The Friday letters page is keen for other Nintendo remakes beyond just Star Fox, as a reader looks forward to the belated release of Mina The Hollower.
Games Inbox is a collection of our readers’ letters, comments, and opinions. To join in with the discussions yourself email gamecentral@metro.co.uk
Any price
I see the question of GTA 6’s price has come up again and I’m not really sure why it’s so controversial. As far as anything official goes it probably isn’t going to be any more than £70 but if it was £80 or more… so what? GTA 6 at anything up to £100, and beyond, has to got to be the best value in entertainment anywhere.
I took the family to the cinema the other day and it cost me £100 for five people, to see a terrible movie, that only lasted two hours, and eat some nasty, overpriced food. Compare that to a video game that’s (most probably) really good and is going to last you hundreds and hundreds of hours. Does it really matter if it’s £70 or £80?
I’m not encouraging a price rise or saying that people have money to spare but this is GTA 6. We’ve been waiting 13 years for it and we know exactly what we’re getting with it. I know people are skint at the moment but just sit and think why, and how much some of the other things you buy cost, and how much better value for money GTA 6 is going to be compared to them.
Robbo
The way back
I will give the new Xbox boss credit, she is trying, but she has been handed such a bad hand I don’t know how she can pull anything successful off. She might be able to bluff hardcore fans for a while but at the end of the day a new console doesn’t really matter or excite anyone unless it has good games, which is why Xbox One and Xbox Series X failed out of the gate.
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Maybe Project Helix has something amazing lined up but… does anyone really think that? Who’s making it and what kind of game would it be? Because I can say now that if it’s just Halo and Gears Of War again, nobody cares. It’s not 2010 anymore and those games are not going to be enough to challenge PlayStation. I just don’t see anyway back for them.
Focus
Bioshock finite
I had completely forgotten that Bioshock was even a thing until that Take-Two guy mentioned it again. I thought Bioshock Infinite was pretty good, so I’m not sure why it’s gone so long with a new one. He seems to say it was his fault but doesn’t say what he did. I’m assuming things got cancelled or people were laid off or something.
The last rumour I heard was that it was riffing on The Time Machine, with the Eloi and Morlock – I think it was set in Antarctica. That seemed like a pretty neat idea, given how the stories work in these games, but who knows if it’s still the current plan. I just hope they don’t try and set it in Rapture again, that place is played out.
Morph
GC: That rumour was from 2021 and we’ve not had a credible one since, which shows how long all this has been going on.
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Sweet spots
Nice take on the PlayStation 4; it was definitely a great machine that hit a sweet spot but it also laid down the traps for the situation we currently find ourselves, in regarding lengthy and expensive game developments. I will use the article to launch a defence of one aspect of the PlayStation 5 though.
I recently upgraded to the PlayStation 5 in the pre-Christmas price cuts and I have to say I don’t really understand the hate it gets in some quarters. It’s a huge upgrade on Sony’s 2013 vintage technology. I mean, the letter the other day stating ‘it should never have been released’ is just baffling, I’m not sure I know what they mean? Ghost Of Tsushima at 1080p30 vs. 4K60? Come on, it’s a no-brainer, the difference in play is massive and it actually upgrades a ‘kinda average’ game to ‘worth playing’.
The PlayStation 5 plays most PlayStation 4 games how they were meant to be experienced, without compromise. It’s actually made playing those PlayStation 4 titles that haven’t seen patches (Bloodborne you swine) almost unplayable stuck with their old settings, when you’re used to the enhanced performance of other titles. The 60fps lock in we are now getting is a real game changer and shouldn’t be underestimated, as a gamer brought up on 90s arcade smoothness it warms my heart that after 20 years of HD console gaming it’s finally back.
So is the PlayStation 4 the best Sony console? Yes… if you play the games on a PlayStation 5. So maybe it’s actually the PlayStation 5 that is the real sweet spot?
Marc
PS: Applying this argument to Switch and Switch 2 is probably an even bigger game changer.
GC: We don’t think anyone dislikes the PlayStation 5 itself, but many feel its improvements are not worth the cost of making triple-A game development so impractical. The argument is that it would be better to put up with the quality of graphics and performance on the PlayStation 4, because the economics of the system were far more sustainable than the PlayStation 5.
Out of credits
I got an email on Wednesday evening, to say that Mina The Hollower is being released on Friday, 29th May for current gen platforms, as well as Switch 1, Mac, and Linux, as I am a Kickstarter backer of the game. I get a free digital copy, so I chose to go for the PlayStation 5 version. I look forward to playing it. My name is not in the credits unfortunately, as to get your name somewhere in the game you had to pay at least $200, which was just too much for me, unfortunately.
On other Kickstarters, the price to get your name in the game is a lot more affordable and is included with a standard digital copy of the game, but that is OK. Here’s a very short announcement trailer all Kickstarters were asked to share for the game.
Andrew J.
PS: I see on Epic Games Store, on PC, this week the game Arranger: A Role-Puzzling Adventure is free. It got a very good review in Edge magazine, where it received a 9 out of 10, and GameCentral gave it an 8. It is hard to explain but it is a puzzle game where when you move your character the world moves too! If you have a look at the YouTube video it will make sense from my description.
Future upgrades
Well, I didn’t expect to wake up to that news about Star Fox 64 getting a new lease of life for the Switch 2, although obviously I had heard the rumours.
If they were ever going to remake a Star Fox game, I think most fans would say it would have to be that one.
I played that thing to death back in the day and I have to say it was the closest I’ve ever felt to being the star of the show in a big budget Hollywood movie.
Of course, not all games have to aim for that sense of heroism yet indeed a lot of games have tried and failed.
The score for me was one of the outstanding highlights, as it quietly danced over the first level in Corneria and suddenly breaks into a heroic orchestra as you finished the level. Then you had the endless tumbling music of the asteroid fields, that gave you a sense of falling into something that was probably not going to give you a warm welcome when you got there. So, I hope they don’t mess around with that side of things too much.
Anyway, there are two other massive big hitters on the N64 that Nintendo could pull out for the Switch 2 if they are going down the route of remaking games.
GoldenEye 007 is a legal minefield, so I’m dismissing that; I’m talking about games that Nintendo doesn’t need permission for and let’s face it there would be absolutely no point in them remaking Mario Kart 64.
Zelda: Ocarina Of Time, obviously. If those rumours are true I would imagine it will come out around the same time as the film.
Then there is Super Mario 64, which I think could really benefit from a new lick of paint and an upgraded camera control system. Although I think that would rely on when the next 3D Mario is likely to arrive and indeed if Nintendo has any interest in remaking it.
It certainly seems like interesting times ahead if they do.
freeway 77
Before and now
I personally think the new Star Fox graphics look fantastic. If they looked any more realistic it wouldn’t have suited the game at all.
Roll on June, I just wished I hadn’t completed the game recently via my Nintendo Switch Online membership now!
Adams6Legend
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The giant awakes
Holy moly, succulent macaroni! Nintendo have finally awoken from their semi-complacent slumber and are stepping it up a gear for exciting news this year.
Star Fox 64 remake (part 2) looks amazing and exactly the sort of level of graphical fidelity I’d dreamed of for a bespoke next gen Nintendo production on Switch 2. Those volumetric clouds would make the main protagonist of Final Fantasy 7 proud. Although it did feel initially uncanny to see Fox and his co-pilots looking so comparatively realistic.
Star Fox 64 is on-rail shooter royalty and its gameplay has aged very well as far as I’m concerned. It’s been 19 years since the much (unfairly in my opinion) maligned Star Fox Zero, so what better way to refresh and reintroduce a dormant franchise to fans and a potentially new audience captivated by Fox’s cameos in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, by going back to basics and remaking the best game in the series with stunning new graphics.
It just makes so much sense to proceed sort of tentatively, to gauge interest in the series with a remake first before committing to a more costly and potentially ambitious/controversial new entry. But that’s not to imply that this looks like just another lazy rehash. The production values look lovely and Nintendo seem to have added many quality of life improvements to the core experience. Some brand new levels along the branching routes of the campaign would’ve been ideal though.
Thankfully, it’s priced very sensibly at £42 and I’m so happy Star Fox is taking flight again. Personally, I’m an advocate for companies remaking genuinely good games from several generations past and Star Fox 64 is a great candidate for the modernisation treatment, as it’s been 29 years since the original came out, and even 15 years since Star Fox 64 remake on the Nintendo 3DS.
Now if only Nintendo would grant reprieve to fellow on-rail shooter classics, with the Sin & Punishment series (I do believe Nintendo still own the rights to the treasured IP?). Also, bestow Kid Icarus: Uprising a new lease of life, with a control scheme that doesn’t cause hand cramps after a prolonged session. And test the waters with a remake of Wave Race 64!
GG
Inbox also-rans
Have you stopped putting an asterisk on a game review to show it is available on Game Pass?
Sir
GC: Not unless we forget, which we assume you’re implying we have.
I see Star Fox is only on Switch 2. Although at that price and digital only, I would have skipped it anyway. If you want to read some funny comments, then go on the YouTube Nintendo Official Star Fox game reveal – they made me laugh!
Simon
GC: What were you expecting to pay? It’s significantly cheaper than the Resident Evil remakes.
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