Table of contents for #259 in Hyper

PLATFORM: PS4/PC / CATEGORY: Action / DEVELOPER: ACE Team / PUBLISHER: Atlus / DUE: FALL 2015 ACE Team is one of those indie devs whose next project you never really see coming. After first-person brawler Zeno Clash, the Santiago-based team has done the strange pinball/tower defense hybrid Rock of Ages and the surreal, Chilean mythology inspired action/RPG game Abyss Odyssey. Their next title, The Deadly Tower of Monsters, might be their most “mainstream” yet… but even that’s a bit of a stretch. From the game’s promo art, it’s easy to see the inspiration for Deadly Tower of Monsters: schlocky Hollywood sci-fi B-movies of the 50s and 60s. It certainly wouldn’t be the first time a game has used retro-cinematic imagery to effect. And it certainly wouldn’t be the first game…

PLATFORM: Xbox One, PS4, PC CATEGORY: Racing / DEVELOPER: Ghost Games PUBLISHER: Electronic Arts DUE: NOVEMBER 5, 2015 After more than 20 years and just as many games, the Need for Speed series has felt a bit lost of late, so Ghost Games have stepped up and plan on giving us the series reboot we had to have. “We took a year off and said ‘what is Need for Speed?’,” said lead designer James Mouat. “So we wanted to bring it back, cherry-pick the best stuff, reboot the franchise so that we could say this is what made it great, this is what will make it great and when we move forward with our series you’ll know this is what Need for Speed is.” SPIT AND POLISH >> The most…

PLATFORM: PS4, Vita, PC / CATEGORY: Shooter / DEVELOPER: 17-BIT / PUBLISHER: 17-BIT / DUE: 2015 Galak-Z is one of the strangest mixes of nostalgia I’ve yet seen. It’s a blend of retro-styled space exploration physics and shooting with a love of random anime dubs shown on oddball American UHF TV stations in the 80s. I’m not saying that like it’s a BAD thing, mind you, because while Galak-Z has been in development for quite some time, the game’s nearing release – and it looks and plays great. Galak-Z is the second title from indie developer 17-bit, whose previous game was Skulls of the Shogun. Rather than an Advance Wars-flavored turn-based undead samurai simulation, Galak-Z is a spacefaring, free-exploring procedurally generated scrolling shooter seasoned with the goofy character designs and…

PLATFORM: Xbox One/PC / CATEGORY: MOBA / DEVELOPER: Motiga / PUBLISHER: Microsoft / DUE: LATE 2015 What’s the hot new game genre that people across the globe are crazy excited about? Why, MOBAs, of course! The sheer amount of people playing games like DotA2 and League of Legends is staggering – as is the money and stream views these titles bring in! Yes, MOBAs are a hot ticket in gaming these days… but so far, the market’s been completely dominated by the two games I just mentioned above. Enter a new challenger – Microsoft and developer Motiga’s Gigantic, a visually striking hybrid of MOBA and FPS for Xbox One and Windows 10. Rather than the isometric-view, lane-driven combat of most well-known MOBAs, Gigantic is all about five-on-five third person action.…

PLATFORM: PS4/PC CATEGORY: Fighting / DEVELOPER: Capcom PUBLISHER: Capcom DUE: SPRING 2016 It’s hard to believe Street Fighter IV hit arcades a whole seven years ago. It certainly doesn’t seem like so much time has passed – but perhaps the multiple upgrades and iterations to the game that have released since have something to do with that. The effect of SFIV on the industry since its release, however, has been profound. The fighting game genre has been completely revitalized, massive global tournaments are being held regularly, and well-known players have become recognized names throughout gaming culture. Capcom themselves have since fully grasped the value of the fighting game community, sponsoring their own series of events (the Capcom Pro Tour) around the globe and offering up a $500,000 USD prize pot…

PLATFORM: PS Vita / CATEGORY: Rhythm / DEVELOPER: Atlus / PUBLISHER: Atlus/ Bandai Namco / DUE: Late 2015 Congratulations, you and your friends have saved your town from certain destruction at the hands of mythological forces! What do you do next? Well, if you’re the Investigation Team from Persona 4, the obvious answer is “DANCE PARTY!” Yes, Persona 4: Dancing All Night is quite a strange spinoff. But that’s one of the things Persona fans love so much: how the series can constantly surprise. If you’ve heard the soundtracks to the Persona games – and if you haven’t, you’re definitely missing out – you’ll know that the games feature intensely catchy soundtracks by Shoji Meguro. Dancing All Night is a rhythm game centered around this music – several of which…

PLATFORM: Xbox One/360, PS4/3, PC / CATEGORY: Hack’n’slash action / DEVELOPER: Platinum Games / PUBLISHER: Activision / DUE: 2015 After a barrage of terrible movies and mediocre games the robots in disguise need a reprieve – and Transformers: Devastation looks set to be it. Developed by Platinum Games, the kings of the character-action genre, Devastation has the classic visual style of the beloved 80s cartoon with extra design elements from the IDW comic book series. The story begins with our Earth forcibly being turned into a new Cybertron by a mysterious spaceship buried deep underground. And without wanting to sound prejudiced I think we can all assume it’s the Decepticons up to their old tricks, right? So naturally the Autobots are on the scene to investigate. Many veterans of the…

BEN MANSILL RECKONS HE KNOWS WHAT’S COMING. You would think that predicting PC gaming tech trends would be a bit of a no-brainer. It should all be obvious. Take the sexiest looking stuff that’s in development, and predict big things = futurefun, sometime soon. But things don’t always pan out, and that’s a good thing because the great minds said PC gaming was dying years ago and that we’d all be playing mobile games right about now, and that’d be a big fat sadness if it were true. But let’s have a stab at guesstimating the bigger tech trends. That’s really not difficult because PC gaming is one of those things that’s driven by fusing imaginary cool things that big kids dream of doing with emergent tech that can make…

PLATFORM: PC / CATEGORY: Strategy / DEVELOPER: Creative Assembly / PUBLISHER: Sega / DUE: TBA 2016 Some things seem like such a foregone conclusion that you’re honestly shocked that it took so long for them to happen. When Creative Assembly announced earlier this year that they were going to be creating a Total War title based on Games Workshop’s world-beloved line of Warhammer fantasy figurines and tabletop games, the reaction was one of expected exuberance, but also relief that the seemingly inevitable had finally come to pass. I, too, was curious on how the match made in heaven was finally put together. Was it the death of THQ – and the subsequent acquisition of many of their assets by Sega – that allowed things to come to fruition? “Actually,” says…

PLATFORM: Xbone, PS4, PC / CATEGORY: Dungeon Crawler / DEVELOPER: React Games / PUBLISHER: Wired Productions / DUE: 2015 What do you get when you combine a love of killing monsters, rock-n-roll, and the sort of camaraderie only a four-player co-op play extravaganza can inspire? You get Super Dungeon Bros, an Xbox One, Windows 10, and PS4 indie bro-op isometric dungeon crawler by Wired Productions. It’s easy to see the type of game you’re getting into from the character selection screen: you pick one of four different character archetypes, but they’re not divided by class – rather, they’re separated by personalities and named after one of four different rock legends (Axl, Ozzie, Freddie, and Lars). Who you pick affects the way your character interacts when communicating with the others on…

PLATFORM: PC / CATEGORY: Turn Based Strategy / DEVELOPER: Stoic Studios / PUBLISHER: Versus Evil / DUE: 2015 Despite the modern consoles being able to push more polygons than we’d ever be able to count, there are still plenty of folks out there sticking with 2D art. We’ve seen a lot of indie devs go with a 2D pixel art style for their games to varied effectiveness. What made The Banner Saga such a standout, however, was its incredible hand-drawn art inspired by classic animated features. When combined with a branching story inspired by the Vikings of history and a challenging turn-based combat system, you had a game that was truly unique and wonderful. Thankfully, the Saga continues on. The Banner Saga 2 picks up hot on the heels of…

PLATFORM: Wii U, 3DS / CATEGORY: Action/Adventure / DEVELOPER: Prope / PUBLISHER: NIS / DUE: OCTOBER 2015 Yuji Naka’s been a bit quiet since leaving Sega several years ago, but he’s been keeping busy with a lot of projects through his company Prope: the odd Wii/DS puzzler Ivy the Kiwi, StreetPass Manor and StreetPass Fishing for the 3DS, and a whole mess of mobile titles. But he hasn’t abandoned his roots in creating unique and engaging platform games, as Rodea the Sky Soldier shows. Rodea is a game with a long history – first announced for the Wii back in 2010, Rodea is now a Wii U and 3DS game. (The original Wii version actually comes with the Wii U game in Japan and with first-run copies in North America,…

PLATFORM: Xbox One, PS4, PC / CATEGORY: First-person arena shooter / DEVELOPER: Gearbox Software / PUBLISHER: 2K Games / DUE: 2015 Genre bending masters Gearbox have emerged from their lab and like gaming mad scientists have mixed together a MOBA-shooter-80s-cartoon hybrid in the form of Battleborn. Just like the end of the fourth series of the new Doctor Who something is going around the universe and snuffing out all the stars. Only one functional solar system now remains so naturally every living being with a spaceship has converged here and managed put aside their differences to deal with the source of this doomsday event – the Varelsi. Their plan is a simple, very video gamey one – each faction sends forth their greatest champions to form an elite team that…

PLATFORM: Xbox One, PS4, PC CATEGORY: First-person action / DEVELOPER: DICE PUBLISHER: Electronic Arts DUE: FEB 23, 2016 Guns? We don’t need no stinkin’ guns. That might seem like an odd sentiment in a game made by DICE, the folks best known for the Battlefield games – which are about as gun-crazy as you can get. But Mirror’s Edge Catalyst, the highly-clamored-for follow-up to 2008’s cult hit, has made that clear in all of its promotional media: not once will heroine Faith ever lay her hands on a firearm. Yes, she could use guns in a limited capacity in the original game, but here? None at all. And that’s swell. You see, Mirror’s Edge isn’t your typical first person action game. It’s not about firefights; instead, it’s about the feeling…

PLATFORM: Xbox One, PC / CATEGORY: Platformer / DEVELOPER: Studio MDHR / PUBLISHER: Studio MDHR / DUE: 2016 Whenever I go to Disneyland I always stop in a little theatre on Main Street and watch the classic Mickey Mouse cartoons from the 20s and 30s. The painstaking animation, brilliant soundtracks, and surreal storylines – I can’t get enough of them. Clearly I’m not the only one who loves this retro style because Studio MDHR’s spectacular debut, Cuphead, looks like someone decided to reach inside my brain and make a game just for me. Presentation-wise, the game is flawless – it genuinely feels like an old 30s-era cartoon complete with a big band sound, occasional film grain and voice acted sound effects. Thankfully, Cuphead is more than just a pretty face…

PLATFORM: Xbox One, Xbox 360, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Wii U / CATEGORY: Toy driven puzzle-adventure / DEVELOPER: Traveller’s Tales / PUBLISHER: Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment / DUE: SEPTEMBER 28, 2015 So you’ve seen it’s a LEGO game and you’ve probably made your mind up about it already, and to be fair LEGO Dimensions is primarily made up of the tried-and-true formula. But it does break-free of the usual one note setting and instead embraces the entire universe of LEGO in both the virtual and real world. In order to play Dimensions you’re going to need the starter pack which has the game, three LEGO mini-figs including Batman, Wyldstyle, and Gandalf, plus a copy of the game, a LEGO Batmobile and the all important Gateway. Much like the Skylander’s Portal…

When NVIDIA launched its new GTX 980Ti series card in Sydney recently, it talked up a lot of the new hardware’s capabilities. For one thing, it’s built with being able to push a smooth VR experience, and has a load of tricks to bring ever higher framerates – and fidelity – to virtual reality. It’s also aimed at the release of DirectX 12, alongside Windows 10, and can take advantage of the highest levels of the DX12 API. It’s a fast, relatively quiet card that – NVIDIA claims – hits the sweet spot between price and performance, and is the perfect single-card solution for enjoying 4K gaming. Curiosly, during a lot of their presentation, performance was compared to the rather elderly GTX 680 card. The previous 7- and 8-series cards…

PLATFORM: PlayStation 4 / CATEGORY: Action role-playing / DEVELOPER: Guerrilla Games / PUBLISHER: Sony Computer Entertainment / DUE: 2016 Having worked on five Killzone games in a row the team at Guerrilla Games were understandably hungry for something new to sink their teeth into. But even for an experienced studio in need of a change their new venture, Horizon Zero Dawn, seems like an incredibly big task to take on. Gone are the linear paths and dark, gritty graphics from their signature sci-fi shooter series, Horizon is an open-world action RPG set in what has been dubbed a ‘post-postapocalyptic’ world filled with lush green forests, wide open spaces and deadly, murderous robot monsters. The game centres on a hunter named Aloy as she hunts these animal-like machines in an effort…

PLATFORM: Xbox One, PS4, PC / CATEGORY: Open world action-adventure / DEVELOPER: Avalanche Studios / PUBLISHER: Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment / DUE: September 2, 2015 Not tied to the recent or previous films, Avalanche Studios have forged their own path with Mad Max. It’s a familiar starting point though – Max’s car is stolen by a group of bandits leading him on a journey of revenge and auto repair. Following Max on his journey is Chumbucket, a mutant mechanic whose sole desire is to create the perfect vehicle – the Magnum Opus. That mission aside, Chumbucket’s in-game purpose is to repair your car while you’re out exploring the wasteland. And believe me, you will need him. A lot. My demo began near an old outpost where I found a new…

PLATFORM: Xbox One/PC/Mac/Linux / CATEGORY: Adventure/Indie / DEVELOPER: Tiger & Squid / PUBLISHER: Team 17 / DUE: LATE 2015 There’s a unique means of communication in games that is impossible in nearly any other artistic medium. Games give us the ability to explore and interact with a simulated world, and accomplish and experience things we couldn’t within reality. It’s a very powerful means of communication, but it’s mostly been used for the purposes of escapism: placing you in a fantasy world where you are incredibly powerful and can accomplish things that are impossible in your everyday life. But games also have the potential to give us rawer, down-to-earth experiences that are outside of our own. How does it feel to experience the world as a person with a disability that…

PLATFORM: Xbox One, PS4, PC / CATEGORY: Action / DEVELOPER: Redacted Studios / PUBLISHER: Versus Evil / DUE: 2015 Afro Samurai 2 falls into that category of “sequels you didn’t expect". The original game didn’t quite match the high expectations of press and players, but the development team of Afro Samurai 2 liked the setting, style, and character so much that they decided to give it another go. The result is Afro Samurai 2, rising from the dead husk of the original to deliver a fresh new experience. Those who played the original game was be excited to hear that RZA is back on board as soundtrack producer. Beyond that, however, things are a lot different – and a lot better. The visuals have been revamped to match the standards…

PLATFORM: Xbox One, PS4, PC / CATEGORY: Ubigame / DEVELOPER: Ubisoft Quebec / PUBLISHER: Ubisoft / DUE: October 23, 2015 (Xbox, PS4), TBA 2015 (PC) Sequels, remakes and comebacks again seem big on the agenda for developers of late. I mean they always are, but this year feels like there’s more than ever. Anyway, Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate fulfils two of those categories – it’s yet another sequel in the long running series and is hopefully the comeback we’ve all been waiting for since the less than stellar previous game, Assassin’s Creed: Unity. Set in grimy old London in 1868 the Industrial Revolution is in full swing but so too is the world of underground crime. Gangs are thriving in a time when the Assassin Brotherhood is all but a memory…

PLATFORM: PS4, Xbox One, PC / CATEGORY: Third Person Stealth / DEVELOPER: Maximum Games / PUBLISHER: Maximum Games / DUE: TBA The title of Alekhine’s Gun is a very clever play on words. The character Alekhine in the game can make use of firearms to eliminate his targets. However, there’s another meaning: Alekhine’s Gun is also the name of a formation in chess. A fitting metaphor, given that this game takes place during the Cold War between America and the USSR – a tense game of political chess if there ever was one. Alekhine’s Gun is an original third-person stealth game in the vein of Hitman with a historical fiction slant. Alekhine is a Soviet assassin who has been recruited into the ranks of the CIA during the 1960s. It’s…

PLATFORM: Wii U / CATEGORY: Action/Shooting / DEVELOPER: Platinum Games / PUBLISHER: Nintendo / DUE: TBA 2016 The Wii U version of Starfox has been the subject of much rumor and speculation since it was teased at E3 last year. As a franchise, Starfox is one that doesn’t reappear too often: Fox and friends aren’t usually as visible as Mario, Link, and Kirby. But when one does happen, it’s usually something interesting: the original Starfox helped introduce 3D polygon visuals to the masses, Starfox/ Lylat Wars 64 was one of the defining moments of the Nintendo 64, and Starfox Adventures was developer Rare’s last hurrah on Nintendo platforms. After a lengthy reprieve – the last all-new game was the rather tepidly received Starfox Command on the original DS in 2006…

PLATFORM: Xbox One, PC / CATEGORY: Rogue-like adventure / DEVELOPER: Capybara Games / PUBLISHER: Capybara Games, Microsoft Studios / DUE: 2015 It’s tricky previewing a game like Below because it’s one of those games that doesn’t demo well but you know it has great potential. It’s a slow burn adventure game that demands you take your time and look before you leap. The story of the game is intentionally vague – you’re a warrior on a remote island working your way lower and lower through increasingly deadly dungeons. Towards what? I don’t know yet. Speaking with the developer he assured me there is a complete narrative vision for the game but that the team doesn’t want to give anything away just yet. What’s cool is the visual clues pointed out…

CORSAIR BULLDOG Available: TBA • RRP: Starts at $399 USD The Bulldog DIY 4K Gaming PC is a Small Form Factor, barebones machine designed to squat inside your home theatre AV rack, and comes packing a bunch of features that make this the top dog in town. We’re not too sure about the claims of it being 4K-ready, but it’s definitely the most impressive basis for a small gaming PC we’ve seen. It’s what’s inside the case that makes the Bulldog so special; this is one pedigree mutt throughout. For the suggested price tag of US$399, it includes a bunch of goodies. A mini-ITX motherboard will form the backbone of your gaming PC, but Corsair hasn’t decided which manufacturer to go with yet, only confirming that it’ll run any Intel…

...ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE This is a special issue of Hyper dedicated to the games of the future: new titles that are all but guaranteed to blow our collective minds and push the medium in exciting new directions. But what about the technology that makes all that envelope-pushing possible? We’re not talking hardware, but software: the engines, the renderers, the AI routines, the audio mixers – all the code that throbs heartlike beneath the hood of the games we enjoy, translating concepts and designs into playable reality. What does the future hold for them? When we think of artificial intelligence (AI) in videogames, the first things that come to mind are… what? Enemies? Companions? Homicidal science-obsessed songstresses with a hatred of all things human? The truth, though, is that AI is a…