PLAY October 2022 - n.18

Greetings, PLAYer. Call Of Duty cover features have come to plenty of gaming mags over the years, but this is the first time on PLAY. We couldn’t help ourselves, as this new-flavour Modern Warfare II is one of the most exciting and important releases in the series to date. Especially for single-player lovers. Fortunately, Infinity Ward is on hand to sit down with us to discuss it all (p48). Captain Price and Task Force 141 star in one of the most ambitious FPS campaigns we’ve ever seen, and it seems to be setting a new pace for the series and the genre as a whole, with some prime multiplayer offerings to match. Let’s hope it can stick the landing as we need some single-player wins for the series. Games aren’t the only…

Rather than banding together with others, you captain your own vessel. INSIDER HIGHLIGHTS 11 GAME OVER, MAN. GAME OVER! Aliens in VR: an express elevator to hell 12 CHASING LIGHT Midnight Suns comes out from the shade 14 FREE WHEELING Skate goes free-to-play Pirates are about to have a big moment. This year has seen the success of TV series Our Flag Means Death, and the long-running manga One Piece is staring down its final story arc. On top of all that, people are still yelling from the crow’s nest about how fantastic Black Sails was. As such, it’s no surprise to see Ubisoft riding that wave, with Skull And Bones coming to PS5 on 8 November. As hot as pirates are right now, the fires of this project’s story were first lit all the way back in 2013.…

After June’s State Of Play showcase, in which we were treated to tantaslising news about a handful of upcoming PSVR2 games, Sony has finally given more information on the specs and features we can expect from the headset itself, and about the quartet of cameras built into it in particular. The most significant revelation is that the headset’s array of funky front-facing cameras isn’t just for show (although in our opinion those four lenses dotted around the front of the device still look cool). A new See-through mode lets you display your real-world surroundings on-screen at the tap of a button, and although the video feed is limited to black and white this still seems like a blessing for those of us who find themselves losing track of their controllers in…

This might not be a direct sequel to 2014’s hair-raising hiding-in-the-cupboard simulator Alien: Isolation, but a new single-player “action-horror” title set in the Alien universe is finally on the way. Although we’ve seen a handful of new Alien games in the last couple of years, most recently the horde shooter Aliens: Fireteam Elite, this shift back towards the films’ horror roots suggests we’re likely to see something more in line with Creative Assembly’s creepy masterpiece. The project has also been confirmed to feature a VR component… imagine a facehugger with face haptics! RIPLEY AND TEAR Created by Survios in collaboration with 20th Century Games, this currently untitled project is set between the first two movies and follows a “battle-hardened veteran” coming face to face with the xenomorphs. Chronologically, it’s going to be the closest…

Garth DeAngelis, lead producer on Marvel’s Midnight Suns, tells us he’s a big fan of antiheroes and villains, with Magneto holding a special place in his affections. While the X-Men’s nemesis may not make an appearance in Firaxis’ upcoming tactical action RPG, DeAngelis nonetheless assures us, “We have a lot of great villains in this title.” That’s clear from the outset – an early fight includes a corrupted version of Venom. And Lilith is as formidable as any ‘omega-level threat’ supervillain the Avengers have faced. Except you won’t just be fighting the dark as your custom character, the Hunter, you’ll be able to embrace the darkness through dialogue choices. Which isn’t to say that you’ll suddenly turn on your allies. “Dark definitely means antihero, which are some of the best heroes in…

Numbers aren’t the only thing vanishing from EA’s long-awaited Skate revival: its price tag is disappearing too. Now titled simply Skate instead of Skate 4, this free-to-play followup isn’t a conventional sequel or reboot, but rather a model that the developer insists will represent the “authentic evolution of the Skate franchise”. Supported as a live service with frequent content updates and plenty of seasonal events, we expect to be landing ollies, making kickflips, and breaking bones for years to come. Everything we’ve seen of the ‘pre-pre-pre-alpha’ footage that dominated the latest raft of trailers suggests development is still in its very, very, very, early stages. Even so, series fans can rest easy knowing that the game is in the capable hands of developer Full Circle, a new EA studio helmed by…