STACK NZ Nov #79

YOUR ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO CINEMA, DVDs, GAMES MUSIC

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ISSUE 79 NOV '16

INSIDE: STAR TREK BEYOND • DISHONORED 2 • DEVILSKIN

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Issue 79 NOVEMBER 2016

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EXTRAS

• Devilskin rise again. Pg 6 • Technology: Netgear’s Nighthawk X4 EX7300. Pg 8 • Competitions, quiz, STACK Social. Pg 10

FEATURES

DVD Finding Dory: Ellen DeGeneres on why she always wanted to reprise her role from Finding Nemo. Pg 12 Star Trek Beyond: Justin Lin takes the helm of the USS Enterprise. Pg 14 GAMES PlayStation Pro: A console for gamers seeking the best experience that current technology has to offer. Pg 16 Titanfall 2: Art director Joel Emslie and Respawn's Dusty Welch on what us pilots can expect. Pg 18-19 Pokémon: What better way to celebrate the franchise’s 20th anniversary than with two new titles? Pg 20 Dishonored 2: Harvey Smith on the role of women in the Dishonored sequel. Pg 22-23 Watch Dogs 2: Boasting a GO-GO-gadget belt’s worth of new toys, Watch_Dogs are back. Pg 24-26 Call of Duty: Video game veteran Brian Horton takes us through the latest CoD title Infinite Warfare . Pg 28-30 MUSIC Shapeshifter: Nick Robinson on the Kiwi dance maestros 4th studio album Stars . Pg 32 The Last Waltz: Graham Reid revisits The Band's seminal farewell concert. Pg 34 DVD/Blu-ray Ice Age: Collision Course, Preacher: Season One, Mike & Dave Need Wedding Dates , Three Wise Cousins , Game Of Thrones: Season 6 and more Pg 36-40 MUSIC Hopetoun Brown , Lady Gaga, Soft Hair and more Pg 44-46 All information believed correct at time of printing. All images used for promotional purposes only. Copyright of respective owners is acknowledged. © 2016 Scribal Custom Pty Ltd. No part of this magazine may be reprinted without the written permission of the publisher. RATINGS GUIDE REVIEWS

There were no second album nerves for Devilskin on Be Like the River , according to Paul Martin. Words John Ferguson

I t might seem that Devilskin appeared out of nowhere with what turned out to be their very accurately named debut album We Rise , which debuted at No. 1 in the New Zealand charts in 2014 and has gone on to become a platinum seller. However, the hard-rocking Waikato quartet had been honing their craft for four years before venturing into the studio, so there were no second album nerves for the band when it came to delivering their eagerly awaited studio follow- up (in between Devilskin released Live at the Powerstation ). “We had three or four years being a band together before we recorded the first album,” bassist Paul Martin tells STACK . “Some of the biggest songs like Fades , Little Pills and Until You Bleed were all written during our very first jam together. Then we had all that time to hone those songs live. “With this, we knew we were writing for the next album and we had the luxury of taking our time with it. We are writing all the time and we ended up demo-ing something like 30 songs for this album – we had a lot to choose from.” Be Like the Rive r was recorded at Modern World Studios in the UK and reunited the band with producer Clint Murphy; Martin says that the band were keen to play some European days, so it made sense to record the new record over there. But just because Devilskin has now enjoyed

chart success, their loyal fans will be pleased to know that there has been no softening of their sound. “It did take us by surprise,” says Martin of the unexpected success of We Rise . “We have all worked very hard in bands for years and never received this sort of attention before, so it’s a special feeling. But our music is our music, we just write what we feel – we certainly didn’t write anything on the album to be a radio single or anything.” The band has followed a determinedly independent path – as with the first, the new album is being released on their own label – and they remain a very close-knit unit. That’s not particularly surprising given that they are all related: Paul’s brother Nail is the guitarist, his son Nick is the drummer, and vocalist Jennie Skulander his sister-in-law. “The more we are together as a band, the more comfortable we are,” Paul says. “We are all family in this band, so we are pretty tight anyway. We all trust each other and know exactly what we are doing.” And what about playing with his son, Nick – are there times when he has to be the dad and warn him about partying too hard? “He says that to me,” laughs Paul. “He’s the sensible one!” • Read the full Devilskin interview later this month at www.stack.net.nz Be Like the River by Devilskin is out on CD and vinyl on November 11

APPLE MUSIC CARDS

Available at

TECH FEATURE

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If the dreaded drop out is affecting your internet experience at home, extend your possibilities with Netgear’s Nighthawk X4 EX7300. Words Mark Ankucic KILL THE DEAD ZONES

F or all the miracles architects are able to achieve, their most obvious faults lie in those crucial spots around the home where you just can’t get a damn Wi-Fi signal. It’s easy to forgive a flickering of connection in the kitchen; you almost expect it to falter in your garage – but it’s impossible to ignore when your study, bedroom, or heaven forbid, your bathroom is unable to connect to the internet. So, if you’re suffering from severe buffering, you’re going to want to invest in a Wi-Fi range extender – more specifically, Netgear’s Nighthawk X4 EX7300. Netgear have been manufacturing networking hardware and solutions for over twenty years, and the Nighthawk X4 is a result of their accumulated knowledge and extreme competency in the field. The Nighthawk X4 works with your existing router – no matter what the brand – and can increase coverage up to 930 m². Providing Wi-Fi speeds of up to 2200Mbps, you can be assured that the Nighthawk X4 can keep pace with our pathetic Australian internet speed. Smarter than your average Wi-Fi extender, the Nighthawk X4 utilises MIMO antenna and Beamforming

TECH

technology. Simply put, MIMO means multiple antennae are used to transmit and receive

If you’re not particularly tech savvy, never fear – even your granddad

data, minimising the chance of any

If you’re not particularly tech savvy,

errors occurring and providing optimised data speed. Less lag, better streaming, way better chances of headshots. Beamforming tech

never fear – even your granddad can set-up the Nighthawk X4. Simply plug the extender into a regular power outlet (for best results, between the position of your modem and where you would like your signal to reach), use Netgear’s easy to follow browser- controlled routine to set up which network you’d like to extend, and implement any relevant password protection. The Nighthawk X4 provides maximum coverage and signal strength, letting you stream longer, game harder, and enjoy the internet at its most powerful.

better, stronger, more consistent connection. This means that both your

can set-up the Nighthawk X4

Smart TV that hasn’t moved in three years, and your 3DS that’s being

is the Wi-Fi equivalent of dating a German – straight to the point, no Belgian waffling. The Nighthawk X4 is able to direct signal strength straight to your wireless devices, making for a

walked around the house as you blind-trade your thirtieth Bidoof of the evening, will be getting a great signal.

NOVEMBER 2016

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For details on how to enter all our competitions, head to stack.net.nz

EXTRAS SOCIAL / COMPETITIONS / QUIZ

competitions Win a Finding Dory Prize-pack Everyone's favourite little blue tang Dory is back! Who are her parents? And where did she learn to speak Whale? Find out when the Blu-ray & DVD swims onto JB shelves November 16. Head to stack.net.nz for your chance to win this amazing Finding Dory prize- pack, thanks to Zuru

STACK SOCIAL Listening to you lot chatting and interacting with us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram is all kinds of awesome! Make sure you get involved and follow us on: STACK Magazine NZ @STACKMag stackmagazine

Offspring Season 1– 6 boxset up for grabs Drama and romantic chaos are never far from Nina’s door in the Australian hit series, Offspring . Catch up on all six seasons when you score the entire box set.

Underworld: Blood Wars movie pass giveaway The next installment in the

blockbuster franchise is here! Underworld: Blood Wars follows Vampire

death dealer Selene (Kate Beckinsale) as she fends off brutal attacks from both the Lycan clan and the Vampire faction that betrayed her. In cinemas December 1, we have five double passes to win. Thanks to Sony Pictures

Thanks to Madman Entertainment

What you've been loving on social this month:

Win: Oasis prize-pack including

Win Watch Dogs 2 on the platform of your choice

READER REVIEWS

If you fancy yourself as a writer, or want to share your

On November 24 Oasis: Supersonic smashes onto JB shelves. Featuring extensive unseen archive footage, the documentary

Watch Dogs 2 is set in a new town, with a new protagonist, and a GO-GO-gadget belt’s worth of new toys. For your chance to win a copy of the game – in stores November 15 – on PS4 or Xbox One, head to stack.net.nz. Thanks to Ubisoft

thoughts on a DVD/Blu-ray, game or CD, then post your own reviews online for any title on the website.

The best ones win $ 25 JB Hi-Fi Vouchers! What are you waiting for? Enter at stack.net.nz

charts the meteoric rise of Oasis from the council estates of Manchester to some of the biggest concerts of all time in just three short years. Head to stack.net.nz for your chance to win one of four CD and movie packs. Thanks to Madman Entertainment

Head here for more shenanigans...

Happy Birthday Leonardo DiCaprio born on November 11, 1974 #STACKBirthday Joke of the day: Q: What do you get when you drop a piano down a mineshaft? A: A flat miner. STACK ’s Fave Movie Quote: “We train young men to drop fire on people, but their commanders won't allow them to write "f–k" on their airplanes because it's obscene!” – Colonel Walter E. Kurtz/Marlon Brando, Apocalypse Now (1979) Grayson/Robin in Batman Forever (1995), Anakin Skywalker in the Star Wars prequels, and Peter Parker/Spider-Man in the original Spider-Man trilogy. Did you know? Roles that DiCaprio either didn’t get or turned down include: Dick

QUIZ

Q1 Which director's final movie involves two brothers who plan a jewel heist that goes tragically wrong? Q2 In which film does Greer Garson do an impression of Harry Lauder in an English music hall? Q3 Which actor, over the last dozen years, has starred in no less than three classic film remakes? Q4 This Quentin Tarantino movie features music grabs from two 1982 horror films. Titles of all three movies please. Q5 Which actress was Danny Kaye's dream girl in four Sam Goldwyn musicals?

Q6 According to Paul McCartney, which 1956 US movie most musically influenced him and John Lennon?

Q7 Which actress was paid $20.00 for a picture of her leg used on the poster of a famous 1967 movie? Q8 Which actor's breakout role was playing a teenager who tries to save his townsfolk from being consumed by an alien life form? Q9 In which 1970 film does an English aristocrat get captured by Sioux Indians? Q10 What was the first movie remake to win an Oscar for Best Picture?

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(1953) A10. Boy on a Dolphin starring Alan Ladd and Sophia Loren

Torch Song

A9. Joan Crawford in

Red River (1948) A8. Spy Game (2000) starring Robert Redford and Brad Pitt

A7. Montgomery Clift in

A6. Rush Hour 3

Johnny Horton

A5. North to Alaska

A4. John Ford

A3. The Last Samurai. Egmont/Mt Taraniki NZ. doubled for Mt Fuji

sung by

memorabilia museum and Dickens' 1853 novel

Lawless A2. "Bleak House" is the name of del Toro's

A1. Shia LaBeouf, Tom Hardy and Jason Clark in

Quiz Answers October 2016 (Issue 79) -

Founder Nic Short Editor-In-Chief Paul Jones Editor John Ferguson Creative Director Karl Lock DVD Consultant Jason Hewitt Games Consultant Sachi Fernando Production Manager Craig Patterson Social Media Manager Sally Carlier-Hull

Disclaimer

Correspondence PO Box 326 Warkworth Auckland 0941 Tel: +64 9 425 9995

Head Office

STACK is published by Scribal Custom Pty Ltd (ACN 092 362 135). © Scribal Custom Pty Ltd 2016 All rights reserved.

STACK PO Box 2051 Richmond South VIC 3121

Contributors Graham Reid, Scott Hocking, Judy Ewens, GarethThompson,Tim Mackrell, Zoë Radas, Gill Pringle, Alesha Kolbe, Amy Flower, Ryan Huff, Simon Lukic, Michael Dwyer, Chris Murray, Denise Hylands, Simon Winkler, Adam Colby

NOVEMBER 2016

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ON TOUR 2016/17 WITH SPECIAL GUESTS

THE NEW ALBUM BE LIKE THE RIVER

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C D / D E L U X E C D / L P O R D E R Y O U R S I G N E D C O P Y O N L I N E T O D A Y F R O M 11 . 11 . 16

DVD&BD FEATURE

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When Ellen DeGeneres first voiced Dory in Finding Nemo , she had yet to launch the US talkshow that catapulted to a whole new level of global fame. But she had always wanted to return to the role – and with Finding Dory , she gets the chance to swim centre stage. DORY’S STORY

Also on board for Finding Dory is the chart-topping singer- songwriter Sia, who performs the film’s end-credit song Unforgettable . The Australian star agreed to sing the song when the voice of Dory herself – DeGeneres – phoned her personally. "Dory’s story makes me teary,” says Sia. “When Ellen asked me, I couldn’t refuse!” Unforgettable is a standard from the great American songbook and was one of Nat King Cole’s signature songs. However, just as Robbie Williams did with Beyond The Sea on Finding Nemo , co-director Andrew Stanton believes the singer offers a fresh new take on the beloved song. “Sia captures the soulful truth of the Nat King Cole classic and makes it all her own,” he says. “They are a perfect complement to one another.”

“I t’s amazing to me that Dory has resonated with people so much,” says Ellen DeGeneres, who lends her voice to the funny regal tang fish in the latest Disney animated blockbuster. “Dory was such a big part

broadcast around the world. However, DeGeneres never gave up on the idea of reprising the role,

so she was delighted when much of the old team reunited for the hit sequel Finding Dory . “I was campaigning for a sequel to Finding Nemo for 13 years,” she jokes, “But I never imagined it would be Finding Dory . So that was the real surprise when I finally got the call.” Finding Dory  finds the titular character living happily in the reef with Marlin and Nemo about a year after their life-changing adventure. However, when Dory suddenly

DVD & BD

Ellen DeGeneres and Andrew Stanton

of Finding Nemo that it makes sense that people might wonder

about her journey. We want to see how it worked out for her: are Marlin and Nemo her family now? Does she have a family and will she ever remember them?” Of course, these days the comedienne is probably better known for The Ellen DeGeneres Show , which went to air a few months after Finding Nemo and has grown into a hugely popular chatshow that is

and Nemo for a life-changing adventure across the ocean to California’s prestigious Marine Life Institute, a rehabilitation centre/ aquarium. The film reunited DeGeneres and Albert Brooks as Marlin with Finding Nemo director Andrew Stanton, who helms the sequel with Angus MacLane ( Toy Story of Terror! ). New additions to the cast include Modern Family stars Ed O’Neill and Ty Burrell, and Eugene Levy and Diane Keaton as Dory’s parents. The new story features a deeper side of the ever-optimistic fish, challenging DeGeneres to showcase a wide range of emotion. “Doing an animated film is really fun,” she says. “But it can be difficult because every emotion has to come from your voice. You can’t pretend to cry, because that just sounds like you’re pretending to cry. So it’s all real – real conversations, real emotion.  “It’s a story about family,” DeGeneres continues. “It’s about finding the courage to do something she’s always wanted to do— even if she couldn’t remember she wanted to do it.”

remembers that she has a family out there who may actually be looking for her, she recruits Marlin

• Finding Dory is out on Nov 16

It’s about finding the courage to do something ... even if she couldn’t remember she wanted to do it.

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DVD & BD FEATURE

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With the director’s chair now vacant, a new filmmaker had to be found to boldly steer the Enterprise crew in Star Trek Beyond . Words Adam Colby

D espite having departed the Star Trek universe for another galaxy, far, far away, J.J. Abrams remains as a producer on Star Trek Beyond – the third film in the franchise he was instrumental in rebooting back in 2009, and the thirteenth Star Trek movie. With the director’s chair now vacant, a new filmmaker had to be found to boldly steer the Enterprise crew where no one has gone before. Edgar Wright, Rupert Wyatt and Duncan Jones were all contenders for the gig, but it was Justin Lin – who had successfully driven the Fast and Furious franchise to new box office heights – that ultimately took the helm, bringing his high- octane brand of filmmaking and kinetic action set pieces to the Trek universe. And if Lin seems like an unlikely choice for a Star Trek movie, Trekkers can breathe easy – he’s one of them. Lin first encountered the series at the age of eight and has been a fan ever since. With a new Star Trek film as the ultimate playground and working from a cracking screenplay by Simon Pegg and Doug Jung, Lin sticks closely to Gene Roddenberry’s original vision, and the director's

and that’s the message of this movie,” offers Karl Urban, who gets a lot more screen time as Bones. “Ultimately it’s about family, it’s about working together to achieve something great,” adds Chris Pine, whose Captain Kirk is experiencing some personal issues. “Being the Captain of the Enterprise is probably the defining feature of his life” says Pine. “There’s this reality of loneliness and of figuring things out. “Is he willing to trust anyone outside his circle, and is he willing to let his empathy lead him and his crew into mortal danger?” Issues concerning Kirk’s father’s legacy are also brought to the fore in the wake of the Enterprise’s destruction. “His father was the captain of a ship that was also destroyed, so when he sees the [Enterprise] destroyed, it brings up a real complex set of emotions that are tied to where he was born and who he is,” Pine explains. With a fourth Trek film already announced and tipped to feature

who holds a grudge against the Federation. “I wanted a character that’s there to deconstruct the Federation’s ideals, but to do it in a way where he has a very valid philosophy,” explains Lin. Krall also deconstructs the Enterprise with a swarm of bee- like ships that tear through the starship like shrapnel – the third time we’ve seen it destroyed in

love of the classic TV series is evident in the strong themes of diversity and unity that run through the film. Moreover, there are numerous references to the Original Series in Star Trek Beyond , including nods to the episodes Who Mourns for Adonais? and The Trouble with Tribbles, which will please the diehard Trekkers.

DVD & BD

The crew can achieve more together than they can alone, and that’s the message of this movie

the Trek movies. “Watching the Enterprise crash and burn felt like I was destroying a legacy,” notes Idris Elba. “Krall is certainly going to be remembered for that.” Stranded and separated on a hostile alien planet, the crew must regroup if they are to defeat

Set three years into the Enterprise’s five-year mission to explore strange new worlds and seek out new life and new civilizations, Star Trek Beyond is the first of the new Trek films to take the action into deep space and an alien world, with a stopover at the Federation Starbase Yorktown. A rescue mission soon becomes a fight for survival against a powerful new enemy, Krall (played by Idris Elba under lots of latex),

the return of George Kirk, as played by Chris Hemsworth,

Krall, and unity becomes an important theme of the film. “The crew can achieve more together than they can alone,

• Star Trek Beyond is out on Nov 2

Captain James T. Kirk might finally get some closure.

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This month, Sony introduces the PlayStation 4 Pro – a console designed for gamers seeking the best experience that current technology has to offer. Words Paul Jones GO PRO GAMES FEATURE

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Range (HDR) compatible TVs, was the prime motivator behind the conception of the Pro. “If you look at the innovations like 4K and HDR, we’re just delivering an enhanced version of PlayStation so that people can utilise and maximise their investment in a 4K TV,” explains Ephraim. “4K is definitely going to be a standard – unlike 3D that didn’t really work – and people can see the benefit of 4K and HDR. We want to ensure that PlayStation is up to date for people that want the enhanced experience, but the standard PlayStation does everything the Pro does as well. It plays all the same games it plays with VR.” And that’s an Everything you play on the PS4, you can play on the Pro. With more processing power and increased speeds, the Pro will deliver a better looking and an overall smoother experience. “Every PS4 game will play on a standard PS4 and a PlayStation 4 Pro,” confirms Director of Marketing at Sony Computer Entertainment Australia, Patrick Lagana. “If you’ve got a PlayStation 4 Pro you’ll get the added benefits that it offers. There’s lots of other things that developers can use that horsepower on to enhance the overall game. It will always be the same disc that consumers buy that will go into both consoles.” With the introduction of the PlayStation 4 Pro, can gamers expect to see updated hardware now dropping every three years from Sony? “I don’t think so,” says Michael Ephraim. “I don’t know if this sets a cadence that’s going to happen all the time. “4K is a new technology innovation that impacts how people enjoy entertainment, and PlayStation Pro has come out to deliver a high-end experience because of the technology around it.” important component to the introduction of PlayStation 4 Pro: gamers won’t have to fork out for exclusive games for the console.

t wasn't that long ago that video game industry analysts were prophesying the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One would be the final traditional console offerings from Sony and Microsoft. Trend forecasting is a tricky business. To be fair, before leaks surfaced at the beginning of 2016 confirming the existence of a new PlayStation, few outside of the furtive inner circle at Sony would have forseen a new hardware release just three years after its most recent console cycle. For PlayStation, every six years or so has been the new hardware announcement modus operandi for the last four generations. With PS3, the implementation of online firmware updates incrementally upgraded the system’s functionality, but there were

model that is more affordable." There’s little doubt that 4K technology is finally starting to gain traction and penetrate the market. Affordability is now at a level that will encourage consumers to upgrade their dated equipment and migrate to the format. According to Ephraim, Australia is already ahead of the curve on adoption compared to Europe. The introduction of 4K, together with High Dynamic

GAMES

limitations. For the contemporary consumer, however, the need for quicker, smarter and more innovative technology has never been greater. Aligning console hardware with the cyclical frequency of the smartphone business shouldn't come as a great surprise, and the launch of PlayStation 4 Pro appears to be a logical progression. Of course, the Pro isn’t a new console but an enhanced model of the existing PS4. It's designed to cater for gamers who are looking for an improved gaming experience and want to take full advantage of the tech now available to them. “It’s about giving the gamers choice,” says Managing Director of Sony Computer Entertainment ANZ Michael Ephraim, who we caught up with in Sydney recently. “You’ve got higher end gamers that want more of the latest and greatest. It is something very different, but we think it’s the right time to do that – if you want a high-end spec machine you’ve got it, or you’ve got the base

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You’re Better Than This

Listening Fail #28 “Barely Hanging On”

Listening Fail #15 “RCA Jungle”

Listening Fail #09 “Extreme Pairing Fail”

Listening Fail #30 “Cord Nightmare”

Listening Fail #14 “Mug o’ Bass”

Listen Better at jbhifi.com.au/sonos

Listening Fail #23 “You’ve Got the Left, I’ve Got the Right”

Listening Fail #02 “MacGyver”

GAMES FEATURE

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The Second CominG

Titanfall’s back and this time around it’s on PS4, too.There’s a single-player campaign which, quite frankly, looks pretty damn good.We spoke with Titanfall 2 art director Joel Emslie and Respawn Entertainment COO DustyWelch about what we pilots can expect from the sequel. Words Alesha Kolbe

GAMES

D u s t y W e l c h

J o e l E m s l i e

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FEATURE GAMES

independently of your weapon. We wanted the players to have as many options as possible to make the game as personal an experience as we could get.” Welch goes on to describe the new mechanic introduced for Titanfall 2 : pilot and titan interplay. “It creates this wonderful dynamic between not only your pilot and your titan, but other people’s pilots and titans as well. For example; you can have a small pilot on the back of a titan trying to rip his battery pack out, and the pilot then goes and puts it into his titan, or a friendly titan, and you end up working together to demolish the other guy. It’s a great new mechanic.” Emslie adds that Titanfall 2 is more co-op focused, where its predecessor was very much a lone wolf experience. “When we went to Titanfall 2 , we were thinking to ourselves, how can we put a sense of team and camaraderie into the players, where they’re actually communicating with each other and doing crazy tactical stuff? I've seen it shift the balance of war.” It’s clear that the team at Respawn always have the players in mind – Titanfall 2 will receive full post-launch support, gratis. Although Welch reminds us that this was the practice with the first game. “If you think back to Titanfall , we provided eight to nine major content updates for free, and we’ll be doing the same this time around. We have said publicly, multiple times, loud and clear, that we are going to always provide the maps and weapons and modes for free. People aren’t going to have to pay for that kind of stuff. We love building our audience, and we love giving back to them. As long as people are loving the game and playing it, we’re always going to continue to support it.”

espawn Entertainment began as a collection of former Infinity Ward employees. The studio's first title,

Titanfall – an Xbox exclusive – released back in 2014. Now, following the huge success of the original, they’ve dropped a follow-up. The inaugural Titanfall was a notably multiplayer-only experience. For the game’s sequel, the team wanted to enter new territory. “Coming out of Titanfall , we realised that multiplayer was neat, and it was a good idea at the time, but we wanted to move the series forward,” offers art director Joel Emslie. “We still wanted the two teams to work in tandem, and not have this disconnected experience.” One of the most crucial elements in the evolution from multiplayer to single-player was continuity in the AI. If the game’s namesake titans weren’t controlled, meticulous and responsive, there wasn’t really much point. “Even though we evolved [AI] more for Titanfall 2 , its origins were already great. It just came down to figuring how to work all these things into a narrative – balancing it all together and finding the right ingredients of the AI from multiplayer to translate it into single player as well.” The aforementioned narrative drew heavy inspiration from – you guessed it – James Cameron’s Avatar , amongst other things. “The story itself has a little bit of Portal , a little bit of Half-Life – some inspiration from Blaster Master on the old Nintendo”, laughs Emslie. “There’s a tiny bit of a Metroid vibe. There are all these inspirations that we were thinking about when we were writing it. The root of the story is your interaction with BT – this giant robot. So there’s definitely a little bit of James Cameron in there.“ Players are able to get in and out of these giant robots as they please, increasing the potential for exploration – and collectables. “When BT’s walking around, when no-one’s piloting him, he goes left handed,” says Emslie. “It was just a detail to drive home the fact that he’s on his own. When the pilot hops into BT, he becomes a righty. I’ve played through single-player maybe five times, and I keep going back to it and finding new things, because of the fact that you can get out of your Titan. “As you become more confident interacting with your titan, it opens the world up to you. There are a lot of little opportunities along the way to find secret areas and arenas to fight as a pilot. There’s a real replayability to the single- player, which I love.”

GAMES

Customisation changes were also a focus for the team when heading into the sequel.“ There's an extraordinary level of customisation available,” says Respawn Entertainment COO Dusty

• Titanfall 2 is out now

Welch, “not only for the pilot, but now the titans as well. The progression system, too, is amazingly deep in terms of the unlocks and propelling you forward. You’ll be able to level up your pilot independently of your titan, and

Joel Emslie: “When it comes to doing the tech test, I want to get this out loud and clear – the team responds, listens to all that feedback. We agonise over it. We read every sentence, we’re all over it. Our ears are wide open. If something isn’t working in the game, and the community really doesn’t like it, it’s not going to stay that way – we’re going to fix it. We want to make the best game possible, and the only way to do that is to actually have a large community of people being – surprisingly, and some cases extremely - passionate about the way things were in the past. We’re too close to the project in the studio; but once we do something like a tech test, we receive really passionate feedback. Something I'm most proud of on the tech test is that we heard feedback one weekend, and by the next weekend we had those fixes in place and working. That’s something that you don’t get with these larger teams." Respawn listens

19

GAMES FEATURE

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Dark side of the moon

called Poké Finder. You can use it to take pics

of Pokémon; the more you use it,

the better features you get. Possibly the most appealing addition to the Pokémon games in this generation is Poké Ride – yeah, you can take your Pokémon out for a cruise. Whether you’re taking to the skies on the back of your Charizard, or shredding up the seas on a Sharpedo, there are now even more ways to traverse the Pokémon world. With a Safari Zone's worth of new Pokémon

2016 marks 20 years of Pokémon.With the release of Pokémon GO earlier in the year, nostalgia is at an all-time high – what better time to release two new core Pokémon titles?

Future . You won’t be alone, however – an organisation known as the Aether Foundation will help you out, vying to protect all Pokémon from harm. As if dealing with the baddies wasn’t enough, if you truly wanna be the very best, you’re going to have to tackle Alola’s Island Challenges. Each of the four naturally occurring islands will host a bunch of different tasks, from battling Pokémon to finding items and everything in between, with a Totem Pokémon at the end for you to battle. You’ll then have to take on each island’s Kahuna, and besting them will lead you onto the next island and its challenges. If training Pokémon is what you’ve come to Sun and Moon to do, there are a whole bunch of new ways to improve your pocket brawlers. Sun and Moon introduces Hyper Training; even if your Pokémon have already hit the level 100 cap, you can still boost their stats, which will come in handy to blindside trainers online. Pokemon Sun and Moon also implement Z-Moves – ridiculously powerful, type-specific (and sometimes even Pokémon-specific)

to discover, capture and befriend, Pokémon Sun and Moon are the next step in your Pokémon journey.

• Pokémon Sun/Moon is out now

P okémon Sun and Pokémon Moon are the two most recent additions to the Pokémon franchise. The new titles are set in the island archipelago of Alola – Nintendo’s reimagining of Hawaii. Alola is comprised of five islands – four naturally- occurring and one man-made. Set 12 hours apart from one another, the new islands contain new forms of pre-existing Pokémon, so keep an eye out for some old favourites with a haircut. The new games introduce a new generation of the little pocket monsters, so catching ‘em all just got even more difficult, and will, of course, feature version exclusives. At least 55 new Pokémon in total have been officially revealed at the time of writing, with more to come before release no doubt. Most people will – understandably – be looking forward to seeing the new starters and legendaries. This year, you’ll be looking at choosing between the cute, purry Litten (Fire), the bubbly Popplio (Water), and the flightful, fluffy Rowlett (Grass/Flying). The two new legendaries – Solgaleo for Sun and Lunala for Moon – look out of this world, and there are also a couple of “Ultra Beasts” introduced in these games that could pose a threat to humans and Pokémon alike. One of them even takes an alternate form depending on which game you’ve got. Additionally, like the Jesse, James and Meowth of the past, these two games will bring with them a new team of baddies after your Pokémon – Team Skull, whose leader actually looks a lot like Doc from Back to the

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moves that can only be used once a battle. There are even version-exclusive Z-Moves. Mega Evolution also returns, so look forward to enjoying ridiculous forms of new Pokémon. You’ll even have a new

Some of the strangest Alolan Pokemon forms

Exeggutor

way to care for your Pokémon, with Sun and Moon introducing Pokémon Refresh – think of it as a kind

of Nintendogs for Pokémon. They’re also bringing back Pokémon Snap – there’s a new feature in these games

Raichu

Marowak

Dugtrio

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It’s been four years since the launch of Dishonored – STACK ’s 2012 game of the year. Now, the team at Arkane are back and ready to release a sequel. At this year’s QuakeCon in Dallas, Texas, we caught up with game director Harvey Smith to chat about how the sequel came about, how fond he is of his team, the influence women are having on the development of Arkane titles, and what we can expect to see from Emily in Dishonored 2 . Words Alesha Kolbe Arkane Masteries

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he original Dishonored seemingly came out of nowhere. Developed by a comparatively small studio, the game's aesthetic and gameplay mechanics were innovative. Nobody, not even its creators,

I like chopping dudes’ heads off, because I don’t get to do that at work

expected it to take off the way that it did. The game’s directors, Harvey Smith and Raphael Colantio, still consider it a "cult hit". "Everyone who’s really in on it loves it, but the mainstream kind of ignored it," offers Smith, leaving us not entirely sure he knows just how successful the Dishonored franchise has become. “We always wanted more success, because it means better jobs for everybody," he says. “Honestly, I’ve worked with so many developers who just hunkered down for years and never had anything go well, and they just hate life because they poured themselves into [their games], and for whatever reason it didn’t work. “People change; you see them change when they end up creating something that everyone loves, regardless of what it is – a pop song, a film... I wanted that for my team. But it’s not like we had to go to a mountain to find it, the mountain came to us.” As far as development of Dishonored 2 is

genre almost stopped existing. ”I remember there was a period of time where executives said, ‘These games don’t sell well.’ We were stunned: ‘What are you talking about? Everybody I know wants to play an RPG.’ Then companies like BioWare took advantage of that. You look at these big, deep games like Fallout and Mass Effect – they prove that there’s totally an audience there. An increasingly sophisticated audience.”

concerned, they wanted to keep it intrinsically similar to the first, but Smith is aware of how much the industry has evolved since the original. “We just decided to keep making the same kind of game, but the game industry grew up; there are way more women who speak out to us, and say what they like, and there are way more ‘thinking’ stealth gamers, and people who like RPG features.” The director recalls a time when RPGs as a

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FEATURE GAMES

We just wanted to make the game richer and wider as a whole

make the game richer and wider as a whole.” This also meant taking the story further than simply throwing players back into the same world a year later, with a bigger, badder boss to fight. “One day I thought to myself, ’What if it was 15 years later, and Emily was privileged, well educated, had the best clothes, ate the best food, learned from the best tutors, and then there’s this punctuating event of total f– ing darkness when she watches a parent die in front of her, which is what we saw from Corvo’s perspective in the first game. Soon enough, it’s like nothing’s changed; she’s back in the palace, but now she’s had all this battle training from her father, and she morphs into this otherworldly assassin. She changes completely. “In the original Dishonored, Emily was this little girl that the dads of the gaming industry wanted to protect. We had so many people come up to us and say, ‘I was playing Corvo and absolutely butchering everyone, then I got back and I saw these really disturbing drawings Emily had done. She was saying awful things as a result of the graphic way I was playing. It made me change the way I played.’ It’s very powerful. We make fun of it, but it’s very powerful.” • Dishonored 2 is out Nov 10

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Smith reflects on the amount of outreach and feedback they had from the Dishonored community after the release of the first game – especially women, who were sick of seeing continual gender stereotypes. “To be clear, we don’t only hear from women that they want a certain thing. I hear from women who say, ‘I’m deep into the lore; I love the Victorian stuff; I love the costumes; I love the characters’, but I also hear from women that say, ‘I like chopping dudes’ heads off, because I don’t get to do that at work. I have to listen to the guys mansplaining sh-t to me and I just want to cut guys’ heads off.’ “But in Dishonored , we did kind of fall into the trap a little bit where women had five jobs: maid, prostitute, queen, little girl, and a witch. That was pretty much it. As a result of that, for the Dishonored DLC and now for 2, we have lawyers and union leaders and guard captains. The women we heard from definitely drove that.”

Our conversation progresses to an interesting issue about female representation in popular media, and how there’s the potential for more females to be drawn to playing video games if they can see themselves reflected in them. “I read something, and I can’t remember who it was by, but he was talking about growing up on comic books and loving Spider- Man, and how, as an African-American, Peter Parker was his hero. However, he knew he wasn’t quite like him. But then when he had his own child, Miles Morales is now Spider-Man, and he saw his son respond to Miles Morales because he saw a similarity in appearance and he could relate to that.” This is how the inclusion of Corvo’s daughter, Emily, as a playable character came about. “In that same way, if Emily was a badass assassin that appealed more to the stealthier players, or even to women in general, we had the chance to broaden our audience. We just wanted to

We spoke with Professor David Reilly about Dishonored 2 ’sTimepiece – a device that allows you to access the same point in a world at different points in time – and if it’s actually grounded in the realm of quantum physics.

“It definitely takes inspiration from physics on which we are on the brink of understanding, if a little further down the track. There are some theories

that describe time itself as not so much a linear function, but a circular one, but that still doesn’t validate the existence of time travel. The jury’s still out. There is, of

course, reason to believe it’s not possible, but there’s also reason to believe that it is possible. It may just have a whole new set of physics. It is pretty cool, though, for a

game to do it in a way that isn’t crass; it’s subtle, and done with a nod to the basics of physics. It extends what we know, without completely ruining it.“

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Fly Wall on the

After Watch Dogs launched to critical acclaim in 2014, Ubisoft decided they needed a follow-up. Watch Dogs 2 is set in a new town, with a new protagonist, and a GO-GO-gadget belt’s worth of new toys.We caught up with senior producer Dominic Guay to find out what to expect. Words Alesha Kolbe

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Marcus, a young hacker that fights a corrupted establishment

What did you take away from the first Watch Dogs ? Dominic Guay: Making a new IP is a great opportunity. The team felt we had accomplished many things, but at the same time we felt we could take it to a whole new level with a sequel. After shipping the original Watch Dogs , we listened to what players had to say. In Watch Dogs 2 , you play a new character,

that exploits technology for control. This lets us develop a storyline that is directly linked to our game’s fantasy. Hacking is obviously a core element of the

We wished to give players more freedom in their play style

game and we wanted to give it more depth, more flexibility, so that players could plan or improvise with it to create their own unique moments in game. We also felt that the seamless

online gameplay from the first instalment opened up an exciting space for innovation, to change the way multiplayer experiences could be integrated in an action game. We wished to give players more freedom in their play style. While we embrace stealth, action and hacking as viable styles, we feel game challenges should leave the player free to find their own solutions. They should

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on the

spooky San Fran

GAMES Fly continued

Wall

the museum of mechanics If you're a fan of robotics of any kind, prepare to be freaked out at San Fran's Museum of Mechanics. A collection of privately-owned, mechanically operated instruments and arcade machines, it's quite creepy.

decide how they want to play the game: guns blazing, as a ghost or as a trickster who manipulates people and systems. Why San Francisco? Obviously it is a beautiful area with inspiring, diverse locations and people. It is also the birthplace of the tech revolution, notably in Silicon Valley, the place where many of the technologies that will change our lives tomorrow are being invented today.

competitive experiences of the first game, but also adding friendly encounters with other DedSec hackers in the city. We felt that the seamless online gameplay from the previous game was fun but that many players would enjoy less competitive additions. Co-op allows you to play with friends and strangers without the pressure of “player versus player” gameplay. The chance meeting with other players in the world is also something we felt was exciting. It adds a sense of surprise and emergence to the game world.

winchester mystery house No, it isn't anything to do with Supernatural , but it is still pretty spooky. The Winchester Mystery House is the home of Sarah and WilliamWirt Winchester, and is believed to be haunted by those that Will murdered.

What prompted the change of protagonist? It starts with the choice

On the competitive side we refined our “hacking invasion” gameplay, where

[San Francisco] is the birthplace of the tech revolution, notably in Silicon Valley

of setting – Marcus is a brilliant hacker who is from the San Francisco Bay Area, grew up in Oakland and experienced the injustices of the ctOS 2.0 system first

The burlingame museum Ever wanted to see every PEZ dispenser in the once place? You can do just that at the Burlingame Museum, with over 550 unique PEZ characters housed inside its walls. It even has the world's largest PEZ dispenser – a 7-foot-tall snowman.

a player can try hacking another game in his game completely seamlessly. We also added a Bounty Hunter gameplay, where you can join with other players

hand. In Watch Dogs 2 , the hacking culture is a central theme and Marcus links up with a powerful group of like-minded hackers in DedSec.

and the police to take down another player who has received

a bounty on his head. Again, this is seamlessly integrated in the game. However, players wanting a solo experience can disable and customise their online preferences. Where do you see the franchise going from here? In a way, this is for the time being in players hands. As we are putting the finishing touch on WD2 , our head is filled with ideas. We are excited by the game, but now is the time for players to make it their own. We will be watching closely and letting ourselves be inspired by how people play!

Marcus operates as part of a hacking group and came to care deeply about his friends – he is definitely not a lone wolf. By deciding to focus on Marcus and DedSec this time around, we went for a cast of characters that present us with a different perspective on the Watch Dogs universe.

brain wash Quite possibly one of the coolest business names ever, the BrainWash café and laundromat allows you to fill your caffeine requirements while you wait for your clothes to finish their cycle. There are even comedians, open mics and musical performers doing the rounds.

What changes have been made to multiplayer?Where did the idea to include co-op come from – is that something you've always wanted to include? Watch Dogs 2 is building on the seamless online components developed in the original Watch Dogs . We are improving on the best

• Watch Dogs 2 is out Nov 15

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