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GM 257Dec 2012£3.99

14 Party HardyJulia reports from SummerSlam!

13 The Witch Is BackNintendo have revealed shock news

about Bayonetta 2 – and it’s exclusive to Wii U!

18 5 alive!What the iPhone 5 means for gaming.

12 Are U Ready?Wii U inally gets a launch date. Excited!

16 Big ShotsThe latest shots from the hottest games

– including Transformers and Skylanders.

Wii U is on its way toa shop near you soon!

NEWS! OPINIONS! INSIDER INFO!

For allthe latestgamingnews!computerandvideogames.com

Contents

IS FOR

08 DECEMBER 2012

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GROUND ZEROES

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Lightning strikes thrice!It’s the JRPG that keeps on giving.Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII isofficially the third game in the JRPGsub-series, but this time original heroineLightning is the only character. It’s set over13 days and clocks continue to be a corecomponent of the story.

New engine! New mysteries!New open- world gameplay!Metal Gear Solid is back andbigger than ever!

InfoFORMAT 360, PS3OUT TBCDEVELOPERKojima ProductionsPUBLISHER Konami

WHAT IS IT? Theninth (count ‘em)main entry in theMetal Gear franchiseand a return forMGS3 and PeaceWalker protagonistBig Boss.

Slinking back into the searchlights of gamerseverywhere, Metal Gear Solid is set to bestow afinal hurrah on current-gen consoles, thanks to anincredibly powerful, eye-wateringly impressive newengine, and with legendary Metal Gear mastermind

Hideo Kojima firmly back in the driving seat.At an event held in Tokyo to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the

series, incredible footage of the latest MGS outing, Metal Gear Solid:Ground Zeroes, stunned onlookers as Big Boss (or Naked Snake forMGS3: Snake Eater veterans) makes a return as the central protagonist.An awful lot of info was contained in the presentation for fans tospeculate on, while it also shows off Big Boss’s new ability to drivevehicles found in the game, call in a support chopper and navigate anexpansive open world. That’s right, Ground Zeroes is to be an openworld game, with players capable of moving between massive missionlocations, spread across a number of different countries.

Omega man

The cinematic presentation kicks off as we pan past a sign for prisoncamp Omega. Three men walk by, one wearing a waterproof ponchothat billows in the blustering wind. It’s immediately apparent that thenew Fox Engine, which Kojima says he hopes will make it easier forKojima Productions (and possibly Konami) to make high quality,multi-platform games quickly, is an impressive piece of kit. Campsearchlights make soaked surfaces glisten and the textures, from thewaterlogged ground to the burnished slide of a submachine gun, looknear indistinguishable from real life.

Moving through the camp, the mystery men approach an iron cage,with a small boy hunched over inside. We later discover that this isChico, imprisoned along with Paz from Peace Walker. The shady leaderof the men chucks a cassette player in through the bars and Chicoscrabbles to snatch it up, plugging in earphones from a jack imbeddedin his chest. As the man stands and walks away we see that his face isheavily scarred, though we still can’t make out who he is.

The familiar track of Here’s To You by Joan Baez (which was includedin the MGS4 soundtrack) plays out in the background as the man joinsa humvee convoy. Who is this scarred villain? Is he a totally newcharacter? Or someone we already know in a state of ill repair? A quickshot of a reversed FOX insignia in a rear view mirror implies that hecould be a member of the military unit founded by Zero and The Boss.Shortly after, our mystery man erases a reversed FOX logo from amilitary helicopter and lobs a fistful of FOX badges into the winds,implying some hefty double crossery is taking place before us.

AN OPEN WORLD GAME, WITHPLAYERS CAPABLE OF MOVINGBETWEEN MASSIVE LOCATIONS

DECEMBER 2012 09

Slim fastNew Slim PS3 alerts! Sony have made twonew PlayStation 3 SKUs with a sleek,sliding lid covering the disc tray. A 500Gbmodel is out now, while a scaled back12Gb Flash memory version (sure to causemany a mandatory install nightmare) willbe released in a matter of days.

1970: MGSPortable Ops(PSP, 2007)The first canonicalhandheld entry in theseries was a directsequel to Snake Eater,starring the newlynicknamed Big Boss(otherwise known asNaked Snake). This titlechronicled the foundingof Foxhound as FOXgoes renegade.

PLAY IT NOW: Onlyon PSP

1964:MGS3Snake Eater(PS2, 2005)The chronology all

kicks off as Naked Snakesets out to untangle themess left behind by theseeming defector (andhis former mentor) TheBoss. in a jungly ColdWar era setting.

PLAY IT NOW: 360, PS3,PS Vita (HD Collection)and 3DS

As this intriguing individual leaves in achopper, the familiar form of Big Boss/

Naked Snake climbs up and over a beautifullyrain sodden cliff face. ‘Kept you waiting, huh?’he says, in true nudge-wink Kojima fashion.

And then we’re into gameplay, as Snakekneels down and scouts out the massiveCamp Omega before him. Avoidingsearchlights, he slowly approaches a watchtower, takes out a guard with a singlesuppressed pistol shot, then clambers oversome rocks and down into the base proper.Omega is huge and totally open. It’s easy toimagine players taking many differentapproaches to saving Chico and Paz. For nowSnake jumps into a nearby abandoned jeepand starts her up. Before we can see toomuch of the game’s new driving mechanicsthough, Snake leaps out and tosses a flaredown to call in a helicopter. Ride Of TheValkyries plays out as the chopperapproaches, though apparently you canchoose your own personal music to playduring these moments.

Like a bawss

And so, the cinematic and gameplaypresentation comes to an end and we’re leftwith just one final mystery unpoked. What’sthat title all about? Well there’s the blatantlink to FOX unit commander Major Zero. Theopposing philosophies that he and Big Bossdeveloped after the death of The Boss inMGS3 may be the fulcrum of much of theGround Zeroes plot, given that is the rootcause of pretty much all the conflict in thechronologically preceding games. Tellingalso is the definition of the term groundzero which refers to the closest point ofimpact on Earth when an atomic bombhits, the point from which the surroundingdevastation spreads. One thing we do know isthat this won’t be simply Metal Gear Solid 5– instead Ground Zeroes will serve as aprologue for the next numerical entry in theseries. ‘Everything has its beginning,” BigBoss himself says, at the end of MGS4, “but itdoesn’t start as one.”

“The world is born from Zero.”

We especially like howindividual rain dropsslide down Snake’s face.

Zero? Volgin? Psycho Mantis?Gray Fox? The speculation beginsnow, though this shady chap maybe an entirely new character…

Critical MassA new Mass Effect is in development atBioWare. General manager Aaryn Flynnsays they’re already thinking about:“another full game”. They’re also: “puttingtogether their vision for an all new gameset in a fictional universe, built from thebottom-up with all new gaming technology,”he teased. And now for the bad news…

Naked Snake’s mission is to rescue Chico and Paz fromCamp Omega. But what exactly are they being held for?

Tell us this doesn’t look like liveaction and we’ll slap you in the face.

The theme of mirrored images pervades the whole trailer, like thisreversed Fox logo. The meaning? Let the guesswork begin!

Hollywood producer Avi Arad is set to produce a Metal GearSolid movie, after the adaptation rights were picked up byColombia pictures. While video games might have had acheckered Hollywood past, Arad managed to make comicbooks a serious business in twinkle town, so we’re hopefulhe can do the same for our beloved Snake and co.

*Follow us on Twitter – www.twitter.com/gamesmaster– to discover nuggets of hot gaming news just like this

“Just announced my retirement fromvideogames. Really looking forward to mynext chapter; will miss my teams.”BioWare founder Dr Ray Muzyka – @RayMuzyka –says his goodbyes as both he and fellow-founderDr Greg Zeschuk leave the Mass E fect developer

SKIP TO THE ENDLIGHTS, CAMERA, (TACTICALESPIONAGE) ACTION!

The prospect of a Metal GearHollywoodmovie rises once again…

The first tiny gasps of a clue that there’san imminent Metal Gear movie on the horizon.

010 DECEMBER 2012

2014:MGS4Guns of thePatriots(PS3, 2008)Solid Snake becomes OldSnake thanks to anaccelerated ageing sideeffect and his chapter inthe MGS saga comes to aclimatic close, but notbefore we learn that BigBoss had been alive allthis time!

PLAY IT NOW: PS3

2007 &2009: MetalGear Solid 2Sons ofLiberty(PS2, 2001)Lank haired hero Raidentakes centre stage as theBig Shell incident playsout. He cries mostly,while taking out Solidus,the third Big Boss clone.

PLAY IT NOW: 360, PS3,PS Vita (HD Collections)

2005:MetalGear Solid(PS1, 1999)Solid Snake stormedinto the modern 3D age,in this tale of the ShadowMoses Island incident.In taking down MetalGear REX, Solid learnsthat he and naughty broLiquid are actually clonesof Big Boss.

PLAY IT NOW: PSN

1999:Metal Gear 2Solid Snake(MSX2, 1990)This gem didn’t get arelease in the west for 16whole years, but tells ofhow Solid Snake tookdown former war buddyturned Big Boss lackeyGray Fox in Zanzibar. BigBoss ‘dies’.

PLAY IT NOW: 360, PS3(HD Collection)

1995:Metal Gear(MSX, 1987)Solid Snake, a rookie ofFoxhound, is sent intoOuter Heaven to rescuecaptured agent Gray Fox,while taking down thetitular battle tank.

PLAY IT NOW: 360, PS3(HD Collection)

????: MGSGroundZeroes(360, PS3, 2012)We reckon we’ll finallyget to see the epicmoments that drew BigBoss into founding OuterHeaven in a Star Wars:Episode 3-esque finale.Chico is still fairly youngin the cinematic, so itcan’t be set too longafter Peace Walker.

PLAY IT SOON: 360, PS3

1974: MGSPeace Walker(PSP, 2010)It all started gettingserious as Big Bossbecomes an enemy ofAmerica and takes thefirst major footstepstowards founding OuterHeaven with the militaryorganisation MilitairesSans Frontières (SoldiersWithout Borders).

PLAY IT NOW: 360, PS3

Expect the technology of the Big Bossstories to start catching up with that ofSolid Snake’s half of the MGS saga.

Wide open areas can be seenfrom aboard the helicopter.Everywhere you can see, Snakecan go, we’re told.

This young lad is almostcertainly Chico from PeaceWalker, though some fansinitially thought that it could bea young Solid Snake or Raiden.

The lightning flashes make BigBoss’s hair look rather white, thoughKojima took to Twitter to claim he’snot actually that much older.

Ghost StationGameStation is no more. By the time youread this, stores nationwide will be in theprocess of rebranding as GAME. Part ofthe refurbishment process involves addingWiFi access to every store, a new loyaltycard and introducing a Game Hunterservice to let customers track down retrogames and have them delivered to their doors.

Ones to watchCinemagoers will be delighted (or should that behorrified?) to know more gaming films are on theirway to the silver screen. MGM Studios have snaggedthe rights to Russian post-apocalyptic blaster Metro2033, with Narnia producer Mark Johnsonoverseeing the project. Star Trek actor MichaelDorn, meanwhile, has revealed he’s playinga werewolf in a new Castlevania flick.

Snake is technically a cyclops sothose goggles make sense… kinda…

Ground Zeroes is assumed to be thetitle of the demo, not the full game.

Ground Zeroes isn’t the only project underway over at KojimaProductions HQ. Another mystery game, codenamed Project Ogre isalso under construction, again set to utilise the powerful Fox Engine.Nobody’s quite sure what Ogre will be as yet, though it’s significantthat Kojima-san is taking such a hefty role in Ground Zeroes. Thisimplies that Project Ogre, whatever it is, will be spearheaded bysomeone else at KP. Speculative fans point out Shuyo Murata,co-director of MGS4, whose name doesn’t appear on the credits atthe end of the Ground Zeroes presentation.

Kojima Productions’ othermajor title in the works…

A chronological recap of the MGS series, and Ground Zeroes’ predicted place within it…

WHAT ISPROJECTOGRE?

OTHE END…

Mr Kojimais tight lippedabout Ogre.

DECEMBER 2012 011

GM Instant ReactionThe standout features

of the game – that couldmake it great – appearin this little green box.

Any low points,niggles and worriesabout the game will behighlighted here.

THE PATENTED GM THRILL O METER Are we excited about this game? TheThrill-O Meter will tell you at a glance. The Thrill-O Meter reveals our current thinking onthe game’s prospects, based on our most recent preview-stage access. A 1 2 meanssomething is seriously amiss, 3 is average, and 4 5 mean this game could be a winner.

We can’t wait for…

Ourmostwanted

1. Wii UWe need a new console! I can’t wait to see howwell it all

works outside of test conditions inmy front room. p12

2. Halo 4Surely the last Halo we’ll see this gen and the Forerunner

anglemakes it the freshest one for years. p32

3. Assassin’s Creed IIIJust pips Hitman for me by squeezing pirates into what

was already the coolest US history lesson imaginable. p20

1. Halo 4It’s easy to forget just how significant this is. It’s a true

Halo 3 sequel, and surely the 360’s last Halo hurrah. p32

2. F1 Race StarsWith this, LittleBigPlanet Karting and Sonic & Sega All-

Stars Racing Transformed, karting fans can rejoice! p36

3. Bayonetta 2The first gamewas THE definite action game of this

generation. I’m delighted to see the series live on. p12

1. Metal Gear Solid: Ground ZeroesI always did prefer Big Boss’ brand of cigar chomping

ColdWar stealth action. p8

2. The Last of UsNaughty Dog’s latest makes Drake’s brilliant Uncharted

jaunts look as intense as a trip to see your grandparents.

3. Injustice: Gods Among UsThe Tekken Tag Tournament 2 arcade cabinet we have in

our office has infectedmewith a desire to bash.

Insta paintThe drive-through

spraypaint boothsfrom BurnoutParadise are back. Ifyou don’t like thecolour of your ride,simply burn throughone to get a newhue. Olive, gross!

MATT

MATT’S

Insta paint

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NFS MOST WANTED

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28 DECEMBER 2012

Forza: HorizonWe check out this NFScompetitor open-worldracing game. p35

INCOMING!POTENTIALHITS ON THEHORIZON

While the premise of NeedFor Speed: Most Wantedechoes the 2005 EABlack Box title of thesame name (win races to

climb aMost Wanted leaderboardwhile evading the cops who aretrying tomuscle in on your fun), it isthere the similarities end. Takingplace in an open-world playgroundcrammed full of challenges, collectablesand sweeping races that span as wide asthe city that hosts them, this reboot is in

fact Burnout Paradise 2 in prettymuch everything but name.

And we at GM couldn’t be happierabout that. Burnout Paradise’s decisionto go open world divided fans back in2008, with many rightly noting that the‘find your own route to the finish line’dynamic diluted the purity of the actualracing. True perhaps, but if like us youtook the game online with friends toattempt the team challenges, you’llknow that this was where the heart ofthe Burnout Paradise experience lay.

After taking a brief detour back intoLinearsville with Need For Speed: HotPursuit, we’re pleased to see Criteriongetting firmly back on track with theirvision of an open world racer –especially as they’ve taken criticisms ofParadise on-board for the ride.

Para, Para, ParadiseIn the years since Burnout Paradise’srelease, Criterion has developedits own social media platform

InfoFORMAT 360/PS3/PC/VitaOUT 2 NovemberDEVELOPERCriterion GamesPUBLISHER EAWE PLAYEDNumerousmultiplayer eventsat Gamescom.

WHAT IS IT? Openworld cops androbbers, withblindingly fast real-world supercars!

GTA VWowsers! Huge gamealert! The latest onRockstar’s new GTA. p38

Army of Two: TheDevil’s CartelThe bromance continues asthe shooter returns. p40

Five aliveThere are ive car-

speci ic challengesfor every vehicle inNFS: Most Wanted,all designed toshowcase that car’sunique abilities.

This car is a yellow one. Look,we’re not ‘car people’, okay?

95%complete

Out2 Nov

Need For SpeedMostWanted

DECEMBER 2012 29

Mobile

The best bits of Need For Speed and Burnout Paradise collide!

SPEED TRAP

PREVIEWS

Feeling testyOur favourite multiplayer events are the Speedtests. These giveeveryone 90 seconds to record the longest drift, highest jump orsome similar accomplishment. Once you’ve recorded a goodtime, you can play the role of disrupter, banging into otherplayers to prevent them eclipsing your score.

Mod talk360 owners with Kinect can equip mods on the fly by barkingout your commands at the TV screen. This could give the quick oftongue a huge advantage; if you’re shifting from off-road to anasphalt surface in the middle of a race, you can quickly swap tyreswithout even once looking in your rear view mirror.

– Autolog – and Most Wanted ispowered by version 2.0 of the

software. Even when you’re playing onyour own you’re up against the entireworld, as the new and improved Autologtracks everything you do as you burnaround the city of Fairhaven.

Each street, for example, has aSpeedwall attached to it, and as youburn past it it’ll broadcast your time toyour other friends and invite either youor them to do better. You can customise

your newsfeed to some extent, allowingyou to concentrate on beating the timesof your best friend and drowning outthe impossi-times set by that guy whosmashed you on Top Spin 4 that onetime and friended you for no reason.

Jump distances are also recordedamong friends, and in a neat touch theyphysically manifest themselves in yourworld in the form of a billboard withtheir mugshot on it. Smash through itwhile beating their distance and their

And this one is a grey one. Yellow onesare better for, um, night visibility?

It took a year for day/night cyclesto come to Burnout Paradise. NFS:MW has them on day one.

Fair do’sFairhaven is a

worthy successor toParadise City.Primarily an urbansprawl, it inds timeto open up intogloriously openparkways and cop-ba ling woodlands.

CustomcultureIntriguingly, we’re

hearing rumblingsthat Criteron willallow players to setup custom racesand events, whichyou can share withfriends online. Ace!!If true, that is!!

ugly gurn will be replaced with yourbeautiful visage. Ha!

As such, the meaning of the MostWanted list has also changed with thetimes. While in Black Box’s games itreferred to a CPU-controlled cast offailed Guy Ritchie gangsters who had tobe toppled one by one, now it meansscaling your friend’s leaderboards. Anew feature called CloudCompete allowsyou to track the progress of your friendsacross multiple formats, making the

30 DECEMBER 2012

competition more inclusive – and evenmore fierce – than ever.

The race-ruining cops from theoriginal Most Wanted have also got withthe times; in their attempts to bring youto justice they now deploy spike tracks,like their NFS: Hot Pursuit counterparts,and bring in the heavy artillery if yourefuse to pull over nicely. Despite this,they’re easier to evade now than they’vebeen in the past, thanks in part to yourcar’s nippier handling, which enables youto turn even the heftiest car on asixpence and make a detour eitheroff-road or down an inviting back alleytowards one of the cooldown spots.

Carrera CriminalThat’s a change consistent with a gamethat’s been rebalanced to makeeverything faster and more accessible.Practically every single car in the game isnow available for you to drive from theword go – if you can find them. The50-strong cache of licensed dreamcars– including Aston Martins, LamborghiniAventadors and Porsche Carreras – canbe spotted minding their own business innumerous jack spots scattered around

the city. To hop in and add it to yourcollection, all you have to do is pull overand take it. Needless to say, many will bewell-hidden by Criterion’s design-gremlins so it pays to explore.

You might not unlock cars thetraditional way, but there is still an XPsystem of sorts – entitled Speed Points– that lets you purchase mods for yourfav vehicle, which you can equip on themove thanks to a streamlined menusystem accessed via the d-pad. Onceselected, they’ll affix themselves to yourauto instantaneously without even a hintof a brake light. Again, it’s all designed tominimise menu screen clutter andensure that you’re always hurtling fullspeed towards your next objective.

This ethos also extends to themultiplayer challenges. Pre-race peckingorders are now decided on the fly asplayers jostle for position on the grid,and the moment you cross the finish lineyou’re encouraged to pivot on the spotand drive back into the fray and take outstragglers for additional points.

Factor in instant restarts and theability to warp straight to events andyou’ve got a slicker, punchier version ofBurnout Paradise that succeeds ineliminating all of its dead zones, andmakes a better fist at encouraging you toexplore its world. The only outstandingquestion is whether Most Wanted cansucceed where Paradise crashed, byoffering a single player experience that’severy bit the equal of purpose builtracers such as Blur and Hot Pursuit.Fenders crossed… ALEX DALE

These captions were brought toyou by the Journalists AgainstScreenshots of Cars Guild.

Driving with a faulty rear brakelight has dire consequences inNeed For Speed: Most Wanted.

Aargh, roadblocks! There’salways a handy car-shaped gap foryou to sneak through, mind.

Here’s a nice shot of us (centre) makingplenty of new friends in Fairhaven.

This car’s rubbish because itdoesn’t have a roof. You’llregret it when Winter sets in.

Ahh, now big muthas like this are good forBurnout 3-style Takedowns. Finesse? Not so much.

Superior handling –the heaviness of HotPursuit’s cars has beengiven the heave-ho.

Fantastic world, withplenty of variety,challenges and secretshidden within.

No more endless,frustrating cop chaseslike there were in theoriginal Most Wanted.

If you don’t have aninternet connection,you’re missing out onmuch it has to offer.

GM Instant Reaction

THE COPS AREEASIER TO EVADENOW THAN THEYHAVE BEEN INTHE PAST

DECEMBER 2012 31

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ARMY OF TWO

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Armyof TwoTheDevil’s CartelHave sympathy for the devilish cartels of Mexico

when Frostbite 2 comes to town…

InfoFORMAT 360, PS3OUT March 2012DEVELOPERVisceral GamesPUBLISHER EAWE PLAYED40 minutes ofapartment building-based mayhem,showcasing theFrostbite 2 engineand its destructibleenvironments.

WHAT IS IT? Anaction-packed buddymovie in bulletspraying third-person co-opshooter form.

Mobile

The Army of Two series haslong been a great reasonto break out in high fives,and this third full blownouting is no exception.

Put together by a new Visceral Gamesteam, The Devil’s Cartel threatens to bestanything that the third person cover-based shooter series has done before,thanks to the stonking great gas tankerfulof power provided by Battlefield 3’sFrostbite 2 engine. Before you move yourbeer fridge to within arm’s reach of yoursofa, however, let’s take stock.

You and your co-op companion takecontrol of Alpha and Bravo, the former a

military veteran, the latter anarmy drop-out with a talent forslaughter. This time out you’ll shootthrough Mexico, with Frostbite 2 capableof pumping out both sun-bleached plasterwalls being decimated by combinedgunfire and post-gunfight dust motessettling through heat haze.

Two storyIn our early level playthrough, we quicklyencounter the gameplay effects that thedestructible world bestows upon AoT:TDC,as our hastily chosen wooden banister ischundered to splinters. As we tear

Male bonding atits most destructive.

CARTEL WHAT IT IS YET?

PREVIEWS

Notice the crumbling textures of the wallplaster? The devil’s in the details, hur-hur.

75%complete

OutMar 2013

40 DECEMBER 2012

Frostbite 2 worksdestructive wonders.We also love thecinematic style.

The level designinforms co-op morethan ever. You’ll needto work together.

Aiming felt slightlysticky, but fortunatelythere's plenty of time totweak before release.

We shot a lot ofpeople – but why?Hopefully we'll havemore idea come launch.

GM Instant Reaction

Heart-breakCartelThe narrative of

The Devil’s Cartelpits Mexicancriminals against amoralistic Mayorintent on cleaningup the streets. We’dhardly call Alphaand Bravo tidy, butthey intend to helpget the job done.

Bullets have a palpable audio quality, zingingoff metal cover, thwacking wetly into unarmouredcartel-ites and thunking into concrete.

Activate Overkill mode at thesame time as your partner todouble your destructive powers.

Alpha and Bravo andChris Moyles don’t get on.

Moments of calm will presumably give you a chance torecap/high-five/man-slap your fellow player accordingly.

Part-timecoverCover based

shooters are a dimea dozen, so it’s easyto jump straight intoThe Devil’s Cartel.Destructible coverand a heavy focuson communicatingwith your partneraim to set it apartfrom the crowd.

through an apartment building lobby wenotice a bar filling at the top of our screen.This aptly-dubbed Overkill meter slowlyfills whenever you work together withyour partner. Help your pal to escapefrom under heavy fire, actively flank yourfoe, or simply both communicate and takeaim at the same enemy and the meter willfill with Overkill juice, nicely incentivisingteamwork and co-operation. Once full,unleashing Overkill empowers you withüber destructive bulletry, capable ofsmashing walls to debris and crunchingthrough cartel members limbs in acacophony of concentrated destruction.

At one point a simple step lift over aprecariously placed wooden obstacleends up with our two mercs on differentfloors of the lobby. With each player’s lineof sight being different, there’s a heavyreliance on communication.

The playthrough culminates in acolossal set-piece wherein one playertakes out rocket launcher toting gentry ona rooftop, while the other blasts a radiotower with a helicopter. A few explosionslater and we’re dangling precariously offthe edge of the roof, in an action set piecethat wouldn’t look out of place in a BadBoys 3 movie (if they ever make one).

Our playthrough is peppered with thedevelopers indicating how they’d like toincrease the difficulty a touch and tointroduce even more moments ofexplosive tactical thinking. We reckon thecontrols will also need oiling, as they feltslightly rigid. That said, we’ve alreadyloaded up on snacks and beverages aheadof an all night high-five marathon.MATTHEW SAKURAOKA-GILMAN

PREVIEWS

DECEMBER 2012 41

NHL Moments takes real-lifeevents and puts ’em in the game...

Madden NFL 13 Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition

Auuugggh! You just spatyour coffee all over us!It’s leaked everywhere!It’s in our staples,ferchrissake! We forgive

you though, because we knowwhatyou were thinking. “90%? For ahockey game? Has GM gone puckingcrazy?” Nope! Thanks to some bravegameplay adjustments, NHL 13 is asmarter, faster andmore realistichockey sim than ever before, and alegit contender for sports game of theyear in its own right.

Veterans will notice the changeswithin seconds. A brand new skatingphysics engine has been introduced toaddress one of the main shortcomingsof the series until now – that all theplayers feel the same to control. Nowskating acceleration is a variable stat, sofleet-footed playmakers are quicker offthe mark than plodding fourth-linerswith clogs for skates.

Conversely, burly players take a whileto get going but when they hit top speedthey’re like a tank, their extra bulkallowing them to easily bulldoze anydozy twerps who get in their way. Linechanges matter more here, and if youhave a nippy forward line on the ice,dumping and chasing is now alegitimate, successful tactic.

Skaters gonna skateIt’s a similar story at the other endof the rink, where defenders have toconcentrate on positional awarenessrather than going for the big hit into theboards, as they’ll never be able torecover in time if they’re off-cue.

Madden 13‘s main attraction is its newphysics engine. But despite offering agreater variety of tackle animations,it didn‘t quite get our pom-poms in

the air with the same enthusiasm. The tangiblebenefits of the Infinity Engine, like an increasedrange of throwing trajectories, will really onlybe appreciated by the hardcore fans.

That notwithstanding, the stunningpresentation – flashy, loud and very, veryAmerican – gives Madden 13 a big gamepresence the likes of FIFA and NHL lack, and athoughtful array of preset plays means it’sinstantly accessible, even to those who onlymanage to catch the one game at Wembleya year. A good pick-up for sports fans who likea side-order of tactics withtheir neck-snapping violence.ALEX DALE

Dark Souls’ lengthy pilgrimage fromconsoles to PC is as bare bones asthe skeletons that populate the game– but what a game it is. The RPG only

fully reveals itself with time and sweat and toil,yet when it does, it proves to be one of the mostrewarding and astonishingly epic experiences ofthis entire generation.

Although the additional PvP mode fails tohold a candle to the regular game-invasionmechanics, the new areas and NPCs pile moregreatness on top of an already-stellarexperience. In the months since launch we’vepeeled back the layers to discover moreenchanting, enthralling mechanisms with everystep, and the Prepare to Die version – availableas DLC on consoles – is thebrutal pinnacle of thatnear-perfect RPG. MATT P

The changes have been implementedfor the hardcore crowd, and if you’re anon-fan who doesn’t know theirfive-hole from their bumhole there’s asteep learning curve that will put manycasual sports gamers off. But we heartilyrecommend this to anyone who has thepatience to put the hours in – for it is,effectively, a modern-day Speedballon ice. ALEX DALE

FORMAT 360, PS3 OUT Now PRICE £39.99 FORMAT 360, PS3, PC (reviewed) OUT Now PRICE £29.99

Halfway through this latest episode ofTelltale’s zombie fest we werethinking: “yup, this is still brill, butprobably the weakest entry so far.”

Then something unexpected and plain horrifichappened, and we backpedalled… extremelyquickly. Then something else happened, and itpretty much broke our minds.

With these revelations, the game suddenlytranscended its humble adventure origins andbecame something so much more vital. Ourlove for Clem. Our rage and frustration withKenny. Man, these are levels of emotion that wegenuinely haven’t experienced in games so far.

This is better – so much better – than theAMC series, and it’s quickly become some ofthe most essential gaming ofthis, or indeed any other, year.ROB TAYLOR

InfoFORMAT 360, PS3OUT NowDEVELOPER EACanadaPUBLISHEREAPLAYERS 1-4PRICE £39.99RATING 12+

WHAT IS IT? Fieldhockey, on ice. Withfighting. And musicalinterludes freshfrom the year 1998.

The Walking Dead: The Game.Episode 3: Long Road AheadFORMAT 360, PS3, PC (reviewed), mobile OUT Now PRICE £3.99

81% 93%92%

JUDGEMENT

90%

Fast, furious and packs staggeringdepth into its streamlined controls.

Mobile

Backskating plays a more prominent role thisyear. In real life we can’t even skate forwards.

Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition

NHL 13The champagne’s on ice…

90 DECEMBER 2012