Zoner Photo Studio 18

Zoner Photo Studio might be reasonably priced, but is it a serious and viable option for a professional?

Reasonably-priced software is often the most appealing, as no one wants to shell out for more expensive programs that might not meet their needs, or indeed might exceed them.

DxO ONE

It may be small, but is this pocket-friendly camera mighty enough to rival its bigger siblings?

Renowned for premium-quality photo-editing software, DxO took the industry by complete surprise in June 2015 with the announcement of the DxO ONE, its first foray into hardware of this kind. Featuring a one-inch 20.2 MP CMOS sensor, an 11.9mm (32mm equivalent) f1.8 fixed lens alongside the ability to shoot in RAW – all in a lightweight, petite chassis – the ONE boasts an impressive specification. On paper it might sound revolutionary, but how exactly do the specs translate in practice?

Panasonic DMC-G7

The DMC-G7 brings a host of exciting st ills and video features to a very competitive part of the camera market. Andy Luck finds out if it is likely to leave the others in its wake

Almost seven years ago we reviewed the Panasonic DMC-G1. Weighing in at just 385g, body only, and 638g with the 14-45mm kit lens, the G1 was revolutionary at the time, packing near DSLR image quality – from its half- 35mm, 12MP, micro-four-thirds sensor – into a tiny, lightweight body that could easily be carried around.

Dreams

Defining the indefinable game

Everyone has experienced dreams that have rapidly faded into nothingness the moment they awake, and times where clutching onto the fragments of what just occurred has been like trying to pick up honey with tweezers. In these fleeting seconds, you’re able to sense, almost see, the mental images dissipating, but feel helpless to solidify them. So perhaps it’s only fitting that LittleBigPlanet developer Media Molecule is likewise struggling to find a concrete definition for its latest project. “We don’t know what Dreams is,” says creative director Mark Healey, after deliberation. “But we know what we want to do with it.”

Nier: Automata

Machinery reigns in PlatinumGames’ offbeat take on a cult classic

Nier: Automata director Yoko Taro isn’t one for holding back. “When it was first announced [Square Enix producer Yosuke Saito] was going to put money into a new Nier game, everyone thought he was mad,” he says. “And personally – I probably shouldn’t be sharing this – but I thought he was mad as well.” Taro’s sinister grinning mask, which he always wears at public events, is resting by his side during our behindclosed-doors look at the game, yet his own smile is almost a carbon copy of the helmet’s when he chuckles about the faith shown by his boss, Saito, who’s also present. “I thought he probably wasn’t going to make it back, but I’m very happy he’s given us the money, and we are trying to use it well.”

Overwatch

A clear line of sight at Blizzard’s best new competitive design in decades

The hybrid origins of Blizzard’s new competitive shooter become apparent the first time you press Q. This is how you access your character’s Ultimate ability, named after and equivalent to the gamechanging superpowers common to RPGderived MOBAs. In this case, your Ultimate closes out a tightly designed loop of weapons, abilities and movement methods that define the (so far) 18 heroes in the game.

Wild

Battling tooth and claw to survive the deadliest enemy of all: nature

Michel Ancel stands before the firstever live playthrough of Wild and begins by saying, “I have to talk quickly, because the sun is going down.” He’s put a lot of pressure on himself: the original plan for this behind-closed-doors demo was to rerun the Paris Games Week trailer with the creative director narrating, but at the last minute he insists on going hands-on.