The morning Inbox is upset at Red Dead Redemption IIs PS4 exclusive content, as one reader calls for zero tolerance on microtransactions.
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Little annoyances
I realise before I start that this is a terrible example of first world problems, but how do we still live in a reality where unskippable cut scenes are a thing? Ive been very much enjoying Marvels Spider-Man but I have to admit I zoned out on the story a good while ago, once it became super obvious where everything is going. Also the cut scenes, as GC pointed out in their reviews, are kind of slow and boring. Id like to skip them but… oh, I cant! Insomniac are apparently so confident people will enjoy them that they never even entertained the thought youd want to skip them first time round.
And how are customisable controls not a default in every game? Why do some companies absolutely refuse to put the option in, even when theyve got really simple controls? Again, its either arrogance or a complete inability to imagine how people really play their games.
I tell you what really annoys me though, and thats the invisible wall. Even God Of War suffers from this and it is infuriating. Whats the point of having this super realistic game world if youre giant hulking, super strong man-god cant hop over a small wall made of a couple of pebbles. Ill stop now but surely its not just me that gets announced by these things?
Tofer
GC: You can skip the cut scenes in Spider-Man – pause the game and select the option from the menu.
No barriers
Im a PlayStation 4 owner so this e-mail may come as a surprise to some people. Ive been reading about the extra content the PlayStation 4 version of Red Dead Redemption II will have and it annoys me. The fact that youve paid the same amount of money for the same game but somehow got less seems incredibly unfair (and I dont know how its not illegal).
I think all gamers need to start standing up to this nonsense. I like to imagine were a pretty positive community as a whole, while acknowledging the sheltered racist/sexist types who permeate corners of the Internet, and think we should all stand together on this matter. Standing up for my Xbox brothers and sisters! Does it even bother people at all? Maybe its just me.
Chris
GC: We agree with you, its an awful practice. The only comfort is that the exclusive content is usually sub-par compared to the rest of the game.
Apart from the obvious
So I came into a bit of spare cash recently and my wife allowed me to buy a Switch. So all three current consoles sit by my TV. I bought Zelda: Breath Of The Wild with it and have also bought Golf Story, Hollow Knight, and Yokus Island Express.
So while I have a few quid left what should I buy? I dont mean Mario, which Ill obviously pick up eventually, but which other sub-20 quid games should I consider? Maybe Shovel Knight? I already have Stardew Valley on Xbox but is there anything else similar? The store on the Switch isnt very browser friendly in my opinion. Thanks in advance for the suggestions.
Neil
GC: Wed strongly recommend Celeste, Into The Breach, Sonic Mania Plus, Dead Cells, SteamWorld Dig 2, Owlboy, Loves In A Dangerous Spacetime, Night In The Woods, and Darkest Dungeon – to name a few. Undertale also recently came out on Switch, although we havent see that version yet.
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E-mail your comments to: [email protected]
Zero tolerance
I doubt the microtransactions are that big of a deal in Devil May Cry 5 but I hope Capcom get a lot of stick for it anyway, and other publishers notice as well. The more microtransactions become a dirty word the better things will be. Personally I have a zero tolerance stance with buying extras but I know that other people dont seem to care about it or the effect it will have but that attitude almost led to loot boxes taking over completely.
If you havent got time to play a game properly I can understand that, its a problem for me too, but thats what easy modes are for. Why not just do that instead of cheating on normal difficulty?
Personally Im even against cosmetic extras. Sure, they dont affect gameplay but they used to be the sort of things we got free as unlockables. Now anything anyone can think up like extra costumes is turned into something you have to pay for. Weve already seen how it was the thin end of the wedge that led to loot boxes and I think we should try to eradicate it completely.
Hagrid
Happy story
I read a review for a game like Transference and I really have difficulty imagining who its made for. I assume people must buy walking sims, because they keep making them, but why are they all so miserable and overly serious? They always seem to be the sort of thing that moody art students would make before they mature as creators, and for all I know thats exactly how it works, but why not try to make something different?
Why not a comedy or a thriller or, god forbid, a romance? To me a walking sim is a game trying to be all about story but the stories they tell are always so similar and seem to be rooted in death and misery and nothing like a virtual world youd actually want to be part of. Would it hurt to tell an optimistic story now again? The closes Ive seen is What Remains Of Edith Finch and even that was sill obsessed with death.
Manny
Retro obsession
There have been quite a few Sega vintage collections released and even a lot of the Sega games we never expected to see in a vintage collection have actually made it onto Xbox 360 and Xbox One.
I would, however, like to ask GameCentral if they think Sega would introduce more vintage collections as I can name a few games that I feel would be worthy of making it onto a vintage collection since these games do have three titles, and were made by Sega who now owns the rights to these games and the developers studios which would qualify as a vintage collection.
These are Shining Force, Shining Force II, Shining In The Darkness, Thunder Force II, Thunder Force III, Thunder Force IV, Phantasy Star II, Phantasy Star III, Phantasy Star IV, and finally NFL 94 Featuring Joe Montana, NFL 95, and NFL 98 Prime Time.
I am however hoping that it is possible for Sega to work out some kind of agreement with other existing publishers so that they can publish their titles that appeared on Sega Systems into a vintage collection like the three Road Rash games, Rolling Thunder as well as other series worthy of appearing in future vintage collections.
Given how new licensing agreements could be made possible this would be great news for Sega fans. A lot of Mega Drive games do deserve to appear in a vintage collection and given how this is 2018 and how technology has changed a lot and vastly improved this I feel should be done.
gaz be rotten (gamertag)
GC: They might, we guess, but wed much rather Sega spent their time making new games. We hope that Valkyria Chronicles 4 marks a small step forward in that direction.
Boxed set
As much as I hate to hear about any company shutting down, and people losing their jobs, I dont think Id be too upset if episodic gaming came to an end. I really dont understand what the point of it is and I dont think it adds anything to the experience. Especially not when you have to wait three months between episodes and forget what was going on the last time you played.
I always assumed it was only invented because Telltale needed to make money quickly, before theyd have time to finish the whole game. Thats fair enough but otherwise why bother? If its just for the cliffhangers you can still release separate episodes just do it as a boxed set like new Netflix shows.
Barney
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Early preview
A touch surprised that you guys have said nothing about this, but then again maybe this is the best place for such things, but SoulCalibur VI will be getting an open beta demo this weekend.
I think it starts on Friday morning and ends on the Sunday evening. Doesnt look like therell be any single-player bar maybe a few tutorials, so we wont know if it has something to hide like Dragon Ball FighterZ did.
Also, given the extremely busy period that SoulCalibur VI has chosen to come out in, this is a game that could really use some great word of mouth early on. So Im not sure if a basic network test will be enough to do that. A single-player mission or two might have sweetened the pot, especially for series veterans like myself.
But hey, beggars cant be choosers I suppose. At least its something. Ill still be giving it a go, even though I dont expect it to fully inform my decision to get the Collectors Edition or not. Because, as you know, SoulCalibur V left me seriously wounded…
DMR
GC: Theres a single-player preview event this week, but weve got a flu epidemic going round the office at the moment so were not sure we can make it. Also, most people thought Dragon Ball FighterZ was really good.
Inbox also-rans
Ive been reading and taking note recently regarding the Game Pass subscription on the Xbox One. All I want to know is are there many retro games on the actual available list when you subscribe? Games like shoot em-ups, for example Ikaruga or along them lines of even side scrolling shoot em-ups?
JAH
GC: Well, heres the list of games or you could simply use the 14-day free trial to have a look.
My favourite Final Fantasy game is Chrono Trigger.
Daniel Savage
This weeks Hot Topic
The subject for this weekends Inbox follows the annoucement of the PlayStation Classic mini console and asks what games you think should be included?
The console will contain 20 games, but only five have been confirmed so far: Final Fantasy VII, Jumping Flash!, R4 Ridge Racer Type 4, Tekken 3, and Wild ARMs. So we want to know what you think the other 15 should be?
You dont have to write in with 15 suggestions, just the ones you feel most passionate about. And please dont just write a list of games – we want to know why you think they should be included and what they mean to you and gaming history in general.
E-mail your comments to: [email protected]
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The small print
New Inbox updates appear twice daily, every weekday morning and afternoon. Readers letters are used on merit and may be edited for length.
You can also submit your own 500 to 600-word 4Player viewer features at any time, which if used will be shown in the next available weekend slot.
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