The evening Inbox wonders whether noisy Xbox Ones are a big issue or not, as one reader reveals his problems with GameStop.
To join in with the discussions yourself email gamecentral@ukmetro.co.uk
However it goes
I’m having a bit of a dilemma. I never got to play Bayonetta the first time around so am thinking about getting the special addition when it comes out as I really want to play it.
However, I don’t own a Wii U or a TV. However, I also really like the idea of playing Xenoblade Chronicles on the New 3DS. I’ve never got into it on the Wii but might find it better on a portable (there’s no real logic to this).
However, if I got a Wii U I would be able to play Xenoblade Chronicles X when it comes out. However, if I got a 3DS I could play games when I’m out and about. However, I really like the look of the new Zelda game for the Wii U. However, I could play the Zelda games that are currently out on the 3DS.
However, I could buy both. However, I can’t justify buying both. However, I think what’ll really decide it is what format a new Metroid game would be on. However, it might be rubbish, like Other M, so won’t make any difference.
So you can see my problem. I also realise that I’m getting into flap about games, and hardware, that haven’t been released yet so maybe I should calm down.
James
PS: I think I’ll just buy the Bayonetta special edition as then I’ll have it and it’ll be one less thing to worry about. However…
GC: Well, technically you don’t need a TV for a Wii U. Or at least not for most games, including Bayonetta. Plus, you could run the Wii version of Xenoblade Chronicles on it.
Back in the game
I should have emailed in before now as my PlayStation 3 has been fixed for around a month since it got stuffed full of my son’s DVDs back in April. It is back in full working order, which is fantastic as my game collection was looking a little sad going unused.
Since the PlayStation 3 has been fixed I have finally got my hands on Grand Theft Auto V and what a fantastic game it is for the shear absurdity of it all, with the Strangers & Freaks missions being a highlight for myself. I have also got back into Assassin’s Creed, which is nice as I left it three years between finishing number two and Brotherhood so it feels fresh again and Ezio is still a great leading character.
Also with GTA V coming to PlayStation 4 I take it that would support Remote Play with the PS Vita? Not that I could do that as I don’t have either console but it would be pretty cool to see running.
Shura_Charger (PSN ID) Add Me!
GC: Yep, Remote Play should be available as standard for it. Although we don’t recall Rockstar ever talking about it specifically.
Another smashing giveaway
I would like to say that I am having a great time on Destiny and with the help of your readers I’ve been able to hook up with more people and do more of the online part than I normally would. I’ve even neglected Mario Kart 8 at the moment. Also, I no longer have a 3DS so please give out these Super Smash Bros. demo codes.
Nick73 (PSN ID)/Nick0606 (NN ID)
On returning to work today I noticed I had been sent an email with four codes for the Smash Bros. demo on the 3DS. I’ve used two, but please give away the remaining two to whoever wants them. I know you said on Monday that you had quite a few email in about them, so hopefully they will find a good home.
AntMol69 (NN ID)
GC: We greatly admire everyone’s generosity, but the number of requests we’ve had for codes is now in the thousands. We’re still giving them out at random but that there’s a good chance that we’ve missed some ordinary Inbox letters in all the clamour. So if you’ve written in about something else this week and thought it odd we didn’t use the letter please resend it and we’ll try again.
E-mail your comments to: gamecentral@ukmetro.co.uk
New York shopping
Last time I was in New York (nearly ten years ago) I stumbled upon an official Nintendo store. Everything was sold at full price but they had some museum like display cases showing Nintendo artefacts including an original Game Boy that had been in an explosion or fire or something (it was all melted, I forget the details) but still worked.
You could also try out lots of games and buy other memorabilia. Worth a visit if you’re in the vicinity. I believe it was next to the Rockefeller Centre.
Dominic
GC: It is, and it’s always worth a look. We picked up some cool reproduction hanafuda cards last time we were there. We believe that Game Boy belonged to a soldier in the first Desert Storm.
Storm in a teacup?
Just wondered if you had any plans to cover the recent controversy regarding ‘coil whine’ noise from Kinect-less Xbox One units? Online forums would seem to give the impression the issue is widespread, though the gaming media seem to be quite slow on the uptake – either that, or they regard it as a non-story?
Whatever, I was on the cusp of finally going next gen and buying an Xbox One myself (my birthday present to myself) but this has stopped me in my tracks. Before anyone says ‘Get a PlayStation 4′, I want the Xbox for Dead Rising 3, the media integration (yes, really), and the upcoming exclusives – particularly Sunset Overdrive.
By the way, I am sick and tired of having Destiny shoved in my face at every turn. Watched the first two episodes of Zack Scott’s YouTube playthrough – to see what all the hoo-ha is about – and it just looks like another boring, generic sci-fi shooter to me. I don’t get it.
Karl S
GC: We’ve not had anyone write in about the Xbox One noise problem, and as we understand it Microsoft has already agreed to fix faulty units. It can be very difficult to judge how serious an issue is just based on Internet complaints, so we tend to rely on readers writing in about that sort of thing.
Online only
Purely because I am still waiting for a good reason to invest in the new generation of consoles (Destiny doesn’t interest me) I decided that the best way to spend the money I have burning a hole in my pocket was to get myself back into PC gaming, I didn’t want a big cumbersome desktop, so I went down the most uneconomical route a gamer can take, I went for a gaming laptop.
I did this because I have pipe dreams of playing games on the go, I can game on airplanes, on the balcony on holiday, even in work when I am caught short… I’ve had my new shiny gaming laptop for four weeks now and all I have done is plough 25 hours into a Fallout 3 with mods – a six-year-old game I have played before.
There are a few games on the horizon I am excited for but right now, the market is dead. I went around my local shopping centre, into the city centre, etc. to look for a physical copy of Divinity: Original Sin – no one selling it. Not one outlet! I don’t want to download it, also, I had a look on the top 10 games being played right now on PC, I have already played the vast majority on PlayStation 3 and anything I haven’t played is not my bag.
With the emergence of companies like PC Specialist now advertising custom-built laptops and PCs on TV and at Premier League football matches, there is obviously still some sort of PC games culture out there, so where are the damn games?
Think I’ve just wasted £1,200.
Razzledazzle
PS: What are GC’s thoughts for Elite: Dangerous or Star Citizen? Please tell me you have high hopes…
GC: If you don’t want to download games you’re not going to get far with a PC, because that’s where all the games are. We have high hopes for Elite: Dangerous, but more subdued ones for Star Citizen (we never really liked the Wing Commander games).
Show stopper
I am a long time reader of GC, and have always loved the site but never felt the urge to write in until my current ongoing saga with GameStop UK. I’m sure the mere mention of their name has fellow GCers taking sharp gasps of air (and possibly excessive mouthfuls of their current beverage/libations. I apologise for anyone who may currently be choking on said beverage/libation as a consequence of this).
I so happened to come across an offer they were promoting whereby I could trade in two games to receive £40 off a pre-order. Now, I’m not a huge fan of pre-orders, but to obtain Grand Theft Auto V on PlayStation 4 for £1.97 and the two games (which had cost me less than £12 in the first place) seemed like a great idea, as I can’t imagine the remaster of GTA to be a poor one. So I placed my order with them and after a slight delay they sent a trade-in envelope to me. So far so good.
I duly returned the items via the post office on the 27th August, and waited for a response to confirm my items had been received… and waited… and waited.
By the 7th September I started to get a little concerned about this, so I sent an email to their help address… and no response. This ticket currently remains open with them, with nothing updated apart from my additional comments to keep this issue open (as they automatically close issues down after sending an automated message asking for you to reply if the issue is still ongoing). I have tried their telephone number which is constantly busy, only to get a message asking for my details which they say they will respond to but never do.
I have never had this much difficulty contacting a firm regarding an order I have placed, and looking online at their Twitter and Facebook I note others have had similar issues. Has any other GCers had dealings/difficulties with GameStop UK? It seems unless you are from the media they do not want to respond to you. I seriously hope if this is their standard of ‘customer service’ they do not decide to fully enter the UK market now they have sold their Spanish presence to GAME.
I know something like this has previously been done, but maybe a Hot Topic on the best and worst customer service you have had from an online retailer?
Rather than ending this tale on a sour note, I have three Smash Bros demo codes I would like to share. Please hand them out however you see fit.
Ninjin00 (gamertag/PSN ID/NN ID)
GC: Thanks very much for that. We’ve still never even seen a GameStop shop in the UK, but we’re sure a reader can advise with your problem.
Sheepish inquiry
Due to my proud Scottish heritage (fiscal prudence and all that) I’ve chosen to go with an Alien Isolation pre-order for the Xbox 360 (£27) rather than the Xbox One (£42).
Can you give any insight into how the last gen version may vary beyond being less pretty (not really an issue as my TV will only go to 720p)? Is it still the same developer… it hasn’t been farmed out to the local plebs has it? I’ve tried searching the ‘Net for any info on this but haven’t come up with anything.
Steve S
GC: We’ve not seen the last gen versions, and it sounds like nobody else has either. As we understand it Creative Assembly are doing all the versions themselves though, which is probably for the best because they’re based in Horsham and the ‘local plebs’ wouldn’t amount to much more than a few sheep.
Catch up on every previous Games Inbox here
The smell of 2014
I have to agree with GC, this year has been a stinker for mainstream games. In fact I’ve only bought two boxed games that came out in 2014, which is unheard of for me. All I’ve bought is the wonderful Mario Kart 8 and Diablo III: Ultimate Evil Edition, which only just about counts as a new game.
There have been some downloadable highlights though, TxK on the PS Vita is absolutely brilliant and I’m still regularly playing it six months after it came out. I also picked up Scram Kitty And His Buddy On Rails on a recent sale for the Wii U and this is also an excellent little shooter.
I’ve been gaming since the early 80s and I cannot remember a time when I wasn’t interested in owning the latest games consoles right from when they first came out but the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 have both been out almost a year and there is not a single game on either console that makes me want to buy one.
Every mainstream consoles has always had games out that in their first year that had something to wow you. Who didn’t want a Super Nintendo after seeing F-Zero for the first time or want a Dreamcast after seeing a demo unit playing SoulCalibur? It looked like nothing you’d seen before outside of the arcades.
What have we got on the Xbox One and PlayStation 4? Some mediocre launch titles and then months of nothing and the occasional release such as Titanfall and Destiny, which are also available on the previous generation consoles. I’ve seen Titanfall on both the Xbox 360 and Xbox One, and to be honest the differences in the graphics are not enough to make me want to splash out £300.
How the PlayStation 4 has sold 10 million units I’ll never understand and is a complete fly in the face of the long held opinion that it’s the games that sell a console. Surely 10 million people haven’t handed over their hard earned cash just to play inFamous: Second Son and a slightly enhanced version of The Last Of Us? I think an extended life span for the previous generation which made people eager for something new, a botched Xbox One launch and plenty of advertising have made a lot of people buy one without really worrying about the lack of games.
Still, saying all that next year does look a lot better and I might be tempted in 12 months time. I just don’t understand how both Sony and Microsoft have seemingly been caught out by their own consoles and not had any games ready, resulting in one of the worst ever years for video games.
PE
PS: Is Guardians of the Galaxy the best family sci-fi film since the original Star Wars trilogy? I’m thinking it might just be, I went with my son over the summer and haven’t enjoyed a film so much in years.
GC: We’re not sure how family friendly it is, given some of the language, but we certainly enjoyed it.
Inbox also-rans
Does Destiny have a separate online mode? Something like the online modes from Halo? Like Slayer, Capture the Flag, etc…
Master Chief
GC: You can’t play Destiny except online. But yes, it does have a set of competitive options featuring some (rather too) traditional game modes.
What a great site this is and a fantastic friendly community. I recently rediscovered how much fun real Lego is (hope you can show my photo). If I put my Mini Cooper near my Wii U GamePad could the NFC function warp it into MK8?
jedimark84 (NN ID)/soon to be PSN ID Add me for Destiny and Borderlands 2!
This week’s Hot Topic
The subject for this weekend’s Inbox was suggested by reader Iceman, who asks what game or games would you give a 10/10 score to?
This isn’t a question about what your favourite game is but which you feel comes the closet to perfection, based on what it’s trying to achieve. It can be any game, from any time period or format, but we want to know why you think it worked so well and why other similar games didn’t come as close.
In general how forgiving are you of a game if it’s fun but has one or more obvious flaws? Do you demand something that’s as close to perfection as possible or are you happy to play any game as long as it’s entertaining?
E-mail your comments to: gamecentral@ukmetro.co.uk
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