The Monday Inbox realises the Nintendo Switch hasn’t dropped its price since it first came out, as one reader falls in love with CrossCode.
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Tempting launch
So Sony has started talking about pre-orders now, even if it’s another announcement, but how rare do we think the PlayStation 5 is really going to be when it comes out? If it’s launching everywhere at the same time they can’t be that low on stock or they wouldn’t even attempt that. Or would they? Microsoft got a lot of grief for it’s staggered worldwide launch so maybe Sony think it’s worth doing even if every country is not going to have enough to go around. After all, selling out worldwide is a pretty good headline to have.
I was not planning to get a PlayStation 5 this year but I have to admit that latest Ratchet & Clank video was pretty damn impressive. And pretty embarrassing for Microsoft, as in terms of showing off the graphics and the capabilities of the console – the SSD in particular – it really did the business. They even talked about the DualSense some.
I know it might not be out until early next year but I’m now pretty tempted to try and get one. I don’t know anyone in the US, so I can’t organise one that way, but when proper UK pre-orders open up I think I’ll give it a go. Which now I’ve made the decision will guarantee they’re sold out in minutes…
Jetter
Master vs. apprentice
I’ve been playing Tell Me Why on Game Pass and it is… pretty boring. I do appreciate what Dontnod do and their branching narrative is better than anyone’s but they seem to purposefully go out of their way to suck all the drama and urgency out of everything they do. And they’re getting worse.
I imagine they’re trying to avoid being exploitative, but you’ve still got to create a story that has some kind of momentum to it. Life Is Strange 2 failed at this and it seems like Tell Me Why is as well.
It’s getting a bit worrying that the second best Dontnod game is one they didn’t even make, namely Life Is Strange: Before The Storm. I’d really like to see Deck Nine come back and make a new game, whether it’s a Life Is Strange or not, but as far as I can tell they haven’t even announced anything new at all, and it’s been three years now. I’m hoping they’ve got something special for the next gen queued because for me Dontnod are not cutting things on their own.
Maple
Team activity
Late to the weekend Hot Topic but my ideal game would include a team of characters (X-Men most ideal but could be any team).
The catch is you’d have to use all of the characters, like some missions would be virtually impossible for certain characters to complete. Then including permadeath (or if that’s too violent or against policy, then permanent capture – a bit like in The Flash where they capture villains and put them in those superpower-dampening chambers).
Decent size open world, but some missions you would have to (fast) travel to other places, to give more environments.
How great would it be to choose Wolverine for a mission only to have a magnetic style trap that would capture him? You have one try (24 hours) to make a better choice and try to beat the mission (now with the harder aspect of also saving Wolverine). If you don’t permadeath and the game is much harder with one less hero.
Or even something as simple as using a character that can fly in a tower level. Fly to the top entrance and fight the bosses on the top few floors or choose Wolverine and fight from the bottom. Obviously, there are more creative ways to make the need for certain characters stand out more and also bring the dilemma of what happens when all of your characters that can fly are dead/captured.
This could work XCOM style, as some have suggested, but also as a third person action game (à la Arkham games).
Glennuk1 (gamertag)
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One off
Well, after sitting on a shelf in its wrapping for the best part of three years I finally got around to playing Persona 5 during this lockdown malarkey. I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed it but didn’t expect it to take 85 hours considering its structure – school term – and linearity. Some very dark themes despite the way it’s presented and a cast of mostly very likeable and relatable characters. I say mostly as I didn’t particularly like Ryuji. It is definitely one of the best role-playing games I’ve played and I would certainly agree with the 9 you gave it.
What stopped it from getting a 10? As GC regularly talk about it being one of their favourite and generally best games ever, even re-reading the review there’s no real criticism and we know that a 10 doesn’t mean perfect. You also asked from time to time if there’s any games that you should have scored higher so I looked at the Persona 5 Royal review and it still clocked in at 9. For me it was probably the combat that took it down a notch but even that is nitpicking.
On a final note, would you say that Royal is worth buying if you own the original version?
Mr.Saveloy
GC: If you really enjoyed the original, yes. As for not getting a 10, the fact that the combat is so unremarkable is a pretty major issue as far as we’re concerned. It’s also too long.
Cross promotion
Just wanted to drop you a quick note to say thank you for reviewing CrossCode. No other major site (that I visit) covered it so it would have totally passed me by we’re it not for you, thanks and that is why you are the best games site I read.
It is a lorra, lorra fun. I’m a few hours in and really impressed with the combat, which is quick and punchy; but the characters are immediately likeable (‘Hi!’) and the story has impressed me so far too.
So on that note I’d like to add my absolutely meaningless recommendation for other GameCentral readers to pick it up. I think it should be more successful than it is (I have no idea how successful it has been, but it deserves more coverage than it got).
Dan (grimwar85 – gamertag/PSN ID)
GC: Great, we’re glad you enjoyed it. The game was crowdfunded so it was already guaranteed it’s money back, but we think it did quite well on top of that.
Retro division
Hearing about the Streets O’ Rage 4 DLC and how the developers are working on more games got me wondering what they’re cooking up and whether it’ll be more Sega sequels to classic games. Which then got me wondering about why companies don’t just go all out with nostalgia pandering and create a sub-division that focuses exclusively on sequels/remasters/remakes, etc of older games.
It’s pretty obvious now that there is a market for them and if developers put time, money, and care into developing them then they will get sales. The beauty of it is that most of these titles don’t necessarily NEED a massive budget and could be made on an indie budget or, at most, a AA budget (I’m thinking Jet Set Radio) so there’s less risk. Sega are the best candidates as aside from a few franchises, they’re hardly known for modern IPs.
Tom Foolery
PS: Completely irrelevant to this letter, but I’m wondering what GC and the community think of the Darksiders games? I don’t recall ever hearing much about them, but I gave the second one a go randomly and found it to be mostly fantastic and incredibly satisfying. I’ve yet to play 3 (I played the first after 2 but thought it was ‘meh’) Here’s hoping there’s a fourth!
GC: We’ve always been so-so on the series, but we did like Darksiders Genesis – which is completely different to the others.
No cuts
This isn’t a request for Nintendo to cut the price of the Switch, as there is no need to with it selling so well, (it’s more of a complement to the product and marketing) but after three and a half years since its release surely this has been the longest a console has been on sale for with no price cut by some considerable length?
adams6legend
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The Ghost that Walks
For me, my dream superhero game would be an adaption on the Phantom.
There’s 80 years’ worth of comic strips to draw adaptation/inspiration from.
He’s not on the A+ tier of popularity so there hopefully would be no complaints that the game is either too familiar or stays too far from the source material.
The Phantom has no real superpowers so the game could be easily balanced.
As the Phantom is more than one person (the title and role being inherited) and originates from 1536 the game could be an origin piece without silly ray guns, hyper cannons, and plasmas catapults.
I see no downside to this game! Unless they choose Billy Zane to do the motion capture…
Huw
Inbox also-rans
Am I alone in wishing that Sony And Microsoft would just get on with the price tags for the next gen consoles? It feels like listening to this specific song.
gaz be rotten (gamertag)
If that Lego Star Wars game (which looked pretty great) is only the main nine films how comes one of the scenes if Vader from Rogue One?
Kimble
GC: There’s DLC planned for Rogue One, Solo, and The Mandalorian.
This week’s Hot Topic
The topic for this weekend’s Inbox was suggested by reader Talon, who asks what is the best open world environment in a game?
Especially since the release of Ghost Of Tsushima, there’s been a lot of debate over whether open world games are becoming too predictable and too bloated with filler content, is that something you agree with and what do you think have been the best and worst open world games of recent years?
How do you hope the concept will evolve in the next generation and what do you feel needs to change? How big a fan are you of open world games and how often do you complete them 100% – or thereabouts?
E-mail your comments to: gamecentral@ukmetro.co.uk
The small print
New Inbox updates appear every weekday morning, with special Hot Topic Inboxes at the weekend. Readers’ letters are used on merit and may be edited for length.
You can also submit your own 500 to 600-word Reader’s Feature at any time, which if used will be shown in the next available weekend slot.
You can also leave your comments below and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter.
MORE: Weekend Hot Topic, part 1: Your dream superhero video game
MORE: Weekend Hot Topic, part 2: Your dream superhero video game
MORE: Games Inbox: Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart PS5 killer app, Golden Axe remake, and Turrican excitement
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