Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 – is its reputation already in trouble? (pic: Activision)

The Monday letters page thinks it knows why people are so bad at predicting Nintendo, as one reader considers the 50th anniversary of Atari.

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Final lesson
It’s always frustrating that we never get any sales figures for games and even if we did they wouldn’t be independent, so I’m not sure they’d even been trustworthy. The only thing we ever get is some sort of comparison to a movie and a brag about it being the fastest-selling game ever. For Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 it was Top Gun: Maverick it was being compared to, alongside the fastest-selling claims. So how comes I don’t know anyone that’s still playing it?

I know plenty of people that were playing it, and are now regretting having bought it, but the response I’ve had amongst my friends is completely negative, including the campaign. I’m not saying I’m such a popular guy that that’s hundreds of people, but it is a dozen or so long-term Call Of Duty fans. Looking online the general mood seem to be very negative, with people upset at the new maps, the modes, the menus, the pacing, PC cross-play, and the bugs.

It’s still Call Of Duty underneath, so you can have some fun with it, but I’ve given up. Life’s too short, games are too expensive, and I’m kicking myself I didn’t just wait until Warzone 2.0, because at least that’s free. Although I imagine it’ll suffer from all the same problems, plus more cheaters (and apparently DMZ mode is bad). The problem with digital downloads isn’t the price, it’s that you can’t sell them on and at this point I feel I’ve learnt that lesson one time to many.

For me Modern Warfare 2 is a failure and at this point I’m not sure if I’m even going to bother with Warzone 2.0, regardless of if it’s free or not.
Carnie

New and different
Very good Reader’s Feature at the weekend, about Nintendo’s likely Switch 2 plans. I think the problem with predicting Nintendo is that people don’t really ever predict them, they predict what Sony or Microsoft would do in the same situation, without accounting for how crazy and reckless Nintendo can be at times.

Yes, if this was Sony or Microsoft the Switch 2 would be exactly that: a more powerful version of the same console and nothing more. But it’s Nintendo we’re talking about here and we should know by now that they’re not sitting in boardrooms getting excited about ray-tracing and reading Digital Foundry.

Miyamoto, in particular, couldn’t care less about all that stuff and since it’s him that’s quoted, I think we can assume that whatever’s coming next will be different. That doesn’t mean it’ll be crazy stupid – it’s still probably a portable hybrid – but, like the reader said, they’ll know the problem with the Wii U was that people thought it was just an add-on/played the same games.

I don’t know how but correcting people on that point is going to be their number one priority.
Onibee

A sunless space
Since I know GC are Star Wars fans (or as much as anyone can be with the highly variable quality) I’m sure you’ve been watching Andor, which I think is hands-down the best thing to do with Star Wars since the original trilogy. And if you don’t think that’s particularly high praise I’ll say it’s also the best new TV show this year, including Lord Of The Rings and House Of The Dragon.

It’s the most incredible slow burn that has these bursts of action that are so well earned and the dialogue in last week’s episode… just incredible. Two of the best monologues I’ve ever heard in anything, with award-winning performances by Andy Serkis and Stellan Skarsgård. Or at least they better win awards or someone will be getting a visit from Dr Gorst.

The reason I bring this up though, other than to recommend it to everyone, is do you think we’ll ever see this level of storytelling in a Star Wars game? I like Fallen Order, but the story and characters were pretty bleh. What kind of game would it even need to be to have enough slow moments to have lengthy dialogue sequences?

It’d be nice to think that Survivor will borrow from God Of War, because I could see that working, but that may be asking for a bit much.
Winston

GC: It is pretty amazing stuff, and still two episodes to go…

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Putting in the effort
Nice review of that Atari 50 collection, GC. I’m not old enough to have played the originals, or even have seen an Atari VCS, but I know the name and recognise it when I see it. Wild to think that mainstream gaming is that old and still being sold and played today. Even if, as you say, this is more like a museum piece.

Money’s tight at the moment but if this ends up cheap in the Black Friday sales then I will actually considering getting it. If nothing else, it seems to be one of the few retro compilations that gives some context to what everything is, even if that’s only the case here because so few people will remember it from the first time round.

I like the detail that they couldn’t include E.T., because it’s not an Atari game, but they did go and shoot some video with the programmer. That’s a level of effort that other publishers could really learn from.
Gaston

The current fashion
Am I the only one that saw that Dragon Age Netflix show and immediately thought of the Dungeons & Dragons cartoon from the 80s? That looks so cheap it’s either going to be embarrassing or so bad it’s good, probably the first one.

Netflix is going big on video game tie-ins at the moment but they all seem to be getting cheaper and cheaper, which given Castlevania, which I assume was the one that inspired all this, wasn’t exactly that big budget.

Before the fad ends I hope we get some left field games though. Netflix would probably consider it scrapping the barrel but I’d love to see some wilder Capcom tie-ins, like Ghosts ‘N Goblins or Dino Crisis. Imagine getting them on board and then only doing boring old Dragon’s Dogma.

Or how about some Sega cartoons? Panzer Dragoon anyone? Or why not a Fallout or Elder Scrolls shows? Or is that just because Bethesda has Microsoft money now and doesn’t have to make ends meet anymore?
Cabbage

GC: We thought exactly the same.

Hybrid version
I enjoyed Sonic The Hedgehog on the Mega Drive. Speed was important to show 16-bit power and it worked in 2D. Sonic Colours was also excellent. Both solid 8/10s.

Sonic Frontiers is a 6/10 for me. Sonic’s speed simply doesn’t work in 3D. The camera is constantly flicking, jarring and jerking around. It proves to me what a masterpiece Super Mario Galaxy is – a game where speed and camera is controlled with utmost care.

Another factor which earns Frontiers a solid six is it’s somewhat depressing, industrial atmosphere and unlikeable freaky characters. Dr Robotnik is the oddest kiddy-catcher in games. I feel like I’m trapped in a fever dream where nothing makes sense, as I did with the bonkers voiceover and strange saturated worlds of Sonic Team Racing. It scares the s*** out of me. The saccharine protagonists and tinkling coin collecting feels all wrong juxtaposed against dark industrial tones and menacing giant robots.

On a brighter note, I am hugely impressed with the new Kirby game. It’s a 9 for me, with a cheerful disposition throughout and a great sense of humour. That and Bayonetta 3 will be under my tree for Christmas. A great few years for gaming on Switch and even better if you like Sonic and Metroid.
w sargent

GC: Were you playing it on Switch? Because we didn’t have anything like those camera problems on the PlayStation 5.

Vanquished again
I’ve been going through loads of my older games recently and I just got to Vanquish. I forgot how good this game is. The combat is Gears Of War on steroids with the slow-mo Matrix style mechanics, which I am surprised hasn’t spawned an entire genre by itself through rip-offs.

Plus, over the top characters and a ridiculous storyline. For me this is the perfect video game on every level. An absolute classic.
Simon

GC: It’s pretty darn good.

Out of order
Quite often you get questions about sequels to games where the writer hasn’t played the previous instalments, asking whether it’d be prudent to play the previous game before the sequel. And pretty much uniformly, the response is no, you don’t need to have played the previous game and the sequel stands on its own two feet, which is a fair enough response.

Which gets me thinking, are there any sequels where you’d think it’s definitely necessary to play the original first? I can’t think of any (of the games I’ve played). Most sequels are made to appeal to as wide an audience as possible and therefore made to be stand alone, although they may carry over narratives and functions of the previous title.

Even a narratively driven game like Life Is Strange: Before The Storm can be happily be played without having played the original first, but that’s a bit of an odd example as the sequel is a prequel, if that makes sense. I’ve never played the Mass Effect series and reading reviews I’d assume those might be an exception.
TheTruthSoul (PSN ID)

GC: Mass Effect is a good example. We would say that most people just consider all three games as a single entity but it’s easy to forget the first one was an Xbox console exclusive and didn’t appear on PlayStation 3 until nine months after Mass Effect 3.

Inbox also-rans
R.I.P. Kevin Conroy, the best Batman ever! I know GC are huge fans and will be equally upset at his passing. Playing the Arkham games with Kevin’s voice really elevated those games and made them special. Maybe one day those games will be updated graphically, but one thing that won’t change is Kevin’s performance.
Anon

GC: It’s very sad news. He was the greatest ever Batman actor and no one else, including in live action, comes even remotely close. The pathos and empathy he put into his performance means that Batman: The Animated Series will probably always be the definitive representation of the character in any media, including comics.

Tinykin is my game of the year. It just scratches that collectathon itch.
Lovely boy

This week’s Hot Topic
The subject for this weekend’s Inbox was inspired by reader Neil Down, who asks what you think of review scores and the current state of video game criticism.

Do you want reviews to be accompanied by a score and if so what’s your preferred scale in terms of how many it’s out of? Are there any particular sites, including this one, that you think could do things differently and what do you think of those that don’t have a score at all?

Is there anything you’d change about how we or others go about reviews (other than the timing, there’s nothing anyone can do about that) and do you think the overall standard of reviews today is better or worse than it used to be? What do you think of aggregate sites like Metacritic and do you use them?

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The small print
New Inbox updates appear every weekday morning, with special Hot Topic Inboxes at the weekend. Readers’ letters are used on merit and may be edited for length and content.

You can also submit your own 500 to 600-word Reader’s Feature at any time via email or our Submit Stuff page, which if used will be shown in the next available weekend slot.

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MORE : Weekend Hot Topic, part 1: The best video game platformers

MORE : Weekend Hot Topic, part 2: The best video game platformers

MORE : Games Inbox: God Of War review score debate, Indie World highlights, and The Last Of Us multiplayer

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The Monday letters page thinks it knows why people are so bad at predicting Nintendo, as one reader considers the 50th anniversary of Atari.