The Thursday Inbox is still in love with Wreckfest and Astral Chan, as one reader complains about how hard it is to get rare amiibo.
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Same again
I have to admit that I was expecting higher scores for Gears 5. I thought maybe GCs was abnormally low but GameSpot and some of the other more reliable sites also gave 7 or lower. There does seem to be an unusual moment of variety to the scores but overall I can only conclude that its a good but not great game like the last one. Which Im sure is not what Microsoft was expecting.
The bit that surprised me with GCs review was when you said there was no villain. I thought the box art kind of gave that away but I guess not. The story does sound disappointing though and Im sure thats been the end of at least one Gears Of War before.
Theres another problem with long-running franchises, other than the ones you pointed out, and thats their incessant need to keep reminding you of previous entries. I remember them already thanks! Thats why Im playing this, because I liked the older ones and wanted something new! Not the same thing with better graphics.
You see the problem in movies and just about everything now. Weve become so addicted to nostalgia its like the whole of popular culture is always taking two steps back and only one forward.
As for Gears I dont know what to say about it now. Theyre obviously going for a trilogy now so I dont even know if theres any point hoping for major change until its over. Would be interested to know how many people are actually interested in the game now given the mixed reception.
Gant
Safe bet
So Gears 5 has failed to be the Xbox comeback some were predicting, eh? Why am I not surprised? Gears Of War 4 was a workmanlike sequel and I dont see why anyone would expect anything different from the follow-up. Obviously, I havent played it yet but by the sound of it the open world stuff is just bodged in there with little thought and an eye to try and beat Sony at their own game.
I so regret buying my Xbox One at launch I couldnt tell you. Microsofts first party games have been an utter disaster and apart from the Forza games theres not a single one thats worth remembering. Gears 5 looks to be adding to that list, even if it is technically one of the better ones.
Im not sure how much faith I have that theyre going to be different next gen either and frankly I cant imagine any situation where I wouldnt go with Sony as the safe bet. Microsoft has had all the time in the world to turn around their first party games line-up and theyve done virtually nothing with it.
Decal
Nothing but good news
Cyberpunk 2077 is almost seeming like too good to be true at the moment. The closest Ive seen to anyone having a bad word to say about it is some people can somehow magically tell the gunplay isnt very good from watching a video. Ignore that unlikely bit of clairvoyance and its been pretty much 100% positive since the moment it was announced.
I know nothings perfect but Im generally struggling to imagine what might go wrong. The only thing I can think of is that the open world will probably be relatively small, compared to what were used to and maybe it wont be that long or have quite that many missions? I dont know, even that seems unlikely given how stacked The Witcher 3 was.
And now were getting free DLC, paid-for DLC, and a multiplayer mode. The news just gets better and better. Now I cant wait for the game to be part of the announcements for the Xbox One and/or PlayStation 4!
Cabbage
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Deserved win
Got to say how much Im enjoying Astral Chain.
I thought I wouldnt like it at first, because like someone has already said its a button masher for the first few opening levels. But after the tutorials, when you get access to the training room, you soon get the hang of things.
Im still fairly early on in the game but Im getting better and better at the combat and I really like the enemies and game world.
Im glad its done so well in the UK and hopefully around the world.
I was really surprised to read in another news story that it was the first Platinum game to get to number one in the UK charts. I would have argued black and blue that it would have been Bayonetta to get that particular accolade.
MItchell
GC: It just missed out on the Japanese number one this week but overall did pretty well. Platinum games are notorious for not selling that well though, despite critical acclaim. And yet a number one doesnt really mean much, as even the biggest game can miss out if there happens to be multiple releases that week.
Traffic simulator
I thought Id also add my name to the list of people singing the praises of Wreckfest, which I downloaded on Tuesday night after a long day out at the zoo with the kids – it was a perfect release for the built up aggression of sitting in traffic while my children fought and argued about whos window the animals would be out of next!
I downloaded it after reading praise from other readers and taking notice of the positive reviews, but despite that I really wasnt expecting it to be as fun as it is. I ended up playing until a ridiculous time, finding myself playing just one more race at least 15 times before I finally turned it off and went to bed! I think that it may even be a contender for my game of the year!
Rickandrolla (PSN ID)
Hall of Fame
Really looking forward to the Nintendo Direct, sounds like its going to be a great one. Overwatch seems to be shoe-in and that is a huge get. As old as the game is it still has a big following and is yet another evergreen to add to the Switchs line-up and perhaps Smash Bros.
I love how Smash has become a sort of Hall of Fame for great video game characters, albeit with a heavy bias towards Japanese games/publishers. It makes me wonder whether Nintendo will go for a second wave of DLC characters that are all or mostly based on Western games as a sort of catch-up. Given the popularity theyd be made to stop now and if SNK is the fourth slot that means theres only one more to go and so many games they could use.
Overwatch and Doom are obvious ones but Im still surprised theres no Minecraft. Crash Bandicoot would be amazing too and Geralt now seems entirely possible given The Witcher 3 on Switch. In fact Im not sure why that hasnt been suggested already given people jumped to the same conclusions as soon as Overwatch was leaked for the Switch.
You could also have Mortal Kombat and Assassins Creed characters in the game, as theyve already been on Nintendo consoles. Plus Dante from Devil May Cry. I think Lara Croft was in a couple of Game Boy games at least too, and the only one without a direct connection from my wishlist is Gordon Freeman. Although Chell was in that Lego game which was on the Wii U!
Combi
Out of stock
Am I the only one frustrated that recent amiibo have been so hard to get? There are some classic third party ones coming up but Ive no idea if Ill be able to get them all as not even the Nintendo Store seems to have them in stock most of the time.
Apart from eBay is there some more obvious place you can get them because its almost like they dont exist, and yet Nintendo keep announcing theyre making more!
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