4

3.5

2.5

FIFA 15Xbox One/PS4 £57.99

PRO RUGBY MANAGERPC, £18.99

GOAT SIMULATORAndroid, £2.99

Editedby

LEEPRICE

BY JIM GELLATLY

CARNIVORESWHO: Kenny Leckie (vocals/guitar), Grant MacCall (bass/vocals), Martin Johnston(drums/vocals)WHERE: PaisleyFOR FANS OF: Foo Fighters,Biffy Clyro, IdlewildJIM SAYS: Carnivores stepup a gear with their newalbum. Out next monththrough Smalltown AmericaRecords, it also sees themembark on their biggest UKtour to date.Crunching guitars coupled

with explosive melodies, Let’sGet Metaphysical is one ofthe most complete rockrecords I’ve heard this year.Originally formed in 2008,

the trio released their first mini-album Nights Of Infinity in2011. Their full-length debutYou Disgust Me came out lastyear. Let’s Get Metaphysicaltakes them to a new level.Kenny told me: “We’ve just

got better at what we do,there’s been no big revoluti-ons. Touring has made us bet-ter and lyrically I’ve got a bitsharper. There’s a lot more ofa political edge to this record.”Track titles like Apathy In

The UK and This Sinking Shipreflect the political angle. It’sthe sound of angry youngmen trying to make a point.Kenny said: “The new

album was recorded live in sixdays. We wanted to capturethe spirit of our live shows sowe just turned up the ampsand let rip! Lyrically, most ofthe album is pretty political. Itreflects on party politics, the

economy and victim culture. Itwas written last year, but hasbecome quite prescient whichis good for the album but badfor the country I guess!”Though they’ve played

some high-profile gigs in thepast, including a support slotwith Twin Atlantic at the Bar-rowland, signing to Small-town America should givethem the profile they deserve.Kenny said: “We’ve been

fans of the label for a long timeand have toured with prettymuch every band on the labelpast and present. It madesense to work with them.”Currently on tour, Carni-

vores appear at StewartonArms in Ayrshire tonight.Tomorrow it’s Mad Hatters

in Inverness. Next month theycontinue the tour in England,including London’s Barfly,plus further Scottish concertsin Ayr and Aberdeen. Aheadof the album release they playa hometown show at the Bun-galow in Paisley on October24, followed by Glasgow’s13th Note on October 25.Kenny told me: “This is the

biggest UK tour we’ve doneso far. Hopefully we’ll be ableto do more next year. There’splans to get across to Europeat some point too, whichwould be a dream come true.”Carnivores album Let’s Get

Metaphysical is released onOctober 27. The title track isavailable now as a single.MORE: facebook.com/carni-voresukQ Jim presents Drivetime on XFMScotland, Monday to Friday 4-7pm.www.xfm.co.uk www.jimgellatly.com

NEW MUSIC

HOTGIGS

VANCE JOY: tonight, Leeds Uni,ticketmaster.co.uk; KYLIE: tonight,Phones 4u Arena, Manchester,phones4uarena.co.uk; KATE BUSH:tonight and Sat, Eventim ApolloLondon, eventimapollo.com.

BOOKNOW

FIFA 15 is the best footballgame on the market thisyear. But, then again, it’snear enough the only one.The big question that accompa-nies each regeneration is: “Is thisyear’s better than last year’s?”And the answer is always thesame: “Kind of.”In contrast to FIFA 14, the newtitle allows greater attackingscope, with pace given suchimpetus that it is almost betterto pick your line-up based on aplayer’s speed rating than overallquality.Now it is exhilaratingly easy tojink your way past a defender —perhaps inspired by England'sonly World Cup bright spot,Raheem Sterling.

Chasing shadowsTo balance the ease at whichyou can break through, shootingis far more difficult and thereare more realistic goalkeeperparries and blocks.Other lazy habits have beenabolished or refreshed.The dinked-through ball is nomore, my friends — get it out ofyour repertoire.Likewise, simply holding “con-tain” while defending will nolonger reap rewards and slidetackles are even less useful thanthey were in the past.Defending requires greaterpatience and concentration thanever before, particularly withattackers so souped up that yourbackline will be frequentlychasing shadows. But these are

welcome elements — winning atFIFA had become formulaic andthe makers should be credited foraddressing the issue.As they should for the game’sappearance.Obviously, the first properlynext-gen FIFA was going tomake a mark but the game isnow virtually indistinguishablefrom leading television coverage.Little touches such as thereplays, the ever-improving andincreasing crowd actions andplayer realism continue toimpress.It is a real labour of love andthat shines through.All set pieces are rejiggedslightly to give you even morecontrol but the bias still feelsweighted towards the attackingteam.So, is FIFA 15 worth almost£60 of your money when youhave a similar title, FIFA 14,already at home?Yes.The shifting dominance of pacein each FIFA title is often billedas an improvement, but I am notalways so sure it is.I am more impressed by theother things that this year’s FIFAhas sacrificed, letting go of badhabits that prompted lazygaming.Besides, the annual adjustingperiod to the new version isalways part of the fun.And for those who struggle,you need only wait till nextyear’s version for the FIFA pacependulum to swing back intoyour favour.

Watch the band atthescottishsun.co.uk

It’s tries and tribulationsITS footballing counterpart hasspawned an almost cult following,so Pro Rugby Manager’s returnafter a decade seems overdue.But after playing it, I wonder if

the release has come too soon.This will appeal to a die-hard

rugby audience, although thosewith less knowledge will struggle.The game’s interface is simple,

dividing different aspects of clubmanagement into tabs whichbranch out to allow the user todelve deeper into issues such asplayer injuries and training.On match day, you can either

simulate the game entirely orwatch it unfold, supposedlyimpacting events with substitutionsand set-piece decisions.Regardless of your choices, it

rarely feels like you have anyeffect on the match outcome.

BEN MASON

JOHN LEGEND – Oct 6, ManchesterApollo, o2apollomanchester.co.uk;THE NATIONAL – Nov 26, The O2,London, theo2.co.uk; BOMBAYBICYCLE CLUB – Dec 3, De MontfortHall, Leicester, demontforthall.co.uk.

ON the face of it, this gameis a joke too far – but in real-ity it’s some kind of magic.I wanted to hate it. Afterall, who on Earth would wantto recreate the life of a goat?After Farming Simulator,Garbage Truck Simulatorand Car Mechanic Simula-tor, I thought the genre hadrun out of steam.But I’d underestimatedhow awesome a goat’s life isin virtual reality.You crash cars, attackothers, jump off divingboards, whizz down slidesand explore a surprisinglyalive world.Plus, when you’re donewith the standard goat, youcan bring out Spider-ManGoat or Jet-Pack Goat.I can’t stop playing it.

Friday, September 26, 2014 591S