The evening Inbox is full of the joys of Mario Kart 8, as one reader praises Watch Dogs but laments the negative attitude of the Internet.
To join in with the discussions yourself email gamecentral@ukmetro.co.uk
Good honest fun
What an incredible week-and-a-half of gaming we’ve had, Wolfenstein kicked it of in explosive fashion, Watch Dogs continued it with an interesting take on open world gaming, then the icing on the cake was the almost illicitly fun Mario Kart 8. As much as I’ve enjoyed playing Wolfenstein and Watch Dogs, there is only so much slaughtering of my fellow man I can partake in before it gets a bit too much.
The gameplay videos of Mario Kart 8 made it look like a great deal of fun, but actually playing it really is something special, the karts have never been more enjoyable to control due to the added weight, and the swooping, vibrant courses are all a joy to drive on (except Toad’s Turnpike, I hate that course). I seem to fairing far better online than I have in previous Mario Karts, so much so that after each race I find myself pressing to Home button on the GamePad with the intention of deleting abusive messages, forgetting that I’m not on the Xbox 360.
I’ve become so accustomed to receiving abusive messages from angry people I’ve legitimately vanquished on the Xbox 360 that Nintendo’s slightly limiting online infrastructure can seem like a blessing. Although, I have a feeling Nintendo fans are less likely to be abusive than their Microsoft and Sony counterparts.
Whilst playing Mario Kart 8 online I’ve noticed that there seems to be more bald Miis in each game compared to the Xbox 360′s avatars, whether this is because Wii U owners are generally older or because they’re more honest about their follicle limitations I’m not sure.
iLike Fat Ladys (gamertag)
One problem
What a great weekend of gaming. Mario Kart 8 has provided me many hours of great gaming over the weekend, made even better by racing family, friends, and GCers online. Special mentions go to Runawaytrain, Clumpy Rhino, Steven666, Mark GC, Paulvw, Koopa and every other GCer out there.
Some of the new items are great, like the Pirahna Plant and the horn. The actual delight of winning an online race with my little Koopa Troopa is the reason why Mario Kart is so much fun. The only problem is, there is not enough hours in the day to play Mario Kart 8, Final Fantasy XIV, and Final Fantasy X-2 HD Remastered.
Dark Anima X (gamertag/PSN ID/NN ID)
Lurking karters
All I have to say is my friends list is full on my Wii U, well okay that’s not all.
I’ve written down the names of people I can’t accept right now, just in case Nintendo enlarge it, but that seems unlikely… Maybe I will cull and replace anyone who is inactive for 20 days or something, I dunno. If you come back from three weeks in the Med and I’ve removed you though, don’t say I didn’t warn ya.
Who knew there were so so so many silent readers on here. When I started the list I was aiming for 20. It’s lunch time on Saturday and it’s now more like 120. It’s been a right laugh all weekend, long may it continue.
Steanti (NN ID)
E-mail your comments to: gamecentral@ukmetro.co.uk
Instant gratification
A good Watch Dogs Reader’s Feature over the weekend, this game has highlighted a few things in my opinion. The most annoying of which for me is how negative a place the Internet generally is. We constantly moan that there are too few new IPs being made. Even before the new consoles were announced we all new that big games are taking longer and longer to make and costing many millions of dollars.
So Ubisoft announce and release a brand new IP, not based on a film and not a sequel, and everyone moans that it’s not shiny enough. No, it doesn’t look as good as the E3 trailer, but it’s a massive game that tries some genuinely new gameplay mechanics, which we don’t see too often in big budget games and for me is very welcome.
As a reader pointed out in the comments section that unfortunately everything comes down to money and more pertinently, the people in control of that money. The money is someone’s investment and they want a profit.
Films are just the same, to be successful it’s thought that a $100m film needs 50% spending on advertising. 50 million dollars ins enormous, but with so many films, so many games competing for our money they need to stand out.
I’ve just read an interview on Empire with Bryan Singer regarding X-Men, talking about how quickly you need to be a hit: ‘Back in the day, you had to wait for grosses to be published. Now they’ll know ahead of time’.
It sucks. It’s the worst thing in the world. There was a time when Bonnie & Clyde opened in two theatres, and became the biggest movie in the country. How many theatres do you think Star Wars opened in? A hundred? Thirty. That expanded to 200 and then it expanded wide.
These days, you have until 9 o’clock on Friday to prove you’re good and it’s awful. It’s terrible. There’s too much depending on marketing. Too much depending on opening day. Too much depending on some other elements and yet that’s what you’ve got.
Rolph
Listen to your heart
I have to agree with KhalsaBlade. I have been gaming for too many years: ZX81, Spectrum, and pretty much every console ever since. I recently bought a PlayStation 4 over a Wii U, thinking I would use my PS Vita like the Wii U controller but alas no such luck, apart from Tom Raider and latterly Wolfenstein.
I have been very disappointed so far with the PlayStation 4, to such an extent I have since purchased a Wii U and some classic games (mostly on the cheap, I hasten to add) and can’t get off it! I am hoping the PlayStation 4 will come into its own soon but for now it is gathering dust because I didn’t listen to my well experienced heart.
Ninjamac
Time for a new idea
I would create a game based on time travel, the game would have, say, four possible outcomes and players would choose an outcome then travel back and forward in time carrying out tasks and missions to change the game to achieve their outcome.
The more successful one group are the less time can be changed, forcing gamers to choose whether to try achieve their current outcome or go rogue and support another group. I don’t think time travel gets much thought when genres come to mind but I think it’s a good idea.
Jonathan
Wrong button
So there I was, sat on the starting grid, months of anticipation leading up to this moment. The tyres were warm, my palms were sweaty, and the countdown began. 3, 2, 1, Go!… backwards.
Why have Nintendo decided to make the GamePad’s ‘A’ button the accelerator? It should be the ‘B’ button, which is now brake/reverse. What makes it worse is that the original Mario Kart on the Virtual Console uses B to accelerate. It’s still a great game but it’d be nice to be able to change it.
OakTreeInn (PSN ID)/NewRadical (NN ID)
Proper old school
So yes, Wolfenstein is awesome, but why can I not see my feet or my shadow!? Seems like an odd omission since Starbreeze managed it a decade or so ago in Escape From Butcher Bay where it added a greater sense of actually being Riddick. Of course this isn’t the only first person shooter with this issue. Why GC? Why can I not see my feet?! Otherwise, fantastic game.
LAMBSUPLEXER (gamertag)
GC: Because it’s old school, and everyone knows the coolest game characters don’t have feet.
Catch up on every previous Games Inbox here
One day
Sorry I missed this week’s Hot Topic. I’ve been distracted by Mario Kart 8 (more on that in a minute). The game I’d like to make is one which makes understanding music theory easier. Hear me out, I know it sounds boring but during my HND and BA studying music I never understood the theory of it. No matter how hard I tried it never clicked and it was upsetting that I was the only one in my class who couldn’t understand it. The only reason I passed is because of my very patient lecturer. Without him I would have flat out failed.
I now understand that due to my fibromyalgia, if something is complicated my brain can’t process it very well, so I’d like to develop a simple game which builds you up. Maybe an adventure game set in the land of music, so the more you understand the theory the stronger it becomes? Something like that anyway.
The reason I’ve been distracted though is the huge mess up between Nintendo’s online store and Yodel. Like many I ordered because of the extra items they offered with the limited edition set. Nintendo took the money out the Saturday before so I thought ‘Well, it’ll be sent Monday or Tuesday.’ How wrong was I?! They sent an email saying it would be dispatched on launch day! So I contacted Nintendo and the person assured me 100% it would be with me at launch. Despite an email Thursday morning saying it had been dispatched, I didn’t get it until Saturday.
Luckily my dad was in to sign for it as I attended my local Mario Kart 8 event! My emails on Friday were ignored and many others were too which is extremely poor of them. So they will be getting a phonecall from me asking why I was mislead so much and why only some people were compensated while others weren’t? Under the distance selling regulations act, they have promised a delivery date and they have broken it.
An email is classed as a written contract so I will be asking them why they have let so many people down and used a delivery company which is famous for its poor delivery standard. Also, Nintendo and Yodel should compensate those affected with a partial refund or maybe a free game download or some eShop credit? Only some were compensated which I think is unfair – everyone should be compensated for this mess! I think many like myself won’t be using them for pre-orders anytime soon!
The poor people at marketing have had it in the neck, and one of the guys who I talk to on Twitter said him and his team were angry as their launch has been tainted by this farce. It’s such a shame since they’ve done very well and Nintendo and Yodel have not. Still enjoying the game but it’ll be remembered by many for missing launch. When companies like Amazon, ShopTo and play can deliver on time, why can’t the company who made this game?
bouncer0304 (NN ID)
Inbox also-rans
I know you must have a lot of these but I just got a Wii U and Mario Kart 8 today and have no friends on it so could you please give my Nintendo Network ID to everyone to add me for some karting fun please.
Eazyste (NN ID)
RE: Awesome. Please add me to your list of friends. Don’t get a lot of time with adult type commitments, but this further ratifies my Wii U purchase. Great fun!
teamcatcave (NN ID)
If anyone can drag themselves away from Mario Kart 8 this week then the Wii U eShop has a great Batman offer: 75% off (celebrating75 years). Arkham Origins and Arkham City both £12, and Lego Batman 2 just £10!
SteJFin (NN ID)
PS: Thanks to all GCers for adding me, a great community here.
I’ll second Mr Bump’s recommendation of the Yogscast’s various YouTube channels. For some instant laughs check out Sips’ Murder (Garry’s Mod) videos, followed by Trouble In Terrorist Town and Prop Hunt.
Renaissance2013 (gamertag/PSN ID)
This week’s Hot Topic
It’s E3 next week, the biggest trade show of the year and the moment for which companies save up all their most import announcements, especially Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo.
So for this weekend’s Inbox we want to know what you hope will be revealed… and what you expect actually will. There are some fairly obvious guesses, such as Halo 5 and a Wii U Zelda, but what else do you think will be unveiled for the first time and how excited are you about it?
Who out of the big three do you expect will have the best E3 and what’s the best and worst case scenarios for each of them? Also, how much do you look forwards to E3 and how closely do you follow it? And do you think it has increased or decreased in importance over the years?
E-mail your comments to: gamecentral@ukmetro.co.uk
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