Most Recent Platinum

[percy547389126yv]

#1,432 Round Invaders Rush

[PuRiZo-_-]

 

Super Meat Boy #799

Difficulty: 10/10
Enjoyment: 10/10 until impossible boy runs started

Total Playtime: Around 60 Hours
 

Playtime PS4/5: 25 Hours
Playtime Vita Around: 30 Hours

Played Years ago on Steam till world 4 Playtime: 3,5 Hours

 

Finally Knocked the Plat !!!

 

[Cave Johnson]

Onee Chanbara Origin

 

 

 CONGRATULATIONS!!!!
Acquired all other Trophies

 

I somehow missed this game when it first came out, then learned of it, forgot at some point, and finally bought it upon seeing that it was on sale recently. From what I’ve played, the Oneechanbara series is some of Tamsoft’s better work, so I was interested in this remake of the first two games in the series. My first experience with Oneechanbara was Z2 Chaos something like six years ago, which feels like a lifetime ago at this point. About a year later I got Z Kagura (JP only), and despite basically knowing no Japanese at the time, it didn’t really matter (the story is a relatively unimportant aspect of these games). With nothing new happening in the series for years, I mostly forgot about it until the release of Origin.

 

Though this game is subtitled “Origin”, it doesn’t clearly explain why there are zombies, or to what level the world has been compromised by this outbreak (or whatever it is). Perhaps I missed something, but regardless, it doesn’t really matter. Nothing good will come from critically analyzing a plot that isn’t meant to be taken seriously. The main character this time around is Aya, who should be recognizable to anyone who played Z Kagura or Z2. I guess because it’s a remake, the seiyuu cast is different from previous entries in the series. Aya, for example, is now voiced by Youko Hikasa instead of Yuuko Kaida, who now voices the main antagonist Eva, weirdly enough. While I prefer consistency, it’s not a problem as Youko Hikasa has almost as much experience, and is very capable of voicing strong female characters. Anyway, the first half of the story follows Aya as she searches for her sister, Saki (another character in Z and Z2), who unsurprisingly joins up with Aya for the second half of the game. Kagura and Saaya aren’t present, which is unfortunate, as this game could’ve used a few more characters.    

 

I should note that Oneechanbara Origin is actually a remake, and isn’t just an upscaled port. [This isn’t a genre I have a lot of experience with, so bear with me as I can’t compare it to much else.] Graphically speaking, it’s about what one would expect from these games—certainly not perfect, but good enough. The way it is structured has an almost arcade feel to it: short story scene at the beginning of the level, kill everything, boss fight (sometimes), another short story scene at the end, move on to the next level and repeat. One playthrough only takes a few hours to complete, maybe three or four at the absolute most. This isn’t entirely a bad thing, as it takes a minimum of three playthroughs for the platinum, though I would’ve preferred the game to be a bit longer. In fact, Origin seems to be somewhat lacking in content relative to Z and Z2. There are ten extra DLC missions ($3.99) which are a good addition to the game, but probably should’ve been included in the first place. 

 

Despite not having much experience with hack and slash games, I somehow had the seemingly dumb idea to start the game on hard. As it turns out, however, it’s not that difficult. I had an easy time on my first playthrough even though I tried to parry every boss and made a lot of mistakes in general. The only real difficulty spike wasn’t until the final boss, who does five times more damage than every previous boss for some reason. This can easily be offset by using health items, which I have to say weren’t balanced well. They almost feel like cheating in a way; these items can be purchased in the middle of battle and used with no limitations whatsoever. Overall,  Origin feels quite a bit easier than I remember Z or Z2 being. Infinite Survival is the most difficult part of the game but is barely required for the platinum, and it is partially related to what I’ll cover next.  

 

Now it’s time for my favorite corner (not really) where I complain about the platinum not requiring enough. The most baffling thing about this game’s trophies to me is that there is an optional character, Lei, and unlocking her is not tied to any trophies whatsoever. Unlocking her is kind of a pain, but worry not, there’s DLC for that; for the low price of $3.99, Lei can be unlocked immediately. What a deal! (/s) I have to admit that’s fairly clever, though. Making a character annoying to unlock, then offering an instant unlock for a cheap price isn’t a bad idea, businesswise anyway. I didn’t fall into this trap myself, but I did think about it for a moment. Ultimately, I decided against it; at that point I had already paid $3.99 for missions that should’ve been in the game, so I wasn’t about to pay another $3.99 for a character that is actually in the game.

 

This is where Infinite Survival comes in. For the platinum, it is only necessary to clear floor 51. To unlock Lei however, it is necessary to clear floor 100. This isn’t quite as bad as it sounds, because it’s possible to start from floor 51 after clearing it once, thankfully. What makes Infinite Survival more difficult than the rest of the game in general is that the shop is not accessible. Not being able to buy a virtually endless amount of health items makes conserving health and using other means of healing a necessity. Clearing the first 51 floors is easy enough; I managed to do it after my first playthrough of the game with no real strategy. I wanted to unlock Lei sooner, since unlocking a character later when there’s nothing left to do would’ve felt pointless. 51 through 100 is a different story, though. Up to three rings can be equipped, and selecting the right ones is vital to surviving. I attempted it despite not having some of the better rings, and it was rough; I barely managed to take down the boss on the 100th floor. Dying there would’ve meant having to start from 51 again, which of course made it more stressful. From my experience, I’d highly recommend at least getting the Xtasy ring first to anyone attempting this. 

 

Completing all quests is another part of the game not required for the platinum, unlike Z and Z2 (from what I remember). Instead, there is only a trophy for completing five, of which there are 15 in total. Though they are called “quests”, they’re mostly just pointless grinds, such as successfully parrying a certain number of times. I plan on going back and finishing the remaining quests regardless, but I would’ve preferred a more complete list that required completing all of them.
 

 

ご注文はうさぎですか？？ Wonderful party！

  コンプリート
全てのトロフィーを獲得した

 

Gochuumon wa Usagi Desu ka?? Wonderful party! is a spin-off visual novel in the same vein as the New Game VN I talked about a month ago. The similarities aren’t coincidental, as both were made by the same developer. Unfortunately, this also means that it has the same problem as New Game’s spin-off visual novel: gameplay that it really could’ve done without. There’s a lot of great content to be seen, but once again, they really make the player work for it—which would be fine if it weren’t a boring, monotonous grind. One positive that comes from this, I suppose, is that it screws over VN skippers (lol). One lame ass guide for the game that doesn’t even refer to the characters by name reports that the platinum takes six hours. As a side note, I don’t like to use the c-word often, but the way this guide gave instructions like “select blonde-haired girl” made me cringe. Six hours is a long time considering everything is being skipped in this (cringeworthy) estimation. In order to explain what takes so long, I’ll have to go over how the game is structured.  

    

 

Obligatory “looking up at the sky” background that is in every visual novel. 

 

There are five main sections to this game: the main story scenes that happen regardless of anything else, a minigame of sorts (the gameplay it could’ve done without), Cocoa handing out flyers with one other character from the main cast, a sleepover event where Cocoa, well, sleeps with either Chino, Rize, Chiya, or Sharo (I tried to make this not sound suggestive), and Cocoa’s days off, in which the player selects two places to trigger an event with another character (very similar to New Game! The Challenge Stage!). Of these five, the biggest problem is unsurprisingly the minigame; everything is slowed down by it, making it a drag to see every route and scene. Said minigame goes something like this: emotionless clones of the same three women sit down and wordlessly order a drink. Chino somehow understands these orders and prepares these drinks at an impossibly fast speed, while Rize just stands there cleaning the same part of the counter over and over for some reason. Or so it seems, but as it turns out, she’s also receiving the drink orders telepathically and is prepared to remind Cocoa of what they are if necessary. Since it’s not America, screwing up orders or taking too long doesn’t result in angry customers yelling or trying to fight the staff; give a customer the wrong drink or take too long and they’ll just leave. Maybe having to subdue angry customers would’ve made for a more interesting minigame? Trying to serve coffee while some Waffle House type shit is going down would be an interesting, but odd beat ‘em up style game.

 

 

I find it funny that Chiya joking about taking responsibility by ritual suicide (seppuku) is passable in an A rated game (the lowest rating from CERO).

 

Over analyzation and kidding aside, this minigame is just a simple memorization game. In the beginning it’s very easy, and the difficulty increases so slowly that little thought is required until the last few days. Up to four mistakes can be made each time—a very generous amount—in order to clear the minigame for that day. Only one mistake can be made when going for an A rank, but thanks to Rize’s memorization skills, there’s no real difficulty to speak of. At the cost of five seconds, every customer’s order will be shown for a moment by tapping the hint button. Each time there’s 120 seconds to serve the target amount of customers, and even on the last day that’s plenty of time. I suppose it may be more accurate to say that the problem is not with the minigame itself, but how many times one has to go through to see everything this game has to offer. One full playthrough requires completing this minigame about 20 times, and there are five main routes. That wouldn’t be so bad if it weren’t for another problem, which is the way the scenes that accompany handing out flyers were implemented. This section always follows the completion of the aforementioned minigame, and involves choosing a character (Chino, Rize, Chiya, or Sharo) for Cocoa to hand out flyers with, then picking an outfit for them both to wear. Some of these outfit choices are rather illogical; I can’t see why Cocoa would be wearing Fleur de Lapin’s uniform while handing out flyers for Rabbit Horse House, but whatever, that’s not the real problem here. 

 

 

One of many great CGs that come from these “handing out flyers” scenes. 

 

There are eight outfits in total, four of which are unlocked by seeing the good endings of the four main routes. Every outfit has four associated scenes that can only be viewed by choosing that outfit five times in one playthrough. The first scene upon choosing one is generic and is the same across all outfits, while the subsequent four are different. I wish I had known this from the beginning, but I didn’t consult a guide until after I had finished viewing the four main routes. I tried to use each outfit equally before that, which was the exact opposite of what I should’ve been doing. This meant that I had to go back and skip through over half the game 16 times to see every event. It’s possible to see all the events for two outfits on one partial playthrough, so that’s four outfits times four characters for a total of 16 partial playthroughs… Some of these scenes are arbitrarily not part of the scene gallery (100% is required for a trophy), making the platinum not quite as demanding. Either way, I wanted to see every scene—while short, the comedy of these scenes was done well, and I found that they were all worth watching. 

 

 
Compared to New Game, GochiUsa is lighter on yuri subtext, and I wouldn’t say there are quite “established” pairings. There are a lot of cute moments between the main cast, though. 

 

As with New Game’s visual novel spin-off, I would only recommend this game to fans of GochiUsa that have some understanding of Japanese. It’s not a good starting point for the series, nor is it meant to be, so it’s best to go with the manga or anime first. With a platinum rarity of 36%, this is another VN that’s harder than Elden Ring, so be careful of that (/s). Anyway, I have three more platinums to write about, but I’ll save that for my next post. Blue Reflection: Second Light and Akiba’s Trip 2 are two games I feel very strongly about, so I want to take my time writing about them; in other words, expect a very long post next time. 

[percy547389126yv]

#1,433 PS5 version of Coffee Run

[Im-not-him-slim]

#58

Tales of Arise

 

I enjoyed the shit out of this game, highly recommend.

Edited August 20, 2022 by OG-Wargasam

[bbaauuiiss97]

#1391

Anno: Mutationem (PS5) (EU)

 

 

Was scrolling through sales on the ps store when I stumbled upon this game. I vibed so hard with the trailer it almost had me in tears by the end so I knew I just had to play it.

And wow what a great time it was, the gameplay is fun, the characters are charming and the soundtrack is dope as hell, I could listen to "Awaking" all day ^^

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yepBRMTFg4A

[kkulifay]

Sleeping Dogs: Definitive Edition (PS4)

 

Negatives first- On the PS5, it crashes a lot when you upload a saved game from the start. Fortunately, it never crashed mid-play. Lights flicker in the background sometimes, but not a deal breaker. Screen tearing was cringy at times too, but all tolerable stuff. I mean I still play PS3 games to this day, so whatever 

 

Pros- story is so damn good. If you enjoy Watch Dogs, get it. I got it for $5 one day and it’s giving me a pretty entertaining 30 hours, plus DLC trophies to look forward to. Very detailed sandbox with a ton of action. 
 

If this game got a remaster and improved to 60 FPS, it would be glorious. 

[percy547389126yv]

#1,434 The Golden Age

[Septic_Phlegm]

 

Evil Dead The Game.

 

 

I am proud to say I completed this before the large cheat/exploit patch's imminent release and with only random public cross play lobbies and absolutely no boosting.

 

7/10 fun

4/10 difficulty (largely dependant on cheats/exploits which would increase the difficulty to 10/10).

 

Would I come back and play it again in future just for fun? Probably not, it soured me that much at times, it seemed like every other game had exploiters in it (they are extremely blatant) I kept videos and screenshots and reported these to the devs.

 

That being said, actually getting 30 solo wins as a Demon Vs 4 real life human players who were cheating was MASSIVELY exhilarating and is the only thing that kept me pushing forwards for the platinum trophy.

 

 

 

 

Edited August 20, 2022 by Septic_Phlegm

[Starrk_01]

Plat #209: Far Cry 6 (PS4)

 

Well, if you liked Far Cry 4 and Far Cry 5 you'll probably like this game since it plays the same way. Hmm...maybe. In terms of the trophies there isn't really much challenge for the base game, BUT there is a big IF to this game. There are some still existing glitches to the game that make some of the trophies harder to get (if not theoretically impossible).  For example the last trophy I got was for doing the three insurgencies, which only appear one a week, so it would take three weeks to do that single trophy. However in my first week some of the icons (anti-aircraft) didn't appear on the map which made it impossible to do the insurgency that week (since you have to do everything for the person you need to kill to even show up). While I still had some other things I could do for other trophies, that is complete BS for something so simple as having some icons/objects reloaded would make something impossible to do.

 

[sk_lp_him]

#137 - The Raven Remastered

 

 

Every Trophy accomplished
Accomplish all Trophies and complete the game

[Undead Wolf]

 #416 - Dead Island: Riptide Definitive Edition

The Whole World Went Away

Collect all other trophies

 

Riptide serves as a sequel to the original Dead Island even if it doesn't have a 2 in the title. Obviously we're still waiting for the official Dead Island 2 all these years later. ? But as for Riptide, it doesn't really add anything to the formula. They pretty much just took the original game in all its janky glory and added new content to it. You can even import your character from the first game which carries over the level and skill points you allocated. Riptide adds a new playable character in addition to the original 4 survivors by the name of John Morgan (sounds like a Red Dead Redemption character lol), but I just stuck with Xian Mei. Overall though, I preferred the first Dead Island over this game. I think part of it is because of the locations. There's nothing as iconic as the resort from the first game. And while neither of the game's stories are anything to applaud, I at least felt a bit more invested in what was going on in Dead Island 1. Having said that though, I still really like both of the Dead Island games even if they're rough around the edges. I find them pretty charming.

 

The trophies were definitely easier this time around. Nothing for finding all of the locations without an in-game checklist thankfully, although this game is a bit more condensed than the first game anyway, so that probably wouldn't have been so bad. You're also not required to play as the other characters this time around. It's pretty much just do all the quests, find all the collectibles, and misc "do X 100 times" trophies. A pretty standard list.

Big thanks to my buddy @Redgrave for playing this game with me. The game wouldn't have been nearly as fun without you. And here's hoping Dead Island 2 isn't a total trainwreck so we can play that one eventually too. ?

 

 #417 - Sakura Swim Club

Lovely Clubmates
Find everything there is to find about your swim club friends.

 

I finally got around to playing another Sakura game. This one is about a young man who lives in the shadow of his father and struggles to find the motivation to try and succeed at anything as a result. After transferring to a new university, he discovers the swim club and its two (extremely hot ?) members where he starts to turn his life around. The two girls, Hiromi and Mieko, are obviously the main draw as you would expect from a game like this. Best girl for me was Mieko, I think because she reminds me a little of Rin from the Fate series, but they're both waifu material.

There's some really great CG's in this game. ??

 

But obviously, for the *really* good stuff, you've got to look at the CG's from the 18+ patch on PC.

[Kishnabe]

 Platinum #573: Fantasy Strike (PS4)

Spoiler

 

My rarest platinum, but it was very easy with the Friend Match Exploit & using Onimaru.

 

Fantasy Strike is F2P, but the Survival Mode and few other trophies are locked behind Core Value Pack.

 

You can boost this with an alt (I used Steam version). Did not need to buy Core Value pack for the alt account, or boost with friend. Only Main account that needs the trophies, need Core Value Pack.

 

 

 

Difficulty: 3/10  

Enjoyment: 7/10 

Time: 11 hours

Edited August 20, 2022 by Kishnabe

[fresquinho]

Platinum #317 and #318: Tony Hawk Pro Skater 1+2: PS4 + PS5

 

HOLY SHIT! I seriously cannot believe it, I actually unlocked this insane platinum. If you also have this I respect you so much only the ones who got this know how much I suffered! The pain, the tears, the suffering IT WAS ALL WORTH IT 

 

#TonyHawkProSkater #THPS @tonyhawk

 

[lord_ninjo]

#21 - The Medium

Spoiler

#22 - Balan Wonderworld

Spoiler

#23 - Astria Ascending

Spoiler

#24 - Nobody Saves the World

Spoiler

#25 - Weird West

Spoiler

 

[Mastodon_Slayer]

Dead Cells

Platinum: 293

Note: 8/10

Dificult: 7/10

 

 

Monopoly Madness

Platinum: 294

Note: 4/10

Dificult: 1/10

 

 

9 Monkeys of Shaolin

Platinum: 295

Note: 5/10

Dificult: 2/10

[StraightVege]

 

You Did It

 

  #300 - Shadow Man Remastered

18th Fastest Achiever (4 days, 1 hour)

 

This was an overwhelmingly nostalgic experience, and I'm actually very sad it's over. The original Shadow Man holds a special place in my heart, being one of the games most responsible for making my miserable teenage years more bearable. My enthrallment began with the admittedly terrible PS1 version, but I was eventually fortunate enough to get my hot little hands on a rare N64 edition, which included bonus Shadow Man sunglasses in a hard case, so I would wear them while running around brandishing a realistic chrome cap gun, pretending to be Michael LeRoi like a goofball. I thought they were so damn cool, and wore those things until they literally fell apart years later. Apparently, they're worth a fair amount of money on eBay now.

 

Nightdive Studios' impressive remaster is everything I fantasized about while playing the inferior console ports over 20 years ago and more, boasting heaps of improvements and additions that unquestionably make it the definitive version of the game. Not only does it look fantastic and run wonderfully, with massively better textures and lighting, HD resolution, and a stable frame rate, but it plays so much more smoothly as well. They've overhauled the controls, and implemented some very welcome quality of life changes, such a weapon wheel that slows down the game world while you equip yourself. Plenty of cut content has been restored, too, including three entire levels which didn't make it into the original releases due to time constraints. The crazy thing is that Nightdive isn't even done yet! They're working on an update to add even more content as I speak. Aren't we slowly drifting into remake territory here? Not that I'm complaining; I'll take any excuse to revisit one of my all-time favorite games.

 

Based on the Valiant Comics series of the same name, Shadow Man is a unique, third-person action-adventure title with horror elements, first released in 1999 by Acclaim, and shares much in common with games like Soul Reaver. As a 30-something, English Literature dropout with a gambling addiction, Michael LeRoi was desperate enough to steal a large sum of money left in the back seat of his taxi cab by a kidnapped gang member, which ultimately gets his entire family killed in a retaliatory attack. Mike survives, thanks to a protection spell placed on him by the malicious Voodoo shaman he had turned to for help, but becomes this bokor's indentured zombie slave as a result. He is eventually rescued by the centuries old Voodoo priestess, Mama Nettie, who implants a powerful artifact called the Mask of Shadows into his chest. With it, he joins the lineage of Shadowmen, immortal Voodoo warriors who protect the living world, and are capable of jumping between the realms of the living and the dead at will, in order to pay off his debts to the Loa spirits.

 

One night, Agnetta is jostled awake by a terrifying prophetic vision: a biblical demon, Legion, is conspiring with five prolific serial killers to bring about the end times. She immediately sends Michael off on a dire mission to eliminate them all, which he reluctantly agrees to. He doesn't have much left beyond being her supernatural hitman, anyway, now that his parents and little brother are gone due to his reckless actions. Things get worse when Mike soon finds his undead brother, Luke, trapped in the Deadside Asylum's engine room. Luke pleads with Mike to save him from the monsters who want to do "bad things" to him, providing Mike all the more urgency to succeed, as if the impending apocalypse wasn't enough. It won't be easy! To stand any chance against Legion and his minions, Mike will need to follow in the footsteps of a previous Shadowman, collecting necessary Voodoo weapons, passing deadly trials to acquire "Gad" tattoos which grant him immunity to fire, and absorbing as many Dark Souls (the ancient souls of damned warriors, not FromSoft games) as he can to build his strength.

 

Since I compared it to Soul Reaver, you might already have a solid idea of how Shadow Man is structured. Explore a huge world and solve dungeons filled with puzzles and traps to earn new abilities, allowing you to backtrack and reach new areas you couldn't access the first time through. Getting emblazoned with various tattoos lets Mike touch scorching hot surfaces, and eventually even swim through lava like water, while collecting enough Dark Souls gradually increases Mike's shadow level, so he can blast open progressively tougher coffin gates to obtain additional weapons and enter different sections of the Asylum. For the most part, the "puzzles" amount to little more than hunting for switches to press, which was always one of the game's biggest design weak points to me. However, the areas are so interesting to traverse that it almost doesn't matter. Navigation is the real puzzle here, and whether it's Deadside's desolate land of skin bridges and flowing bloodfalls, or the Asylum's disturbing industrial hellscape, the slow process of mastering Shadow Man's complex map evokes an almost unparalleled sense of wonderment and accomplishment. You finally stumble across new secrets, and realize "aha, now I can go open that weird thing I saw hours ago! Where was it again?!" Your exploration options expand, Michael becomes slightly more badass, and it's a satisfying payoff for diligently searching.

 

That said, at times I found myself halfheartedly wishing Nightdive had actually added a map feature, because Shadow Man's macabre environment remains an absolutely labyrinthine maze of twisting passages and dead ends that don't fit together in any logical manner—it feels truly otherworldly, out of your worst feverish nightmares. Becoming lost is a certainty, especially in the Asylum areas, which repeatedly grinds the pace of the game to a halt. On the other hand, there's an undeniable charm to aimlessly wandering these strange, deeply atmospheric places, with Tim Haywood's masterful, experimental soundtrack keeping you constantly on edge. Implementing a comprehensible map system for these totally bonkers levels would probably require tremendous effort, in any case. At the very least, you can always stare deeply into Luke's teddy bear to bring up the fast travel menu, letting you warp to any unlocked memory checkpoint, so you're never really stuck anywhere.

 

Similar to classic Tomb Raider games, Mike can lock onto his grotesque enemies and circle-strafe them to death, while swiftly jumping in any direction to stay out of harm's way. There's still a bit of leftover jank to overcome in this remaster's combat, but the simplicity of it works fairly well, and I rarely had frustrating moments. The game's ambidextrous system was also pretty inventive for the time: L2 fires the weapon held in Mike's left hand, and R2 fires the right-hand weapon. One of Mike's mitts is basically always going to be occupied wielding the Shadow Gun, since it has infinite ammo, and the shrieking wraith spirits it unleashes are the only way to tear apart otherwise immortal beings. These shots can also be charged to inflict more damage, by holding the corresponding trigger, and every shadow level Mike gains allows this iconic weapon to be charged to even greater destructive heights. It packs quite a punch by level ten! His other hand will typically be grasping a Voodoo weapon, such as the very useful Flambeau, a flaming skeletal arm that launches fireballs and doubles as a torch to illuminate the many dark corners of Deadside. Combining the firepower of two asymmetrical weapons is vital for defeating the game's toughest baddies, particularly those nasty murderers he's hunting.

 

Forgive me for yet another Soul Reaver mention, but it wasn't the only 90s game with superb writing. From Micheal's flowery soliloquies which introduce each new area, to his quite amusing interplay with Jaunty—a skull-headed serpent donning a top hat, and Deadside's gatekeeper, I kid you not—to the way Mike dresses down the serial killers like the losers they are before blowing them away, Shadow Man's script is largely stellar. The acting may not be the best, and it certainly has its share of cringeworthy lines, but considering the era it was released in, this is more endearing than it is a negative. When Lani Minella tells Mike to "go kick dey asses," in a bad Jamaican accent, or a villain quotes a song by the The Doors, you've gotta laugh.

 

Rarely do video games inspire me to write at length, but in this case, the cliché phrase is true: they don't make 'em like this anymore. Obviously, I think way more people should play Shadow Man! This is the end, my beautiful friend.

 

 

Edited August 20, 2022 by StraightVege

[percy547389126yv]

#1,435 PS4 version of The Golden Age

[Bratinov]

Plat 84: Assassin's Creed 2

Difficulty: 3

Fun: 7

Grind: 5

 

I had great fun replaying this.

The combat is... not very good, it's definitely the game's weakest aspect.

The parkour still holds up thought, hell, you actually have to think while climbing and not just hold forward.

Feather collecting was not fun, but I guess they wanted to show off the cities - they still look good, especially Venice.

 

Plat 85: STAR WARS: REPUBLIC COMMANDO

Difficulty: 6

Fun: 9

Grind: nope

 

I love this game! Even when it came out I sang it's praises to whomever would listen.

It's unique, the Star Wars theme makes it even better!

While not as hard as I remember, it's still a tense experience - in a good way.

 

Plat 86: Dishonored Definitive Edition

Difficulty: 8

Fun: 7

Grind: If you consider practicing - lots and lots!

 

It's one of my all time favourites. The aesthetic, the theme, the POWERS. - all top notch.

It would be perfect, if the requirements for Ghost and what counts as detection wasn't so strict. - a red indicator of any kind and you're done! How is that fair? Sometimes you can't even see them.

But nothing compares to the bullshit that are The Dunwall City Trials!

BMHA and Daredevil are straight up evil.

They require skill AND luck. You got to be ready when the rng gods smile upon you, which doesn't happen often. 

Saving my springrazors for the last wave helped tremendously for BMHA. Killing the music box Overseer should take top priority, I suspect he does AOE damage to everything around him.

For Daredevil - you have to get good checkpoints. If you don't get 3 tricky jumps at the start or some very close checkpoints, it's better to just restart. I also had a glitch where it wouldn't let me sprint jump off the tilted towar. - to fix this I had to line myself up with the protrusion at leftmost edge and jump from there. 

Surprisingly, I really enjoyed the Burgler challenge, it's was so satisfying finally getting it done.

 

Edited August 20, 2022 by Bratinov

[rjkclarke]

Platinum #360

Ape Escape (PS4)

 

 

No Ape Can Escape!
Collect all other Ape Escape Trophies.

 

 

You know what I always say (well, those that have read anything of mine, will) – sometimes a little trip down memory lane isn’t the worst thing in the world. Sometimes it can be the healthiest of reminders, of why you enjoyed something to begin with. Did Ape Escape scratch that itch? I guess we’ll find out the further we get into this review. 

 

When Ape Escape, a game I was incredibly fond of when I was younger released with PlayStation Plus Premium, I jumped at the chance to explore the game once more, and add a shiny new platinum to the collection at the same time.

 

Don’t get me wrong here – I absolutely enjoyed my time with this game, but I did get the feeling a few times that “Some things perhaps ought to stay in the past” ironically, it’s actually some fairly small factors that made me think that, and we’ll get to those shortly, and realistically if you aren’t playing the version that I played they might not even remotely be a factor.

 

So with that bit of bluster out of the way, let’s kick this off properly shall we?

 

Ape Escape, released all the way back in 1999, and was developed by Japan Studio; the game itself is somewhat of a unique platformer and collectathon hybrid.  It utilises some of the most unique and innovative functions of the Dual Shock controller around the time of the games release too, and when I say innovative, that is absolutely not an understatement, it really does do just that – innovate.

You take the role of Spike, as you set out to chase down an armada of brain-washed monkeys (I’m going to be using helmet monkeys from now on, just because I enjoy it) turned loose by the hyper intelligent and famous white haired monkey Spectre. Your goal is to travel to various time periods and recapture the monkeys.  That seems like a really simple description, but that is pretty much what constitutes as the story basis here.

 

Ape Escape is also fairly unique, in that the game plays ever so slightly differently depending on the region copy of the game that you happened to be in possession of. In my case, the UK copy, the protagonist is still named Spike, however, the professor’s female assistant is called Katie, instead of Natalie, as she is in the US version – Spikes best friend in my version is named Buzz instead of Jake too. Not only that, but the UK and US versions have entirely separate voice acting.

 

This is, in all honesty, my main gripe with the game, so I’ll deal with it now. Let’s be clear here, whether you like the voice acting or not, it will not in any way detract from your ability to have an enjoyable time with this game. But I do think there’s a small chance it’ll grate on you a fair amount. Here’s the thing – and I have a bit of a confession to make here, when I was much younger, I’d often skip the cutscenes if I wasn’t hat interested, to get to the game a bit faster.

So in truth, I don’t feel like I’ve probably ever, truly, experienced the “Story” of Ape Escape. Fast forward to 2022, and there I was experiencing it, thinking “Wow, that is some of those most stilted and awkward line delivery that I have ever heard.” Not from one character, but from practically all of them. It’s not a really big issue, just something you find yourself occasionally eye rolling at, before getting your net out, shrugging your shoulders and catching yourself some more helmet monkeys.

 

As I alluded to earlier, one of the most unique features of Ape Escape is the way in which it utilises the Dual Shock features. Incredibly well too, because when I initially played the game around the time of release I distinctly remember being blown away by the fact that the thumb-sticks could be clicked in to act as a button in their own right, or the fact that rotating the analogue sticks when holding the Sky Flyer, would cause you to essentially hover like a propeller. I think what really does stand out though, is that whilst these things are fairly groundbreaking, and they absolutely were– they also work mechanically on a fundamental level. Ape Escape deserves all of the credit for this. As there have been plenty of examples where an innovative idea, does not always translate into a mechanically sound one. 

 

The catching of those helmet monkeys – and the general all round innovation of Ape Escape’s gameplay really is where it shines, and that, I think, is where the majority of the praise should be heaped. In a sense, it’s rather simple conceptually. You enter a level, catch a set amount of monkeys and then leave. It never is quite that simple though, as each individual helmet monkey possesses its own set of characteristics and stats. The helmet also contains an alarm which when triggered; either sends the monkeys into a violent frenzy, or a desperate panic. You’ll also gradually learn that certain characteristics of the monkey’s clothing, will also translate to a slightly different behaviour type, so there’s usually a specific way to approach each one. The further you get into the game, the more advanced the strategy you might need to utilise to catch said monkey.

 

To aid you in your pursuit of the helmet monkeys, you’re afforded several gadgets, which aid in both solving puzzles to progress the individual levels and giving you an easier time when capturing the pesky hairy critters. These range objects like a net to actually capture said monkeys, a Stun Club, to help subdue the monkeys momentarily, making them easier to capture, a Hula-Hoop type device, which allows you to traverse faster. My personal favourite was the Sky Flyer, an object which simply looks like a two sided boat paddle, but affords you the chance to traverse the levels faster and more efficiently. Access to this really does open up a whole raft of possibilities to the player.

 

One of the more unique areas of Ape Escape is actually in its level design – I think you could both praise this and criticise it in almost equal measure, if you were inclined to do so. I’m not going to, because I think contextually it actually works very cleverly. As one of the main plot elements of Ape Escape is time travel, as such, time zones, and splintered pieces of other times, appear where they shouldn’t. I think that really works in the context of the levels, as some of the things you encounter can be a genuine surprise to encounter them in the specific places that you do.

As each level is fairly small and discrete the designers had a pretty good opportunity to really experiment with some ideas. Not every single one of them works, but I appreciate the effort in trying. I also couldn’t help but appreciate how each level is fairly non-linear and can be approached from a multitude of different directions if you wanted to do so.

 

For a game released on PS1, then emulated for PS4 and PS5, I genuinely think this looks quite good. It’s not perfect, like with a lot of titles from this era, you can expect incredibly jagged textures and some slightly unusual stuttering on occasion, but even with that in mind – visually at least, Ape Escape has held up rather well. I really did appreciate how much smoother this specific version looked.  Having played the original not too long ago, it was noticeable how much of an improvement it actually is.

I’d also like to make it clear how much I appreciated the feature in the emulation, to be able to just rewind time essentially; it cuts out what might have been a really frustrating section of platforming. It’s something I didn’t feel at all bad about utilising either, having played the original so many times.

 

One standout feature of Ape Escape that I think ought to get a little more appreciation, is in its use of sound design – whilst I’m not overly keen on the voice acting in my particular version of the game, the sound across the board in the entire game is incredibly well realised. It also has undeniable charm to it, which also contains an incredibly satisfying feeling to it. Whether it’s the sound of the net as it captures a helmet monkey or the almost instantaneous screech of fear and panic from the monkey as its helmet alarm starts to go off, it all adds together to make something very memorable.

 

The original soundtrack for Ape Escape, supplied by Soichi Terada is an absolutely masterful one. It’s a real joy to listen to out of context too. It’s persistently upbeat, and absolutely full to the brim with energy. One aspect of it that I think is incredibly clever is the way that it changes the tempo in a situational manner. For example, the tempo of the music changes depending on whether you’re in stealth/sneaking mode, and depending on which form of either of those, the tempo will noticeably slow down, as you approach your target, which I thought was an incredibly subtle but clever touch.

 

Would I recommend Ape Escape? Yes, I think so – it’s incredibly short, but I don’t think I was ever disinterested during it once, and I think even if you don’t have even the slightest touch of nostalgia goggles from playing it on release, there is still a very enjoyable time to be had with this game. Its trophies are pretty straightforward too. I am slightly glad you don’t have to get good scores in the mini-games, just play them. Some of those made me feel like a cascade of rocks had fallen onto my head, as I tried to figure out those controls.  

 

I do feel as if the game is worth experiencing though, even in 2022, if you’re completely new to the series. You never know it might be a whole new game series you find an appreciation for, and how can that ever be a bad thing. Which I suppose means I ought to finally get and play Ape Escape 2 at some point, as it’s been on my backlog for quite a long time now.  

 

 

[BlitzkriegHottie]

Come and get your love...

This Is What We Do

Rarity: 35.34%

 

Not gonna lie, I thought I was going to hate this at first since hero games are doing awful recently but in the end I ended up enoying it? I guess this is astronomical praise coming from me.

This was a must play for me since GotG is the only IP I truly like from the MCU (and no, I'm not a DC fan, I don't like those neither) given James Gunn was behind the director seat so playing the game despite Gunn and Pratt / Batista being out was interesting for me because I was eager to see what a GotG world without Gunn looks like since it appears he won't stay involved with Disney for much longer.

 

Pros? I like the banter a lot, the humor despite being hit or miss managed to make me laugh a few times and I found several jokes / dialogue to be very reminiscent of Gunn's work. The best thing this game has to offer, however, are the vistas. Art direction be praised! Also, kudos to Eidos for delivering a complete game devoid of any microtransaction / DLC bulllshit.

 

Cons? Of course, several, with my biggest issue being it's length... The game drags on for far too long, it gets repetitive and even annoying specially in the later chapters where the game will throw wave after wave of generic mobs for you to fight against. I found myself skipping dialogue often because of this. A linear game like this has no business  being over 12 hours long in my opinion.

 

Platinum wise this is a very easy list. You're not even required to get all of the collectibles(except for the costumes) and there are no difficulty related trophies. Also, the game isn't 20 hours long like the guide says, maybe if you go for all the collectibles. 

 

Game Rating: 7/10

Platinum Difficulty: 2/10

Time to platinum: 15h

 

 

Mantis looks so cute in this, I think I prefer this to her movie look!

 

Sequel? Spoilers ahead:

Spoiler

There were plenty of sequel-baiting moments in the game, and in the end the game feels like it's building up to something bigger... Well, hopefully they'll deliver and fix the problems.

Edited August 20, 2022 by BlitzkriegHottie
Typo

[percy547389126yv]

#1,436 PS5 version of Ninja Fun

[DrZero_1983]

PLATINUM # 165

 

Cooking Mama: Cookstar

 

 

Ultimate Cook Star
Unlock all trophies in the game!

 

[percy547389126yv]

#1,437 PS4 version of Arenas Of Tanks

[RedRodriguez87]

 

 #404: Freakout: Calamity TV Show

 

I gotta do better at recognizing when a game is a twin stick shooter. I don't find them fun for long.

 

 

 #405: BLACK LAGOON

 

A slot machine pachinko game, so RNG a plenty, complete with voiced clips from the anime. I was already uninterested in the series seeing as to how it looked like a story of shitty people being shitty, but thanks to the constant barrage of Revy line screams in that very obnoxious anime way (you know, the super saiyan powerup yell that contrary to what japan thinks does NOT fit every action situation), I know for sure I will never watch it.

 

 

 #406: USSR space program

 

Hey, y'all remember Laika?