STACK #202 Aug 2021

GAMING FEATURE

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WHAT’S COMING IN SEPTEMBER?

LIFE IS STRANGE: TRUE COLORS The latest in the superb Life Is Strange series will see protagonist Alex Chen using her psychic power of empathy – which she considers a curse – to solve a mystery centred upon her brother’s death in a suspicious accident. Alex must embrace her power – which allows her to experience and influence the emotions of others – in order to seek out the truth, and uncover dark secrets in her quaint hometown of Haven Springs.

WARIOWARE: GET IT TOGETHER! Mario’s nemesis Wario has been busy in his factory concocting micro- games for this wild Switch exclusive. It’s set to feature over 200 “quick and quirky” experiences, and the big baddie and his minions certainly aren’t wanting in the imagination department – some of these diversions look totally bonkers! Stuff like giving a facial, plucking a statue’s armpit hair or dodging bird poop. Yep, bonkers!

MULTIPLAYER?

MULTIPLAYER?

ADVENTURE

10/9/21

ACTION

10/9/21

DEATHLOOP Groundhog Day meets Edge of Tomorrow in what’s basically an FPS murder puzzle featuring an assassin who’s trapped in a time loop. Players will step into the shoes of this assassin, and must get to the point where they’ve eradicated eight ‘Visionaries’ (read: baddies) within one day, or loop. This will eventually happen as intel – and weaponry – is amassed on each successive loop that you survive.

HOT WHEELS UNLEASHED All the fun of playing with Hot Wheels cars is going to get amped like crazy! Set to feature various single and multiplayer modes, including both online and off, we’re promised that we’ll be able to drive the cars as if we were playing with the diecast toys. Developers Milestone are behind the game, who’ve previously given us such racing franchises as Ride , MotoGP , MXGP and Monster Energy Supercross - The Official Videogame .

MULTIPLAYER?

MULTIPLAYER?

SHOOTER

14/9/21

RACING

30/9/21

1 What was the first game that you played? Not giving away my age, that was a LONG time ago! I’d guess it was on the Spectrum, so most likely something like Skool Daze or Action Biker . 2 What was the last game that you finished? I’ve mainly been playing Call of Duty: Warzone , but the last game that I finished was the vast Assassin’s Creed Valhalla . 3 What’s your favourite game of all time? That’s an easy one, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time on the Nintendo 64. Again, showing my age, and maybe I have rose-tinted specs on, but I’ll always remember my time playing that game. 4 What do you think is the most underrated video game of all time? That’s a tough one, as I play a lot of games of all genres and styles. I’ll probably overlook something really obvious here, but the first one that springs to mind is Pure on Xbox 360. I just remember it feeling just right, and the racing being really fun. I’m not sure it’s the most underrated of all time, that could be 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand , but it’s a game that I really enjoyed. 5 What’s the game that you most wish you’d worked on? There are dozens of games I’d love to have worked on, some because I’m intrigued as to how the team work and handle the scope of the game, others because it’s a game I love and have great ideas for. I think overall I’d have loved to have been involved in one of the Grand Theft Auto series. It’s not just a massive open world, but it’s such a rich and breathing environment with such naturally emerging gameplay. Plus, I love a good story, and GTA games always have such strong characters and stories attached to them.

F1 franchise senior creative director at Codemasters/EA LEE MATHER

34 AUGUST 2021

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