The Tuesday letters page is getting very nostalgic about GTA 4 all of a sudden, as one reader wants Bill Murray to play Tingle from Zelda.
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Pro tip
With all the talk of the PlayStation 4 and 5 at the moment I wonder how many other people are in the same position as me, where they’re still stuck in the last generation and were waiting for the PS5 Pro in order to jump aboard? Given the problems at the start of the generation, and the slow couple of years for first party games, I imagine that I’m probably not alone.
I realise some people may not want to see the PS5 Pro announced, because they already have the original model, but personally I’m wishing they’d get a move on and confirm it, because despite all the complaints about Sony’s recent conduct I’m keen to get involved in this new generation at last.
I know every rumour points toward the PS5 Pro being out this year, but I’m getting worried that it’s still not been announced. I feel this is the sort of thing that Sony would’ve unveiled at E3, back in the day, and yet we’ve had nothing. And wouldn’t they want a major new game to show off its capabilities? I’m sure it’s very good but I don’t really see Astro Bot as being that.
I realise I should be patient but I’m just getting worried at the continued silence from Sony. Although I guess I should get used to that if I do finally get a PlayStation 5.
Shaggy
GC: The PS4 Pro was actually announced in September, in 2016.
Size matters
Can I just state the obvious for a minute and say that Shadow Of The Erdtree is an amazing bit of DLC. The size alone is hugely impressive. I keep thinking I must’ve seen most of it and then I realise there’s another entire section that is going to take me hours and hours to get through.
I checked on HowLongToBeat and the game was logged as taking 22 hours for just the main story and over 45 hours to see everything. If the base game is anything to go by that will take me at least two or three times that amount, which is incredible for a mere expansion.
It’s not only longer than most standalone games but better and cheaper. Even if £33 is more than you’d expect for DLC, but in my opinion it’s worth every penny. Well done FromSoftware, your Midas touch continues.
Orion
Shockingly old
It seems so long since Bioshock was considered a big name game. Infinite was 11 years ago and my understanding is it underperformed and the whole franchise was put on ice at that point. Bioshock 1 was 17 years ago, which seems crazy given I still think of it as a relatively modern game. Mind you, I haven’t tried to play it again recently, so maybe it’s aged poorly, but a remake still seems unnecessary to me.
As another reader says, it’s not as simple as just ignoring it if it’s not for you. That’s time and money tying up developers for years to make a remake that’s not really necessary. Especially when a remaster will do just as well. The Resident Evil remakes are great, but I really struggle to think of many others that are as worthwhile, especially as Final Fantasy 7 is far more than just a straight remake.
I realise the secret 2K in question might not be Bioshock, but I suspect it is and that’s just going to make the wait for an actual new game even longer.
Ochre
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Game without a console
I am a big fan of the gaming section of the Metro and all you do, so please keep up the good work.
I recently watched a video on the subject of GTA 4 and thought I would see if I could find a way of playing it on my modern console, as my PlayStation 3 has long since left me. To my surprise it isn’t available on modern consoles currently. I have to say I’m a bit disappointed. I would pay, and I’m sure others would as well for a bundle of the three GTA 4 releases on a current gen console.
It would certainly be cheaper than buying a PlayStation 3 and the game, I would think. I know there was a story about some of the music rights being revoked after about 10 years from the game, so maybe that has something to do with it. Now they have remastered Red Dead Redemption I guess I can still hold out some hope for a new remaster or even a GTA in the style of the Metal Gear Solid collection, with the original top-downs and GTA 4, perhaps.
Maybe one day, I hope. It made me wonder if the other readers had any games they can’t play because they are trapped in console history. I guess the lesson is don’t get rid of those dusty old consoles.
Charlie T
GC: By coincidence we had a Reader’s Feature reminiscing about GTA 4 just this weekend.
Outlasting us all
Fascinated to hear about that old MMO still getting updates, even though I’ve never even heard of it in all this time. It’s easy to think of anything online related as something modern but there are online games that are 30 years old or more and still going. People will probably still be playing MUD (which is like a text adventure with other people in it) long after every other online game is gone. Heck, it’ll probably still be there long after any of us reading this.
Compare that to fly by night live service games, which are lucky to last a year, and you realise that while some games are successful because of a passionate and appreciative fanbase others are just pushed out there and only get as far as they do because of marketing and not any kind of grassroots popularity.
Syder
Freshly picked
With the upcoming live action Zelda movie announced, naturally the big question on everyone’s lips is, ‘Who is the best person to play Tingle?’
The list of true contenders is surprisingly short. Nic Cage brings the right kind of energy, but perhaps he has become too much of a meme these days and doesn’t really match up physically. As we have seen with the Mario movie, Nintendo are fairly conservative in their casting choices, case in point Chris Pratt as Mario. Now I’m not saying that the Nintendo board of directors is watching audition tapes, but one must assume Shigsy has some sort of clout in Hollywood.
For me it has to be Bill Murray. It just has to be. I think he is one of the few that has the required star power, acting chops and unpredictability that the role demands. As a bonus, having already starred in Groundhog Day he already has déjà vu acting experience should the film, or the inevitable Majora’s Mask based sequel, need it.
Get me the number for Murray’s mythical answering machine. Bill, sweetie, have I got the role for you.
Major_Kahonas
Returning gimmick
I’ve been enjoying the various guesses from readers regarding the ‘gimmick’, if there is one, that will be a feature of the Switch 2. The mention of Nintendo Land took me back and caused me to wonder if exactly that type of functionality will be possible on the successor to the Switch?
In other words, could the dock have the ability to show one thing on the TV and the actual device in your hands be showing another. Effectively, the functionality of the Wii U but with no cable.
This would allow for more asymmetric multiplayer experiences, which is something I always felt was underutilised.
Matt
GC: It’s a nice idea, and not out of the question, but the problem is asymmetric multiplayer has never really taken off the way many developers expected – outside of horror games like Dead By Daylight.
Sticking the landing
I loved the PS4 too but can’t help feel there’s a bit of romanticising of it in the Inbox, in both its games output frequency and it being a console for a home for sensible budgets.
According to Wikipedia, and the FTC leaks, PlayStation 4 game The Last Of Us Part 2 cost $220m, took five years with approximately 2100 developers, across 14 studios.
PlayStation 5-only game Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart took a similar amount of time but reportedly ‘only’ cost $81 million. Upcoming PlayStation 5-only game Astro Bot reportedly has taken a team of 60, three years to make. Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom, on the weakest hardware in the console market and using assets from Breath Of The Wild, took 6 years to make.
If you want games with The Last Of Us Part 2’s production values or Tears Of The Kingdom’s ambition it’s going to cost a lot and take time no matter what hardware it’s on. I’ve no doubt it’s more expensive to get the most out of PlayStation 5 over PlayStation 4 but budgets where already a problem on the latter and it’s the type of game rather than the hardware as to why budgets are too high.
Secondly, look up a best of PlayStation 4 games list and it’s stacked with 2018 onwards games, especially first party titles, with God Of War, Days Gone, Spider-Man, The Last of Us Part 2, Shadow Of The Colossus remake, and Ghost Of Tsushima. Big third party games too make the list, with games like Red Dead Redemption 2 and Final Fantasy 7 Remake. I think the PlayStation 4’s strong finish is making some forget the usual early paucity of big titles.
There’s notable early exceptions like Bloodborne, Dark Souls 3, and The Witcher 3 and no doubt the PlayStation 4 got going sooner than PlayStation 5 but in truth it took 3-4 years for it to start spitting out many of the titles it’s fondly remembered for now.
Simundo
GC: You’re not wrong, but how confident are you that the PlayStation 5’s final years will be as strong as the PlayStation 4’s?
Inbox also-rans
All this speculation on the Switch 2 is fascinating. I still can’t decide whether it’s going to be just a Switch but more powerful or something completely different, it really could go both ways and I wouldn’t be surprised at either.
Gobline
Does it not seem odd to anyone that classic music is almost never used in video games? Considering it’s royalty free, often easily recognised (even if you don’t know the name), and very high quality I wonder why that is. Do you need a bigger orchestra than for regular video game music?
Huey
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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 and content.
You can also submit your own 500 to 600-word Reader’s Feature at any time via email or our Submit Stuff page, which if used will be shown in the next available weekend slot.
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