The evening Inbox has another terrible tale of unnecessary console purchases, as one reader considers the degeneracy of Kinect.
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Rare waste
I wasn’t sure what I expected from Kinect Sports Rivals but I think the thing that stands out to me is just how much money and effort has gone into making such a boring game. Obviously I haven’t played it, but I have played Wii Sports and Kinect Sports 1, so it’s not hard to imagine. And like you say it’s not really the fact that the old versions didn’t work but that they weren’t very interesting ideas to begin with.
To my mind they barely count as video games, most of them are barely even sports. They’re just the most mundane, simplistic activities possible that can be done both accurately with the controls and are obvious enough that casual gamers can get the gist straight away. But what’s the point? Casual gamers aren’t going to own an Xbox One at this stage in its life. And to think the once great Rare are being wasted on this sort of nonsense is almost too much for me to bear.
Ignoring the technical aspect surely anyone could’ve made the actual games, rather than tying up Rare with rubbish like a bowling and target shooting game. I hope the game is not a success as I really hoped we’d left this sort of thing back in the last gen.
Koogle
The new focus
Although I admit I was disappointed to find that the new Borderlands wouldn’t be a proper sequel I have to say the description does sound pretty funny. Low gravity, jetpacks, and more Handsome Jack all sounds pretty good. Although I think experience can teach us that this game probably isn’t being released because the developer had an amazing idea for what to put in it but because, as others have said, the marketing people thought it was important to put any old thing out there and make some easy money.
I hate to be the one to suggest it but this could even be the first sign of Borderlands becoming a yearly sequel. It’s easy to imagine Borderlands 3 being ready for next year, plus there’s the Telltale game as well… With 2K shutting down Irrational Games that means that there’s probably not going to be any new BioShock games in a hurry so I think they’re moving Borderlands up to be their new focus. I can take or leave the series myself, but for those that are fans you have my sympathises…
Franky
Missing the zeitgeist
RE: Mitchell. I too, am finding I’m not enjoying certain games as much as I thought I would because I didn’t buy and play them when they were first released. Talking about my progress with friends and over the PSN and asking ‘What did you do at such and such…?’ and discussing the great moments in various games like The Last Of Us.
Now I’m constantly having to say to friends to not spoil story or surprise elements in games. I do miss that social element.
Oni-Samurai (PSN ID)
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Would like to fight
Wanted: Friends to play Battlefield 4 on PlayStation 4 with me. I should add that I am awful at first person shooters. You know how people say they are bad at something to underplay how good they really are? I am not doing that. I really am terrible. I am starting to enjoy playing it though, so would like to have some GC readership quality people to play with online. Is there a squad or something I can join?
Also, last week the headline for Tom Novak’s letter had me singing this for the whole day – much to the irritation of my wife. Try it it’s the most fun serious song you have ever heard.
Deceitfularcher (PSN ID) Add me!
GC: Whatever the song was we’re afraid your YouTube link is dead.
Not a patch on the original
RE: ‘Why Dark Souls II isn’t as good as Dark Souls – Reader’s Feature’ Just wanted to say I don’t care what anyone thinks of your summary I completely agree. From someone who had a hugely enjoyable experience playing the original, this sequel is definitely a step back. You hit on some important points I had in mind as well, especially with the fact that it does seem like the dev implemented more ‘cheap, unfair’ situations rather than making enemies tougher.
And probably the biggest issue I have with the game is… why the heck is there no vibration when taking hits from enemies? It was so subtle in the original but to gamers who appreciate the intricate, thought-out aspects of games, taking this feature out was a direct slap in the face. And the frame rate is still utter garbage on PlayStation 3 despite worse graphics, in my opinion, than Dark Souls… in more areas than not.
And I understand patches can fix this stuff but game developers are getting off the hook way too easily now with leaving things out ‘for the sake of time constraints’ and trying to patch it later.
End rant.
Adam
GC: We’re not sure that From has implied anything about patches in the future.
Backwards evolution
I remember playing Pong in the ’70s with rotary dial controllers. I was amazed by the Competition Pro with its awesome microswitches. There was the Mega Drive pad! Probably the best second controller ever! The Nintendo 64 controller, genius.
40 years of controller evolution/inspiration/innovation… and now we have Kinect. ‘A solution in search of a problem’. That’s why I love GC.
lastweekender
PS: I read you every day!
Unnecessary extra
RE: Steve R. I feel for you, but think I can go one better… the day after receiving my copy of The Last Of Us my trusty launch day PlayStation 3, the big curvaceous (not fat, curvy!) 4x USB, backwards compatible, card-reading beauty that she was, refused to go on. I thought it was because she knew I’d been and pre-ordered my PlayStation 4 and was being jealous, but she flat out refused to let me continue Joel and Ellie’s adventure and turned herself off whenever I tried.
I wasn’t having this of course, so if she was going to act up, I was going to replace her with a younger, slimmer model (but not that awful size zero slide top anorexic thing). Brought the new console home, and before cracking on with The Last Of Us figured I’d swap the 500GB hard drive from the tubster (I’d gone off her at this point) into the little svelte number as 160GB wasn’t gonna cut it.
And that, it turned out, was the problem… the console was fine, the hard drive on the other hand, was noodled. Put it in the new machine and she wasn’t having any of it with Joel and Ellie either. Different hard disks and both are now running fine (the younger one still gets the most action though). So I ended up buying an unnecessary extra PlayStation 3, and still needed to shell out for another 500GB HDD… D’oh.
Murton76 (PSN ID)
Souls music
Reading DMR’s offering in Tuesday’s Inbox reminded me of some verses (cough!) ‘wot I wrote’ when playing Dark Souls. Here’s one.
‘The Lady Priscilla is winsome,
The Lady Priscilla is sweet,
The Lady Priscilla’s a killer
With a tail and invisible feet.’
And one more,
‘For healing your festus
The estus is bestus.’
Gill C.
Catch up on every previous Games Inbox here
Happily married
I’ve had Roxanne (my PlayStation 4) for around two weeks now and so far I’m really enjoying next gen experience. The home screen is a joy to navigate, it’s all very simple and everything loads up very nice and quickly.
I’d have to concur with the viewer who wrote in praising Killzone: Shadow Fal as I’m enjoying it a lot. The graphics are fantastic, not just technically but also in terms of colour. The dull grey visuals of previous Killzones actually made me feel nauseous, so I’m very happy the folks at Guerrilla have discovered more colours than the three shades of grey they’ve used on their previous games. The shooting mechanics are far superior to previous iterations, but still not on the same level as the very best of the genre.
Metal Gear Solid V: The Demo is, technically, the best-looking game I’ve ever played. As well as looking great the game plays well, gone are the awkward and cumbersome controls of previous entries. I was actually reminded of Grand Theft Auto V whilst playing Ground Zeroes, I’ve always found with GTA games that they’ve fallen short of being truly brilliant because of the awful shooting and movement, a problem Rockstar certainly rectified with Grand Theft Auto V. The improved controls actually made the game hugely enjoyable to play and made the stealth action a lot more engaging.
InFamous: Second Son really is a lot of fun, Delsin and his omnipresent beanie certainly can get annoying, but the joy of unleashing the new powers on enemies more than makes up for that. Neon is a particular delight, as well as looking amazing its ability to run up the side of buildings is fantastic.
iLike Fat Ladys (gamertag)
Inbox also-rans
Titanfall 360 seems to have been released in the US without any accompanying reviews. You might have to buy your own copy if you wish to review it.
PazJohnMitch
GC: We just had a word with EA and apparently they’re sending out review copies today. Although no-one seems sure whether the servers will be up before Friday or not. Lego The Hobbit might be even worse though, as we’ve still heard nothing about that and It also has no US reviews up despite the game being released there today.
RE: Blink0. The reason we keep getting yearly sequels isn’t because publishers think well forget the franchise, it’s because people still buy them and they get more money.
Kurt Lewin
Pleased to read Kinect works. But I feel an indie developer who can take more risks is needed to unearth Kinect’s potential. Any news on indie developers working solely on Kinect?
Blue Sponge
GC: There were a couple listed amongst the first wave of ID@Xbox games, so hopefully they’ll be a bit more interesting.
Sorry, to clear up any confusion, I have no use for an Xbox One, so if anyone wants the three stickers I have to get a console then please forward them my email and I will post them the three stickers I have.
Montgomery burns
This week’s Hot Topic
The subject for this weekend’s Inbox was suggested by reader Iceman, who asks what game did you initially hate but end up loving?
What’s the most extreme turnaround you’ve ever had for a video game? Was it a game you were dubious about at the preview stage or one you disliked in the first few hours but then went on to really enjoy? What period of time was there between the two opinions and was there any specific moment or feature that changed your mind?
Is there anything you regret about your earlier attitude and do you blame it on bad marketing, inaccurate previews, or just you getting the wrong end of the stick? Did you just think it wasn’t the sort of game for you, only to later find out the opposite?
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