The Friday letters page thinks video games do pretty well for intelligent female characters, as a reader asks for roguelike recommendations.
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That sci-fi thing
Thanks for your honest review of the PlayStation VR2 and its games. I was excited for the thing but I hadn’t realised that basically every game except Horizon Call Of The Mountain was a port or remaster. I also had no idea that game was a climbing simulator, which is absolutely not the impression I got from the trailer. Why bother with launching it all now if the line-up was so unexciting?
Your comments about how just being higher resolution, with a few extras on top, doesn’t really advance things also made sense to me. I agree that there may never come a time when VR is what we imagined it would one day become. That sci-fi thing of putting on a pair of glasses (not an enormous headset) and suddenly you’re in a completely different world is probably something that’s not possible and would require a completely different technology.
Even though VR may ultimately prove a dead end that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t be interested in PlayStation VR2 but between the price and the lack of games it’s not a very tempting prospect at the moment.
Leander
Uncertain schedules
Not that I was getting one or anything but I have to admit I’m a bit disappointed with your verdict on the PlayStation VR2. I can’t argue with it – I had no idea Horizon Call Of The Mountain was a climbing game – but somehow it all seems much less exciting than it did.
The worst thing from being a poor launch is that I’m not sure what we’re supposed to be looking forward to after. Sony might not have a proper list of launch games but they definitely don’t have a roadmap for further out. What’s the next first party VR game? And what’s the one after that? You can’t just throw the hardware out at a random and expect people to just sit and wait another six months for some proper games to come out.
Gerry
No rush
For years there was only two things that baffled me about VR. One was why were the 90s arcade headsets the same weight as a T-34 tank and the other was why on earth did Nintendo release the Virtual Boy without a head strap? Now I can add another bafflement as to why Sony just didn’t get Asobi Team to add a VR update to Astro’s Playroom?
The game is free on a PlayStation 5 and now two years old, so Asobi could’ve easily just added a few PlayStation VR2 gimmicks to the existing build and then bang, there’s your freebie. Nothing taxing motion wise and a kind welcome to your new headset. Gran Turismo 7 is obviously free (you still need the base game though) so I shouldn’t moan too much but that’s pretty certain to give users sickness if they’re not used to VR. There’s not even a shark cage tech demo. I’m slightly perplexed.
At least there’s a strap and not a ridiculous stand *casts a menacing stare at Nintendo HQ*.
Wonk
GC: It’s extremely odd. Give the general lack of first party games it suggests the whole launch was rushed, although for what reason is a mystery.
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Hard decision
Looking forward to getting Metroid Prime eventually, once I’ve cleared my backlog a bit! I played it many years ago on GameCube but stopped halfway for whatever reason. However, it’s making me cautious all this talk about the final boss and even more so for Prime 2 and 3 bosses, as you’ve said, as I know I’d play them too. For context, I completed Metroid Dread early last year and the final boss took me a good couple of hours to learn patterns, etc.
Also, I started/finished Returnal not long after this as well, which I’d certainly rank highly in my all-time gaming achievements and games of all time. I’d never played a rougelike before and found it punishing initially, but absolutely loved it. Getting better each run was so rewarding. Your reviews for both versions are spot on, the eerie atmosphere is amazing and it is still the best game on the PlayStation 5. No other roguelikes I’ve researched since, seem to be my cup of tea though annoyingly. Should I give Demon’s Souls a go…?
Lizardpudlian
GC: Demon’s Souls isn’t a roguelike but it’s very good. It’s also difficult, much more so than Metroid Prime, so it might be good practice.
Cabins in the wood
Darkwood is currently on sale for £3.64 on GOG.com 2pm on Friday. If you seek an unapologetically abstruse Lovecraftian survival game then I can’t recommend this indie gem enough. I’d rarely felt so lost and vulnerable in a game, nor often inhabited such a grotesquely sombre yet captivating world.
I’m so glad I persevered and hadn’t succumbed to permanent rage quit though – those first few hours were testing to say the least, because finally reaching the climax of such a harrowing, existential journey was extremely satisfying.
Galvanized Gamer
Batty boss
I was glad to read I wasn’t the only one who couldn’t beat the final boss in Metroid Prime on the GameCube. I’m assuming Ridley, the pterodactyl was the final boss though, he could have been the starter before the main course for all I know.
I’d upgraded everything I could, tried time and again, but eventually thought, ‘No, I’ve had enough of this.’ Which was really irritating, because everything about the game leading up to that was really immersive.
From what I remember I found Metroid Prime 2 (will I ever learn) unnecessarily difficult from the start and nowhere near as immersive as the first game. I didn’t get far in that and I didn’t really like, nor finish, Metroid Prime 3, mainly because of the motion controls. I’m old school, I am. I prefer to press buttons rather than waggle the controller about.
TL;DR. I’ve just bought Metroid Prime Remastered and am playing it on easy/casual difficulty. My reflexes are 20 years older and I want to see that overgrown bat Ridley bloody well fall.
Chevy Malibu (PSN ID)
PS: Just got to Phendrana Drifts and it’s really good so far.
Coming soon-ish
I fully accept that all the current noise surrounding Bethesda Game Studios is Starfield.
But I’m pretty sure I read somewhere that Fallout 4 was getting a next gen update, so what happened to that?
It might be nearly seven years old but I’m still playing and enjoying it, so an update would be very welcome.
Johnny five stars
GC: It is supposed to be out at some point this year, but beyond that there doesn’t seem to be any other information.
Science heroes
I read a rather interesting letter published in The Guardian on Wednesday, written by Rachel Youngman of the Institute of Physics.
The letter reference an earlier article that quite rightly lamented the poor portrayal of women in the field of artificial intelligence, mathematics, and physics in general in the popular movie industry. An example was the Iron Man movies and Ex Machina. Entertainment that is inspired by very male views of the physics field, with the danger of showing promising young women that physics and mathematics is no place for them.
Although the recent Black Panther movie showed the protagonist as a woman genius, that in some ways surpassed Tony Stark, I believe that our beloved gaming world has in some ways been ahead of the curve and been more positive in highlighting powerful and intelligent women.
A good example of this has been Horizon Zero Dawn and its sequel. The story describes the life of the long dead AI physicist Elizabet Sobeck and her role in saving humanity. Sobeck’s life and achievements conclude in the adventures of Aloy, who also demonstrates heroism in the face of adversity and danger.
The portrayal of intelligent women could be better but we are light years away from the portrayal of women as eye candy in the eighties (the Barbarian games and the infamous Vixen cover), and the noughties attitudes seen in the early God Of War games.
Today there are more powerful and meaningful portrayals of intelligent women, such as in Horizon Zero Dawn, Control, and also the slightly misfiring Forspoken. I am sure future games will bring forth more scientifically positive portrayals of women, and with more girls and women playing games than ever before, this can only be a bright future.
Zeeshan Shafiq
Inbox also-rans
There’s really going to be a Tetris movie but it’s actually about Nintendo wrangling the rights from under the Iron Curtain? That’s a plot twist I didn’t see coming!
Molce
I didn’t realise that Microsoft had hired Eidos-Montréal to work on Fable. If they like them and Crystal Dynamics so much why didn’t they just buy them when they were up for sale? Someone’s got more money than sense at the company.
Liner
This week’s Hot Topic
The subject for this weekend’s Inbox was inspired by reader matc7884, who asks what you consider to be the best value for money in gaming?
It can simply be a good bargain you found in a sale but perhaps it’s a free-to-play game that you’ve spent dozens of hours with, or a paid-for title you’ve put even more time into?
What is your minimum requirement for good value for money, in terms of length and quality, and when have you been most let down by an otherwise good game? What’s the most surprised you’ve ever been at a game’s value and what do you think other games could learn from it?
E-mail your comments to: [email protected]
The small print
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