AJ_Radio's Disappointing Backlog and Wishlist

[AJ_Radio]

Platinum #254: Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 Remastered (October 16th, 2020)

 

 

Difficulty: 5/10

Excitement Rating: 8/10

Estimated Time to Platinum: 12 - 15 Hours

 

Hardest Trophy: The Student Surpasses the Master ( Beat BX time in 'S.S.D.D.'. )

 

A fun all around Call of Duty game that is a remaster of what many people consider to be the most memorable Call of Duty; Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2.

 

I will admit I am not a Call of Duty guy. The games that were prevalent in the PS2, early PS3 era were all solid. Beginning with Black Ops 1 and Modern Warfare 3, the Call of Duty series really started to drift downhill, and the notion of it being a yearly franchise became true. Every single year, there is a new Call of Duty title. It is currently between three different developers, who cycle once every three years. Since Call of Duty: WWII there have been three more Call of Duty games, and at this point I will never do all the games.

 

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 Remastered is a worthy game and time well spent, so when it was offered on PlayStation Plus I jumped at the chance.

 

Modern Warfare 2 Remastered has basically the same interfaces as its predecessor, Modern Warfare 1 Remastered. The game is entirely linear, with some awesome set pieces and good quality cinematic action, which was what made the Modern Warfare series in Call of Duty great to begin with. The iconic characters such as Captain Price make a return. The story is decent and the gameplay is fast paced, which is what we expect from Call of Duty.

 

Most of the trophies are basically doing certain tasks in certain missions, such as destroying a helicopter using only frag grenades. Intel is this games collectible and it behaves exactly like it did in the last game. The training course at the beginning of the game turned out to be the most challenging trophy for me. Like with the Gauntlet in Titanfall 2, the training course took me around three hours of practice to beat the specified time.

 

Like with the first Modern Warfare, you change frequently between the Americans and the UK. You are part of a large squad when you play the Americans, whereas with the UK you are doing more covert operations in the missions. An interesting note is a certain, controversial mission can be completely skipped because an option early in the game pops up whether you want to skip the violent content or not. But what this mission essentially is is basically you are a spy with a group of Russian terrorists, who brutally kill and massacre civilians at an airport in Moscow, Russia. This mission is completely optional, but I decided to play through it because I wanted to experience the entire story. The event that takes place at the end of the mission leads the Russians to declare war on the Americans, and the next few American missions have you defending your homeland against the Russian invaders. All fitting for a Call of Duty game.

 

The controls are responsive and fluid. Graphics are sufficient and much improved over the original Modern Warfare 2, though they are not as impressive as the graphics in new Call of Duty games, because this is in fact a remaster.

 

Apart from beating the BX time at the training course and a few annoying sections, nothing was too difficult. Veteran difficulty of course requires you to take it slow and approach carefully as in all other Call of Duty games.

 

All in all, for being a game on PlayStation Plus I really enjoyed my time with Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 Remastered. It leads me to wonder if Modern Warfare 3 will get the same treatment. It was one of the last games I played in the Call of Duty franchise before I gave up trying to keep up with the series.

 

Recommended.

[You]

The best Tekken is Tekken 6.

[AJ_Radio]

26 minutes ago, enaysoft said:

The best Tekken is Tekken 6.

 

I don't like the fact that Tekken 7 has characters you have to pay actual money for, instead of actually working in-game to earn a new character, like the old Super Smash Bros games made you do. Then they had you paying actual money to have Ryu playable in a Smash Bros game, which I was rather salty about. But third parties are practically required to reveal their characters so I don't think Nintendo was going to get away from having Ryu be an unlockable character hidden deep in the game somewhere. They had Sonic the Hedgehog and Snake plastered on the back cover of Super Smash Bros Brawl for the Nintendo Wii.

 

Back to topic, I think all the Tekken games, at least the ones I played, were enjoyable. They've been consistent for a long time considering the franchise is pretty old now.

[DrBloodmoney]

34 minutes ago, enaysoft said:

The best Tekken is Tekken 6.

 

Is it weird that, even after all these years, I still like Tekken Tag the most?

 

I think I'd be in a toss-up between that and Tekken 2 - but Tekken 2 gets disqualified because it broke my tooth. (when I got soo frustrated that I bit the leg of my controller and shattered it. So, obviously the games fault, and not in any way my own idiocy.)

[You]

Tekken 6 has the story mode, which like or not, it does mean you get some cool Streets Of Rage scrolling beat-em-up action, it's like 2 games in one. And the fact you can play 2 player coop online with your mates and be collecting rare items (the items you pick up both players get) Where as on Tekken Tag Tekken7 it's just a boring Endless boss grind.

Tekken Tag at least has the tag option but losing the story mode, I mean it's a whole game mode missing.

Tekken 7 is worst because it loses tag option and also scrolling beat-em-up option. it's the game with the least features, worse still, having a third of a roster, unless you cough up a ton of money.

 

Not to mention a lot of cool characters are gone in favour of many questionable choices like Final Fantasy characters, Akuma and that Geese guy from Fatal fury. I think Tekken 6 is the most complete version. I mean at least you get all the characters when you buy it..... Oh and in Tekken 6 every character has an awesome ending. In Tekken 7 two characters share an ending and most are basically just moving picture frame nonsense.

1 hour ago, DrBloodmoney said:

I think I'd be in a toss-up between that and Tekken 2 - but Tekken 2 gets disqualified because it broke my tooth.

 

Wow that's an amazing story, have a thumbs up.

[AJ_Radio]

14 minutes ago, enaysoft said:

Not to mention a lot of cool characters are gone in favour of many questionable choices like Final Fantasy characters, Akuma and that Geese guy from Fatal fury. I think Tekken 6 is the most complete version. I mean at least you get all the characters when you buy it..... Oh and in Tekken 6 every character has an awesome ending. In Tekken 7 two characters share an ending and most are basically just moving picture frame nonsense.

 

I think the problem now is these long time franchises are trying to appeal to a younger audience. The people that stuck with a franchise like Need for Speed, Gran Turismo, Tekken and Final Fantasy for decades are a dying minority.

 

I was disgusted when Super Smash Bros started charging money for characters when all of that would of been something you unlocked by playing the games. Shame that Tekken went down the same route.

 

Despite some cheapness I really enjoyed Tekken Tag Tournament HD. Definitely had a lot of nostalgia going for it, but it's definitely a game a lot of older people can relate to.

[You]

23 minutes ago, AJ_Radio said:

 

I think the problem now is these long time franchises are trying to appeal to a younger audience. The people that stuck with a franchise like Need for Speed, Gran Turismo, Tekken and Final Fantasy for decades are a dying minority.

 

I was disgusted when Super Smash Bros started charging money for characters when all of that would of been something you unlocked by playing the games. Shame that Tekken went down the same route.

 

Despite some cheapness I really enjoyed Tekken Tag Tournament HD. Definitely had a lot of nostalgia going for it, but it's definitely a game a lot of older people can relate to.

 

I feel a bit bitter about Tekken7 actually because I remember getting the Season Pass for it because I thought, well I like Tekken and I want to support it. Then after about 2 characters and an insane amount of time between them (not to mention no new content or trophies for anything) Season Pass 2 was announced which I thought was honestly taking the piss.

I quite like the Vita version of Tekken X StreetFighter, of course main reason is that all the content is included in one package, unlike the PS3 version.

 

I hated all that Combot trophy nonsense in TTT2, all I can remember thinking the entire time is "I'm doing this instead of scrolling beat-em-up action in Tekken 6"

Edited May 13, 2021 by enaysoft

[AJ_Radio]

1 minute ago, enaysoft said:

I feel a bit bitter about Tekken7 actually because I remember getting the Season Pass for it because I thought, well I like Tekken and I want to support it. Then after about 2 characters and an insane amount of time between them (not to mention no new content or trophies for anything) Season Pass 2 was announced which I thought was honestly taking the piss.

 

The fact there now exist things like a Season Pass 2 (as if one Season Pass wasn't enough) is proof these corporations just want your money. Plain and simple.

 

First it was cosmetic microtransactions in mobile phone games. Then it was DLC in PS3/Xbox 360 games. Then it was microtransactions, the sort you see in an Ubisoft game. Then it was a Season Pass. Then it was lootboxes (read up on Star Wars Battlefront 2 controversy). Now we have more than one Season Pass?

 

What's next?

[You]

2 hours ago, AJ_Radio said:

What's next?

 

Apparently Tekken 7 is soon going to have a Season Pass 5.

 

FIVE!!!!!!!

 

That's practically triple the price of the original game presuming you buy it all at full price.

[Kcrack_Km]

18 minutes ago, enaysoft said:

 

Apparently Tekken 7 is soon going to have a Season Pass 5.

 

FIVE!!!!!!!

 

That's practically triple the price of the original game presuming you buy it all at full price.

 

And the annoying part is, if you play Tekken competitively (like I used to), you need all the characters so you can learn their move set and *frame data to learn how to punish and look for openings. I remember when Leroy came out and everyone was winning tournaments with him because he was broken and nobody knew how to play against him.

 

*frame data is also locked behind a paywall LMAO. It used to be a basic feature in practice mode.

[AJ_Radio]

Platinum #255: Trine 4: The Nightmare Prince (October 26th, 2020)

 

 

Difficulty: 2/10

Excitement Rating: 8/10

Estimated Time to Platinum: 10 - 12 Hours

 

Hardest Trophy:

 

I'm going to be up front here. I enjoy the Trine series. The quirky characters, the wonderfully detailed and well designed backgrounds, the not so difficult but not so easy puzzles, the voice of the narrator, this game as well as the series is, should I say, awesomely British.

 

Trine 4 picks up where the last game, Trine 3: Artifacts of Power left out. A young prince is corrupted and since his corruption foul, weird creatures have been popping up in the land. Amedeus, Zoya and Pontius must once again band together to put a stop to the prince's corruption, and save the land from being invaded by otherworldly monstrosities.

 

I typically don't like puzzles in a lot of games, the Trine series in contrast has wonderful puzzles. Nothing is too hard, too difficult, too convoluted. Maybe the puzzles get hard in Trine 2: Complete Story, but since I haven't quite played it beyond the first few levels I don't really have an opinion on them. For any puzzles that can't be solved for you, you can just look them up on YouTube for the solutions. For the most part, I figured them out by myself.

 

In this installment, FrozenByte went back to the 2.5D perspective the Trine series was known for. Trine 3: The Artifacts of Power had some weird design choices. I daresay it was by far the easiest Trine in the whole series, and FrozenByte's decision to make it 3D was an odd decision. It was definitely my least favorite in the franchise, although they kept a lot of the British humor, charm and poise. I was glad to see FrozenByte went back to their roots for Trine 4: The Nightmare Prince.

 

My major complaint is this games boring trophy list. It's all about completing levels and getting all the collectibles, including the experience vials, letters, treasures and knickknacks. Why not throw in a few creative trophies, like using Amadeus to conjure up a few boxes in a certain location, use Zoya to kick a few enemies, or use Pontius to shield glide somewhere?  Would of been far better, although as I understand there is more to be done with the Trine franchise. Maybe FrozenByte can make a Trine 4: Complete Story like they did with Trine 2. Who knows.

 

A lovely game that was a breeze to play through. Nothing hard at all. Games like this are great for when I need a breather.

 

Looking forward to playing Trine 2: Complete Story and wrapping up the entire Trine franchise, until the next Trine game is released.

[AJ_Radio]

Platinum #256: Surgeon Simulator (October 30th, 2020)

 

 

Difficulty: 9.5/10 (no really, I will explain why)

Excitement Rating: 5/10

Estimated Time to Platinum: 15 - 20+ Hours

 

Hardest Trophy: Best Surgeon In the World ( Get an A++ rating on all procedures )

 

Here is what I consider to be the second hardest platinum I obtained on my trophy profile, behind only Super Meat Boy due to the overly difficult no death trophies.

 

This game received mixed reviews from critics, and for a while was something YouTubers like Markiplier played purely for fun. Surgeon Simulator is an awesome game to dick around in, notably to kill off the patient using a hacksaw, laser, scissors, etc etc. For the platinum, this game requires the utmost precision, and holy shit this was very difficult to finish.

 

So basically, much of your time is spent doing the various surgeries. There are five different types of surgeries you must master. Heart, Double Kidney, Brain, Eye and Teeth transplants. To make matters worse, you have to do all these in a moving corridor, in a moving ambulance, and out in freaking space. Yes, while doing your surgeries out in space, everything practically floats and moves away from you, which means you have to be completely precise and careful because the slightest movement can send shit flying all over the place.

 

Refer to these videos to see where I'm coming from:

 

PS5Trophies doing an Ambulance Eye Transplant:

 

 

A Space Double Kidney Transplant:

 

 

Trust me, THEY'RE FAR MORE DIFFICULT THAN THEY LOOK!

 

How this game judges an A++ is based on the ml of blood a patient has lost and the time it took you to finish the operation. If a patient has lost all their blood, obviously, you lose and must try again. If you successfully completed the transplant at the expense of the patient losing the vast majority of blood, you will be graded a 'D'. If you were a bit more careful and precise, you may be graded a 'B' or an 'A' for your transplant operation depending on how well you did. But even if you think you did well, if you took a little too long on the time you may be graded an 'A' instead of an 'A++'. Something to be aware of.

 

Getting an A++ rating is no joke. Prior to the game being patched, Surgeon Simulator had a glitched trophy of which you only needed to do six operations/procedures in order to earn the trophy Best Surgeon in the World. After the patch, you have to do every operation and score an A++ in all of them. Well, not exactly all of them. There are secret alien transplants you can unlock a little later on by doing a certain task. You only need to finish the operations, it doesn't matter what your rating is as they don't count towards the Best Surgeon in the World trophy. So that was something I was very glad to hear about, but it didn't make doing all the other operations any easier to finish.

 

Surgeon Simulator has a bunch of random trophies, such as smashing up a pair of goggles, answering a phone, doing a 180 spoon flip, and giving a patient a scarf. Most of these with the exception of the 180 spoon flip and a couple others weren't too difficult. Doing some of these random trophies were definitely practice.

 

Post patch, you have to do no less than 20 operations, scoring A++ in all of them. This is undoubtedly one of the most difficult trophies I have ever gone for. The amount of precision, patience and utmost accuracy is very paramount. But most of all, this took a massive amount of practice. Thanks to this guy, my platinum journey for this game was made a lot more bearable:

 

 

This didn't mean I could copy everything he did and be successful on the first go, because this still took a great deal of practice. A few surgeries broke me to the point where I had to take a couple months off of Surgeon Simulator for fear I might break a controller. Bushido Cypher explains a great deal on the game and does a better job than me in telling you what to expect out of the platinum.

 

In conclusion, Surgeon Simulator was in many ways, utterly painful to slog through. The controls are bad because they were intentionally made to be bad. Something as simple as grabbing a syringe or a spoon is going to take a lot of practice on your end because if you can't do that then you can just forget about scoring A++ in a surgery. Brian of PS5Trophies fame on YouTube even struggles a bit in his eye transplant video, one I consider to be the most difficult transplant because you have to surgically remove the eyes on the patient after you've popped them out and then carefully pick up two new eyes. Again, this requires the utmost precision and practice. 

 

For all this, Surgeon Simulator has good music, and from what I guess from the background this is supposed to take place in the 1980s, early 1990s. Seeing the old computer with the floppy disks and old telephone was a nice touch.

 

I bought this game last year in a sale that included I Am Bread, the next game Bossa Studios developed which I hear is even more difficult and stressful. If Surgeon Simulator is stressing you out, I suggest taking a break and coming back when you're ready. If you feel the platinum is too difficult for you, then you can safely move on from it. I don't blame anybody for giving up on the platinum for this game, because wow. I can't even begin to describe the number of times I had to restart because I botched up somewhere.

 

A prestigious platinum trophy, and one that is very well earned. Definitely one of my proudest.

Edited May 14, 2021 by AJ_Radio

[AJ_Radio]

Platinum #257: Ratchet & Clank 2 (November 3rd, 2020)

 

 

Difficulty: 3/10

Excitement Rating: 8.5/10

Estimated Time to Platinum: 20 Hours

 

Hardest Trophy:

 

A lot of fond memories playing this back in the day on the PS2. This was where Ratchet & Clank really started to get good. Ratchet got a then new voice actor, which I felt was better (James Arnold Taylor), a bolt multiplier was added, and the gameplay felt better. Doing the races and the arena was a lot of fun.

 

Ratchet always fell under the category of 'not too easy, not too hard'. They are perfectly balanced for casual players and even hardcore players can have some fun with Ratchet & Clank.

 

Recommended, but only the PS3 version. The Vita version has some lag and a little stutter with it.

 

Platinum #258: Jak II (November 8th, 2020)

 

 

Difficulty: 6/10

Excitement Rating: 4/10

Estimated Time to Platinum: 12 - 14 Hours

 

Hardest Trophy:

 

A mostly badly designed game with an even worse port.

 

Yes, I slogged through the PS Vita version that suffers from low framerate, making some missions that were already frustrating in the PS3 version of Jak II even more frustrating. Escorting a group of morons in the sewers, protecting a young Samus from Krimson Guards, doing an on-rails shooter section at the Drill Platform, and the races. A lot of these missions have few checkpoints, if any. If you die, have fun replaying a few minutes to get back to where you were.

 

Like with Jak & Daxter, I used the L2/R2 attachment that I bought from Japan. The Vita port is utterly sloppy. For some missions in Jak II I had to use L2 and R2, which is normally only possible by using the back touch controls on the Vita. The problem is, Jak II doesn't recognize that you're inputting these commands half the time. The L2/R2 attachment was basically mandatory here.

 

Not much else I can say on this game. Haven City was a chore, as was most of the story missions. At least I got to see Krew die.

 

Platinum #259: Jak 3 (November 12th, 2020)

 

 

Difficulty: 4/10

Excitement Rating: 5/10

Estimated Time to Platinum: 12 - 14 Hours

 

Hardest Trophy:

 

The sequel to Jak II that makes a lot of much needed game improvements, including a more forgivable open world and having new abilities for Jak.

 

Jak II introduced weapons, in Jak 3 weapon mods come into play which are all unique in their own way. Compared to the four weapons in Jak II, there is now a total of 12 weapons in total thanks to the mods.

 

Like with the other Jak games I had to use the L2/R2 attachment. The missions are more forgivable here, mostly because you don't have Krimson Guards on your ass all the time. Jak 3 introduces new characters. The story is better in this game as well, being a little more mystique. Jak gets a new power here which enables him to go Light Jak, and it's just too good.

 

There is a section in the story where you have to return to Haven City, but this time around the city is far more open. You're not bumping into Krimson Guards or civilians as there is a war going on. A couple races were actually fun, as you have access to dune buggies and other exotic vehicles.

 

Far more enjoyable than Jak II, but the Vita version still suffers from framerate issues and stutters due to the sloppy port handling.

 

I can only hope that someone out there will remake Jak & Daxter. If Crash Bandicoot and Spyro the Dragon were able to, I can't see why Jak & Daxter couldn't.

 

Platinum #260: Ratchet & Clank 3 (November 16th, 2020)

 

 

Difficulty: 3/10

Excitement Rating: 8.5/10

Estimated Time to Platinum: 20 Hours

 

Hardest Trophy:

 

One of the best platformers for the PS2, and arguably the best Ratchet & Clank game in the PS2 trilogy.

 

This game was a lot of fun. Hearing the marines ("I DON'T WANNA DIE!"), playing the old school platformer inspired VidComics, hearing the quirky Dr Nefarious, Annihilation Nation, using the awesome RY3NO weapon, seeing your bolt multiplier hit x20 in New Game Plus, seeing bolts fly everywhere, Ratchet & Clank 3: Up Your Arsenal is lots of fun and doesn't take itself too seriously.

 

The series has a good sense of humor and here in Ratchet & Clank 3 they don't disappoint. As mentioned, the marines are funny and hearing Dr Nefarious is amusing, especially when he malfunctions when he gets too angry.

 

Insomniac Games was at the top of their game when they were making Ratchet & Clank 3. Loads of fun and highly recommended for platformer fans.

 

Please, re-release Ratchet & Clank: Tools of Destruction with trophy support. You will make me a very happy man.

Edited May 14, 2021 by AJ_Radio

[ImMagnetz]

The Shadow Warrior games are a tonne of fun but I hear the platinums are quite difficult, especially for the first game, due to having to beat the game on the highest difficulty setting.

[AJ_Radio]

12 minutes ago, ImMagnetz said:

The Shadow Warrior games are a tonne of fun but I hear the platinums are quite difficult, especially for the first game, due to having to beat the game on the highest difficulty setting.

 

I haven't gotten to those games yet, I don't even have them on my backlog. Maybe someday. They look like loads of fun. Plenty of gore and destruction to be had.

Edited May 14, 2021 by AJ_Radio

[ImMagnetz]

3 minutes ago, AJ_Radio said:

 

I haven't gotten to those games yet, I don't even have them on my backlog. Maybe someday. They look like loads of fun. Plenty of gore and destruction to be had.

 

Ahh yeah, I was just looking at your wishlist.

[AJ_Radio]

100% Game #13: Duke Nukem 3D: Megaton Edition

 

 

Difficulty: 3/10

Excitement Rating: 9/10

 

This was a game that meant a lot to me in my childhood. Before you guys start asking questions, yes I was too young to play this and yes, I saw virtual titties when I was barely 10 years old. These kinds of games helped cement ESRB as an organization that rated video games prior to release. Violence, gore, nudity, vulgarity, Duke Nukem wouldn't be the same without them.

 

I had to pay for this game thru the Hong Kong PSN store which meant I had to purchase PSN money for use on a Hong Kong account. Play Asia was a good place for me to buy PSN money.

 

Once that was done I had to insert a new memory card and wipe out data on the PS Vita by allowing access for my Hong Kong account. Using homebrew software was just far too risky so I opted to do it in this fashion. Reason being? So I could self boost the online trophies, which were easy and straightforward. With limited access to this game as is already, it was going to be hectic to find any boosting partner for the online.

The rest of the trophies are very straightforward. A couple random trophies, finding a bunch of secret areas, and beating each episode on any difficulty. It was a whole lot of fun to go back to this after I did the 20th Anniversary World Tour on the PS4.

 

It's just too bad one guy holds the copyright to the old Duke Nukem titles and refuses to give it up.

 

100% Game #14: Not a Hero

 

 

Difficulty: 6/10

Excitement Rating: 8/10

 

Not a Hero is a short indie game that was developed by Roll7, the same guys who made the OlliOlli games.

 

This is basically a cover based 2-D shooter in a pixelated art style. You are tasked with helping the BunnyLord, a anthropomorphic purple bunny (the purple character in the business suit on the cover) trying to be elected as mayor. Every level has a series of objectives you must fulfill to increase the BunnyLord's chances of being mayor.

 

There are several characters you can play each with their own style. As you progress more characters become unlocked. The various objectives and levels will take you to various locations.

 

Not the best indie I've played on the PS4 but a fairly decent one that offers a bit of challenge. Devolver Digital was responsible for publishing the game, who are generally good at picking up decent little indie games.

[Copanele]

Stopping by to say that I enjoyed reading your recent updates been a while since you added games here! 

 

That Surgeon Simulator tho... Damn that looks like a tough cookie. I like painful games myself but that one is in a league of its own. 

[AJ_Radio]

4 minutes ago, Copanele said:

Stopping by to say that I enjoyed reading your recent updates been a while since you added games here! 

 

That Surgeon Simulator tho... Damn that looks like a tough cookie. I like painful games myself but that one is in a league of its own. 

Appreciate the compliment. 
 

Surgeon Simulator was hell to A++ all those surgeries. Makes me wonder if I’m going to do I Am Bread which is even harder. Going to take some real serious skill and commitment to get that one finished.

[ShadyWARcotix]

37 minutes ago, AJ_Radio said:

Appreciate the compliment. 
 

Surgeon Simulator was hell to A++ all those surgeries. Makes me wonder if I’m going to do I Am Bread which is even harder. Going to take some real serious skill and commitment to get that one finished.

 

There is a "flying" glitch which makes this game easier but I heard it's still hard. Respect for Surgeon Simulator.  I must say I love your passion and love to video games.  It's always interesting to read your posts or comments on different topics/games.

Edited May 16, 2021 by ShadyWARcotix

[AJ_Radio]

2 hours ago, ShadyWARcotix said:

 

There is a "flying" glitch which makes this game easier but I heard it's still hard. Respect for Surgeon Simulator.  I must say I love your passion and love to video games.  It's always interesting to read your posts or comments on different topics/games.

 

Ahh I found @Bushido_Cypher's guide to I Am Bread. Still going to be a bitch.

 

Thanks. I try to be passionate about games.

[AJ_Radio]

Platinum #261: Super Time Force Ultra (November 23rd, 2020)

 

 

Difficulty: 5/10

Excitement Rating: 8.5/10

Estimated Time to Platinum: 10 - 12 Hours

 

Hardest Trophy: Decked Out ( Complete all HellaDeck Levels )

 

Here is a bit of an indie gem. Super Time Force Ultra, a nostalgia, retro style platformer/shooter that tries to be a little like Contra, only a little more chaotic.

 

The story doesn't really matter, but it's essentially someone trying to time travel.

 

The gimmick for this game is the ability for players to 'rewind themselves'. What this means is whenever a character dies, they can use the 'Time Out' mechanic, which is going back to an area where the character was alive, and then be able to go back into the action. What makes this cool and awesome is whenever this happens, a ghost version of the character is still put into play, meaning instead of just one character, there are essentially two of the same character joining in on the action. This quickly multiplies and leads to some very interesting results. Furthermore, it makes some boss fights almost trivial.

 

There are essentially over a dozen characters, many of which have to be unlocked in their respective locations. Going back in time to the Prehistoric Timezone has dinosaurs, and obviously, there is a dinosaur character you can unlock and add to your arsenal. Even Shuhei Yoshida, the former president of the now nonexistent Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios is a playable character. Like with Kratos being a character in Shovel Knight, I always appreciate exclusive characters being playable on a third party game that are only exclusive to a particular system. If you play the Steam version, there are characters exclusive to that version as well.

 

You will die a lot but with the amount of opportunity there is for the 'Time Out' mechanic this game, at least with the main story,  isn't that hard at all. What is a little hard and frustrating are the HellaDeck levels. These are basically puzzles that I assume take place in a simulation, but they are challenge rooms where you must collect what are called glorbs (this games collectible) before the timer runs out. You have only a limited amount of 'Time Outs', and each level is unique which requires a different strategy. They start off easy, but as you continue on they will get more difficult and cumbersome. Many levels have one character available which utilize their unique special abilities. A few have two or three characters and all must be utilized in order to beat the levels. Many I figured out all by myself, but a few had me stumped to where I had to look up YouTube guides to figure out how to pass a particular section.

 

This was a lot of fun. I did not know about this game until early last year and for what it's worth, it's a good game worth playing for anybody that enjoys retro style games. Nothing was too hard, going through the story was enjoyable, both on Normal and on Super Hardcore Mode (which isn't that bad honestly).

 

Definitely recommended.

[DrBloodmoney]

1 hour ago, AJ_Radio said:

Platinum #261: Super Time Force Ultra (November 23rd, 2020)

 

 

Difficulty: 5/10

Excitement Rating: 8.5/10

Estimated Time to Platinum: 10 - 12 Hours

 

Hardest Trophy: Decked Out ( Complete all HellaDeck Levels )

 

Here is a bit of an indie gem. Super Time Force Ultra, a nostalgia, retro style platformer/shooter that tries to be a little like Contra, only a little more chaotic.

 

The story doesn't really matter, but it's essentially someone trying to time travel.

 

The gimmick for this game is the ability for players to 'rewind themselves'. What this means is whenever a character dies, they can use the 'Time Out' mechanic, which is going back to an area where the character was alive, and then be able to go back into the action. What makes this cool and awesome is whenever this happens, a ghost version of the character is still put into play, meaning instead of just one character, there are essentially two of the same character joining in on the action. This quickly multiplies and leads to some very interesting results. Furthermore, it makes some boss fights almost trivial.

 

There are essentially over a dozen characters, many of which have to be unlocked in their respective locations. Going back in time to the Prehistoric Timezone has dinosaurs, and obviously, there is a dinosaur character you can unlock and add to your arsenal. Even Shuhei Yoshida, the former president of the now nonexistent Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios is a playable character. Like with Kratos being a character in Shovel Knight, I always appreciate exclusive characters being playable on a third party game that are only exclusive to a particular system. If you play the Steam version, there are characters exclusive to that version as well.

 

You will die a lot but with the amount of opportunity there is for the 'Time Out' mechanic this game, at least with the main story,  isn't that hard at all. What is a little hard and frustrating are the HellaDeck levels. These are basically puzzles that I assume take place in a simulation, but they are challenge rooms where you must collect what are called glorbs (this games collectible) before the timer runs out. You have only a limited amount of 'Time Outs', and each level is unique which requires a different strategy. They start off easy, but as you continue on they will get more difficult and cumbersome. Many levels have one character available which utilize their unique special abilities. A few have two or three characters and all must be utilized in order to beat the levels. Many I figured out all by myself, but a few had me stumped to where I had to look up YouTube guides to figure out how to pass a particular section.

 

This was a lot of fun. I did not know about this game until early last year and for what it's worth, it's a good game worth playing for anybody that enjoys retro style games. Nothing was too hard, going through the story was enjoyable, both on Normal and on Super Hardcore Mode (which isn't that bad honestly).

 

Definitely recommended.

great game - cool gimmick and used really well in the challenge rooms - also runs well on vita, incase anyone is thinking about playing it there ?

[AJ_Radio]

2 minutes ago, DrBloodmoney said:

great game - cool gimmick and used really well in the challenge rooms - also runs well on vita, incase anyone is thinking about playing it there

 

Yes, I tested this on the Vita and it runs pretty well.

[AJ_Radio]

Platinum #262: Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing (November 30th, 2020)

 

 

Difficulty: 5/10

Excitement Rating: 6/10

Estimated Time to Platinum: 12 - 15 Hours

 

Hardest Trophy:  Top of the Class ( Score AAA on every mission )

 

I haven't mentioned it much, but Sonic the Hedgehog WAS my childhood. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 was one of the first games that seriously got me into gaming. A lively cartoonish hedgehog and his fox friend with fast paced levels. Sonic was ultimately the ideal competitor for Mario. A lengthy history of bad moves lead to SEGA's ultimate demise and would forever drop out of the console race.

 

Ever since the ill fated Sonic 2006 game, Sonic himself has gotten mostly a mixture of fairly okay to fairly bad games. Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing in many respects feels like a cheap Mario Kart. The controls aren't up to code and this game, despite being released in 2010, has not aged well. I never played this on Xbox or anywhere else prior to late last year, maybe my opinion would of been better had I played this on release. But in my opinion, this is merely an okay game at best.

 

If you guys ever played any Mario Kart game, Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing is basically the same thing, just not as good. This has most of SEGA's longtime mascots, ranging from Alex Kidd to Knuckles to Big the Cat. As is custom with Mario Kart, this game has your standard racing and standard tracks, with weapons and abilities to give you an edge in the race. There is boosting, drifting, all the standard stuff in a racing game.

 

You got your Time Trials and Grand Prix Cup. What helps set this apart are the missions. These are basically objectives that you can complete. Depending on your time and score, you can earn a AAA if you put in the practice. There are 64 missions which in itself is a grind. Nothing was too hard except for Mission 42 and Mission 64. In the former, you control the Bonanza Bros and your objective is to pass a series of rings. In the latter, you play as Sonic where you must take down a giant robot. Due to the stiff controls and not so great handling, it took me well over two hours to finish both.

 

Not a whole lot else I can say. It's just an okay SEGA game, not terrible, but not good. This is however the easier of the three Sonic racing games. I started Sonic & All-Stars Racing Tranformed a while ago but haven't finished it. I don't even have Team Sonic Racing, so that will be something I will pick up in the future.

 

Do I recommend this game? Only if you are a serious Sonic fan and you want to finish the series. Otherwise skip this one, there are better racing games out there for you to play.