy to embrace the game as is, rather than what it could have been.
Pros

  • Visuals are stunning and cinematics are surprisingly compelling
  • New ideas like behemoths inject unprecedented scale into multiplayer
  • Absolutely looks and feels like you’re there, complete with all the hopelessness that goes with it

Cons

  • Scattered single player lacks focus and depth
  • Plenty of game modes but little variety
  • ​Modern comforts are sorely missed

8/10
0 Comments

Gears of War 4 | Xbox One

27/10/2016

 
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When Microsoft purchased the Gears of War franchise back in 2014 and announced that The Coalition would be given the task of taking the series forward, the pressure was on to match the already high standard set by Epic Games’ previous four titles – yes, Judgment does count.

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by
​Liam
Andrews

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@pass_controller

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Developer: The Coalition
Publisher: Microsoft
Platforms: Xbox One, Windows 10 PC
Players: 1 - 10

Luckily, The Coalition - along with Gears veteran Rod Fergusson at the helm - have proved themselves more than capable of taking up the mantle of responsibility, to borrow a phrase from Microsoft’s other big franchise.

The campaign is packed full of the fluid, third person action fans of the series will know and love, and underneath the corny one liners is a captivating narrative that will keep players hooked till the very end. It’s also undeniably pretty – ripping enemies to shreds with a chainsaw bayonet has never looked so good.
 
The new crew of JD, Kait and Del are likeable enough, and look comfortable rubbing shoulders with some of the series’ more seasoned veterans, such as Marcus Fenix, a character who has become more likeable and layered with age.
 
Set twenty-five years after the Locust War came to a climactic conclusion in Gears of War 3, the COG are once again in power under the leadership of First Minister Jinn, who rules what’s left of the land’s remaining citizens with an iron fist as she attempts to rebuild their shattered civilisation in a world that’s still trying to kill them.
 
Huge storms now ravage the land and crop up periodically during the campaign, providing the backdrop to some epic battles. During these moments, players can use the environment to their advantage by loosening heavy debris to take out covering enemies. It’s classic over the top Gears stuff and the game is all the better for it.

​Jinn and the COG take centre stage as the main antagonists for the opening few hours, but with humans now a precious resource, the COG leaves its fighting to DB security mechs, more affectionately known as DeeBees. These mechs are a nice change of pace from the Locust and Lambent we’ve faced in previous games, with a mix of soldier, tank and aerial types keeping players on their toes during battles.
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DeeBees also bring a few new toys to the battlefield - a personal favourite being the Enforcer, a fast firing SMG that was so good at turning mechs into scrap it remained firmly in the back-up weapon slot until the campaign’s conclusion roughly ten hours later.
 
Fun as they are, Jinn and her army of mechs were only ever destined to play second fiddle to the game’s true antagonists, the Swarm. Don’t let the name fool you though, if it looks, sounds and fights like Locust, chances are it is one. Still, it wouldn’t be a proper Gears game without some big scaly bastards to kill, and the Swarm fill that role quite nicely.
 
Swarm mostly come in three types: the classic Drone, the Wretch-like Juvies, and Scions (think Boomer and you’re pretty much there), but there’s a few mini boss types that keep things interesting. Snatchers were a highlight, and aptly named as it turns out. These powerful creatures will target any downed player, hoovering them up in a mess of tentacles and ooze before attempting to leave the battlefield, ending the player’s progress.

As well as new enemy types, The Coalition also introduces us to some new tech in the form of the Fabricator, a piece of kit that allows players to build defences such as barriers, decoys and turrets to take on waves of enemies at certain points in the story, offering up a bite-sized take on the series’ iconic Horde mode.
 
While these moments may be a more condensed version of the real thing, packing a room with six auto turrets and watching them decimate any enemy foolish enough to come within range is still immensely satisfying.
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It’s undeniably pretty – ripping enemies to shreds with a chainsaw bayonet has never looked so good.
Such thrills can be found in the dedicated Horde mode, but it’s much more of a slow burn process – be prepared to settle in for the long haul if you want to complete all 50 waves. Here, the Fabricator acts as your team’s home base and can be moved to whichever spot on the map players decide is the most defendable. Unlike in the campaign, the currency used to purchase or repair fortifications, known as Power, must be earned.
 
This is done through a sort of ‘kill confirmed’ method, where Power that has been dropped by downed enemies must be collected and deposited back at the Fabricator before the next wave begins. All Power is shared amongst players and needs to be treated as a team resource, otherwise selfish players may find themselves quickly abandoned by their fellow Gears.
 
It’s good to see Horde back in its true form after Judgment’s experiment with Survival mode, and it bridges the gap nicely between the campaign and competitive multiplayer.
 
It’s in the PvP side of things that we see one of the biggest changes from previous Gears games, with all the action taking place at a silky smooth 60fps. The jump in framerate can be a little jarring at first, but once you get used to the upgrade it feels like a perfect fit for the brutal, close-quarters combat the multiplayer is famed for.
 
Series veterans will instantly feel at home one-shotting opponents with Gnashers (which still dominate, despite my attempts to introduce longer ranged combat), and new abilities like the ‘Yank and Shank’ - which grants players the ability to grab and gut enemies in cover - improve upon the existing formula without drastically altering it.
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The only real issue was found in the multiplayer’s customisation options, which are unlocked through Crates that can be purchased with micro transactions or with in-game currency earned through matches.
 
It’s a system similar to the one found in Halo 5’s REQ packs, but unlike 343’s game which readily hands out points needed to unlock said packs, the in-game currency in Gears 4 is a little harder to come by. Even after putting in a decent performance there’s very little reward, and it feels like you are being shepherded towards spending real cash on Crates if you don’t want to be stuck with the vanilla character and weapon skins.
 
The Coalition have said they are considering tweaking how Crates are earned, but at the time of writing the system feels a bit broken.
 
Other than this minor issue and as far as series debuts go, Gears of War 4 is a solid first effort from The Coalition. They’ve righted the perceived wrongs of Judgment, while adding in a few changes of their own that complement the series’ tried and trusted formula rather than altering it too much, ensuring that the game feels both familiar and fresh.
 
Pros

  • Engaging story that pays homage to earlier Gears games while managing to hold its own
  • More of the classic gameplay fans know and love, with a few added twists
  • 60fps multiplayer matches look great
  • Marcus Fenix has become a more interesting character
 
Cons

  • Most of the older crew are limited to cameos
  • Customisation options in multiplayer are focussed around micro transactions
  • The Swarm are basically the Locust
 
9/10
0 Comments

Tethered | PSVR

26/10/2016

 
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Tethered is a real wolf in sheep’s clothing, perilously cute and harbouring a diabolical secret. The aesthetically friendly, PlayStation VR exclusive strategy game is quick to pile on complex mechanics, soon leaving players tasking tasks on top of multitasks in a frantic struggle to heal the land.

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by Sam
​Sant

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​@SlamShotSam

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Developer: Secret
Sorcery

Publisher: Secret
​Sorcery
 
Platforms: PS4 (PSVR)
Players: 1
If you’re familiar with the likes of Black & White, or more recently the Keflings series, you’ll immediately get to grips with the god game premise of Tethered. You are a Spirit Guardian, worshipped by the primitive race of Mogwai-looking peeps, who love nothing more than to be put to work.

Happy to oblige, you’ll utilise a mixture of head tracking and DualShock 4 input from fixed perspectives to physically tether peeps to the objects you want them to interact with - they know what to do from there.  As the bundles of joy toil at your whim they earn Spirit Energy, which you’ll absorb to gradually transform the barren landscape thriving and lush. This allows for expansion, and with that more ways to gather Spirit Energy, which you’ll continue to do until reaching the given threshold for a level and freeing its captive Spirit Guardian.

It might sound simple, but that’s rarely the case in practice. As your pack of peeps grow, it’s increasingly difficult to keep them fed and active; they’ll pray to you in times of need to let you know what they require, but their needs can’t always be met in time. Failing to provide these necessities will see peeps fall into a deep and unwavering depression, in which they shuffle and sob their way to the edge of the world before flinging themselves off. It’s pretty dark, as well as unpleasant to witness, so be sure to keep the chaps in good health.

Once again that’s easier said than done, however, as when night falls the critters come out to feed. Placid peeps that would otherwise be happily going about their business are ambushed by the prickly slugs and forced to defend themselves, whilst some of the slimy, slithering predators make a break to dine on your resources and prompt peeps into conflict elsewhere. You’ll earn Spirit Energy for every critter that’s bested, but without paying due diligence it’s possible to find yourself in pretty dire straits when morning comes.
Incredibly moreish, as the best strategy games are, Tethered is a fully-featured entry into the genre first and foremost.
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Luckily, Secret Sorcery do afford the player some concessions that mean playing Tethered isn’t entirely like wrestling an octopus with your hands bound. Weather effects offer a wide range of boons depending on how they’re employed, for example: snowy clouds alone can be tethered to a body of water in order to freeze it and open new paths, to a depleted rock formation to allow further quarrying, to a peep to give them added damage absorption, to an enemy to hold them in place, and to other clouds to create combined weather phenomenon. A range of clouds with a similar multitude of uses spawn and despawn frequently, so using them routinely and efficiently is key to your success.
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There are also a suite of buildables to erect on designated foundations that’ll help you on your way, provided enough resources have been gathered. A field should take priority and provides a consistent food supply, whilst a moot hall and barracks allow peeps to be trained in vocations that boost their productivity, the workshop increases work speed, and a temple offers additional ways to procure Spirit Energy. Building multiples of these base structures proportionally increases their benefits, whilst they can each individually be upgraded once to serve a number of additional uses.

With an absolute swathe of options there are a great many paths through any given level, though across the thirteen present in Tethered we were never really challenged to diversify. Each floating island sports a more complex layout and devious upgrade path than the last, but we were nonetheless able to utilise the same tactics from start to finish relatively unchallenged. As a result, the later levels are perhaps the weakest of the bunch due to repetition somewhat setting in as they unfurl in much the same way you’re accustomed to, just on a larger scale.
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The latter stages also demand busy head movements to juggle the increasing number of tasks, leaving you no time to take in their gorgeous vistas, and - more damningly - the PlayStation Camera can struggle to keep track of the action, resulting in the need for semi-frequent adjustments.
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You're afforded concessions that mean playing Tethered isn’t entirely like wrestling an octopus with your hands bound.
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In addition to this issue, some menus can appear at awkward angles and uncomfortably close to your face, making them difficult to read, but the virtual reality implementation is, for the most part, stellar regardless. You look down on the world as if it were a living diorama suspended in the sky, which stretches, vast and blue, far into the distance to offer a real sense of depth and scale. Importantly, the elevated perspective and the peeps’ direct reactions to the player further the game’s themes; they help to realise the fantasy of embodying an omnipotent and omnipresent deity, rather than simply occupying ‘gimmick’ territory.

Thanks to this, the world of Tethered isn’t one you’ll want to leave anytime soon. Despite becoming a tad repetitive, we’re still drawn back to improve our rankings (not that you can get any higher than first on the global leaderboard /smug), polish our strategies, and even develop some new ones.

Incredibly moreish, as the best strategy games are, Tethered is a fully-featured entry into the genre first and foremost, but one that leverages virtual reality to convey its empowering, godly themes with clout. It definitely has its issues, but they’re easily overcome when contrasted with the game’s mechanical depth and visual charm.

Pros

  • Addictive, surprisingly complex gameplay
  • A strong example of VR used well
  • Gorgeous, detailed environments in spite of low resolution output
  • Peeps are a charming bunch

Cons

  • Gameplay can get repetitive
  • Some head tracking issues

Score 8/10​
0 Comments

Super Stardust Ultra VR | PSVR

21/10/2016

 
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The Stardust series began life on the Amiga back in 1993, long lying dormant until the 2007 reboot Super Stardust HD hit PlayStation 3 consoles. Super Stardust Ultra brought the arcade fun of HD over to the PS4 last year, and it’s now been ported once more to implement PlayStation VR functionality. Though the result is the most involving Super Stardust experience yet, it’s hard to get excited about a game that’s already well and truly done the rounds.

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by Sam
​Sant

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@SlamShotSam


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Developer: 
d3t Ltd
Publisher: Sony
Interactive Entertainment 

Platforms: PS4 (PSVR)
Players: 1 ​
Ultra VR is a game of two unequal parts, one being the entire original game presented in a 3D space, and the second an exclusive Battlezone-like excursion. The former enjoys a monopoly on content, while offering the most intimate twin-stick shooting action we’ve encountered.

You’ll fly around the circumference of threatened planets from a third-person perspective, blasting waves of enemies and space debris to save both the solar system and the human species. The spacecraft you pilot boasts three colour coded and upgradable firing modes, easily toggled between to utilise the best one in a given situation, adding an element of tactical decision-making to the largely reaction-based gameplay.

While you’ll need to be quick on the draw to keep the ship in working order, picking a narrow gap to squeeze through in areas swarming with obstacles is much easier when you’re closer to the action in VR. If you do happen to misjudge, devastating bombs and a nippy boost manoeuvre are final resorts that’ll help you out of a pinch.

​Using these tools wisely will see you through to the large-scale boss battles that each of the planetary stages culminate in. They’re one and all satisfying to combat, thanks to both the mechanical challenge presented and the impressive showers of particle effects that accelerate towards you as damage is dealt. Just take care, as falling at the final hurdle will still send you right back to the start of a given level.

In addition to the central Arcade mode, a number of modified alternatives keep things engaging. There are the usual culprits in Endless, Survival and Time Attack - all of which do what they say on the tin - but our favourites are Bomber and Impact, which place a focus on long-term lastability armed only with bombs and boost respectively. Blockade is also addictively moreish, especially for fans of mobile classic Snake.
Invasion mode commendably maintains the fundamentals found in the core game, smoothly transitioning genres to place you in the first-person cockpit of a hover tank.
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Whilst it’s cool to see asteroids jettisoned into your peripheral vision from all directions, and look deep into the vastness of space, VR is far from integral to the bulk of Super Stardust Ultra (though that shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, considering its origins). Oddly, for a pretty sedentary experience, the tracking can drift off centre and you’ll occasionally need to turn in order to keep up with the action. Whilst this wasn’t a major issue for us, thanks to playing in a handy swivel chair, if your seat is fixed, you may find yourself needing to reset your position often.

Luckily, no such issues persist with the new Invasion mode. Though, unfortunately, despite being the premier reason to own this version, it plays a sad second fiddle. Invasion commendably maintains the fundamentals found in the core game, smoothly transitioning genres to place you in the first-person cockpit of a hover tank to resume the fight at ground level.

It’s brilliantly responsive to control with the DualShock 4, thanks largely to PSVR’s compulsory high frame rates. Combine accurate, head tracked aiming and you’ll soon be whipping around the small arena painting airborne targets for homing missiles, keeping ground troops in your gaze to maintain automatic weapon fire, deploying EMPs and more - all whilst feeling like a multitasking badass.
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The combination can get a tad intense, however, which can lead to feelings of nausea. Obviously comfort will differ from person to person, but the effects were far from ghastly, allowing us to finish Invasion on the initial sitting. Not that there’s an alternative to powering through it in a single sitting, mind, as you can’t save your place and come back later. Whilst the option would’ve been a pleasant quality of life feature - especially when breaks are encouraged, sternly so if you’re feeling discomfort - the fact it can be completed well within the hour mostly excuses its absence.

​If you're looking for a solid game that would stand firm in the absence of virtual reality, Super Stardust Ultra VR has your back. If you're looking for something to showcase your new tech, which you probably are at this point, it’ll leave you wanting. That fact immediately devalues the proposition to existing fans of the series, though if you’re new, there are worse ways to invest the budget asking price.

Pros

  • Super Stardust Ultra is still a solid arcade shooter
  • Get closer to the original’s action than ever before
  • Range of modes keep things varied and interesting
  • Invasion is good fun, whilst it lasts
  • Slick, responsive controls

Cons

  • Some niggling tracking issues
  • VR upgrade is cool, but ultimately unimpressive compared to other games
  • Invasion is too short
  • A re-release of a re-released reboot

Score 7/10
0 Comments

Until Dawn: Rush of Blood | PSVR

19/10/2016

 
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There's no other way of saying it - Rush of Blood is amazing. It’s the kind of experience you’d expect to find in an arcade, or as a theme park attraction, not as something you can actually own in your own home. Whilst that last sentence probably makes me sound at least twice my age, thanks to PlayStation VR, the game does feel revolutionary.

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by Sam
​Sant

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@SlamShotSam


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Developer: 
Supermassive Games
Publisher: Sony
Interactive Entertainment 

Platforms: PS4 (PSVR)
Players: 1 
A carnival ride from hell, Rush of Blood features the Until Dawn name, but bares little resemblance to the teen slasher flick that serves as its namesake. It’s more inline with Rob Zombie’s brand of big screen horror, fixated on gore and disturbed, killer clowns that (worryingly) just happen to perfectly align with the current zeitgeist.

The on-rails experience starts off slow, just long enough to settle you into a false sense of security before tapping the accelerator to imbue a creeping sense of terror. Whilst virtual reality makes the scares impactful - and anticipating them all the more dreadfully suspenseful - it’s all in good fun. Jumpscares will leave you chuckling to yourself, after shouting your expletive of choice, of course, rather than inducing heart palpitations like Resident Evil VII’s uncomfortably horrifying KITCHEN demo.

The snug carriage you occupy moves steadily along the tracks for the most part, both to maintain player comfort and allow time to shoot a myriad of inanimate targets. When it comes to an incline, however, you know things are about to get real. If you don’t like rollercoasters, get off now, because as far as your subconscious brain is concerned, you’re on one. Trepidation rumbles in the pit of your stomach as you’re winched up, there’s a tangible sense of momentum as you plummet down the opposite side, and you feel the impact of sharp, jerking corners. It all amalgamates in a convincing euphoria, and, just like in actual reality, it’s intensified if you put your arms in the air.

Don’t leave them up for too long though, because you’ll need them for blasting a variety of nasties that play on common fears. Clowns, spiders, pig-headed men (literally, not the stubborn kind), poltergeists, gargantuan bosses and more keep things varied and unnerving across the game’s seven levels. The stages span locations including a haunted house, a snowy mountain top, and a rickety, dilapidated mine, each being a treat to take in due to their 3D depth, scale and 360° detail. Whilst the headset outputs them in a low, fuzzy resolution, the added immersion is easily worth the trade-off.
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The perfect Halloween party game, Rush of Blood isn’t a tired rail-shooter, but the rejuvenator of a stale genre.
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Rush of Blood’s shootouts are at their best when undertaken dual-wielding PlayStation Move motion controllers. The fidelity is impressive, easily accommodating subtle wrist movements to, for example, destroy a line of objects without missing a shot. As enemies swarm towards you, unsettlingly encroaching on and eventually invading your personal space, things naturally get a little more frenzied and the arm flailing begins. Though the controls adjust well, you’ll need to hold your controller(s) out and keep them still whilst holding Option/Start to properly realign if you get too carried away.

Weapon boxes are scattered around the environment and can be used to your advantage in these desperate situations, shooting them replacing the default, infinite-ammo pistol in the relevant hand with an ammo-limited upgrade. Each weapon behaves differently and carries unique advantages and disadvantages - like the shotgun’s short range and limiting two shots before reload, but immense firepower - making weapon choices an important tactical factor at higher difficulties. This is especially true as reloading is manual, which is easy to forget when you’re hurriedly attempting to fire clicking weapons because your real life is totally on the line!

You’ll also spot deviously hidden collectables and secrets dotted around the place, which, along with Trophies and leaderboards, contribute replay value to the short - though appropriately priced - package. Such is the game's gravitational pull that my second playthrough is already in full swing; what’s more, I’m taking in new sights and travelling new paths all the while.
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It’s the kind of experience you’d expect to find in an arcade, or as a theme park attraction, not as something you can actually own in your own home.
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The perfect Halloween party game (seriously, convince someone that scares easily to play and hilarity ensues) Until Dawn: Rush of Blood isn’t just a tired rail-shooter, but the rejuvenator of a stale genre. Virtual reality’s added dimension allows for invasive scares that are impossible to become desensitised to, making it genuinely uncomfortable (in a good way) to physically dodge rotting corpses, get drenched in gory entrails that turn your vision a sticky red, and be bombarded by hideous 3D noise that dares you to look in its direction. We’d be happy to leave the house and pay-per-play, so the fact we can stay home and enjoy Rush of Blood to our heart’s content at the very reasonable asking price of £16 makes it an easy recommendation, and a must-buy for PSVR owners.

Pros

  • Responsive motion controls
  • Genuinely feels like you’re on a theme park attraction
  • VR offers a wonderful sense of scale and immersion
  • Effective scares
  • Great price and replay value

Cons

  • Short runtime
  • Not as fun if you don’t own two Move controllers
  • Little here for fans seeking conventional Until Dawn

Score 9/10
0 Comments

Mafia 3 | PS4

18/10/2016

 
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After a catastrophic series of events, Vietnam vet-turned-criminal Lincoln Clay is viciously thrust into an unfortunate and tragic predicament he didn't see coming. He is now out for blood, and a whole lot of it.

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by Gabriella
​Petty

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@gabriella_petty


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Developer: Hangar 13
Publisher: 2K Games
Platforms: PS4, Xbox
​One, PC

Players: 1 
Mafia 3 is a surprisingly bloody, but satisfactory, departure from its predecessors as it welcomes us to 1968 New Bordeux, a fictional twist on New Orleans. Not only is it a huge graphical achievement, but it still manages to retain a rugged, charismatic flare that resonates from the originals.

Mafia might be more violent, bloodthirsty and profane than ever, but these are the sole components that make it a fresh departure from a typical open-world, third-person shooter. On your travels, you will encounter three main partners that you will essentially take under your wing as you build your criminal empire.

To gain benefits from a particular district in New Bordeaux, you need to take it over and appoint one of these three as an underboss for the area, and choosing one character over the others will provoke disparity and disagreement amongst the group. This can be difficult, adding weight to your decisions. Being the boss is hard work, and developers Hangar 13 don’t let you off easy.
​

Mafia 3 is definitely a game obsessed with its own beauty - it revels in it - and for all the right reasons. New Bordeaux is not only a city, it is a character, and captures the credible, soulful and gritty tension of a suburban 1960s America. Listening to the likes of Jimi Hendrix, Johnny Cash and Sam and Dave whilst cruising down the streets in a Ford Mustang, there’s a satisfying sense of enacting the American dream. It’s all about player entitlement that’ll make you feel pretty badass, and that’s what it’s all about.
Mafia 3 strikes all the right notes aesthetically with a fantastic ensemble of characters, but at its core, suffers from a bad case of un-inspiring, repetitive and aimless mission structure.
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In combat, although there is no room for error, cover-to-cover movement feels fluid in tricky, hostile situations, and the ability to whistle is a handy feature when wanting to increase your body count in certain covert operations. Weapon choice is limited at the beginning, but after time spent collating money and acquiring certain perks from your underbosses, upgrades become more easy to acquire. This is all combined with a straightforward and organised inventory system that’s simple to navigate through, which is great when you find yourself needing ammunition and upgrades pronto.

The game isn't afraid to explore sensitive issues of its time either, tackling subjects such as racial segregation, politics and corruption. Hangar 13 are unapologetic in their execution of these themes - going as far as putting a disclaimer at the beginning of the game - and, as a result of this, it feels like an educational experience as well.

Character encounters are some of the most engaging we have come across in a video game for a long time. This compelling characterisation from its cast is a significant strength, and the game would, undoubtedly, lose a huge amount of its charm without it. It’s captivating to witness the protagonists’ ambitions and integrity challenged, and to digest their outlook on the society they live in.

​It’s a shame then, in a city with so much colourful character, that you aren’t able to interact with New Bordeaux with the same level of intimacy as in previous titles. Bars, pawn shops and cocktail bars are in abundance here, but are just for show. Mafia 3 lacks subtle interactions like grabbing a beer or something to eat at the diner, or spending some time in your apartment.
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There’s also a lack of incentive. Mission completion has no fulfilling reward system for your efforts, so missions quickly begin feeling like a chore, rather than something to anticipate. The emphasis on stealth is more prominent than it has been in the past, and, in fact, the game relies very heavily upon it, quickly making things feel repetitive. Along with this, the ability to fast travel is non-existent. New Bordeaux is a small enough city to navigate by transit, but you’ll often find yourself spending more time driving than anything else.

Clocking in at just under 30 hours of game time, what Mafia 3 has managed to achieve in this time frame is commendable, and whilst we have many more hours to explore, we’re still taking great pleasure in sabotaging shipments and dropping bodies into crocodile infested waters. Mafia 3 strikes all the right notes aesthetically, and boasts a fantastic ensemble of characters, but at its core, suffers from a bad case of uninspiring, repetitive and aimless mission structure.

Pros

  • Engaging characters and environment
  • Satisfyingly brutal combat
  • Educational, unapologetic and artistic storytelling
  • Simple, quick and effective inventory management
  • Great soundtrack

Cons

  • Repetitive mission structure
  • Missions are devoid of incentive/rewards
  • Lack of interactivity with environment

7/10
0 Comments

PlayStation VR Worlds | PSVR

16/10/2016

 
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PlayStation VR Worlds is essentially a collection of five technical demonstrations that serve to illustrate different ways in which the new technology can be leveraged. They do so to varying degrees of success, offering impressive highs and dismaying lows.

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by Sam
​Sant

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​@SlamShotSam

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Developer: Sony London
Studio

Publisher: Sony
Interactive Entertainment 

Platforms: PS4 (PSVR)
Players: 1 
Before we touch on the bundled experiences, let’s immediately address the elephant in the room. VR Worlds is equivalent to Kinect Adventures and Wii Sports, but whilst those hardware showcases were free, this one brandishes a price tag. It reeks of a pack-in title, perhaps it once was one, but the cost is at least a slightly more budget-friendly £30.

After booting up and spending far too long marvelling at the stately, marble surroundings of the main menu room - and batting our spherical guide around it - we first opted to delve the sea’s depths in the beautiful Ocean Descent. There are three passive cage dives available, two of which are calmingly serene wildlife tours, whilst the third and final one boasts both a narrative and a wince-inducing shark encounter. The scenarios play out in exactly the same way each time, though maintain replayability as there’s always something new to see in the 360° environment.

After drying off, we sought a diamond for a cockney crook in The London Heist. It’s a brief criminal story, spanning believable British locales that you’ll take in while remaining stationary. You’ll smoke cigars in a pub whilst devising a plan, use stealth and wits to enact the ensuing robbery, participate in a high-octane motorway shootout, and even be on the receiving end of an invasive interrogation. Whilst it’s all relatively familiar stuff, the simple pleasures of VR help it stand out; gauging the size of characters by physically looking them from head to toe, physically holding a phone to your ear and hearing the 3D audio play only into the appropriate one, and using the accurate motion controls to shoot with one hand whilst loading ammo clips into the gun with the other (provided you’re using two PlayStation Move controllers, that is) are but a few examples. Once the heist is in the past, there’s also a shooting range, which coupled with challenges adds a decent amount of longevity.
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VR Worlds’ games are inconsistent in many ways, but they all share an immersive sense of 3D depth and place.
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A spot of Danger Ball seemed the way to relieve stress following an afternoon with a foul-mouthed Jason Statham clone. It’s the literal realisation of what people perceived virtual reality to be way back when; a neon sport suspended in a vast, futuristic arena where opponents rally a ball at immense pace and score by ensuring it isn’t returned. It’s controlled entirely with headset tracking, whereby you’ll simply look to the spot you wish the paddle to occupy, before applying power and spin by moving to meet the ball as sense would dictate. A range of opponents and difficulty levels keep things interesting, and make Danger Ball the most attractive of the bunch to revisit on a whim.

Unfortunately, things take a turn for the worse from here on in. VR Luge is frankly just rubbish. You’ll likely need to lie on the floor on your back, awkwardly propping your torso up with your forearms to mirror the action and fend off nausea. The headset tracking isn’t particularly precise, possibly due to our odd positioning, whilst the sense of speed never fully translates, largely because the already low-resolution visuals are made a complete, disorienting blur as they whizz by.

Scavengers Odyssey, on the other hand, was fantastic for the brief time we lasted before motion sickness hit. You operate a mech as a treasure-hunting alien life form (it’s thoroughly bizarre to look down and see foreign appendages, by the way) in search of a long-lost artefact. Along the way you’ll shift gravity and leap through deep space, as well as blasting baddies and flinging objects with the suit’s integrated weapons and tether. It’s incredibly intense stuff in VR terms, and doesn’t really belong in a collection for beginners. Just thinking about it’s making us light-headed, so we’re in no rush to revisit, walling off a large portion of content.
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Like the introductory tech demos for new technologies before it, VR Worlds is a showcase that encourages otherwise hesitant individuals to put their preconceptions aside and just have go.
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VR Worlds’ games are evidently inconsistent in many ways, but they all share an immersive sense of 3D depth and place. You’ll recoil from a punch, instinctively raise your hands when a gun is pointed at your head, edge away from danger as you’re stalked by a shark, and engage your acrophobia as you look beneath your feet in the Danger Ball arena. It really is special, and you need to try it for yourself to fully comprehend it, which sounds cliché by now, but it’s no less true.

Sony London might have received layoffs after concluding their work on the project, but ultimately, PlayStation VR Worlds does serve its purpose well. Like the introductory tech demos for new technologies before it, VR Worlds is a showcase that encourages otherwise hesitant individuals to put their preconceptions aside and just have go. I mean, my non-gaming parents couldn’t get enough, and gush about the experience to anybody that’ll listen. That's quite something.

Pros

  • Great implementation of VR
  • Ocean Descent is lovely - or terrifying - your choice
  • Danger Ball is accessible & makes you feel like we're living in the future
  • On point motion tracking & considered implementation make The London Heist surprisingly comprehensive
  • A showcase for the tech that you’ll whip out to show friends and family, who’ll be wowed

Cons

  • VR Luge brings nothing of value to the package
  • Scavengers Odyssey will make many ill
  • You’re expected to pay for VR Worlds, when its peers came free of charge

7/10
0 Comments

Forza Horizon 3 | Xbox One

14/10/2016

 
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In the now (seemingly) annual Forza release schedule it's once again the turn of the younger, party-loving Horizon series to give people their dose of car porn and speed thrills.

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by Jordan
​Thomas

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@pass_controller

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Developer: Playground
Games
Publisher: Microsoft
Studios
Platforms: Xbox One,
 PC
Players: 1 - 12

Released back in 2012, Forza Horizon was a change of direction for the racing simulation series, favouring the open world and countryside to race around in rather than the same traditional tracks. It was fairly well received, though many considered it just a sidestep for the franchise. 2014's Horizon 2 showed the series was here to stay, and improved upon it in nearly every way. Now it's back for a third time, promising an Aussie adventure.

The premise is unchanged and as silly as ever. Basically, a festival of racing, fast cars and endless dancefloor sessions. No mention is given as to what the residents think, but as you get rewarded for destroying public and personal property it's clearly not high on the list of things that players are meant to be considering. Opening with a playable montage of powerful cars, the game starts as it means to go on; no starting off with an '02 reg Corsa for this young racer.

A first for
Forza is that you can select a character to play as, from a choice of several young trendy looking types. I went for a pink haired surfer-type girl (why not?) and chose the name Munchkin from the decently large list available, ignoring the game's slightly creepy auto-selection of my own name.

It has no bearing on gameplay beyond the odd narrative comment and third person car shots but the choice is nice. Gone too is the 'chatty' Ben (TV’s Sean Maguire) of the last game; instead we have a multinational group of friendly enough radio voices.

​The party atmosphere of the previous two games is, thankfully, also reduced; as a premise it was fine, but being forced to watch videos of people dancing was not what people bought the games for.
...cars are beautifully modelled and the scenery, even when not in motion, is all very decently rendered, backdrops and skylines being particularly beautiful to cruise along to.
Of course, no one actually plays Forza for characters or plot, and you can soon settle down to smash through the outback. As it happens this is endless fun. Despite all the races and events on offer, I often found myself just choosing a direction and driving, smashing and bouncing across the scenery. As it is a Forza game the driving itself is solid and satisfying, with cars being more controllable and on the drifty side than its brother, the Motorsport series. Cars feel weighty and handle noticeably differently, with ground and surfaces seeming to be more of a consideration this time round – taking your million-dollar supercar off road doesn't always end as well as you might hope. It's still a proper racer though, and drafting behind other racers to slingshot your way past is still essential to victory.

Speaking of victory, I do have the same problem I always have with racing games, in that one difficulty is far too easy, whilst the next one up exponentially increases the AI’s speed and they leave you in this dust at the start line. However considering the best answer to this is to perfect your racing line and cornering, it's not necessarily a criticism. I still have to say that the much vaunted 'Drivatar' system is not all that noticeable, they all follow essentially the same racing line and seldom crash.
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It being a Forza game, it looks fantastic, cars are beautifully modelled and the scenery, even when not in motion, is all very decently rendered, backdrops and skylines being particularly beautiful to cruise along to. It's not much of an obvious visual step over the last game but small touches in texture and lighting help it look that bit better. The day/night cycle returns as well as rain which, while not as game-changing as Forza 6 or realistic as Driveclub, still looks pretty impressive and does warrant driving more carefully. The damage model is still pretty poor (almost non existent beyond slight crumpling) though - you sort of feel like 200mph crashes should have some visual effect.

It's not just a pretty face either, there's content too. The world is the biggest yet with nearly all parts of the map accessible, and with collectable (well, smash-able) boards dotted all over the map there's reason to explore. Each area of the playspace contains a good amount of races and 'PR events' (speed cameras, drift zones etc) to complete, and races have different game modes to complete them in, as well as unlockable harder 'street' races (often at night), not to mention new 'Blueprint' races which let you set them up yourself, car type, length etc. Everything is available in multiplayer too, which you can swap to easily from the start menu. With car customisation, tuning and the return of the auction house, you should never want for something to entertain. The levelling system has also been expanded, giving more choice of rewards and bonuses.
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It has its problems, but they're more irritations than anything else. Playing with damage on feels unfair, as the AI do not take damage and can take you out. The impact physics are very rigid too - clipping a tree root will stop you dead.

Speaking of being taken out by the AI, the freeroam map always has drivatars around with you, but frankly they're a menace – they turn and overtake without a warning or a care, which is very frustrating when you have a high skill chain or are going for a speed target. There's also little visual difference between trees which can and can't be destroyed, though you learn to tell them apart fairly quickly.

​The PC version has some widely documented framerate issues but I did not experience any on console, though it does sometimes take a surprisingly long time to save changes in garage. There's also a slightly unexplained hiring system, which routinely asks you to go find a drivatar and challenge them to a (easy and cheatable) race to hire them, but because it takes them from your friends list it mostly brings up level 1 players you'd never want to hire anyway so it seems a bit pointless.


Forza Horizon 3 essentially just builds on what came before, but hones it and adds enough new content to make this a definite purchase if you enjoyed the last one, or just want a fun colourful racing game to trash the Australian outback with.
Pros
  • Looks great
  • Handles and plays well
  • Plenty of content, including new features
  • Multiplayer and leaderboards are easy to access
  • Large fun to explore map
  • Actually uses Kinect voice commands

Cons
  • Irritations from the last game remain unfixed
  • Nothing genuinely new added
  • Sounds could be a bit more meaty
  • Damage and physics model could be improved

Score 9/10
0 Comments

Rivals of Aether | Xbox Game Preview

13/10/2016

 
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Developer Dan Fornace is the mind behind Super Smash Land, a fan-made Super Smash Bros. demake, who also served as Lead Developer on the excellent Killer Instinct reboot that launched alongside the Xbox One. Dan’s background is precisely why his new independent venture, Rivals of Aether, should grab your attention. It’s an amalgamation of the knowledge he’s accrued, as well as another passionate love letter to one of his favourite games.

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by Sam
​Sant

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@SlamShotSam


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Developer: Dan Fornace
Publisher: Dan Fornace
Platforms: Xbox One,
PC

Players: 1 - 4
The 2D, retro-styled brawler is available now via the Xbox Game Preview programme, its current build focusing upon the fundamentals - tutorials, practice, local and online play - whilst omitting story and other additional modes for now. Their absence might come as a blow to some, but the decision is ultimately geared towards improving the final product, which benefits everybody.

Jumping into the action, you’ll need to select a character from Rivals’ colourful cast of eight elemental warriors. They obviously lack the iconography of the mascots from the game that inspired them, but they’re no less varied in both their aesthetic and play styles. Zetterburn is a flaming lion with familiar mechanics for beginners, Orcane is a Pokémon-looking hybrid of, presumably, an orca whale and a canine that excels at zoning, whilst our favourite, Kragg, is a hulking beetle that uses his strength and environment to his advantage. The rest are similarly outlandish and universally appealing due to their considered, anthropomorphic designs.

Each of these combatants has a personal tutorial, a feature many games in the genre sorely lack, so whilst you’ll inevitably pick favourites, there’s no excuse not to diversify. You’re tasked with completing feats of incrementally more difficult stature, as ever, but you shouldn’t struggle getting through them all this time around, due to the game’s intuitively simple control scheme. There are no complex inputs to remember here - not even a quarter circle in sight - every offensive and defensive manoeuvre is simple to execute, placing a greater focus on timing, situational awareness and positioning. As a result, Rivals is accessible fun for the casual player, but demands an absolute precision at higher levels that has already seen it affectionately adopted by the fighting game community (FGC).
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Once you’re good and ready for competition, you’ll need to carefully select a stage to put your new skills to use on. There’s a mixture of symmetrical and asymmetrical layouts, as well as compositions that allow for more or less verticality, centred around both grounded and fantastical geography. Each possesses a fitting retro soundtrack that’ll really put the wind in your sails, as well as unique hazards and pick-ups that change the way you play. It’s worth noting that these modifiers can be turned off should you want an unimpeded fight experience, perhaps to settle a dispute with a level-playing-field grudge match.

A further glut of customisation options are available for the matches themselves, namely edits to the time limit and number of lives, number of participants, whether the battle is free-for-all or team-based, and each individual fighter’s competence. Everyone can find their sweet spot as a result.

Whatever settings you opt for, matches are enjoyably frenetic, especially if you opt for a full roster of four. The streamlined controls earn their stay here, not getting lost amongst the crazy cavalcade of busy visual effects as conventionally complex inputs likely would.

​
As you dish out beatings the recipient’s damage percentage increases, and the higher it gets the easier it is to knock them from the stage and deplete their stock of lives by one. Once they run out, they’re eliminated, and you win by being the last animorph standing. It’s incredibly Smash, but it’s regardless a raucous good time that brings the experience to an audience Smash largely doesn’t reach.
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It’s incredibly Smash, but it’s regardless a raucous good time that brings the experience to an audience Smash largely doesn’t reach.
For an early access game, technical performance is mostly rock solid thanks to responsive controls and no hitching during even the most frenzied of encounters. When we ventured online, some issues did unfortunately apparate in the finicky invite system and occasional bout of lag.

The online multiplayer issues don’t quite end there, however, as the breadth of choice available to solo users gives way to quite a rigid structure. Whilst it’s understandable that ranked matches would disable stage modifiers and bots, there’s no reason to enforce the same strict ruling on friendly matches. To the same point, team-based battles should also be available. Rivals of Aether is predictably at its absolute best when shared with friends, but unless they’re available for local play, the options are disappointingly limiting.

Despite that, if you’ve been craving a nostalgic shot of Smash Bros. but have long since left Nintendo behind, were burned by PlayStation All-Stars, or are just looking to inject some variety into your repertoire of bog-standard fighters, Rivals of Aether is for you. Whether you choose to invest now or wait for the final release depends where your interests lie; whilst you’re (at least eventually) in for a treat either way, we’d advise erring on the side of caution and waiting to see if the online options are expanded upon first.

​
Pros

  • Super Smash Bros.-alike on your Xbox
  • Varied cast of fighters, each enjoyable in their own right
  • Simple, accessible controls taught through extensive and clear tutorials
  • Wide range of options available in local versus play
  • Pleasing retro sound and aesthetic

Cons

  • Online multiplayer lacks options
  • Connectivity issues with online multiplayer
  • Currently lacking in modes, though more are on the way
​

Pick it up in preview
Wait for final release
Avoid it either way​


​​
Note: To reiterate, Rivals of Aether is currently in preview phase and this review reflects the state of the game at the time of publishing. Things can and will change, likely only for the better.


A brief second opinion:

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​by James
Michael 
​Parry

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@James_Parry


Unlike Sam my history with fighting games in general is extremely limited, so to hear of a title with Smash as such a strong influence was intriguing - as it's the only brawl-’em-up I've ever even slightly got to grips with.

While there's no denying the controls are simple on paper, there's certainly a knack to them, and hitting the move you want when you need it requires some patience and time put in getting to know your preferred character, though the tutorials alone do go a long way.
With that in mind, the preview build definitely offers a strong beginning that we can expect to reach its full potential as the game is updated to reach release state.
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