GAME TECH: Stone Age fight for survival

GAME OF THE WEEK: Far Cry: Primal (PS4)

We’re stepping back in time for Far Cry’s latest fling — the Stone Age land of Oros, to be precise. It’s an era of imminent peril and, for us gamers, limitless adventure, as giant mammoths and sabre-toothed tigers rule the globe and humanity is most definitely at the lower end of the food chain.

As Takkar, a seasoned hunter and the last surviving member of your hunting group, you must grow your tribe and sharpen your skills to lead your people, helped by a cast of memorable characters (human and animal) who can help push back the dangers of the wild.

With no tech to take down enemy tribes, the development team have done a brilliant job of building your weaponry toolkit from natural resources, from the traditional bow and arrow to primitive bombs filled with bees.

It’s a wonderful new perspective on how to cause trouble in a Far Cry game, supplemented by the powers you can harness by taming the likes of owls, mammoths and bears along the way.

It’s all so beautifully primitive in concept, with a depth of mission and gameplay options that sits comfortably in the stellar series’ stable. So, put the fur loin cloth on and go enjoy some epic Stone Age silliness.

Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare 2 (Xbox)

Plants vs Zombies initially grew its fan base through mobile gaming, but more recently it’s been successfully re-potted into consoles to stretch out its tendrils to traditional gamers. The first Garden Warfare offered a wholly different experience, jumping out of the familiar tower defence comfort zone into a more mainstream third person action shooter genre.

This sequel applies a copious spraying of additional features, including two single-player campaigns, co-operative options and a shared world RPG environment. Other incremental improvements to the gameplay are much appreciated, too, and all your favourite characters are still there, brought to 3D life with a host of different skills and attributes on the battlefield. It’s weird and wacky and will never be a wallflower in your game collection.

Pokemon: Super Mystery Dungeon (3DS)

It’s time to embark on an epic adventure in the definitive Pokemon Mystery Dungeon title and battle alongside powerful Legendary and Mythical Pokemon to save the world! Yes, Pokemon fans surely can’t wait to be plonked in a huge world inhabited solely by Pokemon, featuring 720 species, random dungeons filled with near-infinite challenges, and the chance to team up and battle alongside some of the series’ most iconic characters.

On your travels you’ll help other Pokemon, take on quests and explore the ever-changing Mystery Dungeons. Within them, you’ll need to avoid their fiendish traps and battle it out in traditional turn-based fashion, with familiar basic attacks and fab signature moves at your disposal.

It’s a nice light spin-off from the main series, packed with bucket-loads of content and a plethora of customisation options alongside the whopping roster that make it a must-purchase for Pokemon fans everywhere.

Stellar Wanderer (iOS)

Space exploration is always likely to be a lonely experience, but when you’re boiling intergalactic travel down into a mobile app, you’d expect it to be abridged somewhat.

However, Stellar Wanderer seeks to authenticate its space travel by forcing players to speed up time and watch tiny planetary specks in the distance get gradually bigger as you zoom from mission to mission.

It’s a shame because when you are mining asteroids, undertaking flying missions or shooting down enemy pilots in this action/RPG title, the game provides serious chunks of triple-A gameplay to match the not insignificant price of download.

The galaxies are simply stunning to take in — all the more reason to bemoan the constant need for hyperspeed — but it feels like all the other glitches and glaring errors let down what otherwise could have been a brilliant app. Some time spent in a space port for some tinkering on the engineering would do Stellar Wanderer the world of good, but it’s still just about worth setting out on your maiden flight.