Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot – new gameplay but an old story (pic: Bandai Namco)
The new Dragon Ball Z game is an action role-player, not just a fighter, but does it really have anything new to offer?
PLEASE NOTE: The review embargo for Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot is now over, but review copies were not sent out in time for a full review today. Below are our first impressions, and we hope to have a final verdict ready early next week.
Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot is a strange beast, because it feels like a natural evolution of what Bandai Namco has been doing with the Xenoverse titles – while at the same time also feeling like a step sideways.
Kakarot is an action role-playing game that retells the story of Dragon Ball Z, beginning shortly before Goku and Piccolo battle Radditz, and works its way through to the Buu Saga. Newcomers will likely be bewildered (why doesn’t Krillin have a nose?) but those that know their Goku from their Gohan will follow along easily – and that’s the problem.
This is the same story we’ve been following since the Dragon Ball Z franchise debuted in 1989, meaning there’s little to nothing that’ll surprise you. Kakarot mitigates this somewhat with added perspectives from other characters, such as Radditz’s interactions with Vegeta before coming to Earth. But it’s essentially window dressing around the same old window you’ve been looking at for years.
For those wondering, Kakarot takes its name from lead character Goku’s original name, and as such the affable martial artist is the main character; although he is joined by a handful of others, each with excellent voice acting in both English and Japanese modes. This isn’t a straight fighter though and between battles Goku can farm materials, go fishing, or eat food for stat boosts.
There are some simple side quests (with more coming as part of a day one patch), and while these missions aren’t the most exciting, they offer tangible rewards – either in the form of stat boosts, increasing your reputation with side characters, or fleshing out backstory.
One very early example has Goku reunited with Master Roshi, before helping to find the old man’s dirty magazine. It’s daft but adds some extra dialogue that bridges gaps that fans may not have realised even needed bridging, and it helps level our hero up for the fights ahead.
Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot – it certainly looks like the anime (pic: Bandai Namco)
He’ll need all the help he can get, as combat feels like a refinement of the previous Xenoverse titles. As with those titles, Goku can soar through the air with a button press, and combat takes place in large 3D environments with both melee and ranged combat as viable options – with different characters specialising in each.
Flashy attacks and familiar sound effects convey the action of the anime well, with a heavy emphasis on dodging an enemy’s clearly telegraphed moves as opposed to simply repeating special attacks, as in prior games.
These special attacks are earned as rewards for quests and can be swapped out to tailor Goku to your own playstyle. We’re looking forward to finding out how we can tweak our Saiyan more once we’ve put a couple dozen more hours in.
First impressions of Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot are positive then, but the lack of character creation feels a tad disappointing. Goku is the hero of the piece, but after Xenoverse allowed you to create a fighter from scratch and build them into a character, playing as a fixed character feels like a step back – especially since his story has already been told.
We’ll have our full review up soon, but for now we need to get back to training. Those Saiyans won’t beat themselves.
Formats: PlayStation 4 (reviewed), Xbox One, and PC Price: £49.99 Publisher: Bandai Namco Entertainment Developer: CyberConnect2 Release Date: 17th January 2020 Age Rating: 12
Nintendo has already picked all six new characters for the second Fighters Pass for Smash Bros. but they’re all currently a secret.
The fifth and final DLC character for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate has been revealed as Byleth from Fire Emblem, but while that may seem a disappointingly dull choice to many it seems Nintendo has plenty of chances to make up for that.
They already said that they’d release more DLC characters after the initial Fighters Pass, and now it’s been revealed that there’ll be a whole second pass with six new characters – instead of the five of the first one.
None of them were named, but according to director Masahiro Sakurai they’ve all already been picked, so there’s no point trying to petition him to add your favourite.
The new fighters might all be a secret but most of the logic from our recent article on the most likely new additions still stands, so characters such as Dante from Devil May Cry, Steve/Alex from Minecraft, Crash Bandicoot, and Dovahkiin from Skyrim are still in with a good chance.
For now, all we know is that the Fighters Pass Vol. 2 will cost £26.99 and all six new characters will be out by the end of next year.
You’ll be able to buy the new pass from Wednesday, 29 January, which will grant you an exclusive Mii Fighter costume: the Ancient Soldier Gear from Zelda: Breath Of The Wild.
There was no clue as to when the first fighter will be available, but it’ll likely be a few months. Although the fact that Sakurai already knows who they all are suggests that work must already have begun.
There’s every reason to expect that the Fighters Pass Vol. 2 will include plenty of third party characters (i.e. those that don’t belong to Nintendo) but already being added on 29 January are a bunch of new Mii Fighter costumes.
The most exciting, arguably, is the one for Cuphead, which is not only very unexpected in terms of the character but also comes with its own exclusive music track (Floral Fury from the Cagney Carnation boss fight).
On top of that is Altaïr from the first Assassin’s Creed game, who works as a Mii Swordfighter. Plus, there’s a Rabbids hat, which is also from a Ubisoft game.
Capcom are behind two of the other additions, with X from Mega Man X and MegaMan.EXE from Mega Man: Battle Network – both of which are Mii Gunners.
The Mii Fighter Costumes are not covered by either Fighter Pass but are instead sold separately for 70p each.
These new ones will be released on Wednesday, 29 January but there’s a whole range of other costumes already available that cover third party games ranging from Undertale to Goemon.
Although the Mii Fighters have customisable moves selected from a finite pool it is possible to give them attacks that much up quite closely to most characters, which helps make up for things if your favourite didn’t get picked as part of the Fighters Pass.
Fire Emblem: Three Houses – Cindered Shadows is out next month (pic: Nintendo)
Byleth in Smash Bros. wasn’t the only Fire Emblem news today, as Nintendo announces a new DLC expansion for Three Houses.
After the news about Pokémon Sword and Shield it’s clear that expansion passes are becoming standard for almost every major Nintendo release, but we’ll be honest and say we forget Fire Emblem: Three Houses even had one – but the addition of Byleth to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate came with a timely reminder.
In our defence, the only things the pass has added so far have been minor cosmetic additions, like a sauna and the ability to pet animals, as well as new quests, maps, costumes and other minor extras.
The major story addition was always promised for sometime before April though and now that’s been revealed as Cindered Shadows.
Cindered Shadows involves a secret fourth house of students for you to boss around, who in an unlikely turn of events have been discovered skulking about in the basement of Garreg Mach Monastery.
Exactly how the Ashen Wolves will interact with the other three houses, if at all, isn’t yet clear but the DLC will be out on 13 February, so it’s not that long until you get to find out.
Whether that’s the last release for the expansion pass isn’t clear, but it will set you back £22.49, which if you buy now will give you instant access to all the other minor stuff that’s already been released.
Byleth will be added to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate on 29 January and will set you back either £5.39 or £22.49 for Smash’s own expansion pass (or rather Fighters Pass Vol. 1 as it is now).
The discovery of a new glitch in Ocarina Of Time has destroyed previous speedrun records for the game and they’re still falling.
The world of speedruns is a fascinating place, with many competing over decades to complete classic games in as short a time as possible, and they don’t get much more classic than Zelda: Ocarina Of Time.
Up until recently it was thought impossible to beat the N64 game in under 14 minutes, until a new glitch, called Stale Reference Manipulation, was discovered, which in turn made it possible to warp straight from Kokiri Forest into the end credits of the game.
Speedrunner Lozoots started out with a time of 13 minutes and 48 seconds, before gradually chipping away at the total until they got it down to just 12 minutes and 59 seconds.
It’s more than likely that record could be broken again, as everyone gets time to practice with the glitch, but it seems around 12 minutes is going to be the new fastest time.
Of course, many consider using glitches like this cheating, but as is the case for any popular speedrun game there are multiple different categories and rules depending on whether you use bugs, how much of the game you complete, and whether there are any other special conditions.
According to speedrun.com the current glitchless record for completing Ocarina Of Time with community-agreed restrictions is 3 hours, 40 minutes, and 49 seconds which will still seem impossible to anyone that’s played the game normally.
Apart from the sense of competition and community speedruns are also commonly used as charity-raising events, such as the recent Awesome Games Done 2020, so they’re an all-round good thing.
Cyberpunk 2077 – not out this spring (pic: CD Projekt)
CD Projekt’s follow-up to The Witcher 3 has been the latest big name game to suffer a major delay, even though it’s functionally complete.
You remember how this spring was going to end up as one of the best ever periods for big name video game releases? Well… about that.
Cyberpunk 2077 has become the third big name game this week to be delayed, following Final Fantasy 7 Remake’s five-week postponement until 10 April and the much longer delay of Marvel’s Avengers until 4 September.
The original release date for Cyberpunk 2077 was 16 April but now it won’t be out until 17 September, just less than a fortnight after the Avengers game.
We have important news regarding Cyberpunk 2077’s release date we’d like to share with you today. pic.twitter.com/aWdtR0grYV
As usual in this sort of situation, the explanation given is vague and doesn’t amount to anything beyond the usual talk of wanting more time to polish the game.
Although last year CD Projekt was very vocal about not putting its developers through a ‘crunch’ period of excessive overtime to get the game finished, as has happened with previous titles, so it’s good to see them keep to that.
Whether the delay of Final Fantasy 7 Remake, to just a week before Cyberpunk 2077, influenced the decision will probably never be known, but it does mean Cyberpunk will now be coming out just a couple of months before the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5.
Previously, many had assumed the game would be remastered for the new consoles as soon as possible, perhaps even this year, but CD Projekt ruled that out last year and it’s now even less likely that they’ll change their mind.
The tweet above has it all, but here’s the complete text of the announcement:
We have important news regarding Cyberpunk 2077’s release date we’d like to share with you today.
Cyberpunk 2077 won’t make the April release window and we’re moving the launch date to 17 September, 2020.
We are currently at a stage where the game is complete and playable, but there’s still work to be done. Night City is massive – full of stories, content and places to visit, but due to the sheer scale and complexity of it all, we need more time to finish playtesting, fixing and polishing. We want Cyberpunk 2077 to be our crowning achievement for this generation and postponing launch will give us the precious months we need to make the game perfect.
Expect more regular updates on progress as we get closer to the new release date.
We’re really looking forward to seeing you in Night City, thank you for your ongoing support!
Four out of five
So… Blyeth, eh? A pick so boring I don’t think anyone even bothered to predict it. Like, Edelgard would’ve been bad enough but at least she’s a character people like. At least she’s a character even, Blyeth doesn’t even talk! I’ve heard some say Blyeth was picked before the game came out and Nintendo realised how successful it was, and how popular certain of the characters had become (no Bernadetta in the background seems weird given how popular her character is) but even so it’s a really dull choice that I can barely be bothered to try out.
It’s not a big deal really though as I’d say that the Fighter Pass has been one of the best pieces of DLC I’ve ever bought. Even with the meh fifth entry I’ve enjoyed the build-up to each one, the guessing and campaigning, the reveals, and finally then playing as the character and all the other little extras that get added.
I’ve no hesitation about getting the second pass really, especially as I agree with GC that they just wanted to get Blyeth out of the way and start with a really good one for the new pass. Who do I want in it? To be honest I’d rather just be surprised. Sakurai is right, Smash is a celebration of gaming (or at least Japanese gaming) and I’m happy for it to go on as long as he can manage. Tourso
Ignore the other one
I would love for BioWare to do a remaster of the entire Mass Effect trilogy. Make it for the next gen consoles and so that the save will still carry on through for the new fourth game, which I think should be more of a direct carry-on than the side story or time jump that was originally planned.
Andromeda was already separate from the original trilogy, so let’s keep it that way and just pretend it never happened. Andromeda’s main problem was that it was basically the B-team working on it, so I don’t entirely put the blame on BioWare. If EA want this to be a major franchise again they need to give it the money and the talent it needs, which is hopefully what will happen now that Casey Hudson can take over again.
I do hope it’s next gen only though. I always really hate this point in a generation where it’s half and half as it never feels like new games are being stretched to their full potential. I’d much rather wait another year or two for Mass Effect 4 to be as good as it can than just have it as a cross-gen holdover. Preston
Thought experiment
GC, I’d like to ask you a question about your rating of games. Something I’ve been wondering for a while.
Consider a single-player game that you reviewed very positively. I guess a good example would be Zelda: A Breath In The Wild. Now consider exactly the same game published with the same single-player story but also with a (separate) poor/average multiplayer element as well.
Would this change mean you would reduce your review score or would you still give it a 10 because the single-player part of the game was so good?
Thanks and keep up the good work Manic Miner 100 (gamertag)
GC: Well, theoretically it’d get the same score, if it seemed that the single-player hadn’t been negatively affected (in terms of size, stability, etc.) by the multiplayer. But we can’t think of any example that was that extreme, can you?
There are dozens of us!
I don’t know if GameCentral or other readers have seen this but a few days ago one of the creators of Skies Of Arcadia has renewed calls for a Skies Of Arcadia 2 on Twitter by asking people to retweet his message
in which you could win some artwork in a prize draw.
I am not on Twitter but if I was I would retweet it as I was a big fan of Skies Of Arcadia on Dreamcast, never tried the director’s cut Legends on GameCube though. Andrew J.
Wow, many fans of Skies of Arcadia! I really appreciate your continuous support! So, I decided to give this autograph to an oversea fan(anywhere!) Please apply to get it: -Follow this account(to send DM) -Retweet this tweet. I'll choose the winner randomly at the end of Jan 2020. pic.twitter.com/sFGp9OR3tu
Group meet
How do you feel about E3 maybe being no-more? It seems to be a great opportunity for you to interview a whole lot of people in one place. Is the international jet set journalist lifestyle all it is cracked up to be or do you dread it?
The best part of E3 for me are the GC interviews. I know the chances are slim nowadays but I would love for you to be able to cross swords with Sony’s Jim Ryan again. ThePowerFeeling (PSN ID)
GC: We always enjoy E3, even though it’s hard work, for just the reason you suggest: all the easy access to interesting people. Ever since Jim Ryan got promoted, we’ve never been allowed to interview him again. But we do see him now and again at events and he always says hello.
Zero information
As primarily a PC and Nintendo Switch-only gamer I was thinking of getting a console. Xbox is off the table as I can play those games on my PC. So that just leaves PlayStation.
Can you tell me what exclusives there are to warrant paying a lot more for a PlayStation 5? I’ve not heard any mentioned yet by Sony. ANON
GC: Sony hasn’t announced any games yet. The only exclusive so far is Gearbox’s Godfall, but that’s also on PC.
Traditional values
Replaying to Nathan, regarding not getting Zelda: Breath Of The Wild. I don’t think it is that unpopular an opinion actually. There’s plenty of us out there who just didn’t appreciate it like most people seemed to have. It’s definitely not what I want from a Zelda game. All the points he raised I’d agree with and would also add it really bugged me having to replace my weapon all the time.
An unpopular opinion would be Zelda: Skyward Sword is the best Zelda since Ocarina Of Time. Which I happen to believe. I don’t expect to see a more traditional Zelda game for a while now because of Breath Of The Wild’s success. But I love Nintendo, so glad they’re doing well. Chris
GC: It’s not hard to imagine a new 2D game in the traditional style at some point, or another remaster of an older game.
Have a look see
There’s not really any empty space in Zelda: Breath Of The Wild but it took me a while to realise just how much is secretly packed into almost every step. If you rely on a story to keep you entertained in a game, maybe you want something different out of your games.
I’d have preferred a more involved story myself, because I like the Zelda lore, but in a lot of ways it feels like the game is making a statement that interactive entertainment shouldn’t involve you sitting passively being told and show stuff. Even discounting the general quality of writing and story execution in the vast, vast majority of games, that’s what a lot of us find boring.
My suggestion is to keep yourself focused, first by using the objectives system in the menu as much as you can while tackling towers, shrines, and whatever other distractions you encounter along the way. Also, don’t insist on beating every enemy or camp you come across, as these reset fairly regularly and anything you get from them is usually disposable, so pick you battles.
Possibly most importantly, use the map markers, and not just the waypoints that put big colourful signals on the screen. There will be stuff that’s worth keeping an eye on even if you don’t want to deter from whatever you choose to focus on.
If none of the current objectives take your fancy, go to a high point in any area and have a look around, keeping in mind the availability of map markers. Just being out in the world and finding shrines and many other surprises can be one of the joys of discovery in the game, but you need to be open to not being led by the hand.
If you don’t start to see the intelligence of the design and how it’s linked to autonomous discovery, it might just mean you’re just looking to get a different form of enjoyment from gaming than it offers. Panda
Inbox also-rans
I just finished Thimbleweed Park and I could not speak more highly of it. Thank you for taking all your time to make it so great! Anon
Readers of a certain age might appreciate this music video which accompanies a track from Session Victim’s forthcoming album Needledrop. Rolph
This week’s Hot Topic
The question for this weekend’s Inbox is simple, but not easy to answer: what is your favourite video game of the last decade?
We offered up our top 10 list over Christmas but what is your favourite from the years 2010 to 2019? You can name just one game or several, but we want to know what you enjoyed the most during the last decade.
Was your choice a big hit at the time and how influential was it in terms of the decade as a whole? What do you think were the most notable traits of gaming during the 2010s and how well does your pick exemplify them?
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.
You can also submit your own 500 to 600-word 4Player viewer features 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.
Cyberpunk 2077 – multiplayer is going to be a long time coming (pic: CD Projekt)
There’s more bad news for both Cyberpunk fans and those making the game, as the developer warns of ‘extra long hours’ ahead.
The surprise announcement of Cyberpunk 2077’s delay until September has brought with it another inevitable piece of news: the game’s multiplayer features have been delayed for even longer.
Exactly what the multiplayer is – and whether it’s a separate mode or even a separate game – has always been unclear and before the delay CD Projekt warned that it wouldn’t be out until at least 2021.
But following the delay CD Projekt had an investor Q&A in which they mentioned the multiplayer and said: ‘Given the expected release of Cyberpunk 2077 in September and the series of events which we expect to occur after that date, 2021 appears unlikely as the release date for Cyberpunk multiplayer’.
As you can see, that doesn’t even try to promise 2022, but hopefully it hasn’t been put back any further than that.
CD Projekt’s explanation for the five month delay still doesn’t amount to anything more than needing more polish, which is fair enough, but the assumption that it was also to avoid putting its developers through the ‘crunch’ doesn’t seem to be panning out.
In the same Q&A, execs were asked whether the team would need to put in crunch hours, to which Joint CEO Adam Kiciński answered:
‘To some degree, yes – to be honest. We try to limit crunch as much as possible, but it is the final stage. We try to be reasonable in this regard, but yes. Unfortunately’.
Working conditions for game developers came under the spotlight last year, when Rockstar Games were accused of coercing employees into working very long hours on Red Dead Redemption 2 for extended periods of time.
The crunch is commonplace around the industry but highlighting the problem exposed other related issues, such as the Mortal Kombat developer that was diagnosed with PTSD after working on gory scenes.
As soon as you start to get into the 3D era of gaming the poor quality of the graphics and controllers suddenly makes them much less accessible than their 2D predecessors, and while we’d love to see a Classic Mini N64 or Saturn it’s hard to imagine it happening.
But there is one obvious route left and the mini console we’ve been looking forward to the most out of all of them, for the simple reason that we never had one originally: the PC Engine Mini.
The console is little known in the West; in fact speaking to Konami about it it’s debatable whether it was ever officially released in Europe at all, with just a few consoles trickling into the UK in 1990, before the whole attempt at a launch was quickly abandoned.
It fared a little better in the US but in Japan the PC Engine was bigger than the Mega Drive and while it was still stuck awkwardly between the 8-bit and 16-bit eras it was the most popular console in Japan for some time, before eventually being overtaken by the SNES.
That means it has a mountain of classic Japanese titles in its portfolio, ranging from near perfect arcade conversions to games and franchises that have never been released in the UK before – including a huge selection of 2D shooters (which just so happens to be our favourite retro genre).
Ghouls ‘N Ghosts – arcade often came as standard on PC Engine (pic: Konami/Capcom)
The PC Engine was originally released by NEC in 1987 in Japan, but it and many of its games were made by Hudson Soft, who were bought up by and merged with Konami in 2012.
So we recently went along to Konami’s UK offices to try out the PC Engine Mini, which has three different forms depending on the region. The Japanese version is the original white one, the US one is called the TurboGrafx-16 (and gives the American SNES a run for its money as the ugliest console ever made), and in Europe it’s called the PC Engine CoreGrafx Mini, after one of the later hardware revisions.
Comparing the Mini to the original version it’s only a little smaller than it used to be, but as Senior Brand and Business Development Manager Richard Jones points out, ‘We’d already made a mini console in 1987. We kind of felt we had to reduce it a little bit, to fit the name, but you can’t do it by too much or otherwise there’s nothing there to hold in the palm of your hand.’
In basic terms the PC Engine Mini works just the same as other mini consoles, with a full-size controller and four save states for each game, to help cope with the high difficulty of many games of the era. Importantly, the emulation work is done by the peerless M2, whose involvement in any retro game is always a guarantee of quality.
M2 seem to have particularly relished their work with the PC Engine though, which can be transformed from Japanese to American incarnations at the press of a button and has not only a CRT filter, to emulate old school TVs, but also a number of screen ratio options, including the ability to make it look like you’re playing the games on the tiny screen of a portable PC Engine GT (aka TurboExpress).
It all seems to work very well, but it is of course the games which are most important feature and the PC Engine CoreGrafx Mini has 57 of them – an almost identical line-up to Japan. That’s a mixture of titles localised for America and those that were only ever released in Japan, which works out as 25 games in English and 32 in Japanese.
The full list is below, and as you can see a few of the games are doubled-up, but the only Japanese titles missing from the UK PC Engine Core Grafx Mini are dating sim Tokimeki Memorial and role-player Tengai Maikyo 2 (part of the Far East Of Eden franchise), which would be unplayable unless translated, and the Japanese version of Splatterhouse.
In return the Western versions of the console get the English language version of Splatterhouse and the Japanese edition of Salamander – which just so happens to be one of our favourite 2D shooters ever (and Bayonetta creator Hideki Kamiya’s, as we discovered when we met him once).
PC Engine CoreGrafx Mini final games list
English: Air Zonk
Alien Crush
Blazing Lasers
Bomberman ’93
Bonk’s Revenge
Cadash
Chew-Man-Fu
Dungeon Explorer
J.J. & Jeff
Lords Of Thunder
Military Madness
Moto Roader
Neutopia
Neutopia 2
New Adventure Island
Ninja Spirit
Parasol Stars
Power Golf
Psychosis
R-Type
Soldier Blade
Space Harrier
Splatterhouse
Victory Run
Ys Book I & II
Japanese:
Akumajō Dracula X: Chi No Rondo (Castlevania: Rondo Of Blood)
Aldynes
Appare! Gateball
Bomberman ‘94
Bomberman Panic Bomber
Chō Aniki
Daimakaimura (Ghouls ‘N Ghosts)
Dragon Spirit
Dungeon Explorer
Fantasy Zone
Galaga ’88
Genpei Tōma Den (The Genji And The Heike Clans)
Ginga Fukei Densetsu Sapphire
Gradius
Gradius 2: GOFER No Yabō
Jaseiken Necromancer
Nectaris (Military Madness)
Neutopia
Neutopia 2
Ninja Ryūkenden (Ninja Gaiden)
PC-Genjin (Bonk’s Adventure)
Salamander
Seirei Senshi Spriggan
Snatcher
Spriggan Mark 2
Star Parodier (Fantasy Star Soldier)
Super Darius
Super Momotarō Dentetsu 2
Super Star Soldier
The Kung Fu (China Warrior)
Valkyrie No Densetsu (The Legend Of Valkyrie)
Ys I & II
Since most of the games are action titles the Japanese text is not an issue for most of them, although there is one special case: Hideo Kojima’s Snatcher. Predictably, Konami hasn’t used the translation from the Mega CD version, although Jones indicated that they were also worried that, ‘the intended humour in the game would get lost in translation and spoil the experience for both existing and new fans.’
It’s a shame, but translating such a text heavy game would be difficult, as the game is essentially a visual novel, but just watching it play out with its state-of-the-art 1992 2D visuals is a fascinating experience, especially given how brazenly the game rips off visuals from the likes of Blade Runner and The Terminator.
One of the core arguments surrounding the PC Engine has always been whether it counts as an 8-bit or 16-bit console, since its innards are a mixture of the two, but many of the games on the Mini are very impressive from a graphical standpoint and hold up just as well, or better, than contemporary SNES games.
We had a few minutes on a range of different titles, including the near arcade perfect R-Type and Ghouls ‘N Ghosts to the glorious, and long forgotten, Rainbow Islands sequel Parasol Stars and five-player Bomberman ‘94.
Snatcher is a must for Hideo Kojima fans (pic: Konami)
Then there was Castlevania: Rondo Of Blood, a key title in the evolution of the franchise; Ninja Gaiden; a number of platform titles featuring mascot Bonk (aka PC-Kid); racing games such as Victory Run; role-players such as Ys Book I & II; and pinball game Alien Crush.
Another that took our fancy, that we’d never heard of before, is Appare! Gateball, which turned out to be a sports sim based on a Japanese variation of croquet and which we had an enjoyable time playing in two-player mode with another journo, as we both struggled to work out the rules.
Although the absence of Capcom’s Street Fighter 2 was unsurprising, the only other notable omissions we noticed were Alien Crush sequel Devil’s Crush and Lords Of Thunder predecessor Gate Of Thunder. We asked Jones why this was and he answered that it was an attempt to balance the genres on the console, adding: ‘If we have an opportunity to add them in the future, we will reconsider it.’
Whether that means the console will be able to download DLC we’re not sure, but to be fair the PC Engine is already an Aladdin’s cave of classic 2D shooters, from beloved classics such as Star Soldier and Gradius to ones we’ve never played before, such as Spriggan Mark 2 and Ginga Fukei Densetsu Sapphire.
The latter was originally released on the Arcade CD-ROM² format and features some of the best 2D sprite work we’ve seen from the era, including more ripping off of Blade Runner and enemies that look like polygonal models out of Star Fox but are actually just very smoothly animated sprites. But then the game should look good as it was released in 1995, almost a year after the original PlayStation came out in Japan – a tribute to the extraordinarily long life of the PC Engine in its homeland.
Parasol Stars is a genuine lost classic (pic: Konami)
The PC Engine CoreGrafx Mini is exclusive to Amazon.co.uk, where it costs £99.99. Not an inconsiderable sum but you could easily pay more than that for just one of the games in their original form. It will be released on 19 March, with extra controllers and a multitap – that allows you to use five controllers at a time – available separately.
For retro gamers it seems like a must-have but the inevitable question that came to our mind is what, if anything, does this mean for Konami’s future engagement in the games industry? After almost seeming to give up on traditional console titles, will any of these franchises, or the Hudson name, return? And what about more modern games like Silent Hill and Castlevania, many of which Jones has worked on in the past?
‘We have not changed our stance on providing games all over the world for many people to enjoy’, is Jones’ predictably corporate response.
‘We’re excited for our fans to play and enjoy the PC Engine Core Grafx Mini. We will continue to listen to their feedback and consider adding extra titles to the console in the future’, he added – again implying that it can receive DLC updates.
It’s impossible to guess what, if anything, the PC Engine Mini might mean for the future of Konami, and Hudson, but at the very least it seems like the perfect celebration of a console that, particularly in Europe, was in danger of being forgotten.
Xbox Series X – does it need exclusives? (pic: Microsoft)
A reader looks at Microsoft’s motives for not having any Xbox Series X exclusives at launch and predicts a new console every two to three years.
There has been a lot of speculation surrounding Microsoft’s decision to not have console exclusives at the Xbox Series X launch. From a historical gaming perspective, it seems stupid but if viewed from a business perspective it is potentially a stroke of genius. I will try and explain why I came to this conclusion.
The lack of Series X exclusives for the first year or so is certainly odd but it is not completely unprecedented. Nintendo released the Legend Of Zelda titles Twilight Princess and Breath Of The Wild on both new and old consoles. Despite owning a GameCube I bought a Wii on release day for Twilight Princess. I also bought Breath Of The Wild on Switch despite having a Wii U. (Although that was not at launch as I waited until Mario Odyssey was released.)
Buying a console to have the best version of multiformat games is also something I have done previously. During the previous generation my main console was the Xbox 360, as it offered the best experience for multiformat games, I also had a PlayStation 3 but I only used that for the Sony exclusives. Therefore, not having console exclusives is not a complete no-no even if it does remove a unique selling point.
This generation I did not buy an Xbox One as the release model was weaker and more expensive than the PlayStation 4. However, despite there being no exclusives that interested me I was tempted by the Xbox One X. The main reason for not buying one was thinking that it would become quickly obsolete with the introduction of the new generation. Microsoft’s current approach however means that the Xbox One X will remain relevant for longer. I am still not going to buy an Xbox One X but if this becomes Microsoft’s business model from now on it might convince me to buy a later Xbox console.
The console market is very cyclical, with platformer holders having to regrow their installed base every console generation. This leads to cyclical profits where a lot of money is invested in a new console and it takes a few years to get a return on investment and then a few years later the cycle restarts. The Xbox division is likely to be far more cyclic than other divisions within Microsoft and will not achieve the investors requirements of year-on-year growth because of these console cycles, whereas other Microsoft divisions will be able to provide continual grow.
Failing to meet targets will have meant needless redundancies and the inevitable loss of some talented people just to appease shareholders and/or upper management. So to combat this (but mainly to make the accounting/forecasting easier), Microsoft are trying to flatten the curve and make profits more predictable. This also reduces the risk of a Saturn-sized mistake bankrupting the division.
I can easily see a structure where there are three Xbox consoles on the market at any one time and each has around a 10-year life. So every two to three years a new Xbox model is introduced and the bottom model stops being sold. This enables Microsoft to always have a premium $600+ machine (Series X) that is best in class but also a competitive mass market $400 model (Lockhart) and a budget $200 option (One X).
Microsoft have already ensured that their games are backwards compatible which means regardless of which future Xbox you buy all your games will still work. And with xCloud they can probably do the opposite too, whereby if you have an Xbox One you would be able to stream all future titles too.
Game Pass is clearly positioning itself to be the number one subscription service and when coupled with xCloud it could enable you to access any game on the service regardless of which Xbox you own, making Microsoft’s first party games Game Pass originals as opposed to console exclusives. One-off games purchases would still continue as they are now, and physical games will need to specify the minimum spec Xbox system required to run them. These will, however, be for non-subscribers as all games would be available on Game Pass at launch.
This shift to a combined Game Pass and xCloud would mean that if you have an older Xbox console (or older PC) new games could still be played, albeit by streaming only. Everyone (apart from Google) knows this will not be as good as running it locally but it will still be a way of accessing a game. And there will be people that start streaming a new game on an Xbox One S and decide they like it enough to buy an XBox Series X to improve the experience by running the game on local hardware.
Combining Game Pass and xCloud would also ease the transition from owning local hardware to streaming. At the point a gamer’s Xbox console no longer runs the latest games locally they may find that their Internet infrastructure has improved enough that playing the game via xCloud is good enough and they do not need to update their physical console.
I think Game Pass will be Microsoft’s real bread winner from now on and growing the number of subscribers is an achievable way of delivering year-on-year profit growth. From Microsoft’s perspective it would be great if Game Pass/xCloud helps to sell Xbox Series Xs and future consoles, but for Microsoft this now looks like a bonus sale and not the main objective.
If Game Pass is as great as everyone says (which I have no reason to doubt) it will be hard to step away from the Xbox family of consoles once you have subscribed. That is of course assuming the service maintains its quality. And if you stay subscribed, Microsoft will keep making money.
By reader PazJohnMitch
The reader’s feature does not necessary represent the views of GameCentral or Metro.
You can submit your own 500 to 600-word reader feature at any time, which if used will be published in the next appropriate weekend slot. As always, email gamecentral@ukmetro.co.uk and follow us on Twitter.
The Witcher 3 – toss a coin to your witcher (pic: CD Projekt)
GameCentral readers try to decide on the best video games of the 2010s, from Red Dead Redemption to Rayman Legends.
We offered up our top 10 list over Christmas but what is your favourite from the years 2010 to 2019? What do you think were the most notable traits of gaming during the 2010s and how well does your pick exemplify them?
We had lots of very carefully thought out answers but although Super Mario Galaxy 2, Zelda: Breath Of The Wild, and Red Dead Redemption were mentioned a lot there was no clear winner, just lots of suddenly very nostalgic readers.
What it’s all about
For me the best game of the decade has to be The Witcher 3. I was a little worried as I made my deliberations that I was being influenced by the surprisingly good Netflix series but while it did inspire me to go back to the game that only cemented my feeling that it is the best game of the decade and generation.
People point out problems with the combat and some of the other mechanics and they’re right but the reason that’s not important is because The Witcher 3 is really all about… not so much the story but the interaction. Talking to and influencing people feels like you’re deal with real people and there’s no simple good and bad options.
Combine that with the superb mission design, which has sub quests better than the main story missions on most rivals and you have got an essentially perfect role-playing game. It’s certainly the best I’ve ever played and if Cyberpunk 2077 is better than that will really be something. Baker
An active decade
Looking back at the releases over the past 10 years to pick three of my favourite games was quite an interesting trip down memory lane for me. I was an avid gamer as a kid, starting with the NES then SNES, N64, PlayStation 1 and 2, but then as I became an adult gaming slipped off the radar for a few years in place of pubs and wild nights out.
But around 2009/10 I started to get back into gaming, spurred on by the release of GTA 4, which I’d played at a friend’s house. As a result I’d probably say that the last 10 years have been my most active years of gaming, where I was old enough to be able to afford to buy new games and up until the birth of my first child four years ago was able to find plenty of time to play them too (I still find time, but it is in much shorter supply these days), anyway onto my list:
1. Red Dead Redemption (2010)
In my opinion the original Red Dead is probably the best of all Rockstar’s games and the one that I played the most. Red Dead Redemption 2, while technically brilliant and a game that I also thoroughly enjoyed just wasn’t a patch on the original.
2. Batman: Akrham City (2011)
Although not the best in the trilogy (for me that is still Asylum), this is the best entry in the last decade. I did also really enjoy Arkham Knight, including the much-maligned tank sections, but I just rate Arkham City a bit more, both as a gamer and as a Batman fan.
3. Astro Bot (2018)
The first game that I ever played in VR, which ultimately heralded a new era and gave an example of the future of gaming. I love this game for all that it is, even the minor details like seaweed dangling in your eyes as you come up from an underwater section, sheer joy from start to finish.
Interestingly, the list changed as I wrote it so special mentions also have to go to GTA 5 and the Resident Evil 2 remake which were originally on my list! Rickandrolla (PSN ID)
Almost too good
I completely agree with your top two selections of best games of the decade. I would also say both could be considered the best games ever made. I didn’t have high hopes for either game, as I thought Super Mario Galaxy 2 was going to be a cheap cash-in but it was anything but. I would rate it above Zelda: Breath Of The Wild, as I thought that there were elements of Breath Of The Wild that could be improved upon. In Galaxy 2 the level that flips the world like the scene in the Inception movie was jaw dropping for me at the time and no other gaming moment has come close.
A special mention for me would be Mario Kart 8. The game I thought deserved to be in the top 10 ahead of Ultra Street Fighter 4. As, yes, Street Fighter 4 did reinvigorate the genre but I don’t think it had much of an impact in the wider perception of games as Mario Kart 8 did. Mario Kart 8 has a universal appeal that I don’t think any other multiplayer game has; not even FIFA, Call Of Duty, or Fortnite has that.
The game has a simple premise and simple controls that appeal to casuals and hardcore gamers. Mario Kart 8 is great to play, levels are well designed – with the anti-gravity they added something new. Nintendo have perfected the multiplayer game that I don’t know where they can go with the franchise. Alek Kazam
Three times as good
My favourite game of the decade has to be the sublime Rayman Legends. I am late to the Rayman party as I never played the earlier games until they were released again last gen.
Playing Rayman Origins I instantly became a fan and wanted more of the experience. I went into my local electronics emporium to purchase a new TV. While I was waiting for the sales staff to go to the back and bring out my TV; I had a play on the Wii U they had set up on display.
That Wii U was running a Rayman Legends demo, which at the time was said to be a Wii U exclusive (it wasn’t out yet). I had to have it! When the salesperson came out with my TV I asked them to get me a Wii U as well.
When the game did eventually launch I regretted nothing. It played so well on the Wii U and I enjoyed it immensely. I enjoyed it so much I purchased it on the PC, and again when I went to a store and saw a brand-new copy sitting in a clearance bin for the Xbox 360. An unfitting end for what is in my opinion one of the most finely crafted platformers ever.
So my game of the decade is the one I own three copies of. It’s Rayman Legends. Commodore Fan
Oh brother
My game of the decade is Brothers: A Tale Of Two Sons.
A wonderful little game with a great mechanic (you control the two sons with the two thumbsticks), nice puzzles, beautiful graphics, and a massive emotional moment at the end if the story. I loved this game and recommend it to friends who are casual gamers who have no idea it exists.
I should also say I’m not the only one. it got a lot of praise in the GC Inbox when it was released.
If you’ve not played it, it’s often reduced to about £4 now in the Xbox sales.
Honourable mentions also to Call Of Duty: Black Ops 1 and 2, and Portal 2. Manic miner 100 (gamertag)
Rated fresh
Choosing the series my game of the decade comes from is surprisingly easy, the only difficulty is whether it should be Splatoon 1 or 2. Splatoon 2 is clearly the better game with Salmon Run, a greatly expanded single-player, and way more content but Splatoon 1 has Squid Jump!
The Splatoon duo are by far the most imaginative, stylish, and fun games of the decade. I’ve gladly been one of the biggest cheerleaders for them in the inbox, even writing a Reader’s Feature for the first one and would implore anyone who hasn’t played them to discover what they’re missing! Ryan O’D
A lot of maxing
I’ve been eagerly awaiting this topic. Already knew my number one, but I can’t wait to see everyone else’s.
The game I’ve played the most between 2010 and 2019 was easy enough: Borderlands 2. I must have sunk 1,000 hours into it easily, I had it on Xbox 360 first and maxed all four characters, then on PlayStation 3 the same, then got the Handsome Collection on PlayStation 4 and maxed out six, as it had all the DLC. I still play it now when I gave up on Borderlands 3 after a month or so. But it’s not my best of the decade, despite adoring it and playing it continuously since release.
Around 2012/3 I’d really fallen out of love with gaming, I was still buying games, as is my habit and always will be, but never really getting into any. I’d play for a few hours a week, if that sometimes.
I was even close to selling my Xbox 360/PlayStation 3 for a while and sticking with my retro consoles.
Then I started playing a preowned game I’d picked up cheap: Dark Souls.
I didn’t know what on earth I was doing, I couldn’t get my head round why the skeletons at the beginning were so damn hard. Surely they’re the easiest, being so close to the start of the game was my thinking. I died over and over and over and over. I gave up on the game a few times, coming back a few days or weeks later for a go. Until it all clicked into place.
I found other areas, and it started getting a bit simpler. Bit by bit I got better, day by day getting used to the gameplay and every new enemy and every death being a learning process. By the time I finally finished the game I’d put hundreds of hours in, and gotten to level 200 or something – later playing all the way to 452 over time as seen in the pic below – and I’d re-found my love for gaming.
I’ve no doubt that with the passage of time it’ll usurp Final Fantasy 7 as my favourite game ever, but nostalgia and red-tinted specs is keeping Cloud and his mates in the number one spot for a bit longer at least. Or maybe just maybe he’ll take the spot from himself in a few months in his shiny new high-def form.
Dark Souls ended up being a bit of a poisoned chalice though. Nothing after gripped me in the same way, nothing has since really. I never finished Dark Souls 2 as it seemed such a let-down compared to the first, and I barely touched the third one and it’s still sat in my to-do pile about three years after I bought it.
I think I burnt myself out with Dark Souls games like I’ve done before with other franchises. Or in the case of Sony I’ve grown bored of AAA strut driven, action heavy, third person open world games (Horizon Zero Dawn, God Of War, Uncharted, Days Gone, etc.) although I did love Bloodborne until my data corrupted and I never had the will to start again.
I’ve enjoyed many games greatly but I haven’t become totally infatuated like I did with Dark Souls for a few months. Not only my game of the decade, but one of the best I’ve ever played in 35 years of gaming.
Honourable mention to Astro Bot which has been the closest thing to Dark Souls in terms of wowing me this decade, such a wonderfully joyous and fun game, such a shame so many people will never play it unless Sony have a last minute fire sale of VR headsets.
Also-rans are Celeste, Portal 2, Resident Evil 2 remake, Human Fall Flat, NieR (not Automata), Undertale, Uncharted 2, Stardew Valley, Portal 2, Moss, The Forest, The Last Guardian, Bloodborne, Call Of Duty: Black Ops 1 (purely for the hundreds of hours put into the remastered World At War Zombies maps late at night with mates), Spec Ops: The Line, Tales Of Vesperia, Dying Light, Little Nightmares, and Yakuza 0.
The ones I debated upon despite knowing my number one anyway deep down. I’ve likely forgotten loads, just mentioning the ones that always pop into my head that I particularly enjoyed, even if some aren’t all that highly rated. Lost-Sock-
PS: I’m gutted about the Final Fantasy 7 remake delay, I have a few days booked off for it that now needs rearranging. Let’s hope it’s worth the wait.
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It’s never too late to buy a new console (pic: Sony)
A reader sets out the four stages of a console’s life and advises on when the best – and cheapest – time is to buy a new one.
For whatever significance the 202nd decade AD brings to humanity as a whole, in terms of gaming it promises to be one to remember. If nothing else for the fact that the outgoing Xbox and PlayStation systems are passing their respective batons to their successors.
Generational console updates are fascinating things and are the subject as much to furore and hyperbole as they are to scrutiny. But, however much we may all look forward to the launch of a new super system, not everyone buys one at launch. Sony and Microsoft have made no secret that they’re working on new hardware, and yet the marketing juggernauts behind their current offerings have continued unabated.
For example, even though monthly system sales have slowed for the PlayStation 4 in the last holiday period, Sony still managed to sell millions of the things; even at what is a stubbornly high price point for this point in its life cycle.
Which leads me to the question at hand: when the best time is to invest in a new, contemporary console. I believe there are four distinct phases.
The Release Window Buyer
There’s nothing more exciting than owning a new console on ‘day one’. That feeling of having bleeding edge console tech before 99% of your friends is difficult to beat, and not because gamers are shameless braggarts (or not just because of that), but because sharing that new console experience with friends is a wonderful thing.
I’ve not strictly been a Day Wunner myself but had the privilege of owning an import Dreamcast before the PAL release back in 1999, so can vouch for how awesome it feels to have the system before everyone else you know. The excitement is tangible and by jumping in first you certainly influence your friends’ chosen system.
For all the excitement though, the drawbacks are numerous. A paper-thin library of titles that usually doesn’t set the world alight. For every Halo: Combat Evolved there are five games of Killzone Shadowfall or Ryse quality. Then you have your cross-gen games which are either barely distinguishable from the previous generation (see Zelda: Breath Of The Wild and Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag) or have been truncated due to rushed development on a new engine (FIFA has form for this) and the benefits of the upgrade from a game perspective are smaller.
Add to this the more modern frustrations of half-baked interfaces, missing features and failing systems (Red Ring of Death, Yellow Light of Death, failing Joy-Cons) and you almost feel like a console beta tester for your money. And yes, it is a lot of money to buy a machine on or near release.
You may even get a motion camera you never wanted too.
But despite all this, nothing in gaming quite compares to the raw thrill of having a brand-new gaming box fresh off its launch.
Xbox One S – almost an impulse purchase (pic: Microsoft)
The Mid-Cycle Price Drop Poachers
Since most people don’t buy a console on release, given the drawbacks, the next phase I see covers a wider window of two to three years.
During this time we usually see several important shifts in a console’s life cycle. The first being that all-important initial price drop. Depending on the system’s success this can be anywhere between six months to two years (unless it’s a Nintendo Switch). By this time the library is more diverse, with more must-have gems that make better use of the modern tech.
Older games are cheaper too. The console may even have its own Platinum/Classics/Budget/Bargain bin line, so you can expend your library on your new console quickly, easily and cheaply.
You will also see hardware revisions, which will either be highly publicised like the Switch Lite and Xbox One S or deployed with little fanfare, much in the way some of the various Mega Drive, Saturn, PlayStation 1 and PS2 revisions snuck out. In either case, it usually means better economies of scale and more cost-cutting.
Most importantly, that one game that tips you over the edge may finally be available. For me, after dropping its price and the Kinect sensor, Halo 5 tipped me over the edge for the Xbox One. For the Wii U it was Super Mario 3D World, for PlayStation 3 it was LittleBigPlanet 2, for PlayStation 2 it was GTA 3, for Xbox 360 it was Sonic the Hedgehog 2006 (don’t ask). In those cases, a game I deemed unmissable coupled with a more affordable price made me take the plunge.
The Belated Bargain Buyers
Buying a console at the end of its life is an odd thing. How do you know it’s at the end of its life? Usually rumours of its successor are gathering pace and the release schedule tends to become more vague and thin as its price tends to tumble more so than ever.
You’ve seen it in every generation, where a contemporary console can be picked up for a relative pittance alongside a few games. This is the main benefit of waiting it out to this stage. Whether it’s because you were hesitant to make the jump into the generation as a whole or because you had plumped for a rival’s machine earlier on, there’s a lot to gain from picking up a console when it’s in its twilight years.
I remember picking up a GameCube, brand new, for £30 in Currys when they were making shelf space for the soon-to-be-launched Xbox 360 in 2005. That’s an extreme example. More common is seeing new consoles for around a third of their launch price or less than £100 second-hand, much like the Xbox One now.
Interestingly, the PlayStation 4 seems to have bucked this trend, stubbornly clinging to a circa £249 price point that the slim version launched with years ago, just £150 less than its launch price.
And it’s this which prompted me to write this piece, since my wife was awesome enough to buy me a PlayStation 4 for Christmas. With the PlayStation 5 less than a year away, does that provide good value? I’d say yes. The library of the console is enormously impressive and since exclusives such as God Of War, Horizon Zero Dawn, Bloodborne and many more can be had for less than a tenner if you shop around, you can amass a great library very quickly.
Add to this a great selection of games due in the first half of 2020, including The Last Of Us Part 2, and it’s still a great time to become a PlayStation 4 owner. Several million gamers in the last couple of months would seem to agree.
Sometimes, buying a console in its death throes can be the best time!
It might be a while till the Switch is cheap (pic: Nintendo)
The Dead Console Dealers
Okay, death does sound a little too final in this context, given many consoles are supported after their successor is released, but there’s no argument with regards to saying they’ve dropped out of mainstream support like Windows 7.
With no new games, save for a few legacy releases, you’d be forgiven for thinking the ship had sailed on a no-longer-current console, but you’d be wrong.
Sure, there’d be no new triple-A releases, online arenas might become increasingly sparse, and you may have seen your last system update, but if you’re diving into a what is essentially a last gen system then you’re in for a treat.
If you thought games and systems were cheap before, they will be at literally bargain basement levels by now. Granted, you won’t find many new (especially if production has stopped) but they’ll all be dirt cheap, with even cheaper games. As an example, just take a look at Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 stock now in your local CeX. You could get all three mainline Gears Of War and Uncharted games and still have change for £10. And that’s just for starters!
Just don’t leave your acquisition of dead console software for so long that it becomes ‘retro’, at which point the titles will probably start becoming expensive again…
Conclusion
So, when is the best time to buy a console?
I’m predictably copping out and saying it’s up to you! I’ve enjoyed buying games at each stage of various systems lives. I had a Dreamcast around its PAL launch; an Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, and Xbox One all bought and enjoyed during early price drops; a GameCube, PlayStation 3, and now PlayStation 4 in their final years; with a PlayStation 1 and SNES both purchased after they’d been supplanted by their successors.
It all depends on the games you love and what you want from your system!
By reader Daniel Driver Swooper D (gamertag) swooper_d (PSN ID/Steam ID/Twitter)
The reader’s feature does not necessary represent the views of GameCentral or Metro.
You can submit your own 500 to 600-word reader feature at any time, which if used will be published in the next appropriate weekend slot. As always, email gamecentral@ukmetro.co.uk and follow us on Twitter.
The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild – definitely a contender (pic: Nintendo)
GameCentral readers try to decide on the best video games of the 2010s, from Borderlands 2 to Bloodborne.
We offered up our top 10 list over Christmas but what is your favourite from the years 2010 to 2019? What do you think were the most notable traits of gaming during the 2010s and how well does your pick exemplify them?
We had lots of very carefully thought out answers but although Super Mario Galaxy 2, Zelda: Breath Of The Wild, and Red Dead Redemption were mentioned a lot there was no clear winner, just lots of suddenly very nostalgic readers.
Recent favourite
Straight to the point, I think it’s Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild. That said, as I beat it only just recently, it certainly isn’t my most played. That honour would have to go to Skyrim. I can’t say it’s even the best role-player of the decade – Persona 5, Undertale, and though it’s still early days, I think Divinity: Original Sin 2 are better.
Rayman Legends gets a lot of love from me as well. And with my recent PlayStation 4 problems, all my data got wiped! Annoying, true – but it is an excuse to go through it again! Strangely, if not for the incredibly generous Rayman Origins levels just thrown in for free this would be a 10 out of 10 for me. But the Origins content drags the game as a whole down, especially the bosses, only a couple of which were decent. Only a little, mind.
I wouldn’t know where to rank Super Mario Odyssey and Super Mario Galaxy 2. I played enough of Galaxy 2 to know it’s a 10 alright – but I didn’t complete it, so I don’t know for sure where it stands in the grand scheme of things.
It’s got to be a little disheartening for other developers that Nintendo have had major contenders for decade’s finest since the 1980s, right? And it’s very likely that they’ll have at least one for the 2020s. That’s 40 years, maths fans. Scary.
Honourable mentions must go to Sonic Mania, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Night In The Woods, and even last year’s Sayonara Wild Hearts. Just because I loves them. DMR
Final decision
I don’t think I have ever pored over a Hot Topic more than this one. Upon review, I had 12 games shortlisted for various reasons, but the two main ones being how much I loved them at the time and for other games whether I have played them over a long period of time.
No hype here and so I will proclaim my winner as Mass Effect 3. The ending may have been divisive, yet I played the game when the endings had been expanded on. It is always difficult to finish a trilogy, so this didn’t surprise me. The story, interactions, and combat throughout the game were all fantastic and the co-op squad multiplayer was extremely fun as well. The fact I had so many hours of enjoyment out of the co-op meant that Mass Effect 3 trumped Mass Effect 2 in my eyes. Maybe it was because I found Miranda annoying in the second one as well.
I have now purchased Rocket League on three different systems and the gameplay is both incredibly fun and addictive, so it takes second place. The pick up and play nature of the short games means I keep coming back to the game at various times. It is amazing to see how people play the game now compared to when it came out and the evolution of both players’ skill and tactics continues to surprise me.
Right from early on in the decade, Red Dead Redemption takes third place. The vast and atmospheric open world was a joy to behold and the story was great too. Much more than GTA with horses and a game I will always cherish.
The games that fill out my top 10 are Mario Kart 8, GTA 5, Forza Horizon 3 (which I will award best DLC of the decade to with their Hot Wheels expansion – maybe a future Hot Topic, eh GC?), Zelda: Breath Of The Wild, Portal 2, Halo: Reach, and Super Mario 3D World. NatorDom
Full of bugs
Considering I’ve spent over 1,500 hours on the last three mainline Earth Defense Force games I can’t really nominate anything else. To be honest I had to look through my list of Achievements/Trophies to remind me of what games other than the Earth Defense Force series I’ve played over the last decade…
The highlights though are as follows:
Earth Defense Force 2025/4.1/5
I’ve lumped these all together as they are quite similar. I’ve enjoyed the EDF series ever since playing Earth Defense Force 2017 on the Xbox 360. The online and couch co-op is brilliant, it’s totally over-the-top and the number of weapons and levels to unlock just keeps me coming back…
Borderlands 2
I really enjoyed the original but did not really get to play it multiplayer much. That all changed when the amazing sequel came out. My housemate and I spent lots of time with this, as well as the DLC, and it was great fun.
Life Is Strange
A gripping story with lots of clever twists that I played through in a few days, although I never had any doubts about which ending I should choose…
TxK
I bought a PlayStation Vita just to play this amazing (unofficial) sequel to one of my favourite games of all time: Tempest 2000. Well worth it. TrevorMcFurr (gamertag/PSN ID)
The word
My favourite game of the last decade was released at the very start of it. The game is Super Mario Galaxy 2 and is in my opinion the best game ever made. Sadly, this game was not remotely influential and it did not even sell that well compared to Mario’s other games.
The last decade of gaming can be summarised by a single word: ‘monetisation’. And the most influential games of the last decade are clearly mobile games, most likely Candy Crush Saga, Clash Of Clans, and Pokémon Go.
Mobile games were the most influential as they made publishers realise that their developers did not have to make the best games for them to make the most profit. Mobile games showed that they did not even need to make good games, the key was hooking someone on something addictive and slowly bleeding them of lots of money. Just like drug dealers do.
The focus of the industry then shifted to creating new monetisation methods: microtransactions, loot boxes, season passes… all designed to maximise the money earnt from a single game. Or from an easy mark, erm, I mean valuable customer.
The design of games then shifted from finite experiences that were completed in 10 to 40 hours to live service games that encourage you to play daily whilst advertising in-game shops. These shops now offer aids to make games less grindy, which is a way of getting a customer to pay for a solution intentionally created to extract money. Just like arms dealers do.
Some publishers now even send reviewers versions of games that have the microtransactions removed with the hope of garnering better review scores, only to add them in afterwards. Although probably not quite corruption this practice is clearly unethical and is a calculated method of misleading customers. PazJohnMitch
Grand Galaxy Happy New Year! Hope you all had a great Christmas break.
I’ve a couple of games that spring to mind for my favourites of the last decade. The one game I keep coming back to is GTA 5. The single-player campaign was fantastic, and much improved over GTA 4, which felt quite boring in comparison. The addition of GTA Online added another dimension to the game, that keeps you coming back for more.
Rockstar have made several improvements and additions to GTA Online over the years, with Heists being a particular highlight. I’ve not spent a penny on shark cards and have bought most of the properties and businesses to enable you to access these extra missions without too much of a grind, which feels a lot fairer than a lot of other games out there.
It’s a lot of fun playing with a squad of friends, especially over Christmas and the New Year, when the snow hits Los Santos, and you can start a snowball fight in your ridiculous Christmas outfit. The controls and graphics do feel a bit dated now, however. And the cover system is a lot clunkier than Red Dead Redemption 2, so hopefully Rockstar won’t be too far away with GTA 6 for the next gen platforms.
My favourite game of the last decade, however, was Super Mario Galaxy 2. While Super Mario Galaxy on Wii was a brilliant game, Nintendo really upped the ante with Super Mario Galaxy 2, which left me with a smile on my face on every level. It’s a game packed with creativity and fun, and is Nintendo at their absolute best.
Every level had new ideas and moves, with some levels folding in on you like the film Inception, and boss battles that were ingenious and not a chore to beat. While I’ve enjoyed later Mario games, Super Mario Galaxy 2 is an absolute classic, and it will take something special to beat it. Cubes (PSN ID)/SW-3654-9259-0500 (Switch)/Kevin M
Sticking the landing
It’s Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End for me. I’ll admit I was very wary of another Uncharted at first, the third one had seemed to conclude things nicely and after Amy Hennig left Naughty Dog I was concerned that the tone of this new adventure wouldn’t be right.
But thankfully the fourth game proved not only to be a fantastic action adventure game in its own right but also the most wonderfully satisfying ending of Nate and Elena’s adventures. LastYearsModel
This game to me was special in pretty much every way. Obviously the graphics, sound, and music hit the mark but what surprised me most was the huge world to explore it all in. The worlds of God Of War from previous games are great to look at, but to have what felt like an open world was testament to what this age of gaming is all about.
The Witcher’s first two games and God Of War’s original three were successful third person action games, but then both went open world and turned excellent franchises into something on another level.
2. Mass Effect 2 (360)
I can’t believe Mass Effect 2 was still in this decade but seeing as it is then I’ll definitely claim this as an absolute masterpiece. This, for me, was a dream of ‘90s sci-fi shows coming alive in this space opera trilogy. The first Mass Effect will always have the biggest nostalgia effect as it was the game I always hoped for and then I was playing it.
The characters and the interactions with them, and finding out more about them, was so interesting and engaging that from an emotional point of view it is why the second game just made me want to play mainly for the characters. Of course, the plot designs of the main game and the outcome of them in the third game was obviously the other number one point for playing this awesome series.
1. Bloodborne (PS4)
I have spent so many hours on this perfect game that I think I know it like the back of my hand. This game was crafted with love and it just kept on giving and giving the HP (health points) to my nearly defeated self, when New Game+++’s Orphan of Kos battle nearly proved the undoing of me until I dramatically won. This victory proved that after all these years the sheer thrill and joy I got from the sense of achievement from this battle was a sign that gaming is still my favourite hobby.
Do I need to go into detail about the locations, bosses and the wonderful lore that’s so cosmic and epic with a mystical and bloodthirsty atmosphere! All this fantastic genius fills the great streets of a grand Victorian-looking city and the surrounding landscape with an amazing, nervous and exciting feeling that I don’t get from any other title.
All this description is well known amongst gamers and that is why I think it’s quite safe to say that this is my number one game of the decade. Thank you FromSoftware for the happy and immersive feelings I got from this great title. Alucard
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Zelda: Breath Of The Wild 2 – will it be out this year? (pic: Nintendo)
A reader tries to predict what new Switch games Nintendo may be planning for 2020, from Splatoon 3 to an Advance Wars reboot.
So we’ve had two Nintendo Directs already this month, which I think makes the chances of another one next week very likely. The first was Pokémon focused, the second for Super Smash Bros., but what we really need is a more general one to announce some new games for the rest of the year. At the moment we have Animal Crossing: New Horizons and… nothing. And Animal Crossing wouldn’t even be there if it hadn’t been delayed from last year.
That means that, except for minor titles like remakes Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX and Xenoblade Chronicles, Nintendo has no new games announced this year and, originally at least, had no intention of revealing any until later. That’s weird, even by their standards, and before I continue I’ve got to ask myself why?
The most convincing reason I can think of is that they have new hardware coming up, perhaps the fabled Switch Pro, so they want to make a display of announcing that and its games all at once. Although that almost sounds too traditional for Nintendo, like a standard console reveal, so maybe I’m just not thinking weird enough.
Either way they’re storing up their announcements for some reason and this is what I think they’ll be (well, not all of them but a selection of the below):
Animal Crossing: New Horizons
The only major game we know about at the moment and it’s out on 20 March. Unlike the last few games it seems to be shaking up the formula a bit and me and my girlfriend are really looking forward to it. However, it’s not a hardcore game and Nintendo must know that it doesn’t appeal to a significant proportion of gamers.
Mario Smash Football 3
Nintendo already filled its summer schedules with Mario Tennis Aces last year and I predict we’ll see the return of one or other of their other sports franchises this year. I’d prefer Mario Smash Football (aka Super Mario Strikers) but since developer Next Level only just finished with Luigi’s Mansion 3 it’s actually more likely to be Mario Golf, which is fine too.
Super Mario 3D World
Even if it’s just a spin-off or a remake Nintendo always like to have at least one new Mario out a year but it seems unlikely they’ve got a Super Mario Odyssey scale one that’s imminent at the moment. What they do have though is this super obvious Wii U port, of one of the console’s best games. It’s a non-brainer.
The Legend Of Zelda
Ditto, they always like to have something Zelda related too and again the obvious option is a remake, either a new one or Twilight Princess or The Wind Waker from the Wii U. As has already been suggested, there’s also a good chance of a new 2D top-down game , something to keep the traditional Zelda formula alive while we wait for Breath Of The Wild 2.
Pikmin 4
It’s never been an especially big hit, and the third one was disappointingly uninspired, but Miyamoto is clearly a big fan of Pikmin and announced it was coming back years ago. That obviously never happened but now that the Switch has hosted a lot of the bigger franchises there’s a good chance its time has come.
Splatoon 3
Splatoon is one of the best things Nintendo has ever done and is absolutely huge in Japan. But updates for the second one were stopped a while back and that can really only signal one thing: a sequel. I think this is the most likely one of all my predictions because Nintendo will want to strike while the iron is hot and there’s no reason to wait any longer.
Super Mario Party 2
This series is also mega big in Japan, which is always a big influence on Nintendo, and remember that on the N64 they used to knock them out every year. It’s been a couple since the first one though, so I predict a follow-up at the end of the year, to come out for Christmas.
Kirby
Nobody likes Kirby. Or at least nobody in the UK that I’ve ever met. But he’s big in Japan and America and he hasn’t really had a major game yet on Switch, just a couple of really minor ones. That means, unfortunately he’s probably due a new one. Hopefully with a small budget that won’t get in the way of anything else.
Mario & Luigi
I would’ve said Paper Mario was the most likely to come back but after the recent stuff about patents it sounds like it’s going to be Mario & Luigi, but either is good. Nintendo has really let their role-playing franchises slip, and I hate that they didn’t try to save Alphadream, but they can redeem themselves if they hire some of them back and make a new game that moves the series forward and has more of a budget.
Advance Wars
I’ll just put this in as my wildcard, but I like to think that Nintendo has noticed the call for a new game recently, especially given the number of clones last year and how they managed to take Fire Emblem from an almost dead franchise to major hit. Whether that means filling Advance Wars with a lot of dumb storytelling I don’t know but I’d love to see the world’s best strategy game come back somehow, even if it’s a budget title.
The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild 2
Of these last two Breath Of The Wild 2 has the most chance of coming out this year, although I still don’t think it’s very likely. They don’t seem to have been working on it long enough and I don’t think they’ll want it to get lost in the Christmas madness of new consoles. I wouldn’t be surprised if it was early next year though.
Bayonetta 3
It’s harder to predict how long Platinum takes to make things but I still think this is unlikely given we’ve seen even less of it than Breath Of The Wild 2. It’s definitely a possibility though and one of the few games we do know actually exists.
And I haven’t forgotten Metroid Prime 4, but I don’t think there’s anyway it could be ready for this year. It’s barely been in development for a year so I wouldn’t bet on seeing or hearing anything about it until at least 2021.
And of course, the thing I’d most like to see is brand new franchises and I do hope we’ll get at least one. But my powers of prediction don’t extend that far!
By reader Onibee
The reader’s feature does not necessary represent the views of GameCentral or Metro.
You can submit your own 500 to 600-word reader feature at any time, which if used will be published in the next appropriate weekend slot. As always, email gamecentral@ukmetro.co.uk and follow us on Twitter.
Final Fantasy 7 Remake – 2020 has been all about delays so far (pic: Square Enix)
A reader responds to the week’s flurry of major delays and argues that they’re often for very positive reasons.
On the whole, I’ve never understood the negativity surrounding any and all news of a game being delayed.
I do remember feeling impatient when Grand Theft Auto 5 was pushed back, with those extra few months feeling like an eternity. But clearly that didn’t hamper anyone’s enjoyment once the game was in their hands, so in hindsight it would seem a pretty trivial thing to fuss about.
Until a game is on the shelves, any projected release date is just a target based on current circumstances, and development of any product can be unpredictable at times. Unexpected issues can arise, or even new opportunities, making it worthwhile to extend development in order to release the best possible version, not just the quickest.
But to listen to some reactions, there are those who seem to feel that a sacrosanct vow has been violated, or be under the impression that a postponed release equates to chaotic scenes at the studio – fire and brimstone, cats and dogs living together – the whole nine yards.
As if a late adjustment to the project’s timescale implies that it was doomed from the start, and what emerges down the line, charred and smoking, will inevitably be an underwhelming experience that more time in the oven couldn’t fix.
Which happens sometimes, of course. But not to the extent that it should instil irrational fear in the hearts of gamers at the mere mention of a delay. Some of the medium’s most lauded releases have surely been so accomplished in part because of, not despite, the calculated extension afforded to their gestation period.
The public hysteria that accompanies delay announcements doesn’t form in a vacuum. Depending on where you get your news, what often doesn’t help is the media framing any such reports as the game ‘suffering’ a delay, often then leading with an assertion that ‘fans will be disappointed’ to hear of it. This tone obviously has an influence on their audience and helps shape the discourse online, producing a self-fulfilling prophecy of discontent and backlash, set against a backing track of mockery from trolls eager to see anything that isn’t dear to them go down in flames.
Maybe it’s my priorities that are out of whack, but these days when I hear that a game I’m interested in has been delayed, my reaction is simply, ‘OK then. Let me know when I can play it.’ The game hasn’t been cancelled, I’ll just be able to indulge on a different day than I thought I would. Hardly a disaster. Especially when, like so many gamers nowadays, I already have a backlog as long as Mr Tickle’s arm.
There may be the matter of skittish shareholders expecting to see profits this quarter instead of the next and based on the complexities of their own financial comings and goings a smaller payoff now might be more important than a larger one later. But businesses are entitled to chase longer term gains when it makes sense to do so, and the rest of us seldom schedule our lives so dependently around the planned release of a video game… right?
Obviously it’s a blow when the new release date clashes with that of another game that might divide the market or the time we commit to each title. That’s an issue far from inherent to delays though, as the industry continues to prove with baffling regularity. Sometimes fans even find themselves wishing for a delay, just to create breathing space between the releases that have caught their eye, or to protect their niche favourite from being eaten alive by more commercially proven opposition.
Nintendo guru Shigeru Miyamoto once said, ‘A delayed game is eventually good, a rushed game is forever bad.’ With the connectivity and hard drives of today’s consoles that may no longer be strictly true (or at least not necessarily), but in an era when we all bemoan the ‘sell now, patch later’ approach to game development, it might be prudent to be a little more understanding and supportive when companies take the time to get it right first time, instead of compelling them to honour an arbitrary date on the calendar.
So, if you’ve a history of getting caught up in the dismay of a delay, the next time you discover you’ll have to look forward to that upcoming title a little while longer, just chill. You’ll get your game when it’s ready, and it’ll be all the better for it. That’s the whole point, after all.
Though naturally if Yakuza 5 Remastered doesn’t arrive next month I’ll be posting rotten turkey giblets to Sega HQ…
By reader Dynamite Headdy
The reader’s feature does not necessary represent the views of GameCentral or Metro.
You can submit your own 500 to 600-word reader feature at any time, which if used will be published in the next appropriate weekend slot. As always, email gamecentral@ukmetro.co.uk and follow us on Twitter.
Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot – you know what happens next (pic: Bandai Namco)
The latest Dragon Ball anime adaptation tries to do things a bit differently in terms of gameplay but has Kakarot hit its Perfect Form?
Anime phenomenon Dragon Ball is a household name to many, and the ‘Z’ sub-franchise is a huge reason for that. For a lot of fans, the martial arts matinee was their introduction into the world of Japanese animation and holds a special place in the hearts of those that tuned in every afternoon after school.
Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot is a new action role-playing game from Naruto Shippuden developer CyberConnect2, that works as a retelling of the Z storyline – focusing entirely on the character of Kakarot, better known as Goku.
With Dragon Ball Z approaching its 30th anniversary, and given recent retelling Dragon Ball Z Kai, Kakarot initially feels underwhelming, especially as seemingly every game in the franchise pulls from the same basic story. And that’s despite offering multiple playable characters, including Gohan, Piccolo, and Vegeta.
Picking up with the arrival of Raditz on Earth, and culminating with the Buu saga, at first it’s difficult to focus on anything other than how many times we’ve experienced this same story before. Even the recent Xenoverse titles offered the chance to recreate classic battles with a time-travelling protagonist but playing through a 30-to-40 hour role-playing game when you know almost exactly what’s around the next corner is a strange experience.
We say ‘almost exactly’, because Kakarot does add meat to some fairly skeletal story elements from the original anime, with new canonised conversations between characters. While many of the game’s side stories are not part of the original lore, storyline events like seeing Raditz’s discussion with Vegeta before leaving for Earth help to paint a clearer picture of what’s going on. It also helps give more flavour to Piccolo’s mentorship of Gohan, for example.
Long-time fans will love seeing iconic scenes such as Goku’s sacrifice against Raditz, as envisioned by the game’s cel-shaded visuals, and the early encounter with Vegeta feels like a great showcase of the game’s graphical potential – but it still can’t overcome the reliance on a decades-old storyline that every fan already knows off by heart.
Kakarot is divided into combat and exploration elements, and the schism between the two can be jarring at first. Exploring the vast hub worlds is pure fan service, filled with lesser-known characters that usually offer a side quest or two to complete. Unfortunately, though, flying in Kakarot is a frustrating experience.
Goku and friends can leap into the air at any point during the open world segments, but while boosting through the environment with a click of the left thumb stick is fun, trying to ascend or descend with the R1 and R2 buttons is anything but. The game really needed more freeform flight mechanics, especially since on those occasions where combat heads underwater it can be disorientating to battle and manage altitude at the same time.
In the world hubs, you can hunt animals, farm materials, or go fishing (with hilarious results – seeing Goku dropkick a fish the size of a house never gets old), with all of these helping level up the characters. Unfortunately, levelling is slow – partially because of meagre XP gains, and partially because of the way the playable character switches fairly regularly. This can be negated by replaying older fights using the Dragon Balls to wish fallen enemies back to life, as well as boosts awarded through the Community Board (which we’ll get onto later), but at first levels are gained only on a glacially slow time scale.
A far more effective way of levelling up is via one of Kakarot’s side quests, which serve to add more fan service elements but sadly all conform to simple fetch quests and the ‘defeat x number of enemies’ template we’ve seen for what feels like forever. There are also some issues with characters going missing, leaving you unable to complete quests, although it doesn’t happen that often.
While combat against smaller enemies (usually robots) serves only to break up exploration (with each one almost feeling akin to a random battle from Pokémon, with the way they are siloed off from the standard map traversal), Kakarot finally gets into gear with battles against the anime’s more famous faces.
These multi-staged brawls require liberal use of the dodge button, as well as a lot of blocking. Early fights feel like you’re just mashing the circle button to attack and then scooting out of harm’s way, but they do gradually begin to offer more.
Before long you’ll be using the burst ability to knock away an attacking enemy for a counterattack, learning how to cancel out an opponent’s combo, and co-ordinating with party members to pull off special moves in succession. Fighting Raditz and keeping him at bay with Ki-blasts, opening an opportunity for Piccolo to attack before unleashing a Kamehameha while the Saiyan’s back is turned feels not only exhilarating, but true to the source material.
Each character unlocks multiple special moves throughout the campaign, as well as the ability to transform – allowing you to turn Goku into a Super Saiyan whenever you deem fit. It feels similar to Xenoverse, but with less customisation of your move set and fighting style.
Bridging the gap between combat and the game’s role-playing systems is the Community Board, a poorly explained (see our beginner’s guide here) way of assigning passive and active bonuses based on the friendly characters you encounter. Each ally offers a bonus, and multiple characters of the same type will improve your chances in battle.
These perks range from improved combat abilities, like improving the Ki meter that governs special attacks, to increasing the effects of stat-boosting meals or the very welcome XP boost bonus.
Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot has some problems, but it’s also a game that perfectly encapsulates the sheer silliness of the core anime franchise that is loved by millions worldwide. It’s clumsy, off-kilter, and full of things that seem held together by the most bizarre of concepts – and yet it just about works.
Kakarot isn’t the best Dragon Ball Z game ever made (Dragon Ball FighterZ still claims that title), and many will no doubt yearn for the glory days of the Budokai Tenkaichi titles, but it is the most enjoyable way to plough through the sagas that put the series on the map.
Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot review summary
In Short: A competent adaptation of the original anime but there’s a serious danger of déjà vu even for series fans, and the solid but unremarkable action is unable to overcome it.
Pros: Combat steadily improves as the game wears on, with plenty to see and do in the open world areas. Fan service of over 9,000 and good graphics.
Cons: Uninteresting side quests and overfamiliar plot. Unintuitive flight controls and some technical issues.
Score: 7/10
Formats: PlayStation 4 (reviewed), Xbox One, and PC Price: £49.99 Publisher: Bandai Namco Entertainment Developer: CyberConnect2 Release Date: 16th January 2020 Age Rating: 12
Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot – it’s best to be prepared (pic: Bandai Namco)
The latest Dragon Ball Z adaptation doesn’t always explain itself that well so here’s what you need to do to get a head start.
If you’re looking to start your journey to becoming a Super Saiyan in Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot then you’ll find things aren’t always easy.
Taking on some of the universe’s toughest enemies is harder than the colourful visuals would have you believe – especially if you’re under-levelled or ill-equipped. Thankfully, we’ve put together the following tips to get your power level climbing so you can reach your final form.
1. Levelling is very important
While action role-playing games often let you sneak by tough encounters by relying on your wits and quick-thinking alone, Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot will crush you like Yamcha if you don’t get your characters to at least close to the required levels.
With that in mind, while the first battle has Goku and Piccolo take on Raditz when he’s multiple levels higher than you, you should really complete some side quests to help prepare.
As we noted in our review, these are the best way to level up and aren’t usually too taxing. It might be a lot like busywork, but even if you don’t level up a great deal you can use any currency earned to pick up some healing items – which brings us to our next point.
2. Preparation is everything
Items in Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot are incredibly important, especially healing ones. These can be assigned to a quick select menu called the Item Palette, which is bought up by using the D-pad. You’d be surprised how often your mighty warriors will need them!
You can also heal at campfires, so it’s worth resting before a big fight – which also offers the opportunity for a bite to eat.
Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot explains early on that cooking is incredibly important, and in this regard it’s similar to something like Monster Hunter: World, in that meals provide stat bonuses that carry on into battle.
Thy can be something like improved Ki for special attacks, or improved resistance to damage. Be sure to keep an eye on your stats before heading into a battle (using the pause menu) and get some food in your heroes to plug any gaps.
3. Team effort
As the game progresses, Goku will be accompanied on his adventures by other characters that join the player’s party.
These fighters level up individually, so be sure all characters are prepared for whatever battle you’re dragging them into.
Once you are fighting, holding the R1 button will allow you to request special moves from your comrades. These not only do damage but can cause status effects and sometimes distract an opponent.
Goku’s Body Blow can keep an opponent still for a second or two, which makes it ideal for pairing with Piccolo’s Special Beam Cannon, for example. Experimenting with different fighters will be key for later engagements, so be sure to keep everyone as levelled as you can (see point 1!).
4. Community centre
In the opening half an hour, Kakarot throws dozens of tutorials at the player – but the Community Board is one of the more important ones, and it isn’t explained all that well.
This hub page in the pause menu allows you to assign characters that give you bonuses, both in and out of combat.
That means you can tailor your loadout to favour XP gains, boost attack power, or food bonuses.
Many of these characters can be levelled up too. On Goku’s adventures, you’ll find ‘Gift Items’ which can be turned in to the Community Board and boost the corresponding ability.
With boosts of up to 50% on offer when you level up to Rank 10, it’s worth investing as much time as possible in the Community Board.
Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot – the Community Board is very important (pic: Bandai Namco)
5. Collect as many orbs as you can!
Kakarot’s open world sections feature a very liberal helping of Z Orbs which can be found all over the place and work something like the upgrade orbs in Crackdown.
These unlock even more attacks, so are always worth picking up; they come in different colours, including versions that are time-limited, so be sure to grab them when you can.
You can spend these orbs in the Character menu of the pause screen and collecting them to power-up your heroes can be a great way to get through otherwise tricky encounters.
6. Practice makes perfect
The bicep icons on the world map are training sessions, and you can access them with ‘D Medals’, which are earned through side quests or exploration.
These one-time only sessions can open up more moves for your arsenal and are boosted by the aforementioned Community Board, helping you to level up rapidly with the right setup.
Another great way to earn fistfuls of XP is to finish the Frieza Saga and unlock the opportunity to earn Dragon Balls. Once you collect all seven you can ‘wish’ an enemy back from the dead to battle them all over again.
Once you’ve earned the ability to track Dragon Balls, you can see them from the world map (visible when flying directly upwards in the open world) and also using the Dragon Radar.
Hopefully these tips will have you conquering aliens and androids alike, but if you’re not certain whether Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot is for you, be sure to check out our full review.
Always room for more Four delays in one week is good going even for the video games industry, and they weren’t small games either. Three of the biggest there could be and on that wasn’t that minor either. My obvious question… what’s next?
Looking at the release schedules there’s actually lots of possibilities and I think Nioh 2 is almost a dead cert, considering I don’t think I’ve seen so much as a screenshot about it and it’s supposed to be out in less than two months. I’d say the same about Ori And The Will Of The Wisps except it’s a sort-of indie game so that could explain the silence.
What about The Last Of Us Part 2? It’s already been delayed once and we’ve not really heard anything about it since then. Or Ghost Of Tsushima? It’s only down as summer, which is vague enough it almost has delay potential built into it. The same goes for Half-Life: Alyx.
In short, what I’m saying, is that what once looked like the best start of the year is already turning out to be a bit of dud. At this rate we might not see anything major out till the end of March, which is not what I think most people were hoping for. Zebra
Warning signs
The news about the new Xbox not having any exclusives for a couple of years didn’t come as that much of a surprise to me. I’m sure they already said that Halo Infinite was going to be on both and the studios they recently acquired to make exclusives was only done last year, so I wasn’t expecting anything out of them for at least two to three years anyway.
For me personally, I’d want to play the games in the best way, so will likely get the Xbox Series X anyway, but at the same time I can understand why a lack of exclusives would keep people from buying it. I just don’t know why it has surprised people given the information we already knew. Angry_Kurt (Twitter)
Now playing: Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare (PS4), Disco Elysium (PC), and SteamWorld Heist (Switch)
GC: It’s never happened before in the history of gaming; that makes it pretty surprising.
Year one
A good Reader’s Feature at the weekend about the Xbox exclusive situation. I think there’s two problems here though, the way it was announced in a very off-hand way in a fairly random interview and, as GC as highlighted, the arbitrary fact that they’re only doing it for a year. Either they want to keep compatibility with the Xbox One or they don’t, what difference is a year going to make?
I’d understand it easier if the Xbox One was some super popular console on the scale of the PlayStation 2 or, well, the PlayStation 4 but even the most ardent fan is going to be happy to forget it the second the Xbox Series X is out.
The only explanation is that they want to keep selling the Xbox One S as a cheaper equivalent for a few years, but if you’re not bothered enough about keeping up with things that you want one of those why are you going to care about one year’s worth of exclusives?
Microsoft need to work on their communication skills as all this is starting to feel like a bit of a mess. Tombi
Summer reveal
Nice Reader’s Feature on the possible options for this year from Nintendo. I think we would’ve heard about another Nintendo Direct by now though, unless it’s going to be the last week of the month. But that only makes me wonder more what are Nintendo waiting for?
Why aren’t they announcing whatever their big games are? Animal Crossing will do very well, I’m sure, but as the feature pointed out it’s not a game for everyone and even if it was it’s not literally the only game out in the first half of the year is it?
Personally I think they must have more hardware of some sort up their sleeve, but don’t really want to talk about it till the summer. That means they’ll probably say as little as possible until then, which fits the way they’ve acted before. My guess? I think Breath Of The Wild 2 will be this year along with Splatoon 3. Those two and Animal Crossing seems a very solid line-up to me, but as ever with Nintendo who knows? Mentos
Bad timing
So, the final Smash Bros. DLC of season one is rather less interesting than it could have been. As you say, Byleth was perhaps inevitable, but the timing of this whole thing seems bizarrely bad and almost designed to make the whole Internet mad. All the hype for the final reveal, plus the extreme secrecy it had, plus the established pattern that suggested they would all be third party characters, all building up to by far the least exciting reveal of what had to this point been a great DLC roster.
If they really wanted to add another Fire Emblem character the obvious time to have announced it would have been back at E3 – they could have tied the reveal in with the Three Houses trailer, and the presence of two other more exciting new characters would mean it still all seemed good overall. TGN Professor
Performance is king
I’d like to offer Zod a different perspective as to what I look for in a console, as exclusives are not the foremost reason I buy one. They’re a nice bonus, yes, but the primary reasons I buy a console are for performance and features.
For instance, I started this gen with a PlayStation 4, as most of my friends where doing the same and I upgraded to the Pro when it was launched because it offered the best console performance at the time.
And yes, I did buy some exclusives (it was the only current gen console I had after all). However, upon launch of the Xbox One X, I purchased one because it offered better performance of the multiformat games and improved resolution to a lot of the backward compatibility titles.
So even though I still have my PS4 Pro, it rarely gets any use as I now play the multiformat games on the Xbox One X and a fair amount of my past gen games. That coupled with the fact that I’m not greatly enamoured with most of Sony’s exclusives (or the few that Microsoft have to be honest) leaves me with just wanting the best performance I can get outside of purchasing a PC.
The only exception to this is indeed Nintendo. Their games obviously cannot be played elsewhere and the multiformat aren’t going to tick the performance box for me as the console isn’t geared toward being a
powerhouse (although if the rumoured Switch Pro turns out to be true, I’ll be all over it).
I understand why people like exclusives, but all I want is the best experience from the games I do play. So whichever of the incoming new machines offers the best performance/features such as frame rate, load
times, resolution, and backward compatibility is the one I’ll go for. Phil Spearpoint
Pre-order now!
We laugh off the constant delays of video games but I just read something that said it only makes the crunch worse for developers, as seems to be proven by what CD Projekt have said. Are pre-orders still so much of a thing that’s it better to pick a release date seemingly at random – with no particular hope of hitting it – than just waiting until you know for sure?
I’ve got the impression that pre-orders are much less of a thing now and it’s the only reason I can see for all these embarrassing headlines and overworked developers. Korbie
Orange treat
I’ve recently performed a transplant on my Japanese spice orange GameCube to enable me to play PAL software without the need of a stepdown converter. I’ve had an NTSC SNES blow up before and I’m blaming the stepdown for that. So basically my GameCube has UK internals but looks sexier, and has a GBA Player included with a PAL start-up disc. I also refurbished an orange Game Boy Advance to compliment the set-up, complete with a holographic scratch-less glass screen which can be found online at around £5.
Getting to the point, I wanted to get some use from my orange box so I obtained a copy of Skies Of Arcadia Legends, which I missed out on initially, and I’m going through now, so I’m pleased to hear of a possible resurrection of the franchise as I’m really enjoying this instalment. It’s funny how sometimes a game will pass you by, even though it was always highly praised. I’m now discovering what I missed out on before and can accept that folk on these pages might envy my position of experiencing this gem for the first time. I feel the same when I hear or read that someone’s trying a game that they’ve missed out on for whatever reason. I think to myself, ‘Wow, are you in for a treat!’
Going back further, I’ve started to build a respectable collection of games for my Super Famicom. I have the obvious favourites, I’m looking for games that I didn’t experience at the time so I can appreciate playing an old game for the first time. ‘As games were meant to be’, as I often put it. Y’know, when games didn’t mind looking like games, if that makes any sense.
I understand that many indie titles are adopting the 16-bit style these days and I’m sure some are great, some probably better, and it’s nice to see how games could’ve evolved in the 2D genre had it not been for the success of 3D gaming. Still, there’s something about the limitations of the hardware back then that resonates with us older hobbyists. The conversations of yesteryear still ring true today, ‘Yeah the ‘graffix’ are wicked but it’s a bad game’.
However, pretty much every game looks good now, although back in the D-pad days a good-looking bad game had nowhere to hide when a young industry’s only chance to survive was to provide an entertainment worth our pennies, giving the age old debate ‘gameplay over graphics’ a more authentic discussion and organic meaning.
I for one hope that in the face of technological advances, however convenient for the masses, console manufacturers can continue to innovate so there remains a purpose for the little box under the television. Call me sentimental but disc-less consoles I can just about accept, but console-less gaming, just seems like a damned shame. Bad Edit
A new old GameCube (pic: Bad Edit)
Inbox also-rans
Does Battlefield 5: War In the Pacific have a single-player mode like War Stories? Anon
GC: No, it doesn’t.
This YouTube video is quite funny, it shows Mario Kart with 101 characters from different franchises on one track on the SNES game. Andrew J.
This week’s Hot Topic
The question for this weekend’s Inbox was suggested by reader Trantor, who asks which games company do you trust the most?
Who do you trust most in terms of being honest with customers and putting out a good product the majority of the time? What does that trust earn them in terms of your purchases? Are you more likely to buy their games without knowing too much about them? Will you take a chance on DLC more easily or get a new console based on your previous experience with the same company?
Do you feel your trust has ever been betrayed by a certain product or decision and how much does how you feel about companies in general influence what you buy and play?
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.
You can also submit your own 500 to 600-word 4Player viewer features 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.
When are Rockstar going to make anything other than GTA and Red Dead? (pic: Rockstar Games)
New rumours suggest that Take-Two are leaning on Rockstar to make more games more quickly, but also to make them shorter.
As crazy as it sounds, it’s now seven years since Rockstar made a new Grand Theft Auto game and it seems as if owners Take-Two Interactive are beginning to get as fed up of it as fans already are.
Of course, being one of the most successful video games ever made does make Grand Theft Auto 5 a special case, especially as its online content is constantly being updated, but it seems Take-Two would prefer shorter gaps between new releases.
Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick implied as much back in June last year, when he said of future plans: ‘It’s possible that games may be a bit shorter than they were in certain instances.’
‘It’s possible that the ability to deliver content on an ongoing basis for a long time after an initial release of a hit would mean that perhaps that initial release wouldn’t be as long in terms of number of hours of gameplay as previously had been demanded in a world where that was all you were getting.’
Zelnick wasn’t specifically referring to Rockstar when he said that, rather Take-Two in general, but YouTuber SWEGTA now claims that Rockstar is under pressure ‘to return to their more frequent game release schedule.’
It’s implied this would mean more smaller titles such as Bully and Manhunt, the likes of which Rockstar hasn’t made for years, as well as have an impact on larger scale games like GTA and Red Dead Redemption.
Given Zelnick’s earlier comments it certainly seems like something Take-Two (and fans) would like to happen but Rockstar are notorious for doing their own thing.
There’s still no clue as to if and when a GTA 6 might be released and with the next generation of consoles coming up it’s likely the current priority for Rockstar is simply creating a new version of GTA 5 for them.
But the implication is that Take-Two as a whole will also be stepping up their release schedules, as despite being one of the biggest publishers around, and having another cash cow in NBA 2K, they release very few other games.
The newly announced Bioshock game seems to be one attempt to reverse this, but that won’t be out for years. So it remains to be seen how much influence Take-Two can exert over Rockstar and how much they can increase their own output.
Super Metroid – getting a remake this year? (pic: Nintendo)
The latest rumours suggest Nintendo may be planning to make a new 2D Metroid game and revamp the Paper Mario series in 2020.
The games might keep getting delayed, but this year has one of the busiest release schedules so far this generation… but not for Nintendo.
Currently, they only have one major confirmed released, for Animal Crossing: New Horizons in March, and that’s only because it was delayed from last year.
There’s no clue as to what else Nintendo might be planning for the Switch this year, but according to rumours it may involve the return of two fan favourite franchises.
Metroid Prime 4 is already underway but won’t be out for several years yet, so one rumour suggests that Nintendo will release a new 2D title in the meantime.
When will the next Metroid be released?
There’s some disagreement over what exactly the 2D title is, with reliable insider LeakyPandy suggesting that it’s a remake of Super Metroid in the style of 3DS game Metroid: Samus Returns.
Meanwhile, regular tipster Sabi also suggests a new 2D title is underway, but that it’s a sequel to 2002 Game Boy Advance title Metroid Fusion – which was itself a direct sequel to Super Metroid and currently the most recent game in the series’ fictional timeline.
Presumably they’re both talking about the same game but one or other is confused over its exact nature, which may well have changed during development.
This is all not only in addition to Metroid Prime 4 but also the long-rumoured Metroid Prime Trilogy release for Nintendo Switch, which was supposedly completed long ago but was delayed at the same time that work on Metroid Prime 4 was restarted.
The other rumour from Sabi is that a traditional Paper Mario is also in development, one that recalls the role-playing game origins of the first two games rather than the less popular action adventure titles the series evolved into.
‘Going back to how it was’, is how it’s described, although there are no other details.
However, the news does follow Nintendo filing a new trademark for Mario & Luigi – the spin-off series by now defunct developer Alphadream – which could be related.
It does all sound a little too close to fan wishful thinking but if these games are part of Nintendo’s slate for 2020 then they’re likely to be welcomed with open arms.
