Games Inbox: Is Mario better than Astro Bot?

The Monday letters page gets a reader’s review of the Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds network test, as one reader is upset about the NieR: Automata anniversary.

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Double the pleasure
I really don’t think Nintendo has much to learn from Astro Bot. All the 3D Mario games sell far more than Sony’s games and the only one that Astro Bot is better than is Super Mario Sunshine.

For my view I think that the next game should try and make itself as different as possible to Mario, because the déjà vu is the worst thing about the current game. Which is a shame, because the controls and graphics are really good.

I think it’s great that Sony is going back to make more family friendly games, instead of just endless grimdark, and I hope they do not just try the Rare approach, of making exactly the same games as Nintendo but with better graphics – that’s such a waste.

At the moment, there’s no question that Mario games, in general, are a lot better but that could change in the future. The best thing is for Sony to try and do their own thing and beat Nintendo that way. Then Nintendo would have some decent competition for once and that would spur them on, which is good for everyone.
Wrex

Time flies
Someone just told me that it’s the eighth anniversary of NieR:Automata on Sunday and that blows my mind. I can’t believe it’s been the best part of a decade since that game came out, I would’ve put it at four or five years at the absolute most.

More bizarre to me though is that we’ve never heard any word about a sequel. Not even a hint that there might be another one, let alone a trailer or anything. I know Yoko Taro is an oddball but some kind of reassurance would be nice.

It’s now been longer since the release of NieR:Automata than the gap between the original NieR and Automata and that is just straight up crazy, considering NieR was a flop and Automata was a surprise hit that sold over 9 million copies.
Mote

Never-ending fad
I do find your comments about old companies like Disney and Hasbro, that were around before video games were a thing, never really engaging with gaming to be interesting. I’ve never really thought about it before, but it seems that rather than getting in at ground level, and using their money and experience, they just sat back and did the bare minimum, as if they expected games to be a fad – which I guess they probably thought it was after the American crash in the 80s.

That doesn’t explain modern times though and I’m not sure how Hasbro manages to publish something as bad as Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance (the new one) and Baldur’s Gate 3 within just two years. It’s like they have no quality control and no real idea what makes a good game, so even the hits are just accidents.

Disney gives the same vibe and it’s a shame, but it makes me wonder what amazing games were probably canned over the years. Oh well, for the record I’d love to see a new big budget Transformers.
Burke

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Best in class
Just thought I’d write and say that I’m still playing and enjoying Destiny 2. Even after all these years, the gunplay it still best in class and they keep trying to iterate, to slowly improve things. Arguably there are a few more bugs with the reduced QA testing, but given how cheap everything is now I’d still thoroughly recommend it to gamers that haven’t tried it before. I’m also very much looking forward to Indiana Jones And The Great Circle on the PlayStation 5 – how have other readers got on with it?

As an aside, I’m still not convinced that it’s not From’s reluctance to reproduce an existing IP and not down to Sony. On the one hand we’ve got Miyazaki saying ‘FromSoftware and myself together want to aggressively make new things in the future… I believe that FromSoftware has to create new things.’ and on the other – err… do we have anything? I’m happy to be persuaded that Sony is holding it back for some reason, but I’ve not seen much to evidence that.
Matt (he_who_runs_away – PSN ID)

GC: There are three Dark Souls (the first of which also had a remaster) and six Armored Cores (which is Miyazaki’s pet franchise). Bloodborne hasn’t had so much as a PlayStation 5 patch.

The Eldest Scrolls
I almost feel like The Elder Scrolls 6 is going to arrive too late at this point. It’s already 14 years old but it feels much older than that to me. And it’ll be 17 years old by 2028, which is when most rumours seem to think it’s coming out.

There have been later franchises than that before, but I can’t think of anything where there was no reason for the delay and the previous game was super popular and everyone was excited about getting a new entry ASAP.

What worries me, and it’s borne out by this new rumour, is that with that big a gap Bethesda are going to be tempted to make it a half-remake of Skyrim instead, with lots of similar parts in it, that were originally supposed to make it unique, like dragons. It’s Star Wars syndrome where they waited too long to do something new and now just want to remind people of what they liked about the original.

We can’t know that’s what they’re doing yet but I feel it’s something to be worried about even without a first look.
Tony T.

Generally nice
It really feels like the last six months have been brilliant for new games. Playing the Call Of Duty campaigns has been on my to do list since it came out, but it’s constantly getting bumped for something else.

This week that something else has been Avowed, and to be honest it wasn’t one I was expecting. When I saw the trailers it didn’t look like something that would appeal to me. I’ve never had much interest in magic or a fantasy setting, but I’ve got to say, I’m really enjoying it.

The combat’s decent and I quite like the sarcastic options in all the dialogue. The world’s also a decent design with nicely hidden bits to explore while also being a generally nice setting. Two other thing I really like are the fact that the map shows you where you’ve been and enemy’s don’t randomly come back to life when you revisit a place. That really bugs me in games, as it means there’s no real point in engaging when you can just run past.

So overall, a good game that gets my recommendation.
Tim

‘Twas ever thus
I find the idea of AI making games abhorrent, it will only produce on models that have gone before and make generic games year after year with little or no innovation, how has it come to this?

However, I will wait with wild anticipation for the next instalment of EA Sports FC 26, Assassin’s Creed 14 and Call of Duty 19. Whoop whoop.
Simon

GC: Black Ops 6 actually counts as Call Of Duty 21. Shadows is the 14th Assassin’s Creed though.

Super Cross Kart
There was a Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds closed network test and, having applied for a code, I hope you don’t mind me sharing some thoughts.

The test included a generous selection of Sonic characters and tracks. The graphics didn’t blow me away (some of the background animations have a low frame rate) but all the tracks were consistent with the aesthetic of the series. However, some – like Wonder Museum – take a disappointingly generic approach to the theme, given the vault of Sega iconography that could have been used to fill a museum environment.

The CrossWorlds gimmick means the second lap is on an entirely different track (it’s chosen by the racer in first place, who drives through one of two portals that open). The final lap also concludes on a straight run filled with speed boosts, which can be a blessing or a curse.

Overall, the game feels very chaotic. There are constantly rings and power-ups flooding the screen, which takes a few tracks to adjust to. The handling of the vehicles felt quite light, and it takes a while to gauge when to start drifting, but the controls overall were responsive and there are customisation options aplenty for further experimentation.

I did find that if your vehicle hits a wall, the game seems inclined to want the vehicle to stick to the wall (which is at least consistent with how 3D Sonic often handles, I suppose…). Rather than a gliding descent, the flying sections allow you to move horizontally and vertically, which adds a different dynamic that I enjoyed after a few attempts to adjust to the change.

There’s a ranking system which allows you to unlock a wide range of enhancements depending on your race style (for example, one adds a level to the drift boost, another awards you rings for colliding with a rival). The test didn’t allow access to the single-player mode, but the game certainly seems to be piling in reasons to encourage replayability.

Overall, I enjoyed what I played of Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds. Though not a groundbreaking racing game, it’s solid enough. There’s nothing about the closed test that gives any indication of the game planning to give franchises from the wider Sega universe a significant presence, so I hope to see more of that aspect in due course.
Needlemouse91

GC: Thank you very much for that; very interesting.

Inbox also-rans
Adding to the Reader’s Feature at the weekend, Cannon Fodder gave me the same feelings without the ability to rename. It was my first experience of permadeath and having my first troops promoted always left me with a feeling of loss when they were killed.
Matt

I think a Batman Beyond game would be the perfect way for Rocksteady to get back into the franchise. You could have a bit of backstory to tie to Arkham but otherwise it’s completely new for new players. It’s such a perfect idea I bet they never do it.
Soapy

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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.

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