Gaming

Games Inbox: The Game Awards 2019 winner, Shenmue 3 celebration, and Crash Bandicoot Worlds hopes


The Game Awards – what do you want to win? (pic: The Game Awards)

The Thursday Inbox considers what the best games of the decade might be, as one reader plans a trip to the Tokyo Nintendo Store.

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

 

Unpopular vote
Interesting list of nominees for The Game Awards, and nice to know that GC are involved as judges, but I’m curious to know what everyone’s pick would be for Game of the Year? I guess the Golden Joysticks prove that Resident Evil 2 would be a popular choice, but I cannot imagine The Outer Worlds winning and I think Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is just too late now.

Both Control and Death Stranding seem totally out of step with both public opinion and sales, so based on Oscars logic that means they’ve got a good chance of winning. Looking at Metacritic though neither are particularly well though of, so I’m not really sure how they’ve picked up the most nominees.

For me the only answer can be Sekrio: Shadows Die Twice. Resident Evil 2 is great but it is only a remake, whereas Sekiro might well be my favourite From game ever. Overall though I’d say it’s a fairly weak line-up if these are the best of the best, and shows that 2019 wasn’t really a vintage year for games after all.
Conan

 

Happy backer
When can we expect your review of Shenmue 3?

I’m a Kickstarter backer and received my copy on Monday. Have been playing for several hours and love it. I haven’t got too far into the story because I’m engrossed in the game world, chopping wood, going to the small local arcade and training and sparring.

I have to give enormous credit to Yu Suzuki for how much this captures Shenmue, despite the 18-year gap. It would of been very easy to try to go after a modern audience. But this feels like a faithful sequel to the games that fans adore.

The music is incredible as always, Ryo’s voice actor (I appreciate people may hate the voice-acting) has done a great job making him sound and act just how he did those 18 years back.

There has been some really nice quality of life improvements. Only thing I find the be jarring is the health/food system. Only because it seems to deplete too quickly. I like that there is something else to spend money on though.
Matt

GC: You can expect it now.

 

A handbag!
I’m kind of shocked to know that Nintendo didn’t already have a dedicated store in Japan but I am super stoked to hear about it as I will be going to the Tokyo Olympics and will definitely be going there, I just hope I have enough money left by that moment.

I know it’s all nonsense merchandise but seeing all the characters and the effort they’d gone into with things like the Zelda heart made me feel like a kid in a toy shop. There’s something very special about Nintendo’s games and characters and somehow that’s even true when they’re plastered on the side of a handbag.

Can’t imagine Sony or Microsoft ever having a store like this or what they’d put in it. I’d totally go to one that was Capcom or SNK though. There’s just something about the allure of Japanese companies and their games…
RobertCop

 

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

 

Rare chance
I was all ready to say that Crash Bandicoot rumour was all based on nothing but I’ve got to say it did all seem to be adding up to something. I mean, like you said, it’s obvious they’re going to do it at some point and something involving open worlds is probably inevitable.

The remakes were super high quality but they were only remakes, of something that already existed, so I’m curious to see if the same devs can make something original. And by original not just the same style of games with different levels.

There are so few 3D platformers being made nowadays that the few chances that come along I can only hope they try and do something new and interesting. They’ve probably got a budget for it and those Skylanders games were quite good, some I’m fairly positive about the prospect.
Watson
PS: Great advert by the way. The whole ‘playing a video game in real life’ thing is getting a bit old now but that was really good, nice one Sony.

 

Rush to judgement
With no disrespect to a pioneering and trailblazing games programmer, director and producer Yu Suzuki past his peak and is holding on to previous glories in my unique opinion.

I really enjoyed his games including Space Harrier, OutRun, After Burner, Daytona USA, and Shenmue but I don’t have any interest in further Shenmue games. I only enjoyed the first game in the series (that may continue depending on sales of 3).
stanley71

GC: That seems rather unfair. He’s barely worked on anything since the early 2000s and since Shenmue 3 is purposefully old school there’s little to judge him on.

 

New and old
I read the Bubble Bobble review today and was pleased with the good score you gave it. I’m also a long-time fan having played it in the arcades in my youth and exponentially more on my C64.

I didn’t see you mention in the review that you also get a copy of the arcade original, this might be the difference between someone purchasing or not.
Imran

GC: We did mention it, in the third paragraph from the end.

 

Change the score
Been interesting to see the differing views on Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, with some enjoying it more than others. I’ve notice that nobody seems to think it’s anywhere near as good as some of the America reviews though and I can’t help agree with the reader who said he liked it but couldn’t understand how anyone could give it 9/10.

It was also interesting to see the American reader explain that US sites treat the score scale like school grades. As GC said, I don’t think that’s how anyone else sees it and begs the question of why not just use A to E as your scores? If 70% is meant to be equal to an E then fine, just give it an E – I think we’d all understand that a lot more than what the difference between 91% and 93% is supposed to be.

I hate to see games get high scores just because they’re big names and while I’d be curious to give Fallen Order a go if it’s cheap it seems to me it’s not worth anything more.
Temblo

 

Animated universe
I’ve been a very long-time reader, all the way back to the Teletext Digitiser years. I recall a few years back you provided a reader with some recommendations for animated Batman and Superman movies you rated but I can’t remember which ones. I don’t suppose you can list your favourites again?
Anon

GC: They took a nosedive in quality around five years ago and we haven’t seen a lot of the newer ones, although Batman Vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was surprisingly entertaining. But our favourites are Wonder Woman, Justice League: Crisis On Two Earths, and Superman/Batman: Apocalypse. It’s the DC Animated Universe that’s the real jewel in the crown though, if you can find them on a streaming service – or Batman: The Animated Series was recently remastered on Blu-ray.

 

Catch up on every previous Games Inbox here

 

Games of the decade
I bought Edge magazine the other day, mostly because I got a calendar with it and also they were running a Games of the Decade feature. They also really liked Disco Elysium much more than you. In fact, yours is the only lukewarm voice around. But that’s a separate issue and I can’t get it until it comes out on consoles anyway – which might not even happen.

It doesn’t seem to be a ‘best’ of the decade, strictly speaking (Super Mario Odyssey is not mentioned) rather the most significant like Minecraft and Fortnite. Which surprised me as I thought Minecraft came out last decade, but then again my brain has turned into an awful mush no longer capable of properly comprehending the passage of time. It’s still November, right? Or have aliens imposed a new calendar?

I also thought Dark Souls was much older than it actually was. There was a time before Dark Souls? Did that happen?

But it made me think: both yourselves and readership should do something similar. A games of the decade list. Say just 10? Or the usual 20 like we do for the end of year lists? We’d either have your pick over Christmas or the new year (assuming you’re not already thinking along those lines as it is) and give us a Hot Topic on the same after you’ve done yours? Sound good? And would we impose rules like Edge where we only get one game per publisher, developer, or series?
DMR

GC: Eurogamer seemed to like Disco Elysium even less than us. The first public, pre-alpha version of Minecraft came out in 2009, the full release was in 2011.

 

Inbox also-rans
Bad North: Jotunn Edition is free on PC on Epic Games Store from today. Since downloading the games from Epic Games Store for free from last year I now have 54 free games!
Andrew J.

Not having an ending to Shenmue 3 seems like a very suspect decision to me. I thought the whole point was to finally have some closure? Not hope you can get two more games made. That seems… unlikely to me.
Krispin

 

This week’s Hot Topic
The subject for this weekend’s Inbox was suggested by reader Xane, who asks whether you have a favourite console manufacturer?

Do you consider yourself loyal to Microsoft, Sony, Nintendo or anyone else and how far would you take that loyalty? Do you only buy their consoles or do you also consider other brands? If you only buy one or two consoles per generation how often do you switch loyalties and did that happen this generation?

Do you already have a preference for next generation, despite there being no concrete information, and are you prepared to give your favourite a certain amount of leeway before considering buying a competitor?

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

 

The small print
New Inbox updates appear twice daily, every weekday morning and afternoon. Readers’ letters are used on merit and may be edited for length.

You can also submit your own 500 to 600-word 4Player viewer features at any time, which if used will be shown in the next available weekend slot.

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