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Platinum #2 - Borderlands

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Yes, the original Borderlands on the PS3! I bought this the day after release with a friend so we could take advantage of a rare 2-for-1 deal at EB Games (now GameStop, RIP) at the time.

 

Story:

You're a Vault Hunter, Harry! I picked Mordecai because I thought his bird looked cool and my friend went as Lillith. I can't say I remember the narrative's specifics, just that:

  1. Half-naked psychos are trying to kill you
  2. An annoying robot wants you to do absolutely everything for him, and;
  3. aliens-meme-original.jpg

 

Gameplay / Graphics:

Anyways, I played through the entire game via multiplayer, and had a blast just shooting things in the face. While customization of your character is rather limited, I love how you are able to re-spec at any time. I loved my Action Skill, throwing a corrosive Bloodwings into the fray and watching enemies melt never got old. As for the "looter-shooter" aspect, it was quite new to me and the near-infinite permutations of guns meant I constantly had new favourites to replace the old. That, I think Gearbox got right.

 

In terms of the graphics, the cell-shaded art style remains extremely recognizable to this day, and it looked great (even on my standard-definition TV at the time); however, the colour choices were a product of the late-2000s video game industry - heaps of greys and browns. I suppose colour hadn't yet been invented at this point in time.

 

I'm not a fan of having to play through True Vault Hunter Mode to reach the level cap (since it's just "play through the same game but with spongier enemies"), but my one true gripe is that they still haven't improved the janky vehicular controls.

 

Music / VA

I honestly can't remember the in-game music, but I think the opening song by Cage the Elephant made for one heck of an introduction. As for the VA, the main cast is solid and also brought the psychos to life.

 

DLC:

I earned the Platinum in 2010, but I played most of the DLCs via the Ultimate Edition on PS Now earlier this year. Other than great The Secret Armory of General Knoxx, I give the rest of the DLCs a solid "meh." I'd have to pick the brain of a Gearbox developer to understand why so many had to be collected in Zombie Island of Dr. Ned. The coliseums were a challenge I wanted to overcome (what a slog, though) and Claptrap's New Robot Revolution would have been fine were it not for those collectible trophies.

 

Conclusion:

It was a great game for its time, but if you've never played a Borderlands game before, I'd start with Borderlands 2. It's better in every way and you don't miss out story-wise for not having played the first game. The only annoying base game trophy I can recall is rescuing the Claptraps.

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Platinum #3 - Fallout 3

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This post-apocalyptic RPG is another brown-and-grey palette game of the late-2000s, but I fell in love with it and its lore.

 

Story:

In Borderlands, your character hunts Vaults. In Fallout 3, you have to leave Vault 101. Basically, it’s kind of the opposite of the movie Taken; you have to find your father (voiced by Liam Neeson himself) somewhere in the Capital Wasteland.

 

In my opinion, the non-voiced main protagonist makes for better role-playing, and some of the potential responses are great.

 

Gameplay:

The combat is pretty basic, but the low performance of the game on a PS3 pervades the entire playing experience, especially as your save file grows larger. Just going into VATS can cause stuttering (or in extreme cases, freezing).

 

If you can get past the performance issues and the bugs, Fallout 3 has a lot of offer in terms of role-playing: you can go in guns blazing or avoid conflict via speech checks. You break and enter into a location, or pick the lock, or steal a key, or hack a terminal - there are multiple paths to your end goal, and has offers quite a bit of replayability. There are many, many locations and secrets to explore so you'll be preoccupied for a long time (should you choose).

 

The Karma system is rather simple, but it does ensure your actions have some consequences. It locks you out of some companions, it’ll determine whether certain factions are hostile or friendly towards you, etc.

 

I especially liked collecting as many unique items (stronger versions of common weapons / armour); some were pretty unique.

 

Music / VA:

You can tune into the Pip-Boy’s radio for some good old-timey tunes, and listening to Three-Dog’s broadcasts (which sometimes follows the actions of your character) is actually pretty cool. The downside is that there simply isn’t enough material and you’ll be listening to many repeats if you do tune in.

 

The VA for most NPCs are great, no complaints here.

 

DLC:

None of the add-ons are bad, but I personally had the worst performance with Point Lookout causing freezing at least once a session. Some creature really wanted me out of their swamp; however, if you can only play one of the DLCs, I’d highly recommend Broken Steel, as it continues off where the base game ended.

 

Additionally, there is a niche concern for Canadians. If you have the base game on disc, the PSN DLC may not be compatible with your disc. Buy the GOTY edition if possible, all the DLCs are on the disc itself.

 

Tricky Trophies:

There are requirements for reaching certain levels with Good, Neutral, and Bad Karma, so you’ll either save-scum or do multiple playthroughs. I personally had my Good “canon” playthrough and another save file where I save-scummed the Neutral and Evil Karma trophies.

 

Also, collecting all 20 Bobbleheads is missable, so keep that in mind or risk another playthrough.

 

Conclusion:

Definitely play this game on PC if you can, playing on PS3 just is not optimal for performance - it’s just not worth the emotional fallout.

Edited by ParkestNight
Fixed some grammar
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Platinum #4 - Dragon Age II

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The anticipated sequel to 2009’s Dragon Age: Origins! The development of this game only took ~1.5 years, with mixed results.

 

Story:

For all its faults, Dragon Age II had the best story of the series. Moving away from the highly customizable Grey Warden from Origins, BioWare decided to follow a human protagonist named Hawke. Perhaps by restricting customization, it became possible to tell a more personal story.

 

The narrative vehicle of the game is also more interesting; in present time, the Seekers are interrogating Varric (one of Hawke’s companions), and they want to know everything about Hawke, who is now the Champion of Kirkwall. Specifically, they want to know exactly what happened to facilitate Hawke’s rise to Champion. As Varric recites your tale, you play as Hawke, crafting your story from your family’s escape from Lothering. The main game cuts back to the interrogation intermittently, but never overstays it welcome. Additionally, (without delving into spoilers), II’s story is very relevant to the plot of the next game, Inquisition.

 

Aside: this is a subjective opinion, but II’s companions are by far the angstiest (and there’s significant angst throughout the series).

 

Gameplay:

Earlier, I mentioned that the game was developed in ~1.5 years, and it shows via the recycling of locations. The location names change, but the same layout will be used for dungeons, caves, mansions, etc., but maybe for one quest the player will start from the north instead of the south, or from east instead of west. Once or twice would be understandable, but it’s one of the most egregious cases of reuse I’ve ever witnessed.

 

Speaking of reuse, BioWare brought over the import system from the Mass Effect series, but unlike in Mass Effect, your playthrough will be only slightly affected by the choices you made in Origins. For example, some Origins characters have cameos (but they look a bit off in II) or some dialogue/references may or may not be available. Nonetheless, I can understand why players' choices in previous games are minimal - each Dragon Age game features a different protagonist with different goals (as opposed to playing as the same character with one singular goal e.g. Shepard defeating the Reapers).

 

The combat is a mixed bag; it's faster-paced and more action-oriented than in Origins, but is over-stylized to the point of comic absurdity. The director at the time was infamously quoted as saying, “When the player presses a button, something awesome should happen” (paraphrased). I do like that archers and mages have their own close-range attack animations, though.

 

Classes are also more restricted compared to the previous games. Now, warriors can only sword-and-board or two-hand their way across Kirkwall (no more dual-wielding, archery, or daggers). Rogues only have access to archery and double daggers, and mages solely to staffs. Only Varric can use a crossbow, and secondary weapons have been removed entirely. Perhaps this choice was an extension of II’s story; restrict customization to have more defined roles. Still, it was disappointing as a returning fan. If anything, I was hoping there would be more weapon types in addition to having less restrictions on classes. For example:

  • Adding spears or halberds for warriors
  • Allowing rogues to carry one longsword (like Zorro or something) or staves
  • Allowing mages to fight with a staff and a sword (like Gandalf) and more magical weapons other than staffs through which they can channel mana, etc.

Even companions have less customization since they are locked into their own armours.

 

To BioWare’s credit, they also added cross-class combos, which make for more dynamic combat. It allows you to bypass defenses or exploit weaknesses; however, enemies now literally rain down from the sky out of thin air (even through ceilings), rendering tactical approaches to combat less viable.

 

Graphics:

The game has improved graphically, but there are some strange redesigns to the elves (oddly large eyes and small bodies relative to the body) and Darkspawn (now they look like white lizards). The Qunari were redesigned as well, but they actually look better; with grey complexions and horns, the Qunari no longer resemble abnormally large humans.

 

Music / VA:

Inon Zur returns to compose for II, so the score is solid. As always, the main talent give good performances, though some of the NPCs don't meet the same quality.

 

DLC:

I bought Dragon Age II physically day-one, so I received The Exiled Prince DLC code with my purchase; however, I don’t know if digital buyers have to buy it separately (or if it was a preorder bonus). In any case, it gives you the option of having Sebastian as a party member (he’s the most milquetoast character, so you don’t miss out if you opt out of this DLC).

 

Mark of the Assassin is just fluff, but Legacy is where my gripes lies. In Legacy, Hawke and company release an old Tevinter magister named Corypheus - the same Corypheus that serves as the primary antagonist in the next Dragon Age game, Inquisition. I don’t like that such an important character is locked behind DLC. Maybe the writers at BioWare didn’t expect to use Corypheus in Inquisition, but that only demonstrates further that the game was rushed and/or poorly thought out.

 

Tricky Trophies:

Compared to Origins, Dragon Age II has quite a few missable trophies; some are only within a single Act like “Demon Slayer” (find and kill Hybris) and others span 2+ Acts like “Supplier” (find all resources) and “Archeologist” (find the Band of Three’s secret messages in each Act). None of these are too difficult as you’ll have to play at least two playthroughs anyways, but there is more to keep in mind compared to the previous game.

 

Conclusion:

Dragon Age II is my least favourite in the series (save for the narrative), but I think it is at least worth a playthough, especially if you plan to play its sequel.

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Platinum #5 - The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

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Welcome to the game competing with Resident Evil 4 to be the title available on the most platforms (AKA high fantasy Fallout)!

 

Story:

How it went for me: escape from your execution, see a dragon, have a few gnarly Dumbledores teach you to shout, and then do a bunch of side quests and leave the main story for the end. By the end, I was so overpowered Alduin didn’t go out with a bang, but with a whimper.

 

Gameplay:

I love the array of customization options available to the player. I made several characters, but my favourite is a toss-up between my spellsword Arch-Mage of the College of Winterhold, and my Khajiit archer (in both the Thieves’ Guild and the Dark Brotherhood, crossing the feline from bad to evil).

 

I like the occasional animations for killing enemies and the flycam that sometimes triggers when using arrows or spells. I also had a few funny interactions where I’d be in stealth drawing back an arrow, and a NPC (a thief or assassin, usually) would come out of nowhere, suddenly demanding my possessions or making threats on my character’s life. Only thing is, when in conversation the arrow automatically looses - killing the would-be assailant mid-speech.

 

As for performance, PS3 version is similar to Fallout 3 - it can be horrid, especially in more open areas with many enemies. Running in the overworld as a werewolf, attracting hostiles everywhere resulted in quite a bit of stuttering and lag.

 

Music / VA:

The score is excellent, and the orchestral chorus feels epic whenever I hear it. The voice work is improved over Oblivion, at least.

 

DLC:

Hearthfire is just fluff, saddling you with the responsibilities of home ownership, renovation, and child-rearing, but the other two DLCs are must-plays.

 

Dawnguard gives you access to crossbows, some new Dragon shouts, the Vampire Lord skill tree (which makes regular vampires look just like sun-deprived emos), and improves werewolf perks for the lycanthropically-inclined. The attached narrative is also wonderful, and gives you Serana as a companion (perhaps the most character).

 

Dragonborn is a lovely expansion to the main game, and it introduces Solstheim - opening up a variety of new cool-looking weapons and armour to craft and collect.

 

Tricky Trophies:

The only tricky trophy is getting all Daedric artifacts since the game can glitch and lock you out of meeting the requirements.

 

Conclusion:

As always, the best platform to experience Skyrim is on PC; however, if you’re insistent on earning trophies, the Special Edition on PS4 is the best option.

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Platinum #6 - Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition

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My first PS4 Platinum, and the first of the reboot trilogy!

 

Story:

Lara Croft and the crew of The Endurance are shipwrecked on the lost island of Yamatai, and she has to save her friend from an ancient Japanese sun queen.

 

Gameplay:

Tomb Raider has a good variety of weapons and outfits to choose from, and the remastered graphics look great as well. Many have compared this game to Uncharted, but the combat is a bit more versatile since you are able to customize your weapons, skills, and loadout. There are plenty of combat encounters, which can be handled stealthily instead going in guns blazing. Dismantling enemies with the pickaxe is surprisingly brutal, especially once unlocking the relevant skills.

 

There are many collectibles to find, but thankfully they show up on the map. Solving puzzles in the challenge tombs were nice little side activities to complete.

 

Music / VA:

The score is excellent, as is the voice work. Camilla Luddington does an incredible job of breathing life into Lara (I may have a crush on this woman’s voice).

 

Tricky Trophies:

Pretty much all of the multiplayer trophies are tricky to get since boosting is required at this point.

 

In the base game, there are a few missable trophies like having all possible conversations with your crew, killing two enemies after making one drop a dynamite, and shooting a thrown dynamite out of the air.

 

Conclusion:

If you like third person action-adventure games, this one is right up your alley!

Edited by ParkestNight
Fixed some grammatical mistakes
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Platinum #7 - Dragon Age: Inquisition

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Yes, the guy who earned the Platinum for the first two games in the series did the same for the third, Inquisition! Like Dragon Age II, this was a day-one purchase.

 

Note: keep in mind that for this write-up I am referring to the PS3 version of the game!

 

Story:

The explosive events of the end of Dragon Age II lead directly to the Conclave, a meeting between the two opposing factions, the Templar Order and the Circle of Magi. The Conclave also implodes on itself, and suddenly demons start raining from a rift in the sky. Your character, a nobody at this point, can close these rifts thanks to a mysterious mark that has appeared on your hand. After some trial and tribulation, you are now the leader of the Inquisition tasked with closing all the rifts for good; we are back to another “chosen one vs. evil” story.

 

Gameplay / Graphics:

Since Inquisition was a cross-generational game, BioWare needed a way to bring save imports to the PS4 - so they created the Dragon Age Keep website for players to customize their own world state (all without having to play through the games). It was as easy as choosing your settings, then uploading them. I think it was a good enough solution that respected players’ choice/time as well as helping newcomers ease their way into the game.

 

I will remind you that I played the PS3 version of the game. Performance was pretty garbage; stuttering, lag, freezing - the works. I can’t find any articles, but I’m pretty sure refunds were issued for PS3/360 owners who bought digital copies.

 

Of course, these performance issues make their way into combat as well. The PS3 was chugging in larger encounters, even in High Dragon fights. Thankfully, the actual combat itself was good; BioWare improved upon II’s absurd speed, animations, and additional tactics options are now available.

 

These issues aren’t helped by Inquisition’s foray into (semi-)open-world territory. The numerous areas are too large with far too little to do in between (“as wide as an ocean and as deep as a puddle”). The game would have benefited from linearity or having smaller maps of higher-quality/density.

 

The graphics demonstrate the age of the PS3 hardware; the characters and environment look like melted crayons - it was hard to take serious narrative moments and romance scenes seriously (the romance in particular reminded me of a child smashing two crayons).

 

Music / VA:

Inon Zur doesn’t return to compose the score for Inquisition, but the music is still solid. The main cast is phenomenal and only some random NPCs are bad.

 

Tricky Trophies:

The only tricky missable trophy is “Belle of the Ball” which is described rather vaguely as “gain the full approval of the Orlesian court.” The other missable trophies can be earned without a guide (as was my case), but you’ll be hard-pressed to discover all the requirements to earn “Belle of the Ball” on your own.

 

Beating the game on Nightmare difficulty isn’t bad at all, but the battle preceding your arrival in Skyhold will most likely be your biggest hurdle to overcome.

 

Conclusion:

If you are interested in playing Dragon Age: Inquisition, do so on PC (or at the very least in the PS4 generation of consoles). In terms of trophies, this game is more on the time-consuming side.

Edited by ParkestNight
Fixed a grammatical error
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Platinum #8 - Broken Age

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This game was more than fine; in fact, it’d say it was Double Fine. Originally a Kickstarter project, Broken Age made its way onto the PS4 and Vita in 2015.

 

Story:

I recall the story vaguely; two teenagers living in seemingly different worlds set out to seek the truth in their respective lives. After events unfurl, both find themselves stuck in the other’s world, whereupon they must together (but separately) to free themselves and their people from their chains.

 

Gameplay / Graphics:

Broken Age is a point-and-click game (my first one) which entails solving puzzles (in the case of NPCs, they generally want you to solve their problems).

 

The art style has both depth and whimsy, and the colours are vibrant. The animations are smooth and accentuate the art style nicely.

 

VA:

The voice work is fantastic overall, even for unimportant NPCs

 

Tricky Trophies:

The one hour speedrun is definitely challenging, I found there was little room for mistakes (I only made it with a few minutes to spare). Also, be mindful of interacting with at least 30 different objects with Shay's spoon.

 

Conclusion:

Whether you’re a veteran of the point-and-click genre or a newcomer, you can’t go wrong with Broken Age. The game is more or less available on every platform, so explore your options.

 

                                                                                     

Platinum #9 - Mass Effect 2

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Mass Effect 2 was my entry into the series (after which I played 3, then 1, which is an odd way of going about things).

 

Story:

In this space opera, Shepard dies and is resurrected two years later thanks to Cerberus and Project Lazarus; quite an eventful first five minutes of the game. Later, you are tasked by the Illusive Man to investigate and defeat the Reapers, meeting friends old and new along the way.

 

As the Mass Effect trilogy’s narratives are successive, you should definitely play all three games chronologically (which I didn’t do but to be fair, the first game wasn’t available on the PS3 for some time).

 

Gameplay / Graphics:

The combat is smoother and more satisfying than in the first game, with some fresh new abilities. I played as a Sentinel and Garrus was usually in my squad, the third spot going to whoever I thought would best fit the upcoming mission. You can also customize and requisition weapons and armour to suit your needs - even a mini nuke (yeah, you read that right) which can take down the final boss in two or three hits.

 

Romance makes a comeback in 2, and my choice was Miranda. Despite her cold and distant exterior, she’ll open up after you earn her trust, revealing not only her softer side but voicing her own insecurities and turbulent upbringing. Most may have been allured by her physique, but I think that her as…tronomical intellect is her biggest charm.

 

The Paragon/Renegade system also makes a return! Sure, some of your actions have consequences, but to be able to make optimal choices at the end of the game, the player is forced to reach full Paragon (or Renegade) and the only way to do that is to react mostly as a Paragon (or Renegade) throughout the game. In short, Shepard’s choice generally boils down to red vs. blue (do you ever wonder why we’re here?).

 

When the game released in 2010, the graphics looked amazing. You ask me, I still think it holds up pretty well. As an aside, Mass Effect 2 apparently had a much higher budget than Dragon Age: Origins, which was released only two months prior (compare characters and environment details, graphical fidelity, etc.). I love Origins, but I wish it looked better - it looked rough by 2009 standards.

 

Music / VA:

The score is great, and BioWare’s casting director knocks it out of the park yet again with scouting talent for voice work.

 

Tricky Trophies:

The missable trophies aren’t too bad so long as you complete each companion’s loyalty mission (which will in turn ensure that the “suicide” mission results in no casualties); however, the most difficult trophy is for beating the game on Insanity difficulty - having played all the games (yes, even Andromeda), my opinion is that 2’s Insanity run is the most difficult (minus the rather lacklustre final boss - getting there is the real challenge).

 

Conclusion:

The story and companions are great, but for the best experience you should (you guessed it) play it on PC. Otherwise, you could play the remastered trilogy on current consoles via the Legendary Edition that was released a few months ago.

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12 hours ago, Mesopithecus said:

I've been really enjoying reading your reviews so far, great job man, keep it up!

 

Thank you so much, I'm glad you like my write-ups! I'm trying to post one of these per day, I'm having fun reminiscing over these experiences!

Edited by ParkestNight
Fixed grammatical errors
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Platinum #10 - Okami HD

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Now we move from Platinum number canine to the tenth, Okami HD (sorry for the dog-awful pun)! This game was originally released on the PS2, but my first experience with it was on the original Wii (the Wii-mote controls for brushing are undoubtedly the best).

 

Story:

The sun goddess Amaterasu (in the form of a white wolf) reawakens from a long slumber. With the help of Issun, it is up to you to find the rest of the Celestial gods to gain the power to defeat the evil that plagues Nippon.

 

My only complaint about the story is its slightly long-winded nature; given that the main boss of the first two acts is Orochi and then True Orochi, the two acts could have been condensed into one.

 

Gameplay / Graphics:

There are a variety of weapons Amaterasu can use (which is honestly quite impressive for a wolf), but the enemy variety is somewhat disappointing. Many enemies are simply reskins, even reusing the same animations.

 

The Celestial brush mechanic is a stroke of genius. It is rather versatile, finding use in and out of combat, for solving puzzles, etc. I believe the PS3 version of the game has PlayStation Move support, but I can’t personally vouch for it (and neither can I compare it to the Wii-mote controls).

 

The colourful and vibrant art style and animation is perhaps the most striking part of Okami, inspired by Japanese ukiyo-e and it holds up quite well; each frame is a work of art.

 

Music:

The soundtrack is amazing; it makes use of traditional Japanese instruments to evoke a wide range of emotions. If you usually play games while listening to music or a podcast (like I do now), I highly recommend you listen to the game audio instead.

 

Tricky Trophies:

Completing the Bestiary is missable because some enemies are exclusively in areas that become inaccessible once leaving.

 

At the very end of the game, you will be receive a rating for various activities (e.g. collecting Demon Fangs). The Cherry Tree rating is the highest, and achieving in all categories isn’t hard at all, but failing to do so will mean another playthrough (or at the very least, reloading a previous save). There are trophies for some but not all of the categories, so keep track; there’s no in-game tracker. Follow a guide and make backup saves!

 

Of all the grindiest trophies, my least favourite one is a tie between catching every type of fish (RNG) and collecting all Stray Beads (there's 99 of these things).

 

Conclusion:

If you want a wonderful story with humour, tragedy, and hope, then Okami is a fine choice. I’m not sure if it’s available on PC, but a PS4 version was released a few years ago; the PS3 and PS4 trophy lists are one and the same, so you may as well play the newer version.

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Platinums #11, 12, & 13 - Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection

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Before this point, I’d only played the original Among Thieves on the PS3, so the other two games were uncharted territory for me. I decided to condense the collection into one post to avoid repeating myself regarding gameplay, etc.

 

Story:

Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune Remastered introduces treasure hunter Nathan Drake and his mentor, Sully. After Sully is supposedly killed, Nathan joins reporter Elena Fisher to track down the killers to the island of El Dorado.

 

In Uncharted 2 : Among Thieves Remastered, Nathan Drake is double-crossed by fellow thief Harry Flynn. Months later, he is freed by his treasure hunter Chloe Frazer and Sully. Meeting friends old and new, Nathan must race the war criminal Lazarevic to reach the city of Shambhala first.

 

Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception Remastered is pretty similar: find the lost city of Ubar before your rivals Marlowe and Talbot do.

 

There are some great story moments and character growth that happens during and in between each game, but individual plots of each game are more or less the same.

 

Gameplay / Graphics:

The gameplay across the trilogy is very similar, the combat and puzzles just become more fine-tuned with each release.

 

It wasn’t until Among Thieves that the series really nailed the large set pieces that Uncharted has become known for, improving upon it in the third game (and onwards).

 

Music / VA:

Other than the main theme song, I can’t personally say that the Uncharted trilogy’s music was particularly memorable.

 

The voice cast includes seasoned veterans like Nolan North and Claudia Black, so the performances are fantastic.

 

Tricky Trophies:

The Nathan Drake Collection comes with add-on trophies baked-in, which includes beating each game on Brutal difficulty. Crushing difficulty is more than enough for me, so hard pass on that. If your concern is limited to what is required for Platinum, you needn’t worry about Brutal difficulty.

 

While The Nathan Drake Collection removes any multiplayer requirements that were present in the original games, it also adds several speedrunning trophies to replace them. They’re not that bad, but I felt it was worth mentioning.

 

Conclusion:

If you’ve never played any game in the original trilogy, I’d at the very least recommend the second one, Among Thieves. The collection is available for cheap (and is on sale somewhat regularly). It has been given away for free in the past, so you may already have it available to play via PS+ or the Stay At Home initiative.

Edited by ParkestNight
Fixed grammatical errors
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Dude, I love the way you do your write-ups. 

 

I'm a big believer in looking back over your trophy experiences and the memories attached to them, so its nice to see your getting alot of joy looking back over what've you done over several years when doing these reviews. You've got alot of the PS exclusive games like Uncharted which I've missed due to being on Xbox for years, so it's nice to be able to see where to begin for a newcomer to alot of these IPs like me!

 

All the best, and keep up the good work.

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Thank you so much for your kind words, @Glorious Fury! I'm mostly doing these write-ups as a way to organize my thoughts, but I am glad others are enjoying them as well!

 

Cheers, bro <3

 

                                                                                     

Platinum #14 - The Order: 1886

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Story:

Centuries ago, King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table discovered the Blackwater, a miraculous substance that significantly increases the lifespan and heals the wounds of any who consume it. Now in 1886 London, the Order is fighting back against the Lycans that are terrorizing Whitechapel.

 

Gameplay / Graphics:

Strangely, there is little gameplay to speak of. The game’s narrative and combat sections are very short. Ready At Dawn had a good idea in their hands, but failed to flesh out the story in a meaningful way. Frankly, The Order: 1886 ends up feeling more like a tech demo than anything else.

 

Graphically, the game looks great, but that may only be due to the aspect ratio being fixed at 2.40:1.

 

VA:

The voice acting is actually good, but the game’s short length leaves much to be desired.

 

Conclusion:

The game isn’t horrible, but isn’t great, either. If you have a few hours to kill, the game is on sale for under $10 every now and then.

 

                                                                                     

Platinums #15 & 16 - God of War & God of War II

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Before the adventures of Dad and Boy, there was the story of Angry Loincloth Man. The PS2 classics make their way onto the PS3 with trophies!

 

Story:

God of War introduces the very angry Spartan warrior Kratos, who desires vengeance upon Ares for having tricked Kratos into killing his own wife and daughter.

 

In God of War II, Kratos is now the new God of War. However, in a shocking turn of events, Zeus sends Kratos to the underworld. Unsurprisingly, Kratos continues to be angry and plots with the Titan Gaia to overthrow Olympus and the gods.

 

Gameplay / Graphics:

The hack-and-slash combat of the two games is simple, but effective. It is brutal and visceral, and it’s fun adding magic attacks into the mix.

 

To this day, I still have no idea why the “adult” QTE minigames were deemed necessary.

 

The graphics aged poorly, but the bonus costumes more than make up for it.

 

Music / VA:

The music complemented the tone of the game well, whether in combat or in narrative cutscenes.

 

The voice acting is decent, I rather like the narrator lady who monologues in each game of the trilogy. Special shoutout for the actor that voices Kratos; hopefully, his throat wasn’t permanently damaged from all the screaming.

 

Tricky Trophies:

In God of War, the hardest trophy is hands-down for beating the Challenge of the Gods (I still maintain that these challenges are the toughest of the trilogy). However, the most frustrating one for me personally was for climbing the Spiked Column in Hades without getting damaged.

 

In God of War II, beating the Challenge of the Titans isn’t as bad, but the game is worse with collectibles (especially all the Uber chests).

 

Conclusion:

The games are definitely fun, but they’re also a product of the times. Temper your expectations, and your experience will be fine.

Edited by ParkestNight
Fixed weird formatting
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Platinum #17 - The Walking Dead

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Making a video game derived from another medium (comics, in this case) is usually a TellTale sign of a bad game; however, the first season of The Walking Dead exceeds expectations.

 

Story:

Convicted murderer Lee Everett escapes from an overturned police car to horrid chaos; the walking dead. After killing one, he narrowly escapes to a nearby neighbourhood where he chances upon a lone child. Her name is Clementine, and with no parents or guardian in sight, Lee takes it upon himself to care for her, intertwining their fates.

 

Gameplay / Graphics:

The Walking Dead is an episodic point-and-click game, and the performance is mostly fine. Personally, I only had a lot of stuttering and lag in the very last episode with very few issues in episodes prior (for reference, I played the PS4 version).

 

I do have a gripe in the choices the game offers; many are surface-level at best. For example, let's say you can choose between Choice A and Choice B - whichever you choose, something happens later on to nullify the result of the choice in the end. This happens through the season.

 

Graphically, the game is decent. The art style does make it look like a comic, though I’m not sure whether that was the intended effect.

 

Music / VA:

The music wasn’t particularly noteworthy, but it did its job in setting the tone of any given scene, or adding suspense; nevertheless, the voice acting was phenomenal - these performances made the game, especially Lee and Clementine. Kenny was great, too, in his own way.

 

Conclusion:

I haven’t played seasons three or four of The Walking Dead, but I can tell you that the first season is wonderful. The game has its flaws, but it did get me to care about the characters.

 

                                                                                     

Platinum #18 - Transistor

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Transistor is the first game (of many, I'm sure) on my list of which I remember nothing, except that the protagonist's name is Red and the music is banging (I still listen to the soundtrack every now and then).

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Platinum #19 - The Wolf Among Us

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Before imposters started “acting sus,” we could only count on The Wolf Among Us.

 

Story:

Bigby Wolf (AKA The Big Bad Wolf) is the Sheriff of Fabletown. The Crooked Man is doing some crooked things in the crooked town, so it is up to Bigby and Snow White to get to the bottom of things.

 

The story of The Wolf Among Us includes many famous fairy tale characters, but they’ve all been stripped of their happy ending (think The Brothers Grimm rather than Disney) and are struggling to get by in the world of the mundies.

 

Gameplay / Graphics:

The gameplay and performance is about the same as in The Walking Dead - there is occasional lag and stuttering, but I didn’t encounter major issues until the very last episode.

 

Music / VA:

Again, like in The Walking Dead, the voice work and characters made the game. The music was just there.

 

Tricky Trophies:

There aren’t tricky trophies, but you choose both major decisions at the end of each episode in order to unlock all entries in the Book of Fables. Luckily with chapter select, it is easy to achieve.

 

I only mention this because the majority of the TellTale games only require playing each episode to earn all trophies.

 

Conclusion:

Personally speaking, I’d say The Wolf Among Us is my favourite of the TellTale games I’ve played. With TellTale shutting its doors, I didn't expect a second season, but apparently another company purchased its assets, changed their name to TellTale Inc., and now the second season is reportedly back in production. I won't believe it until I see it, but I'll be cautiously optimistic.

 

                                                                                     

Platinum #20 - Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor - Game of the Year Edition

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What a title (trying saying it 5 times fast).

 

Story:

Talion is a Ranger of Gondor stationed at the Black Gate (right on the border to Mordor). After the barracks are ambushed by Uruks, Talion and his family are killed. Instead of dying however, Talion awakens in the Wraith World, where he is approached by Celebrimbor who suggests they join forces to defeat the forces of Sauron. Celebrimbor is bound to Talion's body (which somehow brings him back to the living world) and they set off to destroy Sauron and his army, meeting friends and unlikely allies along the way.

 

Gameplay / Graphics:

The combat is similar to the Batman Arkham series (which makes sense since both were published by the Warner Bros.), being able to dodge, parry, strike, grab, throw, etc. Talion also has his bow and dagger for stealth. As your combo count gets higher, the more brutal executions you can inflict on enemies. In addition, there are various runes you can use to augment your weapons as you wish; maybe you want to prioritize stealth or just do more damage. The ability to customize is great.

 

It is badass to use Celebrimbor’s wraith abilities, from running ridiculously fast, to vanishing, travelling several feet, and reappearing to assassinate an unsuspecting orc.

 

The Nemesis system is especially cool in creating a world state unique to each player. The Nemesis system keeps track of your most bitter rival, who has a grudge on you, who’s likely to betray you, etc. The final battle will pit you against several of your personal worst enemies, tailored to your playthrough - I was blown away.

 

Recruiting orcs into your army is a tonne of fun as well; sometimes they’ll be absolutely loyal, even saving your would-be killer. Sometimes they’ll betray you for their own reasons. For example, I pit a pair of twins against each other to earn my trust (and a trophy, to be fair), but the survivor ambushed me not too long after. He was unsuccessful, but that was quite a memorable moments. Another time, an orc betrayed me because I made another guy a Warlord instead of him (I think they were rivals). Even orcs love promotions, I guess.

 

Music / VA:

A quick look at the cast on IMDB lists some well-known names: Troy Baker, Laura Bailey, Matthew Mercer, Nolan North, Travis Willingham, Yuri Lowenthal, and the list goes on. I get that they’re talented people (and the voice work on this game was great), but I could really do without some of these familiar voices in every game I play (or so it seems).

 

DLC:

The GOTY edition comes with both DLCs, but I had enough of the game and never went back to it.

 

Tricky Trophies:

The servers shut down not too long ago, but “Repaid in Blood” can be done offline now. None of the trophies are especially difficult, but it took me quite a few tries to execute a burning Berserker and liberating 30 slaves in 180 seconds while riding a caragor. Acquiring a level 25 rune requires some planning and preparation, but again, this is more annoying than difficult.

 

Conclusion:

If you like The Lord of the Rings lore, you’ll have some fun (just be aware that the game takes some creative liberty lore-wise). If you like the Batman Arkham combat, you’ll pick this up pretty quickly. Otherwise, I’d recommend you play this for the Nemesis system alone, it’s really cool.

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Platinum #21 - Tales from the Borderlands

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Story:

The story starts off with a stranger having kidnapped two characters, Rhys and Fiona. The stranger prompts the two to tell their tales, and the narrative begins in earnest.

 

Rhys is a Hyperion employee who is sacked by a heartless executive, Hugo. As a result, Rhys and his accountant friend Vaughn decide to steal Hugo’s briefcase of stolen money to purchase a Vault Key from a seller on Pandora before the executive can.

 

Fiona and her sister Sasha are the sellers, or so Rhys thinks; in truth, the sisters are con artists. The Vault Key is a fake, but the money is stolen (yet again) by a third party. While trying to recover the lost money, Rhys chances upon a Hyperion ID chip and installs it into his cybernetic eye. To his surprise, the chip contains Handsome Jack’s consciousness in hologram form.

 

The above is more or less a summary of the first episode, but the rest of the story is great; you meet new friends (including an incredibly cute robot), and familiar characters from the mainline Borderlands games make cameos (excluding those from 3, as it hadn’t been released at this point in time).

 

Tales from the Borderlands is hands-down the funniest TellTale game I’ve played, though there are surprisingly some emotional moments, too.

 

Gameplay / Graphics:

Including the two other TellTale games I’ve already reviewed, the performance of this game is the worst of the bunch. There is a lot of stuttering in the last two episodes, particularly the last scene of the final episode where the frames drop dramatically (referring to the PS4 version; the game is also available on the PS3, but I don't even want to imagine how that version would perform). I'm not sure why Tales from the Borderlands' performance was so poor, considering that the graphics were more or less identical to other TellTale titles.

 

Unrelated, but I was rather disappointed that only Vaughn and Rhys made an appearance in Borderlands 3, excluding Fiona and Sasha entirely (though to be fair, perhaps it was a mercy; 3 isn’t exactly the best game of the franchise).

 

Music / VA:

Conversely, the music is the best of the TellTale games thus far, as Tales from the Borderlands follows the mainline series’ formula of having an awesome, drawn-out cinematic introduction to each episode.

 

I’m absolutely gobsmacked Troy Baker and Laura Bailey are on the list of voice actors; they’re a rare sight in this industry ? /s. Jokes aside, I was actually surprised to discover that Ashley Johnson (who voices of Ellie in The Last of Us) is the voice of Gortys. As much as I rag on hearing particular voices ad nauseum, the voice acting in this game is splendid.

 

Conclusion:

I still go back and forth between this game and The Wolf Among Us as my favourite TellTale game, but you honestly couldn't go wrong with either. If you enjoy the Borderlands series, you could consider this game supplementary material; not required, but providing context to some characters in Borderlands 3.

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It's awesome to see someone else having a nice little retrospective look back at what they've played up to this point. I've really enjoyed reading these!

 

Interesting that you've decided to go through chronologically too, I debated doing that myself when I started my thread a couple of months ago - but knowing how my brain works, I figured I'd probably find it a bit of a struggle to go chronologically, in case I suddenly decided I wanted to talk about a very specific game or series. Which has actually happened a few times. You're making really great progress though.

 

Impressive you're trying to do one a day too. If at any point, it starts to become a bit of a chore - and this is entirely up to you of course, I'm not here to tell you how you should structure YOUR checklist. Take a step back and come back to it when you're a bit more refreshed. I'd hate the idea of you losing enjoyment writing these because you're pushing yourself due to a schedule. I'm probably worrying about nothing though.

 

Looking forward to reading more of these in the future.

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I'm happy to hear that you enjoy my posts so far, @rjkclarke!

 

I considered not ordering my posts at all and just writing on whichever game took my fancy, but I decided that it would just be easier overall to go chronologically. Jumping around the list would have been a hassle, personally.

 

And as for the "one post a day" thing, it's more of a guideline than a hard rule - I'm not holding myself strictly to it. Thank you for your concern, though!

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Platinum #22 - Stories: The Path of Destinies

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Despite the somewhat uninspired title, Stories: The Path of Destinies is a short game that I enjoyed.

 

Story:

Reynardo the fox is a retired corsair who lives in relative peace until one day the emperor sends ravens to ransack Reynardo’s village. The emperor, once a benevolent scholar has become ruthless in his campaign to find artifact and magic thought to be lost.

 

Reynardo escapes his village as the sole survivor after having found a magical book. Now he must find a way to bring down the emperor.

 

Gameplay / Graphics:

The story has many branching paths and associated endings. The book acts as a device to allow the player to explore the paths and start from the beginning with knowledge of their past experiences to determine the last true path.

 

I enjoyed the game but in my opinion, some of the paths weren’t distinguishable enough from others to justify their existence. This made exploring less fun and more tedious.

 

I did enjoy the combat, though I wish there was greater variety of weapons - the game has maybe a handful of swords Reynardo can craft and use.

 

Music / VA:

Throughout the story, there is a narrator that will describe Reynardo’s action. The narrator also voices all the character. I enjoyed the narration at first, but it got old near the end. The music wasn’t memorable.

 

Conclusion:

If you have this game via PS+, I’d give it a whirl. If not, I hear the developer’s next game, Omensight, is set in the same world and much improved over Stories: The Path of Destinies.

 

                                                                                     

Platinum #23 - Dragon Age: Inquisition

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"Wait a minute, didn't this guy already Platinum Dragon Age: Inquisition?" Yes, I did - but this time it's for the PS4 version! For the things I've already covered, I'll refer you to the earlier post: Dragon Age: Inquisition (PS3)

 

Gameplay / Graphics:

The performance and graphics of the game is much, much better on the PS4 (it is essentially a different game entirely), so I feel like it deserves mention here. It is reassuring to see characters that look like people rather than globs of clay.

 

Another nice thing that BioWare did for PS3 version victims was adding a save transfer feature (this has nothing to do with the Dragon Age Keep I mentioned in my earlier post) from the PS3 to the PS4. By transferring your save(s), it is possible to auto-pop a few trophies (which some view dubiously, but as far as I'm concerned, those unfortunate enough to have experienced the PS3 version deserve it). However, it doesn't auto-pop every trophy, such as completing the game on Nightmare difficulty (but I cheesed it by loading a save situated right before facing Corypheus). For the trophies that don't auto-pop, if the requirements are simply doing X amount of actions (e.g. collect 100 herbs from your garden, defeat all ten High Dragons) you need only collect and/or defeat one more to earn the trophy.

 

DLC:

The Jaws of Hakkon (if you buy the Game of the Year Edition for the PS4, you are eligible for the PS3 version as well) and The Descent DLCs are pretty removed from the main story. They add awesome armours, weapons, decorations, etc. that can be used in the main game, which I love.

 

The story of Trespasser, the last DLC, takes place two years after the conclusion of the main game. Trespasser contains the "true" end of Dragon Age: Inquisition and potentially has major ramifications in future games in the series. Again, a major gripe for me personally is that BioWare repeated the mistake they made in Dragon Age II by locking major narrative moments behind another paywall.

 

Tricky Trophies:

Trespasser adds a few annoying trophies that require a completely new, baby-faced character to unlock, but the worst of them is easily "Trial of the Fool." You must reach Skyhold while under level 5. At level four maximum, you will be severely underleveled for the final battle at Haven. Even on easier difficulties, this trophy took me many, many tries. The battle consists of several skirmishes, so you may even want to enter at level 3 with your experience bar almost at level 4. It is possible to gain enough experience to push you to level 5 before reaching Skyhold otherwise, so be mindful!

 

Conclusion:

Do not, under any circumstances, buy the PS3 version (I did because I didn't think I'd get a PS4 as early as I did), but the GOTY edition for the PS4 instead - it is somewhat regularly on sale for under $10.

Edited by ParkestNight
Fixed some grammatical errors
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Platinum #24 - Mass Effect 3

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The controversial final game of the otherwise beloved trilogy.

 

Story:

With little warning, the Reapers invade Earth in the blink of an eye. After evacuating, Commander Shepard must deal with this galactic threat by wrangling the alien races to a common cause - building the Crucible, which is the last, best option for the survival of all organic life.

 

BioWare also released the Extended Cut after release to address fans’ criticisms of unsatisfying potential endings to the game - whether or not they were successful is up to you. Personally, at this point, it had been years after Mass Effect 3 released (so I never experienced a pre-Extended Cut experience) and I hadn’t yet played the first game in the series; the significance (or lack thereof) of Mass Effect 3’s endings may have been lost on me.

 

Gameplay / Graphics:

The gameplay is similar to 2’s, except now you have an Omni-blade to cut the tension in the room. There are also some more options in terms of control your squad members' movements and AI.

 

Comparing to 2 again, there is an “Effective Military Strength” and “Readiness Rating” to determine your chances of success against the Reapers - and whether there will be an "after" for Shepard and other organic life.

 

It goes without saying that some choices in the previous two games will carry over and have consequences for Shepard and for the last stand against the Reapers.

 

Mass Effect 3 introduces multiplayer to the series; players can choose from characters of different race/roles (e.g. Asari, Krogan, etc.), squad up, and take on waves of enemies. Another cool thing BioWare does in terms of trophies is providing multiple unlock conditions - generally, completing something in the single-player campaign or achieving something in the multiplayer, either will net you your reward. This not only puts choice in the players' hands, but also future-proofs trophies in the event of server shutdown.

 

Music / VA:

The main cast is excellent as usual (with some big names), but the music seems especially terse and somber, reflecting the weight on Shepard’s shoulders as well as what’s at stake.

 

DLC:

Mass Effect 3 has several DLCs, but I never bought any because they were never on sale (or I missed them if there were any). I think a common consensus is that the Citadel DLC is the fan favourite (due to an egregious amount of fan service, or so I hear).

 

Tricky Trophies:

The trophy for killing 5,000 enemies was the last, grindiest one I earned before the Platinum. There aren’t enough enemies in a single playthrough to earn the trophy, so I searched for a guide on YouTube to easily farm kills in NG+. Near the beginning of the game, there is an an encounter with an enemy called a Cannibal. If you use Carnage to defeat the Cannibal, another will spawn infinitely. Using this method, it took me just over an hour of farming to earn the rest of my kills.

 

Apparently, if you have the Citadel DLC there is an alternative way to grind kills (but since I never bought any DLC, I couldn’t tell you what it is or whether it was better than the method mentioned above).

 

As is typical in the series, completing the game on Insanity difficulty will most likely be your greatest hurdle to the Platinum.

 

Conclusion:

I wish I had played the trilogy in order, but the cat was out the bag. In any case, I still love Mass Effect 3 and I can’t recommend it enough. Play it on the Legendary Edition, though - it’s remastered and includes all DLC (strangely though, none of the DLCs have associated trophies).

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Platinum #25 - Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands

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This game is a short and easy one, given via PS+ as a an offering (when such PS3 games were still included with the Instant Game Collection). I can’t remember the story except that you’re a Prince of Persia and there is a lot of sand - it’s coarse and rough and it gets everywhere. There is plenty of platforming and the combat is pretty basic.

 

                                                                                     

Platinum #26 - Bastion

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Supergiant Games is a bastion of great entertainment, and this was their debut work.

 

Story:

You play as The Kid, who awakens to discover that the city of Caelondia is fractured due to an event known as the Calamity. The Kid meets another survivor, Rucks (the narrator of the game) who sends The Kid to find the cores that once powered the city.

 

Gameplay / Graphics:

Bastion has an isometric view, and your character can dodge-roll and wield several weapons in his arsenal. If you want to make the game harder, you can activate Idols to buff your enemies.

 

The graphics are detailed and depicts a broken city that feels lived-in despite the recent Calamity. The view of being on floating islands is pretty awesome, too.

 

Music / VA:

Rucks narrates The Kid’s actions, growling in your ears throughout the entire game. Other than in cutscenes, Rucks doesn’t say too much, which avoids annoying the player.

 

The music is excellent; I believe they used the same composer for Transistor.

 

Tricky Trophies:

Completing all the Dreams (which are nightmares) is definitely tough, especially with all ten Idols activated. Luck can sometimes be a factor - during one run, two Lunkerheads felt pity for me and jumped off a cliff.

 

Conclusion:

I liked this game a bit more than Transistor, but I'd honestly recommend both

 

                                                                                     

Platinum #27 - Game of Thrones

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Everything else is your standard fare TellTale, so I’m just going to talk about the narrative a little bit; take a double shot of despresso, because this game is such a downer.

 

Story:

You play as various members of House Forrester of Ironrath. They are Northerners loyal to the Starks. Your rivals, House Whitehill, have thrown in with the Lannisters.

 

Since this game is based on the HBO show (rather than the book directly), I had a sinking feeling that the Forresters would just get put through the meat grinder (after all, what can a random house do to the untouchable Lannisters?) - I was right. Betrayal, murder, loss - the writer must be Lemony Snicket because the Forresters suffer from a series of unfortunate events. Every choice is between bad or worse, and they get screwed over in every conceivable way.

 

Conclusion:

I wouldn't recommend this if you like being happy, or if you are just at a point in your life where you just need an example to point at and say, "At least my situation isn't that bad."

Edited by ParkestNight
Fixed GoT number from 26 to 27. Apparently, I can't count
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Platinum #28 - Guacamelee!

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Holy guacamole, it's Guacamelee! This game was my first metroidvania and it's very easy for beginners to pick up.

 

Story:

On the Day of the Dead, the village of Santa Luchita comes under attack by Calaca, who kidnaps Lupita (El Presidente’s daughter). During the same attack, Juan is killed and sent to the land of the dead. Once there, a luchadora named Tostada gives him a luchador mask that allows him to traverse between the worlds of the living and the dead at will. Now, he is the only Juan who can stop Calaca and save Lupita.

 

Gameplay / Graphics:

Guacamelee! is a 2D metroidvania complete with purchasable maps, combat upgrades, traversal, and side quests. Each special attack Juan learns for both combat and traversal is genuinely fun to use, and the game is paced in a way that is both enjoyable and natural.

 

Each boss requires observing their respective attack and movement patterns, then adjusting accordingly. The animations are great, and the boss designs are a pleasure to behold.

 

Guacamelee!’s art style is fun and whimsical, and the game is likewise littered with humourous references and easter eggs alongside some parodies of the freshest memes (at the time of release, anyways).

 

Music / VA:

There’s no VA to speak of, but the music is great.

 

DLC:

There are two sets of DLC, one is mostly just alternate skins and the other introduces the Infierno challenges.

 

Tricky Trophies:

For me, Hard mode was truly a challenge that felt impossible at certain points, but the satisfaction once overcoming them was immeasurable. Collecting all the orbs is also frustrating, though it was mostly due to my slow reflexes.

 

Conclusion:

I don’t know if this game is available still on PS Now, but if so, I'd recommend you try it out if you have a subscription (or a free trial - Sony has reset free trials at least once), provided your connection is good enough.

 

 

                                                                                     

Platinum #29 - Everybody's Gone to the Rapture

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Everyone but you, that is. In this game, you walk around listening to the memories of people that has since mysteriously disappeared. Other than that I can't remember anything except for the excruciatingly slow walking speed (I know it's a walking simulator, but the developers took it too much to heart). If you have it from PS+, it's worth a try, but otherwise I'd wait for a deep, deep sale if you're curious.

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Platinum #30 - Grim Fandango Remastered

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The only guarantee in life is death and taxes; the only guarantee in death... is bureaucracy?

 

Story:

Manny Calavera is a travel agent from the Department of Death. He acts as a guide for the recently departed to the Ninth Underworld, and is able to offer those who were good in life better travel packages (the time to reach the final destination can range from four minutes to four years). Manny discovers that his boss has been scamming Double N tickets from deserving souls, instead hoarding them to give to Hector, a mob boss. Now, Manny must foil the plans of his superiors and Hector while protecting innocent souls along the way.

 

Gameplay / Graphics:

This is a click-and-point game, but I think the solutions to some of the puzzles were way too obscure and complicated.

 

The graphics look dated despite being remastered (but the original game was released in the late 90s, so perhaps some understanding is in order).

 

Music / VA:

The quality of the voice recordings is impressive, but the performances themselves can be hit-or-miss.

 

Tricky Trophies:

The missable trophies are annoying since there is no chapter select, but they’re fine as long as you’re looking out for them. The trophy for completing the playthrough with tank controls isn’t bad either, but it definitely takes some adjustment.

 

Conclusion:

If you like point-and-click games (or specifically other Double Fine games), then you may be interested in this game. It’s available on most platforms, so I’d encourage you to consider your options.

 

                                                                                     

Platinum #31 - Goosebumps: The Game

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As a kid, I regularly read R.L. Stine's work at the public library. When I saw this on sale (about three bucks), I bought it out of nostalgia. Now, it wasn't the worst three bucks I've ever spent, but this game is decent at best. I don't recommend purchasing this point-and-click game.

 

                                                                                     

 

Platinum #32 - The Deadly Tower of Monsters

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This director's-commentary-on-a-B-movie-within-a-game towers over every other game of its genre.

 

Story:

The story of the game is a bit strange, but you basically follow the commentary of a fictional movie director of a fictional sci-fi B-movie in which you play as the main character. Just think of it as a mockumentary, except that you control the protagonist.

 

Gameplay / Graphics:

The game is a top-down twin-stick shooter. The combat is simple and the controls handle well. There are some interesting set pieces to see and sci-fi enemies to fight. The graphics aren't great, but I'm just going to chalk that up to B-movie inspiration as well.

 

Music / VA:

The voice acting of various characters is intentionally cheesy, reflecting its B-movie status. The narrator talks a lot, but I guess that's to be expected given the premise of the game. That being said, I now realize I've played more narrator-driven stories than I previously thought.

 

Conclusion:

Honestly, at first glance I thought the game would feature mostly story with minimal gameplay, but actual care has been put into making The Deadly Tower of Monsters. The game may appear as some sort of joke, but the narration, dialogue, and B-movie tropes are quite enjoyable. If you have this from PS+, definitely give it a try!

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Platinum #33 - Saints Row: Gat out of Hell

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Yet another PS+ title, I know (I guess I'd gotten carried away) and also my first Saints Row game (again, a strange choice for a first in a series).

 

Story:

Satan kidnaps the Boss to marry him/her to his daughter, Jezebel, and then Johnny Gat and Kinzie Kensington follow to save the Boss. Gat and Kenzie recruit several renowned allies from through history (e.g. Shakespeare) to take down the Lord of Hell and reclaim the Boss.

 

Gat out of Hell is more of a glorified DLC than a fully fleshed-out game, so the story is quite short compared to others in the series.

 

Gameplay / Graphics:

The combat is much like you'd expect in Saints Row, a third-person shooter withs gun and melee weapons; however, Gat and Kinzie also obtain Angel powers to stomp, blast, and summon their way across the underworld. I can't remember having any technical or performances issues with this one, either.

 

Besides just killing demons, there are several side activities you can complete like Hellblazing, Salvation, and Torment Fraud (which I'll talk more about later), which also ties into complete challenges like killing a number of a certain type of demon, geting kills with a certain weapon, taking over entire districts, collecting all 940 soul clusters, etc.

 

Saints Row was never known for its graphics, but Gat out of Hell looks all right.

 

Music / VA:

The music is okay, but there's a scene where "The wheels on the bus goes round and round..." plays ad nauseum, and the damn tune was stuck in my head for days afterwards (which was its own sort of hell). Kind of spoiler-y, but near the end of the game there is one scene that unfolds as a musical, which I thoroughly enjoyed.

 

Tricky Trophies:

The trophies related to the Comet require a bit of luck (as they are wont to explode somewhat randomly). Hitting five cars in a row in Torment Fraud is also somewhat tricky - sometimes you don't get enough height, or there aren't enough cars around.

 

The most difficult trophy is for completing all challenges in Hell since it requires you to do everything on the map.

 

Conclusion:

If you're interested in a Saints Row game, but want a shorter experience, this one is for you. Most would say the best game in the series is one of the first three games, but don't let that deter you from this game. In addition being given away via PS+, I believe Gat out of Hell is also on PS Now, if you want to try it that way.

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