Spider-Man 2 – too big to fail? (Picture: Sony)

The Wednesday letters page considers the pros and cons of the Project Q portable, as one reader is glad Exoprimal is doing well.

To join in with the discussions yourself email [email protected]

Third place
It is easy to get stuck in a bubble online but surely it’s not just me that senses a general lack of excitement around Spider-Man 2? That gameplay footage at the summer showcase was pretty underwhelming and I think a reader the other day hit the nail on the head when he said that the whole black suit/Venom storyline is too familiar. Changing a few of the characters around isn’t going to change the fact that we’ve seen it all before, and the most famous example was done as a comedy.

Maybe I’m wrong and I’m just not hanging out with enough Spider-Man fans but there’ve been so many of these games, and they’re all basically the same, that as casual fan I really can’t get that excited about it.

There’s also the fact that I don’t picture a big deal next gen exclusive as being just another superhero game using the Spider-Man/Batman template. There just doesn’t seem to be anything new here and nothing to really push the PlayStation 5 either, since it looks pretty much the same as the last game.

It makes me wonder whether the game might actually be a bit of a flop. Microsoft has got Starfield and Nintendo has got Super Mario Bros. Wonder, I think most people would say that by comparison Sony’s big exclusive is not quite on the same level. It’s good that all three are competing but I have trouble imaging Sony coming out on top this year.
Gadfly

Loose lips
Has there ever been an explanation for why Call Of Duty leaks every single year and it’s always accurate? I don’t remember it ever not leaking out months ahead of the announcement and I don’t remember it ever being wrong either. Was there not talk of Activision actually planting the information and leaking it out on purpose, for whatever reason… to get people slowly hyped and maybe check to see if they find the concept interesting?

If they’re not doing it on purpose I suggest hiring someone from Nintendo to teach them how to get developers to clam up because they’re leaking like a colander.
Gibbs

GC: There was some suggestion that they plant the leaks, but it’s never been proven.

Complete package
I’m glad to see Exoprimal doing well, because I always like to see Capcom succeed, but I just do not understand why the game doesn’t have a story campaign. I guess some bean counter has worked through the stats and decided it doesn’t matter but for me I would never consider buying a multiplayer game without a good single-player campaign.

I feel that’s always been the secret of Call Of Duty’s success. No matter it’s other issues it is really good value for money, and is always at least two game in one, in terms of single-player and multiplayer and usually three, with co-op (or some other combination of the three).

Maybe if they do a sequel they could make the story mode a Dino Crisis crossover and then connect the two games that way.
Iceman

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Familiar skills
Kudos to that guy who worked out all the Starfield skills just from going through the videos. I had no idea Bethesda had actually shown that much and I suspect neither did they. Just goes to show you can be an obsessed fan and still a perfect normal person, not an angry bully throwing around death threats to anyone that upsets them. So kudos to them.

I have to say though, that looking at his findings it only underlines my fear that Starfield is not fundamentally that different from Fallout or Skyrim. I do enjoy both games but there’s no doubt that they’re no longer cutting edge and I’m not sure Starfield is going to do enough to be considered.

It certainly sounds like it’s going to be big, which may be enough for it not to disappoint, but I have trouble imagining it’s going to be some kind of milestone, groundbreaking game.
Loanstarr

Ascended Kingdom
I finally finished Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom a couple of weeks ago but have been so busy since I haven’t been able to write in with my thoughts until now. It’s obvious to say but it is without doubt one of the greatest games ever made. It’s not necessarily the individual elements or set pieces by themselves that make it so magnificent, although the final fight in particular had my jaw dropping, but the combined majesty of everything pulled together.

I’ve put over 165 hours into the game and more than 95% of that was spellbinding. For an open world game to constantly surprise and delight you over that long of a running time is a towering achievement. Nintendo have outdone themselves.

Not that it is perfect. The dungeons, although improved, still weren’t the best, the voiceover/story could definitely do with some work and, my biggest complaint, the lack of action based in the sky. The trailers and the Great Sky Island intro made me think there would be a whole layer of interconnected sky islands above Hyrule. That the promise of Skyward Sword would be fulfilled.

This wasn’t really the case, surprisingly little of your adventure actually took place in the sky at all. Luckily, as I got further and further into the game, I stopped being disappointed by what Tears Of The Kingdom wasn’t and started appreciating the genius of what it is. No game is perfect but this is as close as it gets!

There’s so much to rave about in the game; the new construction mechanics, the fabulous mini-games, Gleeoks! But if there is one element of the game that really captured my imagination it’s Ascend. What an amazing, amazing gameplay mechanic! Maybe younger readers don’t remember the restrictions of older games, such as invisible walls and unassailable knee-high walls, but I do and having something as freeing as Ascend is absolutely mind-blowing.

I loved just randomly ascending from a cave into the world above to see where you were. It worked completely seamlessly and I often chuckled at where I ended up. It was such a wonderfully practical ability too, saving precious time and energy getting to where you wanted to be. It’s the very epitome of Nintendo magic, much like the game itself!
Ryan O’D

Knife to a gun fight
Last time I wrote in, it was about exploiting bugs in Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom for, well… cheating. I can’t deny it. I like having a lot of stuff, okay? But with Zelda beaten, I went back to the remake of Resident Evil 4 and the second playthrough. And also to get the Handcannon from Mercenaries – which is very easy now! In fact, once I had Krauser unlocked S ratings became almost… trivial to acquire. As the knife is so powerful in this game, and as Krauser has the strongest knife and is the toughest character, all I had to do is just swing my blade like a maniac and the numbers balloon like something out of the late game in a Disgaea title!

It’s almost like cheating. Which makes me wonder, what will it be like once I have the Primal Knife? Of course, the Handcannon is significantly nerfed now. But it’s still fairly easy to get it up to infinite ammo and then, well… I don’t think I’ll have to worry about bosses again. Salazar fell like a chump. Didn’t even get to use the egg trick on him this time, either!

I did mess things up in my first playthrough, however. I, rather foolishly, assumed that the Clockwork Castellans would only start showing up in the castle. Yes, I know, the other recent Resident Evils have spaced these sorts of things out through the entire game, but I got hung up on the ‘castle’ part of the equation! D’oh!

Which means I will now have to wait until the third playthrough to get the Primal Knife. Ah well. Finally, looking up things on YouTube I would advise most returning players that your preferred weapons from the original may no longer be the optimal weapons to select. I mean, the Red9, the Striker, Broken Butterfly… they have been toned down. Be mindful of that.
DMR
PS: Next game after this might be Gravity Rush 2, which Sony are practically giving away at the moment for about £3.99, I think.

Crossing the line
I think it’s perfectly reasonable to ask whether Mortal Kombat has got too violent. For me it crossed the line several sequels ago, when the graphics became good enough for it all to look like something more than a cartoon.

In a way that’s not the developer’s fault but while I’m not calling for the game to be banned or anything I certainly wouldn’t buy it as it is now and I think it’s a shame they haven’t tried to control themselves in anyway or found away around being quite so gory.
Justin L.

More: Trending

Portal appeal
In response to Danson, I’m not excited about Project Q per se, but I’d definitely be interested in it if it worked well and wasn’t too expensive.

It does seem the vast majority would’ve preferred a PS Vita 2, i.e. portable with local processing and probably its own dedicated catalogue of games, but Sony said right as it was being announced that this is about widening the range of options for how we play PlayStation 5 games. A system that splits the PlayStation userbase more than VR already does, or that requires serious downscaling or alternative versions of the same home console games, would potentially just muddy the waters even more, as opposed to offering something that will help open up traditional home console gaming for a lot of households.

That’s what the Switch did for me, and if I could play more games I’m interested in (read: not dedicated handheld games but my large PlayStation backlog) without being tethered to a TV, and with no technical compromises, then all the better.

The biggest hurdles, aside from the fact it looks like a robot dog with a rectangular head, are the price, the battery, and the reliability.

On that last point, I’ve tried remote play through other devices and it seems I might need to upgrade my router to make it reliable when multiple devices in my house are connected to it. The prospect of buying a new one then finding out that wasn’t the real problem with remote play in my house, after I’ve bought Sony’s new device, is a bit of an obstacle.

I’ve touched on the other obvious point, that there are existing options for what the device achieves so it would be interesting to see some remote play comparison features to determine whether Project Q really does offer anything beyond an official label, as I expect it’ll need to if it’s going to justify the inevitable price.

Bottom line, I can see why the device faces an uphill battle on a few obvious fronts but it strikes me that the people who are absolutely baffled by its existence must be the same people who can’t recognise the appeal of playing the Switch at home without it being docked at a TV.
Panda

Inbox also-rans
I entered a competition and I won a DualSense Edge controller. What’s the difference between a standard DualSense controller and the Edge and how much better is the Edge?
David

GC: Here’s our review.

RIP John Gibson. I have fond memories of playing his game Stonkers on the ZX Spectrum, which was the first strategy game I ever played. It used to crash a lot. Happy days.
ameisa (PSN ID)

This week’s Hot Topic
The subject for this weekend’s Inbox was suggested by reader Gannet, who asks what is the most excited you’ve ever been over an upcoming new release?

Although it’s the summer games drought at the moment, it won’t be long until this year’s big autumn games are upon us. But what’s the most you’ve ever anticipated a new video game and how did the dream compare to the reality?

Generally speaking, how invested do you get in pre-release hype and how do you feel about the suggestion that it can sometimes be more entertaining than the games themselves?

E-mail your comments to: [email protected]

The small print
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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.

You can also leave your comments below and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter.

MORE : Games Inbox: Buying a PS5 Pro if you own a PS5, Project Q scepticism, and Colony Wars reboot

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MORE : Weekend Hot Topic: Your favourite type of RPG

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The Wednesday letters page considers the pros and cons of the Project Q portable, as one reader is glad Exoprimal is doing well.