Games Inbox: Will GTA 6 still be funny?

Will GTA 6 have a different sense of humour? (pic: Rockstar Games)

The Mondayresi letters page wants an Escape from New York video game tie-in, as one reader asks if GTA 6 is likely to be on PS4.

To join in with the discussions yourself email gamecentral@metro.co.uk

Adult jokes
If the reports about Grand Theft Auto 6 easing off on the frat boy humour are true, then I honestly think it could be a very good thing for the satire in the game. Too often GTA feels like it was written by a 12-year-old boy who is determined that you know how tough and macho he is, so you get things like every company name being a lazy sexual innuendo or Lamar hilariously using the N-word twice per sentence. There is so much more potential for satire and being the equivalent of a Netflix comedian constantly repeating ‘but you can’t say that anymore!’ just holds it back.

In particular, I hope that one of the right wing talk radio shows they always have will poke fun at the kind of person who complains about cancel culture, while also getting angry about a video game featuring a Latina woman.
TGN Professor

Sooner or later
So how long do you think until we start to heart about Resident Evil 9? I looked up the release date of Village and I could’ve sworn it was longer ago than just last year. Even so I’m sure they already know what they’re going to do for the next one and I’m curious to know whether it’ll be first or third person and who’ll be the main character.

I know Village wasn’t universally popular but I don’t think anyone hated it and I certainly enjoyed my time with it. I’m curious to see how they end this new trilogy and whether Ethan will be in it or if they’ll reveal what’s going on with Duke.

I’m certainly they’ll figure out someway to bring back Lady Dimitrescu too, although that sort of pandering rarely works in my experience. We need more Resi though and I’m already starting to get withdrawal symptoms.
Katan

GC: Although work has almost certainly started, Capcom will be busy with Village’s DLC at the moment, so you’re unlikely to hear anything until after that – official or otherwise.

Historic purchase
Forget Microsoft buying Activision, this whole thing of buying Tomb Raider and two massive developers for $300 million is going to go down as one of the wildest financial event in video game history. The irony that Hollywood really wants to make video game films now, and so the new owners will probably make their money back just from movies just makes it feel all the more stupid.

If the new Tomb Raider game, whatever it is, becomes a massive success then Square Enix is going to look even more stupid, and I hope that is what happens.

Although I don’t envy Crystal Dynamics with making a new game as I’m not really sure where it can go. The problem with Tomb Raider is that the platforming and puzzle-solving of the old games is now deemed old-fashioned so there’s not really anything there to hold on to. That’s why the original reboot seemed so weirdly violent, because combat was the only thing they could go big on, even though it was a minor part of the originals.

I hope it turns out well though as I’ve always been a fan of the series and would love to see it be popular and influential again.
Endel

E-mail your comments to: gamecentral@metro.co.uk

Rising star
Haven’t written in for years but been reading since the Digitiser days. I’ve just been sat watching my eight-year-old son complete New Game +2 on Elden Ring, in complete awe that someone so young can so easily walk through it.

I’m on New Game +3 myself and still get a little stuck on some of the bosses; he just killed the Elden Beast without getting hit once. It’s evidence (if any were needed) of just how integrated digital technology is in the lives our children and how effortless is it for them to use. Keep up the good work.
VFRMonkey (gamertag)/BJRMonkeyButler (PSN ID)/Monkey_Butler (Steam ID)

GC: That sounds like more than just knowing how to use an iPhone, he seems naturally talented at video games.

Too much
I appreciate all the positive review of Xenoblade Chronicles 3, and instances that it’s actually really easy to get into for new players, but just one look at a screenshot or video of battle puts me off instantly.

That game most have the most complicated interface I’ve ever seen, I’m surprised they had any room to show the graphics considering how many bars and numbers and bits of info are on there. I get you’re controlling a lot of characters at once but there must be a better way to show it than that.

Does it really need have to be numbers anyway? Can’t you just show the damage with a health bar and some effects? Smacking a giant enemy in the face with a maths equation has never seemed fun to me.
Kilgore

The original Plissken
So I was sitting watching Escape from New York tonight, and I was wondering why no game company has ever thought of making a game of it. Now I know that technically Metal Gear Solid is based around the character, and a few other games have taken inspiration from it over the years. But watching it now (I’ve always thought it was a great movie) I just can’t help but think it would make an amazing open world game, similar to The Last Of Us.

We have the technology now to really make a good game based on this film and, let’s face it, movie tie-in games tend to be mediocre to poor, yet I feel like now would be a great time to make this one. There was a game based on The Warriors that released over 30 years after the movie came out! Yes, you would have to update the technologies that are included in the movie (as it was all very outdated as of about 2000) but then the Metro games have shown how you can have a game that utilises old tech in a post-apocalyptic setting, so it’s not too much of a stretch.

If the look and gameplay were tight it’s definitely a game I would be looking forward to. What are everyone else’s thoughts on it?!
Escobar9009

GC: John Carpenter is actually a massive video games fan, not that you’d ever really guess.

Ghostly image
Having owned Luigi’s Mansion 2 since launch I’ve somehow only now become aware of the glow-in-the-dark cover.

The kids were playing it late at night together and told me the next day. I was sceptical but it’s true. Funny how something like this can stay out of sight for so long.
half_empty80

GC: We only tended to be sent the cartridges with 3DS games, so we wouldn’t know. Are you sure it isn’t haunted?

Detailed rebuttal
What an absolute doozy of a submission from reader Anon on Friday in response to the leaks about GTA 6. Let’s get into it and break down just how many logical fallacies they use in just a few short paragraphs.

‘So it seems GTA 6 is going woke.’

‘My concern is if they shy away from satire.’

Straw man. The quintessential logical fallacy. The leak doesn’t say anything about this, it just says they’re going to avoid making jokes about marginalised groups. Last year, Jamie King opined he thought the game might be less ‘edgy’, but again that doesn’t mean they’re removing the satire and he is nothing to do with the game now, so that’s just his educated guess anyway, not fact.

‘it’s the default argument to label male gamers a bunch of misogynists, but the fact of the matter is the majority have been playing games with female leads for many years. I don’t ever recall gamers moaning Lara Croft was a female?’

This is advanced stuff. Anon casually throws in a straw man/hasty generalisation hybrid at the beginning there before transitioning deftly to a non sequitur. Firstly, I don’t think saying that male gamers en masse are ‘a bunch of misogynists’ is anyone’s ‘default argument’. Secondly, it doesn’t follow that they aren’t just because they didn’t moan that about (three-dimensional sex doll) Lara Croft being female.

‘Anyhow, my concern is if they shy away from satire, because to me that is what Grand Theft Auto is all about. It will be dull without it. Given how some people just look to be offended in 2022, I’m imagining the worst case scenario for the game.’

The slippery slope fallacy, another classic. Does God Of War have any satire? Is it dull? How does it follow that the end result is that the game will be dull and ‘the worst case scenario’ just because they remove the satire (which as we’ve established, there’s no evidence they will)? I really doubt Rockstar will move away from the satire but if they did want to go serious and dramatic instead, it’s still completely possible for the game to be good.

And there you have it. Sorry to be so facetious but it was just very jarring seeing… whatever that letter was, in a place where so much of the correspondence is pretty well thought and respectful (by internet standards).

To be fair to good old Anon, there is far worse still being written about this stuff elsewhere. I get why it provokes such a reaction. It’s a lot easier to lash out about mean-spirited, inappropriate content being de-emphasised than it is to examine what the fact you enjoy it might be saying about you.

I’m more than happy for Rockstar to be staying away from making jokes about marginalised people, this material is just very low hanging fruit and incredibly tried in my opinion, before you even start to consider the more serious issues with it.
Charlie

Inbox also-rans
Waluigi Pinball on a big telly, my gaming needs are done for this year.
John Atkinson

In response to Ed regarding Project Gotham Racing games. These are not backwards compatible so you wouldn’t be able to play them on an Xbox Series X console.
Aidax89

GC: Oh, that’s surprising.

Would GTA 6 be available for the PlayStation 4?
Anon

GC: Rockstar hasn’t said, but while it’s not inconceivable it does seem very unlikely – given it probably won’t be out until 2024 or 2025.

This week’s Hot Topic
The subject for this weekend’s Inbox was suggested by reader pete216state, who asks what’s the best graphics you’ve ever seen on a particular console?

It doesn’t have to be the best graphics ever, just the best graphics on that format. So, for example, the best looking SNES game or Xbox 360 title. What impact did the graphics have on you at the time and what games have since surpassed it?

Is your choice made primarily from a technical or artistic perspective, and if it’s the former how long did it stay on top?

E-mail your comments to: gamecentral@metro.co.uk

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 : Weekend Hot Topic: Best video game remasters and remakes


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