STACK #129 Jul 2016

GAMES

FEATURE

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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

JULY 2015 JB Hi-Fi www.jbhifi.com.au

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