STACK #180 Oct 2019

GAMES REVIEWS STACK

visit stack.com.au

RECOMMENDS Out now at

CONTROL

GENRE: SHOOTER

PLATFORM: PS4, XBOX ONE

MULTIPLAYER: NO

Possibly the first ever game to feature a sentient office building as a character, Control is renowned AlanWake and Max Payne developer Remedy’s most inventive and immersive game yet – as well as their strangest.

Staged in the third-person, Control puts you inside the head of Jesse Faden, an ordinary woman who arrives at the headquarters

of the Federal Bureau of Control, an organisation set up to investigate and control paranormal objects and

LIKE A BOSS! The boss fights can be brutal – and Control has no difficulty setting. But there’s some cleverness going on, as when one annoying early boss repeatedly two-hit Jesse to death, it seemed frustrating and unfair. But the game was trying to gently teach us to use the room to our advantage, all the while reducing the number of shots it took to kill the boss before he got within face-punching distance.

you build your arsenal of powers and skills which, in turn, help you progress further into the building.

As Jesse gathers more abilities and stronger buffs, the game’s combat opens up into something quite strategic – don’t be put off by the early game where all you get is a gun that makes you wait while it reloads itself. Remedy’s games always take a particular pleasure in messing with your mind, but with Control they’re unsubtle about it. Like the best weird episodes of The X-Files smushed up and let loose inside a geometric concrete box, the story goes off on unexpected tangents and treats the strangest things as absolutely normal. Soaked in eerie atmosphere while managing to generate the sort of tension normally found in survival horror games, Control is Remedy at their deliciously weird best.

phenomena. She’s searching for her brother, who’s been missing for years after being taken by the FBC. But when she gets into their offices – “The Oldest House” – it quickly becomes clear that not all is right with the FBC… or their building. Control offers more expansive design than previous Remedy efforts. Billed by the developers as a “Metroidvania-inspired experience”, as you progress through The Oldest House and discover what lies within,

GEARS 5

GENRE: SHOOTER

PLATFORM: XBOX ONE

MULTIPLAYER: YES

The Coalition’s Gears 5 is here and, after a shock reveal in Gears of War 4 , players have been itching to rev up those chainsaws, curb stomp Swarm heads, and grind through blood and bone! Gears 5 follows new fan favourites, Kait

and Del. Players will uncover further secrets of the Swarm while revisiting some classic locations and, deftly avoiding spoilers, “more”.

KICK OUT THE JAMS! Rather than having a standard reload animation, in Gears 5 players take on a minigame to gain extra bullet damage and quicker reload time. Failing it causes your gun to jam, stalling you even further before you reload. One thing to note about gun jams is that you can’t then change weapons, so if you’re caught jammed in a tight shotgun firefight, GET OUT OF THERE!

The Gears series is known for its gory, brutal and loud combat, and Gears 5 not only delivers this, but every shootout turns into the mansion scene from

sits back and relaxes, as they’re not guiding a human… they’re playing as Jack! Yes, players can now control the helpful and charming floating robot, which plays differently to traditional characters. The introduction of Jack makes Gears 5 more strategic rather than just shooting and repeating (though there’s nothing wrong with that!) Outside of the outstanding campaign, Gears 5 has its iconic multiplayer. There’s the standard five-on-five online ‘Escalation’ mode, ‘King of the Hill’ and the new ‘Arcade’ mode. A three-player co-op ‘Escape’ mode is also introduced. With limited ammo, you and your team need to escape after planting a Venom Bomb. Finally, the survival mode that started it all is back – ‘Horde’. With brutally addictive combat and an entertaining story, Gears 5 is an absolute must-have for shooter fans.

Commando . Players can hold two main weapons, one sidearm and grenades, and easily swap between them via the D-pad. Gears 5 introduces something new to Gears of War: an open world, akin to the recent Tomb Raider titles. Traversing Sera with a Skiff (basically a snowmobile with a sail), one player drives, one shoots and the third (that’s right, three players baby!)

24

OCTOBER 2019

jbhifi.com.au