Presenting E207 and its cover star, WarDevil, the thirdperson action game that its developer, the Ealing Studios-based Digi-Guys, hopes ‘will shake up the industry’. Subscribers have their copies in their hands now, but it’ll be on UK shop shelves on September 29.

WarDevil’s stake in the ground is its commitment to deliver ‘Hollywood-grade’ visuals: 1080p at 60 frames a second, with no compromise on the fidelity of its high-resolution textures and a suite of filtering effects. Remarkably, it looks as if it might just achieve it – with a version of the software having already been running smoothly on an original Xbox since 2006. It’s now leading on PS3 and being shown in closed-door sessions at TGS, the demo we saw seeming to prove that though the game itself is currently out of focus, the tech behind it already appears to be sharply defined.

Retail copies of the issue will come in a slipcase featuring Assassin’s Creed 2, the subject of a visit to Montreal, where we met its principal developers to see how they’re following up on the original.

Elsewhere we take a long look at Castlevania Judgment to talk with producer David Cox and Hideo Kojima about how they’re bringing one of gaming’s most venerable series back to life on home console. We also play the fruits of a brand new four-man developer, Hello Games, profiled here, an unashamedly bright, breezy and remarkably creative arcade stuntbike racer called Joe Danger. Look out for more from Hello Games on the site next week. And staying with the independent side, we meet veteran Jeff Minter to talk about his past, present and future in the shape of Gridrunner Revolution, which might just be his magnum opus.

Along with an in-depth look at how Modern Warfare 2 has caused other games planned for pre-Christmas release to run for safety on the other side of it, there’s a lot more besides.

Previewed: Diablo III, Mafia 2, MAG, GTA IV: The Ballad Of Gay Tony, Monster Hunter 3, God Of War III, Heavy Rain, Aliens Vs Predator, Starcraft II, Star Trek Online, Ruse, Def Jam Rapstar, Dead Nation, ModNation Racers, Maestro

Reviewed: Halo 3: ODST, Dead Space Extraction, Scribblenauts, Demon’s Souls, Section 8, Mini Ninjas, Katamari Forever, Need For Speed Shift, Wet, FIFA 10, Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2, Motorstorm: Pacific Edge, Gran Turismo PSP, Guitar Hero 5, The Beatles: Rock Band, Zuma’s Revenge, Professor Layton: Pandora’s Box, Blood Bowl, Metroid Prime Trilogy

The Making Of: God Of War
Time Extend: God Hand