6 minute read
DIRECTORIES
Games, films and television – ever y thing you need G for the ultimate Xbox One experience f
T H E T E N B E S T X B O X O N E G A M E S
games 01
THE WITCHER III: WILD HUNT
PUBLISHER BANDAI NAMCO Hearts Of Stone and Blood And Wine have made an already outstanding RPG unmissable. One of the most authentic, entertaining game worlds ever. DEFINING MOMENT Geralt in a bath tub. It changed our lives.
06
ASSASSIN’S CREED ORIGINS
PUBLISHER UBISOFT Taking the series to the earliest time period yet, this Egyptian adventure ticks all the right boxes. Huge, sprawling, and stunningly beautiful, it’s a must-play. DEFINING MOMENT Discovering some weirdly futuristic objects inside a ruin…
02
GRAND THEFT AUTO V
PUBLISHER ROCKSTAR GAMES Brutal and beautiful in equal measures, GTA V is so rich in size, scope and spectacle it’s hard to believe it was originally built for Xbox 360. DEFINING MOMENT The last heist is a perfect finale to a game that brought so many memorable moments.
07
FORTNITE
PUBLISHER EPIC GAMES The game of the moment, played by, um, everyone and their grans. Fortnite’s Battle Royale is now on Season 5, and everyone else is rushing to get a BR mode into their games. Now that’s the zeitgeist. DEFINING MOMENT Getting your first Victory Royale, and doing a dance.
03
DARK SOULS III
PUBLISHER BANDAI NAMCO Get over the initial difficulty hump and you’re rewarded with a combat system that gives you unparalleled opportunities to express yourself. DEFINING MOMENT Gratefully stumbling across a campfire and realising the worst was yet to come.
04
WOLFENSTEIN II: THE NEW COLOSSUS
PUBLISHER BETHESDA Forget realism and dive into a Nazi-controlled America in the 1960s, complete with robots, the KKK and a whole bunch of ridiculous weapons. DEFINING MOMENT Taking down an enormous, fire-spewing robo-Nazi.
05
CUPHEAD
PUBLISHER STUDIO MDHR A graphically stunning love poem to side-scrolling platformers of old, this boss-focused shooter is a masterpiece of design and difficulty. You will die. DEFINING MOMENT Finally beating the goddamn boss you’ve been fighting for days and crying tears of unbridled joy.
08
DISHONORED 2
PUBLISHER ARKANE STUDIOS This supernatural stealth-’em-up is a superb action game and a landmark work of videogame world-building wrapped up in a sumptuous art style. DEFINING MOMENT Exploring Karnaca’s shifting clockwork mansion and finding your way between the walls.
09
TITANFALL 2
PUBLISHER RESPAWN ENTERTAINMENT This sequel to the ace (but multiplayeronly) game compensates with arguably one of the best solo FPS campaigns ever. It’s a wall-running, double-jumping, mechpunching delight. DEFINING MOMENT Playing with time in the mission Effect and Cause.
10
GEARS OF WAR 4
PUBLISHER MICROSOFT STUDIOS A soft reboot that respects what made Gears great, then introduces new threats and surprises for the best game since GOW 2. An essential entry for Gear-heads and newcomers alike. DEFINING MOMENT Fighting Swarm in the storm during the peaks of Act 4.
T H E B E S T F I L M S A N D T V T H I S M O N T H
films tv
AMERICAN HONEY
FOR FANS OF On The Road, Runaways British director Andrea Arnold takes a break from the gloomy landscapes of Britain to bask in the American sunshine. Her most recent film is a coming-of-age odyssey about a troubled group of misfits who embark on a road trip across America.
TO ALL THE BOYS I LOVED BEFORE
FOR FANS OF Mean Girls, Lady Bird This sweet and funny teenage romcom based on Jenny Han’s YA series follows a high-school girl who’s mortified to find out that all love letters she’s written for boys have been leaked to the entire school.
JUMANJI: WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE
FOR FANS OF Jumanji, Rampage Everyone expected the Jumanji sequel to suck. Instead, it turned out to be crazy-funny, with The Rock, Jack Black, Kevin Hart and Karen Gillan playing teen friends trying to survive the videogame.
TERMINAL
FOR FANS OF Blade Runner, Altered Carbon Fans of neo-noir will love this tale of two assassins carrying out a secret mission in a future dystopian city. Featuring everyone’s favourite weird girl, Margot Robbie, teaming up with Simon Pegg, this is one of the strangest thrillers you’ll see in a while.
GOODBYE CHRISTOPHER ROBIN
FOR FANS OF Finding Neverland In this melancholy biopic, Domhnall Gleeson stars as the creator of Winniethe-Pooh, who went from shell-shocked soldier to worldwide sensation. Though is it to the detriment of his young son?
QUEEN OF KATWE
FOR FANS OF He Named Me Malala Lupita Nyong’o is stunning in this inspiring true story about Phiona Mutesi, the young woman from Uganda, who escaped poverty by playing chess. A story that encourages children to dream big, it’s one of Disney’s first films with a predominantly black cast.
MANIAC
FOR FANS OF Legion, Mr Robot True Detective director Cary Fukunaga returns to the small screen with his trippy new show about two strangers who meet during a mysterious pharmaceutical trial. Reuniting Emma Stone and Jonah Hill, Maniac is one of the most striking series of the year.
THE INNOCENTS
FOR FANS OF Stranger Things When two teens fall in love, they decide to elope from their Yorkshire town to the bright lights of London. One problem: she’s a shapeshifter who accidentally takes on the form of anyone she touches. A series that’s moody, frightening and ghostly-gorgeous.
THE GOOD PLACE S3
FOR FANS OF Parks & Rec, Community We’ve been waiting an entire year to be back in the world of The Good Place, and find out what’s happened to Eleanor, Chidi and co. Season two ended with Eleanor seeking out Chidi in Australia, and we can’t wait to see how the series will reunite the friends.
BODYGUARD
FOR FANS OF The Night Manager, Line Of Duty This new BBC miniseries has one of the most heart-pulsing openings in recent memory. From the writer of Line Of Duty, the thrilling Bodyguard follows the personal guard to the Home Secretary, whose controversial policies on counterterrorism make her a prime target.
MARVEL’S IRON FIST S2
FOR FANS OF Look, we all hated Iron Fist. Well, maybe not hate. We were just really, really bored. But the second season actually has potential to be better. Now that Danny has defeated the Hand, Chinatown is left vulnerable to turf wars, giving us some cool Scorsese vibes.
TOM CLANCY’S JACK RYAN
FOR FANS OF 24, Prison Break Recalling the heyday of 24, Amazon’s new Jack Ryan series casts John Kransinski as the CIA operative on the track of terrorists. Hey, of course it’s full of dumb, explosive action, but sometimes that’s all we want.
THE BEST GAMES WE’RE PLAYING AND WHY WE LOVE THEM
Chris’ choice HALO MASTERCHIEF COLLECTION A ton of bug fixes and visual improvements in a new update got me reaching for the old green helmet again, and in particular going back to splitscreen couch co-op Deathmatch. With sniper rifles. Oh yeah!
Dani’s choice DIVINITY: ORIGINAL SIN II This huge RPG took a while to get its hooks in me, mostly because I spent a lot of the early game trying to find a jumper for my underdressed elf. The whole scantily-clad fantasy elves trope really needs to die already.
Adam’s choice DOOM I played a lot of Doom upon its release but after all the buzz surrounding its sequel I’ve jumped back into the game to blast those demons away. I must say, it’s been a rather cathartic experience after the chaos of Gamescom.
