STACK NZ Jul #64

GAMES

FEATURE

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of the first time we played Doom, and its influence remains as relevant today

as ever. So it’s good to see it return on a new generation of hardware. If shooters are your forte, you know you’re going to play this, and judging by the gameplay trailer, you’re going to have a lot of fun doing it. The original Dishonored was our game of the year in 2012 and we had an inkling that a follow-up was due, but the

official unveiling of Dishonored 2 was a wonderful surprise; this time around players can take the role as either Corvo or Emily Attano. Is this up there on STACK ’s list of most playable titles for 2016? You bet. We always enjoy watching other people play racing games, mostly because we're not particularly good at playing them. This was the case as gamer after gamer attempted to steer Forza Motorsport 6 around a course without hitting the wall after only ten seconds. Outside the view of a spinning vehicle hurtling towards the barriers, Forza 6 looks almost too real. It’s a beautiful looking title, right down to the realistic damage. Want 450 customisable cars, 1080p and 60frames per second? You’ve got it. There’s a reason the Forza franchise is at the top of the racer chain. It’s difficult to describe Microsoft’s HoloLens without experiencing it in person. We managed

Our Halo 5 12 v 12 match was called Warzone. Different objectives throughout the allocated game time enabled players to rack up points and upgrade weaponry – these objectives can range from capturing the opposition's position, to fighting and defeating AI enemies. Happy to report we won the match; Halo 5 looks and plays incredibly well, and there will certainly be plenty of Xbox Ones under the Christmas tree this year. The games industry needed an E3 like this one, bristling with quality games that were, for the most part, playable, and pushing tech like VR to within reach of the gaming public. The show convinced those who believed that console gaming is dead to reconsider. The challenge now is to maintain that momentum, but for the next two years at least, there's a lot to be positive about.

to get into the presentation, which culminated in a blistering Halo 5 multiplayer match towards the close of the show. It was a priority for many to see HoloLens, after the Minecraft demo during the platform holder’s press conference. Its must-see status was further confirmed when Steven Spielberg dashed in before us. More augmented reality than VR, the demo commenced with headset fitted snugly to our craniums, before being told to make our way down a corridor, following a waypoint projected onto the lens. Once inside a room, we were briefed by a crystal clear image of a 3D Spartan, who gave us a rundown of the objectives for the ensuing multiplayer game. We were reminded of the chess match in Star Wars: A New Hope , and although, as widely reported, the field of view is limited, the mesmerising HoloLens offers an entirely different experience to Sony’s Project Morpheus. The future is here, and we’re ready to embrace it.

JULY 2015 JB Hi-Fi www.jbhifi.co.nz

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