The Friday letters page recommends some of the best Black Friday bargains, as one reader celebrates the open world design of Fallout 4.
Games Inbox is a collection of our readers’ letters, comments, and opinions. To join in with the discussions yourself email gamecentral@metro.co.uk
A good haul
It should be Black Friday by the time you ready this, although even more than usual it feels like that whole month is Black Friday. I’ve definitely already used up my budget, but I am pretty happy with what I picked up.
I wasn’t expecting any price cuts for the Nintendo Switch 2 but since there was I treated myself to one as a Christmas present and got the Mario Kart World bundle for £405, which I think is the cheapest it’s likely to be for at least the next couple of years.
On top of that I picked up Split Fiction for £28.99 at Argos and Forza Horizon 5 for £35.74 on the PlayStation Store. I did want Silent Hill f but it’s still a bit pricey for me, so I’ll wait until next year for that one.
That’s wiped me out for the year but assuming these live up to the hype I’m pretty pleased with my haul. Looking forward to playing Split Fiction with my girlfriend and Mario Kart World with the rest of my family over Christmas.
Grackle
Sloppy leak
Saw a lot of people getting fooled by some fake AI footage of GTA 6, which was meant to be a leak. It was all made up but I have the feeling that’s going to be the first example of what will become very commonplace over the next year.
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Especially if it’s a sequel, it must be very easy to fake game footage. Experts will probably be able to tell the difference, but the average causal gamer is going to believe anything. That could end up causing some major problems for publishers if people don’t like what they’re saying. AI really is the worst.
Austin
Casual draw
Call Of Duty on Nintendo Switch does seem pointless to most people in the know but I noticed that Nintendo was advertising the Switch 2 with EA Sports FC 26. Now, anyone reading on these pages will know that it’s probably a terrible version and that you’re much better off playing it on a different console, but I guess it probably is a draw to casual gamers.
Likewise, Call Of Duty may be seeing a dip in interest currently but it’s still massive and if it does start appearing on Switch 2, I can see it being a draw. I don’t know anyone that’d rather play it on Switch compared to literally any other option, but then it isn’t aimed at people like us. Can’t wait for people to start complaining about being matched with Switch players though.
Focus
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Brief recommendation
I have written in with this before I think, but it’s so good. Let’s do it again. Yellow Magic Orchestra, 1978. The music album.
I think that’s where computer games music started in Japan. I may be mistaken. It’s timeless music and for us playing games they were ahead of their time… by a country mile.
Nick The Greek
GC: They were certainly influential on later video game composers, but their first album sampled sounds and music from existing video games. The song below features Taito’s Gun Fight, Circus, and Space Invaders.
Next question
Thanks for all those who offered me advice on The Last Judge in Hollow Knight: Silksong. I came so close yesterday, so I think I’m almost there!
I have another query, which I hope people can help out with: I am obviously an avid gamer but I’m also an avid movie watcher and TV (good quality television!) and I was wondering what is the best TV for both movies and games?
I’ve always had a half decent TV but I was recently at an Airbnb and I was watching Aliens on it and I was astounded about how good the picture quality was. As if it was 3D, but wasn’t actually. Do people have any suggestions? I don’t really want to spend more than £1,000.
Thanks!
John
Hidden treasure
Has anyone noticed how tricky it is to get a decently priced new physical copy of the PlayStation 5 version of Indiana Jones And The Great Circle? As of the time of writing the cheapest Amazon has it is £99.
Second-hand copies in CeX are about £70 and nowhere else seems to have any copies at all. Did Microsoft stop making discs, was it a bad seller? If I get a new copy at a decent price my next quest is Baldur’s Gate 3 physical on PlayStation 5.
Rob
GC: Sounds like it had a low print run. Xbox owners traditionally prefer digital over physical, to a much larger degree than PlayStation owners, so Microsoft probably doesn’t see it as a priority for any format.
Real character
I’ve been playing Fallout 4 again, because of the Anniversary Edition, and while I can see arguments for why it’s not as good as Fallout 3 – or at least that it’s not a very ambitious sequel – I still love it. Bethesda get a lot of criticism and most of it is justified, especially in terms of their tech and the amount of time they take, but there’s still something very special about their open worlds.
They’re never the biggest but they’re always the most detailed and customisable. Fallout 4 is a great place to explore and while all the rubbish everywhere is a bit silly, in terms of no one bothering to clear up, I loved using it to craft new items.
The visual storytelling is also second to none, with so many blown out buildings or ominous skeletons that tell their own story, without even needing to find a note that explains what had been going on.
It’s true that the story and characters are not very good, and definitely the worst of any Fallout game, but I really don’t think that’s the point. The world is the real character and I love interacting with it.
That’s also why Starfield was such a disappointment. By making most of the worlds randomly generated you instantly lost the best thing about Bethesda’s games. The fact that they didn’t realise their own strengths, and weaknesses, is pretty crazy and I really hope they’ve learnt their lessons for The Elder Scrolls 6.
Rudie
Expensive reality
I have been looking around the Black Friday sales for a PC VR headset, but I have no idea which one is best. Any recommendations for someone who has more money than sense?
LoRd SiNn
GC: A lot of the options aren’t cheap, but HTC VIVE Pro 2 is half price in Black Friday at the moment, at £599 on Amazon. The Meta Quest 3S is also in the sale and while it’s designed to be standalone you can buy a link cable to connect to a PC as well. There’s a £378.97 bundle for it on Amazon.
Withdrawal symptoms
I’m really starting to get antsy for a new Legend Of Zelda. Tears Of The Kingdom was only two years ago but it feels longer, perhaps because the map was so similar to Breath Of The Wild. Fans can try and wish up a remake of Ocarina Of Time all they like but, basically, if you’ve already thought of it then there’s no chance Nintendo will do it for real.
But when will they start dropping some hints about the next game? They’ve already done the opposite of what everyone expected with Animal Crossing, so it’s basically impossible to make any kind of educated guess.
What I will say is that they did make sure to have Hyrule Warriors: Age Of Imprisonment ready for the launch yeas. So they recognise they need to get Zelda out there as soon as possible, but is Hyrule Warriors meant to tide us over for years to come or is it just one of a series of spin-offs planned?
Pre-Covid, Nintendo were trying to have a new Zelda, of some sort, out every year and I’m not sure if that’s still the plan but I suspect it will be until we get a mainline entry on the Switch 2.
My guess for what’s next? Probably A Link To The Past remake in the style of the Link’s Awakening remake. I’m not a great fan of the art style but I’ll take it, because that is an all-time classic game.
Renton
Inbox also-rans
Just got myself a copy of Donkey Kong Bananza in the Black Friday sales. Didn’t expect to get a bargain there, but quite chuffed with that.
Lumpy
That cockroach PlayStation 5 story was properly upsetting, thanks. The black widow example was even worse though. Who knew repairing consoles was so dangerous to your health?
PEZ30K
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