009THE 100 GAMES TO PLAY NOW
Spec Ops: The Line
Shootingup asandstorm
FORMATPS3/YEAR 2012 /PUB2K GAMES/DEVYAGER DEVELOPMENT/ISSUEOPM #73/SCORE6/1057
Is it all a dream? Are you a dead soldier in Purgatory? Or is Spec Ops: The Line ‘just another third-person shooter’? It’s a little of everything.
Coming at a time when shooter fatigue was setting in, this one went under the radar but has since picked up a cult following. The story is
inspired by Heart Of Darkness and Apocalypse Now, and sees Captain Martin Walker lead his team into a Dubai overrun by sandstorms and
terrorists. Moral choices affect the story and the violence takes its toll on Walker’s mental stability – did you just burn alive some terrorists or
your own Delta teammates? Not a faultless shooter, but a perfect PS Now game.
For Honor
Onetota ke a stabat
FORMAT PS4 / YEAR 2017
PUB UBISOFT
DEV UBISOFT MONTREAL
ISSUEOPM #134/SCORE7/10
56
This is one of those
games that probably
passed you by at launch
but has been consistently
supported by Ubisoft with free DLC
and events, even up until last
month. The idea sounds like a
National Geographic Channel show,
as warriors from across history
battle to be champion. Choose
from Vikings, knights, samurai, and
more, each with a unique skillset,
buffs, and weapons. The combat
includes a novel system to target
weaknesses in a rival’s armour.
The online community is still
strong, and seasonal content
keeps For Honor fresh.
Sniper Elite 4
OntargetonPS Now
FORMAT PS4 / YEAR 2017
PUB REBELLION DEVELOPMENTS
DEV REBELLION DEVELOPMENTS
ISSUEOPM #137/SCORE7/1054
Super-shot Karl
Fairburne is back in
action in this boy’s own
take on World War 2, and
it’s fitting this comic book slant is
developed by the house of 2000AD.
Playing like Hitman’s louder,
gun-loving relative, each level is a
large sandbox map ripe for stealth
kills and sniper shots. The AI
system allows for some leniency,
with enemies unable to see your
hiding spot until you miss a target,
then you get a few seconds to
sprint to a new location. Each new
mission brings more challenges
and a lean into exploration and
creative kills keeps you on mission.Castlevania: Lords
Of Shadow
A whip-smarttreimaginingg
FORMAT PS3 / YEAR 2010
PUB KONAMI / DEV MERCURYSTEAM,
KOJIMA PRODUCTIONS
ISSUEOPM #54/SCORE9/1055
Produced by Hideo
Kojima, this new take on
the classic vampire-
slaying series mixes
Shadow Of The Colossus and God
Of War influences into the
Castlevania exploration. Combat is
swift and melee-focused, with new
abilities unlocked as progress is
made and items uncovered. Every
stage has unique gameplay to
master and the adventure flows
with the kind of cinematic glee
you’d expect from a game with
Kojima on the credits. The sequels
Mirror Of Fate and Lords Of
Shadow 2 are also on PS Now.Journey
DesertdelightforPSN
FORMAT PS3 / YEAR 2012
PUB SONY / DEV THAT GAME
COMPANY / ISSUE OPM #69
SCORE10/1053
An enchanting adventure
about trekking through
the most beguiling sandy
expanses you’ll ever see
and an incredibly canny co-op
experience to boot. Stumbling
across another lonely robed figure
and suddenly discovering they are
actually being controlled by a living
person is an incredible thrill, and
few games have ever conjured
such a compelling sense of
camaraderie. The mesmerising
Austin Wintory score also goes
down as one of the finest in
PlayStation history. Oh, and those
billowing scarves? Damn.Fallout: New Vegas
Whathapppenssin Vegas...
FORMAT PS3 / YEAR 2010
PUB BETHESDA SOFTWORKS
DEV OBSIDIAN ENTERTAINMENT
ISSUEOPM #51/SCORE8/10
52
Trading the Capital
Wasteland for Nevada,
you’re a delivery man
trying to recover a
package stolen by Chandler Bing.
Well, Matthew Perry anyhow. Its
launch was beset by bugs, but
since the exterminators have been
patched in New Vegas’ charm
shines as brightly as the Strip’s
casino lights. With a busier world
than Fallout 3’s and multiple
callbacks to the series’ PC origins,
the revenge tale feels markedly
different to Bethesda’s in-house
take on post-apocalypse, and
debates about which game is
better continue to rage on.
XCOM 2
TheJRPGGwithX appeal
FORMAT PS4 / YEAR 2016
PUB 2K GAMES / DEV FIRAXIS GAMES
ISSUEOPM #129/SCORE9/1051
Earth has been
compromised. The XCOM
military force is now a
resistance, fighting
against the alien occupation of the
planet. Quite simply this is the best
turn-based tactics game on PS4.
You take your squad from mission
to mission, developing their skills
and specialisations as you go.
Mission variation prevents you
feeling like you can always play it
safe, instead forcing you to adapt
on the fly and take on quicker
objectives. But don’t be
intimidated, there’s a range of
difficulty options available for the
uninitiated. Not played a tactics
game in a while? Give this a whirl.Mirror’s Edge
Leap,slid de, anndwallrunof ffaith
FORMAT PS3 / YEAR 2008
PUB EA / DEV DICE
ISSUEOPM #25/SCORE9/1049
Flying (or, more
specifically, leaping) in
the face of the slow
first-person shooters
that weighed PS3 down, Mirror’s
Edge dropped incessant gunplay in
favour of seat-of-your-pants
acrobatics and free-running. Sure,
there technically are guns in it, but
stop long enough to take aim and
the forces of the City will cut you
down in a second. Your real
weapon is parkour. With little more
than a run and crouch button, you
can sprint, slide and leap around
the bright utopian rooftops with an
empowerment that changed the
rules of the genre forever.Resident Evil Code:
Veronica X
Oldgoldoon PSSNow
FORMAT PS3 / YEAR 2011
PUB CAPCOM / DEV CAPCOM
ISSUEOPM #64/SCORE6/1050
This HD edition of the
classic Resident Evil
entry is well worth your
time. Forget its age, and
its Dreamcast-y visuals, this is
classic Resi how you remember,
and sadly the only game in the
original 32-bit series on PS Now.
Playing as Claire and Chris Redfield
you need to escape an Umbrella
island facility, defeat the villain, and
fend off traditional Resi zombies. If
you’ve enjoyed the recent Resident
Evil 2 remake, then drop in and
play the series DNA. If you’re after
more Resi, both Revelations 1 and
2 are also on PS Now.