THE SPY
The Spy promises to
stop watching nature
documentaries
before missions.
heSpyslipsoutofa darkalley
andontothehighstreet,
makeshiftbandagesanda
bloodstainedshirthidden
underneatha thickcoat
regretfullystolenfroma market
stall.TheSpyscansthecrowded
thoroughfare,lookingfor...
something.Atraceofrecognition;
predatorytriumph.Reader,thejob
wentbad.Suddenly,somethingunexpectedhappens.A
man,lostinthought,walksheadfirstintoa lamp-post.Whatthoughtssofullyconsumedthisman’sattentionas
tocausehisfaceandheadtocollidewitha muchsturdier
object?Perhapsthebetterquestionis whatdidn’t?There’s
justsomuch... pleasenowpictureTheSpygesticulating
widelyinanattempttoconveythebreadthanddepthof
howmuchthereis.
Sixyearsago,theCrimeanPeninsulawasannexedby
Russia,leading,bywayofanintricatewebofgeopolitical
agreementsandglobaltradedeals,tothenear-collapseof
theUSdairyindustry.Onehundredandsixyearsago,
GavriloPrincipstoppedata localsandwichshopaftera
failedassassinationattempt,
leading,bywayofa driver
mistakenlyturningdown
thewrongsidestreet,toone
ofthelargestglobal
conflictsinhumanhistory.
Approximately13.8billion
yearsago,theuniverseappeared, leading, by way of time and an abundance of
matter, to the existence of anglerfish. It’s a wonder people
aren’t walking into lamp-posts all of the time.
And yet, despite the existence of anglerfish, and the
bewildering series of events that led to them, somehow
we manage to go about our day. People still go to work.
People still meet up with friends. People still escape –
beatenandbruised,but defiantly alive – from elaborate
trapsoftheirenemy’s making. People still listen to
Ubisoft’sfinancialcalls to get a sense of the next year of its
tentpolereleases.Five such releases are due before April
2021.Threeareknown already: Watch Dogs Legion, Gods
&MonstersandRainbow Six Quarantine. The remaining
twoare,accordingtoKotaku’s Jason Schreier, a new
Assassin’sCreed– which is long-rumoured to be about
Vikings– anda newFar Cry. Not present in that list are
space-faringprequelBeyond Good & Evil 2, which is likely
stillsomewaysoff,and multiplayer pirate adventure Skull
&Bones, whichhasreportedly been rebooted multiple
timessinceitsrevealin E3 2017. Also not present is the
‘AAAVRProject’that Ubisoft is now hiring for, which will
bebasedonanexisting series.FISHINGFORLUCKIES
Somemightarguethat VR is too niche a platform to be
worthinvestingin,but The Spy can see the appeal. Virtual
realitiesarebuiltbya team of people to a specific,
manageablesetofrules – a kind of shallow proximity of
simulationina spacethat can be measured, studied and
understood.And,while these playground facsimiles could
containanglerfish,they would do so for a reason. Not
necessarilya goodreason – maybe an art director just
thinksthey’reneat– but nonetheless an active, traceable
thoughtprocess.That’s a comfortable contrast from real
reality,inallitsinfinite chaos.
Hourslater,TheSpy approaches the safe house, giddy
from blood loss and with a
head full of anglerfish.
Suddenly, something
unexpected happens. The
Spy, lost in thought, walks
headfirstinto a lamp post.
Spyout(cold).
The Spy1
2010 wasanexcitingtimeforMMOs.
ThecynicalWorldofWarraftcash-ins
were(mostly)dead,anda newwaveof
projectspromisedtoevolveandimprove
thegenre.Andsure,lookingback,many
fellshortofthataim– yes,we’relookingat
you,APB– butwealsogotplentyof
genuinelygreatonlinegames,including
thismonth’scoverfeaturestar,Bioware’s
StarWars:TheOldRepublic.(^3)
Not everything was rosy in the land
of PC gaming. Previews for this issue
detail Crysis 2 and Splinter Cell Conviction
- both shallower, more consolised versions
of once classic, complex PC series. Crysis
2 did, at least, run pretty well on the PCs of
its day, very much unlike its predecessor.
(^2)
Rich
McCormick
marks his debut
issue by gaming on
a laptop for a week.
Luckily the laptop
could handle
Barkley, Shut Up
and Jam: Gaiden,
so he was fine.
ISSUE
212, April 2010
ON THE COVER
Star Wars: The Old
Republic
IN THE CINEMAS
Kick-Ass
This month in... 2010
A NEW ASSASSIN’S CREED –
WHICH IS LONG-RUMOURED TO BE
ABOUT VIKINGS
NEWS | OPINION | DEVELOPMENT
BUTWHOWATCHESTHESPY?
The Spy