!
ES
AG CE!
A P RI
TR E P
E X SA M
XCOM 2 REVIEWED!
THE BEST
STRATEGY
GAME EVER?
THE
DIVISION
PREVIEW
REVIEWED
THE WITNESS
RISE OF THE TOMB RAIDER
AMERICAN TRUCK SIMULATOR
DRAGONS DOGMA
AND MORE!
FEATURE
IS THE
RTS DEAD?
WHERE NEXT FOR THIS
CLASSIC PC GENRE
Issue 277
APRIL
2016
SOLID STATE
DRIVES
RATED
GET THE FASTEST AND
BEST VALUE STORAGE
|38-+-26$
Killer start
Close the magazine, cast your eyes over
the cover, then come back to me. OK,
now consider for a moment what an
insane time this is to be a PC gamer.
With games like Dark Souls III, XCOM
2, Rise of the Tomb Raider and The
Witness to play, 2016 is off to a killer
start. And thanks to tech such as SSDs
which we look at this monthand the
promise of VR still to come, the platform
has never been in ruder health. I defy
you to scan the rest of this issue and not
think youve backed the right cyborg
attack horse. Enjoy the ride, friend.
CONTRIBUTORS
Dave James, Andy Kelly, Phil Savage, Elizabeth Elliott, Andi
Hamilton, Angus Morrison, Ben Griffin, Tom Sykes, Dan
Griliopoulos, Edwin Evans-Thirlwell, Leif Johnson, Matthew Lochrie,
Andy McGregor, Fraser McDermott, Daniella Lucas, Andi Hamilton,
Rob Zacny, Matt Elliott
BUSINESS
Vice President, Sales Stacy Gaines, stacy.gaines@futurenet.com
Vice President, Strategic Partnerships
Isaac Ugay, isaac.ugay@futurenet.com
East Coast Account Director
Brandie Rushing, brandie.rushing@futurenet.com
East Coast Account Director
Michael Plump, michael.plump@futurenet.com
West Coast Account Director
Austin Park, austin.park@futurenet.com
West Coast Account Director
Brandon Wong, brandon.wong@futurenet.com
West Coast Account Director
Tad Perez, tad.perez@futurenet.com
Southwest Account Director
Jessica Reinert, jessica.reinert@futurenet.com
Director Of Marketing Robbie Montinola
Director, Client Services Tracy Lam
Director, Retail Sales Bill Shewey
PRODUCTION
Production Manager Mark Constance
Production Controller Fran Twentyman
Project Manager Clare Scott
Production Assistant Emily Wood
TA LK TO
PC GAMER
TIM CLARK
GLOBAL EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
tim.clark@futurenet.com
@timothydclark
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TYLER WILDE
WES FENLON
CHRIS LIVINGSTON
Twitter
@tyler_wilde
Twitter
@wesleyfenlon
Twitter
@screencuisine
Currently playing
Tharsis
Currently playing
Final Fantasy IX
Currently playing
The Witness
This month
Had a bad time being
captain of a spaceship.
Then another. Then
another. Constantly.
This month
Tried out Steam VR
again. Who knows if he
ever really came back
this time?
This month
Switched off The Witness
because of long audio
tapes. Turned it on again.
More long audio tapes
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APRIL 2016
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Contents #277
REVIEW
APRIL 2016
Monitor
12 OPINION
14 THE SPY
16 SPECIAL REPORT
Previews
18 Homefront: The Revolution
22 Thumper
24 Wheels of Aurelia
26 Dont Starve: Shipwrecked
34 Torment: Tides of
Numenera
Features
36 Dark Souls III
We play the game and meet its creator.
44 The Division
Phil plays Ubis latest Clancy game.
48 Strategy games
Where next for the RTS genre?
Reviews
56 XCOM 2
60 Dragons Dogma:
Dark Arisen
62 Rise of the Tomb Raider
66 Aviary Attorney
68 American Truck Simulator
70 Resident Evil 0 HD Remaster
72 Oxenfree
74 The Westport Independent
76 That Dragon, Cancer
78 The Witness
82 Homeworld:
Deserts of Kharak
84 Pony Island
36
104
Extra Life
86 NOW PLAYING
90 TOP 10 DOWNLOADS
94 UPDATE
96 REINSTALL
100 WHY I LOVE
102 MUST PLAY
Hardware
104 GROUP TEST
110 BUYERS GUIDE
6
APRIL 2016
56
36
56
extraterrestrial menace, in
our review of what may be the
best XCOM game yet.
104
Dave James rides the
highspeed wave of solid state
drives and picks the best.
SEND
USER REVIEWS
The Witcher 3. Its
one of the most
beautiful and well
written games Ive
ever played. Said the
same thing eight
months ago.
Alex Hill
It does take about
eight months to
finish. Longer if you
get into Gwent.
Binding of Isaac:
Rebirth. Limitless
possibilities and
maximum fun. Who
doesnt like being a
naked baby shooting
tears at monsters?
Ivan
Every sane person on
the planet?
Super excited
CLICK
WINNER!
StarCraft II offers
plenty of replay value.
So much replay
Im a subscriber to your
magazine going on four years now. I
was once a console fanboy, but have
since found my calling in StarCraft II.
The recent Legacy of the Void
campaign is Blizzards best yet; the
third installment of a game I wish I
could go back and play over for the
very first time. Even after beating all
three campaigns on hard, theres still
so much replay value in trying to get
all of the achievements, as well as
watching YouTube videos on how to
LIKE
Chose to ignore
Its a period of civil war. Rebel forces
ght for control of three Gonk droids;
perhaps for data, or technological
power, or resources. The evil Galactic
Empire does not send its leader into
frontline combat against Leia Organa
on Endor. Rather, he goes because
people are complaining that this
Battlefront isnt just Battlefront II,
and not including the Emperor
would cause a fanboy apocalypse.
Meanwhile, the evil lord Darth
Vader takes time out of his busy
schedule to hunt the smuggler and
Rebel General Han Soloas he did in
the Empire Strikes Backon a
volcanic planet that was mentioned
in Return of the Jedi anddespite
claimshas had an on-screen
appearance in Star Wars: Rogue
Squadron that people conveniently
chose to ignore.
Greg Andrews
Richard Garms
It sounds like youre already getting
plenty of joy out of StarCraft IIs
singleplayer, Richard. If you do want
to convince your friends, point them
in the direction of Chriss review
from PCG 275. PCG
SHOOT
WATCH
FOLLOW
SEND
pcgamer@futurenet.com
pcgamer.com
APRIL 2016
facebook.com
/pcgamermagazine
steamcommunity.com
/groups/pcgamer
youtube.com/user
/pcgamer
@pcgamer
O P I N I O N
T E C H
G A M E S
10
APRIL 2016
PC POWER
The recommended specs for the Rift are
pretty high, and upgrading could represent
the biggest proportion of the cost of owning
The built-in
headphones
are removable.
OPINION
GAMES
TECH
HIGHS
Elite Dangerous
Players have found traces of alien life on
a distant planet. Thargoids, anyone?
Danganronpa
The brilliant, bizarre Japanese
murder mystery is coming to PC.
Dragons Dogma
If youre the creator of a pawn called
Burger, thanks very much for the help
with that cyclops.
John Romero
Romero releases a new level for the
original Dooma mere 23 years after
the game came out.
Hitman
The game will be completely episodic. Its
had a confusing journey to release.
Marc Laidlaw
The Half-Life writer reveals that hes left
Valve for good after 19 years.
Upgrade or die
Microsoft says Windows 7 wont run on
next-generation CPUs.
Oculus Rift
it. While theyre only a guideline, as some
games, naturally, will be more demanding
than others, Oculus says youll need at least
8GB of RAM, a card similar to/greater than
a GTX 970, and an Intel i5-4590 or better to
get the best out of the tech.
A range of Oculus ready PCs will be
released alongside the headset, which have,
according to the Oculus website, been
tested to ensure they deliver a great
experience with Rift. These will start at
$1499. For those with low-spec PCs, the
costs of a new GPU or CPU, the Rift, and
possibly the Touch, will quickly mount up.
Virtual reality is a technology that still needs
to prove itself and the high cost of entry
might put a lot of people off.
Resident Evil 0
What genius decided getting rid of item
boxes was a good idea?
LOWS
APRIL 2016
11
OPINION
GAMES
TECH
O
P
I
N
I
O
N
The best of VR
VIRTUAL REALITY HIGHLIGHTS
An incredibly exciting
space dogfight
shooter set in CCPs
EVE Online universe.
12
APRIL 2016
DONT LET GO
EURO TRUCK
SIMUL ATOR 2
SKYRIM
BLUE MARBLE
ELITE DANGEROUS
Looking around those
super-detailed
cockpits in VR is an
amazing feeling.
OPINION
GAMES
TECH
HONESTLY, AS A
PLATFORM FOR PLAYING
TRADITIONAL GAMES,
VR IS RUBBISH
Valkyries dogfights
are another must-see.
APRIL 2016
13
OPINION
GAMES
T
H
E
S
P
Y
12
APRIL 2016
TECH
W H O WAT C H E S T H E S P Y ?
VIVE LA SPCULATION
An encoded message also found its
way onto a Target pre-order card
for Homefront: The Revolution.
Through a method called reading,
The Spy can reveal that this cryptic
communiqu posited a release date
of May 17 for Deep Silvers guerrilla
sequel. This last one was later
conrmed by the publisher, thus
proving that physical retailers still
have a use. Revealing the date that
people will be able to buy
new games on Steam was
likely never part of the
business plan, but at least
it keeps them busy.
After a generous
series of free DLC
releases, its hard to
know what more CD
Projekt RED could do to
improve The Witcher 3.
Fix Geralts awful,
stubborn shit of a horse, you might
say but, given that it hasnt
happened yet, The Spy can only
assume doing so is beyond the scope
of 21st century programming.
Nevertheless, French retailer E.
Leclerc sparked hopes of further
improvements when it listed an
Enhanced Edition release. Alas, it
was not to be. CD Projekts Pawel
Bruza categorized the listing as
some kind of error. The Spy
assumes E. Leclerc was tired of
Amazon Frances accurate leaks,
and decided to redress the balance.
Despite the inaccuracies, Bruza
didnt discount the possibility of an
Enhanced Edition in the future.
Likely it would come in the form of
a package bundling The Witcher 3s
two expansions. If The Witcher 2
Enhanced Edition is anything to go
by, there may be some extras too. If
CDPR could drop in a few extra
Gwent challenges, The Spy would
really have something to look
forward to come the post-kale era of
January, 2017. Spy out.
The Spy
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SPECIA L
REP O RT
Re-Mission helps
kids understand
how cancer can
be defeated.
ORIGINS
In 1989, Pamela
Omidyar worked
as a research
assistant
alongside a
pediatric
oncologist,
analyzing cancer
cells at Stanford
University. In her
leisure time she
enjoyed playing
games with her
then boyfriend
(now husband)
Pierre on their
Sega Mega Drive.
Omidyar thought:
what if I could
make a videogame
that helped kids
fight cancer? Life
instead intervened
and while Omidyar
went on to obtain a
masters degree,
Pierre founded
online auction site
eBay. In 2001,
Omidyar launched
the nonprofit
research group
HopeLab and
began work on PC
game Re-Mission.
16
APRIL 2016
P C G I N V E S T I G AT E S
FIGHTING BACK
How one research-led videogame is helping kids beat cancer by
teaching them the importance of the treatment process
VIDEOGAME STUDY
The Re-Mission outcomes study that predated the
games release is to this day the largest controlled study
for videogame intervention ever conducted. It followed
375 teens and young adults with cancer across 34
different medical centers in the US, Canada and
Australia over the course of three months of cancer
treatment. The Pediatrics paper conrms that those
who played Re-Mission maintained higher levels of
chemotherapy and consumed antibiotics more
consistently than those in the control group who
participated without playing the game whatsoever.
By the time Re-Mission launched its nal release in
2006, 210,000 copies were distributed in 81 different
countries around the world.
I would say that Re-Mission games both empower
and re-empower patients, Raskob says. Theres no
better way to say it, except that cancer sucks. Especially
OPINION
GAMES
TECH
1 FIRST GAME
Weapons include a
chemoblaster and
radiation gun.
2 TESTING, TESTING
3 T R E AT M E N T S C E N A R I O S
4 F O R M E R P L AY E R
Re-Mission 2 is a browser-based
extension of the original, offering six new
games that explore different types of
cancer treatment scenarios.
IT CONTINUES TO
FULFILL ITS MISSION
TO CULTIVATE
CANCER RESILIENCE
APRIL 2016
17
PREVIEW
Gamenamexxxx
18
APRIL 2016
PREVIEW
A Las Barricadas has your team
fleeing from overwhelming force.
NEED TO KNOW
RELEASE
May 20
DEVELOPER
Dambuster Studios
PUBLISHER
Koch Media
H O M E F R O N T:
THE REVOLUTION
Hands-on with Homefronts
anarchic co-op mode
un! Im wheelieing down a ruined high
street at high speed, totally unable to tell
where Im going, while heavily armed
North Koreans spray machine gun re at
me. This is the best motorcycle game Ive ever
played and its not a motorcycle game. I drop my
iron steed out of the wheelie just in time to see my
surviving teammate run into the road in front of
me. I cant avoid running him down and I dont. As
his body bump-bumps under my tires, I berate him
for jaywalking. Its ne though, as I revive him
under heavy re, get back onto my bike and speed
off, ignoring him, the enemies, my other downed
pals, and the mission.
LINK
www.homefront-game.com
Dan Griliopoulos
APRIL 2016
19
PREVIEW
Thumper
NEED TO KNOW
RELEASE
2016
DEVELOPER
Drool
PUBLISHER
In-house
LINK
www.drool.ws
THUMPER
DO BE SQUARE
PL AYED
IT
CHANGE
THE TRACK
22
APRIL 2016
PREVIEW
Thumper
SPACE
BEETLE
JUMP AND
GRIND
APRIL 2016
23
PREVIEW
I dont think youre
Gamenamexxxx
quite her type.
NEED TO KNOW
RELEASE
2016
DEVELOPER
Santa Ragione
PUBLISHER
In-house
LINK
www.wheelsofaurelia.com
WHEELS OF
AURELIA
Take a life-changing road trip
through Italy. Are we there yet?
dont quite get Wheels of Aurelia. Playing
the paid beta available on the website, I
found it part bad driving game, part
confusing interactive narrative.
Collectively, these try to replicate the experience of
a road tripin this case, along the Italian Via
Aurelia in the late 70s. With each playthrough
landing at around the ten minute mark, maybe a
little longer depending on such diversions as races
and hitchhikers, I dont think it sticks around long
enough to be particularly effective.
PL AYED
IT
24
PREVIEW
Hey hey, its the monkey.
NEED TO KNOW
RELEASE
Early Access
DEVELOPER
Klei Entertainment/Capybara
PUBLISHER
In-house
D O NT S TA RV E:
SHIPWRECKED
Lost at sea with the survival
games latest expansion
LINK
www.bit.ly/ShipwreckedDS
HEAVY SEASONING
APRIL 2016
Tim Clark
I am ruler of
all I survey.
PREVIEW
Gamenamexxxx
APRIL 2016
27
PREVIEW
If it glows,
its science!
NEED TO KNOW
RELEASE
2016
DEVELOPER
inXile Entertainment
PUBLISHER
In-house
T O R M E N T: T I D E S
OF NUMENERA
First steps into inXiles
otherworldly RPG
oure the Last Castoff, a body discarded
by a self-made god who leaves newly
self-aware selves behind every time he
or she decides they fancy a new form. In
the opening seconds, you come into being just as
you nish falling to your death, and what follows is
a sequence that sees you rebuild yourself from
within your own innity-variable consciousness.
LINK
www.bit.ly/200SJRY
BOOKISH
APRIL 2016
Chris Thursten
Yep, sorry, no
idea what this is.
PREVIEW
Gamenamexxxx
The setting is
quasi-medieval sci-fi.
APRIL 2016
35
C O V E R F E AT U R E
Dark Souls III
Da
36
APRIL 2016
C O V E R F E AT U R E
Dark Souls III
ark Souls is like Die Hard. Bear with me. The rst
one is a total, undeniable classic, helmed by a
director fresh off the back of another excellent
project. The second one had a new director take
over the series and, although head and shoulders
above most of the rest of the genre, it didnt quite
live up to the heights reached by its predecessor.
This time, the John McTiernan of the Souls games
is back: the renowned Hidetaka Miyazaki is
working on the third installment, after sitting out
Dark Souls II in favor of creating the exceptional
Bloodborne on PlayStation 4. Dark Souls III feels
like a true return to form.
APRIL 2016
37
C O V E R F E AT U R E
Dark Souls III
Da
1 SHORTCUTS
38
APRIL 2016
2 BOSS FIGHTS
THREE-DIMENSIONAL
The scenery is actually a big part of why this feels so
much like the rst game. The High Wall of Lothric is
a much more 3D area than a lot of the locations in
Dark Souls II, where you would just start at the main
hub of Majula and push outwards until you hit a dead
end. It has much more in common with Dark Souls
and Bloodborne, with a lot of vertical progression and
routes that eventually loop back on themselves in the
form of incredibly rewarding shortcuts. Clearly, this
sort of thing has become the calling card of Miyazaki.
My time with the game led me from the battlements
at the top of the wall to the catacombs beneath, and to
the secret sub-boss that awaits adventurers in the
dungeons. This was a giant ghostly knight who emits
Its not just the difficulty that makes people love these games
3 JC OO LOLPYE R A T I O N !
4 DICKWRAITHING
The opposite of
cooperation. You can invade
another players game with
the goal of killing them or
impeding their progress. Its
brilliant, if a sure-fire way of
getting abusive messages
through Steam. Youll deserve
them, too.
5 TT HH EE SC TA OL MR MA F T E R
F E AT U R E
Gamenamexxxx
xxx
FINAL BOW
When dealing with its new challenges you quickly
remember why these gameswhen you strip away all
of the trimmingsare held in such high regard.
Factor-in the stuff that we currently dont know about,
such as any new ways of using Dark Souls unique
approach to multiplayer, all the new locations,
incredible bosses and the deep, rich lore of the land,
and we could be looking at another legendary
action-RPG. Miyazaki has stated repeatedly that this
is set to be the nal Souls game and, based on what
Ive seen so far, it looks like the series is set to bow out
on an extremely high note.
APRIL 2016
39
C O V E R F E AT U R E
Dark Souls III
Da
INTERVIEW
APRIL 2016
C O V E R F E AT U R E
Dark Souls III
THE PROCESS OF
BUILDING A WORLD
IS VERY INSPIRING
STRANGE ENEMIES
GAPING DRAGON
GR AVELORD NITO
THE DUKES
DE AR FRE YA
CEASELESS
DISCHARGE
THE ROTTEN
APRIL 2016
41
C O V E R F E AT U R E
Dark Souls III
WE FELT THERE
WAS MORE WE
COULD ADD
that creates meaning in Dark Souls and
we like to do our best to encourage
their imagination.
Youve talked about Dark Souls games
sharing a worldview before. What are
the key elements of the worldview, and
what themes will Dark Souls III explore?
APRIL 2016
C O V E R F E AT U R E
Dark Souls III
SECRET STORIES
The best tales are told through use of the environment and items within it
DRAINING NEW
LONDO RUINS
KING VENDRICK
LUCATIEL OF MIRR AH
43
F E AT U R E
Tom Clancys The Division
TOM CLANCYS
THE DIVISION
is better shared
with friends.
By Phil Savage
44
APRIL 2016
F E AT U R E
Tom Clancys The Division
LONE GUNMAN
ABOVE
Classes in the
traditional
sense dont
exist. All
agents can
tailor skills to
the situation.
Jansen points out that, while the skill system lets you
create specialized builds for group play, it also lets you
be more of a generalist if needed. The reason why
we have two main gun slots and two skill slots is that
you can be a well-rounded solo player as well. The
whole point of having two skills is that I can have an
offensive and a supportive skill when Im playing by
myself. Then, if I go into a group, I could switch so
both of them are supportive.
But group play feels right. Its not long into my
session before Im barking things like moving into
anking position, and taking out the top sniper
communicating with all the impotent authority of an
assistant manager getting a little too into a weekend
paintball retreat. Based on my session, The Division
has some problems, but its tactical gunplay is
satisfying enough that
its easy to get caught
up in the fantasy.
The Division is
based on the real-life
exercise Operation
Dark Winter, which
took place in 2001 to
test the USs
preparedness to deal
with a biological attack. More accurately, The Division
is based on the conclusion of that simulation: that the
US was in no way prepared to deal with a biological
attack. In the games ction, New York has been hit by
such an attack, and, as a result, everything has gone to
shit. Into this mess walk you and your friends:
members of the Strategic Homeland Division. Its
your job to liberate Midtown Manhattan from the
violent factions that lurk within.
APRIL 2016
45
F E AT U R E
Tom Clancys The Division
46
APRIL 2016
LEFT
See famous
landmarks;
shoot people
near them.
RIGHT
The Cleaner
faction is very
into fire
unsafety.
F E AT U R E
Tom Clancys The Division
its not a simulator. Its very, very clearly a game rst.
We are obviously standing on the shoulders of some
big giants in terms of the RPG space, and so yes, when
we also merge that with the shooterbecause it is a
shooteryoure going to have to gure out which one
yields. We are denitely an RPG rst.
TEAM PLAYER
ABOVE
It is the near
future, and all
breakdancing
is performed
at gunpoint.
QUARANTINE
1 SAFE HOUSE
3 MISSION
BASE OF
OPER ATIONS
3
1
4 COLLECTIBLES
A series of
collectibles can be
found, including
crafting materials and
intel that fleshes out
the games backstory.
APRIL 2016
47
F E AT U R E
Strategy games
48
APRIL 2016
F E AT U R E
Strategy
Stra
S
St
trategy
trateg
tr tegy
egy ga
ggames
ames
am
mes
es
B
Eva y Edw
ns-T in
hirl
wel
l
ion
t
u
l
o
, ev e RTS
e
n
i
l
dec re of th
e
h
T futu
and
APRIL 2016
49
F E AT U R E
Strategy gam
ga
games
ames
ames
am
50
APRIL 2016
F E AT U R E
Strategy games
o speak of the death of a genre is always a bit ridiculous, but real-time
strategy as traditionally conceived has certainly seen better days. If the genre
were a round of deathmatch wed be well into the nal third, with all resources
tapped, the majority of key bases attened and depleted armies scattered
across the map. The StarCraft series remains an outpost of prosperity, bustling
along in deance of changing market conditions. Also, the excellent Company
of Heroes and Dawn of War games from RTS veterans Relic continue to nd a
dedicated and passionate audience. This months new Homeworld feels special
partly because its such a one-off. Elsewhere, its a bit of a wasteland: from the
ruins of Command & Conquer: Generals 2, which was shuttered along with
edgling developer Victory Games in 2013, to the ashes of the Age of Empires
series, shelved by Microsoft back in 2009.
RTS games are in a bind, says David
Pottinger, CEO at BonusXP and former
lead programmer at Age developer
Ensemble Studios. StarCraft
undeniably rules the roostbeyond
that, theres just not that much else out
there at that quality level. No one is
green-lighting $40 to $60 million dollar
RTS projects any more. Hell, even
getting more than a couple of million is
tough for most places. Its not quite fair
to cite this, because Ensemble was
getting closed and we threw everyone
who was left at Halo Wars, but that
game shipped with over a hundred
people working on it. It was in
development for over four years. By
contrast, at Bonus weve had about 12
or 13 people working on Servo, our paid
PC RTS, for just over a year.
Uber Entertainments chief
technology ofcer John Comeswho
designed Command & Conquer titles at
S TA R C R A F T S M A N S H I P
Why has StarCraft II, the first installment of which launched in 2010, stood the test of time while much of the
blockbuster RTS scene has crumbled? In part its a simple question of having an unrivaled pedigree and more
cash to burnBlizzard, after all, is the creator of World of Warcraft and a subsidiary of the industrys largest publisher,
Activision. But according to Stardocks Brad Wardell, StarCraft II also owes its success to how Blizzard nurtured the
enormous following it had built up around StarCraft: Brood War. First, its an excellent game. There is no substitute
for thousands and thousands of hours of balancing of three unique races. Second, Blizzard has spent a great deal of
time and money supporting its community. Third, Blizzard invested early and heavily into a robust multiplayer and
metagame experience.
Wardell outlines three technological generations of real-time strategyDOS games like Westwoods Dune 2,
Windows sprite-based titles like Age of Empires and finally 3D, 32-bit gamesarguing that Blizzards awareness of the
importance of community management has allowed it to dominate the third generation. He feels that the StarCraft
studio is all but insurmountable at this stage; itll take another leap in the nature or quality of supporting hardware
to create opportunities for competitors. Third generation RTS games reached the limitations of 32-bit, single-core,
DirectX 9 [computing] some time ago. Anybody wanting to get into that market had to compete on the same playing
field as Blizzard, and only Supreme Commander really came close in my view.
Yo
pro u ca
awabably n
y w get
big ith on
RTS e
yea a
r
Kickstarter campaign. I believe you
can probably get away with one big
RTS a year and have it be successful,
Comes says. Right now, that mantle
seems to be basically owned by the
Total War series.
The phenomenally popular Total
War, of course, is a hybrid, marrying
turn-based empire management to
questions of formation and unit morale
on the battleeld. This is indicative,
says Comes, of how the genre has
evolved to survive. When I started
there were really only three major
playersWestwood with Command &
Conquer, Blizzard with Warcraft and
StarCraft, and Ensemble with Age of
Empires. Nowadays, however, youre
seeing RPG mechanics mixed into RTS
with the MOBA genre. Youre also
starting to see RTS-style resource
management in a lot of survival games.
The tower defense genre was born
from mods of RTS games.
Looking back on Planetary
Annihilationthe gameplay isnt that
different from Total Annihilation,
which came out 20 years ago. Yes, we
innovated on the play-eld with
spherical planets, and introduced a
rogue-like metagame with Galactic
War, but those dont change the core
experience. As an industry weve spent
decades trying to improve on
traditional RTS mechanics and have
had some success, but theres nothing
groundbreaking. Which is why I think
genre-mixing is going so well now.
Traditional RTS blockbusters may
be scarce, in other words, but their
DNA endures in a variety of forms
and the result, suggests David
Pottinger, is a market that is much
more diverse even if major releases
shift fewer copies. I think there are
two kinds of RTS games these days, he
says. Its not easy to compare them.
There are the games that stay true to
the old-school formulathey put in a
ton of content, have a big showy
APRIL 2016
51
F E AT U R E
Strategy
gy games
product and are aiming to be the next
StarCraft. I dont see a ton of innovation
in those games. Then, youve got the
smaller titles. Stuff like Servo, where
weve taken an RPG and mushed it
together with an RTS. You get to build
your own giant robots, and those robots
serve a role similar to Warcraft IIIs
heroes. Im still not sure how that will
work out, but its fun to try something
new. And then youve got things like
Offworld Trading Company from Soren
Johnson and the Mohawk crew, which
doesnt even have combat in it.
is
y
r
st rd
u
d
in owa
e
h
T ving t play r
mo orter faste
sh s and esult
ion n-to-r
s
s
se isio es
dec cycl
R E M E M B E R I N G T H E FA L L E N
A few RTS warhorses that dont get enough love today
GROUND CONTROL
DUNE II
WARCRAFT III
A quintessentially Blizzard
blockbuster that introduced
leveling heroes to the genre
paving the way for the MOBA.
FREE TO PLAY
AGE OF MYTHOLOGY
52
APRIL 2016
F E AT U R E
Strategy games
makes for wider adoption. According to
a March 2015 report from market
researcher EEDAR, League of Legends
and Dota 2 reap the greatest proportion
of their revenue from so-called vanity
items. Obliged as they are to look at the
bigger picture, we can assume RTS
players arent quite as susceptible to
such temptationsespecially when
they affect the balance of power.
In general, RTS players want a
perfectly balanced game, David
Pottinger says. They want to know
everything there is to know ahead of
time. They want skill to be the only
determining factor in who wins the
game. Free-to-play games, on the other
hand, tend to reward playing longer or,
gasp, paying actual money. That doesnt
usually mix well with an RTS.
One particularly sad consequence of
free-to-play and the MOBAs rise is
diminished buzz around singleplayer
modes in RTS campaignsfully edged
campaign options with cutscenes and
scripting are few and far between, with
many teams preferring to offer simple
skirmish modes against the AI. Joe
Bostic feels this is short-sighted. PvP is
inherently intimidating and so for those
people that avoid PvP, the campaign is
there to provide entertainment. It is
debatable whether [AI skirmishes are]
a sufcient substitute for a campaign. I
would argue that it is not, at least for
the traditional pay-to-play monetization
model that RTS games use.
Comes agrees that the majority of
players still play singleplayer campaigns
over multiplayer or AI skirmish, but in
an uncertain market, the associated
expenditure can be hard to justify.
Campaigns are difcult and costly to
make, and even more so to make well.
Few companies want to take on that
sort of risk.
HARDWARE JUMPS
Like their peers in the action genre,
RTS teams have wrestled at length with
the implications of new interfaces and
peripheralsfrom the frustrating
ambiguities of motion or voice control,
to the explosion of touch-sensitive
games on tablet and mobile. As Comes
points out, strategy game developers
have found success on mobile with
tower defense, a type of game that can
generally be played with one hand.
Wardell contends, however, that
true RTS games for touchscreens are
a dead end, because the interface isnt
responsive or precise enough to allow
micromanagement. Hence intriguing
departures like Offworld Trading
Company, which doesnt feature units
Ca
mp
dif aigns
cos cult are
and tly to and
eve mak
to m n mo e,
ake re s
wel o
l
NEW ARRIVALS
For Brad Wardell, the future of the RTS
is a question not of interface but of raw
computing power. The biggest
opportunity we have going right now is
the rise of DirectX 12, plus 64-bit and
multicore processing as a standard
game setup. Its a point illustrated by
Stardock and Oxide Gamess Ashes of
the Singularity, a behemoth of an RTS
which supports clashes between
thousands of units simultaneously.
Wardell concedes, however, that
Steam and HTCs Vive headsetwhich
uses two lasers to track your movement
around a room, in addition to wand
controllers for gesture inputhas the
potential to give rise to new avors of
strategy game. Imagine being able to
walk around a space battle that is
happening in a space the size of a large
room. You could walk around and give
orders to individual squadrons and
move your nger to link them to their
target and watch them ght it out.
By happy coincidence, a project
corresponding to this description does
in fact exist, though its too early in
development to discuss at any length.
MoonStrike is the work of former Gears
of War designer and Bitmonster
co-founder Lee Perry. For Perry, the
real-time strategy genres recent
troubles follow a familiar narrative, and
setbacks shouldnt be taken to heart.
Theres this thing that happens
with many genres where the rst,
formative games establish the norms,
and then its iterated on, and before you
know it you end up with a genre that
primarily appeals to the diehards. I love
when any designer is willing to step
back and reassess the foundation, and
attempt to make it more accessible to a
new batch of players.
If the RTS now sits in the shadow of
the MOBA and other genres, Perry
argues that it will always be worth
returning to, because theres so much
that can be achieved with the basic
mechanics. Coming from a relative
newcomer to the genre, its a hopeful
note to end on. How combat works,
how units are produced, what the
terrain and different elevations offer,
initial setup and build phases, the scope
of conict, campaign structures, the
depth of the tech trees... how many
other genres have that many knobs to
turn? Its a truly inspiring canvas to
work on for a designer.
APRIL 2016
53
REVIEW
HOW WE REVIEW
DOWNLOADABLE CONTENT
DLC might be hours-long new missions for a game, or it might
be a single new item. Either way, if we think you want to know
about it, well review it.
OUR SCORING
SYSTEM EXPLAINED
00%-10% A game of absolutely no value. Are you playing
one of these games? Take 3d6 emotional damage.
Examples Big Brother
11%-39% Yikes. Technically broken, or so fundamentally
flawed that its ultimately not worth any time or money. Bad.
Examples The War Z, Sonic: Lost World
40%-49% This game is functional, but majorly flawed
and disappointing.
Examples Firefall, Star Trek, Armikrog
50%-59% Mediocre. If it has any interesting ideas, they
dont work well. Might suffer from bugs or technical issues.
Examples Primordia, Painkiller: Hell & Damnation
60%-69% An interesting idea poorly expressed, or a
derivative idea executed averagely. Comes with caveats.
Examples SimCity, Just Cause 3, Blood Bowl 2
70%-79% Good, but not a classic. This score is
a recommendation, just not a glowing one.
Examples Broken Age, Batman: Arkham Knight
80%-89% A great game with exceptional moments or
features, and touches of brilliance.
Examples Elite: Dangerous, Soma, Fallout 4
90%-94% A compelling recommendation for most PC
gamers. Ahead of its time and important to PC gaming.
Examples MGS V, Rainbow Six Siege, Undertale
Tough
choices ahead
This should be a quiet month.
Elsewhere in the ofce on the
console side, editors look pale and
gaunt. Our review section tells a
different tale, featuring a multitude
of great games. This issue, theres
something for everyone.
Fans of brutal, glorious failure
can throw themselves against the
exceptional XCOM 2. If youd
rather some enjoyable, streamlined
action, theres Rise of the Tomb
Raider. Fancy taxing your brain
meats? Thatll be The Witness.
Want an eerie, atmospheric
horror game? Check out Oxenfree.
A subversively deceptive comedy?
Pony Island. A clever, sprawling
RPG? Dragons Dogma. Or, just
pretend to be a trucker with
American Truck Simulator. With
such an amazing start to 2016, the
only downside is deciding what to
play rst.
95%-98% This is far and away one of the best games weve
ever played, and we recommend it to the entire world.
Examples Half-Life 2, Kerbal Space Program, Spelunky
99%-100% Advances the human species. Life-changing.
A masterpiece and more. Actively boosts the immune systems
of nearby children and small animals.
54
APRIL 2016
PHIL SAVAGE
DEPUTY EDITOR
phil.savage@futurenet.com
62
78
56
Contents
56
60
62
66
68
70
XCOM 2
Dragons Dogma: Dark Arisen
Rise of the Tomb Raider
Aviary Attorney
American Truck Simulator
Resident Evil 0 HD Remaster
72
74
76
78
82
90
Oxenfree
The Westport Independent
That Dragon, Cancer
The Witness
Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak
Pony Island
TOM SENIOR
PHIL SAVAGE
Specialist in
Strategy, aliens
Specialist in
Action, bows
Currently playing
XCOM 2
Currently playing
Rise of the Tomb
Raider
This month
Became humanitys
last, best hope for
survival, but was too
busy playing XCOM 2.
This month
Got really good at
killing animals. (In a
game, PETA.)
EDWIN E VANSTHIRLWELL
A N DY K E L LY
MAT T ELLIOT T
Specialist in
Sims, trucking
Specialist in
Adventure, law
Currently playing
The Witness
Currently playing
American Truck
Simulator
Currently playing
Aviary Attorney
This month
Was lost in the maze
of Jon Blows mind.
Had a great time.
This month
Had CW McCalls
Convoy permanently
stuck in his head.
Specialist in
Puzzles, brains
This month
Called upon his latent
legal skills to review a
game about birds in
19th century Paris.
ANGUS
MORRISON
LEIF JOHNSON
Specialist in
Doctrine, lizards
Specialist in
Indie, ponies
Currently playing
Dragons Dogma
Currently playing
Pony Island
This month
Was thoroughly
impressed by Satans
pony collection.
This month
Ragequit chess
after his opponent
refused to share any
of their pawns.
APRIL 2016
55
REVIEW
X-TRAORDINARY
The aliens strike back in the exceptional strategy sequel, XCOM 2.
By Tom Senior
DEAD OR ALIVE
56
APRIL 2016
EXPECT TO PAY
$60
DEVELOPER
Firaxis
PUBLISHER
2K Games
REVIEWED ON
Intel i5-7690K, 8 GB
RAM, GTX970
MULTIPLAYER
Two-player turn-based
battles
LINK
www.xcom.com
3 HC AI DCET UBSE H I N D
WHAT IS IT?
A turn-based strategy
game about fighting
aliens whove
already won.
2 AT TACK ENEM Y
NEED TO KNOW
4
3
4 TBAE KH EI NCDO RV OE RC K
CLOSE ENCOUNTERS
The moment the timer freezes during
a scan, I stop breathing. Theres a
notication screen you have to click
through to nd out what is about to
try to kill youI swear this is
intentional, to let the sense of dread
register for a second or two. If youre
lucky, its the council getting in touch
to give you a thumbs-up and tell you
theyve dropped some sandwiches
for you in South America. If youre
unlucky youll be faced with XCOM
2s equivalent of Enemy Unknowns
REVIEW
XCOM 2
APRIL 2016
57
REVIEW
XCOM 2
Berserkers exist only
to smash.
58
APRIL 2016
REVIEW
SUIT UP
Attachments
dropped by the
foe can improve your
weapons. You also
change color and
patterning, for
fashion's sake.
Specialist drones
are cute. More
importantly, they
can heal and revive
allies in dangerous
positions at no risk
to their operator.
The rangers
sword, used well,
can take out mighty
enemies in a single
blow, but it can also
leave your soldier
badly exposed.
To hear your
international
team cursing aliens
in their own
language, check the
international audio
box in the options.
94
59
REVIEW
PAWN SWAP
Open-world RPG DRAGONS DOGMA: DARK ARISEN has nally been ported to PC.
Should we believe in it unquestioningly? By Leif Johnson
NEED TO KNOW
WHAT IS IT?
An open-world RPG
with excellent combat
and a unique
companion system.
EXPECT TO PAY
$30
corner theres the predictably
Below, however, a mages spell had
DEVELOPER
dastardly secret society, in another,
set my groups weapons aame. My
Capcom
the artifact-stuffed ruin.
ranger let loose a mighty arrow,
It works because its all told with
igniting the monsters wings. It
PUBLISHER
In-house
enthusiastic gravitas. Gransys is a
brought us slamming back to earth.
land that tries to stick to the real,
I already knew how this would
REVIEWED ON
favoring utilitarian armor designs
end. I spent many sleepless nights
Windows 10, 16GB
RAM, GeForce GTX 780
with Dragons Dogmas appealing mix over amboyance, and the
of Western RPG stylings and Monster interactions impart a dutiful lets do
MULTIPLAYER
this sense I admire.
Hunter-inspired
Share NPCs online
This extends even to
combat years ago when
LINK
the open-world
it rst dropped for the
Theres a
www.dragons
dogma.com
landscape, which
Xbox 360. Graphics
satisfying
boasts coastal cliffs,
have advanced, dozens
Pokmon-like mountains, and
of better and lesser
appeal to trying towering Norman
RPGs come and gone,
architecture but never
but there on the stones
out pawns
quite inspires the kind
of the Bluemoon
of visual rapture you
Tower, I still relished
the return of the same rush of victory get from, say, The Witcher 3. (Worse,
its prone to pop-ins and muddy
that overcame me in 2012.
details at long distances.) Saving the
Now, at last, we have the PC port,
world is a job, dang it, and Dragons
which takes its guise from 2013s
Dogma makes you feel it.
Dark Arisen, a retooled version of the
Jobs can be fun, of course, and the
initial release with a ridiculously
game also delivers a challenging
tough endgame zone and numerous
tweaks to various annoyances. It does brand of action thats rousing
regardless of whether its played on
little to distinguish itself from its
keyboard or gamepad. Greatswords
console forebears aside from nifty
crash with hefty weight, arrows y
features such as better textures and
with satisfying thwaps, and spells
uncapped framerates. (Apart from a
single crash over 50 hours, it ran
beautifully.) Scarred with
imperfections but entertaining to the
end, its easily one of the most
Junk can be combined into useful gear
memorable RPGs of the last decade.
It achieves this distinction almost
SKELETON
KEPT SOUR
in spite of its story. Its not bad, and
KEY
AMBROSIAL ME AT
its capped on one end by a dragon
Useful for opening doors. Obv.
Stamina food that doesnt rot!
who eats your heart as though hes
x1 Hunk of ore
x1 Airtight flask
sucking Nutella off his claw and on
x1 Shackle
x1 Sour ambrosial meat
the other by a deliciously bizarre
SLEEPER
FLASK
conclusion. In between, though, it
ARROW
OF OIL
relies excessively on backtracking
Makes baddies go night night
Keeps lanterns bright!
and indulges in too many humdrum
x1 Harpy pinion
x1 Backfat oil
sidequests. It clings to predictable
x1 Pine branch
x1 Empty flask
Western RPG conventions: in one
TRASH COLLECTOR
60
APRIL 2016
81
REVIEW
Dragons Dogma: Dark Arisen
Thats definitely
its tail, right?
APRIL 2016
61
REVIEW
FIRMER FOOTING
RISE OF THE TOMB RAIDER is a substantial improvement on Laras last outing.
By Phil Savage
CARD TRICK
Wield magic
arrows. Why
not?
62
WHAT IS IT?
The second action
adventure outing for
the rebooted Lara
Croft.
EXPECT TO PAY
$54
DEVELOPER
Crystal Dynamics
PUBLISHER
Square Enix
REVIEWED ON
Windows 10, 8GB RAM,
i5-3570k, GeForce
GTX 970
MULTIPLAYER
None
LINK
www.tombraider.com
ON POINT
Lara has access to a small selection of
weapon typespistol, rie and
shotgunand theres a variety of
styles available in each category. Most
feel good to re, the panicked
inaccuracy of the automatic rie
being the only real exception. Pistols
b
feel lightweight and clinical, while
the pump-action shotgun is a chunky
and gratifyingly deadly option. Once
again, the bow is star of the show.
Having to draw back and charge
shots provides a nice rhythm to the
combat, especially in conjunction
with some of the skill upgrades
TIMEQUAKE
EASIER
NEED TO KNOW
GR AY
HENLEY
SHIRT
Its a shirt.
Thats it.
BIG HEAD
LARA
This is
definitely
someones
fetish.
GAMBLER
Deemed too
messy for
casinos.
ONE LIFE TO
LIVE
If you die in the
game, you die
in the game.
HARDER
APRIL 2016
REVIEW
Rise of the Tomb Raider
Lara has a magical supply
of infinite glowsticks.
Wheeeee... oh wait,
I should kill that guy.
Set-pieces are regular,
but mostly unintrusive.
APRIL 2016
63
REVIEW
Rise of the Tomb Raider
Laras jacket frosts up
when shes out in the cold.
A damning indictment on
Soviet safety regulations.
Yes, yes, very pretty. Now
where is the puzzle switch?
64
APRIL 2016
REVIEW
AT TA C K T H E B L O C
1 MURALS
Level up your
language proficiency
in Greek, Russian or
Mongolian by looking
at a tiny plaque.
2 CRYPT
3 CT OH MA LBL E N G E
4 SHOP
1
2
Capitalism comes
to Siberia. Spend gold
coins on special
weapons, attachments
and outfits.
STEPPE UP
Despite arriving months after the
Xbox One version, the PC release of
Rise of the Tomb Raider is a quality
productSquare Enixs ongoing
relationship with Nixxes again paying
dividends. The graphics options are
plentiful, with a variety of ways to
tweak and customize the experience.
While my 970 GTX couldnt keep up
with the demands of running every
option at maximum, a few sensible
reductions had it running smoothly
and consistently at 60 frames per
second. And the game looks luscious,
full of sweeping vistas showing off
the harrowing beauty of a harsh and
icy wilderness.
In many ways, Rise of the Tomb
Raider is peak sequel design: a game
remarkably similar to its predecessor
with a set of expanded and additional
systems. But Rise is also better,
because it lets you spend more time
engaging with those systems. While it
doesnt fully eradicate the missteps
around the edges of interactivity, it
does let you spend longer enjoying
the core action and exploration. As a
result, its an incredibly competent
action platformer.
VERDICT
Although a little too
streamlined in places,
Rise of the Tomb Raider
does a lot to improve
upon its predecessor.
APRIL 2016
83
65
REVIEW
Aviary Attorney
The law isnt an ass, but
this librarian is.
This is a
recurring theme.
PELICAN BRIEF
AVIARY ATTORNEY is an adventure about law, revolution and murderous cats. By Matt Elliott
Thats an idle summary, which is only irrelevant questions and the case can
be thrown out. Youre forced to live
partially correct. Like Phoenix
with the rotten decisions as well as
Wright, youre presented with a case
the righteous ones, and both avor
you can only win through selective
the ending of the game. The story
cross examination and inventive use
feels reactive because of this, and
of evidence. You gather information
different playthroughs
prior to each case, via
reveal different paths.
investigation and
I found myself It often feels like
interviews. The only
theres a correct choice,
thing it has in common
imagining
its satisfying to
with Hatoful Boyfriend
Russell Crowe but
know that most options
is, well, birds.
as Monsieur have an alternate
This investigative
outcomeeven if some
element makes Aviary
Falcon
are bleaker than a bin
Attorney feel as much a
bag of broken toys.
detective game as a
The game itself is as handsome as
legal one (Clucklumbo? Hercule
Napoleons toothbrush. The character
Parrot? Dale Coop? Lets move on).
artwork is sourced directly from
Youre rarely given the full story, and
French caricaturist JJ Grandville, and
its fun to discover what actually
the backgrounds from public domain
happened by reverse engineering
your defense with whatever scraps of lithographs. Its brought to life
through unobtrusive animation, the
evidence you can nd. I loved
gures bouncing and blinking while
exploring such a rich, unusual world.
retaining the mischievous charm of
Best of all, its possible to fail
the original works.
horribly. Waste too much time on
66
APRIL 2016
NEED TO KNOW
WHAT IS IT?
A visual novel about
legal eagles set in
1840s France.
EXPECT TO PAY
$15
DEVELOPER
Sketchy Logic
PUBLISHER
In-house
REVIEWED ON
i5-3230 CPU, 8GB RAM
MULTIPLAYER
None
LINK
www.aviary
attorney.com
78
REVIEW
LONG HAUL
Our favorite route-em-up crosses the pond in AMERICAN TRUCK SIMULATOR.
By Andy Kelly
NEED TO KNOW
WHAT IS IT?
A truck driving and
business management
sim.
EXPECT TO PAY
$21
S TAT E O F P L AY
68
APRIL 2016
RETURN TRIP
Anyone who played Euro Truck
Simulator 2 may nd the game a little
too familiar in places. The interface
and structure are pretty much
identical, and it feels like theyve
picked up the old game and dropped
it into the new location. Even
different colors or visual ourishes
on the interface would have been
welcome, just to remind you that it is
indeed a new work.
As a result, if you were already
burned out on ETS2, the new setting
might not be enough to reignite your
passion. Its a very similar experience
overall. The trucksof which there
are only two available at launch
dont really feel that different to their
European counterparts. Its more like
an iteration than a fully-blown sequel.
If the SCS team are as tireless and
passionate with ongoing updates as
they are with Euro Truck Simulator 2,
ATS will only get better as it grows.
America is a vast, varied country with
a lot of different scenery, and more
states to drive through will make for
more interesting journeys. For now,
this is a polished, strangely enjoyable
simulator that you can easily lose
hours to. But if you want to travel
further aeld, you might want to wait
until there are more places to go to.
VERDICT
A great start, but
American Truck
Simulator will really begin
to take shape when more
states are added.
80
REVIEW
American Truck Simulator
Thats about as
American as it gets.
Get out of my
way, pipsqueak.
Enjoy the freedom of
the open road.
Vegas, baby!
Sorry.
APRIL 2016
69
REVIEW
DERAILED
RESIDENT EVIL 0 HD REMASTER is a beautiful, frustrating prequel.
By Andy Kelly
NEED TO KNOW
WHAT IS IT?
A survival horror game
set before the original
Resident Evil.
EXPECT TO PAY
$20
TA G T E A M
70
APRIL 2016
REMASTERFUL
Its a shame, because this is a lavish,
loving remaster, and the combination
of detailed, atmospheric prerendered backgrounds and real-time
lighting and shadows is excellently
done. I love the subtle animations
too, like the wine bottle rolling
around on a table in the dining car.
As well as the option to switch from
the old tank controls to a more
modern movement style, theres a
new mode that lets you play as
regular series villain and sunglasses
acionado Albert Wesker. He has a
range of superpowers, courtesy of the
Uroboros virus, including running
really fast and unleashing a blast of
energy from his glowing eyes. Its a
classic Resi gimmick mode, but
doesnt make up for the fact that the
core game is so disappointing.
Resident Evil 0 looks amazing,
especially considering its almost 15
years old, but it feels like a pastiche of
a much better game. Some people
might nd the need for constant,
careful item management satisfyingly
challenging, but to me it feels like
unnecessary busywork.
Throw in a messy, ludicrous
storyline (even by Resident Evil
standards) that clumsily tries to slot
itself into the larger series mythology,
unimaginative enemies, and a general
feeling that youve done all this
before, but better, and youre left with
a game thats very hard to love.
VERDICT
Tries to recreate the
magic of the original, and
fails. But, hey, theyve
done an amazing job
remastering it.
63
REVIEW
Resident Evil 0 HD Remaster
APRIL 2016
71
REVIEW
RADIO STAR
Five teenagers unleash something unpleasant in OXENFREE.
By Andy Kelly
NEED TO KNOW
WHAT IS IT?
A supernatural
coming-of-age mystery.
EXPECT TO PAY
$20
DEVELOPER
TUNING IN
72
APRIL 2016
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
83
REVIEW
Oxenfree
Use the tourist radio station
to learn about this memorial.
Now thats a
cool statue.
The art is
beautiful.
Before it all
kicks off.
APRIL 2016
73
REVIEW
The Westport Independent
PAPERS DISPLEASE
Battle an oppressive government as editor of THE WESTPORT INDEPENDENT. By Matt Elliott
APRIL 2016
NEED TO KNOW
WHAT IS IT?
A story of hardboiled
journalism under a
fascist regime.
EXPECT TO PAY
$10
DEVELOPER
Double Zero One Zero
PUBLISHER
Coffee Stain Studios
REVIEWED ON
i5-3230 CPU, 8GB RAM,
256 MB VRAM internal
card
MULTIPLAYER
None
LINK
www.doublezeroone
zero.com/westport.
html
67
POWERED BY
AND
REVIEW
That Dragon, Cancer
Theres plenty of time to play
with Joel and co. too.
BOY STORY
A family processes their sons terminal illness in THAT DRAGON, CANCER. By James Davenport
his is a true story. Amy and Ryan Green lost their son, Joel, to
brain cancer in March 2014. Games as documentation of
actual events are largely untestedhow do you communicate
grief and healing in a medium preoccupied with
entertainment? The answer isnt all that different from any
other medium: tell the story. That Dragon, Cancer is a tour through a series
of point-and-click vignettes that document Joels battle.
people in a new way, and games dont
In a rst-person sequence, I pushed
him on a merry-go-round. In another, often make an attempt as bold and
earnest as this. In one of many
the camera assumed a xed
torturous sequences, an inconsolable,
perspective as I moved the cursor
terminally ill Joel wails at the top of
between limp constellations, turning
his lungs while Ryan loses himself
them into animated creatures so a
and sends desperate
celestial Joel could take
prayers to the sky.
turns riding them.
Even if it
Afterwards, I called my
Later on, I assumed
Ryans perspective and
doesnt tell it in parents. We talked
the weather in
tried to quiet a fussy,
the best way, about
Montana and how the
tortured Joel with
it tells a
dogs are doing.
some juice, only for
him to vomit it up.
necessary story The game loses its
message during the
Throughout, the
more conceptual
familys reaction to
moments: the awkward minigame
news (good and bad) plays out
through ambient audio conversations, sections and surreal set-pieces. In
one, you control Joel as he hangs
scripted sequences, spoken poetry,
from a bouquet of inated medical
and diary entries.
gloves and oats toward a distant
For the same reasons that we see
planet. Black cancerous spores
lms or read books about difcult
threaten to pop the gloves if you
topics, games like That Dragon,
move too close, and they increase in
Cancer are valuable. Its possible for
number until eventually, reaching the
difcult media to jostle us out of
stagnancy, to see the world, concepts, planet is impossible. As a metaphor, it
76
APRIL 2016
NEED TO KNOW
WHAT IS IT?
A point-and-click game
about how a family lost
their child to cancer.
EXPECT TO PAY
$15
DEVELOPER
Numinous Games
PUBLISHER
In-house
REVIEWED ON
Intel Core-i7 6700K,
16GB RAM, GTX 980 Ti
MULTIPLAYER
None
LINK
www.thatdragon
cancer.com
75
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REVIEW
NEED TO KNOW
WHAT IS IT?
A series of increasingly
complex maze puzzles,
set on an idyllic island.
EXPECT TO PAY
$40
DEVELOPER
Thekla Inc
PUBLISHER
In-house
REVIEWED ON
i5, GTX460M, 4GB RAM
MULTIPLAYER
None
LINK
www.the-witness.net
TORTURE GARDEN
STUCK?
1 CS UH RE CR KO UYNODUIRN G S
78
APRIL 2016
2 EI SXLPALNODR E T H E
3 FP IUVZEZ-LPEA RS TT R I P S
4 INSE CI TE S S A R Y ?
REVIEW
The Witness
If you get stuck, at least
the scenery is nice.
APRIL 2016
79
REVIEW
The Witness
Very much one
of the easier ones.
I was half-expecting
Slender Man.
80
APRIL 2016
REVIEW
SCHOOLS OF THOUGHT
Other wistful metaphysical brain-ticklers
PNEUMA:
BRE ATH OF LIFE
FEZ
QUANTUM CONUNDRUM
89
81
REVIEW
JUST DESERTS
In HOMEWORLD: DESERTS OF KHARAK, all of this has happened before
(and its as good as you remember). By Rob Zacny
APRIL 2016
NEED TO KNOW
WHAT IS IT?
A ground-based prequel
to the classic space
RTS.
EXPECT TO PAY
$50
DEVELOPER
Blackbird Interactive
PUBLISHER
Gearbox Software
REVIEWED ON
Intel i5 3.1GHz
quad-core, 16GB
memory, GeForce
GTX 770
MULTIPLAYER
Up to 6 players
LINK
www.desertsof
kharak.com
CARRIER COMMAND
The two factions, the Coalition and
the Gaalsien, feel similar. In general
the Coalition units are slightly more
versatile while the Gaalsien are more
specialized. The main difference,
however, is that the Gaalsien can
produce units practically wherever
they want, while the Coalition are
tied to their carrier, which completely
changes the relationship each side
has to the map and makes for some
terric blind-mans-bluff-style
multiplayer matches.
Kharak sounded almost
sacrilegious at rst. Over a decade
since the last Homeworld, it was
going to take a game about its
spaceships and 3D movement and
turn it into a ground-based RTS with
tanks? And it was a prequel? Yet
Deserts of Kharak succeeds on almost
every count. Its not only a terric
RTS that sets itself apart from the
rest of the genres recent games, but
its also an excellent Homeworld
game that reinvents the series while
also recapturing its magic.
VERDICT
A great tactical RTS with
all the gorgeous
aesthetics and
atmosphere of the
original series.
90
REVIEW
Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak
You soon learn why Coalition
bases are so heavily fortified.
Gunship recovery
underway.
APRIL 2016
83
REVIEW
HORSE PLAY
PONY ISLAND will claim your soul, your sanity and your sugar cubes.
By Angus Morrison
84
APRIL 2016
???
NEED TO KNOW
WHAT IS IT?
An arcade game made
by Satan himself.
EXPECT TO PAY
$5
DEVELOPER
Daniel Mullins Games
PUBLISHER
In-house
REVIEWED ON
Core i5-3570K, 16GB
RAM, GeForce GTX
780Ti
MULTIPLAYER
None
LINK
www.pony-island.com
Denizens of Hell
EXPRESS PONY
Its a pity that these asides begin to
verge on repetitious, but a late-game
reskin gives them just enough life to
carry the puzzles through to the end
of Pony Islands four-hour lifespan.
That window is awlessly judged.
Short and incisive, its impossible for
Pony Island to outstay its welcome.
For the length of its brief run it
snowballs, gaining momentum until
the conclusion crashes down on you
in an avalanche of meta-commentary
and ARG elements.
Pony Island picks up themes and
ideas until its large enough to reach
past its videogame constraints and
start messing with your reality. Thats
you, the reader, not you a
hypothetical Pony Island playerit
creates the illusion (oh, please let it
be an illusion) of toying with the real
world, to the degree that when it
ended I stood up, in an ofce I had to
myself, and mimed the splatter from
my blown mind hitting the corners of
the room.
LOUEY
VERDICT
A sharp, multilayered
satire that remembers to
be a game even as it
makes fun of us for
playing it.
91
REVIEW
Pony Island
Enjoyment is mandatory.
APRIL 2016
85
EXTRA LIFE
Warwicks coming
for you, Middlesex.
86
APRIL 2016
PHIL SAVAGE
THIS MONTH
Got ideas above his station.
ALSO PLAYED
The Witcher 3, South Park:
The Stick of Truth
DUKES IN HAZARD
Earl of Warwicka middle manager of
the English feudal system. My campaign
starts on September 9, 1087, when,
according to the game, de Beaumont
took control of the region. This isnt
quite accurate, but Im not about to turn
this into a history lesson.
Pretty soon, I realize that I dont
really have anything of import to do. Im
a vassal of William II and dont have
much autonomy. So I decide to hold a
feast. It goes well, which wouldnt be so
bad if I was actually living this. The
opulence would be a tangible thing, and,
as I learned at Warwick Castle, there
N O W P L AY I N G
THE GAMES WE LOVE RIGHT NOW
That face deserves
some fanfare.
ALSO PLAYED
Hot Date
87
N O W P L AY I N G
THE GAMES WE LOVE RIGHT NOW
The cursor was there when I
entered the room, I promise.
Dont judge.
Weve all done it.
88
APRIL 2016
M AT T ELLIOT T
THIS MONTH
Drank a whole bottle of sherry,
fed spider webs to urchins.
ALSO PLAYED
Dont Starve, Knights of the
Old Republic
A STIFFENER
Id love to pretend that the game got
darker and sterner to match my tipple,
but it didnt. It comes close when I meet
Count Fulchmuckle: a servant of
Cthulhu found devouring a giant
woodlouse in a sewer. But it turns out
hes rather nice, too. Nerves steadied by
the brandy, and with the Counts sword
EXTRA LIFE
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WHY I LOVE
MUST PLAY
BEN GRIFFIN
THIS MONTH
Temporarily became very
smart by being nosey.
ALSO PLAYED
Just Cause 3
ENGLISH LESSONS
Later under Big Ben I hear people
entertain the absurd premise of having
ladies in politics. One guy is all like, No
Rhubarb rhubarb,
rhubarb rhubarb rhubarb.
APRIL 2016
89
TOP 10 DOWNLOADS
FREE GAMES STUFF FROM THE WEB by Tom Sykes
SPINTIRES
VEHICLES
CARS You spin me right
round, Spintires
he off-road Soviet truck
sim was given official
mod support recently,
and if youd guessed that
the community spent the last few
weeks making all manner of
outlandish vehicles, youd be dead
wrong. Theyve been making very
old-fashioned, utilitarian vehicles.
ORCHIDS
TO DUSK
E VAKUATOR
APRIL 2016
GAZ 21
ZAZ 968M
EXTRA LIFE
NOW PLAYING
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EVOLUTION OF
COMBAT IV
UPDATE
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WHY I LOVE
MUST PLAY
REAP
THE CURSE
OF ISSYOS
FREEWARE Save your
daughter in ancient Greece
very couple of years,
Locomalito will emerge
with another freebie that
shows the rest of us how
its done. If youve played Hydorah, or
the Ghouls n Ghosts-like Maldita
Castilla, youll know how
accomplished he is at making
classic-style arcade games with all
the polish and character youd expect
from authentic retro titles. The Curse
of Issyos is no different. Its a
platformer set in ancient Greece,
which means its chock-full of
mythical creatures that would do Ray
Harryhausen proud. Fight skeletons,
lizardmen, harpies and more, in a
game that recaptures the simple
pleasures of platformers past.
RAFT
Crafting a raft is as
simple as introducing cut logs
to water, and it opens up the
game world considerably.
TREASURE
Its mostly turnips, but
there is treasure out there too.
These maps help you get the
lay of the land.
DOWNLOAD AT www.bit.ly/CurseOfIssyos
APRIL 2016
91
TOP 10 DOWNLOADS
FREE GAMES STUFF FROM THE WEB by Tom Sykes
DOWNLOAD AT www.bit.ly/TickTockIsle
92
APRIL 2016
GMDX
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WHY I LOVE
MUST PLAY
A WAD WINNER
1SKULLDASH
2015 CACOWARDS
2VALIANT
10
3RETURN TO HADRON
TIMRUK
FREEWARE I can read you like a book
tudio Oleomingus
mythical larger game
Somewhere cant come
soon enough, given these
exquisite tantalizing glimpses. Timruk
is the latest short adventure from a
world very like our own: an alternate
India, perhaps, where stories affect
reality, and where people find
themselves trapped inside the pages
of books. As you read about such a
APRIL 2016
93
U P D AT E
WHATS NEW IN THE BIGGEST GAMES
NEED TO KNOW
RELEASE
DEVELOPER
Out now
Kojima Productions
PUBLISHER
LINK
Konami
www.konami.jp/mgs5
CROC CAP
94
APRIL 2016
RICKY
DIVINE EQUINE
FISHY BUSINESS
SPIRIT OF MGS
Cloak and Dagger is the most original
mode, with one team attacking and
the other defending. The attackers
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WHY I LOVE
Yeah, I think
hes probably dead.
MUST PLAY
APRIL 2016
95
R E I N S TA L L
OLD GAMES, NEW PERSPECTIVES
Its as endearing as it
is unpolished
96
APRIL 2016
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WHY I LOVE
MUST PLAY
LITTLE BIG
ADVENTURE 2
Underappreciated classic, or casualty of nostalgia? By Phil Savage
will admit, I was
nervous about
returning to Little Big
Adventure 2. For the
most part, the games
of my formative years have held up,
but LBA2 is different: it never
found its place in the PC canon. Its
a niche, cult adventureintensely
loved by a group of people who, for
all I know, were equally deluded.
When stripped of the comforting
blanket of nostalgia, its probably
rubbish. Right?
NEED TO KNOW
RELEASED
DEVELOPER
1997
Adeline Software
PUBLISHER
LINK
EA
www.littlebigadventure2.com
UPPERS AND
DOWNERS
Twinsen can do different
things in the game
depending on his mood
NORMAL
SPORTY
AG G R E S SI V E
Get up in an enemys
face, assuming they
dont use ranged
weapons on you. Makes
you look drunk.
DISCREET
Twinsens impression of
Elmer Fudd hunting
wabbits. Each step is
accompanied by a bass
note, which is brilliant.
APRIL 2016
97
R E I N S TA L L
OLD GAMES, NEW PERSPECTIVES
Twinsen suddenly realizes
his home is a very silly place.
My new fighting
technique is unstoppable.
LITTLE CHANGES
By the start of Little Big Adventure 2,
Twinsen is established as the hero of
a world that seemingly doesnt need
saving. His ceremonial tunic and
magic medallion are on loan to the
local museum. The intro pans
through the rooms of his house,
showing pictures of his previous
adventure before moving through to
the half-built nursery that announces
the pregnancy of his girlfriend, Zoe.
With its serene, slow pace and
haunting musical refrain, the
moment is ruined only by Twinsen
himselfhis brash, jarring voiceover
lowering the established tone.
98
APRIL 2016
LIGHT HOUSEKEEPING
Soon after this, the aliens turn up.
The opening of LBA2 is pretty sedate:
your only problems are a storm and
an injured ying dinosaur pet called
Dino-Fly. Twinsen must clear the
storm by rescuing a lighthouse
keeper. Its this that triggers the alien
invasion. They espouse peace and
friendship, but pretty soon the
planets wizards and children go
missing under mysterious, clearly
extraterrestrial circumstances.
One of the strangest things about
the campaign is how backloaded it is.
Much of the early quest revolves
around collecting things and
completing tasks across Citadel and
Desert Island. Youre constantly
hopping back and forth between the
twoheading to Desert Island to nd
the wizard academy, to Citadel Island
to x your car, and then back to
Desert Island to jump that car over a
cliff (the wizards require this as a
condition for joining their order, even
though car tricks are not inherently
magical). Twinsen travels back and
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MISPLACED BALLS
The biggest issue is the tank controls.
Twinsens turning circle is appalling,
which hurts when your primary
attack is so geometric. Twinsen is
armed with a magical bouncing ball,
because his life is ridiculous. But
aiming it in the isometric indoor
levels is a nightmare. More often than
not, youll miss your target multiple
times before landing the hit. Its
99
WHY I LOVE
WHAT MAKES GAMES SPECIAL
HOPE IN
FALLOUT 4
The sequel represents real progress from Fallout
3s bleak post-apocalyptic world. By Samuel Roberts
RIGHT: If you linger
in Sanctuary Hills too
long at the start, the
nuke goes off and
kills you. Serves me
right for defying
canon, I guess.
100
APRIL 2016
EXTRA LIFE
NOW PL AYING
NEED TO KNOW
RELEASED
EXPECT TO PAY
November 2015
$60
OUR REVIEW
LINK
88%
www.fallout4.com
DOWNLOADS
UPDATE
REINSTALL
NUCLEAR FAMILY
In Fallout 4 your character still faces
a grim start: he or she is searching for
their kidnapped son, their partner
having been shot dead. But from
there, youre surrounded by mostly
supportive and exciting allies. They
cant be killed, either: permadeath
has been taken out. Fawkes died in
my Fallout 3 game moments after
telling me he couldnt possibly ally
himself with someone horrible
enough to blow up a town with a
nuke just for a neat apartment.
Fallout 4 isnt as concerned with
presenting a miserable world full of
loss and experiences you cant
recover fromno matter how bad
DIAMOND CITY
GOODNEIGHBOR
SANCTUARY
THE PRYDWEN
WHY I LOVE
MUST PLAY
APRIL 2016
101
EXTRA LIFE
NOW PLAYING
PHIL
SAVAGE
DOWNLOADS
UPDATE
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WHY I LOVE
MUST PLAY
BE AT THE HORDE
WARHAMMER:
END TIMESVERMINTIDE
GUILD WARS 2
www.battle.net/d3
I love all sorts of games,
both big and small. My
aim is to put all of the
games into a big vat,
and dive into it like
Scrooge McDuck.
www.vermintide.com
MUST
BROGUE
www.bit.ly/broguegame
P L AY
A PERSONAL LIST
OF THE BEST
GAMES YOU CAN
PLAY RIGHT NOW
by Phil Savage
southpark.ubi.com
KICK AN ORC
SHOOT A GUN
DARK MESSIAH OF
MIGHT & MAGIC
FALLOUT 4
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APRIL 2016
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Your
essential
guide to
competitive
gaming
UP YOUR GAME
EVENTS
PEOPLE
LEARN FROM
THE VERY BEST
GAMES
MORE!
G E T S TA R T E D AT
www.pcgamer.com/pro
L AUNCH PARTNERS
UPGRADE
GROUP TEST
By Dave James
APRIL 2016
HARDWARE
Group Test
Q&A
What are the basic
SSD designs?
Theres the classic
2.5-inch SATA, although
performance has
stagnated due to the
~600MB/s bandwidth of
that interface. And now
were seeing PCIe-based
drives too, some offering
a theoretical maximum
throughput of 4GB/s.
Are all PCIe SSDs the
same?
The old mSATA interface
has largely disappeared
and SATA Express was
dead on arrival, so we
only need concern
ourselves with the M.2.
But even M.2 drives are
not all the same. The first
used the old AHCI
protocols for standard
hard drives, which limited
their ability. Non-Volatile
Media Express protocols
(NVMe) are designed for
the speed of SSDs.
Can any PC use PCIe
SSDs?
You need a motherboardmounted M.2 port if you
want the most direct
connection, but you can
also use the same PCIe
connections you use for
graphics cards. And you
can pick up a PCIe/M.2
adapter to fit a spare slot
for just $30.
How big an SSD should
I buy?
The 500GB mark is
probably the sweet spot
right now, offering the
best combination of
performance, value and
space for a decent Steam
library. The 240/250GB
mark is still a decent
compromise for the
budget-oriented.
Dictionary
PCIeThe high-speed
interface that connects
your PC to your graphics
card, perfect for SSDs.
NANDthe memory
used in SSDs. It doesnt
require constant power
to retain data, unlike
forgetful PC memory.
Memory controller
manages the flow of data
in and out of an SSD and
its memory, and thus a
crucial component.
APRIL 2016
105
HARDWARE
Group Test
1
www.intel.com $1,000
www.samsung.com $329
88%
106
APRIL 2016
91%
CRUCIAL BX200
www.crucial.com $300
www.ocz.com $289
75%
81%
APRIL 2016
107
CRUCIAL MX200
www.samsung.com $155
www.crucial.com $95
The MX100 drive was one of the stand-out SSDs of the last
generation, offering a great combination of performance and
price... but only at the 512GB level. At 250GB the MX100 was a
bust, so what of the 250GB MX200?
90%
108
APRIL 2016
79%
HARDWARE
Group Test
STACKED UP
PRICE ($)
SEQUENTIAL
PERFORMANCE (MB/s)
Higher is better
Write performance
Read performance
COMPRESSION /
TRANSFER SPEED (s)
Lower is better
5GB compression
30GB mixed file transfer
1,000
2136
1175
120
69
1423
163
82
Crucial BX200
300
443 506
455
92
OCZ Trion
289
421 497
428
109
208
74
Crucial MX200
www.hyperxgaming.com $95
95
464 508
279
91
218
Capacity
Memory controller
Memory
Interface
1.2TB
Intel NVMe
PCIe
512GB
Samsung UBX
M.2
960GB
SATA 6Gbps
960GB
Toshiba TC58
SATA 6Gbps
ESSENTIALS
500GB
Samsung MGX
SATA 6Gbps
84%
481 500
76
250GB
Marvell 88SS9189
SATA 6Gbps
240GB
Phison PS3110-S10
SATA 6Gbps
APRIL 2016
109
YOUR NEXT PC
BUYERS GUIDE
Build the best PC for your budget
ADVANCED
MID-RANGE
BUDGET
KEY
Budget build
Mid-range build
Advanced build
110
APRIL 2016
HARDWARE
MOTHERBOARD
PROCESSOR
GRAPHICS CARD
COOLER
MEMORY
SSD
H81M-P33
POWER SUPPLY
Buyers Guide
MSI $46
A bargain-priced microATX board that pairs
nicely with the Pentium G3258, letting you
overclock into 4GHz+ territory.
Intel $70
Ludicrously cheap and overclockable, the
dual-core G3258 rivals far more expensive
processors in gaming performance.
Sapphire $200
AMDs R9 380 is a refreshed R9 285, but it
still packs enough power to handle 1080p
gaming at a decent price.
Crucial $51
Cheap, low-profile, and reliable. Does its job.
The best 8GB youll find.
EVGA $45
A reliable PSU with enough juice to run your
CPU and a reasonably power-hungry GPU.
BX100 250GB
CASE
VX2263SMHL
T O TA L
$938
HEADSET
MOUSE
DISPLAY
BUDGET
BUILD
Carbide 200R
KEYBOARD
Crucial $85
Thinking about skimping and going
HDD-only? Dont. The BX100 is much faster
and a fantastic performer for the price.
Corsair $70
The 200R gets the job done with toolless
trays and plenty of space. ATX-sized, so you
can upgrade that microATX board later.
Viewsonic $130
An affordable 1080p monitor with vibrant
IPS image quality and low response times. A
real bargain.
Coolermaster $80
A no-frills mechanical keyboard with a
standard layout and Cherry switches. We
recommend Browns or Reds for gaming.
HyperX Cloud
Kingston $80
Our favorite gaming headset, and it happens
to be as cheap as plenty of inferior cans. A
good buy for any gaming rig.
APRIL 2016
111
HARDWARE
MOTHERBOARD
PROCESSOR
i5-6600K
GRAPHICS CARD
COOLER
MEMORY
POWER SUPPLY
CX600M
SSD
Buyers Guide
Asus $160
The latest revision of our favorite gaming
motherboard, with an M.2 PCIe x4 slot, Intel
network port, USB 3.1 and SLI support.
Intel $243
Intels new Skylake processor is nearly as
fast as an i7 for gaming. Comes with some
important memory/storage speed boosts.
MSI $335
Offers the best price/performance ratio
right now, and MSIs model is cheap and
overclockable, with a quiet cooler.
Corsair $65
8GB of reasonably fast DDR4, and one of the
cheapest deals youll find. Corsair is reliable,
and the RAMs overclockable too.
Corsair $65
80Plus Bronze efficient, with enough power
for a good gaming PC. Modular design is a
great perk that cuts down on cable tangles.
T O TA L
$1604
112
APRIL 2016
CASE
DISPLAY
KEYBOARD
G257HU
K70 Vengeance
Deathadder 2013
HEADSET
MID-RANGE
BUILD
S340
MOUSE
Samsung $98
Samsung retains its top spot on the SSD pile
with the fantastically priced, very speedy
850 EVO. Still the best price/performance.
NZXT $75
The stylish S340 has some nice touches,
such as removable dust filters and space for
huge liquid cooling radiators.
Acer $280
A step up from 1080p to 1440p territory,
with a vibrant IPS display and good response
times at a strong price.
Corsair $110
A great, full-size mechanical keyboard with
an ergonomic wrist rest. We recommend
Cherry Brown or Red switches for gaming.
Razer $58
Theres not a huge range of price differences
on the best mice, so stick with the best for
your mid-range build too.
HyperX Cloud
Kingston $80
Even for our medium build, we still
recommend this decently-priced headset.
Theres nothing better for the money.
HARDWARE
Core i7-6700K
GRAPHICS CARD
SSD
POWER SUPPLY
COOLER
Intel $339
Intels new top-of-the-line Skylake processor.
Its new chipset includes important memory/
storage speed boosts.
MEMORY
PROCESSOR
MOTHERBOARD
Buyers Guide
MSI $520
Right now the GTX 980 is the best value
single-GPU card for ultra 1080p and 1440p
gaming, bar none.
Corsair $120
Quiet, cool and capable of providing even the
most aggressive overclocker with more than
enough headroom to hit that 5GHz mark.
Kingston $137
Thanks to insanely low timings, these two
8GB sticks of DDR4 are more than enough.
CASE
Predator XB270HAbprz
144Hz G-Sync
Ducky One
T O TA L
$3037
HEADSET
MOUSE
DISPLAY
ADVANCED
BUILD
Noctis 450
KEYBOARD
Samsung $155
The 850 EVO is so good, theres not much
need to step up to the more expensive 850
Pro for a gaming rig. Just get a bigger drive.
NZXT $130
Thanks to its innovative interior layout and
daring design, this case is a pleasure to work
in and a beauty to behold.
Acer $800
Simply the best: a 27 1440p 144Hz IPS
display, with Nvidias variable refresh tech.
Ducky $120
An elegant set of keys from mechanical
keyboard fan favorite Ducky. Renowned for
their impeccable feel and build quality.
Deathadder 2013
Razer $58
Even if youve got money to burn, the
Deathadder really is the best mouse you can
buy right now.
H Wireless
SteelSeries $273
Our favorite wireless gaming headset, with
great sound quality and a convenient battery
swapping system for long gaming sessions.
APRIL 2016
113
ISION
IV
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PRAISE FOR THE WRI
LITERARY REVIEW
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H.A.W.X. SRIX
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ULTTRA
114
APRIL 2016
...UNTIL
MARCH
29
90 2
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