AJ_Radio's Disappointing Backlog and Wishlist

[AJ_Radio]

Shao Kahn and Shang Tsung were tough, but a bit of perseverance allowed me to conquer the Mortal Kombat Arcade Kollection.

 

100 % Game # 3: Mortal Kombat Arcade Kollection

 

 

Difficulty: 5/10

Excitement Rating: 7/10

 

It was fun to play these old Mortal Kombat games again. Mortal Kombat II along with Street Fighter II were my first fighting games growing up as a kid in the 1990s. Had many memories of picking Liu Kang and watching him inflict blood on his opponents, even though I will fully admit that these games were a bit inappropriate given how young I was.

 

Reaching Shang Tsung and Shao Kahn respectively is not easy. These games are incredibly cheap, the AI predicts your every move once you reach the 5th or 6th opponent. Mortal Kombat II was by far the hardest to finish. Kintaro was so cheap he literally cheats to gain an edge. He will grab Liu Kang during the middle of his high kick special attack and use his throws. In many respects, these games have not aged well when it comes to game mechanics. I consider the old Super Mario World and Mario Kart games to have aged like fine wine, the gameplay holds up incredibly well and their appeal has lasted for generations. These Mortal Kombat games, in contrast, are mostly for the old veterans and older gamers who grew up with them. The first Mortal Kombat in particular has aged poorly, the visuals and the sound effects are horrifically bad.

 

Still, I had fun. This collection served as a nostalgia trip to a time when actual multiplayer was basically nonexistent, and us kids were playing our hearts out on our Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis, begging our parents to drive us to Blockbuster so we can rent the next game we were interested in. Sometimes I wish we could get those days back.

Edited April 9, 2020 by Spaz

[scemopagliaccioh]

Spaz  I noticed only now that you got  the platinum in Super Meat Boy, I've been reading your posts regarding this hellish game from time to time, and I gotta say, your success is very inspiring, might even tempt me to buy said game and try it.

[AJ_Radio]

A lot of miles were racked up, and Driveclub and Driveclub Bikes were both clocked in as completed.

 

Platinums #226 - #227: Driveclub & Driveclub Bikes (March 22nd - March 24th, 2020)

 

 

 

Difficulty: 4/10 (base game) 6 - 7/10 (DLC)

Excitement Rating: 8.5/10

Estimated Time to Platinum: 50+ Hours (Driveclub) 20 - 30 Hours (Driveclub Bikes)

 

Hardest Trophies:   Credit Where It's Due (Reach Level 6 with one of each Gameplay, Game Mode, Vehicle and Event Accolades)

I'll Save That For Later (Save a Multiplayer Replay at the end of a Race after finishing on the podium with 6 or more competitors)

 

A fond farewell to a solid racing game on the PS4. Technically Driveclub and Driveclub Bikes are the same game, which is why I included both.

 

Nothing in the base game in either is too difficult. While I heard of a couple events (namely Venom Hot Lap 1) being pretty difficult, they are not needed for the platinum. Driveclub does have an annoying grindy trophy that took me a couple weeks to get on it's own. Driveclub Bikes had the annoying multiplayer trophy for finishing in the top three with at least six or more players. I got all the online done a good three to four weeks before the servers shut on March 31st.

 

A shame I couldn't get to Driveclub VR, but since I do not have a VR I didn't have a choice.

 

Driveclub will always stick out to me as having the most trophies and for having the most trophy points. Quite an accomplishment considering Evolution Studios was told to put any additional DLC onto Bikes, since there is a limit to how many trophies a game (stack) can have.

 

Didn't like Driveclub much at first but I grew to really enjoy it. Hopefully in the future I will pick out other racing games that are worthwhile, maybe I'll dabble in one or two Gran Turismo and Need for Speed games.

 

====

 

Beat em ups ruled in their heyday with the Capcom Beat'Em Up Bundle.

 

100 % Game # 4: Capcom Beat Em Up Bundle

 

 

Difficulty: 2/10

Excitement Rating: 9/10

 

This was another old school, nostalgia filled collection that I decided to get. I will just say that I am a real sucker for old classics from the mid - late 1980s to the late 1990s.

 

The collection here contains beat em ups from the late 80s to the late 90s. I had a old arcade center at my local shopping mall back in the late 1990s to early 2000s, with House of the Dead being one of the featured games. I was lucky enough to be able to play a few games from this collection, although they were already showing their age. I've only been able to play Final Fight and Knights of the Round on a Super Nintendo that my cousin had. Some of these games were never ported past the arcades, so this was a real treat.

 

The only trophy that poses any difficulty is the one online trophy, and even then you just have to start up the arcade games with a partner then quit out. Nothing is hard because while these arcade games were meant to be challenging, you can use infinite continues which trivialize them. 

 

Regardless, this collection was a lot of fun. It's definitely too bad the Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection has some tough and annoying trophies, because that would be another nice Capcom collection to add to my list.

Edited April 17, 2020 by Spaz

[AJ_Radio]

Haven't posted here in over 30 days. Slowing down on trophy hunting and not working up the motivation to update this thread until just now. Been busy with stuff outside in the real world.

 

Anyway, I think it's time I got up to speed and posted my progress over the last two months.

 

Platinum #228: The Messenger (April 3rd, 2020)

 

 

Difficulty: 5/10

Excitement Rating: 8/10

Estimated Time to Platinum: 14 - 15 Hours

 

Hardest Trophy:   I Swear It's My First Time ( Make it through Dark Cave without the 'Power of True Sight' )

 

An enjoyable little Metroidvania and 8-bit inspired 2-D platformer.

 

For retro gamers who remember the Ninja Gaiden games on the NES, The Messenger draws a huge inspiration from them. This however is much more fair and enjoyable... with actual working game mechanics and good controls.

 

Not a whole lot for to say other than this game is pretty much standard fare for Metroidvanias. Good music to boot.

 

The trophy for making it through the Dark Cave without any light was a pile of bullshit. Had to watch a YouTube video from start to finish, then die about 50 - 100 times to get the memorization of the platforms. Not fun.

 

The Messenger has some good humor and pretty fun bosses, so I definitely recommend this for Metroidvania lovers.

 

===

 

A young man is tasked with finding missing inhabitants of a small mining town, then delves into the Chasm.

 

Platinum #229: Chasm (April 7th, 2020)

 

 

Difficulty: 4/10

Excitement Rating: 6/10

Estimated Time to Platinum: 10 - 12 Hours

 

Hardest Trophy:   Guildean Knight ( Complete the game on Hard difficulty )

 

Another Metroidvania that I decided to buy and finish. Didn't find this one quite as good as The Messenger.

 

There are seeds you can assign so the experience is different with rooms and areas being in different places. To save myself from possible frustration I just copied the same seed from my first playthrough onto my next two playthroughs (Hard and Easy/Mortal).

 

Didn't find Chasm to be all that great honestly. It has some okay music and some of the backgrounds in this 16-bit inspired game are nice. The developers tried making the playable character look like he belongs in a JRPG, which I found a little amusing.

 

A standard style Metroidvania. Not as memorable as The Messenger. It's just alright.

Edited May 26, 2020 by Spaz

[AJ_Radio]

Will be adding all my progress from the last three months in the next few days on this thread.

[AJ_Radio]

Made a couple changes to the opening post. Games that already have trophies I earned from my backlog list will have higher priority, and I plan to do it all by the end of this year.

 

Will be adding my quick reviews for the last dozen or so platinums I've earned in the past three months very soon.

[AJ_Radio]

Really been slacking with my thread these past few months.... might as well play some catch up.

 

Platinum #230: Horizon Zero Chase (April 15th, 2020)

 

 

Difficulty: 4/10

Excitement Rating: 7/10

Estimated Time to Platinum: 12 -15 Hours

 

Hardest Trophy:   Look Mom, No Hands! ( Finish Endurance 109 with gold )

 

Played this gem of a game a few months ago.

 

On rails racers are pretty much a thing of the past. F Zero was a game on the Super Nintendo that I played in my early youth, but I was never very good at it so I didn't progress much. SEGA also made an on rails racing game that I believe you can play in Yakuza 0.

 

I give credit for the developers for making a game that takes from a dead genre. The graphics are modern era but give off a sort of look that suggests a bit of nostalgia. Gameplay isn't too difficult as you can make comebacks and you're basically always on the race track.

 

Trophy list is alright.... but the trophy for doing 109 Endurance Races is a bunch of shit. You basically have to do all 109 races in succession, you cannot quit back to the main menu nor reach below 4th place at the end of a race as that will send you back to the beginning. Doing all the races will take a number of hours, so I basically relied on USB/Cloud saving whenever I fell under fourth place.

 

Not that hard of a game, and a bit enjoyable.

 

Platinum #231: Atari Flashback Classics Volume 1 (April 15th, 2020)

 

 

Difficulty: 7/10 (with USB exploit)

Excitement Rating: 5/10

Estimated Time to Platinum: 10 - 12 Hours

 

Hardest Trophy:   Digging Deep

( Finish Level 81 or above in arcade Tempest without losing a life in the level )

 

A collection of old Atari games with a rather infuriating trophy list.

 

In recent times there seems to be a resurgence of old video games ported over to modern systems with trophy/achievement support. Atari Flashback Classics Volume 1 is only part of a collection, as there are two other volumes that follow.

 

Compared to Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection, Sega Mega Drive & Genesis Classics and Midway Arcade Origins, Atari Flashback Classics Volume 1 is a difficult and infuriating platinum to go for. You got your arcade games and console games to play just like the other collections I mentioned, but the trophy requirements here are a big step above what they offered.

 

Given how old these games are, and the fact that these Atari titles were before my time, I really struggled getting some of these trophies. Ones like Space Jockey, For All Insectkind!, We Don't Need No Fortification and Digging Deep are no small task, as there is not only a good amount of skill required but also a fair amount of luck. The arcade game Warlords required a great deal of concentration and luck, as the AI is incredibly unpredictable. The games Yars Revenge and Tempest are absolutely brutal at later levels. There is so much crap going on in level 81 in Tempest I had to use USB/Cloud saving at least a few dozen times before I was finally able to beat it.

 

Due to my troubles, I don't know if I will ever get Atari Flashback Classics Volume 2. That is even more difficult and infuriating. Many Atari games have aged very poorly, and the controls were absolutely terrible mostly because you just had a control stick and one button. Nintendo starting with the NES was when video games really started in my opinion. Anything before that is too archaic for me, as I find a number of games not fun at all and just frustrating to even beat a level or two.

 

With a lot of dedication and perseverance, this platinum trophy is doable. Don't expect it to be easy. Without saving exploits, I probably would of given up on the platinum.

Edited August 6, 2020 by Spaz

[AJ_Radio]

HOLY TOLEDO BATMAN! Three months without an update?!

 

Yes, I have been slacking off on my thread. Sort of fell into a depression, wasn't in the mood to update my thread regularly.

 

I will be adding EVERYTHING that has been added to my backlog in the past two years on my list. Wishlist has been updated. Dropped and Added one game to the Dropped Games pile. Got six months worth of games to talk about, so bare with me....

 

100 % Game # 5: Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon

 

 

 

Difficulty: 2/10

Excitement Rating: 8/10

 

Short, enjoyable and fun. Borrows heavily from 1980s pop culture. Trophies were simple and to the point. After a certain weapon, the game becomes a complete joke difficulty wise. The dragons were the hardest enemy in the game, and even then they weren't bad at all.

 

Story was rather forgettable. Definitely the Far Cry game that most people overlook in the franchise. It is worth the money spent.

 

 

Platinum #232: Tearaway (April 21st, 2020)

 

 

Difficulty: 3/10

Excitement Rating: 8/10

Estimated Time to Platinum: 10 - 12 Hours

 

Hardest Trophy:   Grand Tear ( Finish the Tear without losing your Stamp )

 

One of the few games for the PS Vita that literally uses every feature of the handheld to great execution.

 

The story is amusing and laid back. Must of the game is using your fingers for the touchscreen to do various tasks, such as dispatching scraps, opening a path, and guiding your little friend to his destination.

 

In many fashions, I prefer this game over LittleBigPlanet, a series that I will probably never delve into. The characters are amusing and nothing is too difficult. The main difficulty here are the collectibles, some of which are very easy to miss so a YouTube guide is pretty much in order. Some of the trophies can be a little annoying but once again, nothing is too hard.

 

A good game that more people should play.

 

Platinum #233: Assassin's Creed III (April 26th, 2020)

 

 

Difficulty: 6/10

Excitement Rating: 4/10

Estimated Time to Platinum: 45 - 50+ Hours

 

Hardest Trophy:   Completionist ( Complete ALL progress tracker grid entries. )

 

Boring, tedious, time consuming and frustrating.

 

For trophies, this is the most aggravating game in the Assassin's Creed series to platinum. The game sets a bad example at the start, as you don't even play the main protagonist until Sequence 4. Haythem Kenway begins as a protagonist, but later turns into one of the main antagonists as him and Connor argue over the difference of their ways.

 

There is much at stake here as Ubisoft went to cover one of the most interesting and revolutionary time periods in human history. So much of the story doesn't make any sense. I basically concluded that both the British and the American Patriots were Connor's enemies, as he eventually becomes a lone wolf in his quest to preserve the Homestead and save his native lands from being overtaken by foreign Europeans.

 

This was the final game to feature Desmond Miles, and the ending was gloriously fucked up by Ubisoft. There was so much great potential as the game basically signifies the year 2012 as the end of the world. There was a buildup leading up to the very end, and then..... nothing. Desmond dies on a whimper and the rest of the supporting cast in the present day storyline quickly become an afterthought. It was a terrible design decision that Ubisoft never truly fixed, and Layla Hassan in the newer games is perhaps the closest comparison to what used to be in the Assassin's Creed franchise.

 

While I can forgive the countless faults in the story in BOTH the present and historical storylines, I cannot easily forgive the ludicrous trophy requirements. You literally, and I mean literally, have to do basically everything for the Completionist trophy. This may not sound bad for seasoned Assassin's Creed fans, but Ubisoft did this in one of the worst ways possible.

 

The Completionist trophy basically screams mind numbing repetition. You have to do every main story mission in the game and get 100 percent sync in ALL of them. Assassin's Creed III has perhaps the most infuriating and poorly executed 100 percent sync requirements. I don't think it was a matter of how the real ancestor did them, but rather how much Ubisoft can piss off people with how stupid some of the requirements are. In one mission you have to assassinate Hickey as he tries to kill off Washington. Doing it normally isn't a problem, but the 100 percent sync requirements make this mission a fucking travesty. I must of spent 50+ attempts trying to get 100 percent sync in this mission, as it was so frustrating I asked myself why am I bothering to do this.

 

There are other tasks required for the platinum like recording at least three activities for every notable NPC in the Homestead. You have to craft a bunch of items using a horribly executed and convoluted interface. You have to essentially purchase goods from your NPCs at the Homestead, and it was basically padding. There are Underground Entrances you must discover in both Boston and New York, this may not sound too bad on paper but the underground is literally a fucking maze. There are dead ends, and there are some sections locked behind a door that you must then use some puzzle solving to get past. There are puzzles at the end that will uncover an underground entrance. Completely infuriating and pointless, since I NEVER used any underground entrance in either Boston or New York, I just fast travel to the vantage points I already uncovered out in the open.

 

Then there's stuff like the challenges, one of which is to uncover territory in the Frontier which you then have to "lawnmower" because Ubisoft was too damn lazy to add more vantage points that would uncover unexplored territory in a given area. There are chest collectibles, almanac pages that run away from you when you try to collect them, having to win a game of Nine Men's Morris and Fanorora which literally required me to look up an internet guide and basically 'cheat' to have a winning chance. There are naval missions, which also present their own 100 percent sync requirements which are just as infuriating as the main story mission sync requirements. So on and so forth.

 

Trophy wise, this is the WORST game in the series. Assassin's Creed Brotherhood I hear is worse, but I will not be bothering with the online trophies in the original PS3 version. Assassin's Creed Unity for all its faults is an easier game to finish. Assassin's Creed III has one of the worst protagonists in my opinion. Edward Kenway and Shay Cormac from Black Flag and Rogue respectively are multitudes better than Connor.

 

So much that could of been, but Ubisoft wasted that potential. 

Edited October 29, 2020 by Spaz

[AJ_Radio]

Platinum #234: Spyro the Dragon (May 12th, 2020)

 

 

Difficulty: 2/10

Excitement Rating: 8.5/10

Estimated Time to Platinum: 7 - 10 Hours

 

Hardest Trophy:  

 

I'm going to be honest, I never played the Spyro games as a kid. Growing up in the 1990s, I had a Sega Genesis and later Nintendo 64, with the N64 being a childhood favorite. Sunk countless hours into Super Mario 64, Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and Goldeneye: 007, among other games. But never had a chance to play PS1 with good old Crash or Spyro.

 

For the first game in the remake trilogy, it does a very good job in giving the player a decent presentation. Colors are bright and colorful, the world of Spyro is cheery and doesn't take itself too seriously. There is plenty of humor here. I feel that much of the banter and Pixar/Dreamworks esque humor found in Ratchet & Clank can be traced back to the Spyro games. Insomniac got their start with Spyro, much as Naughty Dog got their start with Crash Bandicoot.

 

There are gems to collect and other things to grab. Spyro shares many similarities with Crash Bandicoot, but the difficulty difference is literally night and day. Whereas Crash has basically challenged the players in basically all the games that have trophies, Spyro in contrast offers a nice, relaxed adventure. There was nothing hard for me in this game, even the flying levels which many people regard as being annoying weren't bad at all.

 

Like with Crash, Spyro was published by scummy Activision. However, those looking for a good adventure with lite platforming can't go wrong with Spyro. Fun, easy and enjoyable.

 

 

100 % Game # 6: Pumped BMX+

 

 

Difficulty: 7/10

Excitement Rating: 6/10

 

Initially something that was on web browsers many years back, this game has somehow made it to PSN, and with that a rather challenging trophy list.

 

There are 15 easy bronze trophies easily knocked out in under a hour. Then there's the one trophy to rule them all: The Catfish Challenge. Essentially you have to play through several levels, with various levels of difficulty. You have to do every single challenge offered in the game on all levels on all difficulties.

 

This is not easy, as it took me perhaps 10 - 12 hours to knock every one of them out. A few challenges had me stumped to the point where I look up YouTube, and even then this game is obscure enough to where there's not all that much for help.

 

Frustrating at times, as all hard games are on occasion, but this game is one that ended up just being okay at the end. Not bad, but not all that good either. If anything, the 16 ultra rare trophies make this game an ideal choice for ultra rare trophy hunters.

 

 

Platinum #235: Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage (May 20th, 2020)

 

 

Difficulty: 3/10

Excitement Rating: 8.5/10

Estimated Time to Platinum: 10 - 12 Hours

 

Hardest Trophy:  

 

The sequel to the acclaimed Spryo the Dragon in the Spyro Re-Ignited Trilogy.

 

This is basically much of the same as the first game. I found the second game to be my favorite in the franchise. The trophies were a little harder this time around, but there was nothing particularly difficult. Ripto was a much more memorable antagonist than the guy in the first game.

 

When it worked well the first time around, why not deliver it with the second?

 

100 % Game # 7: OlliOlli

 

 

Difficulty: 8.5/10

Excitement Rating: 4/10

 

A particularly frustrating and annoying skateboard game to finish.

 

There is a very steep learning curve in this game. Tricks must be pulled off using the left control stick on your controller. A simple push down on the stick will give you a basic slip, but more complicated and rewarding moves require more movement. To do the move 'Impossible', you must push the stick right, then rotate counter clockwise until you are pushing down, then let go. This must be done quickly. While it may not be as punishing as pulling off combos in Street Fighter, OlliOlli still demands good timing and skill from the player.

 

There are challenges related to scoring a certain number of points, finding collectibles and specific goals such as not grinding for the entire level. Not only do you need to pull off good tricks, you need to pull off good landings, which is hitting the X button before your skater lands on the ground. Poor timing will result in a Sloppy rating for any trick, which means a severe loss of points. There are OK, Sick and Perfect ratings for landing tricks. A Perfect means you must press the X button JUST BEFORE you land, a split second earlier means you will get a Sick rating, which reduces the points you get for doing tricks.

 

Grinding rails works much the same, only you hold the left control stick as your grinding. Getting Perfect works in the same fashion as landing normal tricks, except you hold the control stick to do a particular grind move just before you hit the railing.

 

All this to say, there are quick tutorials in this game to help you get started. But the game doesn't hold your hand at all. You start off doing the Amateur levels, which are hard enough on their own, particularly the final area of the game. If you do all the challenges for a particular level on Amateur, you will unlock Pro, which are levels that have far more difficult challenges. Then, once you finish all the Pro challenges, you will unlock RAD Mode.

 

In RAD Mode you don't need to pull crazy tricks or crazy grinds, but every trick and grind must be PERFECT. You must get a perfect rating for every single trick and grind in the entire level. If your timing is just slightly off, your skater will fall off the skateboard and you must try again. I cannot stress how difficult this sounds, and in the first OlliOlli, RAD Mode can be brutal due to the amount of wide gaps and obstacles in the levels.

 

OlliOlli2 in contrast is a much more polished game, more fun, and more fair for the player. The first OlliOlli looks as if it was taken straight out of a Flash game on a website, which wouldn't surprise me honestly. The first game just isn't all that fun, and if I were to recommend one of them I would definitely pick the second OlliOlli game. The first game has too many flaws for it to be all that enjoyable.

 

Platinum #236: Spyro 3: Year of the Dragon (May 29th, 2020)

 

 

Difficulty: 3/10

Excitement Rating: 7/10

Estimated Time to Platinum: 10 - 12 Hours

 

Hardest Trophy:  

 

The third and final game in the Spyro Re-Ignited Trilogy on the PS4.

 

I did not enjoy this game as much as the first two. It definitely didn't feel as polished, which I've noticed as I was playing through the game and finding all the collectibles. This time, the game features other characters for you to play. You play a kangaroo, a little bird, a monkey and a yeti.

 

Moneybags is here like in the first two games. Exacting revenge on him at the end of the third game was amusing.

 

I was worried about some trophies potentially being glitched, but thankfully nothing glitched for me on my platinum journey. Spyro 3 is enjoyable, however due to personal preference I prefer the second game.

 

Hopefully like with Crash Bandicoot, the developers will be working on a new, original Spyro game.

Edited November 1, 2020 by Spaz

[Arcesius]

Good to see that you are updating your thread! You got a lot of catch-up to do   

 

But really? Pumped BMX+ is a 8/10 for you? I thought the game was so incredibly dull and simple... Even for the high-scores, I didn't need to learn how to do specific things, you just hold spin, hold flip, do whatever the hell you want with the trick-stick and you get the required points.. 

 

[AJ_Radio]

15 hours ago, Arcesius said:

Good to see that you are updating your thread! You got a lot of catch-up to do   

 

But really? Pumped BMX+ is a 8/10 for you? I thought the game was so incredibly dull and simple... Even for the high-scores, I didn't need to learn how to do specific things, you just hold spin, hold flip, do whatever the hell you want with the trick-stick and you get the required points.. 

 

It’s probably a 6 - 7 out of 10 realistically. Some challenges had me truly stumped until I looked up some YouTube videos. Even then coverage was a bit poor, I guess this was a PS Plus game everyone picked up at some point, then dropped it when they saw it would be a little challenging. 

Be glad you didn’t do OlliOlli, because that is worse.

 

Got a lot more games to cover indeed, but it honestly depends on whether I’m in the mood to talk about them or not. 

Edited November 1, 2020 by Spaz

[Copanele]

10 hours ago, Spaz said:

 

Got a lot more games to cover indeed, but it honestly depends on whether I’m in the mood to talk about them or not. 

Hope you get in the mood because the next ones you have to add are some Assassin's Creeds and Batman Arkham City down the line  those are fan favorites lol

[AJ_Radio]

Time to discuss a bit of Assassin's Creed.

 

100% Game #8: Assassin's Creed: Freedom Cry (PS3)

 

 

Difficulty: 3/10

Excitement Rating: 8/10

 

I never exactly discussed about this standalone other than make a mere mention of it in my Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag review. This game came for free with Assassin's Creed Liberation HD on the PS3, so I figured, why not do it, since I already enjoyed it on the PS4?

 

The game follows the story of Adewale, one time quartermaster of Edward Kenway who is now captain of his own ship and crew. I consider this to be an expansion of sorts rather than an entirely new game. You can do Freedom Cry a total of FOUR TIMES, two by doing the standalone PS3 and PS4 versions, two by getting the DLC as part of the Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag package.

 

Controls and style are pretty much the same. Story wasn't quite as memorable as Black Flag but it was serviceable enough to warrant a playthrough. Easy set of trophies, fairly short to complete, nothing was too hard.

 

Taking over British/Spanish/French ships never gets old.

 

Platinum #239: Assassin's Creed Liberation HD (June 4th, 2020)

 

 

Difficulty: 2/10

Excitement Rating: 5/10

Estimated Time to Platinum: 12 - 15 Hours

 

Hardest Trophy:  

 

A very unremarkable and unmemorable Assassin's Creed game.

 

Storywise, this is the worst Assassin's Creed game I have played in the franchise. The story with Aveline never really seems to go anywhere other than her trying to find her long lost mother. She is under the care of a stepmother, who isn't as she seems. The story takes her around a fictional New Orleans, then to the swamps (the Bayou), then down to Central America, then back again.

 

Initially this was a PS Vita game, so I guess Ubisoft did give the handheld some love. It was released on the PS3 a couple years later with improved visuals and higher resolution. Then as part of the Assassin's Creed Odyssey season pass deal, both Assassin's Creed III and Assassin's Creed Liberation were offered for free on the PS4 with 1080/4K resolution.

 

Assassin's Creed Liberation HD is just boring. Nothing terrible or even bad, but nothing all that good. Ubisoft made a questionable decision when they gave Aveline, the female Assassin, three different styles that brought different ways to play. The Lady Outfit gives Aveline the ability to charm enemy guards and take them out with her umbrella. She cannot climb anything and is by far the least mobile, but she can easily go incognito. The Thief Outfit allows Aveline to climb and do activities that would be suited to a thief. She is a poor fighter, but she can blend in with the local populace. Finally, the Assassin Outfit gives Aveline the most tools and weapons by far, can climb anything that can be climbed, and is by far the most agile. The real downside is she gets detected much quicker, but the benefits far outweigh the cons.

 

The mission structure is basic, with a number of missions basically being fetch quests that seem to be there for no real reason than to pad the story. Assassin's Creed Liberation HD was made with much lower production values and a much lower budget than what is seen with stuff like Assassin's Creed III and Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, which are true mainline AAA games. But the story just fell flat for me and I stopped caring around halfway through. Most of the missions just aren't anything good, although you do get to do some parkour and Uncharted style climbing in Central America. The 100 percent sync requirements are probably the easiest in the entire series, even easier than what I had to do for the story missions in Assassin's Creed Unity.

 

While I've heard the original Vita version of Assassin's Creed Liberation is more difficult in regards to the story missions, I strongly doubt I will ever play that particular game.

 

I ran into some bugs and glitches, including a notable one in the Bayou where Aveline continues to be in her swimming animation despite being on dry ground. This definitely happened to me a few times while I was tracking the various collectibles. Unfortunately the collectibles don't exactly have a tracker, so I had to consort a visual map online to find them all. Nothing hard, but a bit tedious.

 

All in all, Liberation is just so so. It borders on the edge between utter mediocrity and just being simply okay. I've played worse games and I've played far better games. I suppose if you're a big Assassin's Creed fan and you're willing to play every game in the series, Liberation is an okay choice. However if you just want to experience the best the series has to offer, then stay away from this game. There are much better Assassin's Creed games for you to play and enjoy.

 

Platinum #240: Assassin's Creed Origins (June 18th, 2020)

 

 

Difficulty: 3/10

Excitement Rating: 8/10

Estimated Time to Platinum: 58 - 60 Hours

 

Hardest Trophy:   Old Habits ( Complete all locations )

 

This was a big one for me. Notably because it was one of the last AAA games where I paid the full $60 plus tax, then left it on a shelf for nearly three years before I finally decided to tackle it.

 

Ubisoft made a huge departure with this title, if we can consider Origins the beginning of the "modern" Assassin Creed games where it truly takes what the PS4/Xbox One is capable of, we are still in that stage with Assassin's Creed Valhalla. It will probably be at least a couple years before Ubisoft will design an Assassin's Creed that was truly made for the PS5/Xbox Series X.

 

You play as Bayek, a Medjay of Egypt who finds himself on a long quest to find the people responsible for the death of his young son. In contrast to the previous Assassin's Creed I played, Origins has a far more fascinating and interesting story. A secretive group called the Order of the Ancients plans to control all of Egypt for itself, with Cleopatra caught in the middle of it. The plot continues to engage the player and we find Bayek facing a series of tough decisions. His childhood friend turned wife Aya also plays a significant part in the story, determined to find who killed her son with just as much eagerness and ferocity as Bayek. A cast of interesting characters and a giant open world make up the storyline in Assassin's Creed Origins.

 

Right off the bat, I noticed that this game is huge. Far bigger than anything Ubisoft did before in the Assassin's Creed series, which is why I consider Origins to be the first game to truly put the power of the PS4/Xbox One to their full potential. It was a marvel to pinpoint and track the Pyramids of Giza as they have stood for thousands of years, only to realize that you'd have to run an absurd amount unless you decided to fast travel. Fast travel is basically a complete necessity in this game, as the world is grand.

 

I must say however, that the side activities and side quests pale in comparison to The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. The Witcher 3 still has the most diversity and best offerings of side content of any open world game I ever played, and Assassin's Creed Origins, while it has a very decent story meant to compel it's audience with a few twists, the side content is pretty uninspired. You basically do a bunch of fetch quests for various NPCs, some more interesting than others, but rarely memorable. Ubisoft definitely took notes from The Witcher 3, from the endless question mark symbols to the various shopkeepers. Not bad ideas, but not made with the best execution.

 

Because this was such a departure, it definitely didn't feel all too 'Assassin's Creed' so to speak. That doesn't really come to fruition until the end of the story, which I won't spoil for anyone reading this who has yet to play the game. But I will give credit to Ubisoft for giving us a cast of characters we can care for, and there is a little character development that puts Assassin's Creed Origins far above Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag and Assassin's Creed Unity, which had okay to so so stories at best.

 

The interface and the such has drastically changed. Origins feels less like a self contained sandbox of the past games and more like a giant playground for you to explore. This is both a good thing and bad thing. Good in that it makes this truly feel more like a world, with endless ships and NPCs all doing their mundane tasks, as they probably did back in the Ancient World. Bad because there is more filler as a result. There are entire sections of map in this game that are just endless desert. Ubisoft made good accuracy in creating their vision of Egypt in ancient times, with deserts, the Sphinx and the Pyramids being the real standouts. But there is much where there is nothing to do. You have to discover each section of map for a trophy, but much of the desert has nothing, so the only purpose for touching a couple sections is to simply unfog them on the map.

 

I found Bayek's companion Senu to be a valuable one. His bird is the best tool in scouting enemy camps, enemy fortresses, hidden tombs, resources to craft new material, etc etc etc. Assassin's Creed Origins also made the big departure in turning the series into more of a Dark Souls style of game, without the difficulty and dumbed down to attract a bigger audience. Bayek can pick up many weapons varying in quality, can craft material to make him more durable in combat, and break down existing tools and weapons for materials. Origins takes pages from both Dark Souls and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and it is very obvious shortly into game. As I said already, Origins marked a giant departure from the formula and style that made Assassin's Creed what it was in the past. There is far more to pick up, far more areas to explore, and far more collectibles than anything the previous games gave us. From Origins forward, the games take a lot longer to complete as a result. 

 

I can't say too much more without going into spoiler territory. I'm not too much of a fan of this game as some people might be, I still prefer the "old" Assassin's Creed games for their simplicity, gameplay and style. Origins is a very solid entry going forward into next gen territory and Ubisoft put a great deal of effort into this game, and it shows. I suppose now I can look forward to Odyssey and Valhalla when I get around to playing that particular game. I hear Odyssey is far bigger and a good bit more time consuming. Despite my mixed opinions on Ubisoft in general and to a smaller extent the Assassin's Creed series, I definitely look forward to seeing what Odyssey gives me, and hopefully it helps build and improve what Origins started.

Edited November 22, 2020 by Spaz

[AJ_Radio]

Platinum #242: OlliOlli2: Welcome to Olliwood (July 7th, 2020)

 

 

Difficulty: 8/10

Excitement Rating: 9/10

Estimated Time to Platinum: 20 - 30 Hours

 

Hardest Trophy:   Certified Professional ( Beat every challenge/Unlock RAD mode )

 

I came close to throwing in the towel in the original OlliOlli. Frustrating game mechanics, sometimes ridiculous challenge requirements, and button inputs not always registering don't always make up a good game. OlliOlli2 is basically the next step up, even more difficult, more challenges and more absurd tricks you need to pull off. Yet this game is much better.

 

The game is much more fluid than in the original. While the first game looks like it came straight off a Flash title you could play on your browser, OlliOlli2 looks that it was made with higher production values.

 

Much of what I said about OlliOlli can be applied to this sequel. There are Amateur levels at the start and upon completing all challenges for a particular level, you will unlock the Pro levels which come with more difficult challenge requirements. When you finally beat every challenge you will unlock RAD mode, which requires you to score a 'Perfect' on every landing, grind and trick throughout the entire level.

 

The soundtrack was better, and towards the end I found myself spending a few hours getting the last few challenges done. The Titan Sky area represents a real difficult spike even on Amateur, if you can finish the challenges here you stand a good chance of finishing the Pro challenges.

 

OlliOlli2 introduces manuals, reverts and revert-manuals, which greatly extend your score combo. Doing these well will require a great deal of practice as this game is a fast paced one that will take good reflexes and good timing on your part to succeed.

 

Not much more I can say about this. OlliOlli and OlliOlli2 are one and the same in many respects, only the sequel is much better. By the time I got around to OlliOlli2 I knew many of the game mechanics from the first OlliOlli so this didn't take nearly as long as it might have otherwise because of prior experience. The daily challenges stopped me from getting a fast timestamp, otherwise I would of earned the platinum in well under five days.

 

If you're looking for a good challenge that isn't too mind numbingly difficult with a sub 1 platinum to boot, OlliOlli2 is a great choice for you. Fun and enjoyable, but only if you're willing to put in the practice.

 

Platinum #241: Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor GOTY Edition (June 27th, 2020)

 

 

Difficulty: 5/10 (DLC)

Excitement Rating: 8/10

Estimated Time to Platinum: 20 - 25 Hours

 

Hardest Trophy:    The Hunt is my Mistress ( Complete all objectives in the Test of the Wild )

 

Although I've earned the platinum for Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor GOTY Edition before OlliOlli2, I am listing these games in order of 100 percent completion, therefore it falls under that game.

 

Middle Earth has gotten a lot of buzz lately, simply because of the server shutdown announcement that WBGames made, which they've also done with Mad Max beforehand. There is one lone online trophy, and if you don't get that trophy before December 31st of this year, you will be locked out of the platinum.

 

I never really discussed this game too much as I've done it once before already in 2016 for the original version. You are Talion, a Ranger at the Black Gate who witnessed his family being murdered in front of him by one of Sauron's servants, the Black Hand. A wraith of the elf lord Celebrimbor bonds with Talion who tries to help avenge the loved ones who were lost. The journey then takes Talion across Mordor, helping unlikely allies and spying on Uruks to gain an edge. His quest is to hunt down and kill the servants of Sauron who were responsible.

 

The game is an open world third person action adventure game, but anyone reading this probably already knows what Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor is because of its recent surge in popularity. This game plays in a very similar fashion to the typical Ubisoft open world. The story is the meat and potatoes, while the side content is the barbecue sauce and gravy respectively. There are several collectibles to be found with some interesting lore, but I found them to be simply no more than fetch quests.

 

What helps this game stand out is the Nemesis system. Uruks represent the main enemy and most common enemy, but there are Captains and Warchiefs who stand head and shoulders above the rest. Each Captain and Warchief is supposed to be unique, there are no two that are alike. They possess various traits that represent strengths and weaknesses. For instance, one Captain might be completely immune to stealth attacks, but he may be vulnerable to monster attacks via Caragors and Graugs, and perhaps may even flee at the sight of one. Some Uruk Captains and Warchiefs are normal melee fighters, others are archers (crossbowmen) who may have a poisonous sting. Instead of having a bunch of generic Uruk, the Captains and Warchiefs that make up the Nemesis system keeps the game engaging and enjoyable.

 

There is a separate screen for the Nemesis system and all kinds of things can happen. Killing a Uruk Captain will show a quick death animation on the screen, and the spot that he once took up now shows him dead. But that isn't permanent, any one Uruk can get promoted to Captain if he happens to kill Talion the Ranger. This keeps things fresh and interesting, with even a little notification that he indeed killed you before you were brought back to the land of the living.

 

You have Feasts, you have Power Struggles, you have several events where Uruks Captains fight one another, but because the Nemesis system is a little complicated to fully explain I will leave a number of details out. Warchiefs fight in the same manner as Captains, however the stark difference is you have to get them to come out. You can track down Captains by just exploring the map and looking in the green area the game has designated, but Warchiefs involve doing an objective beforehand. Not only this, but Warchiefs generally have bodyguards who are Captains, so in many respects, they are not only more difficult to get to, they are also more difficult to defeat.

 

There are four types of Uruks; Fighters, Archers, Defenders and Berserkers. Each type requires a different method to take down. Middle Earth isn't limited to Uruks, there are Caragors, Graugs, Ungol (Spiders) and Ghuls.

 

Graphics are sufficient. Game runs smoothly on the PS4.

 

Overall, the game is fairly easy. There are some trophies that require a great deal of preparation, such as the Level 25 Rune trophy and the trophy for fulfilling all the objectives in the Test of the Wild. The latter trophy is a little difficult, as you are racing against the clock to take down a certain amount of Captains and Warchiefs with some of them branded, which is an ability you can unlock that will allow Talion to guide and control Captains and Warchiefs under his power. There is a skill tree in this game that behaves like other AAA games that have it, you unlock later abilities through experience that allow Talion to become stronger and more powerful. Runes are dropped by Captains and Warchiefs that represent additional powers that you can put in your sword, bow and dagger.

 

All in all, an enjoyable game. I am grateful I have completed both stacks of Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor on the PS4, so I have no concern for the server shutdown. I will definitely look forward to playing Middle Earth: Shadow of War, hoping that it does everything that Shadow of Mordor did well and improves upon the Nemesis system that made the game fun.

 

100% Game #9: Sky Force Anniversary

 

 

Difficulty: 5/10

Excitement Rating: 7/10

 

The rule of thumb I generally set out for myself when trophy hunting is to avoid a lot of shmup (shoot em up) games. I am simply not good at them. With platformers I can take my own time with them unless I have to speedrun for a trophy, so the gameplay for those is usually a bit more static. With shmups, you constantly have to be on the move. I consider stuff like Ikaruga and Raiden IV to be two of the most difficult platinum trophies you can get from PSN. Certainly out of my skill range and ability, and I certainly do not have the patience to try to complete them.

 

Sky Force Anniversary is thankfully rather easy for a shmup. This was a PS Plus game a few years back, and I figured why not pick it up. Because it's an easy shmup didn't mean it would be a walk in the park for me, and it turned out to be far from that.

 

The game plays like many other shmups. You fight against waves of enemies until you reach the boss for a level and you move on to the next level. Sky Force Anniversary is a bit slow paced compared to other shmups I played in the past. I feel this game isn't quite as daunting as Resogun, but some of the challenges that you will need to 100 percent it will take a bit of practice.

 

Sky Force Anniversary is a shmup with old school elements catered to a modern audience. It's a fun little game that can take a bit of time to finish because of the cards you have to collect, which are completely based on RNG. Nothing too easy, nothing too hard, just the right balance for me. In the shmup genre, this game is one of the easier ones.

 

100% Game #10: Broken Sword 5: The Serpent's Curse Episode 1

 

 

Difficulty: 2/10

Excitement Rating: 6/10

 

A basic old school style point and click.

 

I could call this a more modern take on the point and click format that LucasArts made and perfected decades ago. Broken Sword 5 was another game that was listed on PS Plus a few years back, when Sony was still offering up free PS3/Vita games through the service.

 

Not much to say here. Dialogue was a little witty and amusing. The text walkthrough on the PST website offers everything you need for the 100 percent. My main gripe is the fact that the Vita version of this game is split up into two parts, while the PS4 version has both Episode 1 and Episode 2 together with a platinum. This follows the same format that TellTale Games did before they released The Walking Dead.

 

This game isn't the best. Nor the worst. It's pretty okay.

Edited November 18, 2020 by Spaz

[AJ_Radio]

Platinum #243: Monster Jam: Battlegrounds (July 22nd, 2020)

 

 

Difficulty: 2/10

Excitement Rating: 3/10

Estimated Time to Platinum: 4 - 5 Hours

 

Hardest Trophy:  

 

A really easy, mostly forgettable experience.

 

This is yet another PS Plus game I got a few years back that I finally decided to play. The game is essentially reach from point A to point B on a track under a time limit, and do some tricks in an arena.

 

There was barely any replay value, and was done solely for easy trophies. This game has awful production values, sound often cuts out, music was the same one - two songs over and over and over. The announcer sounded more robot like than anything else. Controls were poor, and despite the low budget of this game, I had framerate issues.

 

Very easy to platinum and very short, but those are the only positives I can give for Monster Jam: Battlegrounds. Definitely a skip, there are far better games out there done on a budget that are well worth playing.

 

Platinum #244: Amnesia: Memories (July 27th, 2020)

 

 

Difficulty: 2/10

Excitement Rating: 2/10

Estimated Time to Platinum: 7 - 10 Hours

 

Hardest Trophy:  

 

Absolute garbage. My first experience with a Japanese visual novel done for trophies. It was torture.

 

The story is you are a young girl who has lost her memory. A fairy of sorts comes into your life (that only the girl can see) to try to get you back on your feet. You discover details that you worked at a restaurant, and you had a group of young friends. Your dialogue choices determine the endings.

 

There are several paths to take, but only one is available at the start. As you finish the endings, other paths will open up. Each path presents a different boyfriend for the girl to be acquainted with. Endings vary from good endings, to not so good endings, to bad endings which often come as tragedy. A couple bad endings involve a creep (who is a potential boyfriend you can unlock) tossing the girl into a well, and a boyfriend locking the girl inside a cage like an animal. Disturbing stuff, which I oddly found to be one of the few redeeming factors of Amnesia: Memories.

 

To put this simply, I don't consider visual novels to be really games. Your only interaction is hitting the X button to move to the next piece of dialogue. There is literally tons of dialogue in this game, because that is the genre itself. You simply watch a story unfold, the choices you make throughout these "games" determine the things that will follow afterwards.

 

And in my opinion, that is boring. I want actual gameplay, not reading a virtual book. I can sit and read a long novel, but only if the subject matter interests me. This game however, had nothing that interested me. I just decided to skip dialogue by speeding up the pace from the options menu, then taking notes of every dialogue choice I was supposed to make for the trophies.

 

I fully understand there are people who really love Japanese visual novels. But they are NOT for me at all. I find them boring, mind numbingly tedious, and just an utter chore to even complete, never mind the trophies.

 

I did this so I can knock a game off my backlog of PS Plus titles, as I will never play Amnesia: Memories again.

 

 

Platinum #245: Code: Realize - Guardian of Rebirth (July 29th, 2020)

 

 

Difficulty: 2/10

Excitement Rating: 3/10

Estimated Time to Platinum: 5 - 7 Hours

 

Hardest Trophy:  

 

Another Plus game from the backlog of Vita games, which I now only have two left.

 

In contrast to Amnesia: Memories, Code: Realize is far more interesting as this game (and I assume the series) has a steampunk theme going for it. Characters were a bit more interesting this time, and the story has actual action.

 

Unfortunately, I ultimately found this game almost as boring and as a much of a chore to finish. It isn't quite as long as Amnesia: Memories, you don't have to make as many dialogue choices and skipping dialogue is even faster. The colors are more vibrant and pretty in comparison to the boring, faded out white color aesthetic Amnesia had going.

 

Yeah, I'm sorry, but this type of game and genre isn't for me. Some people here love Code: Realize, but meh, this was a pretty forgettable experience that was just played by me because it was something on my PS Plus backlog.

 

It's done, I finished it, and I won't be playing this again. But if I were to compare between Amnesia: Memories and Code: Realize - Guardian of Rebirth, I'd take Code: Realize in a heartbeat.

Edited November 22, 2020 by Spaz

[AJ_Radio]

Making this comment so my thread goes back to the first page. Going to cover everything I've done since August, then will make some changes to my checklist.

[AJ_Radio]

Definitely been slacking on this thread as of late, going to change my format a bit and make some changes, I'll add some commentary on games I'm planning to do in the near future.

[AJ_Radio]

This is going to be a hell of a time covering every single game I've done since August last summer, but since I'm so far behind the curve with where I'm at right now I figured I better start somewhere...

 

Platinum #246: MLB 15 the Show (August 5th, 2020)

 

 

Difficulty: 5/10

Excitement Rating: 6/10

Estimated Time to Platinum: 12 - 15 Hours

 

Hardest Trophy:  Nope ( Successfully rob a home run. User cannot switch sides during game. )

 

There is a little story in how I got this game. To make it brief, I bought it off of eBay for around $25. Expensive, I know. I wasn't even sure if the voucher code inside would work, since, there was never an actual physical disk with this game. The code according to the voucher expired on 2017, but sometime early last year I inputted the code on the PS Store on my PS Vita and it worked. Got very lucky.

 

Gameplay wise, the PS Vita version of MLB 15 the Show is very barebones. To make way for reduced file size, a number of features were cut out, and the graphics were greatly downsized.

 

This game, like Madden NFL 11, has an entirely offline single player trophy list that hinges on luck. Two trophies that took a long time to get were Sorry Kid, for catching a fly ball in foul territory, and Nope, for successfully robbing a home run.

 

The key to getting most trophies in this game is by using the various sliders. I picked the Boston Red Sox and buffed them up accordingly so I would have a better fighting chance with the trophies. I picked a different team and nerfed most of their players so that their pitchers would throw a slow fastball right down the middle of the plate.

 

Not so much a hard list as it is an annoying one. There is MLB 14 the Show which is even worse, but it's likely I won't bother playing the PS Vita version at this point. Too many games to play.

 

Platinum #247: MLB The Show 18 (August 11th, 2020)

 

 

Difficulty: 4/10

Excitement Rating: 8/10

Estimated Time to Platinum: 15 - 18 Hours

 

Hardest Trophy:  I'm Not Gonna Cry ( In Road To The Show, get called up to the MLB® while in the managers office. )

 

With COVID-19 affecting the majority of the 2020 baseball season and a number of players declining to play that year, I decided to play another baseball game to sort of make up for the lack of games.

 

With a good introduction featuring some of today's best players (Jose Altuve, Aaron Judge, etc), baseball fans were in for a treat.

 

As part of a longtime sports series made exclusively for Sony consoles by SIE San Diego Studio, MLB the Show 18 doesn't do too much that hasn't already been done in past entries. There are several game modes, including Franchise, the acclaimed Road to the Show (where you guide a young player to stardom that you created), a Retro mode that tries to emulate Super Nintendo era gameplay, and so forth. Diamond Dynasty, another acclaimed game mode in The Show series, only has you downloading an item from the Vault, which is the only online based trophy. This already makes this game considerably easier than earlier titles in the series.

 

There wasn't as much adjusting the sliders this time around, which I was glad because they were annoying to deal with in MLB 15 The Show. However there is quite a lot of emphasis on Road to the Show. The trophy for getting called up to the managers office deals mostly on luck, and I ended up having to manually play a good 60 - 80 games into the baseball season as a AAA ballplayer after several attempts to auto play through them. I made a first baseman who got a contract through the New York Mets, another player that was a pitcher was signed with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

 

It is unsure whether I will play another baseball game. I suppose for an extreme discount I will pick up MLB the Show 20, but there is some doubt, as I'm not particularly a fan of actual sports games with trophy lists that have a lot of luck based factors.

 

100% Game #11: Uncharted: Fight For Fortune

 

 

Difficulty: 3/10

Excitement Rating: 5/10

 

This game is now completely unobtainable whether by purchase or actually completing it. Both the servers and the game being available were cut, so if you didn't get the Kitty Got Wet trophy before October 2018, you cannot get all the trophies.

 

For some reason, SIE Bend Studio, long before they developed Days Gone, decided to make a card game after they made Uncharted: Golden Abyss. Golden Abyss, while not the best Uncharted game, was fairly decent for the PS Vita, utilizing good touch motion controls while providing much of the humor and charm of the Uncharted franchise. Uncharted: Fight For Fortune on the other hand lacks any charm and it was an utter chore to get through.

 

After a few games you will get used to how Fight for Fortune plays. This card game is practically 80 percent luck, 20 percent strategy. You pick out a series of cards that are random from three different factions (Heroes, Villains and Mercenaries) and bank Fortune. You get what I consider to be mod cards which enhance the cards you have in play or you can use such cards to attack or even eliminate your opponents cards. Most matches require you to kill your opponent by reducing their health rating to 0, some matches require you to survive a certain number of rounds.

 

With the sheer number of matches in the base game and two DLC packs, it took me a combined 25 - 30 hours to get all the trophies. I don't consider anything in this game exceptionally difficult as it's more luck than anything else. Reaching 5 Star Dillon and beating out Tenzig and Salim in Uncharted 2 and Uncharted 3 DLC packs respectively were the toughest opponents. This kind of game isn't my style, as I generally don't like most card games and usually avoid them.

 

For what it's worth, I have an unobtainable game completely on my profile, so that is a plus.

 

Platinum #248: XBlaze Lost: Memories (August 19th, 2020)

 

 

Difficulty: 1/10

Excitement Rating: 1/10

Estimated Time to Platinum: 5 - 6 Hours

 

Hardest Trophy: 

 

Bloody awful is an understatement for what I think of this game.

 

This was a PS Plus title dating back to December 2017 that I managed to pick up because it looked.... different. If my analysis on Amnesia: Memories and Code Realize - Guardian of Rebirth didn't reach out to some people, I'll make a quick statement...

 

I don't like Japanese visual novels. Whether it's their art style, the way the stories are told, or just how to play the games, I can't exactly put a finger on a specific area for them. But they are NOT for me. I'm fully aware there are plenty of people here who can't get enough of VNs, and the way I see it, more power to them. At least you can say I have tried. But I cannot get into them no matter how many times someone who is a big 'weeb' and fan of everything Japanese related tries to recommend me a VN.

 

They're not games as much as they are interactive novels. And in my opinion they fail in that category, because Heavy Rain, Detroit: Become Human, Until Dawn and others (The Bunker, Late Shift) have done interactive movies/novels so much better. I'm not exactly a fan of interactive movies either, but if the material and content are good enough, as Heavy Rain was for me, then I will play them.

 

The only gameplay I can recall from XBlaze Lost Memories were the various collectibles in a seemingly 8-bit styled world. You move around and find the collectibles, then watch a cutscene, one of countless many in a VN like this. I tried to get into the story and feel for the characters but I gave up after about a hour. Nothing makes sense, but then again a lot of anime doesn't make sense to me so this is nothing new.

 

XBlaze is also the modern new style of anime, the anime I greatly despise featuring cutesy, cuddly innocent per-prebuscent sweet girls and so on. The anime I like best comes from the old anime. Akira, Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, etc. This however was cringeworthy, because I didn't know who that annoying brat white haired girl was at all who kept pestering the girl I was playing.

 

In conclusion, not a fan of this game at all whatsoever. 

Edited March 4, 2021 by AJ_Radio

[AJ_Radio]

100% Game #12: Tekken Tag Tournament 2 Prologue

 

 

Difficulty: 3/10

Excitement Rating: 6/10

 

For some reason, Bandai Namco decided to come out with a demo version of Tekken Tag Tournament 2 with the name Prologue, well before the full game would be released.

 

As far as I know, this is only available if you bought the PS3 physical copy of Tekken Tag Tournament 1 HD, as the Prologue comes automatically with it.

 

Nothing all too difficult here. Learning how to do Tag Throws and Tag Combos took a while, but with only four characters available this was relatively short. Graphics were quite good for a PS3 era title, music was fitting.

 

Fairly easy even for people like me who aren't all too good with fighters.

 

Platinum #249: Tekken Tag Tournament HD (September 5th, 2020)

 

 

Difficulty: 4/10

Excitement Rating: 6/10

Estimated Time to Platinum: 6 - 8 Hours

 

Hardest Trophy:  Eternal Champion ( Clear Arcade on the hardest difficulty )

 

Tekken Tag Tournament HD was the first in the Tekken series to have the tag feature, but in many ways it plays much like the other Tekken games of its time.

 

This is an old game, as it originally was an arcade game in Japan back in 1999. It came onto the PlayStation 2 a year later in 2000 as one of the early titles. I never played this game as a kid, but I recall hearing many things about the Tekken franchise.

 

The age of this game really starts to show as the graphics are pretty dated. The music is rockin and the gameplay in contrast hold up fairly well, although the AI in this game tends to be a bit cheap.

 

Difficulty wise this would of been a lot higher were it not for a handy second controller. Reversing an attack reversal required a second controller and took many attempts. Clearing arcade on the hardest difficulty was more of a case of exploiting the AI than it was having to be skilled in beating opponents. I generally find older fighting games to have incredibly cheap AI.

 

Tekken Bowl took some time to learn but after experimenting with a couple of characters it was a piece of cake. Overall a fun and enjoyable old fighting game from a bygone era.

 

Edited April 2, 2021 by AJ_Radio

[AJ_Radio]

Platinum #234: Batman: Arkham City (May 3rd, 2020)

 

 

Difficulty: 6/10

Excitement Rating: 9/10

Estimated Time to Platinum: 40 - 50 Hours

 

Hardest Trophy: Campaign Gold ( Obtain all 108 medals on the original Arkham City campaigns (as Batman) )

 

If the platinum count looks wrong, that's because I earned the platinum in May last year, but didn't finish all the DLC and the 100 percent until September, therefore I am going by order in which I fully completed my games.

 

In many ways, I think Batman: Arkham City is the best game in the Arkham franchise. It has good action, good gameplay, a fairly decent story, a sizable open world, and plenty of side activities that are fun and enjoyable to do on your own.

 

Hugo Strange is a good villain. He is to me just as mysterious as Batman himself, yet he is obsessed with the Bat and is perhaps the only person outside of Alfred and his close friends (Robin) who knows he is indeed Bruce Wayne. A nice round of recognizable and iconic villains that we all know in the Batman universe are in Arkham City, including the Joker (thank you Mark Hamill), Penguin (Nolan North in one of his better roles), Riddler, Two Face, Poison Ivy, Mr Freeze and Bane. A good gripping story with twists and turns that many Batman fans should expect. Rocksteady definitely delivered.

 

In my opinion, everything Arkham Asylum did, Arkham City did better. The two main downsides were the campaigns and the ridiculous number of Riddler collectibles, all of which need to be obtained to find and capture the Riddler. These are more straightforward than Arkham Knight's Riddler collectibles, which I absolutely had to look up YouTube videos for because some of them were a bit cryptic.

 

I did all of the story and many of the trophies back in 2015, but put this off for a long time because I wasn't willing to do the challenges and campaigns. Both the combat and predator challenges are more complicated and convoluted than the ones in Arkham Asylum. Combat challenges were actually easier as Batman due to his spin attack move that stunned everyone in a certain radius. Predator challenges were more far difficult, requiring far more gadgets and stealth to beat. Campaigns were even worse, as often you have to apply negative modifiers which make beating the challenges harder. A lot of practice and trial and error were necessary.

 

All in all, a very good Batman game that any Batman fan who plays video games shouldn't miss. This is the original PS3 version, while I can probably stack the PS4 version it is very unlikely I will due to the time commitment and trouble I had 100 percenting this game. The Harley DLC was fairly good, but doing everything three times over for Catwoman, Robin and Nightwing for only six bronze trophies on the challenges AND campaigns is complete overkill. You have to do everything you did as Batman for these three characters, plus bonus challenges for Robin and Nightwing. Doing all those alone took me around 12 - 20 hours, main reason why I put off getting the 100 percent in Arkham City. Not to mention that all side missions and 100 percenting them need to be done again on New Game Plus, thankfully you didn't have to collect the Riddler collectibles again.

 

Definitely recommended, and a game that holds up fairly well even by today's standards.

Edited April 6, 2021 by AJ_Radio

[AJ_Radio]

 

Platinum #250: Tekken 6 (September 29th, 2020)

 

 

Difficulty: 5/10

Excitement Rating: 8/10

Estimated Time to Platinum: 15 - 25 Hours

 

Hardest Trophy: What a Nightmare (
Clear the Nightmare Train stage in Scenario Campaign Mode)

 

A solid Tekken entry and one that tries to incorporate some RPG elements in a weird campaign mode, but whose platinum trophy marked an important milestone (number 250).

 

Between the last two Tekkens I did to finish the series, I have to say I enjoyed Tekken Tag Tournament 2 a bit more. Tekken 6 was really starting to show its age in parts, as graphics were dated and the controls in Scenario Campaign mode were a bit clunky.

 

For an older PS3 era game, Tekken 6 still had online players when I went for the online trophies. Very easy and straightforward, a contrast to many PS3 games which had time consuming and demanding multiplayer trophy requirements.

 

I did most of the stuff outside of Scenario Campaign mode separately. Many of the modes are like the ones in Tekken Tag Tournament HD. Survival Mode, Offline Mode (Arcade) and Practice Mode. Beating 30 Ghosts was basically beating 30 opponents. Collecting 5,000,000 G was basically playing the game and accumulating money. I thought NANCY-MI847J, a giant robot you fight for a trophy, was going to be difficult, but I found a cheap strategy involving a roundhouse kick move by Devil Jin that made quick work, so it wasn't hard.

 

Scenario Campaign mode is the meat and potatoes of Tekken 6 if you're going after trophies. It's basically the story for this game involving Alisa. Scenario Campaign plays more like a RPG and 3-D beat-em-up than an actual fighter, as you face numerous NPCs with a health box. I suppose this was Tekken trying to take a little from Final Fantasy and Streets of Rage, but the result wasn't quite as good.

 

You end up fighting against the entire roster for Tekken 6 if you discover and open up all paths in Scenario Campaign mode. You pick up items that greatly increase your power and health. Alisa acts as a friendly AI companion who helps you beat off the baddies. Finding items for her greatly helps as well. Later in the game you will need to obtain higher ranked gear (B, A, S rank gear) especially if you're playing on higher difficulties.

 

Out of all the stages, the Nightmare Train stage was by far the most difficult for me. You have to defend yourself on a train in an open car against a group of baddies (demon like creatures) that constantly pop up. They can deal serious damage even when you have higher ranked gear, and I had to grind out gear by replaying certain stages in Scenario Campaign mode on a higher difficulty setting. To beat Nightmare Train you have to defeat Devil Jin, who was a massive pain in the butt. A few video strategies on YouTube were incredibly helpful, as this stage practically points out the cheapness and flaws of Scenario Campaign. Because this game came out in 2009, this goes to show that older AAA games were more difficult to beat. I imagine if Tekken 6 were to be made today, it would be significantly easier.

 

An enjoyable Tekken game but not my favorite. It plays like the other games in the series. A number of frustrating sections in Scenario Campaign kept me busy for a while. If you can still access this game, I would definitely give it a try.

Edited April 6, 2021 by AJ_Radio

[AJ_Radio]

Platinum #251: Jak and Daxter (September 29th, 2020)

 

 

Difficulty: 5/10

Excitement Rating: 4/10

Estimated Time to Platinum: 8 - 10 Hours

 

Hardest Trophy:

 

A nostalgic game from a bygone period, that was horribly ported.

 

If you want the best experience with this game, play either the PS4 or PS3 version. The PS Vita port is awful. Low framerate throughout ruined my experience with this game, even though I've already done it years before on the PS3. Getting both the purple and blue precursor rings was a real test of patience. The poor performance of this game also made turning more difficult. I spent hours trying to grab all the precursor rings. Doing the two trophies related to the touchscreen were also a pain. This game I definitely needed a L2/R2 attachment, which I bought from Japan.

 

I don't need to explain the game itself. We've all heard of and seen Jak and Daxter when we were younger. It's a classic from the PS2 era that is still enjoyable to play. In terms of pure platforming, this is easily the best in the series, as I had issues with platforming in both Jak II and Jak 3.

 

Fun game, but skip the Vita version entirely.

 

Platinum #252: Ratchet and Clank (September 29th, 2020)

 

 

Difficulty: 5/10

Excitement Rating: 6/10

Estimated Time to Platinum:20+ Hours

 

Hardest Trophy:

 

Another fun nostalgic game, with a less than adequate port job.

 

Between Jak and Daxter & Ratchet and Clank, Ratchet performs better on the PS Vita. Framerate is still low, and again, I definitely suggest the PS3 version. While I felt Jak with the L2/R2 attachment made everything easier, in Ratchet and Clank the attachment is absolutely essential. Twisty McMarx took a lot of retries to nail down and I don't know if I would of been able to do it without the attachment I bought. Getting 1 million bolts, like the PS3 version, had me leaving my console on for hours and hours using the glitch. The rest of the game is straightforward. Obtain all the skill points with the respective trophies, start a second playthrough, buy up all the gold weapons.

 

Skip the Vita version and play the PS3 version if you're interested in getting this.

Edited April 6, 2021 by AJ_Radio

[Copanele]

Nice, you seriously started to update your trophy checklist  

Love to finally see Arkham City described there. That was a game I won't forget any time soon(mostly because of Top of the World Extreme with Nightwing and Catwoman)

[AJ_Radio]

4 hours ago, Copanele said:

Nice, you seriously started to update your trophy checklist  

Love to finally see Arkham City described there. That was a game I won't forget any time soon(mostly because of Top of the World Extreme with Nightwing and Catwoman)

I’m six months behind the curve and I got a lot to talk about. It’s hard to cover all that with work and college/university courses. 
 

I definitely won’t stack Arkham City. Got too many other games to play. 

[AJ_Radio]

Platinum #253: Tekken Tag Tournament 2 (October 6th, 2020)

 

 

Difficulty: 5/10

Excitement Rating: 8/10

Estimated Time to Platinum: 12 - 15 Hours

 

Hardest Trophy: Behold the Tekken Lord! ( You became Tekken Lord in Offline Mode )

 

I don't have a whole lot to say about this Tekken entry in contrast to the other Tekken games I've played since this one is more of the same thing I've already covered in previous posts.

 

Some may consider this to be a spin-off of the actual Tekken series, with Tekken 7 being the latest title. I bought this one on a whim since this was the last Tekken game I had to finish to mark the entire series complete (Tekken Revolution is unobtainable due to online servers shutting down back in 2017).

 

You have all the features and characters from other Tekken games, including online and offline modes. Online was, like with Tekken 6, fairly easy and straightforward. It didn't take me more than a few short hours to wrap up the online.

 

The only true difficulty I had was reaching Tekken Lord in Ghost Battles. Most of the AI opponents are pretty easy to beat, but beginning at higher ranks they start to get more difficult. After losing a whole bunch of vs battles with the AI I looked up some solutions online to getting this trophy. I found a cheap exploit using Jack 6's arm attack that basically stops the AI opponent dead in it's track. I alternated between him and a couple other fighters who had cheap exploits. I had to play a LOT of Ghost Battles, in the hundreds. Most of all battles didn't last more than 10 - 20 seconds because I was mowing everybody down with Jack 6.

 

Other trophies in Tekken Tag Tournament 2 were notably easy and straightforward. Nothing for me to speak about as I have no story to share.

 

Overall, I'd place this at the same level as Tekken 6, but a bit below Tekken 7 in terms of enjoyment. The next Tekken game, whenever that will be, will undoubtedly be for the next gen consoles, leaving guys like me still using the PS4 left out unless I want to invest several hundred dollars on a PS5. Don't count on that. For now, I'm content with having the Tekken series wrapped up and finished.

Edited May 13, 2021 by AJ_Radio