The Thursday letters page wishes that Rare would release more games, as one reader highlights the Aokzoe A2 portable.
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Trust no one
I’ve seen some people complaining about the announcement that Redfall is not 60fps, but I really struggle to care. Redfall is being described as similar to Far Cry and none of those games ever ran at 60fps, and yet somehow they managed to be highly successful. I’m willing to bet that the vast majority of people have no idea what 60fps even is and could never reliably tell which game did and didn’t have it.
As many predicted when it first became a talking point, it’s just become something else to argue about on the internet and a stick to beat whatever someone doesn’t happen to like, whether it be a game, publisher, developer, or console maker.
Yes, Microsoft talked a lot of rubbish, in the early days, about 60fps becoming a standard, and they shouldn’t of, but them and Sony will say anything, especially before a console is released, to make you buy their stuff. For all these supposedly clued in gamers arguing over minor options that don’t matter, you’d think they would’ve learnt that long ago.
Danson
GC: We’re not taking either side, but Far Cry 6 has 60fps options and Far Cry 5 had a 60fps patch for the Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5.
Rare releases
Never mind Valve not making proper games anymore, these reveals of cancelled Rare games have got me pining for the days when Rare were one of the most revered developers in the industry. They’re certainly not that anymore, as they’ve only made one game in the last eight years – a boring MMO lite that I certainly have no interest in.
The only thing they announced since Sea Of Thieves (apart from that Battletoads game they didn’t even make themselves) is Everwild, which I don’t think they’ve mentioned for years and probably doesn’t even exist. We’ll probably be getting behind the scenes reveals of it on Twitter2 in 30 years times.
Rare always seemed a bad fit for Microsoft and it’s only got worse over time. I really hope they have something to show off in June this year or I don’t even know why Microsoft keep them. I can’t imagine Sea Of Thieves is all that profitable for them.
Tony T.
Justifiable concern
I can’t say I have any interest in Final Fantasy 16 so it sounds like this week’s new State of Play is going to have nothing for me. And that’s probably going to be it until June, isn’t it? If Sony even has a showcase in June, since it’s only a rumour.
All this talk of a second phase of the PlayStation 5 and it barely feels like it’s had a first phase to me. This year in particular seems to be a write-off for at least the first half. All there is, is Spider-Man 2 and Final Fantasy 16 – and Sony didn’t even make that one, they just paid for it to be exclusive.
I’m beginning to see why Sony is so worried about Microsoft buying Activision Blizzard. If they get everything firing on all cylinders then they’re going to steamroller Sony’s output at this rate.
Winston
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Empty console
What I’m hoping for from Sony is a handheld that plays PlayStation 4 games at 1080p and 60fps. The nearest device that I have researched that would perhaps have similar specs is the Aokzoe A2, so the technology seems feasible.
Otherwise, the Aokzoe A2 itself looks on paper more advanced, at least in terms of the technical specifications, than the Steam Deck.
Sheel
GC: All the rumours point towards the Sony portable being for streaming/remote play, which suggests it won’t be able to run any games natively. That Aokzoe A2 is interesting though, we’ve not heard of that before.
Individual reality
RE: Artie and PlayStation VR2. Whilst I agree with some comments RE: Sony and it’s VR ambitions, to describe the system as only having tech demos to play on it is a bit much. Gran Turismo 7 and Resident Evil Village are anything but tech demos.
I’ve done nothing but play GT Sport online racing events all weekend. The remainder of the full single-player game is there also, no cut content.
The real question is whether £529 is good value for money to play them, and perhaps a bit more money if you didn’t already own the game before. That’s a bit more difficult to answer. To me the answer is yes, currently, but I must watch now to see if Sony continue to support it with more games of similar VR quality in the future. Other early adopters will be in the same boat.
The only other thing I would add is that everyone’s experience with VR seems to differ. Some will get more mileage out of it than others. I hope it doesn’t become a niche product, which at the moment I would have to say it probably still is.
Therein lies another problem, who is going to pay that much money for a device they might not click with, or like as much as I like mine? Literally the only way to check this is to have a go on a friend’s/store demo, etc. Most folks will probably have their answer after a couple of goes.
r-s-w
Child’s play
Went to see The Super Mario Bros. Movie the other day and have to say I didn’t think it was a great film, but I still enjoyed it, which seems to be the consensus among movie goers. My kids loved it, which is all that matters. I don’t understand why adults review children’s movie, you wouldn’t get a six-year-old reviewing Citizen Kane. At least go and see the film with a child to gauge their reaction. The story in Mario games are bare bones at the best of times so the idea that the film would be multi-layered story drama is puzzling.
I think in your article, you also missed out Bowser Jr. and the Koopalings from future movie releases. I suspect the Boos will tie into a Luigi’s Mansion spin-off, hence their omission. I would also like to see the boot and frog power-ups in future films.
As for anyone that says the 1993 movie was better in terms of ideas, that is only because the film creators didn’t understand the Mario games and created something which is original but ultimately has no relation to its source.
For future film releases I am avoiding trailers, as I wish I hadn’t seen any of them as they gave away too much. I am surprised Nintendo allowed so much, as their games trailers tend to be spoiler free. I was expecting a Mad Max style swinging off a pole but alas it wasn’t to be.
Alek Kazam
GC: Children’s films such as Puss In Boots: The Last Wish and The Lego Movie got great reviews. Paddington 2 is the most critically acclaimed movie of all time. The purpose of a review is not to try and guess whether someone else will like it but to critique a film as a work of art. By your logic you there’s no point us reviewing Super Mario games.
Uncertain future
I’m really curious to know how Dead Island 2 is going to do. It’s so long since it was first meant to come out and doesn’t seem to have anything to do with the first game. I thought the last couple of trailers looked pretty good but I’ve not seen much hype for it and I have a feel it’s going to be a flop.
I’m not sure if leaking early is going to help it or not, but if it’s good perhaps it will. The fact that it has no bugs without a day one patch immediately puts it above most new releases.
Paulie
Redfall of Xbox
So I’ve been watching the lead up to Redfall’s release with a high level of interest. I’m big fan of Arkane’s games and of co-op first person shooters – it seemed right up my street.
Previews of the game looked good to me, interesting gameplay within an open world environment, smooth visuals and the potential to be my go-to game of an evening.
Today on Twitter Arkane announced there will be no 60 frames per second mode at launch on console and my interest has dropped through the floor, not just in the game but Microsoft’s entire performance this generation.
I’m sure some may say I’m overreacting, and maybe I am, but this is the straw that broke the camel’s back. It seems clear now all the previews were done on PC (not something I noticed mentioned) and while I can accept 30fps in slower third person games the visual sludge and lack of precision aiming 30fps brings to first person shooters means I’ve sworn off them since the jump to 60 in Destiny.
There’s been mention on this letters page that Microsoft don’t seem to know how to effectively run games companies and I’ve always thought they were overreacting. To see them release another game where core features will ‘release after launch# leaves me convinced they were right. After their disaster with Halo Infinite post launch I have no faith left and I would’ve counted myself as one of the only Xbox fans left.
Well done Phil. You’ve killed even my 20 years long enthusiasm for Xbox.
DarKerR (gamertag)/DarkerR-UK (soon to be PS5 main)
Inbox also-rans
So a bunch of random nerds have decided to sue Microsoft to stop them buying Activision Blizzard and Sony are helping them? This whole plotline stopped being believable a long time ago.
Royston
I loved Mega Man Battle Network 3 when I had it on the Game Boy Advance, I had no idea it went all the way up to 6. I might get the collection but I would definitely be up for a modern day sequel.
Gifford
This week’s Hot Topic
The subject for this weekend’s Inbox asks the obvious question of the moment: following the success of The Super Mario Bros. Movie what other video game would you like to see turned into an animated film?
It doesn’t have to be Nintendo related, or family friendly, and it can be either CGI or hand animated (or stop motion). Most video game movie ideas are based on the idea that the film would be live action but what do you think would work better animated?
Do you think animation is better for video game adaptations in general and when is live action still preferable? What actors would you imagine for the parts and do you think they’d actually do it?
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The small print
New Inbox updates appear every weekday morning, with special Hot Topic Inboxes at the weekend. Readers’ letters are used on merit and may be edited for length and content.
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