STACK #160 Feb 2018

GAMES FEATURE

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Portable Playmaking It’s almost time to celebrate the Switch’s first birthday, and a year on there’s certainly no shortage of wonders to be played on the portable/home console hybrid.This month, we take a look at a few third-party games that may have slipped under your radar – and are definitely worth a look.

Portal Knights Leave what you think you know behind and step into the fantastic world of Portal Knights , coming to a Switch near you this month. A co-op 3D sandbox-RPG, it's a fair bet that there’s a game mechanic in Portal Knights you’ll like. Players can level up an avatar and craft powerful gear and weapons to defeat your enemies in a real-time tactical combat environment. The character creator is comprehensive – everyone knows you need a great avatar to be great at a game, right? The premise of the game is as follows: the cataclysmic Fracture has torn the world apart, and you’ll need to restore peace by navigating various randomly generated environments. When creating your character, you’ll be able to choose between Warrior, Mage, and Ranger, and as you defeat enemies you’ll collect the resources you need to craft the gear you can take with you on your adventures. Travel between worlds is facilitated by collecting portal shards to rebuild ancient gateways. You can even build your own home and enjoy the company of a pet! Level up and become more powerful on your quest to defeat the Portal Guardians.

Rocket League Have you ever thought to yourself, ‘Wow, I love soccer! But what if instead of people, you played it with cars?’ Obviously the team at Psyonix did, because that’s Rocket League in a nutshell. It’s a 2v2 sports game with a difference that started out on PC, made its way to consoles, and is now available on the Switch, meaning you can take it with you wherever you want to go. The Switch release includes DC Comics- themed content – the Flash wheels and player banner, and a DC player banner – and will also feature the Chaos Run, Supersonic Fury , and Revenge of the Battle-Cars DLCs – that’s hours of fun before you even open the box! While ‘soccer but with cars’ may sound simple enough, there are all sorts of mechanics and physics to take into consideration, and it features enough customisation content for over 100 billion cosmetic combinations. There’s something for everyone, with a bunch of licensed content from stuff like Rick and Morty, Back to the Future, The Fast and the Furious, Knight Rider, Portal , Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice , and even Goat Simulator available in the game.

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FEBRUARY 2018

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