Madbuk's List of Unfinished Games

[madbuk]

Progress Update: #286 - Spyro 3: Year of the Dragon

And so the final game of the Spyro trilogy is finished  I have loved every minute of this trilogy and I'm so glad to see a faithful remaster of three games that I have spent many, many hours on and have many fond memories with. I can only hope this sells as well as Crash did so we can maybe get a Spyro 4. A new game that is as high quality as this would be a dream come true after so many years of shit like Enter the Dragonfly and Legend of Spyro (and I even enjoyed LoS, the story was engaging, but man they were awful Spyro games.)

 

The trophy list for this was just as uninspired as 2, unfortunately, and is actually even worse because it doesn't even require every egg/gem. You barely even have to play it really, just get enough eggs to beat the final boss and then do some cleanup. Very disappointing, but oh well. Nothing stopping you getting it all anyway. I also ended up getting every skill point again and they were much easier than the ones in 2. I don't seem to recall ever getting them all in Spyro 3 but after seeing how braindead easy they are (apart from the one in Lost Fleet) I can only imagine that I must've at some point... I hope.

 

I look forward to seeing what the future holds for Spyro - and Crash - and have placed Spyro in my Upcoming DLC folder on PS4 in the foolish hope we'll be getting some new levels like we did with Crash. This has been an absolute joy and I look forward to returning to it in the future for a second playthrough, this time with the original soundtrack. Don't know when that'll be, but it'll definitely be happening.

Spoiler

Retail

Spyro 3: Year of the Dragon [+41] {+100%} (COMPLETE!)

 

Unstarted

NEW GAME: Batman: The Enemy Within [31] {Digital}

 

Edited November 23, 2018 by madbuk

[madbuk]

Progress Update: #287 - Kingdom Hearts II

This is a great game. It further refines the combat from KH1, has more content, an arguably better story, and yet despite all that, I can't help but prefer KH1. This game takes forever to really begin. KH1 is fun from the start (well, maybe Destiny Islands is a bit dull on a second playthrough), but this game has you do a several hour long prologue, followed by about 8 worlds, and then things finally pick up. Until that point, which is just over half way through the game, nothing you do really seems to matter. You're visiting various Disney worlds and sorting out their problems, but the main story is barely progressing at all. You also lack a lot of moves that make the combat actually fun - quick dash, combo pluses, high jump, the double jump/redirect thing. Once you get these, the combat is great, but until then it's rather boring, and the lack of any real plot progression only furthers the sense of boredom.

 

Once things really start, and you've got the introductory first visits of every world out the way, the game is a joy to play although I prefer the world design of 1. The worlds here are very... flat. There's very little platforming to be done, outside of the Cavern of Rememberance, and each area is fairly small, and it just feels rather empty. Definitely disappointing but I can look past it because almost every area is filled with enemies and the combat is fun (once you get some combos.)

 

The platinum for this is rather annoying, but not really as bad as I remembered it being from the PS3 version. Mushroom XIII are just dumb gimmicks and I hope they're not in KH3, but the data org fights were a satisfying challenge and synthesis is a lot less tedious than it was in KH1. Some of the minigame mission requirements were annoying/gimmicky, but nothing too bad. Was definitely fun to stack, but I had more fun stacking KH1 and Re:CoM. Interested to see how I'll feel about BBS once I've stacked that, since I was not very fond of it by the time I had the plat on PS3. BBS is the only one I have left until I'm ready for 3 though, which is exciting. Hope I can get it done on time.

Spoiler

Retail

Kingdom Hearts II [+21] {+52%} (COMPLETE!)

 

Digital {Excluding PS+}

NEW GAME: Batman: Arkham VR [+13] {+100%} (COMPLETE!)

Mass Effect: Andromeda [+1] [+3%}

 

Games With Unfinished Online Trophies

Mass Effect: Andromeda [+1]

 

Unstarted

NEW GAME: Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate [31] {Digital}

 

[madbuk]

Progress Update: #288 - Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep

This felt so much better on PS4 than it did on PS3. I enjoyed this far more than I was expecting to, and the grind wasn't anywhere near as bad as I remember (and I didn't even do it that long ago lol.) The story is great, the gameplay is great (although quite unbalanced. Magnega breaks mobs and Thunder Surge breaks bosses, and you can spam heals, but the start of the game before you get all this is quite hard at least), and the story is far better paced than it was in KH2. It also doesn't take forever for the gameplay to really start getting good like it did in KH2 either. I still think Re:CoM has the best pacing of all, but coming from KH2 to this was really nice.

 

The story was as good as I remember, I really like Ventus, Aqua and Terra as protagonists, and none of them can catch a break. Seeing them all visit the same worlds, yet very, very rarely meet each other is kinda sad. Especially for Aqua since she's actually aware of it because Terra/Ven tend to get to the worlds before her and then the Disney characters mention them. The final conflict is great and sets up a lot of hanging plot threads for KH3 to pick up on, and I hope that they all pay off well. Not long until we find out. Due to the nature of having 3 playable characters, and having them all visit the same worlds, the Disney worlds here actually felt like they tied into the plot much more than they did in KH2 during the first visits or a lot of KH1, which I really liked. Usually in KH all the Disney stuff just feels like filler, but here it didn't and that was a very welcome change.

 

I'm pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed stacking this. With this done, I've now completed all 12 KH games and am fully prepared for KH3. I cannot wait to see how it all concludes and comes together, because they've been building towards this for over a decade now.

 

Spoiler

Retail

Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep [+46] {+100%} (COMPLETE!)

 

Digital {Excluding PS+}

NEW GAME: Darksiders III [+15] {+22%}

Mass Effect Andromeda [+1] {+1%}

 

Games With Unfinished Online Trophies

Mass Effect Andromeda [+1]

 

Unstarted

NEW GAME: Chaos on Deponia [35] {Digital}

 

[madbuk]

Progress Update: #289 - Steins;Gate

I am so thankful that PS+ gave me the chance to replay this masterpiece for free. I began this year with Steins;Gate 0, so (more or less) ending the year by replaying the original was a nice treat. I had been hoping that this would be a PS+ game for months, ever since finishing 0 honestly, and with time running out (as Vita/PS3 games stop being added in March) I had began to give up hope, so I borrowed my brother's Netflix account and watched the anime instead lol. And then, literally not even a week after I finished the anime, PS+ announces this to be free.

 

I kinda wish I hadn't watched the anime, because it was all so fresh in my mind as a result, but that wasn't a huge issue. Being a replay (or a re-read really) all the suspense and tension is gone, but the raw emotion and power behind the scenes is very much still there. Knowing the outcome of the story also adds some weight to the scenes too, and makes the slice of life beginning more meaningful. It was a joy to watch all these characters and relationships come together again. Okabe and Kurisu are the standouts by far, but the rest of the cast is fantastic too. 

 

I hope that this being on PS+ drives more people to try it out, because it really is phenomenal. I also hope that the relatively slow start doesn't cause people to skip it all, because it's worth reading. I'm excited for Steins;Gate Elite next year, especially as it includes a spin-off game that was never localized before. I'm not sure I'll get it day 1, especially as it releases so soon after my replay of this, but it will absolutely be played eventually. ...I kinda want to replay 0 now lol. Maybe I'll pick up the Vita stack in a sale at some point.

 

El. Psy. Kongroo.

Spoiler

PS+ Titles

NEW GAME: Steins;Gate [+42] {+100%} (COMPLETE!)

 

Retail

Shadow of the Tomb Raider [-4] {-12%}

 

Edited December 10, 2018 by madbuk

[madbuk]

Progress Update: #290 - LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham

I liked this game a lot more than The LEGO Movie on Vita. It has the same level structure where they're all incredibly short, but there are a lot of them, however unlike LEGO Movie, you don't need to repeat these levels over and over and over. There are no multi-challenges, no time trials, no "don't get hit"s. It's just a traditional LEGO game, find all the various collectibles, do some relatively simple combat challenges (3 counters, 3 ground finishers, kill x enemies, etc.), and I liked that there was a hub world as well (which Movie didn't have.)

 

The console version is definitely better, which is to be expected, but I enjoyed this for what it was. The story was nothing special, and it's quite forgettable (I remembered literally none of it going into this after the console version, which should speak volumes on the quality of it lol), but that's fine. I don't really play LEGO games for a deep story. This is one of the best of the Vita LEGO games I've played so far and I can definitely recommend it if you enjoy the franchise and don't mind something slightly worse than what you'd expect on consoles.

Spoiler

Digital {Excluding PS+}

LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham [+28] {+75%} (COMPLETE!)

 

[madbuk]

Progress Update: #291 - Onrush

A rather disappointing game. I was excited for this, since several people who developed Driveclub (including the director) worked on this and I loved Driveclub, but I wasn't excited enough to buy it. So I was happy it was coming to PS+, and now I'm happy I didn't pay for it. It starts off okay I guess, but the handling doesn't feel as good as it was in DC and the game mods get repetitive very quickly. It's certainly a unique concept, but it isn't interesting enough to carry a whole game.

 

The balancing also felt a bit off. Driveclub was the perfect level of challenge, rewarding but not unfair. In this, because you're facing off against 6 AI and have 5 AI partners, there is a ton of RNG involved not only in the opponent's behavior, but also in your own team's behavior too. A lot of the challenges also seem absurd and are practically designed with co-op in mind, which, for a campaign mode isn't the most pleasant idea to me. Thankfully there weren't too many of those co-op designed challenges and I had a good partner for them that made them rather easy after struggling to do them solo.

 

For a game that seems so heavily focused on online play, the online is also rather bad. Maybe it's the increase in traffic from PS+, but I was getting network errors a lot in this. Even from basic actions like opening a lootbox. It also had a habit of not telling me I'd disconnected until the end of the match, making the whole match a waste of time - this gets really annoying in the harder events when you finally pass the challenge but get kicked off and have to redo it anyway.

 

I wouldn't say this is a terrible game, but there's nothing about it that stands out either, since the unique concept of it falls flat after a few matches and becomes a bore.

Spoiler

PS+ Titles

NEW GAME: Onrush [+33] {+100%} (COMPLETE!)

 

Retail

Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom [+6] {+18%} (COMPLETE!)

Shadow of the Tomb Raider [+5] {+12%} (COMPLETE!)

The Amazing Spider-Man [+10] {+19%}

 

[madbuk]

Progress Update: #292 - The Amazing Spider-Man

I'm a bit surprised by this, because I was looking forward to playing the PS3 version of this after the Vita one, but honestly I think it played better on the Vita. I'm not entirely sure why, but swinging around the open world just didn't feel as smooth or satisfying on console. I'm also a little disappointed it didn't fix the abysmal pop-in or the relatively ugly textures that the Vita version had, but that's not a huge deal. The extra side content here (drone challenges/races and two extra levels) were interesting but nothing overly special and you won't be missing much if you only play the Vita version.

 

Overall my thoughts on the game are basically the same as when I played it on Vita, which is that it's fun even if a little basic. The side content could be much better, because gathering inpatients and infected scattered across the map just isn't fun or interesting.

Spoiler

Retail

The Amazing Spider-Man [+24] {+56%} (COMPLETE!)

 

[Spider-Beyond]

9 hours ago, madbuk said:

Progress Update: #292 - The Amazing Spider-Man

I'm a bit surprised by this, because I was looking forward to playing the PS3 version of this after the Vita one, but honestly I think it played better on the Vita. I'm not entirely sure why, but swinging around the open world just didn't feel as smooth or satisfying on console. I'm also a little disappointed it didn't fix the abysmal pop-in or the relatively ugly textures that the Vita version had, but that's not a huge deal. The extra side content here (drone challenges/races and two extra levels) were interesting but nothing overly special and you won't be missing much if you only play the Vita version.

 

Overall my thoughts on the game are basically the same as when I played it on Vita, which is that it's fun even if a little basic. The side content could be much better, because gathering inpatients and infected scattered across the map just isn't fun or interesting.

  Reveal hidden contents

Retail

The Amazing Spider-Man [+24] {+56%} (COMPLETE!)

 

Nice I also need to get the Amazing Spider-man Platinum Trophy.I remember that game being decent and fun.

[madbuk]

Progress Update: #293 - Batman

With the collapse of Telltale (rip ) I decided to go ahead and get Batman S2 before it got delisted - it got a pretty big price cut which was a bit worrying. And then I realized, despite playing this early this year when it was on PS+, I actually didn't remember anything that happened other than some very vague details, so I decided I'd redo this as a refresher before going into the sequel. Sure, I could've just replayed the PS4 version I already own, but this was cheap enough that I didn't mind paying extra to redo the trophies (I also noticed that I own almost every Batman game in general, missing only the Batman Arkham Blackgate stack, a LEGO Batman 3 stack, and all the DC Super Villains stacks... And DCUO if you count that but that's impossible now) so I figured this'd just get me one step closer to completing that.

 

I still really like the investigation puzzle sections but they're way too easy and I hope sequel fixes that and makes it harder. This is another one of those Telltale games where it felt like literally no choices mattered, like Game of Thrones, so I hope they fix that too. I expect neither of these things to be changed but oh well. I didn't really see anything in this game that'd could be a big part of the sequel, outside of the introduction of the characters obviously, so maybe this was a big waste of time, but we'll see. It's a shame we'll never get a third series.

Spoiler

Retail

NEW GAME: Assassin's Creed Odyssey [+22] {+25%}

NEW GAME: Batman [+31] {+100%} (COMPLETE!)

NEW GAME: LEGO DC Super-Villains [+3] [+3%}

 

Digital {Excluding PS+}

Darksiders III [+1] {+2%}

NEW GAME: Sonic The Hedgehog [+12] {+100%} (COMPLETE!)

NEW GAME: Sonic The Hedgehog 4: Episode I [+12] {+100%} (COMPLETE!)

 

Unstarted

NEW GAME: Marvel's Spider-Man [74] {Retail}

 

Unpurchased DLC

NEW: LEGO DC Super-Villains Season Pass [Lego DC Super-Villains] {£11.99}

 

Impossible Trophies

NEW: Assassin's Creed Odyssey [14]

NEW: LEGO DC Super-Villains [5]

 

[madbuk]

Progress Update: #294 - Batman: The Enemy Within

I enjoyed this a lot more than the first season. After finishing that, I was hoping for some more of the detective crime scene puzzle parts from the second season, and unfortunately there are almost none of those here (and they weren't any harder than the original when they do appear), but the story was more interesting and it ran much better than the PS3 version of season 1 I did before this.

 

One of my biggest criticisms with season 1 was that choices barely seemed to matter at all. Here, I don't know for certain because I didn't do 2 runs (and don't plan to), but it seemed like the story could begin to branch off in a lot of different directions, especially towards the end with the final 2 episodes. It's a shame we'll never get a third season, but I think this one wrapped things up well enough that there aren't any major plot threads that will forever be left unfinished as a result of Telltale's closure, which I am thankful for.

Spoiler

Retail

Assassin's Creed Odyssey [+5] {+5%}

NEW GAME: Astro Bot Rescue Mission [+18] {+40%}

 

Digital {Excluding PS+}

Batman: The Enemy Within [+31] {+100%} (COMPLETE!)

 

Unstarted

NEW GAME: LEGO Jurassic World [47] {Digital}

NEW GAME: LEGO Marvel's Avengers [35] {Digital}

NEW GAME: LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens [47] {Digital}

 

[madbuk]

Progress Update: #295 - Astro Bot Rescue Mission

This game was a lot of fun. I don't think it's quite as revolutionary as it was hyped up to be - it's certainly no Mario 64 in terms of moving the industry forwards so heavily, but it's a great game that I would recommend nonetheless. There's nothing hard, but the platforming is fun and the time trial platforming challenges are lots of fun too. The bosses were unique and interesting, all very fair and some were actually a little challenging to beat without getting hit for the challenges.

 

The hidden robots were creative, peering around corners or looking behind you at the start or moving your head so you get a good angle down a dark corridor. You really have to keep an eye out for them and it's something that wouldn't really work as well without VR, which goes to show that third person VR games really are able to make use of the system. Light Tracer proved this to me ages ago, but this is much more mainstream and should confirm it for a lot of other people.

 

I hope we see a sequel at some point, hopefully one that'll be a bit longer because this was incredibly short. I'd say this is the best VR game I've played so far, but admittedly I haven't played many yet.

Spoiler

Retail

Assassin's Creed Odyssey [+26] {+38%}

Astro Bot Rescue Mission [+19] {+60%} (COMPLETE!)

 

Digital {Excluding PS+}

NEW GAME: Pic-a-Pix Color [+7] {+28%}

 

Edited January 8, 2019 by madbuk

[madbuk]

Progress Update: #296 - Assassin's Creed Odyssey

I am genuinely baffled by this game. I hated Assassin's Creed Origins. It was bland, it was grindy, the character moved at a snails pace, the mounts controlled horribly, climbing was dumbed down far too much, the story was completely forgettable and Bayek is perhaps the blandest protagonist in the franchise, yes, even moreso than Connor, the tombs were just empty corridors with a block pushing puzzle instead of the fun platforming gauntlets from games before it, the modern day plot was pointless and went nowhere, assassinations didn't always actually kill the target... god I just couldn't find anything to enjoy with that game.

 

This game? At first glance it just looked like Origins with a much more interesting setting and butchered lore. Choices in an Assassin's Creed game, where you're supposed to be reliving genetic memories as they truly happened? And they brought back the ship which I really don't like in 3/4/Rogue, nor did I like its brief appearance in Origins. I went into this game with colossally low expectations. AC was my favourite franchise before Origins came along and I wasn't about to let Origins put me off the whole franchise, so I figured I owed it to myself to at least try this.

 

And I'm glad I did. Despite being comparable to Origins, the lowest point of the franchise for me, I genuinely cannot think of anything in this game that I outright hated. It has the awful climbing from Origins, and the choice based dialogue goes against the lore and is never explained, nor is the fact that Kassandra (or Alexios, which is also a problem - why does the Animus let you choose this? They did not live the exact same lives. If you're going to include multiple characters in an AC game at least give them unique stories like Jacob/Evie) is able to see from the eyes of her eagle, something I can't even really begin to comprehend. But fuck it. At this point I'm used to the butchered climbing. Do I wish it would go back to the original style? Yes, definitely, but given how (unnecessarily) massive this game is I suppose it wouldn't always be possible to give you realistic climbing ways up cliffs everywhere. In the smaller city-based games it was easier because you could use windows or doors etc. to climb.

 

The story of this still wasn't anything too amazing, but it was leaps and bounds ahead of the unorganized mess that Origins was. I actually cared about the characters here, so much so that I became very tempted to look up a choice guide so I didn't ruin my ending. I resisted the urge and still got the ending I wanted, but the thought was there. I wouldn't have even cared if all the characters in Origins had gotten killed off due to my choices. Kassandra is much more charismatic than Bayek and her voice actress was great. I can't speak much for Alexios because I didn't play as him.

 

The ship was perhaps my biggest concern of this game, maybe outside the extreme level gating that reviews threatened and Origins designed. And it made me very pleased to see that the ship was barely used at all. I got all the resources for upgrading that I needed from land-based sources, like breaking down weapons or looting supplies, and the ship wasn't really used in the main quest at all. Other than for travelling between areas (which, late game, is pointless because of fast travel) and underwater locations, I never used my ship at all when not necessary. In 4/Rogue, you didn't have many sources for grinding upgrade materials outside of looting ships, and I was worried it would be similar here.

 

Stealth here was also much improved. You can unlock an ability, fairly early into the game, which lets you 'critical assassinate' targets, which is basically a 1 hit kill for just about anyone outside bosses. It lets you avoid situations like the ones in Origins where you'd stealth attack a target just for them to survive and alert the entire compound. Stealth was not a viable option in Origins, but it is here. Also Kassandra seems to move a little faster than Bayek which means hiding when a guard is approaching you isn't as risky (and in general it's just really nice to not have to take years to reach your objective without using poorly controlled mounts - which also felt a little better to use in Odyssey than they did in Origins.)

 

As far as level gating goes, I'm happy to see that it was non-existent.  I became overleveled pretty early on and steamrolled the rest of the game. I was level 61 before the story ended, and level 50 was the cap before a patch. The game just throws XP at you, whereas in Origins it felt like I was grinding between every main quest just to continue. This game introduces a new quest type called 'contracts' which award a massive amount of XP and are passively worked on just by doing other stuff. Like killing x amount of archers or spartans etc. These should really be enough to carry you as long as you remember to keep accepting them as they appear. It also helps that the side quests, the other main source of XP, are far better written and far more interesting than the tripe that Origins had. I cared so little in Origins that I even began skipping side-quest cutscenes late game, something I almost never do.

 

This game was a pleasent surprise and has rekindled my faith in this franchise. I miss the old formula, and I wish that this had stuck to canon a little more closely or at least explained the changes, but if we keep getting games like this one instead of the mess Origins was, I could live with it.

Spoiler

Retail

Assassin's Creed Odyssey [+7] {+16%}

 

[madbuk]

Progress Update: #297 - Pic-a-Pix Color

Picross isn't the most complex puzzle type in the world, but it's still pretty fun. I've spent many hours playing it on mobile, and I figured I'd get this on sale since it's actually pretty different to the picross games I'm used to. The introduction of colours changes how you tackle the puzzles a little. Often, you start a puzzle and you can immediately mark some spaces just based on the placements of the colours. At other times, though, it can make the puzzle slightly more challenging. On a black and white picross board, you could easily mark certain spots, but here you dont necessarily know what colour the block will be.

 

I think this was worth the money I spent on it, despite the fact that there are so many mobile picross games out there for free. It was very polished and the unique spin was interesting (upon further research, it seems there are many colour variations online, but I never came across any on my mobile searches.) It's a shame that there are so many people out there who buy a game like this and then immediately look up the answers - they're missing out.

Spoiler

Retail

Assassin's Creed Odyssey [+1] {+1%}

Marvel's Spider-Man [+37] {+39%}

 

Digital {Excluding PS+}

Pic-a-Pix Color [+18] {+72%} (COMPLETE!)

 

Unstarted

NEW GAME: Sonic Mania [18] {Digital}

 

[madbuk]

Progress Update: #298 - Marvel's Spider-Man

The web swinging here was better and more involved than it was in Amazing Spider-Man, and the story was better, and there were a lot more options during combat, with gadgets and special moves and suit mods etc... but overall despite being a better game than the Spider-Man games I've played before, it still doesn't quite strike me as anything special or noteworthy. The biggest problem for me was the side content - none of it was fun or interesting, and there was a lot of it. Amazing had awful side content too, but idk, it felt like there was less in Amazing which led to it not being as tedious.

 

The main missions themselves were fun and I like this version of the characters. My only exposure to Spider-Man is via games, and this introduced me to new characters and villains. The story still isn't anything overly special but it is a step up from what came before, although I don't know why I even bothered reading the prequel novel. It provided some good background for Peter and Mary Jane's relationship, and it introduced Yuri and Fisk, but other than that nothing really seemed relevant. Certain characters in the book I was hoping to see here are completely absent, like Maya and Bingham - maybe they're saving them for a sequel?

 

This was a good game but I do think it's slightly overrated. If they can add some more variety to the side content and make it far more interesting in the sequel, then they have the basics for a great game here, they nailed the swinging and the additions to combat compared to previous games were nice. Still need to do the DLC but I hear that's worse so I don't have high hopes for it.

Spoiler

Retail

Assassin's Creed Odyssey [+5] {+6%}

Marvel's Spider-Man [+14] {+23%}

 

Digital {Excluding PS+}

The Walking Dead: The Final Season [+10] {+17%}

 

[madbuk]

 

Progress Update: #299 - Tales of Xillia 2

Overall, I think I prefer the first game. It was interesting seeing all the characters again, seeing how they've grown since Xillia 1, and seeing the aftermath of the final chapters of Xillia 1.. but overall I think it wasn't as memorable. I started this 9 months ago, and honestly I can't remember much of the story at all, and I only have very vague recollections of all the character episodes. Xillia 1, on the other hand, I remember much better. Maybe it's because I did Xillia 1 twice, or maybe it's because the story was just better in general - or maybe a bit of both. This game does have some interesting ideas but the execution wasn't very good. Without spoiling too much, it's like they have a conversation about some deep morality issue about what is right and wrong... and then they just shrug it off and forget the conversation happened and the plot progresses. Given how integral that moral dilemma is to the plot, I think it should've been explored more than it was.

 

Combat got a slight overhaul, introducing new mechanics on top of what was already in Xillia 1. While this is a good thing and the combat is better than Xillia 1 as a result, I did miss the simplicity of 1 at times. There are also two new party members to play around with but to be honest I never used them and stuck with the original cast for combat. They also made the combat-related trophies much more of a grind in this. Whereas in Xillia 1, where you had to use every character's unique player ability and their party ability 150 times, each, here you need to do it 450 times for everyone, including the new 2 party members. This bump up felt completely unnecessary. The other returning trophies, like doing linked artes, also got an increase in their requirements too for no reason. It just wasn't fun grinding this shit out and, as well as some other grindy trophy requirements for new trophies that weren't in Xillia 1, the reason why this took me 9 months and Xillia 1 only took less than a week.

 

Overall I did enjoy this, but I prefer the first game. I'd happily stack Xillia 1 again - in English, not going to bother with the Japanese version - but I don't see myself ever stacking Xillia 2.

Spoiler

Retail

Assassin's Creed Odyssey [+1] {+1%}

Marvel's Spider-Man [+23] {+38%} (COMPLETE!)

Shadow of the Tomb Raider [+5] {+11%} (COMPLETE!)

 

Digital {Excluding PS+}

Tales of Xillia 2 [+11] {+33%} (COMPLETE!)

 

[madbuk]

Progress Update: #300 - Downwell

It's finally over. I only started this just over 4 days ago, but it has been the only game I have played since starting it and it has felt like much longer. I decided this would be my milestone a while ago, as I was approaching 300 and I try and get an UR plat for every 100 (100 was Killzone: Mercenary, 200 was Furi). This looked like the most fun of my options - I was mainly looking at my PS+ list for options and this is the only one that stood out. Unfortunately, it is not quite as fun as I had expected/hoped. Every level is a clusterfuck of enemies, coming at you from everywhere on the screen, and it's pretty easy to get hit by something you hadn't seen because you were focused elsewhere. The upgrades you get are also completely RNG which is annoying, and every level is randomly generated which can lead to some pretty annoying scenarios where you're basically destined to be hit.

 

There were many times during the past 4 days where I was going to give up on this. If the looming deadline of Kingdom Hearts III's release hadn't existed and I wasn't one plat away from a milestone, I almost definitely would have given up. As time began to run out though, I desperately wanted to get this done so it didn't eat into my KH3 time tomorrow, and it makes me pretty relieved to know it's done in time and I can spend all day tomorrow enjoying KH3 when it (hopefully) arrives, without thinking about this game at all. As I played, I could very, very gradually feel myself getting better in the game and getting further into it. It took an entire day to finish normal mode, but now normal feels so easy to me that if I wanted to I could probably consistently go back and beat it once every few attempts.

 

Hard mode is the real platinum blocker here. The boss shoots out way more enemies, attacks more often, takes more damage, and in general all the levels just have way more enemies littered everywhere. Area 1 actually seemed to be the hardest of them all (there are 4 areas in the game, excluding the boss area) which is a little strange. Area 4 has the most enemies but it's so easy to build up combos there so that you get health back anyway to make up for the damage you take.

 

I dread to think how many hours I've poured into this game when you consider the fact that it only takes about 10-15 minutes to actually finish the game on hard if you're successful. I'm so glad it's finished.

Spoiler

PS+ Titles

NEW GAME: Downwell [+23] {+100%} (COMPLETE!)

 

Edited January 28, 2019 by madbuk

[madbuk]

Progress Update: #301 - Kingdom Hearts III

Here it is. The big conclusion to a saga that has been ongoing ever since the very first Kingdom Hearts game. I'd say it wrapped things up nicely, by the end of the game, and kept me interested in what was to come - but the pacing was horrible. Even worse than Kingdom Hearts 2, remarkably. Gameplay wise, it's better than the start of KH2 because you have essential moves like dodge roll right from the start which makes Sora so much more fun to control than he is for the first several hours of 2. The new situation commands gimmick... honestly I just kinda ignored it. The attractions especially take up a lot of time and are just really unnecessary. They're cool the first time you use them I guess but then they become a chore to use and I never activated them after the first few uses. The team situation commands are the same, and I ended up ignoring most of those as well - the only situation commands I even bothered with were transformations and grand magic tbh. Thundaza in particularly is a very valuable situation command to trigger.

 

As far as the story goes, it is front loaded with non-stop Disney just like 2 was, except for even longer. Whereas the plot finally starts about 10 hours into 2, it starts about 20 hours into this. Unlike 2 you do get some slight sprinklings of plot in between the Disney worlds, but it's nothing substantial. This is a big disappointment, because I don't play KH for the Disney stuff. It just feels like filler to me. The worlds were also much, much longer than they were in 2 which probably contributes to the extra 10 hours of waiting for things to pick up. I'm not really a fan of just how large they made every area in this game, especially since you can't bring up your map for a full view and only get the tiny mini map in the corner. Some areas benefited from being larger than usual, like the town in Tangled land. It was lively and fun to explore. The barren forests elsewhere in the world? Not so much.

 

Overall, I'm certainly satisfied with the game despite some of its minor flaws, since it was a lot of fun to play, but it's not my favourite KH game. I'm interested to see what's next for the franchise.

Spoiler

Retail

Assassin's Creed Odyssey [+1] {+1%}

NEW GAME: Kingdom Hearts III [+46] {+100%} (COMPLETE!)

LEGO DC Super-Villains [+4] {+7%}

 

[madbuk]

Progress Update: #302 - Assassin's Creed Rogue Remastered

Arguably one of my least favourite AC games, I have finally finished this off (and with it, the last available AC trophies until Odyssey gets some updates.) I'm just not really a fan of the ship. At all. In this, 3, 4, Origins, or Odyssey. It's so slow and cumbersome and turning takes forever (even at minimum speed) so lining up shots on a moving target is more hassle than it really should be at times. It just isn't fun to me and I longed to be back on land whenever I had to do things in the ship.

 

As far as the on-land stuff goes, it's just as fun as ever. While I did say at the start this was arguably one of my least favourite AC games, something possessed me while playing this to go and get 100% sync in the game, All chests, all cave paintings, all shanties, etc., no exploits for legendary ships... Why? It wasn't needed for plat and didn't benefit me in any tangible way... but I was just addicted to clearing up the objectives for every area on the map. Surely the game can't be that bad if it kept my attention for that long past the bare minimum for platinum. I think that's just a testament to AC in general really - one of the worst is still a great game. The only AC game I'd actually consider to be outright bad is Origins.

 

The story is quite interesting, seeing Shay's transformation from one side to the other and the changes in his relationships as a result. Like most post-AC3 games, this didnt really do anything to progress the overarcing plot, and as we all know now, that eventually got finished up in an underwhelming comic of all things, so who really cares? I'm still disappointed we never got to see this modern day arc fully play out in the games themselves. Overall, I enjoyed my time with this even if the awful ship did hold it back.

 

I was hoping I'd get this game done either 1) In time for Steins;Gate Elite, which releases on Tuesday, or failing that 2) before the AC3 remaster next month. I'm glad I managed to get it done in time for S;G, as I would've no doubt completely dropped this to play that instead. Can't wait to play 3 and Liberation again next month, Odyssey's season pass has been great value.

Spoiler

Retail

Assassin's Creed Odyssey [+1] {-8%}

LEGO DC Super-Villains [+1] {+1%}

Shadow of the Tomb Raider [+5] {+10%} (COMPLETE!)

 

Digital {Excluding PS+}

Assassin's Creed Rogue Remastered [+38] {+86%} (COMPLETE!)

Tales of Hearts R [+7] {+11%}

 

Unstarted

NEW GAME: The Amazing Spider-Man [42] {Retail}

 

Edited February 18, 2019 by madbuk

[TerraTanium]

AC3 remaster when ?

[madbuk]

1 minute ago, TerraTanium said:

AC3 remaster when 

When it releases (March 29). The 100% sync trophy is a bit of a chore in 3 though so I doubt I'll plat it without breaks for other games in between.

Edited February 18, 2019 by madbuk

[madbuk]

Progress Update: #303 - Steins;Gate Elite

This was rather disappointing. The animation isn't as well done as I'd hoped - there are still plenty of still images, where Okabe describes something but you don't see it happening, like him handing over money or falling down on his knees. Typos from the original game are still there unchanged, and overall I think the art in the original game is better. This game also has cut content, but I'm fine with that because I felt like the stuff they cut ended up helping the pacing of the game.

 

I regret playing the original again when it was free in December, everything was too fresh in my mind and I found myself leaving it on pause for hours as soon as something like a Discord conversation distracted me from it. I was also less invested than I was on my original replay. Idk why they decided it'd be a good idea to give away the original version of a story-driven game like this a few months before a remake released, I imagine they lost a number of sales from people deciding it wasn't worth getting Elite when they got the original free.

 

I think this is a great jumping on point for newcomers to the visual novel genre, as the animation may keep them more engaged than the static images in the original. For VN veterans I'd recommend sticking with the original game because the art is superior imo. I'd also recommend playing this version on auto mode, as it allows the animations to play out fully and naturally rather than it looking very janky when you advance at your own pace. I switched to auto mode at around chapter 5 and it felt like a big improvement.

 

I'm okay with this being disappointing, though. It's obviously a shame but I didn't buy this game to play Elite, I bought it to play the other game that comes with it - Linear Bounded Phenogram. Sure, I was interested in Elite too because I was very curious to see how an animated VN would play out, so I decided to play Elite as well, but LBP was the primary reason behind getting it day 1, so this being a disappointment doesn't mean I wish I hadn't bought it day 1. It's a shame LBP has no trophies, but I'll play it regardless. It's split up into 11 short stories so I think I'm going to savour it and play one story after every game I finish instead of doing it all at once. I'd be interested to see more animated VNs like this, maybe a Steins;Gate 0 Elite, but it doesn't really add much to the experience for me other than being a mild fascination to see how it plays out.

 

Spoiler

Retail

NEW GAME: Steins;Gate Elite [+26] {+100%} (COMPLETE!)

 

Digital {Excluding PS+}

Darksiders III [+0] {-4%}

 

Edited March 1, 2019 by madbuk

[madbuk]

Progress Update: #304 - Chaos on Deponia

It has been almost 2 years since I played the original Deponia, and I was very hazy on what happened so I had to quickly read a summary before starting this. On top of that though this game does a good job of summarizing Deponia in-game as well during the intro, which I was thankful for. This was a fun follow-up and further cements my dislike of this genre if played 'legit'. I enjoyed the story and the characters a lot, and I love the art style, but some of the puzzles are, like in almost all point and clicks (in my experience) pretty obscure. I tried doing it legit and my enjoyment of it increased immensely when I transitioned over to a guide instead. Did I feel guilty doing this? Absolutely, it's pretty shameful, but oh well. I got what I wanted out of the game - the story - and still played around with the dialogue options that weren't necessary. I felt like I got enough out of it even without all the aimless wandering until something happens gameplay style.

 

There has been something that both this and the previous game has referenced a lot. I won't say it specifically because minor spoiler, but it's referenced so much that I hope we get to finally see it in the third and final game of the trilogy (Doomsday is a bonus game I think so it doesn't tie into the story of Deponia 1 and Chaos?). I'm pretty excited to get into the third game when it's on a deep enough sale, to see how everything gets wrapped up. Hopefully I wont take 2 years to get around to playing the next game, but who knows. Rufus is an amazing main character and I wonder what'll happen to him at the end of this series, because I can totally imagine him getting nothing out of this whole ordeal and being stuck with what he had at the start of Deponia 1, because he's that kind of character lol.

 

Spoiler

Digital {Excluding PS+}

Chaos on Deponia [+35] {+100%} (COMPLETE!)

 

[madbuk]

Progress Update: #305 - Dragon's Dogma

Now this is a platinum I never thought I'd see the day that I obtained it. I played this when it first came to PS+ in 2013, and got to the main city of the game, Gran Soren, before dropping it. I just wasnt enjoying it much. Over the years I have returned to it again and again, but it never captured me and, before a few days ago, I never earned a trophy after the initial 2013 play. On a whim, I decided to go back to this using @Dragon-Archon's pawn (and his great trophy guide), to see if I could possibly get it done and deleted and out of the way. I finally managed to stick with it. Did I enjoy it? Well...

 

Everything about this game just struck me as bland, really. Bland, generic fantasy setting, dull story, remarkably ugly graphics (which isn't a big deal, but it was still striking for such a big AAA game. Early PS3 days I suppose.) Combat felt absolutely awful until I respeced out of Warrior and into Assassin. It's remarkable how much better that made combat feel. And then once I finally obtained a bow, it just got even better. There are a lot of enemies in this game that I have no idea how you're supposed to kill without ranged attacks, and some vocations dont have access to bows, so idk what they're supposed to do. Rely on their pawns I guess. Even after becoming an Assassin and acquiring a bow, it still wasnt really anything special and I'm a bit baffled by all the posts I see about the 'amazing gameplay' this has to offer tbh.

 

I felt like I must've done something horribly wrong. Especially late-game, I was doing so little damage that I barely saw health bars of enemies decrease, and it felt like I had to rely on my pawns to do the work for me. I can't have been underleveled, I was doing every side quest, and I was changing my equipment regularly. I don't know what went wrong there.

 

Feels great to be done with this after so many years of failed attempts to get hooked and see it through to the end. This is tied as my longest completion, at 5 years 5 months, with Burnout Paradise. I may have cheesed the game with Dragon's pawn (and @Avatar_Of_Battle's pawn joined my party during NG+ to help speed that run up too), but after so many years of attempts I dont really care much, and I understand if people want to judge me for it tbh.

Spoiler

PS+ Titles

Dragon's Dogma [+44] {+90%} (COMPLETE!)

 

Retail

Assassin's Creed Odyssey [+5] {+10%}

LEGO DC Super-Villains [+6] {+6%}

Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom [+1] {-13%}

Shadow of the Tomb Raider [+5] {+9%} (COMPLETE!)

 

Digital {Excluding PS+}

Mass Effect: Andromeda [+2] {+3%}

NEW GAME: Pic-a-Pix Pieces [+13] {+38%}

NEW GAME: Schacht [+19] {+100%} (COMPLETE!)

 

Unstarted

NEW GAME: The Witness [14] {PS+}

NEW GAME: Yakuza: Dead Souls [49] {Digital}

 

Edited March 19, 2019 by madbuk

[Avatar_Of_Battle]

42 minutes ago, madbuk said:

I felt like I must've done something horribly wrong. Especially late-game, I was doing so little damage that I barely saw health bars of enemies decrease, and it felt like I had to rely on my pawns to do the work for me. I can't have been underleveled, I was doing every side quest, and I was changing my equipment regularly. I don't know what went wrong there.

 

Feels great to be done with this after so many years of failed attempts to get hooked and see it through to the end. This is tied as my longest completion, at 5 years 5 months, with Burnout Paradise. I may have cheesed the game with Dragon's pawn (and @Avatar_Of_Battle's pawn joined my party during NG+ to help speed that run up too), but after so many years of attempts I dont really care much, and I understand if people want to judge me for it tbh.

 

To be perfectly honest that game did a terrible job when it comes to close quarters combat, and it's the reason I started over as a Mage. I know some people liked bows, but nothing tops the magic classes imo. When I became a Sorcerer I could wreak havoc on pretty much any enemy. I swear High Miasma is the best attack in the game lol. The only opponent so far that, from other people's words, was better fought with bows was Death. 

 

Another thing, the Dark Arisen version made the game more tolerable and Bitterblack Isle was an incredible addition that kept me wanting to level up and clear it.

[madbuk]

1 minute ago, Avatar_Of_Battle said:

 

To be perfectly honest that game did a terrible job when it comes to close quarters combat, and it's the reason I started over as a Mage. I know some people liked bows, but nothing tops the magic classes imo. When I became a Sorcerer I could wreak havoc on pretty much any enemy. I swear High Miasma is the best attack in the game lol. The only opponent so far that, from other people's words, was better fought with bows was Death. 

 

Another thing, the Dark Arisen version made the game more tolerable and Bitterblack Isle was an incredible addition that kept me wanting to level up and clear it.

Maybe I should start trying mage classes more in RPGs. I was surprised by them in Dragon Age, I tore everything to shreds in DA2 and, while weaker, was practically immortal in Inquisition as a mage. I just assume that mages are usually the ones with the least health though since they're so strong, and I like being able to withstand a number of hits, for safety