Super Mario Bros. Wonder is out now (Picture: Nintendo)
The Friday letters page gets very excited about the prospect of the Switch 2, as readers offer suggestions for fixing an Xbox Series S.
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A good weekend
Well, it’s Thursday afternoon as I write this, and I am looking forward to a very exciting weekend… of non-stop video games. I’ve pre-ordered both Super Mario Bros. Wonder and Spider-Man 2 but it’s definitely the Nintendo game I’m going to start with. My girlfriend is interested in playing too, so I really hope it lives up to all the positive reviews.
I’m looking forward to Spider-Man 2 but a new classic Nintendo game, only a few months after Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom? That is some good eating, for us video game fans!
I’m sure I’m not the first to notice this but the Switch started with a top notch Zelda and Mario game and now it seems to be ending with them as well. That’s a fantastic run from Nintendo and confirms the Switch as one of the best consoles of all time, in my opinion.
But which is the best Switch game? Are Wonder and Tears Of The Kingdom the two frontrunners for best game on the Switch? Does anything from any other year come into the running, even though many others are also very good? I won’t know until after this weekend, but I can’t wait to find out!
Taylor Moon
Long road
Got my copy of Super Mario Bros. Wonder a day early, so barely scratched the surface.
But first impression, Mario Wonder is quite simply one of the best looking and playing games ever. Period.
I do wanna ask, from the extra time you will have been playing it compared to us mere mortals, what play time would you put it at? I am guessing quite a lot.
It would be an interesting thing to compare to the other big release this week, bearing in mind the noise about Spider-Man 2’s short length for £70.
Getting a longer experience for £20 less (even more for the Currys pre-orders), is what me as a gamer is looking for.
I do also like the level at a time nature of the 2D Marios. For big open world games, I find it is far too easy to lose track of what you were doing last time.
Si
GC: We can’t give a very accurate estimate because we were playing every stage as we came to it and you can get to the end credits much quicker than that, probably less than 10 hours we would imagine. Play everything though and you’ll find it offers plenty of value for money.
Not a coincidence
So, I cancelled two pre-orders off the back of their reviews on GC. The Fallen Order review was a no-brainer but maybe not Spider-Man 2.
I’ve read GC long enough to know 8 out of 10 isn’t the mark of a bad game. The shorter length was partly why I fancied it in the first place. But at £69 it needed to be outstanding. The GC review was clear that it isn’t.
Super Mario Bros. Wonder getting 10/10 and the glowing review itself wasn’t as essential because it doesn’t cost £69. But it was a nice surprise, and it shows why faith in Nintendo is fully justified, most of the time. Coincidentally I have tomorrow off and I’m really looking forward to playing it now.
Mitchell
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Market dominance
I’m starting to get really excited about the prospect of the Switch 2. I know they’re just rumours but DLSS is real and I don’t see any reason why Nintendo wouldn’t use it to boost their console beyond what it would normally be capable of. If it all works then we could be looking at the first Nintendo console since the GameCube where it can run any third party game.
I’m sure this must be why Microsoft keeps going on about Call Of Duty on Switch, although the big question is whether anyone will buy this sort of game on the Switch. They didn’t on the GameCube but that wasn’t a very successful console and I think the third party games that are on the first Switch, especially things like The Witcher 3 have always put people onto the idea, especially given how convenient it is being a portable.
A Switch 2 with Nintendo games and all third party titles? The Xbox and PlayStation aren’t going to have a chance against that. I’m sure Nintendo will find some way to mess it up but in theory they are on the cusp of their biggest success ever.
Hedlin
Gift request
I would like to buy a game as a gift for a friend and my brother on the Xbox Store to be delivered on the day of my choice (in this case Christmas Day) but Xbox currently do not do scheduled digital deliveries. As I don’t have a Twitter account would another reader be able to make that suggestion on Xbox Twitter’s account for me please, that they add this feature/option? Thank you if you can.
Steam allow you to have the game delivered on a certain day and Amazon allow gift cards to be delivered on a certain day too but not Xbox Store.
Andrew J.
PS: The Hogs Of War Kickstarter is live now. They are looking for £150,000 as their goal and they have just over £22,000 as of writing this email on Thursday. I’ve backed it for a digital copy and I was the second person to back it! There are currently 260 backers as I write this. To get your name in the credits you have to spend £60 though! So have gone with just the digital copy (£40).
Voice of experience
I’ve got a couple of phone numbers ameisa could try to get in touch with someone at Xbox for their Xbox Series S problems. Although first I’d suggest they try holding the power button until the console reboots and if that doesn’t work go to Settings > Network > Advanced Settings, Alternate MAC Address and restart the console. That will reset the MAC Address, whatever that means, but I’ve found it solved a lot of similar issues over the years.
If that doesn’t work try contacting Xbox Customer Support on 0844 441 3195 or the Microsoft Store 0800 026 0329. Although the best method of contacting them these days is usually here in an online chat or by DMing @XboxSupport on Twitter. DM them, don’t tweet at them. DMing usually gets a response but could take a day or two. The online chat is usually the quickest route.
Big Angry Dad82 (gamertag)
Third party repairs
RE: Ameisa. Bit vague but there’s a guy on YouTube that fixes consoles and gives a warranty. I can’t remember his channel but he sometimes gets repairs from tronics fix that he cannot repair.
I also believe CeX offers a repair service now. Never used it myself but it’s another option at least. Looked it up. He’s on YouTube as thecod3r.
Bobwallett
More: Trending
Christmas gaming
Nice review of Super Mario Bros. Wonder. It’s been obvious since the previews that it promised to be a bit of a banger and really pleased that’s turned out to the be case. Gonna be picking it up to play during downtime as my ‘home for Christmas’ game this year.
The Switch has arguably had its best ever year, between the Nintendo hits, a low key great year for indie games, and who can forget Mortal Kombat 1? Seriously though, it’s remarkable when you think that it’s essentially just an overclocked 2015 Android tablet, there is a lesson in there for the never ending graphical arms race that is pushing a lot of developers to the wall.
Back to Mario, we’ve been living through a golden era for 2D platforming for a while and even in 2023 it’s one of my favourite game types. I’m just a big fan of old-fashioned gameplay design and it’s a shame that outside Nintendo it’s only indie developers who feel able to stick to those tried and tested techniques.
However, the little plumber has been on the backfoot in that genre since the launch of the insipid ‘New’ Super Mario series. Those games really are astonishingly bland, and l have struggled for years to work out what Nintendo sees in them, having long been surpassed by your Rayman Legends, Celestes, Shovel Knights, etc. So it’s nice to have him back at the top of the 2D table.
Marc
GC: The first New Super Mario Bros. alone sold over 30 million copies, so you can see the appeal from Nintendo’s viewpoint.
Inbox also-rans
Some good reviews from GC this week. I could really feel the excitement with the Super Mario Bros. Wonder one and, unfortunately, the pain from Hellboy Web Of Wyrd.
Randoit
Is the Wyrd in Hellboy Web Of Wyrd really pronounced word? What a strange choice, I’m sure most people, like me, would assume it was weird.
Fullout
GC: It’s not what we expected either, but that’s how they pronounce it in the game.
This week’s Hot Topic
The subject for this weekend’s Inbox was suggested by reader Onibee, who asks what is your favourite Nintendo game?
Nobody’s been in the video games business longer than Nintendo, or has as many famous, and not so famous, franchises as they do, but what is your absolute favourite Nintendo game and why?
How does it compare to other entries in the franchise and other similar games from other companies? Is Nintendo one of your favourite developers and what do you think are their key strengths and weaknesses?
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: Super Mario Bros. Wonder vs. Zelda, Sonic Superstars bosses, and Spider-Man 2 visuals
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The Friday letters page gets very excited about the prospect of the Switch 2, as readers offer suggestions for fixing an Xbox Series S.