STACK #201 Jul 2021

GAMING FEATURE

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FEATURE

ONLINE EXPO - SURE!

As we’re all too aware, the world has altered drastically in the past 18 months, and we’ve had to adapt to many changes. This year, the annual games event known as E3, usually a lavish and very crowded expo held in Los Angeles, did what many of us have had to do and went virtual, with many major players in the industry delivering presentations – and many punters avoiding jetlag and hangovers! Words Amy Flower N ot surprisingly, the buzz wasn’t as full-on without the live event to bring gamers

Super Monkey Ball: Banana Mania

from the world over together in one place, and many expected more in the way of updates to previously announced titles, as well as shiny new things to look forward to. It should be noted though

JurassicWorld Evolution 2

Quest TV series) is the titular star, alongside big Hollywood names such as Will Arnett, Andy Samberg and Wanda Sykes. Thankfully it wasn’t all about the bloody mayhem, with plenty for younger players or those who wish to chill. Chief amongst these was a look at Super Monkey Ball: Banana Mania , a remastered compilation of previous games in the wild SEGA series that’s set to unleash its monkey business on October 5. Then there’s Jurassic World Evolution 2 for all your park-designing needs, plus Two Point Campus for those who wish to get into the running-a-university game. Then, of course, there’s the new stuff from the big players. Over the next five pages we aim to update you with all the biggest and best highlights from big E3 2021 participants Xbox (including our best in show, Forza Horizon 5 ), Nintendo, Ubisoft, Bandai Namco and Square Enix. Trust us gamers, the future is looking bright!

that considering most have been working in lockdown, it’s incredible some of the accomplishments that developers have already delivered, and just how many new titles are arriving soon enough that we really should be saving up our dollary-doos right now. The biggest absence from E3 2021 was PlayStation, who it’s worth noting also sat out the physical event in 2019. News of many titles – such as a director’s cut of Death Stranding – that are coming to the PS5 were revealed though, including one of the year’s hottest titles from another E3 no-show in EA. They decided to let loose a huge data drop on this year’s Battlefield 2042 mere days before the main event kicked off, and it promises a whole tonne of frantic futuristic combat. The reveal featured everything from tanks to hovercraft to rockets to wingsuits to helicopters to quadbikes to fighter jets and… deep breath… little future tuk-tuk type dealies. Whoa, there’s even combat on foot! It’s set to explode on all the usual formats this October 22. Another much-anticipated shooter is Back 4 Blood . We got to see more of the zombie/ undead/diseased/monster/call-’em-what-you- want FPS blaster that’s on its way from many of the creators of the classic Left 4 Dead series. Call it a “spiritual successor” if you will when you get busy with it on October 12 for PS5, Xbox and PS4.

Battlefield 2042

Back 4 Blood

A new “high fantasy” spin-off is coming from Gearbox, starring Borderlands ‘ Tiny Tina, even though it’s apparently not a Borderlands canon game (despite looking decidedly shooty). Entitled Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands , voice artist Ashly Burch ( Horizon Zero Dawn , the Mythic

NOW THAT’S COLD, XBOX! There’s always something a bit out-there at E3, and despite its virtuality this year we had a winner for weirdest announcement, with the chockies going to Xbox. They announced “a new system that leaves others cold” – yep, they’re bringing us a mini-fridge! Many wags reckoned that the Xbox Series X looked like one, so now they’re delivering. It may not be as spectacular as the handful of full-sized promotional fridges that they gave out at the console’s launch, but Xbox assure us that we’ll be able to own one by year’s end.

14 JULY 2021

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