Immortals Of Aveum – not a Fortnite wannabe (Picture: EA)
The Thursday letters page is becoming optimistic about the Xbox Games Showcase, as one reader looks forward to Helldivers 2.
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Safe bet
I can’t say I have any interest in Immortals Of Aveum but the one thing that caught my eye in your interview is when the developer was saying that because so many multiplayer games crash and burn quickly single-player games are becoming a more reliable bet. That not only makes sense to me but is exactly the direction I want to see gaming headed.
Despite what the reader said earlier in the week, multiplayer games, especially live service games, are not a guaranteed hit at all. Sure, if you’re as big as Fortnite or Apex Legends then you’re set for life, but the vast majority of these games are dead within a couple of month and probably never make their money back.
But with a single-player game, as long as it’s good it has a good chance of doing well. It doesn’t have to be the next big thing to be successful either. As long as it’s sensibly budgeted for whatever it is, then in theory there should be relatively little risk. Here’s hoping that the future of gaming is lots of high quality single-player games and less flash in the pan multiplayer games that are all trying to be the next Fortnite.
Focus
Winning announcements
Very encouraged to hear that Fable will be at the Xbox Games Showcase. Not because I’m interested in it – I never liked the originals – but because it shows that Microsoft will be making an effort, unlike Sony. I don’t know if they’ll be other games as well but I would imagine Forza Motorsport and, well, they’ve got an hour and a half to fill so hopefully that’s not going to be all waffle.
I’m not an Xbox fan, and don’t own one, but if Microsoft end up ‘winning’ this fake E3 period because Sony purposefully held back a bunch of stuff then I have no sympathy for PlayStation. Whatever game they’re playing, whether it’s something to do with Activision Blizzard or not, it’s gone beyond a joke and I for one am fed up of their perpetual silence.
I can’t see myself switching to Xbox though, not unless they unveil some new IP which is really appealing. I don’t like any of their current ones or anything they’ve announced/teased so far. It’s PlayStation that’s always suited my tastes but lately it doesn’t seem as if my loyalty is being rewarded.
Cubbin
Money to spend
Very glad to hear that Wolfenstein 3 is finally underway. After the second one and the spin-offs didn’t sell I was resigned to there not being a third, especially as it’s been so long. I wonder if the later arrival is an indication that Bethesda weren’t going to do it but Microsoft decided to pay for it?
I totally get why so many are uncomfortable with Microsoft’s pay to win approach to being a console maker but there can be some benefits if they help to fund things that wouldn’t otherwise be made. I just wish they’d paid for Scalebound no matter what, but there have been rumours the game could make a comeback so maybe they will in the end.
I wish the Activision Blizzard acquisition wasn’t happening but I don’t think it’s going to be that disastrous for other companies and there definitely will be some silver linings to it.
Ollie
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Taking forever
Just a thought/something I noticed recently I figured I’d share here. Video games now spend so long in development and while the pandemic and its fallout are part of the reason for this, the main reason I see given as to why it takes so long is that the games are so big, often bloated in size with unnecessary tasks, maps larger than they need to be, and high quality graphical textures which take a long time to get looking good.
From this there has been a line of argument (indeed I think I sent in a letter arguing for exactly this at some point last year) that video game designers and developers should drop the pursuit of realistic graphics and overly large open worlds and produce games with more stylised graphics that look pretty but don’t take up too much file space, along with a more linear story/experience. That sounds great, but then there’s Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom.
The game has some lovely stylised graphics, it has a large open world but a lot of it is reused, and it still took six years to develop – it maybe would have taken five if the pandemic didn’t get in the way, plus one year is said to have been for bug polishing but, still, that’s a long time.
Obviously, the main thing Nintendo focused on was the physics engine, and I can’t deny their focus paid off, but from this I think we’re gonna have to accept that no matter the size or graphics of a game, they’re gonna take a hell of a long time to make now, or at least the games offering high quality gameplay/experiences are.
Sunny
Dive in
I just wanted to say how excited I am for the announcement of Helldivers 2. My friends and I loved the first one, crazy fun every single time. Friendly fire being on really made it for me. Diving on the ground so your friend can take something out before it gets you was thrilling, either that or they killed you.
A reader recently spoke about it negatively and said the first was a game they’d never heard of. All I can say is you missed out!
Not sure how well it will translate to 3D and whether they’ll keep the friendly fire but I can’t wait for it.
Origonal NPC (PSN ID)
PS: Can’t wait for Street Fighter 6. I usually play arcade stick but having played the demo and the beta I may be a modern controls convert.
Final verdict
After 50 hours of play time now, I’m pretty confident in proclaiming that Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom is most definitely a skyward success.
The myriad of meaningful and impactful ways in which this sequel builds on the groundbreaking foundations of Breath Of The Wild is nothing short of extraordinarily good game design.
I’m amazed by the next level verticality of the adventuring and how it adds so much more dimension and topographical richness to the world. The celestial archipelago and subterranean areas have been immensely rewarding to explore and they add so many layers to Hyrule.
I would often just wander around the map trying to align Link’s position with the sky islands, and attempt to find ways to ascend to new heights of discovery.
Is anyone else reminded of Xenoblade Chronicles X with the sky islands? I almost forget that MonolithSoft helped out with this ambitious project, I’d like to think that the aforementioned game had a little influence on the world.
The Ultrahand mechanic is transformative and an absolute joy to manipulate, but just how super convenient and gloriously indispensable is the Ascend ability?
This ability has completely recontextualised how I interact with the world now, so that I’m constantly looking out for overhangs to magically swim through and giddy with excitement when I see a cave because I instantly think, ‘Oh, I’ve found an elevator!’ The whole experience just emanates with Nintendo ingenuity.
Galvanized Gamer
Next gen portable
The idea of Sony making another portable is a nice idea but I really can’t imagine it happening, definitely with anything that would be like a PS Vita 2.
I do wonder how long it’ll be until either Sony or Microsoft decide to copy the Switch though. They obviously weren’t anticipating it because it came out mid-gen, by which time they would’ve already been designing the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. But what about next gen?
If one or both ends up making a hybrid console I think that’d make a lot of sense. Remember what happened with the Wii, when they both fell over themselves trying to copy it. Not that it did them much good.
Fonz
Biggest screen
I have a bit of a different set up for my gaming situation.
I bought a projector from a reputable high street pawn broker shop for £24.99.
I also bought a three metre fabric screen for £10 and now I get to play games boosted up onto my bedroom wall like it was nothing.
Graphic snobs and people who spend too much time worried about frame rates and ray-tracing, may turn their noses up at it because, admittedly, you do lose quality compared to HD.
I will tell you this though, there’s nothing quite like a dark winters’ night, with the heating on and a great game to play on a cinema type screen to twindle the hours away.
I like the wrestling and boxing too, which just adds to the experience when I’m watching those big events. Movies are impressive as well on the big screen, like they always are .
Admittedly it’s not for everyone but those who like that sort of thing (like me) could do a lot worse than splash out £35 for the experience.
Tetris Effect and Pac-Man are absolutely awesome on that grand a scale and I couldn’t recommend that type of experience enough to any gamer who had a passing interest in that sort of thing.
Like I said, it’s not for everyone but it’s also not a bad investment if you just want a blast and want to feel like a total fan for what’s going on up on that impressive big screen.
freeway 77
Inbox also-rans
I’ve got a feeling this Metal Gear Solid 3 remake is going to be a disaster. It sounds like nothing but a minimum effort, with low rent developers and no real reason for being other than Konami want money. It should be a case of if Kojima isn’t involved it doesn’t happen.
Landon
I always thought Sony stopping anyone else from being involved in their only store was a bad thing. Why has it taken all this time for anyone to say anything, and only Romania at that? These companies think they can get away with anything.
Roulett
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The Thursday letters page is becoming optimistic about the Xbox Games Showcase, as one reader looks forward to Helldivers 2.