Games Inbox: What is the best live service video game?

To join in with the discussions yourself email [email protected]

Good service
Live service games get a lot of flack from gamers and it’s not hard to understand why, since so many of them are just out to fleece you out of microtransactions and are usually very unoriginal games. But I think it’s important to point out that most of the worst ones don’t usually last very long. The really manipulative ones are the failures and while that might be the majority it doesn’t mean there aren’t lots that are worth the time and money.

I’ve been trying to decide which one is the best and it’s really a surprisingly long list: Apex Legends, Destiny 2, Warframe, GTA Online, Genshin Impact, League Of Legends, Fortnite, Rocket League, and Rainbow Six Siege. I’m sure there’s many more you can add to that list too, depending on your personal preferences.

Now, admittedly, a lot of them are shooters and I do think that there needs to be a much wider range of genres but beyond that these are all good to great games, most of which are free to play. We shouldn’t be against live service games, just bad games – and I don’t think those are one and the same.
Kelvin

Back to the well
What are people’s feelings about From’s next game being Dark Souls 4? I know the games have an ending but the story was all about death and rebirth so it would hardly be stretch. A lot of people think of Elden Ring as the fourth game but they’re very different really. Dark Souls’ combat is a lot slower and more careful, and obviously the maps are linear, so I’d be happy to keep that tradition going.

My favourite parts of Elden Ring where the legacy dungeons anyway, and they’re the closest part to Dark Souls, so it’s not like it would be going backwards. Just a thought but I don’t like it to be an all or nothing thing with open world games.
Boatswain

Secret plans
That new ‘hardware’ from Nintendo is hilarious, although I’m glad GC was able to offer some explanation for such an apparently random thing. Like you say, there is always an explanation for what Nintendo does. It might not be a particularly sensible one, but they do everything for a reason.

I also agree we’re unlikely to see anything major on the Switch 2 this year. Maybe we’ll get a name in December, but I think that’s it. Maybe a bit more of Metroid Prime 4 running on the Switch 2 but I wouldn’t even bet on that. But that’s fine. As others have pointed out, at least they seem to have a plan, and that’s refreshing in these troubled times.
Gosling

Email your comments to: [email protected]

Car mods
Thinking about Rob’s request for an open world realistic racer, I wonder if the reason we haven’t seen one is because of the complexities of realistic racing games vs. the complexities of open world. Racing sims spend a lot of the coding and development time getting the physics and handling right, these are incredibly complex and are really CPU intensive. Then to program a whole open world, rather than a small racing circuit, could be just too much time/investment vs. the level it would sell.

However, if Rob wants this there are options (unfortunately they do require a PC).

Get a copy of Asseto Corsa (the first one) – it goes on Steam sale a lot and can then be modded to install loads of different open world maps.

Alternatively, get a hold of BeamNG Drive, it has an open world and is again fully moddable.

Anyway, there’s a couple of options… and as they are fairly old they don’t need too much of a beast of a PC to run!

Have fun gaming Y’all!
The Dude Abides

To the reader Rob who wrote in about lack of open world racing sims. This might not help if you’re only on console but if you have a PC and Assetto Corsa, there are a load of open world mods you can download which are really good. There’s lots of YouTube videos listing the best ones.
Angry_Kurt (Twitter)
Now playing: F1 24 (gamertag) and Immortals Of Aveum (PS5)

No help
With all this downgrade business with Fallout London I really don’t understand why Bethesda didn’t help out or make the mod official. Apparently, they didn’t even tell the developers about the next gen update ahead of time. Bethesda make a play of saying they support mods, but all this seems to mean is that they don’t sue them.

I guess that’s an improvement on Nintendo and the like, but it doesn’t seem to make anything easier for anyone, especially as it’s not on console. As a recent Reader’s Feature said, user-generated content is one of the most important things in gaming at the moment and yet virtually no big name console game allows for it.
Tony T.

Clone wars
Digital distribution has downsides but notable upsides, with the biggest being allowing the space for the vibrant Indie scene we have today.

But an aspect I really appreciate is its ability to deliver classic games I missed out on first time around at low prices, as opposed to the hundreds some cost buying physical now.

The crown jewel is probably Radiant Silvergun on my Xbox. I actually got it on the now defunct Games for Gold, which let you keep Xbox 360 games after your sub ended.

The latest is In The Hunt. A submarine 2D side scroller from the Metal Slug people. The PS1 version is £170 on CeX but just £5.79 on the PSN store (£6.29 on Switch eShop) as part of the very good Arcade Archives releases.

I always look for official releases and have a nice selection of retro classics across PlayStation, Switch, and Xbox. But one of the many reasons I’m jumping ship from console to PC is emulation. There’s so much gaming goodness from gaming’s past that unfortunately is probably not financially sensible to re-release.

Talking of old school type shooters, do you plan to review Cygni: All Guns Blazing?
Simundo

GC: Yes, we will. Although it is so blatantly ripping of Radiant Silvergun and other Treasure shooters it’s almost kind of icky.

Lore of the land
Not that I particularly care about Dragon Age as a series but that reason they have for not letting you use ‘blood magic’ is the absolute worse reason for doing anything in a video game. The guy admits that it’s a really good gameplay mechanic, swapping MP for HP, and then says they can’t do it because it’d break the lore.

You made up the lore! Just make it up again to be something else. As if that reveal trailer wasn’t off-putting enough, I get the feeling this is not going to be a glorious comeback for BioWare. I can’t help thinking of Bethesda and the disappointment of Starfield. I think sometimes studios, like people, are just past and need to pass the torch on to someone else.
Kimpton

BioShock therapy
A new BioShock game would be pretty good for right now and I agree it would be better with less insane combat, as the story can get lost a little bit in some cases; although BioShock Infinite had a good mix of calm moments and epic battle moments. The first BioShock had a nice creepy build up, which then went nuts with explosions and carnage everywhere. BioShock 2 had the least scary stuff, with action from the very start till the very end.

So I feel that less action would be better and maybe a more stealth-like investigative type of gameplay would suit it, whilst keeping up the tension and atmosphere for the majority of the game. BioShock Infinite was, to me, an amazing storytelling experience, at least for an first person shooter game.

Obviously, you’ll need exciting gameplay but I would welcome new mechanics to carry out high octane fighting or even Deus Ex style stealth. In fact, Deus Ex had the correct amount of story and gameplay complementing each other, with the choice of more violence or more stealth.

An underwater or sky setting would be awesome using this generation’s graphical capabilities. So how about a bit of everything, like sea and sky habitats, or maybe a subterranean underground world instead, built close to the Earth’s core! Being in claustrophobic conditions in an ant type warren or termite mound would surely indeed be an amazing and scary environment to explore.

The underground would definitely be a place to explore as I haven’t seen this in too many first person games, apart from some survival games like The Forest. But if some of the original developers are involved, and have the creative ideas they’re famous for, then BioShock 4 would surely be a game to behold for the next big triple-A game.
Alucard

GC: We don’t think there’s likely to be many of the original developers involved. Judas, by the creator of BioShock, will probably end up having more.

Inbox also-rans
Adding a paid season pass to EA Sports FC 25? Yep, that sounds like exactly the sort of thing EA would do. The worse thing is if 2K does make a football game, they’re even worse with microtransactions.
Kobe

So, one thing I’m not clear on with the new Famicom Detective Club game is what does Emio mean? Is that the main character’s name?
Royston

GC: Emio means ‘smiling man’ in Japanese, so the name is a tautology.

Email your comments to: [email protected]

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.

You can also submit your own 500 to 600-word Reader’s Feature at any time via email or our Submit Stuff page, which if used will be shown in the next available weekend slot.

You can also leave your comments below and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter.

MORE : Games Inbox: EA Sports FC 25 as the best football game, Gears Of War reboot, and Forza Horizon crashes

MORE : Games Inbox: Concord PS5 final verdict, Rockstar Games on Switch 2, and Marvel Vs. Capcom 4 roster

MORE : Games Inbox: The best fishing mini-game, Halo vs. 343 Industries, and Half-Life 2 anniversary