M’AIQ THE LIAR – THE ELDER SCROLLS
The Elder Scrolls’ cat-faced, narcotic-loving Khajiit are perhaps the most
entertaining non-human race in the fantasy series. M’aiq The Liar is a recurring
Khajiit character who has appeared in Morrowind, Oblivion, Skyrim and The Elder
Scrolls Online, and, as you’d expect from his name, he’s a bit of a fibber. Originally
a developer Easter egg, or kind of in-joke, he’s a source of misinformation
whenever you meet him. In the Elder Scrolls Online there’s even an achievement
called ‘I Like M’aiq’ for listening to him telling porkies in every region in the
game. Since ESO is set 1,000 years before Skyrim, it seems that all of M’aiq’s
untrustworthy ancestors are called M’aiq. Or so he says, but he could be lying.
PALICOS – MONSTER HUNTER WORLD
Cats are notoriously bad at being any use for anything whatsoever apart
from, when they feel like it, allowing you to pet them. A Palico, on the other
hand, is a very helpful puss indeed. As your monster hunter’s companion, your
customisable Palico fights alongside you and has a whole bunch of useful
support abilities – from health-restoring Vigorwasps, to monster-blinding
Flashfly Cages – that help you track down and defeat the beasts in Capcom’s
action RPG. This is great news for everyone who would love to be able to dress
cats up in little clothes, because you can equip your Palico with armour, hats,
even weapons. And aww, they look so cute!
BLACKSAD – BLACKSAD: UNDER THE SKIN
John Blacksad is a hard-nosed detective straight out
of the best noir detective fiction and... wait a minute,
he’s a CAT! In Pendulo Studios’ forthcoming adventure
game Blacksad: Under The Skin, based on the graphic
novels of Juan Díaz Canales and Juanma Guarnido, all
the characters are upright-walking animal-humans
living in ’50s New York. Our titular hero gets mixed up
in a murderous conspiracy, of course he does, when
he’s hired by the daughter of a boxing promoter to
investigate his death. Despite the cartoony art style
and zoomorphic characters, Blacksad: Under The
Skin is a mature game with some pretty hard-boiled
themes. By the way, he works for two tins of Whiskas
a day, plus Dreamies.BLINX – BLINX THE TIME SWEEPER
This plucky feline could have been Xbox’s own Mario,
if he’d only been any good with the plumbing. Master
Chief was considered a little too violent, and tall, to
make a good family-friendly mascot, so a rather more
furry-faced character was proposed. Unfortunately,
although he carried a vacuum that could hoover
up time, Blinx lacked that je ne sais quoi required
to make a memorable mascot, and uninspiring
platforming means the game has largely been
forgotten. Except by us, of course. We keep banging
on about him in the magazine. Come on, he’s a cat
with a time Hoover! Blinx did at least get a sequel,
called Blinx 2: Masters Of Time And Space, and it was
absolutely stunning in its averageness.More Xbox news at gamesradar.com/oxm THE OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE 109extra