The Friday Inbox dares to suggest that Fall Guys might not be the best thing ever, as a reader explains why he’s not getting Project Cars 3.
To join in with the discussions yourself email gamecentral@ukmetro.co.uk
Launch-ish game
Well, that Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart demo was pretty amazing, eh? I’m not even a big fan of the series – I find they always loose steam by the halfway point – but that’s probably the most impressive bit of next gen footage I’ve seen so far, that is actually a game (rather than the Unreal Engine 5 demo).
The tricks with the portals seemed a really good way to show off the SSD and I can see why Sony was trying to make it a launch game. And very glad to hear it’s still going to be launch-ish in the end. I was also impressed by just the graphics themselves, which despite early sceptism did seem to be a step ahead of the PlayStation 4. Maybe not by much but I really liked how many people there were on screen, with all the civilians running around and all.
The obvious question now is whether this counts as a killer app and I think it kind of is. Or rather, I wouldn’t necessarily buy the PlayStation 5 to play the game but knowing that the game is coming out in the ‘launch window’ makes me more likely to buy the PlayStation 5 straight away. So… job done, I guess, from Sony’s point of view. Makes the Halo Infinite demo look even more pathetic by comparison.
Swordfish
Raging success
Great news about Streets Of Rage 4 getting DLC and the dev working on so many new games, hopefully related to Sega. I was lukewarm on the game at first, despite being a big fan of the originals, and while I still think the soundtrack is disappointing after all the build-up the animation style has really grown on me and I am now fully on board with the combat changes. Also, Estel is a great character so look forward to playing as her.
As for the other games they might be working on my two top choices, which I think would be totally up their street, are Golden Axe and Shinobi. I’d assume they’d take a similar approach and art style to Streets Of Rage 4, which is fine with me, but I’d love to see these games updated with modern techniques but still 2D and with the same basic gameplay as before.
I still hope that one day Sega will do proper 3D reboots, something which successful 2D games might lead towards, but to be honest I’m not holding my breath and am thankful we got this at least.
Trepsils
Too much and never enough
I must be honest, I’m disappointed with next gen games going up in price and I think it’s wrong. I understand all developers are a business and need to make a profit, I really do, but I think they’re taking the mickey. Yes, the cost to make next gen games has gone up slightly but with season passes in game purchases I don’t see what the need is for.
Take Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare, it made a billion dollars. How much do they need to make on a game to then have the cheek to say we are going to have to put the price up? I know making a game is a risky job, it flops and your business is no more, but you take a risk if you know the game will not be a hit.
I think when I get my next gen console (PlayStation 5 I’m leaning) I won’t just say yep and order a new game, I’ll take my time, look at a few broadcast then say yes or no. It might not of gone up much but pennies do turn into pounds and pounds look after themself.
David
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Jump in
Over the past year I have got more into PC gaming and play it more than the other consoles I have. I was looking at the PC Game Pass, as I didn’t realise that was a thing until recently, I thought it was Xbox only. Can yourself or maybe someone reading this if they have tried it and their thoughts on it?
I watched the Xbox showcase but couldn’t seem to see if those games shown would be just on both the PC and Xbox Game Pass as I noticed they have separate games for each subscription. I don’t own an Xbox so would be ace if I could have access to all the games without buying another console in the future.
Anon
GC: There’s not much to say other than to look at the list of games and see if they appeal. All new Xbox One games are now released on PC, plus there are some PC exclusives like Microsoft Flight Simulator. There’s a £1 trial at the moment too, so you can’t really go wrong there.
Rock me like a Turrican
I have just read the article on the remake for the Amiga classic Turrican. My childhood favourite is finally making a comeback and showing the young folk how things are done properly. Hopefully it will find its way into the 3D/virtual/role-playing/online market and I myself am looking forward to it.
I’m also lucky enough to own a Commodore Amiga 1200 and favour this over the PlayStation 4 any day (even though I’d succumbed to the PlayStation from day 1).
Liam White
Well, that is brilliant news about the return of Turrican, as the first two games are among my favourites from the 16-bit era. Although I’m not sure what I want more; a complete collection of all the games, especially the more obscure conversions like the Universal Soldier one on the Mega Drive, or a brand new 2D game. I actually think it would also translate well to a 3D Soulsbourne type game.
The funny thing is, I literally bought the (amazing) soundtrack last week and I’ve been making my own game based on the shmup stages from Turrican 2 during the lockdown. I’ve been using the assets from that and the first game. Hopefully I’ll finish it someday. (Unlike the other games I’ve started!)
TrevorMcFurr (gamertag/PSN ID)
GC: It was announced at Gamescom as being a compilation. We’ll have a story on it later this morning, once we’ve got a bit more detail from the publisher.
Classic differences
So I finally got round to playing Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. I started off very cautiously, not sure about the game mechanics and spending most of my time running away to reset enemies to get sneak attacks. It was only when I hit Lady Butterfly that the mechanics started to make sense. From then on the game started to flow and each boss fight was like a puzzle to be solved.
For me, the game was at its weakest when it harked back to Dark Souls-style enemies that abandoned the focus on deflection and became a bit more about chipping away health rather than building posture.
Having seen all that Sekiro had to offer, I thought I would go back and play Bloodborne. Bloodborne is the reason I bought a PlayStation 4 and is one of, if not the, game of the generation for me. The atmosphere, storyline, and enemy designs are every bit as good as I remember. However, the combat and movement, having played Sekiro seemed quite leaden and un-nuanced. I actually found myself missing the technicality of the fights in Sekiro, something that I definitely did not expect when I first started playing it.
Now, even though I think that, overall, Bloodborne is the better game, it has got me thinking about what From have in store for the future and hope that they continue to develop the technical fighting style that they have used in Sekiro. This combined with the incredible standard of world-building and storytelling of their previous games (though by no means bad in Sekiro) would make for something truly spectacular.
Though I do understand that the difficulty level can be intimidating at first, I would wholeheartedly recommend trying the FromSoftware games to anyone who has not already done so. The sense of achievement and immersion in their games is unparalleled.
Michael
GC: That’s a good breakdown of the differences between the two games.
Thoughtcrime in progress
Pre-orders of pre-orders? We really are through the looking glass now. Just when I think the games industry can’t get any more absurd we have people signing up to maybe get an invite to give Sony money, based on… whether Sony thinks they’ve been a loyal enough customers?!
That is some hardcore Orwellian consumerism there and I will have nothing to do with it. We all know there’s going to be nothing worth playing on it for at least a year so I’ll just wait till I don’t need on pre-order, let alone two.
Colli
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Third time unlucky
Thanks for your review of Project Cars 3, I’m glad you liked it. However, I’m writing in to give the reasons, as someone who has spent hundreds of hours playing Project Cars 1 and 2, why I won’t be buying this one.
The thing I loved about the first two games is that all cars and all tracks were available to race from the off with no unlocking required. Want to jump into GT3 from the off? Go for it. That has gone from what I have read.
I’m also not a big fan of upgrade routes (except in purely arcade racers like Forza Horizon). Again, coming back to the GT3 series, the cars are all there or there abouts, with the exception of set-up tweaks. Upgrades now appear pretty fundamental to the game.
Pit stops – I love a pit stop, if I set up an online race I will often put in a forced manual pitstop just to mix things up a bit! As well as this tyre temp and wear are real things in racing… these too are gone.
Finally, and for me this is a deal breaker, no Spa. This is one of the greatest, most iconic circuits in racing. It was in the first two games and probably makes up 25% of my online racing. No Spa, no interest.
I know I haven’t played it, so can’t comment on the actual handling model, but I’m just so disappointed in everything I have read about it.
Still, I can always carry on with Project Cars 2. As long as they don’t turn off the lobbies!
The Dude Abides
Inbox also-rans
Surely I can’t be the only one that thinks Fall Guys is kind of lame? If anything GC’s review was too generous as I got bored of it in just a couple of rounds.
Ansel
I think Call Of Duty: Black Ops Cold War looks pretty good too. I’m sure it’ll be the same old shallow nonsense underneath but I’ve rather have that than the overly serious Modern Warfare reboot.
Camfer
This week’s Hot Topic
The topic for this weekend’s Inbox was inspired by the recent DC Comics announcements and asks what would be your dream superhero or comic book video game?
It can be a sequel to an existing game or something that’s relatively unlikely to get made, but we want to know why you’d pick the particular character or setting and how you’d think it would work as a game.
Would you welcome more superhero games in general and what dangers, if any, do you think there are with making too many? What is your current favourite and how do you think it could be improved in the next gen?
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: Games Inbox: PS5 August reveal event, Halo Infinite release date, and Smash Bros. DLC Challenger 7
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