Gaming Inbox: Is Call Of Duty: Black Ops 6 Worth Playing?

Recommendations about police are sought on the “Tuesday Letters” page Video games, like a reader is looking forward to Slitterhead.

To join the discussions yourself, email [email protected]

Strange or cheap
I was a bit shocked when I realized that Call Of Duty: Black Ops 6 was releasing this week. I haven’t seen any advertising for it and I’m pretty sure there haven’t been any previews. I thought this one was supposed to be good unlike last year? I thought Microsoft would have gone all out if things had gone well, since their entire bottom line now depends on sales of Call Of Duty and other Activision Blizzard games on PlayStation 5.

Maybe they’re just weird or cheap, but that doesn’t send a good message to me. I’m assuming the game has something to hide and it’s not a big surprise. Didn’t they decide not to offer early access to the campaign this year either? That’s another red flag right there.

I used to be a huge Call Of Duty fan, but they’ve lost me over the last few years and I was hoping it would draw me back in. Maybe it will, but there’s no way I’m going to try it without a few good reviews and words or mouth. Here is hope!
Cranston

Mainstream lore
I always think it’s wild when people take Sonic the Hedgehog lore seriously and call characters like Shadow “cool.” I mean…it’s a cartoon hedgehog, how cool can that be? Clearly it’s me who doesn’t get it, and you can’t argue that the games were extremely popular during the Mega Drive era.

I also find it interesting that Sonic’s general popularity didn’t seem to be affected at all by the films. They were pretty big, but the games just roll along like they always do. Astro Bot sold a lot more than any Sonic game, and even that wasn’t a megahit or anything.

I’m not picking on Sonic or his fans, it’s just strange that a character and series that we think is iconic isn’t actually that big. The movies are already bigger than the games based on the number of people who have seen them, and it’s strange to me that none of those people seem interested in Sonic’s origins.
Westron

Hot fuzz
I finished Sleeping Dogs, LA Noire, and Battlefield: Hardline and am re-watching The FBI Files and Forensic Files for the 100th time (on YouTube).

I want to play similar games. I’ve already played both true crime games to death.

Are there any other games like this that I missed?

I only have Switch, Xbox One and 3DS if that helps.
LeighDappa

GC: There’s the flawed but interesting This Is the Police 2 or the excellent Return Of The Obra Dinn, which isn’t necessarily about police but is the best detective game of all time. However, it depends on how unrealistic you are willing to go. How about Resident Evil 2 and Lego City Undercover?

Email your comments to: [email protected]

Be prepared
I just thought I would give Julian some helpful advice on completing the final boss of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild.

You can strengthen the attack by preparing a meal of 3 x Mighty Bananas, 1 x Mighty Thistle and 1 x Dragon Horn. You have to use an arrow to shoot a dragon horn out of one of the dragon heads. This will give you an attack boost for 30 minutes, which is plenty of time to defeat Ganon.

Make sure you complete all four temples so that the final boss starts at half his life. Finally, pick up a lot of bomb arrows. This allows you to do a lot of damage from a distance, especially under the influence of the 30-minute attack boost recipe. Don’t forget to wear top-notch armor too, although I doubt you’ll need it since they’re so overpowered.

I don’t really like boss fights, but I managed to defeat Ganondorf on the first try in Breath Of The Wild and Tears Of The Kingdom when I was fully equipped at the end of the game.

I found the final boss in Tears Of The Kingdom to be more of a final showpiece than a hard boss fight, and it was fun.
Nick the Greek

Calm before the storm
GC asked if a reader uses food and elixirs before boss fights in Zelda.

I can’t express how much I hate having to prepare like that for boss fights.

Especially when it comes to consumables and difficult bosses. I drink a potion or two if I happen to have one on me and don’t hide it in case I really need it.

I don’t want to spend my time gathering mushrooms and firewood to prepare an attack buff.
P. Ella

GC: You could just buy them. We don’t think a few minutes of preparation before the final battle in a 100+ hour game is much to ask. It contributes to the structure.

All or nothing
Love It Takes Two and will automatically be interested in what the same team does next. As everyone says, coaching collaboration is great and I just don’t understand why it doesn’t happen more often. Another super successful thing (20 million copies sold!) that no one tries to copy, and yet as soon as Fortnite or NFTs or some other worthless fad comes along, publishers jump on it.

I know Fortnite is bigger than anything else, but 20 million copies is a lot, especially for a small game that doesn’t seem to cost that much to make. Plus, there are a billion Fortnite clones and literally no It Takes Two copies or anything even remotely comparable.

Surely it makes more sense to want to be a big fish in a small pool than to compete against the most successful game in gaming history? Why does it always have to be all or nothing and why are publishers always shocked when it’s nothing? Are gaming CEOs all addicted to gaming or something?

However, there aren’t even that many indie couch co-op games, although that’s probably because they’re often focused on PC, which in my experience isn’t very cooperative.
bonsai

Cross-generational Nintendo
I’ve seen the images of the Nintendo Switch online game and I’m still not entirely sure what to think about it. However, as you said, the big takeaway is that this is something big and seemingly quite complicated. This isn’t just StreetPass 2 or anything like that.

Given that it will probably also be available on the Switch 2, I wonder if this is Nintendo’s attempt to emphasize that the two consoles are backwards compatible and will likely feature cross-play as well. While that suggests they don’t differ much in performance, anyone expecting a portable PlayStation 5 or something close to it was always going to be disappointed.
Spooky

No fear
Very interesting review of Fear The Spotlight, so I’ll probably buy the game when it goes on sale. But I have to express my disappointment that it’s another modern horror game (even if it’s a fake retro) that isn’t actually scary.

I don’t necessarily go into every survival horror game with my brown pants on, but it seems to me that most modern games are intentionally trying to be less scary in order to appeal to a wider audience.

This seems so stupid to me. Unless people read a review, they won’t know that none of these games are scary. Almost every game with something violent gets an 18 rating, so casual gamers have absolutely no way of knowing what a game looks like just by seeing it in a store or online store.

And even then, I don’t think there are many people who want to play a horror game, just one that isn’t too scary. They either want to play one or they don’t, period.

The downside of this is that people who actually want a proper horror game aren’t going to get what they want either. Ultimately, this new wave of games is attractive to even fewer people than ever before. And then they wonder why they fail!

The only thing that really gives me hope at the moment is Slitterhead, even though I’ve only seen a few trailers for it. Will you check it out, GC?
focus

GC: Yes, we’re playing it now.

Inbox is also working
Personally, I’m hoping for news from FromSoftware at the Game Awards. The first trailer for Elden Ring was released at Summer Game Fest, hosted by the same people. The only problem is that they teased Elden Ring for a long time before showing anything, so maybe it will end up being the Game Awards 2025!
Austin

I miss SSX Tricky. I wish EA would bring it back. I know they did it once and no one bought it, but I’d much rather try it again, with a more arcade style, than another skate game. I find them too difficult to play.
Goober

Email your comments to: [email protected]

The fine print
New inbox updates appear every weekday morning, and there are special topical inboxes on weekends. Letters to the editor are used at our discretion and may be edited for length and content.

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

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

MORE: Gaming Inbox: Celebrating eight years of Nintendo Switch, Resident Evil 9 co-op, and N64 nostalgia

MORE: Gaming Inbox: The Nintendo Switch 2 Price, Xbox Partner Preview Review, and Chrono Trigger Remake

MORE: Games Inbox: Why I pre-ordered a PS5 Pro, support for EA Sports FC vs. FIFA and Stalker 2: Heart Of Chornobyl

This website is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.