onsidering Mass Effect:
Andromeda was roughly
as popular as a vegan
restaurant that serves
panda burgers, BioWare
really needs a win with this hugely
ambitious sci-fi MMO. And even though
Destiny 2 recently became the sole
property of Bungie, publisher EA would
love to have the sort of time-sink
shooter that Activision has enjoyed.
Whether Anthem can attract
Destiny’s obsessively loyal fanbase
remains to be seen. If nothing else,
BioWare’s latest sees the studio
operating outside of its usual, single-
player, narrative-driven comfort zone.
Significant portions of the game play
out in first-person; much of the focus
is on playing with others; and most
shocking, you can’t hump anyone.
Sure, you can befriend the quest-
givers back at the central hub area
Fort Tarsis, but Mass Effect under-the-
sheet shenanigans are off the table.Just Lance
BioWare is doing everything possible
to make Anthem feel like a single-
player experience that you can also
happen to enjoy with friends. When
you send your Freelancer and their
superpowered, customisable Javelin
suit out into the field, you can pair with
two other players, but once the
mission is over, you return to Tarsis
alone. Every decision you make in the
hub, be it the quests you take or
relationships you make, is also
individual to your playthrough, not
shared with others.
Mass Effect’s legendary cutscene
camera has been ditched for a first-
person alternative. It’s hard to argue
with the decision. If there’s a better-
looking game on the horizon than
Anthem, we’ve yet to see it. Hot damn
if the Frostbite 3.0 engine isn’t
capable of the most eye-arousing
results. If the game’s athletic third-
person shootouts deliver, and BioWare
attracts a committed community, your
Xbox could well produce the sweetest
of shooty songs this month. QC
“Hot damn if the Frostbite 3.0
engine isn’t capable of the
most eye-arousing results”
ABOVE Storm,
Ranger and
Colossus suits.
LEFT “Are you
doing anything
later? Fancy
coming back to my
Fort Tarsis pad?”ETA 22 FEBRUARY PUBLISHER EA DEVELOPER BIOWAREJavelins are
exo-suits piloted
by the freelancers
out in the world
beyond the hub of
Fort Tarsis. There
are four types of
Javelin, and these
roughly break down
into traditional
RPG types. So
your Ranger is
an all-rounder, a
damage-dealer; the
Colossus is big, and
basically a tank;
Storm makes use
of ranged attacks,
kind of like a mage
class, while the
Interceptor makes
for a more stealthy,
thief-type class.SUITS
YOU, SIR
ANTHEM
034 THE OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE2019 PREVIEW
BIOWARE’S MMO AIMS TO TOPPLE DESTINY