SOUTH AFRICA’S LEADING GAMING, COMPUTER & TECHNOLOGY MAGAZINE
VOL 15 ISSUE 1
WIN 3 massive competitions Star Wars Box o’ crap Vouchers
PC / P PLAYSTATION LA L AY AYS YS ST ST / XBOX / NINTENDO
+ MORE
No mercy, prepare for hell on Earth! We grab a tentacle… it likes it.
PREVIEWS Max Payne 3 XCOM: Enemy Unknown Tribes: Ascend
+ MORE
REVIEWS Mass Effect 3 Soul Calibur V Syndicate Wipeout 2048 Binary Domain
+ MORE
Editor Michael “RedTide“ James
[email protected] Assistant Editor Geoff “GeometriX“ Burrows Staff writer Dane “Barkskin “ Remendes Contributing editor Lauren “Guardi3n “ Das Neves Technical writer Neo “ShockG“ Sibeko International correspondent Miktar “Miktar” Dracon
CONTENTS
Features
Regulars
28 TOP 8 REASONS WHY WE LOVE THIS JOB
8 10 14
Ed’s note Inbox Bytes
There’s a lot to love about the work we do. Sure, it’s often tough and occasionally the only food the staffers can afford is the crumbs left on the floor of Michael’s new Land Rover, but we’d not trade it for anything in the world. Let us tell you why.
Opinion 14 16 18 20 95 114
I, Gamer The Game Stalker The Indie Investigator Miktar’s Meanderings Hardwired Game Over
30 DO IT YOURSELF Breaking into game development doesn’t have to be a pipe dream. We talk to some industry professionals and set you on the path to becoming the next great game developer.
36 XCOM: ENEMY UNKNOWN Contributors Rodain “Nandrew” Joubert Walt “Ramjet” Pretorius Miklós “Mikit0707 “ Szecsei Pippa “UnexpectedGirl” Tshabalala Tarryn “Azimuth “ Van Der Byl Adam “Madman” Liebman Art director Chris “SAVAGE“ Savides Photography Chris “SAVAGE“ Savides Dreamstime.com Fotolia.com Sales executive Cheryl “Cleona“ Harris /
[email protected] +27 72 322 9875 Len Nery /
[email protected] Marketing and promotions manager Jacqui “Jax” Jacobs
[email protected] +27 82 778 8439 Office assistant Paul Ndebele Contact details P .O. Box 237, Olivedale, 2158, South Africa Tel +27 11 704 2679 Fax +27 11 704 4120 Subscription department
[email protected] Internet www.nag.co.za www.zinio.com/nag www.facebook.com/NAGMagazine www.twitter.com/nagcoza Printing Impress Web Printers 031 263 2755 Distribution On the Dot Stuart Dickerson / 011 401 5932
Copyright 2012 NAG. All rights reserved. No article or picture in this magazine may be reproduced, copied or transmitted in any form whatsoever without the express written consent of the publisher. Opinions expressed in the magazine are not necessarily those of the publisher or the editors. All trademarks and registered trademarks are the sole property of their respective owners. Don’t Pirate NAG! this magazine when you’re finished with it.
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April 2012 www.nag.co.za
Previews 56 60 62 64 65
Monster Hunter 3G Street Fighter X Tekken PlanetSide 2 Tribes: Ascend Skullgirls
Reviews 66 67
68 72 74 76 78 80 82 84 86 88 89 90
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Reviews: Introduction Short Reviews: Little Deviants / ModNation Racers: Road Trip / Dungeon Hunter: Alliance Mass Effect 3 Soul Calibur V Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning Final Fantasy XIII-2 Syndicate Binary Domain Asura’s Wrath Grand Slam Tennis 2 UFC Undisputed 3 Wipeout 2048 Alan Wake (PC) Alan Wake’s American Nightmare / Metal Gear Solid HD Collection Gotham City Impostors
Michael went to Burger King. Along the way, he stopped to have a look at the real X-COM remake. He saw many nice things. The end.
42 MAX PAYNE 3 We travel to London to see New York and São Paulo in action. Things get shot, stuff explodes and Michael gets Burger King’s “special sauce” all over his face.
48 PROTOTYPE 2 We shipped Dane off to London in a glorified box labelled “economy class” to spend a day annoying people in the London Underground with a giant foam Prototype blade. H
