#reader’s

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I GOT MORE KIDS by DEVINE GARRETT Sr.

I GOT MORE KIDS by DEVINE GARRETT Sr.

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The WIRED Reader’s Guide to the Moon

The WIRED Reader’s Guide to the Moon

We sifted through dozens of new books released in honor of the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11. Here are the giant leaps for lunar literature. Science Latest

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Readers Tell Us What Zelda They Would Like To See Remade Next

The Majora's Mask 3DS remake isn't too far away, but it's never too early to start thinking about what Zelda game deserves to be remade next. Last weekend, I asked readers to share which Zelda game they think deserves to be remade next. After sorting through the comments, I compiled a chart of what everybody is most interested replaying in an updated form.

Click for larger image

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess was the clear winner, but almost as many commenters said they would rather see Nintendo focus on new Zelda games. Many also requested remakes of Twilight Princess and Skyward Sword, but without motion controls.

GerardoExber wrote about the Capcom-developed Zelda GBA title saying, "Minish Cap on 3DS would be awesome. Vaati is such a great antagonist and a remake is the best way to bring that amazing Zelda villain back to life."

Mike Dozier wrote about bringing the Wii Zeldas to 3DS, as opposed to giving them a huge graphical overhaul. Dozier wrote, "Since Xenoblade Chronicles, a Wii game, is being ported to the New Nintendo 3DS, I would like to see ports of Twighlight Princess, Skyward Sword, and the Wind Waker HD ported as well."

As much as I love Link Between Worlds, Arnold brought up something I've really wanted for some time on a handheld writing, "I want an new full 3D Zelda game on 3DS. However, a 3D remake of Spirit Tracks and The Minish Cap would be welcome."

Rival_M brought up a pretty attractive idea saying, "What if they went really crazy and totally remade Zelda II in a similar was they remade the first Metroid as Zero Mission? I'd play that." I'd play that, too.

Thecates expressed the only response that nearly rivaled the demand for a Twilight Princess remake. "I am happy with what there is now," Thecates wrote. "I wish they would make a title like Hyrule Warriors, where we have the option to play as many characters, not just Link. Maybe even customize our favorite characters."

tstitan reminded us that it doesn't matter what Nintendo remakes, not everyone will be satisfied. "After Majora's Mask 3D releases, I want to see Nintendo remake… Majora's Mask," tstitan  wrote. "I demand it be put on every Nintendo console from now on with updated graphics and changes to the gameplay that make it easier to not use my brain."

hunderWarriorX4 made no qualms about their distaste for the overall discussion of Zelda remakes writing, "None. More Zelda remakes are totally unnecessary. Articles like these have got to stop. Fanboys need to just shut up and accept the fact that not every game needs a remake."

Finally, SummitJay said what we were all thinking, but were too afraid to say out loud: "Twilight Princess would be incredible, but Nintendo should really just give the fans what they want… CD-i remasters."

Does the opinion of others change your about what Zelda game you'd like to see get remade? Or do you want Nintendo to focus on Zelda Wii U?

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(Reader’s Property – Luisa’s Flat In Germany) has been published on Home Decoration Ideas | Daily Home Decoration Ideas >> http://www.interior-decors.com/interior-home-decorating/readers-property-luisas-flat-in-germany.html - #Flat, #Germany, #Luisas, #Property, #Readers

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Reader’s Property – Luisa’s Flat In Germany

I have a darling tiny flat to share with you right now. It is Luisa’s recently completed flat in an art nouveau property in the heard of the city of Görlitz (the most eastern city of Germany on the border to Poland). The architecture in this location is breathtaking. I 1st saw the flat in Might this year when I located a new work in Görlitz and I took on the journey of renovating it on my own. It was in a horrible state when I 1st saw it but I loved the old floor boards in the residing space and the stucco in the kitchen. The feeling of the history in the rooms, the old doors and windows and the spacious rooms are so wonderful. I also enjoy old furniture and collected a good deal of it over the years. I knew this would flip out excellent.

Luisa worked Quite tough transforming her flat. She sent some before pictures to show just how challenging…

The bathroom was the only factor that was recently renovated by the houseowner. All other rooms had bare ceilings and walls which I washed simply because no wallpaper would stick to them and linoleum floors which were broken or crumbly. The previous floor boards in the residing room where sanded (with machines and on my knees) and then painted with a special varnish. The walls had been then painted white since it is nevertheless a rented flat and one day I will have to give it back… It took me 3 weeks to eliminate the previous paint from the stucco in the kitchen. There exactly where 5 layers of paint and you could barely see any details. The bed was build by my good friend Thomas (my birthdays current -), also the coffee table/ cable reel in the residing room. The mirror in the bedroom is an previous window from a farmhouse. The sideboard in the hallway is my excellent grandmothers, my grandparents had no location for it. Also the brown wardrobe in the living room, the place I retailer my material for sewing. The sideboard in the bathroom was built by me – it was the first thing I built alone and that is why it is a tiny wobbly

The small bench in the kitchen was created by my grandpa just weeks before he died this summer season. There is a painting of him over the bench. All the paintings and photographs in the flat are my personal. The desk in the kitchen was an attic identified at a pals home and the sideboard in the kitchen is a blend of my grandmas commode and a fleamarket find.

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Why I regret buying a PS4 – Reader’s Feature

Do you have buyer’s remorse?

A reader who switched from being an Xbox 360 owner last gen to PS4 this gen explains why he thinks Sony has let him down.

A common question in the GC Inbox is the age old ‘Which console do I buy?’ and as a former Xbox 360 player who went Sony this generation I thought I’d weigh in with my experience over the last 12 months.

Like about 90% of the online gaming community, Sony’s showing at E3 2013 (or more importantly Microsoft’s showing at E3 2013) convinced me to jump ship for the next gen. While I’m not naive enough to think that Sony were doing this purely ’4 the players’ and not ’4 their image’ I’d hoped maybe for the time being they’d follow through with it and provide a superior gaming experience to satisfy their own faithful and people like myself coming from Xbox 360. Therefore, the morning after Sony’s E3 conference that year a few of my friends and I pre-ordered our PlayStation 4 from Amazon and started counting down the days until we could upgrade.

I should note that I do the majority of my gaming online, preferring to spend a few hours most nights playing people all across the world than by myself playing a single-player mode, and coming from the Xbox 360 I was used to a high quality online experience. From reading the GC Inbox and talking to friends I heard about the PSN having regular maintenance (not to mention the infamous hacking) but with Sony now charging for online, as Xbox had been doing for years, I was expecting an increased quality of service from the stories I’d heard before… as you can probably guess I was sorely mistaken.

A year into the PlayStation 4’s life cycle and I sorely regret my decision, having come across many issues and limitation with the PlayStation 4 that result in a sub-par online gaming experience compared to what I was used to last gen. Here’s a small run down of the issues:

1. Takes forever to see who’s online and what game they’re playing isn’t always accurate. Some people have said the update 2.0 has improved the speed but I’ve yet to see this myself.

2. Severely limited options for notifications. Coming from the Xbox 360 I was used to getting not only notifications when people come online (as I’m told was standard on the PlayStation 3) but I could also see when they were playing the same game I was playing, which meant I could instantly look for and join them. On the PlayStation 4 I somehow get neither of these, even the one that was standard on the PlayStation 3 before it. Some people have said that with up to 1,000 people on your friends list you might get spammed with notifications but what’s to stop them adding a favourites option to only be alerted when certain friends come online?

And I can’t see when someone is playing the same game I’m playing; but instead a recent update defaulting a notification when anyone of my friends joins a party to ‘on’, an arguably significantly less useful addition.

3. Having waited a year for a YouTube app (something even the Wii U had on launch) I eagerly downloaded it the day system update 2.0 came out and I haven’t been able to sign in since.

4. Issues with messages not being received/not deleting until the system 2.02 update this week which apparently fixes it.

5. The PSN is an absolute farce, coupled with the regular maintenance and the occasional outage there have been at least twice as many times in the last year that I’ve been unable to play online as I had with my Xbox 360 in it’s lifetime. Not only that but Sony do not respond to tweets when there is an outage or even let you know when one is happening until you’ve already realised from all the online news outlets and social media.

While PSN may have been free in the past this is absolutely unacceptable for a premium paid service and the 1 or 2 indie games we get a month (as good as some of them are) are not adequate compensation for the PSN service not performing as it’s supposed to.

6. The almighty update 2.0, the update to end up all updates to make up for the lack of progress Sony have shown with regards to updating the PlayStation 4 operating system, did more harm than good! Ever since I’ve had to reboot my PlayStation 4 any time I leave a game of Destiny or Advanced Warfare idle to go and make a cup of tea, but it’s okay because now I can choose dynamic backgrounds, play MP3s and use more voice commands for my PS Camera – which I’ve actually never plugged in over the whole last 12 months.

Compare this with Microsoft who have had consistent monthly updates since launch, adding much demanded features like the aforementioned notifications and DVLA playback, and I begin to wonder what is going on at Sony HQ. Are they resting on their laurels after dominating round one of the next gen console war, that they’re content to just sit back and watch the money come in?

Whereas Microsoft may have had a horrible start they’ve since taken leaps and bounds in turning that around and listening to what fans want, in comparison Sony seem to be doing the exact opposite now, even taking matters like the EA subscription service out of the hand of its gamers and just telling them ‘you don’t want it, it’s bad value for money’.

I know there’s a lot of people out there happy with their PlayStation 4s but I think a lot of them came from PlayStation 3, so they’re used to Sony’s habits. I don’t consider myself a Microsoft fanboy (If anything I consider myself a Nintendo fanboy, Mario Kart 8 has probably been my most played game all year) but I can’t in all honesty say my first year with the PlayStation 4 has left me happy with my decision to change my main system this gen.

Sure higher resolutions are easier to reach on the PlayStation 4 (although that said I’ve noticed a few frame rate drops in Call Of Duty: Advanced Warfare) but that means absolutely nothing to me if I can’t have a quality online gaming experience, which I’m currently not getting consistently.

I could go on about the lacklustre games line-up (It’s not a good sign if your best exclusive is a port of a last gen game), the controller’s awful battery life, or the fact it took 45 minutes to copy a video I saved from Advanced Warfare from system to USB – during which I could do absolutely nothing but wait (or I should say… play Mario Kart).

But I wanted to focus mainly on the online experience or lack thereof. If it wasn’t for the fact most of my friends have since bought a PlayStation 4 I’d probably have sold and be sitting back enjoying a game of Titanfall right now instead of writing this feature, but Sony seems to have hit the sweet spot where everyone has to buy a PlayStation 4 because all of their friends already have one. You’d almost think this was part of their plan.

In the end this last year has almost put me off console gaming altogether and I’m edging closer to getting a dreaded PC in the near future.

By reader superwii64

The reader’s feature does not necessary represent the views of GameCentral or Metro.

You can submit your own 500 to 600-word reader feature at any time, which if used will be published in the next appropriate weekend slot. As always, email [email protected] and follow us on Twitter.

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Whatever happened to video games for kids? – Reader’s Feature

Call Of Duty: Advanced Warfare – does the rating attract or discourage kids?

A reader worries that almost all the big name games this year are 18-rated, and that the market for kids video games has all but disappeared.

Looking at all the games out in time for this holiday season I noticed Call Of Duty is an 18 again. As is Assassin’s Creed Unity. Both pretty much as expected. But even Middle-Earth: Shadow Of Mordor is an 18!

I think this tendency for high age ratings is not only pulling down the public’s perception of the industry but is also excluding many young gamers.

With films, studios know a high age rating will lower box office as not as many people will be allowed into the cinema to see a particular film. This results in far more movies which are suitable for a wide range of ages. It certainly results in plenty of kids films.

The video game industry seems to take advantage of an unspoken truth… It doesn’t matter what age rating a game has, the majority of children will still get to play it. Activision know that making their latest game an 18 will make it seem cool and edgy enough to improve sales, but that because a lot of parents are naive when it comes to games it won’t stop the game selling to small children.

This is why we don’t get enough quality kids games. In fact we barely get any kids games these days. Why would we when publishers can just sell them adult games instead?

A game like Assassin’s Creed or Call Of Duty has all the realism and maturity of your average Hollywood blockbuster. Silly, over-the-top action, glossy visuals, bad dialogue, shallow, two dimensional characters, etc. but while all these qualities are clearly aimed at all ages the bad language and blood almost seems to have been added in post development just to earn some cool points with the teens.

Now I don’t have a problem with mature content. I love blood, violence, bad language and nudity as much as the next guy. But the tone of most of these games is far from mature. Games like Call Of Duty are clearly aimed at relatively young people, there’s clearly no intention of portraying the realities of war when you’re in the middle of a set piece that would make Michael Bay blush. So why have loads of bad language which will pump up the age rating if you’re still going to make a game aimed partly at young people.?

I think when publishers start matching the ratings and content of their games to their tone and style we’ll be on track for a more mature industry. You can still have big, brash action adventure games but just like films they don’t have to have gallons of blood or F-bombs.

It stands to reason that the majority of big games that come out in the run-up to Christmas should be suitable for most ages. Blockbuster games like Assassin’s Creed, Shadow Of Mordor (a game based on a family friendly franchise) and the like should be suitable for players aged around 12 or so. There will certainly be plenty of 12-year-olds unwrapping them on the big day.

There should still be some games with 18 ratings but they should be games which clearly aren’t aimed at kids. Games like Alien Isolation, GTA V, The Last Of Us, and The Evil Within all have mature themes and tones so it makes sense to have an 18 rating.

I really do think that it mainly comes down to the publisher. As I said, unlike Hollywood, they are largely unaffected by their customer’s age. They know an 18-rated game can still be a popular kids Christmas present. Publishers should take some responsibility and leave behind this immature obsession with supposedly mature content.

It’s probably hard for outsiders to take this industry of our seriously when aside from the odd kids or sports title all games seem to be born from an angry 16-year-old boy’s mindset.

If the games industry ever wants to grow up it needs to let go of the idea that gore and bad words are still the best way to sell games. It certainly needs to let go of the fact that they should be a given and make for a more mature game.

Now I know a lot of people will baulk at the concept of watering down violent games but as I said there should still be adult games. But not every single big release should be aimed at over 18s. We blame parents and retailers for giving these games to kids but they don’t have a great deal of choice. If you took away every 18-rated game this Christmas there would be very few games that appeal to the 12-18 demographic.

Now I know that inherently, most games are violent. Even a game like Halo, with very little blood and no (as far as I recall) bad language, is a 15. This is due to the amount of control the player has over the violent action. But at least Bungie accepted the fact that a lot of youngsters would play it. They could of added in more blood and the occasional bad word and probably still even kept the 15-rating but they took responsibility in what they new was a title which would be enjoyed by all ages.

If all consumers took ratings seriously we’d probably live in a world where teenagers didn’t play many video games. They would lose interest with Skylanders and Lego games by the age of 11 and if they didn’t like FIFA they’d not have much to play till they reached 18.

This exclusion seems to go unnoticed as the industry continues to profit. This is unacceptable for such a mainstream form of entertainment.

So what should happen? Well obliviously there should be more games which try to, like Halo, reach that middle ground. And there should definitely be more, quality kids games. Nintendo are the only developer to make constantly exceptional entertainment which is suitable for even the smallest children.

But I’m not going to lay the blame solely in the hands of publishers or developers. The ratings board are also partly to blame. They are far too unrealistic. If they weren’t then maybe more people would pay attention to them. Yes, games are often too extreme in their content but as I said with Halo even a small amount of violence can lead to at least a 15.

If Halo were a film it would clearly be a 12 at most. There needs to be an agreement between the games industry and the ratings boards. Games with the maturity of a Saturday morning cartoon, like Assassin’s Creed, should lose the bad language and the ratings. People should except the violence a bit more and realise that maybe a bit of video game action isn’t as damaging as they think.

If you’re unlucky (or lucky?) enough to have strict parents then being a young gamer is probably a pretty boring place these days and that’s unfair. Games are for everyone, not just us older mature gamers, but for small kids and teenagers too. It’s time the industry took some responsibility and started catering for all.

By reader @PjDonnelli

The reader’s feature does not necessary represent the views of GameCentral or Metro.

You can submit your own 500 to 600-word reader feature at any time, which if used will be published in the next appropriate weekend slot. As always, email [email protected] and follow us on Twitter.

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Why Skyrim mods should come to consoles – Reader’s Feature

Who wouldn’t want Godzilla in their Skyrim?

A reader explains his frustration that mods aren’t available on consoles, and dreams of a remastered Skyrim for Xbox One and PS4.

In the gaming industry, there is a pattern that has emerged with some franchises where before a major release is announced, the licence to the game is offered out to a different developer to produce a game. Most recently this has happened with Fallout: New Vegas before Skyrim, BioShock 2 before BioShock Infinite and Batman: Arkham Origins before Arkham Knight.

It would seem publishers use this to keep a consistent revenue stream for the development of the next instalment from the more established series creator, take Rocksteady for example. This tactic could also be said for games such as Metro Redux, The Last Of Us Remastered, and Sleeping Dogs: Definitive Edition. A relatively simple graphical upgrade ensures steady revenue stream to the publisher to assist in funding the development and, in the case of these three, the next game in the series.

Anyway, every weekend I fire up YouTube and take to watching the new instalment of Top 5 Skyrim Mods of the week on GameSpot. It should be noted that I played Skyrim on my Xbox 360 to death, numerous new games and hundreds of hours of gameplay. The mods for Skyrim are only on PC, and although many are just simple weapon mods and new abilities it’s the graphical EMBs that really make the game shine. New weather effects, visceral combat mods, lighting, water effects, seasonal effects, trees and foliage, enemy and animal behaviour mods, HD/4K textures, and full town upgrades are only a few of what is showcased. My favourite mod has to be the decapitation mod!

Surely Bethesda could consider allowing another developer some creative freedom to really Jazz up Skyrim for our shiny PlayStation 4’s and Xbox Ones. I am now aware that publishers are not allowed to use mods because of the policies of Microsoft and Sony (thanks GC). However, my point about highlighting some of the mods currently available on PC is to highlight how a small team of developers could use these as inspiration and really bring Skyrim to life.

In a nutshell, officially ‘mod’ and upgrade Skyrim from the ground up so that it fits with the policies of Microsoft and Sony. I am exclusively a console gamer. In a way, I’d love to be a PC gamer but the complexity of not only building a PC and maintaining it along with the technicalities of graphics and mods really does put me off. It may be simple to some, but not getting involved at all and owning a self-contained console seems much easier.

I do fear however that Skyrim is not going to make its way to the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, mainly due to the existence of the Elder Scrolls Online – which I predict will be massively contributing towards the development costs of Fallout 4. As Bethesda has not already made the decision or at least announced that Skyrim will receive a current gen definitive edition, I would assume that they will not do so.

To digress slightly, I was chatting to a friend on the weekend and we were discussing his gaming habits compared to mine. He plays FIFA and Call Of Duty every year, whereas I tend to gravitate towards story-driven single-player role-playing games. To my surprise he had kept it a secret from me that he owns Skyrim and plays it on a regular basis on his PlayStation 3. I started to delve deeper with my questioning and he revealed that Skyrim is one of his favourite games due to its vast believable world and wealth of approaches to gameplay. It has something for everyone.

There is no doubt that Skyrim sold very well on its release and I believe there is no doubt that an enhanced edition entitled ‘The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – Dhovakiin Edition’ would sell extremely well to thirsty current gen gamers. I’m not holding out for it, but it would be a day one purchase for me if they announced it for December 2014.

I’m not usually one for HD remakes, but with the amount of mods out there on PC as inspiration, Skyrim could become the most visceral, beautiful and awe inspiring game on Playstation 4 and Xbox One.

Would you buy it?

Roll on Fallout 4.

By reader ObsoletePaul (PSN ID)

The reader’s feature does not necessary represent the views of GameCentral or Metro.

You can submit your own 500 to 600-word reader feature at any time, which if used will be published in the next appropriate weekend slot. As always, email [email protected] and follow us on Twitter.