Warning: this review contains spoilers for The Odyssey.

Christopher Nolan’s US$250m (£187m), three-hour epic starring Matt Damon as the Greek king fighting his way home from Troy took more than $264m on its opening weekend – comfortably tripling the opening take of his Oscar-winning Oppenheimer in 2023.

It has earned Nolan the best reviews of his career. But crucially, it is the most ambitious attempt in a generation to put Homer’s 3,000-year-old poem back at the centre of popular culture. The heroism Nolan’s film depicts is far darker and far less triumphant than audiences might expect. It is also a film built for the biggest screen.

Nolan shot the film entirely on IMAX’s 70mm cameras, a first for any feature, carrying cast and crew across Morocco, Greece, Sicily, Iceland and the northeast of Scotland.

The result swings between extreme long shots of sea, stone and sky and extreme close-ups of faces, between monumental sets and claustrophobic caves and courtyards. It is unmistakably, a film in conversation with Nolan’s previous work. But also with a century of screen epics, from the blood and grandeur of Gladiator (2000) and Troy (2004), back to the forgotten silent versions of the Trojan story that German and Italian studios made more than a century ago.

Nolan borrows from other genres too: horror creeps into the Cyclops’ cave, supernatural elements into Circe’s hall, comic book action-adventures into Agamemnon’s armour, and literature and the visual arts supply their own echoes, from Dante’s and Virgil’s rival accounts of Ulysses (the Latin name for Odysseus) to Goya’s cannibal god Saturn, glimpsed in the Cyclops’ feast.

With Damon as his central character, Nolan has embraced the actor’s established image as a rugged, dutiful soldier to build a very different kind of Odysseus, defined less by guile and cunning than by determination and guilt.

Of an accomplished female cast – Anne Hathaway (Penelope), Zendaya (Athena), Lupita Nyong’o (Helen of Troy and Clytemnestra), Samantha Morton (Circe), Charlize Theron (Calypso) – only Hathaway’s Penelope is given the material to show real depth.

Robert Pattinson’s scheming suitor Antinous and John Leguizamo’s devoted swineherd Eumaeus are the strongest supporting performances. Tom Holland plays Odysseus’ son Telemachus – an actor coming of age playing a character coming of age. The jury is out on whether the maturity comes through.

Cutting the gods, doubling down on Troy

The film keeps Homer’s three-part shape – a son’s search for his father, Odysseus’s own account of his travels, the killing of his wife’s suitors – while reworking nearly everything inside it.

The gods are largely gone: there is no council on Olympus, Athena is reduced to a couple of coaching cameos, whereas Zeus and Poseidon become the elemental forces of thunder and sea storms.

Odysseus’ own father Laertes never reappears, the suitors’ souls never descend to the underworld, and Penelope’s test of the marriage bed vanishes along with much of the poem’s dialogue, including the Cyclops’ famous “Nobody” trick, replaced here by a wordless dash for the cave mouth.

The single biggest cut is the Phaeacians’ island, roughly a third of the poem, where Odysseus is welcomed, tells his story and is sent home in comfort. Nolan replaces it with a lotus-drugged, amnesiac Odysseus slowly recovering his own story for one listener, the goddess Calypso, and returning home a castaway.

The single biggest addition is Troy itself: the horse, the lie, the sack of the city, restaged again and again from different angles until a legendary victory starts to look like a crime scene.

A homecoming that resists closure

None of this feels indulgent; every spectacle is tied directly to the story Nolan is telling, and that story is a bleak one. Its subject is the price of action – what is owed to family, fellow citizens, strangers, animals, the natural world – and the unreliability of memory once survivors start shaping their ordeal into a story that flatters them.

The film’s own framing device makes the same point: Nolan casts the rapper Travis Scott as the bard who opens the action, explicitly linking Homer’s sung, oral tradition to hip-hop’s, a reminder that this poem took shape by being performed aloud.

It unfolds at the edge of a dark age, amid the terror of raiders “from the sea” and the film’s sharpest move is to let us notice, slowly, that its own heroes are those raiders.

Fittingly, the film refuses a happy ending. Odysseus reaches Ithaca, but then leaves again. But not as an adventurer this time (as is sometimes presented in modern versions of the myth) or to appease Poseidon (as foretold in Homer), but as a self-imposed exile doing penance for his unburied companions and the harm he caused in getting home.

Ridley Scott’s Gladiator relaunched the epic for cinemagoers a quarter of a century ago with an uncompromising hero saving a broken world. Now Nolan’s Odyssey does the same for a new generation with the opposite figure: a traumatised hero whose own violence helped break it. That makes it a braver film than its trailers suggest.

The more interesting question now is what comes next. Whether future screen epics keep chasing Gladiator’s model, where the hero pays with his own life and stays morally whole, or Nolan’s, where the hero survives and has to live with the cost he has made others pay.

Free parking will be available from 3pm in four council-owned car parks

The launch of free parking in a Cambridgeshire city centre will begin next month after the council approved funding for the project. Peterborough City Council’s cabinet met on Tuesday (July 21) and members agreed to accept funding to deliver free parking at four council-owned car parks in the city.

The funding is from the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority (CPCA). The first day of free parking in four council-owned car parks will be Monday, August 3.

These four locations will be:

• Bishops Road;
• Car Haven;
• Riverside;
• Pleasure Fair Meadow.

Parking at the above locations will be free after 3pm from Monday to Friday.

The scheme was pledged by Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, Paul Bristow in his manifesto. The Mayor committed £1.5 million in his budget to bring free parking to both Peterborough and Huntingdonshire.

“I said I would bring free parking and it’s happening this summer,” Mayor Bristow previously said. “I made this pledge because I believe our city centre needs a lift.”

The aim of the free parking scheme, which will be run on a time-limited trial, is to bring in more footfall to support local businesses, and increase the health and vibrancy of the evening economy. The proposal, which was unanimously approved by the cabinet, will be trialled until March 31, 2028.

Councillor Christian Hogg asked the meeting about what would happen in two years when the CPCA funding for the scheme ends. In reply Councillor Mohammed Jamil said that “so long as we keep getting this funding, this will stay in place”.

If there is no further funding when the scheme ends, the charges would be reinstalled.

The Saturday presentation was at Brewhemian Hopsody, in Broadway, Fulford, which only opened last September in a former shop.

Karl Smith, presenting the award, praised rookie couple Katie and Amanda, who have made such a success of the venue, with it also receiving rave reviews online, including five stars out of five on Tripadvisor.

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Karl said: “Often the pubs we pick are long established favourites of the good beer-drinking community and of course deserving of that support.

“Depressingly many pubs continue to close, particularly those out of the town centres in residential estates, but there are some new ones being opened like this one.

“New people are the lifeblood of the Trade and it’s fitting that Brewhemian Hopsody, although open for less than a year, has won this accolade. With their passion and enthusiasm, they have established a gem of a pub in an area not well served.”

“It has a friendly welcome, great ambience, good quality real ales and keg beers and a large range of cans and bottles so whatever your tipple, you can find it here. Fulford you lucky people!”

Receiving the certificate, Katie thanked Camra and customers for their support, saying without them it would not have been possible.

Katie said afterwards that presentation night saw both the pub and its garden full, with both CAMA members and regulars.

She told the Press: “We feel really honoured and privileged to have been nominated, let alone won. We’ve put a tremendous amount of hard work in, both in front of house but behind the scenes too. There’s a lot that goes on that people (understandably) don’t see and it can be exhausting. So to know we’re doing things right means the world to us.”

“We’re also passionate about good quality beer and have extremely high standards and it seems to be paying off, in what let’s face it is an extremely tough industry.”

Since the award was announced in May, and being part of the Ale Trail, Brewhemian Hopsody has received a boost from extra CAMRA members popping in.

Katie continued: “We’d love to seen some more people coming to visit us from accross the city. We’ve got excellent bus links with buses from Acomb, Derwenthorpe and the University stopping right outside the door. The 415 from Selby and the 7 park and ride stop on the main road so it’s just a couple of minutes walk. 

Katie believes what makes the pub special is that she and Amanda work the ‘vast majority’ of hours themselves, to “make sure we add that personal touch, the friendly welcome and the specialist knowledge craft beer requires.  We also have a couple of amazing staff who replicate our high standards and values.”

“We are very selective about the beer we put on. We get sent a lot of samples that simply don’t make it through our selection process. That doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a bad beer, it’s just not for us and what we want to sell.”

She continued: “We love what we do and I think it shows. I left my corporate job to open the business because I wanted to have more interaction with people.

“Hospitality is all about people and if you don’t have people, you don’t have a business and therefore a grunt from an unenthusiastic staff member just isn’t going to cut it! 

“We want people to visit, we want people to sit and chat to us and we want a place where a community can connect and have a place to come.”

Katie added Brewhemian Hopsody will stage a first birthday party on September 19 and an Oktoberfest Weekend during September 25-27. It also runs a quiz every Tuesday at 7pm.

It’s frustrating when someone parks on your private property. Here’s what you can legally do about it

Few situations in life can be quite as maddening as this. You wake up one morning or return home from work one evening to discover that someone has parked on your driveway.

For most of us, the instinctive reaction would likely be that this is completely unacceptable and a matter for the police. After all, it’s your property! However, you would be mistaken.

Journalist Steffan Rhys consulted legal and motoring experts to establish what you can actually do when someone parks on your driveway. They all gave the same response and, crucially, they all highlighted specific actions you absolutely must take — and one thing you categorically should not.

Paul Britton, CEO of Britton and Time law firm in London and Brighton, said: “If someone actually parks on your drive it’s trespass, a civil matter, not usually a crime. That means police often won’t attend unless there’s aggravation (threats, damage, breach of the peace).”

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What to do if someone has parked in your driveway

Paul advised taking the following steps:

• Put a clear, polite note on the windscreen asking them to move and giving a time limit.
• If you can identify them locally, ask them directly – but be sure to remain calm and courteous
• If it continues, consider a solicitor’s warning letter and then civil action if needed.

Nevertheless, he warned: “You can’t clamp them. Private clamping is generally unlawful. If someone dumps a car on your drive the law gives you civil remedies but no quick DIY removal route. Don’t damage it, push it into the road, block it in, clamp it or tow it. Don’t get into a confrontation – especially if you’re filming or they are.”

Even if your own vehicle is boxed in by a thoughtless driver, there is no simple or instant remedy at your disposal. Paul explained: “If your car is blocked in on your own drive, you’re again into obstruction/enforcement territory – start with the council (if on the road) and police only if there’s danger, threats or serious obstruction.”

Richard Evans, head of technical services at We Buy Any Car, offered similar advice: “If a vehicle is parked on your private drive without permission, this is usually a civil matter rather than a criminal one, and councils will not normally intervene. You should not block the vehicle in or attempt to clamp it yourself, as this could lead to legal trouble. Instead, try to locate the owner and take photos for evidence. If it becomes a recurring issue, clear signage or legal advice may be appropriate, but a calm and proportionate response is always recommended.”

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Is it illegal for another person to park in your driveway?

It may come as a surprise to learn that leaving a car on someone else’s driveway is not actually a criminal offence. Rather, it constitutes the civil offence of trespass, meaning police involvement is unlikely unless there are additional aggravating factors, reports the Express.

Even your local council may face limitations regarding the action it can take. The Road Traffic Act 1991 transferred responsibility for parking enforcement to local authorities, who can only intervene if the offence occurs on a public highway — that is, the road itself.

Should a vehicle be obstructing a driveway while parked on a public road, the council is able to intervene, most likely by issuing a penalty. However, when a vehicle is parked on a driveway, it is technically situated on private land, meaning the council lacks the authority to remove it.

If the vehicle has evidently been abandoned, the local authority would be obliged to remove it irrespective of whether it is on public or private property. That said, if the car has valid tax, insurance and MOT and does not pose a danger, the council is unable to take action.

How can I prevent someone from parking in my driveway?

Jonathan Such, motoring expert at vehicle finance provider First Response Finance, offered the following recommendations:

• Clearly mark your driveway with visible signage such as ‘Private Driveway – No Parking’ — this can act as a strong deterrent
• Keep access points clear and well defined, repainting faded dropped kerb markings where permitted or installing driveaway markings, which can also help remove any ambiguity.

Meanwhile, John Wilmot, CEO of car leasing comparison site LeaseLoco.com, said that “while the most effective way to protect your property is installing a driveway gate, putting out simple deterrents like parking bollards or posts, cones and signs can also help to prevent strangers from parking in your driveway”.

What should I do and not do if someone parks in my driveway?

More than 10 legal and car experts provided their perspective on what you could do if someone else’s car is parked on your driveway, and their advice was remarkably consistent.

DO:

• Try and find out who the driver is
• Leave a polite note on the car explaining that your drive is private property and asking them to please not do it again
• Take pictures of the car in your driveway
• Get legal advice if it continues, as you may be entitled to pursue civil proceedings and the courts have the power to have the car removed (although this could prove expensive)
• If the vehicle appears to have been abandoned indefinitely, notify the council, which may remove it from private land where appropriate.
• Fit a driveway gate, position straightforward deterrents such as parking bollards or posts, cones and signage to discourage and stop strangers from parking on your driveway.

DO NOT:

• Clamp, damage, or tow the vehicle without lawful authority
• Push the car into the road.

A former EastEnders star and Cambridgeshire local has swapped Albert Square for Ancient Greece in Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey.

Former EastEnders actor Himesh Patel is now a Hollywood star following his shock exit from the BBC soap 10 years ago.

The 35-year-old was born in Huntingdon before swapping his quiet life in Cambridgeshire to become a movie star.

In Himesh’s latest role, he stars in Sir Christopher Nolan’s film The Odyssey, an adaptation of Homer’s Ancient Greek epic that was released in cinemas on Friday, July 16.

The movie sees Matt Damon as Odysseus, the Greek King of Ithaca, during his treacherous decade-long voyage home following the Trojan War, while Himesh portrays Odysseus’ dependable second-in-command, Eurylochus.

Acclaimed actors Zendaya, Tom Holland, and Robert Pattinson also star in the movie, which marks the first feature film ever captured entirely using IMAX cameras, leaving Himesh surprised that Nolan offered him the role.

“It’s not what I was expecting when I got the call”, he admitted to Men’s Health: “They’re offering me a role? I thought I auditioned for Tenet.

“I wasn’t expecting to be in a bracket of actors that he would just offer a role, and it’s a great role! I got to do some really special stuff. And it all came out of nowhere.”

Viewers of The Odyssey have been praising Himesh for his performance in the movie, with one person writing on X: “What an awesome performance from Himesh Patel.”

A second stated: “Not enough people are giving Himesh Patel his praises, he was astounding,” while a third chimed in: “Put Himesh Patel in everything!”

“HIMESH PATEL APPRECIATION!!!!!!! Great work and also he’s in it way way more than I expected him to be,” added another.

Who was Himesh Patel in EastEnders?

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Himesh will be a familiar figure to many viewers, having portrayed Tamwar Masood, the somewhat bookish son of the Masood household, on EastEnders from 2007 to 2016.

After a lot of family drama, he eventually departed Walford to explore the globe with Nancy Carter (Maddy Hill), whom he subsequently wed, though the marriage ended in divorce, reports the Mirror.

In 2016, after almost ten years in the role, Himesh chose to leave EastEnders to explore new opportunities in his acting career.

The decision appears to have proved astute, as he has now become a film star with his latest appearance in the blockbuster The Odyssey.

Following his departure from EastEnders, Himesh has secured prominent roles in various major productions, including Danny Boyle’s Beatles-themed picture Yesterday (2019) and Christopher Nolan’s time-bending thriller Tenet.

Additionally, he appeared as the love interest of Jennifer Lawrence’s character in the Netflix apocalyptic drama Don’t Look Up.

The Odyssey is available to watch in various cinemas across the UK

Delicious Orie has weighed in on the debate around Joe Joyce’s future, after his fellow Commonwealth champion suffered his fifth loss in six fights.

Joyce, 40, won Commonwealth gold for England and Olympic silver for Britain before turning professional and winning his first 15 fights – even stopping Daniel Dubois, Joseph Parker and Carlos Takam.

However, the heavyweight’s sole win since 2022 is a late stoppage of Kash Ali in 2024, which came after back-to-back KOs by Zhilei Zhang and preceded a hat-trick of defeats: points losses to Derek Chisora and Filip Hrgovic, and a stoppage by Artem Suslenkov this month.

Now, compatriot and fellow heavyweight Orie has given his opinion on the situation, one year after abruptly calling time on his own pro career after just one fight.

“It’s funny you say this, because I was literally having a conversation about Joe Joyce earlier,” the 29-year-old told the Independent. “It’s very interesting with Joe. Phenomenal athlete, he did exceptional as an amateur and did great things as a professional as well.

“I’m going to be honest: I think he’s overstayed his welcome.” Perhaps hinting at his own early retirement from boxing, Orie added: “If you were to ask me, if I was Joe Joyce, I would have stopped about six years ago.

“He’s at the age now where it’s like… It’s not even an age thing as well, you can see it in his performance: it’s slowing down, and it’s so obvious.

“Now, I’m in no place to say: ‘Oh, he’s done.’ At the end of the day, one of my ethos is: do something that keeps that fire going; if your ‘why’ is big enough, do it. Don’t do it for anybody else. And if that genuinely is Joe Joyce, and that’s what he believes deep down in his heart, then 100 per cent [he should carry on].

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“It sounds quite extreme for me to say, but this is the mindset that you’ve got to have as an athlete: for me before the Olympic Games, it was, ‘Am I willing to die in the ring today?’ How much am I willing to sacrifice? How much can I give?’ And if it’s, ‘I’m going to give absolutely everything,’ then it doesn’t matter what the result is; go and do it.

“When I started to think, ‘I don’t think I’m going to give quite enough,’ that’s when it’s time to pull out.

“Will I ever know what’s going on in Joe Joyce’s mind? No, but I do think – definitely from a health standpoint, for the young heavyweights that are up and coming – it’s important to know when to step out. And that’s difficult to handle for some athletes. Like, it was difficult for me to step away.

“It’s sort of like you’re losing your identity in a way, something you’ve armoured yourself with over many, many years to be perceived as. To step away is almost like dropping all of that hard work. So, I can definitely see that sort of angle from Joe Joyce, but at the same time, it’s so important to look inwards; that’s where the real answer is.’”

Orie continued, “Sorry, I just wanted to add: at the end of the day, my key message is whatever you feel keeps that fire within you, do that. Don’t ever listen to anybody else, whether it’s to keep boxing or to stop boxing – it doesn’t matter. I think that’s what makes life worth living.

“If Joe Joyce doesn’t have real intrinsic motivation to do anything else, why should he stop boxing at that level? None of us can give that sort of judgment.”

HBO Max is the exclusive streaming destination for the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games in the UK and Ireland, while live coverage will be available on TNT Sports for TV viewers.

Jet, Now, Sparks, and Coconut Grove bars have made a comeback, each wrapped in retro St Michael packaging and featuring the original logo.

The bars are available as full-size bars or in a 14-piece mini variety pack.

The Jet bar is a milk chocolate treat with soft nougat, peanuts, and caramel, similar to a Snickers, while Spark is a nougat and caramel-filled bar, reminiscent of a Mars.

Coconut Grove combines milk chocolate with a soft coconut centre, much like a Bounty, and Now is a milk chocolate biscuit and caramel bar, similar to a Twix.

An M&S Food spokesperson said: “After the brilliant response to the return of Take 4 last year, we wanted to dig a little deeper into our archives and revisit more of the chocolate bars customers loved the first time around.

“With their original St Michael packaging designs and flavours inspired by the much-loved bars of the 80s, Jet, Sparks, Now! and Coconut Grove are a delicious nod to the past – giving some customers the chance to rediscover an old favourite and others the joy of trying them for the very first time.”

How have customers reacted to the M&S chocolate bars making a return?

People seem happy to see the return of the St Michael chocolate bars, as seen in an Instagram post on @uknewestfoods.

It wrote: “M&S have brought back 4 old school, iconic St Michael’s bars, do you remember any of these.”

In response, one person shared: “Used to love the Coconut Grove love to see its back.”

Another said: “Getting nostalgic now.”

A third posted: “Love the St Michael’s branding ❤️ Takes me back.”

Some pointed out that the bars were slightly different to how they were in the 1980s, as one shared: “They’ve jigged them around a bit.

“Sparks used to be a Mars knockoff, Now was a Toffee Crisp knockoff, and the Snickers dupe was called Here!

“Coconut Grove basically the same.”

Another commented: “I remember the 80’s m&s now bars as being nothing like a twix, it used to have crispy bits.

“Looks like they have just used the old name for this.”

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What is the St Michael brand?

The St Michael brand was owned by M&S from 1927, selling many goods under the name.

It was dropped in 2000 after 72 years as part of a rebranding.

However, the retailer revived the brand in 2021, selling menswear using the vintage label after clothing donning the brand name became popular on second-hand clothing platforms.

Another retro chocolate bar was brought back last year, with M&S reintroducing the Take 4 from its archives.

Will you be looking to buy the St Michael chocolate bars? Let us know in the comments.

The “highly unusual” 1983 coin sold for £170.20 on eBay because it was minted with a rare error.

The coin has been struck on a bronze blank rather than the standard 20p blank.

As a result of the striking error, the coin appears bronze in colour, rather than silver.

Rare 20p that is ‘wrong colour’ sells for 851x its face value (Image: Kennedy News & Media)

The coin is accompanied by a letter from The Royal Mint Museum, who authenticated the coin following a ‘thorough examination’ using ‘spectographic analysis’.

They found the error is likely to have happened as a result of a bronze blank coin being struck between two 20p dies.

It’s thought to be one of two known 20p coins to have been struck on a bronze blank.

In the listing, the coin is described as “highly unusual” with the error making its value skyrocket.

The listing reads: “Rare 1983 20p Royal Mint striking error, struck on a bronze blank rather than the standard 20p blank.

How to get your old coins valued

“This coin is described as one of two known 20p coins struck on bronze blanks, with the other coin referenced in a previous lot.

“It’s been tested and verified as 97.10% copper, weighing 3.62g.

“The coin was sent to the Royal Mint Museum for examination, and a copy of their official letter of authentication is included with the sale.

“A highly unusual and collectable Royal Mint error coin, ideal for serious collectors of British decimal coinage, minting errors, and rare 20p varieties.”

The Royal Mint’s letter states that it appears a bronze blank, most likely intended for ‘one of the many overseas countries they produce coins for’, was struck between 20p dies.

One keen collector snapped up the coin for £170.20 plus £3.42 postage on Sunday, May 31.

The items you should collect to make the most money

That means the coin was sold for 851 times its shop value and will be sure to have Brits checking their change for any similar errors.

First issued in 1982, the 20p is one of the UK’s newest circulating denominations.

Since then, there have been several different variations of the coin.

In 1998, the coin was updated to feature Maklouf’s portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, while the reverse of the coin depicts a crowned Tudor double rose in a design by William Gardner.

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In 2022, Ian Rank-Broadley’s portrait of the Queen was replaced by Jody Clark’s design.

Gardner’s reverse design featured on the 20p until 2008, when it was replaced by the definitive ‘shield’ design that currently appears on UK coins up to the value of 50p.

When united, and carefully arranged in the correct order, the 50p, 20p, 10p, 5p, 2p, 1p, make up the Royal Arms in its entirety.

Have you ever found a rare coin? Tell us in the comments below.

NEW YORK (AP) — Former Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro and his wife will go on trial on drug trafficking charges next June, a judge said Wednesday, as their lawyers continue to object to the U.S. military action that snatched them from power.

Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein set the June 1 trial date at the request of lawyers on both sides. Under the approved schedule, defense lawyers will begin filing requests in early September to challenge the indictment and the couple will return to the courtroom Nov. 17 for oral arguments on the motions.

Maduro, 63, and his wife, Cilia Flores, 69, have been held at a Brooklyn jail since U.S. forces seized them from their Caracas home in a middle-of-the-night raid and brought them to New York in early January.

Neither spoke during Wednesday’s 15-minute hearing as each sat separately at a defense table, surrounded by their lawyers. Both have pleaded not guilty. They face potential life prison sentences if a jury agrees that they were part of a conspiracy to send cocaine into the U.S.

As he was led into the courtroom, the bespectacled Maduro greeted the judge’s staff and shook hands with lawyers for him and his wife. Noticeably thinner in a tan jail suit and with his thick mustache, he seemed upbeat, smiling and chatting with his lawyer. He listened to a Spanish interpretation of the proceeding through headphones and clasped his hands in front of him in a prayerlike gesture. He had a black pen wedged in his right fingers and sporadically jotted notes on a white pad.

As deputy U.S. marshals led him out, he waved to someone in the gallery.

President Donald Trump’s administration has defended the raid to capture Maduro as a “surgical law enforcement operation” in a criminal case first brought six years ago. Maduro has called himself a prisoner of war and his capture a kidnapping.

U.S. prosecutors say Maduro carried out a conspiracy to move thousands of tons of cocaine into the U.S. by colluding with Venezuelan law enforcement to help drug kingpins.

“I am not guilty. I am a decent man, the constitutional president of my country,” he said in Spanish at his arraignment in January.

Maduro’s lawyer, Barry Pollack, has said he expects to contest the legality of Maduro’s “military abduction.”

The Thursday letters page enjoys the magic of Yoshi And The Mysterious Book, as one reader is surprised at the quality of Meccha Chameleon.

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

Sell by date
Kudos to the Disgaea guy for speaking up about the joys of owning things. To me a lot of the magic is lost when you only own (sorry, rent) a digital game, and I’ve always tried to avoid it as much as possible, outside of indie games.

Now we hear about the obvious knock-on effect for second-hand games and it’s obvious that’s doomed as well. Retro resellers will obviously continue but nobody’s going to be buying or selling anything at CeX after next year, unless it’s a Switch 2 game (assuming Nintendo doesn’t follow suit by then).

It’s not a question of whether shops or companies will or won’t do it anymore, there’s just not going to be anything to sell. If you buy a code in a box, that code gets used up and that’s it. Unless people are going to get so desperate for owning things they want to buy empty boxes.

Physical media had a good run but I’m afraid it’s all over now, as far as games go, and it’s not coming back.
Taylor Moon

Glorious convivence
I’m surprised the second-hand games business is still worth as much as it apparently is. I remember when almost every shop that sold games (which was a lot) also dealt in second-hand games and it’s true, all those shops are going to lose that business now. There’s only so long CeX can carry on reselling old PlayStation 4 and Switch 1 games and after that they’re in trouble.

I can’t argue with everyone saying that this is all the fault of choices ordinary gamers made last gen or earlier, but there’s definitely no going back. Sony has no intention of making discs any more, GTA 6 is going to normalise it this November, and Xbox only hasn’t said they’re doing the same thing because they’re enjoying watching Sony squirm.

But the fact is digital is more convenient and if there’s one truth of the modern world it’s that people value convivence over all things, including cost, quality, and issues of morality. If something requires even slightly less effort than the alternative then people will always go for it, no matter the drawbacks. At the same time, if something requires any kind of effort or sacrifice, such as boycotting a company, that ain’t happening.
Benson

No returns
I see Nintendo is trying to be a bit dodgy in the USA over increase in tax on Nintendo products that Nintendo are try to get back from the US government but won’t give the extra money back to them that bought the products at higher prices.

Sorry to say it but if Nintendo did increase the prices because of tax charges and they’re trying to get the money back they should refund that money to customers. Seems Nintendo is getting as bad as the others that love taking your money but when it comes to giving something they never should have had it’s oh no we can’t do that. Shame on you Nintendo.
David

GC: It’s not an increase in tax, it’s Trump’s tariffs. And no company is planning to reimburse anyone; it isn’t just Nintendo. That said, all any company is interested in is your money, including Nintendo.

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Tipping point
RE: Percentage of digital sales on Nintendo hardware is 67.2%. According to the fiscal report this number comes from that percentage includes sales of downloadable versions of packaged software, download-only software, add-on content and Nintendo Switch Online, etc.

In my letter I reference first party Nintendo games as selling mainly through physical. I’m always quite interested to know the exact split between digital and physical sales for a specific game as that, I often think, will be closer than a stat that includes all the other digital purchases.

In my case I’ve only ever bought one Nintendo first party game digitally on my Switch and Switch 2; all the other 10+ have been physical and will be in the future. I have spent money digitally on the store though, on digital-only games like UFO 50.

Given my buying habits on Switch, I’d genuinely be surprised if a new first party Nintendo game like Donkey Kong Bananza sold more digitally.

But I guess at the end of the day it might not matter, even if that were the case. Customers now spend more money digitally than physically on Nintendo hardware.

Nintendo do seem to be on the same trajectory as Sony, it’ll just take them a bit longer to get there.
Simundo

GC: Exactly, more than half of Nintendo’s software income now comes from digital sales and has done since at least 2025, as can be seen here.

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Generous score
With the current Count Binface/Sega article on Metro, I’ve read a few comments about Shenmue 3 being a complete wasted opportunity… I think this deserves a second look!

Shenmue 3 is – without a doubt – a 7 out of 10 game. But 7 out of 10 games can be brilliant and beloved! Alpha Protocol, Mad Max, Days Gone. All 7s.

Did they squander the chance to move the story on meaningfully? Without a doubt! But what’s left is charming, engaging, and still has that Dreamcast era magic. When viewed through the lens of it being a cosy game, it rules!

Yet the negativity driven by some click-baiting content creators has hardened this view that it’s completely without merit. Not true! The reviews at the time were all in the 7/10 range, you yourselves gave it a 6!

To any cosy/Shen-curious gamer, I’d say give the Enhanced version a chance when it comes out on Switch 2 later this year, some of the enhancements might push it to an 8. And you can’t get higher than an 8, right?
Brown Bread

GC: That 6/10 now feels very generous but if anyone’s Shenmue curious, we’d advise starting with the original games.

Handheld discs
I kind of agree with a few recent readers over the physical games backlash, in that this is something that was set in motion a long time ago. You’d imagine Sony’s own games are the ones people would actually buy on disc and keep in a collection (I know I do) and even those sales are 80% digital. I remember seeing Capcom’s sales numbers some months ago and they were at 93% digital.

Obviously, it’s difficult to judge the size of a backlash based on social media, the disconnect between the hardcore gaming audience and the average player has been widening for some time, and it seems vast now. Us over-engaged lot pre-ordering Saros discs are so far away from what most people use their PlayStation’s to do it’s become kind of funny.

I mean the Roblox game Grow A Garden has had more player engagement than the celebrated Uncharted 4 over its lifespan. That’s kind of baffling if you just consume gaming culture via websites and message forums, GC never runs news of the latest Roblox trends after all (ever thought about doing that?).

Should Sony and other gaming companies share more of their data analysis and be more transparent? Then it would become apparent why certain decisions (live service being another one) are being taken and it may lead to the player-base being a bit more understanding. Though investors would likely flee to the hills once they see how little gamers actually play these high cost, dozens of hours single-player titles.

Anyway, I’m surprised nobody has mentioned the fact the PlayStation 6 will probably have a handheld counterpart, and that’s why they are ditching discs. They are worried about splitting the market as you won’t be putting Blu-rays into a portable system, will you? They hope it’ll ease the transition to multiple hardware configurations next gen, after all if you buy digital it’ll just work on everything.
Marc

Good bad games
I didn’t understand the term friendslop until I decided to give Meccha Chameleon a go, after hearing all the hype. What an ugly, badly made game. I can’t pretend I didn’t have some fun competing online but I can totally see why it gets that name, considering the game itself is really not very good. Or at least not well made.

I’m not sure that really matters, because it’s not hurting anyone, but there are definitely some good ideas here that are not reaching their full potential.
Dio

Mysterious gem
I decided to give the Yoshi And The Mysterious Book demo a go, which gives you a few of the early levels to sink your teeth into.

By the time I’d completed the demo I’d realised I wanted more. I wanted to know what other creatures were in there, so I went out and bought the game.

It’s a charming little game full of invention and ideas. I had to skip a couple of levels as I hadn’t worked out the main trait of the creature in question.

One large creature that inhales everything took me a while to puzzle out but when it all clicked it was a fantastic level.

I’m about halfway through the game, as I’m a bit pushed for time at the minute, but can’t wait to get back on it to see what’s next.

I say to anyone on the fence, give the demo a go and read GameCentral’s review on it. It’s a really fascination game unlike all the other Yoshi titles in the series.
Nick The Greek

GC: It’s almost certainly going to end up as the year’s most underappreciated, and poorly marketed, game.

Inbox also-rans
But the real question… Shen-mew or Shen-moo?!
big boy bent

I have to admit, I wish the games were still called FIFA. It’s such a better name than EA Sports FC 27, which is just really clunky and awkward. Plus, we would’ve had a proper World Cup mode too.
Danse

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