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GAMING FEATURE

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WHAT’S COMING IN OCTOBER?

TAIKO NO TATSUJIN: RHYTHM FESTIVAL Long established and crazy popular, the Taiko no Tatsujin series of rhythm games arrived in arcades in 2001, and soon came home to the PS2 in 2002. As well as a story mode and 76 new songs, this latest home version is introducing the Taiko Music Pass. A subscription service, it’ll allow access to over 500 songs to bash away to, with new songs added monthly. Speaking of bashing, look out for the Rhythm Festival bundle, packing the game with a taiko drum controller for that added realism.

MARIO + RABBIDS: SPARKS OF HOPE The Mushroom Kingdom is colliding with the Rabbids – the wild rabbit-like things that originated in Rayman’s world (then took it over) – again! This time out we’ll have a Bowser Rabbid joining in the mayhem, with the aim being to prevent malevolent cosmic entity Cursa from wreaking chaos upon the universe. Like its predecessor, we’ll play a mix of turn-based tactics with real time action, in a game that’ll be accessible for those new to strategy games, while still challenging old hands at the genre.

MULTIPLAYER?

MULTIPLAYER?

RHYTHM

14/10/22

STRATEGY

20/10/22

GOTHAM KNIGHTS The newest Gotham City game will be an open world adventure that’s going to be almost entirely Batman-free…Wait, what?! Well, it’s set following the deaths of Bruce Wayne/Batman and Commissioner Jim Gordon, after which crime has soared in the fine city. With the Caped Crusader gone, it’s up to Batgirl, Nightwing, Red Hood and Robin to protect the metropolis. Players will variously take on each of their roles to continue Batman’s legacy of protecting the good people of Gotham.

CALL OF DUTY: MODERN WARFARE II This sequel to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is set to follow on directly from all of the action of the 2019 game, as players join Task Force 141 for their next global campaign in what we’re promised will be a “state-of the-art” generational leap forward. The campaign involves a new threat that will have our team trotting the globe everywhere from Europe to Asia and the Americas, while Special Ops co-op will set the scene for the franchise’s legendary multiplayer, revamped Gunsmith, cast, AI and all.

MULTIPLAYER?

MULTIPLAYER?

ACTION RPG

25/10/22

SHOOTER

28/10/22

1 What’s the first game that you remember playing? Ultima III on the Commodore 64. 2 What was the last game that you finished? Ghost of Tsushima . 3 What’s your favourite video game/series of all time? The Legend of Zelda series. 4 What do you think is the most underrated game of all time? Rust . The base building and PvP just doesn’t get enough attention. 5 What’s the game that you most wish you’d worked on? There are too many to list – but I’ll go with World of Warcraft .

Executive producer on Saints Row at Volition. ROB LOFTUS

16 SEPTEMBER 2022

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