Doom: The Dark Ages- now with added story (Bethesda)

The Friday letters page is surprised and worried that EA has had two sales disappointments, as one reader is glad Ninja Gaiden is making a comeback.

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Not only on Xbox
Very interesting Developer Direct for Xbox. Lots of great games that had nothing to do with Activision Blizzard and yet they’ve got more games coming out in the first four months of this year than Sony has had in over two years. It’s crazy that that’s true and I’m not even exaggerating.

If Microsoft can keep this up, then I will be very impressed but… why couldn’t they have done this years ago? I’ve got a PlayStation 5 and none of this gives me any urge to buy an Xbox console or Game Pass. Why would I? I’ll just buy the games I want on the console I’ve got, probably some of them after they’ve been discounted.

Xbox is just another publisher now, like EA or Ubisoft. In terms of how I connect with their games there’s no difference. Was 25 years of Xbox gaming really leading up to this? If it makes money for them, it makes money, but it means they now have very little influence on the future of gaming.

Without Xbox we wouldn’t have got online gaming until years later, if it was just left to Sony. And in general it’s good to have a competitor for PlayStation, since Nintendo play by their own rules. It’s a strange way to end the Xbox dream: successful but not in any of things they originally set out to do.
Tacle

Sight and sound
I’m in two minds over the Doom: The Dark Ages reveal. On the one hand I like what I see but a lot of what the devs were saying was really worrying. They obviously know everyone’s going to call it dumbed down, whether it is or not, and the stuff about the story is just… what? What does Doom need a story for? Especially cut scenes that are going to be keeping you from the action.

To me, it sounds like someone high up at Bethesda wasn’t happy with the sales of the last couple and said they had to make it more ‘accessible’ to casual gamers. But, as usual when a publisher says that, it’s not going to make a blind bit of difference and likely only put off the fans they already had by changing things.

Hopefully it’s not that bad, because I really like the idea of the chain shield, but just totally unnecessary changes that are a huge red flag. I’d love to know whose idea they were, so I can call them an idiot.
Jonesy

Obscure Claire
I knew the secret game at the Developer Direct would be Ninja Gaiden 4. It was so obvious as soon as the possibility arose, because Microsoft loves to obsess over old Xbox games and you can tell they think this is ‘one of theirs’. I bet they publish the next Dead Or Alive too, if and when that happens.

But like you said, if Microsoft is, for whatever reason, funding non-blockbuster game then don’t knock it, it’s good for everyone. This one not only helps PlatinumGames out but it brings back a franchise that probably would’ve been dead without them. I’m all for it and I hope it turns out well, even if the graphics look kind of bad.

I like the look of that French role-playing game too. For me this solidifies that Japanese role-playing games are absolutely a genre and not just where they’re made. It even has a terrible name that nobody will remember or be able to spell – so authentic!
Focus

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The double
Very interesting to see EA suffering two flops (or at least disappointments) in a row, I can’t remember that ever happening before. I’m not surprised at Dragon Age: The Veilguard, as the marketing for that was very bad. I’d bet that a lot of the damage was done with that terrible reveal trailer, which made it seem like some sort of bad comedy game for kids.

I have no idea what they were thinking with that, but it should mean the game goes cheap sooner than it would’ve been and I can pick it up then.

The one that does surprise me though is EA Sports FC 25. If the problem is bugs that would explain it but even so, I thought FIFA fans basically put up with anything. It’s tempting to say that the answer is always make good games but it’s also do good marketing, ideally with someone that has an understanding of the game and its audience.

Whatever you think of them, we don’t need EA doing a Ubisoft. Especially as they’ll just end up cheap enough for some other company to buy up and absorb.
Zeiss

The obvious choices
I feel like a 3D Mario and a Zelda remaster are so easy to guess for the Nintendo Switch 2 launch that you can’t rely on any leak that mentions them, but I still hope it’s true. The original Switch had such an amazing first year and so far everything suggest Nintendo is going to try and repeat that success in as many specific ways as possible.

That means Mario Kart probably coming out in the autumn, which I’m fine with as I agree it’s not the sort of thing that seems right for a launch game. Personally, I hope the Zelda remaster is actually another remake of one of the 2D Zelda games. A Link To The Past or the Capcom games would be perfect, if you ask me, but I don’t know how likely that is.
Calbren

Grab bag
I can’t say that I was all that impressed by the Switch 2 reveal. Maybe the leaks sort of took the wind out of its sails. It’s an interesting strategy for a company such as Nintendo to double down on proven success (Wii U was their lesson to not) when they are proven and successful risk takers in an increasingly volatile and risk averse market but I’m positive that they now have a winning formula going forwards.

Maybe, some might say sadly, they’ve steered into the incremental zone. It’s the games though and if the new hardware means that’s positive progress then count me in (my inner cynicism tells me to wait for the inevitable OLED model).

With that statement, I’m going to try to invoke some Inbox magic as of now, in no particular order: Metroid Prime: 2 & 3 remasters for Switch 1/2 crossover, Shenmue remasters (à la PlayStation 4 standard), new Nintendogs, any Chibi-Robo!, Tenchu: Stealth Assassins, Dino Crisis, Hotel Dusk new episode, new F-Zero iteration, Super Mario Land 2 remake (along with original/reworked soundtrack options).

That’s the spaghetti thrown to the wall. I could go on, but I think the cauldron is steaming dry already. I’ll grab my coat…
D Dubya

GC: That is a very random selection of games, but we wish you luck.

Breeding disappointment
I’m actually okay with Team17 changing their name because there is nothing about them now that has any similarity to what they used to be. Saying that, I still wish they’d make a new Alien Breed game, weren’t they going to at one point? I’m sure I remember them announcing one.

Considering they’ve already given up on Worms though I’m not surprised. I’m not even going to bother mentioning Superfrog…
Bowie

GC: There was a reboot trilogy of episodic games in the Xbox 360 era, but we don’t recall them mentioning it again since. You might be thinking of indie game Xenosis: Alien Infection, which we saw in a preview but was never released.

Tough luck
One aspect of the Switch 2 that doesn’t seem to be getting a lot of attention is its backwards compatibility. I was wondering what people are hoping for from this? I’m not expecting huge gains on old software and don’t expect old third party titles to be patched for the new machine beyond a few classics, but stabilising existing titles to their target settings just via the extra grunt would be very welcome.

Some of Nintendo’s own titles would obviously benefit from a native glow up too, Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom does drop from its 30fps cap into the mid-to-low 20s quite often (clearing out monster camps with the squad is a nightmare). However, I don’t expect any free lunches from Nintendo, ‘tough love’ is their policy when it comes to fans.

Sony has been (unfairly in my opinion) criticised for putting out PlayStation 4 remasters but paying some kind of fee for upgrades seems fair, remastering does require resources. Also, Nintendo has a history of maximising income from its back catalogue and their fans have proven to be happy to fork out again for games way they aren’t on other machines.

I definitely expect full price Switch 2 versions of the two Switch main Zelda titles, Super Mario Odessey, some Pokémon, and select others at upscaled 4K with other technical improvements. I just hope that Nintendo put out modestly priced upgrade patches for existing owners, I would pay a tenner (Sony style) to take my copy of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild to 4K60fps.

However, I wouldn’t be surprised if they expect us to fork out full price again for the new versions and existing owners are stuck at 720p/30fps on their new consoles. How would you review that? It’s still a 10/10 game but such an obvious fleecing of fans would leave such a bad taste I think it’d be worth a points docking.
Marc

GC: But that’s irrelevant to anyone that hasn’t played/bought it before. We’d probably take the same approach we did with Super Mario 3D All-Stars, where we scored it highly but made it clear we considered the whole thing a cynical cash grab.

Inbox also-rans
Here’s my GTA 6 trailer theory: there isn’t going to be one until after the summer because it’s been delayed to next year. Prove me wrong!
Bob

Was Dark Souls ever in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate? I swear there was a sticker or something, but I can’t see it in anything I’ve unlocked.
Raton

GC: No. You may be thinking of the Solaire of Astora amiibo (which, ironically, is not compatible with Super Smash Bros. Ultimate).

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