Starfield – could it be a victim of its own hype? (Picture: Bethesda)
The Friday letters page is becoming more sympathetic to Sony’s Activision Blizzard arguments, as one reader looks forward to AEW: Fight Forever.
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The gathering hype
I feel like I’m living in Crazytown with some of the hype that’s building up around Starfield. One highly controlled look at the game and suddenly everyone’s convinced it’s going to be the greatest thing of all time? Have they never played a Bethesda game before? You know, the same Bethesda whose games are full of bugs, have terrible action, and worse dialogue?
I’m not saying their games are without value – I enjoyed Fallout 3 and Skyrim fine – but there are lots of developers that do the same thing but a lot better. Maybe they’ve got better in some of these areas but from the little we saw the dialogue certainly seems as bad as ever, and the facial animation is still poor.
I’m not suggesting that Starfield is going to be bad, or that people are not right to be excited about it, but a little bit of perspective would probably be in order. Especially with this news that there are no ground vehicles. So you’re just going to be wandering around these barren worlds on foot the whole time? Even with a jetpack that sounds either impractical or as if the planets are designed so you don’t need or want to go far.
I’ll reserve my judgement, but I’ve got a feeling that Bethesda are cashing hype cheques that the game will never be able to pay.
Zoltar
Final judgement
I really do wonder how clued in the judge and whoever is in this Activision Blizzard legal battle because anyone that knows anything about gaming can see exactly what Microsoft is doing and once you realise it doesn’t exactly paint them in a good light. They’re not lying but they’re stretching the truth to the point where it’s going to snap back and hit them in the face… unless they’ve got a judge that still calls things ‘computer games’ and takes everything at face value.
I hate that the future of the games industry basically depends on whether that’s the case or not, but I guess that’s capitalism for you. I didn’t know New Zealand and Australia were dubious about the deal but at this point I would be surprised if the UK decision didn’t get overturned after that visit by the Microsoft president to the chancellor. I think we can all imagine what’s going to be said there…
OllieHD
Still trucking
After watching the June 2023 Nintendo Direct, I think it’s safe to say there’s still life left in the old Switch yet.
I’m personally looking forward to Super Mario Bros. Wonder the most, with the Pokémon Violet/Scarlet DLC, Detective Pikachu Returns, and Super Mario RPG also getting a good look-in.
I’m on the fence about the Metal Gear Collection and I might get the first Pikmin game to see what the fuss is all about.
Oh, and I can’t wait to find out more about the new Princess Peach game…
LeighDappa
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Switching formats
I really hope AEW: Fight Forever scratches that rasslin’ game itch that I’ve had since WWF No Mercy, as I think it’s made by some of the people who made the Aki games in the N64/PS1 era but I am keeping my expectations in check. Presumably GC will review the PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X/S versions?
If I buy it that would be on Switch, and I have a horrible feeling it will be absolute rubbish.
John Atkinson
GC: We’re chasing up an Xbox review copy for Metro’s resident wrestling expert as we speak.
Pass hack
To the reader asking about converting Xbox Live Gold into Game Pass Ultimate: yes, it still works.
Last week I bought 12 × 3 month Xbox Live Gold cards from cdkeys.com for £7, because that’s the maximum Microsoft allows you to stack. Then I bought a one month code of Game Pass Ultimate from them for another £7 and it converts all three years of Xbox Live Gold into Game Pass Ultimate, so a total of £91 for three years’ worth.
It’s already said that Game Pass is the best deal in gaming, so you really can’t go wrong at that price. There’s no wonder Microsoft are apparently losing money on Game Pass, especially while they are still allowing this hack to work, but who’s going to turn that price down.
SuperSlimShaun (gamertag/PSN ID)
Currently still playing Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom. If there’s a better game this decade, let alone this year, I can’t wait to play it.
Just business
Sony has talked a lot of rubbish with this Activision Blizzard buyout but I have to admit the issue over having to deal with developers, knowing they’re owned by Microsoft, is a serious one. I imagine Call Of Duty developers are one of the first they’d talk to when designing a new console, in fact I’m sure I’ve heard them talking about doing that before.
So how are any of the Activision Blizzard teams ever going to interact with Sony again, when both sides know they’ll immediately tell Microsoft anything they discussion? I think that ‘we promise not to’ is not a valid plan.
Obviously, Microsoft don’t care. They’d much prefer to make Call Of Duty, and all the rest, an exclusive right from the start, so causing trouble for Sony is just going to be seen as a bonus. The situation is just gross and while I’m sure this is all standard procedure for big business, seeing Xbox pretend it’s the best thing in the world one week and then a tiny little minnow the next is not a good look.
Granvick
The game of all games
Not surprised to learn that 90% of Starfield’s planets are basically empty rocks. It’s just going to be like Mass Effect where only a small number of them have anything unique or interesting on them and everything else you get tired of exploring very quickly.
That’s not really dissing the game, but I really think Bethesda needs to stary pulling back on the hyperbole because people are going to start end up expecting the game of all games and imagining something that reality can never hope to live up to. Now that people are interested, managing expectations should be the order of the day.
Gantz
Not again
Yesterday I downloaded the Williams Volume One Pinball Pack for 50% off but today when I’ve gone to look for them they are still locked and need to be purchased again for Pinball FX3.
It was only via a deep (and very accidental) dive on Google that I found out that Zen Studios have essentially stopped supporting Pinball FX3 as a platform in favour of the simply titled Pinball FX, which is a new platform with new lighting and physics, where you are asked to purchase all your previously obtained tables all over again. When Zen studios started Pinball FX and moved to new iterations they honoured previously, purchased tables.
Throughout the Pinball FX Series I’ve obtained over 80 tables and the cost of purchasing them all over again would cost me in excess of £180. Or I could just purchase a Pinball Pass for £83 per annum thanks to the new coin based microtransactions. Whilst I appreciate they can’t all be free a one-off upgrade fee (of around £10-£15) would have been acceptable, a bit like Rock Band but all the company offered was 33% off in the first month. This was back in February.
However, I received no communication from Zen Studios, (even though they have my contact details) about this shift to a new platform. Neither have I seen on any website that this was happening. I just don’t know how they can justify this kind of cost for essentially remastered tables.
I have supported Zen Studios since the early days of the Xbox 360 and if they would’ve let me import my tables I would’ve purchased many more, but this is a cash grab too much for me. There is no way that I will be re-buying my tables again or supporting them with any future purchases. Thanks Zen Studios.
Chaosphere616
GC: That does seem pretty bad, have you tried talking to them on Twitter?
Inbox also-rans
Those economists that attributed the rise in inflation here to the success of the latest Zelda has to be a poor joke, surely?! Obligatory: Tears of the United Kingdom.
Galvanized Gamer
I’ve just realised why I love this new Aliens: Dark Descent game. It’s basically a really advanced Cannon Fodder from the SNES days. Just a bit buggier.
TommyFatFingers
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The Friday letters page is becoming more sympathetic to Sony’s Activision Blizzard arguments, as one reader looks forward to AEW: Fight Forever.