Bring on the Rain

40 ............... Sunday, September 29, 2019 1SM 1SM Sunday, September 29, 2019 ............... 41 DEATH Stranding is set to land come with a translucent yellow con- AGENT 47 is heading to the recent events in New York as you lon November 8. To celebrate troller as well as a matte white con- lMaldives in the latest and last head to the HQ of an organisation the launch, Sony has announced it sole that has some handprints DLC for Hitman 2 to enjoy sun, sea, known as Haven. The DLC will also is getting its very own limited edi- which contain map details in the sand, and sneaky stealth kills. feature a new campaign mission GAMES & MUSIC tion PS4 Pro bundle. That will shape of the world’s continents. The action follows on from the and over 75 new challenges. HANDS-ON PREVIEW DROWN AND DIRTY HEADSET HIT BRING ON THE RAIN WHEN you think of gaming headsets, odds are the likes Drown Earphones and booming, from the rumble of muscle cars to the of Astro and Turtle Beach will come to mind first — but rusty churn of the chainsaw on your lancer. SILLY season is well and truly in full swing there is a new kid on the audio block looking to shake £149.99 And if you’re looking for technical reasons why this all just now. things up. with repeated use this should become easier. The rub- happens, head over to the Drown’s website where you It feels like there is a never-ending flood Drown are an Edinburgh-based firm who have their ber seals do come in a number of sizes, so you can can fill your boots on the hows, whys and whatnots, of new releases week after week at the eyes set on challenging the big boys in the audio swap them around to best suit you. complete with tons of technical jargon. It’s all about moment. gaming world with their innovately designed ear- But when in your ears, the unit is very lightweight. That acoustic waveguides, bone and cartilage conduction Because of this, so many titles are phones. They may not look like much but, boy, they is surprising given the overall size and you do soon and spatial awareness apparently. In short, these ear- going to fall through the cracks and are in pack a real punch. forget you have them on. phones are great at what they do on the audio front. danger of being overlooked. They have just ended a crowdfunding campaign for We’ve been playing with them for a good three weeks But the real question is whether the £149.99 tag is Hopoo Games’ Risk of Rain 2 is one the new kit so they’re not in full production just now but now across a number of titles — Gears 5, Forza Horizon enough to fight off the other headsets in that price NEW such title (it also happens to be published we’ve been lucky enough to get our hands on a very 4 and the recent Call of Duty Modern range. But we will say this — if by Gearbox, who have also just released early build to put them though there paces. Warfare beta — and they never miss you’re looking for a set of ear- MUSIC they own AAA monster Borderlands 3. It’s So, as we have a prototype unit, there are no mic fea- a beat, both online and offline. phones to use across systems that fair to say their have a bit on their plate at tures, and we couldn’t try out that side of things. As such They create a solid sound sphere packs some real audio punch and By Jim Gellatly the moment too). we’ll not be judging the overall look or finish of the unit with real depth to it which helps with quality then these are shaping up Risk of Rain 2 is a third-person rogue- — but what we COULD put to the test is an out-and-out finding out where the bad guys are very well at least on that side. PAGES. like shooter, with a dash of multiplayer as audio performance that does not disappoint. coming from, so you can get the Hopefully the final unit keeps up you can team up with three other mates. The first thing that hits you is the overall size of the ear these high standards. WHERE: Aberdeen. jump on them. In single-player WHO: Matt Fraser (vocals/guitar), It all started out in earlier access on pieces. It takes a bit of moving around to get it right but modes, the overall sound was rich STUART CULLEN the PC but has now landed on the con- Jack Lovie (guitar), Ali McKinlay (bass), Kyle Robertson-Smith (drums). soles as well. FOR FANS OF: The Killers, The 1975, And as roguelikes go, it has a really Metronomy. addictive and fun loop once you properly JIM SAYS: North-east indie-pop- get going. sters PAGES. come of age with their You pick your character — which are glorious second single Bubble called survivors and have different Brain. classes with their own skill sets — then kill Risk of Rain 2 visual side of things evolving as each new November’s debut Get Out Of a tonne of things, get cash to buy new planet brings a new feel, vibe and style. My... was a cool taster of what was to gear, beat the boss to get to a teleporter Xbox One, PS4, Switch and PC £24.99 Plus the graphics overall are really nice come, but the new track is a signifi- and then move on to a new area where first game. Visually, it is a totally different on the eye. They are packed with colour as cant progression. the game ups the difficulty and, of course, well as having a cell-shade vibe as well. The blend of drum machine and if you die, you will just have to start it all game to before (seeing as it is a 2D pixel game) but a lot of the core ideas have Risk of Rain 2 is an addictive roguelike real drums with an underlying synth- over again. where you are always trying to push that made the jump to the sequel. pop feel creates a great vibe. The But with each run things get mixed up. little bit further than before. track was mixed and mastered by You never know what items are coming As for the combat, it’s fast and fluid and It is packed with content, with more on Rob Murray, based in Austin, Texas. your way and that will really help shape never misses a beat. You take on every- the horizon plus the great gameplay loop. PAGES. frontman Matt said: “Rob your character’s build as there are over 70 thing from low-level cannon fodder to Add in the fact you can play it with your has previously worked with the likes different ones to find. beefy bosses who offer a real challenge, mates and you have a real sleeper hit on of Mark Ronson, Britney Spears and And depending on how fast you are on in both difficulty and overall scale. your hands. Sia, so it was amazing to have some- each planet will affect how hard the fight is And the stronger you become, the big- Don’t let this one pass you by. one with such a portfolio on board. to achieve your goals. This is a really inter- ger the fight you face as you jump from HHHH It’s definitely the poppiest and most- esting mechanic and a hangover from the planet to planet. And that also keeps the STUART CULLEN accessible song we’ve made.” Passing on the music to a new pair of ears has paid dividends, and the guys are delighted with the results. Matt explained: “We sat on the song for a while after recording all the parts at Jack’s home studio. The longest part of the process really Shift up the Gears was trying to find the right person to Walking back produce the piece. Gears 5 Gears 5 once again but it’s very It’s split into Ranked (your stan- “We found Rob online and we were FOR Xbox owners, much a support role. dard take on the game) and all taken aback by the names he had 2019 will be the year Xbox One and PC £14.99 The gameplay? At its core it’s the Arcade (mixes thing up for a more worked with. He transformed the lows Kait and her search for the same third-person cover shooter fast and intense hit of action). track completely. It was like some- of Gears. truth about herself and her past, built on brutal action that you’ll Beyond that, Horde returns one had chiselled the edges of the to beginning Or at least that’s how Micro- as well as there being a side story either love or hate. I love. (where you and four mates can track down, creating our most-pro- soft would like it to be about the squad trying to get the However, as you would expect, battle evermore challenging waves fessional and refined piece yet.” remembered as they are using Hammer of Dawn system (basically there are a host of tweaks to the of the Swarm forces in the hope to It’s still early days for the lads, but The Walking Dead: the latest instalment in the a big space laser) back online.

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