Two reviews of newly released updated games provide a huge contrast.

One got the thumbs down while the other got a “welcome back”.

The thumbs up went to Nintendo’s Animal Crossing New Horizons, which the reviewer welcomed like an old friend.

It is a free update but comes with plenty of new stuff to discover, including a coffee shop at the Museum and tours to different islands, courtesy of Kapp’n.

The reviewer says: “New Horizons has, with this new content, in effect tripled what you can do each day.”

The reviewer’s final comment: “it feels good to be back”.

The updated Grand Theft Auto, Vice City and San Andreas, released for PC, Xbox, PlayStation 4/5, Nintendo Switch by Rockstar Games/Grove Street Games/Take-Two Interactive, however, are less well received.

Indeed, the reviewer describes them as an infuriating disappointment.

The remakes, she says, are less stable and full of glitches, displaying a lack of attention to detail. While gamers would put up with “Graphical glitches, irritating controls and random crashes” in the games’ early years, she argues, why should they still have to 20 years on?

However, as she points out: “It is a tribute to the magic of these games – particularly San Andreas, for me – that it’s still possible to sink into them, despite all the technical hitches……. they are still worth replaying, and worth preserving. Just not in this state.”