The morning Inbox remembers the best of GamesMaster and British games mags, as one reader is impressed by his first go on VR.
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Best guess
I see there are some more rumours swirling around that Super Smash Bros. is going to be released this year for the Switch. Although there still doesn’t seem to be any agreement on whether it’s a full sequel or port or somewhere in between.
It seems to me pretty likely that it will be out this year though, which allows us to start guessing what Nintendo’s line-up is going to be like. Since, of course, they don’t seem to want to tell us themselves. There’s nothing major they’ve announced themselves, but they have mentioned a Fire Emblem game, so I can see that and Metroid Prime 4 being the main hardcore offerings this year.
Super Smash Bros. would be their main multiplayer game that appeals to both sides, and I think it’s very likely we’ll have Animal Crossing and the Yoshi game for casuals. That seems a lot, but it’s comparable to last year and I think if Nintendo can get all that out before the end of the year they will have done extremely well.
It’d be nice if there was a new franchises as well, but it may be Nintendo Labo that they’ve been concentrating on in that area. I’d expect at least one or two minor games that are brand new though, even if they’re just eShop downloads. What do you think? Does this seem doable?
KhyberChris
Final season
I am looking forward to Season 4 of The Walking Dead, and while there will be many episodes of this upcoming game I would like to ask everyone at GameCentral if they think Clementine and Michonne could meet each other in Season 4, which would be a great way to pay tribute to the Michonne episodes? It could, if Telltale games chose to do this, be a good way to see how Clementine and Michonne would interact and if possible form a team.
For those who have not seen the preview trailer, you can watch it here.
Once season 4 comes out I will most certainly be looking forward to when this comes out on disc, alongside series 1, 2, and 3 as well. When released it will be very interesting to see how each episode unfolds and what choices you will be able to make. Let’s hope we can see some returning characters that survived, like Lilly, Christa, and others.
gaz be rotten (gamertag)
Second chance
I’m very busy at the moment and haven’t written in a while, but I came across a shmup called Steredenn that you might have missed. It was released a while ago on PlayStation 4 and PC and is upcoming on Switch, in a version with many extras not in the original release. I haven’t played myself, but it looks like it could be decent and the addition of roguelike elements gives it a certain novelty.
As you often say about being made of aware of a game that has passed you by then maybe this will qualify. Here is the trailer for the original version.
Mr Verbosity
GC: That’s exactly the sort of tip-off that’s really useful. We’ve never heard of it before (probably because it sounds like something you’d use to clean false teeth) but we’ll keep an eye out for the Switch version.
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All-in-one
So GamesMaster magazine is now 25 years old, I remember buying it but haven’t bought any magazines in a long time. They are overpriced these days, in my opinion, especially when demo discs are now a thing of the past. I remember buying some magazines just to get my hands on the demos to try out, while saving up for a full release.
The thing I like about GamesMaster the most is that its multiformat, and I could read about the games for all the systems rather than just one system’s games. My favourite games magazine was always the official Nintendo one though, and I remember when I finally decided to subscribe, rather than just pick up a copy, I received a free Legend Of Zelda: The Wind Waker T-shirt, which I was over the moon with.
R1CH5TER
PS: I agree with Cubes that £35 is a bit steep for Burnout Paradise. Especially as another reader Stuart Rick pointed out in the comments section, it’s already backwards compatible on Xbox One and was given away with Games with Gold previously. I had totally forgotten about that. I would just play the backwards compatible version now if I had the urge to play it.
Retroactive celebration
RE: Vic Viper on UK games magazines. Hear, hear! A very happy anniversary to GamesMaster magazine, and to think it was only a spin-off from the TV show. And speaking of Dave Perry, I believe the Retro Hour did a fascinating interview with him a year or so back.
The UK games magazine industry is something quite special in my opinion, and it’ll be sad to see it go. It seems that enough of us invest in print journalism to see a fair few titles still around today though. In a way I wish my preferred outlets were still Edge, etc., but these days it’s you guys for reviews and big American sites for features and podcasts.
When do you generally consider your ‘birth’ to be, GC? Does it spiritually hark back to Digitiser? The relaunch on Teletext, or Metro? And any anniversary plans? It’s been quite a journey for this publication as much as any.
Owen Pile
GC: According to Wikipedia, Digitiser started on 1 January 1993. So New Year’s Day just gone was apparently the 25th anniversary. None of the current team were involved back then, but by happy coincidence we were drunk that day anyway, so huzzah!
Under the magnifying glass
It may just be my age, and a sign that I need to purchase some glasses, but when playing on the Switch in handheld mode does anyone else struggle to read text and interpret icons? Dragon Quest Builders is no problem on my 65″ OLED screen, but a strain on the Switch one.
It wouldn’t be such an issue were it not for the fact I bought Dragon Quest Builders as it seems like the perfect game to play on the go. They either need to add a magnifying glass tool or, a better solution, develop another Advance Wars, the only game you need on the go.
Luma
GC: It does depend on the game. Some are clearly not designed with the smaller screen in mind, particularly indie titles originally intended for the PC and multiformat ports like Dragon Quest Builders. Although we can’t say we’ve found any of them unplayable.
Unknowable gap
I know there are a lot of Persona 5 fans on here, so dare I be the first to ask the question: when will Persona 6 be announced? I know there was a long gap between the last two, but I assumed that was kind of an accident that got out of control. Surely they’d be looking to follow up the success of the new game as quickly as possible? Even if that takes two or three years?
I’d much rather that than just a load of spin-offs.
Bushido
GC: It was almost a decade between Persona 4 and 5, so it really is impossible to say. We’d imagine it won’t be that long again, but who knows.
Catch up on every previous Games Inbox here
First step into a larger world
Today was a day of firsts for me. Firstly, I visited a gaming centre and secondly I had my first go on VR, and both were really good.
I will be doing a Reader’s Feature on the gaming centre called Game On in Blandford, Dorset in the coming weeks but just to say what a marvellous facility. The centre has a number of gaming PCs, Xboxes, and retro consoles, and a PC dedicated to Oculus Rift. This is a new venture, so if you’re in or around the area pop in you won’t be disappointed I wasn’t.
So, VR. I have been very sceptical about VR. I have been burnt many times by the latest gaming trends and thought this was going to be the latest, so I’ve steered clear. But I will have to eat some of my words after trying Oculus Rift. I played Spider-Man. I was suitably impressed. The resolution is not that great but the way it works is superb.
I won’t be rushing out to buy one just yet though. It’s still a few years away from being the finished article and being a glasses wearer it did feel a bit uncomfortable after a while, but I think I can safely say it’s going to be here for a long time!
Keep up the good work GC.
Dirtystopout
GC: Good for you, we look forward to the feature.
Inbox also-rans
Will you be putting up early impressions of Metal Gear Survive before your review?
Dan
GC: Yes, okay: meh.
Oh great, now Donald Trump is going to try and ban violent video games. Does anyone get the feeling that the world is just going crazy?
Golphen
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?
E-mail your comments to: [email protected]
The small print
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