The evening Inbox has some ideas for what not to make the next Tomb Raider story about, as one reader asks Rockstar to make a Firefly game.
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Still on shelves
Never mind normal video game anniversaries, here’s one to really blow your mind: GamesMaster magazine is now celebrating 25 years in the business! Crazy to think it’s been going that long, especially when you consider how most games mags went bust a decade ago. I can’t pretend I’ve bought every issue, but I certainly remember getting it when I was a kid and have picked it up off and on ever since then.
I believe Edge has also got its 25th anniversary coming up soon, so it’s good that at least some remnant of the great British games mag industry still survive. GamesTM and Retro Gamer are also a good read, and I for one will be very said when they’ve gone completely. Swiping the pages on a tablet just doesn’t seem the same.
For those interested the special anniversary issue has an interview with Dave Perry, ‘The Games Animal’ from the television series and they’ve given their first ever 100% score to something (I know what it is, and although it’s probably a bit of a stretch it’s nice timing). Here’s to another 25 years, even if that isn’t very likely!
Vic Viper
American dominance
I find it increasingly odd that the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One are neck and neck in the US and yet worldwide Sony is outselling Microsoft 2:1. That must mean that American market isn’t nearly as important as you’d think when you consider the number of raw sales. So when then are all games still designed and marketed around what Americans like?
The number of games that are set in Europe, or any other country, are just as low as they’ve ever been. And we still have to put up with America’s puritanical approach to sex and adoration for gun violence. You can see a little more of a European approach with Sony’s first party games, which I do appreciate – even if that means promoting hacks like David Cage to positions of importance.
The only major European publisher is Ubisoft, who seem to have very little interest in making anything that seems French or European, so I guess we should just be grateful that two Japanese games were number one last month and that that’s actually quite a breakthrough from previous years.
Racerz
You can't take the sky from me
RE: Gonch and his/her suggestion that Rockstar should make a sci-fi game. I agree they should try this, although I’d like them to make a game based on Firefly/Serenity.
You could use multiple playable characters like in GTA V, so you could control Mal, Jayne, and Zoe, for example. And instead of different cities you could have different areas of different planets.
You could also plan heists like GTA V, although as everyone knows what Mal plans and what happens have never been exactly similar.
Sam
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Who’s the daddy?
I too would like a new Tomb Raider game to come out. I previously mentioned, in my top 20 list for the Xbox 360, that Rise Of The Tomb Raider was one of my favourite non co-op games and I want more. It was Unchartering before Uncharted was a twinkle in Naughty Dog’s eye, and the gunplay and climbing controls were leaps and bounds ahead of Uncharted in the newer Tomb Raider games.
One thing I would like in a new Tomb Raider is an option to make it more arcadey or more puzzle-heavy. The puzzle option would feature less shooting of dozens of armed enemies and focus on exploration and, obviously, puzzles. The shift from survivor to mass murderer in the reboot was a little jarring and silly. I would have liked that journey to have been a bit more subtle.
Mostly, I would like it if you, when you came into contact with hard bitten mercs, that you didn’t wipe the floor with them without breaking a sweat. I’m not saying I want to be one-shotted from a mile away by a sniper but these guys are army-trained, so surely they should be a bit more aware of how to engage in a fire fight with a rich daddy’s girl.
Oh, and speaking of which, enough of the daddy stuff. Lara is a grown woman who seems to have fallen into tomb-raiding to prove her father wasn’t insane. Maybe give her a motivation outside of a family issue. Between Tomb Raider, The Evil Within, Hawaii 5-0, NCIS: Los Angeles, and The Flash (TV shows) I am completely burnt out on the father/family issues.
I’m not putting down the use of grief but surely there are more options in play for a decent writer. I however am no writer, as much as it pains me to admit it, I can offer no good storylines to get the ball rolling.
bobwallett
Golden oldies
RE: R1CH5TER. I’d also rather have seen a remake of Burnout 3 or Revenge. At least we’re getting something…
My immediate question is whether they will use the original soundtrack or create a new one. I can’t think of playing Burnout 3 in particular without hearing that killer soundtrack in my head – have seen so many of those bands live now as a result of that game!
EA really had it going back then and the soundtracks on the Burnout and SSX games were amazing.
I don’t think Paradise’s soundtrack was as memorable but I’m still hoping that the original soundtrack is at least an option!
Ed
GC: They’re keeping the original soundtrack, we had a whole story on it.
Price dependent
While it was a pleasant surprise to see the announcement of Burnout Paradise Remastered, I do think EA have really shot themselves in the foot by giving the game a £35 price tag.
I know it includes all the DLC that came out for it, but at the end of the day it is just a resolution and lighting upgrade, and it’s not like the game has been totally revamped from the last gen version. Unlike Shadow Of The Colossus which was remade from the ground up, but was appropriately priced at around £25.
It’s worrying that if this remaster doesn’t sell well at launch, our chances of getting a new game in the series are slim. But at that price point I think I may struggle to justify buying it again, until it receives a price cut.
Cubes (PSN ID)/SW-3654-9259-0500/Kevin M
Still got it
I quite like Burnout Paradise, and bought it when it came out on Xbox 360, then again when I built a gaming PC, but I don’t think I’ll be buying the remaster.
On the PC, with the settings cranked up to ultra, it’s still a good-looking game that runs smoothly, and in my opinion a remaster is unnecessary. Hopefully it will be a free upgrade to existing owners when it is released, as was the case with Skyrim.
Dan
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Taking back control
RE: Jenkster and Elite Dangerous. Originally, I never got passed learning all the controls, there’s a lot. That is until I played it in VR, and although I find the game a bit dry the immersion of VR makes it worth it as it sates the sci-fi fan in me wanting to explore space.
I’d love a VR narrative-driven space saga with resource management and space battle sections though, in the vein of the excellent Star Control II. The section where you mod your ship could have you physically walking around the ship, rather than just interacting with menus. Flying down to planets to harvest minerals, battle foes in space, or converse with them and visit space station could all be great VR experiences. Although I’d want it to have multiple story divergences and all them would be scripted and made to be amazing events in VR.
Regarding Star Control, I really hope the new IP owners Stardock, and the creators of Star Control II Fred Ford and Paul Reiche, come to some sort of understanding. Stardock are working on a prequel called Origins set in the Star Control universe, as the original creators asked them not continue with the Star Control II storyline as they wanted to someday return to it.
Being fanboys, Stardock granted this favour, agreeing to have both games exist in a metaverse and I believe the original programmers have been working on that direct sequel. But the understanding between the two seems to have hit some hurdles. Origins is in some sort of early access where you get access to the alpha/beta of the multiplayer elements but I’d rather wait for a full release as it’s the single-player that will make and break it for me.
Simundo Jones
Inbox also-rans
I would just like to agree with the reader who said about Burnout… I loved Revenge and the ones before it. Proper arcade point-to-point racing, no having to look down at a silly map while you’re doing warp factor 10!
focus68
Glad to see someone sticking up for us when it comes to refund policies for digital games. Yet another reason why I prefer physical media where possible.
Stanton
This week’s Hot Topic
The subject for this weekend’s Inbox was suggested by reader Gannet, who asks what do you think is the most overrated video game?
You don’t have to think the game is actively bad, just not as good as its reputation suggests. But do try and describe exactly why it didn’t live up to your expectations and what it got wrong. Was it just a good game that was hyped up too much, or do you feel it has flaws that were brushed over in reviews?
Was the problem that you were expecting it to be one thing and it turned out to be something completely different? Or was there some other personal preference that meant you couldn’t enjoy it?
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