AJ_Radio's Disappointing Backlog and Wishlist

[AJ_Radio]

A lowly skeleton saves the day. Dokuro is crossed off.

 

Platinum #208: Dokuro (October 18th, 2019)

 

 

Difficulty: 5/10

Excitement Rating: 7/10

Estimated Time to Platinum: 15 - 18 Hours

 

Hardest Trophy:   Dark Lord? No Biggie (Defeat the Dark Lord without taking any damage)

 

Took close to a whole year to finally wrap this game up.

 

While a cute game that has a neat aesthetic, Dokuro definitely felt a bit too long. By the 11th or 12th stage I felt the game kept dragging on, because by that point I have already moved boxes and activated switches a few dozen times.

 

The princess tends to be dumb as rocks, and there were a couple times where I failed a level numerous times because the princess will just approach the flower (end point of a level) regardless of what dangers lie ahead. Some puzzles were a little troublesome but nothing was overly difficult.

 

This is definitely a game you either like or you don't like much at all. I had some fun with it, but I'm definitely glad I can cross off a game that's been on my backlog for the better part of three years out of the list.

[AJ_Radio]

Snake saves the world from a full scale war. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater is complete.

 

Platinums #209 - 210: Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (October 20th, 2019)

 

 

Difficulty: 4/10

Excitement Rating: 10/10

Estimated Time to Platinum: 13 - 14 Hours

 

Hardest Trophy:   It Ain't Easy Being Green (Find all 64 Kerotans)

 

Technical brilliance and ability are the best terms to describe this game. Hideo Kojima should be proud of a game that holds up extremely well and has a real sense of humor.

 

In short, this game is fucking awesome. Hideo Kojima and Konami did a fantastic job taking a part of American/Russian history (the escalating Cold War between the US and Soviet Union) and putting their own twist into it. The story was great from start to finish.

 

Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater has the distinction of being perhaps the only game for it's time to feature alternate scenes in a cutscene, seen by pressing the R1 button. Many cutscenes are optional but a few are required for a couple trophies, namely the cutscenes just before the end credits that end up running for a good 40 - 50 minutes. Old cutscenes from the 1960s era were used to help propel the story, which would lead into an epic duel between Snake and his old mentor, The Boss.

 

There is so much attention to detail here it is staggering. Sometimes it's the finer details that make a game into a masterpiece, and for Metal Gear Solid 3, seeing such fine details tends to have me think games of this caliber don't come around often. For a 15 year old game, it has aged extremely well. I loved this game, and now that I finished it this makes me incredibly eager to play the other games in the franchise.

 

Collectibles were the only 'weak' point, with an over abundance of them required for platinum trophy. Kerotan Frogs were particularly troublesome, with a few only possible by using a sniper rifle while being driven around on a motorcycle. Definitely one of the more annoying collectibles.

 

Fantastic game, fantastic story, impressive attention to detail, good gameplay that feels rewarding. I don't often rate games a 10 out of 10, but this game definitely deserves that rating. You just can't go wrong with it.

Edited October 28, 2019 by Spaz

[AJ_Radio]

Gat kicks Satan's ass. Saints Row: Gat Out of Hell is done.

 

Platinum #211: Saints Row: Gat Out of Hell (October 30th, 2019)

 

 

 

Difficulty: 3/10

Excitement Rating: 5/10

Estimated Time to Platinum: 20 Hours

 

Hardest Trophy:   Let's Bounce (In Torment Fraud, hit 5 vehicles in a row without touching the ground)

 

Not the best in the Saints Row series.

 

Story was okay. The challenges were a slog to go through, particularly the weapon challenges which are mostly kill based. Since I didn't try doing the weapon challenges during the Survival events, I had to raise up my Notoriety enough to where a bunch of demons would spawn and then I would grind kills using that weapon until the Archduke came by. Kill him, then it was rinse and repeat 100+ times.

 

The trophy Let's Bounce gave me issues and I finally got it after going back to Torment Fraud after I tried constantly before I cleared the entire map. The one co-op trophy that requires boosting with another player was annoying, simply because it's unnecessary.

 

Definitely felt Saints Row the Third and Saints Row IV were better. But at least this confirms I've completed the entire series for trophies.

Edited October 30, 2019 by Spaz

[AJ_Radio]

Rather late to post this, but in order not to skip anything I'll post my latest platinum.

 

Platinum #212: Jak X: Combat Racing (November 2nd, 2019)

 

 

 

Difficulty: 5/10

Excitement Rating: 5/10

Estimated Time to Platinum: 10 - 12 Hours

 

Hardest Trophy:   Let's Bounce ( Capture 5 power cells before the opposing team captures any, in an Adventure mode Capture event. )

 

A PlayStation 2 game which has sadly not aged too well.

 

Story was okay with humor and comedy, as was custom to the Jak and Daxter series. A now deceased Krew forces the entire gang to race against an entire group of criminals.

 

The controls are simply like trying to control a jeep while you're sliding on butter. Whether it's my lack of skill and experience with racers in general or just the game having crappy controls, I'll let you be the judge.

 

I quickly found I was doing the same 5 - 10 type of races and events every single time for the cup, and since there are four cups you have to win, you do the math. Deathmatch was my favorite since it wasn't about racing and more about defeating your opponents to increase your score. Rush Hour was annoying. Some tracks were very difficult for me, resulting in over a hour's worth of attempts until I finally scored a Gold.

 

There is far too much rubberbanding. The AI is relentless, and no matter how many times I was at #1 in races, I would be dead within 30 seconds, to suddenly be in 6th place. There is a certain weapon that is impossible to avoid without a shield, and it always targets the racer at #1. More often than not, that was me.

 

I like that Naughty Dog made their own version of Mario Kart with Jak X. 14 years later however, it was simply a chore to get done. But with this completed, I have done all the games in the Jak and Daxter franchise.

[AJ_Radio]

The King (Pagan Min) is dead. Far Cry 4 is finished.

 

Platinum #213: Far Cry 4 (November 20th, 2019)

 

 

Difficulty: 3/10

Excitement Rating: 6/10

Estimated Time to Platinum: 23 Hours

 

Hardest Trophy:  

Hardest Trophy:   From A Distance ( Kill a target from 60m or more with an arrow or bolt (Campaign only) )

 

Had my moments of fun with Far Cry 4, but got bored a dozen hours in from the 'collectathon' Ubisoft likes to have in their games.

 

Story was meh. Ajay Ghale didn't care half the time. The war between the Golden Path and the Royal Guard is basically the story in a nutshell. Visiting Shangri-La was quite interesting, I actually think the story would of been better if that was the main focus.

 

Gameplay is pretty standard and basically what you expect from a Far Cry game. You liberate outposts and free radio towers. You do quests to help the Golden Path claim all of Kyrat. You can ride an elephant and kill Royal Guard soldiers with it. Sounds like a lot of fun at first, but after having played Far Cry Primal, it wasn't quite as great as riding a mammoth or saber tooth tiger.

 

There's more I can talk about, but since I figured most of you guys here already know about this game, I don't need to say much.

 

Standard fare. Not as great as other Ubisoft games I've played. I definitely prefer Assassins Creed over Far Cry, but that's just my opinion.

Edited November 21, 2019 by Spaz

[Fett36]

It was cool seeing all the progress you made on this forum. Keep up the good work.?

[AJ_Radio]

Mega Man and company defeat Sigma x8 times. Mega Man X Legacy Collection 2 is in the bag.

 

Platinum #214: Mega Man X Legacy Collection 2 (November 23rd, 2019)

 

 

Difficulty: 5/10

Excitement Rating: 7/10

Estimated Time to Platinum: 25 - 26 Hours

 

Hardest Trophy:  

Hardest Trophy:   Glitch in the System ( Encounter all 8 stage-affecting nightmare phenomena in a single playthrough of Mega Man X6. )

 

A definite mixed bag of sorts.

 

If you guys want to hear my in-depth impression of these games, read my status update.

 

I did not like the second half of the Mega Man X games as much as the first set. It's clear Capcom tried out a lot of ideas that may of sounded good on paper. Unfortunately most of those ideas were poorly executed, making for a rather frustrating experience with all four titles.

 

I'm not exactly sure whether to rate this a 6 or 7 out of 10. As a big Mega Man fan I guess I'm sort of biased, but I can't rate this set of games any higher than those scores.

 

X5 was okay but not great. X6 was infuriating with horrible level design coupled with a confusing story. X7 was the jump to 3-D but many sound ideas simply didn't work. X8 is perhaps the most 'polished', but it still suffered from bad level design which made half of the eight stages at the start a bit frustrating to go through.

 

Do I recommend this collection? That is completely up to you. But I definitely feel the first half (X1 thru X4) was a much more pleasurable experience that wasn't marred with glaring flaws and horrendous level design. Though I'm not surprised at the drop in quality considering the creator of Mega Man left after around X4 - X5.

 

It's really too bad. I wonder if we're going to see another Mega Man X game, since the last one (X8) was released back in 2004. It's definitely been a long time.

[AJ_Radio]

Bought and completed TItanfall 2.

 

Platinum #215: Titanfall 2 (December 3rd, 2019)

 

 

Difficulty: 6/10

Excitement Rating: 7/10

Estimated Time to Platinum: 10 - 12 Hours

 

Hardest Trophy:  

Hardest Trophy:   ...Becomes the Master ( Place in the top 3 on the Gauntlet scoreboard )

 

Somewhat enjoyable game with a rather generic story with okay acting.

 

This game was pretty straightforward and to the point. Trophy list is bread and butter.

 

Becomes the Master was the only difficult trophy of the bunch, which took three hours to get. Master difficulty is pretty much Veteran difficulty, more or less. Online trophies are quick and easy.

 

Not a lot I can say about this game. Playing with the Titans was fun, but that was the only real main selling point. The rest is standard for first person shooters. With this game being on PlayStation Plus, if you have any interest in a quick and easy first person shooter Titanfall 2 is your ticket. If you're not much into shooters, I would definitely look elsewhere.

Edited December 6, 2019 by Spaz

[AJ_Radio]

Death and Punishment were more than plenty. But Super Meat Boy has finally been tackled and beaten.

 

Platinum #216: Super Meat Boy (December 4th, 2019)

 

 

 

Difficulty: 10/10

Excitement Rating: 10/10

Estimated Time to Platinum: 100+ Hours

 

Hardest Trophy:  

Hardest Trophy:   Impossible Boy ( Beat Cotton Alley dark world without dying )

 

This was the big one.

 

Unless I truly go nuts and forcefully push myself to get some insanely hard games out there done, Super Meat Boy will probably remain as the most respectable and difficult platinum I've obtained.

 

Some people don't think this game is a 10 out of 10 in difficulty, but the last few no death runs alone took me over 50 - 75+ hours to get. This was NOT EASY.

 

I put this game on and off at least 12 times in the two and the half years I've had this on my profile. I've made marginal progress only to give up and play other games, often for months on end. Only the sheer will and determination, along with the fact I've had several 18 - 19 level streaks in Impossible Boy, pushed me to keep going. I wasn't going to let the game beat me.

 

I made a status update on this game just last week and it has received a lot of upvotes and comments. I want to thank everybody for offering help and tips on this website, they really meant a lot to me. TheYuriG's SMB Bitching thread gave me something to talk about, greenzsaber's guides on his FatPrinny website were a real help, and Arcesius's tips and tricks gave me a boost. Without all the support and help online, I don't think I would of had the willpower to finish this game, let alone make a lot of progress on it as Super Meat Boy is really something special.

 

Until I get another ridiculously hard game, I will always treasure Meat Boy. In the 25+ years I've been gaming, the Super Meat Boy platinum is one of my proudest achievements.

[VigilantCrow]

Well done with Super Meat Boy. Definitely a platinum, to be proud of. 

[AJ_Radio]

Bought and completed Volgarr the Viking.

 

Platinums #217 - 218: Volgarr the Viking (December 8th - 11th, 2019)

 

 

 

Difficulty: 6/10

Excitement Rating: 8/10

Estimated Time to Platinum: 6 - 8 Hours

 

Hardest Trophy:  

Hardest Trophy:   4-Minute Abs ( Complete any world in 4 minutes or less )

 

Volgarr was originally released on Steam back in 2013, wouldn't be ported to PlayStation until 2016.

 

I definitely had my fun playing this one.

 

Volgarr is definitely a difficult game at first because you are not used to the enemies and the level layouts. Getting hit means losing a piece of equipment, therefore making it more difficult to stay alive without dying.

 

The game was inspired by and draws many comparisons to old 1980s - 1990s platformers. In contrast, Volgarr the Viking is a much more fair experience and has fine tuned controls and game mechanics.

 

One of the best things about Volgarr is there are three different endings you can follow. The game rewards you for playing well, some trophies require you to open up several chests without taking a single hit. Following the path for the best ending unlocks more difficult versions of levels, and you are playing with limited lives on top of it. Volgarr definitely demands that the player plays well. It is a solid learning experience since enemies and level layouts are pretty much the same every time you play.

 

I died a ton during my time with this game, yet after a while it got much easier. Platforming isn't too hard, although a simple mistake can lead you to lose a piece of equipment.

 

Definitely recommended.

[AJ_Radio]

Pretty late in posting this... sort of falling behind on this thread.

 

Bought and completed Heavy Rain (PS3) and Guacamelee 2.

 

Platinum #219: Heavy Rain (PS3) (December 16th, 2019)

 

 

Difficulty: 5/10

Excitement Rating: 6/10

Estimated Time to Platinum: 10 - 12 Hours

 

Hardest Trophy:   I'm not Scared! (Twins - Follow your brother without making any mistakes)

 

I said my thoughts on this game a good while back, so this is mostly to mention what the platinum journey meant to me.

 

Pretty much easy overall, since I earned the platinum beforehand on the PS4. Controls didn't seem as responsive on the PS3 version. Had a lot of trouble with the Twins trophy, since you cannot fail a single QTE. Thankfully you can restart from the last checkpoint as long as you did all QTEs successfully leading up to that point.

 

Not much else to mention here. Easy platinum, but going through all the endings again made Heavy Rain a chore.

 

Platinum #220: Guacamelee 2 (December 26th, 2019)

 

 

Difficulty: 6/10

Excitement Rating: 8.5/10

Estimated Time to Platinum: 15 Hours

 

Hardest Trophy:   Talk to the Hend (Receive the Holy Hen's message)

 

A pretty fun and enjoyable Metroidvania that continues where the first game left off.

 

The platforming is much more difficult here than it was in the original. There were a number of areas that took me multiple tries to pass through, even though I'm usually skilled at platformers.

 

The last Pollo challenge dungeon after you open the Golden Door had to be the most difficult portion in all of Guacamelee 2. I don't think this game was meant to have Super Meat Boy like platforming but that's what it felt like when I was going through this dungeon. While still short, it took me a hour of frustration and trial and error to finally beat it. And the Holy Hen's message was....... lame? This game is full of memes, but I was expecting something a bit better.

 

Great game. If you love indies and you enjoyed the first Guacamelee you really owe it to yourself to play the sequel. Definitely worth the purchase.

Edited January 14, 2020 by Spaz

[AJ_Radio]

Vanquish has been vanquished, including the infamous and dreadful Challenge 6.

 

Platinum #221: Vanquish (January 14th, 2020)

 

 

Difficulty: 9/10

Excitement Rating: 10/10

Estimated Time to Platinum: 25 - 30 Hours

 

Hardest Trophy:   Tactical Challenger (Complete all of the Tactical Challenges in VANQUISH)

 

A fantastic game from Platinum Games, published by SEGA and headed by Shinji Mikami.

 

To put this briefly, Vanquish for the most part isn't hard. The campaign I had no real troubles with even on Hard difficulty. I had to do a cleanup playthrough because I missed out on getting the trophy for not dying the 'proper' way, but it didn't bother me much.

 

The challenges are the true meat of this game and are the main reason why I put off this game for a few months. So basically, the challenges are more difficult than anything found in the campaign. I had to use strategies that would ensure my survival and completion of these challenges.

 

Challenge 6 of course is by far the hardest challenge, and my vote of 9 out of 10 in difficulty comes from this alone.

 

It took me 10 to 12 hours to beat Challenge 6 alone, more than any other challenge and more than I poured in an entire playthrough of the campaign. It's pretty damn tough. Wave 5 with the two Bogeys is the deciding factor to get the platinum for this game. With much practice, and a lot of patience, players are definitely capable of beating this challenge. But it won't come easy.

 

I can't really say if this is my second hardest platinum that I've earned, but Vanquish definitely ranks in the top five hardest games that I've finished for a platinum trophy. It requires skill and courage, the platinum itself is a sign of respect for anybody who was willing to put themselves through the challenges.

 

Awesome game. Can't wait for the PS4 port to come out next month.

[Arcesius]

9 hours ago, Spaz said:

I can't really say if this is my second hardest platinum that I've earned, but Vanquish definitely ranks in the top five hardest games that I've finished for a platinum trophy. It requires skill and courage, the platinum itself is a sign of respect for anybody who was willing to put themselves through the challenges.

 

Awesome game. Can't wait for the PS4 port to come out next month.

 

Congrats on this plat dude ? It pays off to keep at something, the satisfaction you get from beating a hard challenge is just so rewarding. 

 

I have a question though. Since you ranked this a 9/10 but you mention that it is NOT the second hardest game you've gotten the plat for... Which other games apart from SMB did you also rank that high? Just curious ?

[AJ_Radio]

5 hours ago, Arcesius said:

 

Congrats on this plat dude  It pays off to keep at something, the satisfaction you get from beating a hard challenge is just so rewarding. 

 

I have a question though. Since you ranked this a 9/10 but you mention that it is NOT the second hardest game you've gotten the plat for... Which other games apart from SMB did you also rank that high? Just curious 

 

To be frank I don't have that many hard games. Furi and Titan Souls were tough. Velocity 2X was also a bit taxing. But as far as AA - AAA games are concerned, Vanquish is definitely tops in difficulty that I myself have finished.

 

Super Meat Boy of course is #1. I don't have an actual second hardest platinum. Once I do Atari Flashback Classics Vol 1, Mighty No 9, Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus and possibly Surgeon Simulator, I have a pretty good idea what #2 will be.

[AJ_Radio]

It's been an entire month since I last posted in this topic. Got some games done during that time span, so I figure, going to share my quick thoughts on them.

 

===

 

Bought and completed Just Cause 2 and Tekken 7.

 

Platinum #222: Just Cause 2 (January 25th, 2020)

 

 

Difficulty: 4/10

Excitement Rating: 5/10

Estimated Time to Platinum: 60 Hours

 

Hardest Trophy:  Perfectionist ( Reach 75% completion in the normal mode or mercenary mode. )

 

The first in what I hope to be all three Just Cause games completed, that have trophy support. Just Cause 4 will likely be done in a few months, but this is the first of two Just Cause games I completed in the past 30 days.

 

To be frank, I did not enjoy Just Cause 2 that much. It's not because of the dated graphics, or even the mediocre story telling. It's because there is so much shit to do.

 

This has probably the biggest open world map in any open world game I've seen. It's massive, and this game being 10 years old now doesn't make it any less smaller compared to more modern games.

 

Blowing up the silos, fuel tanks and so on is fun for the first few hours, but that all gets boring quick. Collectibles are a pain in the rear, if not for the Wi-FI signal indicating how close you are to a collectible, I would of lost my sanity.

 

A boring game, that I thought would be fun when I bought it for under $10 online. Hardcore difficulty makes this game a chore, I must of died several hundred times when I was going for the Perfectionist trophy. Thankfully you do not have to do all the challenges (races).

 

Glad it's over.

 

Platinum #223: Tekken 7 (January 28th, 2020)

 

 

Difficulty: 3/10

Excitement Rating: 8/10

Estimated Time to Platinum: 6 - 8 Hours

 

Hardest Trophy:  Master Of Iron Fist ( Finished the Special Chapter of the main story. )

 

I will come out here and admit, I am terrible at fighting games. Loved Street Fighter 2 as a kid from way back when in the 1990s. Loved Mortal Kombat 2 and the games that followed. But I was never good at them.

 

I am a newcomer to the Tekken franchise. Heard a great deal about it, seen gameplay footage from older games in the series and all that, but never played them for myself. With Tekken 7, I decided to give the series a go. And I must say, I'm actually pleased with what I got.

 

Online trophies were very straightforward and easy. The story is basically following Helhachi, probably the most iconic character in the Tekken franchise. Akuma of Street Fighter fame has a prominent role in this game which is a good thing. Gameplay is easy to get into, but difficult to master.

 

The graphics are very crisp and they look great. There was nothing difficult in the trophy list, but a couple, notably the one I've listed gave me a couple fits. As someone like myself who has beginner's luck at best with fighting games, Tekken 7 was a nice change of pace. I bought it for cheap last month, and was glad I got around to playing it.

[AJ_Radio]

Rico returns to Medici to take down a dictator and liberate territory in Just Cause 3. A lowly office worker in fear of getting fired sneaks his way into his office in Level 22.

 

Platinum #224: Just Cause 3 (February 4th, 2020)

 

 

Difficulty: 6/10

Excitement Rating: 4/10

Estimated Time to Platinum: 60 Hours

 

Hardest Trophy:  All the Gears ( Earn 5 Gears in every Challenge.)

 

What started off good became a complete chore.

 

Just Cause 3 has terrible frame rate issues. Whenever I would lay destruction on a military base or a town, the game gets very bad drops in frame rate. It felt like this game was more suited for the PS4 Pro than the original model with how badly it ran.

 

Story was merely... okay. Rico is obviously Ezio Auditore (Assassins Creed) in modern times, the same voice actor played both characters. There were only a couple characters that stood out to me. Shelton was laid back and quite alright. Mario was basically little brother looking up to big brother (Rico), Di Ravello was a mustache twirling villain. None of the others were that memorable.

 

Missions were basically escort missions... there was too many of them. Finding all the vehicles was annoying, since some are rare spawns and others (the Squallo X7 boat) were just ridiculous to try to get.

 

The challenges sucked all the fun out of this game. I get that they're supposed to challenge players, but they're horribly balanced. Some were so easy I'm sure most people got five gears on the first try, while others you barely got through with maybe a second or two to spare. The races were a crapshoot, and the bike handling is hands down the worst I've experienced in any AAA game. The wingsuit challenges were annoying, many were alright, but some, particularly the Mountain Marathon Tour challenge, took quite a while to get five gears in.

 

DLC was okay but nothing outstanding. The 'upgraded' Wingsuit and the mech were fun, but that's about it.

 

A game that was okay 10 - 20 hours in, and everything after that was a long checklist.

 

100 % Game # 1: Level 22

 

 

Difficulty: 2/10

Excitement Rating: 6/10

 

(Not the first 100 percent game I've done, far from it, but this is to help me keep better track of what I've completed)

 

A pretty alright game. You are a lowly office worker who has to sneak through to get to... your office space. This game isn't anywhere near as good as the 1999 movie classic that had Jennifer Aniston in it, but it wasn't a bad game either.

 

Pretty short for what it is, and that's all it needed to be. All trophies were tied to getting collectibles, with a few being puzzle pieces that reveal the boss you'll be facing in that area.

 

Can't say much more, it's an amusing simple 16 bit inspired title that was free on Plus back in 2017. Finished it in just over two hours following a guide.

[Slava]

Just looked through your checklist and saw Driveclub among other games, but looks like you haven't started the game. I'm sure you know about the server shutdown, but I just wanted to remind that it's going to happen in 43 days. Are you going to play it?

Edited February 17, 2020 by Alderriz

[AJ_Radio]

22 minutes ago, Alderriz said:

Just looked through your checklist and saw Driveclub among other games, but looks like you haven't started the game. I'm sure you know about the server shutdown, but I just wanted to remind that it's going to happen in 43 days. Are you going to play it?

 

I really don't know.

 

What got me demotivated is the fact that I have no less than two DLC packs that I cannot access because I apparently missed them when I was buying DLC for both DRIVECLUB and DRIVECLUB BIKES. So I'm basically screwed for 100 percent, which means the most I can get is around 123 out of 128 trophies out of DRIVECLUB. Sadly it's the same for Driveclub Bikes, 48 out of 51 trophies.

 

I'm missing Photo Finish for DRIVECLUB and EBR for DRIVECLUB BIKES. So yeah. 

 

Plus I'm not the biggest fan of racing games.

[Slava]

2 minutes ago, Spaz said:

So yeah. 

 

OK, I see.

 

Sucks when stuff like this happens.

 

Edited February 17, 2020 by Alderriz

[AJ_Radio]

6 minutes ago, Alderriz said:

 

OK, I see.

 

Sucks when stuff like this happens.

 

 

Such is life. I'm just glad I'm not a 100 percent completionist.

[AJ_Radio]

Max and Chumbucket work together to bring down Scrotus and Mad Max.

 

Platinum #225: Mad Max (February 14th, 2020)

 

 

Difficulty: 4/10

Excitement Rating: 7/10

Estimated Time to Platinum: 60+ Hours

 

Hardest Trophy:  Up to the Task (Complete all non-repeating challenges)

 

The most enjoyable and well put together game from Avalanche Studios that I've played thus far.

 

There's not much to say on the story other than Max is a lone wolf who has to rely on Chumbucket to bring down Scrotus. The story is definitely a lot better here than in the Just Cause games.

 

Controls are standard. Vehicle combat was good. Melee combat was so so to alright.

 

Mad Max is basically 20 percent story, 80 percent collectibles. Like the Just Cause games, Mad Max has a ton of collectibles for you to go after. Unfortunately the infamous Scavenging Glitch was never fixed, meaning I had to be extra careful in checking that every one of the 227 locations in the entire game counted towards the challenges.

 

The challenges themselves are time consuming and they are the reason why it takes people a long time to finish this game. There are challenges related to scrap which is only collected while the game is turned off and your console is online. Completely stupid, it ended up taking close to a whole week to get everything I needed, since I didn't always get scrap while I was off the game.

 

I spent an average of 7 - 8 hours a day finishing Mad Max. The graphics are good and overall it's a quite alright open world game. But it overstayed it's welcome. Not much else I can say about it.

 

100 % Game # 2: Tales From Space: Mutant Blobs Attack

 

 

Difficulty: 2/10

Excitement Rating: 8/10

 

A good early Playstation Vita game from the days before Drinkbox Studios was widely known for Guacamelee.

 

I have to say that this is not quite as good or memorable as the later Guacamelee games. But it's definitely a game that makes good use of the touchpad controls.

 

Tales From Space: Mutant Blobs Attack is a platformer through and through, but it's rather quite easy. Only a few levels took me a few tries, but nothing was too hard. The 'tilt' levels were annoying but were still easy. The game has decent music to keep you in the mood.

Edited March 4, 2020 by Spaz

[AJ_Radio]

Edward Kenway takes the wheel and sails through the high winds and stormy waters in Assassins Creed IV: Black Flag.

 

Platinum #226: Assassins Creed IV: Black Flag (February 26th, 2020)

 

 

Difficulty: 4/10

Excitement Rating: 8/10

Estimated Time to Platinum: 55 - 60 Hours

 

Hardest Trophy:  All Rounder (Play on every game mode, and use every ability and ranged weapon once in Multiplayer)

 

This took me over four years to finally finish, due to online.

 

But first....

 

While Assassins Creed II and Brotherhood hold nostalgia for me, Black Flag has some of the most enjoyable single player in the entire Assassins Creed series to date. Even after playing and finishing Unity and Syndicate, I have to say taking over ships in Black Flag never truly gets old. To hear your sailors sing songs, then to use your mortars on a Spanish ship and then engage in battle is more often than not, a joy of fun.

 

Edward Kenway is up there with Ezio Auditore and Evie Frye as my favorite protagonists in the series. Kenway is a bit crude, but has a charm and personality that quickly grows on you. His pal and ship companion Adewale is a good character throughout.

 

I normally bitch and moan about too many fucking collectibles in open world games, but in Black Flag I was never truly bored out of my skull. The sunny and tropical like climate of the Caribbean gives a lighter, more innocent tone to the game. There is no vast woodlands like in Assassins Creed III, nor are there giant icebergs and frozen tundra like in Rogue. In Black Flag, there is endless blue waters, palm trees and desert like sands near the sea, with various villages and towns in between. The scenery really lightens up the mood, and that is important. Nothing too dreary or depressing to look at here.

 

The present day sequences however, are a mess. Anybody who played Assassins Creed III and before knows this was a huge step down when it came to the modern struggle between Assassin and Templar. That's all I will say on that.

 

Now to the multiplayer...

 

....the multiplayer is a real stinker. First off, I found myself having connection problems, granted my internet is crappy as a whole but other games I played didn't have as many issues. At least half of the matches I attempted to join have ended in disconnections, from the host specifically. Getting all the abilities wasn't too bad really, I kept a written checklist by my side and checked off every ability I used. Getting into some match modes was a pain in the ass (Assassinate) since they were almost virtually dead.

 

Game Lab is just fucking stupid. NUMBER ONE #1: Why would you make a mode with reduced XP and no accolades? NUMBER TWO #2: Why would you make Game Lab just have one game type (Manhunt)? It made no fucking sense, and the fact Game Lab is practically dead during almost all hours of the day except peak hours is ridiculous. You can join Manhunt in regular matches with randoms.. not that big a problem. But in Game Lab? Nope, fuck that. Why would I play on Game Lab anyway? That's probably what people are thinking... at least those few who are somehow still playing Black Flag in multiplayer.

 

If I had to pick any game on my list that had such a blatantly obvious tacked on multiplayer, it's this game. It's boring, it's stupid, it's a waste of time, it took me a solid 10 - 12 hours or so to reach Level 55 in multiplayer... playing the same fucking matches, hearing the same female robot voice over and over, doing the exact same routine 50 - 100 times... painful.

 

Will I stack the PS3 version of Assassins Creed IV: Black Flag? Sometimes I want to, because I really enjoy the single player aspect. But the multiplayer blows chunks. At least with Assassins Creed Rogue Remastered, it's all single player. But I'd be lying if I said I enjoy the North Atlantic setting more than I enjoy the Caribbean setting. Then again I'm more interesting in playing games I haven't gotten to yet, so yeah.

 

Definitely happy to take this one off my backlog. Hopefully I can do the same with Assassins Creed III and Batman: Arkham City.

Edited March 4, 2020 by Spaz

[Golem25]

Bit late to the party, but which did you enjoy more, both in terms of general play and Trophies? JC2 or JC3? Loved the former (still do), hated the latter myself.

[AJ_Radio]

8 hours ago, Golem25 said:

Bit late to the party, but which did you enjoy more, both in terms of general play and Trophies? JC2 or JC3? Loved the former (still do), hated the latter myself.

 

It's never too late.

 

Just Cause 2 in many aspects hasn't aged well. It runs fine on the PS3, but there are definitely some gameplay mechanics that are a bit cumbersome. The way you aim and shoot enemies was sort of awkward. Most locations are basically just a few simple collectibles, so you're running around like an idiot with his head off until you find the collectibles as indicated by the flashing Wi-Fi signal. Not too bad of a game, just takes a long while to get done and it's a big checklist.

 

Just Cause 3 looks substantially better but greatly suffers from performance issues. Taking over a town or a military base is bound to give you horrible frame rate drops. It felt like the PS4 couldn't handle everything on the screen, but I've played other games like Uncharted 4: A Thief's End and God of War 2018 with absolutely zero problems when it came to performance. The fault was on the developers for not properly testing out their own game.

 

The challenges for the most part aren't too hard, but there's a lot of them (over 100) and some of the Wingsuit challenges are pretty infuriating. It's a good platinum if you decide to go for it, but now with the game being dirt cheap and being on PlayStation Plus over two years ago, not too many people are playing it anymore.

 

As for Just Cause 4, I'll get it eventually. Overall I have to say I enjoyed Mad Max the most out of all the Avalanche Studio games I've played.