O Ps Uk 2014 09

ISSUE 100 SEPTEMBER 2014 5.
99
officialplaystationmagazine.co.uk
THE PLAYSTATION EVENT OF 2014
PLAYSTATIONS
GR
GAMES
EVER
AS VOTED BY YOU
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ISSUE 100 / SEPT 2014
Future Publishing Ltd, 30 Monmouth Street,

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F
EDITORIAL
Editor Matthew Ratman Pellett @Pelloki
Managing art editor Milford Milf Coppock @milfcoppock
Art editor Phil Diddy Haycraft
Production editor Dom Rezmond TwoTwo Reseigh-Lincoln
@furianreseigh
News editor David Meiks Meikleham
Games editor Phil Estelle Iwaniuk @PhilIwaniuk
CONTRIBUTORS
Writers Louise Blain, Nathan Brown, Tim Clark, Johnny Cullen,
Emma Davies, Nathan Ditum, Sarah Ditum, Joel Gregory, Mike
Harris, Leon Hurley, Edward Lewis, Louis Pattison, Chris
Schilling, Joel Snape, Rachel Weber, Ben Wilson, Iain Wilson,
Helen Woodey
Designer Rob Speed
ADVERTISING
Advertising sales director Nick Weatherall
Advertising sales manager Andrew Church
Account sales manager Jo Fraser
MARKETING
Trade marketing manager Colin Hornby
Senior product manager Adam Jones
Group marketing manager Sam Wight
Senior marketing executive Tilly Mitchell
CIRCULATION
International account manager Rebecca Hill
Head of trade marketing James Whitaker
PRINT & PRODUCTION
Production manager Mark Constance
Production co-ordinator Vivienne Turner
LICENSING
International licensing manager Regina Erak
FUTURE PUBLISHING LIMITED
Editorial director Jim Douglas
Creative director Robin Abbott
Managing director Nial Ferguson
Deputy managing director Clair Porteous
Head of games Lee Nutter
Group senior editor Dan Dawkins @DanDawkins
Group art director Graham Dalzell
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OPM HIGHLIGHT
A lovely piece of reader
feedback after I joined. Do
keep your comments
coming good or bad
OPM LOWLIGHT
The fun 30-minute phone
call about how a particular
review score was, harming
the games industry
or 100 issues, OPM has been the

authority for everything PlayStation.
Were immensely proud of our legacy,
and the bumper 132-page edition youre
holding right now perfectly highlights
why we remain the definitive source of
PlayStation news, features and opinion.
Where should I begin? With the worlds
deepest access to 2014s biggest game,
perhaps? Weve travelled to Bungie and put
over 50 hours into Destiny to bring you the
best coverage of the landmark FPS. Or
maybe with our OPMX100 celebration piece,
looking back at 100 issues of greatness?
Actually, this month you take centre stage.
We received tens of thousands of votes for
your PlayStations 100 Greatest Games
Ever list Im not afraid to admit that the
results werent what we expected and
created some extra-special, behind-thescenes features for the game you crowned
top. (Are you subscribers enjoying your
exclusive Limited Edition cover, by the way?)
Enjoy the issue, and thanks for playing
such a huge role in shaping OPM.
WE RECEIVED
TENS OF
THOUSANDS OF
VOTES AND
THE RESULTS
Matthew Pellett
WERENT WHAT EDITOR
matthew.pellett@futurenet.com
WE EXPECTED. @Pelloki
T H I S M O N T H S B I R T H D AY B O Y S
Phil Iwaniuk
GAMES EDITOR
Mistakenly called Estelle by
a PR on the phone. Yeah,
that names gonna stick
OPM HIGHLIGHT
Visiting Bungie for the
Destiny reveal last year
OPM LOWLIGHT
Deadline day power failure
penning #70s cover story
David Meikleham
Milford Coppock
NEWS EDITOR
Is already dreaming of
#200 and reviewing TLOU
Re-Remastered on PS5.
MANAGING ART EDITOR

With Milfs three-month
world tour over, Mogwai
nights are back in vogue.
OPM HIGHLIGHT
Easy: reviewing The Last
Of Us. Er, twice
OPM LOWLIGHT
Those 60 hour weeks sure
took their toll
OPM HIGHLIGHT
Redesigning OPM from
scratch back in issue #85
OPM LOWLIGHT
Do Matts puns count? (No
they certainly dont Ed.)
WorldMags.net
Dom ReseighLincoln
PRODUCTION EDITOR
Loved Transformers. Then
p106 happened. Poor Dom.
OPM HIGHLIGHT
Attending the Golden
Joysticks on my first day
OPM LOWLIGHT
Spoiling TLOU by checking
this issues feature. Gutted
003
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Contents
HIGHLIGHTS
The big 10
006 THE MAKING OF E3

We bring you the inside story on what goes
into pulling off the king of game expos.
pREVIEW
030 METAL GEAR SOLID V:

THE PHANTOM PAIN
Its all Mother Bases and kidnapped sheep in
our latest preview of Kojimas open-world opus.
feature
048 DESTINY
We bring you the most comprehensive and
in-depth guide to the PlayStation event of 2014.
FPS will never be the same again.
featurE
062 PLAYSTATIONS 100

GREATEST GAMES
We asked and you voted. Which game will rise
victorious as the greatest of all time?
feature
088 OPMX100
We look back on eight years of laughs, tears and
some of the worst rated games in OPM history.
review
098 THE LAST OF US

REMASTERED
Naughty Dog brings Joel and Ellies emotive
story to PS4 but is it any better on new-gen?
retrostation
122 WIPEOUT
Another moment in the sun for the futuristic
racer that helped put PlayStation on the map.
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September 2014
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SUBSCRIBE NOW
Sign up to an OPM subscription
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twitter.com/OPM_UK
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108
034
006
098
014
038
006
012
030
036
122
S E C T I O N S AT A G L A N C E
THE
BIG 10
PREVIEWS
Latest info, screens

and playtests
All the hottest news
006
029
FEATURES
REVIEWS
NETWORK
To-the-point,
detailed analysis
In-depth verdicts on
every big new game
Max out your PS4,

online and off
Classics revisited
044
097
113
122
RETRO
STATION
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THE Games index

018 ALIEN: ISOLATION
110 ANOTHER WORLD
011 BATTLEBORN
040 BLOODBORNE
104 BLUE ESTATE
043 BOMBSHELL
107 BROKEN SWORD 5:
THE SERPENTS CURSE E2
043 COFFIN DODGERS
048 DESTINY
110 DYNASTY WARRIORS
GUNDAM REBORN
111 ENEMY FRONT
044 THE EVIL WITHIN
014 FAR CRY 4
042 FREEDOM WARS
115 GRID AUTOSPORT
043 GUNS UP!
107 HOW TO TRAIN YOUR
DRAGON 2
116 INFAMOUS: FIRST LIGHT
114 KILLZONE: SHADOW FALL
INTERCEPT
043 KINGDOM HEARTS HD 2.5
REMIX
043 KINGDOM UNDER FIRE II
043 LA-MULANA PORTABLE
041 LARA CROFT AND THE
TEMPLE OF OSIRIS
098 THE LAST OF US
REMASTERED
020 THE LEGEND OF KORRA
006 LITTLEBIGPLANET 3
042 MECHRUNNER
030 METAL GEAR SOLID V:
THE PHANTOM PAIN
038 MORTAL KOMBAT X
006 NO MANS SKY
108 ODDWORLD: NEW N TASTY
042 PAVILION
036 PES 2015
042 PURE POOL
102 SACRED 3
042 SPACE HULK: DEATHWING
043 TALES OF XILLIA 2
110 TOUR DE FRANCE 2014
106 TRANSFORMERS:
RISE OF THE DARK SPARK
115 TRIALS FUSION
012 VANE
121 WATCH DOGS
122 WIPEOUT
034 THE WITCHER 3: WILD HUNT
105 THE WOLF AMONG US
EPISODE 5: CRY WOLF
107 Z-RUN
005
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006
HELLO GAMES TAKES

US BEHIND THE CURTAIN
AT THE MOST WATCHED
EVENT ON THE SONY
CALENDAR.
Though Sean Murray and

the rest of Hello Games
were nervous, No Mans
Sky killed it at E3.
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12 ALL IN VANE
Ex-Last Guardian devs new game.
16 PORTABLE DROPS
The nine-year-old handheld bows out.
19 CULT OF KOJ
Film directors fawn over Hideo.
TheBig10
STORIES EVERYONES TALKING ABOUT
Skys the limit:

the making of
Sonys E3 show
Behind-the-scenes on the PS4 expostealer and Hello Games star demo

Chances are
youve had
sweaty night
terrors
about public
speaking
at one time
or another.
Whether dreaming of regaling your
class with that year eight book
report in your Y-fronts or gingerly
unveiling a key demo to thousands
at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports
Arena, making mouth music in front
of the masses is a tough gig. Even
if that demo is for the most exciting
indie game currently headed to PS4,
it doesnt abate those nerves. We
quickly find this out sitting down
with the key men behind Sonys E3
conference presentation of No Mans
Sky, mere hours removed from an
intergalactic showing that enthralled
all those in attendance and millions
more at home back in June.
F*cking horrible, is how Hello
Games managing director Sean
Murray candidly sums up his
conference experience. Im like that
with heights and stuff. I just sh*t
01
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myself. Clearly still drained, but

also exhilarated by the wonderful
reception his game received, Sean
and creative director David Ream
talk us through what its like to
be behind the curtain at E3.
SETTING THE STAGE
We flew over and then Saturday we
did first rehearsal, and you basically
get an hour, reveals Ream. You wait
and theres another developer who
presumably goes out some other
exit and then you come in and do
your bit. Then youre ushered out
this special exit. Hardly a picture
of glamour, then; something further
hammered home by Murrays
backstage anecdotes. We went into
a green room, except its not. Its like
backstage where theres loads of
forklifts around, and you just have
this little boxed off area with a big
curtain around you, and you sit in
there and youre kind of blindfolded
from all the other games. We
genuinely didnt know what the other
games even were. We guessed, but
all our guesses were wrong. It turns
out all games sound the same!
007
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The Big10
SIEGE THE DAY
It wasnt just Hello Games who

struggled through press conference
nerves. LittleBigPlanet 3 also
had one hell of a showing, though
not always for the reasons Sonys
XDev Europe wing intended. It
wasnt that were totally crap at
playing games, executive producer
Pete Smith tells us, referring to the
fact that Sackboys makers almost
didnt make it to the end of the E3
stage demo during its big reveal.
We had massive lag issues with
the pad. Lag with a platformer is just
a nightmare. We thought we might
have problems, but they were much
worse than wed ever had before.
things to Dave such as look at that

grass, look at that grass. That grass
is amazing. Our grass is sh*t.
Away from green-fingered
envy, we catch up with Sony UKs
marketing director Fergal Gara
to get some small insight into
the colossal logistical job that
is organising an internationally
broadcast conference. Theres a
strategy around what things you
bundle together and decide to
announce at various key points. Of
which E3 is an incredibly important
one, he says. Although, interestingly,
Gara reveals plans can change at
short notice. There are a certain
degree of last minute decisions,
he admits. Yeah, were blaming said
decisions for Sweet Tooths ice
cream van appearance in 2010.
Such is the planning that goes into

Ubisofts traditional surprise E3 closer,
the Montreal team was told Rainbow
Six: Siege was the E3 14 surprise back
in 2013. Almost a year ago we knew,
says team lead Jrme Lasserre.
008
SACK(BOY) IT OFF
Indeed, if it wasnt for the timely
intervention of new bird character
Swoop rescuing his pals, the XDev
team may still be trying to make that
half-pipe jump, as Pete tells us. The
truth is, if we hadnt had Swoop,
wed probably still be on stage right
now. Swoop definitely saved the day.
Its not just botched jumps that
can throw a spanner in a devs E3
works. Merely getting to the point
where you can show a bespoke,
tailor-made demo requires a huge
effort that can often take production
time away from the main game.
Its a scary amount of work,
says Far Cry 4 creative director
Alex Hutchinson. Its always a
challenge, because every minute we
spend on the demo or on a feature

just for E3 is time we dont spend
on the game. So its really a delicate
balance to get it right. Dont fret,
Alex you most definitely got the
right balance between Dumbos
TNT tusks and mini copters of doom
in your Himalayan highlight reel.
With so many big games vying
for the E3s collectives attention,
its only natural some jittery
navel-gazing should enter the fray
as the competitive juices start to
flow. Despite having the unbeatable
combo of dinosaurs (the imaginary
one in the demo is called a
Daplokarus, fact fans) and
spaceships, Sean Murray was
constantly fretting about the
games being shown either side of
No Mans Sky during the conference.
To my eyes, everything just
looked better than us, he confesses.
I had my head in my hands, and I
was genuinely like, Dave, why did
they [Sony] put us in this? Such
introspection even stretched to the
analysis of virtual shrubbery. They
started showing all of the games,
Murray continues. And I was saying
LBP3 HAD ONE HELL OF

A SHOWING, THOUGH NOT
ALWAYS FOR THE REASONS
THE DEVS INTENDED.
NO MANS HIGH
In spite of backstage barbecued
nerves, haphazard Swoop rescues
and elephant balancing, Sony had
a stormer of an E3. As did Hello
Games, though it appears it could
take Murray some time to fully
recover from the stresses of
conference presenting: I didnt
speak pretty much the entire day.
Heres hoping he has plenty to shout
about when No Mans Sky eventually
launches on PS4.
For more on Hello Games upcoming
indie zoom on over to no-mans-sky.com.
For a game thats been

made by fewer than ten
people, No Mans Sky
looked utterly brilliant.
Q Sony XDev Europe blame their
LBP3 platforming problems on pad lag.
Q Oh wonderful, super murdery
elephants. Youll be ours soon enough.
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Somewhere, deep in
the throngs of elbowy
games journos, editor
Matt is kicking E3 ass.
009
Q Despite conference jitters in both the Hello Games and XDev Europe camps, both No Mans Sky and LittleBigPlanet 3 delivered the goods.
Sadly, the final Far Cry

4 demo was distinctly
lacking in the killer skunk
department. Drat.
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Wheres Jak & Daxter?

Ratchet & Clank?
Sackboy? Kratos?
Spyro? Mr Domino?
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010
PlayStation paints
by heroic numbers
The stars (and one lucky fan) collide in an epic PS4 mural
Move over, Mona,
theres a new great
work of art
in town. Celebrating
the most iconic
characters ever
to grace a Sony console (and Aiden
Pearce), The Gamer Masterpiece
mural was painted outside the Los
Angeles Convention
Center during E3
week. Just how did
Walter Watch Dogs
end up on that
noble vessel, you
ask? The boatboarders were
voted for by the masses via an
online poll. Damn those fanboys.
PlayStation gamers all over the
globe cast their votes for virtual
icons via greatnessawaits.com.
And with the chosen characters
cemented, some darned talented
02
painters converged outside E3

central (an event OPM witnessed
first hand) to create the most
culturally significant portrait since
Marge drew Homer asleep on the
couch in his tighty whities, Duff in
hand. Still, the fact Kratos, Ratchet,
Sackboy and Crash all missed out in
favour of a Detroit Tigers baseball
player makes us
want to weep into
the moody God
Of Wars viscerasoaked loincloth.
As for the
gaming heroes
we can actually
identify with our failing corneas,
weve managed to spot *deep
breath* Nathan Drake, Sir Galahad
from The Order: 1886, Scorpion, Big
Boss, Aiden Pearce, Kevin Durant (of
Oklahoma City Thunder), Lara Croft,
one of Destinys Guardians, Delsin
THE BOATBOARDERS WERE

VOTED FOR BY
THE MASSES.
fan talk
How do I feel about
being painted into The
Gamer Masterpiece
mural? Im absolutely
grateful to everybody
who voted for me.
Im motivated to get
my games-related
projects into gear.
And I feel very lucky to
have made PlayStation
History twice.
Joey Chiu
First US PS4 owner
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Rowe, a Dragonknight from The

Elder Scrolls Online, Claire Redfield,
Steve Burnside, the previously
alluded to Miguel Cabrera, Ellie,
Minecrafts Steve, what appears to
be a Dark Souls avatar, Octodad,
Transistors Red, a dude wearing
Hotline Miamis Aubrey mask, a
whole lot of Helghast, aaannnnd a
Black Mage from Final Fantasy XIV.
Quite the invasion force, that. Now, a
shiny shilling to the first one who
chucks Rowe overboard.
THE PEOPLES CHAMPION
And yet, this fateful artistic voyage
was still missing one, oh-so-special
seafarer: Enter Shinogu126 aka
Joey Chiu. Otherwise known as The
First Person In North America To
Buy A PS4, Chiu beat out four other
gamers in an interwebs vote for the
honour of having his image painted
next to those gaming greats. His
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MOBA MENTALITY
Battleborns action is partially

informed by MOBA sensibilities
(thats Multiplayer Online Battle
Arena, kids). Co-op supports up
to five players, while theres also a
5-v-5 Incursion multiplayer mode.
The Big10
Battleborn is headed to
a PS4 near you in 2015.
Please be better than
Aliens: Colonial Marines.
Battleborn and
bred for FPS thrills
Meet the most, ambitious, Gearbox game ever
Hurrah! Were
finally getting that
Aliens: Colonial
Marines sequel
youve been
secretly pining for.
Oh, what jesters we are. Thankfully,
Gearboxs new IP looks far less
heinous than a canon-breaking Xeno
abomination. Set in a sci-fi future,
Battleborn is
a new co-op
shooter, starring
a, breed of
warriors who
must put aside
their differences
to drive back
an unstoppable
menace,
according to 2Ks press release.
Also, well-dressed robots with fancy,
whirring shotguns. Were so in.
If Borderlands 2 is a shooterlooter, Battleborn is a hero-shooter,
said Gearbox president Randy
Pitchford on Twitter. As a genrefused, hobby-grade, co-operative
and competitive FPS exploding with
eye-popping style and an imaginative
universe, Battleborn is the most
03
competition included Ari Smith (head

of the iAm competitive eSports
team), plus PlayStation MPVs and all
round Twitter obsessives WrekGar,
SweetPoison13 and GamerSue. Oh,
and in case you were wondering, a
PS MPV is a, regular and dedicated
PlayStation user that helps to
support PlayStation Network by
playing proactive roles during
events. Cheers, PS Blog.
So congrats, Mr Chiu. If any
member of the PlayStation Nation
deserved to kick Cloud Strife into the
briny blue for a spot on the boat trip
(although is that the Buster Sword
we see as a pointy spec in the
background?), its a dude who
braved the mean streets of Brooklyn
to queue through the night for
a PS4. Now thats an art attack.
To see an insanely sized version of
the mural, head over to the PS EU Blog.
ambitious video game that Gearbox

has ever created. Phew, how about
pausing for breath some time,
Randy? Still, that all sounds
grand, especially after viewing
the beautifully cut debut trailer.
Starring a lithe elfen maiden
with a bow and a hairdo even
80s Bowie would envy, it traces
her battle against an army of what
wed describe
as Ewok-aping
droids. After
briefly getting the
wind knocked out
of her, the warrior
is joined by our
new bestie the
dapper bot, a man
mountain wielding
a mini-gun, a Sith-looking dude
with wannabe lightsabers and
an eyepatch-wearing gunslinger.
Borderlands esoteric teamwork
seems to be alive and well in
Battleborn, then. Lets hope Gearbox
delivers an equally moreish shooter
to the wasteland wonder.
IT STARS AN
ELF WITH A BOW
AND A HAIRDO
EVEN 80S BOWIE
WOULD ENVY.
Well bring you much more info on

Gearboxs Battleborn in OPM #101.
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VANE IS AN OPEN-WORLD
ADVENTURE THAT COMBINES

JOURNEYS VISUAL MAKEUP
WITH LIMBOS SILHOUETTES.
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FRIENDS FOE-EVER
Friend & Foe was founded by a

group of devs whose work spans
Battlefield 3 and Killzone. Though
based in Japan, three of its staff
are Swedish, while the other two
are from South America.
The Big10
Q Were assuming this is just a close-up, rather than a terrifying 50ft crow.
Friend & Foe describes the,

uncluttered, art as a result
of having such a small dev team.
The Last Guardian

devs are so Vane
Tiny team ditches Trico for indie desert delight
We may
have said this
before but
Sonys griffin
beastie is
taking a
smidge
longer
to finish than wed like. The Last
Guardians extended siesta in
development hell has seen creator
Fumito Ueda leave Sony to complete
the project on a freelance basis.
Now, two ex-Team Ico members
have followed suit and, alongside
three other developers, have
created their own indie studio,
Friend & Foe. Its first project? A
truly beguiling open-world adventure
mixing Journeys intoxicating visual
makeup with Limbos highly stylised
silhouette profiles. Say hello to Vane.
We learned a lot on The Last
Guardian and have definitely become
better artists in the process,
reveals environment artist Rasmus
Deguchi, who worked on Team Icos
adventure alongside fellow Friend &
Foe member Rui Guerreiro. We
probably learned a thing or two
04
about patience, he jokes. One of the

main reasons we joined TLG was
that it was one of those rare places
where we could work on the type of
game we always wanted to make.
Though Deguchi wont be drawn
further on whats happening with
Trico, hes gushing when it comes to
Vane. And it seems his teams new
project, which focuses on a child
with a strange power in a desert
land, carries on some of the artistic
spirit of Sonys pined-for title. Vane
felt like a natural progression to
keep doing what we love while still
having creative control.
NO VANE, NO GAIN
Part of said control entails choosing
what platforms to release your
first indie effort on. Though Vane is
currently only slated for PC, Deguchi
admits the team, would like our
game on as many platforms as
possible. Heres hoping both titles
Rasmus has had a hand in recently
end up on PS4. Right, Mr Cat-eagle?
To read the teams weblog diaries, head
on over to friendandfoegames.com/vane.
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013
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the big shot
eagle-eyed analysis
The new grapple hook

means scaling cliffs is now
easy so long as theres
an anchor point in reach.
Tuk-tuks have us excited,

but we can exclusively
reveal that youll also pilot
amphibious hovercraft.
014
Two-player co-op can

be activated for select
missions, but isnt available
for the whole campaign.
We tuk-tuk into
Far
Crys
action
The best new features of Far Cry 4
As far as killer
features go, the
ability to invite a
friend who
doesnt even
own Far Cry 4
to join you for a spot of online
co-op is a big step forward for
PS4 multiplayer gaming, but
during our latest playtest its the
little things that impress us: none
more so than the chance to hop
atop an elephant, headbutt down
a wooden door and then trunkslam and tusk-swipe guards to
death. Hopping off Dumbo even
05
turns our big eared friend into an

AI partner until a wayward
bullet turns its rage on us, that is.
Flying the Buzzard gyrocopters
and raining grenades down on
guards is a fun but incredibly
tough strategy to test out when
trying to wrestle a fortress out
of enemy hands, but our favourite
strategies so far involve stealth,
a killer auto-crossbow and the
chance to destroy beehives and
set angry insects on our victims
Well have more Far Cry 4 info and
exclusive interview content next issue.
WorldMags.net
Upgrades are no longer

tied to tattoos. Ubi tested
knife engravings but it felt,
too similar to Far Cry 3.
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number game
we do the maths
03/12
Expect more distraction
skills than ever. We sliced
a cars brakes to cause a
ruckus and divert eyes
Deactivating stronghold
alarms remains a key
strategy for avoiding these
dudes and inevitably dying.
The legacy-launching day way back in

94 when PS1 was released in Japan.
3.2
8%
Speed in GHz of PlayStation 3s CPU.
Hey, it seemed fast at the time.
1661.95
Number of PS2 games, in millions,
sold during the consoles long lifetime.
Percentage of games starting with

the letter S in our PS4 Hall Of Fame.
3460
Days PSP enjoyed on sale in Japan
before being discontinued for good.
30grams
Weight of a PocketStation with battery
installed. Ah, fond, tiny memories.
100
How many issues of OPM weve made
since 2006. Dear lord, were so old.
$145m
Cost to make and market Final Fantasy
VII, PS1s most expensive ever game.
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015
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016
Good night and

good luck, PSP
Sonys handheld discontinued after a decade of portable pleasure

Farewell, sweet
pocket-sized
prince. After
launching in Japan
on 12 December
2004, shifting over
80m units and birthing insta-classics
such as Metal Gear Solid: Peace
Walker and Lumines, PSP bows out
with the handheld
being discontinued
in its home nation
back in June.
It follows Sony
ending all shipping
of the system
to the States in
January, while the
same fate will befall PSP in
Europe before the end of 2014.
Here come those water-based
works. Weve just got a Patapon in
our eye, honest. Come on now, weve
all got to stay strong. After all, this
06
isnt a time to wallow. Its a time to

rejoice in ten years worth of joyous
portable memories from you, our
most attractive and resplendent
readers. Lets all take a big sexy
bath in the waters of PSP past
as we recall your tales
Every day of my late high school
life, it was my only trustworthy
companion in a
rather lonely time,
admits Jay Talbot
via a heartfelt post
on Facebook.
Although it
cant play games
anymore and the
screen is battered
to hell, I still carry it around to listen
to music on it. My coat would feel too
light without it. If youre not moved
by that youre clearly a) the T-1000
or b) someone with tiny trouser
pockets too small to hold a PSP.
THE BANANAS
HAD MELTED IN
THE HEAT AND
THEN LEAKED
INTO MY PSP.
fan talk
Ill never forget

when I first got my
PSP-1000. I had it set
up perfectly in my bag
with the speaker cable
running out and to my
ears, so that I could
listen to music on my
walk to and from
school. Sadly, I ended
up breaking my trusty
handheld years later.
But when I went to get
it replaced at my local
games shop, the staff
had already put aside
a special edition
yellow Simpsons
model for me. It was
the greatest day.
Aaron Ajay Hunter
via Facebook
WorldMags.net
For those whove been with the

console from the very start, things
are darn emotional, too. I got mine
literally a month after the Japanese
release by bidding on one through
eBay, says import lover Richard
Bonnett. I remember watching the
intro to Ridge Racer in absolute
amazement with my jaw open, then
showing it to my friends and them all
having the same reaction. As far as
that new console feeling goes, it
was pretty special.
PSP SLIM PICKINGS
Going through more wardrobe
changes than a Lady Gaga concert
(PSP-1000! PSP Slim! PSP Go!),
Sonys portable may have suffered
an identity crisis or two, but that
hasnt watered down your love for
the machine or its well-formed
catalogue of classics. I still play
MGS: Peace Walker to this day. The
WorldMags.net
That smiley chap is Paul

Arniel, proud recipient of
the first PSP sold in the
UK on 1 September 2005.
PORTABLE STOPS
PSPs final incarnation was

the oft-forgotten E-1000,
which launched Nov 2011 at a
budget 85. Sensibly, it
brought back the UMD drive
dropped by the PSP Go.
The Big10
info patches
update your brain
Q This lifestyle pic is representative of

how Average Joe enjoyed PSP, yeah?
single-handedly the most wonderfully

bizarre anecdote that has ever
graced these pages. May the
PlayStation gods smile down
upon thee and your bananas.
co-op missions are fantastic, beams

Manoj Jamanagouder. The highlight
of my PSP experience would be
playing local six-player GTA: Liberty
City Stories, offers Alex Ashcroft.
Nothing as fun as chasing friends
around with chainsaws. Uh, we
assume you mean virtually, right
Alex? Right?
Such was the reach of PSPs
global success, we received
memorial messages far from the
frigid shores of Blighty. I had mine
in a bag with some bananas, writes
a rather sheepish sounding Majid
Zohoori from Iran. Some hours
later I found the bananas had melted
because of the hot weather, and had
leaked into my PSP. Mmmm, sweet,
sweet potassium-rich juice. Wait,
theres more No repair shop
could fix it, and it became famous as
the banana PSP around the repair
shops in Mashhad, Iran. Majid, thats
HANDHELD IN HIGH REGARD

Whether falling foul of fruit or
keeping you up on Monster Hunter
until 4:38am for six nights straight,
PSP leaves an indelible mark on the
*sigh* PlayStation Nation. For some,
it broke down gaming barriers:
It introduced my wife and kid to
countless hours of fun through the
likes of LocoRoco and Patapon, says
Ronnoc ONala. Up to that point they
never understood my passion for
gaming. Now we fight over whos
Player One on my PS4. For others,
it led to sad bank balances: I got
a credit card just to get one on
release, confesses Sarah Harris.
As Vita continues on PlayStations
portable legacy, it feels important to
celebrate the first machine to truly
made a dent in Nintendos handheld
dominance. Well leave you with more
from reader Jay Talbot. RIP, PSP.
May you find everlasting happiness in
the handheld afterlife. Amen to that.
Goodbye, little friend.
SHOCK AND AWWW

Sad news on that much promised Bioshock
Vita game looks like its never going to
happen. 2K and Sony couldnt put a deal
together, confirmed Ken Levine on Twitter.
Wish I could do it myself, but lawyers and all
that. He goes on to say he saw it as a, FF
Tactics-style thing set in pre-fall Rapture.
017
SHARE THE LOAD

Sonys promised pre-loading feature for PS4
is finally available in the States. From now on,
any title US gamers pre-order through PSN
will download in time for the games release
date, so they can play it immediately on launch
day. At time of press UK dates for the service
have yet to be announced.
Add to our PSP tribute at facebook/

com/officialplaystationmagazine.
CREED IS GOOD
Q MGS: Peace Walker was the greatest

game to ever hit the handheld. Agree?
WorldMags.net
For the first time in its history, Ubisoft

Montreal has announced its not acting as
lead developer on a core Assassins Creed
game. Instead, the expanding Ubisoft Quebec
has been handed the reins to the next, postUnity AC, after its parent publisher pumped
$28 million into the studio earlier in the year.
WorldMags.net
A Ripley-roaring
adventure
Isolation reunites Alien cast via DLC

This is Ripley,
last survivor of the
Nostromo, signing
off although I
may sign back
on again if
someone approaches me to star in
some DLC in 35 years time. Thanks
to two pre-order missions, and
one of the more impressive cast
reunions of recent times, Alien:
Isolation is giving
you the chance to
catch up with Ellen,
Dallas, Lambert,
Parker, Brett
and everyones
favourite homicidal
synthetic lifeform,
Ash. We hear there
may be a pesky,
penis-headed ET in the mixer, too.
07
shuffle the xenomorph into that

legendary vent system. Players can
choose to try and cajole the beastie
into the air ducts with either Ripley,
Parker or Captain Dallas. And we
must say, the likenesses for all
the actors involved is unerringly on
the corrupt Weyland-Yutani money.
In addition, theres also a
mission called Last Survivor,
though this will only be available at
certain retailers.
We hope you like
pelting about in
the dark to an
incessantly wailing
countdown, as it
re-enacts Ripleys
desperate dash
for the Narcissus
escape shuttle.
Working with the original cast
has been an incredible experience,
says Isolations creative lead
Alistair Hope. For some of the
cast, this is their first appearance
in an Alien game. Its an exciting
bonus we just hope the missions
are released outside the pre-order
route through PSN at some point.
IT GIVES YOU
THE CHANCE TO
CATCH UP WITH
THE CREW OF THE
NOSTROMO.
ELLENS ROAD
Set aboard the iconic craft from
Ridley Scotts 79 masterpiece, the
first mission Crew Expendable will
be available to anyone in the UK who
pre-orders the upcoming horror
fest from Creative Assembly. Taking
place just after a certain crew
members death, it sees the
remaining survivors trying to
Ian Holm and Harry Dean

Stanton are the only cast
members not providing
voice work for the game.
If Ripley and co facehug your interest

tweet your thoughts to us @OPM_UK.
the rumour machine
2K Australia admits
Borderlands: The PreSequel could come
to PS4 in the future.
our sources understand
We spotted former
Assassins Creed creative
director Patrice Dsilets
being taken through
Warner Bros VIP booth at
E3. Could a collaboration
be in the pipeline?
Hollywood
murmurings
suggest
a Thief
movie
is being
made.
Is Beyond: Two Souls

getting a PS4 port?
Reports say
a new-gen
Directors
Cut is in
the works.
WorldMags.net
Kazunori
Yamauchi has
hinted Gran
Turismo 7 may
retain those
dreaded standard
car models.
WorldMags.net
THE KIEFER INGREDIENT?
We are about to embark on
another emotional masterpiece
by Mr Kojima. Kiefer Sutherland
as Snake is just fantastic. Of
course Avi Arad would say that
he suggested Mr 24 for the part.
Hollywood hearts
Hideo in MGS tribute
Movie directors fawn over Phantom Pain trailer
08
QHideo is still the man and MGS V should be

great, regardless of hyberbolic filmmakers.
a history of
classic quotes
Thats right,
Chewie - just
for PSP.
Jack Tretton
promotes
Star Wars
ont:
Battlefront:
de
Renegade
on
Squadron
standingg
next to a
walking
carpet.
Snakes trailer is good,

but its not high art
or quite a match for
MGS2s E3 2000 bow.
Be a star and
pass us our
Cipher-branded
back scrubber,
would ya? All this
sycophantic praise
aimed at Metal Gear Solid V: The
Phantom Pains latest trailer from
some of the film industrys most
respected directors makes us
feel dirtier than a wallowing hippo.
Watching the trailers for MGS V
makes you wonder if the spirits of
PlayStation
voices
Dostoyevsky, Stanley Kubrick, and

Caravaggio entered Hideo Kojimas
body, muses Drive director Nicolas
Winding Refn. No wait, theres
more: Using the art of gaming as
his canvas, he boldly goes where no
one has gone before. For the love
of a sacred scorpion jacket, enough.
The gushing comments posted
on the games website dont stop
there. Pans Labyrinth director
Guillermo del Toro describes
Snakes video as: A window into
the future of the medium and its
breathless narrative and artistic
expansion. While Old Boy helmer
Park Chan-Wook says: Metal Gear
Solid games are already films,
the films of the future. Geez.
Producer Avi Arad (whos making
the MGS movie) also bigged up Koj
on the site alongside even more
big-name directors lets see if any
turn up as in-game guards now
Is MGS Vs E3 trailer worthy of such
praise? Tweet @OPM_UK to let us know.
WorldMags.net
This is how
you share your
games on PS4
Shuhei Yoshida
wins last years
E3 with nine
little words, as
Sony confirms
PS4 supports
used games.
Its Ridge
Racer. Riiiiiidge
Racer! Kaz
Hirais infamous
2006 meme
hasnt stopped
opped
him from
m
being
named
CEO and
presidentt
of Sony.
019
WorldMags.net
instant
opinion
Korras combat looks

to lean on Platinums
existing back catalogue
of esteemed actioners.
strong vs
wrong
CENTURY SUCCESS
In spite of our ailing
joints and distrust of
anyone under 45, its
truly wonderful to hit
issue 100. Wed like to
thank every one of you
for helping us reach
a century. OPM would
be nothing without you.
THE STING RING

For the first time in
history, wrestling
legend Sting will appear
in a WWE game. The
grap star is now a 2K15
pre-order bonus after
signing up with Vince.
RIO RUNNERS-UP
020
The real Rooney and

co may have fluffed
their footy lines (again),
but at least Roys boys
fared better in the
FIFA Interactive
World Cup, where
Englands David
Bytheway came second.
LOHAN BLOW
Oh, Lindsay. The
Hollywood starlet cant
keep out of the news.
Her latest stunt?
Suing Rockstar for
alleged use of her
likeness in GTA V.
MOVIE MEH-GIC
Somehow, Heavenly
Sword has gotten itself
an animated movie,
despite being a sevenyear-old game.
Korra blimey: PS4s

Platinum Nick tie-in
Bayonetta dev brings beloved cartoon to new-gen
Whodve thought
such an utterly
offensive M Night
Shyamalan film
could be connected
to such a terrific
toon? A spin-off from Nickelodeons
acclaimed Avatar: The Last
Airbender, The Legend Of Korra is
one of the most beloved animated
series on TV plus its totally got
JK Cave Johnson Simmons in it.
Featuring a whole heap of melee
combat, and The Matrix-style
manipulation of
elements, its no
surprise Platinum
Games is now
developing the
license into one of
its trademark action
09
IT MAY NOT
HAVE A WITCH BUT
IT PACKS A HELL
OF A BEAR.
HOMEFRONT ALONE
Sources claim Crytek
UK is in serious trouble,
with reports of 100
staff walking out due
to unpaid wages. Heres
hoping Homefront The
Revolution survives.
titles for PS4 and PS3. And although

The Legend Of Korra game may not
have a witch with the most deadly
barnet in the world, it does at least
pack one hell of a polar bear dog.
Following teenage warrior Korra
a spiritual superhero known as the
Avatar who can control water, earth,
fire and air the game looks to
mimic the revered combat systems
of Bayonetta and Metal Gear Rising:
Revengeance. Indeed, the fighting
model already boasts a well crafted
countering system that demands the
sort of split-second
timing the mopheaded ninja broke
out in his MGS
spin-off. Oh, and
just so you dont
tire of laying
a mechanical
beatdown on giant robots, Temple
Run-style escapes featuring that
adorable arctic teddy are included.
Its also heartening to see Platinum
treating the license with such
reverence, having drafted in one
of the shows principal writers,
Tim Hedrick, to pen the script. Now,
as long as Shyamalan is kept well
away this should be a winner.
Q Meet Naga, your polar bear dog. We

now want a polar bear dog for Xmas.
Head to blog.eu.playstation.com for

the latest info on The Legend Of Korra.
WorldMags.net
WorldMags.net
PS-X FILES
Quite frankly were amazed and

appalled at ourselves that not a
single one of us plumped for PSX,
the PS2/digital video recorder
monstrosity that never found
itself a home outside of Japan.
The Big10
just one more question

10
the team debate this months burning issue
What is the greatest PlayStation
console of all time?
021
DOM RESEIGH-LINCOLN
PRODUCTION EDITOR
DAVE MEIKLEHAM
NEWS EDITOR
PHIL IWANIUK
GAMES EDITOR
MATTHEW PELLETT
EDITOR
THE FIFTH GEN OF

CONSOLES WAS A
GOLDEN AGE AND
PS1 WAS ITS
RIGHTFUL KING.
THE NUMBERS AND

THOSE GAMES JUST
DONT LIE: ITS PS2
ALL THE WAY.
OUR TOP 100 GAMES

FEATURE SPEAKS
LOUD AND CLEAR
FOR PS3S QUALITY.
HELLO OPM #200

READERS LOOKING
BACK. IT WAS PS4 BY
MILES, RIGHT?
Wait, I know this one.

Its the PSX, right? No,
thats not it. Oh yeah!
The PocketStation. Boom.
Headshot. Debate over.
The reason Ive already
wasted 21 words to
get here is because Im
ridiculously confident PS2
is the best PlayStation of
all time. Just look at the
numbers, or indeed, one
mega number: 155 million.
Thats how many PS2s
Sony has shifted since
its launch in 2000. More
importantly, its peerless
games library cant be
touched either for quality
or sheer quantity. MGS3,
GTA: Vice City, Resident
Evil 4 the greatest PS
series of all time enjoyed
their high points on the
greatest PlayStation ever.
Time for a mic drop. Q
Initially I picked PS3 this

month because I fancied
a challenge theres no
nostalgia to call upon yet,
nor the momentum of
new-gen to swim along
with. And then it struck
me: there are actually so
many reasons PS3 reigns
supreme I dont have
space to list them all
here. How are you getting
on with reading that
Blu-ray disc, PS2? Do us
a custom game soundtrack using my MP3
collection will ya, PS4?
No? Thought not. And
then theres the absolute
lockdown that PS3 has on
the top 100 games of all
time (see p62). You spoke
last-gen came up on
top, old faves fell by the
way. How do you like them
apples, 32-bit era? Q
My head says PS1, my

heart says PS2 and my
games library insists its
PS3, but overlooking
new-gen is very foolish
indeed. (P45s all round,
then.) Obviously PS4s not
had the time to play host
to the stone-cold classic
titles yet (though theyre
coming soon, worry not),
but already the worlds
most powerful console is
breaking new ground. The
western-design marvel is
winning the console wars
thanks to lessons learned
from PS3s early slip-ups,
and this is just the start.
PS4 is designed from the
ground up to radically
improve with every new
update. I cant begin to
comprehend how good itll
be in six years time, but
I cant wait to find out. Q
Forget the technical

whizzbangery of the
consoles that followed
its that grey granddaddy
that still rules the PS
roost. Nostalgia is a
powerful thing, and when
I first played a PS1 in
an Electronics Boutique
(remember those?) back
in 96 I knew I was in all
kinds of love. The sound
of that startup intro; the
series that became (and
still remain) intrinsically
PlayStation (Tomb
Raider! Tekken! Spyro
The Dragon!); hell, even
the cases with the hinges
that always snapped
boast a charm that
whisks me back to days
of endless MGS sneakery
and Tekken 2 juggle-fests.
Long live the king. Q
WorldMags.net
WorldMags.net
REPLIES
F facebook.com/OfficialPlayStationMagazine T @OPM_UK W officialplaystationmagazine.co.uk E opm@futurenet.com
tracks. I couldve played

any old music at the time
and would now associate
those tracks with my
gaming memories instead
of the ones I currently
do. If it was to benefit
anybody it would be the
music industry, as I have
brought several tracks
because theyve been
in the games I enjoyed.
Chris Sowry via email
Mans Sky, Destiny

and Uncharted 4
One of us
022
Dear all, Im writing to say

thank you for getting me
back into the mag. Around
nine years ago I was living
in the Netherlands, my
nan (bless her) would
send me your mag each
and every month. It was
definitely a highlight, but
it seemed to go downhill
a bit and lose its sense of
humour. I think its a great
read now though, and
glad to say Im a regular
once again. Also didnt
the star letter used to
get the months top game?
Jonathan Winter via email
We did indeed give

away a free game back
in tday, but hey who
needs a few hours of
game time when you can

get a whole 12 months
of OPM with one of our
lovely subscriptions?
Tune in
In response to editor
Matts opinion in issue
#98 does licensed
music really enhance the
gaming experience or just
make it more memorable?
I have no problem saying
that adding music to
games makes for a better
experience, but it doesnt
always have to be known
Im a 40-odd-year-old country bumpkin. I live so far out

in the sticks I cant even access the internet. How do
you survive here I hear you ask? With great difficulty I
reply. I love my PS4, but I have to take my black box of
magic to my parents house just to update it. Theres
a heck of a lot of fantastic games coming out Destiny
and TESO are just two but theyre online-only. Would
it be too hard to implement an offline mode for these
games? I really dont want to miss out on all the fun.
Andrew Dyson via email
Games such as Destiny and TESO have been built

with multiplayer as their focus, but with The Order:
1886 and Batman: Arkham Knight teasing some ace
campaigns, single-player is far from dead. So have
a years subscription to OPM to keep you company.
Tweet gold (and one troll) from

this months @OPM_UK timeline
@GenisisValkyrie
Delsin is my new love
Im sorry Nathan Drake,
but you have to sit
this one out for a while.
@TheLastOfBudge
Assassins Creed needed
more than a few changes,
IMHO. A total redesign
would have been a start.
The right piece of

original music can
enhance moments too,
of course. But with
licensed tracks readily
available were surprised
more devs dont follow
Yagers lead.
@J0EL_G
Seeing the office coffee
machine get cleaned out
is kind of like being told
whats in sausages.
@daniellamlucas
Slightly controversial
opinion time: FFXIV: ARR
is edging into my fave
Final Fantasy top spot.
Mic check
I have always enjoyed

playing co-op split-screen
games with my friends,
but nowadays it seems
that the only way you can
pair up with your mates
is online, no more sideby-side couch gaming
sessions instead you
end up on your own in a
dark room with a headset
I WANT TO SEE MORE SPLITSCREEN CO-OPS ON NEW-GEN.

LETS BRING BACK PROPER
MULTIPLAYER SESSIONS.
Star letter Sticks man
CAN I GET A RT?
on. And with EA removing

the co-op tournament
mode from FIFA 14,
the only way to do it is
yep, online. I want to see
more split-screen co-ops
on new-gen. Come on,
lets bring back proper
multiplayer sessions.
Scott Maskall via email
Fret not, couchplay is
on its way back and the
indies are leading the
charge. Grab a copy of
Towerfall Ascension or
Sportsfriends and say
goodbye to those pottymouthed high schoolers.
WorldMags.net
troll of the month
#99 The Hot 50, No
@dudettecolette
I just read that you wont
be able to build swimming
pools in Sims 4. WTF IS
THIS MADNESS!
@Brendy_C
My morning routine: write
a sentence, hate myself,
close Word,walk around
aimlessly, play XCOM.
@CaptainBeverage
Not sure about the new
Homefront poster boy.
Wasnt he in Brink. (That
game we all loved.)
@RichStanton
Achievement unlocked:
make the baby dance to
Billie Jean.
@notch
I practiced left turns for
like half an hour today,
and I want to apologize to
all of Stockholms traffic.
@ianinthefuture
Saturday I didnt want
anything, Sunday I
NEEDED a laptop, Monday
I bought one. Sigh.
WorldMags.net
best comments from officialplaystationmagazine.co.uk
Delays are not ideal, obviously, but if it

means we get a better product in the end
then its probably for the best.
Racing games
are always late at
crossing the line.
Mietek looks to the bright side amid all these 2015 delays.
N3FAR105 revs for Driveclub.
READERS MOST WANTED

Which games are bleeping loudest on your radar?
Destiny
Bungies MMO FPS bagging the top

slot again? Whodve thunk it? With
the open Beta doing its rounds on
many a PS4 and PS3, excitement
is building to terrifying levels as
that 9 September release date
looms ever closer. Oh and
that Collectors Edition
looks pretty good n all.
The Order: 1886
Storming into the top

five like a blood-drunk
Lycan, The Order: 1886
holds onto last place this
month with a mad look in
its eye and a penchant
for the word, swine!
The confirmed February
release date has been
enough to get you wellspoken beast hunters in
the mood for slayin.
FORMAT PS4/PS3
ETA 9 SEP
FORMAT PS4
ETA 20 FEB
VOTE
NOW!
Uncharted 4:
A Thiefs End
A lack of updates
following its E3 reveal
has done nothing to dull
your anticipation for
Drakes next adventure.
And with The Last Of
Us Remastered looking
stunning on PS4 tech,
we cannot wait for ND
to make us weep again.
023
Tell us the five games

you cant wait to play at
opm@futurenet.com.
FORMAT PS4
ETA 2015
Metal Gear Solid V:

The Phantom Pain
Its been five issues since
Kojimas grand open-world
vision graced your top five,
but with a 30-minute demo
showcasing the dusty
new Afghan setting, the
future looks bright for
the venomous veteran.
Assassins Creed Unity
Sure, theres an overabundance of testosterone

in the four co-op killers of Ubisofts latest AC, but
an engine that can support 5,000 NPCs on-screen
at any one time, an updated parkour system and a
stealth button has fixed its place on your radar.
FORMAT PS4
ETA 28 OCT
EXIT
POLL
Our Facebook
fans answer a
final question
FORMAT PS4/PS3
ETA 2015
22% Have all
Whats your
favourite
PlayStation
console ever?
23% Would
happily take
PS3 to bed in
a heartbeat.
10% Pledge
their allegiance
to the new-gen
power of PS4.
40%
Think the
DVD-playing PS2
is PlayStations
finest hour.
WorldMags.net
the feels for

PS1: the one
that started it all.
3% Prefer the
sleek looks and

functionality
of PS Vita.
2% Still hold
a place in their
hearts for
UMDs and PSP.
NEXT
MONTH
Shower us with
praise/hate mail
for our 100th
issue celebrations
and tell us what
you think of the
Destiny Beta.
OPINION
WorldMags.net
Ben Wilson
WHILE OPM CHANGED

LITTLE IN 100 ISSUES, BEHIND
THE SCENES IT TRANSFORMED
THE LIVES OF ALL WHO
WORKED ON IT.
Ben Wilson looks back on eight memorable years at Club Official
024
adly, print publications

dont receive a letter
from Queenie when they
hit the century mark.
If they did, I think the
aspect of OPM Her Maj
would praise most is its consistency.
Over the last 100 issues, while the
games and consoles have changed,
the mags values have remained
carved into granite. Memorable
features. Exhaustive reviews. Fearless
opinion. Biting humour. Things may
look different since we redesigned
last year, but on closer inspection
there are still plenty of similarities
between issues #1 and #100.
Its ironic, then, that while OPM
has changed little since it launched
in November 2006, the lives of those
making it have been transformed by
association with this famous, fabulous
brand. Most high profile media jobs
are based in London;
committing to the
greatest games mag
going meant every
last one of us
moving to the
West Country. And
introductions to
this new, beautiful
city were not
always smooth. My
first month in Bath
was spent sleeping
on the floor of
a flat with the
only furniture an
inflatable Homer
Simpson chair. Its a
memory I look back
on now with equal parts
fondness and shame.
WRITER BIO
With 54 issues in the big chair, Ben Wilson
holds the record for longest-serving OPM
editor in addition to most 10/10s given
to PS3 baseball games, and number of staff
driven clinically mad by his McFly vs Girls
Aloud playlists. (Nine, at last count.)
Yet theres no doubt working

on OPM improved my life. And my
daughters: without it, shed doubtless
be growing up in a dingy Streatham
flat rather than a garden-backed
house in a leafy village. Im not
the only one. Former staff
writer Louise Blain
would likely still
be working in the
Glasgow Apple
Store from which
she emailed us
a last minute job
application, rather
than writing for
a host of gaming
publications. And two
very recognisable faces
wouldnt have bonded
over Bulletstorm and
burgers before starting
a brand new life together
5,291 miles away in sunny San

Francisco. (No, not Leon and I.)
Louises isnt the only OPM story
which sounds more an X Factor
fairytale. Leon worked as a barman,
scientist and music teacher in advance
of his extended spell as deputy editor.
Current news editor Dave Meikleham
made his living at the Scottish tourist
board. Our first staff writer, Rachel
Weber, was stuck in a mind-numbing
PA job sorting out a guys dry
cleaning and booking his dog into
the vets before getting her callup to international games journalism.
ROGUES GALLERY
Some writers had degrees, some
didnt; we broke with a lot of
traditions in employing people because
of the quality of their writing rather
than their CV. But ultimately,
in choosing the right personalities to
click as a team, OPM became more
a lifestyle than a job for us all.
Lunchtime games of FIFA, debates
over what should go on the office
stereo (Liars throughout the Clark era,
Alphabeat during mine), even sweaty
late night Dominos pizzas as deadlines
loomed these were our constants
as life developed around us.
You could even say we became a
family of our own. At one point we
kept the same editorial team for 43
consecutive issues; four years of living
in one anothers pockets, day in, day
out. And I look forward to the day
when, old and grey and arguing over
FIFA 44 on PS9, we reflect happily
on the way OPM changed our lives for
the better. With any luck, the swines
might even have stopped ribbing me
about blow-up Homer by then.
WorldMags.net
WorldMags.net OPINION
Tim Clark
Matthew Pellett
WHISPER IT, FRIENDS, BUT

I THINK YOUVE WON. THIS
VERSION OF SONY IS A
DIFFERENT BEAST.
PlayStation 4 is now in prime position,
and youre all about to reap the benefits
aving spent eight

years of my career
working for this
magazine and its
predecessor, I am now
coming to the grim
conclusion that as someone
whos always considered
himself a PlayStation man,
I may have got out at the
wrong time. God knows I
endured some of the rougher
periods. A smile fixed to my
face as it was revealed that
PS3 would cost the same as
a small tropical island. Teeth
gritted throughout the,
Riiiiiiiidge Raaaaaacer, E3
press conference, as
with each botched reveal it
became clear the consoles
launch lineup was in a
far from happy place.
In fact, as that particularly
disastrous afternoon wore
on, I vividly recall the then
editor of PSM3 and I actually
clutching hands excitedly
in anticipation of a Metal
Gear or GTA exclusivity
announcement. Neither came.
Afterwards in our hotel bar
colleagues from third-party
software firms and other
magazines came up to us,
shook their heads sadly, and
mumbled stuff about how
it wasnt our year. If youre
reading this, youve probably
felt something similar. Were

PlayStation people round
these parts, and the madder
elements of fanboyism aside,
when you back a new console
it can feel like your fortunes
are firmly tied to the mast
of the manufacturer.
GUNS BLAZING
So what Im here to tell
you now is the good news:
whisper it, friends, but
I think youve won. This
Sony is different to the one
I remember from my days
in the editors chair.
The old arrogance, born out
of the total dominance of the
PS2 era, feels like a distant
memory. Finally, we have a
machine thats both the most
powerful on the market, and
seemingly a cinch to develop
for. Theyre getting the indie
angle right just check
out the gorgeous No Mans
Sky, which is coming to PS4
first and the online side
of things is no longer a pale
shadow of those on rival
platforms. Most of all, Sony
has an insanely strong roster
of internal studios, from
Polyphony to Naughty Dog to
Media Molecule to Ready At
Dawn. So enjoy being on top
again, and, erm, if the editor
here ever needs a break
THE MAGAZINES HISTORIC

RUN HAS EVERYTHING TO DO
WITH YOU, THE READERS, WHO
SHAPE ALL THAT WE DO.
And that manifesto is at the core of the
next boundary-smashing 100 issues, too
PMs a very special

magazine. I can say
this with absolute
confidence for two
key reasons. Firstly, because
with just six issues under
my belt, the mags historic
run has nothing to do with
me and everything to do
with the two gents to my
left, the supremely talented
teams who worked under
them, and you, the readers,
who shaped and continue to
shape everything that makes
its way into OPM with your
comments and feedback.
And secondly, because
before joining this Feb I spent
almost seven years on sister
titles, and barely a day went
by when I didnt look across
the office in awe as the teams
put together some of the best
mags to which this industry
has ever borne witness.
ZINE THERAPY
Hitting the 100 mark is
cause for great celebration
something we certainly
do in this bumper 132-page
issue but its also a chance
to look forward as well. Let
me put down the party horn
for just a moment and Ill
tell you a couple of sobering
truths: if you flick back to
page three youll notice that
Team OPMs a little smaller

than it once was, and we sell
fewer copies than we did in
2006. Not that were going
anywhere Ill make that
very clear but our dreams
of Perrier-Jout fountains to
usher in the century were
soon scaled back to a few
halves and a tray of donuts.
So what does that mean for
the future of OPM? Nothing
but great things. Quite simply,
weve never been more
committed to creating the
best mag imaginable. You
spend hard-earned money on
these pages when theres more
competition than ever vying
to catch your eye, and I firstly
want to thank you, and
secondly say that we think
about your commitment every
single day. If we padded out
our pages with filler content
like some other outlets choose
to do youd be quite right to
stop reading and move on. We
wont do that. In fact, were
fixated on bringing you the
best features, reviews and
opinion that have ever been
printed in a gaming mag. Ever.
TL;DR version: OPMs been
the best mag going for 100
issues, and will continue to be
the worlds best authority on
PlayStation for the next 100,
too. Thats a promise.
WRITER BIO
WRITER BIO
Tim Clark was editor of Official PlayStation 2 Magazine and editor-in-chief

of OPM. He now runs PC Gamer from our San Francisco office, which seems
to mainly consist of him trying to play Hearthstone at a semi-pro level.
After a few guest appearences stretching back many years, and with over a
decade of night classes at Baths secret School Of Puns under his belt, current
editor Matthew Pellett officially joined Team OPM on issue 95.
WorldMags.net
025
NOSTALGIAWorldMags.net
LOOK AWAY!
SPOILER
ALERT
Nostalgia
Flashing back with some magnificent

memory moments as OPM turns 100
1 BATMAN:
ARKHAM ASYLUM
026
Perhaps the most famous

flashback of modern times,
and a moment that must
surely rank as the greatest
set-piece of any superhero
game. Suffering the scary
effects of Scarecrows fear
toxin, Bats has to relive his
parents murder as Arkham
Asylum transforms you
into a young Bruce Wayne.
2 CALL OF DUTY 4:
MODERN WARFARE
Someone get Dian Fossey on

the blower: weve got Ghillies
In The Mist over here. Set
in Pripyat, Ukraine shortly
after the Chernobyl disaster,
All Ghillied Up is without
doubt CODs best moment.
Playing as a young Captain
Price back when his upper
lip was smooth and his rank
only Lieutenant, this is a
ghostly assassination level
that sears the memory.
3
MAX PAYNE 3
One of these days, Rockstar

will give you a flashback that
showcases one of Maxs
happier days say, the
first time his pop took
him out for a 99 Flake. In
the meantime, you have
to settle for number threes
miserable memory lane that
sees the cop battling his way
through New Jersey streets
after he caps a mafia dons

son in a bar.
4 TOMB RAIDER: THE
LAST REVELATION
degradation of the base

and of Old Snake, himself.
7
HEAVY RAIN
Dawww, if it isnt little Lara

Croft. Just look at those
pigtails. Anyhoo, PS1s
penultimate Raider starts
with a 16 year-old Croft
searching for an artefact
called the Iris in Angkor Wat,
while mentor Werner Von
Croy tags along for the raid.
Despite being the best

drawn, most believable
character David Cage has
ever created, it turns out big
boned PI Shelby is actually
the Origami Killer. A fact
revealed through a traumatic
childhood flashback that
shows the tragic, watery
death of his brother.
5 HITMAN:
CONTRACTS
8 GOD OF WAR:
ASCENSION
In cheaty style, this entire

game is one big flashback.
As the life fades from an
injured 47 in a Paris hotel, he
recalls his greatest hits. Top
of the pile has to be the Meat
Kings Party, where you can
kill a 30-stone Glaswegian
with a roast chicken.
6 MGS4: GUNS
OF THE PATRIOTS
Dear lord, Snake. Whats

wrong with your flippin face?
Oh, youve just come down
with a nasty case of PS1-itis.
Awww bless. The genius
of MGS4s Shadow Moses
throwback is it forces you
to replay the opening helipad
section of MGS1. Contrast
this scene with the frosty
compound thats falling apart
on PS3 and its truly a genius
moment that echoes the
Despite slaying roughly

1,293 Gorgons during his
revenge-laden life, Kratos is
really a family man at heart.
Thats why he no doubt
enjoys the beginning of
Ascension, which contains
an early embrace with his
not-yet-bunked-off missus.
Pity its just a dream and
Mrs Kratos is in fact one of
the despicable Furies trying
to mess with his mind.
9 UNCHARTED 3:
DRAKES DECEPTION
Going all Young Indiana

Jones, the third chapter of
Nates final PS3 act
introduces you to the
fortune hunter when he
was a mere light-fingered
15 years-old, trying to steal
Sir Francis Drakes ring
from a Columbian museum.
HONOURABLE MENTIONS
Sly 3: Honour
Among Thieves
Another game thats essentially

one long flashback. Here, Sly
remembers his past thievery.
WWE Smackdown Vs
Raw 2010
JBL creates a fantastic Shawn

Michaels highlight reel, starring
gameplay from the series past.
Final Fantasy VII
A brief jaunt to the past in the

games final few hours recalls
an early mission when Cloud
and Sephiroth were still buds.
Did we miss your fave flashback? Got a brilliant In The Mood For idea? Show and tell at twitter.com/opm_uk.
WorldMags.net
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6
027
WorldMags.net
WorldMags.net
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WorldMags.net
029
40 BLOODBORNE
A closer look at the gory

From Software Souls
game exclusive to PS4.
CONTENTS
METAL GEAR SOLID V: THE PHANTOM PAIN 30 | THE WITCHER 3: WILD HUNT 34
PES 2015 36 | MORTAL KOMBAT X 38 | BLOODBORNE 40
LARA CROFT AND THE TEMPLE OF OSIRIS 41 | ROUND-UP 42
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PREVIEW
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030
WorldMags.net
WorldMags.net PREVIEW
A DESERT DEMO
MIMICS THE SCOPE
OF MARSTONS ODE
TO THE OUTLAW.
FORMAT PS4/PS3 / ETA 2015
PUB KONAMI / DEV KOJIMA PRODUCTIONS
METAL GEAR
SOLID V: THE
PHANTOM PAIN
All your Mother Base are belong to us

in Snakes latest mesmerising demo
Peace Walker meets Red Dead
Redemption. To steal a line from
a beer-swilling wrasslin SOB:
Oh, hell yeah! Shy of ending on
a clip of Big Boss surfing around
Mother Base on Metal Gear Ray,
we just couldnt be more excited about Konamis
latest Ghostly Booboo demo. The fact theres a
customisable mega-fortress waiting to be built
up like militaristic Lego when Snake returns from
missions is one thing. But an extended Afghan
desert sequence which apes the sweeping Western
scope of John Marstons ode to the outlaw? Damn.
Not that the unique slapstick/oh-so-solemn MGS
spirit has been lost as The Phantom Pain saddles up
into sandbox territory. Now that its an open-world
game and the player spends a long time playing, it
might get too heavy, too tense or too stressful and
could cause them to stop, muses creator Hideo
Kojima in our roundtable interview at E3. I didnt
want that to happen, so I try to add more humorous
elements and gimmicks.
Enter defecating horses, kidnappable sheep and
the ability to balloon yourself out of the top of the
map and back to Mother Base with cunning gear
usage. The world may have forced Kojima to adapt,
WorldMags.net
031
PREVIEW
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Left Notice how Master
Millers wardrobe here
foreshadows Big Boss
eventual look. Spooky.
Right Sit still on your horse
for a little while and Snakes
steed eventually takes an
almighty dump.
That Paul Phoenix-looking

hand is gonna come in
hella useful for CQC KOs
and noise distractions.
Mother Base, may I?
A guide to Snakes seafaring fortress
The legendary oil rigaping stronghold is fully

customisable, but can also be
attacked by online players. Build
flying drones to protect your home.
Any POWs (or wooly jumpers

in waiting) you Fulton on the
battlefield will greet Snake
when he returns from missions.
Stick the kettle on, eh, Sheepy?
Like Peace Walker, the main

objective with Mother Base
is to build your own army by
extracting enemies from missions
and recruiting them into BBs ranks.
WorldMags.net
You can use the on-base firing

range not only to improve
Snakes aim, but to bring
recruits shooting stats up to
scratch so that they can defend MB.
but it hasnt changed him. MGS V is still rife with
Koj touches and a knowing sense of absurdity. At
the same time, The Phantom Pain is governed by a
tremendously supple control scheme that gives an
abundance of options for outwitting enemies.
FULTON METAL JACKET
Above Your heros new codename for MGSV is Venom Snake. It

certainly has a more intimidating ring than his Naked MGS3 moniker.
USE THE MAGIC HOT

AIR SERVICE TO
EXTRACT SOLDIERS,
GLORIFIED MUTTON,
CRATES AND JEEPS.
Aside from Snakes stop, drop and roll athletic

espionage tricks, hes also assisted by one of Peace
Walkers most beloved features: the Fulton Recovery
System. Essentially an on-site parachute service, you
can string up any guards you either tranq or hold-up
to a mini hot air balloon with a swift stab of w. Said
newly airborne baddies are then whisked back to
Mother Base, where a quick indoctrination sesh sees
them recruited into Big Boss Diamond Dogs army.
During the demo, our bearded serpent uses the
magic hot air service to extract soldiers, glorified
mutton, crates of supplies, jeeps and even himself.
The animation is wonderful; all exaggerated, slightly
delayed Road Runner whooshing. If theres a concern,
its that some of us might spam the magic balloon
rides. Peace Walker had the sense to place a cap on
Fulton uses during missions, so heres hoping MGS
V follows suit. Otherwise, our Mother Base is going
to have more flocking sheep than a dozen Babe films.
Thatll do FOXHOUND. Thatll do.
Pleasingly, the extended gameplay peek
suggests this is the most playful MGS
to date uh, in spite of Big Boss dolling
FACTRICK
1. FREE AND EASY
himself up with a foundation of dead
people paste in the latest trailer. Mmmm,
Kojima says TPP is a, free
infiltration game. Though
mascara made out of ashes; just delightful.
its a sandbox, completing
Your sneakster still creeps and chokes with
missions is the main goal.
the best of em, but now hes also found
2. BIG SMOKE
new uses for ammo air-drops (time it right
Puff on Snakes Phantom
Cigar to alter his perception and KO an enemy by dumping a giant crate
of time. Useful for changing onto his head) and dumpsters.
the time of day quickly.
Ah yes, the humble home of Oscar the
3. CLAP OF HONOUR
Grouch. Where once Old Snake could only
With your stealth heros
cower in bin juice in MGS4, now his pappy
newly prosthetic arm, you
can do a one-handed metal can grab and subdue passing guards while
clap to attract guards.
hiding in the safety of a dumpster. A nifty
trick, and one that taps into the sense that
every part of the environment serves maximum
hide-and-seek shenanigans.
NEW BOX OF TRICKS
Above Notice how closely the colour palette and hexagonal

design of Mother Base mimics Big Shell from MGS2.
Above Yes, you can indeed Fulton sheep. Send critters back to
MB to create your own animal farm minus all the Stalinism.
Which brings us neatly to every legendary, slithering

agents must-have accessory: the cardboard box.
Perhaps the most iconic item ever to grace the
stealth genre, those six sides of heavy-duty paper
sure have come a long way since a blocky PS1 Solid
Snake could merely use them to travel from Shadow
Moses heliport to B1 of nuclear warhead storage.
Thanks to miracle breakthroughs in PS4 cardboard
rendering technology, Snake can now spring forth
from his container like a homicidal jack-in-the-box.
Its a feature that proves tremendously useful for
getting the drop on guards and sending them to their
beddy-byes at the drop of a corrugated flap. Even
better, Petey Patch can dive out the side of his
box with a tap of r for a nippy, stylish getaway.
The Phantom Pain is simultaneously super
thoughtful, purposely stupid and packed with more
incidental esoteric details than you could shake
Ocelots possessed arm at. More than that, it looks
to be a gloriously realised sandbox that has gently
conceded to modern mechanics without ever losing a
sense of itself. Sheep abduction never felt so right.
WorldMags.net
033
WorldMags.net
EVERYTHING THAT
LIGHT TOUCHES CAN
BE EXPLORED RIGHT
FROM THE START.
Combat isnt a buttonmashing affair you

need to block and make
use of your spells.
FORMAT PS4 / ETA 24 FEB 2015 / PUB BANDAI NAMCO / DEV CD PROJEKT RED
034
THE WITCHER 3: WILD HUNT
Lost voices and tough choices in search for an ashen model

The life of an RPG protagonist
isnt all glamour, spell casting and
window shopping for new armour.
And so it proves for Geralt Of
Rivia, with our latest look at the
Wild Hunt star seeing him in
full back-scratching mode as he attempts to track
down an ashen-haired woman. Our demo opens
just after hes slain an enormous griffin (we didnt
say there wasnt any glamour) and is delivering
his trophy to an NPC in the city of Novigrad.
Whats striking as our man trots across the
countryside, in addition to graphics so
pretty that we want to elope to Vegas with
them and have a shotgun wedding, is the
FACTRICK
vastness of the world that can be seen in
1. DEMOCRITIC
the distance. The sense of scale is backed
During a visit to Poland in
11, US President Barack
up by a map which takes an age to scroll
Obama was presented with
across and everything the light touches
a copy of The Witcher 2.
can be explored right from the off.
2. STONES THROW
A Witcher comic book
series, titled House Of
Glass, is currently being
published by Dark Horse.
MANE CONCERN
Not a man to toil for free, Geralt is trading

the fruits of his labour for info. Hes told
3 . A P I R AT E S L I F E
that his target has been seen with a childCD Projekt Red estimates
like forest dweller in a delightful sounding
that The Witcher 2 has been
illegally downloaded over 4.5 place called No Mans Land; as a location
million times.
thats previously been visited Geralt can fast
travel there just as well, as were told the
trek would take around 15 minutes on horseback.
In the swamps nearby we come across Johnny, the
godling whos said to have the details we need. And
so begins the what have you done for me lately?
back and forth Johnnys lost his

voice, so this needs to be tracked
down before he can provide the next
piece of the jigsaw. That necessitates
a trip to a nearby settlement, which in
turn leads to more mutual ministration
as the villagers need a malevolent
forest spirit taking care of. Only at the
end of all of this zigzagging is Geralt
rewarded with that tasty nugget that
hes looking for.
If this all sounds like rote busywork
in principle, in practice its anything
but. At several points while exploring
No Mans Land, Geralts attacked by
groups of enemies, and the swordsand-spells combat looks varied and
satisfying in a way that it didnt 12
months ago. The process is also made
engaging by some decent scripting
(although some slightly suspect British
accents do make an appearance), and
a quasi-moral choice at the end. That
the demo we see proceeds in a manner
different to that which we would
have picked reinforces this games
insistence that all matters are
drawn in varying shades of grey.
Wild Hunts quality, however, seems
to be very much a black-and-white
matter. The only real question left
is just how good the game can be
fulfil its potential completely and
well be looking at an all-time great.
WorldMags.net
Above Wild Hunt has a large

number of brothels you
can visit. Less unsavoury
are the truly gorgeous
environments.
Everything you see can

be explored, and there
are no artificial barriers
locking off areas, either.
035
Wood you kindly...
Our forest-based demo, from start to finish, is anything but tree and easy
The first thing to do is take

this big beast down its head
is currency that can be traded
for new information. The game has
plenty of these hunting quests.
Head to Novigrad for a chat

with a chap named Dijkstra. He
was the one who tasked you
with his decapitating deed, and its
he who sends you over to Johnny.
While searching for the

godlings voice a couple of
werewolves show up. Making
use of the games five spells
known as signs is a vital tactic.
And this is the lady who all

the fuss is about. Not much is
known about her at this point,
but those eager to jump ahead can
do so by delving into the books.
Left In a hurry? Fighting

from horseback allows for
ride-by decapitations this
seasons must-have method
for swift, satisfying murder.
WorldMags.net
Above This is a franchise

with a hearty backstory and
cast list, but you wont need
prior knowledge to get on
board with the plot.
PREVIEW
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IT ADOPTS FIFAS
TILED MENU SYSTEM,
OVERTHROWING THE
HORRIBLE OLD UI.
036
Can PS4s PES debut

match FIFA 15? Wed put
more money on it than
Carrick scoring here.
FORMAT PS4 / ETA SEP 2014

PUB KONAMI / DEV PES PRODUCTIONS
PES 2015
Fox in a new-gen box

Be honest with yourself: you just dont
have room in your life for two footy
games, right? We know how you feel.
Ever since the wonderful PES 6, the
series has seen about as much playing time during
OPM lunch hours as Emiliano Vivianos recent
loan stint at Arsenal. So how does Konami make
the series new-gen bow relevant to those fans it
lost to EA Canada back around FIFA 10?
Above Amazingly, rather than using scanning techniques, PES players are still hand drawn.
Three reasons why
FOX Engine could shoot PES to the top
More fluid animations.

They can be inserted
a lot easier without
compromising the response
times, says PES EU brand
manager Adam Bhatti.
Lighting is now
handled in-engine,
Bhatti tells us. This
means stadia, crowds and
players are lit using a single
source of real-time lighting.
Konamis advanced
tech has allowed the
team to implement
Full Pitch AI a system that
adjusts player runs, even
those who are off-screen.
Firstly, it gets a European injection, thanks to the

formation of a new PES UK team based in Windsor.
We want to incorporate that European style of
football, and value that as much as we do our own
view of football in terms of presentation, design and
also technological advancements, senior creative
producer Naoya Hatsumi tells our sister site CVG.
In practical terms, this sees PES Productions Tokyo
studio collaborate closely with the UK; a relationship
thats already resulted in PES 2015 adopting FIFAs
tiled menu system, finally overthrowing the horrible
UI that has dogged Konami for years.
Not that the series is losing its Eastern influence,
with the FOX Engine felt more keenly on PS4.
A raft of promised tech improvements include an,
unrestricted, shooting system to provide more
types of goals and a Final Pass feature for killer
assists. If it can build on PES 2014s charismatic
effort, this may give FIFA 15 a title challenge.
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PREVIEW
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Newly revealed characters include insect Dvorah, ancient god Kotal Kahn, Cassie Cage (daughter of Johnny and Sonya Blade) and girl/beast combo Ferra/Tor.
THE FRONT OF HIS

FACE PEELS OFF,
EXPOSING EYEJUICE
AND HEADMEAT.
038
Kotal Kahns War God

variant comes with
a Macuahuitl sword.
Above Half-human/half-insect DVorah is a deadly

new addition. One Fatality sees her strip the flesh
from her enemys skull using an insect swarm.
WorldMags.net
FORMAT PS4/PS3 / ETA 2015 / PUB WARNER BROS / DEV NETHERREALM STUDIOS
MORTAL KOMBAT X
Hands-on with the X-rated fighter
How strong is your stomach?
Strong enough for you to watch
new fighter Cassie Cage drop to
her knees and uppercut a man in
his netherrealm, have the camera
switch to slo-mo X-ray mode and
zoom in as his hanging children factories literally
explode under the pressure of the rising fist, and
not lose your lunch? How will it handle Sub-Zero
freezing Cassies chest solid with ice, punching a
hole straight through her body, grabbing her spine
with both hands and then holding her aloft before
snapping said spine like a wishbone and dropping
two bleeding halves of her body on the floor like
pieces of fleshy litter?
Still keeping your porridge down? Okay, try this
one: Scorpion first burns away Sub-Zeros chest
with fire before slicing through the front of his face
with a katana. Sub-Zeros mask slips off
his face. Then the front of his face loses its
fight with gravity and peels off completely,
FACTRICK
1. 25-TO-LIFE
leaving exposed headmeat and eyejuice in
plain view. As his body collapses to the
A direct follow-on from
2011s series reboot, it
floor his bisected tongue flops around in
quickly leaps forward 25
his mouth like a dying fish and Sub-Zeros
years in the MK timeline.
cooling brain slowly begins to slide forward
2. ADAM AND EVO
out of the new hole at the front of his skull
Mortal Kombats now
and flop to the floor like an Arjen Robben
considered a tournamentlevel fighter, having
penalty appeal. There you go welcome
appeared at multiple Evos.
back porridge. Ugh.
3. TOR BLIMEY
Mortal Kombat certainly hasnt lost
Ed Boons favourite new
its love of courting controversy (although,
character is Ferra/Tor, who
astonishingly, were told that there were
has, the most interesting
fighting mechanics.
some Fatalities considered too extreme
to make the cut), but to write it off as yet
more blood and guts wrapped around a fighter would
do the series a great, ahem, injustice. Wipe away
the gore and NetherRealms created what it believes
to be a tournament-level fighter more than capable
of holding its own against the genre kings.
TRIPLE TROUBLE
Every character has three versions of themselves,
explains Mortal Kombats co-creator Ed Boon. So
instead of saying Scorpion is a good matchup for
Sub-Zero, its going to be Scorpion B is a good
matchup for Sub-Zero C, but Scorpion A might
be a bad matchup for Sub-Zero A. That kind of
layering of depth I think is really going

to separate this game from not only
MK9, but other fighting games.
These different character versions
dramatically change the feel of Mortal
Kombat Xs roster. For instance,
office favourite Sub-Zero comes in
Cryomancer, Unbreakable and Grand
Master variations: the first equipping
him with ice weapons, the second a
defensive-minded setup with Frozen
Aura and Battle Of Frost skills, and
the third blending both styles courtesy
of the Ice Clone move and an ability
to hurl freezing copies at enemies.
BOON ARMY
Is such a radical shift in mechanics
a risk for a genre followed by fans so
invested they actually count individual
frames of moves to hone their skills?
Youre always a little nervous,
confesses Boon when we ask about the
dangers of changing a fighting games
DNA, but to me the worse evil would
be to stay content and say, okay it
worked for MK9, so lets just stick
with what works. Unfortunately, other
fighting game franchises have done
that. Theyve just basically skinned
the same game with prettier graphics. I
want to ensure we dont fall into that.
And going by our hands-on tests
so far, NetherRealm shouldnt be
concerned about accusations of
copying and pasting from past entries.
The discovery that environments are
less interactive than the sprawling
playpens of Injustice: Gods Among
Us arenas is a low blow (theres some
interaction still such as grabbing
an old woman from the background
of the Outworld Marketplace and
chucking her towards our foe), but the
new characters and markedly different
variant types make for fascinating
experimentation. And after every third
round, theres always a fresh reason to
lose your breakfast
WorldMags.net
039
PREVIEW
WorldMags.net
on
the
box
YHARNAM IS A
HORRIFIC TAKE ON
VICTORIAN LONDON.
judged only by
their covers
ASSASSINS
CREED UNITY
Yharnams citizens have
no idea theyve already
got the plague. They
must not have mirrors.
FORMAT PS4 / ETA 2015 / PUB SONY / DEV FROM SOFTWARE
040
In this period-set interactive

episode of Come Dine With
Me, you guide four dandies
with a love of fine weaponry
as they attempt to outdo
one another with the most
outlandish carving methods.
Guillotine your roast, sir?
FORMAT PS4 ETA 28 OCT
BLOODBORNE
From Softwares bloody, exclusive RPG puts PS4 in Soul position

Forget the levelling and gear upgrades,
the punishing difficulty and the melee
combat: the Souls games most defining
influences come not from action-RPGs
or roguelikes, but the humble scrolling shootem-up. They are, first and foremost, tests not
of reactions, but memory: every time you play
through a section every enemy will be in the exact
same place. And if you die okay, when you die
its back to the start with you. It is the defining
characteristic of the Souls games, so its fitting
that Bloodborne is throwing it out of the window.
Enemies will move around. The citizens of Yharnam,
the plague-ridden Victorian London that Bloodborne
calls home, dont just stand in the same place
waiting for an adventurer to cross their paths.
Theyve got jobs to do. Theyre hunters, working
together to seek out and eliminate the beasts that are
decimating their numbers, summoned by a church
bell to hunting missions, abandoning their posts and
moving on. The result is that, as you move around
Yharnams crumbling cobbled streets, you have no
idea whats coming. Playing Bloodborne is like your
first steps into a new Dark Souls area. And itll
continue to be a new experience 100 hours later.
a shotgun blast can be followed up

with a damaging two-hit attack with
your melee weapon, like a riposte
after a Dark Souls parry.
Speak to any Souls veteran and
theyll explain the seemingly minor
changes from one game to the next
that have proven transformative to
the game as a whole: the effect Dark
Souls IIs bonfire warping had on
its world design, for instance, or the
way it made gear-upgrading a limited
resource instead of an infinite one for
most of the game. The devil is in the
tiniest of details, and the same will
apply here: how Bloodborne handles
checkpointing, levelling, upgrades
and weapons will define whether this
is a Souls game in new clothes, or
something else entirely. For now it
seems that were getting more of the
brilliant same with a few little twists.
Thatll do us just fine.
LITTLEBIGPLANET 3
Pump up your pompadour

and shake out your Jheri
curl because LBP has
coined the first hairdressing
sim. With hair dryer in hand,
Sackboy channels his inner
Nicky Clarke in a globetrotting perm to the death.
FORMAT PS4/PS3 ETA TBC
COD: ADVANCED
WARFARE
SOUL OF A GREAT HERO

Which is just as well because this is otherwise a
Souls game through and through. Our protagonist
backsteps and dodge-rolls away from the enemy
threat. Streetside corpses glow with item pickups.
Kill an aggressor and a wispy trail passes from their
body to yours. Even when its different, its the same:
Above Blood stains clothing. By the end of our

demo our protagonists absolutely drenched.
Have you got what it takes

to be the next best Matt
Damon impersonator? Start
off with an exo-skeletonwearing Elysium tribute
before going all out Bourne
in this tense dress-em-up.
FORMAT PS4/PS3 ETA 4 NOV
WorldMags.net
WORKING AS A TEAM
IS ALL WELL AND
GOOD, BUT THERES
STILL LOOT TO GRAB.
FORMAT PS4 / ETA 2014
PUB SQUARE ENIX / DEV CRYSTAL DYNAMICS
LARA CROFT AND THE

TEMPLE OF OSIRIS
Miss Crofts new party of four
Its been four years since Laras last

twin-stick co-op adventure, and with
her rebooted self upping the moodiness
with its own tomb-based sequel, we go
hands-on with the other new Crofty offering to
see if she can still play nice with friends.
Special abilities, such as Laras grapple hook, make
their return alongside the team-boosting Artifacts
(the ones we find give the whole group a fiery boost
to its firepower), but with Temple Of Osiris, CD
is shooting for a far more competitive experience.
New collectable Rings add damage modifiers
to our weapons, but they only affect the player
who collects them. And since the familiar bombs
are deadly enough to take out both enemies and
teammates, were happily blowing up our buddies
just to pilfer them first. Annoyingly, the Rings we
pick up dont feel that impactful in combat, which
makes fighting for them much less enticing.
Our biggest issue with the demo is the feel and
movement of each character. The two we try out
(Lara and Isis) both feel loose and imprecise, causing
us to fall off ledges and overshoot tactical rolls with
frustrating consistency. But if CD can reinstate the
weighted traction of Guardian Of Light, then this
new romp could be raiding with the best of em.
Keeley Hawes, who voiced

Lara in Guardian Of Light and
Crystal Dynamics pre-reboot
Tomb Raiders, is also back.
Above This final bridge section, with its crumbling pillars and
hordes of scarabs, shows off the games new sense of pace.
WorldMags.net
041
PREVIEW
WorldMags.net
PREVIEW
ROUND-UP
Eyes forward please,

and no slouching at
the back its time
for your monthly
dose of round-up
goodness. This time
weve got pious
space marines,
smooth pool sharks
and karting OAPs?
042
FREEDOM
WARS
FORMAT PS VITA / ETA TBC

PUB SONY / DEV SCE JAPAN
STUDIO/SHIFT/DIMPS
Sony has released a brand

new story trailer that
shows its upcoming
Monster Hunter-style sci-fi
brawler is more than just
killing beasties with your
friends. Okay, its mainly
killing beasties with your
friends but still, theres a
story at its heart, too.
Forced to serve one million
years of servitude for the
crime of living (seems a bit
harsh), you must head out
into ruined wastelands, kill
monsters and save civilians
in order to shorten your
heavy sentence. With a
successful launch in Japan
back in June, Freedom Wars
is set to become one of the
most intriguing Vita titles.
SPACE HULK:
DEATHWING
FORMAT PS4 / ETA TBC

PUB FOCUS HOME INTERACTIVE / DEV STREUM ON STUDIO
Eleven years have passed since the

last FPS set in the Warhammer 40K
universe, but now our prayers to the
God Emperor have been answered with this
new slice of gunplay. As a Librarian of the
fabled Dark Angels company Deathwing, its
up to you and a squad of your fellow Space
Marines to battle an infestation of rampant
Genestealer aliens. Unleash and upgrade
psychic attacks, improve your weapons and
take back that desolate space hulk.
MECHRUNNER
PURE POOL
PAVILION
Following a successful
Kickstarter campaign thats
helped give this Sovietthemed runner a good
layer of extra polish,
Mechrunners summer
release window is almost
upon us. You control the
XP-41, an experimental tank
that can transform into a
mech at the touch of a
button. Did we mention its
also got a pair of swords to
slice and dice your enemies
an alternative 40s version
of the Soviet Union hell-bent
on using alien technology to
enslave the world into
neat little bits? Your mech
suit is fully upgradeable and
each level is procedurally
generated with multiple
routes and bosses.
Okay, calm yourself now.

Deep breaths. We know
what the sight of soft pool
club lighting and the scent
of freshly laid baize will do
to you so just try and collect
yourself because Hustle
Kings developer VooFoo
Studios is bringing the
ball-thwaking smoothness
of billiards to PS4! Were
excited too just look at the
chalk particles puffing off
that pool cue, dude! Pure
Pool offers head-to-head
real-time multiplayer, the
ability to play against the
DNA Profile of your friends
(which is basically an AI that
uses your friends stats to
create a more challenging
opponent) and the option to
take on the world in Online
Leagues. Smooth stuff.
A game that styles itself

as a fourth-person puzzle
adventure? What fresh hell
is this? Fancy selfdescription aside, Pavilion
is proving to be one of the
most beguiling new indie
titles. Interestingly, you dont
actually control the main
character you instead
find different ways to
manipulate the environment
to guide him through
different puzzles. By
interacting and observing
you gradually, bit by bit,
learn things about both the
puzzling gameplay and the
world itself, says Visiontrick
Media co-founder and
creative director Henrik
Flint in a recent post on
the PlayStation Blog.
FORMAT PS4/PS VITA / ETA

SUMMER / PUB SPARK PLUG
DEV SPARK PLUG
FORMAT PS4 / ETA TBC

PUB RIPSTONE / DEV VOOFOO
WorldMags.net
FORMAT PS4/PS VITA / ETA

2014 / PUB VISIONTRICK MEDIA
DEV VISIONTRICK MEDIA
KINGDOM
UNDER FIRE II

PUB BLUESIDE / DEV BLUESIDE
Originally announced for

PS3 back in 2008, the next
instalment in the RTS/hack
n slash fantasy series has
reemerged on PS4 with a
shiny new trailer showing
off the grand scale of its
battles. You can jump into
the action as one of three
classes (Gunslinger,
Spellsword and Beserker),
with developer Blueside
promising an intuitive
transition between
third-person action and
troop-controlling RTS-style
gameplay. And its not just
swords and axes in the
world of KUF II, oh no
everything from riflewielding infantrymen to
giant airships are at your
death-dealing disposal.
BOMBSHELL

PUB 3D REALMS / DEV
INTERCEPTOR ENTERTAINMENT
KINGDOM HEARTS
HD 2.5 REMIX
FORMAT PS3 / ETA 5 DEC
PUB SQUARE ENIX / DEV SQUARE ENIX
While we all still sit here pining for

more than just a fleeting glimpse
of Kingdom Hearts III on PS4,
Square Enix and series director
Tetsuya Nomura are sating our cravings for
all things crossover with the second Kingdom
Hearts HD Remix collection. It gathers
together a tweaked version of Kingdom
Hearts II Final Mix and a rezzed-up version of
PSP-only title Birth By Sleep Final Mix (both of
which were previously available only in
Japan), plus an HD version of Re:codeds
cinematics sown together into a three
hour-long, Disney-loving popcorn bonanza. A
recent trailer showing off the comparison
between the PS2 original and new HD version
shows some new costumes changes, too.
Shelly Bombsell Harrison,

the heroine of this tastefully
distasteful isometric
shooter, is described
as having a penchant for
kicking ass, motorcycles
[and] kicking ass on
motorcycles. Which is
probably a good thing
considering shes on an
angry mission to save the
president from a, maniacs
mechanical monstrosity.
And if the recent trailer
and screens are anything
to by, that means shredding
demons and robots to
dust across four different
planets with ten different
arm upgrades. Oh, did we
not mention Shellys got a
mechanical arm as well?
Of course she does.
TALES OF
XILLIA 2
FORMAT PS3 / ETA 22 AUG

PUB BANDAI NAMCO
DEV BANDAI NAMCO
Its been almost two years

since the second entry in
the Tales sub-series made
its debut in Japan, and since
absence is known to make
the heart grow fonder,
Bandais hoping were
brimming with anticipation.
(Spoiler: were not.) Xillia 2
has two new characters,
Ludger Will Kresnik and Elle
Mel Marta, and is set two
years after the first game.
Continuing the franchises
love for overly-complicated
system names, Tales Of
Xillia 2 uses a Cross Double
Raid Linear Motion Battle
System that enables you to
synchronise attacks with
your party members to
devastating effect.
COFFIN DODGERS
FORMAT PS VITA / ETA DEC
PUB MILKY TEA / DEV MILKY TEA
LA-MULANA
PORTABLE
FORMAT PS VITA / ETA DEC

PUB PYGMY STUDIO
DEV PYGMY STUDIO/NIGORO
The beloved Japanese,

and once PC-exclusive,
side-scrolling puzzle
adventure is back with new
features designed especially
for Sonys sleek handheld.
The devs are keeping
tightlipped on said details,
but an updateable bestiary
is rumoured. You take on
the role of archeologist Dr
Lemeza Kosugi as he delves
into the ancient ruins of
La-Mulana in search of the
fabled Treasure Of Life.
Its a Metroidvania-style
romp with a sultry mix of
open-ended exploration,
platforming, puzzle solving
and combat but with a
greater focus on building
tension and difficulty.
GUNS UP!
FORMAT PS4/PS3/PS VITA / ETA 2014

PUB SONY / DEV VALKYRIE ENTERTAINMENT
This free-to-play wait, dont run

away screaming RTS title was
unveiled at this years E3 and, boy,
does it make warfare look fun. Youre a
General, and its up to you to take control of
a map by any means necessary be it with
troops, land mines, airstrikes and more
as well as building and defending your own
base. It might sound like standard RTS fare,
but Valkyrie has designed the UI to be easy
to use, so issuing orders on the fly is a
doddle. Its also Cross-Buy, so you can get
battling online and form factions anywhere.
WorldMags.net
Remember those
animated Lloyds TSB
adverts that were kind
of charming but had
that godawful theme that would
get stuck in your head for all
eternity? Theeeere it is. Milky
Tea, the Liverpool-based studio
responsible, is now pouring its
effort into a game that combines
two vital pillars of creative gold:
karting and OAPs. Yup, this is a
cartoony racer where you zoom
around a leafy retirement home
on a mobility scooter thats clearly
going to void its manufacturers
guarantee with all those
weapon upgrades. Coffin
Dodgers features a
bright open-world, 21
individual races and
a choice of seven
speed-loving oldies
its also got a dev
team that brings
experience from other
racers including
Bizarre Creations
Blur and our very
own Driveclub.
043
WorldMags.net
Q&A
THE OPM INTERVIEW
The man of
nightmares
Horror guru Shinji Mikami sits
down with Matthew Pellett to
discuss The Evil Within, Dead
Space and his Disney past
044
eople talk about the

Uncharted 4: A Thiefs End
reveal, or No Mans Skys
jaw-dropping demo, or
even the first hands-on
opportunity with Batman:
Arkham Knight as being
their moment of E3 2014,
but right here, right now,
this is mine. Sandwiched
between a behind-closed-doors Destiny
presentation and a hands-on test of Lara
Croft And The Temple Of Osiris on the
opening day, Im away from the noise and
the heat of the manic show floor and sitting
opposite a man I hold personally responsible
for my love of the survival horror genre.
(Resident Evil was hugely a formative title
for my 11-year-old self.)
Ive been warned by other journalists that
Shinji Mikami can sometimes be aloof
even rude during some interviews,
but when we sit down to discuss The
Evil Within, the man peeking out from
beneath a baseball cap opposite me
is humble and welcoming. Heres
what he has to say
OPM: You always seem to

return to the survival horror
genre what is it about
survival horror that
interests you most
as a developer?
Shinji Mikami: For me, every
title I create is special,
right? So theres no
WorldMags.net
WorldMags.net
045
WorldMags.net
A man of few interviews,

Mikami worked on three
titles in your 100
Greatest Games list.
WorldMags.net
THE OPM INTERVIEW
I MADE
RESIDENT EVIL AND
PEOPLE STARTED
REFERRING TO ME
AS THE RESIDENT
EVIL CREATOR.
WAIT A MINUTE!
I MADE DISNEY
GAMES MORE THAN
I DID HORROR.
reason that I have some special feeling about
survival horror. Aladdin I made a long time ago
for Disney God Hand I love them [all].
046
In OPM #99 we said

The Evil Within lived
in, pure Resident
Evil 4 territory.
OPM: Do you get tired when people talk only

about your involvement with Resident Evil and
Resident Evil 4?
SM: [laughs] I used to feel that way because I
made three Disney games, and then after that
I made Resident Evil and people refer to me as
Resident Evil creator. Wait a minute! I made
Disney games more than the horror games!
Thats how I felt a long time ago.
OPM: But now? If you felt that way a long time

ago has your opinion changed?
SM: Ive gotten used to it.
OPM: What were your key objectives when you
started work on The Evil Within?
SM: I wanted to make a game thats not only
scary but also, when you defeat the creatures,
you get a sense of achievement a sense
of feeling good. So theres a balance between
scary and this sense of achievement you get
excited and you get scared.
OPM: This is your first game on a new

generation of consoles. How have you found
developing for PS4 so far?
SM: So because the resolutions higher, its
more realistic. I can actually create something
thats more realistic. In the horror genre, [its
about] the lighting. More lights in a level means
theres more variety in the situations, so thats
very good.
OPM: Do you feel that youre improving as you

get older? Do you become a better developer
with every game that you make?
SM: I need a lot of people to create a game, so
as I develop more games its not only me but
my staff members that have to grow. So for me,
my kind of growing curve is not that steep.
Top The Evil Withins ghost-like figure Ruvik is based in part on Hannibal Lecter.
Left Mikamis Aladdin was one of three developed. Right Resi 4 reinvented horror in 05.
One reason its not that steep is I made one game and I used a lot of
techniques to scare people. I cant apply the same technique to the sequel
[to scare people again] or my next project I have to create and come up
with different ideas. So thats maybe one of the reasons why my learning
curve is not that steep.
OPM: Is that why youre exploring the mind and psychological horror in
The Evil Within to try a horror angle you havent explored before?
SM: Yes.
WorldMags.net
WorldMags.net
THE OPM INTERVIEW Q & A
N E E D
T O
K N O W
OPM: Do you see any of yourself inside leading

man Sebastian?
SM: I dont like to project myself into any
characters, so no!
SHINJI MIKAMI
THE EVIL WITHIN
CREATOR
1993
ALADDIN
Q After a quiz game and
Who Framed Roger Rabbit

for Game Boy, Mikami
continues his Disney work
with Aladdin and Goof Troop
on SNES.
1996
BIOHAZARD/
RESIDENT EVIL
Q Cements his legacy
by directing PlayStations
breakout survival horror
Resident Evil. Later repeats
the act with 2005s
Resident Evil 4.
2010
TANGO GAMEWORKS
Q Post-Shadows Of The
Damned, Mikami founds

his new studio, which is
acquired by Bethesda later
in 2010. The Evil Within is
its first title.
Mikami isnt aiming

low: We are going to
make a game that will
make Japan proud.
OPM: The ghostly Ruvik is a really interesting

character where did you come up with the
idea for him?
SM: Hes part influenced by the Recter?
[slight confusion between Mikami and
translator, during which Mikami mimics
Anthony Hopkins] From The Silence Of
The Lambs?
OPM: Hannibal Lecter?

SM: Hannibal Lecter. Yes. Thats one influence.
Ive also added a Japanese ghost flavour to him.
OPM: Are there any other films or novels that

you drew inspiration from for this game?
SM: Shutter Island. Thats one movie thats
heavily influenced The Evil Within. And one of
our character designers is from the Silent Hill
series, so he may be influenced by those.
OPM: Sebastians Agony Crossbow is a

surprisingly versatile piece of kit but in the
game its labelled as a last resort. Do you
see this as a tactical combat game? Is there
a danger some people might overlook the
strategic elements?
SM: So I wanted to provide users with a lot of
options for survival: different guns, the traps,
the Agony Crossbow, and sneaking. Really, the
player has to die a lot to learn how to survive.
So I needed to provide a lot of options, and
[strategy] was one of the goals for the combat.
OPM: So you intend for people to die a lot as

they play? Do you expect anyone to survive the full game avoiding death?
SM: Yeah, I expect users to die to learn how to learn how to survive! How
to die is one of the key elements of survival horror. [laughs]
OPM: In some games dying is frustrating, but in The Evil Within you
describe it as a learning experience. How do you
strike that balance?
SM: The most important thing is you have to die.
Because its a horror game, you have to be scared
and you have to experience death sequences
thats the most important thing. Secondly, even if
you die, you feel you know if I did this and this and
this, I maybe would be able to survive. So you can
think about that, which is important as well.
But its secondary to the most important
thing, which is that dying occasionally has
to be part of the game design. So its a
balance. Users they die, but they dont give
up on the game, right? They keep playing,
they die, but they keep playing. That fine
balance was one of the hardest thing that
I had to achieve.
OPM: How have you incorporated

random enemy attacks into The Evil
Within and can randomised
scares ever be as frightening
as crafted ones?
SM: So there are random elements
in the game and there are set enemies. If

everything is set its easy to predict [what will
happen], so I put some random elements in.
The balance between random elements and set
elements all depends on users skill level.
OPM: What horror games have you most

enjoyed playing?
SM: Its a long time ago, but I love Clock Tower.
That was over 15 years ago. Alan Wake, the
Silent Hills... I like the atmosphere and the
overall feeling of those games. I think Dead
Space 1 not 2 is the closest game to
Resident Evil 1. Its probably more similar
to Resident Evil 1 than it is Resident Evil 4.
OPM: Lately it feels there are more big budget

action titles as opposed to horror titles. Why is
that, and does it sadden you?
SM: I had the same experience making the
Resident Evil series. As it becomes sequel after
sequel after sequel, it tends to be more action.
Its not because the creators wanted to make
an action game, but they look at the market
and it has to capture a bigger audience as well
as satisfying existing players, so naturally it
becomes more action [-based].
OPM: Fast-forward ten years from now, what

do you hope people will remember The Evil
Within for when they look back?
SM: Not so much its details, but I simply want
people to say it was a fun game. The sames
true for every game I make: people would
probably say different things, but [that they
were] a lot of fun. For example, God Hand.
They say it was such a tough game, but it
was a lot of fun.
WorldMags.net
047
DESTINY
WorldMags.net
BECOMING
One month out from Destinys global launch, Phil Iwaniuk, David
50 intense hours inside PlayStations biggest new shooter
048
WorldMags.net
WorldMags.net DESTINY
LEGENDS
Meikleham and Matthew Pellett form fireteam OPM and spend

experience. This is where their very own legends begin
049
We called it The Traveler, and its arrival changed us forever.

Great cities were built on Mars and Venus. Mercury became a garden
world. Human lifespan tripled. It was a time of miracles. We stared out at
the galaxy and knew it was our destiny to walk in the light of other stars.
But The Traveler had an enemy a Darkness which had hunted it for
aeons across the black gulfs of space. Centuries after our own Golden Age
began, this Darkness found us and that was the end of everything.
But it was also the beginning
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DESTINY
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Nothing beats struggling
against an enemy only for a
stranger to pop up and help.
Your pads lightbar flashes

yellow when a Supers ready;
white when your torch is on.
050
potentially have huge implications

for the story further down the line if
weve, as is implied, been dead since
before the arrival of the Traveler.
Ghosts handy field resuscitation
also provides an urgent intro for the
games opening mission, A Guardian
Rises. Upon regaining our senses,
we quickly bomb weaponless towards
the refuge of an ancient wall. As it
happens, were in Fallen territory,
where lounging around in the open
is as safe as roaming the Serengeti
with strips of wildebeest flesh stapled
to our faces. One weapon pick-up
later and some brief encounters with
Destinys first alien threat showcase
Panoramas courtesy of Giuseppe Nelva, DualShockers.com
Ghost always pays his

debts especially when
hes voiced by Tyrion
Lannister. The introduction
to Destinys story finds
the hovering AI companion in
a massively helpful mood, as it
immediately revives our Guardian on
the desolate, yet beautiful, plains of
post-apocalyptic Old Russia.
Yes, revives. Turns out, when the
game actually begins, youve been
dead a long time. After the wistful
opening narration of The Speaker
(more on him shortly), its a startling
revelation that Bungies kept secret
until now and one that could
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the games weighty combat (already

the headshots feel brilliant). Then
its on to search for a long-forgotten
jumpship, which has just enough juice
in its circuits to transport us to the
Tower and meet up with the other
Guardians of Destiny.
GUARD OF HONOUR
Once were acclimatised to the Citys
central shopping hub, its back out into
the wilds for mission two. Plummeting
back to Old Russia, Ghost soon tasks
us with finding a warp drive in the
gently charred remains of what used
to be Kazakhstan. Said warp drive will
prove to be vital, as it provides the
Named enemies put up one heck of a fight
and often require teamwork to topple but
their sweet loot makes the trials worth it.
L A S T- G E N
PUT TO THE TEST
Its a strong showing for PS3
platform for all future interplanetary

travel and our route to the Moon, to
Mars, to Venus and beyond?
What follows is undoubtedly the
opening hours juiciest plot exposition,
as our Guardian is introduced to The
Speaker. This mysterious, masked
advisor gives us a brief history lesson
TURNS OUT, WHEN

THE GAME ACTUALLY
BEGINS, YOUVE BEEN
DEAD A LONG TIME.
on The Traveler: the floating remains

of a colossal sentient being. The third
and fourth missions are less succulent
for spurting plot details. The former
gives us the chance to put down that
Moon Wizard while trying to find
whatever the Fallen have been tearing
machines up in search of. Beginning
in the moonlit Steppes, we guide
our Ghost over to a Sparrow link,
which lets us spawn our own personal
vehicle and glide gracefully over to
the Forgotten Shore. Some familiar
transmission-scanning ensues before
heading inside the Sky Watch area,
where we find a hacking device known
as the Fallen Tap that the space-
Destiny sparkles and sings on PS4

thanks to crisp textures and luscious
vistas, but lets not forget the games
also releasing on PS3. Differences
between the PS3 and PS4 versions are
remarkably slight. Its 720p, shadows
are notably lower res and PS3s lack of
anti-aliasing removes some sheen, but
otherwise the fidelity isnt too far off the
PS4. Take a bow, Bungie engine-builders.
It doesnt chug along for the sake of
aping its new-gen cousin, either. Were
not talking about a miraculous 60fps, but
rather a stable 30 that can handle large
influxes of enemies in sprawling outdoor
areas. The PS4 version is superior, but if
you havent made the hardware jump yet
youve no need to feel like youre missing
out on the full experience and as you
can bounce your Guardians between
formats while retaining all progression,
you wont lose out if you begin life on
last-gen before eventually upgrading.
Old Russias landscape is

riddled with secret caves,
gold chests and much more.
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051
DESTINY
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GHOST BUSTED
Inside the Ghost Edition
052
Priced at a princely 149.99, the Ghost

Edition is the most expensive pre-order
version of Destiny available. Inside youll
find a brace of both digital extras and
physical trinkets, and the less tangible
gift of smug superiority over all those
standard edition suckers youll see
slumming it in their bog-standard
armour in the Tower. Specifically, youll
receive the Destiny Expansion Pass,
which gives you access to the first two
expansions, The Dark Below and House
Of Wolves, containing, brand new
story missions, cooperative activities,
competitive multiplayer arenas, and a
wealth of all new weapons, armour,
and gear. Alongside that, theres an
exclusive Ghost skin, Sparrow skin and
player emblem. Back on the physical
plane, youre in for a limited edition
steelbook case and game disc
(important, that), an, antique star
chart, (poster), Golden Age relics,
(postcards and stickers), a notebook,
and weapons guide book with retro sci-fi
stylings. The pice de rsistance is your
Ghost replica, which has a motion sensor
and in-game audio samples. Its your
very own vaguely bored Peter Dinklage!
Finding this beast tough?

Focus on the turret to blast it
off, then the legs. Trust us
WHY YOU NEED

THE MOBILE APP
Because Destiny never sleeps
Sometimes you just need to whip out

your smartphone on the bus to feel good
about your Guardians stats or tinker
with his or her armour. For such
occasions, the Destiny Companion app is
there for you, offering a mobile hub into
Bungies sweeping sci-fi battlefield.
Broken down into different tabs such as
Legend, Grimoire, Tower Map and
Forums, the official companion app
provides an easy way to communicate
with other players and to analyse your
stats as well as switch gear in real time.
In Grimoire, it also offers an extensive
database of Destiny terminology, lore
and items. Best of all is the Advisor
function, which explains bounties, special
missions and reward claims. Seeing as
this companion is free, were fearful of
becoming even more antisocial in the pub
come September. After all, our Hunters
chestplate really needs changing.
zombies have been using to siphon

ancient data held by Golden Age-era
computers. Our Ghost learns that a
Warmind known as Rasputin survived
the Darkness attack and is still
operational somewhere.
Bungie wraps up our introduction
to the story in The Last Array mission
in which we track down an ancient
THE FREQUENCY OF
PUBLIC EVENTS HAS
BEEN SIGNIFICANTLY
TONED DOWN SINCE
THE ALPHA VERSION.
WorldMags.net
Relay and have to deal with Fallen

Skiffs tearing menacingly through
the sky and dropping reinforcement
troops by the array were hacking
and closes with a tantalising tease
of chasing down Rasputin, whos
been trapped in Old Russia for ages,
probably going quite mad. Destinys
religious overtures and iconography
certain make for an intriguing story
base. Theres no time to ponder
recent events, though: a challenging
Strike mission that involves hunting
down floating orb Sepiks Prime (after
one hell of a tough battle against a
Devil Walker tank) awaits, along with
Explore: a free-roam gametype filled
with small, non-story missions such
as, kill five Shanks and harvest their
scrap. Its a great mode for exploring
You can inspect and interact
with other players on the
battlefield by clicking R3.
P L AT S E N T E R TA I N M E N T
Pot-hunters unite for the near-complete list
of Destinys gleaming trophy haul
Change Of Heart
Reverse a decision you
made in an upgrade grid
Ship Rite
Rebuild a Jumpship
Lucky 7s
Attain a Grimoire score
of 777
Decryptologist
Decrypt 25 Engrams
SKYRIM WITH GUNS

So far weve spent 52 combined hours
in Destiny, playing every mission on
every difficulty with all characters, and
the shooter/MMO public ecosystem
is a gamechanger that makes all other
Excessive Force
Register 25 kills in PvP
with heavy weapons
The Life Exotic

Obtain and equip a piece
of Exotic gear
Raider
Complete a Raid
A New Steed
Obtain and equip a new
personal vehicle
Raiding Party
Complete a Raid with a
full fireteam consisting of
only your clan members
Suited For War

Have all armor and
weapon slots equipped with
Legendary or Exotic gear
Epic Raider
Complete a Raid on
hard difficulty
Bane Of The Dead

Kill 25 Hive with precision
shots in 1 mission without
dying
Bane Of The Machines
Kill 25 Vex with precision
dying
Blink Of An Eye
Kill 5 enemies in 3 seconds
FPSes feel ordinary. Bungies intriguing

promise of, a new experience
every night, remains unanswered
although our latest playtest indicates
the frequency of public events has
been toned down significantly since
we played the Alpha version.
What is clear is that the
fundamentals weapon feedback,
world-building, netcode, reward for
exploration and general character
progression are already polished to
a degree that makes us want to stick
around and watch it evolve. If you
want it to be Skyrim with guns; its
that. If you want it to be PlayStations
own Halo; its that, too. 52 hours of
entertainment in and weve only just
scratched the surface? The next ten
years are going to be legendary.
Ask Questions Later

Earn a first strike kill in PvP
Triple Play
Kill a Hunter, Titan, and
Warlock without dying in
a PvP match
Bane Of The Kell

Kill 25 Fallen with precision
dying
the many secrets of the area, including

hidden caves, dead ghosts, golden
chests and fearsomely high-level
enemies (which are all immune to
our puny level eight bullets). And we
spend hours meeting up with strangers
and helping them to complete their
own story quests.
After that? A trip to the Moons
Ocean Of Storms, to seek out a
missing Guardian who tried to
infiltrate the Hives lunar fortress.
But thats a story for another day
Witch Hunt
Kill 100 Warlocks in PvP
Use Of Weapons
Dismantle 50 pieces
of armor or weapons
Bane Of The Emperor

Kill 25 Cabal with precision
dying
The server-side rolling day/night

cycle can really change the feel of
environments and missions.
Giant Slayer
Kill 100 Titans in PvP
Inspector
Inspect another player
Vanguard Honor
Attain Vanguard Rank 3
A Friend Indeed
Resurrect 5 fallen players
Rising Vanguard
Complete a Strike
Strength of the Pack
Complete a Strike with a full
fireteam consisting of only
your clan members
Flawless Striker
Complete a Strike without
anyone in your fireteam
dying
Ghost Hunter
Discover 50 dead ghosts
Valorous
Earn the maximum weekly
Vanguard score
Dragon Slayer
Kill a champion of the Dark
Notorious
Earn the maximum weekly
Crucible score
Hunter Mastery
Fully upgrade a Hunter
Subclass
Public Defender
Earn the highest tier of
completion in 10 public
events
Titan Mastery
Fully upgrade a Titan
Subclass
Finders Keepers
Assist in capturing 50
capture points in Control
Relic Hunter
Assist in capturing 20
capture points in Salvage
Hunter Killer
Kill 100 Hunters in PvP
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Warlock Mastery
Fully upgrade a Warlock
Subclass
Packing Heat
Fully upgrade an Exotic
weapon
Fully weaponized
Fully upgrade a Legendary
weapon
053
DESTINY
WorldMags.net
KILLING
IN THE
CRUCIBLE
Destinys magnificent
online player-vs-player
modes picked apart
ORK AS
1 W
A TEAM
DD: Teamwork is number one. The people who you talk to
in Destiny will be the members of your team, so if you go in
to competitive multiplayer on your own youll be alone. Youll
be speaking to no one. So form as big a team as you can.
If youre going into a 6v6 engagement, equip yourself with
five allies. These allies will tell you about what you see,
theyll help choose objectives and work with you to
overcome these objectives.
054
alk about a COD clone no,

we jest. Unsurprisingly, Halos
plasma grenade residue coats
much of Crucible. Thats
resolutely good news, because after
matches in Control (a base capture
mode) and the limited-time event
Iron Banner (where player levels arent
evened out) we already love Destinys
competitive multiplayer. Weve tested
four maps in total; all are tightly
designed and quite gorgeous to behold.
First Light is a Moon base, replete with
wide-open spaces that make good use of
vehicles and turrets. Mars Blind Watch is
another large map where verticality
wins out. Rusted Lands is
a complex on Earth full
of choke points so
shotguns are strongly
recommended. Shores Of
Time is the real star, though.
Centred on ancient, leafy ruins, this
jungle maps takes place among the
mountains of Venus. Full of hidey holes
and flanking opportunities, it twists and
coils to provide constantly intense duels.
Our top tip: always keep an eye out for
heavy ammo drops as soon as they appear
and the enemy Guardians charging
for it. With the right heavy weapon,
you can utterly dominate your opponents
(we adore our Tamerlane-B machine gun,
which cuts down anyone with the merest
burst of fire). Make sure you also visit
Xander 99-40 on The Tower for some
Glimmer-earning Crucible bounties, such
as taking out a total of 50 Guardians with
headshots. And even though some of
the scoring is unbalanced (you get more
points for killing than capturing bases in
Control? Really?) Destiny in pole position
to become our new multiplayer shooter of
choice. Sorry, Call Of Duty.
TO YOUR
7 PC LL AY
ASS STRENGTHS
DD: The Hunter, the Titan and the Warlock class each have
their own deadly and unique purpose to fulfil in the
warzones of Destiny. So understanding the range of your
attacks, how a [Warlocks] Nova Bomb can control the flow
of traffic on a map, how the [Hunters] Ghost Gun can help
you control long sidelines, and how a Titan can walk in and
clear a room before everyone rushes in are vital to
succeeding. These are all things that will make you much
more effective, and teach you the role you should play on
the battlefield.
ND YOUR
6 UE NN VD IERROSNTA
MENT
DD: Its all about taking control: understanding you can lure
your enemies into traps, knowing the choke points of each
map and getting to grips with the way you can escape
danger if someone comes in to attack you. These are all
things that will make you more nuanced.
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A S T E R P L AY E R
2 M
MOVEMENT
DD: You can jump, fly, glide, sprint, crouch, and do all sorts
of interesting things. Personally I love to spawn my vehicle,
even though doesnt have any weapons. It makes me a
moving target, but it gets me to the portion of the map
I want to control instantly. If youre using these tactics,
youre always going to have an edge over the person who
just walks around shooting from the hip on a regular basis.
Much of the map design in Destiny is very vertical. If youre
not looking up and down in Destiny, and youre only looking
left and right, youre about to be surprised.
THE
SEVEN
GOLDEN RULES
OF WINNING
3 CWHEOA OP SO EN RTYH E R I G H T
DD: There are three different weapons you can carry on
your person at any point in time, and within those three
slots we have different categories of weapons. So you
need to understand if youre good with an assault rifle, or
a burst fire weapon, or a semi-automatic weapon, or the
special weapon category. Do you like the fusion rifle, which
can be charged up and engage several enemies at once,
or do you like the up-close-and-personal devastation of
the shotgun? Do you want to be a ranged fighter, attacking
from a safe distance with a sniper rifle? Getting acquainted
with your own personal fighting style and choosing the
weapons that help you execute on that is going to be a
very important exploration for every player in the Crucible.
055
Community manager David

Dague and game designer
Lars Bakken on topping the
leaderboards on day one
4 KY OE EU PR AT NR AECYKEE RO N
LB: Friendlies always show up as dots and players can see
their position relative to their own. If a player goes in with
a pre-made fireteam, the dots will be green instead of the
standard blue. Enemies always show up on the Tracker, so
it has nothing to do with movement. If they are crouched,
however, they will ping less frequently, but still show up.
This greatly reduces camping. The Tracker is broken up
into segments, and we generally show where the enemies
are without revealing the exact position. This means
effective Tracker usage requires a combination of map
knowledge and in-game situational awareness. When lines
appear outside the main segments, we are showing the
general direction of enemies, and usually following that
will get the player back into action. When the centre piece
starts flashing that means an enemy is within six metres,
and we call that the panic zone.
AKE YOUR SUPER

5 M
ABILITY COUNT
LB: The Super comes back on a timer, and you will never
lose progress if you die in battle. The timer can be sped up
by doing good things that help your team: kills, assists, and
neutralising and capturing Control points. Many Supers
have a warm-up animation and vulnerability, so using it in
the heat of battle is not always the best idea. Successfully
using a Super will generate Orbs Of Light for any allied
teammates in the private loot stream. Picking these up will
make your Super recharge faster.
SUPERS HAVE WARM

UP ANIMATIONS, SO
USING IT IN THE HEAT
OF BATTLE ISNT
A SMART MOVE.
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DESTINY
WorldMags.net
Quick-glance glossary
Differentiate your shaders from

your spinmetals
Black Wax Idol
A consumable item which boosts the
amount of Glimmer earned from killing
Hive enemies for ten minutes.
Bounties
Inventory-held sub-objectives. Accepted
in the Tower, you can carry five at any
one time and complete them to boost
experience, currency and more.
STEPPING
INSIDE
THE TOWER
Dont rush back into the
wild the Tower is filled
with critical features that
are easily-overlooked
Crucible Marks
Currency earned in the Crucible. You can
earn up to 100 each week.
Crucible
Sells weapons,
armour and
equipment for
the games
multiplayer
mode.
Vanguards
Where the ruling elite of
the Tower can be found.
Theres a Vanguard for
each class, all three
selling Vanguard gear
specific to that class.
Crucible Reputation
Reputation earned in the Crucible to rank
up your Guardian.
Darkness Zone
A deadly enemy-rich area found in the
wild where respawns are disabled.
Events
An area in which
story-specific
yes events
take place
from mission
to mission.
Quartermaster
Exchange your
hard-earned
Vanguard Marks
for Vanguard
weapons and
vehicles here.
Dead Orbit
Sells emblems,
Crucible
weapons
and armour.
Future War Cult

Sells emblems
and Crucible
weapons.
Shipright
Purchase new
vehicles or pimp
your existing
ride here with
ship blueprints
and upgrades.
Emblem
The background that appears behind
your name in the menu screens. Visible
to other players after Crucible games or
when part of a fireteam. Unlock more at
Tower vendors.
HALL OF
GUARDIANS
Encrypted Engram
Mystery loot that must be decrypted
at the Tower before being equipped.
056
Ether Seed
A consumable item which boosts the
amount of Glimmer earned from killing
Fallen enemies for ten minutes.
TOWER
NORTH
Glimmer
Destinys currency. Earned by completing
missions, killing enemies, opening hidden
chests and fighting in the Crucible.
Grimoire Cards
Encyclopedia cards stored on Bungie.net
unlocked during play. Essentially a Bungiespecific Trophy system.
TOWER
HANGAR
Grimoire Score
Profiles numerical total based on the
number of collected Grimoire Cards and
their values.
Spinmetal
A collectable resource found growing
across the Destiny game world.
Spinmental can be exchanged back at
The Tower for Glimmer, Vanguard
Reputation, or Crucible Reputation.
Guardian outfitter
Buy new Emblems
here to customise
your characters
name plate.
New Monarchy
Buy weapons,
armour and
Emblems for use
in the Crucible.
Shader
An item that changes the colour of
certain pieces of armour when equipped.
Vanguard
A member of an elite Guardian group that
governs The Tower. There are three in
total, one for each class. Vanguards sell
class-specific gear.
Vanguard Marks
Currency earned in missions and
bounties used to buy Vanguard gear.
Vanguard Reputation
Reputation earned in Explore to rank up.
The Speaker
The place to
purchase high-level
endgame armour.
TOWER
WATCH
Special Orders
Buy special
items from both
inside the City
and beyond.
Postmaster
Come here
to collect
messages.
Bounty tracker
Accept bounty
missions for
both Vanguard
and Crucible
Marks. Complete
Vanguard
bounties
by meeting
requirements
against AI,
Crucible
bounties by
killing opponents
in PvP matches.
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Vaults
Storage area for
your surplus
armour,
weapons and
miscellaneous
items to trade
between your
different
characters.
Gunsmith
Buy guns and
ammo synthesis
packages for
each available
weapon type.
Cryptarch
Decode Engrams
found out in the
field into usable
gear here, and
buy decrypted
items which only
become visible
when purchased.
THE
FUTURE
OF DESTINY
The Destiny saga officially
begins on 9 September
but what does Bungie
have in store for us
after that?
hen we set out on this

journey, we wanted to
tell a story that lasted for
ten years, Bungie COO
Pete Parsons tells us. A lots been
made of Destinys purported tenyear plan since the Halo developer
signalled its intent in this regard,
but the finer details of that decades
worth of content remain nebulous
even as launch day approaches.
Parsons continues: Every Destiny
story is going to have its own
beginning, and middle, and end. But
we really wanted to take people on
this adventure for years in the same
way that movies such as The Hobbit
or Star Wars or Harry Potter have.
You dont have to have read through
the leaked Bungie contracts and their
mention of four standalone titles (one
released every other year), with the
years in between filled with sizeable
Comet expansions and other DLC
packs, to see at least part of the plan.
But lets not get ahead of ourselves:
first, Bungie has to interpret all the
data from the Beta, feed it back into
the game and ensure its servers dont
break when everyone tries to play on
9 September. But thats not all Bungie
will be learning from your Beta time,
as community manager David Dague
explains: I will be working with entire
group of designers at Bungie who
will be tasked with being one of the
most player-focused developers in the
industry. We are serious enough as
developers who have listened to our
community to know that sometimes
players will argue with things that will
make them more powerful.
People will say make my favourite
weapon more powerful so I can
win more matches. And well say
no, please enjoy your competitive
experience in the Crucible. There are

some people who will say give us a
mini-map so I know where I am. I will
say no, enjoy your adventure as youre
lost in a wild and abandoned Earth.
If theres no challenge, if theres no
pain for a player, then the game is not
fun in an essential type of way. But if
we determine that theres something
about that experience is broken, or
could simply be enhanced, we will
absolutely be in a position where we
can act on that in a regular basis.
Bungies well known for creating
entire gametypes to satisfy fan wishes
(such as Forge and Theater, below)
and the studio hasnt abandoned that
philosophy. We draw inspiration from
the community, Dague explains, we
love observing them and seeing the
way they will surprise us. We tried
to create a game in scope and scale
that was more elaborate and more vast
than anything Bungie had ever created
before, and on that foundation we
can iterate and we can build for years
to come. As they surprise us with
interactions that we never imagined,
we can say thats the sort of thing
that will add to the player experience,
thats the sort of thing we want to
better enable for everyone to enjoy.
So well take the most clever people
in our community and use them as
role models for every other player.
WE REALLY WANTED
TO TAKE YOU ON AN
ADVENTURE THAT
WOULD LAST FOR
YEARS AND YEARS.
The OPM wishlist
Four things wed like to see in the coming years
Surprise war
Your initial choice between Human,
Exo and Awoken races is a pure
cosmetic decision, but what if it
wasnt? What if we were being
set up? What if Bungie was brave
enough, in a few years time and
after multiple games and expansions,
to split the userbase up and throw
us all into a war against each other,
with the threat of extinction on the
line? Previous allies would become
enemies, and itd be the bravest,
most astonishing and downright
trolling twist in gaming history.
Worlds wiped
In the spirit of World Of Warcrafts
Cataclysm expansion, give us
world-changing add-ons that
completely redesign, or even remove,
entire planets. Lets see a storyline
where were tasked with stopping
an apocalypse on Venus during a
globally-shared event and then fail.
Then we get an add-on that lets us
visit the smoldering ruins Game
designer Lars Bakken confirmed this
was actually possible back in OPM
#97: We have those ideas, but were
going to save that stuff for later.
Forge and Theater modes

In its Halo 3 days, Bungie created
Forge and Theater modes for the
Xbox 360 shooter the former a
game customising sandbox (think
LBPs creation suite but for an online
FPS), the latter a full replay mode
that recorded matches and let
you replay them as a free-floating
camera for the creation of custom
videos. Theyd seamlessly fit the
Destiny mould, especially now
that PS4s inbuilt social media tools
enable us to share our creations
and our videos with the world.
WorldMags.net
Player-set economies and more

The thought of even attempting this
is enough to make most devs disband
and enter witness protection, but
Bungie loves a challenge and this
would naturally improve the intermission content. If we could start
trading our own loot in the Tower
and establish economies based on
supply and demand (daring raids on
enemy caches to steal unique gear
for a paycheck, anyone?), Destiny
could follow in EVE Onlines universewithin-a-game footsteps. Also, why
let us by ships if we cant pilot em..?
057
DESTINY
WorldMags.net
OUR
TRAVELERS
TALES
Bungie claims Destinys
strength is in personal
player-crafted legends.
Here are our highlights
The Devil you know
Hero to zero
058
MP: During a long stretch of solo

Explore time I start a mission that
takes me deep into high-level hostile
ground. Im just about to back out when
I spy a strong group of Fallen being
barraged with shots, and a group of
players hidden from view returning fire
with some pretty impressive weaponry.
Nows the perfect time for some
heroics, I tell myself, as I leap into the
fight and start attacking the Fallen with
all Ive got. I take three of four out but
Im getting pounded and theyre still
coming, so I decide to join the other
players and accept their thanks. I
sprint into No Mans Land and round
the corner only to come face to face
with a Hive army, locked in a turf war
with the Fallen. I do a double-take (Im
pretty sure they do a double-take, too)
as both forces train their sights on me,
putting aside their differences to chase
me down. Suffice to say, I run.
PI: A diminished two-man fireteam,

Meiks and I survived wave upon
wave of Captains, Knights and
surprisingly tricky level eight
Vandals to get this far. Knowing
that communication is key to
survival in the arid hinterlands
of Old Russia, were full of helpful
tips for each other, such as,
Use your special gun more! and,
Nononononononono! This kind of
back-to-the-wall stuff really brings
folks together. Were so closely
bonded in fact that when Skrim Job
appears on the horizon a young
upstart of a Hunter a few levels
below us our initial reaction
is that of scorn. Level Five?
RPG-based sexual innuendo? Who
is this guy? As it turns out, this guy

knows his way around a boss fight.
He appears just before we take
on the infamous Devil Walker,
a horrifying mess of legs, guns
and health bar. Alone, wed surely
perish in the encounter, and since
this is a no-respawn zone, wed
have to replay the whole area.
Humble pie is forced down our
throats as Skrim Job finds a safe
hidey-hole and plugs away at the
Devil Walkers legs. I take his lead
and find a vantage point so far
away I can barely see the boss
down my iron sights. Its barrage
of artillery, aimed at my two
comrades, is a faint rumble in the
distance. Diligently, I do my part,
aiming bullets at its legs, watching

the health bar diminish at a glacial
pace. Then: drama. Meiks is down.
Not long after, the Devil Walker
turns his full attention to Skrim Job
and fells him, too. Im the only one
left. If I rush over to play the hero
and revive them, Ill die too. But as
long as one of us is alive, the others
will respawn in 25 seconds. Its
clear what I need to do, then: ignore
Meiks impassioned cries for help/
vicious insults and wait out the
clock, keeping hunkered down out
of harms way in the meantime. And
thats how the whole boss battle
pans out, Meiks and Skrim Job
periodically downed, me doing
absolutely nothing to revive them.
Dancing by the stars

MP: First thing anyone seems to do when
they enter the Tower? Turn around, leap
on one of the ledges and dance. A bit of
experimentation later and I go one better
- tapping my toes on top of a banner high
up atop a tall mast in the plaza. A crowd
gathers around me and waves, wondering
how I got up there. (Its a secret, natch.)
Now, who wants to join me for a waltz?
What crazy japes have you

been up to in Destiny? Tell us
on Facebook and Twitter.
WorldMags.net
Joust desserts
DM: Oh lordy, is Bungies sci-fi sandbox
ever teeming with glorious opportunities
to muck about in. You already know about
the combat system, so theres little new
insight I can provide on that front. What you
most likely arent savvy to is just what a
fantastically daft place Old Russia can be if
you let your imagination run wild and make
your own fun. Point in case: the noble sport
of Sparrow jousting. Left to our own
devices, myself and Phil quickly down arms
and decide to repeatedly uh, ram each
other in the noble ways of ye olde knights.
We discover bashing our hoverbikes
together again and again is a more valuable
use of time than trying to clear out an
underground bunker of level 20 Fallen who
are immune to our puny level eight gunfire.
At this point I should state weve already
finished the Betas five story missions
qualifying our brand of Guardian japery as
a totally valid way of discovering Old Russia.
Cave of blunders
Taxi for one

PI: The best thing about the Sparrow,
your personal hoverbike, is that its at
your beck and call in any area large
enough to spawn it. At any point in time,
youre only three seconds from hopping
on, kicking in the thrusters and zooming
away. With that in mind, Im not quite
sure what came over me when I
decided itd be a good idea to ferry
Meiks to the next waypoint in our story
mission on my own Sparrow, while he
stands on the bonnet and tiptoes

this way and that to avoid falling. But
here we are, committed to this utterly
pointless endeavour, making slower
progress than walking pace and
arriving to the fight with all the dignity
of a drunk student surfing on the
bonnet of his mates Clio. And yet,
theres a sense of victory, too: the
game probably doesnt want us to
travel like this, but it does let us.
WorldMags.net
DM: Whod have thunk a poxy cave could be

so enthralling? Even though the final game
facilitates interplanetary travel, Ive become
obsessed with squirreling about the more
hidden, less glamorous corners of Old Russia.
Indeed, Im still finding new areas to discover
after ten hours. While Matt mercs every Hive
in sight and Phil gets his ass whomped by a
Shrieker, I conjure my own lulz in a cavern jam
full of yet more high-level enemies. After nine
straight deaths at the claws of an invulnerable
Wizard and his posse of swarming underlings,
I clock theres a back exit to this deathtrap. I
know the game has deliberately placed these
unkillable pests in front of me to halt my nosy
ways, yet I must know where this path leads.
So, after another 14 deaths, I eventually
stumble through with a series of increasingly
flustered double jumps and panicked sprinting.
Volia! The intoxicating scent of discovery
has led me to the truly wondrous sight of
a well, a fairly indistinct, empty underground
complex. Still, it was a fun ride getting here.
059
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061
WorldMags.net
THE 100 GREATEST
GAMES
PLAYSTATIONS
062
GREATEST
GAMES
EVER
AS VOTED BY YOU
We asked, you answered. Tens of thousands of
your votes have been counted, and its time to
unveil the 100-strong battalion of games youve
declared worthy of a place in PlayStation history
WorldMags.net
WorldMags.net
THE 100 GREATEST GAMES
100
Dead Space 2
The laast great acction herro

FORMAT PS3 / YEAR 2011 / PUB EA / DEV VISCERAL / ISSUE OPM 54 / SCORE 9/10
Successfully mixing action and horror together in the spirit of Resi 4, Isaac Clarkes second war against
Necromorph-kind is a whistle-stop tour of padded cells, infected nurseries and deadly eye-poking devices.
Destructible environments and room-venting atmospheric blowouts are the big improvements over
the original, but its the surprise return to DS1s USG Ishimura that proves to be the sequels highpoint.
Spider-Man 2:
The Game
The kingg of swing
FORMAT PS2 / YEAR 2004

PUB ACTIVISION / DEV TREYARCH
ISSUE OPS2 49 / SCORE 8/10
The Raimi-directed SM
flicks were a mixed bag,
but they proved that two
was the real magic
number with both the film and its
tie-in game standing as a pair of
long-lasting highlights. Just a year
away from releasing its first entry
in the soon-to-be world dominant
COD franchise, Treyarch gave us
the most authentic Spider-Man
sim to date. Unlike its beat-em-up
predecessor, Spider-Man 2 gave
us an activity-packed open-world
and a set of swinging mechanics
that have rarely been equalled.
99
Max Payne 3
Fear andd looathhing in Brazil

PUB ROCKSTAR GAMES
DEV ROCKSTAR VANCOUVER
ISSUE OPM 72 / SCORE 8/10
If nothing else, Maximilian

deserves his place on
your list for donning the
finest Hawaiian shirt in all
of games. That, and hes a pretty
darn good shot, too. Expanding on
Red Dead Redemptions already
accomplished aiming and cover
system, Rockstar Vancouver
builds on Marstons mechanics
with a wonderfully fluid bullet time
execution. Pirouetting through the
air in slo-mo is as fun as it was in
the original; something helped by a
tremendous physics system that
makes each limb-crumpling killer
shot feel unique.
95
Minecraft
Just Cause 2
Driver

PUB SONY / DEV 4J STUDIOS

PUB EIDOS INTERACTIVE
DEV AVALANCHE STUDIOS

PUB GT INTERACTIVE
DEV REFLECTIONS INTERACTIVE
Like a Creeper bumping

into a wooden shack
throughout the moonlit
hours, we were left
outside the Minecraft party in the
realm of PlayStation for several
years. But in 2013, our invites
finally came through and we were
able to dig holes, punch cows and
build 1:1 replicas of Swindon with
the best of them. Notchs
phenomenally successful game will
be remembered with the likes of
Doom, Command & Conquer and
Tomb Raider as a true trailblazer
of the medium.
Give a man an openworld and hell make it his

own give him a
wrist-mounted grapple
gun and a parachute and hell bring
that open-world crashing down in
a glorious rain of cars hanging
from helicopters. And if riding on
top of a car (while shooting and
tethering your pursuers to trees,
no less) wasnt enough, Just
Cause 2 was one of the first titles
to let you capture in-game footage
and upload it direct to YouTube.
Rico? Where for art thou, Rico?
Drawing heavily from

films such as The Driver
and Bullitt, Drivers
open-world chases took
us through partially-realistic takes
on Miami, San Francisco, Los
Angeles and New York. Rolling up
with a personality many of its
sequels failed to muster (thanks in
part to none of the terrible on-foot
moments), Driver span its hubcaps
through a trunk load of missions
and boasted a Film Director mode
for custom car chase movies to
boot. Carving up lawns and
smashing down those white picket
fences just never grew old.
Lego Star
Wars: The
Complete Saga
Prince Of Persia:
The Sands
Of Time
Beyond:
Two Souls

PUB LUCASARTS / DEV TRAVELLERS
TALES / ISSUE OPM 13 / SCORE 7/10
FORMAT PS2 / YEAR 2003 / PUB

UBISOFT / DEV UBISOFT MONTREAL
Who wouldve thought a

sci-fi film saga and a
Danish toy brand could
meld together to form a
licence to print gold? Wed all
gorged on the swollen teat of Old
Man Lucas for many a year, but
turn those timeless characters
(okay, maybe not Jar Jar) into a
series of unintelligible minifigs and
boom Star Wars is back! Mixing
the original and prequel trilogies
into one content-heavy package,
it set the precedent for every
conceivable film and geek culture
licence to get the Lego treatment.
Its future may have been

filled with forgettable
sequels, a cel-shaded
reboot and a rotten
tomato-bating film adaptation, but
back in 2003 the Prince made his
triumphant PS2 debut with
swagger and panache. Before
Altar learned to climb a fence,
POPs poster boy was wall-running
and leaping his away around the
shop with all the acrobatic finesse
of a sword-wielding gymnast. Oh,
and that Dagger Of Time certainly
came in useful when our fancy
parkour skills chose to fail us.
Alls welll thhat Enderss well
98
Brickk-buuildding Bobba bonanza
94
Troubble inn parradisse
97
Can I gett a rew

windd?
93
WorldMags.net
Bullittt tim
me
96
Parannorrmal
al innteraactivvity
PUB SONY / DEV QUANTIC DREAM
Ellen Page. A haunted

ranch. The power of
possession. Traumatic
teenage birthday parties.
Horse riding. Scribbling notes in an
Arab dignitarys bathroom with a
terrible nosebleed. Begging for
change. Sounds like a winner
Dave, get it made, someone,
somewhere, must have said. And
are we ever glad they did. Quantic
Dream is a risk-taker, and while
not all the risks it took in this
star-studded interactive drama
paid off, itll long be remembered
for its absolutely distinctive
interaction methods, narrative,
tone, and shockingly pretty looks.
92
063
WorldMags.net
THE 100 GREATEST
GAMES
Devil May Cry 3:

Dantes Awakening
Thirdd tim
mes thhe harm
m
Tony Hawks
Pro Skater 3
Grindderrs kee
e perss

PUB CAPCOM / DEV CAPCOM

PUB ACTIVISION / DEV ACTIVISION
One of the hardest titles

ever to land on PS2 and
a joyous return to the
demon-juggling action
that made the original such a riot.
Focusing on a guitar-strumming,
teenage Dante, the action is fast
and oh-so-furious as the monster
hunter scales a colossal tower
filled with all manner of horrors.
More than anything, DMC3s
combat sings, introducing four
distinct fighting styles Dante could
switch between. Killing with absurd
grace as you reach that elusive
SSStylish rank never felt so good.
91
The first skateboarding

game on PS2 still sits on
top of the consoles
Metacritic listing a spot
it shares jointly with GTA III. Year
three of the Hawkmeister had us
pulling out stiffies on a cruise ship
(its not what you think) and
sacktapping with aliens in Area 51
(again, its not what oh forget it),
but the biggest feature by far was
the seemingly small inclusion of
reverts. This touchdown spin
bridged vert and street tricks,
creating minutes-long, multimillion point scoring combo runs.
Jak II: Renegade
Burnout 3:
Takedown
90
The Orange Box
Mortal Kombat

PUB EA / DEV VALVE

PUB WARNER BROS
DEV NETHERREALM STUDIOS
Live Freeeman or die hard
Looking back, it seems

downright fanciful to
imagine three games
of Half-Life 2, Portal
and Team Fortress 2s calibre
releasing all at once, on a single
heavenly disc. But our historical
research team assures us that
this was in fact a real thing and it
actually happened. Each one
demonstrated first-person
mastery in its chosen discipline:
Freemans second chapter
remains the high tide mark for
solo shooters, TF2 is peerless
in class-based MP and Portal is an
undisputed champ of puzzlers.
89
A (re))booot to the facee
While rebooting the aging

fighting franchise and
paying the kind of fan
service most games
wouldnt even comprehend, the
ninth Mortal Kombat instalment
bicycle-kicked its way back into the
limelight and proceeded to rip the
spine from the quivering corpse of
its rivals. Shamelessly ultraviolent
(just check out those organbursting X-ray moments), MK
shed the missteps of its past and
cemented itself as one the last
generations most accomplished
fighting games. Now do us a
favour and kindly get over here.
88
064
A liittlee pieece of Haavenn

PUB SONY / DEV NAUGHTY DOG
Bigger. Bolder. Better.

Most likely inspired by
Rockstars early 00s
work, Naughty Dog
ditched the cheery collection
quests of the sun-drenched
original for a meaner, moodier take
on elf boy. Set in Haven City, Team
Drake crafted one of the most
beguiling sandboxes on PS2, filled
with bustling Blade Runner-esque
streets, giant coliseums and
pockets of greenland playgrounds.
A well-judged script also paved the
way for everyones favourite
fortune hunter.
87
A smashhingg raacerr
PUB EA / DEV CRITERION
With some of the most

memorable bodyworkcrunching car collisions
ever committed to disc,
Burnout 3 shifted Criterions
racing series up multiple gears in
one move. Best remembered for
introducing Signature Takedowns
to Burnout, it embraces its
environments more than other
racers by encouraging sideswipes and shunts at very specific
parts of the circuits to wrap rival
cars around concrete posts and
flatten them against tunnel walls.
In one word? Crashporn.
86
Killzone 3
Come Heelghann higgh water

PUB SONY / DEV GUERRILLA GAMES
Graphics have improved,

multiplayer clients have
advanced, but what will
never date in Guerrillas
final PS3 FPS is the perfect weight
of its world and weaponry. Your
boots feel like bulldozers, and
every weapon you aim at Admiral
Orlocks men is like an angry
Victorian factory spewing out
broken glass, footy hooligan songs
and jet black smoke. In every way
that an FPS should be, Killzone 3
is a full-frontal assault on the
senses, and has a killer knack
for spectacular set-pieces.
85
WWE SmackDown!
Here Comes
The Pain
High F5ss all rooundd

PUB THQ / DEV YUKES
The Brock Lesnarbranded suplex-emup marked the biggest

evolution between two
entries in the wrasslin series
and is more than deserving of your
nostalgic DDT love. Introducing
proper weight detection (no more
Tajiri bodyslamming Big Show)
and a well worked limb-targeting
system, HCTP created the
template for a decade of Yukes
grapplers to follow. It also boasts
one of the most star-studded
wrestler rosters ever compiled.
84
Timesplitters 2
Itts tiime to split!
FORMAT PS2 / YEAR 2002 / PUB EIDOS / DEV FREE RADICAL / ISSUE OPS2 25 / SCORE 10/10
So what do you get when you take some of the core members behind a 64-bit 007 adventure and let
them loose with the power of Sonys second console? Timesplitters, thats what! After cutting its teeth
on the 2000 original, developer Free Radical came back all guns blazing for its incredible sequel. No
wonder its the highest rated shooter on PS2 it had an awesome campaign, a bountiful level editor and
a multiplayer mode that filled the living and bedrooms of 2002 with a cacophony of cheers and massive swears.
83
WorldMags.net
WorldMags.net
Rayman
Gran Turismo 2
Burnout Paradise

PUB UBISOFT / DEV UBISOFT
MONTPELLIER/UBISOFT MILAN

PUB SONY / DEV POLYPHONY DIGITAL

PUB EA / DEV CRITERION
Yes, the graphics were

nicer still than the
already sublime original.
Yes, there were more
cars, a more involving career
mode and across-the-board
improvements to customisation
elements and the front end, but
admit it: your fondest memory is
winning the absurd Suzuki Escudo
Pikes Peak Edition, tearing past
the pack of Mazda MX-5s that
previously had you pipped, and
ascending gracelessly through
career mode one unfair victory at
a time. If you tuned the engine all
the way, the front wheels would
actually take off.
Criterion were one of the

only multiformat devs to
fully embrace PlayStation
3 in its early years,
choosing to lead development
of their open-world branch of
Burnout on Sonys console. More
than almost any other game last
generation, the disc that shipped
wasnt the experience weve ended
up with today, as multiple patches
and expansions introduced
game-changing content (bikes!
islands!) on a regular basis. Its
landmark near-seamless blending
of online and offline worlds set the
template for everything Criterion
has developed since.
Goingg ouut on
on a lim
mb
We reviewed the now

legendary French
platformer back in the
first ever issue of OPS1
when God was a boy, awarded it a
princely 7/10, and sent it packing
in the hopes it wouldnt come back
to bite us in the behind 19 years
later. Time makes a fool of us all.
Michel Ancels limbless Lum addict
endured in the great PS1 library
more than almost any of its peers,
and is rewarded with a place
among PlayStation royalty. As Ray
would say: Yeah! What a poet.
82
33
games scored 10/10
Kaz & coo hiit a (Pikkes)) Peak
81
On yoourr bikke, lad!
80
When voting closed,

there was a three-way
tie for spot 101 between
Dishonored, Hitman
Blood Money and PES 3
Grand Theft Auto

SONY / DEV THAT GAME COMPANY

PUB BETHESDA / DEV OBSIDIAN
ENTERTAINMENT / ISSUE OPM 51
SCORE 8/10

BMG INTERACTIVE / DEV DMA DESIGN
An enchanting adventure
about trekking through
the most beguiling sandy
expanses youll ever
see and an incredibly canny co-op
experience to boot. Stumbling
across another lonely robed figure
and suddenly discovering they
were actually being controlled by
a living person was an incredible
thrill, and few games have ever
conjured such a compelling sense
of camaraderie. The mesmerising
Austin Wintory score also goes
down as one of the finest in
PlayStation history. Oh, and
those billowing scarves? Damn.
78
Trading the Capital

Wasteland for Nevada,
youre a delivery man
trying to recover a
package stolen by Chandler Bing.
Well, Matthew Perry anyhow. Its
launch was beset by bugs, but
once the exterminators were
patched in New Vegas charm
shone as brightly as the Strips
casino lights. With a busier world
than Fallout 3s and multiple
callbacks to the series PC origins,
the revenge tale felt markedly
different to Bethesdas in-house
take on post-apocalypse and
debates about which game
is better continue to rage on.
77

Three Gran Turismo

games in four years
imagine that. Polyphony
was certainly on a roll as
PS1 made way for its sleeker,
more powerful successor, and
nobody made better use of the
technical jump than GT3. How can
graphics get any better than this,
EVER?, you thought to yourself
while wearing a beanie and fiddling
idly with a yo-yo as DJ tzi played
on the radio. You really lived in the
moment back in those days.
79
PS1
20%
Top-ddow
wn crim
minaalityy
This is where it all

started for gamings
biggest name. Wed roll
out some clich about
humble acorns and grand oaks,
but GTA was a pretty magnificent
oak in its own way back in
1997. It was catnip for tabloids:
you could mow down Hare Krishna
monks for fun, points and an
unforgettable soundbyte. You
could massacre civilians just
because. But none of that would be
worth a thing if DMA Design hadnt
made it worryingly fun to do so.
76
WorldMags.net
065
PS3
PS2
29%
Fallout: New Vegas

What happens in Vegas
Metall, gearrs
rs sollid
Yourr vootes
es
per forrmat
a
Journey
Deserrt deligghtt forr PS

SN
Gran Turismo 3:
A-Spec
PS4
1%
PSP
1%
Tony Hawks Pro

Skater 2
Hawktow
wn andd Z-boyys

PUB ACTIVISION / DEV NEVERSOFT
You can keep your

modern Shaun White
pretenders and your
Skate-branded usurpers
Tony Hawks Pro Skater 2
remains the once and future king
of skateboarding sims. You dont
end up with a Metacritic rating of
98 for nothing, you know. We (in
OPS1 guise) even named it the
seventh greatest PS game of all
time back in 04. The second
kickflippin Hawk took the already
addictive formula of the first entry
and tweaked the physics, threw in
some new riders and slapped on
one of the best licensed
soundtracks ever put together.
75
WorldMags.net
THE 100 GREATEST
GAMES
Mirrors Edge
Leeap, slide and wallruun of Faith

FORMAT PS3 / YEAR 2008 / PUB EA / DEV DICE / ISSUE OPM 25 / SCORE 9/10
74
Flying (or, more specifically, leaping) in the face of the slow first-person shooters that weighed PS3 down, Mirrors Edge dropped incessant
gunplay for edge-of-your-pants acrobatics and free-running. Sure, there technically are guns in it, but stop long enough to take aim and the
forces of the City will cut you down in a second. Your real weapon is parkour. With little more than a run and crouch button, you can sprint,
slide and leap around the bright utopian rooftops with an empowerment that changed the rules of the genre forever.
Killzone 2
Ico
Dark Souls
Gran Turismo

PUB SONY / DEV GUERRILLA GAMES

PUB SONY / DEV TEAM ICO

PUB NAMCO BANDAI / DEV FROM
SOFTWARE / ISSUE OPM 64
SCORE 9/10

73
Ah, we love the smell of

burning Helghast in the
morning. When Killzone 2
arrived on PS3 in 2009 it
finally gave PS3 owners a
first-person shooter worthy of
infatuation. The dark and bleak
sci-fi tale of the democratic ISA
taking the fight to the home planet
of the oranged-eyed villains who
attempted to do the invading in the
original Killzone is one of last-gens
greatest shooters. It still looks
incredible today and when a
game can make the ashen ruins of
a nuclear-blasted city look
beautiful, you know its a keeper.
If you only know one thing

about Ico its that theres
a button thats devoted
to holding hands. Scratch
that, if you only know one thing
about Ico its that its one of
the most emotionally stirring
and beautiful experiences in
PlayStation history. Then you need
to know about that hand-clasping
button. An escape story starring
a horned pre-adolescent boy and
his mysterious female companion,
the castle-based puzzle adventure
is a niche hit that never got the
mainstream love it deserved.
Gran Turismo 4
Final Fantasy IX
Devil May Cry
Borderlands


PUB SQUARE / DEV SQUARE


PUB 2K GAMES / DEV GEARBOX
SOFTWARE / ISSUE OPM 38
SCORE 8/10
Polyphony risked its

sanity recreating the
famous Nrburgring
Nordschleife circuit in its
entirety for GT4, and began to
expose its unbridled fetishism for
automotive history vehicles
resembling horse carriages
turned up, alongside bizarre
concepts and, for some reason,
Jay Lenos Tank Car. But your fave
GT will forever be remembered as
the game that turned you into a pit
lane slave-driver, forcing your
B-Spec driver into one gruelling
endurance race after another.
Push! Youd insist. But I havent
slept in four days! Puuuuush!
The finest farewell to the

original PlayStation, this.
Catapulting FFVIIIs
cloyingly sentimental
shenanigans into space in favour
of a wonderfully chunky cartoon
palette and a proper fantasy
setting, this is as charming as
Squares legendary JRPG series
gets. The world of Gaia (no, not the
massive tree lady from God Of
War) could have been ripped from
Tolkiens finest work, while rarely
has a Final Fantasys cast been so
likable. Plus, the main character is
called Zidane. Thats worthy of
netting entry 68 on its own.
Its not about what you

kill its about how you
kill it. Emphasising style
and substance in a
joyously cocky hack n slash romp,
DMC gave the action genre a right
kick up the jacksy. Intriguingly,
Dantes devilish adventure was
envisioned as an early prototype
for Resident Evil 4 before Capcom
saw sense and realised the
concept could blossom under a
new brand. The bosses remain
brilliant (ah, that lava spidery
thing) and its castle oh-soevocative. Rarely has a PlayStation
game exuded such cool.
Purdyy-loookin
ingg spaace Nazis
066
Your pooor B-S

Specc drivver
69
Or, thhe handd holdiing sim
72
JRPG
G hitts clou
cl ud nine
68
Praisse the Lorrdraan
Being hurt over and

over and over again
has rarely felt so right.
Broadening the boxy hub
worlds of Demons Souls into the
wonderfully realised open-world
kingdom of Lordran, few games
exhibit such confident worldbuilding skills as From Softwares
masterful slasher. With a
peerlessly moreish combat model,
killing your 7,000th beastie is as
compelling as offing your first.
Enemy design is also in a league of
its own, throwing 60ft demonic
butterflies and a Ceaseless
Discharge (ewwww) your way.
71
Dantees peak
a perfform
mance
67
WorldMags.net
Wait, youu can tunee a Micra?
There was a magazine ad

for Gran Turismo, way
back when it released,
which showed a real
highway and a billboard that read,
Caution: you are not playing Gran
Turismo. That seems a bit naff
now, but no game had achieved
realism levels like GT before none
had even tried. The possibility of
turning mundane and recognisable
hatchbacks into tricked-out
racers resonated as deeply as the
handling and graphics, and thus a
true PlayStation great was born.
70
Hey, donntt Knooxx itt
Judging Gearboxs
foul-mouthed, statobsessed shooter as
a solo experience is
meaningless. Got one pad and
no web connection? Youll find a
perfectly agreeable shooter here.
Also, congratulations on being the
only person ever to play Blands
this way. As a co-op blaster, it
was peerless until Blands 2 came
out, giving you miles of (we can
admit it) brown-ish wasteland to
explore with your mates and
scour for guns with big numbers
and silly names. Funny, original,
and pioneering in its effortless
co-operative functionality.
66
WorldMags.net
TEAM PICKS
Phil Iwaniuk Games editor
Metal Gear Solid:

Peace Walker
Ratchet & Clank:

A Crack In Time
Oddworld:
Abes Oddysee
FORMAT PSP / YEAR 2010 / PUB

KONAMI / DEV KOJIMA PRODUCTIONS

PUB SONY / DEV INSOMNIAC GAMES

PUB GT INTERACTIVE
DEV ODDWORLD INHABITANTS
How Kojima and co

managed to squeeze an
adventure of such polish
and scope onto PSP only
1,623 sacrificed goats and the
La-li-lu-le-lo know. Taking MGS4s
enjoyably fluid controls and porting
them into snack-sized missions,
this was a far leaner, more
focused brand of stealth made for
short bursts of play. Alright, so the
giant robot bosses were naff, but
the games indelible legacy lies
with Mother Base an awesome
quasi-RTS that allows you to
manage Snakes fabled fortress.
The first of two showings

for the space-faring
duo, Ratchet & Clanks
fifth full-scale yarn
remains one of the most creative
platformers in PlayStation history.
No other game in the Insomniac
portfolio showcases the abundant
creativity of the Californian studio
more than ACIT. The combat was
tighter, the weapons were crazier,
Crank had his own fun sections
and as for the open-space
dogfighting hubs well, we could
fly ol Aphelion around for years
and never get bored of her.
Odd is right even at a

time when platformers
released on consoles
quicker than studios
could actually make them (hence:
Bubsy 3D), Abe stood out from
the crowd with his dark, dystopian
world, an amazingly functional
command system for ordering
your fellow slaves around and, yes,
a whole button set aside for guffs.
Such is the fondness for Oddworld
in the PS fold that his remake
(reviewed on p108) is still capable
of drawing a crowd.
A slithherringg haandhheldd high
65
Lombaxx To Thee Fuuturre
64
The one with the fartt button
63
Long-time readers
will know that my
formative gaming
years were spent
peering into a
CRT screen and
caressing beige peripherals
while a still-more-beige tower
beside me hummed magical
polygons to life. Im therefore
appalled to see the inferior PS2
port of Half-Life, which I never
played, omitted from this list. On
a happier and more rational
note, its great to see last-gens
games so well represented.
No matter what your fond
memories might tell you to the
contrary, game design improves
consistently with every year this
medium matures, and though
wed sometimes like to see more
wildcard projects get huge
budget as they did generations
ago, your voting confirms that
the overall quality of releases
continues its upward trajectory.
Final Fantasy VIII

Returrning to Squuall
FORMAT PS1 / YEAR 1999 / PUB SQUARE / DEV SQUARE / ISSUE OPS1 51 / SCORE 10/10
067
With Final Fantasy VII establishing the JRPG genre across the globe, the stage was set for follow-up Final
Fantasy VIII to smash all records known to PlayStation kind. That didnt quite happen in the end (VIIs
lifetime sales remain significantly higher), but Final Fantasy VIII is still looked back on with great fondness
thanks to Gunblades, Triple Triad and the small matter of scores of hours of adventuring inside another
breathtaking fantasy universe. Were still confused over Junctionings intricacies, though.
62
Dead Space
Inn spaacee, everryonne sccreams

PUB EA / DEV EA REDWOOD SHORES
Prior to Resident
Evil 5s launch, it was
inconceivable that an EA
studio best-known for
The Simpsons Game could upstage
horror-masters Capcom at their
own game, but thats precisely
what happened with this classic.
Despite the atmosphere-free
setting of space, the mining ship
USG Ishimura positively sweated
with mood, and novel zero-G
elements and evolving strategic
dismemberment combat gave the
tin-bucket hero Isaac Clarke some
USPs of his own to help take the
fight to Chris Redfield and co.
61
Jak And Daxter:

The Precursor
Legacy
Of otttseelss an
a d elves

Before the series got all

moody and obsessed
with vehicles, Jak And
Daxter: The Precursor
Legacy was a bright, colourful
debut that teased at the scope ND
was getting a taste for. With some
gloriously challenging platforming
moments and a new helping of
NDs trademark humour, TPL
had more in common with the
fresh and open level design of
Insomniacs Spyro The Dragon
series than it did Mr Bandicoot.
60
Tomb Raider II
A Larra, Lara laaughhs

PUB EIDOS INTERACTIVE
DEV CORE DESIGN / ISSUE OPS1 26
SCORE 10/10
Tomb Raider II achieved

the near impossible and
managed to become as
iconic as the original.
Croft Manor made its return in
expanded form, with a walk-in
freezer you could trap the butler
in. And who could forget the
first time they got to enjoy
motorboating with Lara in Venice?
Timeless moments indeed. A
plethora of little improvements
alongside some stunning locations
such as the Great Wall cemented
Lara as a gaming icon forever.
59
WorldMags.net
27%
Sony is your favourite
publisher, owning more
than a quarter of the list
08
Of your favourite studios
have closed or undergone
significant changes since
making games in the 100
WorldMags.net
THE 100 GREATEST
GAMES
The Elder Scrolls

IV: Oblivion
Battlefield 3
Silent Hill
Kingdom Hearts II

PUB EA / DEV DICE / ISSUE OPM 65
SCORE 8/10

PUB KONAMI / DEV TEAM SILENT

PUB SQUARE ENIX / DEV SQUARE
ENIX / ISSUE OPS2 78 / SCORE 8/10
Long before the word

Dovahkiin even entered
our gaming lexicon, we
were exploring the
gorgeous province of Cyrodiil and
battling the Daedra and their pesky
portals to the realm of Oblivion.
Despite arriving on PS3 a year
later than other platforms, the
fourth TES entry brought the
beautifully expansive continent of
Tamriel to a whole new audience,
offering an open-world RPG
experience teeming with skills
to be learned, stories to be
discovered and battles to be won.
57
Spend even five minutes

searching for the
words Battlefield 3 on
YouTube and youll find an
ever-increasing stream of trick
shots and trolling compendiums
set in the glorious playground of
DICEs over-the-top FPS. A
lacklustre single-player campaign
wasnt enough to even dent the
intense experience of Battlefield
3s star-of-the-show multiplayer
mode. What other game (save its
successor) enables you to fly a jet,
eject from its cockpit, pull out a
rocket launcher and shoot down a
chopper while parachuting?
56
Its the game that made

the crackle of a radio
turn blood to ice with
PS1 only capable of a
limited draw distance, Team Silent
created a foggy scarescape and
warned you of nearby terrors with
sound alone. Sure, the skinlessbabies-with-knives present in the
demo bundled with MGS1 were
censored and replaced with fuzzy
knee-high critters come launch,
but Konamis landmark horror
didnt pull any more punches and,
in casting you as a waywardshooting everyman, ensured you
were always at a disadvantage.
While its technically

the third entry in the
ever-charming Kingdom
Hearts saga, the officially
numbered second instalment
offered a refined action-RPG
experience infusing that instantly
recognisable Final Fantasy soul
with an even bigger ensemble of
Disney faves. Gummi Ship
improvements and a new Reaction
Command feature that enabled you
to take out tough enemies with a
well-placed QTE (and the
game-changing Drive Gauge)
helped make the tasty Kingdom
Hearts recipe taste even sweeter.
Silent Hill 2
The Walking Dead
Kingdom Hearts
Portal 2

PUB KONAMI / DEV TEAM SILENT

PUB TELLTALE GAMES
DEV TELLTALE GAMES


PUB VALVE / DEV VALVE
Weve seen plenty of

franchise mash-ups in
the past, but whodve
thought a bunch of Final
Fantasy-styled peeps would work
so beautifully with the toons of
Disney? With FF character
designer (and now Kingdom
Hearts overlord) Tetsuya Nomura
stepping into the directors chair,
he and Square retained that warm
and familiar FF authenticity while
opting for a more action-RPG
experience. And with a cast of
Disney characters, it conjured
a brand of magic thats pure KH.
How do you top Portal?

Easy. Turn GLaDOS into
a spud, hire Stephen
Merchant and his Bristol
twang to voice the only other
character in the game, and add
bouncy putty to puzzles. In
truth, Valves sequel matched its
predecessors standard with yet
more masterful storytelling, arch
humour and puzzles that made
you hate life for ten minutes and
subsequently declare yourself a
certified genius as you cracked
them. Completely unique, inimitable
in tone and downright scary in its
grasp of puzzle design.
Lifee befoore Skyrim

m

PUB 2K GAMES / DEV BETHESDA
58
Go bigg or go homee
Soundd of sta
tatiic
Goofiin aroundd
55
068
Pyram
midd Hea
eadd gam
mess
Youve voted many horror

games into PS 100
Greatest Games Ever
this issue, but were
confident none of them made
you sweat as much as this one.
Genuinely uncomfortable at times,
Team Silent used the famous fog
not to mask hardware limitations
but to create an atmospheric
experience that perfectly
complemented Akira Yamaokas
timeless haunting score. From
opening shot to the final twist, few
games are as memorable. And, of
course: Pyramid Head!
54
A zom
mbie gam
me with brains
The zenith of Telltales

creative output before
taking on Robert
Kirkmans undead comic
books was Back To The Future, so
its fair to say the abundance of
excellent writing and characters
you cared about blindsided
everyone as soon as they hit t.
As Lee Everett, you got to
experience adopted parenthood in
the harshest conditions, and were
constantly faced with impossible
decisions. If the tears didnt fall
by the end of episode five, you
must have been a zombie too.
53
The Kingg off Heearts
52
The Merrchantt of mennace
51
LA Noire
Not muchh cop? Youre Aarron a lauggh

FORMAT PS3 / YEAR 2011 / PUB ROCKSTAR GAMES / DEV TEAM BONDI/ROCKSTAR LEEDS/ROCKSTAR NORTH/
ROCKSTAR SAN DIEGO / ISSUE OPM 59 / SCORE 9/10
If all games are about suspending your disbelief, LA Noire does it as well as anyone. Deep into your
career as by-the-book post-war cop Cole Phelps, the linear nature of Team Bondis procedural drama
makes itself clear, but by that time youve had so much fun studying facial expressions, drinking in the
time and place, and saying, This doesnt pertain to the case, while rolling a cigarette butt around in your
hand that it scarcely matters.
50
WorldMags.net
WorldMags.net
different
Metal
Gear
Solids
made it
into your
Top 100.
Snaaake!
The Simpsons
Hit & Run
Grandd Thefft Sprinngfieeld

PUB SIERRA / DEV RADICAL
ENTERTAINMENT / ISSUE OPS2 40
SCORE 5/10
While developer Radical

Entertainments first trip
into the animated world
of The Simpsons was a
lawsuit-baiting parody of Segas
Crazy Taxi series, 2003s Hit &
Run had its eyes on a far grander
muse: Rockstars open-world
crime franchise. Rather than
just racing against a clock to
earn cash, Hit & Run had onfoot exploration, a full roster of
Simpsons regulars (and their
wheels) and a story fully-written
and voiced by The Simpsons cast.
49
Assassins Creed:
Brotherhood
Band of brot
o hers

MONTREAL / ISSUE OPM 52
SCORE 8/10
Oh, Ezio. Our mancrush

on you must be nearing
Drake levels of love.
Brotherhood may not
have felt like the full-on sequel
many of us wanted, (ACIII made us
reconsider that stance pretty
sharpish, mind) but it still took the
qualities that made ACII great and
crafted an experience that was
bursting with sass goodness.
Whether you were scaling Borgia
Towers or delving into the newly
anointed PVP multiplayer,
Brotherhood is a second slice of
Ezio pie we never tire of scoffing.
45
1995 and 2006

lose the calendar
wars with just one
entry apiece
Final Fantasy X
The JRP
PG withh X appeeal
The first PS2 Final

Fantasy took its sweet
time to arrive, but the
wait was certainly worth
it. At first we all questioned the
wisdom of introducing voice acting
when new hero Tidus spent the
opening hours uttering nothing
but, err, uhh, and, ahh, but we
were wrong to ever doubt Square
the sprawling role-playing game
is an undisputed classic, and given
XIIs changes, XIs and XIVs MMO
aspirations and XIIIs narrow
corridors, its also the last
example of classic Final
Fantasy in its absolute prime.
48
Tekken 3
King of Ironn Fisst fiightters

PUB NAMCO / DEV NAMCO
One of the most

important and influential
beat-em-ups ever, and a
never-bettered highlight
for Namcos beloved fighter. With
a greatly expanded roster and a
host of cheeky mini-games (the
Streets Of Rage-inspired Tekken
Force is a gem), this was as
generous a scrapper package as
you could find on PS1. Tekken 3
also remains a wonderfully faithful
arcade port, and its brashly beefy
fighters and vivid stages were
quite the sight to behold back in
1998. Just no going Eddy Gordo
44
Your votes
per score
5/10
1%
7/10
3%
8/10
22%
9/10
10/10
33%
41%
Crash Team
Racing
Call Of Duty:
Black Ops


PUB ACTIVISION / DEV TREYARCH
So how do you sign-off

from the platforming
franchise that made you?
If youre Naughty Dog you
do a karting game. And what a job
it did, too. Channelling the same
eye for creativity and penchant for
humour that it brought to Crashs
wumpa fruit-grabbing trilogy, ND
took note of what Nintendo was
doing right elsewhere, flipped it
a couple of birds and dropped a
racer in our laps worthy of your
time and your money.
Treyarchs first foray

outside of WW2 may have
shared some core DNA
with Infinity Wards
colossal Modern Warfare series,
but it threw enough curve balls
into the mix to keep it fresh in the
minds of COD fans. The campaign
dared to out-do MW2 in terms of
violence and narrative twists. The
multiplayer mixed the rigid formula
up with the addition of wager
matches (Gun Game!). Oh and
Zombies. Did we mention the
World At War Easter egg that was
fleshed out into a mode all its own?
Shadow Of The
Colossus
Tomb Raider
Kart blannchhe
47
Its a Waander
e ful liffe

PUB SONY / DEV TEAM ICO
43? Forty three?! Oh

readers, how could you?
Were a mite perplexed
that a game which placed
eighth in your Top 50 PlayStation
Games back in OPM #50 should
suffer such an unceremonious
drop from the critical limelight.
Anyway, well forgive you, because
just thinking about Wander and
Argo exploring that haunting land
filled with the grandest and most
imaginatively realised bosses on
PS2 is making us go all wistful.
Quite simply, one of the greatest
artistic achievements in the
history of games.
43
WorldMags.net
Undeead and loovingg it
46
A hannd-C
Croofteed workk of art
PUB EIDOS / DEV CORE DESIGN
The First Lady of

adventuring and perhaps
the biggest icon ever
to grace PlayStation.
Hauling a generation of gamers
kicking and screaming into one of
the first true third dimension
titles, Ms Crofts brand of
stiff-limbed, ber-precise
platforming may have been
challenging at times, but the
reward of seeing those incredible
lost worlds open up before you
was worth it. There were few
bigger surprises on PS1 than
suddenly finding yourself gunning
for raptors and that T. rex.
42
069
WorldMags.net
THE 100 GREATEST
GAMES
TEAM PICKS
Dom Reseigh-Lincoln
Production editor
Whats this? No
Dishonored or
Splinter Cell:
Blacklist in your
top 100? You
cant leave all the
sneaking up to bandana-wearing
clones and white-hooded stab
addicts, people! Lop-sided
stealth shenanigans aside, I
think the poor old portables are
the real victims here. Wheres
the love for the incredible
Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII?
The awesome Monster Hunter
Freedom Unite? The brutality of
God Of War: Chains Of Olympus
or the majesty of Tearaway? I
applaud your love for Ratchet
& Clank: A Crack In Time and
Spyro The Dragon (even though
Spyro 2 is the better game),
but whens Sly going to get a
look in? Forget inFamous 2 Sly
2: Band Of Thieves is Sucker
Punch at its most glorious.
LittleBigPlanet 2
Resident Evil
Mass Effect 2

PUB SONY / DEV MEDIA MOLECULE


PUB EA / DEV BIOWARE
Arguably closer to
being a full platform
than an actual game,
LittleBigPlanet 2s story
is just the tip of the iceberg. The
true LBP2 experience involves
unlocking players creativity with
the most varied and robust editing
suite on PlayStation, and letting
the community embrace and take
ownership of how the series
grows and evolves. Among the
millions of community-created
levels youll find homages to the
best games across all platforms,
and from all genre types. And is
there a cuter mascot than
Sackboy? We think not.
41
40
Oh God, the cheese. Jill

sandwiches, masters of
unlocking, Chris blood
But would the mememic
script have been so widely
embraced were it not attached
to such a landmark title? We think
not. Though not technically the
true survival horror progenitor,
the original Resi single-handedly
carried the genre into the
mainstream and inspired a
generation of gamers and
developers alike with its classic
set-pieces and memorable plot
points. Nearly 20 years on and we
still talk about that dog corridor
with twinkles in our eyes.
It doesnt mean much to

describe something as
epic anymore (thanks,
moneysupermarket.com)
but if there were still any purchase
on that word, itd be the best way
to describe ME2. Over the course
of its 30-plus hour campaign youll
visit the farthest reaches of the
galaxy, take down hostile life forms
in their droves, mediate peace with
warring races, and try some
toe-curling lines on Liara in
between saving all known life in the
universe. Few RPGs achieve this
scope, and none has done it
wearing camper body armour.
Spyro The Dragon
Ratchet & Clank
Bioshock



PUB 2K GAMES / DEV 2K BOSTON/2K
AUSTRALIA/DIGITAL EXTREMES
Before he was lost to the

ever increasing roster of
overly colourful toys in
the Skylanders franchise,
the fire breathin reptilian was a
platforming heavyweight in his
own right. While Naughty Dogs
mad-eyed mascot belted his way
through linear levels, the world of
Spyro was open and free, taking
more than a cue or two from a
certain Italian plumbers adventure
on a rival platform. With a wealth
of realms that only hinted at
Insomniacs overwhelming source
of creativity, Spyro The Dragon
remains one of the greatest
platformers of all time.
After finally waving

farewell to the dragon
that had brought bona
fide platforming cred to
PS1, Insomniac Games decided to
redefine the rules of what a
platformer could and should do.
Almost a year before Naughty Dog
made waves with the Morph
Gun-toting Jak II: Renegade, R&Cs
first outing spliced together
ridiculously over-the-top gun
fights and an open-ended level
design that rewarded curiosity
and exploration. Along with a
script that was genuinely funny,
the first R&C was a kick right up
the platforming genres arsenal.
Bioshock is what
happens when you sweat
the details. The deep
combat pairing of guns
and plasmids is probably the least
ambitious element of Irrationals
deep sea dystopia. Every little
corner of Rapture feels deliberate
and dripping with meaning,
whether its occupied by a former
inhabitant turned strung-out
genetics junkie or an upturned
book. Yes, there are twists very
famous twists but even without
them, Bioshock would earn a place
in this hallowed list for virtuoso
world-building.
Happpy Sack
STOP! Doont. Oppen.. Thaat. Door
Nice andd Shepp-shhapee
39
070
Your favvouritte yeear by far,

witth 13 enti
t res inn thhe 100
Purplle reiggn of firre
placements for the most

decorated series, GTA
38
Lockeed and loaadedd
37
inFamous 2
Suckker Punchs glory Colee

FORMAT PS3 / YEAR 2011 / PUB SONY / DEV SUCKER PUNCH / ISSUE OPM 59 / SCORE 9/10
MacGrath decides to chill Big Easy-style as he ventures down to New Marais in a sequel that was more
accomplished in every way than its still-heroic predecessor. Thanks to a compelling southern city and a
better told story, inFamous 2 remains one of the finer open-worlds to grace PS3. Coles parkour
system was as pleasing as ever, while missions were also much improved and thankfully didnt involve
spending all your time in dingy sewers (naughty, inFamous 1). Props to that ending, too.
35
WorldMags.net
Atlass sluugged
36
WorldMags.net
Tomb Raider
Laarass rip--roaring reboot

FORMAT PS3 / YEAR 2013 / PUB SQUARE ENIX / DEV CRYSTAL DYNAMICS / ISSUE OPM 82 / SCORE 8/10
Now thats a makeover. After years of increasing irrelevance, Lara was taken back to the drawing board by Crystal
Dynamics one that apparently had a whole lot of Drake doodles scribbled on it. The result is one of PS3s most confident
action games, boasting terrific gunplay and the best realised environment for Croft since she went walking with
dinosaurs on PS1. In the Dragons Triangle, the rebooted Raider finds itself an incredible home; part Lost, part Bear
Grylls and all killer island action. A true return to form.
34
Star Wars:
Battlefront II
We caan be Herroess

PUB LUCASARTS / DEV PANDEMIC
A game that managed to

sum up the true power
of a Force-wielding Jedi/
Sith and the intense,
merciless fury of fighting in the
most iconic battles in SW canon?
And do you know the best part?
The tide-changing Heroes were
only a bonus; a timed ass-kicking
that was only one part of a
full-scale battle. The real fight was
in the hands of the ground forces
as you scrap to take the theatre of
war back one area at a time
before jumping into a starfighter
and dominating the skies.
33
Bioshock Infinite
A liiterrarry tal
a e from Booker
PUB 2K GAMES / DEV IRRATIONAL
GAMES / ISSUE OPM 83
SCORE 10/10
Its very telling that

Infinites best moments
happened when your
finger was nowhere
near the trigger: your ascension
to Columbia, accompanied by a
gospel soundtrack. That first
meeting with Elizabeth, a
character wed seen in numerous
forms during the games
protracted development but
still touched you when you met
in-game. The ending. Of course the
ending. Combat remains familiar
up there in Irrational Games last
imagined world, but everything
else is nothing but extraordinary.
29
Resident Evil 2
God Of War II
Fallout 3


PUB SONY / DEV SONY SANTA
MONICA / ISSUE OPS2 83
SCORE 9/10

PUB BETHESDA SOFTWORKS
DEV BETHESDA GAME STUDIOS
You know a games good

when its released one
month after the debut of
a more powerful
platform and still captures the
imagination of fans and critics
alike. Despite killing a god and
taking his place in the pantheon of
Olympus, the ash-smothered
anger dispenser Kratos still had
plenty of rage to share with his
fellow deities. Whether youre
duking it out with the monolithic
Colossus Of Rhodes or scrambling
across the Steeds Of Time, God Of
War II helped sign PS2 off in
spectacular style.
Having been treated to

The Elder Scrolls IV:
Oblivion already on PS3,
open-world fans eyes
were eagerly trained on Bethesda,
who breathe life and wonder into
vast environments like no one else.
But doing so when that vast
environment is, for the most part,
a barren nuclear wasteland is still
more impressive. Adding the VATS
system and its many gratifying kill
animations to combat, Fallout 3
reinvigorated a forgotten RPG
license, pushed open-world
gaming further, and made you
hungry for sweetrolls all at once.
Resident Evil 4
God Of War


MONICA / ISSUE OPS2 60
SCORE 9/10
Looking back, the brave

reinvention of survival
horror wasnt, as we
once thought, the first
entry in what would become a
string of masterpieces. Instead,
its often regarded as the point of
no return: the undisputed peak of
the genre, but also the tipping
point after which developers put
action ahead of scares and slowly
smothered big-budget horror into
near-extinction. That, a decade on,
nothings come even close to
matching it for set-pieces, shocks
or sickeningly satisfying headshots
renders this a one-off marvel
unlikely to ever be repeated.
While three subsequent

games have fleshed out
the story prior to Kratos
one-man war on Ares,
the original deity slayer remains
of the most impressive debuts
in PS history. With David Jaffe
pulling the creative strings, God
Of War created a stylised vision of
Ancient Greece that spawned five
more entries in the blood-soaked
series. Mixing a smattering
of environmental puzzles and a
drizzle of platforming, God Of War
still knew where its strengths lay:
intense combat with enough depth
to appeal to any skill level.
Dead moobs annd dooom

m Licks
At this point in Resi 2s

legacy, its hard to say
whether its broader
successes or its
idiosyncrasies are more fondly
remembered. The tension
and atmosphere endure even
today. The score still gets under
your skin, and the dual playable
character narrative blew your
late 90s mind. But we take those
qualities for granted. These days,
its the idea that a combo of herbs
can cure a serious flesh wound, or
that RCPD employees had to solve
labyrinthine puzzles to file routine
paperwork, which make us grin.
32
Assassins Creed
IV: Black Flag
High tim
mes on
o the higgh seas
FORMAT PS4/PS3 / YEAR 2013
SCORE 8/10
Ah, the smell of sea

water on the breeze.
The sound of broadside
cannons roaring over the
waves. The sight of a Man-O-War
sinking after a ten-minute duel of
chainshot and ram. This sweet
assault on the senses is an
experience only Ubisoft Montreals
open-sea blockbuster can provide.
Flying in the face of the landlocked
structures of old, ACIV proudly
raised its colours as a pirate sim
first and an Assassins Creed
game second. Grand in scale, yet
equally engrossing in execution.
28
Rhoddes to glorry
31
A peeerleess revvival hoorror
27
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The Nukke kid on thhe block
30
Gorgiingg on Goorgoons
26
071
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THE 100 GREATEST
GAMES
Heavy Rain
Innteraactivee drama goes downn a storm

FORMAT PS3 / YEAR 2010 / PUB SONY / DEV QUANTIC DREAM / ISSUE OPM 4 / SCORE 9/10
25
Of all the games on the business end of this list, Quantic Dreams QTE-led noir whodunit probably requires the fewest
button presses to complete. It exists on the fringe, halfway between game and something new entirely. A more traditional
approach couldnt have dealt with Heavy Rains dark, emotionally wrenching script appropriately, but the multi-character
plot and minimal control scheme still delivered. That, gratuitous nudity and one of gamings most famous lines.
God Of War III

Olymppuss has
as fallen

MONICA / ISSUE OPM 42
SCORE 9/10
Kratos first appearance

on PS3 was by far its
grandest, flinging the dial
up to 11 and offering one
of the most memorable PlayStation
experiences of all time. Director
Stig Asmussen and the team at
Santa Monica were careful not
to water down the GOW formula
when it made the jump to seventh
gen. Instead they made the combat
even more intuitive, gave you more
enemies on screen than ever to
eviscerate with your Blades Of
Exile, and offered up a crumbling
Olympus just waiting to be burned
to the ground.
24
072
Grand Theft
Auto III
Grand Theft
Auto IV

PUB ROCKSTAR GAMES
DEV DMA DESIGN / ISSUE OPS2 13
SCORE 8/10

PUB ROCKSTAR GAMES
DEV ROCKSTAR NORTH
Thirteen years on, it can

be difficult to remember
just how big a deal GTA III
was. If Claude Speeds
criminal pursuits didnt quite
create the open world genre, they
certainly popularised it like no
game had before. Its amazing to
think we only awarded it 8/10 but,
then again, we were still finding
our feet in a sandbox template that
gave a then-unparalleled freedom.
Wait, we can go anywhere? And as
your voting shows, Liberty Citys
legacy has only grown and grown.
23
As soon as you stepped

off the boat and onto
Liberty Citys moonlit
docks, you knew this was
going to be another unforgettable
adventure. GTA IV is equal parts
modern American pastiche,
sandbox plaything and narrativedriven shooter. Or to put it more
succinctly: dating, darts and
destruction. Knock those calls
from Roman if you like, but they
were another layer of interactivity
and believability on an alreadythriving, properly lifelike city.
A surprisingly low
slot for whats widely
considered to be the
finest JRPG ever, and
one of the PlayStation icons
that helped Sonys first console
become a global phenomenon.
Squares first PlayStationexclusive Final Fantasy outing
captured imaginations worldwide
with a hard-hitting story of
oppression, peril, mercenaries
and love, and tied a ribbon around
it with a Materia-centric magic
system thats never been topped,
and a world full of characters we
came to adore like true friends.
Far Cry 3
Batman: Arkham
Asylum
Metal Gear Solid 2:

Sons Of Liberty

WARNER BROS / DEV ROCKSTEADY

PUB KONAMI / DEV KCEJ
Before Arkham Asylum,

the concept of a good
tie-in was borderline
laughable. With Batman
horribly crowbarred into all
manner of shameless cash-ins on
PlayStations past, few expected
this to be even a passable take on
the Caped Crusaders adventures,
let alone one of the most important
licensed games in history. But
what a shocker: one-note boss
battles are the only wayward
batarang in a tightly-paced,
astonishingly realised love-letter
to the worlds finest superhero.
Its hard to know if any

game has ever captured
the collective imagination
of an E3 audience like
MGS2 did in 2000. Thanks to the
powerful Emotion Engine, Solid
Snake and his magnificent mullet
came to vivid life in a way no one
could have imagined. Overhauling
the hide-and-seek template laid
down in Shadow Moses, KCEJ
created fiendishly smart guard
patrols, bold first-person aiming
and a tanker that would become
PlayStations greatest boat at
least until Uncharted 3. Just dont
mention Raiden, okay?
Openn-worlld
d s youur oyyster
The ultim
matte
te dartss sim
m?
22
Final Fantasy VII

A Plattinuum-l
- ineed Clouud

21
TEAM PICKS
Milford Coppock
Managing Art Editor
Im pretty amazed
that WipEout
didnt feature
at all in any of
its incarnations
across all five
PlayStation formats! It was
the definitive game on the PS1
that perfectly summed up the
PlayStation experience, which
means this should have easily
earnt itself a place in the top
100. Plus what about PaRappa
the Rapper? The game which
essentially invented the rhythm
action genre! SSX?! Nowhere to
be seen! Not a single Castlevania
entry? Wow. Just wow. Id argue
that Symphony Of The Night and
Lords Of Shadow are better
than The Simpsons Hit & Run.
Right, rant over. I do largely
agree with the top three games
though. All easily deserve
their places at the pinnacle of
PlayStation gaming.
Tattss enntertaainnmentt, folks

SCORE 9/10
Nobody expected FC3 to

be so good. The previous
game was riddled with
questionable design calls
that diluted the enticing quality of
its open-world, but number three
rooted them all out and replaced
them with sharkskin wallets,
a charismatic antagonist and
cassowaries that interrupted
your firefights to peck everyone
to death. The interaction between
Brody, Rook Islands wildlife and
the pirates makes turning every
corner exciting, and gives each
player their own source of
Hemingway-esque tales.
20
The Darrk Kni

n ght arrivves
19
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Big Shelll, big

iggger im
mpaact
18
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TEAM PICKS
Dave Meikleham
News editor
Metal Gear Solid 4:

Guns Of The
Patriots
Big Boosss bow
o out

KONAMI / DEV KOJIMA PRODUCTIONS
Who said you cant teach

an Old Snake new tricks?
Offering the kind of
era-closing fan service
to make most longtime series
stalwarts weep into their hankies,
MGS4 tied together 21 years of
dangling plot strands. The ending
is both hugely cathartic and one of
PlayStations best, but the legacy
of its brilliant controls (how fun
is that military roll?) shouldnt
be forgotten. Less focused than
Snake Eater it may be, but this
is still a supreme stealth offering.
17
Metal Gear Solid 3:

Snake Eater
Batman:
Arkham City

PUB KONAMI / DEV KCEJ

PUB WARNER BROS
DEV ROCKSTEADY
Just like us, you cant

get enough delicious
reticulated python.
Not that you had much
choice. Whisking players back
to the Cold War-era 60s and a
sweltering Soviet jungle, rations
are in short supply as you try to
keep Naked Snake alive by any
means possible. These survival
sensibilities are perfectly suited
for a game that ditched the Soliton
Radar in favour of a camo system.
Stealth had never been fresher,
and in The End, PlayStation never
had a better boss fight.
With Arkham Asylum

casting a huge shadow,
Rocksteady took Bats off
the prison island and
dropped him into an open-district
of Gotham, suitably reappropriated
to house DCs dirtiest scumbags.
Gliding above its streets produced
thrills matched only by some top
performances from Kevin Conroy
and Mark Hamill. An all-star cast,
some great twists, improved boss
battles, tons of collectibles and the
best hand-to-hand combat ever
created makes it a masterpiece.
The juungglee hoook
16
An oppenn-w
worldd Jookerr tour
15
You guys are such

wags. Yes, Star
Wars: Battlefront
II clearly is a
more historically
significant and just
plain better game than Shadow
Of The Colossus. Oh Lord, my
sides, theyre literally splitting
mainly because Im suffering a
rage-based hernia. While the top
of this list is stronger than Ivan
Dragos jawline, what seems
clear is some gamers have an
inability to contextualise what
classic games truly meant to
them. To put it in less monoclestroking vernacular: old,
genuinely great games (wheres
WipEout?!) have been pushed
aside because you remember
quite liking Black Ops a few
Christmases ago. Then again,
maybe Im just an ageing grump
with a finger thats petrified of
finding the pulse.
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City

Amazzingg in the 80s
FORMAT PS2 / YEAR 2002 / PUB ROCKSTAR GAMES / DEV ROCKSTAR NORTH / ISSUE OPS2 27 / SCORE 10/10
073
Bad pastel suits. Bombing down Vice Point on a Faggio to the shrill strings of Billie Jean.
Listening to anything on Flash FM. In the history of PlayStation, youll be hard pressed to find a
dev thats captured the spirit of a specific time and place more confidently than Rockstar North
with its take on 80s Miami. The sun-drenched sandbox may not be the most thrilling to drive
around, but its the most iconic world the Edinburgh studio has ever created.
14
Assassins Creed II
A gam
minng Renaaisssancce

MONTREAL / ISSUE 38 / SCORE 9/10
Taking the historical

hitman pitch of the
original and stretching it
over an accomplished
open-world spanning a beautifully
realised Italy, ACII remains the
high-point of the annualised series,
despite no fewer than four core
sequels and numerous spin-offs.
Bookended by the underdeveloped
Altar from AC and the vapid
Connor from ACIII, hero Ezio ranks
as one of last-gens very best
characters, and the cities of
Florence, Monteriggioni and Venice
as some of the most thrilling
settings weve ever visited.
13
Call Of Duty 4:
Modern Warfare
The birtth of thhe modeern FPS

PUB ACTIVISION / DEV INFINITY WARD
It spawned a generation
of copycats and
disappointing sequels,
but despite the deluge of
shooters that have followed in its
bootprints nothing has yet topped
the original Modern Warfare. A
combination of landmark elements
(not limited to ridiculously
satisfying guns, a genre-defining
multiplayer experience, the best
stealth level in an otherwise action
game, and stupidly good night
vision effects) makes it the
shooter of choice, even seven full
years from its original release.
12
FIFA 10
Succeesss, dri
r bble by dribble
PUB EA / DEV EA CANADA
For almost a decade, PES

was untouchable. Firing
into a game of FIFA
over Konamis expertly
calibrated soccer sim was heresy
on par with suggesting a certain
Uruguayan might have used his
teeth within a ten mile radius of
Anfield. Yet FIFA 10 changed all
that. EA Canada first created
a physics system that easily
outstripped its rival, then
introduced 360 dribbling; a
game-changer in the league of
Resi 4s shoulder cam. Its easy
to see why its your most beloved
sports game.
11
WorldMags.net
50%
of your Top 10 titles were
developed by Naughty Dog
The lowest scoring game

is The Simpsons Hit & Run,
which scored a pitiful
5/10
WorldMags.net
THE 100 GREATEST
GAMES
The Elder Scrolls V:

Skyrim
Alduinn yoou a faavouur

PUB BETHESDA SOFTWORKS
DEV BETHESDA GAME STUDIOS
Memories of Skyrims
launch on PS3 are still
painful. It was like all the
other kids in school had
the must-have toy, and we had the
Poundland knock-off that smelled
of fertiliser and was missing an
arm. Gradually though, the lag that
blighted the best open-world RPG
to date subsided and we were
able to enjoy it on equal terms.
Headshotting a wolf on horseback
with a bow you nicked from a
Daedric Prince never felt so good.
10
Crash Bandicoot
Plentty of Cra
r sh, no buurn
Its future might have

been filled with ottsels,
chiseled, treasurehunting cheekbones and
visions of an apocalyptic America,
but Naughty Dog was already
making a name for itself when
Sonys PlayStation saga was only
a young un. Few games feel as
intrinsically linked to a platform as
Crash Bandicoot, but the sight of
that orange-furred marsupial
turning to the camera before his
first ever run to the backdrop of
exploding TNT boxes couldnt
scream PlayStation any louder if it
tried ironic given hes Activisions
baby now. We miss you, Crash.
09
Red Dead
Redemption
Uncharted:
Drakes Fortune

PUB ROCKSTAR GAMES
DEV ROCKSTAR SAN DIEGO

How the West was fun

one magnificently nailed
cowboy trope at a time.
Recreating a sense
of time and place that was
so thoroughly, immediately
convincing, Red Dead Redemption
is a playable, epic take on every
Western fantasy you ever had as
a kid. Gamers arent into cowboys?
Hah! Well, all it needed was one
beautifully judged map to change
that opinion forever. And cmon,
who isnt now head over heels for
John Marston?
Among Thieves perfected

the set-piece spectacle,
but it was this tale of long
lost treasure on an island
sweating with modern pirates that
laid down the foundation for PS3s
defining series. With dialogue
that snapped and popped
like a well-written sitcom and a
winning lead set in the Indy mould,
PlayStation had found its new icon.
Uncharteds sweltering jungles
are still a star attraction seven
years on, setting screens alight
with brilliantly bright colour. Funny,
fresh and essential.
First greeat Westeern
08
Classsic Natte and swittch
07
Metal Gear Solid
Thhe faantasstic Mr FO
OXHOUND
074
FORMAT PS1 / YEAR 1998 / PUB KONAMI / DEV KCEJ / ISSUE OPS1 42 / SCORE 10/10
Your highest rated PS1 game, and arguably the one title that sums up the PlayStation ethos better than any other.
Breakthrough, bold and brilliant, MGS subverted 20 years of gaming logic, forcing you not to engage with your enemies
but flee from them. The script was better than anything the medium had seen up to that point, with the awesomely Snake
Plissken-aping Solid Snake proving a hero for the ages. It cemented the stealth genre and has a decent claim on being
PlayStations most influential game bar none.
06
Uncharted 3:
Drakes Deception
Grand Theft Auto:

San Andreas
FORMAT PS3 / YEAR 2011 / PUB SONY

DEV NAUGHTY DOG / ISSUE OPM 64 / SCORE 10/10
FORMAT PS2 / YEAR 2004 / PUB ROCKSTAR GAMES

DEV ROCKSTAR NORTH / ISSUE OPS2 54 / SCORE 10/10
Such is the slim margin between success

and failure at the top that if Uncharted 3 had
been anything other than absolutely stellar, it
would have been deemed an abject failure in
comparison with its prequels. The lofty position it finds
itself in, then, speaks volumes for Naughty Dogs ability
to consistently better its cinematic pacing, visual
fidelity and stripped-down, singed-into-the-retinas
moments such as that sand storm. Or that boat.
Or that plane. Hang on is any of it not standout?
Wait, you mean we can explore an entire

state?! This is as close as games got to
Skyrim-style scope back in 2004. The
mere idea of having not one but three faux
Californian cities to explore, and a whole county of
backwood roads, forests and mountains in between,
was an incredible PS2 feat. Rockstar pushed PS2
harder than any other game in an experience that
redefined scale for console titles. Its period-perfect
recreation of early 90s LA was also spot on. Truly a
visionary, technical marvel.
And now
w forr dessert
05
Califforniia beeam
mingg in a suprreme sandbox
04
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Uncharted 2:
Among Thieves
Draakes traiining daay
FORMAT PS3 / YEAR 2009 / PUB SONY / DEV NAUGHTY DOG / ISSUE OPM 37 / SCORE 10/10
Sackboy can do one Nathan Drake is

PlayStations true mascot and Uncharted
2 is the blockbuster showpiece of PS3.
Long after youve traded your PS5 for
a headjack which plugs you directly into
The Matrix, the crystal-clear memories of
ascending the mountainside train wreck
or being guided around an impossibly serene village after
some of the most bone-jarring firefights your thumbs ever
survived will still be there, caressing your cerebral cortex
like a warm blanket, assuring you that gaming really has
come that close to perfection.
03
075
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TEAM PICKS
Matt Pellett Editor
076
Grand Theft
Auto V
Give me a moment
while I rock back
and forth and
cradle the likes
of Rock Band 3,
LocoRoco, Worms
Armageddon, Katamari Damacy,
Rez, Gitaroo-Man, Psychonauts,
Destruction Derby 2, Beyond
Good & Evil, Braid (BRAID!),
SSX, Okami, PaRappa The
Rapper, Tearaway, Colin McRa
okay, you get the picture. Im
stunned that so many classics
didnt make the cut, but that just
goes to show what a ridiculously
fantastic, wide-reaching
gaming library PlayStation has
hosted over two decades of
greatness. We spent hours
debating your picks in the office,
drawing up personal Top 100
lists in the process. Read them
right now at facebook.com/
OfficialPlayStationMagazine and
join us online to debate your
favourite games of all time.
One crimee ringg to ruule theem all

FORMAT PS3 / YEAR 2013 / PUB ROCKSTAR GAMES
DEV ROCKSTAR NORTH / ISSUE OPM 89 / SCORE 10/10
Forget the terrible twos.

All you clearly want are a
terrific three. Rockstars trio
of thieving leads help GTA
finally tell a story you actually
care about. The fact that
each of Michael, Trevor and
Franklin convincingly go about their daily lives
when youre not directly controlling them
(youre drunk on the beach in your Y-fronts
again, Trevor?) further sells the notion that
Los Santos and the surrounding Blaine County
is a world that exists in spite of you, not
because of you a sensation that doesnt
fade throughout its 30-plus hour duration.
02
Theres no question that this is the greatest

open-world game ever created. Mixing
an astounding eye for detail with a world
constantly brimming with possibilities, whether
thats getting distracted picking up submarine
parts lining the ocean floor or collecting
bounties deep in the hills of the Grand Senora
Desert, its genuinely tough to put it down.
And how good are those missions? Fulfilling
many a Heat fantasy, the central heists are
superbly designed and paced, putting you in
control of your very own Neil McCauley fantasy.
The guns are great, the cars even better and
the humour never funnier. Will Rockstar ever
top it? The incoming PS4 version says hello.
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59
votes separated GTA V and
The Last Of Us. So close
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077
The Last Of Us
Naugghty Doogss rem

markabble remainns of thee doomsday
FORMAT PS3 / YEAR 2013 / PUB SONY / DEV NAUGHTY DOG / ISSUE OPM 85 / SCORE 10/10
And now, the end is near.

And so you reach, the final
curtain which just
happens to be hiding a
Clicker behind its velvet
robe. Ahhhh! Get it off! Its
not hard to see why you
voted Naughty Dogs sombre masterpiece as
your greatest PlayStation game of all time.
After all, whats not to like? Incredible
performances by the two most layered-yetlikable leads on PS3? Good. A majestically
crafted apocalyptic world where every
scarred road and abandoned building has a
story to tell? Good. A Nolan North-voiced
psychopath? GOOD.
01
Its testament to the power of Naughty Dog

as storytellers that it can take such dark
subject matter (global pandemics, the death
of family, the ruthlessness of humanity) and
make something so universally beloved. The
Last Of Us isnt an easy game to play at times
(that scene with the two brothers, for
instance), but it remains effortless to adore.
And thats down to an experience completely
unsullied by dodgy dialogue or any form of
padding, and one thats entirely beholden to
showing the unflinching consequences of your
terribly violent actions.
The Last Of Us is a game of tremendous
integrity. It never once talks down to its
audience or tries to insult your intelligence. It
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doesnt pander through the use of sidemissions or fob meaningless MacGuffins your
way. This is simply a game about real people
caught in extraordinary circumstances in a
world that is never anything less than
unfailingly believable.
Of course, its also a rudding amazing
stealth shooter. Tenser than a dozen
oh-so-fateful England penalty shootouts, Joel
and Ellie deliver consistently mesmerising
encounters, where breaking line of sight and
acting as an adaptive, desperate predator is
key. For its time, it looked, played and sounded
better than anything else on PS3.
Greatest PlayStation game of them all? Not
half and its now even better on PS4
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THE LAST OF
US
078
A year since its release and with Remastered now out,

Naughty Dog creative director Neil Druckmann sits down
with Johnny Cullen to look back on The Last Of Us,
your greatest PlayStation game of all time
hats the legacy of

The Last Of Us? A
year after its release
on PS3 and with
Remastered now
out on PS4, its a question
thats appearing more and more
in discussions about the game.
To people like you and I, its one of
the best games ever made (you just
voted it the best PlayStation game
of all time, after all its also
my favourite game ever).
But lets come back to that
and instead return to 2009. After
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
shipped and got all the success it
deserved, it was time for something

new at Naughty Dog. Game director
Bruce Straley and lead game designer
Neil Druckmann would split off
to start a second team. Straley
would still be game director, while
Druckmann would become creative
director. Even then, this wouldnt
be the first time the studio
would attempt a two-team effort.
We tried going to two teams
before and we werent ready for it; it
didnt really work out, Druckmann
reveals, referencing how Naughty
Dog attempted a dual-team setup
to work on Jak And Daxter for PSP
around the time development on
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THE LAST OF US
LOOK AWAY!
SPOILER
ALERT
079
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THE LAST OF
US
Uncharted: Drakes Fortune was
ongoing. The plan unfortunately
fell through due to resources ND
underestimating the demands
that UC1s development needed.
But Naughty Dog had grown
substantially by the time Uncharted
1 and 2 had shipped, to the point
where the confidence to put
together a second team re-emerged.
So it was Druckmann, Straley and
team two who would begin work on
what would become TLOU. But not
before attempts were made to
bring Jak And Daxter to PS3 first.
We felt like we had something
really special [Uncharted 2] in our
hands, but even before that game
came out, our bosses [Naughty
Dog co-presidents Evan Wells
and Christophe Balestra] started
thinking of like, Well, weve
grown over Uncharted 1 and
2, maybe its time to try the
two-team thing again. And
youve no idea how difficult
it is to create a new IP, its like
youre starting from scratch.
You have no idea whats going
to work insofar as story or
characters or gameplay
Do you go first-person or do
you choose to go third-person?.
So to make our lives easier and
to say, Okay, were gonna branch off
and start this whole team, lets start
with an established IP, lets not give
ourselves too many challenges at
once. And we were given the task
of rebooting Jak And Daxter.
That was kind of like this

double-edged sword. In one sense,
it was freeing to say, Were not
attached to anything weve done
before, we can really reinvent what
we do, says Druckmann. On the
other hand, it was like, Oh my
God, the skys the limit, how do we
narrow this down, how do you start
finding those constraints so you
can build towards something?
And those were several months
that were exciting in some ways,
but also difficult in that we would
brainstorm fantastical settings.
We would brainstorm first-person
shooter mechanics, we would
brainstorm a Left 4 Dead-style
multiplayer game that had very little
story. And we kinda branched off
to explore all these aspects.
if we made a narrative that was all

about characters? Lets go as simple
and intimate as possible, its just
about these two individuals and
well do everything in our power
whether its music, story or
gameplay so that everything will
be constructed around the bond that
these two people form. And over
time, this duo became Joel and Ellie.
KEEPING IT GROUNDED
Despite rising levels of storytelling
maturity and craft over the years,
Naughty Dogs games have always
maintained a feeling of keeping it
light and loose. But with TLOU,
it needed to have the story rooted
firmly within reality. This needed
to be a game that was brutal,
borderline depressing, even, to play.
Yet any notions that keeping
it realistic makes writing
the story easier are quickly
dispelled by Druckmann.
Going grounded is very,
very, very difficult. I think
sometimes people think the
opposite, which is Oh, its
real life, its easier He
continues: With Uncharted,
we felt pretty constrained coming
off Jak And Daxter, because Jak And
Daxter was like, In this mission,
Daxter is going to ride a missile,
and in this mission you have to fly
through a bunch of rings, and in this
mission its going to be a top down
shooter. With Uncharted, it felt
pretty grounded, but we still had the
big spectacle; the set-pieces that we
kind of figured out with Uncharted
2 that let us switch things up.
With TLOU, it felt like the story
we wanted to tell needed to be more
grounded. It needed to go a little
darker to explore a sadder theme
than what weve done in the past.
But that was such an undertaking.
There are scenes in TLOU that
tell a believable and brutal story
with emotional velocity that hits
you for six. Theres Tess death;
Henrys & Sams fates; the ranch
showdown between Joel and Ellie;
WE NEEDED TO HAVE
A STORY THAT WAS
FIRMLY GROUNDED
WITHIN REALITY.
080
SAY GOODNIGHT, JAK!

Concept artists had, free reign,
to, rethink the look, of the series
while Straley and Druckmann tried
thinking up new ideas. But as
work continued, doubts grew over
whether Jak And Daxter was being
made for the right reasons or purely
just for marketing ones. In the end,
after meeting with Naughty Dog
co-president Evan Wells, work was
scrapped on the new Jak And Daxter
and efforts were now refocused on
an entirely new IP.
In coming up with a new IP, the

team asked several questions: What
is a Naughty Dog game? What do
people expect when they buy a
Naughty Dog game? If we didnt
already work at Naughty Dog, what
would we want from the studio?
Then the answer clicked (no
pun intended) in the form of how
strong its characters were, as well
as lessons learned based off its
experience with making Uncharted.
We have a lot of amazing
animators, concept artists and a
pipeline thats built around these
very narrative focused experiences
and weve really been honing our
craft with the Uncharted series.
It was like, Okay, what if its the
evolution of that, maybe thats
where we should focus our energy?
And its around this time we
came up with this concept, Okay
thats kind of our strength, so what
Druckmann has stated that the sequence between Drake and Tibetan guide Tenzin in Uncharted 2 really helped inspire ND to build relationships via gameplay.
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THE LAST OF US
While TLOU is complemented by Gustavo Santaolallas beautiful score, the lack of a constant musical accompaniment was a conscious decision.
that scene with Ellie continuously

hacking David And of course, what
happens at the hospital and that
incredible ending with Joels lie and
Ellies look You know the one.
But if theres one thing The Last
Of Us does well, its that it connects
you to its world and its characters
in such a quick time frame. One
such scene that proves this point is
perhaps the cruellest moment in the
entire game Sarahs death and the
build up to it as the outbreak begins.
If youve watched Grounded, the
making of documentary, you know
how emotionally spent Troy Baker
and Hana Hayes the actress who
plays Sarah were making those
scenes, and the places they went
to in order to get the best possible
take. Part of that sections success
comes down to playing as Sarah.
A NEW BEGINNING
You were gonna play as Joel
and you were going to hear this
scream at a neighbours house, says
Druckmann. And you were going
to see the wifes dead and the
husband attacks you and you have
to kill him. You run back to go get
Sarah, so everything was seen from
Joels perspective. And maybe that
would have been fine.
But during one of our
brainstorms with one of the
designers who was working on that
level, wed been talking about how
it it all feels pretty pedestrian: I can
tell whats going to happen before
it happens. And then its just like,
What if we didnt play as Joel?
What if we saw everything through
Sarahs eyes?
And all of a sudden, that became
a lot more intriguing. It let us build
the fear of seeing the apocalypse
from a kids perspective instead of
the adults point of view. And as a
kid, youre kind of being lied to and
youre trying to be protected.
And I think through interactivity
it lets you connect with Sarah really
quickly. I think in a movie it would
be very challenging to connect with
her on such a level. But somehow,
seeing you with the stick moving

her, I think, is the magical thing
about games. I believe as you start
thinking as Sarah, you start seeing
the situation as Sarah.
Druckmann notes the point of
that scene was to make the player,
feel Joels pain, after building up
Sarah as this likeable character, only
to see her die so tragically. You
still have the imagery of that loving
father and that helped us create
empathy with this guy thats really
not a good guy for a while.
And then Ellie comes into the
picture and hes rejecting Ellie. We
actually had to make some changes
there so Tess gets him to push on.
And that really bought us time to
say, Okay, Joels going to take hours
to start connecting with Ellie and
therefore, we have all this time to
get the player to connect with Ellie
as well. So that was a really good
structure for us to get you first to
connect with Joel, and then over
time, as he starts to care more
and more for Ellie, the player is
doing something similar through
the gameplay.
APOCALYPSE NOW
In building TLOUs post-pandemic
world, Naughty Dog needed
to create a set of enemies born
out of the Cordiceps fungus.
Cue the Infected and the
Clickers. Influenced by that now
well-known Planet Earth video
used in the marketing for the
game in which it showed
ants being infected with the
fungus it served as the
inspiration for the idea
of an outbreak in humans.
Druckmann confirms,
when I ask about the
possibility of other inspirations
regarding the Infected, the
Cordiceps fungus from the
Planet Earth video was the only
one they went with. And for
good reason, too.
I remember when we saw
the Planet Earth video while
we were still working on
Uncharted 2, we were all blown

away by it and we were like, Oh my
God, zombie ants! And we were
actually joking, Why is nobody
using this this is a perfect
grounding of the zombie lore! And
we would joke, Wouldnt it be
cool if we made a game out of it?
As soon as we had that
opportunity and we were talking
about these characters, right away,
we jumped right back into the
concept of the Cordiceps and the
idea of the beautiful overgrown
world. And those were our three
elements that propelled the project
forward that got us thinking of the
story, the arc and the journey.
Its not just the Infected that
show signs of the apocalypse,
though; its the world built within
the game. Look at the areas as
palatial and beautiful as the start
of Lincoln, Salt Lake City and
its gorgeous surroundings, then
compare them with the depressing
scenery of Boston and Pittsburgh.
The games beauty spots arent
there to just paint a picture. I think
thats something [the lushness of
the environments] we honed
on really early, which is if
we, as people, were gone,
the air would get cleaner,
the water would get cleaner,
nature would reclaim
its domain and nature
can be quite beautiful.
Thats the idea
of this really strong
contrast between
beauty and death. Its
something that drew
us to this project and
drew us to this concept
and felt like we could
do something different,
in the gaming space at
least, as far as how you
show a post-pandemic
environment and
really find the beauty
of it really find
this city street thats
flooded that has
all these trees
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THE LAST OF
US
growing from it. Its really beautiful
and its inviting you to go and start
exploring it. And at the same time,
its kind of eerie because those trees,
that vegetation, as beautiful as they
are, represent death.
HEY, ASSHOLE!
TLOU is mainly about Joel and
Ellie, but if you distil it down,
its actually really all about Ellie.
The journey of accompanying a
14 year-old girl was the games
premise from the beginning of
its conception and through
many iterations of the story
(last year Druckmann gave
a public speech dissecting
that relationship through the
games many changes).
But its also her personality
that really stands out; her
innocence shines in this bleak
and cold world and, as the
game progresses, Ellie develops a
sense of independence not present
in many other characters. At least
not in the same way as TLOU did it.
I remember the thing that
has always drawn me to the story,
which never changed during the
different iterations, is these two
characters. Hes the more capable
one, shes the more innocent one,
explains Druckmann.
And then over the course of the
game, they swap roles. And she
becomes more independent and
capable, he becomes more attached
and helpless so that when you reach
this climatic moment [at the end of
the Autumn], hes going to become
incapacitated and shes going to
transform into the hero, both in
story and gameplay.
Of course, Ellie becoming the
protagonist at the beginning of
Winter is the games biggest
surprise. In the Grounded video,
Druckmann apologises to journalists
for lying about Ellie not being
playable. (We forgive you Ed.)
But in his defence, its a wonderful
surprise because the Ellie we control
is not the same Ellie we meet in
the streets of Boston, and over the

course of many hours weve seen
her evolve into a survivor.
We always knew if we kept that
idea hidden, when you reach that
moment and you take control of
Ellie, it will be magical. Itll be what
makes [the] game great. So that was
the backbone of where she started.
But if Ellies character
development is just one half of why
she was an incredible character, the
other half comes down to how she
looks and how she sounds. And
And because we write as we go

as part of our process, so much of
how Ellie speaks, how she behaves,
how she stands up for herself a lot
of it was influenced by Ashley.
He continues: Once we had W
Earl Brown as Bill and you saw him
and Ashley in a scene together,
and the way they antagonised one
another in this funny way, again,
that helped define Ellie.
That was kind of the intriguing
thing of going into Left Behind and
saying, Okay, who was this person
before she met Joel and what
started defining her as far as
when this journey started?
TLOU IS ABOUT JOEL

AND ELLIE, BUT WHEN
YOU BOIL IT DOWN, ITS
REALLY ABOUT ELLIE.
082
in terms of the latter, that was all

down to the input of one person:
actor Ashley Johnson.
Our concept artist did so many
iterations as far as what she would
wear and how wed capture this
tomboyish personality, as well as
her wardrobe and overall aesthetic.
And then with Ashley Johnson,
there was some humour in the
script, but Ashley just took it to
this whole other level in terms of
her timing and it always felt very
organic and real it never, ever felt
quippy. That was an important thing
for me when writing it it was
like, Nothing should feel quippy. If
theres ever humour, it should feel
like it just comes out naturally from
the situation.
Ellies heart-on-her-sleeve, nononsense attitude was all down to
part of Johnsons actual personality.
Its funny. If you know Ashley,
shes this super-quirky, funny
person, but shes also a kind of a
badass. People can piss her off and
she can have this short fuse not
on the set, necessarily, but with
rude people in life. And she brought
those qualities to Ellie.
I GOT YOU, BABE
Ah, Left Behind. The first

ever story DLC developed by
Naughty Dog, taking place
after the events of comic
American Dreams but before
the main game, sees Riley re-enter
Ellies life after a long absence. If
youve reached the ending of the
main game, though, you know what
its conclusion will be before you
play it. Druckmann says exploring
their relationship was the initial
concept it latched onto, noting the
development team, really liked the
idea of exploring the event that led
to Ellie being infected, and exploring
Ellie with her friend being infected.
But Left Behind was also about
establishing a friendship that
hinted at being something more.
As it begins, Ellie is distant from
Riley, the character co-created by
comic book writer Faith Erin Hicks
from a unique creative partnership
between herself and Druckmann on
American Dreams.
But as Left Behind goes on, it
starts dropping subtle hints at the
direction in which its headed. The
hinting effectively begins at the
photobooth, which youd assume
from a development standpoint
would be easy to include. It wasnt.
The photobooth, that must have
gone through a dozen iterations and
that was as hard to create as the
Much of the concept art created in the stages of TLOUs development focuses around the theme of nature slowly reclaiming the mantle of man.
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THE LAST OF US
Before penning the script, Druckmann spent a great deal of time researching historical pandemics and their effects on the human psyche.
collapsing building in Uncharted 2

as far as resources, animation, and
time spent on it, Druckmann says
to my surprise. [Because of] all
these nuances: the dialogue has to
be perfect, how quickly you press
the buttons between the options has
to work, the timing of the humour
has to work as well.
And it has to fit in this larger
arc of the relationship between Ellie
and Riley, so that when you finish
the photobooth you get a hint of,
Well this relationship is more
than a friendship.
The hinting keeps going
afterwards with the arcade
section (Everyone hates
QTEs and QTEs have this
exact, horrible name now in
games. Everyone wants to
avoid them. We were like,
You know what? Lets make
the best QTE ever made in
a videogame!) and the water gun
fight before it, culminating with
that sweet moment when the two
characters share a kiss.
In fact, after I played Left Behind
the first time, I began to see this
escapade between them as less of
two mallrats up to hijinks, but more
of a date. So I asked Druckmann:
was I going crazy for thinking
it was a more intimate trip?
Turns out, thankfully, I wasnt.
No, that was definitely in mind
when you work with actors who
try to find the real world metaphor,
such as, Whats the closest thing
youve done that relates to that
moment? So even if youre there, I
dont know, seeing giraffes for the
first time, its like: What experience
have you had that mirrors that?
And that was definitely [the case]
between Ellie and Riley, so we
started thinking of it as a date.
The other metaphor was like
skipping school. You have two girls
skipping classes and going to the
mall. Of course, the mall here is
empty and filled with the ideas
of death, but its still two kids.
And thats a thing I can relate to
from childhood. Like having gone
on these weird dates where were

skipping school and shes going to
have fun and create havoc and get
into trouble.
LASTING IMPRESSION
So whats the legacy of TLOU?
To me and you, it is one of the
best games of all time. But to Neil
Druckmann? As he, Bruce Straley
and co now return to the Uncharted
series with A Thiefs End, he never
really thought of seeing it that same
way. But regardless, he makes clear
mentions a brief story he learned

from a recent conversation with
Ashley Johnson that ties in to what
happened in Left Behind.
Ashley recently told me she went
to a convention and there were a
few girls who were still very much
connected to Ellie who came out
to her at that very convention. And
again, knowing that people have
related to the material in such a
personal level is, to me, the games
greatest achievement.
Is there a finer legacy than this?
As much as many gamers
adore TLOU for pure popcorn
reasons, it means significantly
more to those who found
something much deeper and
personal in Left Behind.
Thats what were going
to keep trying how do we
make the material personal? It
should still be fun, it should
still be engaging and intriguing, but
lets try to say something with it as
well, Druckmann concludes.
Just after the giraffe scene in Salt
Lake City, despite Joel telling her
she doesnt have to go through with
going to the Fireflies, Ellie tells him
that after all theyd been through,
it cant be for nothing.
You can also apply that mantra to
Neil Druckmann, Bruce Straley and
the entire team who worked on The
Last Of Us through the various trials
and pressures during its lengthy
development. After everything
theyd been through in making the
game, it couldnt be for nothing,
right? As it turned out, it was as far
from nothing as is possible.
And that, for me, is the true
legacy of The Last Of Us.
I HOPE IT INSPIRES
OTHER DEVELOPERS
TO TREAT THEIR
CHARACTERS RIGHT.
the game that was built was first
and foremost a game Naughty Dog
wanted to play albeit one that can
make a wider mark on the industry.
I hope its success inspires other
developers to, even if youre making
an action game, take your characters
seriously and treat them honestly.
Really love your cast and wrack your
brain about how you through
gameplay, through interactivity
get the players to connect more to
those characters no matter what
game you make, whether you make
an RPG, a shooter or a choose a
branching adventure game.
I think as an industry, we can
do more to develop really great
stories and really compelling, diverse
characters. And I know were going
to keep pushing ourselves in that
area. Theres so much room to grow
still that I hope The Last Of Us
helps in that regard.
As I wrap up, I thank and
congratulate Druckmann for his
part in making the game that you
voted #1 in your PlayStations 100
Greatest Games Ever poll. And
as he gives appreciation for the
placement and notes how much the
game has connected with people, he
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INSIDE NAUGHTY
DOG
084
Naughty Dog co-presidents Evan Wells

and Christophe Balestra, speaking
exclusively to Phil Iwaniuk, take you
inside the most successful studio in
PlayStation gamings history
on what it means to have made

five of the top ten titles in your
100 Greatest PlayStation Games
Evan Wells: Well, were certainly flattered! I mean,
thats kind of the motivation that keeps us going. To
not let the fans down, because we know that they have
come to expect a quality game from us and and thats
what drives us to keep pushing the envelope.
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INSIDE NAUGHTY DOG
on how
Naughty Dog
works differently
as a studio
EW: We do have hierarchy in that we have
directors and leads, but it certainly isnt a
part of our communication or production.
We need to have that hierarchy in place
when calls need to be made or conflicts need
to be resolved, but it doesnt feed into how
we work [day-to-day]. That hierarchy isnt
going to limit the communication flow;
people can talk to whoever they want
whenever they want. We value feedback at
all levels equally. Its a meritocracy and the
idea wins out over someones ego. Thats
just part of the culture we have here.
Christophe Balestra: We just try to give
people as much freedom as we can. If an
artist wants to talk to a programmer because
they want to try something cool, they dont
have to ask anyone above them to do it
they just go for it and we encourage that.
We encourage them just to fail as well,
because thats part of the process. If you
succeed the first time its probably because
you didnt push hard enough. Failure is part
of our process and we embrace it. Iteration
is one of the things we do most here.
085
EVAN WELLS
CO-PRESIDENT,
NAUGHTY DOG
Wells came to
Naughty Dog via
Sega and Crystal
Dynamics, where he
worked on the Gex
franchise. Making
his debut in the
credits on Crash
Bandicoot: Warped
in 1998, he worked
his way up the ranks
to eventually replace
founders Jason
Rubin and Andy Gavin
as co-president.
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INSIDE NAUGHTY
DOG
on influences
and inspirations
on drawing inspiration from cinema
EW: Film, books, comics and other
storytelling mediums have been going for
hundreds of years, and the game industry
is just in its infancy. You dont have to
reinvent the wheel. You can go back and
see what works in those other mediums
and apply it to what youre doing and
thats what weve done. Weve had a lot
of our designers go to film workshops
and story workshops to learn, but then
youve got to adapt those to the strength
of our medium. There are so many
opportunities that we have,
because were interactive, to
enhance and to really attach the
player [to the story] in ways
that linear mediums cant.
CB: I also think the way
we work with actors is a
little bit different. We
write all of the scenes as we go,
as we make the games, and
theyre really involved in the
086
project. Its not like were going to just

write everything and get with them just
for a few weeks and say, Okay, lets
record this all at once, and then thats it
were done. Theyre really invested in the
project. We spend time with them to
rehearse before the shoot and we also
like to invest a lot of time in the
relationships we have with the actors.
That also makes a big difference in what
we can get out of them.
EW: Which is certainly a luxury that
were afforded by being in Hollywood,
and having the opportunity to spread our
shoots out over the course of 12 months.
For the actors its really like theyve got a
recurring role in a TV show; theyre
shooting regularly and they can really get
into the character over a long period of
time and give feedback to the writers.
They give a lot of great suggestions
because they embody the character after
having lived with them for so long.
on having never made a bad game

EW: We make bad games many more days than were
making good ones! Our games start off bad and are bad
right up until the very end. If you were to take a look at
our games three or four months out, youd think theres
no way, and we kind of sometimes suffer that dread as
well [laughs]. But we have faith in the team and weve
seen it before. It does come together, but, yeah I mean
most days we are making pretty bad games [laughs].
on getting nervous just
before The Last Of Us released
EW: The Last Of Us was a fairly big
departure tonally from Uncharted. For
the previous three games we had sort of
been banking on these really over-thetop summer blockbuster moments that
were the highpoints of the game the
most exciting and memorable moments.
And then with The Last Of Us we were
challenging ourselves: Can we create that
same level of satisfaction, that same level
of emotional connection with much more
nuance? Can we achieve the same impact
on a smaller scale? We werent sure how
people were going to react to it. In fact,
we had mock-reviews done leading up to
the release that were coming in much
lower than we were used to seeing, and

some people started to get nervous. I
mean, we were confident that those
reviews were off-base, and fortunately
that came to be the truth. When the
awards came in, that was just icing on
the cake. We were just satisfied that
gamers were reacting really
well and that we had created
something that connected
with people on an emotional
level that was the
number one goal from
the very first pitch. And
the awards were just
further validation.
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CB: I think for me, its mainly the people

in the studio who were working with
every day. Even if we were inspired by
someone else, it would be hard to just do
things exactly the way they do it. I dont
think theres someone in particular that
were looking up to.
EW: Theres not one person in
particular, no, but we do try to get out
and expose ourselves to other studios and
try to be really open with the way that we
develop games. Particularly with firstparty studios and the Worldwide studio
we have a lot of close relationships. But
even third-parties, or independent
developers, you know Every year well
try to go and visit one or two and just
talk shop. The really open studios give us
really deep dives into their development
pipelines, and we always come away
inspired by something.
Back in the day, visiting Infinity Ward
before that all blew up we came out
and actually were inspired to add
multiplayer to Uncharted 2. It wouldnt
have happened if we hadnt visited them.
Visiting Rocksteady was very inspiring,
particularly the way they organised their
production. Bungie were and are
super-disciplined and really showed areas
that we could try to improve in for
ourselves. You just take little inspirations
from a lot of different peers in the
industry but, like Christophe said, you
cant try to mimic another identity or
culture that another studio has. Youve
got to really own it from within. But by
taking bits and pieces I think you can
certainly hone what youve got and refine
the way you work.
on the tradition of
creating a new IP for
every generation so far
CB: Usually, technology will drive those
decisions; its the hardware that dictates
what we could do. It would have been, I
think, impossible to do The Last Of Us or
Uncharted on the PlayStation 2. I dont
think we would have had the fidelity to
get the emotions across. But this time we
knew that PS3 could handle a game such
as The Last Of Us so it was the right
time for us.
EW: And going into PlayStation 4, we
felt that we werent done with Uncharted
yet; that the team was still really excited
to explore another story in that universe
and had some great ideas for gameplay. So
we didnt want to be dogmatic about it
just because thats the course that wed
followed on previous generation shifts.
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INSIDE NAUGHTY DOG
CHRISTOPHE
BALESTRA
CO-PRESIDENT,
NAUGHTY DOG
on what PlayStation 4
means to Naughty Dog
Starting his
career at Rayland
Interactive as a
programmer on
Bang! Gunship
Elite and Mad Trax,
Balestra moved
to Naughty Dog
and worked as a
designer on the
more illustrious Jak
series. Hes been
co-president since
2007, and gets a
special thanks in the
credits of Flower.
CB: Its like getting a new toy.

Were very excited about the
possibilities. After several years
working on the same machine
you kind of just run out [of
steam] and you feel like you
need something new just to be
able to express yourself and
push it to the next level. So I
think PS4 came at the right
time for us its definitely
opening lots of doors to us that
we didnt have before.
Of course, technically the games
were going to be making are
going to look better, but its
going to help the experience
that were trying to deliver as
well. Everyone is extremely
excited right now because we
get to do all the new things we
couldnt do before. We showed
some of it at E3 just a couple
months ago, and there will
be more to come.
Its a good machine, and
were extremely happy with it.
Were still learning how to get
the best out of it. I mean, back
on PS3, if you see the change
between Uncharted 1 and 2,
that was a pretty big gap! So it
takes some time to really get
familiar with the machine. But
so far its been great. Weve
learned so much about it just
working on The Last Of Us
Remastered. Its putting us in a
great position to work
on Uncharted 4.
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WorldMags.net OPMX100
OPMX100
After 100 glorious issues of PlayStation highs, the
occassional low and more reviews, features and
previews than you can shake PS Move at, OPM
looks back at eight years of keeping it Official
WorldMags.net
089
LEGENDARY
REVIEWS
The 10/10 games that well never
forget mainly for their brilliant
action, occasionally for a notable
incident of trouser tearing
Final Fantasy XII

OPM #2 Score 10/10
Writer Simon Parkin
Over the years weve staunchly
defended ourselves against claims
of being generous scorers indeed,
OPMs Metacritic average is just
65/100. Still, perhaps awarding the
first game we ever reviewed the
biggest score possible set ourselves
up for a fall. That said, you can only
rate whats in front of you, and as
PS2s last great role-playing epic,
Final Fantasy XII deserved the double
digits without question.
Call Of Duty 4:
Modern Warfare
OPM #12 Score 10/10
Writer Leon Hurley
Long before it was cool to knock COD
we lavished praised on the game that
completely reinvented the shooter
genre. Call Of Duty isnt just good,
its so good that it ruins you for
other games, wrote Leon. Including
all subsequent instalments in
the series, as it sadly turned out.
090
Grand Theft Auto IV

OPM #18 Score 10/10
Writer Tim Clark
A round of applause please, ladies
and gents, for what remains to
this day the biggest review in OPM
history, clocking in at a humongous
nine pages. Not that Tims George RR
Martin-inspired word count wasnt
justified, as Rockstars return to
Liberty City again rewrote the
open-world genre rulebook.
Uncharted 2:
Drakes Deception
OPM #37 Score 10/10
Writer Nathan Ditum
Red Dead Redemption
FIFA 11
OPM #45 Score 10/10

Writer Joel Gregory
OPM #50 Score 10/10

Writer Ben Wilson
From cliff-hanging opener to

Lazarevic-destroying finale, this
served up more top-class set-pieces
than David Beckham in his heyday.
The train level! The truck chase!
Tibet! Its possible to make a case for
game three as the series best, but
theres no question which broke the
most ground.
A landmark review, and not

only for the score. Almost
as noteworthy was Joel
splitting his trousers while
carrying out his duties,
forcing an impromptu
shopping trip. Thankfully,
Mr Gs pantaloons unlike our
collective tearducts remained
unaffected by that finale.
Mass Effect 2
Bioshock Infinite
The Last Of Us
Grand Theft Auto V
OPM #54 Score 10/10

Writer Rachel Weber
OPM #83 Score 10/10

Writer Joel Gregory
OPM #85 Score 10/10

Writer Dave Meikleham
OPM #89 Score 10/10

Writer Joel Gregory
Is ME3 better? Its a debate which

provokes the big swears inside
OPM Towers to this day, but whats
inarguable is that Shepards second
outing was really flocking great,
and unequalled at the time it was
released. As Rach put it: Short of
a kiss from the Bioware doctors, it
couldnt get better.
Proof, again, of the positive effects

of Levine intervention. Super Kens
final game before the closure of
Irrational Games sparked seemingly
limitless discussions about its
extraordinary ending and the
beginning and middle parts were
pretty noteworthy too, leaving us to
hail king Booker and queen Elizabeth.
Acting more believable than LA Noire,

set-pieces that outdid MGS4, a
narrative that somehow surpassed
Uncharted Naughty Dogs greatest
work yet suddenly made all other PS3
games look and feel mediocre. And all
while proving as beautiful as it was
brutal. As Meiks wrote, Who says
the end of the world cant be pretty?
One massive game. Three memorable

protagonists. Ten deserved points.
Rockstars astonishing sandbox
raised the bar in ways that had to
have developers of similar games
cowering at their desks. This is
going to make next-gen look bad
for a long time to come, wrote Joel.
Did someone say, Watch Dogs?
WorldMags.net
In the 15-year history of OPS1,

OPS2 and OPM, no FIFA game had
ever earned le grande dix, as we
like to think Karim Benzema calls
it. Finally, jeux onze scored the
biggie, with Ben likening it to,
Liverpool 84, United 99 and
Arsenal 04. Thankfully, he
stopped short of Palace 91.
HALL OF
SHAME
Reviewing games is the best
career in the world most of the

time. These are the stinkers that
had us doubting that sentiment
Dragons Lair
OPM #8 Score 1/10
Writer Rachel Weber
It takes a special type of ineptitude to
merit the lowest score going, and
Dragons Lair was a showcase for
awfulness. Technically an interactive
movie, playing with a pad
meant referring back to
PS3s DVD menu every
time you wanted to
control useless knight
Dirk The Daring. And alas,
Just kill the helmeted
twonk, wasnt even an option.
Kane & Lynch:

Dead Men
OPM #13 Score 5/10
Writer Nathan Ditum
How were we all suckered into ever
believing this would be good? Not
only were this torturous tag-team
relentlessly hateable, their career
criminal adventure was also
broken in places too numerous
to count. A busted cover
system. Clipping issues.
Recoil struggles. Poor
team-mate AI. From Agent
47 to this? Io my days.
091
Sonic Unleashed
OPM #27 Score 4/10
Writer Ben Wilson
The nadir for everyone-born-before1991s favourite cobalt-coloured
hedgehog? A game in which
he turns into a werehog. And
not only did the poor bugger
look like reject from an
Alcoholics Anonymous
fancy dress party, his
shapeshifting levels
were dumb to boot. Ugh.
We Dare
OPM #58 Score 2/10
Writer Rachel Weber
There are bad games, and then
there are ones which are just plain
offensive. This was promoted as
a Move-controlled flirt-a-thon
one mini-game even offered light
(fully-clothed) spanking yet
the smutty end result proved as
arousing as your grandparents
popping up on a show about dogging.
Destroy All Humans:

Path Of The Furon
Leisure Suit Larry:

Box Office Bust
OPM #30 Score 1/10

Writer Steve Williams
OPM #31 Score 1/10

Writer Steve Williams
How quickly this once adorable

PS2 series alienated those who
worshipped it a gen beforehand.
Developer Sandblast Games closed
before the ET adventure was finished
yet unforgivably, publisher THQ
released it anyway. Comfortably the
worst game ever to make use of the
Unreal Engine.
Slimy, detestable and inadequate.

Steves words could have applied
to any Leisure Suit Larry game, but
in this instance it went for both the
lead character and the action itself.
Devoid of humour yet packed with
unimaginative porn references, there
wasnt a single enjoyable second of
this insult to gamers.
Call Of Juarez:
The Cartel
Le Tour De France
OPM #61 Score 2/10

Writer Joel Gregory
Hows this for the first line of a
review? This is probably the worst
full-priced game I have ever played,
and I would only recommend buying it
if you had a terminal disease for
which the one cure was licking the
instruction manual. So went the fall
of a once-promising shooter series.
OPM #74 Score 2/10

Writer Phil Iwaniuk
If there were an all-time chart
for games so bad theyre hilarious,
Le Tour De Frances record atop it
would look Elvis-esque. It even gets
names mixed up constantly using
real ones over the radio but pretend
ones on-screen. Which at least
makes us feel better when weve
accidentally called it Le Tas De Merde.
WorldMags.net
Tony Hawk Ride

OPM #40 Score 3/10
Writer Leon Hurley
Oh, Tony. From PS1 legend to PS3
punchline. What went wrong? Oh,
thats right, the whole lets take a
classic series and water it down by
sticking a skateboard peripheral
in the box and charging the cost
of a months shopping for it thing.
When did that ever look like a winning
strategy to anyone?
Ride To Hell:
Retribution
OPM #87 Score 1/10
Writer Phil Iwaniuk
Well, developer Eutechnyx certainly
selected an apt name. This mix of
impossible-to-handle driving and
want-to-turn-the-gun-on-myself
shooting really did play like a dinner
date with Damian himself with
rampant sexism served up as a
starter, main course and dessert.
New generation
FEATURE
ACTS
Looking back on the days where we went to
war over LBP, ruined ourselves by playing
PS3 for an entire day, and somehow lost a
gaming challenge to a popstar
OPM #1
as it really been eight years? New OPM kicked

off the PlayStation 3 era with a no-portunvisited look at Sonys new machine and the
games and peripherals hurtling towards it, a full
six months before its UK launch. We guaranteed
Blu-rays would change everything, promised
your heavyweight new baby would last a decade
instantly proving ourselves better clairvoyants than
Russell Grant and even managed to sound a bit
excited about new motion control dragon-em-up
Lair. Hey, even were wrong occasionally. Once
every 100 issues, to be precise.
092
Day of Redemption
Rappin Ratchet
Koji clutch
OPM #47
OPM #53
OPM #65
ow to turn Def Jam Rapstar into a game that

we and you might actually give a stuff
about? By using it as an excuse to turn our resident
karaoke princess into a rhyme-dropping queen, via
three weeks training with 610 rap giant XO Man,
of course. She even penned her own lyrics: Just
take a look at this/See what youre missing/You
know you think of me/When its her that
youre kissing. An X-Factor-style panel of
judges lavished her performance with
praise making her determined to
turn this into a real career.
Right? Never, ever
again, wrote Cupcake.
till haunted by the voices in our heads

awoken by that full-day gaming marathon,
this Red-Dead-devoted spin on the formula saw us
reluctantly engaging our common-sense lobes and
keeping things to a still-ruinous (but less likely to
require straitjackets) 12-hour shift. Things get
off to a delayed start hang on, I need to dry my
balls, was Tims slightly-too-insightful explanation
for the hold-up but ultimately bears were
stabbed, other virtual humans were slayed, and
video producer David Boddingtons on-screen
character stayed eerily still for an uncomfortable
amount of time because it turned out he was
checking his work emails instead of playing. Is
that professionalism or negligence? To this day,
were still undecided.
WorldMags.net
hen youre offered the chance to spend two

days in Japan with Hideo Kojima to talk the
past, present and future of Metal Gear Solid, you
dont turn the opportunity down. (Although it turns
out to be a bit stressful when two days becomes
two hours because of his incredibly busy schedule.)
No matter: reviews ed Joel still had time to pick one
of the most forward-thinking
brains in the industry,
as Koj dropped some
startling series secrets.
In Guns Of The Patriots,
Snake was supposed
to die, he revealed
almost matter-of-factly
before confirming that
only pressure from
the rest of his staff
prevented the slithery
ones demise.
Grand designs
Marathon gunners
Little big fury
OPM #6
OPM #31
OPM #34
he concept seemed simple yet ingenious: the

entire team playing online together for 24
hours, switching games every 60 minutes. And
much of our 8am to 8am sesh was exactly what
wed hoped. There were frantic gun battles in
Resistance 2, crashes accompanied by C-words in
Burnout Paradise, and all manner of brilliant Street
Fighter 4 fisticuffs. But when the lows came, they
plumbed Mariana Trench depths. An hour spent
trying to hook up with EA Canada for a game of FIFA
09 that never happened. Calling All Cars deflatingly
empty maps. Being bollocked for the experiment in
a letter from a real doctor afterwards. Wed never
be stupid enough to do it again right?
here was a time when HD Grand Theft Auto

seemed like a particularly violent pipe dream,
meaning we could only vouch for its existence by
venturing across the Atlantic to see it showcased
by Rockstar boss Dan Houser at their Liberty City
HQ. Yeah, tough job. It confirmed the new game
wasnt as big as its PS2 predecessor, but every last
detail looked incredible right down to the seagulls
loitering over Coney Island. Our only heartbreak
came when Houser confirmed thered be no
returning characters. A decade after San Andreas,
were still waiting to hear whether CJ lost all that
weight piled on via our trips to Clucking Bell
he best way to make a team of notoriously

competitive journalists fall out? Ask each to
create their own LittleBigPlanet level and then wait
to see what gamers and dev Media Molecule
make of it. Reviews ed Nathans Massive Free
Rare Exclusive Prize stage sparked the in-office
grumbling; as the name suggests, it was little
more than two big stacks of prize bubbles,
cobbled together in an afternoon. MM wasnt
fooled, awarding it a D grade. Only editor Tims
My Icy Tubez scored worse (F+), although his level
was the most played by readers. Scientist-cumcommissioning-editor Leon impressed the dev
most, his Temple Of Mild Peril stamped with a B-.
093
Driven crazy
Hawke food
Four play
OPM #70
OPM #71
OPM #87
gaming face-off against an up-and-coming pop

star obsessed with games seemed like a win
for all parties. The songbird in question gets a plug
for her album; we get to hang out with them for
a day and wallow in our virtual brilliance. The only
trouble being that our representative, staff writer
Louise, lost. (So much for editor Bens instruction
to, go easy on her, because a 5-0 whitewash wont
be a fun read for anyone.) Wins on Modern Warfare
3, Wipeout 2048 and MotorStorm Pacific Rift gave
Lady a 3-2 overall victory, and meant the only
chorus which greeted Lous return to the office
was one of boos and ribbing.
oing it alone in one game for 24 hours straight?

Youre right, it is an admirable feat but thats
only half of the story where Phil Iwaniuks Gran
Turismo 5 marathon is concerned. Hed planned
the whole project to perfection other than getting
to level 35 in-game and unlocking Le Mans. That
meant nine hours of virtual driving before hed
even started the challenge proper. By hour 23
which was really hour 32 he was singing 99 Red
Balloons to himself and fearing the total loss of
his sanity on the back of one too many KX Energy
drinks. Still, the feature looked great. (Phil
afterwards, less so.)
FOLLOWING OUR 24-HOUR

GAMING EXPERIMENT, WE GOT
A LETTER GIVING US A REALLIFE BOLLOCKING FROM A GP.
WorldMags.net
wo issues after a mag redesign aimed

at ushering in a new era for PlayStation,
we popped our Marigolds on to inspect every
exhausting detail of beautiful PS4 right down to
the official PS Headset. (Youre wearing yours right
now, yeah?) Our pre-orders guide listed the best
deals hopefully you took note and avoided any
day one madness while every port and peripheral
received microscopic attention. Verdict: the best
freakin games machine ever made. And we even
included a three-way head-to-head with Xbox One
and Wii U, just in case you still had any doubts.
WHERE ARE
THEY
NOW?
Tracking down the now-departed gals
and guys who helped make OPM the best

damn games mag going. Biased?
We dont know what you mean
Tim Clark
OPM #1-55 (2006-11)
Our launch ed spent his time worshipping Arsenal
and American meat. Its fitting, then, that having
seen the Gooners win their first trophy in almost
a decade, he escaped to San Fran to celebrate
with an endless supply of In & Out Burgers.
(And to become PC Gamers global editor-in-chief.)
OPM highlight: Driving to Nottingham with a
neurotic art ed, terrified our holographic Killzone
cover would look like a crayon drawing.
OPM lowlight God Of War II, a dead goat, a Mail
On Sunday front page and me sat in HRs office
Follow @timothydclark
094
Ben Wilson
Leon Hurley
Rachel Weber
OPM #1-94 (2006-14)
OPM #1-97 (2006-14)
OPM #1-60 (2006-11)
Most of Bens 1,400-odd days in the editors chair

were spent jawing about football and wrestling,
so inevitably hes now writing about those very
subjects and, of course, MLB: The Show for The
Mirror, Stuff and OPM. All while looking after an
already sports-obsessed 18-month-old daughter.
OPM highlight: Four WrestleManias, three
Summerslams, 94 issues oozing love, sweat and
quality words.
OPM lowlight: Accidentally breaking a very high
profile embargo and very nearly my own liver at
E3 2012.
Follow @BenjiWilson
OPMs longest-serving staff member and most

dedicated Ratatouille fan finally moved on earlier
this year (from the mag, we mean those Remy
posters above his bed are going nowhere), and is
now sat in the news editor chair for the recentlylaunched Kotaku UK.
OPM highlight: My first TGS. And successfully
arguing that Call Of Duty 4 deserved 10/10 and a
Gold Award.
OPM lowlight: Flying over Poland in what was
basically a white van with wings. The co-pilot
navigated with a road map!
Follow @leonHurley
Five years of checking every demo on the cover

disc finally proved too much in 2011, as Ratchet
left to become staff writer on gamesindustry.biz.
Its a role she now performs from the other side of
the world Rach too now lives in California with a
certain gentleman named Timothy
OPM highlight: The people, fancy dress photo
shoots and a certain OPM editor, Mr Tim Clark.
OPM lowlight: Either the time they forced me to
rap, or standing in central London dressed as Alma
from FEAR.
Follow @therachelweber
CELEBRITY
BUDDIES
100 famous faces
whove had the
privilege of hanging out
with OPM over the last
eight years. And yes,
weve definitely got that
the right way round
1. Cesc Fabregas (footballer)

2. Daniel Bryan (wrestler)
3. Rachel Bilson (actor)
4. Ladyhawke (singer)
5. Masi Oka (actor)
6. Steve Austin (wrestler)
7. Mark Lawrenson (footballer)
8. Hideo Kojima (developer)
9. Dara OBriain (comedian)
10. Nolan North (voice actor)
11. Ed Byrne (comedian)
12. Fedor Emelianenko (MMA
fighter)
13. Aisha Tyler (actress)
14. Jessica Nigri (cosplayer)
15. Rey Mysterio (wrestler)

16. All Time Low (band)
17. Mel B (singer)
18. Martin Keown (footballer)
19. Gunnersaurus (mascot)
20. Quinton Rampage Jackson
(MMA fighter)
21. Labrinth (singer)
22. Tim Westwood (DJ)
23. Ken Levine (developer)
24. Alphabeat (band)
25. Kurt Angle (wrestler)
26. Michelle Van Der Water
(actress)
27. David Cage (developer)
WorldMags.net
28. Shane Warne (cricketer)

29. Ultimate Warrior (wrestler)
30. Patrick Hennessey (author)
31. Mike Tyson (boxer)
32. Tim Weaver (author)
33. Neil Reynolds (presenter)
34. Goldie (musician)
35. AJ Lee (wrestler)
36. Mick Foley (wrestler)
37. Ami Nakajima (community
representative/cosplayer)
38. Keita Takahashi (developer)
39. Jenson Button (race driver)
40. Snoop Dogg (rapper)
41. Ted Price (developer)
Helen Woodey
Nathan Ditum
Sarah Ditum
OPM #1-91 (2006-13)
OPM #12-61 (2007-11)
OPM #42-62 (2010-11)
La Brujita was the offices ice queen during OPMs

formative years, only for the arrival of two beautiful
children to liquify her previously unmeltable
demeanour. As a result, she now looks after kids
full-time running her own child care business in
the West Country.
OPM highlight: Playing Bark At The Moon on Guitar
Hero at Download, even if it was on Medium.
OPM lowlight: Printed the wrong phone number
for a competition. I think Future ended up having to
buy the victims mobile off him!
Given that he spent three years studying modern

Hollywood at uni, there was only one man for the job
when we launched our own video product, FirstPlay,
in 2010. That would later evolve into another
outstanding production, PlayStation Access,
where Nath remains editor to this day.
OPM highlight: All the visits to Naughty Dog,
and being the first journalist in the world to play
a finished Uncharted 2.
OPM lowlight: Nearly getting canned for tweeting
something X-rated about one of the biggest
publishers in the world.
Follow @NathanDitum
A devoted Frobisher Says addict in her time on the

mag, these days youre more likely to find Lady D
shaking up Westminster attitudes than a
PlayStation Vita. Sarah pens political columns for
The New Statesman and The Guardian in addition to
her day job as operations editor on TechRadar.
OPM highlight: Getting a column about the glory of
Vib Ribbon.
OPM lowlight: Being locked in the concrete lot at
the back of the office after staying til 10pm
subbing the horror special.
Follow @sarahditum
095
Joel Gregory
Emma Davies
Louise Blain
OPM #44-91 (2010-13)
OPM #64-89 (2011-13)
OPM #65-74 (2011-12)
Announced himself onto the OPM scene by winning

the annual office FIFA tournament while still on
work experience. These days, when not beating
all-comers on the virtual turf, hes editor of our
sister mag GamesMaster.
OPM highlight: Skydiving, swimming with sharks,
the Red Dead photoshoot or maybe just when
Meiks slept in a pile of pants.
OPM lowlight: The utter nightmare of my trousers
splitting asunder during my first ever review trip. It
still haunts my dreams.
Follow @j0el_g
Notorious during her time on the mag for not

having seen any seminal movie from the 80s
or 90s, Em is now production editor on Science
Uncovered. Best hope no-one asks her to pen a
feature on the physics of Die Hard anytime soon
OPM highlight: All the office projectile fights, and
using the Saints Row dildo bat for impromptu
games of cricket.
OPM lowlight: The time art editor Stevie Gallagher
broke himself by taking a bike spill right on deadline.
Bloody nightmare.
Follow @emcetera
Its taken two years, but L-Blaynz has finally

recovered from the podcast incident where she
was coerced into eating Japanese snacks that
smelt like urine cakes and went down in OPM
lexicon as passbascats. (Say it to yourself in an
Edinburgh accent.) Shes now communications
manager for PC builders Chillblast.
OPM highlight Visiting Ubisoft Montreal for the
first time, with a world exclusive (Assassins Creed
III) as the excuse.
OPM lowlight Having to return to the office after
being beaten hollow at games by a pop star.
Follow @shiny_demon
42. Jade Raymond (developer)

43. Kevin Butler (superfan)
44. Ashley Johnson (actor)
45. Rhianna Pratchett (author)
46. Suda51 (developer)
47. Greg Davies (comedian)
48. Anna Moleva (cosplayer)
49. Kazunori Yamauchi (developer)
50. Troy Baker (voice actor)
51. David Bateson (voice actor)
52. Jason Bradbury (presenter)
53. Pollyanna Woodward (presenter)
54. Lance Henriksen (actor)
55. Carlton Cole (footballer)
56. Chris Moyles (DJ)
57. Roll Deep (band)

58. Dane Bowers (musician)
59. James Cameron (director)
60. Ernie Hudson (actor)
61. Jimmy Carr (comedian)
62. Ric Flair (wrestler)
63. John Terry (footballer)
64. David Mitchell (comedian)
65. Emma Griffiths (presenter)
66. Rich Hall (comedian)
67. Frankie Boyle (comedian)
68. Alan Dedicoat (announcer)
69. James Caan (entrepreneur)
70. Mark Cerny (PS4 creator)
71. Kristin Kreuk (actress)
72. Jim Ross (commentator)

73. Vinnie Jones (footballer)
74. John Woo (director)
75. Bruno Senna (race driver)
76. Dan Aykroyd (actor)
77. Jake The Snake Roberts
(wrestler)
78. Ray Parlour (footballer)
79. David Jaffe (developer)
80. Jim Lee (comic artist)
81. Ralf Little (actor)
82. Shinji Mikami (developer)
83. Bowling For Soup (band)
84. Christian (wrestler)
85. Nathan Catt (rugby player)
WorldMags.net
86. Claudia Black (actress)

87. Jerry Lawler (wrestler)
88. Tom Watson (MP)
89. Rampage (DJ duo)
90. Jacqui Ainsley (model)
91. Theo Walcott (footballer)
92. Max Rushden (presenter)
93. Jordan Tresson (race driver)
94. 50 Cent (rapper)
95. Jo Garcia (model)
96. Paul WS Anderson (director)
97. Rob Huff (race driver)
98. XO Man (rapper)
99. Nick Abendanon (rugby player)
100. Konnie Huq (presenter)
BACK
WorldMags.net
ISSUES
096
#92 January 2014
#93 February 2014
#94 March 2014
#95 April 2014
Q Dark Souls II
Q Game Of The Year
Q 2014 Preview
Q The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Q Alien: Isolation
Q Gran Turismo 6
Q Top 50 PlayStation Quotes
Q Middle-earth: Shadow Of Mordor
Q Evolve
Q inFamous: Second Son
Q Top Ten Worst PS3 Games
Q Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition
Q Batman: Arkham Knight

Q PS4s Secret Games
Q Dark Souls II
Q Thief
#96 May 2014
#97 June 2014
#98 July 2014
#99 August 2014
Q Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel

Q Indie Games On PS4
Q inFamous: Second Son
Q Project Morpheus
Q Destiny
Q The Order: 1886
Q Breaking The Fourth Wall
Q The Ultimate OPM Pub Quiz Book
Q Call Of Duty: Advanced Warfare

Q Homefront The Revolution
Q The Complete Guide To Destiny
Q Wolfenstein: The New Order
Q The Hot 50
Q Uncharted 4: A Thiefs End
Q Assassins Creed Unity
Q Grid Autosport
To order an issue of Official PlayStation

Magazine, just call 0844 848 2852
or visit myfavouritemagazines.co.uk
WorldMags.net
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miss an
issue again,
and save cash
Subscribe on
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WorldMags.net
108 ODDWORLD:
NEW N TASTY
The PlayStation icon proudly

shows off his new-gen body
functions. Pardon you, Abe.
OPM SCORES
GOLD
AWARD
GOLD AWARD
Awarded to a game thats

brilliantly executed on every
level, combining significant
innovation, near-flawless
gameplay, great graphics
and lasting appeal.
EDITORS
AWARD
EDITORS AWARD
Not at the very highest

echelon, but this is a game
that deserves recognition
and special praise based on
its ambition, innovation or
other notable achievement.
10
INCREDIBLE
The kind of phenomenal
experience rarely seen in
a console generation.
9
OUTSTANDING
Unreservedly brilliant this
should be in every collection.
8
VERY GOOD
A truly excellent game, marred
by just a few minor issues.
7
GOOD
A great concept unfulfilled or
the familiar done well, but still

well worth playing.
6
DECENT
Fun in parts, flawed in others,
but more right than wrong.
5
AVERAGE
What you expect and little
more, this is for devotees only.
4
BELOW AVERAGE
Any bright ideas are drowning
in a sea of bugs or mediocrity.
3
POOR
A seriously flawed game with
little merit on any level.
2
AWFUL
Disgraceful: the disc would be
more beneficial as a coaster.
1
HORRIFIC
Own this and youll be swiftly,
justifiably, exiled from society.
CONTENTS
THE LAST OF US REMASTERED 98 | SACRED 3 102 | BLUE ESTATE 104 | THE WOLF AMONG
US EPISODE 5: CRY WOLF 105 | TRANSFORMERS: RISE OF THE DARK SPARK 106 | Z-RUN 107
ODDWORLD: NEW N TASTY 108 | TOUR DE FRANCE 2014 110 | ANOTHER WORLD 110
WorldMags.net
097
WorldMags.net
098
THE LAST OF US REMASTERED IS

INARGUABLY THE BEST THING YOU
CAN BUY ON PS4 RIGHT NOW.
WorldMags.net
WorldMags.net REVIEW
Offering a huge technical
upgrade on the original,
Remastered shows off
PS4s grunting power.
GOLD
AWARD
FUNGAL BOOGIE
@OPM_UK
THE LAST
OF US
REMASTERED
The end of the world gets an
astounding makeover on PS4
INFO
FORMAT PS4
ETA OUT NOW
PUB SONY
DEV NAUGHTY DOG
et me save you some time: just go

and buy it. Regardless of whether
youve never experienced Joel and
Ellies apocalyptic opus or youve
played 168 online matches to suck
up its PS3 platinum pot, you need
Naughty Dogs PS4 remaster in
your collection. This is a transformative visual
upgrade of the game you voted the greatest
in PlayStation history on p77. A good 13
months ago this modern classic was arguably
last generations greatest game. In 2014? Its
inarguably the best thing you can buy on PS4
right now. The Last Of Us Remastered looks
better than anything new-gen has offered up
thus far. Its the best written, most evocatively
acted videogame Ive ever had the pleasure
of playing. And I can honestly say I enjoyed
completing it on PS4 as much as I did my
previous three finishes on last-gen. So yeah
go out and buy it now. Go on, off you go.
Hmmm, still here are you? Alright, but things
arent going to get any less gushing around
these parts. Just so I dont pass out from all this
unceasing stream of superlatives and deliriously
chuffed words, though, Ill take a pause for the
cause and give anyone who hasnt played TLOU a
quick recap on why its so utterly essential. After
all, Sony recently claimed the majority of PS4
owners have somehow managed to miss Naughty
Dogs masterpiece back on PS3.
Set two decades after a global pandemic,
humanity has been all but been wiped out. Those
who remain alive in this desolate shell of a world
envy the dead; theyre forced to claw and scratch
for their survival as Max Max-style gangs pillage
anything and everything in their path. Theres
also the small matter of the Infected: victims of
WorldMags.net
099
WorldMags.net
100
Right Keeping
companion
characters
alive during
frantic Infected
ambushes is
still challenging.
Left Viewed
up close, both
Joel and Ellies
models are far
more detailed
than on PS3.
the globe-spanning fungal virus who now roam

the land as savage undead predators. Nathan
Drake sporting a convincing zombie makeover
and a hefty rucksack this most certainly aint.
REMASTER AND COMMANDER

TLOU, whether experienced in Remastered
form or otherwise, remains an unshakably savage
stealth shooter. Naughty Dog thrusts you into
the Texan boots of an emotionally blunted
gunrunner, then sends you on a cross-country
journey as you shepherd around a 14 year-old
miracle child albeit one who loves to drop an
F-bomb every 40 seconds.
It takes Uncharteds shooting model, ditches
all the jumping, and then plunges you into a
murderous mire of face-caving shotgun blasts and
a brand of curb stomps that would make even
Edward Norton in American History X wince.
In short, TLOU is one of the bravest, ballsiest
and most beautiful third-person adventures
youll ever play. And all those qualities have been
enhanced with the jump to PS4.
THIS IS ONE OF THE BRAVEST

AND MOST BEAUTIFUL GAMES
YOU WILL EVER EXPERIENCE.
For those of you whove

already seen that remarkable
ending, hunted down every
Firefly pendant and rinsed
the Supply Raid and Survivors
multiplayer modes, whats
left for you? Alright, here
goes a comprehensive tech
makeover that reskins the
action in glorious 1080p/60fps;
every single piece of DLC
(including the Abandoned/
Reclaimed Territories packs
with their eight maps, plus
the unforgettable story
prequel Left Behind) and
audio commentaries for
every cinematic in the game
from creative director Neil
Druckmann and stars Ashley
Johnson and Troy Baker.
But exactly how much better
does Remastered look than the
version on PS3? Well, let me
put it to you like this Ive
spent the price of a secondhand car building a mega-PC
over the last year, and I can
genuinely state this masterful
upgrade looks comparable to
WorldMags.net
the most graphically demanding

games Ive thrown at my
wallet-crippling rig. And last
time I checked, Sony wasnt
charging 1,928 for a PS4.
THE LAST-GEN OF US
Being an overly eager madman
with the obsessive eyes of
Robocop, I decide to run both
last and new-gen versions sideby-side for this review. Uh,
which may or may not involve
panning the camera around
Joels head in the exact same
locations across both games for
up to ten minutes at a time.
Considering youre dealing with
PlayStations best studio and
not Big Joes Half Arsed Ports
Ltd, the results are fantastic.
As I flip between HDMI
ports, the extra fidelity in
Remastered is immediately
apparent. In-game character
models that were once slightly
blurry are now on par with
their super detailed, hi-res
cutscene equivalents. Textures
now pop with a wonderfully
THE OPM BREAKDOWN
W H AT Y O U D O I N T L O U R E M A S T E R E D
4% Trying the game
on the one-shot-kill
Grounded difficulty.
Never again, people.
23% Admiring a
never-clearer
master of Gustavo
Santaolallas
incredible score.
38%
Cooing over the

far smoother
combat. Man,
60fps really is
the best.
14% Being
mesmerised by
Left Behind. Thats
how you do DLC.
Above The
flamethrower
only gets a brief
look in, but its
a toasty delight.
15% Picking out

every hand
crafted, ruined
in-game billboard
thanks to 1080p.
6% Taking your
time in the Bus
Depot. What an
ace level.
S TAT PA C K
12 85 6 81%
Right DLC
Left Behind
is brimming
with wonderful
moments full
of character.
Chapters you
have to fight
through to reach
the truly brilliant
conclusion.
Artefacts to be
Bloaters you
Shot accuracy
found in the
encounter during hit during this
game. They
the campaign. review. You best
mostly come as Strafe to dodge be just as good
written notes.
their spores. with those shells.
THE FIRST FIVE HOURS

1
101
COMPEL-O-GR APH
Sniping in
suburbia.
That bit with

the brothers.
TIME
14 hours
TROPHY CABINET
UGH
R
RO
VI
R+
VO
SU
V E BEEN T
KING
WE
OC
VERDICT
A refreshed classic that

remains as vital as ever thanks
to a beautifully crafted port. Joel
and Ellie need you for another
apocalypse journey. Dont make
them wait. Dave Meikleham
Everything in
Salt Lake City.
Exploring that
beautiful uni.
Creeping past
Clickers in a dark
museum.
MA
frames are dropped when Joel

sprints into a new area, which
is why you can manually lock
it to a constant 30fps but
dips are so infrequent Id advise
playing au naturel. This is PS4s
most technically impressive feat
bar none. Plus bonus! you
now get to hear your flashlight
through DualShock 4s speaker.
An undisputed gaming great,
TLOU is better than ever
thanks to one of the best ports
created, ensuring PS4 has its
first bona fide masterpiece
even though its a rejigged lastgen one. Familiarity hasnt bred
contempt, however. Just more
brilliance. The only excuse not
to buy it is if youre under 18.
In which case, start counting
down the hours to your big day.
EV ERY THING
solid vibrancy, making it

far easier to pick out the
little details in the games
amazingly evocative, ruined
environments. Load times
arent vastly improved, sadly,
but the Remastered version is a
far smoother visual experience,
with super effective antialiasing (stay with me)
turning jaggies into dust.
Talking of smooth,
and without wanting to be
Hyperbolic Harry, playing
TLOU at 60fps is an absolute
game-changer. Struggling to
spot the extra spit and shine
on the screens on these pages?
Just wait until you see the
game in motion.
The benefits of double the
refresh rate are most keenly felt
in the controls. By the almighty
Clicker above do they feel
buttery slick now. So much so,
just the simple act of moving
the camera around is a velvety
pleasure. No, its not quite a
locked 60 for every second of
the game occasionally a few
1 Endure the most upsetting prologue in games. Stay strong now.

2 Stumble upon Bostons Capitol Building, then prepare to say a brutal
goodbye. God, these tears taste salty. 3 Enter Bills Town and survive
Clicker Central just for the pleasure of meeting the biggest grump in
the game. 4 Pittsburgh doesnt do warm welcomes as it says hello with
broken glass. 5 Finally meet some folk who dont want you dead. Phew.
RO
S T E F U NL
Above Sony has teased future DLC. Moneys on more multiplayer content.
BRONZE
SILVER
GOLD
A cute Resi nod awaits

if you open every shiv
door in the game. Dont
waste em all on
Clickers now.
Fully upgrade Joel with

supplement pills to bag
this silveware. Best
get hunting through
every bit of rubble.
Finish the game twice

on Survivor difficulty
for this illusive pot.
Good luck youre
gonna need it.
WorldMags.net
REVIEW WorldMags.net
Contrary to early
reports, co-op is both
local and online. No AI
companions, though.
SLACK N GASH
102
@Pelloki
SACRED
3
Now without all the bits you love
S
INFO
FORMAT PS3
ETA OUT NOW
PUB DEEP SILVER
DEV KEEN GAMES
acred 2: Fallen Angel was, in many

ways, quite brilliant. I spent many a
week in its company and even finished
it twice: once for the Light Campaign
and once again for the Shadow campaign.
Theres a big list of reasons why I still look
back on Sacred 2 with such fondness (the open
world, the humour, the simple thrills of filling
every pocket, sleeve and bag and with loot,
etc), and it just so happens that the list ties
up almost perfectly with one belonging to the
series new developer Keen Games. Alas, at the
top of Keens list are the rather unfortunate
words: Things To Cut For Sacred 3.
The big open-world design of the first two

Sacreds? Gone. The loot that defines the genre?
Gone. Sacreds iconic Light/Shadow campaigns?
Gone. Hell, even campaigns have been booted out
of Sacred 3. This is as much of a departure from
the series as 2013s side-scrolling brawler Citadel,
and a bitter blow for anyone whos spent time
with its predecessors.
Instead weve got a My First Hack N Slash.
A game thats so terrified of scaring away
players, its entire pitch centres on the ability to
ITS AS MUCH OF A
DEPARTURE FROM THE SERIES
AS SIDE-SCROLLER CITADEL.
co-operatively bash enemies

through a selection of multipath (though in practice much
closer to linear) levels, feel good
about the score youre given at
the end of said level and then
do it again. Though quite how
anybody can stand to listen to
the shrill voices of companions
and enemies who trade,
humorous bants, triple
air-quotes most definitely
needed for that particular
phrase I dont know. Perhaps
theyre in need of a cotton bud?
IS NOTHING SACRED?
Is it bad? Not especially. Apart
from some tanking framerates
in busier sections (and the
aforementioned comedy
dialogue) it functions fine, and
as an extremely simplified
spin on the hack n slash genre
there are some nice touches.
Controls are standardised
across all characters: q for
attack, r to bash and knockback shielded foes, w to grab
certain enemies (and again to
hurl them into crowds) and
e to dodge, with characterspecific skills and executions
WorldMags.net
living on the shoulder buttons.

For somebody daunted by the
complexities of the genre, its
an okay, if somewhat dull, intro.
But Ive got to ask, whos
really in need of these training
wheels before diving into the
likes of Diablo III? Anyone? Is
the concept of gathering loot,
comparing stats and deciding
which piece to equip really that
complicated? I think not.
Sacred 2 was a defiantly PCfocused RPG brutally squeezed
onto PS3, admittedly, but with
the sublime Baldurs Gate:
Dark Alliance series long dead
theres room for an alternative
to Diablo III and Sacred was
uniquely positioned to offer
that experience. In my mind
this hollowed-out shell of an
RPG isnt a true continuation
of the series, but the second
poor spin-off in a row.
VERDICT
A blandly serviceable switchoff-and-kill-everything co-op

experience but a slap in the
face to the role-playing Sacred
brand and all of its fans. (Yes,
we do exist!) Matthew Pellett
D I G I TA L
EDITION
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WorldMags.net
This dude and his
nipple-rounding tache
is one of the games
least offensive sights.
SWORN OFF
104
@OPM_UK
BLUE ESTATE
Misaimed on-rails blaster crashes off course
INFO
FORMAT PS4
ETA OUT NOW
PUB FOCUS HOME
INTERACTIVE
DEV HESAW
sk yourself this: does the idea of

shooting a Kim Jong-il look-alike in a
sports bra amuse you? How about the
prospect of a stripper wearing little
more than a forced smile being completely
bamboozled as to how to operate a lift? No,
and, OH HELL NO! respectively, huh? Good
for you that means youve passed the Im
Not A Great Big Racist, Misogynistic Jerk test.
Conversely, it also means you probably wont
enjoy Blue Estate much.
Being a seriously sweary, cynical individual of 29
years, Im pretty hard to offend what did you
say about my family tartan?! But even I have to
draw the line at some of the jokes this on-rails
shooter aims at (and usually misses). Playing
primarily as the son of a mob boss, and then a
mafia hitman, you quickly find yourself a target
of Blue Estates shoddily calibrated reticule, one
thats aimed at tired slights involving race, gender
and sex gags. Highbrow stuff, indeed.
In a larger context, the game may only be as
offensive as your average episode of Family Guy,
but then again, it doesnt have giant chicken
fights to fall back on. What it does have is
IT SETS ITS SHODDILY

CALIBRATED RETICULE AT
TIRED SLIGHTS ABOUT RACE.
a whole load of crunching

headshots, a striking moving
comic art style and fairly well
thought-out pad interactions.
Based on Viktor Kalvachevs
graphic novel, Blue Estates
chunky cel-shaded levels pop
with pockets of vibrant colour
and are certainly pleasing to the
irises. Brushing the touchpad to
wipe your wiseguys fringe out
of shot during tense, scenerybreaking showdowns is also
a cute and playful touch.
GYRO-PAIN
Decidedly less cute are erratic
gyroscopic controls that
makes steering the DualShock
4-aimed reticule such a
struggle. Forgoing PS Move
support, Blue Estate forces you
to survive its shooting galleries
through the pads movement
sensor. And boy, does it like to
go walkies trying to keep up
with your aiming aspirations.
With enemies popping
on-screen from every corner,
dexterous gestures are required
to outgun your foes; a task the
gyroscope sometimes struggles
with. Tracking your movements
WorldMags.net
with a PlayStation Camera

helps, though theres no way
this game is worth shelling out
50 for the peripheral. Even
if you have the cam, youll
still find yourself resetting the
fluctuating reticule with 8
every 30 seconds or so.
Frustratingly, when the
gyroscope works, the action can
be enjoyable. With a decently
delivered combo system,
mowing down men with a
series of reactive potshots
develops a real flow and grace.
A responsive p cover system
also helps Blue Estate maintain
its momentum during busier
firefights. Yet even when the
dead-eyed action sings and
your pad behaves itself, this is
a seriously short game. Priced
at 15.99 on PSN, but only
lasting two hours, it offends
both taste and your wallet.
VERDICT
A lewd, crude on-rails effort

that occassionally offers sharp
blasting thrills, yet shoots itself
in the foot (and mouth) with
misjudged gags and gyroscope
problems. Dave Meikleham
Poor Bigby cant drive,
but that doesnt stop
him giving chase
Matrix Reloaded-style.
SNOWS OVER
@PhilIwaniuk
THE WOLF AMONG US

EPISODE 5: CRY WOLF
105
Refreshingly, a fable that lives up to its promises
A
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DEV TELLTALE GAMES
ssuming you made it as far through

Telltales gripping Fabletown whodunit
as ep four, you may have dallied with
the idea that the series had lost its
steam, delivering its payload back in ep three
only to stand there shrugging apologetically
for the remaining instalments a la Twin Peaks.
Well, guess what, Wrongald McWrongface?
Yep, you were mistaken. Not about the quality of
the last ep it remains brief and comparatively
uneventful. But now the last pieces of the jigsaw
have been dropped in place, its clear that ep
four fell on its sword to make Cry Wolf feel
like a fittingly action-packed 90 minutes of
cathartic resolution and loose end-tying. It isnt
a sequence of events that people will be talking
about for years to come, and it does lose ground
to Telltale stablemate The Walking Dead in
terms of sheer impact and emotion, but there is
at least one moment thats sure to prompt mass
eye-widening, thoughtful tea-sipping, and an
inevitable second season.
A FITTINGLY ACTION-PACKED
90 MINUTES OF RESOLUTION
AND LOOSE END-TYING.
Bigbys investigation is
largely concluded by the time
Cry Wolf begins, so what you
get instead of tailing leads and
sniffing for clues are extended,
righteous interrogation
sequences, and fistfights. This
is Fabletown, so actual human
fists are something of a rarity,
but you follow. While there are
extended dialogue sequences
that play out with little input
from you, interaction is kept
at the fore for the majority
of its engrossing duration.
HAVE FAITH
For my next trick, Ill discuss
how successful the ending is
without spoiling it for you.
*Gulp*. Its not watertight.
Significant scenes will differ
based on your choices, but
there are threads with minor
characters that feel halfforgotten, leading to some
of your decisions feeling
inconsequential. You could
always make the argument that
these threads are being stored
WorldMags.net
away for season two, of

course. But its certainly odd
to find a menu after the credits
which lists interactions with
characters from that ep that
occurred just 30 seconds ago,
with no feedback on what
the consequences really were.
Now the really tricky bit.
Thing is, this is arguably a
7/10 until the absolute dying
seconds of the season. After
a certain point, youll see
thing differently, and your
assessment of its quality
will shift. Lips. Sealed. In any
event, its been a hell of a ride,
and while tech grumbles have
remained constant all season,
the characterisation, pacing
and charm of the universe its
set in have been exemplary.
VERDICT
Gets the big moments right, but

some details fall between the
cracks leading you to question
the effect of previous decisions.
Big picture: a fitting finale to a
tremendous game. Phil Iwaniuk
Dont get your

hopes up fan fave
Grimlocks level is
just the worst thing.
@furianreseigh
SPARKED OUT
106
TRANSFORMERS: RISE
OF THE DARK SPARK
Confused robo blaster is an Optimus Grind
O
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FORMAT PS4
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DEV EDGE OF REALITY
n paper, things are so much simpler.

In the temporal world of pitches and
plans, a game about big guns, even
bigger explosions and robots that can
change into sportscars is a surefire winner. A
game with multiple Optimus Primes? Go home
games industry, weve hit pop culture critical
mass. Consider that mic dropped. But, much
to ironically-named studio Edge Of Realitys
chagrin, the reality is far less rosy.
For the last few years, the Transformers games

have existed in a bizarre dual continuum: on one
side stands the enjoyable and, more importantly,
G1-faithful Cybertron series. Glaring from the
other side of the void are the soul-destroyingly
bad tie-ins to Michael Bays turd-tastic film
franchise. Well guess what, kids the two have
now converged in an unholy metallic union. Yay.
DECEPTA-WRONG
As if to skirt the negative connotations of the
Bay films, most of the game takes place on
Cybertron (prior to the events of 2012s Fall Of
Cybertron). This should be a good thing, but the
shift in location, and crucially in time/space, is
never explained and only serves to confuse an
already dull and lifeless story. More importantly,
it reveals Spark to be nothing more than a pale
imitation of High Moon Studios best efforts.
FOC didnt look particularly

good, but it made up for rusty
visuals with a great story and
a fine mixture of missions and
set-pieces that brought back
fond memories of Melbourne
Houses great Transformers
title on PlayStation 2.
Spark, on the other hand,
takes all of the same principles
(a story that shifts between
Autobot and Decepticon
characters, a series of
upgradable weapons, etc)
and attempts to recreate the
same experience without one
iota of creativity or soul. The
character-specific abilities (such
as Cliffjumpers grapple hook
and Insecticon Sharpshots
cloaking device) are rendered
useless by mission structures
that dont properly use them.
Vehicle handling does feel
tighter this time round, but
the game rarely gives you a
proper reason to transform.
Even the opportunity to play
as Grimlock is disappointing
compared with the G1
WorldMags.net
version present in FOC an

experience that isnt helped by
ugly, generic environments with
textures that would look blah
on a PS2 game circa 2001.
There are some strong
moments to be found amid
the tedium. Jetfires infiltration
mission into the dormant
Trypticon is awesome, and the
returning Escalation mode is an
enjoyable diversion marred
only by a lack of diversity
in enemy types. But the
complete omission of FOCs
fun multiplayer component and
a new levelling up system that
has zero effect on the campaign
(it instead boosts your Horde
mode assets) shows Spark to
be little more than a cheap,
forgettable cash-in.
VERDICT
Fleeting moments of fun and an

improved Escalation mode arent
enough to save Spark from
becoming yet another bland tiein destined for the bargain bin
base. Dom Reseigh-Lincoln
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Z-RUN
Exercise is an undead nightmare
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HOW TO TRAIN
YOUR DRAGON 2
Film cash-in is bored of the rings
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BROKEN SWORD 5:
THE SERPENTS
CURSE EPISODE 2
hen Im faced with games like this,

I like to see myself as the bad game
slayer. The one who stands alone
against the awful, the evil and the forces
of darkness who are just trying to take
your money and swap it for a pile of subpar
pixels. If you werent brought up on a diet of
Buffy and co then not only must you remedy
this, youngling, but you probably have no
idea what Im on about. Let me explain.
This is the enemy. Painfully ugly to the
point that kids in the street point and laugh
as it walks by, its a post-apocalyptic endless
runner where you hurtle down a series
of zombie-packed city streets with only a
limited amount of stamina and the ability
to slide under trucks and jump street signs
while avoiding the horde. Or, yknow, not
avoiding anything as the tutorial screen
gets in the way and leaves you open to the
jugular-hungry undead, sending you straight
back to the start for no reason other than
wanting to learn. Seems fair.
Levels1 are exercises in banal repetition,
and despite handing you weaponry and extra
skills as you progress, Z-Run manages to
bore you into a stupor within an impressively
short time frame. The essence of the runner
genre, with its pick-up-and-playability, is
meant to have an, Oh, just one more go!
mentality, not, Oh God, please, no more
goes. Even now, with so little meat left on
the corpse of that pop culture favourite,
zombie games never fall this low. Combat is
ineffectual and unsatisfying,2 the action is
repetitive and uninspiring. And if youre really
lucky, youll miss the sliding
sweet spot under a truck and
simply run into the side of a
vehicle until youre unconscious.
Jog on, Z-Run. Louise Blain
ook, I wont pretend I know how to

make videogames. Often that, Gosh,
even I could do better than this mess,
mindset is too easy to fall into when you
spend much of your working life critiquing
developers work and scanning for errors to
turn into hilarious scatological comparisons
in due course, but its important to maintain
some perspective and remember that even
applying a three-frame animation to a 3D
character model is well beyond my expertise.
That said, when you load up HTTYD 2 and
find essentially a remake of Superman 64,
a game remembered with the fondness of
a kidney stone removal Well, youre inclined
to wonder if you could have brainstormed
a more rock-solid concept.1
For those unacquainted with the abject
misery of trying to solve Lex Luthors maze:
HTTYD 2 is an aerial racer that tasks you
with flying through rings on your dragon.
Whee! Just like the film! Oops, missed that
one. Oops, missed that one, too. Ah, now
the camera seems to be trying to tear itself
away from me. And I just heard some voice
acting that sounds like it was recorded on an
iPhone 3 in a train station the night before
the disc went gold.2 Whee
Lets be fair though: those tremendously
clumsy air races are broken up by shooting
gallery mini-games (theres no main
game as such) which well, they function.
So if you get sick of being knocked off your
dragon by an opponent at 8fps, theres
at least a perfunctory coconut shy to look
forward to later on. This is
cynical profiteering of the most
detestable order, and sullies
the good name of one of 2014s
best-liked films. Phil Iwaniuk
good five months have passed since

I last delved into the newest entry
in the Broken Sword universe, and
while the story of returning sleuths George
and Nico and some gubbins about a painting
with Gnostic ties certainly wasnt resolved,
I felt like Id had my fill. Not that I didnt
enjoy Episode One quite the opposite in
fact. Sure, the narrative pace was about
as speedy as a fat corpse in a river of
treacle, but returning to Charles Cecils
genre-defining point-n-click series was like
mingling with old friends at a school reunion.
But now the honeymoons over and the
cracks are starting to widen into gaping
chasms. The story itself struggles to
maintain any sense of threat or tension. By
definition, a point-n-clicker is meant to be
slow the methodical inspection of a room
and the discoveries that yield new clues and
questions but the lack of enjoyable puzzles
(aside from one goat puzzle homage) and
a truly unsatisfying finale1 makes this latter
part feel far less focused than the first.
Oh, and the game still doesnt suit the
Vitas small screen. This was built for a
monitor and the freedom of a mouse, not
a touchscreen slightly larger than a phone.
With such detailed scenes,2 most interactive
elements sit so close together I spend half
my time selecting the wrong clue on loop.
Despite having a team of veteran Broken
Sword devs behind it, Broken Sword 5:
The Serpents Curse ends up
signing off like a poor imitation
of past glories rather than a
respectable addition to the BS
legacy. Dom Reseigh-Lincoln
FOOTNOTES 1 Hitting Next after finishing a level will take you

to back to the map screen, not the next level. 2 The melee kick
option helps, but leaves you open to attack directly afterwards.
FOOTNOTES 1 A gold-hoarding sim. Pokmon with scales. Monkey

tennis. See? Easy. 2 Acting cant be faulted for commitment, its
actually just the fidelity that grates. LimeWire had better bit rates.
FOOTNOTES 1 Its only saving grace is some fun, Da Vinci

Code-style conundrums in the final stretch. 2 Each environment is
beautifully animated, but you wouldnt know it on such a wee screen.
WorldMags.net
This snake has lost its bite
107
All things
considered,
Mr Abes a
surprisingly
vocal hero.
WorldMags.net
EDITORS
AWARD
108
FRESH MEAT
@PhilIwaniuk
ODDWORLD:
NEW N TASTY!
The dawning of a new Abe
uptureFarms 1029, the brutalist setting

for Abes Oddysee, could be viewed as
a state of the union comment on big
business in 2014. Within it, natural
resources are being pillaged while cigarsmoking monsters in shoulder pads laugh it up
in a boardroom. A subjugated Joe Punchclock
witnesses the full scale of the atrocities his
employer is committing, and must discover in
himself the strength to do something about it.
It seems inspired by the big news headlines of
the past few years until it occurs to you that
this game originally came out in 1997.
Spice Girls lyrics and RL Stine prose have
revealed their limitations with the passage of
time, but Oddworld Inhabitants writing turns
out to be pretty evergreen. We all remember the
fart button and the way Sligs cackled after they
gunned us down in the PS1 original, but perhaps
Abes Oddysee doesnt get the credit it deserves
for sneaking a fantastic dystopian setting and
story under everyones noses.
Maybe we were simply too happy ordering
around fellow Mudokons who laughed when
we let rip to notice. The creative imperative for
INFO
FORMAT PS4
(DOWNLOAD ONLY)
ETA OUT NOW
PUB ODDWORLD
INHABITANTS
DEV JUST ADD
WATER
an Oddworld renovation in
2014 is obvious, then: many
elements in the original have
no sell-by date, meanwhile
indie adventure/platformers
are doing world-building and
platform mechanics (like the
aforementioned AI command
system) half as well as Abe,
and getting mad props.
Its important to establish
early that New N Tasty is
the antithesis of lazy 1080p
updates. Rather than simply
updating the visuals, Just
Add Water has rebuilt Abes
Oddysee from the ground up in
the Unity engine. Obviously the
vastly improved visuals make
themselves apparent most
immediately and arrestingly
just wait until you see those
moonlit walkways of Monsaic
Lines again but the originals
animations, physics, sounds
and controls are also elegantly
WorldMags.net
guided into the 21st century.

Crucially, thats achieved
while maintaining the spirit
of the original. Its instantly
recognisable as Oddworld, not
a reskinned Rayman. But as
much as this is a strength of
the game and a credit to new
developer Just Add Water, its
also the biggest problem I have
with it while playing with these
modern thumbs.
CLEAR AS MUDOKON
The problem is that Abes
movements are imprecise,
and though his animations
are vastly improved they still
feel canned. I struggle to help
him jump up onto higher
ledges because I need him to
be standing in a very specific
position the game wont
realign him if hes a few pixels
back, but will if hes too far
underneath it. Similar dramas
Right Little
known fact: 90s
platformers
actually feed
off your tears
of frustration.
THE OPM BREAKDOWN

W H AT Y O U D O I N O D D W O R L D : N E W N TA S T Y
5% Channelling
mid-90s game
design logic to
progress further.
10% Reciting
Abes whistles
in the shower,
then cursing him.
Below Many of
the locales are
still immediately
recognisable in
New N Tasty.
12% Invading a
Sligs brain and
spamming his
sound bytes before
taking him out.
51%
8% Abusing
Trying to come to
terms with Abes
voice being
slightly different.
14% Rolling
everywhere even
though there
are no obstacles
around to avoid.
the quick save to

ease the pain of
the Paramonian
nests. Not
endangered
enough, those
Paramites.
S E C O N D O P I N I O N A N A B E+ P L AY E R
As somebody who worshipped Oddworld

during its original run, this is a dream come
true. Its abrasive and unforgiving for
newcomers, indeed, but personally I wouldnt want it
any other way. Oddworld: New N Tasty perfectly
recaptures the spirit of the original and stands
defiantly apart from the modern platforming crowd. If
you consider yourself to be a true PlayStation fan, you
really owe it to yourself to get this. Matthew Pellett
HOW TO
F R E E Y O U R M U D O K O N M AT E S
Manners are important,
even when fleeing a
nasty corporation.
Greet friendlies with a
simple, Hello, before
ordering them to,
Follow me. Then, guide
them to a flock of birds
and hold down p and
i to turn it into an
escape portal for them.
Above left Impressively, in-game AI voice command still feels novel in the genre.
occur when hiding from

enemies in smoke plumes
(which look wonderful, by the
way). There are points on the
edges of the smoke in which
Abes invisible to me, but not
to the Sligs Im hiding from. It
takes several, seemingly unfair
deaths to figure that one out.
And its these cuts and
grazes in the controls that
diminish my patience for New
N Tastys already demanding
level design. Some will relish
the challenge, remembering that
1997 suffered no fools gladly
and making a mental note to
blog about, real gaming, after
the next checkpoint. Others,
perhaps going in fresh or at
least without all the whistled
passwords from Monsaic Lines
memories, will find it obtuse
and frustrating. The deciding
factor here is nostalgia, and
despite having a fair amount of
it coursing through my veins
(also a few passwords) I felt
that frustration burning away
on a low boil semi-regularly.
Just Add Water has walked

a tightrope between tradition
and modernity here, and
knowing that existing fans
are the primary audience its
appeased that crowd above all.
A really great game doesnt
have to depend on the nostalgia
factor to maximise its appeal,
and although many of New
N Tastys puzzles hold up
to scrutiny today (its stealth,
command and possession
mechanics still feel ambitious
and unique), theres no shaking
the notion that in order to
really enjoy the game, were
overlooking its awkwardness
and occasionally savage
difficulty to rekindle some
cherished 32-bit memories.
L O V I N G / H AT I N G
BEING VOCAL
MISSING JUMPS
Issuing orders and shepherding

handfuls of unfortunates towards
safety is a welcome interaction layer
over the leaps and sneaks.
At least half of your many, many

deaths will be chalked up to jumping
towards an overhead ledge while
being chased, and missing.
IS IT BETTER THAN?
VERDICT
One of platformings most

original concepts gets a
loving and impressive technical
overhaul, but one that cant hide
the failings of 17-year-old game
design. Remains faithful to the
original at all costs. Phil Iwaniuk
YES
NO
NO
The volume of swears

from Meiks mouth
during the review
process indicates Abe
is less frustrating.
Rather than a straight

HD update, Sonic
celebrates his legacy
with a surplus of
added extras.
If its platforming
perfection youre
after, look no further.
Pays its dues to the
golden age, too.
WorldMags.net
109
INFO
110
FORMAT PS4 ALSO ON PS3 ETA OUT NOW

PUB FOCUS HOME INTERACTIVE DEV CYANIDE
INFO

PUB BANDAI NAMCO DEV KOEI TECMO/OMEGA FORCE
INFO
FORMAT PS4 (DOWNLOAD ONLY) ALSO ON PS3/PS VITA

ETA OUT NOW PUB THE DIGITAL LOUNGE DEV DELPHINE
TOUR DE
FRANCE 2014
DYNASTY WARRIORS ANOTHER WORLD

GUNDAM REBORN
A 20-year alien resurrection
Perfect score in two years, then?
Robots in disguise? If only
ouve stopped and read this opening

line, so Ill assume you have a passing
interest in cycling. Good news! This
is without a doubt the best cycling game on
the market. No shopping around necessary.
However, if youre a long-time reader you
also know that last years TDF scored twice
as well as the previous years, earning itself
a princely 4/10. In short, best cycling game
on the market, is not the gold standard of
videogame quality it sounds.
But guess what? Cyanides latest
effort continues the series stratospheric
rise from the gutter. Its a very similar
experience to previous entrants, but this
time on PS4: controlling one pro team rider
at a time in Le Grand Tour,1 you manage
effort levels and stamina over mountains
and flats, keeping him well-fed and wellpositioned for the finish line using teammates to aid your cause. Its a blend of RTS
and racing you dont get anywhere else,
albeit presented in rudimentary terms.
Faithful enough to the sport so as to
be unfathomable to most, TDF 2014 keeps
cycling geeks on board with its authentic
peloton behaviour.2 Climbers try to escape
the pack during steep gradients, while
sprinters rely on their team-mates to reel
breakaway groups back in for a bunch finish.
Last years problems were all the more
frustrating because they seemed fixable,
and thats exactly what TDF 2014 does:
stages are shorter to play in their entirety,
menus are easier to understand, and pop-in
is minimal. Crikey, the UK stages
even have English crowd noises!
Its still low budget, esoteric and
clunky as a rusted Raleigh, but
so much better. Phil Iwaniuk
h, universe. Why do you hate me so?

Since the giant crowd control-em-up
series debuted on PlayStation in 1997,
there have been somewhere in the region
of 1,293 Dynasty games dont worry, you
can always trust Meiks maths. Yet the world
hasnt seen fit to give me a single decent
Dino Crisis since 2000. At least Ive got all
the giant robots1 and the incessant bashing
of w and r to keep me warm at night.
The last time I checked in on this mecha
spin-off was April 2009, when I awarded
Dynasty Warriors Gundam 2 a measly 4/10.
Allow your eyes to wander down the page
and you see Im clearly becoming vaguely
more charitable in my advancing years.
Yet despite the small score increase, Koei
Tecmos button masher still has serious
faults. For one, the entire experience
remains resolutely tied to spamming three
face buttons. Really, all you do is mindlessly
mow down waves of identikit robots with
light and heavy attacks,2 with the odd areaclearing e special thrown in as you vie for
control of battlefields. On occasion youre
asked to lay a slightly more challenging
steely smackdown on an area commander,
but too often enemy AI offers up a
completely passive combat experience.
Complaining about Dynasty Warriors being
one-note is somewhat churlish, though. And
this is a generous package, bolstered with
six different campaigns each one revolving
around ever-so-slightly different mechs. The
devs obviously care for the license theres
a ton of story content and
cutscenes here but the end
result remains a clunky curio
that only diehards are likely
to endure. Dave Meikleham
onducting dangerous experiments

during thunderstorms is rarely a
smart idea. Particle physicist Lester
Chaykin discovers this to his cost when a
lightning strike rips a hole in the space-time
continuum, warping him to a starkly beautiful
and utterly hostile alien world. The
arresting opening of ric Chahis influential
adventure is the first part of a masterclass
in efficient visual storytelling the game
quickly conjures both an otherworldly
ambiance and a near-constant gnawing
sense of tension. Death is frequent, swift
and brutal, illustrated in horrifying closeup: a writhing worm slices a chunk from
Lesters knee with its single razor-sharp
tooth, while you get a first-person view of
the slavering jaws of a miniature Sarlacc.
This 20th anniversary edition could
easily pass for the kind of modern indie
game the original inspired. A few additional
background details aside, its as crisp
and angular as you remember it1 though
a jab of w at any time confronts you
with the original pixels in all their glory.
Otherwise, little has changed for better
and worse. Its a short game: its one-hour
runtime padded out with cheap deaths
that only those who recall the original could
reasonably anticipate. Its controls are
awkwardly rigid and its gun-based combat
simplistic and unsatisfying. Its a reminder of
an unpalatable truth about the medium: while
classic films rarely age, games often do, as
technology continues to improve and design
ideas are iterated upon.2 Another World
deserves to be recognised as
an important game, but today
it carries far more historical
worth than it does actual
entertainment. Chris Schilling
FOOTNOTES 1 Theres a new mode this year in which you launch

your own team and attract star riders, too. 2 Dont worry though,
licensing issues mean Mirko Civendish is still present on the roster.
FOOTNOTES 1 During this review I fought a robot called Stella. This

amused me greatly. 2 At least you can upgrade your mechs skills.
Try Sky Eye on for size to boost your bots guarding ability. Sexy!
FOOTNOTES 1 Beyond the visual overhaul, the sound has been

remastered but theres an option to play it with the original
effects. 2 Its a Cross-Save and Cross-Buy title, on the plus side.
WorldMags.net
INFO

PUB SQUARE ENIX DEV CI GAMES
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CHEAP & NAZI
@PhilIwaniuk
ENEMY FRONT
15 frames per second is the new 60, apparently
ow, look step away

from the mounted
turret, kill the
dramatic orchestral
score for a second and sit
down, Enemy Front. The
problem isnt that youre a
World War 2 shooter in 2014.
I think many of us were quite
looking forward to revisiting
those heavily bombed
European villages again,
MP 40 bobbing around the
bottom-right of the screen
like a shouty old friend. No,
the problem is that youre a
World War 2 shooter from
2004 in 2014.
In the boots of Robert
Hawkins, an American war
correspondent aiding various
resistance movements around
Europe in particular the
Warsaw Uprising you
experience a slightly different
narrative than WW2 shooters
generally opt for. However,
as a man with a gun, slogging
between pockets of suicidal
Nazis camped out next to
explosive barrels and sighing
through MG nest set-pieces,
you experience absolutely
nothing new or exciting in
terms of actual gameplay.
Its a real shame, because it
turns out the Warsaw Uprising
is actually a really interesting
piece of European history. A
greater shame still, because of
the artefacts lurking between
Enemy Fronts jaggies, broken
AI and single-figure frame rate
detracting from the good game

it could well have become.
Level design, if you can make
it out among all the low-res
rubble textures, is actually
pretty impressive. There are
multiple pathways to your
objective whether indoors or
out, and theyre generous in
scale, too. Weapon feedback is
spot on, likewise overall sound
design, which ranges from
reverberant weapon cannonades
to a dynamic score which
peaks and lulls according to the
action kicking off around you.
BLACK OUT
But these are no more than
interesting glimpses into what
might have been before
Stuart Black Black walked
away as producer, development
dragged, and finally a game
appeared that missed its
generation complete with
PS3 graphics so awful that
its genuinely hard to see the
enemies for all the aliasing.
Helpfully, the soldiers of the
Third Reich will eventually
make themselves known by
getting completely stuck in a
stair bannister or intersecting a
church pew grotesquely. Oh, the
horrors of war. Spare yourself.
VERDICT
Among the rubble there are

elements of what could be a
good game, but its not worth
your time to excavate them.
Technically disastrous, it lets
down its own story. Phil Iwaniuk
JOEL SNAPE, OPM 8-18:

Ive played more than a
hundred PS2 games
including Brunswick Pro
Bowling, where the magic
ingredient was oiled
lanes. But the only one where it felt like everyone
involved in the creative process actually hated
me was ALAN HANSENS SPORTS CHALLENGE,
a joy-scoured quiz game featuring everyones
favourite football pundit. Despite the sports title,
probably 97% of the questions are about football
and if youre expecting Alan to summon up more
enthusiasm for voicing a terrifying bobble-headed
mannequin than he does for moaning about
defensive formations, then I have some bad news.
NATHAN DITUM, OPM 20-42:
I was so bewildered when
I originally encountered
SNOW WHITE AND THE
SEVEN CLEVER BOYS that
afterwards I kept the game
on a shelf for four years, occasionally picking it up
and studying the box. Including several activities,
I reassured myself it really did say. Watching
cartoons, colouring, it elaborated, pairs activity,
jigsaw puzzle, sliding puzzle. All the classics.
At the time I described this as, a collection of
illiterate programming code in the process of
falling over onto a spike, but the truth is more
absurd: a blindly tech-obsessed imposition of the
PS2 into the business of crayons and collaging.
JOEL GREGORY, OPM
46-91: Turns out I played
no fewer than one hundred
and eighty four games for
this column, and yet still
the magazine refused to
pay for my corrective cognitive therapy. Of all the
offensive, cash-wrangling tie-ins I came across,
CASPERS SCARE SCHOOL was by far the most
shameless. It was literally unfinished, as you
wheeled the formless ghost wobbling about
like a smear of ejaculate around a totally barren
mansion helping to pack little Timmy off to school.
Yeah, because every ten-year-old takes a 12ft
framed reprint of the Mona Lisa with him to class.
You bloody phantasmic pillock, Casper.
PHIL IWANIUK, OPM
92-PRESENT: One fateful
day, I cycled to the office
having forgotten to
bring any clothes, and
had nothing but skintight lycra and puce cheeks to wear for the
remaining eight working hours. Id live out that
day 100 times before playing A-MEN 2 again,
such is the misery that this title exudes with
every button press. It is to 2D puzzlers what
tuberculosis is to lungs, pairing illogical design
with clumsy controls and tepid visuals. Now
excuse me while I adjust my cycling shorts.
WorldMags.net
111
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online
dlc
movies
music
how to
trophies
on the store
116 inFamous: First Light
Rolling back the clock to before the
events of Second Son, this new DLC
serving puts you in the very capable
boots of Abigail Fetch Walker.
113
on your xmb
118 Need For Speed
Aaron Paul follows up his breakout
role as Jesse Pinkman in this gameinspired car flick. Yeah, driving!
music
online tests
Killzone: SF
Intercept
114
119 This months hottest tunes
how to
120 Become a PlayStation pro
Can Guerrillas new co-op focused online

expansion force everyone to play nice?
WorldMags.net
platinum
club
121 Watch Dogs
WorldMags.net
online tests
what were
playing now
MULTIPLAYER MODES PUT

THROUGH THEIR PACES
BY OUR TEAM OF EXPERTS
review
INJUSTICE: GAU
ULTIMATE ED
Dom Reseigh-Lincoln
brings justice to the
masses. Also, kicking
Oh, Injustice will you

kindly retract your
metahuman claws from
my sorry hide? Ive already
sunk an ungodly amount
of time into your PS3
sibling, yet here I am doing it once
again on new-gen. And despite not
having a PS4-compatible fight stick,
Im still holding my own among the
games dedicated following. Its at its
best when I thrash a couple of ranged
attack spammers who think using
Deathstrokes pistols will rack them up
a nice win record. Im afraid Harleys
got a nasty surprise for you, puddin.
MOTOGP 14
114
Phil Iwaniuk makes his

Marquez on the kneesdown community
I ought to be playing Dark
Souls II, really. Thats what
the gamers gamer in me
is saying, but I cant tear
myself away from the
jamboree of primary
colours and energy drink
sponsors that is MotoGP 14. Three
more online wins and Ill unlock Mick
Doohans classic NSR500 and for that,
frankly, Drangleic can wait. Milestones
is an absolutely on-the-nose
multiplayer mode and not without
hiccups, but right now its halting my
worthier gaming ventures steadfastly.
WATCH DOGS
Dave Meikleham
indulges in his own
*ahem* personal peep
show. Dont judge him
Theres a distinct
pleasure that comes from
hiding in plain sight. Or,
in the case of Pearces
online adventures, from
hiding behind a waisthigh park bench while dressed as a
raincoat-sporting, 50-year-old woman.
Thats the genius of Watch Dogs
seamless multiplayer hacking
skirmishes you still view Aiden as
normal, but to your opponent, hes
disguised as just another civvy. Lets
just ignore that fact I keep getting
spotted within seconds of accepting a
new hacking infiltration. And this from
a dude whos finished MGS4 119 times.
INFO
FORMAT PS4
PUB SONY
DEV GUERRILLA GAMES
REVIEW ISSUE #91, 8/10
Killzone: SF Intercept
Helghan hijinks takes fourplay to new heights
efore anyone can accuse me

of blowing smoke up Lucas
Kellans backside, let me say
this: I did not care for his drab
single-player offering one bit.
Grrgh, just thinking about that sky
diving bit makes me want to cave
the ISA maggots cranium in with
my DualShock 4. Now that Ive (over)
shared, Im also happy to say: I care
for Intercepts frantically tense, deeply
tactical four-player co-op a whole lot.
The 7.99 DLC enlists you in the
crack Intelligence Squad Alpha, where
youre given the choice of fighting
waves of respawing Helghast as either
an Assault class, Marksman, Medic or
Tactician. Translation: Default Grunt,
Johnny Sniper, Doctor Field Wound and
Jimmy Lay Down Some Turrets. In a
cute twist, each player must choose a
different class (no, you cant all be the
sniper), so its a case of first-come,
first-served when you enter a lobby.
Its just as well,

because each class
abilities complement
each other a treat,
creating a harmonious
balance as your team
tries to capture and hold
three Helghan relay
uplinks. Matches play out
as a cross between
Horde and a base mode.
The twist comes with the
final mission objective:
you have to reach a set
number of points before
the game will finish. In a
regular match, this total
is 3,000p, with five points

awarded for offing a
Helghast through normal
means, ten for meleeing
one of the space Nazis
and the same number
for capturing a relay.
Ah, but theres also
another twist. All of
these hard-earned
points evaporate sadly
into the stratosphere if
you dont bank them in a
central base. Ooh, youve
just heroically done in
14 Helghast, patched up
your entire squad and
EACH CLASS ABILITIES

COMPLEMENT EACH OTHER
TO A TEE, CREATING A REALLY
HARMONIOUS BALANCE.
WorldMags.net
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YOU JET
Aside from delicious banking

abilities, your base also holds
a generator thats powered by
Petrusite capacitors. Fill it with
enough capacitors and youll be
given rewards (ie jetpacks).
Contrary to what his

face would have you
believe, Intercepts
actually really fun.
Trials Fusion
Tournaments
Limited online options

leave us (motor)cross
INFO
FORMAT PS4
PUBUBISOFT
DEV REDLYNX
eve held off on reviewing

Trials Fusions online
component until the longawaited release of this free DLC,
but our hopes of the Tournament
mode softening the blow of
offline-only multiplayer racing have
escaped like air rushing out of a
split inner tube. Hear it? Pfffffffft.
This new mode gives you access
to three tournaments at any one
time. Each limited-time tourney
features a handful of tracks, with
a cumulative time and bail count
stretching across all the courses.
Totals are fed into leaderboards,
XPs dished out for the best riders
and well, the campaign levels
already boast online leaderboards,
so its rather underwhelming. Local
co-op remains undersupported,
and online multiplayer is still top
of our wishlist for future content.
VERDICT
Given the time its taken to arrive,

Tournament mode disappoints.
Apart from bonus awards it adds
little beyond existing campaign
features. Matthew Pellett
captured all three relay oh, youve

been killed three-feet from the banking
zone. Ah well, no points for you. Oh,
and in another hoof to the Vektan nads,
respawning also costs 50 points. It
all adds to a tantalising sense of risk
vs reward, as the longer you hold
onto a big pre-banked points haul,
the more your multiplier goes up.
For a greedy score pig like me,
the temptation to go for, just
one more Helghast kill, honest,
proves intoxicatingly strong.
The DLCs four maps are
also well designed, with The Highway,
The Market, The Outpost and The DMZ
based on cordoned off campaign levels.
Its just a pity match lengths can be
almighty time-sappers most of my
games last between 25 and 40 minutes.
Still, if youve got the time to indulge
its thoughtful co-operative experience,
Intercept really is all killer and no filler.
S
Grid Autosport
Codies social element is

on cruise control
INFO
FORMAT PS3
PUB BANDAI NAMCO/
CODEMASTERS
DEV CODEMASTERS
VERDICT
Killzones foray into four-player co-op

works a treat, offering a constant
conveyor belt of captivating slaughter.
Heck, Intercept is arguably the
best thing in SF. Dave Meikleham
WorldMags.net
how me a new Grid games

online mode, and Ill show
you a collection of extremely
familiar ideas from the last
generations output re-heated and
served with a sprig of parsley to
throw everyone off the stale scent.
The only thing of note to mention in
Autosports multiplayer is that you
earn money and buy cars here, a
device heartily hacked out of the
solo career. Progress through
the levels and accumulation of
cash are slow though, so unless
youre going to go all-in and join
a Racenet club with friends in
team liveries you wont get a lot
back from the first few hours
of unlocks. Theres a plethora of
stats and readouts from Racenet,
along with all the leaderboards
youd expect, but it doesnt feel
like Grids trying to impress online.
VERDICT
The playlists of event types and

the matchmaking system work as
they should, but youre still left
wishing for much more ambition
and novelty. Phil Iwaniuk
115
WorldMags.net
on the store
EMPTY YOUR WALLETS

NOW WITH THE LATEST
DOWNLOADABLE DIVERSIONS
expansion
dlc
7.39
WARFRAME
RENOWN PACK
Whats this? Youre

asking us to pay actual
pennies for a supposed
F2P shooter? For
shame. Jesting aside,
this pack includes a PS4
exclusive Obsidian Yomo
Syandana. It also stuffs
170 Platinum in your
coffers to upgrade
your futuristic arsenal.
TBC
inFamous: First Light

116
FREE
Go, Fetch oh, youve broken the sound barrier
uzzah! A new standalone slice

of Sucker Punchs superhero
sim with nary a glimpse of
that prat Delsin Rowe in sight.
Even better, this new DLC
centres around Abigail Fetch Walker,
Second Sons least irritating character,
and hands down the Conduit with the
most kickass powers. Oh super neon
speed, how weve missed you.
Taking place before Rowe could
vandalise every billboard, sidewalk and
dinosaur exhibit in Seattle, First Light
appropriately shines some rays
on Fetchs previously mentioned
incarceration and the tumultuous
relationship with her brother. As such,
youre treated to some new Pacific
North West climes. Chief among these
is Curdun Cay a mountainous prison
where the DUP hold

Bioterrorists. Safe to
say, an each-way bet on
a Neon-assisted pokey
bust looks an absolute
banker. Naughty Fetch.
You also return to
the Emerald City as the
speedster searches for
her missing sibling. Here,
the super sprinters
unique skillset allows you
to zip about in a different
style to Rowes pilfered

wall-running. Youll see
that Fetch has her own
flavour of Neon that is
unique to her character
and tone, explains
creative lead Jason
Connell. With the return
of Second Sons beloved
Photo Mode and joyous
powers, First Lights
appeal will run and run
and run and run.
YOURE TREATED TO
SOME NEW CLIMES, INCLUDING
CURDUN CAY A SNOWY,
MOUNTAINOUS PRISON.
11.99
In honour of your Top

100 PlayStation games
on p62, here are your
highest rated PS1/PS2
titles, starting with
this supreme sandbox.
7.99
Alright, so this DLC is

only free if youve
already forked out for
Aidens Season Pass.
Still, theres an extra 20
minutes of gameplay
here if you feel Pearces
already bloated sandbox
needs more padding.
The mission here sees
you hacking an interweb
moguls mansion.
3.99
RESOGUN
HEROES
EXPANSION
ps1/ps2 games
GRAND THEFT AUTO:

SAN ANDREASPS1
WATCH DOGS
PALACE PACK
3.99
7.99
7.99
METAL GEAR SOLID
CRASH BANDICOOTS1
FINAL FANTASY VIIPS1
RESIDENT EVIL 2S1
The game that damn

near single-handedly put
stealth on the gaming
map. The textures have
aged, but this remains
the most satisfying yarn
Kojima has ever spun.
The marsupial that kickstarted a misbehaving

mutt revolution for
Naughty Dog. The
character is iconic, as
is the critters mad dash
brand of platforming.
Perhaps the most

influential RPG of all time,
and a game that can take
plenty of credit for the
success of PS1. Just no
one mention that death
scene, mkay?
One of the best examples

of survival horror ever to
hit a PlayStation disc, this
unforgettable Capcom
classic takes place in
the most unsettling police
station in games. Mummy.
WorldMags.net
One of PS4s finest

games gets its first
proper expansion,
adding a new world
called Avernus, a
survival mode where
youre limited to one life,
and local co-op. Oh, and
those adorable green
dudes now parachute
into levels with
power-ups to help out.
WorldMags.net
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WorldMags.net
on your XMB
blu-rays
coming soon
STARRED UP
11 AUG
Jack OConnell, aka
that one from Skins who
could act, plays a troubled
teen sent to adult prison,
where he meets his old pa
for some life lessons.
CALVARY
11 AUG
Imagine Falling
Down reborn as a blackhearted comedy with a
clerical grounding and
youre on the right track.
Brendan Gleeson stars.
11 AUG
MUPPETS
MOST WANTED
Ricky Gervais and Tina
Fey take their turn among
puppet royalty, this time in
a jewel heist caper involving
multiple Kermits.
FAUST
18 AUG
Level up your culture
rating instantly with this
20s adaptation of Goethes
play, in which the demon
Mephisto corrupts souls to
win a bet with the Big Guy.
THE QUIET
ONES
18 AUG
Inspired by, true events

of course it is this horror
is the usual barrage of long
hair, off-key music boxes
and dark experiments.
118
Need For Speed

Getting mad and braking bad
The film grossed a tasty

$203m internationally from
an initial budget of $66m.
aron Paul sure does like to

drive fast. And for the vast
majority of this big screen
version of the longest
running racing series about,
he sure is furious. That the similarities
between Need For Speed and the Vin
Diesel money-mobile dont end there will
be clear enough to anyone whos seen
more than a snippet of the supercar
speeds down road, eventually crashes,
driver somehow survives trailer. What
the two also share is an emphatic
preference for style over substance,
and scripts that could have been
auto-generated by a computer
program. And not a hugely
sophisticated one at that.
Dont expect your love for the NFS
franchise to help carry you through
this one either. It structurally bears
resemblance to 2011 game The Run, in
as much as Pauls tasked with getting
across the width of the US post-haste.
The tale is one of revenge for a bad
thing that a bad man did, and the only
way to serve justice

is apparently via the
medium of illegal street
racing. (Speaking of
which, theres a huge
plot hole in this regard,
so dont look too closely.)
What nearly manages
to save things and just
about elevates this from
dreadful to watchable
is that the good
guy crew, and their
camaraderie, is actually
quite endearing. You find
yourself rooting for them
despite the gibberish
dialogue being spouted,
and while we wouldnt
call it emotional
investment, its a decent
echo of it nonetheless.
Oh, and the car-smashy
set-pieces are excellent
too, but then you already
knew that. Joel Gregory
WorldMags.net
18 AUG
CAPTAIN
AMERICA: THE
WINTER SOLDIER
Nice one, Capn, your titles
so long we dont have space
to describe your movie. Uh
Action. Lycra. Johansson.
A NEW YORK 18 AUG

WINTERS TALE
Worth a watch if only to see
Colin Farrell say the line: Is
it possible to love someone
so much they literally cant
die? Stirring stuff, Col.
TRACKS
18 AUG
The ever-beguiling
Mia Wasikowska embarks on
a 1,700-mile walk through
the Australian desert with
a few camels and a dog for
company. True story, oddly.
LOCKE
25 AUG
Tom Hardy, a
hands-free kit and miles of
open road: not the easiest
recipe for edge-of-yourseat cinema, and yet Steven
Knights car flick just works.
THE AMAZING
SPIDER-MAN 2
1 SEP
Oscorp wants Peter Parker

out of the picture cue
endless scenes of Spidey
catching a flying cop car in
one hand, then quipping.
WorldMags.net
music
BLONDE FT CHARLI TAFT

HIGHER GROUND
FORMAT TRACK ETA 10 AUG PRICE 0.99
Directors Christopher
Miller and Phil Lord also
directed Cloudy With
A Chance Of Meatballs.
The Lego Movie

No brick jokes, theres kids watching
he universal barometer of
quality for films aimed at a
junior audience is whether
they can make an adult laugh.
At age seven, youre not
discerning enough to tell the difference
between quality cinema and a featurelength toy ad, but as grown-ups we can
see straight through that BS like a bag
of McDonalds fries.
Empirically speaking then, The Lego
Movie and its impressive voice cast
including Will Arnett, Liam Neeson and
Elizabeth Banks automatically ascends
the likes of Bratz: The Movie et al
by rousing regular chuckles from the
oldies. Most of the gags belong to Chris
Pratt as Emmett, the mindlessly
enthusiastic protagonist pulled from a
life of tedious construction work, $37
coffees and inhabiting a tiny apartment
(all of which he enjoys immensely) to
fulfil his destiny as the Chosen One and
save the world from Lord Business
insidious plans to glue everything in
place. So sayeth Vitruvius, voiced by
none other than Morgan Freeman,
whose knowing smile at taking on
another God role is practically audible.
Its a straightfoward
hero journey, made
all the more enjoyable
by cameos from blocky
incarnations of every
pop culture figure from
Abraham Lincoln to
Batman, by way of
Han Solo and William
Shakespeare. Brilliantly,
its the kind of story
youd make up as you
went along as a nipper
surrounded by the titular
bricks only bound with
a bit more Hollywood
know-how and wit. (My
own Lego plotlines
involved fewer cameos
and more poop jokes.)
So much goodwill is
generated in the first
two acts that it barely
matters when the last
30 minutes descend
ever-so-slightly into
happy-clappy, pseudosentimental toy ad
territory. Phil Iwaniuk
This new track from the Bristol-based DJ stable Eton

Messy has sound of the summer stamped all over it.
A mix of bubbly house and UK garage vibes with sultry
vocals from Charli Taft. soundcloud.com/etonmessy
SHABAZZ
PALACES
LESE MAJESTY
FORMAT ALBUM ETA OUT NOW
PRICE 7.99
Mind-expanded hiphop from one Palaceer

Lazaro, formerly of
jazzy 90s troupe Digable
Planets, now pushing an
Afrofuturistic rap sound
that mixes mystical raps,
blunted funk and plenty
of sci-fi-esque synths.
shabazzpalaces.com
119
THE WYTCHES
ANNABEL DREAM READER
FORMAT ALBUM ETA 25 AUG PRICE 8.99
If you like a bit of The Horrors, but secretly miss the

days when they used to play cranky Rocky Horrorinspired goth-garage blasts, then the debut album
from The Wytches is just for you. thewytches.com
LANA DEL REY

SHADES OF COOL
FORMAT TRACK ETA OUT NOW
PRICE 0.99
Ms Del Reys latest album

Ultraviolence continues the
enticing mix of world-weary
melancholy and Instagramfiltered diva soul laid out on
her previous effort, Born To
Die. Heres one of the LPs
strongest highlights, a faintly
creepy night-time waltz
about an inscrutable lover
that hints at some impending
heartbreak. lanadelrey.com
WorldMags.net
WorldMags.net
how to
doctor
playstation
Our console medic
fixes your tech woes
with actual science
Become a PlayStation pro

Discover the best secrets on Sonys classic consoles
1 2 3
STEp 1
SWAP OUT
DISCS AND
BEAT SPORTS
GAMES
ON PS1
STEp 2
BROWSE THE
WEB & PLAY
MP3S ON
YOUR PS2
STEp 3
UPSCALE
YOUR DVDS
TO HD
QUALITY
ON PS3
the problem
120
Were on the fourth

generation of Sony
consoles, and
you havent yet
harnessed the untold
secrets of the first.
Its now or never,
connoisseurs of
vintage PlayStation
couture time to
learn the secrets
of your old flames.
Doctor PlayStations gone

mad two samples of sage
wisdom within one step? Well,
if theres ever a time to let this
surgically sterilised hair down, its
the big issue 100 bash. Initial PS1
hackery: disc-swapping. Certain
games such as Ridge Racer ran
on the consoles internal memory,
so you could remove the disc
after loading and play your own
UK garage, britpop and Aqua CDs
in-game to your hearts content.
You could also play imported US
games by swapping out a UK
game after it passed security
checks and popping the import in,
by way of some sticky putty (or a
Biro) jammed into the disc tray
recognition button. And no 32-bit
era wizardry guide would be
complete without mention of the
tea-towel trick cover your face
buttons with linen, grab a pen and
rub for button-bashing ownership.
A timeless, finger-saving hack.
I get it PS2 deserves our

respect. After all, the old
fella fought a world war for our
freedom (note to self: pretty sure
of this, but Google it just in case).
But that respect doesnt change
the fact that the dusty old console
is as comfortable in this modern
world of interwebs and streaming
MP3s of folkstep tracks as Mick
Dundee was on the streets of
NYC, or indeed as hopelessly
outdated as that last reference.
Or is it? If youre in possession
of a network access disc for the
console (a long shot, Ill concede),
boot it up and at the IP address
prompt, enter 66.249.92.104 to
reach Google. Et voil: the internet
on your PS2. You can even
navigate to sites that stream
MP3s and start a party in the
most hipster way possible. Sadly
it cant hack Flash player so
YouTubes off the cards, but
its a neat trick all the same.
Thats right, the PS3 is a

classic console now. Where
did the time go? What happened
to all your hopes and dreams?
Distract yourself from the
crushing realities of life by
upscaling your DVDs to (just
about) 1080p quality when you
watch them on last-gens finest
box. Its easy: while the discs
playing, hit w to bring up the
AV settings. Youll see options to
fiddle with the frame, block and
mosquito noise levels, and also an
option to perform a full upscale.
The optimum settings for all these
options (1-3 for the first three,
normal-full for the upscaler) is
a hot topic on AV forums the
world over, but with a bit of
experimentation youll find the
levels that work best for your
telly. Are DVDs retro yet?
Can we start saying we like
their, warmth, and, crackle,
now, like we do with vinyl?
the verdict
next month
You were a PS power user

before, but now your mercurial
skills with Sony consoles are the
stuff of legend. Assuming you
always carry round a US PS1
game, a network access disc,
and a few DVDs of course.
Doc Play straps on

his kneepads and
shows you how to
master Trials
Fusions
trickiest
manoeuvres.
WorldMags.net
Mr trophy
Iain Wilsons PSN ID is
Wilbossman, and his
trophy cabinet is
bigger than yours.
WorldMags.net
Online invasions arent

for everyone, but if you
want that elusive 100%
a little tail cant hurt.
Platinum x 57
Gold x 308
Silver x 1,244
Bronze x 5,093
Platinum Club
Can our trophy champ hack the pace in Watch Dogs?
he road to the Platinum

trophy in Watch Dogs
can be a long slog,
but there are several
things you can do from
the off to make the
task easier. Make sure youre
always scanning with the profiler
and hack everyone you can,
as this unlocks collectibles
and side-missions as
you go along. Check
in to any Hotspots you
see, as there are 100 in
total to rack up for the
Geolocated award and
this will save time later.
Although you can
disable online invasions in the
menu, dont do this until youve
unlocked the Traced trophy for
being tailed five times by fellow
Watch Dog players. These are
rare and you dont receive a
notification when youre being
tailed, but if you do notice an
intruder in your game make sure
you dont profile them until
theyve completed their
scan. If you get stuck
you can always
disable then enable
online invasions to
try and trigger a
tailing event, but
unfortunately youre at
the mercy of Ubisofts servers

for this particular trophy.
Many side-missions are
available early on, so feel free
to tackle as many of these as
you like, and unlocking every ctOS
Tower for Clear Signals will help
with this by revealing markers
on the map. Be aware that some
side-missions and objective
someone call the cops and jump

in a boat. All you need to do now
is either outrun the police scan or
let it detect you before escaping
over the water. Its a wise
idea to back up your save file
before embarking on this
escapade, as shooting all those
people makes you a tad unpopular.
Surprisingly, the hardest trophy
in the game is Social
Lubricant, unlocked by
completing level ten
of all three Drinking
Games. These button
matching or target
aiming mini-games
are frustratingly
tricky especially the Extreme
version found in Pawnee and
unfortunately the only way to
succeed is through plenty of
practice and a fistful of luck.
After wrapping up any
remaining side-missions you
should have enough points to
unlock every Skill for Freeware,
and if youve taken care of
the other requirements then
your game will be 100% Clear.
Congratulations, youve proven
yourself to be a l33t h4x0r!
ELIMINATE PEDESTRIANS
DIALLING 911 OR USE JAM COMS
TO CUT THEM OFF UNTIL YOU
REACH HEAT LEVEL FIVE.
markers wont appear until later
in the story so if you run into a
brick wall, crack on with the main
missions until you receive Log
Off for completing the fifth act.
Losing the cops is tough
at higher levels, but theres a
location that makes earning Free
Radical for escaping a level five
police chase, and Scanproof for
evading a level five police scan,
much easier. Stock up on Jam
Coms gadgets then head to the
pier in east Mad Mile and start
shooting the place up. Eliminate
pedestrians dialling 911 or use
Jam Coms to cut them off until
you reach heat level five, then let
NEXT ISSUE Mr Trophy goes on a

crusade for cups in the alt-history
shindig Wolfenstein: The New Order.
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join the
club
Hey! Whats
the hardest
trophy youve
snagged? Tell
us at opm@
futurenet.com
121
CL
AS
SI
WorldMags.net
N
C
GA
ME
RE
O
TR
T
TA
IO
Power-ups were lethal,

mainly thanks to a finite
health bar that would end
your race after too many
knocks or missile hits.
122
INFO
PUB PSYGNOSIS
DEV PSYGNOSIS
RELEASED 1995, PS1
GET IT NOW PSN,
3.99
NEED TO KNOW
1
2
3
WorldMags.net
The first nonJapanese game

released on PS1.
Sony made an
album to help
promote the game.
It also found a
home on Sega
Saturn in 1996.
WorldMags.net
retrostation
Feisar star
SI
C
GA
ME
AS
of Firestars magma pits, WipEout

redefined the look of sci-fi in games
with a more lived-in, human palette. Eh,
just maybe crunch your eyes up a bit if
youre diving back into the world of AG
Systems in 2014. Damn thats some
properly awful pop-up.
WipEout
he year of our Gaming
Lord is 1995. And here you
are, frothing at the mouth,
dancing yourself into
hyper-limbed oblivion to
Bobby Browns 2 Can Play
That Game in some sweat
pit of a nightclub at 3:34am. Blurryeyed, you look past the hive of raving
turquoise shell suits to see a crummy
CRT telly on the wall, beaming the first
dose of PS1 directly into your eyeballs.
The future of the racer no, the future
of gaming is upon you. Welcome to
WipEout, perspiring 90s clubber. Youve
just been introduced to PlayStation.
Psygnosis futurist speedster wasnt
merely a visionary first-wave title for
Sonys debut console: it was a perfect
storm of a game. Encapsulating the
mood of a generation of young Brits
better than any title before or since,
it brought gaming to the mainstream,
hung a sharp airbrake to the right, then
dove straight into the underground.
For the first time since Space Invaders,
videogames were cool again.
WipEout was an adult game aimed
at an adult market. Where the 16-bit
consoles had been obsessed with
cartoon mascots, Sony was sending
gaming screeching into the late 90s
with a batch of software that wasnt
saturated by kid-friendly design. Yes,
CL
Every month we celebrate the most important,

innovative or just plain great games from
PlayStations past. In this historic issue we put our
best anti-gravity boots on as we saddle up for one
of PS1s most important games ever
the game has power-ups seriously,

how good is sending a shockwave
directly up Qirexs circa 2052 tailpipe?
Yet WipEout is a muscular, punch-youin-the-face kind of racer positioned
lightyears away from karting territory.
Despite garnering mainstream
attention and opening PS1 up
to a market consoles had never
stepped into before, this is a fiercely
uncompromising game. WipEout doesnt
feel pity. Or remorse. And it absolutely
will not stop, ever, until youre dea
uh, until youve vapourised your FEISAR
craft into tiny, sad pieces on Altima
VIIs horribly shallow right-left chicane.
Airbraking is a constant, delicate
balancing act, where a keen sense
of momentum is needed to negotiate
even the most gentle of corners.
The games ferocious brand of
futuristic racing has looks of steel,
but a fleshy, beating heart at its core.
Whether conquering the crisp winter
hills of Karbonis V with Auricoms Arial
Tetsuo or surviving the bubbling beauty
IT WASNT JUST A
VISIONARY PS1 RACER:
IT WAS A PERFECT
STORM OF A GAME.
OUT OF TIME
Time may make a simpering fool of

PS1 textures, but it cant detract from
what was one of the most ingeniously
marketed games in PlayStation
history. Aimed at club goers, WipEouts
packaging was drawn up to mimic
a dance LP, and was designed by
Sheffield-based graphic studio The
Designers Republic, whose work had
already spanned many record covers.
Sony also had PS1s installed in various
trendy, rave-loving watering holes,
while simultaneously developing a range
of *shudder* WipEout clubwear. Dont
worry, we hear spacecraft-branded
orange bomber jackets are about to
make a comeback any second now.
More than anything well, apart
from being a brilliant racer the
game is remembered for the sweet,
sweet music it made. With a then
cutting-edge soundtrack developed by
Lemmings composer Tim Wright (aka
CoLD SToRAGE), WipEouts soundtrack
infused the electronica stylings of
The Chemical Brothers with the Welsh
musicians pulsating tracks. And thats
what WipEout was all about: living on
the cutting-edge. Playing, sounding
and looking like nothing youd ever
experienced before, it broke all manner
of boundaries as PlayStation went on
to conquer the gaming world.
QBook your spacewalk tickets in just 38 years time. QIt looks a little ropey now, but its still a racing gem. QSilverstream was quite the icy looker 19 years ago.
WorldMags.net
123
TI
ME
MA
WorldMags.net
CH
IN
E
Name
that game
Guess the four games,
and their scores, from
these review quotes
OPM TIME MACHINE
5 YEARS AGO
Sellouts! cried the internet as we

awarded Batman: Arkham Asylum a big
9/10 in OPM #35s world-first review.
UGH. JUST UGH.

ITS TOO OFTEN SAID
THAT PARTICULAR
GAMES WILL ONLY
APPEAL TO FANS OF
A CERTAIN SERIES OR
GENRE, BUT IN THIS
CASE THE EXACT
OPPOSITE IS TRUE.
Above The downside to any exclusive review is that

someone will call your integrity into question if you
pop a nine or ten on it and so it proved as the web
reacted furiously to our big Batman score. Attitudes
swiftly changed when people, yknow, played it.
Below left Soldier-turned-author Patrick Hennessey

tested the realism in the new Operation Flashpoint.
Below right In readiness for The Last Guardian (ha!),
we revisited both Ico and Shadow Of The Colossus.
ALTHOUGH IT
FEELS UNLOVED IN
PLACES, THIS IS A
FUN, DEEP BRAWLER,
WHICH THROWS UP
MEATY BATTLES TIME
AFTER TIME.
4
YOU CANT GET
TOO ATTACHED. LIKE A
PRIZE PITBULL ON A
COUNCIL ESTATE,
THESE CRITTERS ARE
FOR FIGHTING, NOT
FOR CUDDLING.
Far left FIFA 10

broke new ground
as the first ever
footy simulation
to feature proper
360 running. Yes,
even for good ol
Emile Heskey.
Left Our detailed
look at racings
brightest hopes
starred names
such as GT5, F1
2010 and Blur.
1. TMNT: Turtles In Time Re-Shelled,

issue #38, 4/10
2. 50 Cent: BOTS, #30, 7/10
3. Street Fighter Alpha 2, #35, 7/10
4. Invizimals, #39, 8/10
ANSWERS
124
CUE A COUPLE
OF GUNSHIP RIDES,
SUICIDE BOMBERS
AND ENOUGH OTHER
TERRORIST-INSPIRED
STEREOTYPES TO FILL
DUBYAS RETIREMENT
CHEESE DREAMS FOR
ALL ETERNITY.
WorldMags.net
WorldMags.net
DONT MAKE ME READ!
WHO?
OPM #001
Tim Clark was the

launch editor of
Official PlayStation
Magazine, steering
the ship safely
through 39 issues,
only landing us on
the cover of the Mail
On Sunday thanks to
a very dead goat.
To celebrate OPM hitting 100,

former editor Tim Clark takes a
trip back to where it all started
INFO
FORMAT: PRINT
PUB: FUTURE
PUBLISHING
RELEASED: 15 NOV
2006
GET IT NOW: ON EBAY
retrostation
O
WHAT?
The debut issue of

this very publication
launched in November
2006 a mere four
months before PS3
actually turned up on
our shores and was
created to eventually
replace the late, great
Official PlayStation
2 Magazine.
h man, so handsome And

the magazine wasnt bad
either. Actually, despite
my pitiful attempt at levity,
this is quite an upsetting
process. I imagine for almost any
editor that revisiting an eight-yearold magazine and looking at your own
face is like some awful reverse Dorian
Gray moment. Just look at my hair. My
beautiful hair. Fortunately, the rest of
the OPM #1 still holds its own.
The beauty of any debut issue is
you get the greatest luxury: time. We
probably had more than three months
to make this, and it shows. Check out
the infographic used to walk readers
through a kill in Assassins Creed. Or
the depth in those interviews with Phil
Harrison and Hideo Kojima. Okay, so
the giant Oblivion wheel of words is
probably one of the most impractical
THE BEAUTY OF
ANY DEBUT ISSUE IS
YOU GET THE BEST
LUXURY: TIME.
QConsider this page to be your very own papery version of the TARDIS, carrying you back to the
PlayStation lands of the past. Minus the sassy assistant. Because were not exactly made of money.
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things Ive ever printed, but the spirit

of relentless creativity is clear and
is still key to the mags DNA now.
My fave thing is the Burnout Paradise
feature. Criterion was the first studio I
ever visited, back when the game they
were making was simply called Shiny
Red Car, and the team were always
ardent PlayStation supporters. Its
interesting that the article touches
on what a parlous position Sony was
in with PS3. Unbeknownst to us at the
time, it would take almost that entire
generation to claw its position back.
Thats whats great about going
back to an old issue such as this.
It provides a perfect snapshot, with all
the optimism and off-the-wall ideas you
only ever get around a console launch.
I even sounded excited about Kazunori
Yamauchis iTunes for downloadable
cars idea, back when microtransactions
werent considered the digital typhoid
they are now. And GT5 would end up
arriving horrifically late. Nothing really
changes. Except my hairline.
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HA
LL
OF
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FA
ME
THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO NEW-GENS GREATEST GAMES
PS4 HALL OF FAME

1
RESOGUN
Capturing everything that made the shoot-em-ups of yesteryear so

utterly compelling and combining it with a sumptuous voxel-based visual
presentation, Resogun should come with a health warning: you will lose
weeks, months and years to its high-score topping addiction. Developer
Housemarque did more than just marry intense gameplay with a supercompetitive leaderboard it created the best PS4 experience to date.
FIFA 14
TOWERFALL ASCENSION
126
EA Canadas first punt at new-gen football

isnt just an outstanding recreation of the
beautiful game we know and love it also boasts a
genuine step forward for the series, demonstrating
an attention to detail that borders on surgical.
You havent lived until youve enjoyed a fourplayer free-for-all in this instant couchplay
classic. The solo campaign is fine by itself, but almost
nothing beats the arrow-grabbing, death-defying
last-second kills of local multiplayers mayhem.
DONT STARVE
Gather up resources and the unravelling

threads of your own sanity in this merciless
survival sim from Klei Entertainment. Dont let the
cute animation fool you Dont Starve will make you
suffer. And youll love every moment of it.
RAYMAN LEGENDS
As if this beautifully animated platformer

wasnt attractive enough, now its on PS4 and
pulling our heartstrings all over again. Bursting with
humour, colour and plenty of gibberish, this is the
definitive version of a platforming heavyweight.
10
NEW!
11
STRIDER
Hot off the heels of DuckTales: Remastered on

PS3, Capcom strikes retro gold once again with
this slice of frantic side-scrolling action. Cling to
any surface and cut any enemy in half through
levels teeming with power-ups and secret paths.
VALIANT HEARTS:
THE GREAT WAR
Poignant in a way that neither belittles nor

mishandles the sensitive nature of its WW1 setting,
Ubisoft Montpelliers side-scrolling puzzler is as likely
to induce smiles as it is to turn on the waterworks.
WOLFENSTEIN:
THE NEW ORDER
Forget castles and slaughtering swastikawearers, this is an entirely different breed of

shooter. Superbly paced, reflective and genuinely
moving, Wolfey is a beautifully mournful FPS.
12
ASSASSINS CREED IV:

BLACK FLAG
Ubisoft Montreals historically flirtatious

murder sim trades the landlocked provinces of
previous entries for an open ocean, a galley full
of sea shanties and plenty of wrist-blade action.
NBA 2K14
13
INFAMOUS: SECOND SON
FLOWER
14
METAL GEAR SOLID V:

GROUND ZEROES
Visual Concepts grabs new-gen by the

basketballs and delivers a gorgeous, richly
detailed and fanatically accurate sports ecosystem.
FIFA and every other sports sim could learn plenty
from its MyCareer mode as well.
All the magic and wonder of

ThatGameCompanys ethereal PSN smash
is preserved and polished as it makes its way to
PlayStation 4. Unless youre anthophobic you now
have no excuse not to frolic amongst its petals.
FINAL FANTASY XIV:

A REALM REBORN
It may be short, but Snakes latest outing is

packed to the gills with stealth, secrets and multiple
pathways. Wisely taking a few cues from the Splinter
Cell series, its a fine teaser for The Phantom Pain.
15
It took three goes to finally make the FF MMO

fans have always wanted, but A Realm Reborn is the
one that finally nails it. Vast, complex and a marked
step up in visuals, this is PS4s premier online world.
Sucker Punch brings the open-world antics of

the inFamous series to the home of grunge in
search of superhuman nirvana. Filled with enough
special powers to shake a beanie at, Second Son is a
welcome addition to the PlayStation-exclusive family.
TRANSISTOR
Supergiant Games takes all the momentum

from debut knockout Bastion on PC and uses
it to deliver a wonderland of sights and sounds
wearing an action-RPGs clothing. Or, to put it
another way: pretty songs and a talking sword.
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16
17
18
19
20
OUTLAST
Otherwise known as the first-person horror

your bowels love to hate. With nothing more
than a video camera and a steady drip of adrenaline,
will you choose to run and hide in the deadly asylum
or attempt to shriek your assailants to death?
CALL OF DUTY: GHOSTS
Infinity Ward returns to the franchise it defined

all those years ago and pulls off one of the most
rewarding shooters on PlayStation. A Zombiesesque alien Extinction mode complements a robust
set of solo and multiplayer offerings.
Personal picks
The games that we and you
hold in the highest regard
Te a m O P M
VIB-RIBBON
Matthew Pellett gets tuneful with a

PlayStation classic
Without plenty of DualShock 4 pads, PS Move

controllers and more importantly actual
friends, this ones a non-starter. If you can gather
the required bodies and hardware, be prepared for
the silliest, most physical party game collection ever.
How was this nowhere near your Top 100,

readers? And Sony, we need to talk, you and
I you cant have two shoutouts to Nana-On
Shas timeless bunny-hopping rhythm-platformer
(seriously, hundreds of new levels are released
every week with each new CD that comes out) at
E3 and not deliver a new version for PS4. Laugh
And Peaces six-song OSTs still rocking my iPod.
KILLZONE SHADOW FALL
Guerrillas future war touches down on

PlayStation 4 and brings with it an atmospheric
single-player campaign and a fully customisable
multiplayer thats bursting with replayability.
War has never looked so good.
R e a d e r
THE LAST OF US
Diego Chacns having a giraffe with

Naughty Dogs beautiful disasterpiece
TRIALS FUSION
The Last Of Us pushes the limits of creativity and

gameplay with one of the most thrilling stories in
videogames; and the most personal relationship
one can achieve with virtual characters such as
Joel or Ellie. The mechanics of the game, the look
and feel of it, the story at its heart: it all adds
up to a perfect combination. Without a second
thought the best game of its generation.
Mirrors Edge meets Mass Effect, is locked

onto a 2D plane and invites bikers to come-andhave-a-go. Trials punishing leaderboard-centric
assault courses take weeks to master, and its level
creation suite is second only to LittleBigPlanets.
THE SWAPPER
22
LEGO THE HOBBIT
23
MENAGE-A-JEUX
SPORTSFRIENDS
21
retrostation
In a remote corner of space in which sentient

rocks constantly undermine your sanity, simply
make clones of yourself to overcome physically
impossible puzzles. Deeply unsettling, it blazes its
own trail with a perfectly poised level of challenge.
THE MECHANICS, LOOKS AND

STORY OF THE LAST OF US IS
A PERFECT COMBINATION.
Developer
Covering all three of Peter Jacksons fantasy

film prequels, this brick-building return to
Tolkiens Middle-earth adds a brand new crafting
system to an already charming and collectable-filled
platforming experience.
NEW!
GUACAMELEE! SUPER TURBO

CHAMPIONSHIP EDITION!!!
24
MLB 14: THE SHOW
25
STRIKE SUIT ZERO:

DIRECTORS CUT
With bigger levels, new puzzles, improved

moves and a game-changing El Inferno mode, the
PS3 and PS Vita superstar suplexes its way into the
squared-circle of new-gen with muchos aplomb.
THE WALKING DEAD
Murdered: Soul Suspect exec producer

Naoto Sugiyama sheds a tear for Lee & co
The Walking Dead was shocking so shockingly,
stunningly good. Its a zombie setting, weve seen
that on the TV and its not totally new, but what
[Telltale] has done with the presentation, the
dialogue and how it implements those things in a
way that attaches you to the major characters is
just a work of pure genius. And its the first game
that made me cry my eyes out.
The mighty MLBs new-gen debut subscribes to

the if it aint broke, dont fix it mentality, which
means it cant be faulted for inevitably stunning
presentation and depth but doesnt use PS4 as
a springboard into innovative territory.
A Directors Cut treatment gives this previously

PC-only space dogfighting sim a good polishing, and
serves up a high-octane space shooter thatll have
you on the edge of your new-gen cockpit seat.
QTelltales heart-wrenching story of Lee, Clem and their fellow
survivors still resonates strongly with Square Enixs Sugiyama.
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127
HA
LL
OF
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FA
ME
THE ESSENTIAL COLLECTION OF LAST-GEN CLASSICS
PS3 HALL OF FAME

1
GRAND THEFT AUTO V
No game could live up to the pre-release hype that surrounded

Rockstars latest open-world effort, and yet somehow expectations
were surpassed by the phenomenal final product. The largest entry in
the series is also one of the most ambitious games ever, but its fusion
of thrilling missions, entertaining characters and scathing satire looks
effortless. There can be no better way to bring a generation to a close.
UNCHARTED 2:
AMONG THIEVES
CALL OF DUTY 4:
MODERN WARFARE
Simply the finest COD ever made. From that

nuke to Captain Prices mesmerising ghillie suit
stealth mission, few games can match Modern
Warfares thrilling scripted spectacle.
The game that sparked a million mancrushes,

with a perfectly pitched script, crunchy combat
and set-pieces like no other. In three words:
unprecedented. Unequalled. Uncharted.
RED DEAD REDEMPTION
10
BATMAN: ARKHAM CITY
THE LAST OF US
11
BRAID
JOURNEY
12
THE WALKING DEAD:

SEASON ONE
128
A near-perfect open-world fusion of engaging

storytelling, truly compelling characters and
a living environment ripe for experimentation.
No sandbox since has got us quite so invested,
and the bold ending still resonates to this day.
PS3s premier developer proves a misbehaving

pooch can learn new tricks in this extraordinary
apocalyptic adventure. Blending intense horror,
ferocious shooting and a wonderful script, this
is one of the most emotive games in history.
This charming two-hour voyage crafts an

incredible, immersive narrative and a genuine
emotional connection using little more than nearsilent figures, marvellous sand physics and floating
pieces of cloth. A remarkable and unique experience.
The most compelling bit of Bats action money

can buy that doesnt involve Heath Ledgers
Joker. Thanks to an acutely detailed open-world
chunk of Gotham, Rocksteadys classic is simply
the best superhero game ever made.
If you want to make the argument that games

are art, then Jonathan Blows Braid is the
place to start. An achingly beautiful hand-drawn
style combines with brilliant but brutal time-bending
puzzles to create something truly special.
With the first season of this episodic zombie

franchise now drawn to a close, it stands among
the best downloadable games ever with emotional
ties and tangible consequences for your actions.
BIOSHOCK INFINITE
13
HEAVY RAIN
MASS EFFECT 2
14
DARK SOULS
METAL GEAR SOLID 4:

GUNS OF THE PATRIOTS
15
ASSASSINS CREED II
Perhaps the best narrative team of the entire

generation brings one of its finest series to
a staggering climax. The original game would be
well deserving of a place, but the mind-boggling
revelations here run a whole lot deeper.
While Biowares trilogy-ender sends Shepard

out in fine style, its the middle slice of the
delicious sci-fi sandwich that remains its best.
A brilliantly scripted action-RPG, the closing
suicide mission provides an incredible finale.
The most gleefully playful and imaginative

stealth game ever. Whether youre watching a
monkey slurp soda or revisiting the site of the PS1
original, no game honours its past so poignantly.
From controversial purveyor of interactive

cinema, David Cage, comes this psychological
thriller that plays like no other game on the system.
So many games promise real consequences to your
actions, but none deliver like this masterpiece.
Akin to nothing else youve ever played.

It may be as impenetrable as an Amish girls
undercrackers, but persevere and theres a
brutal and beautiful challenge within that you
will never, ever forget.
Undoubtedly the finest entry in one of PS3s

foremost franchises, this is the realisation of
all the promises made in the original. An engaging
lead character, open-ended hits and diverting sidemissions are what this series should be about.
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YOUR EVERY NEED FOR ON-THE-GO GOODNESS
PS VITA HALL OF FAME

1
PERSONA 4: GOLDEN
If ever a game could make you forget the existence of

anything outside the Vitas screen, its this thoughtful
and unique JRPG epic. Essentially it gives you another
stab at high school this time with intrigue, mystery
and superpowers instead of acne, nerves and an
unpredictable vocal register.
FEZ
Gomez charms you instantly with

his perspective-shifting puzzles and
pin-sharp pixel-art, then blows your mind
with a world of secret languages, hidden
areas and beguiling background tunes.
Two examples of JRPG royalty,

lovingly restored to their former glory for
your portable pleasure. Their new touch
controls are gasp! a welcome addition.
10
VIRTUES LAST
REWARD
GRAVITY RUSH
Use a gravity-defying cat to break

the laws of physics and zoom across
the skies of a floating steampunk city.
With stylish comic-book looks and a sassy
heroine, this is a rush to remember.
METAL GEAR SOLID

HD COLLECTION
Two of PlayStations finest

adventures scale down beautifully, with
enough cutscenes to fill a transatlantic
flight. Even less excuse not to play, then.
This visual novel/puzzler just gets

better over its 40 hours. The dialogues
engaging, and however tough it gets,
youre never left rage-scouring for clues.
FINAL FANTASY X/X-2

HD REMASTER
11
UNCHARTED:
GOLDEN ABYSS
Drake proves hes just as adept at

adventuring on the go. A prequel story
thats classic jungle action, and crammed
full of typical Uncharted charm.
LITTLEBIGPLANET
12
TEARAWAY
LUMINES: ELECTRONIC
SYMPHONY
13
RAYMAN ORIGINS
TXK
14
FIFA FOOTBALL
LUFTRAUSERS
15
BLAZBLUE: CONTINUUM
SHIFT EXTEND
Sackboys back, smaller but just

as loveable as ever. His platforming
antics work perfectly on Vita, and the
new control inputs complement the
level creator brilliantly. Also: dawwww.
Part block puzzler, part mobile disco,

this is as certain to have you nodding
along to ace choonage as it is to keep you
returning for more reflex-testing action.
Arcade legend Jeff Minter updates

a 20-year-old Atari Jaguar blaster
and creates one of the platforms best
games in the process. TXK is an essential
onslaught on the senses.
Ridiculous flying of the highest

order from Dutch indie studio
Vlambeer. High scores come not just from
skill, but cunning combinations of plane
parts, making for double the satisfaction.
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More crafty platforming from Media

Molecule, this time using the Vitas
controls to surprise and delight you in
new ways for hours on end all within its
pretty-as-a-picture papercraft world.
He of no limbs finds the perfect

home on Vitas handheld screen.
Beautiful visuals and flawless platforming
make Rayman a handheld delight of quirky
cartoon ridiculousness.
The sequels a shameful rip-off

that only updates kits and rosters,
so unless you find them both for the
same price, this entry is still the best
way to get a footy-on-the-move fix.
Theres almost too much content

here the wealth of game modes is
a total nerdgasm for fans, and the
characters are insanely diverse.
129
PARTING SHWorldMags.net
T
Celebrating PlayStations finest moments
No.16
Start up the party
The legendary logo screen that started a dynasty

Last
Month
Hitman:
Blood Money
Enjoy a night
of the arts and
assassination
as 47 storms
the Paris
Opera.
FORMAT PS1 / PUB SONY / DEV SONY / RELEASED 1995 / SCORE N/A
here are many eararousing pleasures in

life. A soothing splash of
lashing rain. The squelch
of fresh Minotaur entrails coating
ancient Greek marble, courtesy
of a perturbed spartan. Your PS4
stirring to life via a certain, ohso-satisfying beep. And standing
atop them all? That glorious seven
second ditty which first introduced
us all to PlayStation.
Never has a corporate logo eked
out such emotion (although Mega
Drives classic booting SEGA runs
it close, well admit). PS1s intro
screen may say Licensed by Sony
Computer Entertainment Europe,

but what your eyes and ears were
actually translating that into was:
Games. Games. Let me play all
the GAMES. Whether banking
a perfect anti-gravity corner
with Feisar or the unmistakable
question mark alert of the guards
on Shadow Moses, that steely,
echoing startup provided the
gateway to dozens of memories.
Before PS1, most consoles
merely switched on and unfussily
herded you into your games title
menu. That all changed with Sonys
ridged box of wonder. Thanks to an
uncannily iconic whooshy noise and
ageless logo, merely turning your

console on felt like a proper event
in itself - one that still gives us
goosebumps all these years on.
The startup melodies would, of
course, evolve. PS2 welcomed you
in with a cascading trance, hitting
the lobes with a noise that sparked
images of a swirling downpour. An
awakening PS3 felt like conjuring
your own tiny orchestra, one that
just happened to be hiding in your
console. But nothing can ever
compete with your first love, and
as an opening salvo that ushered
in an iconic era, PS1s intro screen
will forever rule our ear canals. Q
WorldMags.net
Next
Month
inFamous 2
Popping a
rooftop cold
one with Cole
and Zeke for
some chilled
New Marais
bromance.
WorldMags.net
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9001
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ISSUE 100 SEPTEMBER 2014 5.

THE PLAYSTATION EVENT OF 2014

Future Publishing Ltd, 30 Monmouth Street,

or 100 issues, OPM has been the

MANAGING ART EDITOR

006 THE MAKING OF E3

030 METAL GEAR SOLID V:

062 PLAYSTATIONS 100

098 THE LAST OF US

Latest info, screens

Max out your PS4,

THE Games index

HELLO GAMES TAKES

Though Sean Murray and

Ex-Last Guardian devs new game.

The nine-year-old handheld bows out.

Film directors fawn over Hideo.

Skys the limit:

Behind-the-scenes on the PS4 expostealer and Hello Games star demo

myself. Clearly still drained, but

SIEGE THE DAY

It wasnt just Hello Games who

things to Dave such as look at that

Such is the planning that goes into

STORIES EVERYONES TALKING ABOUT

spend on the demo or on a feature

LBP3 HAD ONE HELL OF

For a game thats been

Q Sony XDev Europe blame their

LBP3 platforming problems on pad lag.

Q Oh wonderful, super murdery

elephants. Youll be ours soon enough.

Sadly, the final Far Cry

Wheres Jak & Daxter?

painters converged outside E3

THE BOATBOARDERS WERE

Rowe, a Dragonknight from The

Battleborns action is partially

STORIES EVERYONES TALKING ABOUT

competition included Ari Smith (head

ambitious video game that Gearbox

Well bring you much more info on

ADVENTURE THAT COMBINES

Friend & Foe was founded by a

STORIES EVERYONES TALKING ABOUT

Friend & Foe describes the,

The Last Guardian

about patience, he jokes. One of the

The new grapple hook

Tuk-tuks have us excited,

Two-player co-op can

turns our big eared friend into an

Upgrades are no longer

The legacy-launching day way back in

Percentage of games starting with

Good night and

Sonys handheld discontinued after a decade of portable pleasure

isnt a time to wallow. Its a time to

Ill never forget

For those whove been with the

That smiley chap is Paul

PSPs final incarnation was

STORIES EVERYONES TALKING ABOUT