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068 JULY 2017
visit GAMES FEATURE
This belonged to Strange
Brigade. A real Boy's Own
Adventure, and set in the
'30s, the four-player co-op
follows a secret group of four
- all versed with individual
skills - that work for the
British government. Their
job is to travel around the
globe, dealing with ancient
supernatural powers.
While it probably appealed
to the history nerd in us, it
was refreshing to play a
game that's not in space,
doesn't have a dragon or
orc in sight, and isn't set in a
post-apocalyptic wasteland.
And who doesn't want to be
Indiana Jones?
Surprise
of the
show
that every reader interprets and
visualises his work differently.
According to the hosts of our
theatre presentation, Cyanide
Studio has attempted to capture
“the true essence of Lovecraft” in
its upcoming Call of Cthulhu game,
based on the classic 1981 pen and
paper RPG from Chaosium.
In this adventure RPG, private
investigator Edward Pierce is
dissecting the murder of an artist
on the suitably spooky Darkwater
Island. The mission shown required
Pierce to gain access to a mansion
to investigate a fire. Players
need to utilise detective prowess
through nine different upgradeable
skills to uncover the clues.
Two levels were shown; the
first to highlight the RPG and
sleuth elements to the game.
The second, however, revealed an
action sequence where Pierce has
to employ puzzle-solving abilities
to defeat a hideous creature that
drags itself from the canvas of a
painting.
There’s still a long way to go
with the development; the game is
still a little rough around the edges,
but Lovecraft fans, or gamers who
enjoy mystery and intrigue in their
RPGs, will likely enjoy the world
being created here.
But when will Call of Cthulhu be
out? “When it’s ready,” came the
reply from Cyanide.
Those looking for a Sonic fix
from SEGA won’t have to wait
too long, either. We went hands-
on with Sonic Forces for a short
session, and the amicable blue
hedgehog hasn’t changed one bit.
Sonic Forces features three
modes; a classic, 2.5D series of
levels, a more modern 3D entry,
and an additional, second 3D entry
– but with your own customised
character. 2D was the most fun,
and apparently we had the best
time of all the press that had been
through the booth. Gotta go fast.
Real-time strategy fans will
be looking forward to Total War
Warhammer II, and with good
reason – this one’s shaping up to
be a monster.
The 20 minutes we
played through was a pretty
straightforward RTS setup; pick
your armies, group them if you
want, and send them into fight for
you. If one thing can be said about
TWW2 it’s that the cutscenes look
amazing, and for newcomers the
mechanics are quite easy to grasp.
We also sat in on a couple more
behind-closed doors sessions,
for Vampyr and A Plague Tale:
Innocence.
Vampyr’s concept was highly
intriguing; you are a vampyr (duh),
but your previous occupation
was a doctor, meaning to feed
on victims of the town you live in
is to go against your sworn oath
to protect them. Of course, this
moral dilemma should come as no
surprise to those who know their
devs – Vampyr comes
out of Dontnod
Studios, those
responsible for Life is
Strange.
A Plague Tale:
Innocence , on the
other hand, is a
sibling tale of survival
in France’s Middle Ages. In the
midst of the Spanish Inquisition,
you must fight for your life – hard
enough without the huge swarms
of rats plaguing the city. Stay in
the light, and fear what moves in
the shadows.
It’s been in early access in
various forms for a while now,
and one of the biggest surprises
of E3 was that ARK: Survival
Evolved is getting a full retail
release in August. The easiest
way to describe ARK is an open-
world survival RPG where you
can tame dinosaurs. I know, right.
We sat down with the devs at a
hotel across the road from the
LACC, and they gave us all the hot
goss on the upcoming sponsored
mod Ragnarok (no relation to the
upcoming Thor movie, either). It’s
144 km/sq of pure, beautiful chaos,
and if you grab the new content
you’ll also get access to Gryphons;
those feathers. Wow.
Also on the show floor
was Agents of Mayhem, and
(unsurprisingly) consistently had
some of the longest lines in
either hall. Set in the Saints Row
universe, it’s predictably fast-paced
and crazy as anything, and the
best part is you won’t have to wait
long – it’s out next month.
It's often the games you know nothing about...
that end up surprising you
FIVESTAR
Call of Cthulhu
ARK: Survival Evolved
Vampyr
Sonic Forces