Archive for August 2021

Tuesday, 31 August 2021

Games Inbox: Rockstar Games best developer, Far Cry 6 doubts, and the perfect Resident Evil movie

August 31, 2021 Leave a Reply
Games Inbox: Rockstar Games best developer, Far Cry 6 doubts, and the perfect Resident Evil movie
Red Dead Redemption II
Red Dead Redemption 2 – nobody does it better? (pic: Rockstar Games)

The Wednesday Inbox is frustrated at Nintendo’s modern approach to Virtual Consoles, as another reader heaps praise on Psychonauts 2.

To join in with the discussions yourself email gamecentral@metro.co.uk


The greatest
Interesting Hot Topic over the weekend, especially in that Red Dead Redemption 2 seemed to get so many mentions as an overrated game. I do get the complaints about the gameplay and length but for me it is a great game, that is one of my all-time favourites. I’d also say that it had by far the best graphics of the last generation, in terms of individual quality and the size and interactivity of the open world.

It’s an incredible achievement and while a lot of that is due to having lots of money I’d say that it makes a good argument for Rockstar being the best developer working today. I say this not just because I like their stuff but because nobody else is able to do create anything like their games. The only other open world game that gets so much praise is Zelda: Breath Of The Wild and that’s a completely different kind of experience, with very few characters or built up areas.

GTA and Red Dead Redemption are gaming monsters that are impossible for anybody else to match and for me that is an achievement that is worthy of praise. Maybe they’re not for everyone but I don’t think it needs to be for a game to be good. As far as I’m concerned, the only problem with Rockstar is that they don’t make more games and you have to wait so long for the next one.
Dis


Detailed change
I’m still not feeling Far Cry 6. It is probably the best, or at least most consistent, of the Ubisoft formula games but I’ve just played it too many times now. What’s really different about 6 other than a different setting and… flamethrowers? I’m sure there’s more to it than that but it sounds like they’re just details compared to the fact that we’ve all played this same game multiple times (there’s been lots more than six for a start).

I have no better suggestion of what to do with it, admittedly, but I’d say sci-fi or fantasy is the only way to go. The problem is that the settings are getting too similar now, the weapons are always broadly the same because it’s the modern day, and the whole fascist-leader-as-the-bad-guy thing is getting really old now. I predict the game will not be a major hit and that Far Cry 7 is going to be a reboot.
Lemon20


Deserved praise
Yeah – I’ll echo the Psychonauts 2 praise. It’s an excellent game – excellent dialogue and characters, surprisingly involved plotline, fantastic music, well judged length and pacing, and plenty of imagination behind it too.

It looks surprisingly great too, but while the gameplay is perhaps only good, and the game is relatively easy, there’s more than enough else going on to keep you thoroughly entertained. Would also recommend – particularly if you enjoy action platformers.
Matt (he_who_runs_away)


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Indefensible looks
When it comes to the debate about which looks better, the Xbox Series X or PlayStation 5, I don’t think we’re judging the winner for Miss World here (if it still exists). When I see someone get riled and leap to the defence of their preferred bit of moulded plastic I reminded of those stories of the world’s ugliest dog that pop up now and then and the people who insist it’s the most beautiful thing they’ve ever seen.

Like those hell hounds (sorry being playing a lot of Hades the last few days) the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X have their unique charm but we’re not talking about a couple of stunners though.
Simundo

GC: We don’t think anyone’s really tried to defend the PlayStation 5 or suggest the Xbox Series X is anything more than adequate.


Anniversary choice
With a lot of buzz going round about GTA 3, Vice City, and San Andreas being remastered this does look like this might be a possibility as October 2022 will mark not only the 20th Anniversary of GTA: Vice City but also the 25th anniversary of the first Grand Theft Auto game. GTA 3 turns 20 this year, so to mark the 25th Anniversary of the GTA franchise this is something that Rockstar could do. Although San Andreas is still four years off from hitting 20 years of age that shouldn’t really stop a few remasters happening.

Although what is currently planned is unknown I would like to see some DLC come for these remasters to add some extra missions to the story, which could fill in some answers to questions for the after events from the other GTA games like Vice City and San Andreas. This would be a good way for Rockstar to make some amends and tie any loose ends, with both Ray Liotta and Young Maylay – even if it was some voice work or a cameo appearance.
gaz be rotten (gamertag)


No reason
Trying to understand Nintendo is usually impossible but the whole Virtual Console situation is particularly baffling to me. It’s basically free money (most of the emulation isn’t even that great!) and yet they just gave up doing it for no reason. And they stopped with the Wii U too, a console that was desperate for new content, even if it was just a 30 year old NES game!

If they want to release a remaster then there’s nothing to stop them. The new Advance Wars is a full remake so that could’ve existed whether the original was on a Switch Virtual Console or not. Maybe they couldn’t have got away with Super Mario 3D All-Stars but that compilation was a disgrace anyway and not something they should’ve been trying to sneak past fans.

I loved the idea that Sega and SNK and other more obscure formats were supported and would’ve loved to have seen that continue. But it’s not, presumably because some Nintendo exec got out of bed on the wrong side one morning and though that they better leave open the possibility of charging separately for them all at some later date… which they have never done either. Urgh, why is Nintendo so Nintendo!
Galactus


Simple answer
So was there any actual official explanation regarding the delayed again Lego Star Wars: Skywalker Saga game as it’s now been officially announced for a Spring 2022 release at last week’s Gamescom event, GC?

I’m definitely not going to hold my breath even for next year to be honest with you.
JAH

GC: The explanation was that it’s not finished yet.


Perfect movie
I know they were production photos, rather than stills from the actual film, but boy did those Resident Evil movie images look bad. I’m not even talking about the haircuts (although GC’s article breaking them all down did make me laugh, in how the film got every single one of them wrong).

Combining the first two games into one film seems a really bad idea too, and not just because of the large cast who, at least in the games, never meet up. Are they going to introduce Mr X and William Birkin in the same film, plus the tyrant from Resident Evil 1 and everything else and Lisa Trevor?! That is far too much for one movie, it’s just silly.

I think the perfect movie would be somewhere between what this seems to be and the old series. The old films were just making stuff up as they went along (how many apocalypses were there in the end?) and didn’t care anything about the games most of the time but plan out a whole series with a new cast of characters in a different location and that would work.

You can have a few cameos maybe but you can have all the standard Resident Evil monsters and craziness without constantly comparing yourself to the games and half-heartedly adapting them. Especially as no film is going to dare to be as cheesy as old school Resi.
Baker


Inbox also-rans
No offence to Manic miner 100 but what exclusives is it he prefers on the Xbox compared to the PlayStation 5? By my reckoning they haven’t had a proper one for over a year now? And before that it was, what, Gears 5?
Spiral

Microsoft paid $100 million for Rise Of The Tomb Raider to be an exclusive for a year? And they were trying to go up against Uncharted 4 with it? I doubt that there’s a gamer in the world that wouldn’t have advised them that was a bad idea and yet for some reason they did it anyway. All for the price of a hospital wing.
Coolsbane


This week’s Hot Topic
The subject for this weekend’s Inbox was suggested by reader Ishi, who asks how much do you actually play video games at the moment?

Ignoring time spent reading about them, or watching other people play, how much time do you spend playing games yourself, on the average week? Do you have a set routine or period of the day you set aside for games or does it depend on whether something new has come out?

How regularly do you play and does it vary according to the time of year or other outside factor? How much has the amount of time you play varied over the years, as you’ve got older?

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: Far Cry 6 gameplay footage, Psychonauts 2 advertising, and the next Need For Speed

MORE : Weekend Hot Topic, part 2: Worst video game reviews

MORE : Games Inbox: Psychonauts 2 game of the year, GTA 6 grief, and the ugliness of the PS5

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Dead Space remake will let you ‘peel’ necromorphs and hear Isaac talk

August 31, 2021 Leave a Reply
Dead Space remake screenshot
The Dead Space remake seems to be coming along nicely (pic: EA)

EA has given an extended look at the remake of Dead Space, revealing there will be minor changes to the plot to better fit with the sequels.

As an 18-rated survival horror Dead Space was already an unusual kind of game for EA, a publisher that generally doesn’t go for niche genres – or indeed remakes. And yet with the recently announced new Dead Space fans are getting both.

What they also don’t usually do is preview games until they’re relatively close to release, and yet developer Motive Studios presented an almost hour-long Twitch stream on Tuesday evening, which revealed a number of new details – even if there was little in the way of new footage.

You did get to see protagonist Isaac Clarke walk down a corridor though, which was more exciting than it sounds as the graphics looked fantastic and yet according to Motive the map is based exactly on the layout of the original game.

Motive also confirmed that the combat system will still revolve around dismembering necromorph enemies, but there’ll also be a new technique called ‘peeling’.

This will involve shooting their bodies to expose the bones and innards inside, which will also act as a rough indication of their current health.

Another change will be that Isaac will speak in the remake, although not often and only in conversation with others or when it would seem weird not too.

He’ll once again be voiced by actor Gunner Wright, who played the character in the second two games, and there’ll be an attempt to subtly retcon the storyline in certain places, so that it fits better with the sequels.

Other changes include making the Zero-G simulation more realistic and easy to navigate, while Motive also reiterated that the game will not have microtransactions. The original didn’t either, but the third game did – which is one of many reasons it’s considered the black sheep of the trilogy.

Motive said they wanted to show the game off as soon as possible in order to get the opinion of fans as to what they’re doing, and course correct if necessary, which, again, seems unusually open for an EA game.

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MORE : Dead Space remake release date is 2022 – won’t keep all original content

MORE : Original Dead Space designer will return for the remake

MORE : New Dead Space game is a next gen only remake reveals EA

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Timed exclusive Tomb Raider deal cost Microsoft $100 million

August 31, 2021 Leave a Reply
Timed exclusive Tomb Raider deal cost Microsoft $100 million
Rise Of The Tomb Raider
Rise Of The Tomb Raider – exclusivity comes at a price (pic: Square Enix)

A price has been put on the cost of making Rise Of The Tomb Raider an Xbox exclusive for a year – and it isn’t cheap.

One of the great problems with covering the video games industry is it’s often difficult to tell whether a game has been a success or not – something that is getting ever harder as digital sales become ever more prevalent – and how much anything costs.

Movie studios aren’t exactly transparent about such things but, at least before streaming started to take over during the pandemic, you always knew how much each film made and roughly how much they cost to produce. With games you rarely find out either.

The only thing more mysterious is how much publishers pay to ‘money hat’ third party games, that is to make them either permanent or timed exclusives for a particular format. It turns out the going rate for a franchise as big as Tomb Raider is $100 million (£72.7m).

Back in 2014, things were not going well for Xbox. The PlayStation 4 was miles ahead of the Xbox One and Microsoft had almost no first party exclusives that anybody cared about, so they used their near infinite cash reserves to make Rise Of The Tomb Raider a 12-month exclusive.

As you can imagine, this instantly upset PlayStation fans and came close to completely derailing the reboot trilogy, after the initial 2013 game was well received on all formats.

Although they never actually said as much, it was fairly obvious that Microsoft picked Rise Of The Tomb Raider because Uncharted 4 was due to come out that year and they were looking for a direct competitor to call their own. Which didn’t work at all when Uncharted 4 was delayed until the next year.

In fact, the deal didn’t seem to work out for anyone, as the game sold poorly on Xbox and below expectations (as far as anyone can tell) when it eventually turned up on PlayStation a year later.

If not for the fact that a former Square Enix exec mentioned it in his LinkedIn profile, no one outside the two companies would ever know how much the deal cost but Fabien Rossini specifically mentions negotiating ‘multiple deals including the Tomb Raider exclusivity on Xbox worth $100m’.

He’s probably rounding up, and/or exaggerating to make himself look good, but if that’s the ballpark that these deals operate in it’s no surprise these sorts of deals aren’t made every day.

The most significant recent ones have been from Sony, which tied up Bethesda titles Deathloop and Ghostwire: Tokyo as PlayStation 5 exclusives for a year, as well as Spider-Man as an exclusive character for Marvel’s Avengers.

Neither are exactly the same scale as Rise Of The Tomb Raider, but it seems likely that the two, lower profile, Bethesda games went for roughly the same amount as one Tomb Raider sequel.

Considering that seems to have been the catalyst for Microsoft then buying the whole of Bethesda, in a preposterous $7.5 billion deal, the moral of the story seems to be that you shouldn’t pay for timed exclusives as they never work out the way you expect.

Especially as even the Spider-Man deal seems to have been a poor choice, given the Avengers game was a surprise flop and the character’s inclusion hasn’t been mentioned again for months now.

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MORE : Tomb Raider creator unveils Lovecraftian live service game Dream Cycle

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MORE : Lara Croft: Tomb Raider anime series announced for Netflix

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Far Cry 6 hands-on preview – spirit of revolution

August 31, 2021 Leave a Reply
Far Cry 6 screenshot
Far Cry 6 – the best one since Far Cry 3? (pic: Ubisoft)

The sixth Far Cry has you fighting Giancarlo Esposito’s villainous El Presidente, but has anything really changed other than the setting?

By the time a popular, mainstream games franchise reaches its sixth iteration, it will have become the subject of a balancing act. On the one hand, the developer will want to make sure it gives loyal fans what they want but on the other, the slightest perception of staleness or going through the motions can spell the death of the whole series.

On the evidence of well over four hours of hands-on play, Far Cry 6 appears to have negotiated that tightrope with some skill. It helps that developer/publisher Ubisoft can throw vast amounts of resources at it, of course, but the elements that define a Far Cry game – the giant open world, solid gunplay, and memorable characters – are very much in evidence, along with some new gameplay mechanics and ideas that bring a new air of freshness.

Far Cry 6’s setting is the fictional island of Yara, ruled with an iron, dictatorial grip by Anton Castillo, who likes to be known as El Presidente. Castillo is portrayed in gleefully menacing fashion by the great Giancarlo Esposito, know variously for his roles as Gus Fring in Breaking Band and Moff Gideon in The Mandalorian. Isolated from the rest of the international community, there’s more than a whiff of Cuba about Yara, although in our playthrough it was unclear whether, ideologically speaking, Castillo leans towards communism or fascism. He’s definitely a cult-of-personality populist, though.

Life in Yara is hard for its inhabitants, who mostly wish to escape; doubly so when Castillo announces that all ‘outcasts’ – anyone who doesn’t toe his authoritarian line – will be conscripted as forced labour at what are effectively prison farms. Yara has just one economic aspect going for it: its scientists have developed a genetically engineered form of tobacco, grown with the aid of a cocktail of noxious chemicals, from which can be extracted Viviro, a miracle, cancer-curing drug.

In Far Cry 6, you play Dani Rojas (who can be female or male). As Castillo sends the tanks into the capital Esperanza, in an orgy of arrests designed to populate the prison farms, you must first make your way by stealth to a boat bound for Miami and freedom.

That plan partially fails and Dani and her best friend Lita are washed up on an island in the Yaran archipelago called Isla Santuario. Lita dies, but thanks to her, Dani knows that Isla Santuario is where Libertad, a group of guerrillas opposing Castillo, are based. When, after acquiring a pistol and a grappling hook, she reaches their camp, the game begins in earnest.

After being recruited to the Libertad cause by leader Clara, the first mission we completed involved locating Juan Cortez, a spymaster renowned for kitting out guerrilla armies with improvised equipment. Cortez is the first of many interesting characters in the game – an old soak who likes to talk, with a crocodile called Guapo as an amigo – the game’s name for animal (and human) sidekicks that you can direct. Far Cry 6 is also entirely playable in two-person co-op mode, we should note.

After a skirmish with government troops in the fishing village where Cortez was originally based, confirming that Far Cry 6’s gunplay is as competent as ever, we hoovered up the resources from their outpost. Back at the camp, Cortez introduced us to the concept of workbenches, where you can craft objects, upgrade weapons and so on, and an idea he calls Resolver, which essentially means creating weapons and accessories from scrap (plus resources like gunpowder and Supremo Bond, a key guerrilla DIY ingredient).

We explored a bit – Yara is criss-crossed with guerrilla paths which government troops tend to avoid, and horses that you can commandeer are plentiful. There are also plenty of side mission style activities, such as destroying government checkpoints on the roads. Typically for a Far Cry game, you have to expand Libertad’s territorial reach to succeed.

The next story mission we took on confirmed that plenty of the classic Far Cry gameplay you’d expect is present and correct. After hooking up with another Libertad operative, and with Guapo the crocodile amigo in tow, we launched a raid on a government fort containing depleted uranium, a precious resource.

First, we scoped out the opposition: Far Cry 6 lets you whip out your mobile phone and use that to tag enemies, alarm systems, CCTV cameras, and other items of interest. Then we were able to parachute down from our vantage point (Far Cry 6 gives you a wingsuit, too) and enter through a smugglers’ cave, before working our way up through the fort as stealthily as possible.

Eliminating the fort’s commander, who we had previously tagged, helped disrupt the command chain and keep reinforcements at bay. We also discovered that Far Cry 6 has a healing mechanism; you can carry two healing packs and you often pick up replacements from dead enemies. The healing animations are surprisingly amusing, one involves snapping a dislocated finger back into place and another cauterising a wound with a cigar.

Far Cry 6 screenshot
The best-looking Far Cry yet? (pic: Ubisoft)

On returning to the Libertad camp, the depleted uranium we had acquired allowed Cortez to help us build our first Supremo. Supremos are a new class of lashed-together weapons and equipment that Ubisoft has devised for Far Cry 6.

The main part of a Supremo resembles a backpack, but Supremos also come with associated weapons wielded by hand – in our case a flamethrower. The backpack part brings a special attack with a long cooldown (triggered by hitting both bumpers) which launches a fusillade of home-made mortar bombs. Plus, it finally allows you to craft and equip grenades, throwing knives, and even, pointlessly but amusingly, a baseball.

Later in the playthrough, we discovered that Far Cry 6 includes a vast range of Supremos, bringing wildly differing benefits. One, for example, is medically focused, with its special attack generating an area of effect healing field. We only got to use the one Supremo but picking the right one to equip according to the thrust of your mission will clearly be a key factor in the game.

Kitted out with our flamethrowing Supremo, we embarked on a mission that brought back memories of Far Cry 3: to burn down one of Castillo’s Viviro prison farms, liberating its forced labour in the process.

This time, we had a computer-controlled human companion rather than an amigo and we had to burn several tobacco fields, blow up chemical tanks, and taking out all the government troops and employees we could find. That yielded a bonanza of resources, most notably gasoline, and generally proved pretty satisfying.

Handily, the structure of Ubisoft’s hands-on demo then allowed us to move to a part of the mainland, called El Este (Isla Santuario, therefore, can be viewed as a sort of tutorial island). Handily, that also meant we had been tooled up with some more advanced weaponry and gear, and had our rank upgraded.

Far Cry 6 screenshot
Far Cry 6 – this time your character isn’t mute (pic: Ubisoft)

The main pillar of Far Cry 6’s character progression system is your ranking: as you take on Castillo and liberate districts of Yara from his yoke, you rank up. This brings perks and new abilities (which, sadly, we weren’t able to investigate in detail) but also higher levels of attention from government troops.

There are two other elements which play into Far Cry 6’s character progression. The first is gear: the game’s gear system is completely different to that of previous iterations. As you complete missions and activities you acquire a vast amount of gear and just about every part of your body has a gear slot. Each item of gear you acquire, meanwhile, has a specific effect, such as increasing your resistance to fire, poisonous chemicals, soft tissue ammo or armour-piercing ammo. Or it may help regenerate health or give more specific perks.

Thus, the gear you equip plays strongly into your general stats, and you can give yourself specific properties that pertain to whatever mission you’re attempting. It’s a simple but interesting system. The weaponry, too, mirrors it to an extent. The Resolver workbenches, for example, let you customise one weapon so that it fires armour-piercing rounds and tweak another one to fire soft tissue rounds, so you can respond, for example, to whether or not the enemies you face are armoured or not.

When we were then transported to a point further into the game, the weaponry was noticeably more powerful and precise, so that clearly evolves as your character progresses.

On the mainland, we also discovered that Libertad aren’t the only anti-Castillo guerrillas in town. Our first task was to rendezvous with the so-called Legends of 67 – a bunch of grizzled veterans holed out in a mountain top eyrie who had led Yara’s 1967 revolution which, presumably, ended up with Castillo seizing power.

Reaching their camp involved an epic vertical traversal sequence reminiscent of a Tomb Raider game, and once there, we discovered another bunch of entertaining characters, led by the avuncular ex-freedom fighter El Tigre. A quartermaster in the Legends camp opened up another gameplay mechanism: the ability to add buildings to your camp in exchange for benefits such as extra soldiers and better health recovery.

Far Cry 6 screenshot
Far Cry 6 – just how political will it get? (pic: Ubisoft)

The first mission we performed from El Tigre’s camp involved collecting resources from a downed chopper, where we met another guerrilla group calling themselves El Moral. After fighting off waves of government troops, taking out an anti-aircraft rocket array and stealing a helicopter, we were able to keep the resources – which El Moral also claimed – for ourselves, after agreeing to introduce El Moral’s leader to El Tigre. The reverence in which the Legends of 67 are held is one of Far Cry 6’s many sub-plots; another being Castillo’s desire to groom his son, Diego, to follow in his footsteps.

Since it is number six in the franchise, not counting spin-offs and expansions, it’s hard to pretend you don’t know what you’re getting with Far Cry 6, but in gameplay terms this doesn’t feel like it’s just trending water. The combat has plenty of room for differing tactics and the resource collection and wide range of weapons and equipment is immediately impressive.

Story-wise, the Far Cry games have always usually been a step above the Tom Clancy titles, with some fun characters and the promise of a political edge that other Ubisoft games try to avoid. Whether Giancarlo Esposito’s villain will equal the likes of Vaas and Pagan Min remains to be seen but it’s clear the developers realise how important that is to the series’ appeal.

At the preview stage, it’s impossible to tell whether a game will hang together as well as it should or if, like a movie trailer, you’ve already seen all the best parts, but everything so far about Far Cry 6 seems very positive, with no signs of the tiredness you’d usually associate with a franchise with this many iterations under its belt.

Formats: Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, PC, Stadia, and Luna
Publisher: Ubisoft
Developer: Ubisoft Toronto
Release Date: 7th October 2021

By Steve Boxer

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MORE : New Far Cry 6 trailer shows you playing as Vaas, Pagan Min, and Joseph Seed

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MORE : Far Cry 6 to star Gus from Breaking Bad according to deleted report

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First shots of new Resident Evil movie have got the haircuts completely wrong

August 31, 2021 Leave a Reply
First shots of new Resident Evil movie have got the haircuts completely wrong
Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City photo
Since when has Claire ever had her hair like that? (pic: IMDB)

The new Resident Evil film has almost every character from the first two games in it, and it’s managed to get all their haircuts wrong.

Now that the movie series starring Milla Jovovich is over Capcom has both a live action TV show and a new film series underway, but up until now there’s not really been much info on the new movie.

Here though, you can see a first look at the main characters, which includes almost all of the big names from the franchise, including not just Chris Redfield, Jill Valentine, and Albert Wesker but also Leon S. Kennedy and Claire Redfield.

At first glance they all seem to be portrayed relatively authentically, with what seem to be recreations of scenes from the first two games. But look a bit closer and it’s obvious there are some major deviations from series lore… when it comes to their haircuts.

DeviantArt favourite Leon S. Kennedy is famous for many things but most particularly his floppy hair, where the exact level of floppiness needed was a matter of great debate when it came to the remake of Resident Evil 2. But here it’s halfway down his face and Claire Redfield, next to him, doesn’t have hers up in a ponytail.

The movie is supposedly a prequel to the games but the outfits they’re wearing are clearly from part way through the plot of Resident Evil 2, unless they’ve changed that as well.

Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City photo
Haircuts are a serious business in Resident Evil (pic: IGN)

In the other pic, exclusive to IGN, Jill Valentine should technically be wearing a hat but either way her hair is much too long, while Wesker – that’s apparently him on the far left – doesn’t seem to have nearly enough.

They’ve captured Chris Redfield’s non-descript look fine but before you worry that the film’s greatest travesty is a beardless Barry Burton that fourth character on the left, at the bottom, is apparently Richard Aiken.

Joking aside, it does all look a bit like a mediocre cosplay attempt but even that’s still a significant improvement from the Milla Jovovich films. What’s actually the most interesting pic is the one of Lisa Trevor, the scariest addition to the original game from its remake.

The movie is called Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City and is being written and directed by Johannes Roberts (47 Meters Down and The Strangers: Prey at Night) who we’ve never heard of either.

According to IMDB the film also features Ada Wong, Chief Irons, and all three Birkin family members so it seems to be a mash-up of the first and second games in terms of plot – which seems a bit unwise in terms of the size of the cast and scope of the script, especially if they can’t even get the hair right.

Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City photo
Lisa Trevor is a surprising inclusion (pic: IMDB)

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MORE : Resident Evil Re:Verse has been delayed again admits Capcom

MORE : Resident Evil Village sales hit 4.5 million as Infinite Darkness released on Netflix

MORE : Resident Evil Village DLC confirmed in Capcom E3 2021 showcase

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CD Projekt starts hiring Cyberpunk 2077 modders for ‘various projects’

August 31, 2021 Leave a Reply
Cyberpunk 2077 CD Projekt
Cyberpunk 2077 – it’s not going anywhere soon (pic: CD Projekt)

Some of the biggest names in the Cyberpunk 2077 modding community have been hired by CD Projekt to work on secret new projects.

Cyberpunk 2077 may be more infamous for its bugs than any more positive aspect of the game, but it still has a healthy modding community, dedicated to making changes and additions to the PC version of the game.

Different publishers have different relationships with their modding community, but CD Projekt Red has taken the increasingly common step of hiring modders to work on the game officially – although they haven’t said in what capacity, just that they’ll be working on ‘various projects’.

Four modders from Wolvenkit and Redscript will be joining CD Projekt, although rather than user-facing content their work has been in creating apps that allow others to edit and add new files, as well as replace and compile scripts.

There could be a few different reasons for hiring those particular modders but the most likely explanation is that CD Projekt want to ensure that the game continues to have a thriving mod scene.

Individual modders come and go and if a number of them happen to lose interest at once, or for other reasons can’t work on the game, then the whole scene suffers – so by hiring them directly CD Projekt can ensure they’re working on the game all the time, as a long-term commitment.

That in turn hints at CD Projekt’s long-term plans for the game, implying that they want it to be supported and updated for years to come.

According to CD Projekt themselves the game has now reached a ‘satisfactory level’ of stability in terms of bugs, but they still haven’t made it clear what will happen to it in the future with new content, after recently adding a new vehicle and new cosmetic items.

They do still seem to have plans for multiplayer options but whether that’s going to be a spin-off or just a new mode remains unclear.

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MORE : It’s time CD Projekt were forgiven for the mistakes of Cyberpunk 2077 – Reader’s Feature

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Game Boy and Game Boy Color games coming to Nintendo Switch Online claim dataminers

August 31, 2021 Leave a Reply
Is it time for the Game Boy to make a comeback?
Coming soon to Nintendo Switch? (pic: William Warby)

Sources suggest that Game Boy games will be added to Nintendo Switch Online ‘really soon’, to celebrate the service’s third anniversary.

Given how controversial motion controls are to this day, the most unequivocally good thing about the Wii remains its Virtual Console, which is the closest there’s ever been to a true Netflix for games – at least when it comes to retro titles.

Not only did it support Nintendo formats but Sega ones too, plus the PC Engine, Neo Geo, and even the Commodore 64. Once the Wii U came around though all that was suddenly gone and while the Switch now has a good stock of NES and SNES titles no other formats are supported – although that may be changing soon.

According to Nintendo Life and dataminer NateDrake, support for Game Boy and Game Boy Color games is being added ‘really soon’, and probably in time for the third anniversary of Nintendo Switch Online on September 18.

Nintendo Switch Online is a paid for service similar to PlayStation Plus, although around half the price. It’s required to play most Switch games online but comes with various benefits, including NES and SNES Virtual Consoles.

Adding Game Boy support makes sense (it could’ve been done years ago if Nintendo wanted) but if it follows the pattern of the other retro formats it’ll only add a few titles at the beginning and more each month.

There’s no indication that Game Boy Advance titles, or any other Nintendo formats, will be added at the same time, with the closest you’ll get being the remake of Advance Wars due out this December.

Support for formats from other companies, or anything newer than the SNES, also seems unlikely, which is a particular shame given how rare it is for N64 games to get re-released or remastered, the only recent example being the minimum effort version of Super Mario 64 in the now discontinued Super Mario 3D All-Stars.

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MORE : Xbox Game Pass will not come to Nintendo Switch or PS5 admits Microsoft

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Monday, 30 August 2021

Games Inbox: Psychonauts 2 game of the year, GTA 6 grief, and the ugliness of the PS5

August 30, 2021 Leave a Reply
Games Inbox: Psychonauts 2 game of the year, GTA 6 grief, and the ugliness of the PS5
Psychonauts 2 screenshot
Psychonauts 2 – the best game of 2021? (pic: Microsoft)

The Tuesday Inbox celebrates 12 years of the Batman: Arkham games, as one reader is upset all his friends have suddenly bought a PS5.

To join in with the discussions yourself email gamecentral@metro.co.uk


A good game
I’ve seen some talk about whether to play Psychonauts 1 before 2 and I would say personally that it’s best not too. If you care about the story Psychonauts 2 explains things pretty well and half of the stuff happened in the VR game anyway. The far more important question is why haven’t you played Psychonauts 2 yet, because as far as I’m concerned it’s the game of the year!

Now that’s maybe not the achievement it might have been in a different yeark but I haven’t played anything that enjoyable for a very long time. I guess it’s quite an old school kind of experience really, but I love the hubs that allowed freedom but aren’t some 500 miles square open world and still have tons of secrets and places to explore.

The combat is fun, with lots of options, but it’s not overwhelming and it’s not especially difficult either. The game’s funny but it’s not obnoxious like something like Borderlands. It’s just… good. Everything about the game is good and I really can’t find any fault with it. It’s got variety, it’s got action, it’s got laughs. It’s been a breath of fresh air for me, and I’d recommend it to anyone.
Holo


Switching sides
I thought I’d write in to ask if any reader has experienced what I’ve recently gone though. I’ve been good (online) friends with a few lads for about 10 years now on the Xbox and would regularly pop on the Xbox for a few games of Call Of Duty and a bit of banter with them. However, about two weeks ago they all bought new PlayStation 5 consoles and have gone over to PlayStation. The problem is I really don’t want to swap. I much prefer the Xbox system, exclusives, and controller. And I recently borrowed a PlayStation 4 console and played all their exclusives (that I wanted to).

I wondered if this had happened to any readers and what, if anything, they did.

On a positive side, it does mean that I’ve been able to get more immersed in story games and play some rallying which I wouldn’t normally play when in a party. But I do miss the banter.

Keep up the good work GC.
Manic miner 100 (gamertag)


Big and ugly
RE: Mitchell. When my PlayStation 5 arrived on launch day I was in shock at how big and ugly it actually is.

In my opinion it’s really a pretty hideous design work. At least if they would allow faceplates to be sold, I could try minimise how ugly this horrible white behemoth in corner of my room is.

I know the Xbox Series X is just boring and boxy, but it’s compact and inoffensive at least.

The two biggest issues I have with it outside the space age monstrosity design are:

1) The stand – it’s useless in horizonal position and seems like a whoops moment, wherein after designing the console, they needed to come up with something as a way to stand it up, but had to take the budget out of the tea kitty, as they blew budget on the SSD.

2) the disc drive requiring you to put discs in what appears to be backwards in reality. It’s so counterintuitive.

I used to love having my consoles centre front in media unit, now it’s too big to fit and gets hidden away on side on the floor.

I try to just not look at it too much, as it really is that ugly.
Kiran


E-mail your comments to: gamecentral@metro.co.uk


Forgotten outrage
Sorry for late response but I could not remember the title of the game in question (sorry… still can’t!). However, the one review score I had an issue with was in Edge, enough of an issue to put me off buying the magazine.

Whatever the game was they scored it way higher than anyone else (by around 30% I’m sure) and it coincided with a big exclusive in that edition of the game in question. I’m sure the higher score was just a coincidence.

If I remember correctly, you’d scored this three to four marks lower (out of 10)… it really stood out.
WoDMaN


The long journey
I see a lot of nonsense GTA 6 stories at the moment, with one guy going literally crazy at the thought that it’s still years away. I wonder if fans are starting to the seven stages of grief as the settle in for the long weight? If so it sounds like they’re only at a step one: shock and denial. Or maybe it’s step three: anger and bargaining.

After that it’s depression, then the upward turn, reconstruction, and finally acceptance and hope. Sounds like a process that will take around three or four years so let’s all get ready for the long ride. Although knowing gamers they’ll just get stuck at anger and bargaining for the majority of the time.

Also, why is it that voice actors are such terrible sources for information? Do publishers seriously not tell them what they’re working on? I do they just hear the name GTA and zone out after that? Weird how often it happens. I remember a bunch of Fallout actors completely getting things wrong in the years before Fallout 4.
Casper


Penny pinchers
So, let me get this straight… Sony redesigned the PlayStation 5 with a smaller heat sink, presumably to save money (but I would imagine only a tiny amount) and in return they’re going to get six months of ‘Sony the cheapskate’ headlines and original model consoles suddenly going for even more on the grey market. Madness. These companies just can’t help being as greedy as possible, it’s like it’s a mania with them.

Nintendo are worst for things like this I find, with their penny pinching over hardware updates, and it’s kind of funny how minor the changes are for OLED model compared to what everyone thought the Switch Pro was going to be.

As everyone likes to say, Microsoft aren’t shy about flashing their considerably sized wallet but I’m sure we’ll see some changes to Game Pass in a couple of years that won’t be quite so generous as they are now. No company can resist turning the screws once they think they’re in an unstoppable position.
Zeo


Private thoughts
I really was not impressed by how those Naughty Dog guys were talking about the crunch and unionisation. If this was them being diplomatic, so they could look like good guys for an interview, it’s pretty easy to imagine what their actual opinions are when they’re speaking freely.

Naughty Dog are already in love with their own hype when it comes to how the games turn out, and the lack of gameplay innovation, but I think it’s obvious it follows for the way they make games as well and they have no intention to change… until there’s an Activision Blizzard style scandal and their working conditions are put in the spotlight.
Crisscross


12 years of Arkham
I noticed it was the 12th anniversary of Batman: Arkham Asylum last week, just as rumours have started coming out about the new Batman movie. The Arkham games actually came out a few years after the Nolan trilogy started, and I’m not sure they had any references to it, preferring (wisely in my opinion) to stick to the comics and Animated Series for inspiration.

It’s now been six years since Arkham Knight and we’re still no closer to getting a new Batman game, as Gotham Knights only has you playing the sidekicks and I’ve severe doubts as to when that’ll come out anyway.

If the movie series (a trilogy, I think) is a big success will that spur Warner to make a new set of games? Maybe but they shouldn’t really need encouragement for what should be such an easy sell. I don’t know what they’re going to do when Suicide Squad flops though, as that’s kept Rocksteady busy all this time and the hype couldn’t be quieter with that one. Now that the new movie has already been and gone I imagine there’s some emergency alarms going at the moment.

I don’t know what to even suggest either, other than it was a bad idea and should’ve been so far down the to do list, for making DC games, that it shouldn’t have come up for years. And yet here we are with it doomed to be used as an excuse as to why they shouldn’t try anything else new again.
Crispen


Inbox also-rans
GC, have you any idea when think you will be receiving the new Playdate handheld from Panic to review for us please, guys?
JAH

GC: Not really, no. It doesn’t have an official launch date yet either.

Just a quick message to say that you only have a short time left to claim Ultima Underworld 1 and 2, Syndicate Plus, and Syndicate Wars on GOG until 3rd September, if you haven’t already downloaded them.
Andrew J.
Currently playing: Call Of The Sea (Xbox One X)


This week’s Hot Topic
The subject for this weekend’s Inbox was suggested by reader Ishi, who asks how much do you actually play video games at the moment?

Ignoring time spent reading about them, or watching other people play, how much time do you spend playing games yourself, on the average week? Do you have a set routine or period of the day you set aside for games or does it depend on whether something new has come out?

How regularly do you play and does it vary according to the time of year or other outside factor? How much has the amount of time you play varied over the years, as you’ve got older?

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: Far Cry 6 gameplay footage, Psychonauts 2 advertising, and the next Need For Speed

MORE : Weekend Hot Topic, part 1: Worst video game reviews

MORE : Weekend Hot Topic, part 2: Worst video game reviews

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King Shark and Cyborg DC skins scrapped for Fortnite claim dataminers

August 30, 2021 Leave a Reply
Fortnite Season 7 Battle Pass
No more DC crossovers? (pic: Epic Games)

According to reliable Fortnite leakers, some of the planned skins for future DC characters have either been delayed or scrapped altogether.

Fortnite skins getting leaked is nothing new. Most of the time, they tend to happen hours or even days before Epic Games itself announces them, like with Wonder Woman’s. So, it’s somewhat surprising to hear dataminers and leakers uncover skins that won’t be added to the game.

According to regular Fortnite leaker HYPEX, they managed to find a list of skins that are either planned for future inclusion or have been scrapped entirely. Most of them appear to be wholly original, but two of them are King Shark and Weasel, characters in the recently released The Suicide Squad movie.

Another leaker, ShiinaBR, has also claimed that a skin for Cyborg, DC hero and member of the Justice League, was planned but is now postponed indefinitely.

It seemed like Epic and DC were gearing up for regular collaborations with the aforementioned Wonder Woman skin, and the Superman skin being added as part of the current season. Fortnite already boast several other DC heroes and villains, and more were expected thanks to the release of the new Suicide Squad movie, with the character Bloodsport making it into the battle royale already.

A big Fortnite leak from last month, which had accurately confirmed the Ariana Grande concert, had also said that several Justice League and Suicide Squad characters were planned.

This isn’t to say the leak was wrong but, if skins have been postponed or scrapped, then it would mean that something has changed behind the scenes between Epic and DC. Perhaps as a result of the movie seeming to underperform (although it’s how to tell nowadays with current cinema attendance).

Unfortunately, Epic is unlikely to openly confirm if plans had fallen through and that certain skins won’t be added. If the likes of Cyborg and King Shark aren’t coming to Fortnite anymore, then Epic simply won’t say anything about it.

Epic has plenty other collaborations it can fall back on, however. The aforementioned leak had mentioned that Epic is trying to get anime/manga hero Naruto in the next season, and the company also sent out a recent survey that could hint at future crossovers.

Fortnite is available on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and PC.

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