November 2018

Captain Of Oz dishes his latest suit and what’s next

Hello! W el c o m e to a bra nd ne w s tar t for Nova s tr e am M ag a z i ne . I am th e e ditor A l ai s d ai r “L e it ha l ’ L e i th r e ad y to che ck i n w i th you ev e r y m o n th a n d b r i ng th e hot t e st i n e n te r tai nme nt . Thi s m o n th Britt g i r l an d I h e ad ed to Oz C omi c C o n a n d cha t t e d w i th Cap t a i nOf Oz , m ad e a n a we so m e c o s p l ay musi c v i d e o M ak e sure you c h e c k i t o ur on our Yo u Tu b e p ag e . W e ar e r e l o c atin g to M e lb o u r n e an d c an’t wa i t to s e e th is in p ri nt . W e w i l l h ave a list of c af e s an d o utle t s y o u c an p i c k up a p hy i s c al c o p y from i n ne x t m o n th s issu e . Than k s to al l o ur a ma z i n g s u p p o r te rs for a l l th e l ov e a n d l i k e s y o u h av e g vie n us ov e r th e ye a rs . W e ar e e xc i ted to mov e f o r w ar d i n t h e ne x t s tag e o f Novast r e a m . T i l l n e xt mont h N ovas tr e am ers Twitt e r - @ al ai s d ai r Face b ook - @ al ai s da i r Insta - @a l ai s d ai r

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Alaisdair explores Lady Gaga’s debut film role.

T

he amount of hype and critical praise for this movie has been doing the rounds online and while this is the fourth iteration of this story, it is with fresh direction from actor Bradley Cooper starring alongside popstar Lady Gaga to propel this tired out tale into a fresh and Oscar worthy film that will be talked about for years to come.

A Star Is Born has been continually remade in each generation since the 1930’s with the last version starring Barbera Streisand and Kris Kristofferson. Now comes along first time director who also produced, cowrote and contributed to song composition Bradley Cooper and starring alongside is Lady Gaga in her first movie role. Both have clearly invested a lot into this movie and have a lot to prove. The good news is the film is not only a triumph in film making but also a great re-telling of this story that we have seen with several big name actors over the years.

The film centers around Jackson Maine (Bradley Cooper) a country pop megastar who is reaching the end of his career and drowning his sorrows with booze and pills.

One night he is searching for a bar and stumbles upon a drag bar where Ally (Lady GaGa) is performing La Vie En Rose and is instanly drawn to her. Jack invites Ally to join her on the road for his tour and perform duet Shallow (listen to the song right now!)

Ally is approached by manager Rez (Rafi Gavron) who propels her into a solo career miles away from the singer behind the piano she started out with Jack. The pair navigate the music industry as Ally is becoming a star and Jack is winding down as well as figuring out their relationship will work amongst substance abuse and addiction.

In addition to these two there are incredible supporting roles from Sam Elliott as Bobby, who is Jack’s brother and the chemistry between the two is incredible. They are completely believable as brothers and their story arc is completely joyous to watch on screen. Dave Chapelle surprises in a dramatic role, and while his screen time is short, it is effective and highlights a different side to the comedian. The film’s direction is nothing short of incredible. Having Cooper as a weathered and scruffy rock star is portrayed perfectly. You can almost smell the alcohol and sweat as the tour goes on. Seeing Gaga completely stripped of all make up and plain clothes from her usual eccentric fashion choices completely makes these characters seem real. Often with movies starring singers and popstars it can be hard to seperate the artist from the actor (Glitter anyone??) this is completely different here, Gaga’s powerful vocals combined with Cooper’s surprising vocal performance completely fill the cinema and left me with goosebumps.

All of the music and vocal performances in the movie are done live, with the tour parts recorded at the Glastonbury Music Festival.

These touches really propel the film into an exploration of the music industry that hasn’t been authentically seen on screen before.

] The camera work is even raw with handheld cameras and dirty shots combine with bold red and yellow lighting.

The cuts are swift, particularly during the on stage and backstage tour moments and there are time jumps between the first, second and third act that are not explained with huge chunks of time missing which allow for personal interpretation and reflection after the film is over. It is a bold move that works for this kind of story and for Cooper to be able to deliver this in his first feature is a strong indication of great things to come.

Overall A Star Is Born tells a story that you may have heard before, but it does so in a unique and compelling way with outstanding performances and songs, you will be wanting to watch this movie and listen to the soundtrack over and over again. Gaga shines in her debut role with a raw performance that solidifies her career in the acting role. Cooper has shown that he is much more than just an incredible award winning actor, but a skilled producer, director and editor. He has delivered one of the finest films made this

year and is an exploration of the music industry that hasn’t been done authentically before. Strong supporting performances elevate the film and the sweping score and addictive soundtrack full of earworms all combine to what I can safely say is my favourite film of 2018 (so far). The film does have a long running time of 140 minutes, but it truly is an experience worth seeing in the biggest screen with the best sound you can track down. A Star Is Born should be a strong contender for the Oscars.

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What To Watch In November Nov. 1

Nov. 8 Nov.15 Nov.22

Nov.29

Hunter Killer Bohemian Rhapsody Charming The Girl In The Spider’s Web Boy Erased Fantastic Beasts : The Crimes Of Grindewald The Nutcraker And The Four Realms Widows Robin Hood The Grinch Creed II

Four strangers, two states and one hotel all combine handles this all perfectly. with a noir story directed by Drew Goddard. An A-list cast bring their top game here with a great story and Performance wise the stand outs here are Bridges and soundtrack to deliver one of the best films of 2018.

Erivo as they steal every scene they are in. Adding in the gorgeous performances from Erivo to the violence The film starts in 1969 at the El Royale which is right and gore of some scenes is some of the best shot and on the border of California and Nevada. The hotel is edited footage in recent memory. There are some great spread across the two states with four guests arriving suppoting performances from Chris Hemsworth as mysteriously at the same time. Father Flynn (Jeff the extremely unhinged version of the leader of a cult Bridges) a femme fatale played by Dakota Johnson, and huge credit to Lewis Pullman who plays Miles vaccum salesman Laramie Sullivan (John Hamm) Millar the very creepy hotel conceirge who constantly and soul singer Darlene Sweet (Cynthia Erivo). The keeps you guessing throughout the film. His story arc 4 choose different rooms in different states and the is intriguing and is another scene stealer, particularly plot bounces in and around the 4 characters exploring when things get intense later in the film. their backstory and how they came to be at the hotel.

As each character’s secrets are uncovered, the events The production on this film is spectacular. The that come as a direct result of this. costumes are a direct reflection of the time with Erivo standing out in mustard skirt and jacket combos, When it’s revealed that a secret tunnel containing two the only question mark was with Dakota Fanning’s way mirrors to every room and sound bugs planted character who looked fresh out of 2018. Similarly the in them, there are some oustanding tracking shots. design of the hotel is stunning. It heralds back to the It is also a great storytelling tool as the camera pans late 60’s era with sandwich and pie rotators, coffee from one room to the next unveiling the horrors and pots and makers that some of us may recognise from private lives of each guest. It feels very Hitchcock-ian our grandmother’s kitchen growing up. The firepit and at times Tarantino-esque (not a bad thing!) it also centrepieces and chandeliers are a great touch and helps that the soulful soundtrack flashes with some add to the ambiance. extremely violent and shocking reveals. Goddard

There are so many great films coming out over the next few weeks, Bad Times At The El Royale is the best film that you haven’t heard about yet. It is one of those films that will have you talking for days after your first viewing and I am also inclined to head back from a second screening to catch up on everything I missed.

It is a wild ride with an extremely talented cast and filmmaker who know how to tell a great story and tie everything together.

The unexpected villain takes a rather humane twist as Venom finally has its own standalone film. And while it has all the making of a traditional Marvel film, Venom seems to be completely out on its own from the Marvel franchise.

Though it will no doubt make its way into the Universe.

Billionaire Carlton Drake (Riz Ahmed) and owner of the Life Foundation has come into possession of alien life form. Drake’s plan is to fuse alien and human to be able to freely roam around in space. Journalist Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) comes into possession of some information about Drake and sets an interview him to uncover the truth.

In an attempt to find evidence of the work Drake is doing in his highly secure labs, Brock comes in contact with the alien life from and it takes over his body. Despite attempts to repress the alien Brock gives in to the voice in his head, Venom.

Venom uses Brock to roam around the earth in an attempt to take it over. But as the two spend more time together, Venom realises how better its life would be on Earth.

Meanwhile, Drake has also fused with another alien, Riot and the two become even more evil.

To stop Riot and Drake from causing mass destruction on Earth, Brock and Venom work together to bring the two down. In turn, saving Earth and rebuilding a relationship with his ex-fiancé, Anne Weying (Michelle Williams).

There is a large backstory to Venom who has been around since the 80s, mostly as an enemy to Spiderman. But what is shown in this stand-alone film is a small part of the character from the Spider-Verse. It’s unclear if the two

will cross paths in the near future, though it will no doubt happen eventually with the current success of the Marvel Universe.

What makes Venom work is the fact that it’s the same story line that has been the stable of most superhero albeit Marvel films. A bad guy wants to take over the earth and the average joe come superhero tries to put a stop to it.

The audience knows how the story goes and how it will end. It’s that switch off fun which Venom provides and has the audience laughing or enjoying the adventure. It will be interesting to see how Venom progresses in future film and whether it will take a darker journey.

Tom Hardy takes on the role of Eddie Brock and Venom including the voice. The biggest downfall of the film is that Hardy does not resemble a stereotypical journalist and completely loses that character and its authenticity.

On the flipside Hardy is amazing as Venom and having a conversation with himself and Venom is sometimes hilarious. Hardy also manages really showcase his body being controlled by someone or something else. While there’s no emotional connection to Hardy or his character he does provide a great deal of entertainment and action.

Overall, Venom is a great addition to the Marvel Universe.

Tom Hardy brings great comedic value to the symbiote and manages to deliver some quality action scenes as has come to be expected from him. The story is something to be desired as it’s a tale that has been told many times before, however it’s executed just differently enough to not get bored. It has that classic Marvel comedy that will have you giggling all the way to the next action scene. The big questions will be if Venom will cross with Superman and will he become a villain?

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On the outside, First Man looks like it will be 2018’s big space film. How could it not, it’s all about that first walk on the moon. But despite what any advertising or conclusions you may have come to prior to seeing the film, getting to space is the least of First Man’s problems.

It’s a story that even if you don’t know well, you know how it goes as it was man’s biggest feat. Quite simply after a number of failed attempts and a great deal more in loss of life, not to mention billions of taxpayer dollars, two men finally make it safely to the moon.

What First Man does, is tell the story of one of those men, Neil Armstrong and his life to that point. The amount of time he spends in space feels all of five minutes. It’s not a traditional approach to the space films that have come to be known over the last 5 or 6 years. But it does delve into a story not many people would have known about Neil Armstrong and the great internal battles he was struggling with.

Neil Armstrong (Ryan Gosling) and his wife Janet (Claire Foy) are fighting what seems an endless battle with their daughter who has a brain tumour. Despite all their efforts the Armstrong’s sadly have to bury their third child and come to terms with the tragic loss. Something of which Neil is very quietly struggling with inside.

Being an engineer for NASA when the space race was on Neil found himself looking for a distraction from the terrible burden weighing him down. Successfully Neil pushed himself to exceed in his position and quickly promoted to a suicide mission.

Prior to Neil heading to the moon there were a number of failures with other projects which also cost the lives of some deer people close to him. It also put a lot of strain on his marriage with Janet and the relationship with his children. Not only did they struggle with not knowing if he’d come home from any of the training or missions leading up to the moon landing. They also struggled with his distance and lack of being a fatherly figure as Neil put all his focus into his work.

The moon landing was not only a major feat for human kind, it also gave Armstrong the ability to let go of the burden he was holding onto and safely return home to devote his life to his family.

First Man is this delicate story of a very calculated, private and troubled individual, Neil Armstrong. This is a film about the other side of the moon landing, though that in itself plays a huge part in the mental state of who Neil is.

The untold story of the troubled marriage, his battle with his daughter’s death and the toll of the tragic loss of many of his close friends. Armstrong tends to internalise these feelings which puts a great deal of pressure on his family.

But at the same time let’s him dedicate a lot of time and energy into his work. Almost as a punishment upon himself.

Ryan Gosling (La La Land, The Notebook, Drive) takes on this challenging role as Neil Armstrong. There’s a lot to be

said for an actor who can portray a wealth of emotion by hardly doing anything. A lot of Gosling’s true feeling is captured in a quick glance or a fleeting moment. Gosling doesn’t over play this role. If anything, it’s underplayed which makes it even more real. But while very few will ever be able to understand exactly how it feels to walk on the moon, it’s completely lost in Gosling as he battles with something much bigger, letting go of the burden of his daughter who had died some years before. This is possibly some of Goslings greatest work and cements his ability to really channel more emotion than meets the eye.

The most outstanding performance easily goes to Claire Foy (The Crown, Unsane, The Girl in the Spider’s Web) who plays the wife of Neil Armstrong, Janet. Foy not only has to play the role of the independent strong woman, she also has to play the loving mother covering for her husband who is hardly around. Not to mention worry sick that one day her husband may never come home, but when he is home he is distant and reserved. Foy brings a whole lot of passion and strength, but she also has the undertow of complete vulnerability and being absolutely petrified. Her on screen matchup with Gosling works so well her ability to use his lack of emotion and drive the scene with it was amazing to watch.

There is a very unique style with First Man. Different from your usual space blockbusters. It has a much stronger drama outline which is from the Director Damien Chazelle who won the Oscar for Best Director and Screenplay for La La Land in 2017. Chazelle has a strong ability to create stylised cinema giving concepts and stories that have already been told and giving them a unique twist and style to separate it from anything like it. Chazelle strips down this amazing feat for mankind and takes a snapshot of this small and intimate part of such a world-wide historical event.

He makes it relatable, normal and even though something as big as going to space seems so unrealistic for most people, Chazelle makes it feel understandable and achievable.

While there are some great performances and even though the Direction for a drama is superb it is hard to enjoy when the film is marketed as a space film yet has hardly any space time. It’s always a heated debate when it comes to any film based in space, how much of it is actually accurate? While it would be fair to say a majority of First Man’s audience wouldn’t know of its accuracy, they also wouldn’t know because of the way the space exploration was decided to be filmed. There is only a small part of actual space time and that time is spent in a shaking spacecraft which means the camera is also shaking. Or spinning to the point that the audience has to look away to reset their balance.

It is clearly going for authentic space travel, however for the viewer to be able to enjoy the film, some liberties can sometimes be taken.

Overall, First Man doesn’t work as a space film but works as an indie biography of man’s first walk on the moon. It sheds a different light into this historical moment, yet in all gives hardly any time in space. As it’s a story most people know it would be expected that a large portion would spent in space, if not the moon. However, it was just a small snippet into the complicated life of this one individual and his internal struggle that ultimately had nothing to do with the walk on the moon.

Today in Australia and New Zealand there are some 10 organisations promoting the practice of same sex attraction conversion therapy. To make this worse there are a large number of organisations practicing this conversion therapy that don’t promote what they do. In a recent report issued by the Human Rights Law Centre, Gay and Lesbian Health Victoria, and La Trobe University stated that about 10 per cent of the LGBT community are vulnerable to these institutions.

For most people it was assumed these organisations were a thing of the past. When Writer and Director Joel Edgerton of Boy Erased, a film about conversion therapy, would tell people he was working on a film with such subject matter, “they were like oh when’s it set in the 50s, in the 60s?” Edgerton said.

“It [Boy Erased] was set in the early 2000s but is very much going on today in American and Australia. Where young people are against their will or under duress by their families sent to places where they’re supposed to feel like its possible to reorient their sexuality. And of course I think that’s a very damaging thing to present to a child”, expressed Edgerton.

Joel Edgerton is an Australian Actor who is greatly paving his way as a Director in Hollywood. Edgerton started to become a household name when he starred in the hit Australian TV show, The Secret Life of Us. With a long list of successful acting roles it wasn’t until Edgerton showed Hollywood he isn’t one to mess with when he Directed, The Gift.

Edgerton was interviewed by Magda Szubanski live in front of an audience who were about to watch his latest Directorial efforts with Boy Erased. Edgerton not only Directed by also wrote the screenplay and was one of the main actors in the film.

When Szubanski asked him what it was that made him want to make Boy Erased, he said he still isn’t quite sure but there was something that got under his skin. Possibly linked to the interest he had in institutions growing up.

“I was terrified about being sent away from my parents.

I was obsessed with the ideas of being sent to boarding

school, prison, military. And as I grew having an interest in film at least or being an actor I loved movies about that stuff”, he said.

The film Boy Erased is based on the 2016 memoirs by the same name by Garrard Conley. Following his life as his religious parents make the decision to help their son with conversion therapy.

“I read it [Boy Erased memoir] very quickly because of the salacious reason but what I came out of was a story about a family that had this chance of a restoration or reformation. And it felt to me like it was very fertile ground to make a movie of because of the optimism that came out of the back end of it, the hopefulness of it”, said Edgerton.

Jared Eamons (Lucas Hedges) has moved from his parents and living on campus of his University. Here he becomes good friends with Henry (Joe Alwyn) a fellow church goer and runner. As the two had a lot in common Jared started to build a crush on Henry. One night when Henry stayed as they had been playing games late into the night Henry raped Jared.

For Henry to feel better about his actions he outed Jared to his parents and so Jared’s parents Nancy (Nicole Kidman) and Baptist Pastor father Marshall (Russell Crowe) decide to help him by sending him to conversion therapy to “pray the gay away”.

In Jareds time at the conversion therapy he learns that despite his religion these teachings are doing more harm than good when a fellow classmate takes his own life. Jared calls Nancy when he realises his teacher Victor Sykes is himself a homosexual despite teaching these boys how not to be gay.

Nancy suddenly comes to terms with what is going on and stands up for herself and her son though this doesn’t align with Marshall. There are some hard years until Jared finds the courage to talk to his father and lay out exactly how their relationship will go, or not.

“This was a story of a family, there was more of a foundation of love there that the family didn’t stop loving Jarrad.

They just felt they had their beliefs that said there was a

way of turning him around”, explains Edgerton.

making it surprising this hasn’t already been done.

The most curious part of this story is the fact that Jared has little hatred toward those that have caused him greif.

It is almost as if he understand where they are coming from and can empathise with them and their decisions.

“They felt very comfortable together they were very keen to work together. I felt like I had two great partners”, said Edgerton.

But the part of the story that is most concerning is the fact that Jared’s parents believe they have made this decision to send him to conversion therapy out of love and want for Jared to get better. They have no malice in what they are doing. They are so passionate about their religion that they believe what they are doing is the right thing.

They never stopped loving their son. And this is where it becomes concerning for young people in the similar situation.

Edgerton tells the story of how quickly the two got onboard with Boy Erased and how nervous he was having to direct his idols.

“They were like the two holding the machetes cutting their way thru the forest to LA. They paved the way that give me inspiration. Then all of a sudden they answered the call to a movie that I wanted to make and I’ve got to tell them what to do”, he said.

Edgerton went onto explain the process of getting Boy “Garrard had such an empathy for the people that fed him Erased to the screen after having read Garrard Coley’s ideas or pushed him into the place and he didn’t paint memoirs. Edgerton says he met with Gerrard and those anybody as a villain. He really actually acknowledged that who had been through conversion therapy. He asked part of the scariness of what he went through was that Gerrard to write the screenplay, “he was like I’ve already they were there to help,” said Edgerton when explaining written the book, I don’t want to write the screenplay”, the story. laughed Edgerton.

Playing the challenging role of Jared was Lucas Hedges (Three Billboards Outside of Ebbing MIssouri, Lady Bird, Moonrise Kingdom). Hedges captures an innocence with this role. An innocence to the world and an innocence to what he’s letting these people do to him. Hedges manages to take the viewer on a rollercoaster of emotion bringing a real connection. So much so that in a scene where he is raped, it is so raw and real it’s actually hard to stomach.

Alongside Hedges is Nicole Kidman and Russell Crowe as his parents. This is the first film the two have worked together and bring an amazing chemistry to the screen

By Jay Cook

“Along the way as I went deeper in the process I kept getting involved sending him the draft of the script and asking him his opinion. I felt more than anything like a passenger to his story and I felt the privilege that I was an instrument to tell his story”, he said.

Boy Erased is a confronting and highly emotionally charged story. It’s a story that needs to be told. If not only to bring awareness to what is happening, but “more importantly for parents as a sort of a road map of sorts about how to get to a place that’s more about love than about judgement and fear of their own judgement in their own community”, expressed Edgerton.

Jamie Lee Curtis faces Michael Myers 40 years later.

It’s been 40 years since Michael Myers stalked Laurie Strode in Haddonfield, Illinois. Since then we have been subject to a slew of sequels, reboots and spinoffs, some of which Jaime Lee Curtis has starred in herself. Now comes Halloween 2018, 20 years after Halloween H2O and 40 years since the original film. This film stands as the TRUE sequel to the first film exploring what has happened to Strode and her family since the traumatic event. In what can only be described as a modern horor classic with tropes that evolve into truly terrifying and tense scenes with outstanding performances from the female cast and a modern twist on this classic tale that will have Halloween fans screaming for more.

Halloween is set in the current time with Laurie Strode (Jaime Lee Curtis) a complete shadow of the woman she was when we met her in the first film. She is battered, angry and essentially broken. She lives on the outskirts of town in her own fortress, completely obsessed with Michael Myers and his impending transfer to another prison. Her daughter Karen (Judy Greer) is hepling her own daughter Allyson (Andi Matichak) get ready to leave for college. Enter two British podcasters who want to interview Myers and Strode to gain new insight into these crimes (think Making a Murderer etc) who provoke Myers and unleash all hell on this unsuspecting community who are forced to relive these events from 40 years ago. Going into this movie it was hard not to buy into the hype. The press junkets from Curtis have been captivating, audiences and critics are raving about the film, yet after the last few years of disappointing horror films it was hard to come into this with fresh eyes and still regain some shred of hope for this sequel (particularly after Laurie Stode’s infamous death scene in Halloween Resurrection). What I loved most about this film is its constant nods to the sequels as well as other horror hits like Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer. Having millenials point out the absurdity of people being so hung up on 5 deaths that happened 40 years ago compared to the horrors that our world faces today is something worth exploring. While they directly addressed it, it wasn’t really explored any further than that. That being said the intensity of the mur-

ders and brutality of the death scenes are nothing short of spectacular. You can really feel the Blumhouse influence in the gore and confronting slasher scenes.

While this is all set in modern times, the score, soundtrack, camera shots and feel fresh out of the 1970’s original. This is the perfect blend of modern and classic horror that make the film feel epic an very true to the series past.

Curtis looks the part as a grandmother who is prepared to protect her family at any cost. Her haggard and rough portrayal perfectly match the home or really fortress in which she lives. Simiarly Karen has suffered a life of neglect and trauma due to her mother’s paranoia and has a firm stance on not budging till Laurie gets professional help. This is then passed down to Allyson who is definitely the most sand of the three characters living a relatively carefree teenage life with clear sympathy and affection for her grandma, while her relationship with her mother is extremely strained. In the final act of the film where all three women come together to confront Michael Myers. It really cements their relationship and shows the generational trauma that this movie sets about to explain.

This film does have alot of intense and emotional moments, it was really hard to put nostalgia and all the love I have for the originalk film aside and treat this as its own thing. Sometimes the film goes out of its way to explain things that could have just been portrayed through actions and flashbacks rather than having a spoken narrative over the top. This is one part of the film that I didn’t enjoy.

Audiences are unfortunately treated like idiots at times and while this may be necessary for audiences who haven’t seen the first film, it really takes you out of the film.

REVIEW BY ALAISDAIR “LEITHAL” LEITH

Overall Halloween 2018 is a true return to form after 20 years of sequels that pale in comparison to the original.

While this doesn’t quite reach the heights of the first film, it does get really REALLY close. Be prepared for some really intense moments and performances that are rare in a horror film (especially from Blumhouse!) Definitely don’t see this alone, take your friends, your family and prepare for the return of Halloween and what is sure to be impending sequels for years to come. For the meantime enjoy this masterpiece in filmmaking and storytelling.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN HOPE YOU SURVIVED!

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Whether I was driving along dangerous snow covered roads or offroad racing through the woods on a rainy day in Spring, Forza Horizon 4 is a gorgeous driving experience which did a fantastic job of showing off the UK country side. I never wanted to make use of the fast travel feature as I know from real life experiences that the only way to explore another country is to hop in a car and drive. Which is exactly what I did when I wasn’t racing, making the whole experience feel like I was on a mini road trip of my own.

The fourth installment in the Forza Horizon series is once again based around the Horizon Festival, a large scale racing competition for all car types and racing categories this time taking place in the UK. After being showcased the different cars and all the amazing scenery you get to race through, you begin to compete one of the many racers from around the world during the festivals Summer season. As a Forza Horizon first, the seasons change which made the environments look almost as visually appealing as some of the 450+ cars that are on offer. I could spend hours just aimlessly driving through the countryside during the Spring, or any season for that matter. During the first year, you transition through to Autumn, Winter and Spring by gaining Influence points to qualify for each season and these are gained by simply competing in races, events and challenges. There’s a wide variety of race types to choose from with something for everyones racing taste and can either be played solo against drivatars, co-op with friends or in pvp mode against other players online. You don’t HAVE to come first, second or third to gain a decent chunk of Influence either so it’s good that it doesn’t punish you in that sense. Although having the VIP pass increased the amount I received, the same applies for credit rewards that can be used to buy cars, their upgrades and another new Forza Horizon feature, houses, which often grant perks/rewards and act as garages for you to give your car a new paint job and install upgrades whether they’re major overhauls or you want to fine tune the engine. And even if the handling on your car isn’t the best you will get rewarded for smashing into walls or missing a car by mere inches, which gave me major Burn-

out vibes. Once you’ve completed racing through all four seasons in the first year, you’ll be qualified for the Horizon roster which offers seasonal event races with rewards in the form of credits, cars and cosmetic items for your character. Competing in these isn’t necessary once you make it on the roster as there’s still a tonne of activities left over from your first year participating in the Horizon festival and even more races to unlock as you continue to level up and progress through each round in the different race types. Your Influence Points are no longer required to transition into seasons since they now change at the same time for all players on the roster with each season running for a week at a time. The weather plays a big part in every players online experience too, if it’s raining for one player on the server it’s raining for all players.

There’s also story missions where your character is a movie stunt driver and you have to complete the various timed challenges but it’s not absolutely necessary to complete and like any other open world game, it’s super easy to get distracted by all the other side stuff. And what’s an open world game without collectables, they are on offer but I personally wasn’t on the hunt to collect everyone single one. The only collection I showed any interest in were the hidden abandoned barns that added legendary cars to your collection. And if none of that is showing you much interest at the time (or even if it is) you can drive by other online players or drivatars and hit them up for a quick race.

The Forza Horizon 4 racing world is your oyster with so many cars to collect ranging from buggies to modern supercars to muscle cars, plenty of race events to take part in either online or offline and two expansions on the horizon (see what I did there?) it’s hard to get bored of this game and it’s a formula that Forza has once again done so well.

Forza Horizon 4 is out now on Xbox One and Windows and available with Xbox Game Pass.

The most immediately striking thing about Reigns: Kings & Queens is how simple it is, so much so that at first you’ll probably find yourself waiting for some new mechanic to drop in that will completely change the way the game is played. Its simplicity makes it hard to sort into genre.

It’s a kingdom simulator by way of a choose your own adventure novel. It’s a game that is entirely made up of being asked questions and choosing one of two responses, over and over again.

Subtle variances flow in and out, and there are some very complex systems working away beneath it all, but it never really deviates from the core gameplay of swiping left or right. It might sound incredibly boring on paper and yet, it’s a surprisingly fun and unique experience.

Originally designed for mobile, . Reigns on Nintendo Switch is a compilation of two games – the original Reigns and its sequel, Her Majesty, both of which have been retitled Kings and Queens here. Depending on the game chosen, you play as a King or Queen and find yourself presented with a deck of cards, each card representing a member of your court coming to you with a decision to be made. You go through each card, one after the other and choose one of two an-

swers which effect various stats.

If one of your stats gets too low (or in some cases too high), you will be rather violently killed off and begin again as the next ruler in line. Certain events will give you a new deck of cards and new events to play through, driving you through an overarching story that spans the combined reigns of all the rulers you play.

A number of smaller systems are introduced using the same card mechanic including combat and duelling and you sometimes acquire items that can be used at key events to grant new outcomes.

Swiping through the cards can get repetitive quickly, but it can also be surprisingly tense experience as you move from making decisions based on your own judgements to carefully juggling the statistics, nervously watching as they fall lower and lower. Its oddly captivating. The game’s surprises come through its narrative rather than its gameplay and its ability to tell a sustained story through a randomly generated deck of cards is worth a lot of praise. There’s some great humour displayed throughout, particularly in Queens which is the more satisfying of the two games presented here though both are very funny thanks to their recurring characters.

All that said, Reigns can be a pun-

ishing experience. There are times when the game simply seems to up and kill you for no reason at all.

There are ways around this, particularly in the late game, but when you get killed for the fifth time because your subjects love you too much, it can be a little frustrating.

It’s also, as mentioned previously, quite repetitive and you’ll see the same cards and decisions come up time and time again, sometimes with no discernible effect. It’s a game that’s clearly been designed for mobile, with its swipe left and right mechanics and best played in short bursts as opposed to hours on end where you can end up feeling like you’re being punished.

The Switch is a great platform for it but it’s very much a title you’ll jump in and out of as a nice little diversion between bigger games.

Reigns is the very definition of a niche game. It lacks a certain mass appeal but those who love it will love it completely. It’s clever and surprisingly deep for its simple swipe mechanics though it can be a repetitive experience. Of the two games presented here, Queens is the superior one simply because it tells a more interesting story but both are packed with humour and funny little things to find. It’s by no means a masterpiece but it’s a fun and original little game to swipe through for a few minutes here and there.

Review By Matt Russell

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See you in 2019!

O o n i c B t i p i c i s t d l o Though all the games featured at NEXT were beautiful in their own way, D perhaps none were so visually striking as She and the Lightbearer. A collaborative effort between Indonesian studios that might not otherwise u t receive wide attention for their art, this point and click adventure showcases an amazing hand drawn aesthetic and draws the player through a i story inspired by Indonesian folk lore. Creator Brigitta Rena has struggled v to achieve her goals in the games industry because of family and cultural f g pushback in her native country. She and the Lightbearer is an attempt not only to bring knowledge of traditional Indonesian culture to a wider i 2 audience, but also create opportunities for fellow women in Indonesian game development.

What’s NEXT for gaming: Inclusivity takes centre stage at PAX AUS 2018 Far removed from the flashing lights and booming announcements inside the main hall of PAX AUS 2018, a different kind of exhibit took place. Attendees jostling past one another down the concourse of the MCEC might have been surprised to see such a large display in the main thoroughfare of the convention. It was here that the inaugural NEXT exhibit took place.

In contrast to the immense scale and spectacle of the AAA games inside, NEXT set out to showcase indie titles made by underrepresented developers and tell stories about serious or overlooked subject matter. The brainchild of Ally McLean and Liam Esler, NEXT exhibit brought together six unique titles that might have not have found space on the main show floor. Which is why it’s so important that they were featured here, because these are certainly not ordinary games made by ordinary developers.

Despite recent strides forward in LGBT representation in games, there are still very few stories being told specifically about transgender people.

Underneath the charming cartoon art-style of Florescer lies a confronting look at the everyday struggles of a teenage transgender girl named Bia, as she attempts to fit into a new town. It evokes a strong emotional response by highlighting that even simple tasks like shopping or using the bathroom can create conflict when the public is ignorant and afraid about the reality of being transgender. Florescer was developed by Pugcorn with the support of a Brazilian NGO that houses transgender women. The game is available for download via itch.io.

Anamorphine is an excitingly unique story driven experience from award winning developer Artifact 5. In the game, a young man named Tyler is struggling with PTSD after his wife Elena suffers an accident that inhibits her creative outlet. The player travels through and physically pieces together the fractured memories of their relationship, which have been designed to bleed into one another seamlessly. This, combined with the lack of an action or dialogue button, serves to create a surreal sense of being nowhere and helpless in your journey to understand Tyler’s fragile state of mind. The game is a beautiful attempt to convey the guilt and helplessness that can come with caring for someone with a disability.

Anamorphine is available now on Steam for PC and VR devices.

Article by Dylan Cook

For the full list of games and links, visit our website www.novastreamnetwork. com

One title at NEXT 2018 stood out as less of a reflective journey and more of an absurdist parody of both dungeon crawlers and visual novels.

Boyfriend Dungeon, from Montreal developer Kitfox Games, is a genre mashup that sees players romance their weapons in open-ended dialogue based cutscenes before descending into “the dunj� with their new squeeze for a rollicking action-RPG adventure. Though dealing with comparatively lighter subject matter than the other titles at NEXT, Boyfriend Dungeon is a showcase of the unique and entertaining titles that can be released when an incredibly diverse group of developers are given the proper funding and support for their games. Boyfriend Dungeon is due for release on Steam in 2019.

Rounding out the NEXT line-up is Before I Forget, a story driven first person game about living with dementia. Players control Sunita, who upon exploring her house finds objects that trigger memories and bring colour back into her world. Though this process players can help reconstruct her past to better understand her present. Sunita’s condition means that she is often unable to understand or remember the details of what she is remembering or where she is, and the game is an attempt to convey the confusion and loneliness felt by people with early onset dementia. Before I Forget was made by 3-Fold Games, an all-female team of UK developers. It is a worthy title to be showcased at NEXT as not only does it represent an often overlooked and misunderstood mental illness, but also highlights the gender imbalances in the games industry and the need for equal financial support for female developers. Before I Forget is due for release in 2018 on PC and Mac.

If anyone still doubted the passion and sincerity brought to Melbourne by the team behind NEXT after playing these six amazing games, they need only talk to its co-creator Ally McLean. Since founding the Working Lunch mentorship for women in games, Ally has built up an impressive trophy cabinet and is in a position to lend her voice to any number of worthy causes within the gaming community. I sat down with her and chatted about why campaigning for accessibility and inclusiveness in games development appealed to her specifically.

“Last year I was going around the world with a game that I made with my team, going through the experience of being an indie developer on the other side of the world. There was a showcase at PAX East of Australian games and I thought something that brings games from all over the world was missing from PAX AUS, and it would be worthwhile to feature games that were diverse and from underrepresented creators, but without all the pain and hard work of them having to showcase it themselves.”

With a huge amount of applications to the exhibit, there must have been a heartbreaking process of whittling down to the final six games. However, Ally and her team had some help in this regard. “A jury of diverse game developers looked at all the applications and played the games. I think the North Star of deciding whether a game belonged at NEXT is what does this game have to say and what can it show people that they otherwise wouldn’t be exposed to. Each of the games has a message that we felt was important and that people otherwise wouldn’t have experienced.”

As we spoke in the bustling concourse, people continued to pour out of the main hall and filter into the comparatively small and relaxing atmosphere of the NEXT exhibit. This, it seems, was all part of the plan to ensure as many people as possible saw these unique titles.

“It was a conscious decision to have it out here in people’s faces, for accessibility as well as visibility. You don’t need a PAX pass to come and see these games, and the booth was purposefully designed to be physically accessible to everyone.”

In addition to the message of inclusivity spread by NEXT, accessibility for those with physical disabilities was also front and centre. Exhibit sponsor Microsoft supplied funding for the exhibit and ensured that several of their new Adaptive controllers were available for anyone to use. The controller is designed to be used with any part of the body, as well as having multiple universal ports for support of custom made controllers to suit individual disabilities. Whilst using it, I struck up a conversation with a random PAX goer who had consulted with Microsoft on its development and used it at

home to play racing games with his feet.

“The way that people are interacting with the games, people are coming and spending 45 minutes playing, turning to the stranger next to them and talking about it, then getting their phones out and following the developers on Twitter. I’ve been going to conventions for 10 years and I’ve never seen that before,” Ally said of the reaction of the public.

Showcases like this are never without their hiccups, but by all accounts, NEXT 2018 was a roaring success and everyone involved is keen to see it expand and highlight even more deserving developers in the future.

“I’m very happy with how the exhibit turned out. I was worried it would be very loud and crowded. We wanted it to be a chill and comfy environment which is why we designed it the way we did. But people’s reactions have been surprising, coming out of the main hall it’s almost like an oasis for some of them to just come and relax and play some games and I think that’s really helped.”

“We would love to take NEXT further. Highlighting the work of underrepresented developers is something that everyone here strongly believes in and especially removing the stress and other barriers to showcasing their games. We would love for it to get bigger. We learned a lot about the way that people interacted with the space that I think would help us come back and showcase even more games next year.”

Australian game publisher and developer The Voxel Agents should feel very proud. After taking a risky leap away from the world of mobile gaming into a full-fledged console and PC game release, they have made a truly beautiful adventure-puzzle game in The Garden’s Between. I would even go so far as to say that The Garden’s Between might be the best Australian-made game I have ever played.

When playing this, I felt like I was somewhere between going through a meditative colouring book, and watching a peaceful sunset cascade across the horizon during a camping trip. The synergy of the game’s simple mechanics, interesting puzzle design, beautiful visuals and sound design and the powerful yet relatable story gave me an aura of peace whenever I loaded it up. While the entire game could be completed in about 5 or 6 hours, I think best results would be achieved in spades of about 20 or 30 minutes a night before bed.

Onto the game itself, and what is most apparent is that every level is a piece of art. Every level involves the two friends working their way around surreal islands and solving puzzles with the theme of their memories in a way that connects many themes of a childhood spent with a close friend. Although some of the assets can appear a bit rough around the edges when viewed up close, the level of care that has gone into making the characters, the interactive objects, and the scenery all pop has to be commended. The music and sound effects, while simple, all add to the value of each scene too.

I’m honestly surprised that the game is as cheap as it is at $20. For 20 well designed levels, they’d be well within their rights to initially charge $40 for the entire experience, and I honestly think that $20 is a downright bargain for the museum-quality experience that The Garden’s Between brings.

Even the level selection screen is a piece of art, with tiny models that represent the memories that each level unlock, and the time of day changing as they are scrolled through.

The way that the friends interact with each other and the objects without saying a world is a masterclass of storytelling, and similarities can be drawn between this game and other indie titles like Limbo, Inside and Journey in this regard.

But of course, all of the great storytelling and level-creation would mean nothing if it weren’t for the inclusion of solid

and compelling gameplay. The Voxel Agents wanted to make players feel like they were controlling time itself in working through the levels, as opposed to the players, and as such there are only three buttons required to learn to play the game: left (backwards), right (forwards) and interact. This method of gameplay design allows for the movement of the friends to have been entirely pre-determined by the producers, and it’s beautiful to see them travel the way real curious kids do. Simple things like peering off to look at the scenery, take a moment to themselves, or just get their balance right give a lot of personality to the characters and levels themselves without having the flow of the game be broken. While the puzzles themselves do begin a bit simple and many can be solved just by having the characters interact with every available object as they come across them, and later levels can involve at-times tedious levels of backtracking, it always feels satisfying when a solution is reached. That being said, an option to speed up the walking speed, especially in later levels, would not have gone amiss, and the lack of complication in many of the puzzles solutions can make it difficult to see the allure of a second play-through outside of wanting to experience the artistic level design again.

While improvements can be made, The Garden’s Between delivers one of the most beautiful adventure-puzzle games I have ever seen, and deserves to have the same success that Limbo had 8 years ago. The Voxel Agents have created a beautiful piece of art that brings pride to Australian game design not seen on a non-mobile platform in some time, and is well worth the price and time of day of any gamers looking to try something new. The Garden’s Between will be released on the 20th of September for Playstation 4, Nintendo Switch PC and Mac at a price of $20.

Alaisdair releases his inner fanboy in this latest Lego adventure

Ah Lego games, we have been playing these games for many years, and thanks to Travellers Tales and WB Games who continually reinvent the wheel to make these games feel fresh and new in comes DC Super Villains to again push the boundaries and giver us a whole new sandbox to play with. While there are many new features to this game, there are still plenty of DC villains to unlock and play with that will keep fans, particularly of obscure ones like calendar man and the condiment king extremely satisfied.

Structurally the game is essentially the same, a mix of platforming, puzzles and combat with a healthy dose of smashing everything in sight to collect those sweet Lego studs. This is what makes every Lego game work and remains the same with this game. The difference is now you can create and customise your own character that is part of the main story of the game. Stick with me it is as annoying as it sounds. Through each level your villain gains a new power that is required to progress through the next level. This then allows you to completely customise it later in the game and even for free roaming. If you are like me though there are WAY too many other characters to play with to even consider wanting to do this.

Story wise this game knocks it out of the park, a group of Justice League lookalikes arrive on Earth calling themselves the Justice Syndicate. They trap the Justice League and make them disappear and DC’s villains like The Joker, Harley Quinn, Scarecrow and more must band together to get rid of the Syndicate before they take over the world. It is ultimately a perfect script for a story and the humour and affection that is given works on every level. Location wise you move through Gotham City, Metropolis, Smallville and Apokolips in the main story. The 30 hour campaign is strong and with plenty of side missions and offerings inbetween the value in this game is outstanding.

get better. Several times my Switch when undocked would just freeze and restart. Then missions wouldn’t load properly leaving me completely stuck and having to restart the level just to get through. It was a different story when it was docked, no issues so it could just be a Switch thing.

There are also some limitations on the camera and this caused some frustration when trying to power forward at certain points.

Graphically the game excels, it is a visual feast with so much colour and life, it is hard to believe that you are dealing with the darker side of DC comics. This is also helped by the licensed music with The Joker & The Thief and Hit Me With Your Best Shot. It is also great to know that a massive star studded voice cast lend their voices to this game with Mark Hamill, Tara Strong and Kevin Conroy reprising their roles as from Batman The Animated Series.

Even Nolan North gets in on the action as Ultraman and Bizzaro. The addition of photo mode in this game is a welcome one, particularly when everything is so bright and worth taking a look at. It really is the most well thought out Lego game ever made.

If you are a DC comics fan, please pick this up. It will fulfil so many of your wishes for DC properties and is done with such love and respect you cannot help but love it. The characters and story all fit perfectly into the Lego canon and while my initial concerns of such a dark and sinister property being able to work in a kid friendly environment, it does hold up to be entertaining for both young and old.

Lego DC Super Villains is a standout in the Lego series and a must have if you are a fan. The new custom characterisation is a big step forward for the games and will hopefully see more tweaking of this in the future as these games are developed. A solid story and large roster of characters combine to deliver one of Travellers Tales finest works to date.

Lego DC Super Villains is available on PS4, Xbox One, The good news with characters is that you can also Nintendo Switch and PC now. select hero characters and if you have purchased the Ultimate version of the game you not only get a super cool steenbok to put your game in, you also get access to a slew of characters and content from DCTV including The Flash, Supergirl, Black Lightning and Arrow as well as DLC levels and characters from Young Justice, the upcoming Aquaman and Shazam films and a slew of others set to flood in shortly.

Tech wise this game does probably need a few patches to

Having just recovered from the cancellation of Lego Dimensions, I reluctantly picked up Starlink : Battle For Atlas and deliverately chose the Switch edition so I could use the Starfox characters and packs. While you may be surprised that another toys to life game is happening and may be a few years to late, the good news is it is entirely optional. If you purchase it digitally you can use the characters, weapons and ships online without needing the phyiscal toys. This is also works with the physical version, you can access all your assets without needing to physically clip them on. The story is pretty much a play by numbers defeat the enemies to save the world, it is the dialogue and cut scenes that really make this game stand out amongst the array of others.

Gameplay wise this is space exploration at its best. It does manage to combine with some great dogfighting with character selection (who am I kidding, it was Starfox the whole way!) I did meddle with some of the other characters to just get an idea of how they worked and their challenges. It proved to be interesting and I am keen on exploring more as I keep playing this game. It is great for replayability with so much to do and explore. You explore planets and claim abandoned bases now while you can get these physically and clip them to your toys, you can also acquire them digitally to instantly upgrade your gear.

The campaign took me about 15-20 hours to complete and while this may seem small compared to games like AC : Odyssey etc. it is the perfect filler game and there are plenty of side missions and exploration that will keep this game living on past its campaign content.

Graphically this game is gorgeous on the Switch, performance wise it help up in both handheld and docked mode which is an imoressive feat for a game of this calibre. Ubisoft have done an outstanding job of creating a brand new IP and while they have used other characters like Star Fox etc that you should definitely use if possible, the calibre of the story and quality Starlink : Battle For Atlas is a welcome addition to the Ubisoft lineup and while it did try the toys to life thing a few years too late, having it be available freely on digital so you don’t have to rush out and buy toys is a godsend. It is truly smart and innovative game design that shows just how much the game designers loved working on this game.

What results is a more condensed version of No Man’s Sky (without the game breaking bugs!) that is great for both young and old.

While the toys to life genre may be dead, Starlink : Battle For Atlas is a great way to revive it and breathe some new life into the genre.

of gameplay cannot be overstated.

Star Fox and friends are perfectly at home here, the gameplay and character traits blend in perfectly and as mentioned before the other characters pale in comparison. It’s no secret that the previous Wii U outing for Fox McLeod was not received well, it was a buggy and graphical mess that was an insult to the series and system it came out on. Fortunately though Ubisoft seem to understand what fans love about these characters and series and deliver a flawless experience worthy of the series.

Starlink : Battle For Atlas is available now on PS4, Xbox One. This review is based on the Nintendo Switch version and is the only way to get the Starfox character and ship content.

Dylan takes a look at the Aussie indie game Unlike the old cliché, Damsel is not a game that needs any assistance to kick ass. This confident debut from Australian developer Screwtape Studios has recently left Steam’s Early Access and manages to distil the essence of what makes the games it is emulating so well loved, wrapped up in a stylish exterior.

With a level design philosophy that will remind older gamers of titles like Bombjack, Damsel is very clear in its intention to be arcade-style fun first and foremost. A 2D action platformer, players control the titular vampire hunter as she jumps, climbs, dashes and slashes across a variety of small self-contained levels, completing tasks that usually involve sending the bloodsucking horde back to their coffins. For what it’s worth, the story is split into three episodes, presented in some stylish graphic novel cutscenes with a cartoon aesthetic and some sassy tongue in cheek humour. However, don’t expect much in the way of characterisation or plot twists here.

Fortunately, these scenes merely bookend the actual levels and don’t get in the way of the gameplay, which is rightfully the star of the show. n games with a classically simple toolset such as this, the nuances of player control come to the forefront. Luckily, Damsel is a joy to play.

Players can execute double jumps, wall climbs, dash across gaps, shoot from a distance and melee enemies.

The platforming all feels extremely fluid and measured within the context of the levels. At first, this expansive movement toolkit gave the impression that the game would be imbalanced compared to the shambling enemy AI. However, Damsel’s difficulty curve is masterfully executed, with a slow layering of new foes and environmental hazards forcing the player to utilise all their abilities and think strategically about how to navigate the level to maximise their score, with global leaderboards present to keep players coming back.

Whilst the enemy variety and difficulty curve deserves praise, unfortunately the same can’t be said for the level design. The earlier reference to Bombjack is apt, with most stages consisting simply of several vertically oriented levels of flat platforms to jump to, each usually with an objective guarded by an enemy or hazard.

Additionally, later tiers of levels tend to recycle the same layouts of platforms, instead opting to add more hazards and harder enemies to form bottlenecks. The fast-paced nature of the game and the ability to improve on how you dispatch enemies means that it never becomes a huge problem, but a little more variety in the layout or size of these levels might have served to prop out the game’s longevity. Ultimately, the core mechanics of movement and combat are what an arcade action game like Damsel lives and dies by. Here, the developer has excelled. In fact, the shooting and jumping are so simple yet refined that the QTE-style minigames littered throughout the levels, despite existing to introduce variety and replayability in the gameplay, accomplish the opposite. These segments tend to grind up against the fast-paced and flowing nature of the rest of the game.

Having to stop every 10 seconds to hack a computer or free a hostage does introduce an element of risk and reward to the scoring system but isn’t immediately as satisfying as the rest of the gameplay. Even so, Damsel is certainly worth the price of entry and a well-made example of what can be achieved when simple fun and concise game design meet.

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Ubisoft are back for the second year in a row with a new Assassin’s Creed game.

After last years Origins successfully rebooted the series, it was clear that a new direction and love for this franchise had been reignited. The franchise was turned back to Ancient Egypt and was a positive move for fans of the beloved series. In a similar way Odyssey takes us to Ancient Greece with the largest map and single player campaign in franchise history so far. After 60 hours in there is still plenty to do, many side missions and gear to collect, the game is really stuffed full of things to do. While this is a great thing about the game, painfully long loading times, repetitive combat and level grinding stop this game for elevating to game of the year type material.

The game is set in 431 B.C. amongst the Peloponnesian War with Sparta & Greece.

You can choose between playing as Kassandra or Alexios, regardless of who you choose, the gameplay and dialogue remain the same. What the game does do well is the story, delving into a family who have been ripped apart by a cult that controls the region is genuinely interesting as a large part of the game is investigating what happened in your childhood and attempting to reunite your family.

The story delves deep into the family dynamic and it is definitely the strength of this game. I can’t recall an AC story ever being so well laid out and explored.

Combining elements of family, war, land and trauma are such brave things to explore in the gaming world. The length of the single player campaign allows the full investigation of these events and wihle the frustrating side quests are required to level up your character and move the story forward, it is a fulfilling journey. There are decisions to make that do directly affect actions in the future. If you decide to only intimidate and not kill a soldier, he may come back later in the game stronger and take you down. It can also work the opposite way and you can recruit some enemies to become part of your fleet.Taking on the mysterious cult that controls both Sparta and Athens starts to turn ary when it combines with the Animus and modern day plot. It really feels out of place and detracts from what makes this game great. If there

was a way to remove this from the game it would definitely benefit.

Combat wise the game is a bit of a let down. Your melee options are sword, spear or bow and arrow. There are special abilities that can also be levelled up as your character progresses. As you get further into the game, the difficulty of levelling up increases to an almost ridiculous level. You also do need to level up to be able to fight in War mode, especially if you want to fight rather then defend.

In addition to character progression, your commandeered ship requires constant upgrades and maintenance to be able to reach certain islands and areas of the game. This is also the case if you do just want to set sail and run into pirates or enemies who just feel like taking you down.

There isn’t any level matching for this portion of the game and you will be warned that your ship needs an upgrade for you to survive, so beware who you engage with, it may not always work out so well.

The repetitive nature of naval battle is also a deterrent, and no amount of jumping dolphins, breaching whales or sea shantys can keep you wanting more.

Another interesting new feature is the Mercenaries. When you piss off the wrong person you will see a mercenary assigned to collect a bounty on your head. You can either take the easy way out and pay them off with Dracmea. The other option is to hide until they give up or accidentally run into them and they relentlessly chase you until one of you wins. The downside of this is, is the level of the Mercenarie is not capped so they can be 20 levels higher than you and desync you with one small swipe. When I wasn’t just paying them off after consistently getting hunted and mowed down, the hiding option is also a good one and is great for cave exploration and underwater treasure hunting.

Graphically this game is drop dead beautiful. The ancient greek world comes alive and the combination of crystal clear water and greek god statues and rock formations are the highlights of this game. Photo mode went into overdrive on this game (sorry Facebook peeps!) and the detail on the main characters are well drawn and animated. There were times however when things got a little muddy and it almost looked like Black Flag on the PS3. Trees and large groups of rock wall had a last gen look to them and were extremely noticeable as they take you out of the world they have so well created. This only happens a couple of times and is very early on in the game.

The game also cycles through day and night fairly consistently and offers a meditation option to allow you to change the time of day to suit the mission you are completing if applicable. There are some missions and quests that can only be completed at night and some only during the day. It is also a great way to sail around at night to avoid some high level ships and take downs. Also seeing the moon glistening off the water is a beautiful effect and definitely worth the night time sail. While the game has a lot of great points, there are some technical glitches that did hinder the game a few times.

There is a stutter (running on a PS4 pro) that completely wiped out my game several times throughout the campaign. In addition to that the auto save function is not the best, so many times when I was wiped out after completing a mission, it didn’t auto save properly and I would have to do the whole thing again. It was extremely frustrating and I had to do the manual save thing after every single mission.

Assassin’s Creed : Odyssey does propel the revived series forward with a huge campaign and well told and thought out story mode. Regrettably due to the constant glitches, poorly executed save functions and repetitive combat it stops the game from

being in the Best Of The Year categories. As far as Assassin’s Creed games go though it does stand out as the best in the series (Sorry Black Flag!) for being brave enough to finally tell a story worth telling and giving us character options and layers that the series hasn’t delved into before.

Assassin’s Creed : Odyssey is available now on PS4, Xbox One and PC. Review by Alaisdair Leith

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