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October Magazine

Horror time ... if you love horror games, comics and cosplay, you'll love this months issue of Live Magazine!

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OCTOBER 2015 ISSUE<br />

What makes<br />

you scared?<br />

Page 24<br />

Horror Cosplay<br />

Master Photographer<br />

Mike<br />

Rollerson<br />

Shares his secrets!<br />

Page 118<br />

halloween<br />

HORROR<br />

edition!<br />

Forza 6<br />

Full Review<br />

9.4/10!<br />

Page 45


Welcome<br />

Boo!<br />

Ok so it’s not Halloween just yet<br />

and to be honest, it’s not a big event<br />

here in Australia. But, gamers love<br />

horror games and movies no matter<br />

where they live, so we took a look<br />

at some horror games that might not<br />

quite fit the horror genre, we called it<br />

Halloween without the Horror. Sure<br />

the games have a spooky theme to<br />

them but they might not be causing<br />

you to look carefully over your<br />

shoulder as you play. Intrigued?<br />

Take a look at what Nick, Alex and<br />

Paul put together on page 16.<br />

Theres’s some amazing games<br />

to spend your money on so our<br />

reviewers checked out the timely<br />

Zombi along with Forza 6, Super<br />

Mario Maker and lots more.<br />

We also sat down with Master of<br />

Horror Cosplay Photography - Mike<br />

Rollerson and asked him to share<br />

Cover:<br />

Photographer: Mike Rollerson - www.facebook.com/MikeRollersonPhotography<br />

Cosplayer: Raychul Moore - www.facebook.com/RaychulMoore


INSIDE<br />

20<br />

Video<br />

46<br />

Previews<br />

76<br />

Geek<br />

102<br />

Cosplay<br />

Games<br />

& Movies<br />

& Reviews<br />

Out<br />

THE LIVE TEAM<br />

some tips on how he creates those<br />

ghoulish images, it’s all in our Tips<br />

from the Tomb feature along with the<br />

amazing cosplayer Raychul Moore<br />

who Mike features in his interview.<br />

We asked Raychul a few questions<br />

but she had to disappear into the<br />

night… strange that! But she did<br />

promise a full interview with photos<br />

in our next issue.<br />

There’s tons more to discover in this<br />

months’ Live <strong>Magazine</strong> including<br />

our comics review, board games,<br />

retro and so much more. Plus all the<br />

hottest new stuff at stores.<br />

Trick or Treat!<br />

The Live Crew<br />

Publisher: “Rabid” Rob Jenkins<br />

(GTHQ)<br />

Art Director:<br />

“Goosebumps” Giselle Capozza<br />

(GTHQ)<br />

Game Review & Preview Editors:<br />

“Naughty” Nick Getley<br />

& “Terrible” Tutty<br />

(Sticky Trigger)<br />

Retro Writer:<br />

Paul “Maniac” Monopoli<br />

Board Games:<br />

Jess “Wicked” Wilson<br />

Anime:<br />

“Rampaging” Richardson<br />

Comics: “Scary” Scott Sowter<br />

Sticky Trigger Writers:<br />

“Trick or Treat” Tuttle<br />

“Notorious” Nick Getley<br />

“Haunted” Alex Holmes<br />

“Macabre” Aaron Milligan<br />

“Bloody” Ben Rachow<br />

“Sacrificial” Bridget Sweeney<br />

“Frightening” Sean Fox<br />

“Spooky” Sasha Karen<br />

Jason (Vorees) English<br />

Johnny (Crime) Scene


FALLO<br />

+<br />

$169 for PC version.<br />

*Unlicensed prop replica. Limited time only.


UT 4


Mad Max launches on PS4, Xbox One, and PC<br />

Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment<br />

and Avalanche Studios’<br />

action packed open-world car<br />

shooter Mad Max launched today<br />

for the PlayStation 4, Xbox<br />

One, and Windows PC.<br />

The Mad Max video game features<br />

an all-new original story set<br />

in the Mad Max universe. Players<br />

will assume the role of Max,<br />

the iconic hero of the Mad Max<br />

films, as he battles various factions<br />

with both hand-to-hand and<br />

vehicular combat.<br />

“Mad Max is an iconic character,<br />

recently re-introduced to the<br />

world by the latest film, and now<br />

we’re introducing a new way<br />

for fans and gamers to experience<br />

the adventure-filled Wasteland<br />

universe in which he lives,”<br />

said Peter Wyse, Vice President,<br />

Group General Manager,<br />

Production and Development,<br />

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment.<br />

“Avalanche Studios<br />

has created an expansive, beautiful<br />

open world environment that<br />

comes to life with a brand new<br />

story for Mad Max.”<br />

“Avalanche Studios are big fans<br />

of Mad Max and creating an<br />

open-world game in such a brutal<br />

setting was right up our alley,”<br />

said Christofer Sundberg, Avalanche<br />

Studios Co-founder and<br />

Chief Creative Officer. “We can’t<br />

wait to see how players customize<br />

their Max characters, as well<br />

as their cars.”<br />

Sticky Trigger will have a review<br />

of Mad Max in next month’s issue,<br />

so watch this space!<br />

NEWS<br />

OCTOBER 2015<br />

GAMING


Mortal Kombat X Cancelled<br />

For Xbox 360 And PS3<br />

Warner Bros. Interactive have<br />

confirmed that the release of<br />

Mortal Kombat X for PlayStation<br />

3 and Xbox 360, has been cancelled.<br />

Initially released back in April for<br />

PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC<br />

– Mortal Kombat X was slated<br />

for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360<br />

at some point in the winter. Following<br />

a recent statement on<br />

the Mortal Kombat X forums,<br />

Warner Bros. Interactive eventually<br />

came to the “regrettable”<br />

conclusion that they could reach<br />

the standards set by the current<br />

generation hardware.<br />

“We were not able to get the<br />

PS3 and Xbox 360 versions to<br />

the quality expected of a Mortal<br />

Kombat game and are very sorry<br />

for not being able to deliver the<br />

products as originally planned,”<br />

Warner Bros wrote. “If you preordered<br />

Mortal Kombat X for<br />

PS3 or Xbox 360, please go to<br />

the retail location where you preordered<br />

the game and you will<br />

receive a full refund.”<br />

Mortal Kombat X was reviewed<br />

back in April by our writer, Johnny<br />

Scene. Whilst the story didn’t<br />

win any considerable praise –<br />

Johnny very much enjoyed the<br />

core fighting mechanics of Mortal<br />

Kombat X, awarding the fighting<br />

game a solid 8/10.<br />

“In practice, Mortal Kombat X is<br />

one of the most plainly enjoyable<br />

and likable gaming experiences<br />

I’ve had in ages,” Johnny wrote<br />

in his review.** “But on paper,<br />

there’s a lot not to like, and it<br />

feels like a missed opportunity<br />

for NetherRealms to create a<br />

genuinely next-gen fighter with<br />

the amount of time they’ve put<br />

into it.”<br />

Check the full review here:<br />

stickytrigger.com/games/mortal-kombat-x/<br />

Metal Gear Solid<br />

V Sells 3 Million<br />

Units PS4<br />

Version Tops<br />

It’s now been a few week since<br />

the initial launch of Metal Gear<br />

Solid V: The Phantom Pain, and<br />

so far the it’s sold over 3 million<br />

units globally.<br />

With recent reports from Dual<br />

Shockers, Euro Gamer and<br />

Forbes – at this point the Play-<br />

Station 4 copies seem to be garnishing<br />

the most popularity, with<br />

sales reporting in that more than<br />

72 per cent of all units were sold<br />

on this platform.<br />

Following the remaining statistics<br />

– Xbox One versions of<br />

Metal Gear Solid V top second<br />

place with 22 per cent, 3 per cent<br />

for PlayStation 3, and two per<br />

cent on Xbox 360. At this point,<br />

it would seem that PC release is<br />

by far the lowest selling platform,<br />

with only 1 per cent.<br />

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom<br />

Pain is currently available<br />

for PlayStation 4, Xbox One,<br />

Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC.<br />

For more info – including the upcoming<br />

Metal Gear Solid V video<br />

review – be sure to stick with<br />

Sticky Trigger Entertainment.


Borderlands Movie Currently In The Works<br />

Lions Gate Entertainment has<br />

confirmed that they’re currently<br />

in development for a Borderlands<br />

movie.<br />

In a recent news report from variety,<br />

Hollywood producers Avi<br />

and Ari Arad are currently expected<br />

to sign up for the upcoming<br />

project. In the past, the duo<br />

Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto<br />

has spoken out about the possibility<br />

of releasing Super Mario<br />

Galaxy 3.<br />

In a recent interview from Eurogamer.net<br />

– Miyamoto spoke<br />

about Nintendo’s current focus<br />

in harking back to its traditional<br />

2D roots in creating titles that<br />

“anyone can play”. With New Super<br />

Bros. (Wii/WiiU) and the upcoming<br />

Mario Maker serving as<br />

the main example(s), Miyamoto<br />

discussed that the “opportunities”<br />

are always on table when it<br />

comes to releasing another 3D<br />

Mario title.<br />

“We’re always thinking, is there<br />

a middle ground where people,<br />

who do enjoy the 3D worlds of<br />

Galaxy, and those who enjoy<br />

have been involved in the development<br />

of such films as Iron<br />

Man, Spider Man, X-Men, Ghost<br />

Rider and Blade.<br />

Released back in 2009, Borderlands<br />

is a role-playing first person<br />

shooter created by Gearbox<br />

Software. To this day the series<br />

has spawn two sequels, and a<br />

spin-off title, Tales from the Borderlands,<br />

from Telltale games.<br />

No news as of yet for the possible<br />

release date. In the meantime,<br />

be sure to check out Nicks<br />

recent review for Borderlands:<br />

The Handsome Collection.<br />

Rating it a superb 9.3/10 in his<br />

review, Nick praised the package<br />

as a worthy purchase for<br />

the modern hardware. “While it’s<br />

loot-centric shooterama gameplay<br />

might not tickle everyone<br />

– you’d be hard-pressed to find<br />

this much story, action and brilliant<br />

game design in another<br />

FPS,” he wrote in his review.<br />

“The Handsome Collection is<br />

well worth checking out!”<br />

Check the full review here:<br />

stickytrigger.com/games/borderlands-the-handsome-collection/<br />

Miyamoto Hints Super Mario Galaxy 3’s Possibility<br />

New Super Mario Bros. can both<br />

enjoy it?” Miyamoto said to Eurogamer.<br />

Whilst looking at keeping<br />

his games accessibly to a wide<br />

audience, Miyamoto went on to<br />

also say that he, and Yoshiaki<br />

Koizumi (director of Super Mario<br />

Galaxy) are always looking to<br />

“challenge Galaxy” and do another<br />

3D action title.<br />

“As the hardware technology<br />

gets better and advances, I think<br />

there will be a lot of opportunity<br />

for both options,” Miyamoto said,<br />

discussing the chance of releasing<br />

both 2D and 3D orientated<br />

titles.<br />

However with the rumors circulating<br />

around about Nintendo’s<br />

upcoming NX concole – the possibility<br />

of a new 3D Mario Game<br />

for the Wii U seems very unlikely.<br />

Though given the company’s<br />

upcoming lineup for the openworld<br />

Legend of Zelda game –<br />

Miyamoto said that Nintendo is<br />

always looking at new ways to<br />

“surprise the audience”.


Dark Souls III To Launch In Japan, March 2016<br />

Following a recent press release<br />

– From Software has officially<br />

announced the Japanese<br />

release date for their upcoming<br />

action-RPG, Dark Souls III.<br />

Set for PlayStation 4 and Xbox<br />

One, Dark souls III is expected<br />

to launch on March 24th of next<br />

year. A retail release is said to<br />

be priced around 7,460 yen ($86<br />

AUD), with digital versions set<br />

for 6,930 yen ($80 AUD). Having<br />

been leaked a few days prior<br />

to this years E3 – Dark Souls<br />

III is fourth entry in From Softwares<br />

grueling Souls series, and<br />

the second Souls title to be released<br />

on next generation consoles.<br />

Played in a third-person<br />

perspective, players will battle<br />

through a wide range of challenging<br />

monsters, interact with<br />

strange non-playable characters<br />

and journey through a series of<br />

dark and mysterious environments.<br />

The series is also well regarded<br />

for its punishing difficulty,<br />

tight combat mechanics, and intricate<br />

lore.<br />

From Software has also released<br />

details of one the upcoming preorder<br />

bonuses expected upon<br />

release – with a unique map and<br />

soundtrack said to be bundled<br />

within the Japanese retail package.<br />

A worldwide release is expected<br />

to be announced at a later date,<br />

along with a PC version of the<br />

game.<br />

First DLC<br />

for Elder<br />

Scrolls<br />

Online<br />

Released<br />

for<br />

Consoles<br />

Imperial City, the first DLC pack<br />

for The Elder Scrolls Online:<br />

Tamriel Unlimited, has been released<br />

worldwide for Xbox One<br />

and Playstation 4. This comes<br />

on the heels of the PC/Mac rollout<br />

earlier in the month.The pack<br />

opens up the Imperial City, a new<br />

PvP/PvE area with six districts,<br />

as well as two new dungeons.<br />

Since the city fell to Daedric<br />

Prince Molag Bal, who was first<br />

seen in Morrowind, all three alliances<br />

now must battle the Daedric<br />

forces to reclaim the city in<br />

addition to fighting each other.<br />

new quests and enemies, including<br />

the Xivkyn.<br />

The Imperial City DLC pack is included<br />

with an active ESO Plus<br />

membership or it is available for<br />

purchase in the Crown Store for<br />

2,500 crowns. For more information<br />

about the inclusions, head to<br />

elderscrollsonline.com. Check<br />

out the trailer here.<br />

These new districts are available<br />

to players who have reached<br />

level 10, offering hours of new<br />

gameplay and exclusive collectibles.<br />

Players will also encounter


Plague Inc:<br />

Evolved To Hit<br />

Xbox One<br />

Ndemic Creations has announced<br />

that their hit virus simulation<br />

game Plague Inc: Evolved,<br />

launched on Xbox One on Friday<br />

19 September 2015.<br />

Jack the Ripper DLC For<br />

Assassin’s Creed Syndicate<br />

In a recent press release, the<br />

port comes following the initial<br />

E3 announcement at Microsoft’s<br />

press conference early last year.<br />

Having already been released<br />

for Steam Early Access, Plague<br />

Inc: Evolved has been a big success<br />

– with up to half a million<br />

players confirmed within the first<br />

12 months of sales, and over 55<br />

million players purchasing the initial<br />

Plague Inc. from the iTunes<br />

and Android app store.<br />

To those who might not be familiar<br />

with the title – Plague Inc:<br />

Evolved is strategy game to<br />

which players must develop a<br />

pathogen, infect the entire human<br />

race, and evolve deadly<br />

symptoms to end to all human<br />

life on the planet.<br />

As well managing symptoms and<br />

providing avenues for the pathogen<br />

to travel – players will also<br />

need to be mindful of their severity<br />

levels, as scientists will try to<br />

cure the deadly pathogen before<br />

it gets the chance kill everyone.<br />

Ndemic has confirmed that free<br />

updates and DLC are expected<br />

later on down the track. For now,<br />

be sure to check out the following<br />

trailer down below.<br />

Ubisoft has recently announced<br />

that their upcoming title Assassin’s<br />

Creed Syndicate, will be receiving<br />

a DLC campaign featuring<br />

Jack the Ripper.<br />

Presented within Sony’s Press<br />

Conference for the Tokyo Game<br />

Show – the DLC will be set 20<br />

years after Syndicate’s initial<br />

story, were players will work<br />

alongside Inspector Frederick<br />

Abberline as they hunt down<br />

the infamous serial killer of Whitechapel.<br />

As well having this campaign<br />

purchased separately – players<br />

can also procure this DLC within<br />

Syndicate’s upcoming season<br />

pass. In addition to the Jack the<br />

Ripper DLC, the upcoming pass<br />

is said to also include two additional<br />

gameplay packages (“The<br />

Last Maharaja” and “Streets of<br />

London”), which promises to add<br />

both additional side missions<br />

and XP boosts.<br />

Assassin’s Creed Syndicate is<br />

set to Launch on Xbox One and<br />

PlayStation 4 on <strong>October</strong> 23rd,<br />

with a PC release expected for<br />

November 19th. In the meantime,<br />

be sure to take a look at<br />

following announcement trailer<br />

down below.


New Kingdom Hearts Game Announced<br />

Collaborated through both Disney<br />

Interactive and Square<br />

Enix, the series spawned many<br />

sequels across various gaming<br />

platforms. In addition to this title,<br />

Kingdom Hearts 3 is another title<br />

expected to receive a launch at<br />

some point this year.<br />

Following Sony’s recent press<br />

conference from the Tokyo Game<br />

Show – Bandai Namco has recently<br />

unveiled Kingdom Hearts<br />

HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue.<br />

In accordance to their initial press<br />

release, Kingdom Hearts 2.8 is a<br />

remake of the original Kingdom<br />

Hearts 3DS title, Dream Drop<br />

Distance. The story will focus<br />

on central protagonists, Sora<br />

and Riku, as they partake on the<br />

Mark of Mastery exam in preparation<br />

for the “coming threats”<br />

of Xehanort’s return. As well as<br />

improved resolution and visuals,<br />

additional content such as<br />

the new episode “A Fragmentary<br />

Passage” and a HD movie,<br />

is said to be included within this<br />

remaster.<br />

For those who may not be familiar<br />

with the series – Kingdom<br />

Hearts is a crossover series of<br />

role-playing games, that mixes<br />

universes of both Disney with a<br />

Final Fantasy together.<br />

Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final<br />

Chapter Prologue is expected<br />

to launch on the PlayStation 4<br />

later next year. For now, be sure<br />

to check the official announcement<br />

trailer down below.<br />

World of Tanks Coming to Playstation 4<br />

Wargaming has announced that<br />

the wildly popular MMO World<br />

of Tanks will be coming to Playstation<br />

4 in the near future. No<br />

concrete release date has been<br />

offered yet but there is speculation<br />

that it will be in 2016.<br />

First released on PC in 2011 and<br />

later Xbox Live Arcade in 2014,<br />

the release will introduce more<br />

features to the game to make<br />

the most of the new platform.<br />

The DualShock 4 functionality<br />

will incorporate the light bar<br />

and controller speaker capabilities,<br />

as well as the all-important<br />

touchpad support. Players can<br />

also make use of Share Play and<br />

Playstation Vita Remote Play<br />

functions. This comes as part of<br />

a handheld revamp to the controls<br />

to optimise the experience<br />

for users.<br />

World of Tanks will not require<br />

a PlayStation Plus membership<br />

and will be free for all account<br />

holders. There will be, however,<br />

bonuses available to Playstation<br />

Plus members including a<br />

free premium tank with exclusive<br />

camouflage, three days of premium<br />

account time, and special<br />

discounts on in-game purchases.<br />

The game currently boasts 150<br />

million players and to entice new<br />

ones, Wargaming will offer two<br />

new Playstation-exclusive maps<br />

for a limited time as well.<br />

Interested players are able to<br />

sign up for the beta and all World<br />

of Tanks news right now through<br />

their website. Don’t forget to<br />

check out the tank-filled announcement<br />

trailer!


OCTOBER<br />

GAME<br />

RELEASES!<br />

PRE-ORDER<br />

NOW AT<br />

GAMETRADERS!


DATE<br />

1/10/2015<br />

1/10/2015<br />

1/10/2015<br />

1/10/2015<br />

2/10/2015<br />

3/10/2015<br />

6/10/2015<br />

7/10/2015<br />

8/10/2015<br />

13/10/2015<br />

15/10/2015<br />

16/10/2015<br />

16/10/2015<br />

16/10/2015<br />

16/10/2015<br />

16/10/2015<br />

16/10/2015<br />

20/10/2015<br />

22/10/2015<br />

22/10/2015<br />

22/10/2015<br />

23/10/2015<br />

23/10/2015<br />

24/10/2015<br />

27/10/2015<br />

29/10/2015<br />

30/10/2015<br />

TITLE<br />

Fallout Anthology<br />

NBA Live 16<br />

Tony Hawks Pro Skater 5<br />

WRC 5<br />

Samurai Warriors 4 Empires<br />

Animal Crossing Happy Home Designer<br />

Darksiders 2 Deathinitive Edition<br />

Uncharted The Nathan Drake Collection<br />

Transformers Devastation<br />

The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt Hearts of Stone Expansion<br />

Dragon Ball Z Extreme Butoden<br />

Back to the Future 30th Anniversary<br />

Disgaea 5 Alliance of Vengeance<br />

Dragon Quest Heroes Day One Edition<br />

Shovel Knight<br />

Tales of Zestiria<br />

Wasteland 2 Directors Cut<br />

Guitar Hero Live<br />

Adventure Time Finn and Jake Investigations<br />

Just Dance 2016<br />

Just Dance Disney Party 2<br />

Assassins Creed Syndicate Special Edition<br />

Jackbox Games Party Pack<br />

The Legend of Zelda Tri Force Heroes<br />

Halo 5 Guardians<br />

WWE 2K16<br />

Minecraft Story Mode Season Disc<br />

FORMATS<br />

PC<br />

PS4, XB1<br />

PS4, XB1<br />

PS4, XB1, 360, PS3<br />

PS4<br />

3DS<br />

PS4, XB1<br />

PS4<br />

PS4, XB1, 360, PS3<br />

PS4, PC<br />

3DS<br />

PS4, XB1, 360<br />

PS4<br />

PS4<br />

PS4, XB1, PC, 3DS, Wii U<br />

PS4, PS3<br />

PS4, XB1<br />

PS4, XB1, 360, PS3, Wii U<br />

PS4, XB1, 360, PS3, 3DS<br />

PS4, XB1, 360, PS3, Wii, Wii U<br />

XB1, 360, Wii, Wii U<br />

PS4, XB1<br />

PS4, XB1, 360, PS3<br />

3DS<br />

XB1<br />

PS4, XB1, 360, PS3<br />

PS4, XB1, 360, PS3, PC


TRADE AT<br />

GAMETRADERS<br />

& GET IN-STORE<br />

CREDIT &<br />

BIG SAVINGS!<br />

Got unwanted games or consoles<br />

sitting around at home? Bring them<br />

into Gametraders and we’ll give<br />

you store credit that you can use<br />

when you buy anything in-store!<br />

Ask staff on how you can<br />

trade & save now!<br />

PLUS at Gametraders you can<br />

choose from our massive range of<br />

discounted pre-owned and<br />

retro gaming!<br />

Buying, selling & trading retro now!<br />

TRADE<br />

&<br />

SAV E


SAVE<br />

BIG BUCKS WHEN<br />

YOU TRADE with<br />

yes<br />

you’ll SAVE<br />

EVEN MORE WHEN<br />

YOU TRADE with


FEATURE<br />

HALLOWEEN<br />

WITHOUT the<br />

HORROR!


Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon<br />

(Nintendo 3DS) (2013)<br />

Luigi has always been in his bigger<br />

brother’s shadow, but he takes<br />

the spotlight in the fantastic Luigi’s<br />

Mansion series. Dark Moon, the<br />

long awaited sequel on 3DS to the<br />

initial game on Gamecube is a fantastic<br />

gem that provides you with<br />

the staple things you normally see<br />

in “Mario” games of puzzles, exploration,<br />

item collection with two<br />

things you normally don’t: combat<br />

and spooks!<br />

Luigi finds himself tasked with<br />

cleaning up a number of spooky<br />

locales from haunted mansions to<br />

even more haunted mountains, all<br />

the time sucking up ghosts with<br />

his trusty Poltergust 5000 – a supercharged<br />

vacuum cleaner for<br />

the supernatural. The normal series<br />

standards are all well up to<br />

snuff with great puzzles and welldesigned<br />

levels but Luigi’s Mansion:<br />

Dark Moon really shines in<br />

its combat where Luigi must suck<br />

ghosts into his Poltergust. It’s not<br />

easy though! The bigger and more<br />

powerful the ghosts, the harder it<br />

is and the game poses some seriously<br />

tough challenges capturing<br />

some of the bigger spooks. Indeed<br />

bigger spooks are also to be found<br />

figuratively – despite being a family<br />

friendly title I still jumped with shock<br />

more than once each mission when<br />

I was surprised by ghosts or fell<br />

down a trapdoor, but it’s the best<br />

kind of fun scare. Combined with<br />

a surprisingly endearing plot that<br />

shows a true hero is the one that<br />

does the job no matter how scared<br />

they are, Luigi’s Mansion: Dark<br />

Moon is among the best games you<br />

find involves ghosts, ghouls, and…<br />

vacuum cleaners.


Haunting Starring Polterguy<br />

(Sega Genesis/Mega Drive) (1993)<br />

Electronic Arts’ Haunting Starring<br />

Polterguy was a radical departure<br />

from their usual games. In it, players<br />

assumed the role of Polterguy, a<br />

ghost who was exacting his revenge<br />

on the Sardini family. When he was<br />

alive, Polterguy was a skateboarding<br />

punk. Unfortunately, a defective<br />

skateboard from Vito Sardini’s<br />

company resulted in a fatal accident<br />

for Polterguy, who now follows the<br />

Sardini family from house to house,<br />

scaring the pants off them as often<br />

as he can.<br />

Gameplay was presented from a<br />

third-person isometric perspective,<br />

with the player able to access a<br />

map to help him stalk the four members<br />

of the Sardini family. Polterguy<br />

can’t directly interact with the Sardinis<br />

(he’s invisible and also passes<br />

straight through them), so he has to<br />

use his smarts and possess various<br />

household items in the Sardini’s<br />

homes. He can turn a lounge into<br />

a giant mouth, a door frame into<br />

a menacing gargoyle, and other,<br />

more horrific illusions.<br />

The game had some very well executed<br />

animations, especially from<br />

the Sardini family when they were<br />

getting spooked. Everything was<br />

presented with a cheeky sense of<br />

humour, and you’d have to be made<br />

of stone to not chuckle at a grown<br />

man peeing himself from a UFO<br />

that flies out of a refrigerator!<br />

Haunting Starring Polterguy is a<br />

very unique game, there was nothing<br />

quite like it at the time and there<br />

has only been one other well-known<br />

game like it since (which was a tribute<br />

of sorts). It offered hauntings<br />

and humour, gore and guts, and<br />

spooky strategy. While the controls<br />

and gameplay aren’t the greatest,<br />

you’d be hard pressed to find a<br />

game quite like Haunting Starring<br />

Polterguy.


Decap Attack<br />

(Sega Genesis) (1991)<br />

Decap Attack stars Chuck D. Head,<br />

a mummy created by Dr. Frank N.<br />

Stein, who is sent on a mission to<br />

defeat Max D. Cap, who has returned<br />

from the Underworld seeking<br />

to overthrow the surface. Max<br />

has seperated the land into multiple<br />

scattered islands, which Chuck will<br />

reform along his adventures.<br />

If the story sounds a little sketchy<br />

and saturated with goofy puns,<br />

that’s because the game is an unusual<br />

Westernized port of Magical<br />

Hat no Buttobi Tabo! Daibōken, a<br />

game based on the Japanese anime,<br />

Magical Hat. Vic Tokai (the<br />

game’s developer) couldn’t secure<br />

a license for a game based on Magical<br />

Hat outside of Japan, they instead<br />

created Decap Attack, which<br />

had a radically different story and<br />

design theme, as well as reworked<br />

enemies and levels.<br />

Decap Attack was a platformer similar<br />

to Super Mario Bros., though it<br />

had a heavier focus on vertical traversing<br />

levels, meaning that you<br />

quite often had to climb up to great<br />

heights in order to complete your<br />

objectives. Unfortunately, missing a<br />

collectible often meant an annoying<br />

amount of backtracking throughout<br />

the level, though the gameplay<br />

overall was pretty solid.


Demon’s Crest<br />

(Super Nintendo Entertainment System) (1994)<br />

Demon’s Crest is the third game<br />

starring Firebrand, a demon who<br />

also features in Capcom’s Ghost’s<br />

‘n Goblins series, though in his own<br />

games, he’s the hero, and not an<br />

enemy of Arthur. In Demon’s Crest,<br />

players take control of Firebrand<br />

as he seeks to reclaim six magical<br />

gems that offer unlimited power, as<br />

well as exact revenge on a rival demon<br />

that has stolen the gems from<br />

him.<br />

Gameplay is a mix of platforming<br />

with minor RPG elements, and feels<br />

like a mix of Mega Man, Ghouls ‘n<br />

Ghosts and Super Metroid. The<br />

player can attempt any level in the<br />

game whenever they wish, though<br />

they will need certain items in order<br />

to explore certain areas. There are<br />

also boss battles, and an impressive<br />

overworld that sees players flying<br />

over the world map and landing<br />

on a level they wish to play.<br />

Upon its release, Demon’s Crest<br />

gained favourable reviews, though<br />

critics such as GamePro criticized<br />

the music, as well as the lack of enemy<br />

attacks and tactics. I for one<br />

like the soundtrack, and found it to<br />

have a catchy and gothic sound that<br />

lent a lot to the game’s atmosphere.<br />

It was unusual to play as a demon/<br />

gargoyle in video games in the 90s,<br />

as this was well before the time<br />

when anti-heroes and darker heroes<br />

were commonplace in games.<br />

Each level was intimidating, and<br />

due to the dark and somewhat<br />

scary level design, Demon’s Crest<br />

remains a unique retro title that is<br />

well worth playing, even today.


Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare<br />

(PC, Xbox 360, Xbox One, PS3, PS4) (2014)<br />

When I first heard of Plants vs. Zombies:<br />

Garden Warfare, I scratched<br />

my head in confusion. Developed<br />

by PVZ creator Popcap, PVZ: Garden<br />

Warfare featured a variety of<br />

characters and game modes, but<br />

promised accessibility and lighthearted<br />

fun. I bit the bullet and purchased<br />

the game up on its release<br />

and I can honestly say it is one of<br />

the most underrated games of this<br />

generation.<br />

PVZ: Garden Warfare features a<br />

number of online modes, and could<br />

be described as an all ages version<br />

of Battlefield, with a third-person<br />

perspective and the ability to play<br />

as (and customise) a variety of<br />

plant or zombie characters.<br />

There’s PVZ: Garden Warfare’s<br />

take on a tower defense/survival<br />

mode, which sees players controlling<br />

plants as they protect a garden<br />

from an invading zombie horde.<br />

They can plant different types of<br />

seeds into strategically placed pots,<br />

which will grow into lethal artillery.<br />

Mortar-launching corn stalks, fireshooting<br />

pea pods, punching bok<br />

choys and more can all be unlocked<br />

with currency earned in-game.<br />

Garden Warfare is an absolute blast<br />

to play, especially with friends. The<br />

game is accessible, and able to be<br />

enjoyed by anyone, regardless of<br />

age, gender or level of gaming experience.<br />

I’ve spent countless hours<br />

playing it on both the PlayStation 4<br />

and Xbox One, and can’t wait for<br />

the sequel.<br />

It might feature zombies, but there<br />

isn’t a scare or drop of blood in sight.<br />

Do yourself a favour and check out<br />

Garden Warfare when you can!


Ghost Hunters<br />

(ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC) (1987)<br />

An Oliver Twins (of the Dizzy fame)<br />

classic, Ghost Hunters was released<br />

by Code Masters in 1987.<br />

The game takes place in a monster<br />

filled mansion where the goal is to<br />

find and rescue your brother. A platformer<br />

in the vein of Super Robin<br />

Hood (the Oliver Twins earlier title),<br />

the control system is difficult to get<br />

the hang of. To shoot the enemies<br />

the player has to remain still and<br />

use the controls to move a crosshair.<br />

While it feels fiddly to begin<br />

with, it actually works really well.<br />

Released on the Amstrad CPC, and<br />

later the ZX Spectrum, the player<br />

controls a macho man called ‘Hunk<br />

Studbuckle’ (hey, if I was changing<br />

my name I’d go with that!). As with<br />

most platform games contact with<br />

the enemy will cause damage, or<br />

in this case it will cause your ‘Terrormeter’<br />

to go up. When it’s at maximum<br />

you’re dead. There are plenty<br />

of monsters to keep your crosshair<br />

moving, such as ghosts, zombies,<br />

skeletons and more. While it feels<br />

rather tame today, as a young lad<br />

playing the game in a dark room in<br />

the 80s, I could see that the game<br />

may be a little scary if you were<br />

easily startled.<br />

The Oliver Twins claim that the<br />

sampled speech in the game was<br />

so CPU intensive they had to stop<br />

action on the screen while it played.<br />

The game also features a cheat<br />

mode, but if you use it you can’t<br />

complete the game properly, so be<br />

warned!


Werewolves of London<br />

(ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64) (1987)<br />

Another 8-bit computer title, Werewolves<br />

of London was released on<br />

the Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64<br />

and ZX Spectrum. In this game you<br />

find yourself in an unfortunate predicament,<br />

as you’ve been cursed to<br />

turn into a werewolf by a family of<br />

well-to-do aristocrats. The only way<br />

you’re going to be able to break this<br />

curse is to track down the wicked<br />

souls who damned you and kill<br />

them. Thankfully a werewolf is a killing<br />

machine, so this shouldn’t pose<br />

too much of a problem.<br />

Werewolves of London is an arcade<br />

adventure that takes place on the<br />

streets and the underground of London<br />

(obviously). During the day you<br />

are an ordinary man with no real<br />

abilities, so this is the time to track<br />

the family members. At night, as the<br />

werewolf, you can kill them. When a<br />

family member is on the screen with<br />

you a cross will flash in the corner.<br />

The problem is that there may be<br />

multiple people on the screen with<br />

you, so you might have problems<br />

finding the right person, especially<br />

if they leave the screen and you’re<br />

required to follow them. Once dead<br />

you can also eat your victims for<br />

some much needed health, but beware,<br />

as the police will not hesitate<br />

to arrest or shoot the werewolf. As a<br />

human you can walk around freely<br />

and they leave you alone. The Amstrad<br />

game is the only version worth<br />

playing, as the other versions are<br />

incomplete releases. A great game<br />

that offers a surprising amount of<br />

freedom and is a lot of fun!<br />

WRITTEN by nick getley, alex<br />

holmes & paul monopoli<br />

WWW.STICKYTRIGGER.COM


FEATURE ARTICLE<br />

WHAT<br />

MAKES<br />

YOU<br />

SCARED?<br />

When was the last time you played a really scary game or watched a movie<br />

that gave you chills? That’s going to depend on what you define as scary.<br />

In horror there are a number of sub genres that games and movies fall into<br />

and some might be more likely to keep you awake late at night then others.<br />

Let’s take a look…<br />

BODY<br />

HORROR<br />

This is where the horror element<br />

comes from the graphic depiction<br />

of horror involving the human body.<br />

Disease, mutilation… consider the<br />

movie Alien where the human body<br />

is used to grow the alien that then<br />

bursts out of the human’s body and<br />

grows into an acid-blood filled monster<br />

that kills most of the crew. Other<br />

“body horror” movies include -<br />

The Blob<br />

The Fly<br />

Slither<br />

Plus video games including, Bioshock,<br />

Deadspace, Fallout and<br />

many more.


Psychological<br />

HORROR<br />

These type of movies and games<br />

tend to freak you out mentally, they<br />

play on your fears and often have<br />

a supernatural element to the story.<br />

Films such as The Exorcist, The<br />

Shinning, The Blair Witch Project<br />

and Insidious fall into this category.<br />

They play on your mind and often<br />

will linger in your mind long after<br />

you’ve finished watching. Some<br />

films like The Exorcist had profound<br />

affects on people using the theme<br />

of possession by evil combined with<br />

a regular suburban setting that it still<br />

ranks as one of the scariest movies<br />

of all time. Games include:<br />

Silent Hill 2<br />

Dead Space<br />

F.E.A.R and Alan Wake<br />

These are the sort of games you<br />

might not want to play alone at<br />

night, with the lights off after everyone<br />

has gone to bed…<br />

Sci-Fi<br />

Horror<br />

This is one of my personal favourites.<br />

Sci-Fi Horror tends to deal with<br />

aliens, paranormal and can include<br />

science experiments that have gone<br />

wrong - consider The Fly for example.<br />

Some of the best movies in this<br />

genre include Alien, 28 Days Later,<br />

I Am Legend and many others. You<br />

might notice that some films cross<br />

genres. For example Alien is Science<br />

Fiction and Body Horror due<br />

to the content and setting. Games<br />

in this genre include..<br />

System Shock 2<br />

Dead Space<br />

Doom<br />

Note - I can remember playing the<br />

first Doom game late at night, headphones<br />

on, lights off and the family<br />

in bed. I can honestly say it actually<br />

made me jump a few times and<br />

even with those pixelated graphics<br />

it managed to be creepy enough to<br />

get me to turn the lights back on…<br />

Survival<br />

Horror<br />

In this genre the character tends<br />

to be more vulnerable, less armed<br />

then say in Doom, and relies on<br />

cunning and puzzle solving to survive<br />

as against violence and brute<br />

force. Most of us would relate the<br />

term to games such as Resident<br />

Evil but movies too, can be classified<br />

as Survival Horror. Dawn of<br />

the Dead, The Thing and The Mist<br />

come to mind as well as classics<br />

like A Nightmare on Elm Street and<br />

30 Days of Night. In all these the<br />

character/s do their best to survive<br />

a period of time or an enemy that<br />

is intent on hurting them down and<br />

killing them. Games include :<br />

Resident Evil<br />

Parasite Eve<br />

Blue Stinger and Silent Hill<br />

These games have a tendency to<br />

make you jump with sudden noises<br />

or creepy visuals that can play on<br />

your mind like Psychological Horror<br />

games do.<br />

There are many more sub genres<br />

that come under the horror theme,<br />

including Ghost Stories, Monsters,<br />

Japanese Horror and the list goes<br />

on. We’d love to hear about your favourite<br />

genre of horror so send in<br />

your picks to feedback@gametraders.com.au<br />

and we’ll print them in<br />

our next issue.


ameS<br />

REVIEWS & PREVIEWS<br />

preview:<br />

HITMAN<br />

reviewS:<br />

ZOMBI<br />

FORZA 6<br />

GODZILLA<br />

Danganronpa<br />

Another Episode:<br />

Ultra Despair Girls<br />

SUPER MARIO MAKER


hitm


an<br />

Preview


PREVIEW<br />

HITMAN<br />

Square Enix and IO Interactive<br />

have released some gameplay clips<br />

of the highly anticipated HITMAN.<br />

Focused on the core of what makes<br />

a great HITMAN game, the video<br />

provides us a little more detail into<br />

some of the new level designs, disguises,<br />

and creative elements into<br />

taking out specific targets. Whilst<br />

currently an Alpha preview, the mission<br />

“Showstopper” gives us an<br />

idea about the new direction that IO<br />

are now aiming for the series.<br />

Within the playthrough, IO Interactive<br />

gives us a little context for our<br />

target, Viktor Novikov – a world<br />

renown fashion brand owner, who<br />

is currently the owner of the spy<br />

agency IAGO. After the briefing, IO<br />

Interactive goes into detail about<br />

the new load-out system throughout<br />

HITMAN. Whilst unlocking more<br />

weapons throughout missions, HIT-<br />

MAN players can choose whatever<br />

weapons they wish to use throughout<br />

these missions. With IO showcasing<br />

such melee weapons as<br />

wrenches, katanas and screw drivers<br />

– players can decide for themselves<br />

their method of play and just<br />

noisy or brutal they want to be within<br />

HITMAN.<br />

Much like Absolution, IO Interactive<br />

has placed just as much emphasis<br />

on creating a “living world” for players<br />

to explore. Much like in Blood<br />

Money and Absolution, the wonderful<br />

crowed system has also made<br />

a glorious return to HITMAN,- with<br />

up 300+ simulated NPC’s spawned<br />

into place in creating these vibrant<br />

levels. In addition to this, selected<br />

NPC’s throughout these levels will<br />

also participate in their own little<br />

activities throughout these worlds<br />

– with various dialogue exchanges<br />

taking place that may/may not<br />

serve as a key element in exploring<br />

these missions.<br />

But what helps this game in providing<br />

further depth, would definitely<br />

have to be scale of each of the levels.<br />

In comparison to Absolution,<br />

these new levels within HITMAN<br />

are absolutely enormous. With the<br />

vast openness in infiltrating certain<br />

areas, and differences some areas<br />

have on others – needless to say I’m<br />

incredibly eager in playing through<br />

these new digital playgrounds.<br />

Whether Hitman fans loved or hated<br />

it, Hitman Absolution’s ‘instinct’ system<br />

is now an optional feature for<br />

this new title – meaning, fans of the<br />

classics can experience this new title<br />

in it’s initial stealthy style. As for<br />

the disguise system, that too has<br />

been altered – with the new system<br />

harking back to its original roots and<br />

ditching the whole ‘instinct’ bar in<br />

sneaking past specific NPCs.<br />

But with that said, there are some<br />

individuals who aren’t easily as<br />

fooled by 47’s masquerade talents.<br />

Indicted by a little triangle, higher<br />

up security guards will be able notice<br />

you instantly – meaning, that<br />

disguises will not always the main<br />

go-to option in infiltrating particular<br />

areas.<br />

HITMAN is expected to launch December<br />

8th, 2015 on Xbox One,<br />

PlayStation 4 and PC. In the meantime,<br />

be sure to check out this<br />

lengthy preview down below.


Click to view the trailer here!<br />

WRITTEN BY<br />

JASON ENGLISH<br />

WWW.STICKYTRIGGER.COM


PRE-ORDE<br />

OUT 27.


R NOW<br />

10.15


ZOM


BI<br />

review


REVIEW<br />

ZOMBI<br />

In the world of Zombi, there exists<br />

a 400 year old Black Prophecy.<br />

Astronomer John Dee predicted<br />

that the apocalypse would strike in<br />

2012 should the Ravens ever leave<br />

the Tower of London. In response<br />

appeared a secret society known<br />

as the Ravens of Dee, dedicating<br />

themselves to diverting this grisly<br />

end for humankind. Imagine the<br />

surprise when we flash forward to<br />

2012 London, the city shattered by<br />

this very same apocalypse. As one<br />

of the few survivors still alive, oblivious<br />

to all this soothsaying, the player<br />

is led to the safe house of an exsoldier<br />

known as the Prepper and<br />

instructed on how to survive.<br />

(Yes, he’s called the Prepper. He<br />

gives you a set of supplies called a<br />

bug-out bag. It’s just…don’t worry<br />

about it. I snickered at these names,<br />

too.)<br />

Once you’ve established yourself<br />

at Prepper’s base, it’s time to strike<br />

out bravely into the infested streets<br />

of London. Your current survivor<br />

must rummage through the usual<br />

array of wrecked shops and army<br />

checkpoints, gathering the weapons<br />

and supplies needed to protect<br />

yourself against the zombie horde.<br />

With ammo incredibly scarce – London<br />

has clearly fallen quite some<br />

time ago – the player must usually<br />

resort to melee combat, fighting<br />

off the living dead with your trusty<br />

cricket bat firmly in hand.<br />

Which brings us to the zombies<br />

themselves. For a city as densely<br />

packed as London (5,490 people<br />

per square kilometre, says Wikipedia),<br />

the shambling dead are very<br />

light on the ground. Zombi takes<br />

the route of each infected being a<br />

genuine threat on their own. Able to<br />

sense light and noise, they charge<br />

at you with unnerving speed, each<br />

strike taking a fair chunk out of your<br />

health. The various types are all<br />

here – your spitters, your screamers,<br />

your armoured ex-soldiers –<br />

and even the most basic of the lot<br />

will take several smacks about the<br />

head to put down. With any group<br />

larger than three constituting a serious<br />

problem, the player must move<br />

carefully forward, checking every<br />

corner, sparingly using their gun<br />

and flashlight so as not to alert even<br />

more of the dead. Just like Prepper<br />

would have wanted.<br />

This careful, dangerous approach<br />

to the living dead might make for<br />

a tense experience if not for the<br />

fact that the combat is so utterly<br />

dull. Though your choice of weapons<br />

does open up later on, for the<br />

most part it’ll just be you and ol’<br />

Batty trudging backwards, swinging<br />

away to conserve your extremely<br />

limited ammo. There are molotovs,<br />

grenades, various guns and even<br />

a virucide injection, but the sheer<br />

scarcity of them means that you’ll<br />

never want to waste what you’ve<br />

got. In this way, a lot of the fearful<br />

moments that could be there are<br />

instead just frustrated swinging at<br />

zombies that just won’t go down.<br />

Thrashing about wildly in a pitchblack<br />

subway station does not horror<br />

make.<br />

What it comes down to, simply put,<br />

is that there’s not much reason to<br />

care. Every survivor is completely<br />

interchangeable, a new skin<br />

slapped on the old model. Everyone<br />

you meet and everywhere you<br />

go hits the same zombie-horror<br />

plot beats we’ve seen for decades.<br />

With the grizzled Prepper grumbling<br />

backstory in your ear, you meet the<br />

doctor working on the cure, the secret<br />

society who knows more than<br />

they’re letting on, the group of survivors<br />

turned savage and bloodthirsty.<br />

People get turned with such<br />

predictable regularity that you could<br />

set your watch to it. Backdrops like<br />

Buckingham Palace and shoddy<br />

council flats add some variety, but it<br />

takes just one glance at your minimap<br />

to remind you that you’re still<br />

very much set on rails.<br />

That said, there is one thing you’ll<br />

care about: your stuff. The twist of<br />

Zombi is that any time your survivor<br />

falls to the slavering jaws of the<br />

horde, control is switched to a different<br />

survivor back at base. Presumably<br />

this person also went through<br />

all Prepper’s training and got caught<br />

up on the relevant plot details, because<br />

nobody so much as bats an


eye that a complete stranger is just<br />

picking up where the last person left<br />

off. The neatest detail of this concept<br />

is that backtracking to where<br />

you died will reveal your previous<br />

self shambling about as a newborn<br />

zombie. Cave that past loser’s skull<br />

in and you can retrieve everything<br />

they were carrying. It both emphasises<br />

your mortality and gives you<br />

no real punishment for dying, save<br />

for a bit of backtracking and the loss<br />

of any accumulated gun skills – an<br />

odd choice for survival horror.<br />

The other novel feature of Zombi<br />

was the gamepad, done away with<br />

now we’re off the Wii U. Some of the<br />

game’s tensest moments came in<br />

the use of this second screen. With<br />

your eyes averted, fumbling with a<br />

locked door or searching through<br />

your pack, the paranoia of a zombie<br />

leaping out at any moment rode<br />

high. Without the gamepad, Zombi<br />

is just another action game that<br />

doesn’t pause when you bring up<br />

the menu.<br />

(Oh, and for the graphics crowd:<br />

yes, it does look a bit better. Not<br />

much. Graphic upgrades are so incremental<br />

these days that it hardly<br />

merits mentioning.)<br />

All in all, the saddest part of Zombi<br />

is that since 2012, a lot of games<br />

have just…done it better. State of<br />

Decay made scrounging for supplies<br />

more rewarding, Dead Rising<br />

made battling the horde more fun,<br />

Dying Light gave you much more<br />

scope to explore. Compared to its<br />

peers, the experience is still good,<br />

but good is as far as it goes. Taken<br />

as a whole, Zombi is as slow and<br />

clumsy as the dead it depicts.


6/10<br />

Click to view the trailer here!<br />

PROS:<br />

LONDON IS BEAUTIFUL AND<br />

ATMOSPHERIC<br />

SMOOTH CHANGE FROM<br />

THE WIIU GAMEPAD<br />

CONS:<br />

BORING COMBAT<br />

SHALLOW PLOT<br />

WRITTEN BY<br />

Aaron Milligan<br />

WWW.STICKYTRIGGER.COM


PRE-ORDER NOW<br />

OUT 19.11.15


FOR


ZA 6<br />

review


REVIEW<br />

FORZA 6<br />

10 years ago, Gran Turismo was the<br />

king of console racers. Many strived<br />

to be like it, but no one could imitate<br />

the grand daddy of consoles. Then,<br />

10 years ago, a young upstart racing<br />

series launched on Xbox with<br />

the legend of console racers firmly<br />

in its sights; a fresh face challenging<br />

the old guard, much like Pagani<br />

did with Ferrari and alike. And from<br />

the beginning, it was clear that this<br />

was something special; as Gran Turismo<br />

wore out the laurels of success<br />

that GT4 brought it, this new<br />

title grew and grew. So much so,<br />

that by the time GT5 came along in<br />

2010, the Xbox title had brought out<br />

3 new games. Each one better than<br />

the last one. And in the last 10 years,<br />

that same franchise has churned<br />

out 8 titles. And this year, Forza Motorsport<br />

has saved its best for the<br />

double figure milestone. Welcome<br />

to Forza Motorsport 6: a celebration<br />

of all things motoring, and one hell<br />

of a 10th birthday party.<br />

FM6 features over 450 cars, each<br />

one painstakingly recreated in the<br />

virtual world to the most minute of<br />

details; from old JDM favourites<br />

to the newest and deadliest machines,<br />

the entire timespan of vehicles<br />

in FM6 ranges from 1939 F1<br />

to the yet to be released 2017 Ford<br />

GT…almost 80 years of motoring to<br />

sample! Each vehicle can be customized<br />

to particular classes, with<br />

both performance and visual modifications<br />

from simple air intakes<br />

to entire engine swaps, drive train<br />

conversions and more.<br />

Wheels and body parts can be<br />

changed, and there’s a giant pallet<br />

of standard and custom paint colours<br />

and finishes to choose from.<br />

And of course, there’s one of Forza<br />

Motorsports trademarks-a fully customizable<br />

vinyl and decal system,<br />

enabling you to build and design<br />

the cars of your dreams. Players<br />

can create and share their own<br />

tunes, designs and liveries for others<br />

to download, and you are able<br />

to transfer any designs you made in<br />

Forza 5 or Horizon 2, meaning you<br />

can almost pick up where you left<br />

off. The cars are simply gorgeous;<br />

the auto vista feature is available<br />

for every car in the game, meaning<br />

you can admire, explore and sit in<br />

any vehicle you want. From humble<br />

super minis to international open<br />

wheelers and multimillion dollar endurance<br />

prototypes, Forza 6 has<br />

put in a huge effort to make sure<br />

all aspects of motoring-and motorsport<br />

are included. It is quite literally<br />

on for young and old!<br />

The cars are the real stars of this<br />

show, but the settings and tracks do<br />

a fantastic job of being the supporting<br />

cast. Old favourites return, with<br />

some new locations added. The<br />

street course in Rio, for example.<br />

Real world location additions include<br />

Brands Hatch, Daytona, Lime<br />

Rock Park and Watkins Glen. Some<br />

tracks also benefit from the newest<br />

and most obvious addition to the series;<br />

changing weather and time of<br />

day settings. Whilst it only applies<br />

to certain tracks, it is quite incredible<br />

to experience. In the wet, you<br />

need to be on your toes; painted<br />

lines and ripple strips become icy<br />

trips off the track. Puddles not only<br />

slow you down, but can also pull<br />

your car to one side, and in some<br />

cases even cause you to aquaplane<br />

off if you aren’t playing attention.<br />

Night racing is also a fantastic and<br />

atmospheric addition. Flying around<br />

the brightly lit Daytona oval makes<br />

you think that nothing has changed,<br />

until you abruptly plunge into darkness<br />

through the infield, squinting<br />

as your eyes adjust as you rely on<br />

your headlights to guide you to the<br />

next corner. Le Mans and Nurburgring<br />

at night are also a daunting<br />

battle; with nothing but black behind<br />

and in front, with only your opponents<br />

headlights darting in and out<br />

of view, you really get the feeling<br />

you’re on your own.<br />

Career mode has been simplified;<br />

you progress through 5 tiers,<br />

ranging from street tuners up to<br />

the pinnacle of international motor<br />

racing. Each tier or ‘volume’ covers<br />

3 championships, which you<br />

must progress through to proceed<br />

to the next volume. With each Vol-


Click to view the trailer here!<br />

Click to view the trailer here!


ume you have 6 different classes of<br />

car to choose from to progress; you<br />

can play the same group 3 times<br />

to advance if you have a favourite<br />

car, but where’s the fun in that? If<br />

you need a break from progressing<br />

through the championships, there’s<br />

also a host of ‘showcase’ events,<br />

separate to career mode, which pit<br />

you against certain challenges in a<br />

host of car classes, allowing you to<br />

experience the broader story of motorsport.<br />

Expect to hear from a host<br />

of motoring and motorsport personalities<br />

as well, providing you with<br />

information and guidance with tackling<br />

the world’s best. As you earn<br />

cash and xp, you build reputation,<br />

and each level gives you a wheel<br />

spin gift, similar to the levelling system<br />

in Horizon 2. Another new addition<br />

to help you on the way are<br />

‘mods’. Either won or purchased,<br />

mods give you certain one off or<br />

permanent boosts; either cash bonuses,<br />

xp boosts, or handling and<br />

braking upgrades. You can equip<br />

up to 3, and whilst it can made the<br />

game seem a little less realistic,<br />

it doesn’t force you to use them.<br />

They’re just a helping hand if you<br />

want it. Coupled with the massive<br />

amount of options you can select<br />

and adjust, Forza 6 helps cater for<br />

any level of racer.<br />

Drivatars are also back, though this<br />

time they’ve been to racing school.<br />

You can turn off Drivatars to face a<br />

more balanced competition, or you<br />

can adjust whether or not the Drivatars<br />

act aggressively. But be awake<br />

if you do let them; they aren’t afraid<br />

to weave, block and dive bomb you<br />

in order to get ahead. They will happily<br />

wipe the smile off your faceeven<br />

if it means wiping the front of<br />

their car off in the process. They’re<br />

human in a sense; they make mistakes,<br />

they out brake themselves,<br />

they run off track. It adds a new and<br />

challenging dimension to the game,<br />

and when you have 23 other cars<br />

on track battling for your position,<br />

coupled with the day/night cycles,<br />

with the threat of rain, it all comes<br />

together to bring a experience that<br />

blows you away.<br />

I see a lot of comparison between<br />

GT4 and FM6. Both featured the<br />

Ford GT as their poster boy, albeit<br />

in different guises. Both represented<br />

a huge step forward for<br />

not just their series, but the genre<br />

in general. And I haven’t been this<br />

excited and keen on a racing game<br />

since GT4. I think I’ve finally found<br />

my replacement. Forza is happily<br />

celebrating 10 years of producing<br />

top shelf content, and it’s a ride<br />

they’re only too happy to take you<br />

along on. If you’ve played previous<br />

Forza titles, it not only rewards you<br />

for it, but thanks you being a part of<br />

their 10 year journey. And yes, it’s a<br />

game. But it’s a thank you that feels<br />

quite genuine. It’s not just a 10th<br />

anniversary launch, and it isn’t just<br />

another title in the series. This is the<br />

new benchmark.<br />

And as much as I like Gran Turismo,<br />

Forza has raised the bar yet again.<br />

After all, releasing a game on your<br />

10th anniversary is always a good<br />

start…thanks for the 10 years Forza.<br />

And here’s to another 10 more.


PROS:<br />

TONS OF VARIETY<br />

VISUALLY STUNNING<br />

ABLE TO BE PLAYED AT<br />

YOUR OWN PACE<br />

CONS:<br />

NO DTM OR SUPER GT<br />

SOUNDTRACK IS<br />

LACKLUSTRE COMPARED TO<br />

PREVIOUS FORZA GAMES<br />

COULD USE A PHOTO MODE<br />

9.4/10<br />

WRITTEN BY<br />

ben rachow<br />

WWW.STICKYTRIGGER.COM


PRE-ORDE<br />

OUT 23.


R NOW<br />

10.15


GOD


ZILLA<br />

review


REVIEW<br />

With over 50 years of films, and a<br />

wide range of westernized reboots<br />

and sequels – the Godzilla series<br />

is one of the most universally acclaimed<br />

monsters franchises to<br />

date. As a long time fan of the series<br />

myself, I have since longed for<br />

the release of a one decent Godzilla<br />

fighting game – complete with all<br />

the cheesy and awesome aspects<br />

that made these classics films, so<br />

fun to watch.<br />

So when I heard the news that Namco<br />

Bandai was working on a Play-<br />

Station 4 title – as you can guess, I<br />

was actually looking forward to this<br />

game.<br />

But as it turns out through its clunky<br />

combat, uninspired game modes<br />

and ugly presentation – that not<br />

even the most ample fanservice<br />

is able to save Godzilla from the<br />

realms of mediocrit.<br />

Performing attacks are awkward<br />

and in some cases, fail to connect<br />

at all. The move list is complete gar-<br />

GODZILLA<br />

Players will stomp around, destroy bage, as a lot of the attacks fail to<br />

generators, and will repeat this annoying<br />

process for 7-10 stages as Kaiju can be an extremely agoniz-<br />

register. And fighting off particular<br />

they try to get Godzilla to grow. ing considering, just how unbalanced<br />

every monster is.<br />

With not much variety – aside from<br />

a mode that allows to you defend<br />

these machines – as you can imagine,<br />

the appeal of this mode wears<br />

out its welcome quick.<br />

Sure Godzilla tries to hide this boring<br />

factor through destroying vehicles<br />

and leveling entire cities to the<br />

ground. But even with that, it still<br />

isn’t able to excuse the minimal effort<br />

placed into this poor and disappointing<br />

campaign.<br />

Enemy Kaiju – especially on the<br />

harder difficulty – will hound you<br />

endlessly with the same two moves<br />

over, and over again. And given<br />

that there’s no block button as well,<br />

players will find themselves at a dismay<br />

as they try to escape these annoying<br />

cheap combos.<br />

As for the presentation, visually this<br />

game looks incredibly dated.<br />

Whilst paying homage to the original<br />

movie with one fairly decent tutorial<br />

screen – it’s from here on out,<br />

that things go downhill.<br />

With only two offline modes, God of<br />

Destruction and King of Kaiju are<br />

the only single player experiences<br />

within the entirety of Godzilla. With<br />

King of Kaiju focused on monster on<br />

monster action, God of Destruction<br />

is essentially the main story mode<br />

for Godzilla.<br />

As explained in the tutorial screen –<br />

Japan has been making a nuisance<br />

out of Godzilla’s energy source, by<br />

harvesting these precious materials<br />

for power. With no other alternatives<br />

but to wreck havoc amongst<br />

these machines, players embark<br />

on a quest to destroy these pesky<br />

generators, in order to harvest the<br />

energy for our big green monster.<br />

And with that said, that’s pretty<br />

much the bulk of the experience<br />

within God of Destruction.<br />

With little attention placed into the<br />

destructibility, buildings at most will<br />

flicker a few times before letting a<br />

lackluster explosion. Needless to<br />

say, not even Michael Bay himself<br />

will be able to salvage much fun<br />

from wreaking havoc amongst these<br />

pitiful landscapes. As for destroying<br />

vehicles – spotting these things<br />

on the map is either an annoying<br />

process in itself, or just flat-out nuisance<br />

in trying to target properly.<br />

When you’re not attacking generators,<br />

monsters will sometimes appear<br />

depending on either how much<br />

of the city you’ve destroyed or how<br />

long you’ve been playing of the level.<br />

Whilst admittedly the thought of<br />

battling one of Godzillas many kaijus<br />

may sound appealing on paper<br />

– it isn’t until you discover by playing<br />

it, just how boring and broken<br />

the combat mechanics are.<br />

So much so, that if it wasn’t for the<br />

appearance of the 2014 Godzilla –<br />

this game could’ve easily been mistaken<br />

as a late PlayStation 2 title.<br />

Color ranges from the most disgusting<br />

looking variations of grey, green<br />

and brown – and a lot of the levels<br />

are designed so small and restrictive<br />

to the point, that it will almost<br />

make players claustrophobic. Truly<br />

though, the only thing that stands<br />

out is probably both the sound, and<br />

the design of the many Kaiju featured<br />

in Godzilla. But even with that,<br />

the monsters regardless are dated<br />

models – and the sound does eventually<br />

become repetitive through<br />

the limited tracks presented within<br />

these stages.<br />

Through its poor visuals, mediocre<br />

gameplay and broken combat<br />

mechanics – Godzilla manages<br />

to ruin all the potential that this title<br />

might’ve had. My advice – pick<br />

up the movies and instead, binge<br />

your way through the entirety of the<br />

Godzilla franchise.


2.8/10<br />

Click to view the trailer here!<br />

PROS:<br />

THE TUTORIAL SCREEN<br />

SOUND EFFECTS SUIT<br />

EACH OF THE VARIOUS<br />

MONSTERS<br />

CONS:<br />

DULL VISUALS<br />

AWKWARD AND CHEAP<br />

COMBAT<br />

UNINSPIRED GAME MODES<br />

WRITTEN BY<br />

jason english<br />

WWW.STICKYTRIGGER.COM


PRE-ORDER NOW!<br />

OUT 06.11.15


Dan<br />

Anothe<br />

Ultra


ganronpa<br />

r Episode:<br />

Despair Girls<br />

review


REVIEW<br />

Danganronpa<br />

Another Episode:<br />

Ultra Despair Girls<br />

BIG SPOILER WARNING: THIS<br />

REVIEW WILL SPOIL VITAL<br />

PARTS OF DANGAN RONPA.<br />

According to what I’ve heard, the<br />

world is round… But is that really<br />

true? Earth might have the shape of<br />

rock candy, like that spiky lump of<br />

sugar your grandma would wrap in<br />

a tissue.<br />

But I don’t really know for sure.<br />

It’s not like I’ve actually seen the<br />

shape of the Earth. In the same<br />

way, I’ve never actually seen most<br />

things that are considered ‘common<br />

knowledge.’ Common knowledge<br />

and what we take for granted… We<br />

base our lives around such uncertain<br />

things.<br />

Well, not that it matters for me.<br />

I mean, my world isn’t even big<br />

enough to worry about stuff like<br />

the shape of the Earth or common<br />

knowledge. In fact, it’s pretty small<br />

– so small that it’s actually a little<br />

funny.<br />

This is my world. This two-bedroom<br />

apartment that I live in is my world.<br />

My life doesn’t extend beyond these<br />

walls. But it’s not like I’m a shut-in<br />

or anything! I am actually… imprisoned<br />

inside this room.<br />

With those words, the tale of the<br />

Ultra Despair Girls begins. After being<br />

imprisoned for a year and a half,<br />

Komaru Naegi – little sister to the<br />

protagonist of the first game, Makoto<br />

Naegi – suddenly receives a<br />

knock on the door of her apartment/<br />

prison. Rather than a saviour, however,<br />

what greets her is something<br />

entirely different: a Monokuma.<br />

This evil robotic bear (just go with<br />

it) is the main villain of the series,<br />

now a mass-produced murderbot,<br />

and extremely ready to disembowel<br />

poor Komaru. Her story looks to be<br />

a very short one until, all of a sudden,<br />

the bear is blown clean away<br />

by Byakuya Togami, a survivor of<br />

the first game. He wields a Hacking<br />

Megaphone, a kind of gun capable<br />

of firing program codes that can<br />

damage the bear-bots. Freed from<br />

her confines, Komaru is given her<br />

own megaphone and sent out into<br />

the world.<br />

You think that’s weird? You ain’t<br />

seen nothing yet.<br />

Different from the visual novel style<br />

of the last two Danganronpas, Ultra<br />

Despair Girls is an action-shooter<br />

hybrid. Komaru emerges into Towa<br />

City, one of the few remaining areas<br />

untouched by the Tragedy – an<br />

apocalypse-level crumbling of society<br />

which plunged the whole world<br />

into destruction and anarchy. Soon<br />

enough, though, this bastion falls<br />

too. All of this is due to the Warriors<br />

of Hope: a group of five children<br />

who recruited all the kids of Towa<br />

City to their side, commanding them<br />

to slaughter every adult and create<br />

a paradise only for children. (Again,<br />

just go with it.) With nothing but her<br />

Hacking Megaphone and a newlyfound<br />

companion, Komaru must<br />

navigate this destroyed city, avoiding<br />

death by children and Monokuma<br />

at every turn.<br />

How this actually shakes out is very<br />

linear. Komaru progresses through<br />

areas, defeating Monokumas and<br />

solving puzzles while trying to work<br />

out how to escape, how to survive,<br />

and plenty of other things that<br />

would be big ol’ spoilers. Most of<br />

these puzzles take place in special<br />

arcade rooms, restrictions placed<br />

on your Bullet usage for added<br />

challenge. Others are challenges<br />

issued to you by the myriad children<br />

ruling over the city. Though there<br />

are plenty of brain-teasers and the<br />

action segments contain some fairly<br />

hectic shooting, fans of the earlier<br />

games need not worry: cutscenes<br />

plentifully abound, resonating with


the same disturbing-yet-funny writing<br />

that the series is known for. In<br />

this way, combining a shooter with<br />

a visual novel actually works well.<br />

Save for collectibles along the way,<br />

both genres keep you moving forward,<br />

allowing players to focus on<br />

the story/blowing up bear robots instead<br />

of getting needlessly distracted<br />

with side quests.<br />

The actual battles offer a decent<br />

amount of variety. Though you’ll<br />

spend most of your time aiming for<br />

the red-eye weak point of the various<br />

types of Monokumas, progressing<br />

through the story gifts Komaru<br />

with further Truth Bullets that mix up<br />

the action. Enemies can be halted<br />

with Dance, knocked back with the<br />

imaginatively-named Knockback,<br />

and even remote-controlled. If<br />

things ever get too hectic, a simple<br />

press of the Triangle button switches<br />

to your partner, Genocide Jack,<br />

the serial-killer alternate personality<br />

of Toko Fukawa, a survivor from the<br />

first game. (Seriously, just go with<br />

it.) While Toko cannot be killed and<br />

has brutal finisher attacks, she only<br />

lasts as long as you have batteries,<br />

making her hack-and-slash style<br />

the perfect solution to overwhelming<br />

numbers.<br />

It’s a very simple system that creates<br />

one of the few drawbacks of<br />

the game. Combat is often simply a<br />

matter of keeping your distance and<br />

aiming at the red eye. Between that<br />

and always having Genocide Jack<br />

in your back pocket, it can’t be said<br />

that the fighting provides any real<br />

challenge. In the same way, many<br />

of the game’s puzzles fall over<br />

themselves to give you extremely<br />

obvious hints, spoiling the pleasure<br />

of working it out for yourself. Dangan<br />

Ronpa has always been about<br />

the story rather than the puzzle, but<br />

the variety on show here ends up<br />

being diluted by refusing to trust the<br />

player’s intellect for longer than one<br />

personality-switching sneeze.<br />

Thankfully, it’s not all bad. For the<br />

fans, everything great about the<br />

previous Danganronpas is back<br />

in full force. The despair-inducing<br />

horror of the post-Tragedy world<br />

glows even more vividly outside of<br />

the closed arenas of Hope’s Peak<br />

Academy and Jabberwock Island.<br />

Blood is rendered in pop-art pink,<br />

seeping from blue and purple bodies,<br />

creating stark contrasts against<br />

gloomy streets and blinding right<br />

into insane cartoon boardwalks. On<br />

the musical side, Masafumi Takada<br />

returns to deliver another wonderful<br />

soundtrack, echoing the spirit of the<br />

previous iterations. It all melds together<br />

into a powerful experience,<br />

as engaging as any good novel or<br />

movie.<br />

That said, there is one important<br />

caveat: this game is definitely not<br />

for kids. As one might expect from<br />

a game dealing with children killing<br />

adults and the savagery of a<br />

ruined society, there are some extremely<br />

confronting and upsetting<br />

themes on display. Danganronpa<br />

as a series has never shied away<br />

from really making the player feel<br />

the horror and despair it takes as its<br />

main theme, but Ultra Despair Girls<br />

shows no hesitating in plunging into<br />

ever more horrifying scenarios. If<br />

you have any kind of queasiness<br />

about discomforting themes at all,<br />

be sure to prepare yourself before<br />

giving the game a go.<br />

That just leaves one question, the<br />

scourge of every gamer in this sequel-heavy<br />

world: do you have to<br />

have played the others to get this<br />

one? In short, no. All relevant details<br />

of the other games are skilfully relayed<br />

through Komaru’s ignorance<br />

of her situation and Toko’s reticent<br />

explanations. Like always, playing<br />

the others will help to catch little<br />

hints and nods – there’s a lot there<br />

for returning players – but never is it<br />

necessary to stop and do research<br />

to understand what’s going on.<br />

Ultra Despair Girls is, understandably,<br />

not for everyone. There are a<br />

lot of roadblocks to stop prospective<br />

players: the Vita exclusivity, the<br />

deeply strange dialogue and characters,<br />

the tackling of very upsetting<br />

taboo topics. Despite these things,<br />

fans will find another incredible entry<br />

into the Danganronpa mythos,<br />

faithful to the spirit and attitude of<br />

its visual-novel brethren. For a newcomer,<br />

there’s a deep, rewarding<br />

story to be had and plenty of fun<br />

shooting maniacal bear robots in<br />

between.<br />

Really, isn’t that all you can ask for?


8.4/10<br />

Click to view the trailer here!<br />

PROS:<br />

ABSORBING STORY<br />

GORGEOUS VISUALS<br />

INCREDIBLE SOUNDTRACK<br />

FAITHFUL TO DR<br />

FRANCHISE<br />

CONS:<br />

TOO-EASY COMBAT<br />

PUZZLES VERY QUICK TO<br />

GIVE ANSWER<br />

CONFRONTING, UPSETTING<br />

THEMES<br />

WRITTEN BY<br />

Aaron Milligan<br />

WWW.STICKYTRIGGER.COM


SUPER


MARIO<br />

MAKER<br />

review


REVIEW<br />

SUPER<br />

MARIO<br />

MAKER<br />

only the bare necessities at first; elements<br />

like various kinds of blocks,<br />

coins, the mushroom power up, and<br />

basic enemies like Goombas, Koopa<br />

Troopas and Piranha Plants; just<br />

enough to recreate level 1-1 from<br />

Super Mario Bros. for the NES and<br />

change. There’s also the option to<br />

change each the graphics of each<br />

level, with Super Mario Bros. and<br />

New Super Mario Bros. U graphics<br />

are given to begin with, along with<br />

the ground theme.<br />

I had to drag myself away from playing<br />

Super Mario Maker to review<br />

Super Mario Maker. That alone<br />

should tell you how much of a pull<br />

this game has on me!<br />

What better way to celebrate Mario’s<br />

30th Anniversary than by giving Nintendo<br />

a break from making Mario<br />

games, with a Mario game where<br />

we make and play our own levels?<br />

With Super Mario Maker, the tools<br />

are in our hands, with our only limits<br />

stretching as far as our imagination.<br />

However with that said, they say a<br />

craftsman’s only good as his tools.<br />

So just how good are the tools Super<br />

Mario Maker provides? Are they<br />

well made, or does it all equate to a<br />

broken hammer?<br />

As mentioned earlier, Super Mario<br />

Maker gives you the tools of making<br />

Super Mario levels. Equipt with<br />

Later on, options for Super Mario<br />

Bros. 3 and Super Mario World palettes<br />

become available - as well as<br />

underground, underwater, ghost<br />

house, air ship, and castle themes.<br />

These varieties in graphical options,<br />

for the most, part look like they were<br />

taken straight from their respective<br />

games. So much so to the point,<br />

that each contains their respective<br />

game’s controls and physics. With<br />

that being said, there are little things<br />

that do stick out when it comes to<br />

the presentation. For the more retro<br />

aesthetic setting of Super Mario<br />

Bros., Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super<br />

Mario World - everything about<br />

these settings has this oddly placed<br />

‘drop-shadow’ effect, which personally,<br />

felt a bit like an immersion killer.<br />

I understand the approach that Nintendo<br />

had with this design choice,<br />

but to me it deterred from allowing<br />

to me feel like I was playing a legitimate<br />

Mario level.<br />

With the New Super Mario Bros. U<br />

graphics as well, some background/<br />

enemy animations suffer from reduced<br />

frames and look very choppy.<br />

Gameplay itself runs smoothly,<br />

but the animation sticks out like a<br />

sore thumb to say the least.<br />

More elements to build with would<br />

first be notified after a set amount of<br />

time spent editing, and then the new<br />

elements would be delivered the<br />

next day. Other extras like sound<br />

effects, the level timer, and the option<br />

to include screen scrolling are<br />

also available to be unlocked and<br />

edited. A day one update changed<br />

this however, with instead changing<br />

the requirements to be that after<br />

using one of each new available<br />

element, and then the placing of so<br />

many subsequent elements, would<br />

then bring the next set of new elements.<br />

With this method, you can<br />

unlock everything the game has for<br />

making levels within a day.<br />

The way the tools themselves<br />

work is relatively simple; tap on the<br />

GamePad to place a element, press<br />

that element to grab it.<br />

Grabbing elements can do quite<br />

a bit. You can move the element<br />

around and let go to replace it.<br />

You can shake certain elements to<br />

change something about them, put


them in other objects, or give some<br />

elements items themselves.<br />

Take for instance a red Koopa-<br />

Troopa. Shake it to turn it from the<br />

platform falling green Koopa to the<br />

platform patrolling red Koopa. Move<br />

it and put it in a pipe to make that<br />

pipe pump out red Koopas. Then,<br />

give the Koopa a mushroom, and<br />

you make the Koopa big. Item<br />

placement makes sense, none of<br />

the controls are too weird. The thing<br />

about shaking elements is that<br />

every shakeable item isn’t really<br />

detailed anywhere, not in the game<br />

at least. Even after everything’s unlocked,<br />

there’s still some secrets to<br />

be found, which lends an extra layer<br />

of exploration.<br />

As an aside, when tapping with the<br />

GamePad, the music of the currently<br />

theme partially plays out. It’s<br />

nothing amazing, but I found myself<br />

at times tapping out the rhythm, and<br />

the music playing was one of those<br />

neat little touches that felt right in<br />

place.<br />

Super Mario Maker also has a lot to<br />

offer amiibo-wise. Every released<br />

amiibo up to this point so far unlocks<br />

a Costume Mario through the<br />

Mystery Mushroom item, an eight<br />

bit pixel version of that character<br />

that turns Mario into that character,<br />

exclusively to the Super Mario Bros.<br />

palette. This opens up the possibility<br />

for theme levels starring Donkey<br />

Kong, Link, even Pikachu is available.<br />

Previously, Pokémon amiibo<br />

were unavailable to be an amiibo<br />

skin in Yoshi’s Woolly World, which<br />

felt strange considering how dominant<br />

Pokémon is as a Nintendo<br />

franchise.<br />

Even with all the tools given, there’s<br />

still room for improvement. Being<br />

able to add a checkpoint to a level<br />

would really help out for longer levels,<br />

or adding slopes to the landscape<br />

are prominent in Super Mario<br />

games from Super Mario World<br />

onward and Super Mario Bros. 3<br />

onward respectively would add a little<br />

bit extra to an already fantastic<br />

game. The addition of these could<br />

be made possible with downloadable<br />

content, which thus far is confirmed<br />

for the Japanese version of<br />

the game with a downloadable costume<br />

of the Famitsu mascot Necky<br />

the Fox, so the potential is there for<br />

more content to be delivered.<br />

Even if you don’t have the flair for<br />

making, there’s a near-unlimited<br />

amount of levels out there for players<br />

to choose from. On-disk, there’s<br />

the 10 Mario Challenges, where Super<br />

Mario Maker presents eight premade<br />

stages for you to play through<br />

with ten lives to make it. On completion,<br />

these levels are saved for you<br />

to later edit and to be inspired by.<br />

Even with what Super Mario Maker<br />

brings to the table, it’s like Nintendo<br />

made a Super Mario game’s worth<br />

of content. Some levels may be a<br />

little on the short side. But for what<br />

they lack in length, they provide fun<br />

in spades.<br />

Then after spending countless<br />

hours perfecting your masterpiece,<br />

it’s time to take it online. When<br />

choosing to upload a stage, you<br />

have to perform the clear test, to<br />

prove that the level itself is winnable.<br />

At first, ten levels can be uploaded.<br />

This can be expanded by<br />

receiving stars from people who<br />

play your level think it’s decent<br />

enough. Notifications are received<br />

in-game in real time when someone<br />

plays or stars your levels, which is<br />

pretty cool. Statistics are also given<br />

for stages for amount of total attempts<br />

compared to the amount<br />

of number of level completions, as<br />

well as this number as a percentage<br />

for the clear rate, the amount of<br />

stars a level has received, and the<br />

amount of unique users who have<br />

chosen that level. At this point however,<br />

levels can only be searched<br />

for with a twelve digit code, and<br />

can’t be searched for their name,<br />

graphic option, or clear rate. Nintendo<br />

had been changing hard to<br />

take on a modern approach to online<br />

play with the Wii U; this twelve<br />

digit code feels similar to the friend<br />

codes of yore, and with that taking<br />

a step back.<br />

Like the offline 10 Mario Challenge,<br />

the amount of playability online is<br />

off the charts. Despite limited ways<br />

to search for levels, you can view an<br />

assortment of popular, or newly uploaded<br />

levels to try out. There’s also<br />

the 100 Mario Challenge, where<br />

instead of having ten lives playing<br />

premade levels, the 100 Mario<br />

Challenge selects 8 or 16 levels on<br />

the easy or normal and expert difficulties,<br />

where other user’s uploaded<br />

levels are randomly selected for<br />

you to play through. A handy feature<br />

is the option to be given a different<br />

level by holding down the minus<br />

button. While I can appreciate really<br />

difficult levels, you’re not always<br />

in the mood for them. On completion<br />

of the 100 Mario Challenge, a<br />

Costume Mario skin is unlocked at<br />

random – even if it can be unlocked<br />

with an amiibo. Granted, some costumes<br />

cannot be unlocked with amiibo,<br />

so it’s worth playing through the<br />

100 Mario Challenge a whole lot of<br />

times no matter what.<br />

Super Mario Maker gives every one<br />

of us a little bit of Nintendo magic to<br />

play with, and to share with others<br />

around the world. There’s a little bit<br />

of charm and wonder hiding behind<br />

every corner, even if the corner can<br />

be a little immersion-killing at times.<br />

Definitely a must have for any Wii U<br />

owners out there.


8.7/10<br />

Click to view the trailer here!<br />

PROS:<br />

SHARES THAT NINTENDO<br />

MAGIC WITH ALL<br />

UNLIMITED CONTENT<br />

FOR BOTH CREATOR AND<br />

PLAYER ALIKE<br />

CONTROLS ARE SIMPLE<br />

AMIIBO FUNCTIONALITY<br />

FOR EVERY AMIIBO, EVEN<br />

IF YOU DON’T HAVE ANY<br />

AMIIBO<br />

CONS:<br />

GRAPHICAL QUIRKS ARE AN<br />

IMMERSION KILLER<br />

SOME PREVELANT<br />

ELEMENTS IN SUPER MARIO<br />

GAMES AREN’T AVAILABLE<br />

CAN ONLY SEARCH LEVELS<br />

BY CODE<br />

WRITTEN BY<br />

sasha karen<br />

WWW.STICKYTRIGGER.COM


MUST-HAVE GAMES!


geek o<br />

Lights, Camera,<br />

Amstrad Action!<br />

retro<br />

GHOSTS &<br />

GOBLINS!<br />

retro<br />

being a wise<br />

collector<br />

COLLECTIBLES<br />

stockpile<br />

BOARD GAME REVIEW


ut<br />

MTG: BATTLE<br />

FOR ZENDIKAR<br />

TRADING CARDS<br />

sword art<br />

online ii<br />

anime REVIEW<br />

HORRIBLE<br />

COMICS<br />

comics


etro<br />

Celebrating 30 years in 2015 is the<br />

spooky Ghosts and Goblins series,<br />

otherwise known as Makaimura<br />

in Japan. Released by Capcom in<br />

September 1985 the first title in the<br />

series, “Ghosts and Goblins” was a<br />

hard as nails platformer, where the<br />

knight Arthur must rescue the princess<br />

from the evil Satan and his<br />

army of monsters.<br />

If a retrogaming challenge is what<br />

you seek then look no further, as<br />

the original “Ghosts and Goblins”<br />

is diabolically difficult. The game<br />

features six levels and a variety of<br />

weapons that Arthur can use along<br />

the way. As it is, he’ll need every last<br />

one of them as it’s hard enough getting<br />

through the first level let along<br />

the whole game! Luckily our hero is<br />

equipped with armour, though it is<br />

rather flimsy and will fly off his body<br />

in one hit. This leaves Arthur in his<br />

underwear until he gets hit again and<br />

dies. He can pick up extra armour if<br />

he’s lucky enough to find the magicians<br />

who supply it and defeat them.<br />

The graphics are impressive for<br />

its time and the controls aren’t too<br />

loose. This is important for such a<br />

difficult game as deaths, while they<br />

may be plentiful, don’t feel cheap.<br />

The spooky music plays on a loop,<br />

but it’s not objectionable and suits<br />

the feel of the game. The enemies<br />

are plentiful and some of them will<br />

leave you tearing your hair out in<br />

frustration. The most famous and<br />

frustrating enemy, Red Arremer, will<br />

swoop on you, leaving you very little<br />

time to move out of the way. More on<br />

Red Arremer a bit later.<br />

When you get through those 6 soul<br />

crushing levels the game forces<br />

you to repeat them all over again,<br />

only harder. This is, of course, if<br />

you bought along the right weapon<br />

to defeat Satan with. Without that<br />

weapon you get booted back to the<br />

beginning of level 5 to allow you a<br />

While the sequel was ported to as<br />

many systems as possible, a stand-<br />

GHOSTS &<br />

GOBLINS!<br />

chance to find it before confronting out version was on the successor<br />

him again, then you get to replay the to the PC Engine, the Supergrafx.<br />

game again at a higher difficulty. Never released outside of Japan,<br />

the Supergrafx was an enhanced PC<br />

The game was ported to most systems<br />

that were around at the time. ible. Few games were released for<br />

Engine that was backwards compat-<br />

The NES port is regarded to be a the system, but an enhanced version<br />

of Ghouls and Ghosts was one<br />

decent version of the game, plus it<br />

provided the player with a password of them. Though it’s priced at over<br />

system which made things slightly $100AU on Ebay, I am happy to say<br />

easier. The home computer conversions<br />

were a bit hit and miss, for collection a few months ago. I still<br />

I was able to add this to my personal<br />

example, the Amstrad CPC version struggle to get past the first level, but<br />

didn’t feature all of the levels and a the controls are solid and graphically<br />

it’s a beautiful port of the arcade<br />

single hit would kill Arthur.<br />

classic.<br />

1988 would see the release of<br />

“Ghouls and Ghosts”, the advanced<br />

yet just as difficult sequel. Arthur still<br />

has a variety of weapons to use and<br />

he still loses his armour upon initial<br />

contact with an enemy, but with the<br />

new game comes new features. The<br />

ability to shoot up and down, as well<br />

as different types of armour add a<br />

new dimension to the gameplay. With<br />

these new elements you might think<br />

that the game wouldn’t be as difficult<br />

as its predecessor, but if you thought<br />

that you would be very wrong. With<br />

harder enemies, more of them and<br />

magicians turning you into ducks or<br />

an old man the difficulty has been<br />

cranked up a couple of notches.<br />

Like the original game, once you<br />

complete the game you have to<br />

beat it all over again at a higher difficulty<br />

level, plus you need the special<br />

weapon to defeat the final boss.<br />

Though it was noted for its similarities<br />

to the previous title, “Ghouls and<br />

Ghosts” received critical acclaim<br />

throughout the video gaming press.<br />

Though the series is defined by<br />

those 2 main titles, the spin off series<br />

“Gargoyle’s Quest” is also held<br />

in high regard. These titles follow the<br />

adventures of Red Arremer and take<br />

place in the demon realm. The first<br />

game was released on the Gameboy,<br />

with its sequel being released<br />

on the NES. The final game in the series,<br />

“Demon’s Crest” was released


on the Super Nintendo and while it’s<br />

only considered to be an above average<br />

game, it’s a graphical tour de<br />

force. Red Arremer later appeared in<br />

“SNK vs Capcom: SvC Chaos” for<br />

Neo Geo, XBOX and PS2.<br />

The legend of Arthur lives on in rereleases<br />

and remixes of the original<br />

games released on other systems<br />

such as the Bandai Wonderswan,<br />

PS2, iOS and more. If you want a<br />

spooky game to play this halloween<br />

you could do a lot worse than delve<br />

into the Ghosts and Goblins series.<br />

WRITTEN BY<br />

paul monopoli


etro<br />

Lights, Camera,<br />

Amstrad Action!<br />

Computer magazines have been<br />

around since the dawn of computing<br />

itself. Often dreary affairs with<br />

lots of text and very little to keep<br />

your attention, the magazines of<br />

the late 70s and early 80s could put<br />

even the most stubborn insomniac<br />

to sleep. In 1981 EMAP’s multi format<br />

‘Computer and Video Games’<br />

magazine emerged and was a stand<br />

out publication. With a strong focus<br />

on games and having fun with your<br />

computers, what followed was a revolution<br />

in video games journalism,<br />

with publishers worldwide following<br />

in EMAP’s footsteps. While many of<br />

them would fail, some of them would<br />

eventually become publishing empires!<br />

The Amstrad computer had been<br />

around since mid 1984, with the official<br />

publication “Amstrad Computer<br />

User” being released by Amstrad to<br />

support the machine. It was a thick<br />

magazine with plenty of articles<br />

(some contributed by Top Gear’s<br />

Jeremy Clarkson), though there was<br />

little for the gamer to get excited<br />

about. There were some game reviews<br />

in the back, with the odd feature<br />

when a big name game was going<br />

to be released, but most of the<br />

pages were filled with articles for the<br />

serious user.<br />

Founded by established computer<br />

magazine journalists Chris Anderson<br />

and Bob Wade, Future Publishing<br />

released their first magazine,<br />

“Amstrad Action”. Anderson felt that<br />

the Amstrad CPC was deserving of a<br />

good magazine, but that the current<br />

official mag was pretty ordinary. After<br />

some back and forth with Amstrad<br />

over the rights of using the company<br />

name in the title, as well as countless<br />

other problems, the magazine<br />

was launched this month, 30 years<br />

ago.<br />

What issue one lacks in design, it<br />

makes up for in character. Early issues<br />

were partially created on the<br />

Amstrad CPC computers, and while<br />

a lot of effort was put into them they<br />

do come across as slightly amateurish.<br />

Initially the magazine sold poorly,<br />

but the team’s vision and expertise<br />

bought it back from the brink, and it<br />

continued for another 116 issues.<br />

So 1+116=117! At 117 issues Amstrad<br />

Action was the longest running<br />

dedicated 8-bit magazine, ending<br />

its run in June 1995. The surprising<br />

thing about it was it had been a good<br />

couple of years since the final commercial<br />

game was released for the<br />

computer. The magazine was surviving<br />

on coverage of public domain<br />

software and programs released by<br />

Amstrad enthusiasts who wanted to<br />

keep the computer alive.<br />

While other mags wrote articles,<br />

Amstrad Action was a magazine that<br />

spoke to its reader. It engaged you<br />

in a one sided conversation that you<br />

still felt you were part of. There were<br />

side notes from the editor in brackets<br />

(you what now? - ed), letters<br />

columns where arguments between<br />

readers and writers would emerge,<br />

and ‘tell it like it is’ comments from<br />

the staff writers. If a game was terrible<br />

it wouldn’t be reviewed, but the<br />

staff writers would openly tell you<br />

that they couldn’t be bothered wasting<br />

pages on it. Same too, if a game<br />

wasn’t supplied by the company for<br />

review, it wouldn’t be reviewed! With<br />

this level of honesty it’s hardly a surprise<br />

that Amstrad Action maintained<br />

such a close connection to its readers.<br />

While not the first, it was one of the<br />

earliest magazines to feature a covertape<br />

that contained software and<br />

games. In Australia, after interest<br />

in the computer had died, Amstrad<br />

Action was the only way you could<br />

get software for your CPC. Well, you<br />

could import it from the UK, but as a<br />

12 year old boy I couldn’t afford to do<br />

that. My first issue of the magazine<br />

featured “Pang” on the cover, and<br />

had a demo of “Switchblade”, and<br />

the full game of “Future Knight” by<br />

Gremlin Graphics. I was excited and<br />

I read that magazine cover to cover<br />

several times until the next issue<br />

came out.<br />

Amstrad Action was the magazine<br />

that made me want to get into video<br />

game journalism. The longest serving<br />

editor, Rod Lawton, was the man<br />

who made me want to write about<br />

games and I would love to interview<br />

him about his time with the magazine.<br />

During his editorial reign the


magazine became more witty, sarcastic<br />

and funny. Rod set the pace<br />

for the future of Amstrad Action and<br />

left as support for the computer was<br />

dying.<br />

In its last 2 years, with staff and editors<br />

coming and going, the writing<br />

was on the wall. Though next month’s<br />

mag was advertised in the final issue<br />

it never saw the light of day. The plug<br />

was pulled as the once mighty magazine<br />

that founded a media empire<br />

was reduced to the size of a leaflet.<br />

In 2008 a tribute magazine was released<br />

(and can still be purchased<br />

through www.lulu.com) by a team of<br />

writers headed by Amstrad fan Neil<br />

Reive. A letter from yours truly features<br />

in the tribute mag, so while my<br />

childhood dream to write for Amstrad<br />

Action never came to pass, a small<br />

piece of my writing did sort of make<br />

its way in there.<br />

WRITTEN BY<br />

paul monopoli


COLLECTIBLES<br />

being a wise<br />

So you want to start collecting?<br />

Maybe it’s rare games or consoles..?<br />

Maybe Trading Cards. There’s a few<br />

tips to ensure you’re a wise collector<br />

that won’t get suckered into spending<br />

more then you should or end up<br />

buying a fake.<br />

First up you might want to choose<br />

what you want to collect. It should be<br />

based on something your passionate<br />

about. If you’re not into Pokemon,<br />

you won’t be excited about collecting<br />

rare cards so choose something<br />

that excites you.<br />

Next make a list of things that are<br />

considered collectable in your area<br />

of interest. Let’s say you’re looking<br />

at collecting rare video games. You’ll<br />

find that some are going to be extremely<br />

difficult to find and if you do<br />

come across one, it’s going to cost<br />

you. For example, Stadium Events<br />

on the NES which was released in<br />

1987 is pretty rare because the original<br />

game was released by Bandai<br />

but then Nintendo bought the rights<br />

to the game and rereleased it as<br />

World Class Track Meet. So the big<br />

N pulled all the Bandai versions from<br />

the shelf and had them destroyed<br />

(so the story goes) but approximately<br />

200 cart were sold.. just 200. So<br />

now it’s a collectors item. The value<br />

of this rarity is between $13,00 and<br />

over $40,000! That might not be the<br />

first game you go hunting for.<br />

Start with things that you can afford<br />

to collect - set a budget.<br />

Make a list of items - doing your research<br />

online is a great place to start<br />

but like any research get confirmation<br />

from different sources. Don’t just<br />

take one blog’s word that something<br />

is rare. Check and double check the<br />

facts. Here’s a tip - when double<br />

checking facts, check the source.<br />

You might find that a two or three<br />

different sites will report that something<br />

is rare, but digging deeper they<br />

might all in fact be quoting the same<br />

original source. So while you have<br />

“three” sources, you do only have<br />

one on three different sites. Be careful.<br />

So you’ve made a list and set a<br />

budget. Next find out as much as<br />

you can about fakes. You don’t want<br />

to get caught buying a fake - this<br />

is common in trading cards. Again<br />

there are excellent online resources<br />

to help you spot fakes. Learn what<br />

the real item looks like, do your research<br />

so you know what to look out<br />

for. If you’re buying a “signed copy”<br />

make sure the signature is real. This<br />

can be a bit harder to authenticate.<br />

On Ebay, you’ll often see real collectors<br />

selling items and authenticating<br />

them by posing a photo of the item<br />

being signed. Still, it’s wise to dig<br />

deeper and check their Ebay rating.<br />

Type the seller’s name into Google<br />

and see if they have negative comments<br />

on collector forums.<br />

Here’s a tip - you can’t ever do<br />

enough research. The more you research,<br />

the more you become the<br />

expert and the less likely you get<br />

ripped off. Form friendships with<br />

genuine collectors and dealers.<br />

Don’t get caught buying a<br />

“bargain”.<br />

If something is way less then the<br />

value then there’s likely a problem.<br />

There may be damage and so you<br />

might see the item for half price, but<br />

be warned you might buy a dud that<br />

no one ever wants.<br />

Look after your collection.<br />

Consider displaying them in glass<br />

cabinets to protect them. The last<br />

thing you want is your cat knocking<br />

that rare console over and breaking<br />

it. If it’s something that’s really<br />

rare you might want to store it in a<br />

fire proof safe or off site in a safety<br />

deposit box. Also look into insurance<br />

for your items. Imagine a $10,000<br />

collection being stolen or going up<br />

in smoke. Call your house insurance<br />

if you have valuables and get them<br />

insured.<br />

Most of all have fun, collecting is a<br />

great hobby and can be extremely<br />

rewarding.


collector


oard games<br />

There have been many versions<br />

of stock buying and selling board<br />

games over the years. Some are<br />

confusing, some can be difficult<br />

for players as they require large<br />

amounts of math skills and some<br />

are simply easy and fun and this is<br />

where Stockpile comes in. Played<br />

over a predetermined number of<br />

rounds based on how many people<br />

are playing the game, players must<br />

decide what to buy, when to sell and<br />

how to take advantage of the inside<br />

and common knowledge that affect<br />

the prices at the end of each round.<br />

Stockpile is fast paced, easy to learn<br />

and a whole fun to play.<br />

In Stockpile the board is set out with<br />

six different companies whose stock<br />

price starts at 5 but will rise and fall<br />

depending on the common knowledge<br />

set out at the start of the round<br />

and inside information each player<br />

reveals at the end of each round.<br />

The first section in each round is the<br />

Information Phase. Each player is<br />

dealt one Company Card and one<br />

Forecast card. The company cards<br />

reflect the 6 companies on the board<br />

and the forecast cards will either feature<br />

a number with a drop or gain.<br />

STOCKPILE<br />

BOARD GAME review<br />

the company’s stock up or down depending<br />

on the cards. At the end of<br />

the pre-determined rounds the player<br />

who made the most money from<br />

the stocks is the winner.<br />

This shows each individual player<br />

what is going to change with that<br />

company at the end of the round.<br />

Players view these cards but leave<br />

them face down as these hidden<br />

cards are known as the Inside Information.<br />

The hidden information<br />

supplied to each player at the start<br />

of each round is like a little glimpse<br />

into the future allowing you to strategically<br />

place the cards you are<br />

dealt in the Supply Phase. The Supply<br />

Phase is the second section of<br />

the round and this begins by flipping<br />

one card from the market deck<br />

face up to start building. Stockpiles<br />

are formed under the calculators<br />

at the bottom of the board with the<br />

amount of stockpiles being created<br />

equal to the number of players. Players<br />

then receive two cards from the<br />

Market deck, keeping them separate<br />

to other cards they have obtained in<br />

the game. In turn order players place<br />

one of the cards face up on a Stockpile<br />

and one facedown and this is<br />

where strategic play can come into<br />

the game.<br />

Knowing the inside information can<br />

help decide which card is played up<br />

and which is played face down. Once<br />

all players have added their cards to<br />

the stockpile the third section begins,<br />

The Demand Phase. In the Demand<br />

Phase players place their bids<br />

for the stockpiles created. Players<br />

who strategically placed their cards<br />

in the Supply Section based on their<br />

Inside Information can make a lot of<br />

money if they win the pile for a low<br />

bid. This allows players to use their<br />

powers of deduction to better their<br />

odds in securing the pile of cards<br />

which will yield the most amount of<br />

money when sold. Once all stockpiles<br />

are sold the fourth phase, the<br />

Action Phase begins. Any players<br />

who received a Stock Boom or Stock<br />

Bust card chooses a company and<br />

adjusts the price accordingly.<br />

Next up is the Selling Phase. The<br />

selling Phase allows players in turn<br />

order to sell any number of stocks<br />

they have obtained. Players place<br />

the cards in the discard pile and collect<br />

the money from the bank equal<br />

to the stock’s current value. Lastly<br />

we have the movement phase.<br />

Again in turn order players reveal<br />

their hidden information and move<br />

When I first took a gander at the<br />

back of the Stockpiles box I was<br />

quite concerned about how hard the<br />

game looked to play. The picture is<br />

quite daunting as it shows many different<br />

cards and tokens used across<br />

the board however the game was<br />

very easy to pick up. As we had<br />

four people playing the 5 rounds of<br />

play was pre-determined and by the<br />

end of the first round all players had<br />

a firm understanding of the rules<br />

and the order in which the game is<br />

played. The rule book is well put together<br />

and features only a couple<br />

of double sided pages explaining all<br />

sections of play however this was<br />

enough to understand all aspects of<br />

play. The box and all contents are<br />

very well made with everything looking<br />

polished.<br />

Stockpile is a great stock game without<br />

the hassle of working out any<br />

equations to determine any of the<br />

moves or outcomes. What makes it<br />

such a great game is due to it being<br />

able to be enjoyed even by those<br />

who do not have any idea on the<br />

Stock Exchange. The inside trader<br />

knowledge really lifts the game and<br />

adds an added level of competitiveness.<br />

Easy to learn, fun to play and<br />

perfectly competitive makes stockpile<br />

a worthy addition to any board<br />

game collection.


GET IT AT<br />

GAMETRADERS!<br />

WRITTEN BY<br />

jess wilson


anime<br />

sword art<br />

Sword art online is probably one of<br />

the most known Anime out there. It<br />

has a darling storyline that has romance<br />

that can only be countered<br />

by its amazing action sequences.<br />

Based in a video game, lots of people<br />

can relate to the problems that<br />

arise with the characters such as relationships<br />

and hardships of levels.<br />

It has determined characters that<br />

create their own futures with their<br />

levels and skills. In the second season<br />

of this dynamic anime, it follows<br />

Kazuto (Kirito) looking into deaths<br />

in Gun Gale Online (GGO), another<br />

VRMMO from the Amusphere. Following<br />

both Kirito and Sinon in this<br />

greasy and gun-smoke filled game,<br />

they unfold the mystery behind the<br />

recurring deaths.<br />

Story: A year has passed since SAO<br />

was cleared. Summoned by Seijirou<br />

Kikuoka of the Virtual Division at the<br />

Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications,<br />

Kazuto (Kirito) learns of<br />

a series of bizarre murders linked to<br />

the popular VR game, Gun Gale Online<br />

(GGO). After being shot in-game<br />

by a player calling himself Death<br />

Gun, two prominent GGO players<br />

have mysteriously turned up dead<br />

in the real world. As Kazuto logs<br />

into GGO and starts investigating<br />

the mystery, he meets a girl sniper<br />

named Sinon who wields a Hecate II<br />

Rifle. Is she friend or foe? Kirito enters<br />

the virtual world once more for<br />

an all new adventure.<br />

The episodes that I watched for<br />

season two hold no story (episodes<br />

1-7) because it only shows what is<br />

online ii<br />

going happen and Kirito only just to keep some speculation on what a<br />

enters into the game at episode 4. character might do in his/her future.<br />

While the starting of this anime is extremely<br />

slow, it picks up quite quickly from this anime because none of<br />

I have always loved the characters<br />

from episode 4 onwards. You need them are ‘generic’ anime characters.<br />

to watch both seasons in order to<br />

fully get the entire anime, but it is still Audio: [10/10]<br />

enjoyable if you are just and action<br />

junkie. With romance behind corners<br />

and action shooting over the top,<br />

there are all bases covered in this<br />

anime to win a high score from me.<br />

Art: [9/10]<br />

The art in this anime is outstanding.<br />

From the realism of the weapons to<br />

the movements with those weapons,<br />

it all looks amazing on screen. All of<br />

the characters look their age, making<br />

this anime even easier to relate<br />

too.<br />

Character: [10/10]<br />

With a healthy amount of comedy,<br />

a dangerous sense of commitment<br />

and a wholesome dose of bravery,<br />

the characters just keep building<br />

themselves up with the help of others<br />

around them. We get enough backstory<br />

to feel connected with the characters,<br />

but not all of the back-story<br />

The audio was spectacular. From<br />

the dropping of a fork to the slide of<br />

a bolt, the sounds are just amazing.<br />

The audio is what makes this anime<br />

special when it comes to fighting.<br />

The audio developers of SAO have<br />

my applause for not skipping over<br />

any effects of the carnage.<br />

Overall: [10/10]<br />

I absolutely loved this anime when I<br />

first saw it, and I still do to this day.<br />

With amazing characters and even<br />

better landscapes to view upon, it<br />

just is the complete package from<br />

romance to action, fantasy to spiceof-life.<br />

I would recommend this anime<br />

to anyone wanting something to<br />

watch.


WRITTEN BY<br />

Jesse Richardson


comics<br />

horrible comics<br />

Horror has always been a genre<br />

near and dear to my heart. I did my<br />

thesis on horror films, so I like to<br />

think I know a reasonable amount<br />

about the genre. Horror comics on<br />

the other hand are something I didn’t<br />

discover till I was much older. I was<br />

content for most of my life to read<br />

super-hero comics and never really<br />

look beyond that genre. But as<br />

you get older you realise that comic<br />

books have so much more to offer<br />

than just flying people in tights, they<br />

can also scare the living hell out of<br />

you!<br />

Today we will take a look at a few of<br />

my favourite horror comics and what<br />

makes them so damn scary!<br />

Crossed<br />

I’ve mentioned this one a few times<br />

now, but if you want a scary comic,<br />

it has to be Crossed! Crossed was<br />

first created in 2008 by comics legend<br />

Garth Ennis, about a horrible<br />

plague that transformed people into<br />

sadomasochistic monsters, happy to<br />

rape, torture, kill and eat anyone they<br />

came across, and not always in that<br />

order... The comic is simply horrific<br />

and only for those with the strongest<br />

of stomachs. If you put the truly<br />

nightmarish stuff of Crossed to the<br />

side, what you will find is a deep, intellectual<br />

story. Something that could<br />

only come from a writer as good as<br />

Garth Ennis. It tells a tale, not unlike<br />

The Walking Dead of a group of<br />

survivors trying to keep themselves<br />

together in a world gone mad. They<br />

witness acts beyond evil and still<br />

keep fighting to stay sane and stay<br />

alive. Ultimately Crossed might be<br />

the most intense comic ever written<br />

and it is only for die hards of the horror<br />

genre. But if you love a gorefest<br />

it is certainly the comic book for you!<br />

The Walking Dead<br />

The Walking Dead has grown from a<br />

small time comic to an international<br />

phenomenon. With the help of a hit<br />

TV show The Walking Dead and its<br />

spin off Fear The Walking Dead, the<br />

franchise has grown to become one<br />

of the biggest comics on the planet.<br />

The comic has a simple of survivors<br />

dealing with a zombie apocalypse.<br />

Created in 2003 by Robert Kirkman<br />

and Tony Moore the series has<br />

achieved an almost comic book royalty<br />

following in it’s short run. Personally<br />

I don’t really get the hype. It’s not<br />

quite as well written as Crossed nor<br />

does it have the full tilt horror impact.<br />

I also find that once Tony Moore left<br />

the book the art was never quite as<br />

good. But that is all my opinion, an<br />

opinion that is certainly in the minority.<br />

There is no denying that The<br />

Walking Dead has become bigger<br />

than it’s simple origins. I am happy<br />

to consider it an important part of<br />

comic book history. It is probably the<br />

biggest independent comic book hit<br />

ever, that alone makes it important!<br />

It serves up some gore and scares,<br />

compared to Crossed it seems like a<br />

children’s book, but it has enough to<br />

satisfy horror lovers.<br />

The Darkness<br />

The Darkness is a fantastic comic<br />

that blends the horror genre with the<br />

superhero genre. It tells the story of<br />

a young mobster named Jackie Estacado<br />

who on his twenty-first birthday<br />

inherits a dark power known as<br />

‘The Darkness’ it gives him superhuman<br />

powers and abilities. Jackie<br />

becomes a monster capable of great<br />

and evil things. He continues walking<br />

a fine line between good and evil.<br />

The comic is great as a genre mashup<br />

and an interesting character study<br />

of it’s tormented lead character. The<br />

comic was also the basis of the hit<br />

video game of the same name. The<br />

video game was more of a re-telling<br />

of the 2004 reboot. It removed some<br />

of the more super-hero aspects such<br />

as his suit and mask but was still a<br />

great experience and is a must play<br />

for anyone who read the comics, as<br />

is the comic a good read for anyone<br />

who played the game.<br />

Army Of Darkness<br />

The wildly successful Army Of Darkness<br />

comics continue the adventures<br />

of Ashley Williams the hero of<br />

the Evil Dead film saga. Ash continues<br />

his fight against the Deadites in<br />

different times and places. Army of<br />

Darkness continues the great horror<br />

themes present in Evil Dead and<br />

brings the humour of Army of Darkness<br />

to create a truly unique series<br />

that has stood the test of time. Any<br />

fan of horror cinema is a fan of the<br />

Evil Dead films and the comic advances<br />

the established story pushing<br />

it to new heights. Just last year<br />

the story “Ash Saves Obama” was<br />

published, featuring Ash saving the<br />

president of the US from a Deadite<br />

threat. It’s delightful little touches like<br />

this that keep the Army of Darkness<br />

comics in wide popularity and make<br />

it a truly fun read.<br />

People will always have a fascination<br />

with horror. It’s a safe way to experience<br />

fear and death knowing that


the threat can never hurt you. While<br />

people love to be scared there will<br />

always be a market for horror comics.<br />

I have only touched on the surface<br />

here, there are so many other<br />

great titles out there. Locke and Key,<br />

Winter City, Left Hand Path, 30 Days<br />

of Night, Marvel Zombies, Swamp<br />

Thing, From Hell, just to name a few.<br />

I just talked today about a few of my<br />

favourites, but if you have a thirst<br />

for blood and a love of nightmares,<br />

there are plenty of comics out there<br />

for you to explore! Have a scare!<br />

Images from Wikipedia.<br />

Bottom left: Comic book creator Robert Kirkman signing<br />

books and memorabilia for fans at the 2011 w:New York<br />

Comic Con, <strong>October</strong> 14, 2011. This photo was created<br />

by Luigi Novi.<br />

WRITTEN BY<br />

scott f. sowter


Reader tips<br />

DIY<br />

COOL<br />

STUFF<br />

We love when readers write to us<br />

with cool stuff they’ve done. Recently<br />

we got a letter from Ty Hanson<br />

who did a little DIY project of<br />

his own…<br />

I took a cheeky trip to my local Bunnings<br />

Warehouse and purchased a<br />

light housing, this one had a spiral<br />

design which I felt looked really awesome<br />

for a spirit bomb! Now when<br />

wiring your own electrical’s, a qualified<br />

electrician is required / strongly<br />

suggested. I do not posses such talents<br />

so I had to find a different way.<br />

The light housing did not come with<br />

a way to fix it to the wall, this is because<br />

such housings also require a<br />

legit light bulb housing in order to do<br />

so (the white plasticy thing that you<br />

plug the actual bulb into)<br />

So next (and still in Bunnings), I<br />

grabbed a legit light bulb housing<br />

and threw away the innards. This<br />

gave me a fixture to attach to the<br />

wall but no way to keep said fixture<br />

to attached to the housing itself (the<br />

innards with all the electrical stuff<br />

had that but was preventing any<br />

other wiring from running through).<br />

So I went into the plumbing department<br />

and picked up some threaded<br />

PVC and they fit perfectly with the<br />

bulb housing. Putting these pieces<br />

all together I now had a way to run<br />

my own LED wiring through a bulb<br />

setting and was able to be fixed to<br />

the wall. I grabbed a pack of LED’s<br />

and ran them through the hollow innards<br />

and concealed my wiring underneath<br />

the shelving. I now had a<br />

functioning Spirit Bomb.....<br />

I grabbed my Goku figure and a<br />

clear Figma stand, drilled a small<br />

hole in the back of Goku, secured<br />

it and glued it in place.I also had a<br />

few spare effect parts which I then<br />

secured around Goku’s legs. I then<br />

attached the other end of the stand<br />

to the underneath of the light fixture<br />

and BAM! Job was done!<br />

WRITTEN BY ty hanson


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TRADING CARDS<br />

MTG: BATTLE<br />

FOR ZENDIKAR<br />

The release date for the newest<br />

Magic set, Battle for Zendikar is the<br />

2nd of <strong>October</strong>. This promises to<br />

be huge with the design team (from<br />

Wizards website) being:<br />

Initial Concept and Game Design:<br />

Mark Rosewater (lead)<br />

Ian Duke<br />

Dan Emmons<br />

Ethan Fleischer<br />

Dave Guskin<br />

Ari Levitch<br />

Final Game Design & Development:<br />

Erik Lauer (lead)<br />

Tim Aten<br />

Kelly Digges<br />

Ian Duke<br />

Ben Hayes<br />

Shawn Main<br />

Yoni Skolnik<br />

with contributions from Matt Tabak.<br />

The set consists of 274 cards based<br />

around the return to the plane of<br />

Zendikar, a wild place with unsta-<br />

ble weather, floating terrain and wild<br />

mana. Zendikar is both beautiful and<br />

dangerous that is affected by volatile<br />

seismic movements - the Roil<br />

The plane’s inhabitants stand against<br />

the monstrous Eldrazi that wants to<br />

destroy the world.<br />

According to Wizards, certain packs<br />

will include very rare versions of the<br />

iconic lands in the history of Magic.<br />

These cards are called Zendikar Expeditions<br />

and will be both premium<br />

foil and full art printed in English.<br />

There are 8 of these to be found in<br />

Battle for Zendikar packs.<br />

Head into your Gametraders store to<br />

order and for more information visit<br />

Wizards site and check out the awesome<br />

trailer here:<br />

www.magic.wizards.com/en/content/battle-zendikar-home<br />

Check the cards here:<br />

www.magic.wizards.com/en/content/battle-zendikar-cards


BATTLE FOR ZENDIKAR!<br />

OUT 2 OCTOBER 2015!


OUT 2 OCTOBER!


OCTOBER S<br />

& TOU<br />

VICTORIA<br />

BACCHUS MARSH<br />

<strong>October</strong> 2 nd - 4 th MTG Battle for Zendikar Launch Weekend<br />

<strong>October</strong> 25 th - MTG Game Day Battle for Zendikar<br />

Magic the Gathering Draft - Friday 5:30pm<br />

Magic the Gathering Standard Constructed - Sunday 12pm<br />

Board Games and Magic Modern Constructed - Wednesday 5:30pm<br />

HIGHPOINT<br />

Yu-Gi-Oh - Sunday 3pm<br />

GAMETRADERS LIVE MILDURA<br />

<strong>October</strong> 2 nd - 4 th MTG Battle for Zendikar Launch Weekend<br />

<strong>October</strong> 25 th - MTG Game Day Battle for Zendikar<br />

Pokémon League - Wednesday 4.30 - 6.30pm<br />

We also run:<br />

Pokemon both TCG & VG, MTG FNM, MTG Constructed Tournaments, Yu-Gi-Oh!,<br />

Star Wars X-Wing, Warhammer 40k, Cardfight!! Vanguard, Mario Kart 8, Super<br />

Smash Bros & Ultra Street Fighter IV Tournaments, plus heaps more.<br />

For event details and times, please check:<br />

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TORE EVENTS<br />

RNAMENTS!<br />

QUEENSLAND<br />

CHERMSIDE<br />

Yu-Gi-Oh - Sunday 3pm<br />

Cardfight!! Vanguard - Wednesday 6:30pm<br />

Pokémon - Saturday 3pm<br />

Magic the Gathering - Tuesday & Friday 6:30pm<br />

MACKAY<br />

Yu-Gi-Oh - Sunday 4pm<br />

Magic the Gathering - Friday 6pm<br />

MTG Monday Night Modern - Monday 6pm<br />

Pokémon - Monday 4pm<br />

Board Game Night - Monday 6pm<br />

MORAYFIELD<br />

Magic the Gathering - Friday & Wednesday 7pm<br />

Yu-Gi-Oh - Sunday 2pm<br />

Pokémon - Wednesday 12pm<br />

LOGAN HYPERDOME<br />

No current tournaments.<br />

AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY<br />

HYPERDOME<br />

Yu-Gi-Oh - Saturday 10am<br />

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VI<br />

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Advanced Yu-Gi-Oh - Sunday 10:30am<br />

Magic the Gathering - Thursday 6:30pm & Sunday 10:30am<br />

MACARTHUR SQUARE (CAMPBELLTOWN)<br />

Yu-Gi-Oh - Wednesday 5:30pm<br />

PARRAMATTA<br />

Yu-Gi-Oh - Thursday 6pm, Saturday 2pm<br />

Magic the Gathering - Sunday 11am<br />

Cardfight!! Vanguard - Sunday 2pm<br />

Weiss Schwarz - Saturday 10am<br />

School Holiday Additional Tournaments:<br />

Yu-Gi-Oh - Monday, Wednesday & Friday 2pm<br />

Cardfight!! Vanguard - Tuesday & Thursday 2pm<br />

GAMETRADERS LIVE PENRITH<br />

Cardfight!! Vanguard - Saturday 5pm<br />

Yu-Gi-Oh - Sunday 11:30am<br />

Yu-Gi-Oh (Traditional Format) - Thursday 6pm<br />

Magic the Gathering - Friday 7pm<br />

Pokémon - Saturday 12pm<br />

Weiss Schwarz - Saturday 6pm<br />

My Little Pony - Saturday 6m<br />

Board Game Night - Wednesday 6pm<br />

Nintendo Fight Night - Thursday 7pm<br />

GAMETRADERS LIVE HORNSBY<br />

Yu-Gi-Oh - Sunday 12:30pm<br />

Pokémon - Sunday 2pm<br />

Magic the Gathering - Friday 6pm<br />

Magic EDH/Commander - Sunday 2pm<br />

Board Games/Role Playing & Tabletop - Wednesday & Thursday 6pm<br />

OCT<br />

Retro - Saturday (check FB for times)<br />

All other systems - Casual Play Saturdays


SOUTH AUSTRALIA<br />

INGLE FARM<br />

No current tournaments.<br />

MARION<br />

Pokémon - Please call the store for details. (08 8296 1144)<br />

Cardfight!! Vanguard - Tuesday 6pm<br />

Yu-Gi-Oh - Wednesday 6pm<br />

Magic the Gathering - Friday 6pm<br />

SEAFORD<br />

<strong>October</strong> 2 nd MTG Battle for Zendikar Launch Weekend<br />

Yu-Gi-Oh - Thursday 6pm (5:30pm registration)<br />

Cardfight!! Vanguard - Friday 4:30pm<br />

Magic the Gathering - Monday 6pm (5:30pm reg) & Friday 6pm (5:30pm reg)<br />

Pokémon - Sunday 1pm (12:30 registration)<br />

My Little Pony - Tuesday 5pm (4:30pm registration)<br />

Future Card Buddyfight - Thursday 5:30pm<br />

Board Game Nights - Wednesdays from 5-8pm<br />

MT. BARKER<br />

<strong>October</strong> 4 th MTG Battle for Zendikar Release Draft<br />

Board Game Night - Thursday 6pm<br />

Yu-Gi-Oh - Saturday 4pm<br />

Magic the Gathering - Sunday 1pm<br />

SALISBURY<br />

Magic the Gathering - Thursday 5:30pm & Saturday 11am<br />

Yu-Gi-Oh (Advanced Format) - Saturday 12.30pm<br />

OBER STORE EVENTS<br />

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TRADING CA<br />

GAME PLAY M<br />

Amazing illustrations by an Australian artist<br />

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Visit facebook.com/Gametraders.Australia<br />

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C O S P LA<br />

mike<br />

rollerson<br />

interview<br />

our cover girl:<br />

raychul moore<br />

interview<br />

zhiana<br />

interview<br />

CHATTY ANNY!<br />

UNTIL DAWN<br />

MAKE-UP<br />

TUTORIAL<br />

cosplay tutorial<br />

blondiee<br />

cosplay<br />

interview<br />

wigs!<br />

cosplay tutorial


Y<br />

5 Beginner<br />

mistakes to<br />

avoid when<br />

taking cosplay<br />

photos<br />

photography tips<br />

brisbane oz<br />

comic con<br />

photos by the blake image


COSPLAY<br />

TIPS FROM<br />

HE TOMB<br />

www.FACEBOOK.COM/MikeRollersonPhotography<br />

Horror master, Mike Rollerson<br />

shares his ideas and tips on doing<br />

horror cosplay photography.<br />

It’s that ghoulish month of<br />

months, <strong>October</strong>. And that means<br />

Halloween is coming. Kids and<br />

adults will be out there in costumes<br />

having fun and scaring the<br />

daylights out of people all in good<br />

fun. Cosplay and Halloween are a<br />

great mix with some amazing costumes<br />

such as Fredddy, Zombie<br />

Nurses, Elvira and many others.<br />

But if you’re wanting to see amazing<br />

horror cosplay look no further<br />

then the master, Mike Rollerson<br />

from San Diego. We caught up<br />

with Mike just in time for Halloween...<br />

Hey Mike we’d like to share some<br />

tips and ideas on horror photography,<br />

can we start with working<br />

on the concept.<br />

Working on a concept between a<br />

model/cosplayer and photographer<br />

is the perfect opportunity to share<br />

ideas - figuring out the theme, outfit/<br />

makeup, poses, lighting and visualizing<br />

what the final shot will look like<br />

in advance gives both sides some<br />

creative input that can really put the<br />

shot over the top; something like<br />

color choices of an outfit, the way the<br />

shot is lit or the angle it’s taken at can<br />

make some incredible differences.<br />

Brainstorming ideas in advance of<br />

shots you’re wanting to achieve will<br />

make the shooting process go much<br />

smoother, even if it doesn’t end up<br />

being the final result it will often give<br />

you some great starting points to adjust<br />

during the shoot in order to create<br />

a great finished photo. Having<br />

some input from both sides will also<br />

ensure a great shooting experience<br />

where both the model and photographer<br />

are excited for the shoot - if<br />

either side is not fully committed to<br />

the idea, it can really show in the end<br />

results.<br />

And while gear isn’t important,<br />

we’d like to know what you use<br />

and why?<br />

Camera-wise, I use a mix of Canon<br />

mirrorless and DSLR bodies. I prefer<br />

shooting with multiple bodies/lenses<br />

at the same time in order to dramatically<br />

change the look (going from a<br />

fish-eye, to an ultra-wide, a portrait<br />

and a telephoto lens) without pausing<br />

a shoot to change lenses. Using<br />

multiple camera bodies makes<br />

the change in lenses seamless and<br />

also encourages using them all during<br />

the shoot. Some of my favorite<br />

lenses for the horror-look are an<br />

8mm Fisheye lens, an ultra-wide<br />

(10-22mm), standard & portrait<br />

(30mm/50mm/85mm) or a telephoto<br />

(70-200mm). I tend to have one lens<br />

from each group on-the-ready at all<br />

times to get the proper angle and<br />

depth of field needed for the shot. In<br />

nearly all of my photoshoots I prefer<br />

to use speedlights - they’re extremely<br />

portable and have a large range of<br />

modifiers available. Using a griddedsoftbox<br />

will help create a dark look<br />

with a strong falloff of light, perfect<br />

for a horror-themed cosplay.<br />

Ok, onto the shoot itself. Obviously<br />

make up is really important<br />

for horror, tell us about what happens.<br />

With so much variety in effects<br />

makeup and techniques available,<br />

I’m very open to finding the best fit<br />

to make the look as close to our concept<br />

as possible. In the past I would<br />

bring in a makeup artist, some models<br />

are also familiar with different<br />

application techniques, but recently<br />

I’ve become much more involved in<br />

the process in order to create the<br />

look that I feel photographs best<br />

(some makeup applications will look<br />

fantastic in person but not necessarily<br />

translate in photos under different<br />

types of lighting). Over the<br />

last few years I’ve picked up techniques<br />

for airbrushing (which types<br />

hold up best for a shoot? which will<br />

display best under flash lighting?),<br />

fake bloods (using nearly a dozen<br />

different types ranging from a very<br />

thin “Squirt Blood” to a thick pastelike<br />

“Thick Blood”, coming in colors


Cosplayer: Raychul Moore | www.facebook.com/RaychulMoore<br />

www.FACEBOOK.COM/ZHIANACOSPLAY<br />

the master of horror photography mike rollerson


from light to dark red, black and even<br />

green). I’m happy with where I am in<br />

applying effects makeups, but I’m always<br />

trying new techniques and new<br />

products!<br />

So we’ve got the concept, the<br />

gear, the make up, tell us about<br />

posing.<br />

Poses can really make or break<br />

a horror-shoot. For static-poses,<br />

something as simple as tilting the<br />

head downwards and looking up<br />

with their eyes, tilting their head to<br />

one side or looking off into the distance<br />

can create a much scarier<br />

look than facing straight-on at the<br />

camera. Lightly clenching a fist can<br />

give a much stronger look than than<br />

a hand relaxing by the models side.<br />

Ground-level/crawling shots often<br />

work perfect as they’re something<br />

you don’t see much of in other areas<br />

of photography. Some of my favorite<br />

looks are the action poses; Having<br />

a model jump into an action pose,<br />

spin their body around or “claw” towards<br />

the camera quickly will create<br />

a moment that looks better than any<br />

posed “action” shot will - you get an<br />

intense reaction and a real sense of<br />

motion in the shot.<br />

Shooting the concept - how long<br />

does it take and what’s the process?<br />

I always try to have a shoot ready-togo<br />

at the time the model arrives. This<br />

means putting together any “sets” (if<br />

the shoot calls for one), preparing<br />

lighting (colored lighting? modifiers?)<br />

and any other effects (fog machines,<br />

blacklights, neon lights). Whenever<br />

shooting in a studio environment, I<br />

set up multiple monitors to view the<br />

photos live as they’re taken -- this is<br />

something I started doing a couple<br />

years ago and found that it makes a<br />

very big difference during shoots. A<br />

model being able to see the shot live<br />

on a bigger screen right after it’s taken<br />

helps keep the motivation up during<br />

a shoot (being covered in fake<br />

blood can be less fun than it sounds<br />

:) as well as allowing the model to<br />

make any adjustments to their posing.<br />

I tend to take multiple shots of<br />

the same look -- often 4-5 shots --<br />

allowing me to pick between them<br />

in post-production, finding the shot<br />

from the set that worked best. Often<br />

times these shots will look very<br />

similar, but the slightest difference in<br />

express, focus or timing can make a<br />

very noticeable difference!<br />

And how does the shoot wrap up?<br />

Towards the end of the shoot, I always<br />

make sure to double-check<br />

with the model to see if they had any<br />

other ideas before we finish. I want to<br />

make sure that we both end up with<br />

some shots that we really enjoy, and<br />

sometimes these “Maybe we can try<br />

something like this..” poses end up<br />

being some of our favorites! It gives<br />

an extra opportunity to try out some<br />

extra looks (different lighting, posing,<br />

effects) at the end of the shoot<br />

once we’ve already gotten the look<br />

we were going for. After wrapping,<br />

I make sure to have a large supply<br />

of different makeup removers (with<br />

so many types of makeups, having<br />

a healthy and functional remover for<br />

each will make a big difference in ensuring<br />

that it all comes off easily).<br />

Tell us a bit on post production of<br />

your images.<br />

After a shoot I’ll import everything<br />

from the day into Lightroom to do<br />

a quick run-through of all the shots<br />

and rate my favorites (and allow the<br />

model to pick any favorites as well,<br />

if they’d like). I actually don’t delete<br />

photos during the shoot - sometimes<br />

a shot where one light didn’t fire will<br />

actually work out perfectly when edited<br />

properly. I tend to do some basic<br />

editing in Lightroom before moving<br />

into Photoshop. Lots of color-grading<br />

to set the mood, compositing in elements<br />

if needed and creating some<br />

effects for the final shot.<br />

I know we’ve interviewed you before,<br />

but just to finish can you tell<br />

our readers a bit about you and<br />

where they can see more of your<br />

amazing work and of your model<br />

Raychul?


Cosplayer: Raychul Moore | www.facebook.com/RaychulMoore<br />

I’ve been shooting cosplay photography<br />

for a number of years now,<br />

both at conventions as well as setting<br />

up private shoots to allow a bit<br />

more freedom and creativity with<br />

locations. Over the past few years<br />

I’ve started to focus more on the<br />

horror-themed looks, effects makeup<br />

applications and some costume<br />

creation. Raychul Moore is always<br />

an awesome model and cosplayer<br />

to work with -- we originally met at a<br />

convention a couple years ago and<br />

have shot multiple times since then<br />

(most recently putting together this<br />

new horror-look). She always puts<br />

together some really fun cosplays,<br />

does some fun game streaming and<br />

puts out Youtube videos regularly.<br />

www.facebook.com/MikeRollersonPhotography<br />

www.facebook.com/RaychulMoore<br />

“<br />

Poses can really<br />

make or<br />

break<br />

a horror shoot.<br />

- Mike Rollerson


COSPLAY<br />

We briefly caught up with our<br />

cover cosplayer Raychul Moore.<br />

We asked her a few quick questions<br />

and we promise a full interview<br />

with her next month - so stay<br />

tuned! Here’s a teaser...<br />

Tell us how you got into cosplay?<br />

I’ve been a pretty diehard gamer<br />

since I was super little and I think<br />

cosplay was just a natural progression<br />

for me because of that. I mean,<br />

who wouldn’t want to dress up as<br />

some of their favorite video game<br />

characters?!<br />

What are your favourite cosplays?<br />

I have a few favorites for different<br />

reasons. I adore both of my Cammy<br />

cosplays just because I love the<br />

character so much and I’m pretty<br />

deadly in-game when I’m playing as<br />

her. :D But I think overall, my Kratos<br />

cosplay is one of my all-time favorites<br />

just because Kratos is such<br />

an awesome character, I love the<br />

entire God of War series and when<br />

I cosplay as Kratos, it’s one of the<br />

only times I get to be a huge, angry,<br />

bald demi-god!!!<br />

What are your favourite con’s/<br />

events and why?<br />

I really have the most fun at the<br />

smaller cons because they aren’t<br />

over-packed like the San Diego<br />

Comic Con-sized cons because I<br />

get a lot more freedom to spend time<br />

talking to people who come to my<br />

booth and actually chat with them<br />

and get to know them.<br />

Where can readers go to find out<br />

more about you?<br />

I’m all over the internets! My homebase<br />

is Raychul.com, but you can<br />

also find me on Twitter:<br />

www.twitter.com/theRaychul<br />

Facebook:<br />

www.facebook.com/RaychulMoore<br />

and I do a lot of video game-centered<br />

videos on my YouTube:<br />

www.youtube.com/RaychulMoore.<br />

Thanks Raychul! We look forward<br />

to our full interview next month.<br />

Raychul Moore


our<br />

cosplay<br />

cover<br />

www.FACEBOOK.COM/RaychulMoore<br />

Photographer: Mike Rollerson | www.facebook.com/MikeRollersonPhotography


COSPLAY<br />

Welcome to Live <strong>Magazine</strong> Zhiana,<br />

how did you get started with<br />

cosplay?<br />

I’ve always been into dressing up;<br />

as a kid you could catch me insisting<br />

on wearing my fairy costume to the<br />

shops or out to family events. As I<br />

grew up, this didn’t change! I joined<br />

the Costume Society (CosSoc) at<br />

the University of Sydney while I was<br />

studying and I was active in the group<br />

until I graduated! I didn’t really know<br />

about conventions until 2010, when<br />

I decided to go to my first Supanova<br />

in Sydney as the ‘Witch’ from Left 4<br />

Dead and it all grew from there!<br />

What’s been your favourite cosplay<br />

you’ve done?<br />

This is really tough, but I think my<br />

all-time favourite has to be Elizabeth<br />

from BioShock Infinite because I<br />

adore the character. I actually made<br />

that costume around a year before<br />

the game was actually released and<br />

based it on the concept art – that’s<br />

how excited I was to make it! Otherwise,<br />

Regina from Once Upon a<br />

Time was a blast to wear because<br />

we had a whole group costuming together<br />

which makes it heaps more<br />

fun!<br />

In your opinion, what makes a<br />

good cosplay costume?<br />

For me, it doesn’t matter if you<br />

bought or commissioned a costume<br />

or if you made it yourself. As long as<br />

you have a passion for the character<br />

and you’re having fun with it, go for<br />

it!<br />

And a good cosplayer?<br />

The same as above: cosplay stands<br />

for “costume play” – so as long as<br />

you are having a fun, positive and<br />

rewarding experience whilst dressing<br />

up; that’s what makes you a<br />

ZHIANA<br />

www.FACEBOOK.COM/ZHIANACOSPLAY<br />

good cosplayer! I think it’s important<br />

to have a good attitude, as any costume<br />

(no matter how big or small)<br />

can be ruined by a bad interaction<br />

with someone. Stay positive and<br />

have fun!<br />

What about photo shoots - have<br />

you done many and how does a<br />

typical shoot go?<br />

I’ve done quite a few! It depends<br />

where you’re doing the shoot – for<br />

example, for my Cersei Lannister<br />

costume I was shooting in a public<br />

garden in the middle of summer on<br />

the weekend so it was interesting to<br />

see the curious looks of the “normal”<br />

people trying to have picnics and<br />

whatnot around us. Typically if you’re<br />

outdoors, you’ll shoot a bunch of different<br />

locations/backgrounds to try<br />

and make sure you get that perfect<br />

shot. Otherwise, if you’re in a studio<br />

or indoors (say, at a convention), it’s<br />

all about the pose! Make sure you<br />

figure out some different poses before<br />

you go in front of a camera, it<br />

makes all the difference. Practice in<br />

front of your mirror at home and see<br />

which angle looks the best!<br />

What are your cosplay plans for<br />

the rest of this year, anything you<br />

can share?<br />

I’m revamping one of my favourite<br />

costumes to wear at my next couple<br />

of events – Elizabeth from BioShock<br />

Infinite! Otherwise, I’m thinking about<br />

doing Lulu from Final Fantasy X and<br />

Snow White from Snow White & The<br />

Huntsman.<br />

What cons are you attending?<br />

I’ll be at the following cons: Games<br />

15 (Dubai), Oz Comic-Con (Sydney),<br />

Supanova (Adelaide) and AMC<br />

Expo (Melbourne).<br />

Anything funny ever happened at<br />

a con you can share?<br />

I once stole a chip from Luke Perry’s<br />

plate at an after party, not realising<br />

who he was. He was pretty<br />

cool about it! Random celebrity encounters<br />

are always the best. Kevin<br />

Sorbo complimented me on & took<br />

a picture of my Anna (Frozen) costume<br />

for his daughter’s benefit - that<br />

felt pretty surreal!<br />

Ok, 5 quick questions - ready?<br />

1 - Favourite TV show?<br />

Stargate SG-1.<br />

2 - Favourite movie?<br />

Snatch.<br />

3 - Best food to eat before or after<br />

a cosplay event?<br />

Pizza.<br />

4 - Finish this sentence, if I could


Photographer: Kris Ezergailis<br />

www.facebook.com/WhatABigCamera<br />

have coffee with anyone in the<br />

world it would be…<br />

David Tennant.<br />

5 - You’re taken into space by<br />

ET to visit their planet as an ambassador<br />

- what cosplay do you<br />

dress in?<br />

Sailor Jupiter.<br />

Finally where can our readers go<br />

to find out more about you?<br />

www.facebook.com/ZhianaCosplay<br />

& @zhiana on Twitter! I’m permanently<br />

attached to social media.<br />

“<br />

I think my all-time favourite has to be<br />

Elizabeth from<br />

BioShock Infinite<br />

because I adore the character.<br />

- Zhiana


Photographer: George Wong | www.facebook.com/GeorgeWongPhotography


Photographer: George Wong | www.facebook.com/GeorgeWongPhotography<br />

Zhiana


Photographer: George Wong | www.facebook.com/GeorgeWongPhotography<br />

Photographer: George Wong | www.facebook.com/GeorgeWongPhotography


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


COSPLAY<br />

Welcome to Live <strong>Magazine</strong> Car!<br />

Firstly, tell us abit about yourself...<br />

So, a little bit about me. I am a part<br />

time student studying Psych, and I<br />

work for EB Games. I am an Australian<br />

PC Gamer and cosplayer in my<br />

spare time! Not only do I cosplay, but<br />

I like to write music, I enjoy playing<br />

a my Ukulele, Guitars, Piano and I<br />

also like to sing. I’ve been a creative<br />

person ever since I was little,<br />

and creativity is also a great stress<br />

release for me as well!<br />

How did you get into cosplay?<br />

Ever since I was little I have loved<br />

dressing up, as every kid does, but<br />

I was a little bit different. Instead of<br />

being a pretty princess or Tinkerbell<br />

I would want to be Batman, or<br />

Spiderman, and I still have my Batman<br />

costume to this day! I seriously<br />

loved getting all dressed up and having<br />

fun, and then I hit primary school<br />

where it wasn’t seen as socially acceptable,<br />

so that’s when my creativity<br />

branched into other domains. I<br />

started drawing and creative visual<br />

art from a very young age. Over my<br />

schooling life I developed my skills<br />

in a few different domains such as<br />

sewing, sketching, moulding etc.<br />

It was only in late 2013 early 2014<br />

when I discovered what cosplay<br />

was. I started gaming heavily in 2012<br />

(influenced by my boyfriend), prominently<br />

playing League of Legends.<br />

I absolutely fell in love with these<br />

character designs, and when drawing<br />

them just wasn’t enough creative<br />

output for me, I decided to take the<br />

next step and started to build them.<br />

I don’t think there is anything much<br />

cooler than being able to completely<br />

transform yourself into a game character<br />

and to bring them to life.<br />

What is your favourite type of cosplay?<br />

blondiee<br />

cosplay<br />

www.FACEBOOK.COM/blondiee99gaming<br />

I would have to say at the moment,<br />

my favourite type of cosplay would<br />

have to be League or Blizzard characters.<br />

Their models KICK ASS!<br />

Heavily armoured badassery is the<br />

look I tend to go for, but I have been<br />

trying to mix up my cosplays and<br />

have a few “girly” ones in there as<br />

well, just to show some variety.<br />

What do you like most about cosplaying?<br />

For me, it’s not so much about wearing<br />

the cosplay, but the process of<br />

making it is absolutely amazing. Being<br />

able to have a creative outlet that<br />

makes someone look totally kick ass<br />

is just the raddest thing ever. Don’t<br />

get me wrong though, I absolutely<br />

love shooting my cosplays, and not<br />

just still images but videos as well,<br />

the theatrics behind the character<br />

and bringing them to life is what I love<br />

to do! And the absolutely incredible<br />

people you meet along your cosplay<br />

journey is awesome as well. There<br />

are hundreds of people out there<br />

that have the same passion you do,<br />

and the network of people can be<br />

just amazing. Life long friendships<br />

have been made through cosplay!<br />

What materials do you like to use?<br />

I started out using foam. Just plain<br />

old EVA foam from bunnings, and let<br />

me tell you it is the best thing on this<br />

planet. It is super cheap, and super<br />

easy to work with! I have delved into<br />

the world of worbla, and don’t get me<br />

wrong it is incredible stuff (awesome<br />

for making super strong breastplates)<br />

but it is a little more expensive<br />

and can be a bit tricky to use.<br />

In terms of adhesives, I prefer to use<br />

contact cement, super glue, and hot<br />

glue depending on what base materials<br />

or parts I’m working on.<br />

What cosplays would you like to<br />

do in the future?<br />

At the moment I have a female Vegeta<br />

(DBZ) and Snow Bunny Nidalee<br />

(League of Legends) in the works for<br />

some upcoming events in Sydney,<br />

but I have a huge list that doubles<br />

in size every time I hop on the internet.<br />

In the near future I would like to<br />

complete by Winter Sonja cosplay,<br />

Armoured Vaporeon, Harley Quinn,<br />

and Pin up Black Canary. In the very<br />

distant future when I’ve honed my<br />

skills I would love to do Nova and


Photographer: Lorenzo So Photography | www.facebook.com/lorenzosophoto


Photographer: Lorenzo So Photography | www.facebook.com/lorenzosophoto


Photographer: Lorenzo So Photography | www.facebook.com/lorenzosophoto<br />

Zerg Kerrigan from StarCraft, and<br />

the ranger Sylvanas skin from Heros<br />

of the Storm.<br />

Finally, where can our readers go<br />

to find out more about you?<br />

You can find me on:<br />

facebook.com/blondiee99gaming<br />

@blondieegaming on Instagram,<br />

and deviantart.com/blondieegaming<br />

“<br />

For me, it’s not so much about wearing the<br />

cosplay, but the process of making it is<br />

absolutely amazing.<br />

”<br />

- Blondiee Cosplay


Blondiee Cosplay<br />

Photographer: Lorenzo So Photography | www.facebook.com/lorenzosophoto


Photographer: Carlos Mayenco | www.facebook.com/CarlosMayencoPhotography


Photographer: Pixels of Shae | www.facebook.com/PixelsOfShae<br />

Tails made by: Ankle Shatterer Cosplay | www.facebook.com/ankleshatterer


COSPLAY TUTORIAL<br />

CHATTY ANNY!UNTIL DAWN<br />

MAKE-UP TUTORIAL<br />

Since Halloween is approaching,<br />

I thought it’d be appropriate to talk<br />

about my new love, the interactive<br />

horror game Until Dawn. With beautiful<br />

next-gen console graphics and<br />

stunning gameplay design, this PS4<br />

exclusive follows the story of eight<br />

friends trapped together on a remote<br />

mountain retreat gone wrong, when<br />

they start to suspect they aren’t<br />

alone. The game runs on a ‘Butterfly<br />

Effect’ system, where it tracks the actions<br />

you take throughout the game,<br />

playing as all eight characters, which<br />

can cause unforeseen consequences<br />

later on in the game. It’s possible<br />

for all eight characters to live to the<br />

end – and for all eight to die.<br />

The game is focused on exploration<br />

and discovering clues rather than<br />

jump-scares, which for a weenie like<br />

myself is refreshing. I usually dislike<br />

most horror games for their reliance<br />

on jump-scares and startling reveals,<br />

but the storyline and characters draw<br />

me in to Until Dawn. I was originally<br />

introduced to the game when a few<br />

friends of mine streamed it, so more<br />

friends could listen in and lend a<br />

view – while it could be played alone,<br />

the multiple Let’s Plays that have appeared<br />

of it show it’s a game that’s<br />

enjoyable to a group too.<br />

It’s a fantastic game that doesn’t really<br />

have a comparison at the moment,<br />

so if you too are a weenie<br />

around horror games but enjoy character<br />

dynamics and good storyline,<br />

give it a try – particularly with a few<br />

WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/ ferretcosplay<br />

weenie friends if you can! Since this<br />

game has been so amazing, I’ve<br />

been itching at the bit to cosplay<br />

from it. I decided to cosplay Ashley,<br />

the academic and inquisitive protagonist<br />

whom I developed a soft spot<br />

for throughout the game.<br />

Firstly, I did my face up as I usually<br />

would for a day out, giving special<br />

attention to match the thick eyeliner<br />

around the eye as Ashley wears and<br />

remembering to apply face cream<br />

before I start – as Ashley starts the<br />

game with normal make-up on before<br />

the events cause the gore and<br />

dirt on her face to be placed there, I<br />

thought it would be good to start with<br />

the same sort of base.<br />

Next, grabbed a make-up sponge,<br />

such as your could get in bulk at<br />

your local drugstore, and ripped little<br />

pieces out of the end to create<br />

an uneven base. This meant when<br />

I later used it to apply face-paint, it<br />

created an uneven, stippled effect,<br />

which looked more realistic. Make<br />

sure the chunks you pull out are differing<br />

in size and shape to keep this<br />

look.<br />

I used brown, white, light grey, and<br />

dark grey face-paint to paint dirt<br />

onto my face. The brand I used was<br />

water-based Snazaroo, which you<br />

can get easily online or at your local<br />

Lincraft. Before you use any paint<br />

on your face, please test it on your<br />

arm or wrist first to see if you’re going<br />

to react – you don’t want to find<br />

out halfway through the event you’re<br />

allergic! Water-based face paint can<br />

dry out your skin, so I wouldn’t recommend<br />

it for long wears or for anyone<br />

with sensitive skin.<br />

While I used face-paint, this effect is<br />

also easily achievable with bronzer<br />

and eye-shadows of similar colours<br />

layered onto each other. I added<br />

these to the top of my paint in dabs<br />

to create even more of a layered affect.<br />

If you put too much on, just use<br />

make up remover in dabs to reduce<br />

the intensity of your colours and<br />

make it more patchy.<br />

At this point I also used black and<br />

brown eye-shadow to smear the<br />

eyeliner I was wearing, as if I’d be<br />

wearing it for a long and stressful<br />

time. No time to look pretty and wellkept<br />

when you’re in danger of your<br />

life!<br />

Now time for the fake blood. There<br />

are thousands of recipes online you<br />

can look at if you’re searching for<br />

a particular result, but my personal<br />

favourite is golden syrup mixed with<br />

red and blue food colouring. This<br />

particular recipe is edible and easy<br />

to make, but extremely sticky and if<br />

you are using a wig will most likely<br />

get all through it. I personally haven’t<br />

had it stain anything, but it is food<br />

colouring and staining is a risk you<br />

take while using this. This is not a<br />

con safe recipe. It goes without saying<br />

you should never attend a con<br />

wearing something that can get on


“Now time<br />

for the fake<br />

blood... my<br />

personal<br />

favourite<br />

is golden<br />

syrup<br />

mixed with<br />

red and<br />

blue food<br />

colouring.”<br />

“...I also<br />

used black<br />

and brown<br />

eye-shadow<br />

to smear the<br />

eyeliner I was<br />

wearing.”


Promotional Image: Ashley from Until Dawn<br />

others, so remember this recipe is<br />

only for parties or photoshoots.<br />

I would definitely recommend a<br />

squeeze bottle if you’re buying<br />

golden syrup as well, because it’s<br />

a very thick and sticky consistency<br />

and easier to handle without actually<br />

handling it.<br />

Adding two drops of red food colouring<br />

to ever 300mL is a good rule to<br />

go by, and add as much blue food<br />

colouring as you want to give it a<br />

more old blood feeling rather than<br />

the bright red it will be without. Since<br />

what is on Ashley’s face is more gore<br />

than blood, I personally added a bit<br />

of hot chocolate powder and Milo to<br />

my mix to give it a bit of chunkiness<br />

and depth.<br />

Using the same sponge I used to<br />

apply my paint, I first used the dechunked<br />

end to lightly tap the surface<br />

of my face blood, and then as I<br />

did with the paint, stipple it onto my<br />

right cheek. This gave my dirt more<br />

depth as well as reflecting Ashley<br />

in-game.<br />

Next is the tricky part, and the moment<br />

where your wig is going to<br />

receive some sticky attention if<br />

you’re not careful. Still using the<br />

de-chunked end, I lightly stippled<br />

the general area I wanted to put my<br />

blood as a guide – since the blood<br />

I later add is thicker and darker,<br />

this also adds more depth to the<br />

gore. The sponge I used was triangular,<br />

so I simply turned it around


and used the thin end to streak the<br />

blood in ‘splashes’ in the direction<br />

the spray of gore had come from to<br />

where it was going – first on my face,<br />

then my neck.<br />

When I had these splash down pat, I<br />

used a corner to add a few spots and<br />

dots for wider blood splatter. It was<br />

then a simple matter of adding looking<br />

at my full face and adding more<br />

streaks where I thought I needed<br />

them, and adding more blood to sections<br />

to add depth.<br />

And that’s how I made myself look<br />

like I’d been caught in a horror game!<br />

I hope this guide can help you with<br />

your costumes and if you need any<br />

clarification or have any suggestions<br />

on what I can make and talk about<br />

next month, let me know on any of<br />

my social media accounts on Instagram<br />

or Twitter (@ferret_soup) or<br />

my Facebook page, Ferret Cosplay.<br />

Chat to you soon!<br />

-Chatty Anny<br />

WRITTEN BY anny sims


COSPLAY TUTORIAL<br />

Wigs can be a frustrating endeavour<br />

to understand for a first-time cosplayer.<br />

Where do you get them? How<br />

much is too much to pay? What’s the<br />

difference between that $55 wig from<br />

a wig website, and this $30 one that<br />

seems exactly the same from eBay.<br />

com? Here are 5 tips on purchasing<br />

a wig that will suit you.<br />

1. Wigs generally look better<br />

than real hair<br />

Wigs are usually a lot better for your<br />

cosplay than your real hair. Not only<br />

do wigs look fuller, photograph better<br />

and hold style for much longer, you<br />

can severely damage your hair from<br />

constant colour and style changes<br />

to fit your character. While for some<br />

more ‘realistic’ characters this can<br />

be a benefit – think Ellie from the<br />

Last of Us or Beth Greene from The<br />

Walking Dead – it usually makes<br />

your costume look unpolished and<br />

be a weak link what would otherwise<br />

be an amazing look.<br />

2. You will pay for quality<br />

While that $20 eBay wig looks very<br />

tempting, in cosplay you usually pay<br />

for quality. Wig stores online charge<br />

more because they guarantee their<br />

products are going to be of higher<br />

quality, which usually means less<br />

shiny, thicker, less sparse (meaning<br />

no wig caps peaking out underneath)<br />

and often a more diverse<br />

colour, with a few different coloured<br />

fibres in the wig making it look more<br />

natural. Good places I’d recommend<br />

buying from would be Arda-Wigs.<br />

com, Wigsupplier.com, Matchwigs.<br />

com or EpicCosplay.com.<br />

3. Do your research<br />

Before you put money towards anything,<br />

research both your character<br />

and the wigs you are interested well.<br />

WIGS!<br />

WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/ ferretcosplay<br />

Compiling a folder of shots of your<br />

character from different angles and<br />

in different lighting could really help<br />

you out when picking a wig style and<br />

colour. Places like Arda Wigs have<br />

a large range of colours and styles,<br />

and display their wig colours in various<br />

lighting to get a full range of ideas.<br />

Always remember buying online<br />

is a risk with colours and styles, but<br />

within Australia it’s usually the best<br />

way to purchase wigs.<br />

4. Pick a colour and style<br />

that will suit you<br />

The character you’re cosplaying<br />

might be able to pull off neon yellow<br />

hair, but it might not suit you. Accuracy<br />

is fantastic, but be aware that<br />

you want to wear your costume, not<br />

have it wear you. Picking a more<br />

blue-based or red-based shade on<br />

your skin tone might suit you more.<br />

For example while wearing Yang<br />

Xiao Long from RWBY, I opted for a<br />

yellow-blonde wig from Wigsupplier.<br />

com rather than the more accurate<br />

mustard-yellow. I personally look<br />

like a tomato in mustard yellow, so<br />

I knew a more natural blonde would<br />

suit me better. Go with whatever you<br />

feel is best – it’s all up to artistic interpretation,<br />

and this is by no means<br />

a rule you have to follow.<br />

5. Wig styles are changeable<br />

If you purchase a wig of high enough<br />

quality, it’s fairly easily to change its<br />

style. A curly wig is easily straightened,<br />

and a straight wig can be<br />

curled (only if your wig is heat resistant,<br />

so be careful!). You can cut a<br />

longer wig up shorter as well, or add<br />

wefts to add length to your wig. Wig<br />

styling is a creative element of it’s<br />

own, and the only limits are you imagination<br />

– don’t be afraid to try new<br />

things to get that exact wig you want!<br />

Free online art available by Rooster<br />

Teeth Productions


Photographer: cru Photography | www.facebook.com/cruphotography<br />

WRITTEN BY anny sims


PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS<br />

“<br />

5 Beginner<br />

mistakes to<br />

avoid when<br />

taking cosplay<br />

photos.<br />

The fun thing about cosplay photography<br />

is that you have a great subject<br />

to photograph. That’s a great<br />

start to any photo session. So how<br />

do we avoid simple mistakes to ensure<br />

your subject is photographed<br />

in a way that compliments their cosplay?<br />

Let’s take a look at 5 mistakes<br />

you should avoid when doing cosplay<br />

photos.<br />

1. Context<br />

So you’ve got an awesome Harley<br />

Qunn cosplay going on. But what<br />

are you using for a background?<br />

Researching the character will give<br />

you insights as to what will work and<br />

what won’t. A poor background can<br />

spoil your photo. So do your homework,<br />

check out what backgrounds<br />

the character suits, then do some<br />

background scouting. Take a walk or<br />

drive in your area and make notes on<br />

places you think will work as a good<br />

background. Remember to be safe<br />

- don’t take risks and don’t shoot in<br />

areas that are dangerous.


www.facebook.com/robjenkinsphotography<br />

2. Bad shadows equals<br />

bad photos<br />

One of the most common mistakes<br />

people make when taking a photo<br />

of someone is either putting them<br />

in harsh sunlight or in dappled light.<br />

Harsh sunlight means your subject<br />

will squint and have harsh shadows<br />

on their face that might not suit the<br />

style of the cosplay. Better to shoot<br />

in even shadowed area or later in the<br />

afternoon (or early morning) when<br />

the light is softer and even. Look for<br />

locations that give you lovely even<br />

light. If shooting in dark shadows,<br />

consider adding some light to your<br />

photo - but light you control like flash<br />

or continuous light such as an LED<br />

photo light.<br />

If you’re outside and can’t find an<br />

even shadowed area, simply turn<br />

your subject to face away from the<br />

sun and you’re lighting will improve -<br />

but be aware of snuffler.<br />

3.Don’t let things grow<br />

out of your subjects<br />

head!<br />

It’s exciting to photograph cosplay.<br />

But sometimes we are so caught up<br />

in the moment we forget to take a<br />

deep breath and analyse the scene.<br />

Look behind your subject and make<br />

sure there is no branches or poles<br />

behind him or her resulting in the illusion<br />

that they’ve got something<br />

growing out of their head. Move either<br />

them or yourself so you eliminate<br />

that problem.<br />

4. Distorted faces!<br />

A wide angle lens can distort the<br />

body. We often see people with camera<br />

phones get up close to a face,<br />

snap a photo and distort the subject’s<br />

nose. Stand back a bit and get<br />

a more natural shot. If using a DSLR<br />

or Mirrorless camera use a longer<br />

lens at least 50mm and frame your<br />

subject. The longer the lens the better<br />

your subject will look as a long<br />

lens tends to slim down features.<br />

5. Too slow a shutter<br />

speed means blur<br />

Sometimes we take a photo with<br />

our iPhone or Android and find that<br />

it looks amazing on the back of the<br />

phone but put on your computer<br />

screen or larger tablet screen and it<br />

looks soft or blurred. The reason for<br />

this is either you’ve moved whilst taking<br />

the photo or you’ve taken a photo<br />

with a slow shutter speed. What your<br />

phone will try to do is compensate by<br />

raising the ISO - the amount of light<br />

it lets on to the sensor but this can<br />

result in lot’s of digital noise. On a<br />

better camera such as a DSLR etc,<br />

higher ISO isn’t always a big problem.<br />

But if using a camera phone or<br />

more basic camera you might need<br />

to either move your subject into a<br />

better light area or add flash.<br />

Want to improve your cosplay photography?<br />

Our Cosplay Live team<br />

often works with photo groups to<br />

run events and teach cosplayers<br />

and photographers how to get better<br />

photos. Why not contact us and<br />

we can let you know when our next<br />

event is on.<br />

Email us at:<br />

feedback@gametraders.com.au


Photography by Blake Robertson: The Blake Image<br />

www.theblakeimage.com.au<br />

www.facebook.com/theblakeimage<br />

BRISBAN<br />

19 - 20 SEPTEM


E OZ COMIC CON!<br />

BER 2015


Photography by Blake Robertson: The Blake Image<br />

www.theblakeimage.com.au<br />

www.facebook.com/theblakeimage<br />

BRISBAN<br />

19 - 20 SEPTEM


E OZ COMIC CON!<br />

BER 2015


Photography by Blake Robertson: The Blake Image<br />

www.theblakeimage.com.au<br />

www.facebook.com/theblakeimage<br />

BRISBAN<br />

19 - 20 SEPTEM


E OZ COMIC CON!<br />

BER 2015


HOW RATINGS WO<br />

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CTC - Check the classification.<br />

CTC<br />

The content has been assessed and approved for advertising unclassified films and<br />

computer games.<br />

Any advertising of unclassified films and games must display the CTC message on<br />

posters, trailers, on the internet, and any other types of advertising.<br />

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such as language and themes that are very mild in impact.<br />

However, some G-classified films or computer games may contain content that is not<br />

of interest to children.<br />

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The impact of PG (Parental Guidance) classified films and computer games should be<br />

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It is not recommended for viewing or playing by persons under 15 without guidance<br />

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Films and computer games classified M (Mature) contain content of a moderate impact<br />

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such as violence and nudity of moderate impact that are not recommended for children<br />

under 15 years. Parents and guardians may need to find out more about the film or<br />

computer game’s specific content, before deciding whether the material is suitable for<br />

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RK:<br />

Board<br />

There are two separate Boards that are independent from the government and from<br />

each other. There is the full time Classification Board that decides the classifications of<br />

films, video games and certain publications and the Classification Review Board that<br />

meets only to review a decision of the Classification Board when there is a valid application<br />

for review.<br />

The Board bases its’ classifications on six elements:<br />

Themes, Violence, Sex, Language, Drug Use & Nudity<br />

Below are a list of classifications you’ll find on games and movies:<br />

MA 15+ - Mature Accompanied 15+.<br />

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MA 15+ classified material contains strong content and is legally restricted to persons<br />

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Parents and guardians may need to find out more about the film or computer game’s<br />

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R 18+ material is restricted to adults. Such material may contain classifiable elements<br />

such as sex scenes and drug use that are high in impact. Some material classified<br />

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at a retail store or cinema.<br />

There is also an X 18+ for adult films and these titles are only available for sale in the<br />

ACT and the Northern Territory.<br />

Sometimes games are refused classification. This can cause gamers to be frustrated,<br />

citing that the R18+ classification should take care of adult content. But still some<br />

games don’t get classified until the publishers/developers have addressed the concerns<br />

of the Classification Board.<br />

Want to know more? Visit the Australian Classification website - www.classification.<br />

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