Todays inbox delves into early impressions from Gamescom, as one reader regrets purchasing Mafia III.
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PLEASE NOTE: The main GameCentral team are currently away at Gamescom in Germany, where well be reporting back on all the weeks news and previews as they happen. That will mean therell only be one Inbox per day until we get back on Thursday, but please keep the emails coming (including the Hot Topic and Readers Features) and well resume normal service as soon as possible.
Bored Stranding
Im getting more convinced Death Stranding is going to be a waste of time with the passing of every new trailer. Dont get me wrong, Im a fan of Hideo Kojimas work but Im starting to get tired of this endless game of trying to figure out what the whole thing is.
It was fun at the start, and the cast is still impressive, but without a firm idea of the gameplay it all feels a bit hollow now were mere months from its release. I might end up eating my words once November comes around, but showing off urinating Norman Reedus and the ability to rock a baby to sleep isnt exactly selling me on a blockbuster title.
Im just hoping this will be a spectacular bait-and-switch similar to Metal Gear Solid 2, but my hopes are slowly dwindling with each passing day.
Joel84
SC: Were not entirely convinced either. And with the likes of Doom Eternal and Pokemon releasing in the same month, were not sure peeing collectively to create mushrooms as Norman Reedus is going to pull us away.
Nintendo takeaway
My main takeaway from Gamescom so far is how Nintendo is schooling the other companies in delivering efficient, worthwhile presentations. We got Ori And The Blind Forest, Hotline Miami, and Superhot announcements for Switch in a brief 20 minute showing, whereas Microsoft took nearly two hours to drop a horde mode trailer for Gears 5.
The Opening Night Live presentation wasnt much better, which felt padded out with minor releases and bizarre announcements which didnt exactly warrant the big production. Geoff Keighley in Death Stranding felt like an ego stroke too.
If every game company could be as swift and to the point as Nintendo in their announcements, I feel thered be a cut in gamer hatred on the internet by at least 23%.
Anon
SC: Going by our skeletal calculations, we reckon the number is closer to 17.7% when Nintendo fails to update their online service with each passing presentation.
Mob regrets
GC I should have listened to you! Im not a fan of the original Mafia but enjoyed Mafia II thoroughly. I did get it for free with another digital purchase, but enjoyed it so much I purchased the additional DLC content which I also enjoyed.
So with the third game I decided to take the plunge. My other half and daughter are away. So I moved the PC to the living room, hooked up the surround sound and at first was taken aback by how good the opening sequence was. On my PC maxed out at 1080p the graphics are decent and shifts along well.
However, the cracks appeared; Ive had multiple deaths due to the cover system failing me. Ive had bugs where Ive had to reload checkpoints and even whole missions.
Its a shame that games are released in this state. Part of me wants to say games are more complex than ever. However part of me just wants it working well.
Im currently working my way through my backlog which includes Yakuza 0, Halo 5 and Sonic Mania.
Commodore Fan
P.S. I also bought The Order 1886 on sale; lasted an hour before uninstalling it. Forgive me!
SC: We were just about to file a motion to reintroduce capital punishment for anyone who fails to heed GC advice, but this apology/warning will make do instead.
Microsoft's gain
Can I ask what people think Microsoft are getting out of their closer partnership with Nintendo? Im not complaining or anything but there is history of the Goldeneye remake never coming to Xbox because Nintendo wouldnt play nice.
Now, Microsoft are going to have a number of games on Switch and are allowing their IP to appear in rival games, yet I am seeing nothing in kind from Nintendo.
Is this a case of Microsoft doing the sums and seeing they have more to gain in sales and rep than loss of USP on Xbox? Is this all a precursor to xCloud on Switch or do Microsoft just make business decisions by throwing stuff at the wall and seeing what sticks?
Again, Im not complaining, just find the one sided nature of this partnership odd.
DarKerR (gamertag) DarKerR-UK (PSN)
Has the internet ruined video games?
Just wanted to pass on my appreciation to Rorschach for his/her weekend Readers feature. A well written piece which addressed many of the concerns Im sure we all share in the current world climate. While the internet can certainly be a force for good and an all encompassing source of knowledge, it is clearly also very easily misused to spread anger, hatred and dubious ideology. Fortunately not something we see with the GC community at least!
I also missed the weekend Hot Topic so Ill throw in a few strategy titles Ive enjoyed through the years. Way back when, I really enjoyed Populous and Mega-Lo-Mania on the Amiga. Since those days though, Ive been console based so options have obviously been somewhat limited. Still, hearty recommendations must go out to Civilisation Revolution. I spent so many hours on that, that when I closed my eyes I could still see those little digitised armies marauding across the colourful landscapes. Great stuff.
Mr Brutus
Currently flitting between Forza Horizon 4, Metro Exodus and RDR2. Too many games, nowhere near enough time. Curse you Game Pass!
Poke-mergency
Hi I was wondering if you could tell me where you found out the date of 18 October to 15 November for the Pokemon Centre in London opening as I can find no official dates anywhere, yes as with yourselves several news and media outlets are stating the same date.
I am hoping to be able to travel there for the opening (as I visited the Paris one slightly later and Read More – Source
