The Wednesday letters page thinks the Switch 2 leaks might actually help Nintendo, as a reader is confused as to why people are arguing about Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet.
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PLEASE NOTE: We are currently preparing our content for over the Christmas period and will need a number of Reader’s Features, so if you’ve been meaning to write one but never quite got round to it we could do with as many as possible before Monday, December 23.
Worst of the worst
Not to be too negative but while it’s the Top 10 time of the year for most websites I wonder what most people would says is the worst game of the year? I’m sure the literal answer is it’s some indie rubbish that no one has ever played but in terms of major games I think we’ve got a few contenders.
For me they are Until Dawn, Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League, and Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2. Until Dawn is a remake that not only wasn’t needed but is significantly worse than the original, Hellblade 2 takes everything that worked in the original and makes it much worse, while Suicide Squad is a terrible idea from beginning to end.
I think it’s a tough decision, but if you bear in mind that it wasted nearly a decade of Rocksteady’s time and was less than half price within what felt like a week, I think it’s got to be Suicide Squad. Although I suppose you could say it was positive in that it probably put publishers off live service games just that little bit quicker.
Zeiss
Big bosses
Microsoft is redefining what it means to be an Xbox fan? Well, that’s true. When I started this generation I was an Xbox fan and then thanks to everything they’ve done since I sold my Xbox Series X and bought a PlayStation 5, so that is a pretty big redefinition.
As usual, it’s almost impossible to understand what Microsoft is actually trying to say with any of this, which just makes it sound like they’re trying to hide their true intentions, which they probably are.
I feel the problem is big boss Satya Nadella, who clearly doesn’t understand games and doesn’t seem to want to listen when people try to explain it to him. I can just imagine Phil Spencer or someone explaining exclusives to him, him not getting, and then deciding they were a bad idea they had to get rid of. And how’s that working out for them?
I’m sure Microsoft will be a very successful third party publisher but their days as a format holder are effectively over. As others have said, they’re just Activision Blizzard and friends now, and I dread to think what would happen if Call Of Duty ever stopped selling…
Gloin
Rage mode
I can only imagine Nintendo’s anger at these third party accessory makers is enough to burn a hole in the Earth, so heaven help any of them that they are within legal reach of (I’m guessing they can’t do anything about anyone in China?).
After everyone got the 2024 reveal wrong, I’m not giving much credence to new rumours but since I’m sure Nintendo must’ve considered it, I wonder if they’re now regretting the decision not to have announced it already, now that all these photos and descriptions have leaked out.
Or, and do bear with me while I get a little conspiratorial here, but maybe they secretly like the leaks because now everyone knows the Switch 2 looks exactly the same as the first one, so they’re not going to get disappointed when that’s what Nintendo reveal. I’m not saying they organised it that way, but it may work out for the best for them.
The games are what people really want to know about and I think that if they don’t disappoint the console itself will be quickly ignored and just praised for not ruining a good thing.
Sinker
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Unsafe bet
I see Capcom is talking about bringing back more old franchises again, so there is still hope for Dino Crisis. Onimusha and Ōkami 2 are great news but Ōkami does surprise me because I don’t see how it’s not just going to be another flop, given how many times they’ve re-released the original and it’s never really been a hit.
Now that doesn’t bother me, because as long as it’s getting made that’s all that’s important, but I don’t want the inevitable failure to put Capcom off from bringing back any other old games. If I was a bean counter I would’ve waited until you had a few proven successes under your belt before going for the wild card. The first three Onimusha games were all hits, so that’s kind of different.
Kitson
Insufficient data
With everyone up in arms about Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, both for and against it, I have to say I struggle to understand how anyone can have a strong opinion about it at all. I don’t feel there was nearly enough information to like or dislike it.
Between the weird subtitle, which didn’t seem to have anything to do with anything they showed, to the unclear tone I really don’t feel I know anything about the game. The few seconds of gameplay they showed seemed fairly goofy, in terms of the sword and robot design, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, while all the stuff before, in the ship, was worryingly reminiscent of Concord.
But since Concord was ripping of Guardians Of The Galaxy what does that say about Intergalactic? Is it trying to go for that kind of humour as well or is it more serious? Is it all about the story, like The Last Of Us, or more the action, like Uncharted? I don’t feel I know and I don’t feel it’s something I’m really that interested in talking about until we know more.
Lesco
Time for change
I do feel sorry for Ubisoft at the moment. I won’t say they’re my favourite publisher or anything but the last two generations I though they were solid and unfairly criticised. I like the way they pushed open world games, and I felt they made very little that was actively bad and all their stuff had good value for money.
I don’t feel this has changed much in the last few years, it’s just that they’ve hung on to too many old franchises. When you’re making Far Cry 7 and Assassin’s Creed 14, I think you should take that as a sign that maybe things have been stretched too far. Nothing lasts forever and Ubisoft’s problem is that it has nothing to replace these aging franchises that people are losing interest in.
It’s not even that there’s no interest – I’m sure Shadows will still sell well – but I would say they’re in decline and that’s the point you need to have a Plan B. Star Wars Outlaws sure isn’t it and Watch Dogs and The Division only lasted a few games, so time to think outside the box. I don’t know what that it is but I’m going to guess it’s not a live service game or an open world title with a slightly different setting.
Wendell
Me Grimlock not patent application
While not technically game related, your reference to Transformers in the Power Rangers review reminded me of something I’d seen on Bluesky. The original Bluesky post is here.
A user there posted that you can find the patents for the Transformers toys online, complete with lovely line drawings of them. For example, here’s Grimlock.
Euclidian Boxes
GC: Heh, that’s great. This must’ve been back when they were still Diaclone toys.
The turning of the tide
If your expectations were a Switch 2 reveal with GTA 6 announced as a launch title then I can see The Game Awards being a disappointment.
But for those who’ve spent the last three years pining for the razzmatazz of old E3 and withering away from the cold shoulder large chunks of the industry has given them since, it must of been a very nice surprise. I found it all very agreeable.
The loudest complaint in the Inbox for a while has been Sony not talking about single-player games and just banging on about live service, hardware, PC ports, and remasters. So it’s a pretty big deal the awards had Sony’s flagship studio announce a new single-player game that’s also a brand new IP.
I liked what I saw. The backlash I’ve no interest in. You can say it’s derivative, but I like all the influences it’s copying/paying homage to. It was also an unexcepted style and possible genre, going by the brief laser sword wielding clip, for Naughty Dog. I’ll be keeping my eye out.
I did have one those fudge me moments that was teased prior to the show too, even if it wasn’t maybe meant to be one of them. That was the Project: Robot announcement, that touched places in me that haven’t been touched for sometime.
Simundo
Inbox also-rans
Is this true that GTA Online will be shutting down on disc and digital? I literally love GTA 5, so keep GTA it active please and I can’t wait until GTA 6 comes out.
Thomas Taylor
GC: No, it’s not true. What will happen to GTA Online when GTA 6 is released is unclear, but Rockstar has said nothing so far.
I knew that Power Rangers game was going to end up too good to be true. I had no idea it was that expensive either, so that’s one of the list. Thanks, you saved me £30 just before Christmas!
Ralle
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