The evening Inbox learns of the unglamorous truth about games review events, as the world’s best Danganronpa pumpkin is revealed.
To join in with the discussions yourself email gamecentral@ukmetro.co.uk
Back to San Andreas
GC, while waiting for Halo, Far Cry 4, and GTA V I thought I’d spend a few quid on an old classic. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas has released with a few changes for the Xbox 360. Wow, this is still a really great game. The new auto save system really makes the gameplay flow so much better.
Admittedly the graphics are showing their age but not so much that it has affected my enjoyment. The missions are arguably better than GTA V, with lots of variety.
The best thing about it though is the price: for the next few days it is only £3. From what I read online it will go up to the normal price of £12 soon.
Manic miner 100 (gamertag)
The Bard’s Tale
Brilliant, loved it, ‘Now is the winter of our disc content’.
Imagine if Shakespeare had been around in the age of gaming. Maybe some of his famous lines would have been different.
His first home computer packs up. ‘Alas poor Oric, I knew him well’.
Cramp in his hands at the local arcade. ‘A pause, a pause, my kingdom for a pause’.
Arguments over hogging the power-ups in platform games. ‘Bubble Bobble toil and trouble’.
Finally one which still rings true about our hobby and needs no alteration: ‘Pleasure and action makes the hours seem short’.
SteveR.
PS Minus
Great reply to ar1speedboy’s Driveclub rant. I was thinking of that exact quote as I read his letter. I cannot see any intention to trick gamers with Driveclub PS Plus Edition, just very bad planning and implementation.
Conversely there is certainly less incentive for Sony to offer full retail games on PlayStation 4’s PS Plus service as the console is selling very well already. Plus was after all a way to try and catch up to the Xbox 360, which is not applicable this generation.
People also need to also bear in mind in the final year of the PlayStation 3 Sony will have increased the number of quality games on offer to sway people into becoming early adopters for the PlayStation 4. It should not be surprising that PlayStation 4’s PS Plus feels a bit weak compared to that PlayStation 3 glory year, but then we should never have expected it to carry onto the PlayStation 4 as the console has only just come out.
If Sony put every new game onto Plus then there would be no games left for us to actually buy, which almost happened on the PS Vita during that big PS Plus push prior to the PlayStation 4’s release.
PazJohnMitch
PS: Danganronpa is awesome!
E-mail your comments to: gamecentral@ukmetro.co.uk
Friday is Xur day
Recently playing Destiny I have been looking at the Bungie blogs and taking in all the game has to offer. First of all, Xur arriving of a weekend is a great idea, the collection of coins all week and the hope he is selling something you want at the end of it is a nice touch to the game to allow that prep for the visit.
Friday has now become Xur day to me and my friends. I have also had a couple of friend experiences online, both good and bad. Making friends (or a friend of a friend to be exact) with someone from the other end of the country who I may never meet is fantastic and a pleasure when doing the daily challenge with a close friend and having them drop in and offer help and advice. The bad being a fellow GC reader I invited for the Vault being turned away by the Fire Team leader for not being ‘high enough’ and having to apologise for that happening.
But anyway, to my point. Bungie’s recent patch making the hardest thing in the game even harder by removing the exploit has amazed me. Sure it is making the challenge much greater but it also makes the victory more problematic for most players. I have recently tried a few times in different parties, made up only of a couple of the same people and failed each time at both the glitch and the genuine way.
Funniest one was with a guy who didn’t have a mic and after listening to instruction from the guy who had done it, proceeded to do the opposite instead. I know getting to the end and pushing the boss off the platform is a hollow victory but the journey getting to it is what should count. Each stage is an achievement for the team so to remove that carrot and even remove the teleporting tactic is probably going to make it too far beyond reach for players who otherwise would have put the time and effort in to beat it.
Sacred_Innocence (PS3 ID)
As usual add me for games on Destiny. When I’m on feel free to drop in or ask me for help doing something!
Hidden gems
I was just wondering if you were going to review Stealth Inc 2? I’ve only played a couple hours of it myself, but I can already tell it’s shaping up to be one of the better eShop games I’ve played in a while which I don’t think any Wii U owner should be missing out on.
Out of curiosity, how do you choose which games from the eShop, or PSN network, or Live Arcade to review? There’s so many of them it must be hard to keep up, and I assume you might end up missing a few gems. One particular jewel being Hohokum for the PlayStation 4 and Vita when it came out a few months back.
Shame on your lack of review GC! It was a very unique and interesting game that more people should know about. Speaking of the PS Vita, where’s your review for Murasaki Baby? Arguably one of the more creative looking games of recent for the handheld.
It seems like you need a third member of staff. No, you don’t need to ask. Start sending me some free games and I’ll get reviewing straight away!
Jonny H
PS: A thousand apologies if you happen to print a review for Stealth before this letter is printed.
GC: It is hard to keep up, as often there’s little to no warning of a game’s release and it’s very easy to miss something interesting. We often rely on word of mouth, not only in terms of whether a game is any good but to gauge how many people would be interested in a review. Stealth Inc 2 was our fault though, we did get a press release about it but didn’t notice it until a few days after its release. Our review should be up this week.
Good genre
I didn’t write in for the Hot Topic simply because I couldn’t decide on a favourite genre. I’m not a big fan of sports games or Japanese role-players but I still enjoy even them.
In the same way my favourite genre of films is simply ‘good films’ my favourite genre of games is simply ‘good games’. If something comes out of a genre I have never experienced and it’s good I’ll try it. It’s amazing how many people I come across who won’t even stray outside first or third person action games.
I do have less patience for the same thing than most though. I have to alternate genres. Just finished a run through of XCOM? Then I’d get a craving for a racing game then maybe some kind of role-player. I genuinely don’t get how some people can play so much of one game type. Some people play every Assassin’s Creed and Call Of Duty that comes out and not much else. These are the same people that say they’re getting bored of gaming but ignore suggestions to simply try something new.
@Pjdonnelli
P.S Got my (well, technically my son’s) Xbox One for Christmas! After despairing over the lack of kid friendly bundles the perfect one appeared in my workplace. Sainsbury’s had an exclusive Lego Marvel Super Heroes bundle for £319. With my current 15% discount I got one for £271! This might sound strange to a lot of readers but it’s the earliest I’ve ever adopted a new console and having it sitting in the loft till Christmas is killing me.
Trollish behaviour
GC, just wanted to take a moment to speak up for the comments section, or Underbox as us regular readers have named it. It is a great feature of the site and I post there regularly. I enjoy the instant back and forth discussion of our beloved hobby and have had many a laugh.
A lot of readers have written in negatively about the comments section and this is due to a few users who post troll bait comments on there and are just out to wind people up. Is there any way of regulating this sort of behaviour in the same manner as the Inbox?
One of the things that separates the Inbox from other readers sections of sites is that all the hate, vitriol and fanboy nonsense is regulated by GC. This is also why its so good at finding nice, like-minded friends to play games with and the vast majority of my friends I play with are from these pages.
I have tried to block and report those responsible but it doesn’t seem to work as I can still see their comments. I do my best to just ignore them but these people are experts at winding you up.
Now that’s over with just want to say I’m really enjoying Sunset Overdrive. I echo your Jet Set Radio comparison and would also add that it reminds me of a modern take on SNES classic Zombies Ate My Neighbours. Its a lot of fun, the humour and fourth wall breaking stuff is very funny! The colourful graphics and in-your-face style is well suited to the gameplay and there is a ton of stuff to do in a big open world that is fully open to you right from the start.
I do agree it might well get repetitive if played for long periods but it’s perfect for short bursts maybe an hour or so at a time. I haven’t tried the co-op mode as I write this but going to try have a go tonight if some friends are on playing it!
Big Angry Dad82 (gamertag)
GC: The comments section is left purposefully unmoderated, both for reasons of practicality and to provide a contrast to the Inbox. But we do if necessary ban readers who post abusive messages or act disruptively. If you’ve reported something and feel it’s not been handled appropriately let us know at the normal GameCentral email address and we’ll look into it personally.
Catch up on every previous Games Inbox here
The high life
Hi GC! I was wondering if we could get full disclosure on the details of the Call Of Duty review event? What type of network were you playing on? Did you pay for accommodation/flights yourself? What quality of accommodation did you receive?
Personally, I think these details are very important to a review and should always be included for games using these big review events. It’s easy for one to see how an easily led reporter could, consciously or not, end up reviewing the event and not the actual game. After all, we know for a fact that publishers have no worries essentially lying to journalists at these events – just look at Battlefield 4.
Personally I believe there to be no way whatsoever Battlefield 4’s problems came as a surprise to EA, and the fact that the game was being played under very controlled conditions on a closed network seems to reinforce that idea. Are you even allowed to discuss the details of these events?
StalinsEpicTash
GC: Of course we’re allowed to discuss it, but it’s nothing like as scandalous as you seem to be implying. It was a hotel in Farnborough, we got a free shuttle bus from Waterloo (that we had to get up really early for), and the free buffet wasn’t very nice. Frankly, if a journo is so easily swayed that some free chili con carne can shape their opinion we think it would’ve been obvious in their writing long before they got to a review event. And that’s ignoring the point we’re always making that reviews have no applicable effect on game sales, so publishers have no reason to bribe anyone – even if they did stump up for something more exciting than a free bus ticket.
Concerns about online games are entirely reasonable but EA didn’t lie about anything. Most review events use a closed network and we made it very clear in the Battlefield 4 review that we had no way of telling what the online multiplayer would be like at launch. But as we always say, we’re not reviewing whether a game works or not but whether it’s any good. Our news coverage handles whatever launch problems there may be, and Battlefield 4’s condition was headline news for months.
Inbox also-rans
RE: Frozen Synapse. I am also a big fan of the game. Double Eleven is giving out review codes for the new PC version. It looks amazing compared to the original.
ugly chimp
Thought you guys might appreciate the Monokuma pumpkin my wife made for me
Lukeo44 (PSN ID)
GC: That is straight up amazing, well done!
This week’s Hot Topic
The subject for this weekend’s Inbox was suggested by readers Smoking_Monkey (PSN ID) and mr.saveloy, who ask what’s the best and worst DLC you’ve ever played?
Given the controversy over the nature and price of Destiny’s downloadable expansions we want to know what DLC you think has added the most to its parent game and been the best value for money. And on the flipside, which has been the biggest waste of time and money?
Do you think DLC in general is a positive or negative influence on gaming and how much do you tend to buy? What aspects, such as withheld content and format exclusives, annoy you the most and what do you feel have been the biggest wasted opportunities? And what DLC has been so good you couldn’t imagine a game without it?
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.
If you need quick access to the GameCentral channel page please use www.metro.co.uk/games and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter.