The Thursday Inbox thinks Project Scarlett will end up being more powerful than PS5, as one readers wonders why Disney hates video games.
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PLEASE NOTE: As usual, GameCentral will only have a minimal service over Christmas and the New Year, although we will be running various end of the year (and decade) features and a preview of 2020. We always like to include Reader’s Features as well though, so if you’ve been meaning to write one but haven’t now would be a great time to send one in for us to use this month.
Last chance reveal
So it’s The Game Awards soon-ish (why is it so late? Are they purposefully trying to ensure only Americans watch it?) and the last chance for some new game announcements this year. Looking forward to it but I don’t know if the next gen consoles not being announced yet is going to limit what can be revealed.
It looks like a new Crash Bandicoot is a shoe-in but I’m not sure I trust that Batman is going to be there. That game has been rumoured so many times now I don’t see why it’s any more likely to be this year than last. And to be honest I’m far more interested in seeing what Rocksteady are working on, rather than something that’s probably going to be reusing the Arkham Knight map and graphics.
A new Smash Bros. DLC reveal is probably likely as well, which is usually fun if it’s something weird. I’m hoping for Doomguy or Master Chief (I mean, they’re basically the same thing anyway) but I’d settle for Minecraft.
A look at a new Nintendo game like Metroid or Bayonetta 3 or Zelda: Breath Of The Wild 2 would be good too, but I don’t know how likely that is. I’m assuming Sony won’t be there and I’m not sure what Microsoft can really show off at this point. But a Fable 4 reveal would be the capper. I’m not staying up for it but looking forward to reading about it Friday morning from GC.
Iggy
Comedy noses
I don’t want to be a Debbie Downer but does nobody else think the new look Nemesis from Resident Evil 3 looks ridiculous? The nose and the stupidly long teeth look weird and silly, not scary. Admittedly the original design was kind of dumb too, very xtreme 90s comic book, but at least it didn’t make you laugh just to look at it. I guess in game you won’t be studying him up close but in all the pictures I’ve seen so far he looks super dumb.
I think Jill is fine though. She’s got kind of a funny nose too but she just looks like a normal woman now, which is what I’m sure they were aiming at. I’ve seen a lot of people online complain about the lack of boob tube and skirt, pretending they don’t see a problem with it. As if an allegedly trained fighter would go out to fight zombies in the same get-up she’d wear to go clubbing. (Anyway, the old outfit is DLC.)
I am definitely up for Resident Evil 3 and even tempted to pre-order but I don’t like the Nemesis design and I hope there’s a bit of a rethink on it before the final releases.
Zebra
No show
I’d also like to congratulate Nintendo for the indie Direct. Like the other reader said, the fact that they even bother is good. Like Sony and Microsoft, they needed indie games at the beginning to fluff out the release schedules but unlike them they’ve kept promoting them and I’m really looking forward to Axiom Verge 2 and Sports Story especially.
Microsoft makes at least some kind of effort with ID@Xbox but it’s Sony who are the worst for not even pretending they care about indie games. They used to have them all the time in their shows and montages but now they obviously don’t need them anymore and so don’t seem to care.
Although thinking about it, they haven’t had any shows lately anyway. What happened to the E3 excuse about doing their own event? That never happened, so why didn’t they got to E3? I’d hate it if them not going because they didn’t have anything to show was the reason the whole thing fell apart, as seems like it might happen.
Curtains
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One better
I really can’t see anyway that Microsoft don’t make sure they have the most powerful console for the next generation. Even if they end up just pencilling ‘+1’ onto the boxes when they find out what Sony’s specs are I think they’ll do everything to make sure they’re still the world’s most powerful console. You can see how important they thought it was with the Xbox One X and I don’t think they’re going to give that up.
I’m actually a little surprised this wasn’t always their policy as I always thought the big draw about the original Xbox was that it was more powerful. Although I guess that came out well after the PlayStation 2 so they had plenty of time to one-up. The Xbox 360 was less powerful and the Xbox One was again and to me that doesn’t really fit with the all-American muscle image they try and promote.
Maybe I’m wrong then and they don’t really care that much, but I think things will be different under Phil Spencer. They certainly need to be.
Bartman
Under the radar
I was wondering if you would be reviewing Blacksad: Under The Skin? I remember when it was first announced it seemed to generate hype with some major outlets picking up its trailer but since its release there seems to have been… nothing? I don’t believe this was helped by its release blunder whereby an unfinished version of the game was accidentally released early on November 5th.
Its official release was November 14th and the Switch release was this week but the only channels I have been able to find reviews on so far tend to be smaller YouTube channels or PC gaming sites.
It looks to be a Telltale style game, which is why I am interested but things seem to have went pretty quiet on this one.
@KingyXP (Twitter)
GC: It’s too obscure and the buzz around it does not seem positive.
Shocking return
As interested as I am in a new BioShock I’m already dreading the fact that it’s bound to be based in Rapture again. Considering the Infinite was failure enough to sink the whole franchise (and its developer) for years I really don’t see them being bold enough to give it an all new setting. There aren’t really any characters that are easy to redo either so all they really do to make sure it’s BioShock enough is set it in Rapture again and make sure there are plenty of Big Daddies around.
It’s funny how that first sequel kind of doomed the game to being the same thing forever, even though I’d say it was actually one of the better sequels of the era. But if BioShock 2 had been completely different it would’ve set a pattern. But unfortunately the one that was different was the one that flopped and you know how that’s going to go down with the bean counters.
I hope I’m wrong but if Rapture or some kind of underwater theme isn’t in the very first teaser, whenever that is, I’ll be absolutely shocked.
Baker
Videogamephobia
The Predator game looks really good to me. Funny that should turn up again just as we were talking about a new Alien Isolation game. I notice they were still using the 20th Century Fox logo, so does that mean Disney are going to sell them off with that name, essentially splitting up the company they just bought?
I know it’s only a tiny bit of the company but it still seems weird. Why does Disney hate video games so much? They act like they’re allergic to them and try to keep them as far away as possible. Considering how they seem to want to buy every other entertainment company in the world it seems a really odd way to carry on.
Couchon
Catch up on every previous Games Inbox here
Should I stay or should I go now?
This is more a letter to fellow reader Dynamite Headdy – the biggest supporter of Shenmue on these pages. It has now been three days since I last played or even wanted to play Shenmue 3. I am still in Bailu Village. I met the thugs and I think I’m about to meet with a young stonemason apprentice hiding out in a remote area.
Yeah, it’s a 6 out of 10, but I’m really struggling to keep going and beat this thing. I’m wondering if I should sell it on as soon as possible for something like Astral Chain while it’s still worth a fair bit as a trade-in. But, it’s Shenmue! It’s been nearly 20 years! Do I not owe it to myself and all the backers to persevere? Or is that just deluded masochism?
Basically, I need some convincing to keep hold of it for another few weeks while I beat it. Are there any nice secrets or surprises waiting to be uncovered? Because at the moment, while it has its moments certainly – they are far too few. It’s just a pale shadow of its immediate predecessor. Will it get better or should I stop hurting myself right now?
DMR
Inbox also-rans
Game Pass’s fall from greatness doesn’t seem to be on the cards anytime soon, as Untitled Goose Game will be added to console Game Pass when it releases on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on the 17th of December.
Simundo
The Escapists is free on PC on Epic Games Store from today for the next week.
Andrew J.
This week’s Hot Topic
With the PlayStation 1 celebrating its 25th anniversary this month, the subject for this weekend’s Inbox asks you about your fondest memories of Sony’s first console.
Did you own a PS1 when it first came out and why did you choose it over the alternatives? What was the first game you played on it and what did you think of it? Do you remember the marketing and general buzz over the new console and how did that affect your view of it?
What do you think of the PS1 looking back on it now? Which are you favourite games for it and how well do you think they stand up today?
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The small print
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