The Tuesday letters page thinks Mario Kart World is a worthy follow-up to Mario Kart 8, as a reader wonders who the main characters are in Resident Evil Requiem.
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Lighter price
I’m glad that the majority of people seem to be happy with the Switch 2, and that the console seems to be selling well. Nintendo may have their issues but for me gaming would be dead without them and I increasingly worry about their vulnerability, as more and more money is thrown around by Microsoft and others.
That said, I have not bought a Switch 2 yet and am unlikely to be able to afford it this year. Although I’m not as upset about this as I thought I would be, now that it’s become clear that Mario Kart World is really the only launch game of interest.
Some readers have written in about how they’d like there to be a more expensive version with an OLED version. Personally though, I’m waiting for a Switch 2 Lite. I assume there will be one, and I do tend to use the original Switch mostly in handheld mode, plus it will obviously be cheaper.
The original Switch Lite came out over two years after the original, so by my calculations that should mean a Switch 2 Lite by Christmas 2027. Of course, Nintendo may choose to do things differently this time, but I hope it happens as soon as possible, because it’s my best chance for being able to afford one.
Oskar Barvo
Did not want
My Switch 2 arrived from Amazon on Thursday night, and I am very happy with it. It is very much an upgraded Switch but that is what I wanted and expected.
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I have got a good few hours in on Mario Kart World over the weekend and for the most part am loving it so far. Knockout Tour online is the real standout mode. What I didn’t expect was how genuinely different to Mario Kart 8 the game feels with 24 players and wider tracks, in a good way I should say. I can see myself still playing Mario Kart 8 online alongside World, as they are two quite different experiences.
I do feel that the free roam in World feels largely pointless though and I will happily ignore it to focus on races. Also, where is Diddy Kong!
Pigfish2 (NN ID/PSN ID)
GC: Hopefully in retirement.
Live orchestra
Game Inbox, I’ve just finished Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. Wow. Give that game all the Gommage red flowers. Not only am I looking forward to it winning game of the year across the board, surely, but more so, The Game Awards puts on a huge live version of the Game of the Year main score at the ceremony each year.
Imagine the Clair Obscur theme on the big stage! The music is as much a character as any other in that game. Wonderful all round.
Mr K
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Grace under pressure
Count me as someone that thought the Summer Game Fest this year was unbearably boring. I mean, they usually are but at least there’s usually some good reveals as well, but this time all we got was Resident Evil Requiem.
That saved things but of course it’s never enough and now I want to know more, especially in terms of the main characters. Is it going to be just Grace? She’s the only one in the artwork but that could easily be a red herring.
I’ve seen a lot of rumours that Leon or Jill are in the game but I don’t know how likely that is to be true, and it could just be cameos, like Chris in the last two. I’ll be fine with Grace to be honest. She seemed interesting and we’ve just had a Leon game.
Tsumi
Size matters
The Xbox Ally and Xbox Ally X handhelds (surely it should have been an Xbox Ally S and X?) do look intriguing. They’re certainly setting some lofty expectations with that new version of Windows 11, but I did note that there was a big mix of aspirational statements mixed in with the guarantees of what you’re going to get. Pick up and play console experience was mentioned but only in reference to what people want, not what it will be. At least they’re aiming on the right direction.
The physical changes to the ROG Ally I’m less convinced about though. They seem to be going with the same approach as PlayStation Portal, by using the shape of a regular controller, but that’s arguably the biggest issue with the portal. These devices are much heavier and wider than a controller. So when you’re lying in bed trying to hold the thing in one hand, your fingers need to stretch as far into the thing as possible. On the portal the thick ends really limit this, and the Xbox Ally looks like it’s doing the same thing.
Also, a shame it’s a 7 inch screen. I really like the size of the 8 inch on the Portal.
Tim
The hottest of takes
So I’m still thinking about that reveal of the Asus ROG Xbox Ally and the overall Xbox Showcase, as a whole. It was quite a mixed bag in my opinion. It was lovely to see the reveal of Persona 4 Revival, all 10 seconds of it. Because we can’t have nice things. So here is a lacklustre reveal that was just dumped on us with no fanfare. It didn’t actually look any different to the original adaptation. Maybe we’ll see more soon.
Cronos looks fantastic and I’m positive to say that it will run awfully on PC. Bloober Team are notoriously horrific for developing PC ports; Silent Hill 2 remake is a prime example. Who did honestly ask for Call Of Duty: Black Ops 7? The people asked for Silksong as a show closer and a release date but we received Call Of Duty instead. Who asked for this?
Of course the reveal that everyone’s talking about is the ROG Xbox Ally. I’d like to ask GC if there’s much marginal difference between this version and the original ROG Ally X? Because I own the original and it just seems the same copy only with improved hardware and an Xbox button. Is it just the same model basically? Like the Ally X Pro? Obviously, the price is yet to be determined but that’s my consensus on the matter thus far.
Shahzaib Sadiq
PS: Xbox Games are on PlayStation and Game Pass can already be accessed on Windows handheld devices. So what’s the difference?
GC: We’re still stuck on your first question, implying Call Of Duty is not popular. The ROG Ally and ROG Ally X are slightly different devices, but there seems to be only minor differences between them and their Xbox branded equivalents.
Priceless download
I think the worst thing about Welcome Tour is that it not being pre-installed on the Switch 2, like Astro’s Playroom, has blunted the praise the Mario kart World bundle should be getting.
Having the next game in line to the biggest selling game on the previous system ready for launch and offering it at half price when bought with the new system is pretty unique as far as console launches go.
Instead, everyone is just complaining Welcome Tour should be free.
Simundo
GC: If Welcome Tour was free you’d be tempted to play it so, really, Nintendo is doing everyone a favour by charging for it.
Imperfect sequel
Comparisons with Mario Kart 8 are inevitable. Nintendo were never going to better that what in many ways is the perfect video game, and undoubtedly the greatest racer of all time. But the question for me, and perhaps everyone, is whether the inevitable follow-up would at least justify a new entry. And with what they deliver with Mario Kart World the answer is an emphatic yes.
More of the same but different, with the new additions more than mere novelty, which the anti-gravity elements of Mario Kart 8 were in a way. The Knockout Tour mode and the seamless segues between races are a revelation and a genuine improvement on everything that came before.
I’ve played Mario Kart 8 numerous times, enough to appreciate the nuanced changes to gameplay that makes the new iteration feel fresh, vitalising even, and, crucially, just as rewarding. The wider tracks to accommodate 24 racers requiring fewer skills to navigate are proportionate to the additional challenges the competition engenders, with hairpin turns and narrow sections interspersed between them are just as demanding as the tightest of tracks from Mario Kart 8.
If anything, World is a more challenging game: harder in degrees to come first, especially in Knockout Tour mode, with notable improvements in AI. Playing online against human competitors is exhausting and exhilarating, also humbling (although a did come fourth on my second attempt, I didn’t make the top 16 on my first, so maybe that was a fluke – I’m honing my skill before embarking on a third attempt).
It’s a beautiful game, jaw dropping not so much in how it appears but in the sheer number of things happening on screen at any one time with not a moment of lag. In this, if nothing else, Mario Kart World is a perfect demonstration of next generation capabilities. I can’t wait to see what else they do with this amazing technology.
The free roaming is certainly undercooked, but this seems purposeful to whatever DLC is likely to follow and not something that I feel at this stage Nintendo can negatively be judged for. After all, Mario Kart 8 was not born but became a 10 out 10.
Mario Kart World isn’t perfect. Nothing is. It isn’t ‘better’ than Mario Kart 8 but judged on its own terms, with the template it establishes and trajectory it evidently maps, World is still nevertheless 8’s equal.
GameCentral predicted a 9 out 10. That sounds about right for now. But sometimes a right is a wrong: there’s every reason for having faith in Nintendo that World will become better over time. Perfection is already personified in the new Rainbow Road, a series best that for me may just about warrant that 10 out of 10 score here and now and forever more.
Ciara
GC: We said an 8 or a 9.
Inbox also-rans
I’m convinced Silksong is a scam and does not exist in any way. However, I can’t think of any benefit for this being true so can I just say: please hurry up!
GlassSmasher
I thought the Xbox Games Showcase was pretty good but it was also pretty much only third party games. Even with all these companies Microsoft has bought and they still can’t put out anything of interest.
Snoopy
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