Should Sony just stick to the one model? (Picture: Concept Creator)
The Friday letters page wonders how long GAME stores will still be on the high street, as one reader enjoys Vanillaware’s Unicorn Overlord.
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Think again
It’s hard not to be discouraged with all the news and commentary coming out of GDC, about the PS5 Pro and Xbox. I don’t own an Xbox Series X/S, so I don’t really care what Microsoft do, but I do have a PlayStation 5 and I can tell you I’m not buying a PS5 Pro whatever the price is (and, let’s face it, it’s going to be more than £500).
You’d think that’d be the end of the story, except simply by existing it’s going to encourage developers to make games with it in mind and soon enough we’ll end up with games that don’t run properly on a ‘standard’ PlayStation 5. It happened with the PS4 Pro and it’s going to happen here, even though the benefits of the PS5 Pro are apparently even more minor.
Sony should do the sensible thing and just scrap the PS5 Pro. Just like they should’ve scrapped the PlayStation VR2, before immediately letting that die on the vine. They won’t, I’m sure, but then they shouldn’t be surprised when they get the inevitable backlash and wonder why people no longer trust or respect them the way they used to.
Hostman
The more things change…
On the one hand that Marvel Rivals game looks pretty good, in terms of being a competently made video game, but on the other hand, I have never seen such an unimaginative use of a licence. This was so obviously greenlit by a suit that said make a Marvel version of Overwatch, no questions asked.
Since I imagine it’ll be free-to-play it’ll probably do really well but if this was a Mega Drive game it’d totally be a 2D platformer, almost identical to a dozen others released at the same time. We talk about licenced games being better nowadays, and in terms of quality they are, but in some ways things really haven’t changed.
At least it’s not a Suicide Squad clone though, I guess there’s that. Maybe Spider-Man is doomed to always be the only good superhero game.
Lober
Microtransaction dogma
Add me to the list of people that really don’t see a problem with the microtransactions in Dragon’s Dogma 2. EA was doing stuff like this back in the Xbox 360 era and the world didn’t end. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t like it, but at the end of the day it’s just parting fools with their money and allowing them to progress more quickly than people that actually enjoy playing the game.
If that’s the price for Capcom being able to afford to make the game in the first place then I for one am happy to put up with it, since it doesn’t change anything about the game for me. Expect, I guess maybe it ensures more high-level pawns for me to use? So it’s actually a good thing.
Firezfly
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Slower than light travel
People talk about The Elder Scrolls 6 taking ages but how are we still so far away from even getting a hint about Mass Effect 5 (or 4 or whatever they call it)? I know Andromeda was a critical and commerical flop but was that really a reason to just give up on the whole franchise?
I still consider Mass Effect 2 to be one of the best games ever made and everything the trilogy was trying to do would be amazing to see in the new generation. Even the trilogy remaster worked very well and was more fun than many brand new games.
I know the new game is apparently being worked on put it’s taking so long and I have no faith that EA won’t can it before it’s finished. The only thing in its favour is that they own the franchise, which they’ve said is what they want to concentrate on.
Focus
Not on the high street
I see GameStop in the US is in financial trouble. How long until the same is true of GAME? I can’t say I have any love for the store, and haven’t bought anything from them in years, but it’ll still be a shame to see video games basically disappear from the high street.
Unlike other problems in the games industry this doesn’t seem to be anyone’s fault, except for all those millions of gamers who thought not having to get up to change discs was better than actually owning the game they pay for.
The sad truth is visiting a GAME store is not an enjoyable experience. They always look shabby and badly kept, with lots of dubious people hanging around. I’m sure GameStop is the same in the US, so we’re not missing much… expect more people’s jobs gone and another option for buying games denied.
Lempton
Remake of the year
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth really is a fantastic game. I currently find it hard to imagine it won’t be my game of the year. Although that is helped by the fact that there doesn’t seem to be much else coming out later this year. Even so, it’s an absolutely top notch game that I really didn’t think Square Enix had in them anymore.
Like others have said, it’s the variety and the sense of humour that makes it. I enjoyed this 100 times more than Final Fantasy 16, which I barely made it all the way through. It’s such a shame to see it not selling all that great but I’m not sure that’s all that surprising.
Not only is it a long time since the first game but playing Final Fantasy 7 today is not something I can imagine someone new to the game enjoying. The graphics are super basic, even though they were groundbreaking at the time, and the translated dialogue is pretty bad.
It’s not like Resident Evil 4, where everyone’s probably played at least some version of it before. Final Fantasy 7 is something most younger or casual gamers have probably only heard of, rather than experienced themselves, and that’s got to make the remake seem less appealing.
Add in being put off buying the middle entry, if you’ve bit played the first one yet, and it’s no surprise it hasn’t set the charts alight. That doesn’t in any way diminish what a great game it is though.
Royston
Maximum overlord
I’m kind of shock at how good Unicorn Overlord has been. Took a bit of a chance on it after the good reviews, as I’ve not played a Vanillaware game before but this is a really great strategy game, with some amazing artwork.
What else have they done, that I should take a look at? I’m glad to see the game seems to have been a success, I hope there’s some DLC and a sequel.
Blanco
GC: Unicorn Overlord is definitely the best thing they’ve ever done but we’d certainly recommend 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim as well. There are only a few similarities in terms of gameplay but it’s also very good.
More Trending
Warning: sarcasm ahead
I am terribly worried about the state of the video games industry at the moment. On the surface everything seems perfectly fine, with a steady stream of great games released over the last year. However, upon reading the relentlessly negative news headlines, you get a very different picture. To start off with: job cuts.
As unfortunate as they are, one might be forgiven for thinking, at first glance, that these are simply a course correction after gaming companies took on so many staff during the pandemic. But, on closer inspection, it turns out they are a sign of an impending industry crash, just as happened in 1983!
I mean, the parallels between then and now are so clear. A young industry flooded with cheap, rushed, poor quality games back then; versus a mature industry in which expensive, high quality games take six years to produce. The similarities are uncanny.
Sony continues to maintain radio silence regarding its first party output, while the average gamer probably hasn’t even noticed and simply wants a fun place to play games regardless of who they’re made by. This silence is clearly scaring people off, hence why PlayStation 5 sales have risen by 376% in Europe. It’s insulting that Sony thinks it can fob us off with third party dross like Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth and Helldivers 2 until it gets its act together.
Sony also seems to be pressing ahead with the folly of the PS5 Pro later this year. Personally, I have no interest in it at all, so I cannot fathom why they would ever release such a thing if I don’t want it?! They might be able to sell it to those who value the extra power, haven’t yet upgraded to this generation of consoles, or have more money than sense and always need to own the latest shiny gadget. But those are hardly compelling reasons from a business perspective.
Meanwhile, Xbox is moving towards making their games multiformat. This is dreadful, as I’d much prefer them to keep all the many games they now own locked to their platform forever, so that we are forced to buy as many different machines as possible. And the evil Phil Spencer seems obsessed with pursuing that most disgusting of capitalist ideas: growth (bleurgh!). Getting more people to play games, and maybe even creating some new jobs in the process, is an appalling idea.
People may be playing in more ways and on more devices than ever before, but I am much too attached to the old model of having plastic boxes with separate games under my TV to contemplate any change. Even Nintendo, who haven’t put a foot wrong recently, seem to be stumbling, with the unannounced Switch 2 delayed until 2025. All in all, it’s a rather bleak picture, and I might just have to give up on mainstream gaming altogether, dig out the old Amstrad, and stick to retro gaming from now on. What a terrible time to be a gamer.
Fretty Gamestropp
GC: So you’re saying everything is fine? Like that dog with his house on fire.
Inbox also-rans
My big hope for the Switch 2 is that it automatically upgrades older games without a fee. If Nintendo were to do that I think they’d have a huge PR win and convince people that they weren’t just cashing in like they used to.
Dudepro
I wonder if Capcom will reconsider a remake of Code: Veronica? They’re running out of beloved Resident Evils to remake and that one is not only important to the story but also has a Resident Evil 1 remake kind of built into it. Seems like a non-brainer to me.
Winston
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