The Tuesday letters page is dreading learning more about the Xbox layoffs, as a reader is frustrated by Nintendo being so secretive over Zelda: Ocarina Of Time. Games Inbox is a collection of our readers' letters, comments, and opinions. To join in with the discussions yourself email gamecentral@metro.co.uk
A Storm Is Coming
Why is it I feel like we're seeing the last days of Xbox? Even Microsoft is hinting at massive layoffs this month and considering they let go of thousands of people last year how many does it have to be for even them to think it's a lot? The latest rumours seem to suggest at least one developer and maybe more are being shutdown and it's not hard to guess the likely victims: anyone that isn't Activision Blizzard or Bethesda or doesn't make Halo, Gears Of War, or Forza Horizon. Anyone else I wouldn't put a bet on their safety and even the ones above are probably going to see massive cuts. It's dreadful and as someone that remembers the good old days of the Xbox 360, I don't see where it ends except the end of Xbox as we know it. There's already serious talk of Xbox becoming a spin-off company, that won't have as easy access to Microsoft's money, and I can't believe for a minute that they're actually going to release Project Helix. It'll be too expensive and even the most hardcore Xbox fan must be having second thoughts nowadays. Xbox is dying and I think it's long past the point of no return when it comes a possible recovery. If you'd said that at the beginning of this generation you would've been called a zealot, now you're just a realist.
Zeiss Expert, exclusive gaming analysis
Daily Content
All the news from Xbox is so bad, every day it gets worse and worse. I hate to think what it'll be by the end of the week (major layoffs by the sound of it). I don't know if that ex-Rare guy left or was pushed but I expect he's glad he's out of it now. He definitely knows what's going to happen and it's definitely not going to be pretty. I really don't see any future for Xbox. It's not a question of whatever new problem the day brings it's the fact that they've been making fools of themselves for two straight generations now and I don't know anyone that would even consider getting a next gen console from them. And I bet even the super fans are starting to think twice at this point.
Benson
Palliative Care
I haven't a clue what it means when it's said Xbox could partner with other companies and I doubt Microsoft knows either. After careful study I am now convinced that nobody at Xbox has a clue what they're doing and is just doing and saying the first thing that comes to mind. A lot of people, including the original creator of Xbox, said the new boss was being brought in to wind things down and I think that's looking increasingly true. She'll lay off a bunch of people this month, shut down a few studios, then next year (or month) it'll be a few more and a few more. Xbox is circling the drain right now and it's sad to see.
Wotan
Don't Forget
Forgotlings, the prequel to the very good Forgotton Anne, is coming to PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S on Thursday, 18th June. It has already been released on PC a little while back. Will GameCentral be reviewing it when it comes to consoles this week? I think the developer wants to bring it to Switch 2 as well but they have not got a dev kit yet to do that. I backed it on Kickstarter so get a free PlayStation 5 digital copy on Thursday. I like backing Kickstarter games as it creates a community around the games with like-minded people (a bit like GameCentral) and you get newsletters every so often to keep you up to date with all the news and developments. Forgotton Anne is a graphic adventure puzzle platform game with anime style graphics, Forgotlings is adding combat to the game which wasn't in Forgotton Anne. I didn't write into GameCentral to review the PC version as it had some bugs at first, so I am hoping with the later release of the console versions the bugs will be ironed out. I am hoping it sells well as it has not broken even financially yet and the developer I think has struggled financially, like Mina The Hollower, which is another Kickstarter I backed which had problems financially but turned a profit.
Andrew J.
Currently playing: Eriksholm: The Stolen Dream (PC)
GC: We'll try to review it, as we liked Forgotton Anne. But it wasn't on our radar until you just mentioned it, so it won't be this week.
100% Nintendo
Nintendo's attitude to Zelda: Ocarina Of Time is the most Nintendo I've ever seen them be. Why on earth would you be so secretive about a remake of one of the most famous games ever, when it's out in just a few months' time? If they've changed major parts of the game and don't want to give that away then fine, but I'm sure there's some areas that look more or less the same. Surely they can show that? Their Nintendo Direct might have been the most-watched show but I doubt many people were satisfied by the end of it.
Grant
Keeping the Danish End Up
So I finished 007 First Light and the end credits took ages to scroll past. I never realised that it takes what seems like the population of a small town to make one game. No wonder these AAA titles need to turn a sizeable profit. As for the game itself, I enjoyed it. The last level surprised me by being great and it involved a clever and fun use of gadgets. First Light's real strengths I thought were in the fighting, both with guns and fists. The quips were also surprisingly good and several of Bond's humorous remarks really made me laugh out loud. Some of the other characters were quite witty too. Less successful/enjoyable were the conversation sequences and I grew tired of investigating flagged items that had next to no relevance. I was also moderately disappointed that the driving elements seemed a bit constrained. But I can't complain too much. First Light was so much better than I thought it would be. The developers got the young Bond character just right. My singular wish for a possible sequel or DLC would be more car chases. Car sequences are such a fundamental part of the movie franchise. It seems a pity not to explore and expand on an aspect of the game that felt a bit tethered. Anyway, overall very good. I hope IO Interactive get to do another one.
Michael Veal (@msv858)
GC: The size of the team needed to make a triple-A title is the most expensive part of making a game, especially if the studio is based somewhere with a high cost of living. It's not clear what the paid-for DLC will involve but there is some free DLC coming up featuring the car from near the end of the game.
Killer App
It's not surprising to me at all that Halo would be pre-ordering well on PlayStation 5. It's the crown jewels of the Xbox format and if you've only ever had a PlayStation it's going to be the game you're most intrigued about. So why do I feel that Microsoft are going to make the next one a console exclusive? You can't put the toothpaste back in the tube. Microsoft already went multiformat and trying to have it both ways is just going to confuse and annoy people.
Mivs
November Showdown
Having played Star Fox 64 (Lylat Wars) many times over, I was a little ambivalent about a graphical update. That is until I played the demo. I'll have to return to the original, but I don't recall the game flowing so beautifully, which if it does underlines what a timeless masterpiece it is. When you add the graphical overhaul, orchestral music, and endearing charm, it's now a day one purchase for me. Which has me thinking about the Zelda: Ocarina Of Time remake, another I have played countless times on the N64 as well as the 3DS update. While a graphical overhaul and orchestral soundtrack is already enough for me to purchase it day one, by today's standards it feels a little clunky to play and could do with improvements in this regard. I'd welcome a complete overhaul with a more expansive Hyrule Field, expanded dungeons, and ideally additional ones, but crucially while maintaining enough of the original character to warrant the title. I agree with the weekend feature, that GTA 6 is not a direct competitor when the latter is not even available on the Switch 2 and is a very different kind of game. If there is any game that can go head-to-head with GTA6, this is it. I wouldn't be at all surprised if Nintendo release it in November when comparisons would no doubt be made. I actively dislike GTA 5, the celebrated 'satire' for me falling completely flat, functioning, if anything, as an excuse for what is essentially an unashamed neoliberalism simulator. The stereotypical characters are awful, doing awful things that glorify rather than critique grotesque violence, and they're often and unforgivably given the attitudes of many teenage gamers to overtly sexualised women. In the age of Trump and rise of the far right globally, it would be especially egregious if they double down on this and do not, given its cultural significance and influence, find explicit ways to critique racism, xenophobia, sexism, misogyny, and transmisogyny. Apropos of a Marx Brothers joke the Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Žižek riffed from: if it looks sexist and misogynistic, it sounds sexist and misogynistic, don't let that fool you, it is sexist and misogynistic. But if all this can be forgiven – and it shouldn't be in my view – what cannot, from a gaming point of view, is the rote and repetitive quests and exceedingly clunky gameplay. Yes, it'll no doubt be lauded and win multiple awards but will only in my view deserve to if, as seems highly unlikely, it addresses these issues. I'm looking forward to reading GC's review (if anyone can be relied on to give an honest and unbiased appraisal it is you: we're counting on it). Finally, if Nintendo are to do another remake, notwithstanding Majora's Mask, which seems now like a distinct possibility, my vote would be for Wave Race 64, another dormant IP in need of resuscitation.
Ciara
Inbox Also-Rans
Why did CD Projekt go from saying they weren't going to make any more The Witcher games to suddenly making a billion of them? I'm going to assume what they meant before is that they don't have the rights to make more.
Paulie
That Star Fox demo is actually really good, I think I'm probably going to get it now, even though I played the original and I know it's not that long.
Taylor Moon
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