New dawn

Kraków-set horror dripping with Soviet paranoia

THE FIRST TOTAL WAR GAME WAS THE BREAKOUT HIT THAT CREATIVE ASSEMBLY NEEDED TO FREE ITSELF FROM ITS WORK-FOR-HIRE SITUATIONSHIP WITH ELECTRONIC ARTS. SINCE THEN THE SERIES HAS GONE FROM STRENGTH TO STRENGTH, COVERING EVERYTHING FROM THE ROMAN EMPIRE AND THE NAPOLEONIC WARS TO SKAVEN AND UNDEAD LORDS

AS THE DUST SETTLED ON MARS, ID TURNED ITS ATTENTION TO A NEW MAGNIFICENT ENGINE. MEANWHILE, CAPITALISING ON THE SUCCESS OF DOOM WAS PARAMOUNT – OVER TO DUNGEONS & DRAGONS FANS, RAVEN SOFTWARE

PREY , A BOLD REINVENTION OF AN ICONIC ANTAGONIST, WAS JUST THE BEGINNING. AS WE FIND OUT ON SET OF PREDATOR: BADLANDS , DIRECTOR DAN TRACHTENBERG JUST CAN’T GET ENOUGH OF THE MERCILESS, MANDIBLE-WIELDING HUNTERS…

Europe’s biggest gaming show had a stacked AAA lineup this year – but there were plenty of indie efforts you should probably wishlist as well…

American gaming publications don’t get any bigger than Game Informer, and Justin Leeper was there at the turn of the millennium as its online ambitions grew and print circulation soared. Together, we look back at his career in games media, and how it led to a development career that has seen him work with wrestling stars, Hideo Kojima and even Transformers