videogames
Previeww w w.sci fi n ow.co.u kMarvel’s spider-Man
is just the beginning
of the biggest gaMe
releases you can't Miss
WORDS louise blain
064 |
swing
when
you’re
winning
Think of gaming in 2018
and the first thing that probably
pops into your mind is the Fortnite
plague currently ravaging the earth.
If Battle Royale against 12 year
olds with faster reflexes isn’t your
thing though, there’s a dangerous
selection of incredible video games
on the horizon. We’ll start with
something.... friendly.
marvel’s spider-man
pl atforMs: PS4
developer: Insomniac Games
release date: 7 September
Videogames are a perfect fit for superheroics.
Swishing cape physics. Flight. The strength
to throw goons through skyscrapers. It’s
odd, then, that over the last few years, only
Rocksteady’s Arkham series has ruled the
gargoyle-covered roost with its brooding
atmosphere and crunchy combat. Well it
looks like it’s time for the Dark Knight to step
aside for someone less monochrome obsessed.
Ma r vel’s Spider-Man is swinging
exclusively on to PS4 later this year from
Ratchet And Clank studio Insomniac
Games, and, from everything we have seen
so far, this is shaping up to be an open-world
web-slinging adventure so good that Tom
Holland will wish he had leaked the name
on Instagram.
First off, it’s important to note that
Marvel’s Spider-Man has nothing to do
with the MCU. Insomniac has worked with
Marvel on a standalone adventure with an
experienced 23-year-old Spidey. This Peter
Parker has been wearing the suit for eight
years, meaning less time spent on a laborious
origins story, and more on beating goons
to a pulp with webbed up sandbags and
punning at the same time. Sacks to be you.
No? Never mind...fisT impressions
If you have fond memories of swinging
through Manhattan all the way back in
2004 in Spider-Man 2 on your PS2, don’t
worry, so does Insomniac. Hurtling across
the New York skyline is a dream here, and
Spidey’s hometown finally looks as good as
you remember the old game looking at the
time. This is a world of glittering skyscrapers
and busy streets just teeming with bank
heists to foil and goons to take down. Sure,
there’s cinematic story set pieces and villains
like The Kingpin and Green Goblin, but it’s
perching on a skyscraper and taking in the
sights where you truly feel like a friendly
neighbourhood Spider-Man.
Leaping down to earth for fisticuffs is a
joy. Combat is (web) fluid and intuitive with
Arkham-style counter attacks complete with
Spidey’s signature gymnastic grace. This is
no ordinary suit either. There’s tech hidden- we won’t ask where – that allows you to
place web mines and even web bombs. Plus,
bringing in the environment is easy too.
Anything that can be grabbed with
your web and used as a projectile,
will glow at an opportune moment to let
you sprinkle in even more goon pain into
the mix with manhole covers or wall vents.
Whispering kapow at the same time is, of
course, entirely optional. Spidey’s back.
Better let the Bugle know.desTiny 2: forsaken
pl atforMs: PS4, Xbox One, PC
developer: Bungie
release date: 4 SeptemberDestiny fans have been through the wringer
over the last few years. While sprawling
space Bungie’s MMO has always had
shooting as satisfying as that entire Reddit
thread of things fitting inside each other, the
rest of Destiny 2 hasn’t quite delivered on a
number of fronts. The Forsaken DLC is here
to fix all of that. There’s not just a cinematic
campaign – complete with the death of a
major character *sob* – here but also a
stack of endgame fixes to keep everyone
grinding for that sweet, sweet loot. Random
drops will be returning to the fore, and each
Destiny class – Hunter, Titan and Warlock
respectively – is getting a new super to feel
suitably heroic with.
Forsaken is also landing with a new raid
and a new multiplayer mode called Gambit.
So far, so Destiny, you might think but
Gambit is by far one of the most compelling