Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom – does it matter that it’s not all new? (pic: Nintendo)



The Tuesday letters page reacts to Xbox and Activision’s European news, as one reader wants more Lord of the Rings video games .



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Something new, something old It’s a curious thing, defending Nintendo from angry user reviews , complaining about reusing the same map from Breath Of The Wild, but I’m struggling to agree with the idea that it’s a bad thing. For a start, Nintendo has made it very clear for years now that it’s the same map with changes, so there’s no way that anyone should be surprised when they find out. Perhaps some casual gamers who aren’t as clued into the news but somehow I doubt they’ll mind, if they’re not also plugged into the faux outrage that others are trying to drum up.



I think the point in GC’s review summed it up, where they said that you couldn’t have had all this if the map wasn’t already done. I don’t want to even imagine how much work the Ultrahand stuff must’ve been but it’s an incredible achievement. But you basically get that or the open world, not both. Although they still seem to have added in two extra maps anyway.



I won’t be getting the game for a couple of weeks yet, but having the same map definitely won’t be putting me off. On the contrary, the idea of Nintendo being able to use Breath Of The Wild as a base to make something even more incredible sounds great to me and I’m glad it’s already been proven a success, as it makes me even more confident about buying it myself. Gloriod



Pushing your buttons Have to say, only about four hours into Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom but enjoying it a lot. I knew I would as I loved Breath Of The Wild.



The shrines were easily my favourite part of it, so I’m very happy to read there is so many of them in Tears Of The Kingdom.



Atmosphere is once again on point, the last two Zeldas have had me feeling of the game Journey. Just allowing the ambience to shine through.



One complaint I have is with the options. I’m not a huge fan of the controls, and with the Nintendo having ‘A’ and ‘B’ in reversed places, it really throws me off. I’m sure I’ll get used to it, but I wish we had an option of changing buttons around more ourselves in-game and not just switch jump and run.



Also, no option to turn off cut scene subtitles and things like brightness, etc.



Anyway, outside of that, looking forward to the adventure. Matt



GC: Nintendo didn’t reverse anything, Microsoft did.



Interactive world If there’s one thing I’d like to see carried over from Tears Of The Kingdom (and Breath Of The Wild) to other games it’s the realistic* modelling of the physics of objects and the environment. With this underpinning the game there’s so much potential for emergent gameplay and a multitude of different solutions to encounters.



The Ultrahand mechanic is a perfect distillation of this, and while I can understand people finding it awkward (or footery, in my local dialect) I just find it fascinating as often a solution fails as the centre of mass is off (e.g. if creating vertical log ladders) or a fan has been placed such that instead of imparting purely forward motion it’s also creating a moment causing the vehicle to spin. I could mess around in this world for hours without even bothering with the main quest line.



I really notice the absence of this when playing other games, and while I understand that different games are built with a different end goal in mind, I find it jarring when fire doesn’t set things on fire, objects don’t roll downhill, and I can only climb up the coloured bricks (and definitely not the trees). Magnumstache. *Diving hundreds of feet into a puddle and emerging unscathed excepted.



Successful test Well, sadly, the final beta weekend for Diablo 4 has been and gone. Managed to get all the rewards except the world boss trophy (the downside of the new title being more MMO-centric, having to be online at specific times). Other than that small loss, what a fantastic time I had playing it.



Such a well-crafted game; interesting plot, strong character playstyle differentiation, great graphic style, addictive gameplay. Is this going to be the best action role-player ever made? I think it has a great shot at the title, Diablo 2 nostalgia-aside. I was worried about the MMO elements ruining the experience, but other than the world boss issue I mentioned it really had no other impact.



If anything, it was enjoyable to see other characters every now and then jumping into the smaller world encounters or milling around the town areas showing off their cool gear. And it was only ever a handful, although I guess this may change upon full release. And somehow the servers seemed to behave almost impeccably?! In short, I had a brilliant experience with it. And I haven’t been this excited for a game release in quite some time. In fact, I even pre-ordered off the back of the beta. So it did its job! Mr K



The price of success I know must people treat Zelda like Nintendo’s second biggest franchise after Mario, but the sales have never really backed them up, so it’s great to see that it is finally, after all these years, a true AAA franchise. The sales this week are truly impressive and I’d much rather Zelda was successful than some nostalgia bait licensed game. Although it’s all the more impressive to see Zelda beat when it’s only on one format.



I do feel sorry for those people that prefer the old style, or rather don’t like the new, as I fear they’re right and we’re unlikely to see that return in anything other than remakes and remasters. Although personally I wouldn’t mind seeing a sequel to A Link Between Worlds… as unlikely as that probably is.



The fact is success for any company means them trying to do the same thing again and again to get the same amount of money again and again, it won’t be any different for Nintendo. Focus



Great choice Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom proves all that really matters is whether a game is simply good or not. When there’s controversy over games not being 60fps, some could argue Nintendo get a free pass. Digital Foundry even stated using the Ultrahand ability tanks the frame rate to 20fps. Such nitpicks can easily be ignored when a game is great. The fact a game of such scope and interactivity can even run on a Switch is miraculous.



Star Wars: Jedi Survivor has got away with its performance issues to a degree also, on console at least, because the overriding impression is it’s a good game. My point being, gamers can be more forgiving of the occasional frame rate drop if the game is good. Zelda also proves 60fps is more desirable, than it is a necessity. I think some of us get too fixated on the numbers and not the experience.



Switch 2 is going to be much more capable hardware and hypothetically could run the next Zelda game at 60fps. But if that was a game which sacrificed AI, physics, and complexity of the game world to achieve a higher frame rate, I know what I would prefer.



Game developers need to be allowed the freedom of creative choice. If 60fps is important to the experience, such as a shooter, fair enough. But the latest generation has put a huge constraint on that creative freedom. Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom proves unequivocally a game can be 30fps and still be fun. Great games are not defined by their technical prowess. Anon



Flip a coin So the EU has said yes to Microsoft and Activision but that doesn’t really change anything as they were always expected to. It’s all down to the US now. Microsoft can get around the UK saying no but if the US says no as well then it’s game over.



The problem is this is going to drag on for so long and Xbox are going to have their summer event before this is all over. So what are they going to do? Are they going to unveil a bunch of games and risk making it look like they don’t need Activision or are they going to have another quiet one and mess up another year’s worth of first party games. I don’t know which the answer is but it seems like it’s probably a 50/50 shot to me. Gazza



Gloomy Tears So, Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom is well rubbish, isn’t it? Woof. Worst game of all time, am I right? How they could get away with it is just beyond me…



No, I jest, but of course. I would say to those who were left a little bit cold by Breath Of The Wild, is that the new Zelda is much lighter going than its immediate forebear. Why are there four bears? I do not know. This is not a real criticism of the 2017 title, but after an hour or so (or after reaching some significant milestone) it was more than common for me to think: ‘Oh, that was great – but I’ve had enough for the moment.’



Somehow, the opening just isn’t as overwhelming as it was last time. Well, for me. Maybe because there were no Guardian-type enemies that basically couldn’t be defeated very early on. Or maybe it’s just the benefit of experience. And weapon fusion really mitigates the degradation factor. A pity that, at least so far, all the weapons are fairly dull or ugly to look at. But that is just a nitpick.



I was also surprised that I was able to buy new clobber for Link as soon as I arrived at Lookout Landing. After selling a few bits and bobs, that is. Sandal boots. On a dude. Eurgh.



Loved my first encounter with a tower – that was very funny. I don’t want to spoil it, but will all of them do that? I hope so.



Also surprising was how soon I got a quest to go down a chasm. It’s weird down there. That said, it did introduce to my first serious gripe: taking Gloom damage means those hearts cannot be healed until you stand underneath one of those glowing roots. Ffffff… my reaction was not printable. But even then, I don’t expect this to be too serious a problem… DMR



GC: Here’s a pro gamer tip: stay out of the Gloom.



Inbox also-rans All this talk about Lord of the Rings lately, with new films and shows and whatever and I still don’t feel we’ve had a decent game since the PlayStation 2 era. Those Middle-Earth game would have Tolkien rolling in his grave and who wants to play a game as Gollum? Royst



What is up with that company and its fake Nintendo stickers ? I’m all for sticking it to the man but these guys sound like they’re high on their own fumes… or something else. Trevour



This week’s Hot Topic The subject for this weekend’s Inbox was suggested by reader Damon, who asks what’s the longest you’ve ever spent looking forward to a game?



Although it’s becoming common for new games not to be announced until close to release even then they can often get delayed, leaving you waiting months and even years after their initial reveal. So which game have you waited the longest for and was it a disappointment – if it’s actually out yet.



What do you feel is the optimum time to announce a game, ahead of its released date and how upset do you get about delays, versus launching with bugs and other problems?



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