Gaming

Games Inbox: PS5 UK pre-orders during lockdown, Cyberpunk 2077 optimism, and GTA 5.5


Will you be able to pick it up? (pic: Sony)

The Monday Inbox compares The Mandalorian Season 2 to Monster Hunter, as one reader celebrates beating Ring Fit Adventure.

To join in with the discussions yourself email gamecentral@ukmetro.co.uk

2020 strikes again
Um, so who’s realised the implications of what a month’s long lockdown means for gamers? I don’t know where everyone else pre-order their PlayStation 5 but I did so from my local GAME which… I guess is going to closed now until December 2 because it’s the very definition of non-essential?

As far as I’ve ever understood GAME’s website and shops are very separate, so I don’t know that there’s much chance that they’ll take over pre-orders and get them posted out to everyone. Let alone if you’ve pre-ordered from an ordinary high street shop.

I don’t know if anyone’s noticed by 2020 has been awful, so I guess this is no surprise.
The Colt
PS: Amazon must be laughing all the way to the bank now that people basically can’t do Christmas shopping.

Well, it looks like if you have pre-ordered the PlayStation 5 from a shop you will find it difficult to pick it up on November 19 as all non-essential shops have to close until December 2. This year just keeps throwing up bad news.

I guess if you bought your PlayStation 5 for online delivery you won’t mind so much. Good luck everyone who’s has bought a PlayStation 5 to get it on November 19.
Ghh69

GC: There’s also talk from the government that the lockdown may be extended beyond December 2.

Mostly optimistic
As a big fan of both Cyberpunk and The Witcher 3, I have followed the development of Cyberpunk 2077 closely since it was announced. And to be honest… the gameplay footage has always left me a little underwhelmed. Particularly the external city architecture and design which seems visually a little bland and derivative – kind of like Crackdown 3 or something.

I would also worry about the combat and action in general considering the mechanics of their last game.

Having said that though, I am still confident the magic will shine through on the stories, missions, and characters – as this is where CD Projekt Red really do excel.

So, whilst I am disappointed in the delay(s) I am still eagerly looking forward to the launch.
Conor Stevenson

Be prepared
I’m also worried that there’s no way that Cyberpunk 2077 can live up to the hype, but I suppose the fact that they’ve delayed multiple times suggests that they’re trying to get things right. There are a few things that have tempered my own personal excitement for it, which is 100% because of how much I loved The Witcher 3.

Firstly, I much prefer fantasy worlds to sci-fi. I prefer swords to lasers, dragons to robots, and a lot of sci-fi worlds seem to be inhabited by loud, obnoxious characters that I’m immediately put off by.

That leads me to the characters – for my money, The Witcher 3 had the best characters and dialogue in any game, ever. CD Project Red obviously had a huge hand in this, but a lot of the heavy lifting was done by the excellent Witcher books. Will they be able to bottle lightning twice?

Finally – and I don’t want to sound like a whiny fanboy crying because it’s not exactly the same as the Witcher – the fact remains that I have never felt any sort of emotional connection to a character that I’ve played in first person. I’ve enjoyed game worlds like Skyrim, Fallout, and Half-Life but I’ve never felt as immersed in a world as I have in third person games.

I’m not as worried about the combat, I thought the Witcher combat was solid if unspectacular. If anything, the way you could customise Geralt and focus on combat, potions, signs, etc. was great and bodes well for Cyberpunk 2077, with its augmentations, implants, weapons, etc.

I’ve booked a week off work to play it, so I am still very excited, and I really hope that the developer can knock if out the park again in the same way they did with The Witcher 3. But I’ve psychologically prepared myself for it to not-quite reach those heights.
deckscrubber02

E-mail your comments to: gamecentral@ukmetro.co.uk

GTA 5.5
Now that the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X will be out soon, with GTA 5 launching on these systems the biggest issue that I had with the existing version was the restriction of being in one city and being completely unable to fly to another city.

Both Liberty City and Vice City are part of the GTA world and one DLC update that needs to be done is the ability to revisit these cities as well as being able to buy apartments, assets, and doing various missions for people in different cities. This would give more people a reason to get GTA 5 on the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. Of course, Rockstar could add much more radio stations as well.

Yes, this would take some time to do but I don’t know about everyone else but to have a GTA game with great content and being able to go to other citifies, even with GTA Online I wouldn’t mind waiting. Rockstar could also even add more content to these cities such as heists and unique types of heist only available in specific cities, making GTA how it should be enjoyed.
gaz be rotten (gamertag)

GC: That is an enormous amount of working you’re talking about, virtually a brand new game.

Official response
I just can’t think of anything less intimidating than a death threat from some entitled gamer. I mean what are they gonna do? Start working out like an 80s movie training montage and get you?

Surely the best way to deal with these people is not to publicise the threat and stop whatever satisfaction is gained from said ‘threat’ getting attention?
R McKenna (gamertag)

GC: The best way to deal with them is to call the police, which is what usually happens.

Given up
I’ve finally let my Xbox Live subscription run out, so I will be offline for a while. I have two games I play online that are no use to me now, so I would like to offer them together or for separate readers for free. Fallout 76, which I actually enjoyed and since the update is more like a Fallout game plus the other players bit.

Battlefield 5 or V if you prefer. I couldn’t really get into it but if you are a fan and haven’t picked it up then now is your chance. Suppose the usual applies. Write a normal letter to GC and PS your preference.
Bobwallett

Chip oil
Important advice to everyone that read the message from Anon in the also-rans yesterday, do not spray WD-40 inside your Joy-Con!

WD-40 is not a cure-all and does not mix well with chips. It is a light oil and even if you managed to somehow ensure it all went inside the Joy-Con stick housing, it will not stay there.

Get the stick replaced under warranty, if they won’t, and you’re able, fit replacements do so yourself. If you have no other alternative then use a LITTLE contact cleaner suitable for PCBs, but know that at best that is a very temporary fix.
Antony White

Someone wrote in saying use WD-40 to fix Joy-Con drift – make sure it’s WD-40 electrical contact cleaner NOT the WD-40 for bike chains and such or you’ll mess up your controller.
MRHBK

Simple jump
I’ve been playing, and enjoying, Greedfall lately. I wonder what the island of Teer Fradee is most like? New Zealand? The accents of the natives are very odd: like a mix of Welsh and South African. Also, the place looks like the land of eternal autumn. Which I quite like.

As you said, the story is quite compelling and yet completely bereft of any lighter moments. Which should make it a particularly unbearable instalment of Final Fantasy (take your pick) but it gets away with it.

My biggest bugbear, however, is how it gates abilities behind unlockable skills that my character should really be able to do automatically. It’s fair to do this with lockpicking and explosives, even crafting to some degree, but to make me wait until Vigour, level 2, before I can jump across a gap that Betty White could manage when I’m supposed to be an elite noblewoman trained since childhood in the best martial techniques aristocracy money can buy?! How dare they! Isn’t there a special term for this sort of video game logic?

Also, I made my character look vaguely East Asian and many other characters in the game are noting my similarity to the natives in appearance. Was that because of the ethnicity I chose? Would a white or black character get the same treatment? Or is it due to that mark on her face?
DMR

Catch up on every previous Games Inbox here

Frictional scares
Got to be honest but if you want to be scarred witless, I would give a mention to Amnesia: The Dark Descent. It’s a game that feels like you need to muster up the courage to play. An amazing achievement from such a small developer.

I would also recommend SOMA too although this deals with a different kind of horror.
NikRad

Role-playing requirements
My backlog is littered with role-playing games spanning multiple generations and consoles, as long-time readers may already know.

Yet incredibly, I just finished one! Yes, it’s ‘only’ Ring Fit Adventure, but if role-playing mean levelling up, potions, hit points, elemental attacks, and stat affecting equipment, then Ring Fit is a role-playing game to me.

Looking back, I’d only ever completed Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door, Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, and The World Ends With You… with maybe at least 20 incomplete.

Adding Ring Fit to that list, I think I’ve finally cracked it. I need my role-playing game’s story to avoid conventional tropes from the genre, as well as a battle system that involves more than selecting from menus and watching an animation play out.

With those requirements in mind, what would you recommend for Xbox One or Switch?
ttfp saylow (gamertag)
Now playing: Ring Fit Adventure post-game

GC: Have you ever considered the possibility that you don’t like role-playing games?

Inbox also-rans
Just wanted to thank the two people that offered advice on racing wheels. I’ve gone for the Logitech G29, with the stand it set me back a little more than I was aiming to spend but since it’s going to be compatible with the PlayStation 5 it’s worth the investment.
Drlowdon

GC, can you give a bit of info on the dual charger, it says no wires so how does it work? Is it a wireless charge that’s wire-free from PlayStation 5 to the dual charger and then wire-free from charger to DualSense controller or what? I’ve had a look on GAME and Amazon and I can’t see any details on it.
David

GC: We haven’t got one.

For anyone that’s seen the first new episode of The Mandalorian, what’s the betting that ends up being a better live action Monster Hunter than the actual Monster Hunter film?
Gorf

This week’s Hot Topic
The topic for this weekend’s Inbox was suggested by reader Simon, who asks what is your favourite ever console?

Regardless of when it was originally released what is your favourite console (not home computer) and why? How much of its appeal is due to the hardware and its peripherals as opposed to just the software? What did the console do better than others, that makes it so memorable, and how much influence does it have on the modern day?

How much is nostalgia influencing your choice and do you think the console and its games still have broad appeal today? What makes a good console and how well do you think the current and upcoming formats have learnt the lessons of the past?

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: Best horror video game ever

MORE: Weekend Hot Topic, part 2: Best horror video game ever

MORE: Games Inbox: Cyberpunk 2077 hype worries, PS5 slim release date, and Oculus Quest 2 love

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