The House of the Virgin Mary is a shrine located in Ephesus, Turkey, where the mother of Jesus is believed to have spent her final years. Thousands of miles away, nestled in a field outside Manila, a replica in the Philippines welcomes devotees in Asia’s biggest Catholic nation.

“The idea began as a place of refuge,” said Dennis Paez, the priest who led the project. “This is a place where no questions (are) asked.”

The replica was inaugurated in 2024 in Alfonso, a town in Cavite province about 70 kilometers (45 miles) south of the capital. Since opening, it has hosted Catholic pilgrimages, including celebrations for the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in mid-July. The 67-square-meter (720-square-foot) structure mirrors the exact dimensions, shape and look of every stone at the original site.

According to Catholic tradition, the house in Ephesus is where Mary spent much of her life after Jesus’ crucifixion and before her assumption into heaven. The apostle John is said to have brought her to the region to escape persecution in Jerusalem.

Paez said the replica took about 10 months to complete. Workers of different faiths took part in the construction, something Paez viewed as the Virgin Mary bringing all of her children together.

“The apostolate of this place is to accept people with unconditional positive regard,” added Paez, who is also a psychologist specializing in supporting youth. “There is no therapy here. The therapist is our Mother.”

Marian devotion shapes Filipino faith

In the country of about 113 million people, nearly 80% identify as Catholic.

Philippine faithful often refer to the Virgin Mary as the Blessed Mother. Processions honoring her are held regularly throughout the country.

“We are a long-suffering people,” Paez said. “Our wealth is really our faith and our faith is such like that because of the Blessed Mother.”

Religious historian Michael Delos Reyes said that Filipino devotion to the Virgin Mary dates back to the time Spanish colonizers introduced Christianity in the 16th century. However, that devotion has also found expression in more recent moments of the country’s history.

Delos Reyes said that some attributed the 1986 People Power Revolution that led to the ouster of then-President Ferdinand Marcos to the Virgin’s intercession. And in 2013, when the Typhoon Haiyan ravaged Tacloban, devotees looked to the Blessed Mother for hope.

Filipinos turn to Mary for comfort

“To Jesus through Mary” is a phrase that reflects the central place Mary holds in Filipino Catholic life.

“Her maternal dimension is what Filipinos find meaningful, as well as her power to intercede on believers’ behalf,” said Deirdre de la Cruz, a professor of history and Southeast Asian studies at the University of Michigan.

Marian iconography and rosaries frequently adorn Filipino cars, public transportation, individual altars and shrines both in urban and rural landscapes, De la Cruz added.

“As someone who is known to provide comfort, Mary is a very familiar figure and someone to whom one can appeal in difficult times,” she said.

Daphne Oseña Paez, who recently visited the replica, said that despite being raised Catholic her devotion was not as strong as it became in adulthood. It began with a trip to Mexico, where she saw the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe, and it deepened years later after enduring a difficult pregnancy that made her seek refuge in her faith.

“We don’t pray to Mary herself, but Mary intercedes for us,” Oseña Paez said. “In my times of trouble, and I’ve had a lot, I really clung on to the love and comfort of her as a mother.”

A pilgrimage closer to home

Donated Marian icons line the walls inside the replica. At the center stands a statue of Mary modeled after the one in Turkey, alongside a relic said to be from her veil.

Most of the displayed images were donated by art collector and Philippine culture advocate Maritess Pineda. She said her devotion to Mary led her to start a collection that has finally found a home.

Other Filipinos felt drawn to contribute in their own way. Rupert Suarez and his wife had visited the House of the Virgin Mary in Ephesus years earlier. When he learned about plans to build a replica in the Philippines, he joined the the project.

“I usually pray to the Mother,” Suarez said. “It’s so very blessed that we already have this replica built.”

The site has received little public promotion since its inauguration. Yet Father Paez said pilgrims have visited.

“I don’t at all think that it is me bringing them,” Paez said. “It’s The Blessed Mother asking them, inviting them to come.”

___

Hernández reported from Beijing.

___

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

Need Me will be released on Friday (July 24) and is due to be the second song from the York group since they announced they would be releasing music independently.

The band’s guitarist, Turnbull Smith, said: “Need Me is a song we’ve been working on for many years. It’s deep and means the world to us.

“I hope you can feel the energy and raw emotion of the tack.”

Recommended reading:

The release comes after Skylights’ first song since returning, Fever, charted at number four in the official UK vinyl single charts.

Skylights were kept off the number one vinyl spot by pop giant Ariana Grande whose new single, Hate That You Made Me Love You, peaked at number one during its first week.

Grande was followed in the official vinyl single charts by Dinner Party by Niall Horan at number two and Down Below by Jayler at number three.

Skylights did, however, chart ahead of rock legends the Rolling Stones whose single, In the Stars, dropped to number six in the vinyl charts in the song’s third week of release.

What is creatine?

Why might creatine help us to recover from a bad night’s sleep?

Terry Wilkinson died on June 16, at The Medical Group, McKenzie House GP practice in Esh Winning.

The 72-year-old had been at the same practice four days prior after being advised to go following a 111 call complaining of chest, arm and jaw pain.

Wilkinson saw his GP the same day and was prescribed aspirin and a glycerine nitrate spray.

He later returned on June 16 for blood tests. Coroner’s Officer Kelly Taylor, told the court: “However Mr Wilkinson became unresponsive while the nurse was taking blood. CPR was carried out until paramedics attended.”

The initial cause of death was stated as “ruptured dissection of the ascending thoracic aorta” – a burst blood vessel – before HM Senior Coroner Jeremy Chipperfield, on July 21.

Dr. Sam Hoggard conducted the post-mortem examination at the RVI in Newcastle and he was identified by Kate Johnson, Nurse on to PC 9911 Wilkinson in the treatment room, The Medical Group, McKenzie House.

The inquest has been adjourned and is set to resume on August 24 at 10am in Redhills , Durham.

His comments, made during his first visit as Speaker to Washington to celebrate 250 years of American independence, come against the backdrop of the ongoing Ukraine war, transatlantic tensions and concerns over Mr Trump’s commitment to Nato and European security, with a basing review of US forces.

Arsonists have been accused of using stray cats as living fire-starters to ignite devastating wildfires that have ravaged southern Italy.

Investigators probing the blazes in Calabria claim they discovered evidence that cats had been fitted with rags soaked in flammable liquid, which were then set alight before the terrified animals were released into dry vegetation to spread the flames.

Candles and homemade delayed ignition devices were also reportedly found close to burnt-out areas, strengthening suspicions that many of the fires were started deliberately.

The alleged tactic emerged as firefighters battled infernos that have torn through the Pollino National Park, one of Italy’s largest protected areas, where around 1,000 hectares of vegetation have already been destroyed after days of intense firefighting.

Authorities said the combination of scorching temperatures, drought and strong winds allowed the flames to spread rapidly across the rugged landscape. 

Domenico Costarella, head of Calabria’s Civil Protection agency, described the horrifying method used by suspected arsonists.

‘These animals were released into the fields, running around and spreading the fire,’ he said. 

Mr Costarella said more than 160 fires had been recorded across Calabria in recent days, blaming many of them on what he called ‘malicious individuals’ rather than natural causes. 

Flames and thick smoke rise into the sky as wildfires ravaged the forested hills of Castelluzzo, a hamlet of San Vito Lo Capo in Italy’s Trapani province

He warned that tackling the problem would require ‘a shift in mindset… These are inhumane acts. Sadly, men are their own worst enemies.’ 

Animal welfare campaigners reacted with outrage after the allegations emerged.

Italy’s Association for the Defence of Animals and the Environment has announced a €1,000 (£870) reward for information leading to those responsible being identified and convicted, while campaigners have also lodged criminal complaints with prosecutors.

Disturbingly, investigators say this is not the first time animals have allegedly been exploited to spread wildfires in Italy.

Authorities previously linked similar attacks to organised crime groups in Sicily, where cats were allegedly used to ignite fires in the Nebrodi Regional Park in 2016. 

The following year, investigators said the Camorra mafia employed the same tactic to spark blazes in protected woodland below Mount Vesuvius, forcing evacuations and prompting the deployment of the Italian army.

Researchers have previously suggested that some deliberately lit fires are linked to criminal attempts to devalue land before buying it cheaply or to gain control of territory, although each incident is investigated on its own evidence.

In Sicily, around 6,000 firefighters, forest guards and civil protection workers have been battling dozens of blazes despite the use of water-bombing aircraft. 

Italy’s Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi confirmed that one firefighter lost his life while tackling the flames, while officials warned that exceptionally high temperatures and tinder-dry ground continue to fuel the emergency.

Flames and thick smoke rise into the sky as wildfires ravaged the forested hills of Castelluzzo

A fireman runs away from blazes as he tries to control a wildfire in New Peramos, near Athens

Across Italy, more than 11,500 hectares of land have already been scorched during the latest heatwave sweeping southern Europe.

The wildfire emergency has also spread across neighbouring countries.

In south-west France, more than 20,000 residents and holidaymakers have been evacuated after fast-moving fires ripped through thousands of hectares of pine forest west of Bordeaux. 

Authorities called in aircraft from other European nations as flames advanced towards coastal communities.

Philippe de Gonneville, mayor of Lège-Cap-Ferret, said: ‘The weather is not on our side.’

Spain is also battling multiple major wildfires, with thousands of residents ordered to flee homes west of Madrid while another enormous blaze in Guadalajara province has consumed more than 32,000 hectares.

According to the European Forest Fire Information System, around 250,000 hectares have burned across Europe so far this year – almost double the long-term average despite remaining slightly below the same point last year.

The 38-year-old man was working on a crane before he died at work

A mum has questioned whether “pressure” was put on her son to finish a job before he died in a workplace accident, an inquest has heard. Adam William Duroe-Mayo, 38, died in St Neots on February 3, 2025, after working on a crane.

A pre-inquest review hearing into his death held on Wednesday (July 22) heard that Adam was in an “area that wasn’t safe for him to be in” when the accident happened, as stated by Coroner Simon Milburn.

His cause of death was confirmed to be a “subarachnoid haemorrhage caused by skull fractures” as a result of a “blunt force trauma to the head”.

The court heard that Adam was “working alone” at the time of the incident, as two other workers who were helping him had left. Mr Milburn said these two workers, who will be called as live witnesses at the inquest, had “left to do another job”.

Adam’s parents attended the pre-inquest hearing. His mother, Mrs Duroe-Mayo, questioned if the other two workers could have “seen the first job through”.

Mrs Duroe-Mayo then told the court that Adam was “seen on the phone” to someone at Lodge Tyres, who he worked for. She claims that Adam was told to “finish the job”, but added that “no one knows what he was told”.

She added: “There is always going to be hearsay. It’s going to be one of those things of who knows what was said.” She then claimed that there was an “awful lot of pressure” on Adam to “get things done”.

Mr Milburn told Mrs Duroe-Mayo that these questions would be answered in the scope of the full inquest, which aims to find out what happened on the day Adam died.

Later in the hearing, Mr Milburn said a health and safety specialist would look at two potential causes of the accident in the next inquest. These would be whether there was an “over-inflation of the tyre” and whether that was an “operator error or an issue with the inflator”. The other potential cause is if there was “potential for the locking ring to have been inserted the wrong way up”.

Six live witnesses are expected to be called to the inquest. These will be: two from crane company Ainscough; potentially three from Lodge Tyres; and a health and safety executive inspector who assessed the site. Other witness statements are expected to be read out will be from the post mortem report, toxicology report, and police officers who attended at the time.

A jury will also be called to the inquest, which is expected to last three days. It is expected to take place in early 2027.

A New York City man is in custody after he allegedly stabbed two men outside a synagogue while yelling ‘Allahu Akbar.’

Raul Morales, 51, was apprehended for the attack on Thursday afternoon shortly after police said he stabbed a 57-year-old man in the torso at around 1.30pm then struck a 50-year-old man outside an Orthodox synagogue near Central Park.

Both victims, an unidentified Asian man and a Jewish man, were then transported to Mt Sinai-St Luke’s Hospital, where they are expected to survive, Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said.

Meanwhile, Morales was taken into custody at an apartment building a couple of blocks away from the scene of the stabbing spree after Tisch said a ‘good Samaritan’ led officers to where he was hiding. 

Detectives are still working to determine a motive for the attack, but according to victim and witness statements, ‘Morales yelled “Allahu Akbar” during both attacks,’ and officers are now investigating ‘whether this is a potential hate crime,’ Tisch wrote on social media.

Mental health may have also played a factor in the attack, Tisch said, adding that investigators have not yet found a ‘link between Morales and either of the victims, nor between the victims and each other.’

As the investigation into the stabbings now continues, Mayor Zohran Mamdani asserted: ‘These hateful and despicable attacks have no place in our city.’

He said he had been briefed on the incident and was ‘relieved that both victims are in stable condition’ as well as ‘grateful to the officers for their swift response.’

Members of the NYPD Crime Scene Unit investigate the scene of a stabbing attack on Thursday

The attack allegedly began when Morales jumped the first victim, a 57-year-old Asian man, near West 84th Street and Central Park West and stabbed him in the back at around 1.30pm, according to the New York Post.

The second victim, a 50-year-old man wearing a yarmulke, was then attacked after leaving a synagogue at Amsterdam Avenue and West 86th Street – and was said to have been stabbed in the torso with a screwdriver.

Morales then allegedly barricaded himself inside a New York City Housing Authority apartment a few blocks away, but was arrested at around 2.45pm.

Nava Silton, who had been speaking with the second victim inside the Jewish Center ahead of the attack, described how Morales ‘tried to act like a normal person and that he wasn’t involved, and muttering “Someone should call 911,” literally pretending he was not culpable.’ 

She also said the victim told her how ‘someone drew a screwdriver into the right side of my chest.’

‘It was serious, but he’s speaking and he’s conscious,’ she told the Post, calling the victim ‘an incredible person’ who had been leaving Tisha B’av services when he was attacked. 

Marianna Ellenberg also recounted how she saw the wife of the first victim watch in horror as her husband was randomly knifed in the back. 

Authorities arrested Raul Morales, 51, in connection with the attack at a nearby apartment building

Advertisement

‘We saw her covering her mouth. She was just scared,’ Ellenberg said. ‘Like it was a surreal image because it was a bright, sunny 1.30pm, Upper West Side, Central Park West day and there was just this cry.’ 

Morris Dahan, a member of Manhattan Shomrim, a volunteer civilian watch group in Orthodox Jewish communities, also said it was ‘unbelievable’ how cops managed to pull Morales out of the apartment building.

‘He was inside of an apartment and they went in there, 50, 60 cops with dogs, canine, sledgehammers, whatever they need to break in to doors. And sure enough, 15 minutes later, they came out with him.’

This is a breaking news story and will be updated. 

SOUTH HAVEN, Mich. (AP) — Senate candidate Haley Stevens talks often about manufacturing, taking on President Donald Trump and why she’s the Democrat best positioned to win Michigan. The congresswoman has far less to say about the pro-Israel group that has spent millions trying to get her elected.

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC, and its affiliated groups have spent close to $30 million backing Stevens — their largest investment ever in a single race — as they seek to defeat progressive favorite Abdul El-Sayed in the Aug. 4 primary.

Stevens has largely avoided discussing the organization directly, even as its spending has reshaped the race. Asked twice about AIPAC during a July campaign stop in West Michigan, she responded for more than 800 words without mentioning the group a single time. Israel came up only once, when she said she “wanted to see the U.S. and Israel working together to rebuild Gaza.”

“Anyone who supported me is supporting me because of my dedication to the people of Michigan, and the things that I have done for Michiganders,” Stevens told The Associated Press when asked whether she welcomed AIPAC’s support.

The exchange illustrates how politically fraught AIPAC has become in Democratic politics as the war in Gaza has divided the party over U.S. support for Israel. AIPAC works to elect lawmakers who support its mission of strengthening the U.S.-Israel relationship and advancing policies it says enhance the security of both countries.

AIPAC did not respond to a request for comment. The organization’s super PAC, United Democracy Project, declined to comment.

The issue carries particular weight in Michigan, home to the nation’s largest Arab American population. Beyond Michigan, El-Sayed’s progressive allies are framing the race as a broader test of whether grassroots organizing can overcome unprecedented outside spending.

“One of the laws of nature in politics is whoever spends the most money wins,” said New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who has been campaigning for El-Sayed in Michigan this weekend.

“It is an opportunity to show that things other than money can win in America.”

Stevens has spent $1 million on advertising. Her backers have spent $50 million

The four-term congresswoman raised half of what El-Sayed did in the latest fundraising period until June 30. Her team said in a statement that the campaign “is raising the resources we need to win this race.”

She spent only $12,000 of her own campaign funds on advertising through early July, before bumping it up to close to $1 million, according to AdImpact. Outside organizations, meanwhile, have poured close to $50 million into boosting her candidacy. One of them, A Stronger Michigan, has spent roughly $12 million without disclosing its donors.

El-Sayed has made AIPAC and the tens of millions of dollars spent to support Stevens a centerpiece of his campaign. He and his allies have accused Stevens as being a mouthpiece for her large donors.

“She is nothing more than an employee of these billionaires,” said Sen. Bernie Sanders, who is also campaigning with El-Sayed this weekend at rallies in Detroit, Lansing and Grand Rapids.

Stevens has said she supports “comprehensive campaign finance reform.”

Most voters are unlikely to realize many of the ads blanketing Michigan’s airwaves are funded by AIPAC. They never mention Israel, instead highlighting Stevens’ work on manufacturing and featuring former President Barack Obama.

“AIPAC never runs on AIPAC. They never even talk about Israel and Palestine,” said former Rep. Andy Levin, whom Stevens defeated in a 2022 Democratic primary after redistricting. AIPAC spent millions opposing Levin, who is Jewish. “If you’re just a voter and you see a million ads, you don’t know who paid for it.”

A stark divide on Israel in a state with large Muslim and Jewish populations

The surge of spending from AIPAC comes as the Democratic candidates have taken sharply different positions on Israel’s war in Gaza.

While Stevens is not Jewish, she has long been one of Congress’ most outspoken supporters of Israel. She has described herself as a “proud pro-Israel Democrat” and once said during a Hanukkah celebration that “Israel comes to me in my dreams.”

Stevens has criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. During a recent debate, she said he “has not made us safer, has not brought us closer to peace, and he’s endangered Jews here in America and around the world.”

El-Sayed has embraced the contrast. The son of Egyptian immigrants, he has called Israel’s military campaign in Gaza a “genocide,” described the Israeli government as “evil,” and repeatedly argued that AIPAC’s influence distorts Democratic politics.

“The reason that we’ve seen this war fought is because of the impact of AIPAC in our politics,” El-Sayed said during a recent debate.

The war in Gaza began after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attacks in Israel that killed about 1,200 people and took 251 hostage. It has since waged on for over 1,000 days. Israel has killed more than 73,000 Palestinians in its retaliatory offensive, Gaza’s Health Ministry said.

If elected, El-Sayed would become the first Muslim U.S. senator. He recently addressed questions about whether his faith would hurt his electability in the battleground state.

“When they raise questions about my ‘electability,’ they are usually pointing to the most obvious thing about me that makes me ‘different’ — that’s my name and my Muslim faith,” he wrote in an email to supporters. “Faith, to me, isn’t just about an identity. It’s about the choices that I make every single day about how I live my life.”

El-Sayed has spent about $3.2 million from his own campaign account on advertising, with around $1 million in outside spending. His campaign has instead emphasized grassroots organizing, saying it has recruited more than 10,000 volunteers statewide.

Asked how many volunteers Stevens has, her campaign said it has “hundreds across Michigan.”

“This election will come down to the many versus the money,” El-Sayed wrote.

The Democratic divide is occurring beyond Michigan

Once-firm support for Israel has eroded within parts of the Democratic Party in the fallout from the war in Gaza. As divisions over Israel have deepened, criticism of AIPAC has intensified.

Earlier this week, 103 House Democrats voted unsuccessfully to block $3.3 billion in U.S. aid to Israel, the clearest sign yet of the party’s divide. Among them was New York Rep. Pat Ryan, who had previously voted to send aid to Israel and accepted support from AIPAC.

“I expect groups like AIPAC will not support me in my future elections and frankly, I don’t want their support,” Ryan said on social media, later adding that he was returning the money.

The tension also played out in 2024. In Michigan’s Senate race, Democratic activists pressured now-Sen. Elissa Slotkin to take a harder line on Israel’s war in Gaza. Slotkin, who is Jewish, had already distanced herself from AIPAC years earlier. She ultimately defeated Republican Mike Rogers by fewer than 20,000 votes.

Rogers is running for Senate again this year, and is unopposed in the GOP primary.

While the issue still remains divisive for Democrats, some question whether it will ultimately shape how most primary voters cast their ballots, with concerns such as the economy carrying greater weight.

“It’s not that Democratic primary voters love AIPAC. They obviously don’t,” said Michigan political strategist Adrian Hemond. “But this doesn’t even register as an issue that’s influencing voting behavior for the overwhelming majority of primary voters.”

The Friday letters page is exasperated at the technical problems in Halo: Campaign Evolved, as one reader is optimistic about the new Resident Evil movie.

Games Inbox is a collection of our readers’ letters, comments, and opinions. To join in with the discussions yourself email gamecentral@metro.co.uk

Curious coincidence
So there’s an Ultimate Plus Edition of EA Sports FC 27 now, that’s even more expensive? And NBA 2K27 has something called an Ultra Edition that’s also more expensive? Well, that sure is an interesting coincidence, that two games from two completely different companies should come up with the same wallet-gouging idea in the same year, in franchises that have been going on for decades (bar a name change).

The games industry completely hates its customers, it’s been obvious for a long time now. All they want is more money for less and for us to never speak up or complain. Seems to me this is another situation where we can make a difference though.

Either no one buys it and it never happens again, like NFTs and online passes, or people do buy it and we get a physical media situation where everyone realises they’ve helped to encourage something they hate. We’ll see which it is I guess, but I’m sure not buying it.
Grant

How things work
So another Halo game is a flawed product. An open goal that Microsoft has, as usual, missed. I mean how do you remake a 25-year-old game and still manage to have slowdown in it? It’s ridiculous, insulting even. I look forward to them pretending the problem doesn’t exist, then pretending it’s not as bad as people say (even though I’ve already seen the videos), and then taking far too long to fix it. Anyone that’s played Halo: The Master Chief Collection will know that’s just how things work at Xbox.

At this point I don’t really care what comes next. Probably just more remakes because all the rumours seem to say they don’t know what to do with the series. Not that you need any insider sources to realise that.

My prediction is that there’s not going to be any quick end to Xbox. They’ll keep plugging away, never getting anything right, and it’ll just get more and more embarrassing. There was a time to bow out of gaming gracefully and they’ve missed it by a long shot.
Spender

Media envy
Interesting proof that GTA 6 is not the unstoppable juggernaut that we think of. It’s bigger than most films, but the very biggest ones… at the end of the day it’s only a video game. I don’t think this matters but maybe it explains why developers, including Rockstar, always have a chip on their shoulder about being more ‘cinematic’, because they’re all frustrated movie directors and secretly think it’s a more important thing than games.

I’d much rather play a good game than watch a good movie but to me they’re very different things. I don’t want my games to keep trying to turn into a movie and I certainly don’t want my movies to start acting like a video game. Unfortunately, you don’t always get what you want in life though.
Mentalist

Email your comments to: gamecentral@metro.co.uk

Mood piece
Just seen the new trailer for the Resident Evil movie and while it doesn’t show much that wasn’t in the first one, I do think it’s going to be a good movie. It’s a completely different approach to other video game movies in that it’s just taking the tone and detail from the game and making it its own thing.

The first Resident Evil film and the newer one both had similar settings and even some of the same characters as the games but they didn’t feel anything like them, they weren’t scary and they were just dumb without being funny-cheesy dumb.

This movie is different because all the details are right on: the typewriter, finding the bullets for the empty shotgun, searching through drawers… it feels like Resident Evil without trying to copy the game. Because really, the game story makes no sense. Why does a city have this weird military-like division in an ordinary police station? What was Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine doing before the zombies arrived? Giving out parking tickets?

The genius of a film like this is you can still say all that is going on someplace else, it’s just this story is focused on some ordinary guy just trying to get through it. I think it’s going to be great.
Zeiss

Non-acquired taste
I never finished Shenmue, either because I didn’t like it or because my Dreamcast bought from GAME broke and I dumped it. I played it for maybe five hours and couldn’t see the appeal of it. I’ve never thought back on it with any nostalgia. The only bit that was any good was the arcade games. Everything else was a chore.

On another note, is Sony losing money because they don’t/aren’t releasing their films on Blu-ray? Surely there are still hardcore movie buffs that want to collect these things? Or would this be a third party thing?
Bobwallett

GC: It’s only games they’ve said they’re not releasing on disc. Sony Pictures is quite separate to the PlayStation division.

Blame me
I am a complete hypocrite because I have complained and moaned about the physical disc situation, but I am going to buy the Halo remake anyway. What is worse, apart from being download-only (even with the disc), is that you need a Microsoft account to get the game to work as well.

This game is literally the worst of all situations with modern gaming, so I am part of the problem and why gaming is in the state it is in.

The Halo franchise is still my favourite so I will pick up anything Halo. I know the franchise has been butchered but this looks like the last hurrah considering no other games are in production, so I’ll take the hit and get it.
Simon

GC: As a word of warning the game is really obnoxious about linking your Microsoft account to your PlayStation one, insisting that once it’s linked it cannot be unlinked.

Non-stop complaining
I think it’s already pretty obvious that Sony has told no one to talk about the physical games issue but how long exactly are they going to keep it up? If I know anything about gamers it’s that they are willing to keep a joke, or grudge, going for basically forever.

They’re not going to stop filling the comments on social media ever. Why would they? It’s getting them lots of attention and Sony isn’t going to do anything to stop them. It’s just going to go on and on forever. Good on ‘em I say.
Cranston

Don’t miss Gaming news! Add us as a Preferred Source

As a loyal GameCentral reader, we want to make sure you never miss our articles when searching for gaming stories. We have all the latest video games news, reviews, previews, and interviews, with a vibrant community of highly engaged readers.

Click the button below and tick Metro.co.uk to ensure you see stories from us first in Google Search.

Add us as a Preferred Source

Advertisement

50 or less
Interesting last line to your summing up of the Halo: Campaign Evolved review (PS5 version reviewed). Genuine question; any idea what the frame rate is like on Xbox Series X? Or is this a general thing that happens on PlayStation 5? A few vids on YouTube showing the PlayStation 5 dropping frames when the going gets a bit tough, or locking the frame rate at 60, but dumbing down the resolution to 1800 or 1440. I never seem to have this problem on Xbox Series X.

Is that why the PS5 Pro exists, do you think? So that it can cope with the games that Series X is already coping perfectly well with. They couldn’t very well charge £500 for the Pro, otherwise they’d have had to drop the price of the ever so slightly underpowered, relative to Xbox Series X, PlayStation 5 to around £300. Might as well charge £700 and fleece their customers just a little bit more.

Recent sales of Xbox Series X are up in the US (price rise coming soon, though). A bit of advice to any Xbox newbies (come on, they must have sold at least 50 consoles in the UK during June/July) and who haven’t played any Halo games before. Get The Master Chief Collection but wait until it turns up in the sale. Five cracking remastered Halo games in there, and Halo 4, for about a tenner.
Paul C.

GC: We haven’t played the Xbox version, but the problem is clearly the game, not the console. As you say, the power difference between the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 is negligible; the only possible excuse is that the developer isn’t used to working on PlayStation hardware.

Inbox also-rans
Much like X/Twitter, does anyone really call the new EA football game EA FC?
Bobwallett

GC: What do you call it?

I see Ubisoft is all in favour of Sony’s all-digital future. Their excuse is that it means consoles don’t have to have a disc drive, therefore making them cheaper. Yep, that’s definitely worth £20 off a £1,000 PlayStation 6.
Corsair

Email 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: Games Inbox: Is buying second-hand video games going to end?

MORE: Games Inbox: Which is better out of Cyberpunk 2077 and The Witcher 3?

MORE: Games Inbox: How important is the story in GTA 6?