PSNP's Year End Awards-2015

[Asuka Langley]

The Tudes Popsicle Award

 

 

YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAH

 

It was really easy to sit through this as the graphics on ultra bought out the bitch density in several of the main characters, especially Makise and Shining Finger
as well as the chipmunk.

 

I give Steins;Gate 1.048596/5

 

The Billy Mitchell Award

I'd like to thank Comp for constantly being angry at this game for several years and giving me the thought of "I know what'll piss comp off :^)^)^)^)". No thanks to the fact she still beat it before I did <

 

And to be honest challenge 6 wasn't even that hard just needed to get the right tactic down which took a couple tries but still definitely my hardest plat because of the composition I had to keep during that entire challenge as I did get taken down to low heath levels quite a few times (but those rolls saved me babyyyy)

 

Bad Ass Award

 

I also managed to clear Hardcore and Tier 1 on MoH. Both were really nailbiting - even though T1 sets you back a measly checkpoint compared to Hardcores full game reset - but I managed to speed through both without any issues

 

I have to add an honorable mention to Mass Effect 2, I managed to get past most of the collector levels - apart from Horizon - only dying once or twice on Insanity difficulty, woo.

 

Grind of the Year

 

Oh boy. I did 4 full playthroughs of Mass Effect for all the trophies - One as an Adept, Three as an Engineer.

I really wouldn't have minded it at all if the plot was made for the replayability needed for the platinum, as well as the game being ported as a pile of trash, no matter what you try and tell me you bastards

 

Sleeper Hits of the Year

 

FINAL FANTASY THIRTEEN - SQUARE ENIX AND FROZEN SYNAPSE PRIME - DOUBLE ELEVEN STUDIOS

 

Now I understand I've chosen two and one is widely known. I also know the other is going to trigger some responses.

 

Final Fantasy XIII is often overlooked by many fans of the series because of the reaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaally long XIII series and the opinion that it just kinda sucked compared to others, but fuck it, it's my favorite FF game and I'm happy to say I platted it this year

 

FSP is a great stratergy game played out with small squads against non-understandable odds and the rule of shoot first or get fucked.

Turns take place in RTS style of 5 second plots, that you can plan out with several different functions and is definitely and Indie Gem

 

Biggest Bomb of the Year

PORTAL 2 - VALVE

 

Suck my dick, Gabe.

 

Wurst Plat ov teh Yeer

 

BORDERLANDS DEFENDER - BORDERLANDS

Bordemlands 1 is one of the biggest piles of trash I've played for a while, sure it was good when it first came out but holy shit playing it this year I could feel how much it'd aged, if you decide to pick this up for a solo plat like I did, make sure to pick up a few boxsets because you will get bored very, very easily

 

The Best Platinums of the Year

 

Coming in at number 5

STAR WARS THE FORCE UNLEASHED - 100% COMPLETE

 

I had plenty of fun with this game, though the death star hangar was a bitch to escape on Sith Lord difficulty ; w ;

 

ONE PIECE: PIRATE WARRIORS - KING OF THE MAJESTIC OCEANS OF THE WORLD

 

Have you ever heard of the Orange Range?

 

 A HIDEO KOJIMA GAME: METAL GEAR SOLID 3 SNAKE EATER HD - SNAKE EATEN

 

Still kinda under contsruction

Edited December 5, 2015 by Lilly Satou

[QuinlanLJ]

The Lime Popsicle Award

 

This is the easiest platinum I achieved this year. Now, I do have Magus as a plat as well, but I did not pick it because that game gave me motion sickness and it was that what made it harder to play. Tales from the Borderlands however, was fun, witty and of course, easy. There was absolutely no need to think about the trophies, the story takes the centre stage and it wins. Even though this "award" isn't really that amazing, Tales from the Borderlands deserves all the praise it gets. Not to mention I really wanna play Borderlands because of it

 

The Billy Mitchell Award

 

 

I give all my platinums a personal difficulty rating and 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil got the highest in my first year of trophy hunting. 6/10 is the rating I gave it. It's probably a lot harder, if you're not good at playing FIFA against other people, but I found it pretty doable, even when playing with the worst teams. I don't usually like "hard" games, but this one was a fun one, mainly because I didn't have to pull my hair out in anger, as I usually do when I play hard games

 

Bad Ass Award

 

 

Hmm, I can't really pinpoint the exact moment I felt like a badass, mainly because there were so many of them. From plundering random ships that got in my way, to the stealthy action of certain missions or just sailing with the ship around, while my crew sang songs. I have to say, it's been a long time since I felt so cool as I did in Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag. The reason that this game works so well for me is the fact that I really really enjoy the Golden Age of Piracy. Ubisoft really pushed the right buttons on me Oh, it was also my first AC I actually finished and didn't get bored in the middle of it. Khm, the first Assassin's Creed, khm. I have to mention that I would love to plat this game again, if it ever comes with the PS+ on the PS4. And I usually hate replaying games. I love pirates, arr

 

Grind of the Year

 

 

Oh Gawd this was terrible! At first, this game was super fun and I really got in to it, but soon, really soon, it became repetitive and BORING. What's the grind you ask? Reach level A. It's online, you can't skip replays or any of the cinematics for that matter, the cinematics are always the same, the matches themselves are long and you only get a really really smart percentage of XP ... if you win. If you lose without being at least close to winning, you get even less points. So of course this was boosted, and I boosted this every day for the whole week with a boosting partner. I couldn't play games because this shit was on! F*ck you Virtua Tennis 4. Sorry, this wasn't a happy grind

 

Sleeper Hit of the Year

 

 

Of course I was gonna pick Rocket League It really came out of nowhere and it's so well done, I would recommend this game to anyone. It's really simple, just try and put the ball in the goal! You can get used to it pretty quickly and once you familiarize yourself with the physics, you can be a bad ass mofo flying around trying to hit the ball. And if you're me, missing the ball every time you want to be like a bad ass mofo flying around and trying to hit the ball

 

Biggest Bomb of the Year

 

 

Yes, yes. I know this isn't a popular opinion, but I got on the hype train and as I was riddng on it, I became convinced this was going to be something special. Sadly yes, the hype got to me and I was really disappointed at how "meh" the story was, not to mention the "twist" at the end. It just left me cold. I will give it this, the graphical style of the game is fantastic. And I really liked the character of Bigby. The Wold Among Us just failed with the story with me and when the key component isn't up to par, the game flops. But hey, this is just my opinion

 

Wurst Plat ov teh Yeer

 

 

It's a game made for mobiles, ported on the PS3 for some easy earned money. That's all you need to know. Go for the plat only if it's free, because this is NOT worth the money they're asking. Even writing about the game is not worth it. F*ck you Magus, mate.

 

The Best Platinum of 2015

(with honourable mentions)

 

 

Winner winner, we are having a detective for dinner? Okay, that didn't work Whatever, L.A. Noire is easily the best platinum I got this year. It's not easy, it's not too difficult and it's fun. Probably the best part of the game is the atmosphere. It really gives you the feel of the 40's or at least how I feel the 40's would feel like. Most of the cases you work on are really interesting and the fact that you can progress through the story and put the wrong people behind bars is really awesome The main character is a really good cop, you just get to think, is he a good person as well? Well, play the game, it aged okay, the motion graphics of the faces are still amazing. I really wish they made a sequel, this could've been a fun franchise. I would recommend it to anyone who likes open world games, especially if you like for instance Mafia II. They share a similar timeframe and a similar atmosphere.

 

So yeah, these are my picks. Maybe something will still change as I'm planning to try the Plat Rain days at the start of the next year. We'll see

Edited December 4, 2015 by QuinlanLJ

[Dragon-Archon]

I'd like to thank Comp for constantly being angry at this game for several years and giving me the thought of "I know what'll piss comp off :^)^)^)^)".

LMAO , so how pissed off was she?

[Bucknerd]

I've only platted 5 games so far this year so keep in mind my selection pool is not immense.

 

The Lime Popsicle Award

Persona 4: Dancing All Night

As someone who doesn't exactly have many plats, much less many difficult plats, it's something when I say it's easy.

 

The Billy Mitchell Award

Demon Gaze

Beating the final boss, coupled with grinding for the Big Muramasa RNG drop, warrant Demon Gaze's spot here. The final boss has... just a mere EIGHT forms you have to survive. In essence the final form is 8 boss fights in one with no chance to heal in between. It took multiple attempts considering elements of the battle are RNG but in my fifth attempt everything went right as rain and I God Handed that motherfucker into oblivion. You don't mess with panties.

 

The Bad Ass Award

Transistor

As someone who isn't good with action in games (there's a reason turn-based RPGs are my jam) passing the Agency Test on my second play-through was a personal triumph.

 

The Literal Bad Ass Award

Ar Nosurge: Ode to an Unborn Star

 

Self explanatory.

 

Grind of the Year

Hatsune Miku: Project Diva F2nd

The.  Diva.  Room.

 

Sleeper Hit of the Year

Dragon Fantasy: Book II

I went into this game not knowing what to expect and came away with an intense hatred for David Bowie...lf. This game is incredibly clever and a fun parody of SNES era RPGs. It's also super short. Give it a go.

 

Biggest Bomb of the Year

Ar Nosurge: Ode to an Unborn Star

This game earns this title because, at it's core, it isn't good. It's even worse than bad. It's boring. The combat system is actually fun and interesting but you're too busy doing other mundane tasks to really do too much battle. The plat is also almost too easy, to the point where I almost automatically got it despite hating the game. The graphics were also sub-par and Delta, one of the main protagonists, is just butt ugly for a PS3 RPG. Let's just say I disliked this game so much not even the dancing could save it.

 

The Best Plat of 2015

Demon Gaze

What can I say?  I love Wizardry style RPGs and this is no exception. I had a blast and I look forward to playing the sequel and Operation Abyss. Even if I have to sniff more panties.

 

The Worst Plat of 2015

Ar Nosurge: Ode to an Unborn Star

Instead of rehashing my dislike of this game here's Nanako dancing instead.

[Zenpai]

Well, I've only finished 4 games with trophies this year, and one of them didn't even have a platinum, but here we go.

 

 

 

The Lime Popsicle Award

 

None of my games this year were that easy.

 

 

 

The Billy Mitchell Award: Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood

 

 

This one's not even a contest. I could have also given the game the Wurst Plat Ov Teh Yeer Award, since getting all trophies was the only difficult part about this game, but since I actually enjoyed the game a lot, I'm just going to go with the Billy Mitchell Award.

 

Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood is actually one of the best entries in the franchise... and yet, it's probably the hardest to platinum. The single player is actually pretty easy, the problem is getting the online trophies... the bane of my existence as a trophy hunter. Especially when you get the game 3 years after it came out. Fortunately, the servers have yet to close, but obviously, the population is far from what it used to be. And yet, that was the least of my problems, thanks to the site's handy feature: the gaming sessions. No, the real problem were the absurdly difficult online trophies and the myriad of technical problems that plague the multiplayer mode.

 

So, where shall I begin?

 

First, you have Role Model, where you need three people and a lot of coordination. This one is doable, if everyone has a guide and knows what they're doing.

 

Then, you have Abstergo Employee of the Month, where you have to get every single bonus at least once. I think there's something to be said when a single trophy has a guide all to itself. Like Role model, you can get most bonuses with a few people that know what they're doing. The problem comes through Extreme Variety, where you have to get 15 different bonuses in a single session, which is only 8 minutes long. Trust me, it's not easy. At all. And you still need at least two more people to do it.

 

And then you have Download Complete. Whoo boy... reaching level 50 in the multiplayer doesn't sound too bad, right? Well, it becomes more of a problem when it takes 45 hours to get. And with a dying populace... well, you can imagine it's not getting any faster. There is a boosting method that reduces that time to 5 hours... but, you need 5 more people, that, again, all know what they're doing. And the more people you get, the harder it becomes for them all to be on the same page. But oh no, that's not the hardest part. The hardest is actually getting to the bloody multiplayer mode, which is filled with technical problems. It will keep barring you entry for times on end for no good reason. It can take you hours just to get in the damn thing. And then, you have to actually get all the people you worked so hard to gather in the same bloody session. Because sometimes, the bloody game would just bar people from entering the session for no good reason (I think it had something to do with regions or something, but it was still stupid). And after that, then you had to pray to every god that your boosting mates were on the same page as you and knew what they were doing. Because sometimes we would get idiots in there who would ruin the boosting session for everyone. And you had to hope that nobody left early so you could get some actual decent boosting done. Because if a single person left... session ruined. We couldn't proceed any longer.

 

I always hated online trophies, but this was the game that made me abhor them.

 

 

 

 

Bad Ass Award

 

I didn't really play any "bad ass" games this year.

 

 

Grind of the Year Award: Dragon Ball Xenoverse

 

 

 

Again, not even a contest. The game is actually pretty fun. Getting all the drops, on the other hand... oh, God... I've never seen a game with such dying passion for RNG.

 

So, you could only get certain drops from certain enemies on certain missions. Sometimes, the desired enemy would only come 5-10 minutes into the mission, which only added to the grind time. And then, you had to pray to every single RNG god that he dropped the loot you wanted, because if not... well, rinse and repeat. Sometimes, that enemy would only come in a bonus part of the mission called Ultimate Finish. You had to do a specific action during the regular part of the mission to unlock the Ultimate Finish... but, even if you did everything right. Ultimate Finish might still not unlock. Why? Because RNG. And because fuck you. Start from scratch. AGAIN.

 

The worst part was when you had to get pieces of equipment, because every piece of the same outfit was held by the same enemy. But, he would only drop one at a time. So first, you had to get him to actually drop the piece, and then you had to pray it was the piece that you actually wanted.

 

Seriously, this game loves RNG to the death. There's even a piece of equipment buried under 4 different layers of RNG. Even getting a new master depends on RNG. The hub clearly had room for at least 10 masters at any one time. But no, only one is available. Not the one you want? Then reload the entire hub again and pray to every RNG god that the next master is the one you want.

 

Urgh... I love Dimps' games, but if they ever make a Xenoverse 2, they'd better do away entirely with this grindy RNG system.

 

 

 

Sleeper Hit of the Year Award: Journey

 

 

A short but sweet game. Took my time finding all the collectibles and just enjoying the artful experience. Companion was a bit of a pain to unlock, but I could do it after a while.

 

 

 

Bomb of the Year: J-Stars Victory Vs+

 

 

The game wasn't that bad, I just didn't know which award to give it, so...

 

As a massive Jump fan, I had to get this one. I had plenty of fun seeing all my favorite characters interacting with each other and unlocking all the secret interactions. The reason this was the bomb of the year was... well, the game's extremely repetitive. Not grindy, mind you, just repetitive. It's like it's trying way too hard to force you into playing more. Now matter how fun it was, after a while, it just gets really old really fast. That and I really didn't like the cheap story mode. This is a Playstation 3, surely you can make an actual, fully animated story mode instead of a barely acted out visual novel... which you even have to replay 3 times, just with different characters.

 

Despite overall liking the game, I felt it could have been so much more. Here's hoping they do something a little more fleshed out by the time Jump turns 50.

 

 

 

 

Best Platinum of the Year Award

 

None of my games this year were that good.

 

 

 

 

Wurst Plat ov teh Yeer Award

 

...but none of them were that bad, either.

[simula67]

 

The Lime Popsicle Award

Telltale's Game of Thrones, Season One

 

I only recently finished this platinum. It's as you would expect from a Telltale game - nothing missable; just play through the story for the platinum. Doesn't get any easier than this. Regardless of difficulty though, this is absolutely a story worth experiencing, especially if you're a fan of the show or books.

 

 

The Billy Mitchell Award
Wipeout HD

 

If you've played Wipeout, you understand. If you've never played Wipeout, you don't want to know. 
 

 

 

Bad Ass Award

Encounter the Alien in Sevastopol for the first time (Alien Isolation)

 

In a game filled to the brim with tension and unscripted encounters with an invincible enemy, my very first time seeing the Alien has stuck with me all year. For the first few stages you are aware of the Alien's presence and it is aware of yours. You can hear it moving through the air vents above you. I began to get a bit too comfortable as I walked into the office to end a security lockdown. And then, it slithered down from a vent and... holy shit. 

 

 

Grind of the Year

Open every chest in Paris (Assassin's Creed Unity)

 

I am an unapologetic AC fan. As far as the series go, Unity was a middling effort. Added a few cool new things, but overall I thought it was just ok. Its collectibles though... yowza. Just check out this image for a taste of how many chests there are to open in this game. Perhaps the most annoying part of this grind was that the chests don't really contain enough money to make it worthwhile, and you are already swimming in income from other sources. The only reason to do this is for a trophy. Of course I did it!

 

 

Sleeper Hit of the Year

Rocket League

 

I had never heard of Rocket League before it was given away for PS+ a few months ago. My friends and I decided to work on the platinum together. It quickly became one of my favorite games and is my likely choice for Game of the Year. I typically measure how much I like a game by how often (if at all) I will go back to it after all of the trophies are earned. Rocket League stands with Resogun as games that I will go back to frequently just to play for fun. I find myself wanting to unlock every accessory, even though I'll probably never use most of them! Psyonix' DLC offerings have been spectacular and their support of the game since release has been exemplary. 

 

 

Biggest Bomb of the Year

Need for Speed: Most Wanted

 

Racing games are NOT my thing. I really only tried this out because it was free for PS+ and I was in need of a Vita game to play during lunch at work. The premise sounded interesting enough, and my friends recommended it to me. It's not that the game was difficult (other than a few really nasty events), it's just that it wasn't all that fun. The Social Climber trophy (for having 5 friends on your list that own the game) is completely hosed and it took all kinds of witchcraft and human sacrifices for the trophy gods to bestow this bronze trophy on me. At that point though, I had more or less soured on the game already. 

 

 

The Best Platinum of 2015

inFAMOUS: First Light

 

This was a really tough choice for me. It came down to this, Alien Isolation, and Far Cry 4. Fetch is a far more interesting character than Delsin, though neither can hold a candle to Cole. Seeing Fetch's backstory play out made this a better game than Second Son for me. and the conclusion is so satisfying. When it came to pick between this game and the other two, what I kept coming back to was how much fun the challenge arena trophies were to get. They were perhaps the first chance in all five inFAMOUS games where you could really unleash some hell and demonstrate what you were fully capable of. 

 

 

Wurst Plat ov Teh Yeer

LEGO Ninjago: Nindroids

 

I had a goal this year to platinum every LEGO game that I hadn't played yet. (Spoiler Alert: it's not going to happen) I did, however, manage to finish every LEGO game for Vita, including this heaping pile of horse manure. It's really hard to make a LEGO game terrible, but hot damn, did this game succeed. A worse LEGO game than Star Wars III, and that is saying something. 

 

 

[JaM]

yay.. it's the time of the year once again... 

 

THE LIME POPSICLE AWARD

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle

 

I've read in a guide before starting this one that it is really easy.. but I am somehow unsure at first... since you know... Fighting games requires skills... but after finding out that you could just simply spam square button to win battles.. I rest my case... well.. it sure has these Misc. Trophies but not really hard, there is also a grind but not really hard if you can master spamming square button...well at least it's plat name starts with J and will finally complete my Trophy Cabinet Anagram...

 

Runner Ups:

• Sherlock Holmes: Crimes and Punishments - a game which the biggest challenge is not falling to sleep while waiting for loading screen.
• Persona 4 Dancing All Night - grindy but compare to other rhythm games I've played before... a piece of cake...
• Hakuoki: Stories of the Shinsengumi - it's a Romance Visual Novel game.. do I need to explain more? ehh? why it is not my pick? cause I took my precious time reading wall of text instead of hitting Skip button... 

 

THE BILLY MITCHELL AWARD

CATHERINE

 

Who says pushing blocks is a pushover? Frustrating, luck base and fun at the same time.. I actually thought of having an actual  nightmare while I am playing this game... Squeezed most of my logic juices and tested my patience in dealing with Babel... No regrets though.. totally fit the place for my 69th plat...

 

Runner Ups:

• htoL#NiQ -The Firefly Diary- - OMG.. these flawless runs... makes me hate lolis a bit...
• RESOGUN - not that hard but playing it solo definitely tested my patience...
• The Legend of Korra - ugh... Naga run on highest difficulty... I thought this is supposed to be a game for kids...

 

BAD ASS AWARD

 

being great in bullet hell game is probably a skill/talent that I will never obtain in my gaming life therefore getting this trophy in 3 attempts is probably my biggest yay gaming moment this year... good thing God of War games and Sound Shape has prepped my patience before playing this game... who says Sound Shape is just for Trophy Whores?

 

Runner Ups:

• Getting Speen Run and No Relic Trophies in 1 run in Shovel Knight
• Conquering Obelisk
• Getting 1 CC trophy solo

GRIND OF THE YEAR

Hyperdevotion Noire: Goddess Black Heart

 

You know what part I hate the most in HDN system/gameplay? Lily Rank... apparently fighting together hand in hand against the evil one for the sake of the world is not enough for you to get along very well, instead in this game, for one to be loved by all.. one need be literally beside these characters use skill 100 times in the front of their faces just to earn some affection from them... and oh.. you need to this to all of the rest of the playable characters... what's more fun? no DLC to make your life easier... this game somehow makes me forget how I hate Stella in HDN Re;birth 2

 

Runner Ups:

• Digimon All-Star Rumble - This is actually supposed the clear winner in this one but this game deserves another spot in my list
• KINGDOM HEARTS Re:Chain of Memories - praying to RNG God(ess) that the last monster you defeat finally drop a monster card
• AKIBA'S TRIP: Undead ＆ Undressed - sure grindy.. but actually a fun game 

 

SLEEPER HIT OF THE YEAR

Rogue Legacy

 

Oh look... PS+ IGC give us another Indie game

 

This actually shares the same tale of Velocity Ultra to me last year... you know.. it is one of the game most might not even care to pay for since it is an "indie" game plus has "old" graphics and even some might even do eyerolling when it is announce that it will be included in IGC... but... after playing Lone Survivor, Hotline Miami and Velocity Ultra for "free" thanks to PS+ IGC, I gave this a shot... and again.. I am glad I did... fun and addictive.. sure it is really challenging at first (or even in the entire game) but after I get used to it... I loved this game and never stopped playing til I finished it... thank you PS+ for introducing me once again to an awseome game...

 

Runner Ups:

• Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls - omg, a Visual novel game spin-off game is a TPS??? wth??? I am not a fan of TPS but I looooved this game... a close fight between Rogue Legacy and this game for my choice in this category
• OKAMI HD - haven't played in PS2, missed in PS+ IGC.. worth the money of buying this game instead
• South Park: The Stick of Truth - and yep.. boarding the hype train for the sequel 

BIGGEST BOMB OF THE YEAR

*WEARS BULLETPROOF VEST AND PROTECTIVE HEADGEAR*

Hyperdimension Neptunia PP

 

Ugh.. what the heck is even this game... so yeah.. the world is in danger.. blah blah blah... you need to be the manager and make the CPU famous.. yay.. what fun and let's not talk about getting these 100% events... please.. just... no... Definitely my least fave HDN game to date and would not really even played this game if I am not a fan of the series...

 

Runner Up:

• htoL#NiQ -The Firefly Diary- - actually a close fight between this and HDN PP... I will still stand by my words before... will definitely send this as a birthday/holiday gift to my worst enemy.

 

THE BEST PLATINUM OF 2015

Tales of Symphonia

 

probably the most grindy JRPG game I've platted (technically) so far and I have no regrets... I loooove every moment of playing this game... I didn't mind playing this game 4 times... that is how I loooove this game... If ever my save file got corrupted or my PS account has reset to 0 trophies.. I don't mind experiencing and playing this game all over again...

 

Runner Ups:

• STEINS;GATE - I've watched the anime before playing this game and I don't care if I know what will happen in the end... re-experiencing this one is worth my time... 
• FINAL FANTASY XIII: LIGHTNING RETURNS - a game that makes me love Lightning... 
• Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls - my fave Danganronpa game so far...

 

 

WURST PLAT OV TEH YEER EVURRRR

Digimon All-Star Rumble

 

Again.. will say it... Worst.. Grind... Ever...  that is how worse this game's grind is, htol could have these stupid flawless runs trophies but this game's grind would make you even feel worse and I even conquered all HDN Vita games' Lily Grind... Imagine... The collectibles requires you to pray with RNG and at the same time collect bits to buy them, nope... not or... you need to do both... pray with RNG AND earn bits...

 

let's start about the easier one... getting via RNG... the games location of the cards treasure chests are fixed...oh, btw, it is based on RNG... you will either get bits or a card if you're lucky... and the fun part is there is a rare card that can only be obtained in last stage that will took around 10 mins to finish... and if you are going to exploit it's trick, you need to repeat the entire stage if you didn't get the card (which I am sure you will, except maybe you are super lucky... like sure winner in a lottery lucky).. but if you're not, have fun replaying the entire story mode just to hope it will give you the card you are looking for... sounds easy? how bout this one... to collect around 700K bits.. not that huge amount compared to other JRPG grind... but how about this... the only way to get bits is via Story mode... and to get bits, you need to pray to RNG God(ess) that the Digimon you just defeated will give you bits and also doing great in boss battles... like not die once or else the bits you earned will be cut to 1/3... oh.. the fun part is in one Story mode run.. you would probably get only around 7-8k bits... so yeahhh... brace your self to play story mode like around 100~ times... oh.. didn't I tell you also that 1 story mode run takes around 45 minutes and dialogues are unskippable.. yep... the game will tell you like 100 times that you need to press X to jump... soo fun right?

 

and nope.. no runner ups... this game is the WORST GAME I'VE PLATTED... EVURRRRRR...the worst part is I love Digimon

Edited December 6, 2015 by BO-kun

[Boooda]

This took a long as time to write, lots of plats this year!

 

The Lime Popsicle Award

I played a number of plats this year, and some of them were Japanese VN's. However, the easiest and the fastest plat I got this year was Skyscrappers. Clocking in at 1hr 53 mnutes this was one of the most mindless plats I've gotten and easily the...easiest. 

 

The Billy Mitchell Award

Oh its gotta be Mr.200 Bloodborne. It still amazes me how high that plat % considering how difficult the game is. But god damn is it rewarding. 
 

Bad Ass Award

Doing Crota's Raid Flawless in Destiny with Sir_Bee, TheYuriG, Xeliot, and KiloFive. That was one of the most badass moments of the year IMO. We absolutely destroyed it and it was awesome doing it with members of the community. 

 

Grind of the Year

This one also goes to Destiny. Its actually still in progress as of writing this. Levelling the 2 other subclasses and playing solo no less, has been the most mundane boring grinds I've done all year.
Honorable Mention: J-Stars Victory Road. 

 

Sleeper Hit of the Year

This is kinda cheating since the game didnt come out this year, but I did platinum it this year and it has to be Driveclub. Hands down the best racing game i've played in years and its constant stream of support and trophies has been a great response from its less than stellar launch. I'll always recommend this game to anyone. 

 

Biggest Bomb of the Year

This one goes to Mad Max. Developed by Avalanche Studios and coming off the back of the spectacular movie, I had extremely high expectaions for this game. Even after the reviews came out I still held hope. Got it day 1 and EVEN AFTER fooling myself into thinking it was good in the first 10 hours, I eventually came to my senses and put it down. The game is very boring. The writing is very bad. And the gameplay is very one dimensional. Dont get me wrong, its a stunning game to look at and its got some pretty jaw dropping moments, but this was nothing short of the biggest disappointment of the year for me, especially because I was so hyped after recently seeing the movie. 

 

The Best Platinums of the Year

Without a doubt, Bloodborne. So glad I saved this game for my 200th platinum, it was a treat from start to finish. I can't really think of anything else to say about the game other than its a masterpiece, can't wait to play the DLC. 

 

Wurst Plat ov teh Yeer

Dead Island: Riptide. Fuck this game and everything about it. It blows my mind how incompetent Techland are when it comes to collectible based torphies and having to play through it 3 extra times because of that, it left the worst taste in my mouth possible. Fuck You Dead Island: Riptide. 

[ExHaseo]

Lime Popsicle Award - Under Night In-Birth Exe: Late

 

 

This game was so easy, it was disappointing. It posed virtually no challenge, even though it's a fighting game that I had never played before.

 

Billy Mitchell Award - Dragon Ball Xenoverse

 

I hate this game so much. The ridiculous post-game grind was not just the most painful thing I've done this year, it was the most painful and frustrating grind I've ever endured. Not just the drops were RNG, but also if the secret mission characters would appear, which also had their own drops. I guess now they've patched it to make it easier, but it was a horrible experience when it first game out.

 

Bad Ass Award - Blazblue Chrono Phantasma Extend

 

Oddly enough, this is from my most recent plat. When doing the online, I was able to get 3 straight perfect victories in a row. It was amazing.

 

Grind of the Year - Dragon Ball Xenoverse

 

Surprise.

 

Sleeper Hit of the Year - The Amazing Spider-Man

 

I was incredibly impressed with this game when I played it. I got it on sale because I loves me some Spider-Man, but being a movie tie-in, I wasn't expecting much. Lucky for me, it ending being a fantastic game. Easily the best movie tie-in game I've played, and my favorite Spider-Man game.

 

Biggest Bomb of the Year - Freedom Wars

 

A lot of people talk about how great this game is, but after playing it, I really didn't understand what all the hype was about. The game's difficulty was horribly balanced, the art style was essentially just ripped off from God Eater, the story doesn't have an end, the story makes little sense, the gameplay is unbalanced, and there wasn't even very much enemy variety. I mean, it was an ok game overall, but it definitely doesn't deserve the praise it gets. When it comes to monster hunter style games, this is easily the worst of the lot.

 

The Best Platinum of 2015 - Lightning Returns: FFXIII

 

As a lot of people may know, I hate the XIII series with a burning passion. Not only was XIII the worst game in the series for a multitude of reasons, the series also pulled resources they could've been using to develop vsXIII (aka FFXV), or KHIII, or any other game really. So, me saying that this is the best plat of the year is a big deal. 

In addition to creating a battle system that's actually entertaining, they also brought back a job system, open-ended non-linear story progression, a large amount of optional content, and to top it off, none of the trophies were super grindy or frustrating. Everything about the list just made sense, and felt challenging enough to be rewarding, without feeling unfair, or just plain stupid/pointless.

 

Wurst plat uv teh yeer - Dragon Ball Xenoverse

 

This should come as no surprise to anyone who was here when I was playing this game. It was so frustrating, that I was posting rage induced updates about it constantly. I really hate how much I ended up hating this game, because I really enjoyed it at first. But the devs had to be dicks about it and pretend it's an MMO, even though there's no reason to get all of those damn drops. Most of the moves and equipment were garbage. And by the time it got to the point of going back to get everything, I already had the best moves. So it ended up being hundreds of hours of mashing the exact same move over and over and over on the same enemies, on the same missions, on the same maps. UGH. It was horrible.

Edited December 23, 2015 by ExHaseo

[Dr_Mayus]

 

 

Wurst Plat ov teh Yeer

Dead Island: Riptide. Fuck this game and everything about it. It blows my mind how incompetent Techland are when it comes to collectible based torphies and having to play through it 3 extra times because of that, it left the worst taste in my mouth possible. Fuck You Dead Island: Riptide. 

 

Surprise no mention about the Star Ocean reference in the opening thread

 

Also I like Dead Island Riptide...mostly because it didn't glitch for me. Poor Fozzy though had the game glitch on him while we were playing as one of the twins ran out and disappeared and then not spawning again for him to get the trophy

 

 

Wurst plat uv teh yeer - Dragon Ball Xenoverse

 

This should come as no surprised to anyone who was here when I was playing this game. It was so frustrating, that I was posting rage induced updates about it constantly. I really hate how much I ended up hating this game, because I really enjoyed it at first. But the devs had to be dicks about it and pretend it's an MMO, even though there's no reason to get all of those damn drops. Most of the moves and equipment were garbage. And by the time it got to the point of going back to get everything, I already had the best moves. To it ended up being hundreds of hours of mashing the exact same move over and over and over on the same enemies, on the same missions, on the same maps. UGH. It was horrible.

 

One of the rare triple nominees . Your status updates were definitely fun to read

[Boooda]

Surprise no mention about the Star Ocean reference in the opening thread

 

Also I like Dead Island Riptide...mostly because it didn't glitch for me. Poor Fozzy though had the game glitch on him while we were playing as one of the twins ran out and disappeared and then not spawning again for him to get the trophy

 

Loooool, how did I miss that?! I promised I'd start Star Ocean before 2016, and I plan to keep my word. So at 11:59pm on December 31st i'll be sure to pop a trophy  

 

Well im sorry to say, but you've wasted a life-times worth of luck by not having Dead Island glitch on ya. I'd watch out for falling pianos. 

[Dr_Mayus]

Loooool, how did I miss that?! I promised I'd start Star Ocean before 2016, and I plan to keep my word. So at 11:59pm on December 31st i'll be sure to pop a trophy

 

Well im sorry to say, but you've wasted a life-times worth of luck by not having Dead Island glitch on ya. I'd watch out for falling pianos. 

It is actually why I made to sure to get everything that had to do with SIngle player done before starting multiplayer. I figured that was my best way to ensure nothing gliched on me

 

I actually had a lot of fun with the game though, I am sorry so many people didn't enjoy it

[Boooda]

It is actually why I made to sure to get everything that had to do with SIngle player done before starting multiplayer. I figured that was my best way to ensure nothing gliched on me

 

I actually had a lot of fun with the game though, I am sorry so many people didn't enjoy it

 

The game itself was fine. The platinum sucked. Techland have had that problem with all of their games, even Dying Light had some collectible problems. Dunno what it is, but its infuriating! 

 

Is dead island 2 still happening? That game has been in development hell almost since it was announced. I dont even know if the game currently has a developer at all to be honest

[Dr_Mayus]

The game itself was fine. The platinum sucked. Techland have had that problem with all of their games, even Dying Light had some collectible problems. Dunno what it is, but its infuriating! 

 

Is dead island 2 still happening? That game has been in development hell almost since it was announced. I dont even know if the game currently has a developer at all to be honest

I thought the Spec Op guys were doing DI2?

[Boooda]

I thought the Spec Op guys were doing DI2?

 

They were, they got kicked off in July, now an unnamed dev is working on it O_o

Edited December 7, 2015 by Boooda

[Dr_Mayus]

They were, they got kicked off in July, now an unnamed dev is working on it O_o

Oh that's too bad I guess they were afraid of their game becoming critically successful

[Dr_Mayus]

There is just 9 days left to get your votes in

 

Also to all those that are interested...Dr_Mayus' path to 200 starts now

 

Edited December 23, 2015 by Dr_Mayus

[xZoneHunter]

TORURING? What's that?

 

But #200 is obviously going to be SO4.... That is, if you can complete the epic quest  

[Dr_Mayus]

TORURING? What's that?

 

But #200 is obviously going to be SO4.... That is, if you can complete the epic quest

Lol, OK...2 seconds I am uploading the correct spelling. You have to understand...that gift left me weak

[Dragon-Archon]

I'm going to start writing my end of the year 2015 awards. With the 11 plats ready to pop for the Plat Rain Day, I suddenly have a lot more choices .

 

Loooool, how did I miss that?! I promised I'd start Star Ocean before 2016, and I plan to keep my word. So at 11:59pm on December 31st i'll be sure to pop a trophy

Yay finally, just so you know it takes about 55 minutes to get the first trophy and you'll be spending 30 minutes on the tutorial, 10 minutes on cutscenes, another 10 minutes getting to the first boss, and 5 minutes fighting.

 

There is just 9 days left to get your votes in

 

Also to all those that are interested...Dr_Mayus' path to 200 starts now

 

Now I want to know what game that's supposed to be.

Edited December 23, 2015 by Dragon-Archon

[Dr_Mayus]

I'm going to start writing my end of the year 2015 awards. With the 11 plats ready to pop for the Plat Rain Day. I suddenly have a lot more choices .

 

Yay finally, just so you know it takes about 55 minutes to get the first trophy and you'll be spending 30 minutes on the tutorial, 10 minutes on cutscenes, another 10 minutes getting to the first boss, and 5 minutes fighting.

 

Now I want to know what game that's supposed to be.

Yeah, Star Ocean makes you work for that first trophy

 

Can't wait to see you choices Dragon and there is a clue in the song. But it is kind of convoluted . Don't worry, once I hit 190 there will be the next teaser

[GarciaFever]

THE LIME POPSICLE AWARD

 

The Walking Dead (PS4)

 

 

Now I have nothing against TellTale and their ability to make games where the story plot revolves around making difficult choices, but it becomes boring seeing as this is the third time that i've played the game in order to get the platinum.

 

 

 

 

THE BILLY MITCHELL AWARD

 

N/A

 

 

BAD ASS AWARD

 

NARUTO STORM R

 

 

This goes back to yesterday. During the Platinum Ray Day event, this was the last game out of the 10 that I have submitted for getting the platinums. All that I had to do was win 30 fights in Ultimate Survival. So when I popped the game into the system (after who knows how many months it's been sitting on the shelf collecting dust) I was doing OK for the most part. Had maybe 5 matches where I came close to death. So then I had a 22 win streak with my team consisting of Hinata (Shippuden), Pain, and Madara Uchiha. The opponent I was fighting was Might Guy and 2 others that I cannot remember. That bastard was so damn cheap I almost couldn't get away to charge up my chakra. Eventually I got my ass handed to me, and was super pissed. After several retries with different characters, I couldn't do it anymore due to sleep deprivation (I stayed up until around 7:00 or 8:00 AM).

 

After finally getting some rest, showered, had food in my system, I jumped back on the PS3 and started the game again, hoping this time that I can be able to clear the damn game. So I used the same team I originally started out with: Hinata (Shippuden), Pain, and Madara Uchiha. Match after match, I was doing much better then I expected. Made sure that my team's health stayed well beyond the 80% margin. Once I managed to surpass my previous record at 22 wins, I felt excited, but it wasn't over just yet. Had one match against the samurai guy (forget his name), and finished the match with only 50% left. I really felt like rage quitting, but I knew that if I played it smart, there would still be hope for me. The next match comes up, it was super easy and got my health close to full again. So now it is the final match, and it was heated. Shurikens being thrown left and right. Jutsus coming out from all over the place, even a glitch popped up where Madara was outside of the ring yet still managed to perform his Firestorm attack., and in the end, it finally happened: I kicked my opponent's ass with very little health, and that sweet bronze trophy popped along with the platinum. 7+ hours of intense fighting, blood pumping through my body, and I could not have asked for anything better. As much as I love the Naruto series, I never want to be anywhere near a fighting game ever again (... well at least until Naruto Shippuden Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 comes out, or until the Naruto anime series has ended, whichever comes first).

 

 

GRIND OF THE YEAR

 

Hyperdevotion Noire: Goddess Black Heart.

 

 

Sigh... The ssecond I heard news about another HDN game being released, I was ecstatic. At the same time, however, I knew that I had to deal with the Lily Rank grinding. But holy shit was it ever boring. Unlike the other HDN games, there is almost no way to reduce the amount of grinding, and 2 of the characters do not even have any buff/debuff skills. And here I thought that Hyperdimension Neptnuia Idol PP was worse when there were only 4 songs that you can play with and that said game does not indicate which events you have have seen or which ones you need to watch in order to get 100%.

 

 

SLEEPER HIT OF THE YEAR

 

N/A

 

 

BIGGEST BOMB OF THE YEAR

 

Persona 4: Dancing All Night

 

The reason that I have this game as the worst game of the year, in my opinion, is mostly due to the music. Now  seeing as I have never played any Persona game (aside from this one), but whenever I purchase a rhythm game, I expect there to be good music, but sadly over half of the songs just sucked. At most there are probably 2-3 songs that I don't mind playing, but unless you're a die hard fan of the Persona series, then there really isn't much going on with this game aside from it trying to imitate something that you would normally see from games like Hatsune Miku Project DIVA F.

 

 

THE BEST PLATINUM OF 2015

 

Mercenary Kings

 

At first this game doesn't seem like I would enjoy it, but after watching my brother play it, I became hooked. Mercenary Kings reminds me a bit of Scott Pilgrim vs. The World The Game , but you add in the shooting mechanics as well as the gun crafting system, and you have an awesome game that everyone and their dog should play. Best of all, if you have have a friend, you can be able to play online coop and tackle the missions together. Almost every enemy drops an ingredient that you can use in the crafting system, and what ever you pick up, your friend will also get that same item.

 

 

WURST PLAT OV TEH YEER

 

N/A

Edited January 2, 2016 by GarciaFever

[Superstarmaste1r]

Thank goodness I have found this thread where good thing I am posting this just in time before it is over. Any who, here's is my amazing trophy journey of 2015.

 

"THE LIME POPSICLE AWARD" goes to

 

"We Had Fun, Didn't We?"(Tales From The Borderlands

 

And

 

Life Is Strange since I can't see the images for the platinum for some odd reason.

 

Those two trophies are the definition of easy Lime Popsicle where it is a piece of cake even though I only play the story for it. I admit that Life Is Strange seems really easy with a guide for the photo trophies but some parts of the chapters from Life Is Strange are surprisingly tricky without a guide where I remember in episode 2 finding the damn bottle glass are absolutely a pain in the ass to find that I really wish I can find the glass when the episode was released. Also the last episode where I have to open lot's oof doors was very confusing which is why I love playing this game including Tales From The Borderlands that I am so glad I played them this year.

 

 

"THE BILLY MITCHELL AWARD" goes to

Trophy Addict (Hotline Miami)

 

 

Surprisingly, this game was one of the hardest due to the AI being really cheap and the grade system when I try to flawless a stage is a bit unfair(ahem sequel of Hotline Miami will become hell when I platinum that game sheesh.). Until I found out by someone saying deleting the latest patch will make the scores and some trophies a bit easier, it really works even though it was trial and error with some characters wasn't really working for getting all A+ in each stages. Other than that, I am very glad I give the chance to play it late DEC of 2014 which ia few of my Facebook friends who really love  this game so much that I have to buy it. Other than the prequel, Trying to platinum Hotline Miami 2 will suck so bad that I will platinum the game one way another while going insane mode of how in the heck the developers step it up the easiness.

 

Bad ASS Moment that I have:

 

 

See Nyotengu my wafiu I used when I came back playing DOA 5 Last Round after my nine long month hiatus from Jul 4th 2014 to April 2015 of playing rank match?

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=RVc1AxMraTo

 

Now watch this video of how badass I actually dedicate playing DOA for so long even I am so glad I fought this long until I retired playing the madness of online matches with shitty company of Team Ninja who loves to disconnect these hands of great winning streaks I used to have. I should also get fighter of the year award because of it man.    Video actually explains everything what's so badass about so enjoy watching it.

 

"GRIND OF THE YEAR" goes to

 

Kingpin (SR4)

 

 

 

And

 

Scorched Savior Gat Out of Hell

 

Even though the trophies are very very easy, the damn challenges these two have take up the most time I ever had that I was even bored by playing when trying plating of both SR games. SR3 is way better than those two even I played all the Saints Row games... *Honorable mentions for the award* J stars Victory Plus even though I actually enjoy playing victory road because of Medaka. Without her, it'll be hell playing the game, an WWE 2K16 due to the online being a piece of shit I ever experienced

 

"SLEEPER HIT OF THE YEAR".goes to 

 

 

The Last Of Us: I have heard of the game and read some great reviews of it where I realized that I need to play this game where the reason of buying it was Angryjoe's review and he absolute loved the game. Playing it for the first time on hard was really challenging even reading the trophy guides on PSNP the person says save your ammo no matter what which is really true where it is really you're in some type of survival  mode of trying to endure and survive it. I still understand and see after the credits the game has to be the best single player games I have played where I am glad I give it a try and do this. The damn clickers actually scared the crap out of me even the gloaters are hard to stay alive without giving them attention and starting over a part with thanks to very handy checkpoint game that I like. Best game that I played in 2015 for me.

 

*Honorable Mentions (again yes)*

 

 

I could go on how amazing this was but I may keep it short. After the disappointing efforts to try and play the retail game of Sleeping Dogs by Gamestop that won't work, months later I had to buy it thanks to Old Gamer RPG for the giveaway for the viewer I watched his videos where you can subscribe to him since his videos are really entertaining to watch. Other than that, the gameplay, soundtrack, graphics, and everything about it is so georgeous where this is definitely a sleeper that every gamer needs to play for PS3 or remasterd version on PS4.

 

BIGGEST(IRONY) BOMB OF THE YEAR GOES TO:

 

 

Mafia 2.......... OMG I could rant this piece of trash of game if I have to but it'll be a long of rant but I will explain it not too briefly but just right. First off, the way 2K set up the damn missions to be this crappy that it is definitely not GTA type of freedom you'll suspect  if you play this game. I admit the story is alright but playing it is absolutely crappy. What's also makes it worse where I can't not believe I have heard of this game back on 2013 where I liked LA Niore so much that I need more games that are like that on playstation fourms.com where I used to go to the website , and most people say this game are similar and boy it is a major disappointment and fustration at the same time.  Even worse, that damn rampage trophy where the most hardest part of getting is the damn roof of the very top that I have to use the car with the WORST of not THE WORST AI drivers where they drive like Spongebop Square pants where it is ridiculous to deal with it. Crashing the part of it which is why I give up playing this damn game which is making me hate 2K as the developer. Proably I bought the game when it was on sale for PSNP and I hate it entirely where I wish people won't play Mafia 4 where they'll expect the worst things again for PS4. Screw that game!

 

Anywho

 

"The Best Platinums of the Year" goes to

Sky Clad Observer (Steins;Gate)

 

Even though I watch the anime show before back when I used to watch every anime shows since 2012 on MAL days(can't stand that website), playing my very first VN game and hearing the game will release for North America after I finished J Stars Victory VS, I can't wait to play it and this is actually the best platinum trophy ever. Either if it is easy platinum, best cover of the platinum trophy or harder to earn the platinum trophy, this game man it is wonderful. Even I know and seen it all of the show where I wasn't that surprised to the main route of Okabe and Shinya(tutruu ring a bell ugh Japanese names............)). The endings of each character blow me away of how sad and detailed it shows that the endings I actually like was Suzuha, catgirl which I forgot her name already where I used to hate her in the show but playing the game and seeing her ending, I now like her now, and Kurisu's true endings. Don't really care of Rukia's ending since I don't really care of the person but surprisingly the person's ending was interesting to see I think. Even the ending music for all of these actually gives me chills in my spine that I glad I recorded the platinum trophy on my channel where this game is the game of the year of 2015 that most people are sleeping this game for the most part as well. Really hoping more Steins;Gate games will come for America where I don't care if it set for alternative story, as long as it releases someday even Clannad which is a very good anime show as well, I will play that game and give it a 10/10! Ps Psy Congaroo~

 

And finally..............  "Wurst Plat ov teh Yeer" goes to. Drum roll please

 

 

 

You guess it

 

WWE 2K16(PS3)

 

 

 

*Rant time too* God damn it, this game's trophies was easy and even though I actually playing the game. However, online turned my satisfaction into a reality where the grind is really real and the amount of frustration having to keep on playing the shitty online 2K fuck just to earn the platinum trophy of 2015. The way people are playing online are very very rude that I hate how people use caws in it and be a complete asshole after that it's just ridiculous to play against them.*Off topic* Even worse uploading my 5 caws I made very good but yet some jackass even thumbs down my caws where the person was an absolute troll. 2K makes things so glitchy where this is the first and last 2K game I will ever played where they won't fix anything to make it better for me and everyone who has problems playing it. I dare anyone play this game and experience the amount of frustration this is. Though, here's a video of how I platinum the game to lighten the mood. 

 

and this fuckery of glitch where 2K won't ever fix

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LwO7tBqZJGQ

 

And that's my awards where hopefully everyone enjoy my post.   See ya to the next edition of 2016.

Edited December 29, 2015 by Superstarmaste1r

[Priere]

Dr. Mayus, sir, is it okay if i change my post? i've got a few more plats from the time i posted my awards and it seems some are more convenient.

[Dragon-Archon]

Ok, so here are my awards for 2015:

 

 

THE LIME POPSICLE AWARD

Just playing the game got me almost all the trophies, I only had to die on purpose near the end to respawn a few specific enemies and kill them about 15 times.

 

 

THE BILLY MITCHELL AWARD

I've never played a Metal Gear game before, so I was really looking forward to this (even though it's just a spin-off game). Having played other games from developer Platinum Games, I knew it was action-packed and had a lot of epic stuff. And the game did not disappoint. It also has one of the best soundtracks I've ever heard and my favourites are It Has To Be This Way. Playing as a cyborg ninja that can slice pretty much anything never gets old. Most attacks can be parried and those that can't can be evaded. The trick is to memorize enemy attack patterns. After beating the game, you unlock a lot of amazing gear. Using these makes the playthroughs on the higher difficulties doable. Most of the VR Missions are also doable within a few tries, but some of them are really hard. Beating the game on Revengeance difficulty with all S ranks was quite a challenge, especially the Monsoon boss fight. I spend a good few hours retrying that fight. Perfect parrying and QTEs also do more damage on higher difficulties, which really surprised me. So the fights are actually easier if you can dodge and parry attacks. I definitely recommend this game and the learning curve is very reasonable ... after a while.

 

 

BAD ASS AWARD

 

That moment when beating Monsoon with an S-rank on Revengeance difficulty after 3 hours of trying has got to be the most badass gaming moment of 2015. Slicing and dicing him in Ripper Mode, evading and blocking all his attacks as a cyborg ninja while listening to this soundtrack:

 

GRIND OF THE YEAR AWARD

Diablo is an entertaining game, albeit a quite repetitive dungeon crawler. Difficulties don't stack, so it's necessary to complete the game 4 times. Luckily areas and events are randomly generated, so that adds some variety. Exploring is also rewarded, because most of the time you'll find some good loot or a treasure goblin (which are basically walking treasure chests). There are 5 classes to choose from in the vanilla version and I played as a Wizard, who has some badass spells.

 

However, going for the plat means a lot of pointless gold farming at the end to pick up a ridiculous amount of 5 million gold. You have to pick this up yourself and gold obtained from selling items, completing quests, or from other players doesn't count. To put things in perspective: I had a little over 1.5 million gold after 4 playthroughs (and I was already exploring a lot to find gold). Which meant I had to farm gold for around 35 hours on higher difficulties (I had already played around 35 hours so far to complete the 4 playthroughs). When reaching Paragon levels (which is lvl 61 and higher), the gold find and magic find increases with 3% for every level, so on the long run that really helps eventually when reaching lvl 80.

 

SLEEPER HIT OF THE YEAR AWARD

Honourable mentions: Demon Gaze, Danganronpa Trigger Happy Havoc, and Virtue's Last Reward

 

 

Holy $#!t, would you look at that plat image. It's so beautiful, I wish every developer would put that much effort into creating a plat. Anyway on to my thoughts about the game. This is my first Tales of game and it was amazing. The story, characters, humour, and interactions are all great. Just when I thought the story was nearing its end, a new plot twist would be revealed and that kept me interested. These plot twists were believable and fit in the overarching story. Each party member has his/her own quircks and that garuantees some hilarious sitatuations. Hisui's attitude did annoy me a bit, because he's too protective and obsessed with hit sister, though it's explained why later in the game. The grinding isn't that bad compared to other JRPGs and the balloon minigame wasn't as annoying as I thought it would be. I definitely recommend this game to everyone who likes a well-written story. I'll definitely try out more Tales of games in the future.

 

BIGGEST BOMB OF THE YEAR AWARD

After hearing Conception II was similar to Persona 4 Golden, I became interested in this game. It does have some similar events, but it's imo not even close to P4G's league. The story is interesting, but the combat is extremely repetitive and quickly gets boring. Star Children also have a level cap and you need to create new ones for every chapter. This wouldn't be such a drag if stronger Star Children started at a higher level, but they don't. Every Star Child starts at lvl 1, which means revisiting dungeons from previous chapters to do more boring fighting and level them up so you're strong enough to make it through the current dungeon. This repeats itself during all 8 chapters. Then there are the random events that must be seen for the plat. To make it worse: the event depends on your bond level and there are 3 possible events for every party member.

 

 

THE BEST PLATINUM OF 2015

A great sequel to Dragon Age 2. There are a lot of good things like: areas aren't recycled, there are new enemies, decisions have a greater impact, the new companions are diverse and interesting, Qunari race is playable, the story has some great plot twists, and companions from previous DA games returned. You can also explore a lot and it's great to find some powerful armor or weapon as a reward. It's also great to create a new world state and see how events unfold in a different way. The crafting system has been improved and expanded. You can now create a weapon/armor and craft upgrades to improve different parts and add runes for extra damage. A few flaws are: the antagonist is a disappointment, the game freezes, it takes a while to load an area, Nightmare difficulty is hard at first, but becomes much easier once you progress through the game, learn better abilities, and get better equipment. Killing 10 high dragons glitched on me and I had to reload the final high dragon fight twice and save the game so I got it after killing 12 of them. The epilogue is also a huge cliffhanger and I can't wait for Dragon Age 4 to see what happens next. I would get the PS4 version too if EA hadn't stabbed PS3 users in the back when they released the last 2 story DLCs for the PS4 only.

 

WURST PLAT OV TEH YEAR AWARD

I've always wanted to try out Sound Shapes and the International Day on Non-Violence event seemed like a good excuse to do so. The campaign is meh at best, Beat School Mode made me wonder why that was even there, and Death Mode is just really cheap. About 90% of the time I'd have to wait to get lucky so that it was possible to finish the levels within the time limit, because the nodes spawn randomly. When I did get a lucky run, I'd die most of the time because of all the obstacles moving around on the screen. For a non-violence event, this game made me rage a lot and in hindsight I really should've chosen another game.