The morning Inbox wonders why a new Crash Bandicoot hasnt been announced yet, as one reader finally learns to love Red Dead Redemption II.
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Man-made disaster
Ha ha, kudos to you not giving Fallout 76 a free pass just because its from a big publisher. I played the beta and cancelled my pre-order immediately. Im not in the slightest bit surprised that nothing much has changed for the final release and feel completely justified in my decision.
I think another reader has already made the comparison with Telltale Games, where they stubbornly stuck with their old graphics for far too long and by the time they finally got around to changing it they went bust. I think Bethesda could be in real trouble of doing the same because I do not see Fallout 76 being a hit, which is going to put them a long time without any major hits.
I could understand if all this was coming from some little indie developer, but like your review in progress said there are Skyrim mods that looks better than this. Fallout 76 looked more like a mod than it did a real game and comparing it to Red Dead Redemption II… its just laughable.
A multiplayer version of Fallout is a great idea, especially if it means keeping the numbered sequels single-player, but this just seems like a disaster.
Terry Gold
Business decision
Its so frustrating seeing the mess Bethesda has made with Fallout 76. Its like seeing a favourite celebrity turn into an acholic or something. What gets me is what kind of reaction where they expecting given what it looks like? I find it hilarious that looking at their YouTube channel theres virtually no footage of the actual gameplay, just animated tutorial things and live action and pre-rendered cut scenes.
Thats clear proof they know it looks bad so why didnt they just… make it better? I dont know if that sounds naive but it seems a simple business decisions to me: a game so bad its probably going to become a laughing stock is a) not going to sell b) damage your brands for years to come.
But a game that is good… will probably sell? I mean maybe not if its something like Dishonored or Prey but Fallout is a well-established brand that consistently sells well. Surely the risk is making it bad and the safe option is spending a bit more money to make it good? It makes no sense to me.
Rathbone
Internet gossip
Not at all surprised about the initial response to Fallout 76, it always looked like a disaster waiting to happen. What does surprise me though is that Pokémon: Lets Go, Pikachu! actually revealed pretty well, despite the Internet telling me it was a disaster (I never quite understood why, but that was definitely the vibe).
Battlefield V also seems to have reviews trickling in now and it doesnt seem to be a disaster either, just a bit undercooked. It makes you realise how much hype is just basically Internet gossip and not really based on anything. Fans get themselves worked up something its like the facts of the matter have nothing to do with it.
Not that I havent got carried away with it before but I think its starting to get increasingly unhealthy and… inaccurate.
Toto
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Next in line
100% agree with the reader chomping at the bit for Resident Evil 2. Its easily my most anticipated game of next year, and probably any year really. But what its got me wondering is what will be next if its a hit (which it seems certain it will be)?
In GCs interview at Gamescom they definitely implied that there would be more remakes but is it just going to be Resident Evil 3 next or could it really be Dino Crisis? Or maybe even Onimusha? All three franchises are closely connected (Devil May Cry as well, really, but thats now more of its own thing) and I assume all have a chance of receiving the same treatment.
Thing is, I think Resident Evil 3 is a step-down from the first two and Im not so excited about seeing it remade. Although I guess they could purposefully not stick so close to the original this time and try and improve it, because the Nemesis itself was certainly good and could probably be done better nowadays. The simple answer is I want them all now, as soon as possible!
Gareth
Final hour
I wrote in last week saying that Red Dead Redemption II hadnt clicked with me due to the clunky mechanics and role-playing game style busywork in the game. I played it for a few hours more and it still wasnt clicking. It got to Saturday evening and I was preparing to go and trade it in whilst it was still fetching a high price, but Sunday morning I thought I would give it one more hour to impress me and it did.
I had a couple of stranger encounters that seriously impressed me and reminded me why I love Rockstar games. I have played it each night since and it has got its grasp on me, the controls are undoubtedly clunky but I have found myself getting used to them. At the time I was considering getting rid of it I was around seven hours into the game. So if you are in the same boat, Id say give it at least a couple more hours and then see how you feel.
Angry_Kurt (Twitter)
33 million reasons
Amazing how well that Pokémon movie trailer has down now. It was on 33 million views when I looked and basically guaranteed now to be one of the biggest films of next year. Just goes to show hope popular Pokémon still is, as theres no way thats just kids watching.
But what influence, if any, is it going to have on the next game? Its probably too far in development now to be honest but Nintendo (or The Pokémon Company or whoever) dont strike me as the sort to take influence from anyone else. Not straight away anyway.
At the very least they should be thinking of a doing a spin-off with a more adult sense of humour, because that totally worked. Im guessing Ryan Reynolds will be too expensive for any voiceovers though.
Topal
Family reunion
Although I dont want to be mean about Spyro The Dragon, which I have found childhood memories, Ive got to admit it probably doesnt deserve quite the level of love and care its got. But if it leads to new games Im all for it.
Im kind of surprised one for Crash Bandicoot hasnt already been announced though, given thats been out so long now. Maybe they were waiting for the Spyro remakes first, but Im hoping this is going to lead to a new breed of family-friendly games. Something that hasnt existed, outside of Nintendo, for years now.
Oredron
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Just say no
The reason that people have been playing Battlefield V already is because of the EA and Origin Access 10-hour trials. This has been a thing for a few years now and Im surprised it hasnt been pointed out sooner. Of course, you have to pay for it but a year is £20 and you get the trials, discount off games you decide to buy, and EA games added to the vault to download for no extra. Origin Access users also get games added that arent published by EA and I think youd have to try really hard to argue that that isnt a good deal.
Then theres Origin Access premium which unfortunately is only on PC at the moment. For £90 a year you get all of the above plus EAs brand-new games to play when the trials start and you dont have to buy them on release. If you start today youd be able to play Battlefield V, FIFA, and Madden if theyre your thing, Anthem in February and quite possibly Titanfall 3 and/or Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order if they do in fact come out this time next year. Id sign up straight away if there was an EA Access premium on console.
Ultimate Editions are a different thing. Ultimate Editions are for people who are sure they want all the extra content like season passes or whatever else and its only recently that buying them gave you early access to a game. Its only meant as a bonus though, I dont think anyone is paying extra money to play a game a few days early and if they are then that is on them.
I realise that I sound like an EA spokesperson or that Im defending them but in this case I really dont think theres anything to defend. If people dont think its worth it or they dont want to pay for the extra content right away then they are perfectly capable of saying no. Just as people should be able to take a few seconds to think something through before they get hysterical and I would apply that to all areas of gaming.
Mr GoodKat
PS: Im not stupid and I realise that their games are filled with microtransactions that theyre counting on you buying but again, you can just say no.
Inbox also-rans
Just wondering if you can give any indication when your review for Civilization VI for Switch will be published? Or if you are reviewing it at all? Bit worried about the lack of reviews or gameplay videos prior to this weeks launch.
goldbricks
GC: Were not sure about other sites but we havent had a review copy through yet. We will review it when one arrives though.
Sins Of A Solar Empire for PC is free on Humble Bundle for the next 72 hours, at time of writing (Thursday evening). They give you a Steam code to download the game. Heres the link.
Andrew J.
This weeks Hot Topic
The subject for this weekends Inbox was suggested by reader Gilo, who asks whats your favourite open world game?
With Red Dead Redemption II just out, and games ranging from Zelda: Breath Of The Wild to Assassins Creed Odyssey offering up some of the largest and most interactive worlds ever seen in a video game, we want to know which is your favourite game featuring an open world environment.
What does a good open world add to a game and what do you find are its limitations? How would you like to see this style of game evolve in the future and do you think there are too many at the moment or not enough?
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