Entertainment
Games Inbox: Mass Effect 3 ending rethink, Elden Ring delay, and Resident Evil Village vs. Crystal Maze
The Wednesday Inbox is frustrated at the break-up of WB Games and its movie licences, as one reader admits to being a Stadia fan.
To join in with the discussions yourself email gamecentral@metro.co.uk
Plan ahead
So I’m thinking of getting Mass Effect Legendary Edition but having played the originals it’s the thought of playing Mass Effect 3 again that puts me off, not the first one. My issue is the ending, obviously, but more than that it’s the whole story – or at least the way you come to think about it in the third game.
In the first one you didn’t really know what the Reapers were and the second is essentially a side story, although you do start to get some hints as to what they’re about. In the third though they explain things exactly and what they’re doing is just… dumb. It doesn’t make any sense and I’m sure it wasn’t what the original concept was (BioWare developers talking after the fact seem to confirm this fact).
It always amazes me with all these big franchises, Star Wars is the most obvious example, that they don’t plan anything out in advance. They just make it up as they go along and if they can’t think up a good explanation on the day we end up with things like Mass Effect 3. What makes this worse is they do read fan theories but stop themselves from copying any on purpose, even if they happen to be really good and better than what they come up with.
As far as I’m concerned, the Mass Effect trilogy is one amazing game, one prototype, and one very disappointing ending that makes the others worse by its existence. I’m not sure that’s a good reason for me dropping £60 on a trilogy remaster.
Tronic
Mumsie Miranda
Is it just me or does Resident Evil Village feel like a dirty Crystal Maze?
You’ve got your medieval zone, an ocean zone, an Industrial zone and a errr… creepy doll house zone.
You have physical, skill, and mental tasks to complete in each area and you complete each zone with a crystal-looking flask before fighting the final battle in a dome-like arena.
You’ve got the creepy old lady popping up from time to time and if the duke was a little skinnier and thinner on top he would make for your Richard O’Brian-esque guide!
Huw
GC: Heh, we’d love if that was intentional.
Satisfied streamer
I love the idea and execution of Stadia and don’t get involved in the politics of whether Google will stick with it or not. It’s not like I’ve invested in a piece of hardware that I will need to replace in several years. The controller is really nice, which is something I value highly. I would like more variety of games available, but I never used to buy full price games on PlayStation 4 anyway, so I’m happy to wait for sales.
Spiritfarer and Assassin’s Creed Valhalla are on my watchlist but right now it’s The Division 2 and Trine 4 that are top of my playing list.
If you haven’t tried Stadia and you love convenience of being able to play whenever and wherever I would strongly recommend it. Especially with the deals where you can get the hardware for free with a full price game, which is running now with Resident Evil Village.
Gastón M
E-mail your comments to: gamecentral@metro.co.uk
Breaking up
So WB Games is going to be split up but they aren’t going to actually sell off any of the developers (except I bet they do), is that right? What’s the point of that? I’ve always thought that Warner were an underrated publisher who had a better track record than many much more famous companies and were unique amongst the film studios for actually making their own games, which generally resulted in better quality. So why change that?
It’s all office politics I imagine but no doubt this means we’re even further away from getting any non-DC Batman games or a new Lord of the Rings game by Monolith. I wouldn’t have minded a sequel to Mad Max either.
My biggest complaint with Warner games is that they take too long to make them and they’re a bit too keen on DLC and microtransactions. That clearly has nothing to do with the decision though, which just seems to be down on them because they’re not as big as Netflix.
Krabby
GC: That seems to be the case, although all we’ve got to go on is one official comment. Games weren’t even mentioned in the original announcement.
Magic box
Would I be crazy if I asked why there is not a storage chest DLC in Resident Evil Village for players to keep the weapons and items they have collected, so that these can be used in other replays and give people another reason to replay the game?
It would be a great way to build up a collection of items so that lei can be earned to buy better weapons and upgrades.
gaz be rotten (gamertag)
GC: Why would you want one? The inventory is huge if you buy the upgrades.
Forced socialisation
So Gears 5 is cross-play only now. I don’t have an Xbox but if I did that game would be sold. I play Call Of Duty: Black Ops Cold War on PlayStation 5 and if they said you have to have cross-play on I’d snap the disc in half. I hate it when game companies make you do something that you don’t want to do. The problem is they think they know best and they don’t. At least if the gamer has the choice they will enjoy it more and play it longer.
I’ll never forget when Call Of Duty: WW2 came out. I only play Team Deathmatch or Domination yet they was putting double XP on another mode. Did that make me play the mode? No. Why? Because I play what I like. I’ve got a feeling they will change it back after a few months when players stop playing.
I haven’t got a problem with PC players, I really haven’t. There is only a small amount of cheaters on PC but those cheaters spoil the game so much more and it doesn’t matter what game companies do, PC players will always have the advantage. My brain won’t let me use a mouse and keyboard, that’s why I bought a console. So as for the Gears team saying an Xbox takes a mouse and keyboard, it doesn’t matter one bit to me.
David
GC: They seem to have done it because there aren’t enough players when there’s no cross-play.
Expect delays
I’m not sure what anyone thought would happen when you get George R. R. Martin, of all people, to work on a video game. You might as well have double the length of time it took to make right then and there. We’re all upset at the delay for Elden Ring but for me I’m just glad it shows they’re taking it seriously.
None of the other Soulsborne games seem to have had particularly long development, despite the insane amount of detail, but it’s already been five years since Dark Souls 3 so I’m going to take that as a good sign the Elden Ring will be much bigger, much better looking, and, hopefully, tons of spit and polish.
Maize
Game without end
I would argue that it’s unfair for the next gen version of GTA 5 to not be free but I imagine Rockstar will be making some pretty substantial changes and, more importantly, it’s very obvious that people will pay for it. I mean, never mind the 20th anniversary of GTA 3, we’ll be coming up to the 10th of GTA 5 soon enough and it’ll probably still be top of the charts.
I’m not dismissing the game either. I have it and like it but that was a while ago now and I have no desire to play it non-stop for eight years. I doubt there’s many people that have done that though. What I think happens is that every time someone gets a new console they buy GTA. They probably buy FIFA and Call Of Duty as well, but they change every year. GTA 5 is always the same though and so the sales just rack up more and more until it’s the monster it is now.
We all know why Rockstar won’t announce GTA 6 and I don’t blame them really. Who would be brave enough to cut the legs from under such a massively successful game, even if the next one probably will do as well. But if it’s even a few million under… that’s a lot of money.
There is such a thing as being too successful and the longer GTA 5 stays around the harder it is to replace. I wouldn’t be surprised in the least if GTA 5 was remastered for the PlayStation 6 as well or got a VR-only version. Anything but make a new game that people might not like as much.
Corston
Inbox also-rans
Not been keeping up with the news, what’s the latest RE: Cyberpunk 2077 Xbox 4K update, please?
Jez
GC: Assuming you mean the next gen version, there hasn’t really been any news on it all year.
Why is Rambo suddenly turning up in so many video games lately? Before now I don’t remember anyone mentioning those films in years. I have to admit though, the idea of him in Mortal Kombat is so bizarre I’m almost tempted to give it a try.
Trace
This week’s Hot Topic
The subject for this weekend’s Inbox was suggested by reader Clambake, who asks what’s the most annoyed you’ve ever got with a video game?
Do you feel your anger was justified and what exactly happened? Was it because the game was very difficult, had a stupid plot twist, or was there some kind of bug that ruined the experience? Or what about playing online, including against cheaters?
How often do you get angry playing games and have you ever broken a controller, or anything else, when getting upset? How have you learned to cope better and is there anything you now purposefully avoid?
E-mail your comments to: gamecentral@metro.co.uk
The small print
New Inbox updates appear every weekday morning, with special Hot Topic Inboxes at the weekend. Readers’ letters are used on merit and may be edited for length and content.
You can also submit your own 500 to 600-word Reader’s Feature at any time, which if used will be shown in the next available weekend slot.
You can also leave your comments below and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter.
MORE : Games Inbox: The future of Stadia, Resident Evil Village completion, and Nex Machina love
MORE : Weekend Hot Topic, part 2: Hated games that are actually good
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