Entertainment
Games Inbox: Nintendo Switch 2 release date, Mass Effect 4 setting, and Metroid Dread length
When can we expect a sequel? (pic: Nintendo)
The Thursday Inbox isn’t sure who to root for in the EA vs. FIFA battle, as one reader worries that Ubisoft is losing its touch.
To join in with the discussions yourself email gamecentral@metro.co.uk
Switching formats
We’ve been hearing rumours about 4K devkits for the Switch for so long now, from so many different people, I have a very hard time believing that they’re not true. Even if there weren’t any rumours I’d assume Nintendo was working on a new console by now, it just wouldn’t make any sense if they weren’t.
The only question is when it’s coming out and if this new information about developers getting games ready for the end of next year is true. There’s no way of knowing that though, because there’s nothing to go on and you’re left trying to predict Nintendo, which as everyone should know is a one-way route to madness.
One thing to look out for though is whether Nintendo ever announce anything for 2023. They haven’t at the moment, everything is just 2022, so if that continues beyond the point you’d expect them to announce more I think that’s a good indication. If E3 goes past, for example, with no console announcement and no 2023 games then I think we’re looking at a fairly imminent release.
Dean
Let them fight
The spat between EA and FIFA… it’s really a case of who do I want to lose more? Two of the worst companies around, with extremely dodgy practices. FIFA are well within their right to ask for more money if they think their brand is worth it. A lot of people weren’t interested in PES as it didn’t have the official licences. The FIFA brand sold the game to a lot of gamers.
Though I am not interested in sports games it will be interesting to see where the whole football video games genre ends up. I always find it strange that the world’s most populist sport has only two video games to choose from. This issue may open up the genre. I am sure in the 2000s there were more football games.
With clubs becoming more self-aware of their brand’s value I can imagine clubs getting their own version of a particular video game. I think this was done in the 2000s but can’t remember the game itself maybe This Is Football?
Alek Kazam
GC: That was the Club Football series by Codemasters. As to your other points, FIFA isn’t the source for the majority of the licences – all they seem to provide is their name and the World Cup.
Free advice
Does anyone get the feeling that Ubisoft are losing it a bit at the moment? If it wasn’t for Activision they’d be embroiled in their own workplace scandal right now but they also haven’t had a major hit with anything lately except Assassin’s Creed Valhalla.
Watch Dogs Legion was a flop, no one seems to care about Far Cry 6 much, and none of their free-to-play games are working out. They seem lost, where the open world bubble has burst and their attempts to find a replacement are not working out.
This latest thing with the free-to-play Ghost Recon, or at least it’s beta, being cancelled before it’s even begun is just the latest embarrassment. They need to find their mojo again and start making some new games. For me, their best game by far recently was Immortals Fenyx Rising, but even that was just a Zelda clone that didn’t sell.
Olliephant
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Not bad
I borrowed Deathloop off a friend (thank god someone still buys physical) and I have to say it’s… okay. The shooting is really good but since there’s really only one kind of enemy, and the artificial intelligence isn’t particularly good, it does get old pretty quick.
I was prepared for the game being more straightforward after GC’s review and all the talk on here but it is weird how it has the appearance of a puzzle type game but doesn’t really leave you to work anything out. Maybe you could turn the hints of or something but nobody’s going to do that so instead it just becomes this weird sort of roguelike, except it’s easy to keep weapons forever and you basically lose very little when you die/complete a loop.
I’m going to finish it but I’ve got a feeling it’s going to end up being strangely forgettable, which is not what you’d expect from a game with such an interesting premise.
Mick
Colouring in
In response to Smokin_Monkey’s letter, regarding trying to colour all the tiles in on the Metroid Dread map. You’re definitely not alone in that camp mate, I myself have been doing the exact same thing. Although it’s really no surprise to me, because it’s something I’ve always done whether it be a 2D platformer where I always feel compelled to run in the opposite direction at the start of a level just in case I’m missing out on something.
In 3D games I find myself walking around every building, like some sort of drunken rambler trying to get home from a hard day on the pop. Although in my head I know one side of the building is going to be exactly the same as the other, as the programmers have probably just done a cut and paste job on it. Yet it doesn’t stop me looking because what if there where something there?
freeway 77
PS: I heard that that KFC home gaming console with built-in chicken fryer was due to be released sometime in the last six months but like many console manufacturers these days they’ve been struggling with production because of a shortage on chips! I’ll get my coat.
Perfectly formed
I guess the obvious answer regarding the GTA Trilogy pricing is that we just don’t know whether they’ll be worth the premium without seeing it in action. Personally, I’m not expecting much more than a tidy up to make them look solid and coherent at high resolutions (especially with a Switch and mobile version due), something like the PC mods you see on YouTube.
Besides, the much larger problem is the controls, which were dreadful at the time and even worse compared to modern conveniences today. I can live with ‘old game looks old’ but will baulk at planting bombs with that remote control helicopter in Vice City again.
Talking of value for money. On Metroid Dread I have to say it does seem rather short for a Metroidvania, I’ve seen numbers of 8-10 hours to finish it and £50 for a technologically modest 2D title of that length feels steep to me. I thought the Ori games were too short and they clocked in at 10-12 hours… Will Of The Wisps especially ended as it just got going. Am I really gonna see it off in eight hours? That’s shorter than most indie Metroidvania’s even. Or is there masses of side content to explore?
Marc
PS: Would like to add my applause to the Ace Attorney series now it’s hit its 20th year. Playing through The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles on Switch and it’s a wonderfully charming and hilarious game. It’s just a shame they haven’t worked out a way of making it feel less mechanical when you’re required to press at certain points (and miss them looping around conversations again) to move the trials along.
GC: We don’t agree with any of the metrics you’re using to judge a game’s value, but for what it’s worth it took us 14 hours on our first run.
Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice
Might sound a bit sad but I think it’s so funny FIFA are trying to charge double for EA to use their trademark. EA have been banging on about how much money they’re making from it, and how in-game purchases make more money than selling the game, that FIFA has gone, ‘Wait, they’re making so much, we want a bigger slice of the pie’.
I don’t think the name change will make any difference to sales but to me in-game purchases are just a rip-off and now it’s came back to bite them on the bum. It’s so funny. Oh, wait there, I’ve said FIFA three times, does that mean I’m going to get charged four using their trademark?
David
More: Gaming
Getting the crew back together
I finished the Mass Effect Legendary Edition this week and was very impressed by both the effort put into it and the fact that the game’s still stand up. There are some things that seem outdated now but I don’t know what they were ever thinking with EDI’s fembot body, even at the time, so it’s actually aged pretty well.
On beating it I realised we haven’t heard anything about the new game since last year, and that was basically nothing anyway. The biggest question for me is what ending will they go with from Mass Effect 3 and will they try to retcon anything about? Even the most straightforward, where all the relays are broken, is a big switch up but I guess they could just start the game where they’ve all been fixed.
From the teaser it looks like Liara is going to be in but will she be the only one of the old crew? You saw with Andromeda how things didn’t work out when they tried to have an entirely new cast but then again wouldn’t it be a bit cowardly not to true?
I’m really not sure what direction they’ll go. The remasters show BioWare still know what they’re doing but it’s a long, long while now since they’ve had a hit new game. If the new Dragon Age comes out first and isn’t a hit I worry what EA is going to do with them.
Woland
Inbox also-rans
I’m convinced Battlefield 2042 is going to be bigger than Call Of Duty this year. Everything about it seems so much fresher and more interesting. I guess Warzone complicates things but they’ve won me over at least.
Tinsile
Do you have enough letters for two Hot Topic this weekend, GC? I really prefer it when there’s one for each day.
Barolo
GC: Not at the moment, no.
This week’s Hot Topic
The subject for this weekend’s Inbox was suggested by reader Bernardo, who asks what is your favourite platform game?
It can be a 2D or 3D platformer but which have you enjoyed the most and why? Do you enjoy the genre in general and are you happy with how it’s evolved over the years? What do you think have been some of the best new ideas to appear in recent years and how do you hope things will change in the new generation?
You can include games that are parts of other genres, such as Metroidvanias, as long as the platforming is the main gameplay element.
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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.
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MORE : Games Inbox: 2K buying the FIFA licence, GTA Trilogy value for money, and Shenmue: The Anime
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