The Wednesday Inbox thinks Sony buying Housemarque is a good idea, as readers recommend giving Cyberpunk 2077 a chance.
To join in with the discussions yourself email gamecentral@metro.co.uk
The long wait
I suppose I’m not really surprised but seeing it spelled out just how long The Elder Scrolls 6 is going to take is crazy. As GC alludes, I just don’t get why it’s taking so long? If it came out tomorrow it’d still be nearly 10 years since Skyrim but now it’s going to be closer to 15!
The only thing close to an excuse I can think of is that they feel The Elder Scrolls Online is flying the flag for the franchise at the moment and they don’t need to rush anything? I can only assume the game is successful but I know I’m not interested in an MMO on principle, and I don’t think I’m alone in that.
I do love Skyrim but you have to question Bethesda’s management here. Not for the first time $6.5 billion for Bethesda seems outrageous given their numerous failings, both in terms of bad games and things like bugs, poor graphics, and not being able to get sequels out on time. It’s not my money, so whatever, but 15 years, or anything close to it, is crazy.
Camphor
Good at worst
Couldn’t be happier for the Housemarque acquisition by Sony. Not because I’m a PlayStation loyalist but it should mean that they’ll have a more stable future financially and there’ll be no terrifying talk of them descending into the Abyssal Scar of oblivion.
All being well Sony will nurture them and maybe even Guerrilla will provide access to the Decima engine for their next bullet hell showpiece. Their back catalogue is a masterclass of video game perfection (barring a couple of just good games) and my first request would be if they would kindly offer a 120fps mode for Nex Machina so my eyes and fingers can bleed at the voxel carnage.
I fully agree with your assessment of Returnal.
Andee
A place to start
I imagine that story about Sony buying Bluepoint Games is true and it seems a good idea to me. They’ve done great work so far and there’s a ton of games I’d like to see them work on in the future. Although I have to say, I don’t know how much fun it really is to only ever be remaking other people’s games? Do they not want to make ones of their own? I imagine they must’ve picked up some tricks by now.
Maybe they’ll get their chance, but I hope not before we’ve seen full remakes of the original God Of War, Metal Gear Solid, Silent Hill, and Bloodborne. All of these have seen some degree of rumour for a while now (well, maybe not God Of War, but it seems an obvious one to me) so I imagine they must be on Sony’s short list to some degree.
The one I’d most like to see though, that would require the most work, is Uncharted 1. The first game wasn’t nearly as good as the others but Bluepoint could go back through and make things more modern, improve the pacing, and sort out the gunplay. Then instead of just always starting with Uncharted 2 you could play the whole series through from beginning to end.
Rezzer
E-mail your comments to: gamecentral@metro.co.uk
Underlying approval
In response to gaztop2511, I enjoyed Cyberpunk 2077 on the PlayStation 5. The game itself looked great with the occasional odd glitch, but the underlying game is decent I think, probably an 8/10. The side quests are generally not quite of the same quality as The Witcher 3, and the pacing can be a bit uneven, but the scope and detail of the game did feel properly next generation to me.
GC’s advice, though, is solid. It does make sense to wait for the next gen upgrade in the second half of this year, but it’s a game worth picking up at some point, I think.
Matt (he_who_runs_away – PSN ID)
Out of sync
As someone that has once sat through a bad copy of Slumdog Millionaire, with the audio out of sync by about 10 seconds, and still thoroughly enjoyed it; that might explain why I am one of the few people who still enjoyed Cyberpunk 2077 on the PlayStation 4 (because it broke my PC).
I really loved the story and now that I’ve completed it, I can look back with rose-tinted glasses and forget about all the constant crashing. I’d recommend waiting for the next gen versions unless you can put up with the amount of crap I seem to be able to.
TommyFatFingers
Ghost of a chance
So Ghost Of Tsushima on PlayStation 5 was real, eh? I guess it is every rumour except Nintendo that comes true. I enjoyed the first game but I can see its faults and would not defend it as passionately (or, to be more accurate, angrily) as some people. What I do agree with is that I’m not interested in seeing anymore of the Mongols and am looking forward to a sequel that has a very different story set-up, so I also don’t like the idea of a standalone expansion which is just more Mongols but on a different island.
Ghost Of Tsushima is a good start but for the next step I want to see forward momentum, improving the variety of missions, the quality of the side characters, and the depth of the combat and gameplay. The foundations are already there, they just need to do a bigger, better, more sequel.
Not that I’m going to complain about a new version of the game that looks better but the graphics were already pretty much perfect so there’s much less to gain there. I want to see ‘Ghost’ become a major Sony franchise but given the setting can’t change that much that’s going to dependent on it forging new ideas and really selling the need for a sequel. It’s not guaranteed it’ll happen but I think Sucker Punch can do it.
Bowie
Corporate premonition
Well, it now seems pretty obvious that Sony big wigs read your letters page every day, after what can only be described as a prophetic letter from Rocky regarding the acquisition of Housemarque.
Literally 10 minutes after I read the letters page, I read that Sony have now acquired of said developer. How weird is that?! If Rocky does the lottery I want his numbers!
Lord Crump
Acquisition magic
So, I didn’t expect my email yesterday, about Returnal and buying Housemarque, would become a classic example of Inbox magic. I can tell you now, it’s pretty spooky when it happens!
I’d bet the rumour about Sony buying Bluepoint is true too. I noticed one reader asked in the comments, why developers can’t stay independent and publishers ‘just commission them or license out IP to them’. Would that they could but I think the reason why Sony has suddenly started buying up long time partners is pretty obvious: so Microsoft don’t get them instead.
There was never much chance of Nintendo sweeping in to nab them, but Microsoft absolutely would have done that, just to keep them out of Sony’s reach and regardless of whether they had any need for them or not.
People were defending Microsoft’s purchases a few months ago, and downplaying their negative effects on the industry, but here we see they’ve inspired exactly what was feared: an arms race where Sony and Microsoft race to buy up independent developers, before the other gets them, and the number of exclusives on both sides only increases.
Rocky
Inbox also-rans
So a day after they’re mentioned in the Inbox we have both Housemarque being bought and rumours of a new Quake game? There is some powerful magic going on here! Can he write in about me winning the lottery next?
Orson
I think the playable Sakurai or Miyamoto makes a lot of sense for the last Super Smash Bros. fighter. The new character idea is good too but how embarrassing would it be if that later turned out to be a flop?!
Cody
This week’s Hot Topic
On Wednesday we’ll be exactly halfway through the year, so for this weekend’s Inbox we want to know what you think is the best game of 2021 so far.
The game has to be one that was released new this year, so not just whatever you happened to be playing from a previous year (if it helps you can find our list of our top 10 favourites here). How many 2021 games have you bought in total this year and how well do you feel publishers have coped with the problems caused by the pandemic?
Whether they’re new or not, have you bought more or less games in general this year and are there any you’re already planning to get in the second half of 2021?
E-mail your comments to: gamecentral@metro.co.uk
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.
You can also submit your own 500 to 600-word Reader’s Feature at any time, which if used will be shown in the next available weekend slot.
You can also leave your comments below and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter.
MORE : Games Inbox: Battlefield 2042 vs. Call Of Duty, the best Mario Golf game, and Shin Megami Tensei 5
MORE : Weekend Hot Topic, part 2: The best modern video game soundtracks
Follow Metro Gaming on Twitter and email us at gamecentral@metro.co.uk
For more stories like this, check our Gaming page.
from Entertainment – Metro
0 Comments