Official_Xbox_Magazine_USA_Issue_202_July_2017

Issue 202 july 2017
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2
every awesome detail about bungie’s next step
> new worlds > new combat abilities > new weapons
star wars
battleFront ii
first look at
the all-new
campaign!
redout | bulletstorm | blackwood crossing | serial cleaner | s e x y b r u ta l e
essential new inFo!
project
scorpio
exclusive details!
tHe
escapists 2
epic preview!
marvel vs
capcom
big interview!
tHe Future
For indies

XBOX ONE & WINDOWS 10 EXCLUSIVE
© 2016 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

REAL-TIME STRATEGY
MAKES AN EXPLOSIVE RETURN
TO THE HALO UNIVERSE

InTrO
004
Dead-eye
Jedi
Stephen Ashby
Editor
Steve took over as
head of the Jedi
council/Editor this
month. Unfortunately,
his haphazard use
of a lightsaber in the
office meant he was
immediately called in
for a meeting with HR.
The OXM TeaM
Lasers? Check. Swinging lightsabers with wild
abandon? Check. An actual, honest-to-God,
single-player campaign? Check. This month,
we’ve traveled to a galaxy far, far away to
uncover every possible detail on Star Wars:
Battlefront II. From new planets to famous faces,
we’ve managed to smuggle out all the plans,
put them in an old R2 unit, chucked them into
an escape pod, and jettisoned them in your
direction—starting on p38. If you prefer a galaxy
a little closer to home, though (the one we’re in
right now, for example), we haven’t forgotten
you either. Grab your Ghost and dive into the
latest Destiny 2 news, which you’ll find on p10. If
space shooting doesn’t tickle your fancy, why not
sample our E3 predictions on p52 (based entirely
on fanciful guesswork), or our Yooka-Laylee
review on p60? It would almost be rude not to…
ISSUE 202 jUly 2017
EdItorIal
Editor Stephen Ashby Seryph01
Senior art Editor Warren Brown wozbrown
deputy Editor Daniella Lucas CelShadedDreams
Production Editor Kimberley Ballard Babetemples
Staff Writer James Nouch JayNow
ContrIbUtorS
Writing Keith Andrew, Zoe Delahunty-Light, Robert Douglas, Matt Elliott, Steve
Hogarty, Ben Maxwell, Dave Meikleham, Paul Taylor, Paul Walker-Emig
art Nicky Gotobad, Cliff Newman, Laurie Newman
Production Charles Ginger, Jonathan Gordon, Drew Sleep
bUSInESS
Vice President, Sales
Stacy Gaines, stacy.gaines@futurenet.com
Vice President, Strategic Partnerships
Isaac Ugay, isaac.ugay@futurenet.com
East Coast account director
Brandie Rushing, brandie.rushing@futurenet.com
East Coast account director
Michael Plump, michael.plump@futurenet.com
Midwest account director
Jessica Reinert, jessica.reinert@futurenet.com
West Coast account director
Austin Park, austin.park@futurenet.com
West Coast account director
Brandon Wong, brandon.wong@futurenet.com
West Coast account Manager
Tad Perez, tad.perez@futurenet.com
director of Marketing Robbie Montinola
director, Client Services Tracy Lam
director, retail Sales Bill Shewey
ProdUCtIon
Production Manager Mark Constance
Production Controller Nola Cokely
Project Manager Clare Scott
Production assistant Emily Wood
SUbSCrIPtIon QUErIES
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Daniella Lucas
Deputy editor
Jedi master Dani
ordered a Chinese
takeaway this month,
but really struggled to
pick up rice using the
chopsticks. Use the
forks, Lucas!
Kimberley Ballard
Production editor
This month, Kimberley
was shocked to learn
that George Michael
didn’t feature in Steve’s
music collection. She
found his lack of Faith
quite disturbing.
James Nouch
Staff writer
James mostly spent
this month telling us
that he was going to
be a successful doctor
and leave us all behind.
Patients you must
have, young Padawan.
Warren Brown
Senior art editor
“I’ve got a very bad
feeling about this,”
said Warren, during
Steve’s lightsaber
show. Seconds later he
needed a Skywalkerlike
robot arm.
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thE offiCial xBox magaziNE

©CAPCOM CO., LTD. 2016 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

start
contents
Everything you can look forward to over the next 90 or so pages
news
010 The Big News
sTory: desTiNy 2
016 Need To KNow:
CreaTors UpdaTe
018 projeCT sCorpio
020 The Big piCTUre:
iNNerspaCe
022 oXM opiNioNs
006
previews
026 ooBleTs
028 esCapisTs 2
030 FUll MeTal FUries
033 valKyria
revolUTioN
034 agoNy
035 Marvel vs
CapCoM: iNFiNiTe
036 serial CleaNer
037 redoUT
010
035
subscribe
now on
page 076
the official xbox magazine

features
038 sTar wars:
BaTTleFroNT ii
046 The Big iNTerview:
Chris Charla
052 oXM iNvesTigaTes:
e3 prediCTioNs
reviews
060 yooKa-laylee
064 BUlleTsTorM
066 sNaKe pass
067 lego CiTy
UNderCover
068 ThiMBleweed
parK
070 The seXy BrUTale
072 BlaCKwood
CrossiNg
074 This is The poliCe
extra
038
086
007
080 darK soUls iii dlC
082 MaFia iii
083 halo 5: gUardiaNs
084 how To: sTreaM
yoUr gaMes wiTh
BeaM
086 reTrospeCTive:
CaTheriNe
090 why i love:
virgiNia’s
sileNT sTory
092 The 15 greaTesT
dogs iN XBoX
hisTory
096 direCTories
098 disC sloT:
gaviN priCe
046
092
060
havE soMEthing to say? why not writE to tEaM oxM at oxM@futurEnEt.coM
More great features at gamesradar.com/oxm
the official xbox magazine

InsIder july 2017
insider
008
Here at OXM Towers, we love a nice, juicy bit of
news. Each month, we charge into the games
industry undergrowth, noses twitching like some
mad Xbox-obsessed truffle-hogs, always on the
hunt for a toothsome titbit of ludological info.
But sometimes, the news comes to you. Take
the upcoming Destiny 2 (p10), for instance, an
announcement so big you could watch Cayde-6
rabble-rousing from the International Space Station.
Probably. But that isn’t the only piece of bona fide
Mega News in this month’s intrepid Insider section,
because we’ve also brought you the low-down on
Microsoft’s brand-new console, Project Scorpio
(p20). Now that we know all the info, the team can
confidently call Scorpio the most powerful console
ever made—head inside for a thorough breakdown
of its sumptuous specs. And then there’s the new
Creators Update (p16), which may be less headlinegrabbing
than its Insider stablemates, but is still a
huge Xbox One update. Now, if you’ll excuse us,
we’ve just caught the scent of another truffle. Oink.
010
016
020
022
the official xbox magazine More great features at gamesradar.com/oxm

the official xbox magazine
009

DesTiny 2
insiDeR
Guardian
anGels
Rebook your
Traveller plans
After all of the hype and rumors, Bungie has
finally announced the sequel Destiny 2. Here’s
everything we know about it so far
Toys
‘R’ Us
The game is already
available for
pre-order for those
who want to get in
extra early, and those
who do can get
themselves a little
extra treat in the
shape of a miniature
Cayde 6 figure with
an oversized head. If
you’re in the UK you’ll
be able to secure one
from Game with the
standard, limited,
and collectors
versions of the game.
US readers will be
able to do the same
but can get it from
GameStop instead.
After the success of the last twoand
a-half-years we always knew
this day would come. Some might call
it fate, we call it destiny… 2. Ahem
Yep, Bungie’s follow-up to the Halo
series is finally getting a sequel, and
just from its brief announcement
it’s already looking more impressive
than the original. It’s also going to
mark a fresh start for the series,
so it’s going to be the perfect place
for all would-be Guardians to join the
fray for the first time alongside more
experienced folk.
Currently Destiny players are
enjoying the game’s last event—The
Age Of Triumph, which gives you
access to a record book full of tasks
that will keep you busy all the way up
to September. Like a victory tour, it
takes you through revisiting all of the
game’s best bits from the last two
years. It’s all rather cheery, so how we
get from there to all of the death and
destruction that’s currently on show
in Destiny 2 will be quite the shock to
the (solar) system.
For starters the low-hanging moonthing
that is The Traveller is in a bad
way. After ushering in Earth’s golden
age of technology, where humanity
spread throughout the solar system
and kept the Last City safe for the
last few hundred years, The Traveller
seemed invincible. So invincible that
seeing its innards ravaged by flames
like the after effects of a bad chilli
comes as huge a surprise.
It’s not just our giant round friend
either—the Last City has also fallen.
The Tower where you spent all of your
free time in Destiny 1 dancing and
being dismayed by Xur’s offerings has
been obliterated. The storage vaults
where you kept all of your loot? All
gone. Yep, even the secret balls used
for spontaneous kickabouts are gone,
and it’s all thanks to those blasted
Cabal. Thanks a lot, guys.
Hive mind
Despite how much you’ve been killing
them off in Destiny 1 the bad guys
have managed to amass enough
forces for a full-on assault on The
Traveller and The Last City, forcing out
you and your Guardian buddies into
the surrounding wastes. The ones
behind it all? The Red Legion led by
Ghaul, or Gary as Cayde-6 likes to call
him. They’re a completely new faction
that are said to be even more powerful
than anything we’ve encountered and
come equipped with some seriously
powerful gear and some nasty new
enemy types.
From more mobile shields that can
be deployed at will by enemies that
we’ll have to get around, to brutes
wielding energy cleavers, and vicious
alien dog things that will pounce at
your face, there will be a lot of new
bad guys to shoot at. Ghaul himself is
said to be a master strategist, which
explains how he was able to formulate
a successful plan to attack The
011
More Xbox news at gamesradar.com/oxm
The offICIal xbox maGazIne

insiDeR DesTiny 2
012
above Commander
Zavala is a lot
more successful
at rallying his
troops than his
eXo counterpart.
Traveler, but he’s also impressively
well armored and looks like he could
pack a serious punch in a potential
boss fight.
Leading the charge against all
this nastiness are the Vanguards. If
you’ve played the first Destiny you’ll
have met them before—they’re the
leaders of each of the three classes
you can play as. Commander Zavala,
who originally led the Titans, seems
to be the main point of contact,
delivering an inspiring speech to
rally an army of Guardians to fight
back. Meanwhile Cayde-6 of the
Hunter class is far more interested
in grabbing loot and finding a chance
to show off his skills.
Other famous Destiny friends
will also be making a return: Ikora
Key has joined the fray as leader of
the Warlock class, Lord Shaxx who
was running the Crucible has been
spotted taking up arms, as have
the tendril-faced merchant Xur and
someone wearing the queen’s sigil,
“We’ll have the
chance to travel
further than ever
before with new
planets to see”
which suggests that the Awoken of
The Reef might be stepping in as well.
Perhaps Mara Sov herself will make a
return to guide you through the outer
reaches of space.
Exotic moves
Destiny 2 is also looking to address
a lot of the criticisms it faced in the
original over its lack of a solid story.
While Bungie’s gunplay is exceptional
it didn’t give any particularly
compelling reasons to be doing all
that shooting in the first place, but
the sequel is rectifying that by giving
it more of a character-led focus.
We’ve seen more of what Zavala and
Cayde-6 are like in a single trailer
than we had in all of Destiny and its
expansions. Instead of being hidden in
tiny extracts hidden around the world,
the workings of the solar system and
the Darkness’ role in it will be front
and centre.
Of course there will also be whole
load of new weapons and abilities
to enjoy for each of the three preexisting
classes of Titan, Warlock
and Hunter. New exotics are a given,
though Cayde-6 has been spotted
wielding his classic Ace of Spades
hand canon so no doubt a few
classics will return, perhaps with
slightly different parameters or skins
to give them a unique twist.
Added to that is the possibility of
new subclasses that were shown in
some leaked scrapped concept art
from Ant Farm—an agency that has
partnered with Activision and Destiny
in the past. It’s nothing solid just
OXM
says
James
Nouch
I couldn’t give a punnet
of figs for the convoluted
story or the oodles of
loot—I just want more of
Bungie’s peerless gunplay.
The developer has always
excelled at creating roaring
shotguns and crackling
ARs. Let me cradle them.
Daniella
Lucas
Is it weird that I’m already
looking forward to the
seasonal hats and masks?
Bungie knows how to make
fun, regular events that
breathe a bit of lightness
into its world. Saving
humanity can wait, I want
some more masks.
Warren
Brown
Just when I thought I was
free, a glimpse of a sequel
and I’m straight back in!
Waving farewell to old loot is
liberating as virtual hoarding
saw vaults brimming full
of rusty spinmetal, tatty
Halloween masks, and
moldy candy. I say ta ta!
The offICIal xbox maGazIne

TranSfer SeaSon
Find out what does and doesn’t carry over from the original destiny,
from your beloved character to the weapons they carried
If you’re the kind of person who gets
really attached to a character you’ve
created then you’re in luck as you’ll
be able to carry your avatar over to
the sequel. There is a caveat
though—you can only carry it over if
your character reached level 20 and
completed the ‘Black Garden’
mission. But while your appearance
and race will carry over, your stats
won’t—everyone will be starting
over from scratch. Consider it a fresh
start for your hero.
All your hard-earned loot will also
stay behind, presumably because it
all got torched during the collapse of
the Tower. All of those lovely rare
weapons you worked so hard to
afford from Xur, gone forever…
unless you want to stick to playing
Destiny 1 of course. Even the limited
seasonal Halloween masks won’t
make it over.
It’s not all bad news though,
Destiny 1 players will still have their
accomplishments recognized with
‘veteran honors’. No word yet on
what that will entail, but a way to
distinguish yourself from complete
newbies in some form seems likely.
yet so keep a pinch of salt handy,
but Hunters were spotted with a
spear-like weapon, while defensive
Titans sported a Captain Americastyle
shield and the Warlock wielded
a sword with wings sprouted from
its back. Looks like we’ll have more
chances for melee beatdowns among
all of that cabal shooting we’ll be
doing between missions.
We’ll also be travelling further afield
than ever before, with access to new
areas and planets to explore. One of
Jupiter’s moons, Europa, Mercury, and
Saturn have already been hinted at as
explorable places in Grimoires found in
game, so it’s a safe bet that Destiny 2
will actually give up the chance to go
there as well as to explore other areas
on Earth itself.
Don’t think you can hold all of your
excitement in until September? Well
you’re in luck, as there will also be a
multiplayer beta test this summer,
most likely just after E3. You can
get some hands-on experience and
practise in before taking on the Red
Legion themselves later this year. n
Destiny 2 will launch on 8 September
with a beta test this summer. We’ll
have more info in issue 153!
RighT This guy
is an all new
enemy. not sure
he’ll want to
play fetch.
boTToM RighT
Destiny 2 will
have more of a
character focus
so we’ll learn
more about the
vanguards.
013
More Xbox news at gamesradar.com/oxm
The offICIal xbox maGazIne

Xbox Design Lab |
The 24h
Legend
Designed by
Dan Greenawalt
Creative Director of the Forza franchise
Buy this design or create your
own at xbox.com/xboxdesignlab

inSider
need To know
Creating
a SCene
Need to know
The Creators Update is here at last! Here are five new
features to celebrate (and one sad departure to mourn)
016
1
tHE HomE scrEEn
WAs rEdEsignEd
For sPEEd
Don’t get us wrong, we loved
the old home screen, especially that
big old window that gave us a live
glimpse of whatever game we were
playing last. That pretty picture came
at a price, however, as the Xbox One
was actually running said game in
emulation, a process that voraciously
gobbled up system resources. Gross.
By throwing away these dainty details,
Microsoft has managed to speed up
the home screen, as well as making it
easier than ever to dive into a Game
Hub, peruse an Achievements list, or
share your captures.
2
Your guidE is noW
smArtEr tHAn EvEr
Sing songs and rejoice,
readers, for the days of
clumsily double-tapping at the Xbox
button are gone. Now, you need to just
simply press the button once to bring
up a new and improved guide, which
will intelligently present you with a
variety of recently used games and
apps, as well as speedy access to your
pinned applications. Summoning the
Guide also makes it a doddle to
capture screenshots and video—
simply tap Y for a screen, or press the
View button to record the last few
minutes of your gameplay.
3
strEAming WitH
BEAm is A drEAm
Twitch may be the dominant
name in the wild world of
videogame streaming, but Microsoft
reckons its own offering could give
the incumbent a run for its money.
Beam is apparently faster and easier
to use than its rivals, and thanks to
the Creators Update, it’s now baked
right into the Xbox One experience,
benefitting from its very own tab
within the redesigned Guide. For a full
tutorial on how to stream your games
over the Beam service, as well as an
introduction to its video and audio
options, mosey on over to p84.
4
AcHiEvEmEnt
Hunting is A lot
morE mAnAgEABlE
The glorious sound of
unlocking an Achievement is one of
the few sources of joy in our wretched
lives, so we’re wailing with delight
at the new Achievement Tracker for
Xbox One. This natty new tool has its
own tab in the upgraded guide, and
lets you see at a glance which feats
you need to beat for whichever game
is whirring in your disc drive. You can
even pin achievements so that they
Above Sad about
Snap? Then you
must’ve been
one of the 23
people who used
the feature on a
regular basis.
show up on screen while you play,
enabling you to keep track of your
progress without pausing the action.
5
microsoFt’s AddEd
nEW AccEssiBilitY
oPtions, too
One oft-overlooked feature of
Microsoft’s latest update is the raft of
accessibility features it introduces to
ensure the Xbox One can be enjoyed
by as many people as humanly
possible. The introduction of Autopilot
lets your Xbox One accept inputs
from two controllers as if they were
one—perfect for gamers who want a
little help, or for players who need to
customize their configuration to play
comfortably. Pre-existing features
such as the Magnifier and the Narrator
have also been spruced up, making
Microsoft’s machine one of the most
accessible gaming gizmos.
6snAP is oFFiciAllY
dEAd And BuriEd
Remember when Microsoft
announced the Xbox One in
2013? Back then, the company
envisioned its new console as an allin-one
entertainment hub—a device
equally well-suited to Downton Abbey
and Dishonored 2. Snap was designed
to facilitate exactly this kind of multitasking,
enabling Xbox One owners to
run a miniature version of certain apps
while playing games or videos in the
main window. The feature was a bit of
a memory hog, however, and now that
Microsoft’s all-in on gaming once
again, it doesn’t make quite as much
sense as it once did. RIP, Snap. n
Update your Xbox One to gain access
to all these new features today
For All THe lATeST xbox newS, viSiT www.GAMeSrAdAr.CoM/oxM
The Official XbOX magazine

inSiDEr
PrOjEct ScOrPiO
A sting
in its
tAil
Project Scorpio
revealed!
Microsoft unveils the formidable innards
of the most powerful console ever made
018
Microsoft has
finally unveiled
the specification
for Project
Scorpio—its
forthcoming
upgrade to the
Xbox One—ending months of
speculation and firmly cementing the
machine’s status as the most
powerful console ever assembled.
We now know that Project Scorpio’s
central processor is blisteringly fast,
performing calculations 30 per cent
faster than the original Xbox One. The
graphics processor, meanwhile, is a
behemoth, promising 4.6 times more
power than your current console.
That means that Scorpio is powerful
enough to comfortably outperform the
PlayStation 4, and even the upgraded
PS4 Pro in basically every measurable
department. Put simply, multiplatform
games should look better on Scorpio,
while Microsoft’s own developers will
be able to craft exclusives of peerless
visual quality. What’s more, the specs
back up what Microsoft’s been saying
for some time now: Scorpio is a
machine built for native 4K gaming.
So, while the PS4 Pro often has to
resort to a clever bit of software to
make lower resolutions resemble 4k
content, Microsoft’s machine boasts
the raw power to get the job done
without resorting to upscaling
algorithms or checkerboarding,
pushing four times as many pixels as
a regular high-definition image. In a
secretive demo, Microsoft even
showed the Forza engine running at
4K resolution and 60 frames per
“The graphics
processor is a
behemoth, with
4.6 times more
power than your
current console”
second, a feat that required only 66
per cent of its GPU power.
Project Scorpio is great news for
those of us using regular HD screens,
too. The console will use its extra
power on a process called
supersampling, using all of those
extra pixels to carefully smooth out
your 1080p image. The result should
mean amazing picture quality and
significantly smoother visuals.
Settle the score
And if the promise of unparalleled
image quality isn’t tempting enough,
Microsoft is promising compatibility
with the existing library of Xbox One
games. Naturally, many developers will
Price
vs
power
You can’t expect to
get your hands on
the world’s most
powerful games
console without
parting with a few
quid, but Microsoft
has repeatedly said
that it doesn’t expect
the machine’s cost to
be astronomical. We
currently expect
Scorpio to launch in
late 2017, and we
reckon it could carry
a price tag in the
region of $500. That’s
a little more than the
PS4 Pro cost at
launch, but a whole
lot more power.
right Microsoft
used a behindclosed-doors
demonstration
of the Forza
engine running
at 4K resolution
and 60 frames
per second
to showcase
Scorpio’s power.
BELOW Forza’s
cars look even
more expensive
in ultra-hD.
issue patches for their existing games
to enable them to take full advantage
of Scorpio’s outrageous power
reserves, but even without an update,
your library should load faster, play
more smoothly and look better, thanks
to the machine’s vast memory and
improvements to texture filtering.
And even when you’re not playing
games, Project Scorpio will look like
the ultra-high-resolution bee’s knees.
Thanks to the machine’s UHD Blu-ray
drive, you’ll be able to watch movies
and TV shows at the highest possible
resolutions, without having to fork out
on an expensive separate device. It’s
further proof that Scorpio was built
without compromises. If you want the
best, Microsoft has built it for you. n
For more info on Scorpio, keep your
eye on issues in the coming months
ExcitED? hOrriFiED? LEt thE WOrLD KnOW at WWW.FacEBOOK.cOM/OxMUK
The oFFicial xbox Magazine

hOt tOPic
inSiDEr
hoT ToPic
What did oxm readerS
make of the ScorPio
reveal and SPecS?
Project Scorpio could
be the leap forward
that Xbox gamers
have been waiting
for. I can’t wait to see
the glorious visuals
and overall
performance that
awaits us.
Stefan Bennett
I’m definitely
impressed. Hopefully
it lives up to the
promises by
Microsoft. I’ve owned
every single Xbox in
every type of variant
they’ve had. So I’m
definitely purchasing
this one.
Jason Seabrook
019
I need to feel how
these specs
translate into my
gaming experience.
So give me VR, give
me a run at Halo 6
and I’m all yours.
Sabine Staerker
This is a confident
and proud Microsoft
who have clearly let
their engineers flex
their muscles and
spared no expense.
Chris Neal
Now that Microsoft
has the upper hand
hardware-wise, they
have to back it up
with games. They
need to have the
best E3 they’ve had
in years.
Joshua Kepler
are you equally excited? tell
us at facebook.com/oxmuk
More great features at gamesradar.com/oxm
The oFFicial xbox Magazine

020
Come fly
with me
Jet tricks and chill
Explore inverted worlds from the
cockpit in the soothing InnerSpace
There’s something so wholesome, so
charming, and so, well, nice about
the debut title from PolyKnight Games.
Pastel colors soothe the senses as
you steer your sleek craft through
flawlessly blue skies. Wispy contrails
unravel behind you as you set a
course for uncharted territory.
But you shouldn’t be fooled by
the calming colors and new-agey
name—InnerSpace isn’t just for Tai Chi
masters and incense enthusiasts. It
also happens to be a mind-bending
game of exploration that will test
your powers of spatial perception.
“InnerSpace is an exploration flying
game set inside a network of inverted
planets,” explains PolyKnight’s
creative director, Tyler Tomaseski.
Inside out
“Imagine unravelling a planet and
turning it inside out, so you’re
completely surrounded by the
environment, with land and oceans
at the edges and air in the middle.
What’s more, gravity pulls outward
instead of in.” So, even though you
have the freedom to explore and
enjoy the Inverse at your own pace,
aerial acrobatics will still demand
concentration and skill.
There’s a narrative to unravel, too,
and InnerSpace pursues an approach
to storytelling that Tomaseski likes
to describe as “archeological”. “In
this way, understanding is earned,
not dictated,” he explains. “Even as
we’ve added dialogue and contextual
cutscenes, the bulk of understanding
is unearthed through the player’s
exploration and speculation.” n
the official xbox magazine

InnErspacE
insider
021
Above exploration
won’t just be
limited to the
skies—you can
submerge your
craft to plunder
the depths, too.
More great features at gamesradar.com/oxm
the official xbox magazine

iNSider
OpiNiON
James Nouch is...
The Contender
James strives for a Silent Assassin designation in Hitman
022
So, let’s make one thing
clear: I am not a patient
man. I compulsively tap
my foot when confronted
with a short queue at the
supermarket or the nail
salon. I dementedly pace the floors of my
apartment while waiting for my mail order
Cheese Of The Month parcels to arrive.
And I collapse into an Alex Mack-style
puddle of dismay when confronted with
slow service at my local lasagne parlor.
It’s a deficiency that makes me terribly
unqualified for a career in the world of
wetwork, which (I’m told) requires vast
reserves of patience, as well as a steely
temperament and pitiless resolve. As
a restless, weak-kneed bon vivant, I
suspect I probably wouldn’t make it
through the Agency’s stringent vetting
process. But that’s the challenge my OXM
handlers have assigned me this month:
To pull off the perfect assassination on
the Sapienza level of Hitman.
My first target is Silvio Caruso, a
bioengineer who lives and works within a
tightly-guarded mansion-cum-laboratory.
My second target is Francesca De Santis,
an amoral boffin laboring on Caruso’s
estate. I’ll also have to destroy the hightech
designer virus they’re synthesising
in the property’s subterranean biolab
before I can make my escape. It all
sounds like a doddle, right?
I start by strolling the streets to gather
intel, wandering nonchalantly around
in my tight-fitting short-sleeved shirt.
After a few laps of the town centre, I’ve
established the lay of the land, and I
make my way to the local gelateria. But
it’s not ice cream cones that I have in
mind—I’m thinking about cones… of
murder! You see, I’ve noticed that this
store faces directly onto the Caruso
estate, and what’s more, it’s connected
to the town’s clock tower. If I can reach
the top of this tower, I might just have
the vantage point I need to gun down my
target from afar. Within minutes, I’m in
the store’s main stairwell, ascending to
“My dismal sense
of direction leads
me to the home of
a tie-dyed hippie”
discover the ideal sniping position. The
only problem: I don’t have a sniper rifle.
Dejected, I grab a grubby lead pipe (it’s
better than nothing) from the floor and
make my descent. But my dismal sense
of direction soon leads me astray, and
I find myself stumbling into the grungy
homestead of a tie-dyed hippie, who sits
serenely in a wicker chair surrounded by
peace-sign posters and weed-smoking
paraphernalia. I am transfixed. As such,
I’m completely alarmed when suddenly
he gets up from his chair. Startled, I jab at
the melee button, momentarily forgetting
that 47 is currently wielding a hefty lead
pipe. It connects with a sickening crunch,
and I barely have time to change into the
man’s clothes and pick up his cannabis
joint before fleeing the scene, distraught.
I spend the next few minutes strolling
in the sun, my flip-flops flapping against
the cobbled streets. I try pressing every
button in an effort to make 47 sample his
newly acquired drug-cigarette—if there
was ever a man who could unwind a little,
it’s Agent 47—but the assassin remains
stubbornly unstoned. Begrudgingly, I
return to the perimeter of the Caruso
estate in search of likely points of
ingress, and discover a crumbling wall
that’s low enough for a man of 47’s
considerable brawn to scale. We’re in.
Making a murderer
And would you believe it—Caruso stands
almost in front of me! He’s surrounded by
pesky bodyguards, but I quickly spy an
opportunity. As the sentries turn a corner,
I pounce, grabbing my target in a choke
hold that leaves him unconscious on the
floor. Several problems quickly become
apparent. 1) I did not kill Silvio Caruso.
2) His guards saw and heard the entire
thing. 3) They are now very angry at me.
I steel myself for a confrontation
as the closest guard charges towards
me. Unfortunately, the melee button is
also the ‘Snap Neck’ button when 47 is
positioned above a unconscious body.
So, instead of throwing a punch at the
oncoming guard, I gasp as my bald
avatar bends over and finishes Caruso
off like he was an ailing roadside deer.
Barely a second later, 47 is riddled with
bullets, and failure slaps me about the
face like the flipper of an irate turtle. My
impatience has been the death of me. n
You can tweet James for cheese and
wine recommendations @jamesnouch
The official xbox magazine

OpiniOn
inSider
Steve Hogarty is...
The Fixer:
Steve jiggles the handle on the trope of the unopened door
Here’s an experiment you
can try right now, using
nothing but the pair of hot
meat hands God blessed
you with. Stand up and
stride purposefully to the
nearest door. Grab the handle with grace,
civility and confidence. Give it a twist,
wink to an unseen observer, and then give
it a tug. Observe how this door swings
open. Open as a plum. Now walk through
it. Enjoy the simple pleasure of moving
from one room to another, in a way that
you have never permitted yourself before.
(This introductory paragraph is presented
with apologies to the small percentage of
OXM readers currently residing in jail.)
However, if you want to try this trick in a
videogame, you’ll be sorely disappointed.
You can push on them, pull on them,
you can even sing them sweet, sweet
lullabies, but videogame doors don’t
work like real-life doors. Most doors in
games exist not to allow safe passage
between two adjacent spaces, but simply
to decorate what would otherwise be a
featureless wall. Like those bowls of fruit
you get in people’s living rooms. They look
pretty, but aren’t edible, and that is one of
the worst crimes I can think of.
The Problem
Videogame doors are as useful as a Wile
E. Coyote painting of a tunnel on a cliff
face. They are the level designer’s closest
ally and cruellest facade, a trope now
so ubiquitous that we have all become
numb to its presence. Somewhere along
the way, we’ve come to accept that
most doors in games don’t actually
lead anywhere or do anything. Like the
unbreakable window, the bottomless
pocket, and the invincible tree, the
unopening door has managed to weave
itself into the gaming lexicon.
Locked doors are so universally
recognized that level designers have to
think of clever ways to convince us to
even attempt to walk through doors in
“Doors that can’t
open usually have
a gaping hell portal
in front of them”
games. Visual cues are the most common.
Doors that actually open are signposted
by fluorescent green lights and screaming
neon arrows, or left slightly ajar in an
enticing manner, with dark shadows
curling out into the corridor.
On the other hand, doors that don’t
open are grey and badly lit, often with a
cardboard box, wet floor sign, or gaping
portal to hell strategically positioned in
front of them. That there are so many of
this kind of fake door versus the opening
kind, curtails any sense of freedom that
games could otherwise offer, and makes
me resent the rooms I can enter.
The Solution
The reason for all this barring of access
is intuitive enough: If you could just stroll
through any door in any game you could
go anywhere in the entire world, which
would mean at least a couple of extra
days’ work for the level designers, who are
far too busy making DLC. We can’t have
that, so let’s move on.
Instead, let’s design our games so that,
while every single door can be opened,
they nearly always lead somewhere you
don’t want to go. Perhaps one could lead
to a room in which your family are sitting
around the dinner table, and an awkward
topic has just come up. Another might
lead to a room with nothing but a ceilingto-floor
screen displaying a live feed of
your own face as you sit drooling on the
sofa with Dorito shards littered across
your chest. A bunch of rooms could
simply be screaming pigs. The point is
that they’d all be real doors, and that they
would open and shut as hinges intended.
Of course, the unintended side effect
of my excellent solution is that games
would mostly be rooms filled with the
mortal shrieks of slaughtered swine, and
it would become very difficult to hear any
dialogue or navigate the world without
incurring some degree of psychological
trauma. But I’m afraid that’s the job of
some other poor fixer to sort out. It’s my
role, nay my great privilege, simply to
solve gaming’s numerous problems with
my brilliant ideas—not to stick around to
oversee their implementation or justify
them in any way, to anyone. n
Steve writes for City A.M when he isn’t in
trouble kicking down locked doors
023
the offiCiAl xbox MAgAzine

the official xbox magazine
preview
preview
the games we want the most

preview
The team is so smitten with Ooblets they’re sticking googly eyes on random objects to invent their own
every now and then, a game comes along that
looks so enchanting and inviting that you can’t stop
thinking about getting lost in it, even if it’s more than
a year away. Ooblets (p26) is that game for us,
OXM’s
MOsT
wanTed
James’ pick
Star Wars:
battlefront ii
The promise of a fully
featured campaign
and an expanded
multiplayer has me
positively salivating
for the sequel.
Dani’s pick
Valkyria Revolution
It’s nice to see a lot
more JRPGs making
it to Xbox One, and
especially one from
the ever-excellent
Valkyria series.
Kimberley’s pick
ooblets
I daydream about
cuddling Ooblets,
bringing them to
company picnics,
and arranging them
artistically on my
kitchen windowsill.
with its gorgeous array of adorable monsters that
have vegetable and animal faces. we’ve spoken to
the developers to learn just what goes into making
such a goofy delight, and why you would call a bear
Pantsabear. elsewhere, we’re breaking out of prison
again in The escapists 2 (p28), but this time we’ve
got a whole host of new ‘toys’ to play with, and
multiple floors to plan our escape routes across.
whichever path you choose it’s going to be messy.
Moving to face things side-on, we’ve got the vibrant
Full Metal Furies (p30)—a cheeky brawler from the
same studio that made the excellent Rogue Legacy.
It boasts a much more purposeful style of combat in
place of frantic button-bashing that you normally find.
026
028
025
next, we’re off to the battlefields and anime stylings
of Valkyria Revolution (p33). If you think this will
030
be bright, you’re in for a surprise, as it’s far darker
than its cel-shaded looks suggest. Finally everything
turns into flesh in the nightmare that is agony
(p34). walls made of meat and bone, doors made
of teeth, and a hellscape so disturbing we’re having
nightmares about it. Just like the OXM office then.
033
read the latest previews of the biggest gaMes at gaMesradar.coM/oxM
More great features at gamesradar.com/oxm
the official xbox magazine

preview
They might look sweet but Ooblets can be vicious in a fight, so watch out!
026
Ooblets
also known as the cutest
monsters we’ve ever seen
Daniella lucas
PublisheR Double Fine Presents DeveloPeR GlumberlanD
FoRmat XboX one eta summer 2018
Bugging
out
Development isn’t
always smooth, but
Cordingly and Wasser
are incredibly open
with their process,
even when things
don’t always go to
plan. “Pathfinding
issues with nPCs
cause some funny
things to happen. like
if an nPC tries to talk to
me while i’m standing
next to a wall, and
they identify the spot
on the other side of
the wall as the most
appropriate place to
stand, they’ll go on a
five-minute jaunt just
to talk to me from the
other side of the wall,
even though they were
only two feet from me
in the first place.”
Have you ever been compelled to
doodle faces on random objects?
Eggs, frying pans, coffee tables,
ladles… it doesn’t matter, it just needs
a face. Before you know it, you’ve also
given them a funny voice and a cute
personality, and you’re quickly
complimenting your pizza cutter on
being good at wheelies.
Now, imagine everything you’ve
given a face to somehow comes alive.
Congratulations, my friend, you’ve
invented Ooblets! Or, well, you would
have if developers Rebecca Cordingly
and Benjamin Wasser hadn’t beaten
you to it. Sorry to get your hopes up.
Inspired by the likes of Pokémon
and last year’s indie hit Stardew
Valley, the wondrous land of Ooblets
sees you making a life for yourself
in the world of Oob by growing and
befriending all sorts of adorable,
smiley munchkins with names such
as Dooziedug and Fleeble.
While a lot of the designs are
inspired by Japanese pop culture
and folklore, sometimes the cutest
ones originate from something far
more practical. “Not everything I do
is always some pure artistic vision,
but more often comes about from the
limitations of being the only artist and
programmer,” Cordingly tells us. “Like
‘what sorta creature can I create that
“We decided on the name
Pantsabear because it looks
like a bear wearing pants”
has no knees or elbows, so I can retarget
the animations from that other
creature I made’ and stuff like that.”
And as for the names? “Usually I
just try to riff off what it looks like,”
writer and designer Wasser tells us.
“For example, Pantsabear looks like a
bear wearing pants. I’m probably not
going to win any awards for that one.
Some of the names are from our lives,
like Clickyclaws is named after what
we call it when our cat is hungry and
taps at the kitchen counter.”
Get groovin’
As well as the Ooblets themselves
being utterly adorable, the world and
the human characters that inhabit it
are all cut from the same cute cloth.
The townsfolk of Oob always seem
happy to see you, waving their arms
about and prone to bouts of random
dancing, and there’s only going to be
more of it coming. “We actually just
bought our own motion capture rig,
so hopefully soon we’ll have our own
terrible dances and other animations
to add,” says Wasser.
With such a charming world and
goofy sense of humor on the table,
it’s no wonder so many Xbox gamers
are excited to get their hands on
Ooblets. The response has been
absolutely huge, so how does such
a small team deal with that kind of
pressure? “The reaction people have
had to Ooblets has really defined our
work on it,” says Wasser. “Without
such a huge positive response, we
never would have gone all in on
such a big project. It’s easy to get
complacent, but the encouragement
we get from fans has a major impact
on our moods and productivity.”
Sadly, we’ve still got a year to
wait until we can frolic in the fields
with our Radlads, Wigglewips, and
Dumbirbs, which we can’t help feeling
sad about. The good thing is that
progress is steadily being made. “I
would say we are about 40 per cent
complete,” Cordingly tells us. “There
are a few systems left to work on, and
then an awful lot of content.”
Bring on summer 2018, we say! It
might be a while until then, but you
can keep up with the developers on
Twitter and consider drawing some
smiley faces on radishes to make the
time go a little quicker. n
the oFFiCial XboX maGazine

027
above To make
them even cuter,
accessorize your
ooblet friends
with hats and
glasses.
far lefT There’s
a main town full
of people to
talk to and help
out, as well as
shops to visit.
lefT ooblets can
be grown over
and harvested
before joining
your gang.
More great features at gamesradar.com/oxm
the oFFiCial XboX maGazine

028
above Character
customization
means you can
play as a female
prisoner for the
first time.
equality!
right the wooden
floorboards in
the westernthemed
prison
seem like a
design flaw…
Far right escape
attempts will be
more accessible,
with a clearer
alert system so
you know when
you’re in
trouble.
the official xbox magazine

Preview
There was an achievement in the first game for being naked for a month
The Escapists 2
is this the breakout hit of the
year or a total shut-in?
stephen ashby
Publisher team17 DeveloPer mouldy toof StudioS
Format xbox one eta 2017
BEaT
down
the combat
mechanics have
been improved in
the escapists 2.
there’s a new lockon
system, blocking
has been added,
and you can use a
combination of light
and heavy attacks.
“as the saying goes,
‘if you’re going to
make an omelette,
you’re gonna need
to have a very
frank and open
discussion with the
eggs first,’” says
grant towell.
If shanking a prison guard, stealing his
uniform, and using it in an elaborate
escape plan sounds like your idea of
fun, then chances are you’re either on
the run from the authorities (thanks
for taking the time to pick up OXM, Mr
Criminal!), or you played The Escapists.
The top-down prison escape game
was a surprise hit back in 2015, and
Mouldy Toof Studios is back with a
bigger team, and a far bigger sequel.
“We’ve got a lot planned for the
game that really builds on the
foundations [of The Escapists], and
adds more elements in that the fans
should hopefully love,” says the
game’s senior producer, Dave Wood.
“Prisons can also now be spread
across multiple floors, which gives us
more design choices for the prisons
and allows for some great escapes.
For example, players can navigate the
rooftops and shimmy down makeshift
ropes made from bed sheets.”
New escapes have been one of the
major focuses for the sequel, but
there are other major updates, too.
“The most immediately obvious
changes are the improvements to the
graphical style of the game,” Wood
says. “There’s a lot more character
customization now, too, so players will
be able to put more of their own
stamp on their avatars.” We suspect
“Prisons are spread across
multiple floors, which allows
for some great escapes”
the customization doesn’t extend to
prisoner outfits; orange is really the
color of choice when you’re inside.
Cell mates
The other major addition is multiplayer,
as the second Escapists allows for up
to four convicts to dive into a game
together. This isn’t just multiplayer for
the sake of it, though. Serious thought
has been put into how the systems
will work. “When we started thinking
about creating a sequel, online
multiplayer was the top of the list of
new features we wanted to get in,”
explains Wood. “We spent a lot of time
thinking about the unique challenges
bringing multiplayer to The Escapists
posed, especially surrounding the
amount of time it takes to craft the
perfect escape plan.”
The biggest concern the team had
was that if someone needed to log
off, or players got dropped, carefully
planned escapes would immediately
go up in smoke. “We decided that
drop-in, drop-out gameplay was the
only way to go,” Wood continues.
As a result, there are no levels or
prisons built specifically with
multiplayer in mind, and no multiplayer
mode that you’ll need to activate in
order to play with your mates.
“Because there are so many different
ways to approach escaping a prison,
we felt that there was no point in
creating separate content for co-op
gameplay. You can experience all of
the campaign by playing with friends
or playing alone. However, not all
escapes can be undertaken alone!”
Now, that does sound intriguing.
Multiplayer-exclusive escapes could
be anything from giving your buddy a
leg-up over a wall, to taking on four
brutish prisoners, buffed up by hours
in the gym and kicking the crap out of
guards like a weird, color-blind version
of The Power Rangers.
Before we signed off with Mouldy
Toof, we asked lead designer, Grant
Towell, to describe his coolest
Escapists 2 prison break. He didn’t
want to say much, but shared the final
moments of his play: “I was riding
horseback, escaping on one of the
finest steeds I’ve ever seen… but the
only items I had on me were an orange
and a green felt tip pen.” We dread to
think of the carnage he left behind. n
029
More great features at gamesradar.com/oxm
the official xbox magazine

030
above The gold
you gain can be
used to upgrade
your characters
in a detailed
skill tree.
righT every class
has slots for new
equipment, which
further expands
the scope for
customization and
skilled play.
the official xbox magazine

Preview
The title is a reference to Greek mythology, in which Furies were goddesses of vengeance
Full Metal Furies
the fast, the furious and the fully
featured fisticuffs
James Nouch
Publisher cellar Door games DeveloPer cellar Door games
Format xbox one eta July 2017
FRESH AIR
land a blow on a
midair enemy and
you’ll score an ‘aircrit’
for additional
damage. that may
sound simple, but the
system paves the way
for some chaotic cooperative
juggling, as
player one launches a
troublesome grunt into
the air for player two
to ruthlessly clobber.
you can even score aircrits
in single-player,
thanks to your ability
to instantly swap
between characters.
you might use the
sentinel’s shout to
launch a beastie, pull
the right trigger to
instantly switch to the
sniper, and shoot that
schmuck right out
of the sky.
Believe it or not, side-scrolling beat-
’em-ups were once big business. Older
gamers will no doubt remember these
days: You’d clock off from the factory
after a hard day spent making
grandfather clocks and rotary
telephones, stumble into some sleazy
penny arcade, and spend your
paycheck on Double Dragon and Final
Fight credits. Hungry and defeated,
you’d walk home, kicking trashcans
along the way to extract the pristine
roast turkeys hidden therein.
But while Full Metal Furies is
certainly a jaunty callback to those
halcyon days, it’s not just a nostalgic
retread. This is a side-scrolling brawler
built for the present day, and it’s been
in development for more than three
years over at Cellar Door Games, the
studio responsible for the superbly
streamlined roguelike Rogue Legacy.
“Three years is a really long time to
make a brawler,” says co-founder
Teddy Lee, but this is because Cellar
Door wants to do nothing less than
rejuvenate the entire genre.
Which is why it comes as some
surprise to discover that neither Teddy
nor sibling co-founder Kenny actually
like brawlers all that much. “Our goal
was to modernize the brawler because
we felt the genre was stagnant,”
“Our goal was to modernize
the brawler because we felt
the genre was stagnant”
Kenny explains. The inclusion of four
playable character classes—Sentinel,
Sniper, Engineer, and Fighter—is key
to that ambition. So if you’re playing
as a beefy tank, you’ll have a different
moveset from the long-range
gunsmith or grinning greasemonkey.
Furious four
All of these abilities can be chained
together to create complex combos,
and Full Metal Furies is challenging
enough to ensure that slapping at
your controller’s face buttons won’t
reap rewards in-game. “Virtually every
single brawler out there is buttonmashing,”
Kenny tells us. “If players go
into this expecting that, they’re not
going to get very far. And hopefully
they’ll understand that’s the purpose
of the game, as opposed to saying
‘this game just sucks’. It’s a bit risky.”
So, once you hop into a co-op
game, you’ll be expected to support
your teammates and work together to
succeed. An example: Many foes are
equipped with colored barriers that
resist damage. To pop protective
shields, the character class of the
corresponding color will have to zero
in that foe and dole out damage. Fail
to prioritize properly, and you can
expect a swift pummelling.
That’s great for multiplayer, but
what about single-player? “We wanted
to make sure single-player was just as
much fun as multiplayer,” says Teddy.
“So instead of adding in a bot, which
is never actually that fun to play with,
we made it so you can quick-switch
your characters. So, in single-player
you actually choose two champions,
and then pressing right-trigger
immediately swaps your character. It’s
instant—there’s no delay.”In practice,
this means that you’re able to perform
lengthy character-switching combos
even if you happen to be brawling on
your lonesome, switching between
heroes to juggle foes on the fly.
“We made Rogue Legacy because
we didn’t really like roguelikes,” Teddy
concludes, causing us to nearly faint
in astonishment. “So then we made
Full Metal Furies because there
weren’t any brawlers that we really
liked.” So, whether you happen to be a
connoisseur of the genre or strictly
brawler-phobic, Cellar Door’s latest
might just surprise you. n
031
More great features at gamesradar.com/oxm
the official xbox magazine

The premier source for everything video games, TV, films, and more.
www.gamesradar.com

PrevieW
Valkyria Revolution’s main theme was performed by the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra
Valkyria
Revolution
Spinning off into a new era for
its Xbox debut
Paul Walker-emig
PublisheR Deep Silver DeveloPeR MeDia.viSion
FoRmat XboX one eta june 30 2017
above Why don’t
real princesses
run about in
finery hitting
people with
swords?
The latest Valkyria game heralds a big
change for the series. For one thing,
it’s the first Valkyria title to make it
onto an Xbox platform. This is good,
because it means we won’t have to
head to Sega headquarters with Big
Spence to smash the place up in
retribution for spurning our beloved
console. And we were willing to.
The changes run far deeper than
that, however. Valkyria Revolution is
being positioned as a spin-off, rather
than a true sequel, serving as pretext
to take things in a new direction.
That starts with the setting. Where
past games have blended the big
swords, foppish hair, and outrageous
costumes mandated by JRPG law with
a World War II-inspired aesthetic,
Revolution instead blends the big
swords, foppish hair and outrageous
costumes with a style based on the
European Industrial Revolution.
In this universe, we take control of
Amleth, a commanding officer in an
elite unit fighting for a small nation’s
independence from colonial rule. This
conflict is made slightly unfair by the
fact that the empire you’re fighting
against has a Valkyria—one of those
badass demigod things that lends the
series its name—on its side, but you’ll
just have to deal with that.
Earning the name
When it comes to combat, Revolution
again makes a significant change
(have you guessed why they called
it Revolution yet?). The turn-based
battles of old have been replaced
with an action-based system that
looks like it falls somewhere between
“The empire you
are fighting has a
badass demigod
on its side”
final Fantasy post XI and the Dynasty
Warrior series in how it handles. It’s
not a complete departure from the
strategic nature of previous entries,
however. The ability to set roles like
Offense and Support for your party
members, or to use certain spells and
determine who they target in battle,
will hopefully ensure the game retains
a tactical element.
Permadeath makes a return (though
not for major characters), which
could prove to be a great feature. You
can imagine how seeing a beloved
comrade—one that you’ve come to
love, that’s fought alongside you,
whose story you’ve got to know—fall
in combat because of a mistake you
made could deliver a real emotional
gut punch. Of course, whether the
game can make us care enough for
permadeath to have that kind of
impact will depend on the quality of
its storytelling and characterization.
We’re not yet sure whether the
changes Revolution are making
will be for the better. Indeed, we’re
concerned that in moving away from
its strategic turn-based system,
Valkyria could lose what makes the
series stand out. Given the quality
of previous Valkyria games, though,
we’re happy to see whether this new
direction has its merits. If not, we’ll be
smashing up Sega HQ again. n
033
More great features at gamesradar.com/oxm
the official XboX Magazine

Preview
The name hell derives from an ancient word meaning ‘one who covers up or hides something’
Agony
Game development can be hell,
and we mean literally
James Nouch
PublisheR PlayWay DeveloPeR MadMind Studio
FoRmat XboX one eta July 2017
above The demon
above has a head
that’s cloven in
two and filled
with jagged
teeth. Help!
Roaring flames, the nauseating
stench of sulphur, and hundreds
of damned souls wailing in torment
and terror—yes, the OXM cafeteria
is truly a sight to behold. But if your
regular lunch spot isn’t a chthonic
pit of suffering, you may well want
to keep an eye on Madmind Studio’s
infernal debut, which casts you as
a desperate lost soul trapped in the
darkest depths of the underworld.
And while it’s clear that the Polish
developer has drawn on traditional
depictions of hell to create its abode
of the damned, Agony goes so much
further than simply recreating lakes
of fire and cloven-footed meanies in
crisp HD. Its vision of hell is a place
of blood and flame, yes, but there’s
an unnerving current of monstrous
sexuality at play, too, as well as some
truly nasty violence to boot. Again,
much like the OXM canteen.
The game opens with you waking up
in the netherworld with no recollection
of the sinful life that’s led you to this
damnable destination. Charred bones
litter the floor around you and the air
pulsates with the buzzing of bloated
flies. You soon learn that there is
only one hope for those who seek a
reprieve from this eternal torment. To
leave this place, you’ll have to gain an
audience with The Red Goddess.
Hell of a mess
But tracking down this enigmatic deity
will be no easy feat, as you’ll have to
traverse vast infernal environments
in pursuit of your uncertain escape.
Outlast is the game that most readily
springs to mind as we watch our
“Charred bones
litter the floor and
bloated flies buzz
through the air”
player character nervously tiptoe
through the disconcertingly fleshy
halls of hell, particularly when the
poor fellow is forced to hide from
some wrathful demon or roaring
grotesquery. But this fearful dynamic
can be inverted entirely, thanks to
your ability to take control of certain
feeble-minded denizens of hell.
The reason for this power remains
a mystery for now, but it enables you
to possess dim-witted demons and
make use of their ferocious strength
and diabolical abilities. At one point,
our fallen hero hops into the body of
a sinewy hellbeast and embarks on
a brutal rampage, setting damned
prisoners alight on a whim before
using demonic telekinesis to hurl
them into the abyss.
But if the promise of using some of
these wretched souls as tiki torches
doesn’t float your Stygian boat, then
don’t fret: You’re also able to charge
the tormented down and pluck out an
eye, should the urge take you. A trip to
hell would turn anyone a little violent
and somewhat nutty, after all.
To some, this will all sound a
bit excessive and unpleasant, but
that’s exactly the tenor that Agony’s
aiming for—a hellish experience that
doesn’t pull any punches. Now if you’ll
excuse us, it’s about time we headed
downstairs to the canteen. n
034
More great features at gamesradar.com/oxm
the official XboX MaGazine

prEviEW
The first entry in the series appeared on PS1 back in 1998 (basically a millenium ago)
Marvel Vs
Capcom: Infinite
The spandex-sporting scrapper
looks to make some new
fighting fans
Dave meikleham
PublisheR CapCom DeveloPeR CapCom
FoRmat XboX one eta 2017
Top Brie Larson
will play Captain
Marvel on the big
screen. Expect
the game version
to kick ass.
aBovE Whale on
the avengers with
a deadly tagteam.
Beat-‘em-ups aren’t exactly famed
for being welcoming. Sure, the odd
inexperienced player can hold their
head above water by spamming
electricity attacks, but for most
people, the idea of nailing a 16-hit
juggle combo is akin to performing
heart surgery with a machete. That’s
all set to change with Capcom’s next
fighter. After the fiasco that was
Street Fighter V’s launch,Capcom
wants to make its hero-and-Hadoken
scrapper a game for the masses.
You’re making that face, aren’t
you? If you’re currently puffing up your
cheeks while balking at the notion
of Marvel Vs Capcom: Infinite being
an overly accessible, dumbed-down
experience for morons… well, you
should take a couple of deep breaths.
Yes, Capcom is making its latest
combat crossover less intimidating for
newcomers. But that doesn’t mean
diehard beat-‘em-up purists are going
to be Hulk-smashed into oblivion by
someone who’s never played before.
Speaking to Stuart Turner, Capcom
Europe’s chief operating officer, he
stressed that eSports are at the
forefront of the company. “Fighting
games as a spectator event has huge
potential—the games are short, it’s
simple to grasp, the competitors
are highly skilled personalities, and
tournament upsets aren’t unusual,”
he says. Considering the ludicrously
lofty skills routinely displayed during
professional tournaments, it’s unlikely
Capcom will release a fighter that
eschews the sort of depth eSports
competitors and fans demand.
That said, Turner wants to make
beat-‘em-ups more popular outside of
“Infinity Stones
imbue fighters
with more power
and flexibility”
Japan, and one of the ways to entice
new fans to Infinite is by making the
virtual fisticuffs more accessible.
“Marvel Vs Capcom fits into this as a
great introduction to the genre as a
whole [as it’s] far more simplistic and
technically easier to pick up and play,”
says Turner. As such, a new ‘free-form’
tag system makes it easier to chain
combos between characters in the
two-on-two encounters.
The headline Infinity Stones will
also imbue fighters with added power
and flexibility. Capcom compares
the new feature to Capcom Vs SNK
2’s Groove system, and it hopes the
added customization options will
placate fans who are sore over Infinite
dropping the three-on-three battles
for tagteam four-character fights.
Mega Man down
Speaking of the adorable robotic dude,
Capcom’s icon is set to play a major
role. The publisher has confirmed the
plot centres primarily around the run
‘n gun hero, while Captain Marvel also
nabs a starring role. Capcom hasn’t
confirmed whether the Fox-owned
X-Men will appear alongside their
Disney compatriots, meaning the final
roster remains up in the air. Still, even
if Wolverine and co don’t make the
cut, this heroic scrapper could still
claw its way to success. n
035
More great features at gamesradar.com/oxm
The offiCial XboX magazine

PrevIew
Levels are modified using real-world data that matches in-game time to the time when you’re playing
Serial
Cleaner
Who’s going to clean up this
bloody mess?
Paul Walker-emig
PublisheR infun4all DeveloPeR ifun4all
FoRmat XboX one eta 2017
036
Above You can
bring bodies back
to your car, or
find a way to
dispose of them.
below If you
get caught, the
police will gun
you down like the
bad ‘un you are.
If you ever wanted to play the
videogame version of Pulp Fiction’s
Winston Wolfe, rejoice. Each stage in
Serial Cleaner sees you arrive at the
scene of a crime, with bodies lying
everywhere, blood splattered across
the floor, and police on patrol. Your
job is to clean up the mess without
getting caught by the fuzz.
As a stealth game, Serial Cleaner
takes its cues from Hotline Miami,
rather than the likes of Hitman and
Metal Gear Solid. In other words, it’s
intended to be played at speed, with
you swiftly weaving your way between
the vision cones of patrolling police
as you mop up pools of blood, dispose
of bodies and hide incriminating
evidence, reacting on the fly to the
movements of your pursuers, rather
than spending an age planning your
route while crouched behind a crate.
Though it might share some
common ground with Hotline Miami
in its preference for split-second
decision-making over calculation
and consideration, Serial Cleaner is
completely different when it comes
to tone. It’s dark but silly. This is, after
all, a game where you can dispose
of a body in the gaping mouth of
an alligator waiting patiently at the
water’s edge, or toss it into the Bond
“You can dispose
of a body in the
gaping mouth
of an alligator”
villains’ favourite water feature: a tank
full of piranhas. Even the unsavory
act of lobbing a corpse onto a train
track to be squished by a train is
transformed into macabre slapstick
through comedy timing and sound.
Shades of the 70s
The game’s black comedy style is
complemented by an aesthetic that
looks like it’s been plucked from the
1970s. Its minimalist art is painted
in soft colors that emulate the
washed-out look associated with
‘70s photography and film. Prepare
yourself for big moustaches, aviator
sunglasses and funk-themed tunes.
Parody may be the intention, but
Serial Cleaner nevertheless evokes the
era with skill. Developer iFun4all has
taken the ‘70s theme even further,
saying that it has levels based on
actual 1970s murder scenes. Whether
this sense of realism will complement
the game or just be a crass grab for
attention is yet to be seen.
What we’ve seen of Serial Cleaner
suggests that it’s aiming for simplicity
and clarity when it comes to its
systems—think vision cones that
leave no doubt as to when you’re in
view and when you’re not. What we’ve
learnt from other stealth games such
as last year’s Hitman and Dishonored
2 is that simple stealth doesn’t have
to be one-dimensional or boring—it
can actually revolutionize gaming.
We’re unsure if Serial Cleaner has
something to offer beyond its novel
core concept yet, but we’re very much
looking forward to finding out. n
the official XboX magazine More great features at gamesradar.com/oxm

PReview
The PC version of Redout currently sits pretty with a score of 81 on Metacritic
Redout
sci-fi speed demon aims to zip
past and wipe out the futuristic
competition
Dave meikleham
PublisheR 505 Games DeveloPeR 34BiGThinGs
FoRmat XBoX one eta may 30
Above The
low-polygon,
cel-shaded
visuals make
Redout’s fast
courses easier to
read as you bomb
around them.
below Redout is
set on a future
earth that’s been
mostly abandoned.
Must. Not. Compare. To. Famous.
PlayStation. Game. Hmmmmph… This
futuristic racer is really like WipEout.
Bah! Sorry, the comparisons are
unavoidable. With a focus on antigrav
action that’s faster than The
Flash after four gallons of espresso,
the minimalist look and exhilarating
feel of 34BigThings’ affectionate
throwback immediately recalls
Psygnosis’ seminal speedster.
Not that Redout doesn’t have
ideas of its own under that oh-sofetching
low-polygon hood. While
the refreshingly sparse aesthetic
separates it from much of the
chasing pack, there’s a degree of
strategic planning to this racer that
also impresses. Unlike WipEout or
F-Zero, combat doesn’t dominate,
with Redout placing emphasis on
outlasting your competitors through
smart use of perks.
Each ship can be equipped with
both active and passive power-ups.
The former are used manually during
races, while the latter are perks you
assign to your craft to improve its
performance. Rather than nuke your
sci-fi foes with projectiles, the game’s
modifiers are more concerned with
getting you to the finishing line in one
piece. Like that ‘game that starts with
“Use the Energy
Drainer to siphon
juice like a super
speedy vampire”
W’ we definitely won’t mention again,
Redout’s ships all have energy bars
that must be maintained if you’re to
survive its savage, twisting tracks.
Perk-life balance
If you want be aggressive, active-perk
power-ups like the EMP Blast can
shock other craft into submission.
Struggling to keep that energy bar up?
Unlock the Energy Drainer to siphon
juice from the competition like a super
speedy vampire. Of course, if you’d
rather be a little less confrontational,
you can always equip passive perks,
such as the Magnetic Grip, which
makes the physics-focused handling
model easier to tame. Then again, if
you’re confident with steering, you
may want to consider the Slipstream
Enhancer, a perk which increases your
ship’s speed when trailing opponents.
Redout also serves up some cute
twists on standard racing modes.
Aside from the traditional grand prix
contests of the campaign, there’s a
mode called Speed that challenges
you to constantly keep the revs above
a certain threshold to survive. Kinda
like that Keanu flick… if you replaced
the bus with a floating sci-fi ship that
can reach 900 mph. Boss mode adds
further wrinkles with endurance races
that are linked by a teleporter. How
long can you last, hotshot?
Xbox One isn’t swimming in sci-fi
racers, and it looks like there’s plenty
to get excited about here. If this quick
tribute can capture even half of the
electricity of a certain ‘90s icon, we’re
in for some furiously fast fun. n
037
More great features at gamesradar.com/oxm
The official XBoX maGazine

aTTlefronT ii
Motive Studios was founded in 2015 by Assassin’s Creed creative Jade Raymond
038
T h E
S A G A
C O N T I N U E S
Three developmenT sTudios. Two years in The making. and one
beloved film franchise. here’s why baTTlefronT ii mighT
jusT be The mosT ambiTious projecT in ea hisTory
James nouch
the official xbox magazine

039
more great features at gamesradar.com/oxm
the official xbox magazine

elow
battlefront ii’s
multiplayer will
be taking us
across all of
the different
eras of the star
wars universe.
far righT The
inferno squad
will be your
main singleplayer
focus.
040
W
the official xbox magazine

aTTlefronT ii
Xbox One owners will be able to play the game before PS4 players, thanks to an EA Access trial starting 9th November
hen the very first Star Wars hit cinemas
back in 1977 viewers were treated to a
swashbuckling space opera told with wideeyed
excitement. Princesses were rescued,
blasters were fired, and the plucky good
guys triumphed over the imperial meanies.
even the subtitle—a new hope—was almost
childlike in its jaunty optimism. but with
the release of a sequel, the empire Strikes
back, Star Wars became something different.
Suddenly, the universe wasn’t quite so
wholesome, safe, or morally clear-cut. and
now, ea is looking to pull a similar trick with
its own Star Wars sequel: battlefront ii.
an extensive single-player campaign
is central to this ambition, and ea has
assembled a massive development team to
realize its expanded vision. Dice, the Swedish
studio responsible for battlefront’s 2015
reboot, is back at the helm for the game’s
multiplayer modes, but this time it’s joined by
criterion games in the UK and motive Studios
in montreal, and together they plan to create
a blockbuster solo experience with all the
dark grandeur of the empire Strikes back.
to that end, battlefront ii casts you as
iden Versio, commander of the empire’s elite
special operations outfit inferno Squad. at the
game’s outset, Versio has it all: She comes
“We wanted to take the helmet
off a Stormtrooper and find out
why they believed in the Empire”
from a prosperous imperial planet, her father’s
a respected admiral, and her job involves
lots of exotic travel and Rebel-murder. life is
pretty good as far as she’s concerned.
What’s more, iden is beloved by her own
people, as motive Studio’s game director
mark thompson explains. “the Rebellion has
its heroes—heroes like Skywalker, like Jyn
erso—but who are the heroes of the empire?
Who are the soldiers that can inspire the
empire in the galactic civil war? Who were
the elite pilots that kids in the galaxy grew
up dreaming of being?” iden Versio isn’t just
a capable soldier—she’s a role model for
imperials everywhere.
“that was the starting point for this story,”
thompson continues. “We wanted to take off
the helmet of a Stormtrooper and find out who
they were; why they believed in the empire.”
So, when those pesky Rebel scum destroy the
second Death Star at the battle of endor, iden
and her comrades aren’t about to lay down
arms or negotiate peace. these are devout
believers in the imperial way of life, and they
aren’t about to let it crumble.
“We thought about this idea: What would
it be like to be a Stormtrooper on the ground,
to look up to the sky and see the Death Star
explode, and for that to be a moment of loss?
a moment of defeat,” explains thompson.
“and so when you take off the helmet in
disbelief, and you look up at the sky, you
immediately put that helmet back on with a
new hardened resolve about how you need to
take that fight back to the Rebellion, that the
Rebellion needs to die.”
Life begins at 30
the campaign that follows explores the
30-year gap between Return of the Jedi and
the force awakens, following iden and her
squadmates as the fusty old galactic empire
041
more great features at gamesradar.com/oxm
the official xbox magazine

TEll uS hOw iT iS
ThE EmpIrE WrITES BACk
The Empire aren’t the bad guys. [...] When you
take the helmet off a Stormtrooper, suddenly
you see them as a person. And you can make
that person likeable and relatable if you
understand who they are and why they think the
way they think. And I think what’s interesting
about Star Wars storytelling outside of the saga
movies is that you can step away from the black
and white, and move into more grey territory.
I think Rogue One was fantastic for that. You
could really see that the extreme side of
Rebellion—with Saw Gerrera and his
Partisans—they were doing some questionable
things! It wasn’t clearly defined as good, but
they believed in a cause.
So that was interesting to see that inside the
Rebellion there’s this range of what people think
is right based on their orders, their belief
system… so the Empire can have the same. Not
everyone in the Empire thinks exactly the same.
[...] We can show people a galaxy where the
Rebels are terrorists. And people inside the
Empire believe in the order, and the control, and
the peace that the Empire can bring.
042
Mark Thompson,
game director, Motive Studios
the official xbox magazine

aTTlefronT ii
As well as modifying character classes, you’ll also be able to tweak hero character abilities to suit your playstyle
043
lefT your eyes
do not deceive
you, that is
darth maul back
from the grave,
and playable
as a hero in
battlefront ii’s
multiplayer.
the official xbox magazine

044
gradually morphs into the more fashionforward
first order. it’s an untold story, in
other words, a chapter of galactic history
that’s so far unexplored in the Star Wars
cinematic saga. and, as mark thompson
explains, battlefront ii will be the project
that first charts this new narrative ground.
“this will be a canon story,” he says. “this is
authentic Star Wars.”
but motive hasn’t been unduly restrained by
the Star Wars brandcuffs, and the canadian
studio has been given the freedom to craft
entirely new additions to the hefty body of
existing Star Wars lore. one such example
would be iden’s home world of Vardos, a
planet that willingly joined the empire, and
whose population bask in the sense of
security it provides. We’re all very accustomed
to seeing the empire as cruel invaders
or an occupying force, but Vardos shows
Palpatine’s regime in a very different light.
here, citizens see imperial rule as a source
of stability and security, and the Rebels as
dangerous revolutionaries.
When battlefront i isn’t treading entirely
new narrative ground, it’s often revisiting
familiar material from a fresh perspective.
Watching downtrodden Stormtroopers
witness the Death Star’s destruction is one
early example, but in your quest to avenge the
“multiplayer has been retooled
and revamped to ensure there’s
more depth than the original”
defeated emperor, you’ll also battle your way
across more familiar worlds, spewing blaster
bolts, and hurling thermal detonators as you
rampage across pleasingly open stages.
Galactic turmoil
but while the central storyline will remain
anchored to iden and her imperial besties, we
were positively light-headed with excitement
to discover that battlefront ii’s single-player
will also feature playable hero characters
from the series. as such, you’ll be able to take
control of famous faces from the franchise
when their paths cross with inferno Squad.
in one example, we saw an older luke
Skywalker, dressed in the dapper black duds
of his Return of the Jedi appearance. ea’s
also confirmed that Kylo Ren will feature,
which should provide a tantalising window
into the sinister sourpuss’s background.
and all that’s to say nothing of the
significantly expanded multiplayer, which
Dice has retooled and revamped to ensure the
experience can offer more depth and stayingpower
than its 2015 effort. the introduction of
character classes will be key to this, enabling
players to switch between a long-range
sharpshooter, say, and a hard-hitting heavy
gunner as the situation demands. What’s
more, battlefront ii will let players upgrade
and customise their character over the course
of a match, providing further opportunities for
freewheeling player expression.
but if the introduction of character classes
represents the most seismic mechanical
change to battlefront multiplayer, it’s the
hero characters that seem destined to be
the most headline-grabbing. that’s because
battlefront ii’s multiplayer will feature settings
and characters drawn from across the entirety
of the Star Wars cinematic saga—from the
galactic trade documentary that was the
Phantom menace to the as yet unreleased
A SPATE Of SPACE TRAvEl
A GAlAxy
fAr fAr
AWAy
The planets we
want to visit on
our journey
Yavin-4
This jungle planet
is where we’ll find
the Rebels’ base of
operations before
they’re attacked and
have to relocate to
the planet of Hoth.
Kamino
An aquatic planet
where the Clone
army was created
in a clandestine
arrangement and the
location of an epic
battle to stop it.
StarKiller
BaSe
The planet-sized
death machine from
The Force Awakens
marks the game’s
arrival into the
current era of films.
moS eiSleY
A spaceport on
Tatooine and home
to the first meeting
with Han Solo.
Also: the famous
argument over who
shot first.
HotH
Star Wars’ most
recognisable planet
and location of the
saga’s epic battle
returns for another
round, this time with
added Tauntauns.

aTTlefronT ii
hERO TiME
UlTImATE
lINE-Up
Forget Luke, Rey and
Yoda, here are the
overlooked heroes we
really want to see
righT hero
ships return
too, and we’ve
already spotted
slave one, the
millennium
falcon and
what looks like
obi-wan’s jedi
interceptor.
below iden’s
droid buddy is
less lovable but
considerably
more lethal than
r2-d2 or bb-8.
StarKiller
Holding a Lightsaber
behind you might not be
very practical in real life,
but damn it, it looks
cool. The protagonist of
The Force Unleashed
would have some
seriously slick moves to
use on the battlefield.
BaStila SHan
Originally appearing in
Knights Of The Old
Republic, Bastila has an
atypical force power
called battle meditation
that could buff her
friends or debuff her
enemies. It’d be
interesting seeing that in
effect in Battlefront’s
large-scale fights.
SHaaK ti
Appearing during The
Clone Wars, Shaak Ti is
a Jedi Grandmaster who
can control fauna and
direct them with her will,
as well as just being able
to kick lots of ass.
Imagine her being let
loose on a forest planet
like Endor. It would be
Ewok carnage.
045
the last Jedi. that means Darth maul, luke
Skywalker, Kylo Ren and even wee lil fan
favorite Yoda will all be playable.
and this time, you won’t just be gobbling
pick-ups to play these legendary characters.
“the point is to move away from this race for a
spinning blue token,” explains matt Webster,
general manager at criterion games. “We
love it, the excitement of becoming a hero
is a great moment, and such a differentiator
for battlefront. When they come in, they are
powerful moments. and it’s a power-trip
fantasy. We love that. but ten people racing
for a blue token to get that—there’s a better
way for us to do that.” exactly what that
‘better way’ will be remains to be seen, but
the developers hint at a resource mechanic
that will reward effective teamwork.
You won’t be forced to schlep it around
these vast maps on foot, however. a variety of
vehicles, big and small, will enable you to zip
around the battlefield, while the introduction
of fully featured space battles enables
players to take the fight to stars on selected
stages. “Space battles, it’s such a thing for
Star Wars,” Webster enthuses. “in my head,
when we’re talking about Return of the Jedi,
it’s these moments of epic capital ships and
starfighters battling it out… that is going to be
a significant part of this game for multiplayer.”
You could justifiably describe battlefront ii
as an attempt to address every criticism that
Dice’s original had to contend with. the lack
of single-player content has been remedied.
the slightly-too-streamlined multiplayer has
been tweaked. and the absence of spacebased
shenanigans has been solved. Sequels
made Star Wars what it is, and battlefront ii
might just do the same for ea’s shooter when
it launches on november 17th. n
revan
Another one from
Knights Of The Old
Republic, Revan
utilises both light and
dark powers. With the
rumors that The Last
Jedi film will introduce
audiences to a ‘grey’
Jedi, Revan’s moveset
would play into that
theme nicely.
KYle Katarn
A fan favorite who first
appeared in Jedi Knight
series, Kyle might not be
canon anymore but we
still want to see him.
Thanks to his Imperial
training he also knows
how to use a Destroyer’s
worth of weapons.
more great features at gamesradar.com/oxm
the official xbox magazine

046
Main The proud
face of Xboxloving
Chris
Charla.

The big inTerview
ID@Xbox games have clocked in over 1 billion hours of gametime already
Indie
fast lane
Chris
047
Charla
With the iD@XboX Program about to helP its
500th inDie game into the store, We sPeak
to Chris Charla, heaD of iD@XboX, about
What Comes neXt Stephen AShby
More great interviews at gamesradar.com/oxm
the official xbox magazine

O f i h fi f i di d Ni h S h l S di h d i l d
The big inTerview
048
The indie game has come a long way since
Xbox Live first launched, from tiny games
that only a few had heard of, to breakout
success stories that rival even the biggest
mainstream games. You don’t need a team
of hundreds to make a great game. Enter
ID@Xbox, a programme that helps hundreds
of small-scale developers get their games
on Xbox One and in front of an audience of
millions for everyone to enjoy. We speak to
Chris Charla, the man responsible for
bringing the likes of Inside, Oxenfree, and
soon Cuphead, to your console, to learn
what’s in store for fans of indie gaming.
the ID@Xbox program has grown hugely
since it launched. What do you see as its
biggest successes, and success stories?
It’s been awesome to see the program grow
since we announced it in 2013. We hit 500
games that have shipped via the program by
the end of April, and that’s kind of a cool
milestone! When we started the program we
said we wanted to provide developers with a
sustainable ecosystem and marketplace,
and thanks to our players, we’ve really done
that. Obviously, videogames are a hit-driven
business, and not every game is a hit, but
developers have made hundreds of millions
of dollars through ID, and it feels awesome
to be a little part of that. It also means
players have bought millions of ID games,
and they’re getting to enjoy all this diverse
content. So, successful devs and happy
players is definitely the biggest success!
Of course, commercial success is really
important, too, but there’s a lot of kinds of
success—critical, personal, creative. And
there have been some great success stories
in the program that aren’t just commercial,
where a dev has said “I had this idea, and I
was able to ship it on Xbox, and that means
a huge amount to me,” and that’s equally as
awesome as some of the commercial
successes we’ve seen.
I will say internally, of course we celebrate
developers’ success, but when we think
about the program, it’s more about how we
can improve on what we’ve done, or new
things we can offer, versus high-fiving and
saying “we did it!” or something. There’s a lot
more we can do for developers, so that’s
kind of our focus, day to day.
Are there any developers that you think
epitomize ID@Xbox, and the ideals that you
at Microsoft have for the program?
Hmmm… One thing we kind of got right with
ID, is we didn’t say, “Okay, it’s 2013, this
game is what ‘indie games’ are, and how do
we solve for that,” but instead we looked at
the space and saw the growth, saw how
much things had changed during the 360
era, and we knew things would happen that
we couldn’t predict. So, we really took a
developer’s eye view, and tried to build a
program that was going to meet the needs
of independent developers on Xbox and
Windows, regardless of game type, or
company type, or how the industry might
CloCkwise froM
above indie
games such as
oxenfree were
some of the
highlights
of 2016.
change. And that’s given us the flexibility in
the program to support devs of all sizes, and
games of all sizes and complexity, from
single-player platformers made by one
person to free-to-play online games made
by very large independent studios.
And one thing I’m really proud of with ID@
Xbox is we’ve had devs ship their first game,
and we’ve had really veteran studios and
developers ship. So, in a sense, everyone in
the program kind of epitomizes who the
program is for. Which may sound like a
dodge, but it’s really true.
That all said, there are a couple of
developers who in 2012 and 2013 we were
like, “these guys should be on Xbox, and
they’re not—and that is a problem.” That was
the kind of early model for what we should
do with ID@Xbox—how could we create a
program that would enable them to come to
Xbox and be successful. I’m not going to
name them—sorry!—but they do know who
they are. And they’re on Xbox now!
Okay, so let’s take a look forward and look
to the future. Which ID@Xbox games are you
most excited about in 2017?
Yes. [laughs] I’m sorry it’s a really hard
question to answer. Because I have games
I’m just excited for as a player, I have games
I’m excited about for maybe a business
reason or program reason, like, “I know how
much work we needed to do to help the
game come to Xbox or Windows 10,” or
the official xbox magazine

“Developers have
sold millions of
games through iD
and it’s awesome
to be a small
part of that”
games that are coming from devs from a
new territory—we just had our first game
pass cert that was developed in Africa—or
maybe a game uses an Xbox Live feature like
Arena in some cool way. So, I get excited
about a lot of games for a lot of reasons.
Personally, as a player, I am really looking
forward to Below, Tacoma, and Cuphead!
Out of the ID@Xbox games you’ve played
recently, which would you say have really
stood out for you?
Thimbleweed Park has been really fun—
there’s so much content in the game, and I
love adventure games. And it’s cool seeing
my friends’ names in the game—they were
Kickstarter backers! And I’m still having a lot
of fun with Astroneer and Ark. This weekend I
played a lot of Snake Pass too, which is
super original and super challenging (and
satisfying!). I end up playing a lot of games a
little bit just to try to and play everything.
how do you find new games to bring to ID@
Xbox? Do developers come to you, or do you
go to them?
Both of those things happen. Lots and lots
of developers join the program and submit
games, and that’s how we learn about them,
and we also do a lot of outreach at shows
like GDC, PAX and others, online, and at small
dev events we have. We are always on the
hunt for cool games!
how much do you think people are using
cross play to play against players on pCs or
other Windows 10 devices? Are many indie
developers adding it to their games?
Cross play is a feature we’re really excited to
support, and if you look at a title like Rocket
League that supports cross-network play
with PC versions of the game, it’s really
popular. For us, Xbox Live and everything we
do on Xbox is all about enabling play and
enabling players. So, from the perspective
of Xbox Play Anywhere—which means that
once you buy a game on Windows 10 or
Xbox, you own it for both platforms to cross
play on Xbox Live between Windows and
Xbox—it’s something we’re excited to
support. We’ve seen some good take up
across all those initiatives, although the bulk
of games that ship through ID are singleplayer,
so it’s not always possible to support
all those features.
next we’d like to talk about the Creator’s
program, which you announced for smaller
developers to bring games to Xbox. When it
was announced, ID@Xbox was designed to
be a way to make it easy for indie developers
to make games. If that’s the case, why do
you need the Creator’s program?
Looking at both paths, we want to give
developers more choice in how they bring
their games to Xbox Live. From the start,
ID@Xbox was designed for professional
game developers who wish to use the full
Xbox Live stack and have additional
marketing and development support,
including access to Xbox One and Project
Scorpio development kits. Games that come
through ID@Xbox get access to everything
any other game can do on Xbox, whether
that’s platform features or store promotion
features. On the flip side, they still require
full certification and full Xbox Live
implementation to work.
The Creators Program is great because it
allows developers to quickly publish their
game to Xbox One and Windows 10, with a
simplified certification process. And you can
integrate Xbox Live social features into your
game with minimal development time. The
Creators Program is for everyone, from
professional developers to educators,
students, hobbyists, experimenters, and
makers of all shapes and sizes.
All the way back in 2013, we were very
clear that any Xbox would be able to be a
dev kit, and that we wanted Xbox One to be
something that was as good for creating as
it was for enjoying games. This is why we
opened up Xbox One to Universal Windows
Platform (UWP) development last year with
the release of the free Dev Mode Activation
app. And we also opened up our app store
on Xbox One to all app developers.
With the Creators Program, we have now
opened the store on Xbox One to all game
developers. This is just another option for
developers—a lightweight, fully public way
to ship a game on Windows 10 and Xbox One.
I think it’s a great compliment to ID@Xbox
and one that enables Microsoft to offer the
broadest array of options to potential
developers, from large corporations that
manufacture millions of discs, to indie
developers who focus on digital distribution,
to folks who turn their retail Xbox One to a
dev kit and just start creating.
What sort of games do you expect to see
from the Creator’s program? Is there a variety
049
More great interviews at gamesradar.com/oxm
the official xbox magazine

above shovel
knight is the
cutest. him
and his little
shovel. bless.
lefT Cuphead is
an upcoming game
drawn in the
style of a 1930s
cartoon.
050
righT ooblets
is one of oXM’s
most anticipated
releases. we’re
having a yearlong
party to
prepare!
the official xbox magazine

The big inTerview
“i feel excited
because Creators
Program could be
a super fertile
place for talent
to show their
stuff on Xbox”
of games you’d like to see?
I think we’ll see a huge variety of stuff. We’ll
see things that don’t quite fit the traditional
definition of “game”. We’ll see hobbyist and
professional projects… we’ll see a lot! I think
one thing that is true of every platform is if
you build a space that makes it easy for
people to ship games, you see a lot of stuff!
What I’m most excited to see is something I
can’t even conceive of right now—and I
really think Creators Program has a good
chance to be a super fertile place for new
talent to show their stuff on Xbox.
Is this an ‘in-route’ for developers to prepare
them for making a full ID@Xbox game, or are
the two things aimed at different kinds
of developer?
One really key thing about ID@Xbox, and
Creators Program, is that they are gamebased
programs, not developer-based. So,
I’d say it’s a thing that will probably be
decided on a game-by-game basis. You may
have a developer who starts out, maybe
she’s in school, and she has a cool student
project, and it comes out via Creators
Program, but her next game comes via ID.
And you may have a long-standing ID dev
who makes a game and wants it out there
quickly and just ships it via Creators. From a
developer point of view, what we want to do
is make sure that regardless of where a
developer is in their journey, or regardless of
how they want to handle their game, that we
have a place for them in our ecosystem,
from hobbyists and experimenters, to
moonlighters and rookies, to professionals
and veterans. That ensures we’re going to
get a huge variety of games on our platform,
The Big
Names
2015
ShOvel KnIght
after being funded on
Kickstarter, the iD@xbox
Program helped Yacht club
games make this game
(and its fantastic Dlc) an
xbox reality.
which is great for our players and helps build
just a great ecosystem for both players and
creators to thrive.
Steam’s greenlight program suffered from a
‘bloatware’ problem. Do you foresee this
being a problem with the Creator’s program?
Do you have a way of curating what appears
in the Creator’s program Store?
I’ll handle these two as one question if that’s
okay! I can’t really comment on Steam, but if
2016
ROCKet leAgue
the iD@xbox program
helped this (previously
PS4-exclusive) rocketpowered
car football game
make its way to xbox. it’s
bloody good fun.
2017
CupheAD
it’s been in the works
for years and regularly
appears in iD@xbox
showcases. one day, this
beautiful platformer will
actually launch…
you’re asking about marketplaces, it’s a
great question, and one we’ve thought
about a lot. When you think of traditional
retail shopping, humanity has had about
10,000 years to perfect things. On the digital
front, we’re really only 10 or 15 years in, so
we’re still learning a lot. Both curated and
open marketplaces have advantages.
Curation works to make discovery and
surfacing things easier, but you run the risk
that the curators miss something. Uncurated
marketplaces don’t have that risk, but they
run the risk—or the certainty—of having lots
of noise-to-signal because there’s no one
really policing things.
With Xbox Live Creators Program we
thought about this a lot. And I think the
solution Microsoft came up with is actually
really interesting. So, on our PC store, all
games are assorted together today, whether
they have Xbox Live integration or not, so
we’ll keep doing that with Creators Program
games—they’ll be assorted with every other
game. On console, though, players and
parents expect a curated store experience.
So, we’re maintaining that store experience
for them, and we’re putting the open,
uncurated Creators Program games in their
own section. We’re sort of saying, “here’s our
curated store, and here’s our uncurated
section.” It may seem less elegant than
solving the curation/discovery problem all
up, but I actually think it will give us the best
of both worlds, and address our desire to
make sure Xbox is truly an open platform,
while keeping the curation that our players
expect and like in the store.
And we will definitely have programmatic
promotion in the Creators Program section of
the store, with things such as collections for
new releases, top rated, et cetera. So
players will be able to see what’s popular.
Could a game move out of the Creator’s
program into ID@Xbox, or into the main
Store if it was doing well?
Absolutely. It could move from Creators to
ID@Xbox before it even releases. There are a
couple of back-end things we need to
address to make this happen on the tech
side, so let me put an asterisk there and say
“Absolutely… later this summer,” but
directionally, philosophically, absolutely!
We expect to see lots of ID submission that
have already started development and Live
implementation via Creators, and we expect
to see plenty of games launch in the
Creators Program and then hopefully come
through ID@Xbox later on. n
if you’d like to hear more about iD@xbox,
tweet charla at @iocat or visit the iD website
at www.xbox.com/en-GB/developers/id
051
More great interviews at gamesradar.com/oxm
the official xbox magazine

oxm investigates
Predicting
the
future
052
of
XboX one
The greatest gaming show on Earth is just
around the corner, and here’s what to expect
Daniella lucas
E3 is opening its doors in LA on the
13th of June, and will bring with it
a flood of announcements that will
drown the streets in Xbox brilliance.
All of the big studios wait for that one
week to spill all of the secrets they’ve
been trying to keep quiet, but we’ve
hunted down every tiny scrap of info
and used our divining powers to make a
list of all the big games we think will be
there. Check back in June to see just
how right (or wrong) we got it all.
Prediction scale ????? If this doesn’t happen we’ll eat our hats ???? Likely, but not exactly like this
??? A solid idea but has a lot of holes ?? If you squint hard there’s a resemblance of truth ? A complete guess, but maybe a lucky one

oxm investigates
053
The official xbox magazine

10
09
09
08
xbox enters tHe virtual
reality arena
054
10
assassin’s creed makes a
triumPHant comeback
After taking a much-needed break from
the series last year, Ubisoft is sure to be
setting some stage time aside for the return
of our stabby-wristed friends. We know
it’s currently being worked on under the
codename Assassin’s Creed: Empire, but
the rest is shrouded in mystery. We expect
to get a first glimpse of this one a little bit
before E3, with more to follow at the show.
The rumor mill has been turning for quite
some time now for where ther series will be
heading next, and there have been a few
blurry shots and leaks that are pointing to
an adventure set in Egypt. It’s a country
filled with tons of mythology that would be
a great fit for the series, with places such
as ancient Cairo and Luxor full of interesting
temples to clamber up and then majestically
dive off of. Not to mention plenty of tombs
with mysterious artefacts to steal.
We really want this to come true.
???? This is definitely on the cards, but
the setting is still to be determined.
09
Halo extends its universe
An E3 without at least one mention of
SPARTANs would be a very dull affair. It could
be another spin-off, or it could finally be
Halo 6. Our money is on the latter simply
because we’re overdue an update and The
Reclaimer Saga still needs to be resolved.
Halo 5 left a lot of things open for more. Just
what is Cortana going to do with all of that
power? How is Master Chief going to deal
with having to fight his former AI partner?
Not to mention that tease of an intact Halo
ring at the very end—what’s Cortana going
to do with it? It all looks like it’s pointing
towards a war between organic life and
AIs like Cortana herself. With the galaxy
in disarray thanks to the Guardians, the
upcoming fight definitely won’t be pretty.
??? Halo 6 is surely on the way, but will
probably get a 2018 release date.
VR is so hot right now. Everyone’s embracing
it and while Hololens has some seriously
impressive tech, it’s just not as immersive as
a full-on headset. With Scorpio on the way,
boasting improved tech that could definitely
run VR, we’d be surprised if the powers that
be at Xbox didn’t start experimenting with it
on consoles. While we don’t think it’ll be an
entirely new headset—Microsoft is already
working with Oculus Rift for Windows 10
and has recently released a load of demos
on its store. They’ve also partnered with
companies such as Dell and ASUS to look
into making a more affordable VR headset
for $299. Combine that with the fact that the
Rift already comes packaged with an Xbox
One controller, and it would make a lot of
sense for that partnership to extend to the
console itself in the coming year.
?? There’s a good chance this is wishful
thinking, and limited to just PCs.
08

oxm investigates
05
07
07
exPect more
ePisodic Hitman
06
Look, we know we’ve been given a lot of
great Hitman episodes from I.0 Interactive
already, but we’re greedy and we want
more. The episodic format just works so
well for Hitman—each city so far has been
a delightfully murderous playground full
of deadly toys to play with. Sapienza in
particular showed just how perfect a fit
the small sandbox formula worked for the
series, with hundreds of possible ways to
reach your objectives in a town that felt
incredibly real. If a second season isn’t
already cooking in a dev studio somewhere
we’ll cry… okay, maybe not that drastic, but
there will definitely be some foot-stomping
and pouting involved. It’s inevitable that a
second season will launch eventually, and
E3 is the perfect time to introduce it.
???? Square Enix would be stupid not
to release more Hitman.
07
06
borderlands 3 Will Get a
ProPer announcement
This isn’t just a rumor—Gearbox studio
head Randy Pitchford has been on stage
more than once showcasing tech that
could be used in a new Borderlands game.
He then teased fans by saying, “We’ll get
to you soon,” at GDC earlier this year, just
after showing a character that looked
suspiciously like a grown-up Tiny Tina during
an Unreal 4 Engine demo. He’s laid out so
many visible hints, but has yet to say the
magic words: “Borderlands 3 is on the way.”
This is as close to a sure thing as you’ll
see before E3, but it’s not official yet, so
we’re leaving it under the ‘rumor’ banner.
We imagine they’ve been looking closely
at Destiny to make sure it sets itself apart,
while still taking lessons from its successes.
????? Stop beating around the bush
and make it official already!
05
We’ll finally Hear about
beyond Good and evil 2
First announced way back at E3 in 2008, the
sequel to the hit Beyond Good And Evil felt
like it had been anticipated for absolutely
ages. But after a lush-looking CG trailer it
all went quiet again, and remained that way
for eight years. Thankfully Ubisoft recently
reconfirmed that they are actively working
on a return to Jade’s world of investigative
journalism and talking animals. Michel Ancel,
the man behind the original and father of
Rayman, has also teased some new art on
his Instagram account with the phrase:
“Endangered species—now saved—Game
in pre-production. Stay tuned!” underneath
it. After being such a huge deal at E3 back
in 2008 it would be right at home on stage
again this year with more to show for it.
??? A possibility that it’s too soon for this
year, but it’s a strong contender.
055
The official xbox magazine

04 03
04
03
02
red dead redemPtion 2
Gets biG billinG
056
04
Wolfenstein: tHe neW
order Gets a sequel
We’re treading softly for this one, so keep
a slightly sceptical eyebrow raised, but a
sequel to Wolfenstein: The New Order might
be in the works. Pete Hines from Bethesda
was caught saying: “MachineGames (the
team behind Wolfenstein) has been hard
at work on something, which I can tell you
I have played. It is f**king bananas. And I
can’t wait to show what it actually is,” on
the Kinda Funny Gamescast. Something
that’s ridiculously over the top? Sounds like
Wolfenstein to us. Whatever it is, the fact
that it’s slipped out this year from a usually
tight-lipped studio suggests that we’ll be
hearing about it soon—probably at E3.
?? There have been some strong whispers,
but nothing solid as of yet.
03
call of duty looks
to tHe Past
After so many recent Call Of Duty entries
set in the future, fans have become a little
bored and are hankering for a return to
the past to freshen up the formula again.
Thankfully, it looks like we’re in luck, as a
poster has appeared from more than one
source teasing just that. Simply called Call
Of Duty: WWII and featuring men in classic
uniforms, this looks like exactly what
fans are after. Nothing has been officially
confirmed yet, but with no sign of this
year’s offering, and the fact that Call Of Duty
traditionally gets a large billing at E3, we can
expect plenty of info to take centre stage at
the Xbox conference on 11 June.
???? Nothing official but that’s one
large leak to patch up.
The hype for this game is immense, we’re
so excited for it that it even featured on
our cover for issue 145. So far we’ve just
seen one heck of a trailer featuring a gang
of seven cowboys charging forwards and
loads of detailed, moody scenes. Rockstar is
notoriously tight lipped, but they also like to
know that they’ve got everyone’s attention.
Where better to do that than an E3 when
millions of gamers’ eyes will be on them?
With such a cult following they’ve got the
act of blowing people’s minds with a single
trailer down to a fine art. We hope to hear
loads more info, and maybe even a launch
window on when we can expect to get lost in
the beautiful Wild West once more.
????? You can strip away our cowboy
credentials if this doesn’t happen.
02

oxm investigates
01
01
Place
scorPio
release date
and info
The specs for Xbox’s new beast of
a console may have finally been
revealed, but a few questions
still remain—how much will it
cost, when will we get it, and
what does it look like? With all
that hype building expect it to
take the prime slot during the
Microsoft press conference on 11
June with a proper unveiling and a
flashy lights show. To make the most of
01
More Deets
You can find more
details about the Scorpio
on p20, where we look
at the processing power,
visuals and what kind of
games the console will
run. We drooled a little
while writing it.
the build up and momentum we’re expecting
an October/November release date so
that there’s plenty of time for Christmas
shoppers to get their hands on one, and
save up some extra pennies. However, it will
most likely cost you more than you’d hope—
there’s an astounding amount of power
inside it so it’s going to be expensive, but
not quite full high-end PC expensive. We’re
estimating it’ll hit around the $500 mark, so
it won’t be too far out of reach for serious
gamers. As for how it looks? That’s much
harder to predict beyond it definitely being
in a box that’ll probably be ever so
slightly larger than the first Xbox
One and squarer—judging by the
shots we’ve seen of its innards.
No matter what it looks like we
can’t wait to get our hands
on it.
????? We already know
that more Scorpio details will be
revealed at E3, so can you just go
ahead and confirm them already!
your
bets
clothes make the man, or so
the saying goes. Although
there’s also a little-known
extension to that quote “...and
also the Microsoft press
conference.” head of Xbox Phil
Spencer takes these words to
heart, wearing his love of all
things gaming across his chest,
tastefully hidden beneath an
open blazer. usually they hint at
something that’s going on in
the background, so the big
question on everyones lips this
year is: “Just what will he be
wearing?” grab your best
fashionista impression and
place your bets: here are the
odds on what outfit he’ll be
teasing us with.
Phil’s the word
057
5/2 A slimming black
skull-and-crossbones
shirt for Sea of thieves
13/4 bare chest, revealing a
scorpion tattoo covered
in flames for Project
Scorpio
50/1 A full body Sam fisher
stealth suit with Xbox
green goggles.
2/1 is lowered down in a full
piñata and invites guests
onto the stage to attempt
to free him before his
oxygen runs out.
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058
Your gaming month sorted with
our definitive reviews
review
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Half the team couldn’t wait for Yooka-Laylee; The other half locked themselves in the stationary cupboard
Every now and then, something magical happens.
Maybe it’s fate or maybe it’s all just one big
coincidence, but this issue the stars have aligned
HOW WE
SCORE:
can’t make sense of
our out-of-ten rating
system? then see
below for your
at-a-glance guide.
10 a gaming
masterpiece
9 an essential slice
of brilliance
8 give it a whirl and
you won’t regret it
7 Some minor flaws
but still good
6 Solid, but not
setting any
loins aflame
5 average. not
good, but not
terrible either
4 honks just a bit
3 look away, lest
ye be tainted
2 angry-makingly
bad
1 Just... no...
titles with this
symbol are on game
Preview, so while they
aren’t finished, you
can still find out if
they’re worth playing.
editor’s
choice
irrespective of score,
the editor’s choice
award is given to
games with the
quality, ambition or
uniqueness to stand
out from the crowd.
to provide a staggering bounty of bright, beautiful
games full of heart and big ideas. Kicking things
off is Yooka-Laylee (p60), the bouncy platformer
from ex-Rare devs at Playtonic that harks back
to the days of Banjo-Kazooie. Following that up
is Bulletstorm: Full Clip Edition (p64), which takes
a bold approach to shooters by going so over the
top that your level of awesomeness is its scoring
system. It’s also got one of the best testicle-kicks in
gaming history, so, erm, thanks for that we guess,
Gearbox. Next it’s the return of the humble pointand-click
adventure with Thimbleweed Park (p68),
a genre that hails from the same braincase of the
man behind the classic Monkey Island. Okay, so
starting the game with a brutal murder doesn’t
exactly fall under ‘bright’, but it’s a darkly funny
adventure that’s worth investigating. As a bonus, a
nostalgic journey through childhood gets a slightly
creepy twist in the beautiful Blackwood Crossing
(p72) and investigative work gets a stylish makeover
in This Is The Police (p74). Now you can solve
crimes and look good! What a cracking month for
trying out something different, and perhaps finding a
new favorite among all these highly original games.
060
064
068
072
059
keep up to date with the latest oxM reviews at www.gaMesradar.coM/oxM
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060
The official xbox magazine

editor’s
choice
Publisher Team17 / DeveloPer PlayTonic games / Format xbox one / release Date ouT now / cost $39.99
Yooka-Laylee
this punishinG plAtforMer is Music to our eArs Zoe Delahunty-light
061
Being called a tool is
a kind of half-arsed
insult which makes
you yearn for a spark
of imagination in
whoever’s berating
you. In the case of the calm-eleon
Yooka and his batty friend Laylee,
it’s a complimentary observation.
Whether boinging up walls using
Yooka’s springy tail or flapping over
ravines with Laylee’s wings, the duo
are literally tools. But occasionally
tools break. And when they do, they
should definitely be blamed.
Having a title centred around an
instrumental pun (ukulele—get it?) is a
pitch-perfect indication that this isn’t
going to be a dull platformer. Starting
at a beached boat named Batship
Crazy, the chameleon-bat duo set
off to reclaim The One Book. Capital
B, the businessman bumblebee, has
got his conspicuously pollen-free
hands on it, but not for long. Or so
you hope. Scattered across the five
Above Kartos,
God or ore,
takes you on
a speedy trip
around the
world. Mess up
to much and
you’ll need to
restart, though.
left Don’t
worry, laylee
is a fruit bat,
not the vampire
type that sucks
blood. or so
she sweetly
claims...
hidden worlds are Pagies ripped from
the book, glittering bits of paper
that you’ll find by completing various
challenges. Use them to unlock new
themed worlds or expand the ones
you’ve already discovered, revealing
new areas and challenges.
It’s a small world
Rolling through these worlds is
exhilarating: Whether it’s through the
jungles’ towering temples, the ice
palace in the shimmering snow, or
the gaudy marble-and-gold fountain
surrounded by gambling chips, they all
look stunning. Exploring the ins-andouts
of each map rewards you with a
ton of activities to try, but it’s difficult
to ignore the fact that a large part of
the world remains out of your grasp.
Although there’s certainly no
shortage of personality in the worlds,
going into these locations for the first
time gives the odd sensation that
they’re holding back. Being able to
see the bits of the environment that
are cut off from exploration feels like
you’re being short-changed. Without
expanding the world using Pagies
there are ramps that lead to nowhere,
locks preventing you from opening
doors, or, bluntly put, signs saying
the next area is ‘under construction’.
Spending additional Pagies on each
location allows the worlds to come
into their own, becoming positively
vibrant and boisterous with activity.
You’ll notice the difference, which
isn’t an entirely good thing.
The missions themselves tread a
thin line between being refreshingly
challenging and just plain frustrating,
as there’s no mistaking the fact that
most are punitive. Miss gliding through
one hoop or trip up one too many
times in a mine cart, and you might
as well start all over again thanks
to the over-abundance of pulseracing
ticking timers. Other missions
are incredibly easy. But ‘satisfying’
doesn’t do justice to how it feels to
finally beat one, knowing that you
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062
sure as hell earned that Pagie. That is,
as long as you haven’t stormed away
in irritation before then, or cursed out
Laylee for being too batty to complete
missions correctly. (Sorry about that,
Laylee, we didn’t mean it...)
Dashing through glass; turning
full chameleon, and going invisible;
using Laylee’s wings to fly over the
landscape: The powers on offer later
on in Yooka-Laylee are dizzying, and
comboing them together is thrilling.
However, you’re initially left to your
own devices with rather basic moves
that feel clumsy. Trying to grab a
ledge at the end of a double-jump
seems to only work half the time, and
some moves will point-blank refuse to
work in tandem. This can come across
as unfair, and it can be tempting
to sulkily give up. As for using the
aiming-over-the-shoulder mechanic,
it’s simply a nightmare. Yet when
the various acrobatic maneuvers
come together, making your way
through worlds is a breeze, as you
can plan how you’d like to tackle the
challenges rather than being forced to
cobble together a strategy on the fly.
Hivory Towers (keeping track of
all these puns is futile), the hub
world, takes as much platforming
persistence to navigate as the other
worlds. Hidden in its corporate maze
are five Grand Tomes, which act as
portals into the themed locations
of Tribalstack Tropics, Glitterglaze
Above Yookalaylee
of the
jungle, watch
out for that
tree! or rather,
tribalstack
tropics’ masked
critters.
short
cut
What is it?
a surprisingly
demanding
platformer that
harks back to the
good ol’ days of
banjo-Kazooie.
What’s it like?
challenging, yet
so disarmingly
cheerful that
you’ll start to
question whether
it enjoys seeing
you sweat.
Who’s it For?
Those patient
enough to not
want to throttle
computergenerated
characters.
Glacier, Moodymaze Marsh, Capital
Cashino, and Galleon Galaxy. Bobbing
on their horizons are addictively
gatherable Quills, which you can
give to a salesman named Trowzer
who just happens to be a snake (just
let that sssink in…) in exchange for
new powers. Flapping around are
also butterflies, which can either be
slurped up with Yooka’s tongue to
give you a life back, or be run into
with careless abandon to recharge
a power bar that’s used to fuel your
fancier skills. Just try to ignore the
squeak as you eat them, okay?
Hiving dangerously
Anyone would guess that you’ll just
be jumping through Hivory Towers on
your way to the next world. They’d
be wrong. Spicing up your route is Dr
Quack’s (yes, you guessed it: It’s a
duck) Quickfire Quiz. Getting past that
dastardly duck involves answering
questions about your playthrough up
to that point: How long you’ve been
playing for, or how many quills you’ve
collected, for example.
An unexpected
addition to the
game, it’s a smart
and fun way to
make you reflect
on what you’ve
been, and
will be, doing.
Realising that the
game has deviously stored all this
information about your journey so
far, and is now using it against you is
semi-unnerving. But it’s this kind of
wickedly-sharp innovation that makes
Yooka-Laylee shine.
Once Dr Quack’s quiz is quelled, a
route opens up to the worlds on the
other side. Here it’s obvious just how
rambunctious Playtonic’s designs can
be when they let loose: Tribalstack
Tropics and Glitterglaze Glacier are
run-of-the-mill platformer stalwarts,
but the remaining three have their
own distinctive charm. Gone are the
predictable desert level or forest
extravaganza: Instead there’s a garish
casino, a Halloween swamp, and a
ship-sailing galaxy. Rammed with
bright designs that look impeccable,
whether it’s the surface of a stone
temple or the ethereal glowing trees
from outer space, taking the time to
enjoy the sights is a reward in itself.
Not every bit of busywork will yield
a Pagie, though: The casino
world rolls up its sleeves
and goes full-on Vegas
instead. As a welcome
change of pace, it makes
complete sense, considering
you’re in the hectic world of bets
and gambling chips. To get a Pagie
you have to collect ten golden
tokens, which are thrown your way
whenever you complete one of the
mini-games scattered throughout
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Yooka was originally a tiger, but Playtonic changed him to an underdog chameleon instead
left the
characters that
Yooka and laylee
meet are one of
the highlights
of the game.
the gambler’s paradise. Slot machines
have levers waiting to be pulled,
elusive cards hide in a maze, or tiles
yearn to be matched in a memory
game. Swapping the tokens involves
chatting to the suspiciously familiar
yellow-and-black striped buzzing
‘banker’, who assures you he’s no
relation to Capital B, but who we still
eye up dubiously when he’s looking
the other way.
Perking up the levels is this breed
of brilliantly written characters, whose
sharp dialogue, and fourth-wall
breaking quips will delight fans of
old-school platformers. Getting the
joke that inevitably lies behind each
character concept makes finding new
ones a joy, and taking the time to read
through each conversation will make
you chuckle with delight, though
cynical players may despair.
Bat’s all folks
You’ll certainly never do something
the same way twice: Each world has
new tasks, from playing golf in the
casino to finding your way through an
electrified maze in spooky marshes.
Characters reappear through the
worlds giving you a similar type of
challenge as before, but tweaking it to
make it more devious so you don’t get
tired of the formula.
Worthy of mention is the DNA-Ray of
Dr Puzz, which transforms you into an
entirely new thing in each level. In turn
face The
music
sheer bliss to
zone out to as you
rampage around,
yooka-laylee’s
soundtrack is full of
beats that build into
a catchy tune. The
banging drums of
Tribalstack Tropics
and the ethereal
twinkling of
glitterglaze glacier
evolve into more
orchestral versions
as you enter the
expanded sections.
although it’s a small
detail, it means you
mentally ramp up a
notch as you climb
into those areas,
ready to take on the
uber-challenges
that await.
“Some plants will
refuse to talk until
Dr Puzz’s machine
turns you into an
irresistible flower”
this lets you interact with characters
who have stoically ignored you until
now—some plants refuse to talk to
you until Dr Puzz’s machine turns you
into a flower, making you irresistible to
the fickle flora. A whole new puzzle
opens up, and using the skills
particular to your new flower form you
can deal with them effortlessly.
Floating around are also five types
of Ghost Writers in each world,
transparent spirits who require
different tactics to capture. Once you
figure out what it takes to get them,
hunting them down is a welcome
change of pace, which gives you time
to chill if you don’t fancy solving a
new puzzle. Likewise, there’s always
something to find if you explore every
nook and cranny—hidden power-ups,
extenders to bulk out your lives, and
power bar and Quills galore.
Varied enemies mix up the
stress-free combat, with each world
having its own distinct roster of
Capital B’s henchmen. Packs of cards
growl at you in the casino, maskwearing
tribesmen leap at you in the
tropics, and abominable snowmen
saunter around on the ice. Seeing the
last enemy left in a group throw its
hands up in surrender or sprint away
in a scrabble to retreat is gleefully
funny, as well as when the leader of a
pack of monsters shakes its fist at
you. “Dratted whippersnapper!” it
seems to cry before being smashed
to smithereens.
Yooka-Laylee is ideal for players
who like their platformers bright and
breezy, with a little sado-masochism
on the side. It might be hard to remain
mad at the annoying controls, but
you’ll definitely feel yourself trying.
Coming into its own after the first two
worlds thanks to new tricksy powers,
the game isn’t afraid to experiment,
and ends up bringing a breath of fresh
air to what could have been an
out-dated and predictable platformer.
Just remember: patience is a virtue
(and beware those skeezy bees). n
oXm verDict
wickedly funny
and not afraid to
make you work,
yooka-laylee is
diabolically fun.
7
063
The official xbox magazine

Publisher GeArbOX SOftWAre / DeveloPer PeOPle CAN fly / format XbOX ONe / release Date Out NOW / cost $49.99
Bulletstorm: Full Clip Edition
064
Ruined hotels on Ravaged alien woRlds? a bit of a gRay aRea... robert Douglas
Us gamers do love
looking backwards,
don’t we? When
we’re not salivating
at the prospect of
landscape-altering
new technology like Project Scorpio,
we’re going all misty-eyed at ’80s
era point-and-click resurgences or a
fresh wave of pacey shooters which
lean haughtily back upon the tenets
laid down by Doom way back when.
Be fast, be brutal, and be awesome
seem to be three of the pillars that
Bulletstorm aimed for upon first
release, during an era synonymous
with tertiary military shooters. Now,
with a current gen re-do, it’s time
to see if its take on super-violent
explodery has diminished with age.
And we don’t think it has.
It’s easy to imagine an alternate
universe where Bulletstorm, and not
Gears Of War, is the poster boy for
a generation of console owners. It
certainly shares a lot of the same
DNA, as you step into the thick boots
of Grayson, a hairy and broadshouldered
anti-hero who’s also the
leader of a band of outlawed space
mercenaries. This merry gang has
found itself in a bit of a mess at
the outset of the game, with a juicy
sci-fi revenge set-up involving a
maniacal general and some unsavory
political assassinations unknowingly
committed at the hands of Gray and
his crew. After a suitably blowy-uppy
intro sequence, the boys and an army
of adversaries are marooned on a
once opulent holiday resort planet,
now dilapidated and packed full of
mutants, bandits, foliage monsters,
and other such delights.
None of this adequately sums
up why you should be keen to grab
a copy of Bulletstorm, however. As
a shooter it’s keenly shaped by its
old-school genre forebears, with the
speed and high-octane movement
of Doom, or indeed Duke Nukem,
who turns up as an optional playable
character in this version thanks to the
involvement of Gearbox as publisher.
Bulletstorm is also, importantly,
its own thing entirely, with a set of
short
cut
What is it?
Duke Nukem by
way of Gears Of
War and with an
approx. 110 per
cent less irritating
anti-hero.
What’s it like?
Some shooter
devs threw darts
at post-it notes
with and landed
on ‘kicks’, ‘whips’,
and ‘dicks’.
Who’s it for?
Anyone who
missed it first
time around. It
was criminally
underrated and
underplayed.
combat gimmicks. On their own, these
would feel like exactly that, but when
put together into one package, they
inspire such dizzying bouts of gunplay
it would make Doomguy himself blush.
Score blimey
First is the scoring system, which
sees you unlock new weapons and
upgrades by spending points earned
by doing awesome, and frequently
ridiculous, things. Knock a foe off a
balcony? Have you some points! Shoot
someone square in the bum cleft?
Have a helping more points for your
trouble! Wait—did you just shoot that
guy’s entire top half clean off? Points
galore for you, sir!
With each successful ‘skillshot’
greeted by neon-lettered, block
capital exclamations of your deeds,
every fight, no matter the scale, feels
gloriously celebrated. You’ll chuckle
when you meet just one foe and
smash him unceremoniously into a
cactus (PIN CUSHION!) and you’ll survey
a screen filled with such savory text
when you kick a red barrel into a
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Review
Gearbox has said that if Full Clip does well, a Bulletstorm 2 could be on the cards. Let’s make this happen, folks
faR left turret
sections help
ensure the pace
ticks along at
a… well, at a
full clip.
Right Jennifer
hale, the set
of pipes behind
Mass effect’s
femshep, turns
up as sidekick
trishka.
luCky Duke
While you can
play through the
game as the dishonorable
poop
wrangler, complete
with iconic black
booted leg-feet,
if this is the first
time you’re playing
the game we’d
recommend not
bothering with Duke
Nukem and sticking
with Gray. Not only
is Steve blum’s
gravely voice acting
just better than Jon
St. John’s (shut up,
it is), no additional
lines were recorded
to allow for the
character’s
existence in this
world. Sure, you’re
not here for the
story, but having
other characters
call you Gray when
you are obviously
Duke ensures it has
even less impact
than its popcornnomming
sights are
aiming to deliver on.
swarm of enemies and then shoot it
into a fireball of destruction (ENVIRO-
MENTAL! AFTERBURNER!).
Whippy-ki-yay
Ah, yes, the simple first-person
shooter kick. It’s a move which Duke
may have effectively patented, but
which Gray absolutely masters.
Enemies you give the boot to are
prone to bouts of slow motion as a
swift clog to the balls lifts them off
the ground. It’s a way to grab some
distance when reloading, but also
helpfully bosh foes into the deadly
scenery (of which there is loads, from
the aforementioned cactuses to
man-eating acid plants and electrified
storms turning the air outside into an
atmosphere-sized microwave oven).
This kick is the kick of legend, a kick
so sumptuously physical and effective
it makes other kicks look as fragile
and ineffective as a Lego ballerina
trying to waft a butterfly off a friend’s
nose with their foot.
The crowning cherry of a gimmick
atop this gimmick pantheon is the
leash, an electro-whip attached
to Gray’s wrist with which he can
yank scenery, enemies and ammo
around. The heady action and runand-gun
shooting suddenly has a
dose of creativity flavoring to it. Why
this device isn’t now a standard
videogame trope is beyond us. It’s
glorious and always tons of fun.
If you played Bulletstorm the first
time round, then chances are you
know all of this already, and, honestly
playing this game again now will
just reaffirm its qualities, as well
as its faults. The gameplay is still
bulletproof, the story still mildly cack.
Amazingly, unlike many a current-gen
rejig, this never feels like an older
left finish the
game, and you’ll
unlock a special
mode that let’s
you play with
every gun.
“A swift clog to the
knackers lifts foes
off the ground and
boshes them into
man-eating plants”
game. Textures pop, environments
look great, and some of the larger set
pieces will have you wondering how
this ever really ran on a 360.
The fact is, a lot of people—too
many people—didn’t play this game
the first time, and that makes this
remake’s existence all the more
essential. It might not add a whole lot
to the existing package, but—ahem—
what a package it packs. n
oXm verDict
reminds us how
great shooters
were before Doom
and Wolfenstein
were rebooted.
8
065
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Publisher Sumo DigitAl / DeveloPer Sumo DigitAl / format XboX one / release Date out now / cost $19.99
Snake Pass
A different Breed of Solid SnAke Daniella lucas
066
This is a puzzleplatforming
game
with a twist. Well,
several twists when
you’re a snake. You
play as Noodle,
a serpent that’s been tasked with
connecting all of the areas in Snake
Pass after all of the magical gates the
animals use for travelling around have
mysteriously broken. Collect three
jewels and plenty of optional extras to
reach each new tropical level.
The core mechanics of just getting
around feel fantastic. A bit like
accelerating a car in a racing game,
you hold down RT to propel Noodle’s
elongated body forwards, swaying
your thumbstick side to side to help
him gain traction and speed like a real
snake would. You can’t jump, so if you
want to head upwards you’ll need to
climb by weaving your body around
bamboo poles to give you a sturdy
spot to reach up to your next step.
Everything about moving feels
gloriously physical, and it’s what
makes Snake Pass work so well.
Getting from A to B becomes a puzzle
of how to navigate your own body
through a nest of obstacles without
slipping. You find yourself slowing
down to plan out your next move
just to get to that ledge that’s out of
reach, gripping on tightly while you
strain to stretch your head forwards to
safety and breathing a sigh of relief.
Snaking around is excellent fun, but
it’s the only big device the game has,
and after the 100th time weaving up
yet another bamboo climbing frame
right hold on
tight! if you
don’t wrap
yourself around
an object
tightly enough
you’ll fall.
Below Pushing
a ball with no
hands is harder
that it looks.
short
cut
What is it?
A puzzling
platformer that
relies on the
physics of your
snakey body.
What’s it like?
You won’t have
known how much
fun it could be to
be a snake until
playing this.
Who’s it for?
Anyone who
wants to work
out their brain
noodle in a bright
environment.
“Getting from A to
B becomes a nest
of obstacles you
have to navigate”
it does get a bit tiring. While the
environments are quite varied, the
gameplay isn’t and it’ll start to grate
during extended periods of play. You’ll
be far better off if you pace yourself
by enjoying short bursts before
warming to it again after focusing
on something else for a while.
Grip shift
There’s also a sharp difficulty spike.
You’ll nervously slither along poles
that bridge gaps between floating
islands, where one wrong move will
see you falling into the empty abyss
below. It’s inevitable that you will
eventually fall—there’s no escaping
your fate—but you’ll find yourself
falling annoyingly often, and then
having to restart the section further
back from a badly placed checkpoint.
There’s no fury quite like almost
getting to the end of a particularly
tricky bit, only to fall just before you
reach the safety of solid ground
beneath your scales. We recommend
a strategically placed pillow to break
the trajectory of any rage-induced
bouts of pad throwing.
Snake Pass suffers from similar
problems to Yooka-Laylee—why are
games this adorable and cheery
often so brutally difficult? But while
it might have even less variety than
its anthropomorphized platforming
competition, it’s a lot more focused.
You always know what you need to do
to progress, even if you do slip a few
times along the way.
With both games being released so
close together, and boasting the kind
of visuals and gameplay that made
the likes of Rare’s Banjo-Kazooie big
back in the ‘90s, it’s hard not to ask
the ultimate question: Which one
is better? Our wallets go with Snake
Pass, but only by the length of a
reptile’s flicked tongue. It’s smaller,
yes, but by being so constricted,
it’s also slicker and feels a lot more
polished. There are a lot of reasons
not to like snakes, but ultimately it’s
hard not to get on with Noodle. n
oXm verDict
the slithering feels
fantastic despite
a few slip-ups. An
enjoyable, if a little
frustrating, game.
7
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publisher WArnEr Bros / Developer TT FusIon / format XBoX onE / release Date ouT noW / cost $59.99
Lego City Undercover
Clean streets or mean streets? let’s Cut to the Chase… stephen ashby
“Lego meets GTA” is
not a sentence we
thought we’d ever
really say, but this
game screams it.
Previously a Wii-U
exclusive, Xbox One owners are finally
getting a HD port of the game, almost
four years after the original launched.
The important question is, has it really
stood the test of time?
The short answer is yes. People
often praise Lego games for being
funny—and rightly so—but few
games in the series have actually
made us laugh out loud like Lego City
Undercover. The writing is fantastic,
and the delivery of some of the lines
will have you giggling like an idiot.
There are some exceptions, such as
Chase’s dumb sidekick continuously
mispronouncing ‘computer’ as
‘compuper’ (HA! It sounds like POOP!),
which becomes immediately tedious,
but these are minor missteps in an
otherwise excellent script.
On the beat
To complement the dialogue is
probably the most bonkers story of
any Lego game, and we’re saying
that in the knowledge that there
have been two Lego games starring a
super-powered god of thunder.
It starts with Chase returning to
Lego City after two years away. During
his first day he stops some robberies
and arrests some dudes. Standard. By
the end of the story, though, he’s met
a villain that even James Bond would
consider a bit eccentric, learned
right there
are dozens of
references to
games, movies
and tV shows,
and they’re all
really well
executed.
short
cut
What is it?
GTA, but
everything is
made out of
brightly colored
bricks and there’s
no swearing.
What’s it like?
Every other Lego
game you’ve
played, with a
stellar script and
tons of stuff to do.
Who’s it for?
Kids, adults and
kid-like adults.
It’s not a hard
game, but it’s
pure fun all the
way through.
“Chase learns kung
fu, steals a robotic
T-Rex and travels
to the moon”
kung fu from a guy named Barry,
stolen a robotic T-Rex, and traveled
to the moon. It’s pure parody all the
way through, and the writers clearly
revelled in it. There are references to
Die Hard, Dirty Harry, and many more
dotted throughout, with clever twists
that will make you smile. It feels like
the first time TT Fusion has let loose
with its writing (possibly because it
wasn’t constrained by licences), and
the result is a lot of fun.
Of course, this is still a Lego game,
so aside from the writing, there are
a lot of familiar elements. There’s
platforming, basic combat, and
puzzles. There’s a lot of punching
stuff until it explodes, then rebuilding
it into something else. However, we
actually found these puzzles less
frustrating than usual—in some Lego
games it’s not totally clear what
you need to do next, but Lego City
signposts things more obviously.
That might make the game boring
for some more experienced players,
but it meant we rarely spent more
than a couple of minutes running
around a level trying to work out what
to do next. For parents playing with
their kids, it’s a great time.
The large open-world city is your
playground, with hundreds of sidequests
and discoveries dotted around
and missions here and there. If you’ve
played a Lego game before, you know
the deal. Driving between them is
annoyingly slow if you can’t find a
nice car, but find a sporty number and
it can be good fun. The graphics have
definitely seen an upgrade since the
2013 Wii U version, too, but you’ll still
experience the odd bit of pop-in and
some jagged shadows.
What we’re trying to say is, while
Lego City isn’t perfect, it’s got enough
character, laughs, and fun ideas to
keep you entertained long after the
main story is complete. If you loved
previous Lego games, you’ll also love
this, and if you’ve never played a Lego
game in your life, there couldn’t be a
more perfect place to start. n
oXm verDict
Lego City hits the
heights of the very
best Lego games,
with only a few of
the lows.
8
067
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ThE oFFICIAL XBoX mAGAzInE

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It’s no coincidence that Thimbleweed Park is set in 1987—that’s the same year that Maniac Mansion came out
Publisher TerrIble ToYbox / develoPer TerrIble ToYbox / format xbox one / release date ouT now/ cost $19.99
Thimbleweed Park
How to review a point-and-click game? Use ‘fingers’ on ‘keyboard’ robert douglas
068
This game is more
important than its
humble pixels might
imply. Back in the
late ’80s and early
’90s, point-and-click
adventures were making waves. In an
industry just about coming to terms
with plumbers doing a jump, we were
seeing games like Monkey Island and
Maniac Mansion put excellent writing
and logic puzzles front and centre.
Now, though, Thimbleweed Park
has a task on its 8-bit hands, looking
to reinvigorate the genre for a new
realm of gamers while meeting the
expectations of Rob Gilbert’s fans.
It begins with a murder. Two agents,
the young and eager Reyes and the
acerbic Ray, stand over a bludgeoned
corpse. Interactions in this game are
tied to words, as you gather inventory
items and combine them with your
surroundings by way of a collection of
verbs in order to solve puzzles.
Reyes and Ray head out into the
nearby town of Thimbleweed Park,
population 80, to find out who’s
responsible for the homicide and
why. On the way you discover another
three playable characters, each
unlocked by playing through their
back stories. These characters are
the backbone of everything good in
Thimbleweed Park. Half of the fun
to be had here is in darting about
town and finding how different NPC
characters respond to your player
character. Having Ransome, a sweary
clown who suffers from a curse that
inhibits him from removing his makeup,
hurl insults at the local café
proprietor, when other characters
might politely natter away, is the stuff
distractions are made of.
These characters are brought to
life via an instantly iconic pixelated
style which is no-frills enough to
leave some nuance of the on-screen
action to your imagination, but vibrant
short
cut
What is it?
A point-and-click
adventure evoking
the spirit of
games from
1987 to 1993.
What’s it like?
As if the last
three decades
of gaming never
happened.
Who’s it for?
If the words
‘three-headed
monkey’ mean
anything to you,
then: You.
and intricate enough to be charming.
Just watch how each character
goes through a different throwing
up animation after scoffing a mouldy
hotdog and you’ll see what we mean.
Moan of arc
One criticism we’d level at the
characters is that, while they’re
funny enough to have you chuckling
throughout, only one of them really
feels like he goes through any kind of
actual arc. For the most part, these
characters are the same people at
the end of the game as they were at
the beginning, so there’s little sense
in taking them on a journey.
Also, while they interact with the
town and its citizens constantly,
there’s this weird gamey disconnect
between them, which by necessity
sees them barely interact with each
other. A few more incidental lines
of dialogue between, for example,
the sarcastic Ray and the energetic
The offIcIAl xbox mAgAzIne

“A sweary clown
called Ransome
is cursed and
can never take
off his make-up”
rigHt this is a
weird game, and
its humor can
often feel too
focused on genre
easter eggs.
left by the
time you’re
done, the fourth
wall will need
some serious
counseling.
069
and enthusiastic Delores (who in a
knowing chortle-inducing nod is a
point-and-click game developer),
would have worked wonders. As it
is, having these characters interact
to solve puzzles, sharing knowledge
across vast distances, and giving
each other items for no discernible
narrative reason feels awkward.
Point and twist
Which brings us to the stonking great
narrative twist that lies deep within
Thimbleweed Park’s belly. It’s a doozy,
and one that provides a retrospective
excuse for pretty much any narrativebased
critique you might care to fling
at the game. It’s the kind of twist
that is a satisfying pay-off when it
happens, but as time passes and the
end credits roll to a stop, it’s easy to
feel hard-done by. What starts as a
murder mystery eventually becomes…
something else, and while it all
makes sense as it’s happening, those
PIxel hunTer
You shouldn’t ever
have to resort to
the age-old tactic
of using all your
inventory items on
everything you can
see in order to solve
a puzzle. everything
feels logical,
and the game is
incredibly adept
at ushering your
train of thought
down certain tracks
in order to prime
you for possible
solutions. There
was only one
instance of actual
pixel hunting during
our playthrough. To
save you the effort:
check the popcorn
cart carefully…
That’s all we’ll say.
You’re welcome.
looking for an intriguing whodunit will
leave utterly disappointed. With belly
ache from laughing, yes, but also the
feeling of being unfulfilled.
The same can’t be said of the
puzzles. These are some of the
finest ‘use thing on another thing’
conundrums that we—point-andclicking
veterans that we are—have
encountered. The verb system should
feel archaic, but somehow, with a
combination of shortcut controls and
much, much clearer environments
to scour, they don’t. There’s a huge
difference between the game’s two
modes, Casual and Hardcore, and it’s
very obvious that the latter is the way
the game was intended to be played.
Those only here for the story and
not craving an intense bout of head
scratching can cruise right through
the former, but they’ll miss out on
some crucially brilliant teasers. Gilbert
is a master of the ‘Aha!’ moment, and
Hardcore mode is six to ten hours
jam-packed with those. Casual, by
comparison, feels very cut down.
Although the genre is associated
with a bygone era, Thimbleweed Park
could herald a new age of awesome
point-and-clicks, and shows that the
old tricks can still work with a modern
touch. Not everyone will appreciate
its narrow comedic lens, but those
who do will nurse aching sides even
as they scoff at the twists and hope
for a more satisfying narrative next
time round. n
oXm verdict
Perfectly evokes
the brilliant pointand-clicks
of old,
from the puzzles to
the one-liners.
8
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Publisher TequilA Works / DeveloPer CAvAlier GAmes, TequilA Works / forMat XboX oNe / release Date ouT NoW / cost $19.99
The Sexy Brutale
070
DeaD again (anD again anD again) Martin kitts
People who have
worked in customer
service for a living
will probably be able
to sympathize just a
little with the staff
of The Sexy Brutale, an exclusive
mansion-casino where the servants
have decided that enough is enough
and that all of those annoying guests
will have to be murdered.
But as priestly investigator Lafcadio
Boone discovers, killing the guests
just once isn’t enough for these guys.
Instead they repeat the entire gory
sequence over and over, looping from
midday to midnight, with each guest
suffering the same hideous demise at
the exact same time. Lafcadio is the
only person with any memory beyond
this 12-hour period, but can his
knowledge of events break the cycle?
It’s a concept that’s surprisingly
absent from a lot of games. The
sprawling, time-warping Legend Of
Zelda: Majora’s Mask might be the best
known example, and the clockwork
Groundhog Day of the recent Hitman
is worth a mention, but both games
have inherent issues with pacing that
wouldn’t suit a shorter experience like
The Sexy Brutale. There’s potentially
a lot of waiting around for events to
occur and, particularly in Zelda’s case,
an overwhelming amount of stuff to
keep track of. It’s not the most fun.
No time for love
The Sexy Brutale manages to bypass
these problems by squeezing the
entire day’s events into about nine
minutes of actual playing time. It’s
long enough to explore the immediate
area and get an idea of where you’re
supposed to go next, but short
enough to keep you on your toes.
You start at midday, and if the next
characters are due to be murdered
at 7pm, that means you’ve got about
five minutes to do everything that’s
required to help them.
Not that you can actually save
anyone on a permanent basis.
Preventing a killing earns you some
plot exposition, and the saved
character will leave behind a mask
short
cut
What is it?
A bizarre and
nightmarish
Groundhog Day of
murder and malice.
What’s it like?
Neither sexy nor
particularly brutal,
for some reason,
but still thrilling.
Who’s it for?
Fans of old-school
adventures and
new-age twists.
granting a new ability that will get
you a bit further into the mansion,
but afterwards you’ll be warped back
to midday and everything will be as it
was before. The person you rescued
will be doomed once again.
Certain key items you uncover,
such as door codes and special
abilities, carry over when the clock
resets at midnight, but all other
inventory objects return to wherever
you found them. Solving a murder
can take several days of exploration
and observation, as you press deeper
into the mansion and uncover the
information you’ll need to get to that
critical point in time to intervene.
The guests can’t be engaged
with other than in the pre-murder
intervention. If Lafcadio enters the
same room as another character,
the clock will freeze, the screen
will darken, and he’ll be chased to
the nearest exit. To find out what
the guests and staff are up to you
must peep through keyholes, hide
in closets, and listen through walls.
Eventually you’ll build up knowledge
The oFFiCiAl XboX mAGAziNe

evieW
Some of the people behind The Sexy Brutale also worked on Deadlight, Fable 2 and the upcoming Rime
left Behind the
one-way mirror
in the casino,
where death
deals a losing
hand to another
hapless victim.
“You’ll see where
certain objects are
hidden and how to
open secret doors
while out of sight”
far left let’s
all stare
dreamily into
this stained
glass window,
right We just
want to know who
lives in a house
like this?
071
of the daily routine, which is stored
on a map that shows all the character
movements you’ve witnessed so far.
You’ll see where special objects get
hidden, eavesdrop on interesting
conversations, and find out how
to open secret passages, all while
remaining safely out of sight.
The map is large, and getting from
one side to the other can take the
best part of a day. Each distinct area
of the mansion has a clock that allows
you to restart from that point rather
than in the entrance hall, so finding
these essential save points should
be the first order of business when
entering a new location.
Playing detective
Because it’s not feasible to visit
multiple locations in the span of a
single day, you can be fairly certain
that the solution to an area’s own
murder mystery is right there in those
few rooms. Looking further afield
won’t actually get you anywhere new,
and items that can’t be retained when
the clock resets are almost always
murDer
They WroTe
There are seven
‘cases’ to solve,
although the first is
basically a tutorial
and the last more
or less solves
itself. once you’ve
activated a murder
thread by locating
the victim, the time
of demise will be
marked on your
watch. While only
one thread can be
active, and there’s a
strict sequence for
completing them,
all of the deaths
happen regardless
of whether you’ve
discovered them.
Those crashes and
thuds, the way the
lights flicker at a
certain time—it’s
the mansion’s
guests being
mercilessly killed
off over the course
of nine minutes.
intended to be used close to where
they were first found.
With that knowledge in mind, The
Sexy Brutale is less challenging than
it initially appears to be. Solving a
murder by moving a single object to
a nearby room and pulling a switch
can appear a little anti-climactic at
first, but the real pleasure is in all the
moments that led to that point. The
spying, the overheard gossip, the
endless studying of the map screen,
and the final race against time. In
terms of theme and gameplay it’s
like a glorious union of Gregory Horror
Show and Ghost Trick. It’s beautiful to
look at and compelling to play.
Our only real criticism of the game
is that it’s over too quickly. With its
bite-sized nine-minute format, one
day in The Sexy Brutale inevitably
leads to another and another and
another… We spent something like
eight hours unravelling the mansion’s
mysteries, but that included about
45 minutes early on when we were
completely stuck and an hour or
two near the end when we decided
to leave the quest and go exploring
for collectables—we realized we’d
sussed the technique behind all of
the puzzles but we just didn’t want
the game to end. Which is as good a
recommendation as any. n
oXM verDict
strange, brilliantly
original and almost
impossible to stop
playing until you’ve
solved the puzzle.
8
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The oFFiCiAl XboX mAGAziNe

REViEw
Scarlett’s personality and style underwent numerous changes before PaperSeven settled on ‘thoughtful, artistic hippy’
PuBlisher ViSion gAmeS PubliSHing / develoPer PAPerSeVen / forMat XboX one / release date out now / cost $15.99
Blackwood Crossing
a GaME THaT LEaVES US SCaRLETT wiTH DESiRE kiMBerleY Ballard
072
Why is childhood
such a special time?
Perhaps it’s the
innocence that is
synonymous with
this age, or perhaps
it’s the magic. As adults, it’s easy
to look back and see childhood as a
completely different realm, one where
people are puzzles to be unlocked,
and ordinary objects reverberate with
the language of dreams.
Blackwood Crossing celebrates
the romanticism of childhood and
all the treasures that line its path:
the treehouses, stuffed toys, railway
sets and summer holidays. The game
opens with Scarlett, the playable
teenage girl who wakes up on a train
to discover her younger brother, Finn,
has gone missing and that strange,
masked figures linger in every room.
Emerging indie dev PaperSeven has
crafted a stunning debut. Driven by
its sumptuous visuals, the game feels
inspired by the exaggerated features
of old-school claymation (Scarlett
and Finn are two pairs of huge eyes
in freckled porcelain faces) crossed
with the modern gloss of computer
animation. It’s a delight to sink into,
especially when you notice how
detailed the canvas is, from Scarlett’s
chipped nail varnish to the lines
of hair that stick up at the back of
Finn’s head like sprigs of grass.
The thick, creeping atmosphere
also makes Blackwood Crossing
feel singular. PaperSeven hems
most of the action into a single
location, with each encounter and
narrative twist taking place on the
train. Being confined to a snaking
line of corridors and small rooms is
beautifully unsettling, and it’s hard
not to break out in goosebumps when
you turn a corner and see a child in
a bunny mask. If that sounds like a
cue from Alice In Wonderland, it’s an
apt comparison. Scarlett is very much
short
cut
What is it?
A first-person
mystery game
about two siblings
who wake up on a
magical train.
What’s it like?
A coming-of-age
novel mixed with
the visuals of a
Henry Selick film.
Who’s it for?
People who crave
atmosphere,
whimsy, and
beautiful
animation.
our Alice, and the further the game
progresses, the deeper into the
rabbit hole she falls.
Nostalgia vision
If Blackwood Crossing were merely
an exercise in style and tension,
PaperSeven would have achieved a
brilliantly evocative game. Instead
the developer chooses to go deeper,
unearthing emotions and exploring
topics that many games wouldn’t
touch: Topics such as love, loss, and
the passage of childhood.
Scarlett is very much the vessel
for these ideas. Stuck in the apex
between innocence and experience,
Scarlett tries to raise her brother
despite only being a child herself.
With the use of dialogue trees, you
can shape Scarlett’s interactions with
Finn, choosing responses that are
gentle, sarcastic, or angry. Though it
has little impact on the plot, our own
personalities come into play: Would
tHe officiAl XboX mAgAzine

“Being confined
to a snaking line
of corridors and
small rooms is
very unsettling”
RiGHT why do
tyres always
seem to hang
ominiously in
the foreground?
faR LEfT we
already told
this annoying
bunny boy that
we returned
his copy of
watership Down!
LEfT Scarlett’s
brother finn
is quite sweet...
except when
he’s setting
things on fire.
073
we berate a naughty child, or would
we recognize his vulnerability?
The story of Scarlett and Finn soon
becomes the most striking element
of the game. Like a lot of sibling
relationships, their interactions are
veined with antagonism yet couched
in affection. Through them, the game
shows just how much we lash out
and hurt the people we care for the
most. “This is why you don’t have any
friends,” Scarlett hisses at Finn after
finding out he’d punched another boy.
“He’s not my friend. I hate him. I hate
you!” Finn roars back. In places like
this, the game positively stings.
The actual mechanics of the
game are very simple, centring on
exploration and a series of puzzles.
At first, these puzzles feel inspired,
and are tricky enough to stump you
in a few places. They reward your
curiosity, too: Interacting with objects
will tell you more about the siblings,
and unlock different parts of the train
SeVentH
HeAVen
PaperSeven is a
small, independent
studio based in
brighton. it’s made
up of ex-employees
from the defunct
AAA studio black
rock Studio, who
made racing games
like Pure and Split/
Second. the team
is joined by oliver
reid-Smith, who
wrote fireproof’s
puzzle series the
room and helped
design the burnout
games. blackwood
crossing marks
a new direction
for the members
of PaperSeven,
swapping highoctane
thrills for
magic and mystery.
as you try to find Finn. One particular
puzzle, however, is repeated three
times. At first it’s effective, but once
you’ve figured it out, it’s very easy
to piece together again. Including
puzzles of different calibres would
have helped the game feel fresh.
Passion project
But what makes Blackwood Crossing
feel special is its devotion to magic,
and the imagination of children. In
one breathtaking scene, a tree grows
in the middle of the train, breaking
into the ceiling and emerging in
Scarlett and Finn’s treehouse from
back home. Scarlett can also breathe
life into paper butterflies, and in one
disturbing sequence, Finn’s rage sets
fire to all of their childhood relics.
The game brims with this dreamlike
logic, especially when Scarlett tries to
uncover who the masked figures are.
Like people plucked from Salvador Dali
paintings, they flicker like holograms
and hide their faces behind tribal
masks. It’s a simplistic gimmick, but
one that’s eerily effective.
Blackwood Crossing may be too
light on action for some players but
it’s a touching experience: a portrait
of childhood and an exploration of
how memory and perspective can
change a single scene for two people.
A game where two children navigate a
strange world, it’ll bring back strands
of your own childhood, and the people
you loved along the way. n
oXM verdict
the puzzles may
be easy, but this
is a beautiful and
genuinely moving
ode to childhood.
8
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tHe officiAl XboX mAgAzine

publisher THQ Nordic / Developer WeAPPy STudioS / format XboX oNe / release Date ouT NoW / cost $14.99
This Is The Police
074
Law and disorder in Freeburg City stephen ashby
A police chief a
few months from
retirement. A corrupt
and sleazy mayor.
Mob bosses running
the city. A gentle
jazz soundtrack. Yes, this is a list
of cop drama clichés, but they are
also the foundations of This Is The
Police’s storyline. Against the odds,
this isn’t entirely a bad thing.
This Is The Police revels in these
tropes. The chief of police smokes
cigars, has a gruff voice, and suffers
from what we will delicately describe
as an ‘over-reliance’ on painkillers.
The mayor swans around in tennis
whites. There are moustaches all
over the place. Weappy Studios has
turned every cliché up to 11, and for
the most part, they get away with it.
This is mainly because the game
is incredibly stylish. The design is
intentionally simplistic, with few
details and an angular aesthetic.
Cutscenes play out in comic booklike
panels, with simple animations,
copious use of shadows and
excellent voiceovers. Characters
don’t have faces, but features like
glasses or a beard stand out.
It all works really well, partly thanks
to the excellent vocal performances,
such as Duke Nukem’s voice actor,
Jon St. John, who voices brilliantly
realized police chief Jack Boyd. You’ll
spend most of your time listening to
his grizzled lines, and he carries the
narrative effortlessly. With time you’ll
start to enjoy the company of the
tired, burnt-out Boyd as he serves
out his final days in the bureau
before a forced retirement.
Being the boss
Your primary task is handling the daily
running of the station. You’ll need to
direct your officers to crimes as they
happen, choosing how many to send
to each one and which officers are
right for the job. The squad is made
up of unique officers, and some are
more trustworthy than others, so
selecting the right mix is vital. Pair off
two slackers to deal with a domestic
violence incident and you may end
short
cut
What is it?
A tactical crime
drama about a
police chief trying
to make $500,000
in his last 180
days before
retirement.
What’s it like?
Painfully stylish,
with excellent
sound design, but
questionable
plot points.
Who’s it for?
Tactically-minded
players who like
drama and love a
good story.
up with an unexpected fatality. Too
many of them and the mayor will start
to cut your budget.
As the game continues, the
choices that face you start to ramp
up. Do you send a single officer
to each crime that is occurring, or
ignore some victims in order to get
good results with others? Do you
send a full SWAT team to a bank
robbery, or let your officers handle
it? Make the wrong decision and your
officers, or even a civilian, could
die. You might lose one of your most
trusted team members, and once
they’re gone, they’re gone. Your
attachment to these officers builds
similarly to that of XCOM’s squads;
losing a long-serving member of your
team is like losing an old friend.
Soon, demands will be made of
you by mob bosses who have you
wrapped around their little fingers.
Choices become tougher, black and
white blend into grey, and you start
having to do things you don’t want
to in order to keep your job, and stay
out of prison. At first, it’s genuinely
THe officiAl XboX mAgAziNe

eview
This Is The Police was funded on Kickstarter, smashing its goal by more than $10,000
“Make the wrong
decision and one
of your trusted
officers or even a
civilian could die”
Far LeFt some
major political
points are
touched on, but
don’t get quite
the attention
they deserve.
right some
crimes ask
for further
decisions to be
made. Making the
wrong choice can
end in disaster.
LeFt you can
choose the music
that plays each
day. Fortunately
for us, boyd’s
selection of
himalayan
pan-pipe music
is seriously
lacking.
075
engaging, and we often spent a few
minutes making a key decision, not
wanting to get it wrong.
Criminal action
Some crimes trigger yet more
decisions, with multiple options
to solve complex crimes like bomb
threats. Do you shoot the package?
Send in your officers and risk their
lives? Or wait until the bomb squad
arrives? These situations ramp up
the tension further, but the payoff
at the end left us wanting more—a
pop-up window that says ’offender
arrested’ doesn’t really convey the
stress and danger of the situation.
It’s something of a let-down.
There are some major missteps
in the story, too. At one point, we
were instructed to fire all the black
officers in our squad. At another,
we were ordered to break up a
peaceful feminist protest with force.
These story steps felt like they were
going to lead onto something more
complex—perhaps we would learn
more about the racist, bigoted mayor,
bAd boyd
Police chief Jack
boyd is being
pushed into
retirement by the
mayor, who wants
a candidate more
open to his ideas.
before he goes,
though, boyd wants
a retirement fund,
and turns to his
deputy—recently
at the heart of a
corruption scandal
himself—to put
him in contact with
some less reputable
members of society.
Soon, the mobs get
involved and start
making boyd do
their dirty work.
do you stick to your
morals and keep it
clean, or embrace
the darkness and
earn as much cash
as you possibly
can? That decision
is up to you…
or be a part of a wider conversation
about how the police such handle
situations. At the time, we felt
sure our decisions would have
implications later on, but we stuck to
our morals and disobeyed the orders.
The next day, the mayor forced us to
fire a single officer, and beyond that
the repercussions seemed minimal.
It felt like a missed opportunity for
more story. And while Boyd’s plight
is engaging, we found ourselves
getting bored of the cycle after a
couple of hours. Crimes started
repeating, and the tedium of sending
officers to petty offences set in.
Worse, though, was the feeling
that some of the decisions we made
didn’t actually matter. Some are
blatantly ‘wrong’ ones, while others
seem to have no consequences at
all. At times, it feels like you’re just
following a story without actually
changing its outcome. The overall
tone of the game – from the writing
to the music—is fantastic, but a few
failings stop this from being a toptier,
story-driven, noir classic. n
oXm verDict
Sleek, sleazy and
stylish, but lacking
the punch and
mouldable story
that we crave.
7
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Get more from your Xbox
extra
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extra
play now
on xbox one
backwards
compatible
Keep an eye out for
this badge over the
next few pages: it
indicates when a
game of old can be
booted up in shiny
Xbox one-o-vision.
You youngsters don’t know you’re born. Back in
our day, computers packed less processing power
than your average modern-day SmartComb,
but jump into a game, and you’d often still find
yourself roundly thrashed by the title’s primitive
artificial intelligences. You molly-coddled kids
can’t comprehend the psychological beatings we
endured. Fortunately, some games still understand
the virtue of being almost aggressively challenging,
and Dark Souls III’s The Ringed City DLC (p80)
proves once again that FromSoftware is a right
old meanie. In an appropriately death-riddled Now
Playing, Matt Elliott investigates the final part of
Miyazaki’s masterful trilogy. But while FromSoftware
may be cruel, Official Xbox Magazine is wholesome,
sweet, and kind, so we’ve put together a brand-new
feature dedicated entirely to helping our readers
out. This month, we’re providing the lowdown on
how to broadcast your games with Beam (p84),
Microsoft’s great new streaming service. Once
you’ve established yourself as a streaming superstar,
you’ll have to think hard about what you want to
broadcast to the world, and we’re here to help with
that, too. The indisputable answer, of course, is
dogs. That’s why we’ve put together an authoritative
ranking of the 15 greatest pups in Xbox history
(p92). Four whole pages of perfect pooches. Enjoy.
080
084
086
092
079
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extra
Making friends and discovering new openings in Dark Souls III:
The Ringed City —the final DLC for Miyazaki’s RPG Matt Elliott
080
now playing
I have discovered
a weapon that
encapsulates Dark
Souls. It’s a door.
Or more accurately,
a pair of doors,
which I can shut
fast to hide behind, or rush forward
and open dramatically as if I’m about
to burst into a medley of showtunes. It
represents the series perfectly: a mix
of shivering cowardice and slapstick
violence. But I’m getting ahead of
myself. I must earn the door first.
It should be no surprise that it
doesn’t start well. I’ve completed Dark
Souls III, but, after getting stuck on
the boss of Archdragon Peak, I haven’t
played it for months. When I fire the
game up, a warning tells me that I quit
without saving last time—a certain
sign of a Dark Souls hissy fit. The
good news is that I can’t remember
what I’ve lost, so I continue to the
Ringed City DLC without worrying
about squandered souls. The DLC is
available to anyone who’s defeated all
the Lords of Cinder, so actually getting
to it is unusually easy for a Miyazaki
game. I head to the Kiln of the First
Flame, shudder at how long I spent
trying to beat the last boss, and take
the secret bonfire to the new area.
I land in The Dreg Heap. It sounds
horrid, but I soon learn to love those
dregs. A layer of soft ash covers
most of the world, which means I
can survive long falls. It makes for
an unusual, tumbling twist on the
standard Dark Souls environments.
I meet a friendly hag at the start of my
journey, who alludes to an adventurer
in a suit of armor—possibly someone
who intends to kill me—and I happily
stride into the new area, kicking ash
before me like a cheerful young buck
striding through autumn leaves.
Except the ash is probably people.
This is going to be easy.
Ash kicking
I die immediately, and realize I’m
about 30 levels too low for this area.
But then, people have completed Dark
PublishEr Bandai namco / DEvEloPEr FromSoFtware / forMat XBoX one / rElEasE DatE out now
Souls using everything from racing
wheels to toy trumpets, so I decide
I’ll get by on brio and perseverance
alone. I am, after all, Crom, King of
Ash, He Who Went To Archdragon Peak
Then Came Home Because It Was
Hard. The grunts at the Dreg Heap
pack a meaty punch, but go down
quite easily. The bit that slows me
down, however, is a portly sub boss
who attacks me with his ass—with
his literal ass—when I try to stab him.
Two things dawn on me: Firstly, he’s
not a sub boss—many of the enemies
here are this hard; and secondly, he’s
guarding a dead end. Bah.
I track back and try the other way,
which turns out to be a devastating
fall through the window of a cathedral
that has toppled onto its side. It’s
beautiful and horrible, and a great way
of telling me this DLC is not like other
Dark Souls. I shouldn’t be looking
for doors and ladders—I should be
looking for the right kind of fall.
I’m feeling pretty confident now,
which is exactly what happens in Dark
Souls before you meet the thing that
ruins everything. Sure enough, around
the next corner is a rotting angel
thing with the ability to one-shot me
using beams of light that seem to
know where I’m running. I decide that
fleeing is the best option. Thankfully,
I find a new bonfire and relax, safe
in the knowledge there’s probably
the oFFicial XBoX magazine

only one omnipotent, insta-kill angel
in this area. (Since this was written,
update 1.32 has nerfed the insta-kill
angels, proving I was justified in biting
the Y Button off my controller.)
By the time I reach the area with
three—three!—death angels, my
patience is ragged. It feels cheaper
than other Miyazaki games, which is
exactly the sort of pitiful whining I
scoff at when I see it on Twitter. The
truth is that I’m too low a level, and
not good enough. I spend at least
an hour running in circles, cowering
behind buildings and sprinting across
poison swamps. At one point I open
my inventory while in cover, and miss
the fact that one of the angels is
cursing me with pixie dust. Thankfully,
unlike the first Dark Souls, the effects
aren’t permanent.
Prince and repeat
It seems hopeless. The further I
get, the harder it becomes. I try a
combination of different armor to up
my magic resistance—part poisonresistant
Archdeacon, part rotund
knight—and I end up looking like an
infantry Weeble. Worse still, it doesn’t
help. I’m close to giving up when I try
another route. I notice a tempting,
twisted tree root beneath a cliff
face, which could lead to
somewhere useful. After
a few failed attempts, I
hit the jump and find a
hidden area, complete
with a human-shaped
node that controls one
of the angels. Smashing
it to pieces feels amazing.
One angel down, and I’m full
of swagger. Better still, I find
another bonfire, hidden suspiciously
close to the first one. The only way I
can go is down.
I land in a boss fight against two
giant demons. It’s bad, but not too
bad—they’re easy to damage, and
most of my deaths are from my own
mistakes. Still, I’m grumbling about
the cheapness of another boss battle
with two enemies. With Ornstein and
Smough it was an event; this feels like
repetition. I eventually take out one
of the demons, and take my time with
the remaining one. I’m feeling pretty
what is it?
The brutal action RPG
expansion drawing
together all of the
events from the past
three Dark Souls
games.
“I happily stride
into a new area
kicking ash like
a young buck in
autumn leaves”
confident, so I throw in a few jumping
attacks, and allow myself a brassy
taunt as the final demon goes down.
There’s a problem, though. This Now
Playing isn’t over. And nor is my boss
fight. The demons I’ve just killed are
an infernal amuse-bouche. The real
boss is a flying, fiery Demon Prince,
who downs me in two hits.
By now, I’m feeling pretty
grumpy. It reminds me of
the relentless thuggery
of Xbox slice-’em-up
Ninja Gaiden—also
known as belligerence
disguised as challenge—
rather than the measured,
cerebral test of Dark Souls.
Again, I can hear myself whining
like a deflating balloon full of farts,
but there’s a small voice in my head
whispering, “maybe I’m done with Dark
Souls.” It’s time to take a break, by
which I mean go and kill the things I’m
not afraid of.
I stroll around the level like a
spurned teenager kicking around at
a bus stop, and discover something
I missed earlier. There’s a tower
that topples over when you pass
underneath it—I didn’t see it because
I was cowering, heroically—and
it forms a bridge that leads to
another area. There I meet Lapp, the
adventurer mentioned earlier. He’s a
cheerful sort, and I especially like him
because he isn’t trying to kill me. We
chat for a bit, then I carry on exploring.
Lapp appears again at the second
bonfire. He asks me to retrieve a ring
for him, and I get the sense Lapp
might be summonable for the fight
with the Demon Prince. Bolstered by
the joy of making a new buddy, I take a
proper look around. Now free from the
threat of angelic insta-death (in one
area, at least), I’m free to explore.
Just when I think I couldn’t get
any happier, I discover my amazing
door weapon. It’s too heavy for me to
use, but by God I love it. Knock knock;
who’s there? Actual death. Brilliant. I
head to the pre-boss bonfire, use an
Ember, and sure enough, Lapp the
Amnesiac is there to be summoned.
He looks like an absolute tank, with
a mighty halberd, shining armor and
impressive shield. Together, we get
ready to clip some demonic wings. We
plummet into the boss fight together,
like a knightly version of Bad Boys II,
and make short work of the first two
demons. Lapp might be a mess under
the visor, but right now, I love him.
The Demon Prince arises, and…
is still really hard. We stick close to
him, but he hardly takes any damage.
Just one of his fiery blasts is enough
to kill me. Even with Lapp, I’m not
ready. I resolve to step away, finally
finish Archdragon Peak, and come
back when I’m ready. It’s not been a
total waste of my time, because I’ve
managed to find a shield that looks
like it leads to a medieval theme pub,
and I’ve made a new friend. I just hope
he remembers me. n
above Proof
that the right
outfit for the
job isn’t the
one that makes
you look cool—
it’s the one
that stops you
getting killed.
081
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extra
082
Now playiNg
The light is failing,
the rain is pouring,
and I’m bouncing
over the dirt tracks
that masquerade
as roads in the
Bayou at pace. If
contending with the loose handling
of the rust bucket I’m driving wasn’t
enough, snaking over the rivers that
cut New Bordeaux’s rump up like
a patchwork quilt means getting
anywhere in this town takes an age.
The goal, however, is too tempting
for me to resist. I’m heading out to
complete one of Mafia III’s many sidemissions—a
simple but lucrative job
that involves taking out a band of
racist ‘yocals’ before stealing their
truck and dropping it off downtown
in one piece. Of course, in the back
of my mind sits the fear that things
won’t go to plan. Not because I’ll die
in the crossfire, but rather because
I doubt said band of brutes will be
there in the first place.
This is one of Mafia III‘s notorious
and recurring bugs: Missions that
are marked on the map repeatedly
turn out not to be active. Even more
frustratingly, that’s something you
only discover once you’ve driven all
the way out there. Having lived within
New Bordeaux for the best part
of six months, I can attest
such inconveniences
are anything but a rare
occurrence. It is in fact
part and parcel of life in
Hangar 13‘s beautiful,
but ultimately botched
metropolis, and just
one of a never-ending
list of bugs and glitches
that have become Mafia III’s
signature since it launched.
And yet, here I am, still living
out my life as Lincoln Clay. In part,
that’s because the game retains
its undeniable promise. At release,
Mafia III was reviewed as the very
definition of an average game. Its
missions quickly become repetitive
and the world they inhabit—though
Even the most botched and broken games can be surprisingly
playable, as Mafia III unwittingly proves Keith Andrew
Publisher 2K Games / develoPer HanGar 13, 2K CzeCH / formAt XboX one / releAse dAte november 2016
whAt is it?
An open-world adventure
set against the political
and racial turmoil of the
1960s’ Deep South, with
enough bugs to populate
an insect farm.
“Furniture darts
across the room,
bodies move as
if possessed and
cars explode”
superficially full of life—is largely
barren in practice. Even the
aforementioned side-missions are
essentially a rehash of tasks from
the main game: Sneak into a base
and kill a lot of people en route to a
designated target. It soon becomes
dull, and a little tiresome.
Intermingled with all of
this, however, is a hell
of a story. Without
slipping into spoiler
central, Lincoln Clay’s
fight for New Bordeaux
is littered with tales
of racial discrimination
that perfectly mirror 1960s
America. Indeed, make it
through the game’s bugs, and you’ll
find Clay’s life touches on some of the
biggest historical events of the last
century. Mafia III truly has something to
say, and that’s a trait few of its recent
AAA peers share.
Within my first hour, I’d managed to
throw an adversary into a wall—quite
literally. His limbs and torso twitched
around as they became consumed by
bricks and mortar. A few days later, a
mission where the sole objective was
to sneak into a base and destroy a car
was brought to a premature end when
the game itself decided to randomly
spawn another car directly within it.
Both vehicles exploded without any
input from me whatsoever. Mission
accomplished, I guess.
Playing with clay
Gaffes like this happen so regularly
that searching for Mafia III bugs on
YouTube—of which there seem to
be hundreds—is not necessary. You
can pretty much guarantee every 20
minutes or so something out of the
ordinary will happen. Furniture will dart
across the room of its own accord,
dead bodies will twist and flap around
as if possessed, major characters will
appear on screen twice, cars will drive
off into the sky ...the list goes on.
Pack all these together into one
session, and you’ve pretty much
got Christmas. So entertaining, so
hilarious are some of the results that
I’ve been petrified Hanger 13 will push
out a patch that clears the decks.
Thankfully, that’s yet to occur. All the
mania remains intact, enabling me
to keep sampling this playground of
imperfections. Broken as Mafia III may
be, it’s incredibly hard to say goodbye
to a world where absolutely anything
can happen at any moment. n
tHe offiCial XboX maGazine

extra
Now playiNg
Few weapons are
as iconic as the
battle rifle, the
energy sword,
or the SPNKr.
There’s surely no
digital sidearm
that’s inspired such fierce debate
as the Combat Evolved pistol. And I’d
argue that the Needler packs more
personality than most games manage
to wring out of their entire casts. The
series may have changed, but Halo’s
arsenal has always been magnificent.
So, when Halo 5’s multiplayer beta
made its debut back in late 2014, my
eyes were fixed on the intricacies
of that arsenal. But at some point,
forensic analysis gave way to pure,
dumb pleasure. The map was superb,
offering a variety of engagement
opportunities from the measured
marksman to the manic melee
enthusiast. And then there was the
expanded moveset, which enabled
Halo players to clamber over ledges,
boost-dodge from danger,
and perform lethal ground pounds.
But when Halo 5 finally arrived
in October 2015, my anticipation
gave way to disappointment. The
campaign was visually impressive
but otherwise unexceptional—its
narrative hampered by dreary new
cast members and worthless
hub spaces. Worse still
were 343’s attempts at
multiplayer innovation.
Warzone was once one
of Halo 5’s flagship
features, a 24-player
gametype that took
place on sprawling maps
with computer-controlled
allies, as well as AI enemies.
Expecting a new spin on the Big Team
Battle, I eagerly hopped into a series
of matches, and found only chaos.
Schlepping your way around these
vast playspaces was a tedious chore,
and all too often you’d find yourself
blown to Spartan smithereens.
And while it’s true that you could
spend REQ cards to spawn with your
More than 18 months on from launch, James discovers
that Halo 5: Guardians never stopped evolving James Nouch
Publisher Microsoft studios / DeveloPer 343 industries / format XboX one / release Date october 2015
what is it?
An already excellent
multiplayer shooter
that’s benefitted from
absurdly generous postlaunch
support. There’s
new maps, new modes
and Firefight’s
glorious return.
“I charge across
a grassy warren
of corridors and
streets reaping
destruction”
own unique weapons or modified
vehicles, the prospect filled me with
anxiety. What if I spend a rare card
and get picked off within seconds of
spawning? How many kills do I need
to score in order to justify burning
through six REQ points on a
Woodland Mantis? Call me
old-fashioned, but I don’t
much care for beancounting.
So, when I decided
to reinstall Halo 5, it’s
fair to say I had mixed
feelings. On the one hand,
I was looking forward to
wading back into thrilling Free
For Alls and tense Team Slayers. On
the other, the thought of returning
to Warzone made me tired. But after
installing 51GB(!) of updates, I was in,
and I soon discovered a smorgasbord
of maps and modes to sample.
In fact, some of Halo 5’s finest
Arena maps have been added—free
of’ charge—in the year and a half
since the game first launched. Take
Overgrowth, for example: a grassy
warren of narrow corridors and uneven
city streets that I charge through
reaping death and destruction with a
Covenant Carbine. Molten is another
standout freebie, beautifully suited to
rip-roaring free-for-alls and panicstricken
Infection sessions (another
newly-added mode!). And then there’s
Mercy, a murky remake of Halo 4’s
Haven map that swaps out sweeping
Forerunner architecture for the more
rounded contours of a Covenant
holy site. Browsing through the new
Custom Game interface, I count a total
of 42 maps to choose from, none of
which require a credit card to access.
Fire fighters
But if the wealth of content can’t
tempt you, allow me to offer just one
more juicy carrot to lure you back into
the fold: Firefight is back, and it’s
fantastic. Relaunched and rebranded
as Warzone Firefight, this eight-player
gametype pits players against waves
of increasingly tricky alien foes: From
swarms of cowardly Grunts to joyriding
Prometheans in UNSC Warthogs. Here,
at long last, is a mode I can gleefully
burn REQ cards in—cashing in coveted
cards for overpowered weaponry to
turn on AI beasties. By the final wave,
your team will likely be stomping
around in mechs, raining down fire
from the skies in Banshees, or rolling
down the roads in Scorpion tanks. It’s
big, it’s barmy and it’s beautiful
As I begin my freefall into middleaged
obsolescence, it’s inevitable
that I’ll begin to forget things here
and there, but I still find myself
shocked at just how good Halo 5’s
multiplayer is. The maps are tiptop,
fan-favorite modes have returned,
and there’s a joy to player movement
that surpasses any other Halo to date.
And then there’s that arsenal, packed
with weird, wonderful and pleasingly
weighty weaponry to discharge.
Halo 5 has certainly changed, but
there’s arguably never been a better
time to jump back into the fray. n
083
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the official XboX Magazine

extra
how to...
stream games
with beam
Share your gaming triumphs, your multiplayer tribulations, and even
your glorious mug with the Xbox One’s new streaming solution James nouch
You will need: An XboX one / A super-rAd gAme optional: A gAming heAdset / A Kinect / A tolerAble personAlity
084
Streaming videogames was once the
sole preserve of wealthy aristocrats
armed with lavishly expensive capture
cards, near-priceless PCs, and the most
ostentatious monocles you’ve ever
seen. But, thanks to the latest Xbox One
update, streaming is now baked into
the very core of your console’s operating system. As such,
it’s suddenly easier than ever to broadcast your gaming
triumphs and ignominious defeats.
But that’s not to say the process can’t be daunting to
the uninitiated, and you may find you need to do a little bit
of tweaking to perfect your streaming setup. Fortunately,
that’s where your good friends at OXM Towers come in. We
recently met with the engineers working to bring Beam to
your box, and we saved the tastiest tips just for you.
So come with us and hold our hand as we introduce you
to the wonderful world of streaming games on your Xbox
One. Eww, what’s that? Why is your hand so clammy? That’s
disgusting. Let go now, please.
The principle
of streaming
gameplay over
an internet
connection was
first outlined
by Leonardo da
Vinci in his
private journal.
Truly, ahead of
his time!
01
Get yourself connected
Before all of this streaming can get underway, you need
to ensure you have the latest version of the Xbox One
operating system—dubbed the Creators Update—installed.
Your console may have sucked down that sweet data
automatically, but if it hasn’t, navigate to the Settings
menu, then scroll down to System. Give that Updates button
a prod to ensure you’re bang up to date
02
the GuidinG liGht
The next step is to fire up your game of choice and
then open your new and improved guide, which is now
summoned with just a single press of the Xbox button
on your exquisite controller. By default it’ll show you a
list of recently used apps and games, but press down on
your d-pad thrice and you’ll land on a dedicated Beam
Broadcasting tab. It couldn’t be easier.
the officiAl XboX mAgAzine

03
BeGin transmission
From here, simply navigate to the ‘Broadcast your game’
option, and slam your finger against that A button. This
should open up a configuration tab, which will display some
quick settings along with your all-important Beam URL.
This is the link you’ll want to share with friends so they can
watch your lovable antics. When you’re ready, press ‘Start
Broadcast’ to… ummm… start the broadcast.
04
Beautiful Broadcasts
Congratulations! You’re now sharing your gameplay with
the world—we hope the world is being kind. If you want a
higher-quality broadcast (and you have a speedy internet
connection to support it), head to the Beam Broadcasting
tab and tap A on your broadcast title. This should open a
mini-menu that includes ‘Advanced broadcast settings’.
Select it and you’ll find options to tweak your video quality.
Why
bother?
streaming is a
fun way to exhibit
your gaming
skills online. you
might invite a few
friends to watch
you tackle mass
effect: Andromeda,
or stomp around
yooka-laylee
while swapping
banter with dozens
of spectators.
you could even
set yourself fun
challenges such as
speed-running halo
5 or trying to finish
this War of mine
without collapsing
into a weepy heap.
05
full-motion video
Streaming gameplay is all well and good, but it’s hard to
express your personality purely through the medium of
long-range headshots and proficient platforming. Strap on a
gaming headset and you’ll be able to use the microphone to
broadcast your sultry commentary alongside your gameplay.
Plug in a Kinect and you can broadcast video, too—just
enable the inputs from the guide’s Beam Broadcasting tab.
06
islands in the stream
All that’s left now is to share your gaming prowess with
the world, and wince with embarrassment every time you
miss an open goal or easy-peasy headshot. The world is
watching, after all. Judgemental viewers can even comment
on your performance, thanks to Beam’s built-in chat
functionality. When you’re done, simply hop back into that
Beam Broadcasting app to pull the plug on your stream. n
085
how to...
build an
actual
stream
step 1
dig a ditch, trench or
channel for the water to flow
through. note that a duct or
gully will not fit the bill here.
i can’t believe you’d even
ask that question.
step 2
line your freshly hewn fosse
with waterproof materials.
We recommend using a job
lot of children’s anoraks to
lend your creek a certain
calico panache.
step 3
fill your ravine with the
finest french mineral water.
don’t be tempted to skimp—
this step will make all the
difference to your stream’s
chuggability.
step 4
step back and admire your
aqueous handiwork. fill
it with koi carp for a fishy
centrepiece, or actual
gold bullion to make your
neighbors retch with envy.
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the official xbox magazineretrospective
086
catherine

extra
Six years after its release, is Catherine a sexist
nightmare or feminist parable? Kimberley ballarD
Publisher atlus, Deep silver / DeveloPer atlus / format xbox 360, xbox one
If videogames were
a physical realm, it
would be a hostile
and potentially
lethal place for
women. This is an
industry where
female bloggers and developers
regularly receive death threats,
female gamers are jeered simply for
their gender, and it’s still hard to find a
female character who is validated for
anything beyond sexuality or physical
attributes. Misogyny, it seems, is still
the flavor of the day.
Catherine is a game that appears
to feed into all the tropes women
have been fighting: Woman as sex
object, nagging shrew, and beastly
bitch. The game begins with our
hapless protagonist Vincent,
a slacker journalist who
has been suffering from
recurring nightmares of
being transformed into
a sheep and forced
to climb crumbling
structures to avoid
falling to his death.
In the real world, things
are just as fragile: Vincent’s
girlfriend, the sensible-if-stern
Katherine, thinks it’s time to get
serious and settle down. How boring,
and restrictive! Vincent spends his
time lamenting this turn of events
with his friends in a smoky bar, until
one night he meets the gorgeous
and voluptuous Catherine, and starts
sleeping with her on the sly.
When Catherine was released in
2011, first in Japan and America,
then in Europe a year later, the
overall reaction was positive. Critics
praised its fiendishly difficult platform
puzzles and nightmarish imagery,
yet didn’t think to unpick the gender
politics at play or challenge the way
women were depicted. A critic for the
stranger
things
Atlus is the developer of
Persona, a series that
bubbles with strange,
sexual imagery. Persona
5 saw a teacher chain
students to a wall.
Guardian applauded it for exploring
the complexities of love, while IGN
described Katherine as the typical
nagging girlfriend, and Eurogamer
conjured her visage in Vincent’s
nightmares as a “razor-toothed
crotch-maw”. It probably won’t come
as much of a surprise that these
critics were also male.
Dream girls
Neither should it come as a surprise
that most of Catherine’s promotional
material was obviously intended
for the male gaze. One of the most
recognizable shots (pictured on the
left) zooms in on Catherine’s head
and torso as the character reveals
her cleavage and smiles coyly at
the viewer. Other pictures look like
screenshots from a hentai
film: One where Vincent’s
head is caught between
Catherine’s spread
legs is particularly
suggestive; others
where Catherine is on
her back or side look as
carefully arranged as a
Playboy Bunny centrefold.
If salivating males were
Atlus’ designated audience,
the developer did very well. But there
are other reasons to play Catherine,
too. Despite its oily sheen of sleaze,
the game is genuinely gorgeous to
interact with. The title screen, for
example, sees Vincent dangling from
a ledge, screaming Katherine’s name
against a fuschia backdrop, while
she stares past him nonchalantly.
The rest of the game fizzes with
these pink-and-black strobes of
color. The café Vincent frequents with
Katherine is sweetly decorated in pale
pink (a suggestion that Katherine is
smothering him with love?) while the
netherworld Vincent finds himself in
every night is as black as an abyss.
above Meet
erica, a bubbly
waitress who
wants to walk
over you in
stilleto shoes.
087
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the official xbox magazine

extra
088
Such a bold visual palette suits the
plot perfectly. Like a soap opera
played out in the style of an anime,
Vincent’s love triangle is told through
a variety of cutscenes where Vincent
meets Katherine, hangs out with
his friends in a bar called The Stray
Sheep, and has sex with Catherine
in his apartment. In a nifty touch,
you can walk around The Stray
Sheep, interacting with customers
and answering texts. Most of these
come from Katherine, who either
berates Vincent or lets glimpses
of vulnerability slip. Each text is
accompanied by the sound of a small,
feminine sigh: a more potent method
of expressing quiet disappointment
than words could ever achieve.
The majority of Catherine, however,
takes place in nightmare, where the
player must solve increasingly difficult
platform puzzles in order to survive.
Each level is divided into three stages,
and each one is trickier than the last.
What starts off as simply climbing a
tower and strategically moving blocks
around, becomes impossibly hard. As
levels progress, boxes can fall on you,
spikes pierce you if you step on the
wrong block, and other men trapped in
the pit push you off the edge.
If it sounds repetitive, it is, but the
mechanics are elevated by the game’s
imagery. The netherworld plays upon
the essence of limbo: Of repeating a
set of trials for all eternity or being
lost forever. Each level also ends with
a monster, which clambers after you
as you feverishly try to get away. Some
of these creatures are deliciously
hideous, such as a posterior with eyes
and a tongue that emits heart mist
as breath. Then there’s the church
confessional, where a mysterious,
omniscient voice calls to Vincent.
Sex
education
catherine isn’t the only
game that’s caused
controversy because of
its depiction of women:
here are three that are
particularly problematic.
girls anD guns
granD theft auto v
all of the gta games are
worrying, but v is the
worst. Your attributes
improve, for example, if a
woman gives you oral sex.
busty babes
soul Calibur v
ivy valentine was the
main draw for this fifth
instalment: a fighter
who wears a bikini with
dominatrix boots.
Calling him a little lamb, the voice asks
Vincent sly questions on sexuality,
marriage and morality. It’s curious,
as you’re never sure whether you’re
answering as Vincent or as yourself.
If Catherine achieves one thing, it’s
that masculinity has never looked so
fragile. Character designer Shigenori
Soejima based Vincent’s look on
Buffalo ‘66 director Vincent Gallo, but
any resemblance is purely artificial.
Unlike Gallo’s smoky arrogance and
dark good looks, Vincent is a puddle
of nerves: Shaking, shivering, and
constantly doubting himself. Women
are often criticized for having no
Distress signal
tomb raiDer (2013)
While the new incarnation
of lara is less sexualized,
players spoke out about a
scene where it looks like
lara is almost raped.
agency, but here the stereotype is
reversed. Vincent doesn’t take any
responsibility for his actions, saying
Catherine “forced herself on him” and
that “he had nothing to do with it”
after they sleep together. He’s such a
limp noodle, it’s sometimes cathartic
just to watch him die.
Despite the wet puppy protagonist,
director Katsura Hashino should be
commended for tackling subjects
most videogames wouldn’t. The game
examines the morality of cheating,
and how hard it is to be an adult.
Vincent feels stuck, not just in his
relationship but his career; his friends
act like overgrown teens, and he goes
to the same bar every night. The two
women come to represent two halves
of Vincent: The piece that wants
reliability, and one that wants to
be young and unfettered forever.
“Katherine transforms into a monstrous
pair of gnarled hands that stab Vincent
until he’s a puddle of blood and bones”
The game would have felt more
mature, though, if it didn’t boil
women down into their most basic
stereotypes. Katherine is the girlfriend
we all fear: Beautiful but frightening,
picking apart everything he does. In
Vincent’s nightmares, she becomes
worse. One scene sees her transform
into a pair of giant hands that have
the power to obliterate Vincent into
a puddle of bones and blood if they
stab him with a fork. Katherine isn’t a
woman; she’s responsibility, and it’s
not too hard to see that with a serious
relationship comes death.
Bunny boilers
In contrast, Catherine is the object
of desire. She’s queasily attractive,
with the face of a china doll and the
body of a bodacious woman. There’s
a juvenile element to her, too: Clad in
knee socks and a ribbon tied around
her waist. Her body is a dream, but
so is her outlook. The first night she
meets Vincent, she says to him, “who
wants to be tied down anyway?” She’s
too good to be true. Except the big
revelation is that Catherine isn’t a
woman, but a succubus: a demon that
preys upon men and seduces them by
becoming their deepest desire.
the official xbox magazine

Players asked, ‘doesn’t this make
Catherine the most feminist game of
all time?’ She takes cheating men and
punishes them. Not exactly. It then
turns out Catherine is just working
for an ancient Sumerian demigod
called Dumuzid, who hurts men for not
procreating. This just makes Catherine
even more of a subservient character:
Not only is she turning herself into
what men want, she’s also doing it
on the orders of another man.
089
End of the affair
When female players did begin
to question the way women were
portrayed, the reaction from men
was vehement and occasionally toxic.
“Women typically hate videogames
because it takes them away from
men,” one wrote on a forum. “They
hate men who don’t obsess over and
serve them.” Ouch. Another wrote
that “Catherine just makes me hate
women.” Although Hashino wanted
to make a complex game with mature
themes, it seems the message was
black and white for most players.
It would be easy to look at
the sexism that streaks through
Catherine. But the game plays much
more upon gynephobia; the fear of
women. Portraying both women as
monsters may be heavy-handed,
but it’s effective, and the message
is even clearer: Women want to
devour men, and they won’t rest until
they’ve ensnared them. It’s a game
where comments about sleeping with
women and throwing them away ebb
top Catherine
is the epitome
of male desire,
with her china
doll face and
submissive gaze.
above vincent
spends most of
his time in the
Stray Sheep.
into darker ones like, “you’ll never
know when they’re going to stab you
in the back”. This fear seeps into other
characters, such as trans woman
Erica, who is only in the game to tick
a fetish box; all she does is flirt with
the boys and offer to wear stilettos.
In the end, six possible outcomes
awaits you. You can choose to settle
down with Katherine, go solo, or be
with Catherine. If the latter is your
ending, you may become a demon
and have as many succubi as you’d
ever want. As a bonus, if you complete
the game on the hardest mode, the
goddess of love, Ishtar, will turn you
into a god and have sex with you.
What more could you ever want?
Since its release, people have been
more critical of Catherine. Although
it’s a striking game that tackles brave
topics, publications like Slate have
written articles calling it the most
sexist game of all time. And there is
truth to that. Catherine isn’t afraid to
take the worst female stereotypes
and milk them until only the barest
silhouettes remain. Perhaps the
opening paragraph of this piece
should be amended: If videogames
were a physical realm, women would
be welcome, but only if they were
subservient and do everything that
men want. n
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the official xbox magazine

extra
why I love...
vIRGINIA’S
SIleNT SToRy
If words are cheap, the makers of Virginia are the richest of all,
telling a gorgeous story with no need for dialogue kimberley ballard
Publisher 505 Games / develoPer Variable state / format xbox one / release date september 2016
090
the official xbox maGazine

In classical Latin,
an ‘expression’
denotes an action
of ‘pressing out’,
or of a ‘projection’.
In late Latin, it
also represents
‘vividness’. It was only in the 15th
century that ‘expression’ became
synonymous with ‘putting into words’.
This is a shame, because too often,
expression is only seen as the act
of speaking. In cinema and games,
characters must say how they feel,
because how are we expected to
know otherwise? The only expression
that really counts is the kind that
comes wrapped in quotation marks.
The debut game from Jonathan
Burroughs eschews this obvious form
of expression, creating a mysterious,
multilayered narrative with a complete
absence of dialogue. Instead of what
characters say, it becomes what they
don’t. And instead of the words that
come out of their mouths, it becomes
a nuanced study of body language,
facial features, and what simmers
quietly beneath the surface. It’s a
bold move in a culture that relies on
dialogue as a tool of understanding.
At the time of its release, Virginia
was divisive: Tantalising critics
who applauded its similarities to
Twin Peaks and art-house style of
storytelling, while alienating players
who found it long-winded and
pompous. But beneath Variable
State’s arguably contrarian
approach to videogames is
an experience you won’t
find elsewhere.
When Virginia begins,
we’re introduced to
the main character,
Anne Tarver, during a
formative moment: She’s
about to graduate from the
FBI Academy to become a fully
fledged agent. From a single scene,
we know she is riddled with doubt
and insecurity. But how? All we have
is her blank expression as she stares
into a mirror and puts on her lipstick.
But there is much to unravel. Make-up
means artifice. The act of applying
make-up could be like putting on a
mask, either for protection or to try to
convince others she is someone else.
It’s curious that on a day where she
animate
your fate
The game’s low-poly art
style was inspired by Glen
Keane, who helped create
a variety of Disney movies.
Fitting, as Virginia plays
out like a fairy tale.
“Their relationship isn’t
sexual but it is intimate,
their feelings unfurling
in basements and cars”
should be celebrating, Anne lingers in
the bathroom, alone and dejected.
In the next scene, it’s years later,
and Anne is travelling from Virginia
to investigate the disappearance of
a young boy in the town of Kingdom.
Despite the jump in years, the game
is perfumed with loneliness. We know
from Anne’s empty, airy apartment that
she lives alone. Her rumpled bed exists
for one person, and she navigates
every location alone, whether it’s
a long ride in an elevator or a slow
descent to a parking garage.
In a game without words,
every object is ripe with
symbolism. A locket with
a picture inside becomes
armor, of guarding
someone against our
heart. The recurring
image of a dead bird
becomes about fragility;
the death of innocence.
And the pursuit for a lost
child becomes about the search for
self. Colors, which typically denote
emotion, also have a role to play.
Anne believes something is bubbling
in Kingdom, a mystery that is as red
as blood and fierce as rage, which is
pierced with an ice blue: a melancholy
that tinges every scene.
For the investigation, Anne is paired
with an older and more experienced
agent, Maria Halpernin. A brittle enigma
ABOVE Sitting
in diners alone
and drinking
coffee is very
in fashion.
who treats Anne frostily, she reluctantly
begins to thaw as friendship develops.
Anne and Maria are two misfits who
over the course of the game become
a single entity. Their relationship isn’t
sexual, but it is intimate, their feelings
unfurling in small, tight spaces like
basements and cars. Driving back and
forth to Kingdom means being in a
state of constant transit, and so each
woman becomes the other’s constant.
Their cocoon is shattered, however,
when Maria discovers Anne has been
investigating her: a betrayal that cracks
them in two. What is fractured cannot
be brought together again.
Broken dreams
This relationship becomes the silent
but pulsating heart of Virginia. And the
lack of words between the two women
is telling. You get the impression that
bruises bloom where their tongues
should be: They can’t speak because if
they could, they’d be screaming.
Expression, then, isn’t what these
characters say, but what their actions
reveal. The state of Virginia itself is
an expression: Not a land mass, but a
metaphysical land of wishes, dreams,
longing, and regret. Accentuated
by Lyndon Holland and his gorgeous
soundtrack, Anne fills the landscape
with how she feels, and it ripples
around her with tumultuous force.
Despite a staunch divide in opinion,
critics and players loved to pick apart
Virginia’s final act, where present and
future crash together in an extended,
dreamlike sequence. It’s striking, yes,
but it’s the quiet moments that sing:
The recurring image of a clock ticking
down a life, an apartment that ripples
with loneliness, and eveyday objects
that become portals into the heart. n
091
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the official xbox maGazine

092
5greatest
doggos in
XboX
History
Who’s a good boy? You are! Yes, you are! There with you through
thick and thin, looking adorable while sniffing out explosives.
These are they very best good boys on Xbox Daniella lucas
The official XboX magazine

extra
15
Dinki-Di—MaD Max
The wastelands can be a harsh place, what
with the endless sand, and pretty much
everyone you meet wanting to kill you for no
reason, so it’s nice to find a companion that’ll
accept you, no matter how many people you
murder or how badly your breath smells of dog
food. Heck, it probably even helps that all you
have to eat is ancient tins of canine chow, as
it means you’ll have something in common
with the lovable scruffbag that is Dinki-Di.
Just as long as you don’t take his dinner or
tug on his tail, that is. He’ll even sniff out
mines for you if you manage to find him. He is
the very definition of a good boy.
14
PoMPiDou—Life is
strange
Not all dogs have it easy, and some have
had it really tough. Take poor Pompidou,
who was rescued from a life of dogfighting
by Frank, and now lives with him
in his trailer. While he’ll never be your
companion, he’s fiercely loyal to Frank,
and is often misunderstood. He may
try to bite you, but he’s only trying to
protect his owner—you can’t hold that
against him after everything he’s been
through. Tread carefully or you might end
up hurting this pupper even if you didn’t
mean to, and we’ll never talk to you
again. You puppy-treading monster.
13
rePeDe—taLes of
VesPeria
Not only does this wuff-wuff
make for an excellent member
of your fighting party by
dishing out some cool
backflips and knife
strikes, he also
smokes a pipe. He’s
so fast that he can
steal items from
opponents for
the benefit of
the party, and is
as loyal as they
come. That pipe
and blade he uses in
combat are mementos
of his former owner, who
died in battle. Now he’s
best buds with the game’s
main hero, Yuri, and while
he might not appreciate
strangers trying to pet
him, he’s very good
with children.
12
Dog—
starDew VaLLey
Want to know how to make an idyllic
farm life even better? Get a dog. A pooch
will turn up on your doorstep pretty early
on in Spring to keep you company while
you harvest your first crop of turnips.
While he can’t do much except roam
around your farm barking and looking
cute, you can still top up his water bowl
and pet it lovingly every day. It’ll even
curl up by the fire as night time draws
in, or if it’s stormy outside. It might just
be a handful of pixels, but he still packs
plenty of personality, and makes your go
at farm life cosier.
11
uMbra—
finaL fantasy xV
Cute, great for cuddling, and can magically
travel insane distances to deliver messages—
Umbra has it all. Acting as the go-between for
Prince Noctis and his Oracle fiancé Lunafreya,
he carries a lovers’ notebook so they can
pass notes to each other instead of using
the phone like normal people. Then he really
steps it up a notch when the world starts
falling apart by helping you travel through
time to explore earlier areas of the game,
which is especially handy if you need to do
some level grinding before the last section. If
that’s not a good boy, we don’t know what is.
10
shaDow—
DeaD to rights
Who needs a human partner to help
you do all of your police work when you
have a dog like Shadow at your side?
He doesn’t have the thumbs to help
with the administrative side of things,
but he is capable of helping you in a
fight. You can command him to attack,
or go for the stealthy, silent takedown
approach by ripping out the throats of
unsuspecting bad guys. Or he can go
for the testicles. Lovely. To be fair, he’s
also really good at playing fetch… with
weapons, so you can kill even more
nasty types. Truly he is a best friend.
093
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The official XboX magazine

extra
09
riLey—
CaLL of Duty: ghosts
Being part of an elite military squad can be
tough, with all that shooting and running
around, so thankfully Riley is on hand to
provide support and slobbery kisses. Able to
sniff out explosives so you don’t hurt yourself,
he’s incredibly handy to have around, and
always looks cute. You can control him
remotely via his little tech backpack to scout
out ahead of you, and he’s even been known
to take down helicopters by ripping the pilot
from their seat. He also likes to ride shotgun
in tanks. That’s one well-trained pupper who
deserves a day in the doggy spa!
08
Meeko—skyriM
All of the best dogs seem to come with
sad stories that only make us love them
more. Meeko can be found near his dead
owner’s shack faithfully guarding his
corpse. The poor, big-eyed fluffbag is
all alone, and only someone completely
heartless would leave him behind and
not take him on as a friend. Aside from
companionship, he proves his worth by
helping you out on your travels, even if
he does have a bad habit of trying to trip
you up by blocking doorways and picking
fights with dragons. It’s impossible to
stay mad at his droopy face.
07
Dog—fabLe 2
There’s no stronger bond than between a
child and their waggly tailed chum growing up
together, even if the kid does grow up to be
a bit of a dick. Fable 2 gives you the perfect
example of this—you meet an adorable furry
scamp when you’re a kid during the intro
sequence, and he remains at your side for
the entirety of the game, sniffing out loot
and helping you take down bad guys. Your
doggy friend will always look up to you and
adore you, no matter how evil and scarred
you become. It’s part of what makes dogs the
best creatures on the planet (sorry cat fans,
but it’s time to accept the truth).
094
06
sif—Dark souLs ii
Know what’s better than a dog? More
dog. The bigger they are, the more
surface area for chin scritches and
belly-rubbing. Sif is as big as they come,
and would be the best dog for cuddling
if only she didn’t have to kill you. Sorry
about that. It’s not her fault, though,
because she’s actually protecting the
grave of Artorias, so is attacking you out
of duty. It’s not her fault that it leaves
you bloodied and possibly dead. It’s
particularly guilt-inducing when she
starts limping and you realize what
you’re doing to this majestic beast. Poor
doggo, you really deserved better.
05
ChoP—gta V
He’s one of the more slobbery entries in this
list, but Chop more than makes up for his
drool by being a great companion for Franklin.
The mean streets of Los Santos are made far
better with Chop trotting at your side, helping
you out in any unwanted fights, and riding
in the passenger seat of any car you take a
fancy to. Best of all, he knows how to play
a proper game of fetch if you have the right
item, and will actually bring a ball back for
you to pick up and throw again. You can also
customize his collar with your phone. So why
don’t you put the guns down and relish the
best things in life with Chop by your side?
04
Dog—haLf-Life 2
Okay, so this one falls more at the
metallic, robot end of the pupper scale,
which doesn’t make him very good for
petting unless you want a palmful of
rust, but he’s got bags of character,
and a sweet demeanor. If he had a
tail, he’d be wagging it constantly. He
wants nothing more than to please you,
which is just super sweet, and he often
goes above and beyond by throwing
cars at handfuls of enemies at a time.
He’s also incredibly loyal to your good
friend and sidekick Alyx despite his
superior strength. What a good boy! Now
please take out all our enemies.
The official XboX magazine

03
Mabari war hounD—
Dragon age: origins
It’s fun to have party members that you can flirt with and romance
while out on adventures, but do you know what’s even better than
the love and touch of your fellow man? Doggos. Some advice from
your kindly and knowledgeable OXM pals: Replace a human entirely in
Dragon Age: Origins by taking a friendly war hound with you instead.
He’ll fight just as hard as the others, and give you some nice ‘kisses’
too. No need to worry now if Morrigan or Alistair shun your advances,
your pup will have you back all the way to the Deep Roads.
02
DogMeat—faLLout
The only way you can make a normal dog even better than it
already is by giving it an outfit. Dogmeat’s fetching red neckerchief
is what nets him the second spot on this list. That
and his constant companionship in the ghoul-filled wastes of the
post-apocalypse. He’s exceptionally handy at retrieving items for
you from far-away places, and will always approve of your actions,
no matter how malicious or manipulative you can be. He’ll even help
you out in fights. Make sure you build him a little house of his own
in your settlement, even if its only purpose is to make him look even
more adorable when he’s napping in it. Sweet, sweet dogmeat, we
only wish we could craft him some more neckerchiefs.
095
01
D-Dog—MetaL
gear soLiD V
It was tough, but thanks to his darling little eye
patch and all-round sweet visage, D-Dog is
officially the top dog on Xbox. Not only is he a
dab-hand at taking down or distracting guards
for you, he also sniffs out all possible enemies
before you can see them yourself, and he’s got
his own sneaking suit, complete with silicon
dog mittens and safety goggles to match yours.
What a fashionable babe! Okay, sure, D-Horse can
defecate on command (eww), and Quiet can snipe
enemies on your behalf, but D-Dog is still the best
of the MGSV companions due to sheer nose power
alone. Stuck in a sandstorm and can’t even see
the base you’re trying to infiltrate? No problem for
D-Dog—he’ll sniff out every last guard and mark
them on the screen for you so you’re know what
you’re dealing with. He’s also not afraid to tell you
that you stink when you haven’t showered in a
while by covering his poor little schnoz. That’s true
friendship! Truly he is the best of the good boys, so
you better not fight us on this, readers. n
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The official XboX magazine

096
directories
games
01
02
03
04
05
extra
Games, films and television—everything you need
for the ultimate Xbox One experience
The WiTcher 3:
Wild hunT
Publisher bandai namco
Hearts Of Stone and Blood And Wine
have made an already outstanding RPG
unmissable. One of the most authentic,
entertaining game worlds ever.
Defining MoMent Geralt at a wedding;
cue hilarity, menace and light jigging.
Grand ThefT auTo V
Publisher RockstaR games
Brutal and beautiful in equal measures,
GTA V is so rich in size, scope and
spectacle it’s hard to believe it was
originally built for Xbox 360.
Defining MoMent Warping into the
skin of Trevor—only to find he’s
drunk-driving a helicopter.
dark SoulS iii
Publisher bandai namco
Get over the initial difficulty hump,
and you’re rewarded with a combat
system that gives you unparalleled
opportunities to express yourself.
Defining MoMent Taking down a
monstrosity the size of a state school
using reflexes and ingenuity alone.
BaTTlefield 1
Publisher electRonic aRts
Alongside a surprisingly affecting
single-player campaign comes one
of the most robust and satisfying
multiplayer offerings on Xbox One.
Brave and unforgettable.
Defining MoMent Your first, last-ditch
bayonet-charge kill. Have it.
oVerWaTch
Publisher blizzaRd enteRtainment
Blizzard decides to have a go at
making a multiplayer shooter, and
somehow ends up creating one of
the best since Team Fortress 2. Just
beginner’s luck? We doubt it.
Defining MoMent Getting your first
Play of the Game!
the ten best xbox one gaMes
06
07
08
09
10
TiTanfall 2
Publisher Respawn enteRtainmentea
This sequel to the ace (but multiplayeronly)
game compensates with arguably
one of the best solo FPS campaigns
ever. It’s a wall-running, doublejumping,
mech-punching delight.
Defining MoMent Scoring a kill and
$5,000 in Bounty Hunt multiplayer.
diShonored 2
Publisher aRkane studios
This supernatural stealth-em-up is a
superb action game and a landmark
work of videogame world building
wrapped up in a sumptuous art style.
Defining MoMent Exploring Karnaca’s
shifting clockwork mansion and finding
your way between the walls.
GearS of War 4
Publisher micRosoft studios
A soft reboot that respects what made
Gears great, then introduces new
threats and surprises for the best game
since GOW 2. An essential entry for
Gear-heads and newcomers alike.
Defining MoMent Fighting Swarm in the
storm during the peaks of Act 4.
inSide
Publisher playdead
In this eerie, enigmatic side-scroller, a
small boy must survive a strange world
of robots, puppet-people, and worst of
all: Adults. Discover what happened to
his world while trying to survive.
Defining MoMent When our hero finds a
head device that can control people.
hiTman
Publisher io inteRactive
IO’s flashy reboot adds mystery and
menace to Hitman’s bag of tricks. Each
episode takes place in a different city,
and each hit is more challenging.
Easily the best Hitman game yet.
Defining MoMent Breaking into a
high-tech hospital in Hokkaido.
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the official xbox magazine

films
the best filMs anD tv in May
television
OXM teaM
chOice
The nice GuyS
for fans of Boogie Nights, L.A Confidential
Neo-noir meets slapstick comedy in this
bonkers buddy comedy set in ‘70s L.A.
Embracing the skeezy underbelly of the
Hollywood hills, Ryan Gosling and Russell
Crowe star as two private detectives who
set out to find a missing teenage girl.
The BfG
for fans of Roald Dahl, classic Spielberg
Steven Spielberg has enchanted children for
years, but his adaptation of the Roald Dahl
book is one of his best films yet. With softly
spoken Shakespearean actor Mark Rylance
as the gentle giant, The BFG has the power
to spook and delight viewers of all ages.
BeTTer call Saul S3
for fans of Breaking Bad, acrid desert
The third season of Better Call Saul reunites
us with Slippin’ Jimmy and his mischievous
antics pre-Breaking Bad. As Jimmy tries to
keep his legal practice afloat, Mike tracks
down the men who have been trying to kill
him after their showdown in season two.
BiG liTTle lieS
for fans of Top of the Lake, Weeds
A clutch of amazing actresses, including
Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon, star
as housewives in a wealthy neighborhood
that simmers with dark secrets. HBO is no
stranger to provocative dramas, but this is
especially thorny and fantastic.
The BeST GameS
We’re playinG and
Why We loVe Them
Dani’s choice
loST odySSey
I picked this
classic up in a
sale, so I’ve be
relearning just
how brilliant it is for the time.
You play an immortal called
Kain, who’s lost his memory,
and has to retreieve it while
fighting for the planet!
Tickled
for fans of Louis Theroux, Catfish
Sometimes niche subjects can be the most
interesting. This breakout documentary
from New Zealand journalist David Farrier
delves into the sport of “competitive
endurance tickling”, which spins into a
study of fetishism, wealth, and corruption.
paTerSon
for fans of Frances Ha
The coolest filmmaker on the planet follows
up his vampire love story with this tender
portrait of a bus driver who yearns to be a
poet. It’s proof once more that Jarmusch is
the king of the misfits, and that Adam Driver
is one of our greatest American actors.
The GeT doWn S2
for fans of West Side Story
Baz Luhrmann returns to the streets of
Harlem for the second part of The Get Down,
dubbed the most expensive show in history
at $16 million an episode. Slick, stylish, and
irresistible, the show celebrates ‘70s pop
culture, hip-hop and coming of age.
The lizzie Borden
chronicleS
for fans of American Horror Story
The real-life Lizzie Borden became horror
royalty after being accused of butchering her
father and stepmother with an axe. Who
better to play her in this wickedly funny biopic
than the queen of indie, Christina Ricci?
Kimberley’s
choice
alien
iSolaTion
I’ve been playing
Alien Isolation for
the first time, and trying not to
pee myself as I creep around,
hiding from desperate humans,
really mean androids and that
gross, sticky Xenomorph. Urgh.
097
The ShalloWS
for fans of Movie monsters
Touted as this generation’s Jaws, The
Shallows sees Blake Lively escape to the
tropics, only to find a nightmare of teeth
beneath the waves. The epitome of a
summer popcorn movie, it’s also a master
work of tension that spills over into terror.
don’T BreaThe
for fans of Green Room, The Good Neighbor
You thought elderly people were frail? Well
guess again. One of the biggest horror films
of 2016, Don’t Breathe subverts tropes
brilliantly: a gang of teens break into a blind
man’s house, but the tables are turned and
the pensioner starts picking them off.
american honey
for fans of Road trip movies
Follow Star, a teenager with nothing to lose,
as she joins a magazine sales team in a trip
across the US. Lead actress Sasha Lane was
found by director Andrea Arnold sunbathing
on a beach during Spring Break; this is her
movie debut, and she is a revelation.
24: leGacy
for fans of Homeland, Prison Break
24 gets a fresh lick of paint in this spin-off
sequel that finally shelves Jack Bauer. The
mechanics are the same—the show plays
out in real time—except it’s been shorn
from 24 episodes to 12. Leaner and better
for it, Legacy could revive a stale series.
James’
choice
hiTman
I’ve played every
Hitman game
since the 2000
original and been comically bad
at each and every one. At this
point, I just dutifully boot up
each game to check I’m still
terrible, then sigh and depart.
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the official xbox magazine

oxm out
the disc slot
They make the games we love, but what do they play
for fun? We ask developers to pick their faves from
Xbox history. This month: Gavin Price
098
Gavin Price
Creative Lead at
Playtonic Games
Gavin’s been
compelling animals
to jump, bound, and
leap for our pleasure
and amusement
since the 90s, when
he worked on the
Banjo-Kazooie
series at Rare. These
days, he’s creative
lead at the studio
responsible for
Banjo’s successor:
Yooka-Laylee.
[4]
Oddworld: Stranger’s Wrath [1] gave shooters
a massive creative kick up the ass. It was
beautiful, funny and uniquely odd. My wife loved it
too: It’s the only game she’s ever sat and watched
me play through. I thought The Orange Box was
just fantastic: Not only did it give me my first taste
of the incredible Half-Life series [2], it added in
more content that could have justified the price
alone (I’m looking at you, near-perfect Portal!)
Thirdly, I have big respect for Braid [3], not only
as a wonderful game, but for playing a huge part in
bringing independently created and digital content
to the fore among console users. It helped change
the perception of indie titles and how we buy
all games forever. A Halo game has to be in my
list, and for me Halo 3: ODST [4] created some
excellent memories. The way it let me explore a
hub world and tell its story… it makes me pine
for a sequel and an ‘all-in’ metroidvania-style
Halo game. Next up is Fez [5], which I couldn’t
put down not because of its gorgeous art style or
world-spinning gameplay, but for the genius of its
level design and flow that kept me moving forwards
and deeper into its labyrinth and not letting me go.
Lastly, I’d like to mention Rare Replay [6]: It not
only covers so many cherished memories as both
a young gamer and developer but also sets a high
bar for how to show retro-compilations love with
incredible production values beyond expectations.
[1]
[2]
[3]
[5]
Love this issue? the next one wiLL be Ready foR you on June 27
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