April Magazine

APRIL 2015 ISSUE

Game Previews: Dead or Alive 5 Evolve The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask 3D & more!

Page 32

VIDEO GAMES THAT MAKE YOU LAUGH!

CosCon 2015 wrap up!

Page 130

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INSIDE

FROM THE EDITOR

18 34 82 107

Funniest Games

Reviews

Tech & Pop Culture

Cosplay Interviews & CosCon Wrap Up

THE LIVE TEAM Publisher: Rob Jenkins (Gametraders Operations Centre) Art Director: Giselle Capozza (Gametraders Operations Centre)

Welcome to April and here’s hoping you didn’t get fooled or punk’d by someone. To celebrate April Fools Day we take a look at some of the best fun games ever released including Terry Pratchett’s Discworld and of course, Leisure Suit Larry. Writer Aaron Milligan takes a deeper look at Saints Row and what he calls the slapstick events that the game throws out.

Game Review & Preview Editors: Nick Getley & Kylie Tuttle (Sticky Trigger)

In our reviews we look at the latest Dead or Alive Evolve and Battlefield to name just a few plus Retro Writer, Paul Monopoli goes back in time and checks out some of the funniest games from the good old days.

There’s the latest on Free Comic Book Day, Jess looks at Board games that won’t bore you plus our massive cosplay section including an amazing behind the scenes look at how one digital artist creates one of the best cosplay shot’s we’ve ever seen!

Comics: Scott Sowter

Have fun!

Retro Writer: Paul Monopoli Board Games: Jess Wilson

UK Writer: Elliott Buddo US Writer: Serwa Aboagye Sticky Trigger Writers: Kylie Tuttle Nick Getley Alex Holmes Sam Babu Nick Pearce Aaron Milligan Ben Rachow Elliott Buddo Bridget Sweeney Sean Fox Miranda Nelson Tim Arnold Matthew Raspe Sasha Karen Liam Church

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APRIL GAME RELEASES! DATE

TITLE

FORMATS

02/04/2015

War for the Overworld

PC

02/04/2015

Ride

PS4, XB1, 360, PS3

02/04/2015

Dark Souls 2 Scholar of the First Sin

PC, PS3, PS4, XB1, 360

02/04/2015

Xenoblade Chronicles 3D

3DS

02/04/2015

The Sims 4 Get to Work (Add On)

PC

14/04/2015

Grand Theft Auto 5

PC

15/04/2015

Mortal Kombat X

PC, PS4, XB1

28/04/2015

State of Decay Year One Survival Edition XB1

Get ‘em at

PROJECT CARS Racing games are always great on new systems, not that the PS4 or Xbox One is new, but being the current generation systems we’re looking forward to seeing how much developers can push the hardware when it comes to racing games. Generally racing games fall into 2 categories: Sims and Arcade… or sometimes a mix of both. Coming out in April is Project Cars which looks to be absolutely stunning. This game definitely falls into the “sim” category. You create a driver, choose a starting point based on your racing preference, and then start your career. You can advance to be the master of your racing genre or be a multi disciplined race guru. Plus of course there’s online racing with either competitive race weekends or community events. It looks beautiful and just watching the trailer they may have got the first person view down so that you not only get a sense of being there, but can see the track ahead and anticipate corners. Looking forward to it!!

WHAT’S NEW?

SAMSUNG GALAXY S6 Android fans rejoice! The S6 is coming soon and runs Android Lollipop and features a 5.1 inch hi res screen. This is Samsung’s answer to the mega popular iPhone 6 and 6 Plus from Apple and also features a pay system called…

Samsung Pay. Will it be all it’s hyped up to be? It looks a treat but until they land in stores, we’ll have to drool over photos…

“IF IT BLEEDS, IT LEADS” Fresh from our friends at Madman comes the film Nightcrawler Release April 1st - NIGHTCRAWLER is a pulse-pounding thriller set in the nocturnal underbelly of contemporary Los Angeles.

In his Golden Globe-nominated performance, Jake Gyllenhaal is Lou Bloom, a driven young man desperate for work who discovers the high-speed world of L.A. crime journalism. Finding a group of freelance camera crews who film crashes, fires, murder and other mayhem, Lou muscles into the cut-throat, dangerous realm of nightcrawling, where each police siren wail equals a possible windfall and victims are converted into dollars and cents. Aided by a career-oriented veteran of the bloodsport that is tabloid news, Nina, (Rene Russo), Lou blurs the line between observer and participant to become the star of his own story.

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WHAT'S HOT IN T

GA

THE US

AMING IN THE US

Hi y’all and welcome to April! It’s kind of a quite at the moment. Not a whole lot happening in the gaming world this month as most developers are keeping very hush hush about releases due to E3 2015 which is approaching. New consoles? New games? Who knows what we they will show us! Will just have to wait and see! But more about that next month!

One game that is getting a lot of mention is Battlefield Hardline which came out towards the end of March. Quite a few gamers were up in arms about this title following push back of the release date and many were unsure if this was a good thing or a bad thing. There were concerns over whether it would be just another cookie cutter Battlefield instalment or something new. For the better part, Hardline is a new story and the game play is similar to that of the previous instalments of Battlefield. Most of the reviews that have come out are scoring the game fairly in my opinion – around an average of 7.5. It’s not a perfect 10 game and there is room for improvement. The story is a little weak, the graphics are great and with some DLC, I think the game will remain popular for some time.

Especially the die hard Battlefield fans.

Keeping with the theme of this month’s issue – comedy in gaming, Battlefield Hardline has quite possibly one of the funniest things I have seen in gaming for a long time. Apt-

ly named The American Dream – a drivable sofa! I’m not kidding!! Imagine your grandma’s old style floral sofa on wheels! Only located in the Dust Bowl during the Hotwire gamemode, if you can find The American Dream, get on and hold on! It’s the fastest vehicle (yes, THE fastest!) in the game and if you can get over the fits of laughter and tears, you can use it to your advantage as it is so fast.

Fitting up to 4 people (two on the sofa chairs, one on the arm rest and one on the back rest area) you and your buddies can cruise round the map like you would any other vehicle, but in total comfort! The America Dream is obviously an Easter Egg and its only on the map for one time only so if you damage it or lose it, it will be gone for the duration of the map! There is a repair tool to allow players to repair the sofa so you can cruise in comfort once more and chase down the bad guys! Try explaining ‘death by sofa’ to your friends! HAH. Hopefully they don’t remove this Easter Egg in an update of the game. It really is hilarious to see a couch with four people go zipping past at a 100 miles an hour! Hats off to you Visceral Games for an awesome and entertaining idea!

Well that’s it from me in the U S of A. I hope ya’ll enjoy the issue and get a few laughs! I’ll be back next month. Happy gaming!

WRITTEN BY serwa Aboagye

WHAT'S HOT IN T

GA

THE UK

AMING IN THE UK

Music gamers rejoiced last month as Harmonix FINALLY announced that RockBand 4 is coming! For years, gamer have been asking and begging Harmonix to bring out a new game and those prayers have been answered!

No release date has been confirmed as of yet, but what we do know if that the game will be for current gen consoles and will be released later this year. I’m keeping my eye peeled for an announcement at E3 in June.

With a new game, means new hardware. New guitars, new drum kits, new mics! Harmonix will team up again with Mad Catz to bring you a Rock Band 4 ‘Band in a box’. Like the previous instalments, gamers can purchase a bundle pack of all the instruments available on release day, plus the game and then rock out!

If you are like me, you probably have a multitude of songs you have purchased and are wondering if they can be used in the new game.

The news on this front is good!

Content from the previous games can be imported into the new game so you can play all your favorites and try your luck at the many new titles I’m sure they will have on offer.

Hundreds of tracks are rumoured to be available on release day and of

course, more tracks will be released on a regular basis after launch.

Speaking on titles, Harmonix is currently doing a shout out to all their fans to get input on what song titles they want to rock out to! Where do I start on what I what to play? That list could be endless.

I think we will see something very special from this release. With the capabilities on the Xbox One and the PlayStation 4 allowing for brilliant game play, we are guaranteed to get some awesome high energy entertainment from Rock Band 4.

Since its original release in 2007, Rock Band has been one of the most popular music game titles to hit the shelves and the fact that the die hard fans of Rock Band have been asking for a new game and Harmonix is going to deliver speaks volumes! Rock Band 4 will be one of the top Christmas items this year!

I’m hedging my best on a November release, just in time for Christmas. Parents…. You may want to start stocking up on ear plugs now!

To keep up to date with release info and title track listings, head over to http://www.rockband.com/preorder and register your details.

Until next month, Cheerio!

(Image from Rock Band 3)

WRITTEN BY elliott buddo

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FUNNIEST

GAMES

S

O

ut of all the elements in gaming, comedy is one of the most overlooked, and one of the most challenging aspects for developers to execute successfully, but why is that? There are a number of factors why developers fail to deliver laughs or light-hearted moments in gaming, and why some just avoid attempting comedy altogether.

We’ve all heard it before: comedy, like art, is subjective. This means that what is funny to you may not be funny to someone else. Some people prefer physical comedy (think Charlie Chaplin), others prefer nonsensical and absurd humour (think Monty Python’s Flying Circus) and others might prefer clever wordplay or political humour (Jon Stewart, Shaun Micallef). Of course, there are all types of humour and appealing to everyone can be impossible, especially with an interactive medium. Let’s take a look at some of the funniest video games released, as well as what made them so special.

Terry Pratchett’s Discworld (1995) (PC, Sega Saturn, PlayStation)

Those of you familiar with Terry Pratchett’s Discworld novels won’t be surprised to hear that the game was particularly hilarious, but for those of you unfamiliar with the books and games, allow me to introduce you. On a world that is being carried by four elephants standing on a huge turtle (no, really) there is trouble brewing in the city of Ankh-Morpork. A secret society plans to unleash a dragon that will aid them in taking over the city. At Unseen Univer-

sity (the home and school for wizards), the Arch-chancellor sends learner wizard Rincewind to stop the dragon.

Discworld is a funny as it is wonderfully eccentric, thanks to its brilliant source material, excellent writing and stellar voice cast. Monty Python funnyman Eric Idle provides the voice for Rincewind, and he is joined by other talented Brits such as Tony Robinson (Black Adder) and Jon Pertwee (Dr Who).

Funny moments: Most of the game’s laughs come from Rincewind’s colourful commentary, or how he interacts with the other inhabitants of AnkhMorpork. When interacting with other characters, the player is able to select from a number of different icons, each one representing a different emotion from Rincewind. He can be inquisitive, pleasant, mean-spirited and more.

When he comes across a tax collector locked up in stocks, he makes a number of puns based on the situation.

“Your reputation has gone to rack and ruin, though I suppose it’s torture a lesson!”

LEISURE SUIT LARRY (1987-2014) (PC)

If there’s one character bound for hilarious misadventures it’s Larry Laffer, star of the Leisure Suit Larry games.

Created by Sierra Adventure game legend Al Lowe, the Larry games see bumbling polyester-clad Larry Laffer attempting to find the love of his life in all the wrong places.

The first game to be set in a “realworld” setting (a parody of Las Vegas, Lost Wages), Larry’s first adventure, Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of the Lounge Lizards was able to deliver comedy that mocked aspects of 80’s TV, movies, and life itself. It also mocked male chauvanism, with Larry quickly learning that it was love, and not his “first time” that he craved after all.

Funny moments: There are many humourous moments in the Leisure Suit Larry games, though few can be repeated in our family-friendly magazine! I would recommend playing the game yourself (if you’re over 18!) and experiencing them yourselves. Just remember, always pay your friendly cab driver, and getting married on the first date is probably not a great idea!

MONKEY ISLAND (1990-2010) (PC)

Few games fill me with nostalgic fondness quite like the Monkey Island games from LucasArts. Perhaps the most special of the games though, is the first entry in the series, The Secret of Monkey Island.

Comedy is in every single aspect of the game – its story, characters, and even in its solutions to the game’s various puzzles. The Secret of Monkey Island casts players as Guybrush Threepwood, wannabe pirate and adventurer.

Don’t let his iconic introduction – “I’m Guybrush Threepwood, mighty pirate” - fool you, Guybrush’s naivety and inexperience are what make his adventures so memorable. Of course, the actual “secret” of Monkey Island gives insight into his naivety, but we won’t spoil that for you.

Funny moments: One of The Secret of Monkey Island’s funniest moments would be when Guybrush tests out a circus cannon for a high-flying pair of acrobat brothers. When asked if he has a helmet, Guybrush “wears” a cooking pot on his head and is fired directly into the main support leg of the circus tent.

Another funny moment happens in the third Monkey Island game, The Curse of Monkey Island where players finally teach the sly Stan (who moves from sleazy job to sleazy job) a lesson by purchasing life insurance from him, being buried in the Goodsoup family crypt, and then cashing in Guybrush’s life insurance claim, leaving Stan (for once) speechless.

DEADPOOL (2013) (PC, XBOX 360, PS3) Players should immediately know that a game starring Marvel’s Deadpool is going to be equal parts over-thetop chaos and wildly funny jokes. The Merc with a Mouth finally got his own video game last generation and while the action could have been better, the jokes landed on target each and every time. DP himself even took to San Diego Comic-Con 2012 to announce the game, interrupting the Marvel Games panel in a way only Deadpool could.

Deadpool features a meta-story, where Deadpool forces High Noon Studios to make him his own video game. The begins like any other, except Wade hasn’t taken a liking to the game’s script, so he throws it away. After blowing the game’s budget on a bungled assassination, Deadpool vows revenge on Mr Sinister, who has claimed his mark’s satellites and media empire.

Funny moments: Deadpool is full of funny moments and situations, but one of the funniest (if not, the funniest) has to be when Deadpool pilots the XMen’s Blackbird, only to crash it. He then attempts to “wake up” Wolverine by beating the living heck out of him.

Players are urged to continue waking up Wolverine again and again, with the punchlines only increasing in hilarity.

Another funny moment is how Deadpool is convinced to save the day. Cable leaves Deadpool a letter, telling him that a “cute fangirl who claims to be his (Deadpool’s) biggest fan wants to meet him”. Deadpool, of course, cannot resist.

BRUTAL LEGEND (2009) (PC, XBOX 360, PS3) From the wonderfully creative mind of Tim Schafer comes Brutal Legend, a game starring Jack Black as an asskicking, head-banging roadie on a rockin’ quest to save the day. A game that has a lot to offer, it’s a shame that it didn’t sell as well as it should of!

Jack Black stars as Eddie Riggs, a roadie teleported to another realm where humanity is enslaved by supernatural overlords. Armed with his battle-axe and mystical Flying V guitar, Eddie will traverse lands that resemble Dio album covers, leading a rebellion against demons with the help of Rob Halford, Lita Ford, Lemmy Kilmeister and Ozzy Osbourne. Being from the ultra-talented and wacky Double Fine Studios, creative game design and laughs abound in this sorely underrated gem of a game.

Funny moments: Brutal Legend offers innumerable laughs throughout Eddie’s journey, but perhaps the funniest moments are when Eddie defeats a boss character. There are two times when Eddie decapitates bosses (they could not be defeated any other way) and both times see him screaming “decapitation” in only a way that Jack Black could deliver.

Another funny moment occurs when Rob Halford and the Fire Barons arrive to intervene in a battle between Eddie and the evil oppressive armies.

After quickly establishing who his ally is, Rob then points to the demon army and exclaims “burn the other guys!”.

Notable mentions So as you can see, gamers love to laugh, though if we were to mention every single game that made us laugh, we’d run out of room for the rest of the magazine. With that in mind, here are some other funny moments from video games. Some are comedy games, but some are from other genres: The drivable lounge in Battlefield Hardline.

Unlocking Monkey Island’s Guybrush Threepwood in Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 2 Finding the corpse of Indiana Jones in a refridgerator in Fallout: New Vegas, a jab at the infamous scene from Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull.

Using a word that has no rhyme to stop your barbershop quartet crew from slacking in The Curse of Monkey Island Chatting to M’aiq the Liar from various Elder Scrolls games, who often mocks the limitations of Bethesda’s development team or outrageous requests from fans with his nonsensical lies. “Some like taking friend on adventures.

M’aiq think being alone is better. Less arguing about splitting treasure” (a jab at why the main Elder Scrolls games remain strictly single-player).

Wearing a mankini whilst slaying zombies a tricycle in Dead Rising, tricycle optional.

Catalpulting a cow with a refrigerator in Earthworm Jim. Everything in Octodad - especially grocery shopping!

Trying to play QWOP.

WRITTEN BY nick getley

WWW.STICKYTRIGGERENTERTAINMENT.COM.AU

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APRIL 18-19

ADELAIDE SHOWGROUNDS

slap stick in In the first two Saints Row games, there’s a fast-food chain called Freckle Bitch’s. Parodying the American restaurant Wendy’s, their radio ads consist of a perky teenager no longer in “her daddy’s business”, advertising menu items like the Twins and Big Swallow with a voice dripping with sex. Even the slogan, “You Can’t Beat Our Meat!” is about as single-entendre as it gets. It’s only when the second game starts a couple of years later that this joke evolves, the moaning teenager having matured into a ragged-sounding old woman, still attempting to deliver her lines in a voice ravaged by time and tobacco.

Saints Row isn’t always classy in its humour, but with these ads and the way they fit into the world, at least they hit their intended target.

This, much more than the gangsta roots fans are so eager to return to, is what makes Saints Row stand out: an irreverent, crass sense of comedy both at itself and the world around it, allowing it to grow out of the shadow of GTA into its own beast.

Rewind to the ancient past of 2006.

Before GTA IV came along and decided a depressing Slavic immigrant’s journey of loss and betrayal was the big winner, there was the first Saints Row game. This first foray through Stilwater was far from the GTA clone many purport it to be. Rather than follow a single man’s rise to power, each gang the Saints defeated represented a broad parody of other genres. The

Westside Rollerz seemed to pop straight out of a Fast and the Furious movie, while Los Carnales, arguing and running drugs from their outlandish mansion, spilled straight out of a Mexican telenovela. These various criminal tropes provided the backdrop for the true heart of Saints Row comedy: the interactions between characters. Behind the gang warfare is Shaundi and Pierce’s brother-sister bickering, Dex’s exasperation, Johnny’s homicidal glee, while at the helm, the Boss propels them through ever more ridiculously violent scenarios on their quest for power. Rather than just a temporary mission dispenser to be depleted and discarded, the characters in Saints Row and Saints Row 2 feel much more like a crazy, gun-toting family ready to take on the world.

It’s from the third game onward and the transition to Steelport and beyond that the mission statement changed. Fully formed into its own series, Saints Row was now all about fun. Rather than bury your nemeses alive or deliver mercy killings to your friends, now you charge through virtual reality landscapes, swing giant phallic bats and blast enemies with weapons-grade dubstep. The lack of class and focus on enjoyment became its great charm. Saints Row balanced on the edge of parody and toilet humour; what it lost in story and extended runtime was made up for by fewer, usually more important over-the-top scenarios. New members joined the Saints while others fell away, swelling the family of criminals even

further; it speaks volumes that the fans’ demand for Gat to return after his ‘death’ was so fervent that he ended up getting a standalone expansion all to himself. It’d be a challenge to name a GTA protagonist, let alone side character, that would warrant the same treatment.

Honestly, though, the scale of Saints Row is getting to be a bit on the nose. Only simply two-bit gangsters, now the Saints have become presidential, time-travelling, virtualreality superheroes in space – anything for a new theme and a bigger joke. The constant winking at the camera and pop culture references toes the line of Family Guy-esque shlock on occasion, but – as with all good humour – if it works depends wholly on the viewer. Like all reference humour, especially in the case of several missions in SRIV which are all about previous entries in the series, if you haven’t seen it, the joke will fall completely flat. It’s a dangerous line to walk and the Saints too often are hanging on only by their big toes.

Still, to its credit, Saints Row has always been a series focused not wasting your time. Stories and gags snap from one to the next with lightning-quick pacing, held up with a strong backbone of characters we’ve come to know and love in ever more outlandish situations.

Bigger may be better, but we can only hope that the Saints stay funny in the future, remember to bring the story, and don’t forget their heart.

n saints row special report

WRITTEN BY AARON MILLIGAN

WWW.STICKYTRIGGERENTERTAINMENT.COM.AU

DEAD ALIV

D OR VE 5

DEAD OR ALIVE 5 REVIEW

We might be a year into the current generation of consoles, but there is a distinct lack of variety in the games available. Sure there’s plenty of shooters, open-world games and racing games, but there’s hardly any fighting games or Japanese titles.

If you’re like me and love a good beat-em-up then you’ll be pleased as punch to know the intense Dead or Alive series has made its way to the current generation with ‘Dead or Alive 5: Last Round’.

So what do you get in this, the greatest version of Dead or Alive 5?

As the name suggests, this is not a completely new entry in the Dead or Alive series with a brand new engine, but a more updated and refined version of Dead or Alive 5. As some of you will know, Dead or Alive 5 was upgraded previously with Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate, though this version stands as the final upgrade to Dead or Alive 5 – in fact, players who previously purchased Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate on last-gen consoles can upgrade to Dead or Alive 5: Last Round for a small fee, and all previously released DLC for Ultimate works with Dead or Alive 5: Last Round.

Even experienced Dead or Alive 5 players will have a reason to return to the ring with all that new content, but in case you’re still on the apron about whether or not to purchase it, allow me to introduce you to the series and what to expect from Dead or Alive 5: Last Round.

• 2 new characters, bringing the total roster to 34!

• 31 new costumes, bringing the total to over 400!

• 2 additional stages from previous Dead or Alive games (Xbox One and PS4 only) • Upgraded graphics (Xbox One, PS4 and PC only)

Dead or Alive is a Japanese fighting game with gorgeous characters, lightning-fast action and a focus on strategy. The roster is predominantly female, and while controversy has followed the series in the past for its “unrealistic” portrayal of female characters the game has

matured into a fully-realised martial arts fest. Here ninjas fight karate experts, soldiers and professional wrestlers in the ring, each one bringing their strengths and weaknesses. Behind the action, is a rather silly plot involving DOATEC, an organisation that is involved in so many industries that it’s impossible to keep track. In previous Dead or Alive titles, the sinister Donovan organised a fighting tournament as a front for human cloning experiments. He created the ultimate bioweapon, a clone warrior with all of the strengths of the Dead or Alive fighters combined. Ayane, Hayate, Kasumi and Hayabusa managed to defeat Alpha-152 and destroy the laboratory in the process, though Donovan has escaped.

The story in Dead or Alive 5: Last Round is the same story as played in Dead or Alive 5. Helena, the new head of DOATEC, is looking to right the organisation’s wrongs by sponsoring the Dead or Alive tournament once more, though who can she trust, and who is conspiring with Donovan in the shadows?

The story is still very silly, and little more occurs than chance meetings between characters as an excuse for them to fight in some exotic locale – but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

The Dead or Alive games are also incredibly self-aware, knowing and embracing the sillier plot points and delivering some genuinely funny humour in a fighting game. Brad Wong and his apprentice Eliot engage in a

chopstick battle over their dinner’s last dumpling, Zack attempts to win the hearts of any female he comes across (only to be thoroughly beaten and embarrassed) and Bass’ ridiculous attempt to enter the Dead or Alive tournament under the guise of “Mr Strong” fails hilariously.

For what it’s worth, there’s a stigma that fighting games can’t deliver a meaningful or entertaining narrative, but the Dead or Alive, Street fighter and Tekken games have really come into their own with the last few entries in their respective series. Dead or Alive 5: Last Round’s story does a fantastic job of introducing the game’s many eccentric character and arenas, I only wish there were a few bonus story mo-

ments for the guest characters. Oh well..

Gameplay-wise, Dead or Alive 5: Last Round is easily the best DoA yet, as the silky-smooth framerate and improved graphics truly does offer the player the most gorgeous experience yet. The improved framerate also allows players to react to their opponent’s attacks quicker. It might sound inconsequential, but ask fighting game fan will appreciate this refined experience.

Apart from the upgraded graphics and smooth frame rate, nothing else has changed from the previous Dead or Alive 5 games – though nothing needs to. The game already includes a fantastic amount

of game modes, including Story, Arcade, Time Attack, Survival, Training and Online Battle, as well as offering solo and tag variants of those matches. There’s more than enough to keep a fighter happy!

The new characters fit in quite well, and impress me with their unique fighting styles, particularly Honoka.

Honoka has the uncanny ability to learn any fighting style she witnesses – meaning that her own fighting style is not limited to one particular martial art. She is raw, unpredictable and very cool.

Note: At the time of writing this, there are numerous bugs within Dear or Alive 5, but most of these are isolated to non-English languages, or when porting your existing DoA 5 or DoA Ultimate save data over to this new version. If you’re an experienced DoA 5 player, you might want to wait until a patch hits before porting over your progress.

Dead or Alive 5: Last Round takes the already perfect DoA 5 gameplay and somehow improves upon it. Despite the series’ controversial beginnings there can be no doubt that this is a game that deserves to be held in the same high regard as Street Fighter and Tekken. Give it a try, who knows, perhaps it will become your new favourite brawler.

9/10 PROS: A HUGE ROSTER OF CHARACTERS WITH A STAGGERING AMOUNT OF COSTUMES. UPDATED GRAPHICS AND FRAMERATE ARE FLAWLESS. A GOOD VARIETY OF GAME MODES.

CONS: SOME BUGS AND GLITCHES, PARTICULARLY IN NONENGLISH LANGUAGE SETTINGS NO NEW STORY EPISODES FOR NEW CHARACTERS

WRITTEN BY nick getley

WWW.STICKYTRIGGERENTERTAINMENT.COM.AU

LIMITED EDITION BAT SIGNAL!

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EVOL

OLVE

EVOLVE I have to confess, I’ve been staving off writing my review as I was convinced there was something I had missed during my original time playing it. I had the opportunity to play some of the Alpha and I walked away from that with two impressions but when I found that one of my original impressions still seemed relevant… Well, I grew concerned.

My impressions were as follows:

then the Hunters can expect to deal with a weaker AI minion following the Monster player around.

1. It was time to futureproof my PC. 2. It seemed like it was trying to be a monster variant of Turtle Rock Studios’ last venture: the Left 4 Dead games. Which I’m totally cool with, only it just seemed the elements that made the Left 4 Dead games so great were Missing In Action.

- Defend: The Hunters must guard a series of generators that pump fuel to a survivor-filled ship prepping for launch, so while the Hunters must stop the Monster from working its way through two generators before assaulting the ship, the Monster has the pleasure of watching waves of multiple AI minions regularly spawn in to do their bidding.

Pulling back a moment, Evolve’s premise surrounds a group of hunters contracted to help in the evacuation of a planet called “Shear” after it has come under attack from an increasingly growing number of monsters. Though admittedly this is primarily the setup for the game’s “Evacuation” gameplay mode in which a team of four players fight as Hunters against one player controlling a giant Monster over the course of five matches. In between said matches independent game modes are voted upon. The modes are: - Nest: The Hunters are tasked with tracking down a collection of the Monster’s eggs and exterminating them before the Monster player can hatch them. If, however, the Monster does manage to hatch an egg

REVIEW

- Rescue: The Hunters are tasked with finding and guiding AI survivors to dropship evacuation sites while trying to fend off the Monster while the Monster must foil the rescue attempts by slaughtering the Human survivors.

- Hunt: Exactly what you’d expect.

It’s the default mode when you select “Skirmish”; it’s the Beige Mode.

It’s an interesting selection of game modes and Evolve maintains your interest even when you finally find yourself on the planet’s surface.

The visuals are fantastic, the use of the CryEngine has been superb and everything flows magnificently well when running or climbing or flying as a Monster or a Hunter. While the gameplay is repetitive, you will find yourself going round after round because, hey, hunting towering beasts with futuristic weaponry is just plain awesome. And crushing tiny humans while stomping around as a giant Monster like you’re Mar-

shawn Lynch on steroids is just as great. Plus the dialogue exchanges between the Hunters at the start of each level, as well as during the quieter segments and at the end of each level makes for some nice immersion.

My dry banter aside, Evolve is set up well with a very pretty introductory cutscene and then any pretext of story is summarily ditched.

Which is a shame because there’s a very well designed set of game modes submitted for our enjoyment but there are two crucial elements missing and they both relate to the satisfaction of the player.

First of all, the game’s sound design leaves a lot to the imagination, everything is just too quiet and there’s a lack of kinetic energy all across the board. To put it another

9/10 PROS: CLASS SKILL TREES MAKE FOR A HIGH REPLAY VALUE. GREAT VISUALS. QUICK ONE-OFF MATCHES FOR SHORT SESSIONS AND FIVE-LEVEL CAMPAIGNS IF YOU NEED TO KILL TIME. way: let’s say I’m playing as an assault class and I’ve just spotted a Monster several times larger than I. I’m holding down the trigger on a minigun while this Goliath charges at me through the brush and plants are being crushed underfoot of this giant beast as it is being riddled with heavy weapons fire. In your head it sounds like there’s great impact amidst this hail of gunfire and the loud thuds of a colossal beast as it smashes everything in its path but in actuality we’re left with a lot of quiet or high pitched sounds that don’t seem to connect with the onscreen visuals.

Secondly, the lack of story involvement within the Evacuation mode seems to be key in creating what is essentially very rote and boring gameplay. The problem is the Hunters don’t have enough incentive to work together and form a team as

opposed to what would inherently happen in the Left 4 Dead games.

However, if there was a development in the story at the end of each match then there would be more reason for the Hunters to work together and develop an attachments with one another. This is what would happen in the studio’s previous franchise, as there is a consistent overarching narrative within the Left 4 Dead games that is told in a very visual-heavy manner. Though, to be fair, the latter series’ linear level designs also assisted with this as the survivors worked towards an end goal where the desired result involved the survival of the whole team. Whereas in Evolve, regardless of the game mode, it just plays as a large cage match every time, or more relevantly: It’s the Tank battle from Left 4 Dead on a loop forever.

CONS: WEAK SOUND MIXING. REPETITIVE. LURES YOU IN WITH A STORY AND THEN FORGETS ABOUT IT. In the end, my first impression still seems to hold up; Evolve desperately wants to be like the Left 4 Dead franchise but it doesn’t seem to understand what makes those games work so well. There just isn’t enough to convince the player’s to work as a team and there’s not a whole lot of depth in regards to the game’s universe or game types.

You’ll very quickly find that each match plays in near identical fashion each time and that there just isn’t enough to keep you invested or properly immersed.

WRITTEN BY nick getley

WWW.STICKYTRIGGERENTERTAINMENT.COM.AU

MAJO MAS

ORA'S SK 3D

the legend of zelda:

MAJORA'S MASK 3D Majora’s Mask is a dark, melancholy tale full of quirky and mysterious characters and since its original release 15 years ago it has only grown stranger. However, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing as it is also one of the most unique and innovative additions to the Legend of Zelda series.

Kid also manages to transform poor Link into a tiny little Deku Scrub.

However, all is not lost as a mysterious and altogether creepy Happy Mask salesman promises to return Link to his original form if he can recover the mask that Skull Kid stole – the titular Majora’s Mask. And so, Link’s journey begins.

This latest remaster on the Nintendo 3DS it provides an excellent opportunity to revisit the game or experience it for the first time. One of the many unique features of this game is that it stands alone as the sole game in the Zelda series that is a direct sequel to another.

Your arrival in Termina prompts a clock that starts ticking away with exactly three days left on it. This clock represents a number of things, most importantly being the time left until the moon goes all Deep Impact on the unfortunate citizens of Termina. It coincidentally also happens to be when the Happy Mask Man must depart (and needs his mask returned by) and when the aptly named Clock Town begins its annual Clock festival. However , Link gains the power to travel back in time resetting the clock to the dawn of the first day and gains some control over times flow.

The story follows on after the events of Ocarina of Time where we see Link and Epona (his horse) travelling through a forest in search of an old “friend”. During his travels Link encounters the masked Skull Kid who promptly relieves him of his horse and his Ocarina and leads him into the alternate reality of Termina where many familiar faces reside but are in most cases somewhat different. Along the way Skull

Generally the main game is fairly standard Zelda fare, but it is the side quests that really add a dark-

REVIEW

er and stranger flavour to Majora’s Mask. Early on in the game a notebook is obtained which allows Link to record and keep track of the many people in Termina who need his help. The quests vary from the straight forward to the exceedingly quirky. One quest has a weird hand appear from inside the toilet asking for paper with no explanation as to why they happen to be inside the toilet in the first place. Then there are the “aliens” on the ranch which you must help a young girl defend her cows from and last but not least the multi layered and often frustrating but still fun Kafei quest which is a heart-warming tale of a young couple overcoming many obstacles in order to marry. These quests give the game a very Alice in Wonderland

8/10

PROS: feel and it remains immensely fun to see just how far down the rabbit hole you can go. In terms of the remastering of the game Nintendo have done a fantastic job in the graphics department with all the character models looking far less blocky and much full of vibrant colour compared with the N64 version. There has also been a fantastic level of attention to detail that cannot be understated as everything from the grass and fence patterns to the decorations that adorn the walls and buildings have been given a facelift. Sometimes you won’t even notice them, but they add that little bit extra that immerses you in the world.

Overall Majoras Mask is an excellent entry in the Zelda franchise and

features some of the most rewarding gameplay of the series. The main questline of the game is a little bland but the addition of the transformation masks keeps it fresh, but it’s the various side quests and the unique characters inhabiting Termina that really stand out and shine.

The 3DS remaster has done an admirable job updating the game’s graphics adding a considerable amount of detail and smoothing out the rougher edges of the original game. The changes to the gameplay in some cases made the game easier, detracting from the frantic rush of the original, but make sense in terms of the port onto a handheld option. The Legend of Zelda Majora’s Mask is worthy addition to any gamers 3DS collection.

UNIQUE ENTERTAINING SIDE QUESTS AND CHARACTERS UPGRADED GRAPHICS LOOK GREAT

CONS: SOME GAMEPLAY CHANGES OVER-SIMPLIFY

WRITTEN BY SAM BABU

WWW.STICKYTRIGGERENTERTAINMENT.COM.AU

THE OR

RDER: 1886

THE ORDER: 1886 With more promising exclusives down the line for 2015, kicking off for the PlayStation 4 is the Order: 1886; a third-person shooter released by Ready at Dawn studios.

Set in an alternate 19th century London, the order is a council of knights set on keeping the world safe from both humans and the supernatural.

Aided with the liquid Blackwater, these knights are given all sorts of remarkable healing powers, even being presented with the ability to prolong death itself. Despite this organization managing to remain since the times of King Arthur, halfbreeds (werewolves) still roam amok, with Lycan attacks growing ever more frequent with each passing day.

You play as Galahad, one of the knights currently working for the order. With everyone suspecting that rebel forces are somehow tied with these attacks, it’s up to Galahad to investigate the matter and sort things out.

One of the main things that order does right is most certainly its presentation. Graphics are absolutely superb and provide truly that next generation feel for the PlayStation 4 library. Textures are high quality,

the lighting effects are wonderful, and the animation on characters really do bring to life the game as a whole. The level of detail in recreating London is a visual delight, as both indoor and outdoor locations are masterfully crafted and provide draw dropping awe in visual wonder.

The game also runs surprisingly well. Load times are quick, texture pop-ins are practically non-existent and the transitions from cutscenes to gameplay are relatively smooth.

There is an odd black boarder however present, and this remains as you’re playing through both the game and watching cutscenes. Part of me suspects that this was placed to give players the illusion that the cutscenes were being run through the games engine. But whatever the case may be, graphical fidelity is pretty consistent through both the game and cutscenes.

The story is fairly average and by the end of it, feels more like a prologue title then a fully fleshed out game.

Nonetheless, in regards to the motion capture, these are otherwise spot-on performances achieved by the voice actors.

REVIEW

But even with all these technical achievements present within the Order; the core gameplay however remains pretty boring to say the least.

Combat isn’t anything special.

Whilst the game does provide an awesome array of weapons, enemy AI however hinders some of that enjoyment. To be perfectly blunt, enemies are pretty stupid, and will more often than enough stand out in the open like idiots before getting hosed down by Galahad’s return fire.

What makes some of these combat scenarios frustrating as well is just how they’re handled. Some occasions present themselves in horde-

7/10 PROS: GORGEOUS GRAPHICS EXCELLENT ENVIRONMENTS TERRIFIC MOTION CAPTURE AND PERFORMANCES

CONS:

mode like scenarios, and present way too many enemies for such a tight environment. A very cheap way on the developer’s side, and does very little favor to compensate the intelligence of these enemy bots.

But putting combat aside, as for the rest of the game there is very little else players can contribute. The experience itself pretty linear, with the only interactive thing in cutscenes being the occasional quick time event and button mashing segment.

There are audio logs and newspapers that players can seek out. But for the bulk of it, the game is mostly reliant on cutscenes, average combat and very slowly walking down hallways.

I suppose I should also discuss the games length, seeing as that’s been a recent issue that’s been pressed on in regards to its initial release. Length wise, it took me roughly 8 hours to complete, and that includes having sat through the cutscenes. Reasonable length I think for a modern action title. But given the games price range of 60 – 100 dollars, I can see this leading to further disappointment from the potential buyer; especially considering how the story barely holds up as being a complete experience.

By the end of it, The Order was a game that I had mixed feelings about. The presentation and technical achievements are very strong; and one acknowledgement that the

RUBBISH AI COMBAT PLAYER INTERACTIVITY IS LIMITED. STORY DOESN’T PROVIDE A SATISFYING CONCLUSION NO FREEDOM FOR EXPLORATION developers should be commemorated for. The problems with The Order isn’t its length, but more of the fact that aside from it having so much production value; as a game it really has nothing else to show for it.

WRITTEN BY JASON ENGLISH

WWW.STICKYTRIGGERENTERTAINMENT.COM.AU

BATTLE HAR

EFIELD RDLINE

BATTLEFIEL HARDLIN

It’s actually pretty sad that in this day and age – an age where games are going places no one ever imagined they would – that it’s actually a shock for a developer to do something decidedly different. With Battlefield Hardline, EA have done just that, and taken what has been one of the world’s premiere FPS shooters since 2002 and ditched its very foundation and essence – war. Real war, that is. Hardline gives us war of another kind. A war of the streets.

Of Cops and Criminals. Prepare for a tighter, faster, and very different experience.

At its core, Hardline is still the Battlefield game you know and love.

The gunplay and overall feel remain intact to DICE’s decade plus of refinement and polish, but it’s most certainly a new experience, and one which makes a lot of sense to be a series of its own away from the main installments.

Single player see’s the player thrust into a story-driven campaign structured like a TV show, with ‘Episodes’ as levels. While starting off strong, and having some serious potential if it were to embrace the ‘Cops & Robbers’ theme in earnest, the sto-

ry just falls flat into a pit of bad TV drama clichés delivered with bad video game ones. I did have a lot of fun, due to the solid gameplay and new stealth elements, but the whole ordeal is little more than a low budget scripted walkthrough.

As I said, the stealth was a saving grace. Hardline introduces the ability to take on almost every situation in a sneaky, and super-violent-butnon-lethal manner. You get extra points, which unlock new weapons, for arrests and takedowns. I found myself going out of my way to try and cuff every bastard I could see, which also greatly increases game time.

But of course, there’s no Battlefield without the multiplayer! Not that anyone is surprised, but this again the only real reason to be picking up the latest Battlefield game. With new game modes, an overhauled customisation and unlock system, and the translation to the new style all working exceptionally well – not to mention a very smooth launch – the multiplayer game in Hardline is one of the series’ strongest yet.

Gameplay is a lot more riveting than we’re used to, mainly due to

the increase in player speed, and the smaller, tighter maps, which still hold up to the usual 64 player max.

This results in some serious chaos, and when you take into consideration the lack of military grade weaponry and vehicles, means you have some of the finest gunplay and firefights you’ll ever see in an FPS. The new customisation mode is a nice change, too. Instead of simply unlocking new items through XP, you earn Money as you play, and can buy the weapons, the attachments and the gadgets as you please.

Conquest makes a welcome return as the primary game mode you’ll find online, but it’s the new additions that really stand out. There are three great new 32-player modes; Heist, Hotwire and Blood Money. There are unique objectivebased modes which will have you thinking tactics and adapting to the challenge. In addition, there are two more new modes which take a very different tone. Crosshair and Rescue; with a max of 10 players, and no respawns, these are a different beast. Short rounds and tense standoffs, things can be over in sec-

R

LD NE

REVIEW

7.5/10

onds or come right down to the hair in the last seconds.

Visually, Hardline’s a mixed bag.

The level design is superb, in multiplayer at least, and the setting fresh.

The cutscene animation is great but apart from that, the character and gun models, and the scenery are definably ugly. It’s a step back from what we’ve been promised from the Frostbite 3 engine, and I think goes to show that catering to the last generation of consoles with new games only goes to hurt them. A fall from grace for the series which has set new benchmarks with every release.

Thankfully, the folks in the audio department lived up to the reputation the name holds. Hardline sounds brilliant, especially in surround sound. When things heat up in the

PROS:

CONS:

ROCK SOLID GAMEPLAY NEW THEME AND SETTINGS GREAT NEW MULTIPLAYER MODES SOUNDS TERRIFIC

LACKLUSTER CAMPAIGN MODE LACK OF WEAPONRY VISUALLY UNIMPRESSIVE

game, there’s nothing that makes you feel it like the audio. It’s loud, abrasive and suits the tone of the game, the gunplay and explosions having substantial weight and the attitude from the characters fitting right into the mix. The performances in the campaign are great, with some Hollywood talent adding some recognizable faces and polishing off the narrative.

Battlefield Hardline is most definitely not a main instalment in the franchise, and when you look at the lack of actual content it’s easy to see why. But it’s different, it’s original and most importantly it’s a hell of a lot of fun. The new theme is a welcome change for a game that was beginning to get stale, but Visceral missed a major opportu-

nity with the poor single-player experience that could have been in a league of its own. The game might be step up a bit with some DLC that adds some more maps and hopefully weaponry, but in the meantime, there’s still a lot of gold in the multiplayer experience, and it separates itself enough from the previous Battlefield games that it all feels fresh again. This could be the start of big names taking a risk with a directional change, and for the good of us all, I hope it is.

WRITTEN BY JOHNNY SCENE WWW.STICKYTRIGGERENTERTAINMENT.COM.AU

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GRAPHIC

NOVELS!

GA&

FUNNY OLD RETRO GAMES RETRO

This month we’re taking a look at the brighter side of classic gaming. Over the years there have been games that have made me laugh out loud & others I have simply found amusing for one reason or another. I thought I might share some of these with you.

I was bought up with some strong British influences, including TV shows like “Are You Being Served”, the traditional meat and veg dinner, the Amstrad computer (of course) and British comics. I would read about the adventures of “Buster, son of Andy Capp”, Sid and Shiner from “Whizzer and Chips”, Dennis the Menace in “The Beano” and many more. One of my favourites from the “Whoopee” comic was Sweeny Toddler. He was a naughty baby who lived to cause terror with his partner in crime Henry Dog. Often cited as an homage to Sweeny is Gremlin Graphics 1986 title, Jack the Nipper.

In this game you also play a naughty baby bent of causing as much mischief as possible. Released on the Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, MSX and Spectrum computers, Jack always brings a smile to my face, even today. There really is nothing like shooting innocent people with your pea shooter, overloading the computers in the local shop with a high

powered battery, or destroying china plates. Just try not to get spanked!

Sticking with the British theme, my next selection is the 1987 video game based on the 1986 book “How to Be a Complete Bastard”. The book was written by comedian Adrian Edmondson, he of the Young Ones fame. The game was given away on a covertape fronting Amstrad Action magazine in May 1991, and received numerous complaints from conservative readers who found the title offensive. This was, most likely, before they even got to the gameplay which is rather crude. In the game you are attending a party and have to operate your “Drunkometer”,

man and the like, the shock value this game once held doesn’t have as much impact. On a side note, Amstrad Action later released platformer Stormlord on the cover tape, which features naked 8-bit fairies in the background. A censored version appeared on the covertape, blocking out the nudity and guess what?

People complained about the censoring!

You can’t please everyone!

It would be remiss of me to talk about funny games and not even touch on the classics released

by LucasArts. During the mid to late 90s the gaming branch of the

"over the years there have been games that have made me laugh out loud..."

“Fartometer”, “Smellometer”, and “Weeeometer” to cause as much offense as possible. The game allows you to go anywhere and do anything, which can potentially make each experience a little bit different. As an immature 12 year old I found the antics absolutely hilarious. Today in a world with games like Booger-

George Lucas empire gained a huge following with hits such as, The Secret of Monkey Island 1 and 2, Maniac Mansion (which spawned a forgettable TV sitcom), it’s sequel Day of the Tentacle and my favourite, the 1993 classic, Sam and Max Hit the Road.

Featuring an original story, the game features voice talent from Disney Legend, Bill Farmer (Goofy). Bill plays Sam, who is the straight man to his maniacal lagomorph partner Max. Between Max wanting to be as destructive as possible and Sam encouraging yet placating him at the same time, the game will put a smile on the face of even the most humourless individual. Farmer’s dry delivery is my personal highlight in an already well crafted and hilarious story. The game takes the dynamic duo across America in the hunt for a formerly frozen Bigfoot. In an interview I conducted with Bill Farmer (which can be found on www.retrospekt.com.au), he confirmed that a sequel was being worked on and that he had recorded all of his lines. Part of the plot involved Sam and Max swapping bodies. Sadly it wasn’t to be and the freelance police didn’t return to the world of video games for another decade, sans Farmer.

So that’s it from me this month. Are there any games that put a smile on your dial? Or possibly a game that just makes you burst into laughter. If so let us know on the Gametraders Facebook page!

WRITTEN BY paul monopoli

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2

2015

TECH & POP

P CULTURE! Every month we look at cool new stuff in the world of pop culture, technology & more!

Contents Collecting Consoles Free Comic Book Day Board Games

collecting consoles...

COLLECTIBLES

Video games, like other collectable genres, has a dedicated group of collectors that search the world for prized consoles and games. Some are so rare they are worth tens of thousands of dollars. Some of these prized items are not even suppose to be on the market, developer units, bootlegs and others that were never meant for the public and that makes them all the more desired.

We tool a look at just three collectable consoles. There are dozens more and once you start doing some research, you’ll find yourself fascinated for hours. There are so many great systems that are now considered rare and their back stories make for some great research. But for this article we’ll look at three that caught our eye.

amount of watchers, chances are this is something that collectors want. However, retro writer Paul Monopoli advises to take care on eBay as sometimes prices can be over inflated. As always, it’s a smart idea to check multiple sources on information on whatever you’re collecting.

We decided to look at some of the rare hardware collectors chase and save the games for another time.

First up we found an item we didn’t even realise existed until today. It’s the Drivers 2000 series CX-1 Dreamcast. A highly collectable unit that was basically a TV set that looked a bit like Sonic the Hedgehog’s head… and had a console built into it.

Released in 2000 it included a 14 inch TV set with a Dreamcast built

"...we found an item we didn't even realise existed until today."

When researching this our first stop was Ebay. Sure there is always the chance of some inflated price being listed in the hope of a sale, but when we see an item with a large

in plus camera, keyboard and controller. Only released in Japan, it was pricey and didn’t sell that well. However with only 200 reportedly made it is quite a rarity among collectors Looking at it you’d think it was

straight out of the 60s and from the set of I Dream of Jeannie. On Ebay there is one with 50 plus people watching and the Buy it Now price is listed at $8,500. Worth it? That’s up to the collectors…

Other rare hardware items we found were …

The Panasonic Q, a Nintendo Gamecube console with a DVD drive in it.

Only released in Japan it plays both Japanese and U.S games and can play PAL format games provided you have certain free loader discs.

It didn’t sell in big numbers and was discontinued in 2003.

Pikachu N64 Depending on the condition this Nintendo 64 with a bright yellow Pikachu goes for hundreds on Ebay. Factory sealed units can sell for close to $1000 and they come in the blue and an orange yellow version too.

Although not as rare as many other consoles, it’s becoming a collectors item in that it’s not so common. Most listings on Ebay are for opened and used systems and priced around $100 - $200. Will they grow in value?

Let me just get out the crystal ball…

Image courtesy of commons.wikimedia.org - author Chris Ainsworth from Las Vegas USA.

Image courtesy of Wikipedia

1st Saturday of M

SE LE CT ED

ST O CK .

CO FR ME EE G BO COET Y O M OU K! IC R

May - 2 May 2015

FREE COMIC

BOOK DAY!

COMICS

Christmas, Easter, Birthdays... All great days to receive gifts, however, there is one great holiday (It’s not really a holiday) that stands above all the rest... FREE COMIC BOOK DAY. A gorgeous day, a day for geeks to come together to get free stuff. But it is really much more than that. It is a day set aside by comic book retailers everywhere to provide free content to the public, to promote the comic book culture to the masses. It is our day, a day to spread our love of comics and introduce some people to comic books, some for the very first time.

Free Comic Book day began in 2002, the event was organised by Diamond Direct, the world’s largest distributor of comic books in the world. The event was in part to capitalise on the sudden resurgence of the comic book industry after the big bust of the 90’s and to get more people into comics. The first event in 2002 was held on May 4th 2002 to coincide with the release of the first Spider-Man film, which at the time was shaping up to be one of the biggest cinematic releases of all time

(and proved to fulfil that). It proved to be massively successful and after a little mucking around with dates now falls on the first Saturday of May every year and has become a worldwide event for all comic book fans and even for non-fans.

It also becomes a great day to spread the love about comic books and get other people involved in our spectacular hobby. Some people are introduced to comic books on this special day. If you have never picked up a comic book before, this year might be your chance to pop into your local comic book store or local GT store and pick yourself up some of the special comics. What have you got to loose? They are free, fun, and...

Well free! Who knows you might find that one comic that will set you down the path of being a full tilt collector!

Comic book stores around the world have cues starting at dawn just for customers to come in and get the exclusive Free Comic Book Day comic books. Diamond, in partnership with some of the biggest publishers on the planet, including Marvel and DC, release a special set of comics only available on that one day of the year.

Marvel this year will be previewing the new Secret Wars! A massive comic event that will soon re-shape the entire Marvel universe. So needless to say, there will be stuff worth getting excited about! Also on the day come a heap of fun and funky exclusives, some for children, some for the adults but all of it fun! Free comic book day staples like MouseGuard will be there. The Simpsons, etc, they have all done Free Comic Book Day. Most comic book stores use the day to hold great deals, so It is worth the trip out especially if you want a deal! Last year in 2014 Gametraders held their first Free Comic Book Day and it was a huge hit, so this year on May 2nd we are delighted to once again bring you Free Comic Book Day! So, May 2nd, drop what you are doing, make some time with friends and head on down to your nearest Free Comic Book Day, who knows what you might find? Have a chat with your helpful comic book staff, maybe find the right story for you!

Just enjoy and embrace the holy day of FREE COMIC BOOK DAY!

WRITTEN BYSCOTT F. SOWTER @SCOTTFSOWTER

get ‘em at GAMETRADERS!

BOARD GAMES AREN'T BO Board games are a lot of fun and mean a lot of things too many different people. Some games like Monopoly are quite competitive and install many arguments in groups of people, other games bring countless rounds of laughter and these are the games we will be taking a look at.

A game which has brought many laughs to practically everyone who has played it is Twister. Twister is a game of physical skill and strength which is played on a large plastic mat spread on the floor or ground. The mat features four rows of large coloured circles. Each row is a different colour of red, yellow, green or blue.

A spinner is used to determine which hand or foot needs to be placed on which colour spot. The twist that no two people can have they hands or feet on the same coloured squares, resulting in fits of laughter as bodies are stretched and woven around the other players. The game is a tight fit with four people but as there is no limit to how many people can play this adds to the hilarious of the game. A player is eliminated when any part of their body touches the mat other than their hands or feet.

Twister was first released in 1966 and became a success when it was played on television’s The Tonight Show on May the 3rd 1966. Despite the success of the game its early re-

lease was wrought with controversy.

Milton Bradley produced the game and was accused by its competitors of selling “sex in a box”. The accusation was probably due to the game being the first popular board game in America to use human bodies as playing pieces. The funny and entertaining aspect of the game has resulted in it being parodied in many pop culture works over the years.

One of the most recognisable is the song Twister by Weird Al” Yankovic.

The lyrics include different hand and feet combinations with the different coloured spots. Another hilarious use of the game is in the movie Bill and Ted’s bogus Journey. To escape Hell Bill and Ted challenge Death to a series of games, one of which is Twister.

One of the funniest board games I have played is Pictionary. In Pictionary players team up and must draw

As mine and my families drawing ability is horrendous this game usually takes longer than it should due to most of the guessing time being filled with fits of laugher at not knowing what the drawing is. Pictionary was first invented in 1985 by Robert Angel and was published in 1985

by Angle Games Inc. Hasbro has been the publisher since 1994. Pictionary has also been made into a fun filled video game which utilised the uDraw Gametablet. The game was released on the 24th of February 2011. Again this game provides my family with tonnes of laughter as drawing on the tablet is a lot harder than on paper and our drawings are downright shocking. A light hearted game which inspired Pictionary is the classic game of Charades. In Charades players act out words or phrases without talking or making noises while the other members of their team guess what they are try-

"..has brought many laughs to practically everyone who has played it..." the word on the card drawn from a pile while the other member tries to guess what the drawing is within the time frame given. Depending on the drawers ability helps to determine if their team mate will guess the word.

ing to act. A guessing round of Charades will always bring many, many laughs.

Charades date back to the 18th century, probably originating in

S THAT ORING

board games

France and in the United Kingdom the game is traditionally played at Christmas and on New Year’s Eve. The last funny game we are looking at is Cards Against Humanity.

Cards Against Humanity is the newest game on this list with the games Kickstater being funded two weeks after it went live on December 1st, 2010. Each round of the game includes massive amounts of humour with the game being an absolutely success with many adults at many different game nights. To determine the winner of the round the Card Czar plays a black question card to the group. Each player answers the question by passing one white, answer, card face down to the Card Czar. The Czar shuffles the cards and proceeds to read out the answers out loud in the most humorous fashion possible, choosing their favourite as the winner. The member of the players who played that card is awarded the Black card as an awesome point and the next round is started with a new Card Czar. Laughter sounds throughout each round of this game and that is one of the main reasons that the game has gained a cult following

and doesn’t look to being slowing down anytime soon.

Having a great laugh and creating amazing times with family and friends is what all of these games are about. They provide countless hours of fun and leave the players with lasting memories that should be treasured and remembered each time one of these games are played with our loved ones.

WRITTEN BY jess wilson

MUST-HAVE BOARD GAME!

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COSPLAYLIVE Brought to you by Gametraders..

JOKER’S HARLEY

FLOKSY LOCKSY

ATLAS PHOTOGRAPHY

NAOMI VON KREEPS

HARLEY’S JOKER

SEE INSIDE FOR FULL INTERVIEWS!

NAOMI VON KREEPS www.facebook.com/naomivonkreeps Hi Naomi, tell us a bit about how you got into cosplay and where you’re from…

Tell us a bit about the cons you’ve visited and what’s been a highlight so far.

Well I had been a fan of cosplaying for awhile before I started. I loved seeing the creativity of cosplayers, but it ever occurred to me to do it until I decided to put on a Boba Fett helmet during a pinup shoot and then I thought “wait a second..I want to make Star Wars cosplays!”

This lead me to putting together the worst Star Wars cosplays in the history of SW cosplays, but this is what launched me into wanting to create MOOOREEE!

I am not much of a con goer. Mainly because cosplay is just a hobby for me, and my career (I’m a Web developer) doesn’t allow much travel time.

I usually go to the cons that are fairly local to me. Ottawa, Montreal and Toronto. Biggest highlight for me is being recognized. Seriously...that is always such a thrill.

Do you create your own costumes? What’s been the most difficult?

I do! I’m in the midst of making a Crusader cosplay from D3, so I’d have to say this one is the most difficult so far. My Edward Kenway cosplay from AC:Black Flag is a close second.

What materials do you use?

Depends on the cosplay! My Crusader armor is all EVA foam for the armor but I’m pretty adept at using whatever material I need to use.

Worbla, craft foam, etc..etc..

What about this year? Any plans to visit cons?

Yeppers! My next con is the Ottawa Comiccon which is my hometown!!

I’ll be debuting my Crusader cosplay!

Have you done many photo shoots and what’s a typical shoot like?

How long does it take to prepare and what happens on the day?

Yessss so many photoshoots. Typical shoot is me being my usual dorky self, making stupid faces and my photographer having to take 59823823498238234 photos for 5 good shots. I don’t enjoy being in front of the camera lol. Preparation time depends on the cosplay!

COSPLAY

Can cosplay become an income in your opinion?

Yes it definitely can seeing as there are a many cosplayers out there who do this for a living, but there are a very select few extremely talented cosplayers who are actually able to do this!!!

Do you make costumes for other people on commission?

I don’t unfortunately!! I barely have time to make my own cosplays D: With so many fans on social media, what tips do you have for new cosplayers starting out on sites like Facebook?

Interact, interact, interact with your fans!!! I can’t emphasize this enough!

Where can your readers go to ask about a costume or see more of your work?

They can find me mostly on twitter, facebook and IG! www.twitter.com/naomi_vonkreeps www.facebook.com/naomivonkreeps

and I’m @naomi_vonkreeps on IG.

AOMI VON KREEP

NAOMI VON KREEPS

NAOMI VON KREEPS

NAOMI VON KREEPS

FLOKSY LOCKSY www.facebook.com/FLOKSYLOCKSYCOSPLAY How did you get started as a cosplayer?

Gosh, I suppose this all starts out years ago, back when I was still in high school. I was a big fan of manga/anime’s such as Sailor Moon and I absolutely loved the Final Fantasy console game series. I remember I used to sit there in class and completely zone out and picture what it would be like to be like Sailor Moon or whoever I was obsessing over at the time. So when I found out that we have a community full of people who dress up and go to events dedicated to costuming and cosplaying I immediately jumped on board~!

I started out with just buying costumes because I had no idea how to operate a sewing machine, to be honest I was terrible at textiles in highschool haha. But, one day one of the costumes I’d bought looked nothing like what the character was wearing so it was at that moment I knew it was time to learn how to get things done for myself and I have never looked back :) Why cosplay? What do you love about it?

I like to think I live a pretty average and mundane life so with cosplay and creating my own costumes I kind of have this neat little escape, well, that’s what it was at first. I liked becoming a certain character I admired, it gave me confidence which I never really had before and it’s

boosted my people skills through the roof, I used to be fairly socially awkward a few years back haha. High school me would be pretty proud!

Who influences you?

Oh good Gosh... so many people~!

It’s going to be a hard choice, let me see... Oh, I will start off with some of the big names we all know and love.

J.Hart has to be my top favorite, his craftsman ship is beyond beautiful and if I could learn how to sew half as well as he can I’d be a pretty happy gal! Then of course Yaya Han, Kamui Cosplay, Riddle’s Messy Wardrobe, Monika Lee and Jessica Nigiri I absolutely adore her positive attitude towards everything ~!

Nation wide I am very inspired by the awesome craftsmanship that comes from I-Artemis-I (Natalie), Wirru and Taigakunn. I also really adore Hayley Elise and Major Sam because along side being fantastic cosplayers they are really lovely in person!

Lastly in my little ole home town of Adelaide I really admire... this list will probably be the longest because I think we have some crazy good talent here! JusZ Cosplay, Old Trenchy, Artisans Theory, Cosplay’s of the Sew-Fun Alchemist, Lilla Bee Cosplay, Piltover City Customs, Black Heart Cosplay and the League of Biddies girls. All of these people are seriously so inspiring and have taught me so much~!

COSPLAY

What challenges do you face as a cosplayer?

Ahhhhhh I am going to say deadlines first hahaha~ Completing a costume to a deadline can be quite the challenge and quite stressful. I like to have my costumes completed a few weeks before a convention so I avoid the stress of that last minute rush.

Pretty much every new project I begin comes with it’s own set of challenges and hurdles I have to over come. For example my most recent costume involved a lot of armour work so I pretty much had to learn how to make armour with zero prior knowledge. I am never afraid to ask my colleagues for advice and they are always happy to help, the Adelaide costuming community is pretty fantastic like that!

Tell us about CosCon - what did you think?

I think CosCon was an absolutely fantastic idea, getting everyone together to celebrate cosplay. I really hope they return next year. It was also my first year competing in a cosplay competition so CosCon will always have a place in my heart simply because of that!

Do you have any advice for cosplayers just starting out?

Google is your best friend, there is a universe of information at the

Photographer: Ellen Lily | www.facebook.com/ellenlovelyphotography

click of a key right there~! A lot of the things I have learnt have come from online tutorials. Also patience and being stubborn I find are two important things that have helped me along my cosplay adventures. I’ve had times where I have had to completely scrap something and start over. No matter how many times I failed though, I kept at it until I had something I was happy with. So believe in yourself and stick to it~ you will totally get there in the end!

Finally where can we find out more about you?

I have a facebook page I try to keep updated regularly with progress and other costuming adventures I have, you can find it here: www.facebook. com/FloksyLocksyCosplay.

Photographer: Pixels of Shae | www.facebook.com/pixelsofshae

Photographer: Ellen Lily | www.facebook.com/ellenlovelyphotography

Photographer: Angelo Beltran | www.facebook.com/gotsuperpowers

FLOKSY LOCKSY COSPLAY

Photographer: Angelo Beltran | www.facebook.com/gotsuperpowers

Photographer: Nathan Tan | www.facebook.com/gotsuperpowers

FLOKSY LOCKSY COSPLAY Photographer: Ellen Lily | www.facebook.com/ellenlovelyphotography

FLOKSY LOCK

Photographer: Ellen Lily | www.facebook.com/ellenlovelyphotography

KSY cosplay

JOKER'S HARLEY www.FACEBOOK.COM/JOKERSHARLEYCOSPLAY Hi Joker’s Harley, we’ve had the pleasure of talking to your other half Harley’s Joker so we are very excited to talk to you now! First tell us about your cosplay and what got you started?

I cosplay Harley Quinn, classic mainly. My boyfriend Tony, Harley’s Joker, got me started about 2 years ago.

How did you choose to cosplay Harley and other characters (if any)?

Harley was that natural choice to accompany the Joker. As for other cosplays that I am working on and would like to do; I like to choose characters that I connect with, resemble slightly/I feel I can pull off, and the overall design. I want to make the costumes that I visually love and think are strong.

What about costumes - how long does it take to create them and what’s the most difficult one you’ve worked on.

It depends. The Harley suit took about 6 months while my nurse Har-

ley costume, which sadly was ruined and is no more, took about 3 months.

Out of my two finished costumes I think that even though the nurse Harley costume had many frustrations that my classic suit was the hardest.

Tony and I had never worked with spandex so we had to find someone to sew it, also dying all the fabric after doing dozens of tests involving pattern and color was tough, plus the cowl and mask. Shoes were extremely difficult to find.

Tell us a bit about cons - what’s been your favourite and what’s something funny you’ve experienced.

Honestly my favorite overall is La Mole Comic Con in Mexico City which is run by Elias Ortiz. Despite the fact that we are both constantly on our feet and have a never ending line there, our fans are amazing and the kindest, our host and his employees are completely professional and will go out of their way to make you happy and help you in any way they can. It is extremely well organized and put together. I have nothing negative to say about that conven-

COSPLAY

tion. As far as experiences go, my favorite is meeting Bruce Timm, the creator of Harley Quinn. He told me I AM Harley Quinn. I became all a flutter and still can’t contain my giddiness.

Like most cosplayers we know you’ve done some great photo shoots - what’s a typical shoot like?

It’s mellow; get ready, setup lights and camera, test shots, etc. You shoot until you think you have it, until you have multiple shots and hopefully one outshines the rest. Many things can go wrong then things can turn ugly, lol, but in the end the final result is what matters, not whatever drama happened during.

Finally where can readers go to see more of your work?

They can find me on Facebook: facebook.com/JokersHarleyCosplay As well as Instagram: alyssarking And lastly in Storenvy: alyssaking.storenvy.com

Photographer: Eric Anderson | www.facebook.com/ericanderson.gallery Edit by Joker’s Harley

Photographer: Neilson Barnard | www.neilsonbarnard.com Edit by Joker’s Harley

Photographer: Anthony Misiano | www.facebook.com/HarleysJoker & www.facebook.com/RedShotsNYC

Photographer: Eric Anderson | www.facebook.com/ericanderson.gallery Edit by: Anthony Misiano | www.facebook.com/HarleysJoker

Photography & edit by: Anthony Misiano | www.facebook.com/HarleysJoker & www.facebook.com/RedShotsNYC

Photographer: Neilson Barnard | www.neilsonbarnard.com Edit by Joker’s Harley

Photography & edit by: Anthony Misiano | www.facebook.com/HarleysJoker & www.facebook.com/RedShotsNYC

ANTHONY MISIANO www.FACEBOOK.COM/HARLEYSJOKER We here at Live Magazine have seen some amazing photographic art over our time and often we’ve debated on the techniques used to create those images. Well this month we have a special treat.

We’re interviewing a very talented cosplayer but also a cosplay photographer and digital artist, Anthony Misiano, who often cosplays as the Joker. Anthony sat down with us and gave us a special sneak peak at a project he’s been working on for some time called Trophies. There are a number of behind the scenes images that show how he created this sensational photo. Plus we interview Anthony on how he got into photography and he shares some photo tips.

How long have you been into photography?

I started doing photography when I was about twelve years old.

What got you started?

I think like a lot of children I fell in love with the photography I saw in National Geographic magazine. It inspired me, and because of this I initially only wanted to do nature photography: landscapes, grand views, breathtaking locations. I dreamed of traveling the world with a camera in hand. After some years passed this changed and I fell in love with other endeavors. When I was about twenty-one my photographic eye shifted

PHOTOGRAPHER

toward portraiture. Since then I’ve worked pretty regularly as a headshot photographer for actors and other performers.

each with their own strengths and weaknesses when placed side by side, which makes them nicely complimentary for optimal use.

What about Cosplay photography?

Your processing is amazing - what made you start doing your own editing?

I approach cosplay photography more like individual art projects, often with many components to factor in. I always start with a design, either an original sketch of my own, or a piece of art I admire, and try to break down it’s elements so I can plan the upcoming shoot and edit as much as possible. There’s an old saying that’s very true, “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail”. I’ve also had the privilege of working on a number of film projects and it’s the same thing: Pre-production (all the work that takes place in the months before filming) is your most valuable time, and you can never have enough.

What gear do you use?

I shoot with a Canon 7D and prime lenses (not zooms). Prime lenses with a fixed focal length tend to be a little sharper, the colors are bolder, the out of focus areas are smoother, and the lenses themselves are usually brighter which gives the user more leeway with lighting. I hate ever having to bring the ISO up on my camera, I can’t stand grain and compression. I edit with both Adobe Photoshop and Jasc Paint Shop Pro. They’re incredibly similar programs,

I’ve been drawing since I was a toddler, and since I was about six years old my grandpa had a computer with a very early paint program on it. I think it was literally the first version of Windows Paint. So ever since I was six I’ve been drawing and creating images both by hand and digitally.

Digitally editing images just comes naturally to me now, I wouldn’t want anyone else doing it.

A few tips to get you started in photography and editing: 1. If you’ve never done photography before beyond playing with your phone or pocket sized point-andshoot, don’t make the mistake of blowing all your money on the most expensive piece of equipment you have no idea how to use. To start, work with what you know and take baby steps as you learn. You have to crawl before you can walk.

2. As you advance in photography you’ll start to notice the more manual control you can have over every element, the better. So seek out tools that allow you this level of control.

“Trophies� - Photography and editing by Anthony Misiano.

Here we see the lighting and camera setup used to photograph all the elements of “Trophies”. An antique gold wallpaper is used as the primary backdrop, with models positions carefully measured and marked out on the wall.

3. It may seem obvious to some, but when editing ALWAYS save multiple files of every version of your piece as you move forward in the process.

You’ll never know when you might want or need to go back to something before it was changed.

4. Layers, layers, layers. Build your images in layers. It all comes down again to control, the ability to manipulate every element with absolute specificity. And while editing, don’t merge these layers together until you are 100% CERTAIN that is what you want to do, and even then, do so in a separate, duplicate file, just to be safe.

5. The best editing in the world can’t save a truly bad photograph. Don’t waste your time “polishing a turd”.

Try your best to capture the absolute best images you can to begin with, shot the way you want, lit the way you want, with as few elements dependent upon editing as possible.

And this, like everything I’ve mentioned above comes down to the most important element...

6. ...Practice. Plan everything out as much as possible, and be pa-

tient. You can’t rush these things, or they’ll end up LOOKING RUSHED and sloppy. Patience is a truly great virtue, and one only learns from doing, so again, practice and plan. I do numerous tests for any one project leading up to the actual final shoot and edit. I test the lighting, the camera settings, the editing workflow. I experiment with everything to make sure it will work before I absolutely need it to.

7. Lastly, have fun. It’s a hobby. It’s something you’re dedicating your own time and money to, so if you’re not enjoying yourself, why waste your time doing it? You only have one life to live, you may as well enjoy it.

Where can our readers go to see more of your amazing work? www.facebook.com/RedShotsNYC is my photography page for my headshot/portraiture work, *NOT* for my cosplay photography, and of course my cosplay page is: www.facebook.com/HarleysJoker

ANTHONY MISIANO Photographer Anthony Misiano tests connecting his television as a monitor, utilizing the live view function of the camera to assist him in properly photographing himself for the piece.

Wonder Woman Original Photograph, Unedited

An image created to show just a few of the many, many layers that went into putting together the final image. Roughly 45 photographs were ultimately used to create “Trophies�, 16 of which for the Joker alone.

FINAL - "TROPHIES"

A selection of Anthony Misiano’s Cosplay photography work.

ATLAS PHOTOGRAPHY www.facebook.com/ATLASPHOTOGRAPHY Tell us about yourself/how you got into photography.

My name is DeOndré Bonds, a fashion, boudoir, and cosplay photographer based in Columbus, GA, United States. I’m an Infantry Officer in the United States Army National Guard, with photography being my professional hobby/destressor from my civilian job.

I got into photography because of my second Dragon*Con attendance in 2011. I purchased a Nikon D3100 bundle off Amazon, thinking it was a good price for all that came with it. After owning the camera for a month, I thought to myself (verbatim) “I spent all this money on this camera and I have no damn idea how to use it outside Auto. I need to figure this out.”

Google became my best friend on trying to figure out the different parts of the camera system, and different photographers that I know were hounded (and are still hounded – sorry!) about trying to achieve a good shot. Most of my photography comes from just plain trial-and-error.

And how did you get into cosplay photography?

Cosplay Photography was what I initially started in, having bought the camera solely for Dragon*Con. I had an acquaintance at the time (AllieCat Cosplay) who encouraged me to keep going, so she and I collaborated on different themes and styles

(she had just started doing serious cosplay maybe a year before I found my camera). Actually, I can trace back to showing a picture of Yaya Han as Felicia to AllieCat as the source of my eventual entrance into doing photography myself: I was fascinated on how everything seemed to come together to make an amazing picture.

What has been some highlights of your photography so far?

Honestly, being interviewed for this magazine and having my first confirmation email about being published in another top the highlights!

The only other thing that I can say that makes everything worthwhile is when people actually recognize me as Atlas Photography at conventions (even international con-goers!). It makes me realize that people truly do enjoy my work and that I’m progressing every single day.

How do you go about a cosplay shoot? What gear do you take and what is the planning process?

I go into a cosplay shoot thinking really only one thing: I want to make the cosplayer look phenomenal, like the image was the work of photogs that I respect and admire (BGZ Studios, Elysiam Entertainment, Martin Wong to name very few). For my camera body, I use my Nikon D600 alongside two AlienBee B800 lights so I can get the best lighting control.

Recently I’ve been attempting to get a more natural, polished look in my

PHOTOGRAPHER photos, so my planning has become more of looking up tutorials on where to place lighting and how to balance natural light with ambient light.

How do you find cosplayers to photograph?

At conventions, I typically just walk up and gently ask if they would be interested in working with me. Facebook Pages are also a wonderful tool nowadays, able to coordinate with a cosplayer/model months in advance to meet up and shoot.

Do you have any photographers that inspire you?

Plenty of photographers inspire me, and it’s impossible to name them all because I also look into fashion, editorial, and other avenues of photography to be inspired. Sammie Saxon Photography (a fashion photographer), BGZ Studios, Martin Wong, Trent Chau Photography, Brittany Anne Photography, Bentpic5 are some of the daily sources of inspiration for me when I shoot, but like I said, every photo I see I always try to learn from it. I’m sort of like a photo sponge.

If you could photograph anyone in the world who would it be?

Anybody in the world? Cosplay wise, I would love to shoot with Kamui Cosplay one day: the work she puts into her armour and LED wiring impresses me immensely. Since I’ve been leaning into fashion pho-

tography more, I want to shoot on a professional scale if the opportunity ever presents itself to me.

Finally where can readers go to find out more about you?

I’m currently building my first website so people could get a more professional feel of my work. In the mean time, they can look onto my Facebook Page at https://www.facebook. com/AtlasPhotography to follow my photographic journey. I’m always striving for improvement, so they’ll never get bored!

Cosplayer: Dollface Cosplay

Cosplayer: Dollface Cosplay

Cosplayer: Steamchic Styling and Cosplay

DAHLIA THOMAS

Cosplayer: Lonstermash

Cosplayer: Raquel Rae

3 WAYS TO SEAL

WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/HayleyEliseCosplay One: Cheap & Easy PVA Glue

CONS: More involved, time heavy process with more layers needed.

PVA glue is, to me, the cheapest, quickest and easiest way to seal your worbla! Paint on a couple of coats with a brush and leave to dry.

If you come back in once it’s dry and gently buff the surface with a wet finger, you can smooth out most of the brush marks!

Three: Spray Putty - Slow but Thorough

PROS: Flexible, quick, cheap and doesn’t require sanding.

CONS: Glue finish may be affected by water-based paint, may potentially peel under wear.

Two: Gesso - Tried & Tested Gesso has been used to seal cosplay armour since before worbla was in wide use, but that doesn’t mean it’s any less effective now! Like the glue technique, you brush on a couple of layers, but unlike PVA gesso can be sanded between layers, for a smoother more controllable finish.

Add water to thin down the topmost layers, to minimise brushstrokes in your finish!

PROS: Flexible, perfect base for both acrylic and spray paints, can be sanded down to fine grits for a smooth finish.

Spray putty is a filler-primer spray that’s self-levelling, meaning it’s perfect to fill worbla’s distinctive texture into a flawless, smooth surface. Use around five coats of the spray putty before sanding, then continue to layer two coats in between sanding.

On your final coat, sand all the way down to a fine grit around 1200, for a perfectly smooth finish.

PROS: Easy to sand, can get a fine finish, spray application means no brush strokes to sand down.

CONS: More expensive than other options, not really viable for large projects without investing quite a bit of time and money.

Of course there are far more options that haven’t been covered here – with some experimentation, you might even find a new technique that no one else has tried before! Worbla is a great material simply thanks to its versatility, and these are just some of the ways to work with it. Now go forth and create some amazing armour!

Photographer: Rob Jenkins Photo | www

L YOUR WORBLA! COSPLAY TUTORIAL

w.facebook.com/robjenkinsphotography

WRITTEN BY HAYLEY ELISE

“

PHOTOGRAPHY: BE Sometimes the only camera you have is your phone and hey that’s ok. After all, phones have amazing camera’s in them, great apps to fine tune your image if you desire and fast and easy ways to share your pics on social media.

* Her eyes are in shadow and so you don’t really connect with her. * In direct sunlight you’ll often find your subject squinting too.

But one of the challenges many of us face is how do we get the best out of our phones. People sometimes ask me why their phone photos don’t look as good as something from an SLR or mirrorless camera. Sure, the bigger more expensive cameras can do amazing things in the hands of the experienced photographer, but there are a few simple tips that anyone can start to employ when they take a photo using a phone or indeed any camera. Let’s start with this one:

In this photo we’ve put Tiffany in shade and instantly you can see the shadows are softer. Her eyes are open and we connect with her. You can appreciate the detail of her make up, costume and hair as nothing is blown out by harsh sunlight.

Bad light is bad light!

This first photo shows cosplayer, Tiffany Dean photographed in harsh sunlight. Take a look at the photo and see if you can pick out what you feel is wrong with it. Here’s my thoughts: * The shadows on her face are really harsh. * Shadow under her chin is also harsh.

So what can you do. Take a look at picture number two.

The lighting is much more even across her face and body and so the photo is more pleasing to the eye. Now don’t get me wrong, there may be times you want harsh contrasty light. That’s fine if it’s in context with what your saying with your photo. But generally if you’re taking a photo with your phone, you’ll want nice even light, no hard shadows and no squinting.

Both photos taken with an iPhone 6 and are straight out of camera.

Next month we’ll be looking at distractions in photos. Til then have fun taking your cosplay and portrait photos!

BY ROB JENKINS

EYOND THE SELFIE

PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS

Move your model to a shaded area with even light. Notice shadows are gone and model has eyes open (no glare).

Taken with an iPhone 6.

Direct sunlight causes harsh shadows... not a good look.

Taken with an iPhone 6.

Model: TIffany Dean Cosplay - www.facebook.com/TiffanyDeanCosplay

COSCON w 7 march 2015 - adelaide convention centre

Photographer: Creed Photography - www.facebook.com/creedphotography

wRAP UP!

COSCON w and afterparty

Photographer: DS Photography - www.facebook.com/D.S.Creative1

wRAP UP! 7 march 2015 - adelaide convention centre

COSCON w and afterparty

Photographer: Ellen Lily - www.facebook.com/ellenlovelyphotography

wRAP UP! 7 march 2015 - adelaide convention centre

COSCON w and afterparty

Photographer: Eman’s Media Page - ww.facebook.com/emansmediapage

wRAP UP! 7 march 2015 - adelaide convention centre

COSCON w and afterparty

Photographer: Falcon Visuals - www.facebook.com/falconvisuals

wRAP UP! 7 march 2015 - adelaide convention centre

COSCON w and afterparty

Photographer: Foto Play Photography- www.facebook.com/FotoPlayAU

wRAP UP! 7 march 2015 - adelaide convention centre

Photographer: Houng Taing Photography - www.facebook.com/houngtaingphotography

COSCON w and afterparty

Photographer: I Got Superpowers - www.facebook.com/gotsuperpowers

wRAP UP! 7 march 2015 - adelaide convention centre

COSCON w and afterparty

Photographer: Image Perception - www.facebook.com/imageperception

wRAP UP! 7 march 2015 - adelaide convention centre

COSCON w and afterparty

Photographer: Intrinsic Media - www.facebook.com/intrinsicmediaaus

wRAP UP! 7 march 2015 - adelaide convention centre

COSCON w and afterparty

Photographer: JatsTV - www.facebook.com/JATSTV

wRAP UP! 7 march 2015 - adelaide convention centre

COSCON w and afterparty

Photographer: Natalie Tonks Cosplay and Media - www.facebook.com/NATCosplayMedia

wRAP UP! 7 march 2015 - adelaide convention centre

COSCON w and afterparty

Photographer: Steamkittens - www.facebook.com/steamkittens

wRAP UP! 7 march 2015 - adelaide convention centre

APRIL STORE EVENTS & tournaments!

VIC BACCHUS MARSH Check our school holiday calendar on the next page!

Tabletop Day - Saturday 11 April MTG Dragons of Tarkir Game Day - Saturday 18 April Magic the Gathering - Friday 5:30pm

HIGHPOINT Yu-Gi-Oh - Sunday 3pm

MILDURA Pokémon Video Game - Saturday 11 April 12:30pm Star Wars X-Wing - Sunday 12 April 12:30pm MTG Dragons of Tarkir Game Day - Sunday 19 April 12:30pm Board Game Night - Wednesdays 6:30 - 11pm Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh, Magic the Gathering and Cardfight!!

Vanguard every Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Check our Facebook page for times and event details.

SA INGLE FARM No current tournaments.

MARION COME SEE US AT OZ COMIC CON! - APRIL 18-19 Pokémon - Monday 6pm Cardfight!! Vanguard - Tuesday 6pm Yu-Gi-Oh - Wednesday 6pm Magic the Gathering - Friday 6pm (Arrive 5:30)

MT. BARKER Yu-Gi-Oh - Saturday 4:00pm

SEAFORD Yu-Gi-Oh - Thursday 6pm (5:30pm registration) Cardfight!! Vanguard - Friday 4:30pm Magic the Gathering - Monday 6pm (5:30pm reg) Pokémon - Sunday 1pm (12:30 registration) My Little Pony - Tuesday 5pm (4:30pm registration) Future Card Buddyfight - Thursday 5:30pm Board Game Nights - Wednesdays from 5-8pm

SALISBURY Yu-Gi-Oh (Advanced Format) - Saturday 12.30pm

QLD

NSW

CHERMSIDE

BLACKTOWN

Yu-Gi-Oh - Sunday 3pm

COME SEE US AT SYDNEY ROYAL EASTER SHOW! 26 MARCH - 8 APRIL

Cardfight!! Vanguard - Wednesday 6:30pm Pokémon - Saturday 3pm

Advanced Yu-Gi-Oh - Saturday & Sunday 10am

Magic the Gathering - Tuesday & Friday 6:30pm

Pokémon - Saturday 2pm

LOGAN HYPERDOME

Cardfight!! Vanguard - Sunday 2pm

Magic the Gathering - Friday 7pm (doors open 6pm) Yu-Gi-Oh - Sunday 2pm (doors open 1pm) Cardfight!! Vanguard - Fortnightly (Check FB) Pokémon - Saturday 2pm (Check FB. Doors open 1pm) Tournaments held at: Unit 5 20-22 Ellerslie Road, Meadowbrook Qld 4131.

Magic the Gathering - Thursday 6:30pm

MACARTHUR SQUARE (CAMPBELLTOWN) COME SEE US AT SYDNEY ROYAL EASTER SHOW! 26 MARCH - 8 APRIL Yu-Gi-Oh - Wednesday 5:30pm

PARRAMATTA Yu-Gi-Oh - Thursday 6pm, Saturday 2pm

MACKAY

Magic the Gathering - Sunday 11am

Yu-Gi-Oh - Sundays 3:45pm Magic the Gathering - Friday 6:15pm

MORAYFIELD Magic the Gathering - Friday 6:30pm (5:30pm registration) Yu-Gi-Oh - Sunday 2pm (1pm registration)

Cardfight!! Vanguard - Sunday 2pm Weiss Schwarz - Saturday 10am School Holiday Additional Tournaments: Yu-Gi-Oh - Monday, Wednesday & Friday 2pm Cardfight!! Vanguard - Tuesday & Thursday 2pm

ACT

GAMETRADERS LIVE PENRITH

HYPERDOME

Yu-Gi-Oh - Sunday 11:30am

Yu-Gi-Oh - Saturday 10am Pokémon - Saturday 2pm

Cardfight!! Vanguard - Saturday 5pm Magic the Gathering - Friday 7pm Pokémon - Saturday 12pm Weiss Schwarz - Saturday 6pm My Little Pony - Saturday 6m Board Game Night - Wednesday 6pm Nintendo Fight Night - Thursday 7pm

GAMETRADERS LIVE HORNSBY Yu-Gi-Oh - Saturday & Sunday 11am Pokémon - Saturday & Sunday 11am Magic the Gathering - Friday 6pm Board Games & Role Playing - Wednesday 6pm Role Playing & Retro - Thursday 6pm All other systems - Casual Play Sundays

FIND OUT MORE...

each store has their own facebook page! just search gametraders followed by their store locatioN name OR VISIT WWW.GAMETRADERS.COM.AU/STORES.

GAMETRADERS BACCHUS MARSH

SCHOOL HOLIDAY EVENTS! 30th

Monday

Tuesday

March

WEEK 1 Thursday

2nd

Movie Monday DragonBall Z Battle of Gods (PG) 5pm

3rd

Friday

April

L.A.N. (B.Y.O. Computer/Laptop) 5pm

our Check ok Facebomore r page foails! det

Trading Card Tuesday ALL Formats ALL Day (B.Y.O. Decks) + Learn to Play Magic the Gathering (Decks Provided)

Saturday

6th

Monday

Movie Monday Street Fighter (MA15+) 5pm

WEEK 2 Thursday

9th

Friday

April ThorsDay CosPlay Day & L.A.N. (B.Y.O. Computer/Laptop) 5pm

10th

April

Friday Night Magic (Draft) 5pm $20 Includes 3 MTG Booster Packs

Shop 57, Village Shopping Centre, Main Street, Bacchus Marsh VIC 3340 (03) 5367 0717 bacchusmarsh@gametraders.com.au

April X-Wing Wednesday & other Table Top/ Board Games

5th

Sunday

April

Tuesday

April

k.com/ ceboo rsh www.fa chusMa c a B aders Gametr

4th

Easter Saturday Easter Activities

Good Friday

1st

Wednesday

March

April

CLOSED

31st

7th

April

CLOSED Easter Sunday

Wednesday

April Trading Card Tuesday ALL Formats ALL Day (B.Y.O. Decks) + Learn to Play Magic the Gathering (Decks Provided)

Saturday

11th

April

International Table Top Day SESSIONS: Juniors (8-12 years) 2pm & Seniors (13+ years) 5pm

8th

April X-Wing Wednesday & other Table Top/ Board Games

Sunday

12th

April

Studio Ghibli Sunday Movie Day The Wind Rises (PG) 2pm

BUY 2

PRE-PLAYED GAMES RD & GET THE 3 GAME *

FREE! (VALUE OF 3RD GAME UP TO $30) *Cheapest game free. Selected titles and formats only. Excludes retro.

Ask staff for details.

FREE SUBSCRIPTION

TO LIVE MAGAZINE! Gametraders Live Magazine is published monthly and keeps gamers and pop-culture fans up to date with the latest in video games, comics, collectables, anime, manga, retro, and our popular cosplay section. All our game reviews and previews are totally honest, looking at the pros and cons of each game so you can make an informed decision, thanks to the team at Sticky Trigger.

GET YOURS HERE!

CHECK OUR PAST ISSUES HERE:

www. issuu.com/gametraders

FIND YOUR NEAREST STORE...

South Australia Ingle Farm.................................. (08) 8265 7283 Marion....................................... (08) 8296 1144 Mt Barker................................... (08) 8391 6300 Salisbury.................................... (08) 8281 0966 Seaford...................................... (08) 8327 1966 ACT Hyperdome................................ (02) 6293 3751

New South Wales Gametraders LIVE Penrith.........(02) 4731 3894 Blacktown................................. (02) 9676 1411 Macarthur Square (Campbelltown) (02) 4620 0750 Parramatta................................ (02) 9633 2833 Gametraders LIVE Hornsby....... (02) 9477 6477 Victoria Bacchus Marsh......................... (03) 5367 0717 Highpoint................................... (03) 9317 0188 Gametraders LIVE Mildura........ (03) 5023 7702

Terms & Conditions April Magazine valid until 30/04/15, unless specified otherwise. Stock is subject to availability and change without notice and may vary from store to store. No Rain Checks.

All dates and prices are correct at the time of printing.

For more info visit: www.gametraders.com.au Queensland Chermside................................. (07) 3861 5000 Logan Hyperdome..................... (07) 3801 5599 Mackay...................................... (07) 4944 0998 Morayfield.................................. (07) 5495 7705