STACK #199 May 2021

GAMING FEATURE

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WHAT’S COMING IN JUNE?

THE ELDER SCROLLS ONLINE: BLACKWOOD COLLECTION As ESO enters its seventh year, there’s no sign of the action and drama slowing down. Blackwood includes the base game and all previous chapters, while adding over 30 hours of new content to a game that’s already willing and able to absorb huge chunks of your gaming time. Perhaps the best news of all is that players new to ESO can leap right into Blackwood without needing to play previous content. 8/6/21 MMORPG MULTIPLAYER?

RATCHET & CLANK: RIFT APART Everybody’s favourite Lombax and robot combo Ratchet and Clank arrive on the new-gen’s PlayStation 5 bigger, badder and, in the case of Clank, shinier than ever! With their own universe next in the firing line, this time they’re out to thwart a robotic emperor’s intention to conquer cross-dimensional worlds. Luckily, our heroes will have their craziest arsenal of weaponry yet to aid them in their quest. 11/6/21 ACTION ADVENTURE MULTIPLAYER?

MARIO GOLF: SUPER RUSH With all of that running, jumping and princess rescuing, Mario deserves the odd break, yeah? It seems his choice of relaxation is a round of golf, and we’ll all get to join in when the up-to-four-player fun of Mario Golf: Super Rush tees off. Be traditional and play ‘Standard Golf’, get hyped with frenetic ‘Speed Golf’, or take a more leisurely pace with an RPG-like golf adventure in the story mode. 25/6/21 SPORT MULTIPLAYER?

SCARLET NEXUS The minds behind Tales of Vesperia bring us a whole new adventure involving extreme psychic combat as you take on deranged mutants from the sky known as ‘The Others’. Set in the future, the ability to harness extra-sensory powers has been uncovered in some humans – known as ‘psionics’ – and it’s these abilities that you’ll use to take on those invaders, who are desperate to chow down on human brains. 25/6/21 ACTION RPG MULTIPLAYER?

1 What was the first game that you remember playing? That would be Popeye , for the Family Computer (NES) when I was a kid. I was just totally immersed with that game. 2 What was the last game that you finished? That would be Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin . “Rice is Power!” – what a great tagline! I think there’s something to be said about how much effort was put into the rice harvesting scenes, but personally I also really enjoyed the story. 3 What’s your favourite video game of all time? Oh, how many years have passed since I’ve been trying to find an answer to this question? I’m sorry. It’s impossible for me to just choose one. My favourite games are games in general. 4 What do you think is the most underrated video game of all time? That would be Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner . The story, effects, sound – everything – was amazing. I don’t think I’ve experienced a more stylish and dramatic robot battle in a game… Although, I suppose the game is already highly-received. 5 What’s the game that you most wish you’d worked on? That would be the Panzer Dragoon series. While it has a very straightforward concept of battling while riding dragons, I also feel it has a very compelling narrative within a rich, vibrant world. I felt a personal connection to it, seeing it as more than just a shooting game. It’s a series that I love personally, and I still dream of being involved in it someday.

Game director on Persona 5 Strikers at Atlus DAISUKE KANADA

MAY 2021

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