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First play + superstar interviews!
Issue 269 Nov 2013
44
GTA V
“A CONSOLE GENERATION’S
WORTH OF TECHNICAL
AND MECHANICAL
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08
Gamescom
18
In future years, what
will people remember
most about 2013? Nextgen consoles are safe
bets, but don’t be
surprised if this year
goes down in history
for one single game.
Grant Theft Auto V is
that very title: the only
release we know of that
can steal the spotlight
away from an entire
new console generation. And as we
discover on p44, it’s no longer ‘just’ a
massive sandbox epic but a sprawling
MMO-esque experience like no other.
New online experiences are a clear
trend this month. This issue we’ve
gone hands-on with Destiny (p30),
Batman: Arkham Origins’ controversial
multiplayer (p34), The Elder Scrolls
Online (p24), and travelled to Infinity
Ward for the first ever play of Call of
Duty: Ghosts’ multiplayer (p26).
Jump online to our Facebook and
Twitter feeds, meanwhile, and you can
chat about the latest releases and join
us in Final Fantasy XIV:
A Realm Reborn
and GTA Online.
Enjoy the mag!
WWE 2K14
When a gaming heist is called for only
one team is good enough for the job…
www.facebook.com/
officialgamesmaster
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Text us
Text GMMESSAGE then your text
*See p92 for cost, terms and condto 87474*
itions
Email us
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MATTHEW
SAKURAOKAGILMAN
DANIELLA
LUCAS
IAN LLOYDEDWARDS
STEPHEN
HANLON
Safecracker
Getaway driver
Cleaner
Conman
The greatest security
systems in the world
can’t keep Dani out –
she can bust through
any lock with a simple
bit of prodding.
GM’s art ed can whisk
people away from harm
by motorbike, boat,
van... you name it.
“Train?” “Nah,” he says,
“it comes naturally.”
Dep art ed Stephen
used to be a bouncer,
so is the perfect man
to hide bodies and take
out guards on cue. With
his feather duster.
Writer Matt smooth-talked
his way into secret parties
galore at GamesCom.
We’re not sure how – his
jokes are the bratwurst.
ALEX DALE
Pickpocket
Alex boats about being
able to lift jewellery,
wallets and watches
without a problem.
Anything heavier than
a bag of sugar and he
struggles, though.
For all
the latest
gaming
news!
NOVEMBER 2013
05
Issue 269 November 2013
Upfront
08
All the latest announcements from
Germany’s Gamescom as GamesMaster
investigates the race to next-gen dominance.
Previews
18
After the first grapple with WWE 2K14
we suplex TESO into submission and lock
Batman: Arkham Origins into an armbar.
Fanbase
40
A new sack of letters in the GM office
sparks discussions about licking your
magazine and gaming fortune cookies.
GTA V
44
Your complete launch guide to Grand
Theft Auto V: get comfortable in the new
setting and Rockstar talk Los Santos!
Reviews
56
The massive influx of games begins!
Splinter Cell: Blacklist, Lost Planet 3,
Disney Infinity, Rayman and more get scored.
MobileMaster
24
The ’riel deal
Tamirel’s story is just beginning. Morrowind, Oblivion
and Skyrim were huge, of course, but hands-on with
The Elder Scrolls Online has us gasping for more...
78
More great games picked apart by our
mobile expert Matt SG, who goes drilling
for soil in the sumblime Plants vs Zombies 2.
We
Old Games
82
Our GTA special isn’t just reserved for
entry number V. The genre-defining
Grand Theft Auto III gets Legendary status...
Subscribe
90
If you’re not a subscriber already
make this your first port of call. Save
serious money and get the mag early? Top stuff!
Gadget Giveaway
92
It’s our biggest prize draw ever. We’ve
got over £10,000 worth of gadgets and
high-tech gear to give to one lucky reader!
Hall of Fame
94
The best games money can buy for
your consoles, with added Bonus Level
nods for those bubbling under the Top Tens.
06
NOVEMBER 2013
26
Dog Soldiers
We send the GM Army over to Infinity Ward for a lengthy
playtest of Call of Duty: Ghosts’ multiplayer overhaul.
Mobile
56
Fisher slice
Does the long-awaited return of Sam in
Splinter Cell: Blacklist light up our year?
Or should it have stayed in the shadows?
Find the game you
want to read about in
an insta-flash!
Batman: Arkham Origins
360, PS3, Wii U, PC p34
Beyond: Two Souls PS3 p12
Broken Sword: The Serpent’s Curse
PC, PS Vita, Mobile p12
Call of Duty: Ghosts
360, PS3, Wii U, PC, XO, PS4 p26
Deadfall Adventures 360, PC p36
Destiny 360, PS3, XO, PS4 p30
Diablo III 360, PS3, PS4 p64
Disney Infinity
360, PS3, Wii U, PC, 3DS, Wii p66
60
Dragon Age: Inquisition
360, PS3, PC, XO, PS4 p14
Ray’ mysterio
Move over Mario! There’s a new platforming
king of Wii U in the form of Rayman Legends.
Boy was the wait worth it...
DuckTales Remastered
360, PS3, Wii U, PC p73
Fable Legends XO p12
Flashback 360, PS3, PC p69
Grand Theft Auto V 360, PS3 p44
Killer is Dead 360, PS3 p64
Killzone: Mercenary PS Vita p70
Kinect Sports Rivals XO p12
Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 Remix PS3 p76
Lost Planet 3 360, PS3, PC p62
March of War PC, Mobile p75
NHL 14 360, PS3 p76
Peggle 2 XO p12
WIN!
OVER £10,0
OF GADG 00 WORTH
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GEAR!
34
The Bane Event
Gotham City Impostors was one thing,
but can the Batman: Arkham Origins
multiplayer live up to the expectations?
Plants vs Zombies 2 Mobile p78
Pokémon Rumble U Wii U p73
Rayman: Legends
360, PS3, Wii U, PC, PS Vita p60
Rime PS4 p12
Rocksmith 2014 360, PS3, PC p36
Sir, You Are Being Hunted PC p38
Skylanders: Swap Force
360, PS3, Wii U, PC, XO, PS4, 3DS, Wii p36
Splinter Cell: Blacklist
360, PS3, Wii U, PC p56
The Bureau: XCOM Declassified
360, PS3, PC p68
The Elder Scrolls Online PC, XO, PS4 p24
The LEGO Movie: The Videogame
360, PS3, Wii U, PC, XO, PS4 p36
The Sims 4 PC p12
The Wonderful 101 Wii U p72
30
Dest to impress
WWE 2K14 360, PS3 p18
The biggest shake-up of the shooter genre
since Halo? We go hands-on with Destiny
and discover a world we never want to leave.
Countless numbers of cars were jacked
during the making of this issue.
NOVEMBER 2013
07
S
NEWS! OPINIONS! IN
Contents
The little black
box is this season’s
must have.
Ready... Fight!
10 It’s
a battle of the little black boxes as
even more next-gen info is revealed.
Big Shots
12 All
the latest and greatest shots from
this years Gamescom.
How
excited
are you about…?
NEXT-GEN
Tell us on
Facebook and Twitter!
www.facebook.com/
officialgamesmaster
and twitter.com/
gamesmaster.
Time
14 Question
The inquisition is coming in the latest
addition to the Dragon Age series. We look
at the first info.
Month in Games
15 The
We take a closer look at what’s coming
Current-gen FIFA (pictured) looks
good, but at preview stage the game
plays better on next-gen.
up in September-October.
For all
the latest
gaming news!
computerandvideogames.com
08
NOVEMBER 2013
AC III had severe performance issues on
current-gen, and Black Flag’s wider scope seems
designed with next-gen machines in mind.
IDER INFO!
Raid-io 2
Antichrist Alive!
Square Enix have confirmed a next-gen
follow up to the GM Gold Award-winning
reboot of Tomb Raider. A comic series
will bridge the narrative gap between
the games. The news comes as part
of a welcome and forthright open
letter to fans from newly appointed
CEO Phil Rodgers.
Dungeon Keeper’s been kept underground
for far too long. Peter Molyneux’s brilliant
mix of tactics, tunnels and torture was
always prophesied to return – we just
didn’t think it’d be in mobile form.
EA have made a pact to bring a Mythicmanufactured reboot to iOS and Android
devices this Winter.
CURRENT-GEN
MIND THE
(GENERATION) GAP!
NEXT-GEN
How current to next-gen game transfers will
make your console upgrade more palatable...
ou need to be on
next-gen. If the glut of
PS4 and Xbox One
exclusives out there
weren’t enough
to sway you, just take a glance at how
scaled-down many cross generation
titles will be in their current-gen forms.
FIFA 14’s next-gen version will be powered
by EA’s new sports-focused Ignite enigine.
According to the game’s executive producer
David Rutter this leads to potentially, “ten
times as much animation”. We’ve played
both versions and there’s a clear difference
– not just in visual fidelity, but in player
reaction times and passing smoothness.
Compared with next-gen’s version, currentgen FIFA feels unwieldy and lethargic.
Elsewhere CoD: Ghosts will feature a
disparate difference in lighting and
texture quality, while released footage
of the current-gen version of Watch Dogs
is clearly substandard when compared
with the beateous visuals we’ve been
weaned on until now (or the likes of this
gen’s GTA V, even).
Y
So are we all to simply wait it out until
we can afford a next-gen console, then? Not
necessarily. Freshly revealed at Gamescom
comes an answer to our cash-saving prayers…
Transfer season
360 and PS3 versions of many of these
dual-gen titles will have transferring saves
enabled. Should you pick up a copy of CoD:
Ghosts on your 360 you’ll eventually be able
to move any accrued save data across to
your next-gen version. Better yet, said
next-gen version will land in your living room
for a significantly reduced price. In the case
of CoD: Ghosts this is confirmed as a neat
£10. This could even end up undercutting the
price of the full game on next-gen!
How will it work? Will we have to take our
current gen copies of these games back to
the shop to hand them in for our next-gen
versions? Amazon and Gamestop are
offering trade in deals for next-gen upgrades
in America, though we’ve yet to see
confirmation of the ins and outs of the
system in the UK or Europe. And what about
downloadable versions? Noises from the
Expect a huge visual leap when
upgrading Watch Dogs – and don’t
rule out busier crowds, either.
Sony camp indicate a likelihood that a PS3
disc will be required to download discounted
PS4 versions.
But how in the blazes will saved data
from a non-backwards compatible game
shift over to a next-gen console? It’ll likely
involve the Cloud but the mind boggles at
the sheer convenience of it all.
While we clearly need to upgrade, Sony,
Microsoft and the myriad publishers
working with them are attempting to
financially lubricate the transition for us.
What about yourself, fair reader? Are you
leaping face first into next-gen, or will you
take the current gen hit on titles like Watch
Dogs and Battlefield 4? Join the debate over
on our Facebook and Twitter feeds!
Upgradey bunch
Confirmed publishers/titles to enable cross generation upgrades
EA
Battlefield 4
Madden NFL 25
FIFA 14
Warner Bros.
TBC (possibly LEGO
Marvel Super Heroes)
Ubisoft
Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag
Watch Dogs
Activision
Call of Duty: Ghosts
(£10 confirmed)
NOVEMBER 2013
09
Who’s
winning?
You decide! Let us know
where your allegiance
lies on Facebook
and Twitter!
rakka-BOOM! PS4’s launch
date is confirmed! Ready
your living rooms (and your
wallets) for 29 November in
Europe. That’s two weeks
after the US. Before you start making a sad
face, remember: that’s nowhere near the
four month wait we had to endure for PS3.
Sony diehards will finally get to experience
the global phenomenon that is Minecraft.
Sony revealed at their Gamescom press
conference that Mojang’s crafty masterpiece
will launch across PS4, PS3 and, enticingly, PS
Vita. Sony also announced a glut of new titles,
many from independent developers. These
included N++, the revival of the 2D classic
platformer N+, and Vlambeer’s (of Ridiculous
Fishing and Luftrausers) Wasteland Kings.
K
Vita bella
The Chinese Room’s (of Dear Esther fame)
apocalyptic title Everybody’s Gone to the
Rapture will hit PS4, as will Mike Bithell’s (of
Thomas Was Alone) new stealth multiplayer
10
NOVEMBER 2013
game Volume and Chucklefish’s incredibly
ambitious sci-fi Terraria alike Starbound.
Other announcements included the PS Vita
versions of Borderlands 2 and Fez, while the
new Little Big Planet Hub will also touch down
in free-to-play form. The impressive Remote
Play feature, which allows you to play PS4
games on your PS Vita, was also demo-ed.
A whole bunch of PS4 accessories and
peripherals were outed, including snazzy PS4
‘Magma Red’ and ‘Wave Blue’ DualShock 4
controllers, available from launch. The big S
showed off pad chargers (take that batteries!)
and the vertical stand to keep your console
upright. Oh, and not to forget the reveal of
PS4’s Twitch streaming capabilities and a 14
day trial for all new PS Plus subscribers.
Finally, SCE president Andrew House took a
mighty swipe at Microsoft during Sony’s
Cologne press conference. “While others have
shifted their message and changed their story,”
he said, “we were consistent in maintaining
policies and a model that is fair and in tune with
consumer desires.” Feel the burrrrrn!
CONFIRMED
LAUNCH GAMES
Assassins Creed IV: Black Flag
Battlefield 4
Call of Duty: Ghosts
DriveClub
FIFA 14
Just Dance 2014
Killzone: Shadow Fall
Knack
LEGO Marvel Super Heroes
Madden NFL 25
NBA 2K14
NBA Live
Need for Speed: Rivals
Skylanders Swap Force
Watch Dogs