The morning Inbox is shocked to find Shinji Mikami working on Resident Evil Revelations 2, as one reader promotes his own podcast.
To join in with the discussions yourself email gamecentral@ukmetro.co.uk
Secret to success
Is it me or has the revolving doors at the top of the games charts lately given the impression that any game with a marketing budget can get to number one? I know there’s controversy over the quality of Dying Light but The Order: 1886 and, to a lesser degree, Evolve seem to have been generally disliked by critics and most people I’ve spoken to who have played them.
But they all seem to get to number one anyway. Through pre-orders and blanket advertising have publishers basically found a foolproof way to have a big debut no matter what they do? I guess I shouldn’t let it bother me but it does annoy me that we never get any real indication of how well these games have done.
Evolve seems to be sliding down the charts pretty quick, but did it do enough business at the start to be considered a hit? The Order: 1886 hung on well in its second week, but does that mean it’s more successful or just that it was slow week? I know there’s no way to tell but I do wish companies wouldn’t keep their successes, and failures, a secret like this.
Gadfly
GC: It’s the time of year as much as anything. With little competition almost any reasonably well known game can get to number one before Easter, since even older titles are selling in very small numbers. Ni No Kuni’s number one a couple of years ago was perhaps the most extreme example of this.
Don’t be evil
Is it just me or is £40 for the Battlefield Hardline season pass not actually that bad of a deal? Of course it depends how much there is to all these extras, but if they’re in keeping with Battlefield 4, which had some really good DLC, I think I might bite.
I’ve thought the same many times in the past, only to watch them quickly return to their evil ways, but it seems to me that EA are in their ‘customer friendly phase’ at the moment. After all the trouble with broken games and the worst company in America awards.
I’m sure it won’t last but it looks like it’s hit at the perfect time, because with Mass Effect 4, the Star Wars games, and Mirror’s Edge 2 on the way I’m more excited about their line-up now than I have been in a long time. Do a good job on those and they can return to disgracing the name of Dungeon Keeper and SimCity for a couple of years afterwards and I won’t even mind.
Gipper
Taste test
Regarding all the talk about resolutions and frame rates and other nonsense, GameSpot did a blind test for some of its employees, with the same three games shown on the Xbone, PlayStation 4, and PC (viewable here) and asked them to say which was which. Spoilers: most people can’t tell the difference or delude themselves into seeing things that aren’t there.
Martin Smith
GC: We’re not surprised at all. Sometimes readers ask us what resolution a game was running at during a preview, as if it was immediately obvious, but about all you can tell is when a game is relatively low resolution. And it’s pointless asking the publisher or developer because often they just lie.
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The other Mikami
During the title sequence to Resident Evil Revelations 2, I was surprised to see Shinji Mikami credited as the level designer. Your review made no mention of this, and I don’t think it’s been publicised anywhere
Back when you reviewed the disappointing Resident Evil 6, I remember suggesting that perhaps Capcom might hire Mikami to knock the series back into shape. But you thought it was unlikely given Mikami’s commitment to the new company he formed after leaving Capcom
So does his credit on the game mean that Capcom has possibly hired him to work again on the series?
Jon Edwards
GC: Alas, it’s just another guy with the same name – at this point only doing level design is well below Mikami’s station. His namesake also worked on Resident Evil 6 so, err… we guess he’s getting better at least.
Policy breakthrough
I’ve really been impressed by Games with Gold for Xbox 360 recently. It started off really dodgy with very old titles that no one wanted, but Microsoft have really upped their game. Highlights for me included Darksiders II, Street Fighter IV, Dishonored, SSX, and Brothers: A Tale Of Two Sons. For this month we get Tomb Raider and BioShock Infinite and apparently, in April, Microsoft will be giving away four Xbox 360 and two Xbox One games (they’ve promised that’s not an April Fool joke).
I may have to pause my playthrough of Mass Effect and break my one game at a time policy for BioShock. Speaking of which, I’m really engrossed by Mass Effect’s plot. The game as a whole is great but my one gripe is the lifts! I cannot believe how slow they are! I thought the lifts in the Citadel were bad but the one in the Normandy to get to the Mako is even worse – and you don’t even have that far to travel! I’ve started using the time to check through my emails!
If they were using the lift time as a clever way to seamlessly load parts of the game I could understand but that doesn’t seem the case as in other circumstances the game loads areas in about two seconds. I pity the play testers who probably spent hours waiting in lifts when they were eager to get on with things.
PsillyPseudonym
GC: It was to hide the loading, but the lifts were so unpopular at the time that things were overhauled for the sequels.
Right connection
I am playing the Wii on my smart TV and doing so through a three-pronged lead plugged into my TV – yellow, red, and white cables (my TV does actually have the function for this too – never seen it previously). I have only so far played Zelda: Skyward Sword but my oh my, the resolution is just awful. The pixels look like they are blurring into one another and it sometimes looks like a child has coloured over the lines in a colouring book. I’m certain it is not supposed to be that way.
Anyone else experienced this or got any tips on making the definition slightly better? Could it be that my TV definition is set to too high a setting and I need to reduce it to a lower setting?
Woko
GC: This isn’t really our area, and we’re sure a reader will help, but it sounds like adjusting the sharpness setting might help. Or ideally use a component cable.
Real talk
RE: Firmsky. I’d be silly not to recommend my own podcast which can be found here.
It isn’t the most professional outfit in the world but we keep it as genuine as possible, so no over the top nonsense just in the name of entertainment. Every two weeks I am joined by the same two members and we recap news, games and other gaming bits and pieces.
On the ‘off’ weeks I try to do podcast specials to fill the gap, for example we have just completed and aired a three part Metal Gear Solid special and the first part of the Greatest Games of All Time is due to go live this coming Sunday. Check it out, we are more than happy to get negative or positive feedback and answer listener questions.
thejoeyapps (Twitter)/DimpDigital (Podcast/YouTube)
PS: I should mention you can subscribe via all decent podcast outlets, iTunes, Stitcher, Pocket Casts, etc.
Catch up on every previous Games Inbox here
Not a classic
I have to say GC (and I think I am with the majority here) I think you got it wrong with the review for Dying Light. I have been playing it all weekend and can’t wait to finish work to jump on it again, to start the game is beautiful and some of the attacks are wonderfully silly, who in earth would sprint and perform a flying drop kick to a zombie?
The combat is regarding and gives you just enough scope to be inventive with your kills, the looting is a nice side diversion and coming face to face with a hoard is genuinely terrifying, at no point do you feel overpowered and death is always just around the corner. So far I have not even tried to last a full night and the last minute panic to find a safe house is great fun.
The only negatives I would have to say about the game is the general fetch quest nature of the side quests and generally uninteresting main quest, although the characters are either likeable enough to want to fight for or lovingly psychotic enough to want to hunt down and wipe out. The other gripe is the changing of weapons and lack of stamina but I think without these you would quickly become too powerful and the game would have no danger element to it.
I would not say the game is an instant classic but a solid 8/10, I just feel that this game has finally made me feel like I am playing a next gen game and I am loving it. I have had a certain feeling that for whatever reason you definitely dislike Techland and to give this game a 5/10 seems particularly harsh. But then it is your opinion and you’re of course entitled to it, normally I think your reviews are spot on, but with this I have to disagree.
Raoul Duke 1102 (gamertag)/Foetus1983 (PSN ID)
GC: There’s no ‘reason’ we don’t like Techland beyond the fact that we’ve never enjoyed any of their games. We find them shallow, repetitive, badly made, and lazily designed. But if you’re enjoying yourself then good for you, there’s certainly worse.
Inbox also-rans
I was wondering if any other readers with Wii Us have had issues with the GamePad randomly disconnecting? It started over the weekend and quickly became quite annoying? I’ve turned my PlayStation 4 off even though it wasn’t a problem previously and I’ve done a resync on the Wii U and ‘Pad with no joy. Thanks in advance.
Sprky_Mrky (PSN ID)/SprkyMrky (NN ID)
This GameCube has got to be one of the best custom jobs I’ve ever seen.
Cold Waste (gamertag)/Worlock_ed (PSN ID)
This week’s Hot Topic
The subject for this weekend’s Hot Topic was suggested by reader Schaefer, who asks who is your favourite video game character?
This should be a harder question than it sounds though as we want to know what you like about the character in terms of their personality, not just what they look like or their role in the game.
Which characters do you find interesting simply because of their backstory and actions in the game’s story? Do you feel they’re versatile enough to appear in different genres of games – or perhaps even movies or TV shows? And if so who should play them?
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