The Last Of Us Part 2 Remastered – gaming’s best story? (Picture: Sony)

The Wednesday letters page sees more fallout from GAME abandoning video game trade-ins, as one reader tries to work out Xbox’s game plan.

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Remastered classic
Nice review of The Last Of Us Part 2 Remastered, GC. I didn’t actually know about the roguelike mode so that’s an interesting extra, as are the cut levels. Since I have the original on PlayStation 4 I may just take advantage of the upgrade option and pay for it. I don’t mind that so much when there is new content and you’re not just paying for the content itself.

The problem is whether I want to play the game again. Not that it’s not a great game but because, as you implied, it’s a grim experience that has no happy pay-off (and is really long). I’m not sure if anyone could say they enjoyed a game like this but for me it is a masterpiece and has easily the best story in any game.

That comes at some cost, in terms of the lack of control you have over what’s going on, but while I wouldn’t like every game to be like that, I think Naughty Dog succeeded perfectly in what they were doing. The realisation of what they are doing, in terms of setting up the characters from both protagonists’ perspective, is amazing stuff and we’ve certainly not seen anything similar in the years since.
Turtle

Bad trade
So it’s settled then, GAME is giving up trade-ins and now all we’ve got left is CeX, who, in my experience, are much less knowledge and pay much less for everything, even if they do pay cash. As someone that still buys physically, specifically so that they can trade it in later if necessary, this is a real blow.

Rather than CeX I think I will probably instead try eBay, which I’ve used a few times for rarer games and got a good price. Although it’s much less reliable and I’m sure I’ll end up losing money in the long term.

As others have said, there’s no one to blame other than fellow gamers. So next time one of you buys a digital game for £70, is disappointed with it, and finds they’re just stuck with it, do remember that there used to be an alternative, that you just let disappear for no reason.
Focus

Ring out
I think FromSoftware must’ve done a deal with either Sony or Xbox. I cannot see any other explanation for them not having shown off the DLC yet and rumours suggesting it’s out in February. Like you said, that leaked controller was pretty obviously real, and yet where is the DLC? Did it get delayed at the last minute and the rumours are actually of date? Maybe, that is about the only other alternative explanation I can think of.

They’re not going to make it exclusive, because that would cause outrage, but I wonder what the benefit will be? Getting it a few days earlier? Some an extra armour or weapons? A unique boss, perhaps? I hope I’m wrong, I don’t like exclusives and the thought of losing out.
Tolly

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Playing it safe
In trying to work out what Microsoft’s game plan might be at the moment, I have to say it’s not easy. Nothing much that they or Sony has done later makes much sense to an outsider, who doesn’t know the inside story, but I think now that Microsoft has bought Activision Blizzard they’re basically just going to sit back and wait until streaming is a thing.

They’re never going to be number one with consoles but they can easily beat Sony on streaming because they own the tech. So just sit back until then and let the Call Of Duty money roll in. Not an exciting plan but it makes sense to me.
Pendal

Given a hand
If Nintendo is planning a remaster of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild for the Switch 2, what do people think will be in it? Knowing Nintendo they won’t just leave it at improving the graphics but what could they add? Would they include the Ultrahand or something else that worked like it?

I think that would be a neat idea but then I imagine they’d probably want to do a remaster of Tears Of The Kingdom not long after and then they would’ve spoiled one of its best features by doing it early.

Maybe Breath Of The Wild could have the motorbike from the DLC in earlier and that could open things up, as it barely works at the moment because the game has trouble loading the game world in quick enough. They could have a bunch of different vehicles and put enemies in them too. Mad Max meets Zelda, anyone?
Onibee

Cannon fodder
Could not a valid point be made that Naughty Dog’s insistence on portraying a ‘cycle of violence’ narrative is a easy way to avoid having to create an adult tale and a game world that doesn’t involve the predictable gameplay mechanic of eliminating enemies via endless shooting and stealth killing?

I understand the implication of making the player feel uneasy and apprehensive about the mass murdering but at times it feels like the game is glorifying it’s gruesome and graphic fatalities rather than offering any substantive moral revulsion.

Most enemy fodder are just that. Merely fodder, with no background characterisation to differentiate them from any enemy taken from a Call Of Duty title, which led to large parts of complete disconnect for me.
Only one opinion.
Wonk

GC: The cycle of violence theme and the apprehensiveness over violence is all to do with the named characters; we’re not sure how you could successfully characterise the hundreds of unnamed enemies you kill in the game. That’s the intrinsic problem with storytelling in action games but The Last Of Us Part 2 at least tries to tackle the issue.

Favourite half of a game
Those Baldur’s Gate 3 stats don’t surprise me. I’m always surprised to learn how little some people play games while also claiming to like them.

Back in the day, I had a friend who said that Resident Evil 2 on the PS1 was his favourite game. It later turned out he’d never beaten it, with either character. Was he lying or was he satisfied by what he played and didn’t need more? I don’t know, I haven’t seen him for years.
Pinky

More: Trending

Spend money to save money
Just some thoughts on the decline of GAME and physical releases and the trade-in good old days… today. Being the owner of an Xbox Series S, and hence been tied in to the digital-only market now, I find my gaming habits have changed. In the past I would almost always try something a little different when it came along, because in my eyes I could always move something along if it didn’t click with me, there were always options to trade it in, sell it on, even swap it with friends and acquaintances and get something new or at least a good chunk of your initial outlay back.

Now, however, I increasingly hold back on anything a little different, because those options are no longer available. I think there are options to request a refund, if you’ve played less than two hours or if it’s just a broken buggy mess, but otherwise, you’re just stuck with it. Baldur’s Gate 3 I’m looking at, but a t 58 quid it is just too risky for a dice rolling, tabletop role-player, the likes of which I’ve never played before. Don’t like it? Stuck with it!

Marvel’s Midnight Suns is another, I never got on with XCOM or Mario + Rabbids, so I’m again in two minds. Even RoboCop: Rouge City, which has great reviews, at around 10-12 hours, seems to me like a one play then move it on type of game. Unfortunately, that’s the situation I and I imagine many other gamers find or will find themselves in in the future.

Maybe I should have remortgaged and bought the Xbox Series X.
big boy bent

GC: It sounds like it would’ve been worth it, literally and figuratively.

Inbox also-rans
Thanks for the article on the YouTuber who did the Baldur’s Gate 3 video. But if you think that’s funny, check out his Borat in Resident Evil 4. Comedy gold! Absolutely brilliant. His editing for John Wick in Resident Evil 4 is superb also. Subbed!
Anon

I wonder if video game lawyers just make things up to be upset about sometimes, just to keep themselves in practice. Next up, Take-Two sue DC Comics over the Robin logo on his chest.
Felix

This week’s Hot Topic
The subject for this weekend’s Inbox was suggested by reader Gadfly, who asks how interested are you in retro gaming and are publishers doing enough to support your favourites?

Do you play a lot of older games, either on their original format or via remasters? What percentage of your gaming time is spent on retro titles and do you enjoy them just as much as newer games? Is it just a matter of nostalgia or are there things that the older games do that you can’t get from modern titles?

When it comes to your favourite games and systems do you think publishers are doing enough to keep them easily available to everyone and what would you like them to do in the future, especially in terms of remasters, remakes, and sequels.

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The small print
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The Wednesday letters page sees more fallout from GAME abandoning video game trade-ins, as one reader tries to work out Xbox’s game plan.