The Monday letters page hopes publishers understand exactly why Fallout 4 is a success again, as one reader enjoys Zelda in bed.
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A wasted day
Well, I’ve been playing the Fallout 4 next gen update all day and I have to say: what a waste of time! The most obvious problem is the bugs, which… I know this is Bethesda but this is beyond a joke. You’re owned by the world’s biggest company now and still your fans are better at bug-fixing than you are!
I’ve had the thing crash on me, there’s all the usual graphical glitches, and I’ve been caught in the scenery twice. An ordinary day in the Fallout wasteland but why do we put up with this?
Needles to say the graphics have barely changed at all. I think maybe the draw distance got better, but I’m not sure. I know all the people’s faces still look like potatoes and while the game is nine years old that’s really not the problem. Not only were the graphics outdated at the time but even the next gen patch is late. Xbox is talking about an actual next gen in two years!
Heathcliffe
Multiple conclusions
I like Fallout as much as the next person but the thing that interests me most about Fallout 4’s success is here’s a nine-year-old, complex, janky, single-player game, with bad storytelling, and it’s the most popular game on the planet at the moment.
That is a complicated list of attributes and I bet other publishers (and probably Microsoft) are going to ignore the nuance of it all and come to only one conclusion: successful TV show equals massive game sales. Even though we’ve had successful shows and films before, and it hasn’t made a jot of different.
As a previous reader has said, the fact that Fallout 4 and the rest are virtually being given away at the moment is also a major factor. There’s so much to dwell on here, that suggests companies don’t have to make only live service games, but I’m not very optimistic they’re going to taking the positive lessons.
Dallas
PS: The fact that the TV makers are also top-draw talent also has a major influence on all this but I’m sure that’ll be ignored too, in the rush to make Heavy Rain: The Show or whatever (seriously, can you imagine David Cage being involved in a show or movie?).
Magnetic excitement
I don’t think it would be difficult to keep the current rail system for the Switch 2’s Joy-Cons and have them be magnetic as well, but it’s difficult to say because Nintendo’s track record with backwards compatibility is patchy. They’re generally quite good about it, but because their consoles are all so different, and their account system is so primitive, it causes more problems than they realise/care about.
Although the other question is why are they magnetic? That’s a pointless question with Nintendo, because it could be anything from just a bit of extra strength to it working with the new elephant-shaped controller they’ve invented. These little titbits are exciting, but I really wish we could get the official announcement soon.
Gadfly
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Fading away
Funny to think that Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door may end up being the last Nintendo game for the Switch. It’s a great game but it is only a remaster and I would’ve preferred for things to go out with more of a bang. Consoles never really do though, they just sort of drift off into irrelevance and then you suddenly realise you haven’t turned it on for six months.
It always happens, no matter what console it is, so I’m sure it won’t be any different with the Switch but I’d still like a proper ending for such a great machine.
Bearfac30
GC: Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD is scheduled for June 27, but it’s hard to imagine that’s going to be the last first party game on the Switch, even if whatever they have for Christmas is just more remasters.
Booted off
Has anyone noticed that Mortal Kombat 1 seems to have been a much smaller hit than usual? I hardly ever see anyone talk about it and there’s been very little about DLC or more characters lately. I don’t get the impression anyone had any particular problem with the story reboot though, and the game played as well as usual, so it’s not clear why it hasn’t done better.
I like to think it’s the ugly monetisation that has got too much for people. It’s steadily been getting worse in the games but it’s now quickly turning into something like FIFA and NBA, which I’m sure is exactly what Warner Bros. was aiming for.
I don’t like to see such a long-running series struggle but if it has to suffer so that publishers stop doing this then so be it.
Lokey
Time to play
I don’t agree with the Reader’s Feature about Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom over the weekend but I won’t argue about it, as it’s just one person’s valid opinion. What I will say though is that there wasn’t any mention of playing the game in handheld mode.
I certainly won’t argue that Tears Of The Kingdom is a big game, with a lot of distractions, but obviously that’s a big part of its appeal. It’s also true that many people don’t have as much spare time as they’d like nowadays.
I know I wouldn’t have been able to beat Tears Of The Kingdom if it wasn’t for the fact that it can be played in bed and at work and so on. That’s why I was nodding my head along with the PlayStation Portal Reader’s Feature, even though I don’t have one.
Gaming is usually at its best on a big TV but that’s often a convenience you can’t afford and, as the reader said, the satisfaction at being able to complete games and clear your backlog is immense. I’m not surprised to hear Xbox is thinking of making a hybrid of its own.
Jules
Consistent quality
Did a fresh install on my Xbox Series X of Fallout 4 and its big ‘upgrade’ and two times in a row it has crashed. Guess I have to wait for another patch. Sigh.
I’ve yet to try the PC version but I have read that some people have lost a save and I do not want that.
Do they not have quality control at that young start-up firm Microsoft?
Bobwallett
GC: Apparently, it’s much worse on PC, yes.
Greatest Armageddon
Fallout 4 now updated with the prospect of getting back into the game is definitely something to behold. The fact that New Vegas is back in the spotlight is also awesome in this day and age!
These games’ open-ended adventures throughout the wasteland is just so addictive and I can see this franchise going for ages. The modders for Starfield are non-existent whilst the modders for New Vegas are huge and varied.
The amount of lore you get in all the communities gives layers of intrigue and makes exploration of the wasteland so satisfying and addictive. Can’t think of any game getting as close to Fallout which proves it is the ultimate post-apocalyptic game.
The perks and special upgrades and character stats are amazingly addictive to learn and the V.A.T.’s attack system never gets boring. I, for one, have spent hours and hours in these games and New Vegas is quite possibly my favourite due to the nature of all the ways the faction interactions evolve and how these shape the world you’re in, leading to the climatic end game.
So, as the excellent TV show has proven – when the developers respect the franchise as much as us gamers then good things will definitely happen and that just warms my heart.
Alucard
GC: Starfield’s doesn’t have an official mod system yet.
Inbox also-rans
Fallout: London and Miami? And they both look good? Why aren’t Bethesda making these official expansions, rather than us wait till 2030 or whenever for a new game? That company is its own worst enemy.
Focus
If I was the developers I wouldn’t bother with The Evil Within 3. The other games have their moments but they’re just a poor man’s Resident Evil and I don’t see the point of doing another one instead of trying something new.
Stence
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