The Thursday Letters web page needs there was some strong information about Bioshock 4, as a reader Marvel’s Midnight Suns takes the ground.
To take part within the discussions electronic mail gamecentral@metro.co.uk
Big news
So we have a state of play tonight and yet we’ve been told not to expect much, if anything, from first party games. So I ask the obvious question: what will be Sony’s next big game? The only ones we know of at the moment are Spider-Man 2, Wolverine and The Last Of Us multiplayer game, but only one of them has a (vague) date and one doesn’t even have a name yet.
Since Wolverine is definitely not coming this year and Spider-Man 2 is known as Fall, will there be anything before that? I wouldn’t have thought The Last Of Us given how little we know about it now, but it seems unlikely it would be another big game. Sony may not like to talk about its games now, but usually announces them quite a long time in advance… and then says nothing more.
I imagine there will probably be a few smaller titles, maybe this Twisted Metal reboot that has been rumored, but I think Spider-Man 2 and The Last Of Us are it for this year. Which would really explain Sony’s silence: why tell everyone nothing’s coming out when you can still make them think there’s more to come.
Patrick
Britain’s richest man writes…
This whole Microsoft thing is getting really off-putting now. Microsoft’s tactics seem super transparent to any gamer eavesdropping, but I think most of these regulators will just make fun of it. That whole pie chart with Sony and Microsoft was just ridiculous. I mean, by that logic, I’m the richest man in the country, as long as you don’t count anyone with more money than me.
I don’t even care about Call Of Duty, I just don’t like to see such a megacorp throwing their money around and fooling people who are supposed to be experts. I’m pretty sure we’ve had enough sci-fi movies warning us about the dangers of companies that are too big to say no to, but like most things lately, it all seems to be coming true anyway.
Caliban
Please don’t agree
Interesting to see GameCentral’s review of the Kirby Wii remaster giving it a 5/10 and Nintendo Life’s review giving it a 9/10.
I thought the text of both reviews gave good reason for the score and I’m very much in the GameCentral camp on this as I personally find Kirby games boring, but it’s kind of nice to see different opinions on a game .
John Atkinson
GC: We agree. The idea that there is a right opinion, which some reviews fail to reach, is a very harmful concept on several levels.
Email your comments to: gamecentral@metro.co.uk
Evil in the first person
Super pumped for Resident Evil 4 remake and very happy to hear that a VR mode is also in the works. Very curious to see if Resident Evil Village will work in VR too, as I haven’t seen anything personal about that yet, which is a bit disappointing.
I’m particularly interested to know if the VR mode for 4 us will be third person or a new first person view. From my experience, third-person games actually work better in VR, or at least have fewer bugs and glitches, but of course you lose some immersion and that’s especially important for video games.
I have a PlayStation VR, but I haven’t pulled the trigger yet, partly because of the lack of games, but also because I’m not yet convinced that it, or a new headset, is enough progress. You joked in your review that you might have to wait seven years for the VR3, but I wonder if that’s not really the best idea.
Lionel pump
GC: We should have something later today, but it will be just a first impression as Capcom was unable to ship the update sooner and so we’re only just getting started.
Silly names
After the reviews, I wasn’t planning on playing Atomic Heart, even though it’s on Game Pass, but since my PlayStation VR2 hasn’t shipped yet, I’ve got a few days to try it. I also like a good, I’m gonna say it, immersive sim. Out of curiosity, how would you describe those games?
Anyway, since it’s a hefty 70 gig download, I decided to put the Xbox Series X into the more power-hungry sleep mode where it continues downloading when off, only to discover it was on there all along set. I think I remember Xbox being pushed by some non-profit groups to make the console’s much lower power consumption power mode the default option, which they said they would do in an update, but maybe that hasn’t rolled out yet. My own fault for not checking sooner.
simundo
GC: We don’t think they’re distinctive enough from normal action-adventures to need a name. But it’s more the nonsensical nature of the one they got that annoys us. Not only are they not simulators, but what is a non-immersive sim, that these games need that qualification?
Bioshock beyond infinity
I had never heard of Atomic Heart until this week, but the more I learn, the weirder it gets. Using their website to collect information by the Russian government? Sometimes I think I can’t be surprised anymore by the news and yet I’m always proven wrong. It seems obvious to me that something strange is going on, because all it would have taken was for them to move the release date by the smallest amount and suddenly there’s no controversy. The fact that they didn’t is telling.
I’ve also read that the game is actively promoted in Russia as being made by Russians, so if that’s true there seems to be no doubt that this is meant to be some weird propaganda tool.
It’s a shame, because I really liked the first Bioshock and would love to see another game, official or not. I think Bioshock 4 was rumored to be set in Antarctica with an aboveground and underground city playing on The Time Machine? Sounds like a good idea to me, but it would be nice if they just kick in and announce the game. I know they said one was in the works, but I’m not sure I’ll believe them until I see some evidence.
chocky
Working alternative
For the gamer waiting for GTA Trilogy to be playable, I just started playing Sleeping Dogs on Xbox One.
It’s totally a clone of GTA, but with better driving and fighting mechanics. It is set in Hong Kong, with the added bonus that they all drive on the left.
Johnny Alpha SD
Currently playing: Sleeping Dogs and Portal 2
We are dozens!
While it feels like I’m the only person in the world playing it, I just finished Marvel’s Midnight Suns and wanted to give my fellow readers a brief praise.
As a fan of XCOM, I always had my eye on it, but while it looks superficially like XCOM, I discovered that the game actually has more in common with chess…well, Wizard’s Chess maybe. If that doesn’t sound very exciting maybe that’s part of the game’s apparent failure to sell so like an old Labor government I’ll sex the description by saying that each turn is like its own mini puzzle where the solution maximizing damage is output of each move and try to remove or take out enemies before their turn. Along with the ability to select a wide variety of different heroes with different abilities, it leads to a pretty deep strategy game that’s still fresh 50 hours later and I’m sad to be done with it.
However, the most surprising aspect of the game is the relationships. After reading GC’s review I thought that sounded rather lame, but it’s been cleverly implemented in that each interaction lasts about 15-20 seconds, and the brevity is an important part of keeping it fun. Choosing the right option in conversation with each hero has its own little pat on the back as you select the best option to increase friendship, and furthermore, increasing the levels gives you tangible combat benefits. Soon my goal between missions was to make Wolverine and Spider-Man best friends.
I know the card and deck building aspect may put some off, but this is actually almost semantics, in that each card is just as easily described as a skill, and you get three skills per turn. if that’s what puts anyone off I would really recommend giving it a try. I’ve certainly never considered myself a fan of deckbuilders, but I enjoyed these far more than any others I’ve tried (because, as I said, I think it’s almost unimportant that they Cards).
Next on the agenda for me is Hogwarts Legacy, a game that before it was ever announced I had voted to friends as my most wanted dream game, so to speak I’m excited to try another form of Wizard’s Chess play is an understatement. But my time with the Midnight Sun will be long in my memory.
Henshin agogo
Inbox is also running
There are so many theories going around right now about the Switch 2, Sony’s plans, Microsoft buying Activision… but I still haven’t heard a single sensible answer as to why they aren’t announcing the Elden Ring DLC. Even if it hasn’t been out for years, at least confirm it exists!
Dumpy
Am I the only one who has never heard of GeForce Now until today? Good job on the marketing for that!
Sidewalk
Hot topic this week
The topic for this weekend’s Inbox was inspired by reader Crombie, who asks are you spending less on video games now than you did before and during the pandemic?
Value for money has been much discussed lately, but has your spending habits changed since the end of the pandemic and the start of the current economic crisis? Do you generally spend less on games and has that led to you playing them less – or has that not changed?
Do you currently have a set budget for what you want to spend on games and how does that account for new hardware purchases and things like microtransactions?
Email your comments to: gamecentral@metro.co.uk
The fine print
New Inbox updates appear every weekday morning, with special Hot Topic Inboxes on weekends. Reader letters are used on merit and are editable in length and content.
You can also submit your own Reader’s Feature of 500 to 600 words at any time via email or submit our Stuff page, which, if used, will appear in the next available weekend slot.
You can also leave your comments below and don’t forget follow us on twitter.
MORE: Video games inbox: February state of play predictions, open world Tremendous Mario and The Final Of Us 3
MORE: Video games Inbox: GTA Trilogy nonetheless damaged, Tales Of Symphonia Remastered and Metroid Prime discord
MORE: Video games Inbox: Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom size worries, Xbox always-one, and XCOM 3 uncertainty
Observe Metro Gaming Twitter and electronic mail us at gamecentral@metro.co.uk
To extra simply submit Inbox Letters and Reader’s Options, with out having to ship an electronic mail, use our Submit Stuff web page right here.
For extra tales like this, take a look at our Gaming web page.