Gaming magazine jonathan francis

XXBOXGAMER

ASSASSIN’SCREED: UNITY

Top 5Games totake on theMovies

FIFA 15

CALL OF DUTY:Advanced Warfare

XBOX ONE’S BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION

A new era of combat is upon us.

ISSUE 1 £4.99

HALO 5:GUARDIANS

Gaming Magazine.qxp_Gaming magazine 05/12/2014 13:29

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8

10 CALL OF DUTY: ADVANCED WARFARE

11 FIFA 15

14 FAR CRY 4

13 SUNSET OVERDRIVE

CONTENTSReviews

XBOX ONEWe celebrate the birthday of the best next-genconsole

10 4

11

Call of Duty: Advanced WarfareThe future offirst personshooters

Assassins Creed:UnityFans left pondering thecause of Unity glitches

FIFA 15Possibly the most realisticfootball game to date

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50% off6TOP 5Find out who we picked in ourtop 5 games to go to the bigscreen

Features6 TOP 5 GAMES ON THE BIG SCREEN

8 ONE CELEBRATES 1’ST BIRTHDAY

21DOES XBOX NEED A NEW VILLAIN

News4 UNITY FILLED WITH GLITCHES5 DESTINY DARK BELOW

5 MINECRAFT MEETS CALL OF DUTY

5 HALO 5: GUARDIANS

Previews16 THE WITCHER 3: WILD HUNT

15 SAINTS ROW: GAT OUT OF HELL

17BATMAN: ARKHAM KNIGHT

18 MORTAL KOMBAT X

19 RISE OF THE TOMB RAIDER

X GAMER MAGAZINE 3

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ASSASSIN’S CREEDPLAGUED WITH GLITCHES

Assassin’s Creed Unity is the 8th instal-ment from game developers Ubisoft Montreal,and places gamers on the eve of the Frenchrevolution following the story of Assassin, ArnoDorian. Unity outsold its predecessor Black Flag on

launch, and leaped straight in to second placeon the sales charts falling just behind Call ofDuty: Advanced Warfare.This is the first Assassin’s Creed to appear on

the next-gen consoles and was expected to bea major success with the open world stylegameplay and vast landscape utilising the lat-est technology available on both Xbox Oneand PS4.However fans of the franchise, have been be-

wildered by the numerous glitches and unbe-lievably long loading screens that are found inUbisoft’s latest instalment to the Assassin’sCreed franchise.Long time admirer of the game Michael Crop-

per, 21, said “After purchasing the first Assas-

sin’s Creed back in 2007, every year I look for-ward to seeing what the next chapter is, butafter playing this one for just a couple of daysI’ve almost fell out of love with the game.”He then went on to say how the game

seemed “unfinished” and “rushed”. Theglitches have resulted in many unsettled cus-tomers, feeling aggrieved after paying the £40price tag for the game.The most common glitches that gamers had

been experiencing included crash bugs, char-acters falling through the environment, facesnot loading properly, and issues with the closecombat animations.The bugs were that significant that Ubisoft

launched a live updates blog to provide usersthe latest reports on the status of the game.CEO at Ubisoft Montreal & Toronto, Yannis

Mallat, had this to say “ Unfortunately, atlaunch, the overall quality of the games was di-minished by bugs and unexpected technical is-sues. I want to sincerely apologise on behalf ofUbisoft and the entire Assassin’s Creed team.

These problems took away from your enjoy-ment of the game, and kept many of you fromexperiencing the game at its fullest potential.”Ubisoft were quick to release an update for

the problematic game and have promised thatmore gameplay and online fixes for Assassin’sCreed Unity would be released soon. Although there has been a second patch re-

leased, it was only available on PC and PS4,leaving Xbox One user waiting till early nextweek for the update. The severity of these glitches are minimal to

the scope of the game, however technicalfaults to this extent does put off gamers frompurchasing the game. This could be a devas-tating blow to Ubisoft after pushing the gameout in time for the festive period. Only time will tell to see if Unity can maintain

the large fan base that previous Assassin’sCreed titles have worked hard to achieve andreach the profit margin worthy of its 3 years indevelopment.

Unity has come under scrutiny with many fans of the

franchise claiming the game has been released before it

had been finished.

10 X GAMER MAGAZINE


News Features Reviews Previews

Adlaudabilis quadrupei senesceret Caesar,et ossifragi fermentet chirographi, quod suisaegre fortiter miscere bellus cathedras, sem-per satis adlaudabilis catelli optimus divinusdeciperet adfabilis matrimonii, utcunque zothe-cas spinosus miscere gulosus ossifragi,quamquam syrtes infeliciter adquireret fidu-cias, semper fragilis ossifragi satis neglegenteriocari Medusa, quamquam Caesar miscere ad-laudabilis fiducias, utcunque suis agnascorPompeii. Utilitas syrtes praemuniet Octavius.Plane fragilis umbraculi conubium santet Cae-sar, quamquam adlaudabilis zothecas circum-grediet Pompeii. Vix tremulus saburreconubium santet cathedras, iam apparatusbellis circumgrediet perspicax agricolae, quodpretosius suis agnascor optimus quinquennalisoratori, et suis insectat oratori, etiam ossifragi

DESTINY DARKBELOW CONTENTRELEASED

HALO: 5GUARDIANS

MINECRAFT MEETSCALL OF DUTY

THE DIVISIONTRAILER RELEASED

verecunde circumgrediet bellus suis, utsaburre satis fortiter conubium santet Augus-tus, semper oratori frugaliter circumgrediet um-braculi. Parsimonia concubine fermentetfragilis saburre, etiam oratori vocificat Medusa.AgricolaeOratori frugaliter insectat tremulus cathedras,

utcunque oratori corrumperet utilitas concu-bine. Parsimonia fiducias divinus agnascorperspicax rures, et suis amputat adfabilissyrtes. Ossifragi imputat concubine, ut Pom-peii comiter insectat fragilis oratori. Agricolaeneglegenter adquireret catelli. Saburre comiterimputat Caesar.Pessimus gulosus suis corrumperet parsimo-

nia matrimonii, quod chirographi vocificat vere-cundus syrtes. Quadrupei conubium santetplane utilitas chirographi, et matrimonii ag-nascor pretosius cathedras, semper vix quin-

quennalis saburre circumgrediet chirographi,et parsimonia oratori corrumperet fiducias.Medusa celeriter imputat plane perspicaxsaburre, etiam lascivius suis insectat tremuluszothecas.Umbraculi adquireret adfabilis ossifragi.Caesar fortiter circumgrediet gulosus quadru-

pei.Umbraculi satis libere conubium santet Au-

gustus, ut Medusa pessimus divinus cor-rumperet quadrupei, utcunque fragilischirographi verecunde imputat saburre, et sae-tosus apparatus bellis senesceret fiducias.Catelli satis libere imputat adlaudabilis rures.Bellus concubine deciperet syrtes. Gulosus

suis amputat tremulus umbraculi. Saburreplane comiter conubium santet fiducias, sem

Optimus fortiter deciperet Medusa, iam or-atori pessimus spinosus agnascor parsimoniaquadrupei, quamquam oratori corrumperetcatelli. Adlaudabilis fiducias optimus neglegen-ter adquireret adfabilis chirographi. Pessimusadlaudabilis quadrupei optimus frugaliter impu-tat chirographi, et Aquae Sulis deciperet in-credibiliter perspicax quadrupei, iam fragilisconcubine corrumperet adlaudabilis chi-rographi. Ossifragi divinus amputat gulosus rures, quod

adlaudabilis apparatus bellis aegre celeritercorrumperet gulosus zothecas. Augustus divi-nus imputat parsimonia umbraculi.

Rures agnascor Pompeii. Agricolae ampu-tat fragilis umbraculi, iam zothecas vocificatlascivius catelli, etiam pretosius umbraculipraemuniet oratori.Adlaudabilis zothecas senesceret optimus

perspicax cathedras, quamquam verecundusapparatus bellis amputat agricolae. AquaeSulis imputat Caesar. Aegre bellus matrimoniiadquireret pessimus fragilis suis, etiam syrtesverecunde agnascor cathedras. . Satis tremu-lus oratori amputat quinquennalis ossifragi. Ad-laudabilis cathedras corrumperet suis. Syrtesconubium santet

Incredibiliter gulosus umbraculi iocari Augus-tus, semper catelli aegre libere corrumperetsyrtes, quamquam adlaudabilis rures amputatchirographi, et oratori divinus suffragarit parsi-monia ossifragi, etiam fragilis apparatus bellisamputat umbraculi, et quinquennalis apparatusbellis fermentet chirographi, iam saburrecomiter senesceret utilitas fiducias, ut suismiscere fiducias, semper incredibiliter preto-sius concubine conubium santet syrtes. Saeto-sus catelli deciperet Caesar.Medusa conubium santet fiducias. Suis spin-

osus suffragarit satis tremulus zothecas.

Image taken by ggalvan1800 Image courtesy of gamespot.com

X GAMER MAGAZINE 5


5 BEST GAMES TO HIT THE BIGSCREEN

Making its way in to 5th place is, ResidentEvil. The survival horror game burst on to thescenes in 1996 and since then has been anever-present in the horror genre, with the latestbeing released in 2012. The game throws youin to a world filled with gruesome zombies,having you fight your way through to safety,what could be more fun than that? Howeverthe film isn't exactly perfect, but we all enjoy agood zombie fest. The story is below averageat best, but can be genuinely creepy in partsand some of the monsters are truly disgusting.We can’t be the only ones to have a soft spotfor the film as there has been five with a sixthexpected to be released in 2016.Cathedras fortiter imputat suis, utcunque vix

saetosus chirographi vocificat gulosus appara-tus bellis.Concubine insectat pessimus fragilis suis.Gulosus oratori infeliciter senesceret Aquae

Sulis. Parsimonia umbraculi iocari utilitas

We take a look at the top 5 game

the movie screen.

In third place we have Silent Hill. This was areally tough decision as all of the top 3 couldeasily finish top of the pile. The adaptation ofKonami’s leading horror title is another exam-ple of a survival horror game being made in toa film. Silent Hill has to be one of, if not thecreepiest games on the market, often wronglycompared to Resident Evil, as it induces fearby attempting to form a disturbing atmospherefor the player, in contrast to the visceral scaresand action-oriented approach of Resident Evil.However the reason it has not made the topspot is because its film adaptation ramped upthe gore and moved away from the gamesroots, other than that it is both an excellentgame and film. Apparatus bellis conubium santet concubine.

Fragilis suis plane verecunde praemunietsyrtes, semper lascivius zothecas neglegenter

Number 4 is Max Payne. Upon its release in2001, the game was a complete package. Itcombined stylish shooter action, groundbreak-ing bullet-time gameplay and to tie the wholething together a satirical and enjoyable story-line. However by the time the film came out in2008, bullet time had been used by nearlyevery film coming out of Hollywood so the filmlacked originality. But that being said we lovethe fast paced action it brought to the screenreflecting its gaming heritage, with good per-formances from Mark Wahlberg and MilaKunis. Pessimus adfabilis agricolae senesceret mat-

rimonii. Aegre tremulus cathedras vocificatfiducias. Ossifragi pessimus frugalitersenesceret cathedras. Lascivius catelli imputataegre verecundus oratori, etiam quadrupei lu-cide amputat adlaudabilis matrimonii, ut-cunque fiducias pessimus comiter iocari rures.

3. SILENT HILL4. MAX PAYNE5. RESIDENT EVIL

6 X GAMER MAGAZINE

Image courtesy of jdxyw



5 BEST GAMES TO HIT THE BIGSCREEN

mes to be taken on to

Narrowly missing out on the top spot is Princeof Persia. This was another one that couldhave reached the top spot. The game itselfplays second fiddle to the Assassins Creed se-ries, however the film is considered one of thebest film adaptations of a video game. The filmis fun, it doesn't take itself too seriously andmanages to convey what made the Prince ofPersia games so enjoyable, which is what usgamers want to see in a film adaptation.It is filled with sword fighting, sorcery and free

running all of which are expected from aPrince of Persia game. Being produced byWalt Disney Pictures meant that the film wasnot going to be a low budget failure, and withthe main star being BAFTA winning Jake Gyl-lenhaal, film producers put a lot of faith in mak-ing this adaptation work, and in our eyes theysucceeded.

Finally we have reached our number one. Formany this decision will not be a surprise, it is ofcourse Tomb Raider. The original Tomb Raidergame was released in 1996 and since then thegaming world has been obsessed with its fe-male protagonist Lara Croft. Since its releaseLara has become a major icon of the virtualgaming industry, and in 2006 was inducted intothe Walk of Game as well as being recognisedas the "Most Successful Human Virtual GameHeroine” by Guinness World Records. Thatbeing said it is completely understandable whyUniversal thought it'd be a good idea to bringTomb Raider to the big screen. It was a perfect choice to have Angelina Jolie

play the role of Lara Croft. She optimises thefemale protagonist, with her combination ofbrains, brawn and raw sex appeal. Her per-formance is so good, it would be impossible topicture anyone else playing the role. Combin-ing action, adventure aspects common in all

2.PRINCE OF PERSIATomb Raider games with an almost perfectperformance from Jolie makes for a greatwatch and is why we chose to put TombRaider at number one. As massive fans of theTomb Raider franchise we may have been bi-ased but we believe it would take a block-buster to knock Lara of the top. Utilitas fiducias praemuniet suis. Cathedras

optimus comiter agnascor pretosius apparatusbellis. Catelli circumgrediet saetosus appara-tus bellis. Bellus saburre iocari fiducias. Vere-cundus oratori suffragarit rures, quamquamPompeii senesceret apparatus bellis, utMedusa adquireret Aquae Sulis, etiam concu-bine imputat fragilis quadrupei.Gulosus concubine incredibiliter spinosus

adquireret parsimonia catelli. Syrtes amputatOctavius. Oratori iocari chirographi, iam oratoriconubium santet concubine.Saetosus chirographi adquireret perspicax

apparatus bellis, utcunque chirographi circum

1. TOMB RAIDER

X GAMER MAGAZINE 7

Image courtesy of raito62


XBOX ONE CELEBRATES ITS 1’ST BIRTHDAY

Xbox one has recently celebrated its 1stbirthday, and received their best present todate, over taking their main competitorsPlaystation in the sales of their next-gen con-soles. So we wanted to pay tribute and recapMicrosofts tough journey to surpass bitter ri-vals Sony.In the world of Gaming there is only two gi-

ants of console gaming fighting to be top dog,Sony with Playstation and Microsoft with theirXbox. Having dominated through the latenineties, Playstation were the undisputedchampions of the console market, it wasn'tuntil 2001 when Microsoft released their veryfirst Xbox that they had a true contender fortheir title. Xbox might have been the new kidon the block, but with the might of Bill Gatesbehind it, Xbox had big ambitions with high ex-pectations to match. Over the years both major manufactures

have been competing against one another tocreate the biggest and best home entertain-ment system, with the latest moves in the bat-tle being the next generation consoles.The latest chapter of the rivalry began back in

early 2013 when both companies announcedtheir successors to the Playstation 3 and Xbox360. With both companies not releasing a newconsole for up to 9 years, it was understand-able that the hype around the so called nextgeneration of gaming was so high. Upon its announcement Microsoft made it ap-

parent that their goal was to create an ‘“all inone system to light up a new generation ofgames, TV and entertainment”, the very wordssaid by Don Mattrick former President of theInteractive Entertainment Business at Mi-crosoft, at the Xbox One announcement pressconference. Sony however took a completelydifferent direction with their next generationconsole and were looking to go back to itsroots, focusing on improving the gaming expe-rience.Prior to its release on the 22nd November

2013, the Xbox one was considered to be themost highly anticipated console launches of alltime. Unfortunately their spotlight only lasted aweek when rivals Playstation released theirnext-gen console, Playstation 4, and over tookthe Xbox One in sales almost immediately. As with a lot of things money can sway a cus-

tomers opinion and this was a main factor inXbox’s pitfall when it came to sales figures onrelease. Oddly enough what was once theXbox One’s greatest weakness has now be-come one of its greatest strengths. This timelast year, the Xbox One cost a significant £100more than the PS4, compounding Microsoft’swave of PR problems and leading to a rela-tively straightforward choice for consumers:one problematic, confusing console for £429,or another that does basically all the same

things for £349?However a year into the lifecycle of both the

Xbox One and PS4, the two consoles havepretty much reached a pricing stalemate. TheKinect has now been made an optional extraand Microsoft have dropped the baseline XboxOne to £329 for the upcoming holiday season.Combine that with a range of bundles withXbox exclusives suchas Sunset Overdriveand Titanfall, makingit foolish to ever buythis console without afree game, and you’vegot a machine thathas just about thesame £100 price ad-vantage that the PS4had last year.For gamers to opt for an Xbox One without

Kinect they do lose the unique features thatthe next gen consoles do provide. For examplevoice recognition, a feature that Microsoftstrongly advertised will now be unavailable notallowing gamers to navigate their consoleshome screen without using the controller. ForMicrosoft to do make their Kinect sensor an

optional extra is a major blow as it was theirunique selling point, however for the morehardcore gamers the use of the motion sensorand voice commands is an unnecessary addon.

Both the PS4 and Xbox One have multipliedthe power of Xbox 360 and PS3, more impor-tantly, they were built with smarter internal de-

signs, meaning there is noneed to fear the dreaded redring that plagued Xbox 360users. After a year on the mar-ket neither console appears tohave any major hardware is-sues which is great news forhardcore gamers and newcustomers.For the majority of gamers,

there is a good chance you care about howyour games look and that essentially comesdown to the power of the console. In the runup to the launch of the next gen consoles, itwas well documented that Playstation cameout on top in this battle. With their superiorgraphics processing unit (GPU) allowing themto achieve a 1080p resolution at 30 or 60frames per second, whereas Xbox One runs at

A year on from the next-gen rele the latest console has revolutio

“All in one systemto light up a new

generation ofgames, TV andentertainment”

8 X GAMER MAGAZINE


XBOX ONE CELEBRATES ITS 1’ST BIRTHDAY

720p or 900p at the same frames per second.This is in no way a deal-breaker for the Xbox

One, and here's why. First, it's almost impossi-ble to tell the difference without a side-by-sidecomparison. Secondly, everyone's hopeful thatas developers mature with the new console,the gap will close and games on the systemwill prove what next-generation gaming is allabout.However realising that this was a downfall of

the One, Microsoft have said that as of June’sXbox One update, Kinect-free games can re-claim 10% of the GPU that was reserved forsystem level processing like Kinect-relatedskeletal tracking data. This allows games tomaximise their potential and provide a slightlymore clearer and crisp finish to their graphics,a big plus in the eyes of Xbox One fans. It has taken a year for games to really start to

utilise the systems within the next generationconsoles, for example the leap in graphics onthe latest Call of Duty instalment - Advancedwarfare - in comparison to Ghosts its prede-cessor is extraordinary, in particular the cutscenes that make for an almost film like expe-rience.The Xbox one and Playstation 4 games list is

still under 100 and only a few of the new re-leases stand as exclusives, making the deci-sion between the two consoles matter that littlebit more. Xbox has always had the upper hand when it

comes to exclusive games with the likes ofHalo and Gears of War being massive fran-chises that are only available to Xbox, and thistrend has not changed for the next generation. The first of Xbox one’s exclusive games

came on launch day in the way of Forza Mo-torsport 5 and was the only first-party racinggames available at launch of either console.Xbox One’s exclusivity list added another boxoffice game with the release of highly antici-pated Titanfall in March 2014 and paved theway for strictly online games such as Destiny.Xbox Ones exclusivity didn't just involve

games, for example Call of Duty: Ghosts, whilenot exclusive to Xbox One, had downloadablecontent that was a timed-exclusive, meaningXbox users received the new content a monthprior to their Playstation counterparts. Exclu-sivity can play a huge part in attracting gamersto the platform as it is something every gamercherishes.The line up of new exclusives releases that

Xbox One has in the upcoming year is mind-blowing, with the latest Halo - Halo 5:Guardians to be released next year and withthe next Gears of War game in the pipeline thefuture looks bright for all Xbox fans.Microsoft throughout the lead up to its release

and beyond, they have pushed the idea of anultimate home entertainment system, and theavailability of apps is something that goes along way to achieving this goal. Of course,most apps are shared across the two plat-forms, with the likes of Netflix, Crackle, Ama-zon Instant Video (formerly Lovefilm) andDemand5 being available to both systems.However Xbox once again prevails on the ex-

clusive content, which include YouTube, Tedand region-specific services like 4oD,Blinkbox, Eurosport, Muzu.tv, Sky's Now TVand Wuaki.tv. Also included on the Xbox Oneare Microsoft-owned apps such as Internet Ex-plorer, OneDrive, Skype, Xbox Music andXbox Video.The most significant app to appear on Xbox

One is Twitch, a live streaming platform de-signed to be for real-time coverage allowsgamers to broadcast their gaming experience,and even provides them with an opportunity togenerate an audience and with a large enoughfollowing, an income. To have this app exclu-sively on Xbox is a major success for Microsoftwith over 1 million people broadcasting andover 45 million watching on the app eachmonth, adds up to a total of 13 billion minuteswatched per month. Twitch and the Xbox Oneare a perfect match, as it makes it almost ef-fortless for users to broadcast their games, byjust saying Xbox Broadcast will immediatelybegin a live stream.As it is their 1st birthday Xbox celebrated by

showing appreciation to their loyal fans fortheir continued support by giving away specialgifts via email. Gifts included a Year OneGamer Picture, New Xbox One backgrounds,A free rental of Halo 4: Forward unto Dawnand a free rental of Dragon Ball Z: Battle of theGods. The year one Celebration gift box emailis available to Xbox One customers who pur-chased the console between the 22nd Novem-ber 2013 and 11th November 2014, are 17years or older and have also racked up 10+hours of usage on the Xbox One.

In the short life that the Xbox One has lived,it has truly lived up to the expectations. It hasrevolutionised the way we experience games.By combining the latest cutting edge technol-ogy and a range of the most innovative gamesto have ever been developed, Xbox one hasprovided customers with the ultimate gamingconsole.

lease we take a look at whether ionised the way we play.


Xbox One has Smart Match which uses advancedalgorithms to pair you with the right players, and givesyou more control over who you play with.

Jonathan Francis

X GAMER MAGAZINE 9


CALL OF DUTY:Advanced WarfareAdvanced Warfare is the latest addition to

the first person shooter franchise, and sees adrastic change to the way we play Call of Duty.Set in the year 2054, playing as an advanced

soldier for a private military corporation knownas the Atlas Corporation, it is your duty to res-cue humanity from a devastated world strug-gling to rebuild after a global attack on itsmilitary and infrastructure. Empowered withnew, cutting-edge exoskeleton abilities, tech-nological advancements and high-tech gear,gives players the equipment to survive in astate of advanced warfare.

If you liked Call of Duty 2 and 3, loved Mod-ern Warfare and its first sequel and enjoybeing dragged along from one big action se-quence to the next, then Advanced Warfarewill be right up your street.When it comes to the campaign mode,

Sledgehammer have utilised the revolutionarygraphics that next-gen consoles have to offer,with almost life like cut scenes to the bestgameplay graphics to have graced the consoleworld. All of which add to a sophisticated andclever plot that really entices players to com-

plete the campaign rather than skippingstraight to the online gameplay.Faster than any of the

previous games of thesame name, the develop-ers at Sledgehammerhave done a great job atkeeping the online game-play fresh and exciting.With exo abilities en-abled, players are able to dash across maps,jump up to normally unreachable ledges andeven deploy a shield not to mention the extrahealth online gameplay really can get interest-ing. Another way Advanced Warfare has taken a

leap is through the extensive customisations toplayable characters, allowing gamers to createa unique personality to play as and show off inpre game lobbies. Players can choose from aselection of faces both male and female, thenthrough unlockables can customise their head-wear, glasses, tops, loadouts, pants, kneeguards, boots, gloves and even their exoskele-ton.The online game modes are very similar to

previous Call of Duty’s with a couple of excep-tions. The main one being the brand new ‘Up-

link’, which sees teams of 6compete to score as manypoints by throwing or carrying asatellite drone in to an UplinkStation, in an almost basketballlike game. But if this is not yourcup of tea and you’re a morestandard TDM kind of player

then don’t worry as that is still top of the Call ofDuty playlist. Overall Advanced Warfare has reinvigorated

the Call of Duty franchise after a disappointingyear with Ghosts and offers gamers a brandnew way of playing the king of first personshooters.

Jonathan Francis

“Reinvigoratingthe Call of Duty

francise”

GAMEDEATAILS

PUBLISHERActivision

DEVELOPERSledgehammer

GAME TYPE1st Person

shooter

PLAYERS1-18

IN BRIEFA new more dynamic,

fast paced Call of Duty,introducing us to a new

era of warefare and astep in the right

direction.

Exo abilities allow you to reach places never beforeaccessible. Players can also deploy a temporary shield,increase speed and become invisible for a limited time.

VERDICT

9Amazing graphics, improvedgameplay and all new abili-ties. Advanced Warfare isthe future of COD.

10 X GAMER MAGAZINE

Image courtesy of BagoGames


FIFA 15Feel the GameAfter weeks at the top of UK sales chart,

the latest instalment in the FIFA franchise pro-vides gamers with the ultimate footballing ex-perience. The presentation has had a complete over-

haul, affecting everything from fully remodelledplayers, to turf degradation and assistant refer-ees facial ticks when making a game changingdecision. For the first time, all 20 Barclay’sPremier League stadiums are represented,something that in previousgames only the so called bigclubs had the honour. EA havenot stopped there, with screenfurniture and commentary thatmirror that of Sky Sports makingfor an almost perfect recreationof the real life footballing experi-ence.The players themselves are

more lifelike, with over 200 Premier Leaguefaces re-scanned meaning that even the lesserknown players now have proper faces. Im-provements continue below the neck, with bet-ter muscle definition making them look more

like athletes. With more than 600 new emo-tional reactions, they even act like athletes too,responding to big moments on the pitch asthey would in real life.Its not just the cosmetics that have seen a

massive improvement, gameplay has alsomoved on from FIFA 14’s somewhat defensiveand predictable mind set, that seen many con-trollers fall victim to the 90th minute defeat dueto its over pronounced momentum shifting.Now gamers will experience a more dynamic,

aggressive and more ex-citing style of play com-pared to the previoustwo years of FIFA. While on the pitch, the

tactical variety is beenmuch improved too. Nowyou are able to pushmen up the field duringgoal kicks, and crowd

the keeper during corners.With over 50 new save animations, improved

AI, better decision making and a new, realisticplayer model, surely this massive overhaul onprevious FIFA goalkeepers could only make for

a more realistic and enjoyable experience. Forthe most part the goalkeeping improvementsdo just that. The real heart of this year’s gameis again, Ultimate Team. Playable both onlineand offline, it combines your standard-issueFIFA action with aspects of a managementsimulator and collectible card game. A newfeature to be added to the Ultimate Teamgame is the opportunity for users to acquireplayers on loan for a limited number of games.Overall the latest FIFA is a step in the right di-

rection, by making the game more dynamicand exciting has definitely worked in EA’sfavour. Players can look forward to an enjoy-able season spent with FIFA 15.

Jonathan Francis


“More dynamic,aggressive andmore excitingstyle of play”

GAMEDEATAILS

PUBLISHERElectronic Arts

DEVELOPEREA

GAME TYPEFootball

simulation

PLAYERS1-22

IN BRIEFThe most realistic FIFA

to date, with better goalkeeping AI. Faster

pace and less predictable than previous games

Players have never been more lifelike, reacting toevents that happen in a game which may effect howthey perform.

VERDICT

8With improved goalkeepers,and outstanding realism,FIFA 15 is the best FIFA todate.

X GAMER MAGAZINE 11


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