Popular Post JoaLoft Posted June 9, 2022 Popular Post Share Posted June 9, 2022 #286 - Control Time for another game which has been sitting on my backlog shelf for a long time, and got the time it deserved this past week. Control takes place in the Oldest House, a massive windowless skyscraper in the middle of New York City, hidden away for most humans, except for "those who want to find it". You play as Jesse Faden, a woman in search of her brother. They were both involved in a paranormal event in their fictional town of Ordinary, Maine. (what's in a name), and her brother was taken by the Federal Bureau of Control for an unspecified purpose. As Jesse arrives at the Oldest House, she finds that most employees are missing and she discovers the Director has committed suicide in his office with a very special pistol called the "Service Weapon". Whoever wields the Service Weapon, becomes the new Director and you guessed it: Jesse picks up the gun and de facto becomes the new Director. As it turns out, an otherworldly entity called "The Hiss" has invaded the Bureau from another dimension which takes over organisms and turns them into hostile beings. Think of alien zombies, if that helps visualize it. The problem is contained within the paranormal building for now. It is up to Jesse to find her brother, connect the dots as she explores the building, locates survivors and contains and stops the threat of the Hiss in the Oldest House. A quick word about the location itself: the Oldest House is a very abnormal building. called a "Place of Power". In it, you open up different sections one part at a time as you gain more supernatural powers and keycards from surviving security personnel. It is a structure not built by humankind and its true origins are a mystery in the lore thus far. For more info on how humankind stumbled upon the building in the first place, I'll let you play the game to discover it for yourself. But the way it is built up, adds to the immersion of the game. The Bureau took office in the building to study other dimensions and paranormal matter as a sort of secret government agency, but inside, the Oldest House consists of Thresholds, which connect regular rooms and floors to various alternate dimensions. As such, you'll be diving in and out of different dimensions often, coming into contact with paranatural phenomena. This adds to the way you experience the game: Control has no linear path. The building opens up more, and as you grow stronger or unlock new sectors, you can take the elevator or fast-travel through checkpoints and explore the entire building as an actual building (minus the short loading screens). One could consider it backtracking, but with how many checkpoints and optional places there are to discover, it never grows old. It doesn't only allow for you to really develop a feel for the Oldest House and how it... exists? But it helps bring the story, the quests, the lore and the characters to life. The Oldest House as such contributes greatly to how you experience the game. Throughout the game, you'll grow stronger and invest skill points in a tree, and unlock new modes for the Service Weapon with the paranatural resources you collect from enemies and chests. By the latter half of the game, Jess can levitate around rooms, use telekinesis to throw objects and shield herself with pieces of concrete, evade attacks super fast, convert enemies into allies ... the supernatural abilities not only prevent combat from turning stale. They turn the combat into one of the best parts of the game. As the Director, you'll have to deal with other crises which have occurred after the invasion of the Hiss. The Oldest House is not only a space-defying and constantly-shifting labyrinth (not in terms of gameplay, don't worry about getting *completely* lost = see the next paragraph underneath for more on that), it is also a huge research center where hundreds upon hundreds of altered paranormal items are being stored for safekeeping and research. Which means there are multiple sidequests available to help deal with these dangerous items. These sidequests sometimes even end up being better than the main story! Sam Lake (creative director at Remedy) loves to take common items or people and give them a paranormal twist. Alan Wake had its paranormal typewriter, pages and even something as simple as a light-switch. Control has paranormal items such as a mirror, a rubber duck, a clock, a floppy disk, a fridge and so many more. All either leading to another dimension or wreaking havoc and needing to be cleansed in a sidequest. Some of them even lead to really cool boss fights that the main story is lacking. The sidequests in Control are absolutely worthy of pursuing and add to the lore at the same time. Also, you'll be coming across a lot of collectibles which all serve a purpose. These are documents, audio logs or video logs to help flesh out the lore. Be sure to pick up as many of them as you can and give them a read/listen/look! One thing I must address, is the pacing. Control has very little holding it back from being a tremendous experience, but this is one of the few cons. For the most part, the pacing ramps up well in most of the game's story. But the first thirty minutes are an insane rollercoaster. From the moment you start the game, there's very little explanation. Jesse arrives. Jesse explores the first sector a bit. Jesse finds the Director dead. Jesse picks up the Service Weapon. Jesse becomes the Director. Jesse gets in touch with a paranormal entity (or group of entities?) called the Board who appoint her Director. And before you know it, you're shooting Hiss-infected survivors with no clues. "Whoa whoa whoa, slow down! I have so many questions!" That's what I was telling myself as I tried to grasp the situation. Moreover, and this is key: you don't get a chance to emotionally connect with Jesse Faden in that introductory hour. The game drops you way too quick into the combat, the location and the situation. That connection only grows during the rest of the story, and although you never care deeply for her situation, she is a likeable protagonist. Remedy (the devs) could have eased us a bit more into her predicament as you discover the world of "Control". The second problem? The map. Whoever decided to include the layout of every sector on a two-dimensional plane (where divisions have multiple staircases and floors) has not had this element passed through QA procedure properly. Earlier on in the game when you want to explore off the beaten path or solve a sidequest, it is sometimes so unclear how to get somewhere. I.e. "I can clearly see the Luck & Probability Research Sector, I know I've been there before, I don't remember how, I'd love to go there to solve the puzzle but I forgot what path to take and where is the damn entrance to the sector how hard can it be to just give me some visual marker even to help guide me!" I get what they were going for: they want you to spend as little time as possible in the menus, so the map uses "Directional Up" as a hotkey. Meaning you can access the map always when you're actively steering Jesse. The design balance is incredibly fragile: on one hand, it would have been disastrous if we had to interrupt the flow all the time by going into the menu every five minutes. On the other hand: having it designed as a two-dimensional map with so many floors and staircases changes the map into an Etch A Sketch project with some text slapped on rooms. Give Jesse a device in the sequel (which has already been confirmed to be in development) which projects an in-game 3D-hologram of the sector. That way: you can access the map in-game without interruptions and it can be displayed in 3D. Or introduce a toggle function to switch between 2D or 3D! In this first game, for immersive purposes, I suggest you make use of the way signs in the sectors, which will help guide you to the right locations. Aside from those two problems, Control is unique and plays very fluidly. The map is a frustrating mess, and the first hour is too fast in narrative pacing, but once you dive deeper, Control offers very cool combat, an intriguing story and lore with plenty of optional content, and a near-insatiable appetite to explore the Oldest House from top to bottom. And if you get the Ultimate Edition (which costs as much as a standard game), you get access to two interesting expansions. One of them even crosses over with Alan Wake, proving that they share the same universe. Another fantastic game of the same studio, I might add. Amazing work, highly recommended! TL;DR This was a very long post, I know. I go into detail a lot in these posts. So: Control. Cool story. Pacing is off at first, but gets a lot better. Combat is awesome. Sidequests are awesome. Location is awesome. Lore and collectibles are intriguing. Map function is a mess. Overall, great game! Get the Ultimate Edition for the full package. Most frustrating trophy - ... NONE! I went back and forth between picking a trophy for this section or not picking one at all. Eventually, I ended up with no frustrating trophies at all. Everything is unmissable, so the only one I distantly considered adding here, would be the "Master Parautilitarian" trophy, which pops when you spent 100 ability points in the skill tree. This is one you should get towards finishing the story and all the optional content, such as side quests or locating hidden rooms. All-in-all, an enjoyable and relatively easy platinum trophy! 18 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post NetoStyle Posted June 9, 2022 Popular Post Share Posted June 9, 2022 #150 Nickelodeon All Star Brawl easy peasy lemon squeezy. Got the game for free thanks to the June PS+ lineup like pretty much everybody else! 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mizz Posted June 9, 2022 Share Posted June 9, 2022 Plat 57 mochi mochi boy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post No longer here Posted June 9, 2022 Popular Post Share Posted June 9, 2022 #158 - The Last Guardian Enjoyment/Fun: 8/10 Difficulty: 4/10 Time: 20+ Hours PSNP Rarity: 3.20% PSN Rarity: 0.3% IMO the most underrated PS exclusive game, mainly because it might not apply to everyone's interests but i can definitely say it is a unique game. I had just found out the game was developed by those who made Shadow of the Colossus (Amazing game) and ICO (Never played it). So I knew it was going to play it, but damn I waited so long to try it. Is it a perfect game? Not at all, but there's an intriguing sense of emotions throughout the game considering you have a pet-like creature with you the whole game. The AI felt real like a dog, which is one of my favorite pets, so it was nice to relate to it while playing this game! With the controls however, they seem weird at first but you will get used to it. However, the AI (Trico) is not responsive at times and it can get frustrating at some moments. Luckily, the cinematics and the immersion makes it all the better and cancels out the flaw in my opinion. Like I said before, certain parts in the game can be a drag especially if Trico isn't all that responsive, but as the game goes on, it actually gets more exciting considering the adventures broadens and the emotions deepened with Trico. Because of this, the ending was my favorite part of the game and it took away some complaints I had earlier. However, learning how to play and dealing with the frustrating beginning of the game won't be forgotten. I recommend this underrated gem if you liked Shadow of the Colossus or ICO, as it contained an intriguing story with a great emotional connection like Trico. Also minor complaint about the trophies, I can see why they're ultra rare, they sucked lol and don't do the game justice. However, it doesn't change my opinion on the game (as it shouldn't), it's just that many of the trophies require RNG or unnatural play. But that is okay, it is done and I am glad to be apart of the club! 14 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post JadedDragos Posted June 9, 2022 Popular Post Share Posted June 9, 2022 #132 MediEvil 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
voodoo_eyes Posted June 9, 2022 Share Posted June 9, 2022 #595 - Endless Fables 4 This one wasn't great. Boring minigames, lack of hidden object puzzless made this one an underwhelming experience. Enjoyment: 5 Difficulty: 2 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Allexzia Posted June 9, 2022 Popular Post Share Posted June 9, 2022 (edited) #51 - Ratchet and Clank: Full Frontal Assault The Collector Collect all trophies. Difficulty 3/10 Enjoyment 6/10 Not really a game i could easily recommend to anyone since its not your typical R&C game. This one is actually a tower defence type of game, which is fun at first but very fast gets annoying. So basically you just need to defend generators from the enemies that spawn from every side of the map. Game is not hard at all, its an easy platinum, but as i said it gets quickly very annoying and repetitive. #52 - Ratchet and Clank: Into the Nexus The Pride of Fastoon Collect every trophy in Ratchet & Clank: Into the Nexus. Difficulty 3/10 Enjoyment 10/10 On the other hand Into the Nexus is much different then above mentioned game. Story, even tho short, its very fun, entertaining and worth playing. Edited June 9, 2022 by Allexzia 14 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post TuomasH92 Posted June 9, 2022 Popular Post Share Posted June 9, 2022 (edited) /100% #518 Edited June 10, 2022 by TuomasH92 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Brainswashed Posted June 9, 2022 Popular Post Share Posted June 9, 2022 (edited) Ninja Gaiden Sigma Difficult : 9/10 high skill depending fun:8/10 Time : up 95 hr this is the worst hardest part NG also he copy pest from vita nothing change ever the control still bad i am old player NG and i like NG2 & 3 better then Sigma 1 my way to platinum first i played 3 playthrough one on hard with all collectibles and ambush second on very hard and third on Master Ninja with all chapter master ninja when i played on very hard took my 7 hr speedrun Ninja Dog but the master up 17 hr about farming weapon best location is trail for Ghost fish / bone fish i call them its very easy to doing all weapon with them and there is another location you can do it as well the enemies in this part keep respawn after beating every thing time to beat the trail also this part have alot glitch you can doing them ( The trail you have to beat every mission 4 time last difficult is master ninja i got platinum with last hardest mission is Eternal Legend on Master Ninja easy way to beat the mission using the wall and try not take damage alot and there is a save point for each phase 1/2/3 the game depends totally on skills and patience Edited June 9, 2022 by Brainswashed 14 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post BlinkWinkel Posted June 10, 2022 Popular Post Share Posted June 10, 2022 (edited) (post deleted) Edited June 22, 2022 by BlinkWinkel 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Valzentia Posted June 10, 2022 Popular Post Share Posted June 10, 2022 #43 - Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl (PS4) Difficulty: 3/10 Fun: 8/10 Entertaining platform fighter if you're a fan of Nickelodeon or Smash Bros...I was more of a Cartoon Network gal but I still got a lot of fun out of this. Plat isn't too hard, though very hard difficulty in arcade mode is kind of a pain in the ass! ? 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post aarnettbraun Posted June 10, 2022 Popular Post Share Posted June 10, 2022 (edited) The Dark Pictures Anthology: Man Of Medan Total Shocker! Collect all Trophies Difficulty: 2/10 Time: 20+ Hours Screenshot When Earned: Edited February 25, 2023 by notandrebraun 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mizz Posted June 10, 2022 Share Posted June 10, 2022 Plat 58 グリザイア ファントムトリガー 03&04(Grisaia Phantom Trigger 03 & 04) 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Trancexistence Posted June 10, 2022 Popular Post Share Posted June 10, 2022 #3 - Maquette This was a pretty inventive 1st person puzzle game with some really clever ideas. I thought the concept of it was great and the visuals were appealing. It's a very good looking game. My experience was kind of soured a little bit by the speedrun trophies in my second playthrough. I find these trophies irritating and this game's mechanics don't really lend themselves to speed running as some of the puzzles are fiddly. A good experience overall though and a solid choice for a PS+ title. Enjoyment: 7/10 Difficulty: 3/10 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Bishcraft Posted June 10, 2022 Popular Post Share Posted June 10, 2022 Platinum No. 36 - No Man’s Sky Fun: 9-10 Difficulty 4-10 Grind - Depends how much of the rest of the game your playing. Time: 127 hours (since 2016) I got this game the day it came out in 2016, loving the idea of exploring infinite space. As most of you know the game was a disappointment at launch, but few games have made a 180 like this one has over the years, consistently improving and adding content. I have loved dropping in and checking all the new features it adds, and I finally decided to get the last few trophies so I can have the platinum. 72 warp jumps is a lot but finally did it! 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
percy547389126yv Posted June 10, 2022 Share Posted June 10, 2022 #1,262 PS4 version of Ninja Break Head to Head 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post No longer here Posted June 10, 2022 Popular Post Share Posted June 10, 2022 #159 - Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 (PS4) Enjoyment/Fun: 9/10 Diificulty: 8/10 Time: 90+ Hours PSNP Rarity: 7.87% PSN Rarity: 0.7% My favorite of the master collection so far! Combat was addictive asf! Ninja Gaiden Sigma 1 was a close second, but I fell in love with this game more. The linear level design I thought was fun and made sense as the game is mainly combat driven. The story is fine, but my attention stuck with the combat tbh. Yes there is no gore and not that much blood, but I didn't find it much of a hassle either. Most of the bosses were great while some felt like gimmicks, however it didn't bother me at all tbh. The higher difficulties were very fun as well, mastering the game felt like an award. The Ninja races were fun and pretty much a speedrun mission, so it was fun to see how fast paced this game can get. Now the tag missions, man, they were no doubt the hardest part of the plat. A lot of them felt unbearable that I needed youtube guides to help me out. Those last few trials are the reason I gave the game an 8/10 difficulty, still, it's not as hard as NGS1 in my opinion, as that was more masochist than this. Overall, I really enjoyed this game more, the combat was more fluid and flashy, and felt rewarding 90% of the time I played. Definitely the pinnacle in terms of its combat in the whole trilogy! I recommend this game to any action/hack and slash fan! I think it is one of the best in general. Best combat in the series for sure! I don't know if Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge can compete with it, but we shall see. 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Infected Elite Posted June 11, 2022 Share Posted June 11, 2022 (edited) Platinum: Nickelodeon All Star Brawl Leave Everything to Me! Collect all the trophies. enjoyment at launch: 2/10, now: 6/10 difficulty: 3/10 they updated it with voices and items and some QOL. Was shocked to see Garfield added for free. Also want to thank @Valzentia , who reached out when she got the platinum. Not sure why, but it sort of motivated me to give the game another chance. I originally thought the sports trophies had to be 1 v 3 cpus at launch. really it was 1 v 1. Super easy..Using Toph and down+circle made hard mode arcade a breeze. The most difficult part was just finishing arcade 20 times. It just gets extremely repetitive. But, its done and plat #149 is in the history books for me. Edited June 11, 2022 by Infected Elite 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aarnettbraun Posted June 11, 2022 Share Posted June 11, 2022 (edited) Nowhere Girl (PlayStation 5) A Story Observed From Many Angles Unlocked all trophies. Difficulty: 1/10 Time: 8+ Minutes Screenshot When Earned: Edited February 25, 2023 by notandrebraun 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valzentia Posted June 11, 2022 Share Posted June 11, 2022 #44 - Theme Park Simulator (PS4/NA) Difficulty: 1/10 Fun: 7/10 This is more of a ride operator simulator; I would know having worked as one in the past. For a cheap and easy platinum, game is actually pretty fun for a bit, though not as memorable or replayable as Planet Coaster or RollerCoaster Tycoon 3, especially considering you can't build your own rides and have to pick a preset selection of them (two roller coasters and nine flat rides if you're wondering). If you're a die-hard amusement park fan like I am, you might get an hour of fun out of this if you get it on sale...but seriously, don't pay the full $15 price tag! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
percy547389126yv Posted June 11, 2022 Share Posted June 11, 2022 #1,263 PS5 version of Ninja Break Head to Head Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post DrunkenEngineer Posted June 11, 2022 Popular Post Share Posted June 11, 2022 (edited) Platinum #32 + DLC 100% - Dishonored: Definitive Edition (May 29, 2022) Trophy Statistics The Good Art direction that has aged gracefully; Dunwall is a Victorian England/low fantasy hybrid with a watercolor palette Careful world building through readable lore and clever scene setting Player choice is paramount; missions can take as long or as little time depending on approach The Bad FoV is incredibly narrow, even for a console port Never patched to 60FPS or a higher resolution on PS4Pro/PS5 even though the Xbox version was improved Dunwall City Trials can be frustrating and discouraging to trophy hunters A supremely sneaky immersive sim for the masses, Dishonored combines the best of old school Deus Ex, Half-Life 2, and Thief into a near perfect blend. The super powers are cool as hell, the aesthetic top notch, and voice work well acted. I love immersive sims, and I oddly got my first taste of them with Metal Gear Solid, which isn't one exactly but the stealth and emphasis on non-lethal approaches introduced me to this style of gameplay; Dishonored is the pinnacle of the genre. The trophy guides lay out a pretty straightforward path to completion. The hang up for the vast majority of folks is the infamous Dunwall City Trials DLC. This DLC has a reputation for being exceedingly difficult and overly dependent on random luck. One of the more noteworthy trophies, "By My Hand Alone" requires you to complete the entire challenge where only the player kills the wave's enemies. The problem is that most waves have a random chance for multiple factions, with enemies spawning in and killing each other before you have a chance to react. I'd argue there isn't a whole lot of skill involved in this challenge, but a rather large dose of luck. It took me about 2 hours to clear this trophy alone, but I knew that eventually the numbers would work out in my favor and I'd get through it. The next infamous trophy is "Daredevil" involving platforming using the Blink ability and having to complete 6 unique jumps in one level. Again, RNG is an issue here. I found this challenge demonstrably harder than anything in the DLC. I estimated about 4 hours to clear this challenge, with a total time to clear the rest of this DLC at 10 hours. Full disclosure: I own the game on Steam and before tackling it on PS4 I tried out the trials DLC there, and cleared it in 15 hours. So these are decent time commitments, but if I can do it, a completely average gamer, then anyone can if they persevere. The remaining DLCs are absolutely fantastic and continue the story from an antagonist's perspective. I'd argue these are even better than the base game. There are some things that the series follow-ups do better, but overall I think this is the superior game and absolutely worth a recommendation for anyone. Edited June 13, 2022 by DrunkenEngineer 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
percy547389126yv Posted June 11, 2022 Share Posted June 11, 2022 #1,264 PS4 version of Retro Highway 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Revvie Posted June 11, 2022 Popular Post Share Posted June 11, 2022 #299 SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom Neptune's Spatula Get all the other trophies for this game. 13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post sk_lp_him Posted June 11, 2022 Popular Post Share Posted June 11, 2022 (edited) #128 - SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom - Rehydrated Neptune's Spatula Get all the other trophies for this game. Decided to play it before the plus runs out. As with most children platformers some part were really frustrating for me - the slides especially. Edited June 11, 2022 by sk_lp_him 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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