Hyper Issue 268

In some key respects, Far Cry has long been the open-world-shooter series that could. The potential has always been there. Getting caught up in those unscripted moments of gunplay, when the brown stuff hits the fan, but you manage to shoot, ram, or explode your way to victory have always felt satisfying. But whether it’s tacky protagonists, lacklustre storytelling, or undercooked mechanics, Far Cry has consistently fallen short of being downright addictive. Ubisoft Montreal is gunning to change this for Far Cry 5. From the outset of my hour-long hands-on time with Far Cry 5, in gorgeous 4K on a PS4 Pro, it’s clear the devs are leaning heavily into championing player empowerment. The best and most obvious way to achieve this goal in any sandbox shooter is by continuously…

THE ROSTER HAS BEEN EXPANDED TO INCLUDE THE LIKES OF POE DAMERON'S BLACK ONE X-WING It really isn’t hard for Star Wars Battlefront II to improve on the shortcomings of the 2015 reboot. The loudest gripes for Dice’s 2015 attempt are easily addressed: add more content, throw in a campaign, and boost multiplayer depth. Sorted! (Sorry, devs.) So far, what I’ve seen and played of Battlefront II shows that, like John Williams’ iconic film scores, the developers are targeting all the right notes. There’s promising compartmentalisation, with three studios playing to their strengths. Dice is in charge of the bulk of multiplayer. The newly formed narrative-focused Motive Studios is handling the campaign. And master-mechanics Criterion Games, renowned for the Burnout series, are rebuilding and tuning the vehicular parts of the…

After years of blazing further into the future, Call of Duty has finally returned to its World War II roots. It’s a bold step, for sure, even if there’s been a vocal percentage of the fan base calling for this kind of move for years. In fairness, CoD is on a three-year development cycle, which means, like an aircraft carrier, it’s not so easy to turn around. On one hand, a viable response to future fatigue, the promise of grounded weaponry, and a return to squad-based battling are all strong pros to justify the return to CoD’s roots. On the other, the escapability born of the sci-fi gadgetry of tomorrow’s fictional battlefields has been left back in the future. Considering Call of Duty has always been (and continues to be…

THE ONLY THING LEFT TO DO IS WAIT FOR THE LIGHTWEIGHT BUT NIMBLE ONE TO BE REVEALED Anthem will likely be one of the highest profile games - shooter or otherwise - of next year. But despite being in development for four years and the star of EA’s stage show at E3 2017, it remains a game shrouded in mystery. To be honest, we’re still trying to answer the question: what is Anthem? We know it’s in development at BioWare, the RPG powerhouse best known in recent years for its Mass Effect and Dragon Age games. Specifically, we know development is being headed up by BioWare’s Edmonton studio, the same studio that took the lead on all three Dragon Ages and the Shepard trilogy of Mass Effect before that series…

When it comes to arena style shooters there are two names that pop up time and time again as being the cream of the crop – Quake 3: Arena and Unreal Tournament. Unfortunately, even though Epic Games released a number of sequels to Unreal Tournament, the series never really picked up the steam it needed to flourish. Unreal Tournament 3 in 2007 was the last UT game until a new arena shooter simply titled Unreal Tournament was announced in 2014. You can definitely be forgiven for thinking that three years of development is a heck of a long time to get something into Pre-Alpha, but when you find out who is actually making the game it all makes sense. Rather than simply developing a new game and looking for a…

Quake Champions sits uncomfortably between two eras. There is something impressively and addictively old-school about the map design and the speed of play that makes Quake Champions feel like a blast of high-resolution Quake 3: Arena, but there is also a fine spray of unwelcome modern features that muddy the affair somewhat. Instead of all the characters being nothing but model swaps, Quake Champions goes the Hero Shooter route and gives each “Champion” their own special powers. And then there are the ubiquitous loot boxes with cosmetic pieces. Rather than taking over the game, however, these modern additions just feel out of place and more than a little unwelcome. At its core, Quake Champions is still Quake. For those who never had the pleasure of playing Quake 3: Arena, picture…