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GAMING REVIEWS

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MARVEL’S MIDNIGHT SUNS

TACTICAL RPG MULTIPLAYER

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The gameplay of XCOM mixed with the mystical side of the Marvel Universe may sound odd on paper, but Marvel’s Midnight Suns will make you believe in magic.

Developed by Firaxis games, the team behind XCOM and Civilization , Marvel’s Midnight Suns is a turn-based strategy card game that looks fantastic and is instantly engaging. While most Marvel fans

Gameplay is similar to Pokémon or original Final Fantasy games, but a bit more evolved. Rather than attacking then waiting for enemy retaliation, your turn involves multiple actions and movements, and there's an environment to move around in, too. Actions like attacking, buffing, and healing use cards that you have equipped at the bottom of the screen. During the chess-like combat, you’re only allowed to have a certain number of cards in your hand, and when you use an ability - such as summoning and attacking with Ghost Rider’s Hellcharger - the card is subsequently removed from your hand. At the end of each turn, you pick up new cards from your deck, which will determine your next turn’s actions. The core gameplay of Marvel’s Midnight Suns is both entertaining and challenging. The variety of heroes available is not only familiar, but also unique and diverse, so you may even find yourself with a new favourite. AD

IT’S THE LITTLE THINGS…

are aware of the Avengers, the Guardians, and the X-Men, the

Midnight Suns may be less familiar. Rather than mutants, heroes, and space pirates, they’re supernatural heroes like Ghost Rider, Blade, and the mighty morphing Morbius. Things kick off with Hydra resurrecting with Hydra. It's up to the Midnight Suns to stop her. We initially control Iron Man, Doctor Strange, and Captain Marvel, before we're given the character Hunter, a hero that we get to create and play as. and awakening Lilith, the mother of demons, who then allies herself

Graphically, Marvel’s Midnight Suns looks fantastic in combat, and features some fabulous little touches. For example, Doctor Strange’s magical attacks pop out of the screen, and his flowing Cloak of Levitation looks majestic while fighting.

ONE PIECE ODYSSEY

RPG MULTIPLAYER

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The Straw Hat Pirates return, in an anniversary celebration that sends them into serious JRPG territory.

Well, not too serious - the humour and fun that’s made Eiichiro Oda’s creation so beloved through over 100 volumes of One Piece comics and more than 1,000 television episodes is very much present. Story-wise, those hopping aboard the good ship Thousand

have different skills. With standard attacks, items to use and also special moves, there’s much strategy at play – which foe to dispense with first? When to use a special attack? Which type of fighter to bring in, one keyed to power, technique, or speed? The voicework is all in Japanese, which adds to the spectacle. Easy to-read subtitles default to on for those who aren’t fluent in Japanese. There’s also some seriously sweet animation – the game looks like a slice of the classic animated take. If you’re after longevity, then you’ve got it. Just completing the main campaign will take a few dozen hours. Tackling all the side projects will likely take as long again. Both fans and newbies should feel just as at home in One Piece Odyssey , with the former receiving a bunch of fan service, and the latter experiencing the wonders of this imaginative, charming, and often hilarious world for the first time. AF

“YOU READY FOR THIS? I’M PRETTY STRONG” Progression powers up your crew, which is necessary as battles also arc up in difficulty the further that you delve into proceedings. As long as you apply a little nous it never becomes too frustrating though, with battles usually feeling fairly evenly matched.

Sunny are in for a bit of old and a bit of new. Our intrepid crew – as always led by the rubbery Monkey D. Luffy - find themselves stranded on the stormy island of Waford, with poor Sunny in quite the state of disrepair. As the adventure unfolds, memories of the past are explored via various dimensions as each crew member seeks to regain their lost powers. This is accomplished while taking on various adversaries, challenging your biffo chops in turn-based fights where you select four crew members, each of whom

14 FEBRUARY 2023

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