Today’s evening Inbox has proof that Kickstarter can be a force for good, as another reader is put off the PS4 by the DualShock 4.
To join in with the discussions yourself email gamecentral@ukmetro.co.uk.
Android invasion
RE: Bobbleheaddy and Android games. I’d definitely suggest The Room, it’s short but an incredibly well made and cheap puzzle-solving game. Manuganu, Super Stickman Golf 2, Meganoid, and Flight Control are free games also worth checking out, Manuganu in particular. It comes across as a variation of the Temple Run/endless runner type of game but it’s incredibly addictive and well suited to touchscreen phones.
Also, there are fantastic ports of Plants Vs Zombies and Sonic The Hedgehog that work well (especially in the case of Plants Vs Zombies and the touchscreen). Grand Theft Auto III and Vice City can have issues, but for around £3 (usually cheaper during sales) you can’t go wrong. I also found Max Payne to work surprisingly well on a phone. The game’s difficulty is a little more forgiving to compensate and the bullet time really helps with lining up your shots. Rockstar Games are the most likely to have technical issues however, so check how well they run on your device and firmware (4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, 4.1 Jellybean etc.) before buying.
Android Police is a good site to check out for new games and apps, and they have regular weekly/monthly round-ups of new games.
Also, if you’re serious about gaming on your fancy new smartphone you might want to invest in a Bluetooth controller, Amazon have a decent range. However, a PlayStation 3 controller (and possibly a Wiimote depending on your device) will do the job just as well.
Failing that, Google is always your friend and regular top 10/20/30 lists of Android games can be found easily.
Ty Conlon
He’ll be back
Just my two cents. Without Kickstarter there’d be no Twilight Zone or Star Trek: The Next Generation tables for the awesome Pinball Arcade. Please support their current Kickstarter for Terminator 2: Judgment Day. The rumours are building, there’s strong belief that the next one is going to be The Addams Family. Terminator is first because of licence timings and expiry dates allegedly. Come on guys, chip in, a dollar or ten could make all the difference.
Ozzzy189
GC: Here’s a link to the Kickstarter page.
Mostly certain
LTRFTW. In light of what has happened regarding the next gen consoles, rather than plumping for a new console right off the bat I’ve decided to trade-in my very old Xbox 360 and purchase a PlayStation 3. The instant game collection from PlayStation Plus is fantastic, I’ve not had to buy a single disc-based game and I still have 13 games I can play practically straight out of the box, all for a down payment of £11.99. That’s less than £1 a game and that’s not even including the PS Vita games I have for when/if I get one.
I’m pretty much certain I’m going to be getting a PlayStation 4 when I make the move into the next gen. Microsoft are going to have to work very hard to get any money out of me next year, very hard. One thing I’m lacking is like-minded people to play with. Hopefully there are plenty of GCers with a space on their friends list for me!
milesprowerdc (PSN ID)
PS: Fantastic coverage of E3 as usual. Looking forward to Gamescom next month now.
E-mail your comments to: gamecentral@ukmetro.co.uk
Minor issues
Continuing the thought of Jon Edwards about the only weakness of The Last of Us being the artificial intelligence I would add that, personally, there were a couple of other problems. The first thing was a control issue, specifically the need to continually press the lower trigger buttons to run and to use the listening mode. As consequence of needing to use constant button pressure for the aforementioned elements in the game, I ended up getting cramp in my fingers.
It would have been far more comfortable if one press initiated running or listening mode and another press turned it off rather than having to constantly hold the trigger to do so. This is partially a PlayStation controller design flaw as it wouldn’t have been so bad on an Xbox controller with its more comfortable trigger design. It highlights though how having the ability to customise controls should be the standard for every game, as these functions set to different buttons would have alleviated the problem. It would also help those who want to play games but have problems such as arthritis or other medical issues that limit their physical dexterity – something the industry seems to overlook.
Secondly, in my experience at least, the game was a bit glitchy with some clipping and characters falling into the floor most notably. This is of course not unusual in games but when compared with their Uncharted series, and it being so technically well honed, it stands out in comparison.
I’ll temper this though by saying that I thoroughly enjoyed the game and that it fully deserves its plaudits. It’s probably because it’s so well-crafted that such minor issues stand out and Naughty Dog should be proud of their continued run of excellent releases. As a final thought I agree with those who don’t want a sequel which would end up diluting what was a superb experience.
Mr Verbosity
Enter the dragon
Very good reader’s feature by Humphrey. Either Sony planned to do something similar to Microsoft themselves or they were setting a trap for Microsoft by issuing their patents. I think Humphrey is spot on about Sony’s plans and how they answered their questions whereas someone I work with is convinced it was all a very carefully planned ruse.
Sony made a lot of public relations mistakes with the PlayStation 3 and have probably put the Xbox 360’s early success over the PlayStation 3 down to this. So I suspect Sony have been planning the PlayStation 4 reveal for a long time. Due to this Sony had clearly got their position figured out internally and had a clear approach to how they would handle the media.
Microsoft on the other hand were ill-prepared and very naïve. They should have had a clear idea of their own proposal before announcing it to the public. Then at the announcement they should have focussed the discussions on the good things their plan would offer consumers whereas they let the media tear them to shreds, turning the focus on everything negative.
Microsoft came across as one of those cocky people that enters the Dragon’s Den with a reasonable idea but a poorly thought out business plan only to be torn apart by Duncan Bannatyne and Deborah Meaden.
PazJohnMitch
GC: It is had been claimed may times by Sony that the patents in question were not for anything PlayStation-related. And it’s certainly true that many patents never get used or are purely to block competitors. Not that that doesn’t mean Sony weren’t considering blocking used games, but if there’s one thing that the last month has made clear it’s that video games companies aren’t very good at planning anything – least of some complex ruse or conspiracy.
Internet 2: The Sequel
RE: My email about the artificial intelligence in The Last Of Us. Sorry GC, I probably didn’t read your review as I was initially avoiding reading any reviews, bar the score, as I didn’t want to know about any events in the game if it received a good score. I only read most of the Edge review after I was halfway through the game, as I had the magazine easily at hand and also thought it’d be OK to read now.
On another note, I’m not keen at all on the idea of games console cameras, or any camera, using face recognition and user details to target people so companies can sell us their products. Over the years, our western societies have been increasingly reduced to being seen in terms of consumers (I hate that word) and suppliers, and tech advances are slowly enabling suppliers to invade our lives for profit like never before.
It makes me extremely cautious about the future, and of the Internet purely becoming a corporate tool, and of games consoles becoming an insidious commercial ‘weapon. Ultimately, what we need is Internet2, a new independent, secure internet, free from commerce and mass surveillance from security services, and thereby which isn’t reliant on US corporations, such as Microsoft.
Jon Edwards
Man for sale
in response to Mr Donnelli I would like to add my own enthusiasm to how a controller can sway the decision of console choice, I’ve done everything my little brain can do to justify buying a PlayStation 4… but the Xbox controller (apparently) is an improvement on its Xbox 360 counterpart. Seeing how the Xbox 360 controller is practically perfect now this flicks my switches.
I don’t want to offend PlayStation users but having horizontal sticks would feel unnatural to an Xbox connoisseur and the new PlayStation 4 controller, while looking slightly chunkier can’t compete. Please Sony buy me, because I’m looking for anyway to give Microsoft the finger, but it’s not easy.
lee gerrish
GC: By ‘horizontal sticks’ we assume you mean the grips? The new Xbox One controller really doesn’t feel very different from the old one, not that that’s a bad thing.
Catch up on every previous Games Inbox here
Last year’s Duty
Having bought Call Of Duty: Black Ops II from Tesco last week for the bargain price of £25 (Xbox 360/PlayStation 3) I have just finished the campaign which was excellent and far deeper than previous Call Of Duty games. David S. Goyer’s creative input is obvious in the great story and especially in the main villain in the game, Raul Menendez.
His story of how he became this evil madman is the most interesting thing about the story and, just as Heath Ledger as The Joker was in The Dark Knight, Raul Menendez is easily the star of the show. Though the main protagonists are also very likeable. I really enjoyed the first Black Ops’ campaign and Black Ops II is even better.
I enjoy Treyarch’s multiplayer better than Infinity Ward’s Modern Warfare series personally and the Zombies mode is awesome for online/splitscreen co-op fun. Time for The Last Of Us New Game+ now but I will be returning to Black Ops II for another playthrough of the thoroughly enjoyable campaign and usual multiplayer fun.
I also got Call Of Duty: Black Ops – Declassified for my PS Vita which I agree with you GC that it is very short and certainly not worth full price as there is only 10 missions in the main campaign, a survival mode with a handful of maps and 8 player online multiplayer or with multiple Vitas and copies of the game with your mates in the same room.
That said, and since I only paid £18 for it, it is an excellent handheld Call Of Duty game. The graphics, controls and cinematics are excellent and what you would expect from a Call Of Duty game in terms of being well made, great visuals and usual 60 frames per second gunplay. The missions are short but sweet and fun enough to replay multiple times with different guns and try to get a higher score or faster time.
Big Angry Dad82 (gamertag)/FF13ACE (PSN ID)
GC: Declassified’s graphics are not 60 frames per second, in fact the whole game is terrible as far as we’re concerned.
Inbox also-rans
A big thanks to everyone that liked my reader feature and left positive comments in the Underbox. I forgot the Z button powering on of the GC and the delightful sound afterwards. I wrote it hurriedly on a Friday at work, sat next to my boss while pretending to be busy.
Alek Kazam
After reading all those alternative Xbox names, it gave me an idea for a Hot Topic, if it hasn’t been done before. If you had a new console coming out, what would you call it? And also, out of all the consoles ever released, which one do you think has the best name?
Tim Keeling
GC: We’re not sure there’s quite enough mileage in that for a full Hot Topic, but feel free to discuss your favourites in the weekday Inbox.
Does anyone know how interactive the city will be in Grand Theft Auto V? Will I be able to walk into a cheesemongers, purchase some brie and then fling it at police for example? Also will I be able to steal people’s ladders?
RyokoSparda
Can you please fix the underbox reply feature it is not working for Hotmail, Yahoo! and AOL users.
Bob Bob
GC: The IT team are trying to fix the problem, but it’s unfortunately Facebook’s fault. Hopefully it’ll be fixed soon but it may precipitate some good news for the comments section in the long run…
This week’s Hot Topic
The topic for this weekend’s Inbox was suggested by reader PazJohnMitch, who asks what games have you never traded in and why?
Considering the recent furore over used games which titles have you never considered selling on? And is that because they’re simply your favourites – even if they’re very finite single-player titles – or because the multiplayer essentially gives them an infinite lifespan?
Do you trade-in everything, or almost everything you buy, or are you a hoarder who likes to keep a library of their favourite games? Are there any games you’ve bought multiple times: either as a result of trading in and then re-buying or purchasing new versions or remakes?
E-mail your comments to: gamecentral@ukmetro.co.uk
The small print
New Inbox updates appear twice daily, every weekday morning and afternoon. 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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Article source: http://metro.co.uk/2013/07/08/games-inbox-android-gaming-the-last-of-us-complaints-and-black-ops-declassified-3873970/