A GAMING APE RETURNS

GamNOTs

Edition-1
 THE RESURRECTION
Editorial
Fall Guys
Ultimate Knockout Reaches 50 Million
Players in Less Than 20 Days
After Going Free-To-Play

ART
DOOM
A London arcade pays tribute to the pass-
ing of Nintendo president Satoru Iwata in
We’ve double-dipped on Doom over the summer. Firstly this moving painting
dazzled by a return to old-school form via the Bethesda E3
conference reveal then blown away by multiplayer hands-on
at this year’s QuakeCon.
Here’s exactly why you should be excited about its return.

ROCKET LEAGUE: REVIEW

FORZA MOTORSPORT 6
AI system that pooled data from real-world play-
ers racing is making a return in Forza 6, and the
team has adapted data from Forza 5 and Horizon
2 to test the game. So in a way, we’re already
racing in Forza 6.

THE PATH OF DESTINY

The second part of our shooter double-bill this month, and the
first half of our double-issue look at Destiny sees us looking

RAZER
ahead to the future of Bungie’s shared world adventure. Can
Taken King fix the first year problems of the title? We run

X
down the changes.

A BATHING APE
 Fall Guys:
Ultimate Knock-
out Reaches 50
Million
Players in Less
Than 20 Days
After Going
Free-To-Play
Do you know what that smell is? began its free-to-play run, as seen a rise in popularity, with play-
Well, that smells like the return the title reached the 20 million ers seemingly enjoying everything
of Fall Guys season, as the plat- player mark 48 hours after it new that Mediatonic has to offer,
form Battle Royale title has been became free on Epic Games which includes a level creator
the talk of the town since its shift and other platforms. that's been teased by the develop-
to become a free-to-play title. ers.
Following the game's initial Eventually, the free-to-play hype
It's been over two weeks since hype during its launch, Fall will soon die down.
Mediatonic gambled by going Guys' success tapered off for
free-to-play with its marquee a while, as fans complained However, with constant updates
game, and it seems to have about the lack of diversity with and content additions, Fall Guys:
paid off, as Fall Guys: Ultimate its maps and challenges. Ultimate Knockout might be on a
Knockout crossed a major mile- However, with the recent shift path to success for years to come,
stone of 50 million players within to a free-to-play model and thanks to the game's fun and in-
20 days. new additions in terms of ventive platform gameplay.
Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout maps, challenges, and collab-
has been on a roll ever since it orative outfits, the game has
 SATORUIWATA: A TRIBUTE
LONDON ARCADE’S MURAL OF NINTENDO DEV AND PRESIDENT

“You want it done because it’s special,” says Heart of Gaming manager
April Pereira Finn, who along with her sister Anna, spent three days
painting this mural tribute to Iwata after news of his passing last month.
Artists since childhood (April’s commissioned work for online digital
pieces, Anna’s studying animation at university), they spent a few days
deciding who’d make the cut (“mainly characters he worked on or had
to do with while he was President,” Anna explains) and the two collabo-
rated on painting the piece, mixing basic acrylics to get the colours right
(“Kirby got painted twice. He had an awful tan”), with Anna capturing
Iwata’s character perfectly. “He was a funny, lovely guy. That had to go
into the picture,” April says, stating that the other tributes that had him
laying at rest were “sweet, but too morbid. You celebrate someone’s
life.” You can only see it if you go to the arcade, as they have no plans
to reproduce the original. It’s worth the trip
 GHOST RECON WILDLANDS
If there's one thing Ubisoft knows how to do, it’s surprise One argument against games with a
reveals at E3. That, and how to put together great announce- huge amount of content is that the quality
ment trailers. To the beat of Imagine Dragons’ Friction we varies significantly; side-missions can be
were introduced to a whole new take on Ghost Recon as amazing diversions as much as they can
Ubisoft’s now famous E3 conference closer surprise was prove gradually more arduous as they play
dedicated to Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Wildlands this year. as little more than re-runs of the same lim-
The concept and structure felt new and markedly different for ited gameplay loop. It’s worth noting that
one of Ubisoft's oldest and most successful franchises. Yet the team is keen on repeating the mantra
somehow it felt very familiar and perfectly in line with what that there is no side content here, some-
the company has been doing over the last five or so years... thing that Ubisoft's open-world offerings
See, a lot of Ubisoft games share DNA, offering similar typically overflow with. Instead everything
features or mechanics. The publisher has invested a ton of has a purpose and funnels into the main
research and development into open-world games, and in campaign.
some ways this means that games like Assassin's Creed, The game isn't class based, but instead
Far Cry and Watch Dogs blend together (even The Crew had you'll be able to equip your soldier with
familiar elements). Now it seems we'll soon be able to add appropriate gear and weapons to create
Ghost Recon to that list. Critics point to this "Ubisoftification" your own class. Wildlands is set four years
as something negative, and if you're a completionist these from now and the Ghosts are engaged
games can certainly be a chore, but on the other hand what's with the war on drugs, taking out cartels in
wrong with games that offer lots of things for the player to Bolivia. This means we're mainly dealing
do? As long as it's left up to the player to decide what to do with current and up-to-date military tech,
and how to do it... including personal drones that each sol-
There's two sides to the coin, but obviously for this title it will dier is equipped with. The basic concept
be vital to retain as much of Ghost Recon's DNA as possible is that you're tasked with attacking the
- and the focus on squad-based tactical action is perhaps strongholds of the cartels and taking out
what the game offers at its core that's different from the other the leaders. A bit reminiscent of Pandemic
open-world games Ubisoft has released as of late. Studios' Mercenaries in a way.
 While it reads like the standard missions seen many times Exactly what this means, well, we're not quite
in sandbox and open-world titles, it’s the game world and your sure. It could be that you can repeat missions
approach in interacting with it - while deciding strategy with and that it will only help your progression if you're
your team - that’ll make for an experience that’s more fleshed doing that with a friend. Or it could be that the
out and offers more depth to your approach to any given situ- entire game is procedural and that all the pro-
ation. Perhaps the most apt description is that Ghost Recon: gression is kept with the player (so you progress
Wildlands offers a co operative take on GTA Online, but here and open up more challenging missions). The
you're playing as the "good guys", and naturally Bolivia isn't notion that there are no side missions is an in-
Los Santos. Bolivia may not provide you with the sprawling teresting one. Another take would be that it's all
metropolis in GTAV, but in terms variation there's plenty with side missions that you can deal with in any order
dense jungles and mountains as well as more arid desert-like you want. But Ubisoft has yet to detail any over-
areas. The day and night cycle and the option of going in loud arching narrative; maybe there isn't even one.
or taking a more stealthy approach reminds us a bit of Metal
Gear Solid V, even if going loud has more in common with Far Even if it's early days and we're still left in the
Cry 4 than Hideo Kojima's sandbox finale to the Metal Gear dark about many of the mechanics and perhaps
series. more importantly about the main story structure
One thing that is interesting and that offers a slightly new of the game, it should be said that the playable
angle is the option of creating in-fighting between various fac- code shown off at E3 looked both polished and
tions. The E3 demo showed an example where a cartel was pretty complete in terms of features. Some fans
meeting with the corrupt military police, and sniping one person may be disappointed that the new Ghost Recon
from each side was the spark the powder keg needed to ex- deviates from the formula we've grown used
plode. Sit back, watch the fallout, mop up the remainder. to, and perhaps some are disappointed that it
How progression works In Ghost Recon: Wildlands has yet to clearly borrows from other open-world games,
be revealed. The developers told us in an interview that each but having seen Ghost Recon: Wildlands in ac-
player would progress their own individual story when playing tion we're starting to salivate at the prospect of
together so you should theoretically be able to play together exploring and exploiting this sandbox with three
with anyone at any point. friends.
Rocket League proves that a brilliant idea perfectly executed- a goal, you can earn points that bump
up your level and you can unlock cus-
can be as powerful as a blockbuster budget or a 60-hour plus tomisation options that allow you to
campaign. In the past month, it’s the game that has cropped up personalise your cars. But at the end of
most in conversation amongst game-playing friends, and our the day the playing field is level, and it's
Facebook feeds have been populated with videos showcasing about the skills you bring to the game.
amazing goals. The concept takes football and marries it to Even if bots have to be drafted in
stunt cars as the chosen sport of the future. The game's great- to make up the numbers, it’s still a
est strength is its simplicity. There's remote control-like cars, well-balanced game. Matches are
there's a giant ball, there's a goal. Car hits ball into goal. Simple. tense, but ultimately they're enjoyable,
Well, it would be, except for multiple rocket-powered cars hur- often even when you lose. This most
tling around the arenas tends to cause chaos, and often match- notably when you jump into split-screen
es descend into violent ramming attacks and opportunistic mode. It's during battles for possession
goal poaching. It doesn't matter though; it's all fun and games. that the simplicity of the mechanics
There's a selection of game modes, and we'll start with the makes way for the nuanced tactics that
solo activities, as they're a nice warm up to the main multiplay- can be employed by a confident play-
er event. First up - once you've got the training modes out of er, with rebounds and passes between
the way - there's the standard exhibition mode, and in that you teammates and angled shots all quickly
can practice matches from 1v1 through to 4v4. The lower the becoming an integral part of every play-
headcount, the more straightforward the match, and so a one er's repertoire of tricks.
on one is pretty tame when compared to the chaos of a four We've really enjoyed our time with the
on four game. In the former it's more about individual skills, game thus far - even the solo matches
while in the latter it's about taking advantage of the on screen when servers were down - but our only
carnage and grabbing the moment to score when it arises. (very minor) concern comes regarding
There's also a seasons mode, where you'll set up a team longevity; it remains to be seen if the
and play in a mini-league, with the winners then entering into game has the hooks to you keep you
a knock-out playoff before the champion is announced. Both playing regularly beyond the first couple
single-player modes are nice distractions, a way to spend of weeks. But short or longterm, Rocket
a few hours, but it's the multiplayer that really stands out in League offers fantastic multiplayer fun,
Rocket League. Using the points you earn for competing in so much so that it makes for an easy
matches, including actions within each match such as mak- recommendation.
ing saves, setting up your teammates, or, you know, scoring
 FORZA MOTORSPORT 6
Our final Forza 6 demo gave us a teaser as to what to expect next dry daytime tracks, and it's a good way
month. We tested out a vibrant daytime race in Rio with the supercar to show off what can happen in the new
Ford GT, a night circuit at Sebring International Raceway with the 24-car races, an increased car-count that
powerful Lamborghini Huracán, and a wet race around Brands Hatch emphasises the need for strategy.
behind the wheel of an Audi TTS Coupé. Turn 10 admit to having been inspired
We first tested the wet asphalt to see how they've tweaked the by Horizon 2’s stimulating visual ap-
weather effects in both visuals and how it affects grip. The truth is that proach, and that Playground Games’ title
it shows from the first corner. The vaunted "3D puddles" may indeed also served as a reference point when
cause aquaplaning in a way we haven't seen in previous games, but implementing improvements elsewhere.
the effect may well be somewhat exaggerated (we’ll race other class-
es of cars and tweak some settings before complaining or praising this The latest addition of particular interest
big new feature). That said, their visual recreation is great. is what they’re proposing for the new Ca-
The other new setting comes via the night-time races, which in turn reer Mode, finally discarding the formula
are divided into two types: those lit only by the headlights of cars whereby you begin with poor rides and
("with claustrophobic feeling," as described by franchise manager work up to the bigger leagues. Now the
Chris Bishop) or night circuits that are fully lit, but where the reflec- team’s focused on recreating moments
tions of the lights and the number of light sources completely change from the history of motorsport, such as
the experience. The race with the Lambo was the former, and of the rivalry between Ferrari and Ford in
course the changes are not noticeable in terms of driving/handling the 60s, arranging a series of events to
(the Huracán’s response was like other models available in Forza 5), keep jumping us between classes so we
but are when it comes to visibility. It's no doubt an interesting addi- can experience a wide range of cars from
tion, but we remain unconvinced that the lighting compares favoura- the garage across more than 70-hours
bly to the beautifully realised sunny stages. Although it may also be spent in the main mode. With 450+
that the circuit chosen by the developers is a little uninspiring in itself ForzaVista cars at launch, 26 tracks, 24-
For these reasons we really, really enjoyed racing in Rio, first with car races, and this renewed campaign
the brand new Ford GT, then with a 60s-era Ferrari. Bishop boldly mode, it seems like it might be the com-
claimed that it's probably the best track found in the entire Forza se- plete current-gen racer that Forza 5 never
ries, and it does have that special something that begs for a replay. quite managed to be.
It demonstrates the expertise of the studio when it comes to realising System XBOX ONE Dev TURN 10 Publisher MICROSOFT Release SEPTEMBER 15 2015