The Vanishing of Ethan Carter (PS4)
By: The Astronauts
I misread the title of Sony's latest downloadable mystery. Sadly, it's not the vanishing of cherubic country-fried crooner and Wagon Wheel troubadour Nathan Carter, a disappearance for which I would weep little, and may even shoulder some responsibility. The titular Carter is rather a young boy who has written to our hero, psychic detective Paul Prospero, to investigate the sordid burg of Red Creek. With a Rust Belt Americana vibe that evokes classic Castle Rock-era Stephen King, Red Creek is groaning with Lovecraftian mystery. With no enemies to speak of, the game is predominately about exploring the deserted mining town, poking around its history, scouring the environment for objects of note and reconstructing crime scenes. Rather than the bloated, open-world collectathons that pass for modern gaming, Ethan Carter offers an all-too-brief slice of pure escapism. It's not particularly challenging, but neither is watching a good film, and Ethan Carter provides the same narrative pleasures. The journey is the point here, and while it won't satisfy the Call of Duty set, Carter's powerful storytelling nabbed a Bafta for Best Game Innovation. It's also visually stunning, the dazzling autumnal palette backed up by a lush, ethereal score. Playing out more like an interactive novella than traditional joypad fodder, and with a Shyamalan-worthy twist ending, Ethan Carter is thick on atmosphere and plot but light on actual gameplay. No bad thing, of course, as it keeps you tightly in its thrall over the four-hour running time.
Arnie Gets In The Ring
I need your spandex, your boots and your baby oil. Aside from smacking Triple H around in '99 while promoting The Sixth Day, Arnie hasn’t troubled the wrasslin' mat much. But when he isn't busy impregnating cleaners, the Austrian Oak is a huge fan of WWE's theatrical pugilism, and was indicted into the Hall of Fame. And now Schwarzenegger will finally crawl under the ropes in virtual form as the Terminator, no less, with a pre-order bonus for WWE 2K16. Though he may look like a fluffy old sparrow these days, the wrestling cyborg is straight from Arnie's heyday. "I was honoured to join the WWE Hall of Fame earlier this year, and now I'll continue my WWE legacy with one of my biggest film roles immortalised in WWE 2K16", cooed he. "Match the Terminator against Stone Cold Steve Austin, Seth Rollins or Daniel Bryan and there's only one possible outcome: Hasta la vista, baby!" Oh, Arnie.
