STACK Jul #129

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JULY 2015 JB Hi-Fi
080
visit FEATURE GAMES
place on the fictional Mediterranean island of
Medici. The presenter emphasised the phrase,
“Choose your chaos” – an apt introduction
to the gameplay that followed, with players
given options on how to execute mission
objectives. It looks good, and judging by the
audience reaction, is set to be a big release.
The drawcard upstairs was a Dark Souls III
demo that we unfortunately didn’t get time to
sit through. Dark Souls has always been a game
that is better to play than watch, but we’re
literally counting down the months until its
release on new-gen in early 2016.
In the South Hall it was impossible to escape
the constant fizz and recognisable hum of a
lightsaber, with the Disney and EA booths in
close proximity. Star Wars: Battlefront was
on every attendee’s list of games to play at
this show. We were fortunate to play both the
40-player multiplayer and the co-op survival
modes. With the multiplayer, we joined the
Rebellion tasked with neutralising not only the
incoming AT-AT walkers, but also waves of
attacking Snowtroopers. Played in either first
or third-person (we chose third for this mode)
the action is relentless and frenetic, with kills
coming from every direction.
But it was the survival mode, played behind
closed doors in a two-player co-op, which we
enjoyed most. Again playing as the Rebels, the
object of the game is to survive successive
waves of Imperial Forces, with each wave
increasing in difficulty. In this more intimate
environment, it became more apparent just
how well DICE have captured the 'used future'
aesthetic from the original trilogy. The detail
is incredible, right down to the shower of
sparks when a well-aimed laser blasts hits a
Stormtrooper in the chest, and the way they
fall to the ground afterwards. As avid Star
Wars fans, this is the game we left the show
most wanting to own. There are circles on the
calendar.
Ah, FIFA, a series we probably spend
the most time with on an annual basis.
Adding women’s football to the game this
year is a stroke of genius, further expanding
its play base. In FIFA 16, aside from the
aforementioned inclusion of 12 international
female teams, AI has been tightened so
defensive players will intuitively know when