FE ATURE
2022 Preview
ARK 2
A multiplayer survival game with
dinosaurs that you can ride? And also Vin
Diesel for some reason (he’s not yet
confirmed rideable)? Sure, why not, sign
us up. But we’re certainly hoping it’ll be
more accessible – and less rough around
the edges – than the first game.
RELEASE 2022
AVATAR: FRONTIERS OF
PANDORA
Set in the world of the movie that’s
apparently still getting a sequel one day,
Massive Entertainment’s first-person
adventure casts you as one of the Na’vi
protecting their home planet from the
RDA invasion.
RELEASE 2022MARVEL’S MIDNIGHT SUNS
T
here’s going to be a
whole bunch of
spandex-clad Marvel
characters to command
here and, as it’s a
combat-focussed title being developed
by Firaxis, it’s going to bear some
resemblance to the game the studio is
best known for; Sid Meier’s SimGolf.
No, wait – I meant to say XCOM.
Loosely based on the comic series Rise
of the Midnight Sons, a whole bunch of
heroes have come together to defeat
Hydra and the demon Lilith.
That team includes enough variety
to please everyone, from cinematic
successes including Captain America,
Iron Man, and Wolverine, to comic fan
favourites like Blade and Ghost Rider, to
more obscure picks such as masters of
the arcane Magik and Nico Minoru, and
more. You’ll pick your squad of two from
this hefty roster, and lead them into
battle as player character ‘the Hunter’, a
fully customisable superhero created
specifically for this game.
Combat is turn-based, but it’s not
quite what you might expect. Attacks
and abilities are literally dealt out via a
card system. Cards come in three
flavours; Attack, Skill, and Heroic. A
character’s Heroic is their most
powerful attack, and requires sufficient
Heroism – built up during play – in order
to activate. Firaxis promises that the
different heroes will all feel very different
to play, and on top of those signature
abilities everybody will be able to make
use of the environment for attack and
defence. You can move around the
combat area until you use an ability,
picking the best position to use your
next card from. In the Sabretooth fight
streamed by the developer, for example,
Wolverine knocks out four enemies at
once by kicking a big bin at them. Why
wasn’t that in any of the movies?It’s a more different approach from
XCOM than you might expect, though
given the significant change in subject
matter it makes sense that Firaxis isn’t
resting on its laurels. Combat looks
streamlined and rather less deadly, but
no less tactically interesting, with all the
new systems introducing their own
wrinkles and opportunities.
It’s not all wandering around looking
for people to heroically kick the living
crap out of, mind you. Between
missions you, as the Hunter, will be able
to explore the Abbey. This is your base
of operations, where RPG elements will
come to the fore. You have a pet
Hellhound called Charlie (yes, you can
pet the dog in Midnight Suns), a whole
building (and outer grounds) to explore,
and a selection of Marvel heroes to hang
out with. Chatting to your super-pals will
increase your relationship over time,
allowing you to live out your fantasy of
being best friends with Dr Strange. No,
you can’t kiss him.RELEASE Late 2022 | DEV Firaxis Games | PUB 2K Games | LINK midnightsuns.2k.com