Games Inbox: COD: Black Ops 4 on Switch, Into The Breach love, and Eternal Darkness 2

So I see there’s a lot of speculation on Call Of Duty: Black Ops 4 appearing on Switch, because of that reliable rumour guy and a lot of the previous games appearing on Wii. But I’ve got to say, is that not the reason why it’s not likely?

We had four Call Of Duties on Wii and Black Ops II and Ghosts came out on the Wii U and they were all pretty good ports (I didn’t play all of them but they all seem to have got decent reviews). Activision seem to have put the effort in and yet nobody cared. Nintendo never helped advertise them, that I recall, and nobody ever seemed to talk about them or, more importantly, play them.

I know the Switch is a little different in that the portable aspect is a real benefit, but I can’t say a high speed action game like Call Of Duty is something I’ve ever wished I could play on the train. I just think there are some games that are best played at home, with a giant TV and the best graphics possible. And if I’m going to do that then a Nintendo console is not the best option.

I don’t see that as a problem, Nintendo consoles do plenty of things that others can’t, but I do think the myth of them needing better third party support is silly. More exclusives sure, but who is really going to play Call Of Duty, Battlefield, or Grand Theft Auto on the go and with inferior graphics? Or am I in the minority here?
Slayer

I assume most people take GC’s advice on games, if it’s within their means, but I just want to add my voice to what an amazing game Into The Breach is. Advance Wars is a game that gets talked about a lot on here but to me this is the only game that has come close to its elegant simplicity. The rules take seconds to learn but you literally agonise over every single move and decision in the game. And you should do too because everyone counts.

I haven’t come anywhere close to beating it on normal difficulty but I’m keeping at it and find myself going back to it every spare second I get (especially at work!). God knows what I’ll do if it ever comes on mobile, but if FTL is anything to go by I fear it may never come to consoles. Although it’d work fine on the Switch so I don’t really see why not. I know it’s ‘just’ a strategy game with really basic graphics but it is just pure video game.

It’s also super cheap, so please give it or go. It might take over your life, but only in a (mostly) good way.
Number 5

Very long-time reader and first-time writer. I just wanted to chime in (fairly intoxicated) of my love for the Switch. It’s amazing how much time you save by picking up the Switch and playing on the go and I can honestly say that my gaming habits have changed so much that PlayStation 4 seems a real drag to play with my current work/life balance, and I feel Nintendo have judged the market perfectly with their latest offering.

I didn’t buy the Wii U but feel they have learnt a lot from their failures and are onto a massive success and good luck to them, gaming wouldn’t be gaming without the big N.

I would also like to thank the GameCentral team for all your hard work, I have tried so many games through your recommendations and you are my first port of call every morning (before the dreaded work) keep up the good work!
Stevo1985
Currently playing: Zelda: Breath Of The Wild.

GC: Thank you!

I know it’s not got the slightest chance of coming true, but I would love to see Alexandra Roivas from Eternal Darkness in the game. Allow her to change into any of her ancestors and add some supernatural special moves and I actually think she’d work pretty well.

Although of course what I really want is a second game, even though there were two failed crowdfunding schemes and a lot of the developers turned out to be of… questionable morals.

As far as I know Nintendo actually own the brand though, which is why the Kickstarter project couldn’t be called Eternal Darkness 2 so I don’t see why they don’t make it themselves. Or get someone else to do it. The original was a great idea, with great atmosphere, but the gameplay was fairly basic so it’s not like it couldn’t be improved on.

Games like Splatoon and Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle show what happens when genres you wouldn’t associate with Nintendo are given a go and I think they’ve really benefitted from the ‘Nintendo touch’. Survival horror is not usually their bag, unless you count Luigi’s Mansion, but with them overseeing a new Eternal Darkness I really think it could be bigger than ever. Lovecraft is certainly more mainstream than it was back in the GameCube days and I’d love to see another crack at it all.
DARRYL

Just a quick message to say that you can get Super Mario Run half price until March 25th 2018, it is on offer because of today – Saturday at time of writing – is MAR10 Day. I would get it myself but my phone is too old
to run it, as it would probably overheat!

Also, you probably will do it as a news story but Mario is on Google Maps for MAR10 Day too but by the
time you read this it will be too late unfortunately.
Andrew J.

I am thrilled to hear of a new Call Of Duty: Black Ops game. With this now being the latest addition to the series and with there being 30+ Call Of Duty games I can see this franchise eventually getting remasters of some of its titles on future next gen consoles as gaming technology develops, but not for a little while.

I was given Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 as a present for my 30th birthday and after playing it that title made me a fan. And with this excellent news, that a fourth Blacks Ops is on its way, I have decided to get into the Black Ops series as well.

I’m sure there will be some interesting DLC with Black Ops 4 in the future, as well as various versions of the game. And do not doubt this will sell well. I am also considering getting Black Ops 3 as well. I am really looking forward to the online features of Black Ops 4 and can’t wait to see what gameplay shoots up on YouTube of Black Ops 4.

Although I do admit that I am very hopeful we will get a beta, open or closed, so that enough people can be entertained by this until the release date this October, seven months from now. I’m sure nobody would mind having an online beta released so players can experience a small sample of this new Call Of Duty title.
gaz be rotten (gamertag)

In regards to the new Black Ops logo being IIII instead of IV, I thought it was maybe tally marks instead of Roman numerals.

So if/when there’s a Black Ops 5 it will be 4 vertical lines with a horizontal/diagonal line going through it. I could be wrong though.
Jack_the_Ripper9 (PSN ID)/mickylynch9 (NN ID)

GC: It’s not that, but we thought the first thing initially. Although we’ve always associated tally marks with scoring cricket. Which seems an unlikely interest for Treyarch.

A little late to the party but some recent long-term illness has given me time to finally get back into The Witcher 3, a game I’d set aside as being too long to play due to work and family commitments. Wow, I know it’s a few years old, but the game still looks amazing and I can only imagine the effort that was required to create some of the most involving and entertaining quests I’ve encountered in any role-playing game. I find it remarkable that had I made different decisions, I would never have seen most of the following, rather brilliant, story and gameplay (MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD!).

I am (I think) about two-thirds of the way through and have just returned to Kaer Morhen, home of the Witchers, to lift a curse. My old flame Yennefer (who is needed to help lift said curse) is rather upset with me since I informed her that my previous feelings for her were the result of a genie’s, now broken, spell and I’m actually in love with her fellow sorceress and friend, Triss. In fact, she has thrown her bed out of the castle window as it had some of Triss’ red hair on it.

Despite seeing that she is clearly upset I decide to push her into a conversation about her attitude to me and Triss. The conversation leads to her accusing me of cheating on her with Triss for over a year. This is pretty much correct, but for my own depraved entertainment I choose the dialogue option that informs her it was because I had lost my memory… a flimsy excuse given that I found out I’d been in a relationship with her not long after losing it. At this point she (understandably) loses her temper and shouts that she doesn’t want to talk to me anymore.

A magical portal opens beneath my feet and moments later I find myself in mid-air, fifty feet above the middle of the large lake near Kaer Morhen. This is an unexpected though thoroughly deserved end to the conversation. Humbled, I make the long, damp journey back to Kaer Morhen in order to apologise.

Later that evening there’s a bit of down time in the action so I decide to have a drink or 10 with my Witcher buddies in order to drown the day’s relationship and curse-based sorrows. This leads to some drunken admissions of brotherly love for one another before an entertaining game of ‘I Have Never’ (a throwback to my real-life unruly youth!). By now thoroughly inebriated, one of my Witcher friends disappears when he goes to get another bottle of booze.

A drunken, stumbling search following wine stains (I’d also opened a real beer at this point to add to the effect) reveals that he’s passed out in the castle gardens with a goat for company. The evening climaxes when I and my companions drunkenly decide to dress in some of Yennefer’s clothing in order to contact some other lady sorceresses through her megascope (magical skype). The plan doesn’t make much sense but then, neither do many things done after over indulging in the drink.

Dressed in some rather fetching dresses, we make a real mess of reciting the necessary magical incantations and instead of seeing an alluring elven sorceress through the megascope, the rather less appealing form of Cyrus Hemmelfart (leader of the Eternal Fire witch hunters) is revealed sitting on the toilet. He panics, fearing that the Circle of Sorceresses has finally come to exact it’s revenge on him (and at being caught on the John).

It is at this point that a rather annoyed Yennefer walks in to put an end to the night’s festivities. The morning after, everyone is feeling a bit rough, though those who were more sensible have little sympathy, and chief Witcher Vesemir doesn’t hesitate to inform me that I stink of stale booze. 10/10.

Can’t wait for Cyberpunk 2077… I just hope I can find the time to play it!
TheMilkybarKid (UK) – Steam ID

I really hope we get Bomberman and Simon Belmont for the Smash Bros. I think Nintendo might be the only ones who could bring Konami back to the light now.
Simples

With Mother’s Day just gone, it got me thinking, who is the best mum in gaming? I can think of lots of dads but not many mums.
Angry_Kurt (Twitter)

GC: We don’t know but it’s certainly not Hope’s mum from Final Fantasy XIII. The real answer would be a good one for this week’s Hot Topic though.

The subject for this weekend’s Inbox was suggested by reader Mesomex, who asks who is your favourite female video game character.

Which female character do you think is the most interesting, and why? Are they the main playable character in the game, and if not how do they compare to those that are? Would you have preferred them to have a bigger role and what do you think of their dialogue and voice-acting?

In general, what do you think of the representation of women in video games and how have things changed in the last decade or so? What further change would you like to see in the future and what major franchises do you think need more prominent female characters or options?

[“Source-metro”]