A new lease of
RESIDENT EVIL 2
ESIDENT Evil 2 is the answer to a million prayers.
A remake of the 1998 sur vival horror sequel, the locations, characters and plot will be familiar but critical changes to the original’s fixed-camera gameplay cannibalise Resi’s recent achievements – from the enhanced third-person viewpoint that builds on Resident Evil 4’s action-focused regeneration of the series, to the torchlight atmosphere and constant level of danger peeled from Resident Evil 7’s more horrifying territor y.
The result is the most accessible, playable, visceral and wonderfully thrilling Resi game ever, one that gives centre stage to the incredible zombies (complete with deformable limbs and killer resilience).
Late game locations pale in comparison to the iconic RPD station, but Resident Evil 2 is an infectious masterpiece.
HJON SHAFER’S AT THE GATES
WORLD-DOMINATION games urge you to expand your territory and build new settlements, but At The Gates is different.
As a nomadic Dark Ages tribe, you have only a single settlement, which can be uprooted and moved to seek out more abundant realms or, later in your civilisation’s development, turned into a permanent kingdom.
As a barbarian, your ultimate goal is the sacking of Rome, but getting there will take generations of time.
Months to explore surroundings, years to harvest resources, decades to build an army. This glacial pace should have been an opportunity to interact with the period’s fascinating history and lend some valuable texture, but instead your experience of At The Gates is destined to be a long, unsatisfying slog.
MINI METRO
MINI Metro echoes the pleasingly minimalist style of real-world underground transport design.
Each of the 20 stages, from London to Cairo, is made up of sparse geographic constraints (the North/South divide of the Thames, for instance) and an increasing layout of stations.
The puzzle begins as you link stations with lines, seeking an efficient flow of passengers by upgrading train carriages, making best use of your limited number of water-spanning tunnels or rebuilding a line altogether.
Touchscreen control is fine but occasionally fudgy when altering existing lines, but the Joy-Con is dreadful, making it necessary to pause whenever changes are needed, disrupting the otherwise zen-like flow.
Handheld mode is essential, and appropriately fitting, to enjoy this neat challenge.
MAGES OF MYSTRALIA
MAGES Of Mystralia is an unfortunate blend of a bewitching idea and disenchanting gameplay.
The story is hardly inspiring, constructed of bare cliche and undercooked dialogue: Evil mage king, blah ; magic ban, blah ; young exile, blah. But once runaway waif Zia is
KINGDOM HEARTS III
FIFA 19
RED DEAD REDEMPTION 2 SPYRO REIGNITED TRILOGY NEW SUPER MARIO BROS. U DELUXE
MARIO KART 8 DELUXE
CALL OF DUTY: BLACK OPS 4 CRASH BANDICOOT N.SANE TRILOGY
SUPER SMASH BROS. ULTIMATE GRAND THEFT AUTO V rescued by a fellow undercover magician, Mages Of Mystralia introduces an innovative spell system.
Each base power, like a shield or fireball, combines with the many runes found on your adventures to enable hundreds of variations, from homing projects to proximity traps.
Experimenting with this skill set is where the core appeal of Mystralia lies, both opening up new areas of the world and adapting your combat tactics.
It just isn’t enough to overcome the game’s underlying blandness.
THE GIRL IN THE BAY #1
FANS of a good mystery would do well to catch this first issue of the intriguing Girl in the Bay.
Set in 1969, Kathy Sartori is brutally attacked and her body thrown into Brooklyn’s Sheepshead Bay. Miraculously though, the 17-year-old survives, but when she resurfaces she discovers that 50 years have passed, and that a doppelganger has lived out an entire life in her place.
Kathy is soon forced to confront this strange double, and the madman who killed her.
Written by J M DeMatteis, with art by Corin Howell, The Girl in the Bay #1 is out now priced £3.35.
G.I. JOE: SIERRA MUERTE #1
A CORE team of classic heroes are about to go rogue in this miniseries from the pen of Michel Fiffe.
Storm Shadow has gone AWOL, everyone is trying to thwart Cobra Command – even Cobra itself – and it’s down to a pack of America’s fighting elite to bring order from chaos.
Fiffe, who is responsible for the award-winning indie comic Copra, also did the artwork for this run, so it promises to be something very special.
Look out for some gorgeous variant covers too.
G.I. Joe: Sierra Muerte #1 is out now, priced £4.25.