Forza Motorsport – will it review better than Spider-Man 2?
The Thursday letters page suggests that episodic gaming should make a return, as one reader asks for help running a PS2 on a modern TV.
One job
I’m a little surprised at the positive but not overwhelming reviews for Forza Motorsport. Considering how long it’s been brewing I expected it to be something special. It’s currently 85 on Metacritic, compared to 87 for Gran Turismo 7 and 92 for Forza Horizon 5. I guess Xbox’s big turnaround for first party games hasn’t gone quite as planned.
Thing is, I don’t expect Spider-Man 2 to do much better – it could possibly do worse in my opinion. It looks too similar to the original and the trailers so far have been kind of meh. I agree with readers who suggest that both PlayStation and Xbox have been off their game this year. Microsoft has talked the better game but neither of them have walked the walk.
At the end of the day the only thing that matters is the games and on that front it’s third parties and Nintendo that have been the ones that have delivered.
Otto
Risky business
I forgot that Assassin’s Creed Mirage was originally supposed to be just DLC, so I guess that explains why it’s kind of small scale. I might pick it up when it’s cheap, as I do enjoy the series, but it doesn’t seem like a must-buy, not with all the other stuff coming out this year.
It sounds like there probably won’t be a new Assassin’s Creed next year, so Ubisoft are really taking quite a risk on Assassin’s Creed Infinity working out. I wonder if they’re having second thoughts now that live service games seem to be on the decline. I know that wasn’t exactly what it was, but it was clearly trying to take advantage of that trend.
I believe the Japanese one is next so that’s definitely one fans have been looking out for. The benefit of releasing a new sequel every year is it’s not long to wait for the next one if there’s a dud, but the way things are now everything’s a risk.
Jambuster
Grudge match
I didn’t realise Sonic Superstars was coming out so close to Super Mario Bros. Wonder, what an old school match-up that will be. The only problem is nowadays it’s not really a fair fight. I don’t have to be much of a Nostradamus to predict Mario will review and sell better.
I do think Sonic Superstars looks better than the average 2D Sonic but we’ve all been hear before so I don’t even dare hope anymore. It’s got to be better than that Hyenas game they canned though, right?
Wormface
It’s like poetry, it rhymes
Having been a gamer for a long time you start to see certain patterns. I remember when World Of Warcraft first came out and everyone tried to make a MMO, but of course no one has time for multiple games like that so only two or three became popular. Then Fortnite hit and everyone wanted to make a battle royale, except… only two or three became popular.
Now it’s the turn of live service games in general and, what do you know? Most of them are flops and there’s clearly only room for two or three. What gets me is that Sega ignores decades worth of beloved franchises to force the developer best known for Total War and Alien Isolation to work on a generic looking live service game and they make it their most expensive game ever.
The only thing I can say in their favour is that at least they didn’t fall for the sunk cost fallacy and pulled out when they realised it was never going to work. I suspect that’s what’s Sony is doing at the moment too and while I’m glad to hear it how about next time just don’t bother jumping on the band wagon at all and just save your money for something unique?
Rosti
Retro television
Got a quick question for you guys. I’m thinking of revisiting my nostalgia days and purchasing a PlayStation 2. I wanted to ask, since I primarily use my LG Smart TV for gaming, would it be able to be connected properly, despite being an outdated model?
I could use a HDMI adapter, but I’m alien to that whole process. It’s no lie that many select titles have been remastered for future consoles, such as Shadow Of The Colossus and God Of War. But I’d love nothing more than to revisit classics, such as Pro Evolution Soccer 6 and, for the first time ever, Project Zero 1 and 2.
Shahzaib Sadiq
GC: We don’t know, but we’re sure a reader can help.
Broken reality
Greetings Metro community and fellow gamers. My concern today resides with the PlayStation VR2, as I’ve officially taken the plunge on the expensive accessory. After two nights of not being able to press ‘X’ on the right controller, and attempting a few solutions I’ve found circulating online, I exchanged the product for another at Walmart. Currently waiting for my controllers to fully charge and will have a go later today.
I am curious if any readers (or GameCentral) has experienced any issues with their Sense controllers upon using the PlayStation VR2. I have seen a list of about 25 different troubleshooting methods which I sincerely hope I won’t have to resort to trying if this attempt is unsuccessful. Were you able to get your controllers working properly from the get go? Did you find you had to deploy any troubleshooting methods to get your controllers working properly?
I am hoping the first unit was simply a defective kit, but I worry there may be something else at play. Hopefully the second time is a charm because I’m eager to fully experience VR, but my first attempt has me worried these issues are more widespread than Sony would have people believe. Any help or insight would be greatly appreciated.
Andrew from across the Pond
GC: We haven’t had any problems with ours or heard about widespread issues, so you probably just had a bit of bad luck.
Artificial extension
RE: Spider-Man 2 duration. I think 15 hours is a good compromise considering the amount of money spent on game development and the expected return from sales.
Would giving the game an extra hard difficulty appease those who say the game is too short?
Rave
Episodic entertainment
For context on the price of games, my local cinemas vary between £8 and £12 for a ticket, and most movies (that I watch at least) are about two hours long. Assuming the average cinema ticket is at £10, then the £70 current video game would buy me an equivalent of 14 hours of cinema. So Spider-Man 2 being 15 hours for the core story is not a bad price for entertainment. A DVD is obviously about the same as a cinema ticket, but multiple people can watch it at the same time (or later) for that one cost.
Similarly, a CD album is about £12 (amazing that that hasn’t changed in the 10+ years since I last purchased an album), and lasts 40-60 minutes, so you are actually getting a lot more value for games than music.
So comparatively (and excluding TV and radio because they are just standard, everyday things) video games are one of the cheapest types of entertainment for their cost.
The problem people are having is that it’s £70 upfront, whereas movies and music you’d see gradually over a year, and you wouldn’t notice the costs so much. And the cost of the console doesn’t help.
Maybe people would be happier to pay the £70 if studios could start drip feeding their games in two to three hour segments monthly (like Telltale)?
Solabound
PS: Is there any particular Assassin’s Creed game you’d recommend? Only have a PlayStation 4 and Switch and haven’t played Assassin’s Creed since the one involving a Native American and a pirate ship (or where those different games?)
GC: There were ships in Assassin’s Creed 3 but you may be conflating it with Black Flag, which had even more of them. The Assassin’s Creed games are split between the original style and the newer role-playing titles, so we’d suggest either Mirage or Valhalla. Although, arguably, Ghost Of Tsushima uses the original formula better than any Ubisoft game.
Inbox also-rans
I bet FIFA are kicking themselves now, seeing how EA Sports FC 24 has done really well. I don’t think they’re going to find anyone else dumb enough to pay them $1 billion to use their name.
Lempton
When you think about it, the fact that Mario eats magic mushrooms is pretty weird. I’m surprised it got past parent’s groups and the like back in the 80s.
Gorf
This week’s Hot Topic
Believe it or not but the year is now three-quarters done and approaching the busiest period for new game releases. So, for this weekend’s Inbox we want to know what you think of 2023 so far and what you’re looking forward to from the rest of it.
Do include your favourite games that were released new this year, as well as whatever’s launching this autumn that you’re interested in (you can find our release schedule here, if that helps).
But also feel free to discuss the major news events of the year, from Microsoft’s purchase of Activision Blizzard to the departure of PlayStation boss Jim Ryan.
The Thursday letters page suggests that episodic gaming should make a return, as one reader asks for help running a PS2 on a modern TV.