optional cutscenes where characters
bicker and question each other’s
motivations and allegiances. That
really creates an uncommon sense of
character growth as, over time, they
learn to trust one another.
Weirdly enough, a lot of this
internal growth is demonstrated by a
character’s outward appearance.
Piece by piece, Alphen slowly
dismantles his iron mask and reveals
more of his face. But Tales of Arise
also has a surprisingly deep fashion
system wherein you can collect
garments from owls hidden on every
map and equip them to characters.
It might sound silly, but I’ve
become obsessed with this feature
because it’s such a cool way of
showing how my party is growing
over time. Alphen started the story in
tattered threads but is now sporting a
suit of shiny black armour. Having
this kind of freedom over the look of
my characters is fun considering
most JRPG heroes never change
their clothes once (imagine how
stinky they must be). Really, though, I
think what’s telling is that Tales of
Arise has made me care so much
about its characters that I’ve become
a doting mother shouting for them to
put a sweater on because it’s cold
outside.
THE GAMESWELOVERIGHTNOW
NOW PLAYING
The superb detail of the
remaster does get lost
at high resolutions.N
o prompt in Red Alert
fills a fan with dread
like the words “Timer
started”. Much of the
satisfaction I get from
strategy games comes from the long
hauls – building an immaculate
base, lining all of your tanks up
before the final attack, and so on,
but when the timed underground
missions in Red Alert crop up, all
luxuries are out of the window.I’ve got 45 minutes on the clock to
rush two sets of troops around
underground soviet bunkers
deactivating missile silos. This being
C&C, the map is of course completely
black with fog of war, and these
condensed missions are as much
about visibility as they are combat.
My southern-most group include
a spy, the not-so-subtle parody of
James Bond in full dinner jacket and
dicky tie. He sounds the same as he
always did, but the crispness of the
Remastered version is so staggering I
swear I can see his cufflinks.
Despite just being a man in a
dinner jacket, he’s somehow invisible
to everyone except German
Shepherds, so I send him on through
the tunnel to scout ahead. He replieswith his classic Sean Connery “Yesh
shir, on my way” and off he goes.
The bunker is maze of tunnels
littered with soldiers, explosive
barrels, weird floor markings, and
flame turrets that turn infantry into
sizzling fireballs. Despite the hazards,
the timer always keeps me moving,
usually with the Spy front and centre.THE WORLD IS NOT A WOOF
After dozens of saves and loads, the
mission is nearly over, both groups
have rendezvoused, but I’ve only got
two soldiers, one engineer, and the
spy left. As we reach the final room
we’re faced with an attack dog, a
hefty group of soviets, and a flame
turret, and although neatly lined up
next to explosive barrels the only way
to detonate the turret is to rush your
engineer to a side panel to press the
trigger. Realising I have to get the
engineer past, I make the tough
decision to sacrifice the spy to the
German Shepherd. The spy lets out
his final “For king and country” as
he’s unceremoniously mauled to
death whilst the engineer blows the
turret to smithereens. As the mission
ends I realise I’ve essentially just
watched Sean Connery get eaten by a
dog, in hi-res.Conqueringa bunkerinREDALERT:REMASTERED
“Sean Connery’s just
been eaten by a dog”
JOHN STRIKE
THIS MONTH
Helped launch a
comedyclub.
ALSO PLAYED
Operation Flashpoint:
CWC